Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 156 - 76: Father of the Modern Bathhouse

Chapter 156: Chapter 76: Father of the Modern Bathhouse

Logically speaking, Jiuyue’s plan was quite unreliable.

First of all, Duan Mingyuan didn’t believe that a criminal would play a sound system after committing murder just to let everyone know that a crime had happened, but Jiuyue did get one thing right—the trip to Yu Quan Bathhouse was like finding a needle in a haystack, except bringing Jiuyue was like using a cheat code that increased the chances by 999 times.

He also had to consider the worst-case scenario.

In this operation, the worst situation would be if they failed to encounter the kidnapper and instead witnessed the contamination of the bathhouse by stinking sludge in a public area.

That could cause him to develop a psychological shadow over public places like bathhouses and swimming pools for the rest of his life.

Having changed his clothes, Duan Mingyuan entered first.

The mist inside was much denser than outside; past one meter’s distance, everything turned into a blurry silhouette. The compartment doors had keypad locks. After choosing their services, the wristbands they were given displayed a randomly generated password, which they needed to enter to unlock the doors.

The manual stated that the bathhouse’s walls and safety doors were made of special materials developed by Universe Company. Even if someone fired a Gatling gun at someone inside a room, it wouldn’t penetrate the bulletproof coating.

No wonder some people liked to plot and scheme in such places.

While Duan Mingyuan was changing, he accidentally learned the identities of the "Haier brothers."

They were officials from the Imperial Court’s Foreign Affairs Department, accompanying Extraterrestrials on a field study.

To put it in more straightforward terms, this was basically a paid vacation, with excellent food and service, to leave a good impression of the Imperial Court on the Extraterrestrials.

In official terms, this was called attracting investment.

Over the years, many foreign businesses brought to the Imperial Court were because of them. As a result, the Foreign Affairs Department had become very influential within the Imperial Court, an entity that various powers sought to align with.

However, since Duan Mingyuan wasn’t familiar with the officials, he couldn’t ask why they weren’t at the large bathhouse accompanying the Extraterrestrials for a cultural experience and instead sneaked off to the family area.

About five minutes later, Jiuyue, who had finished managing her tail, entered the room.

This was where the Fox Demon was more troublesome than human girls. Playing in the water was fun, but once the fun was over, the fur on the tail would stick together, which was not only unsightly but also uncomfortable.

Holding a duck-shaped swim ring, Jiuyue excitedly jumped into the pool like a child visiting the swimming hall for the first time. Unfortunately, the bath was much smaller than a swimming pool and too shallow for her to stretch out.

In the blink of an eye, Jiuyue, with both hands on her duck swim ring, swam up to him and asked in confusion, "Where are the fish? Weren’t there supposed to be fish to suck away our negative energy in the bathhouse?"

"You scared them all away."

"Oh, then I won’t swim anymore."

Jiuyue swam over and casually leaned against the edge of the pool. Before long, she felt something stirring from beneath the water, but when she looked down, she couldn’t see any fish.

"These are elemental creatures discovered by Universe Company’s exploration team on ’Deep Sea Star.’ After being transported to this planet, people began calling them ’fish.’

On his left was a holographic projection. While enjoying the Yu Quan bath, he could also learn some new knowledge. "This is the first Yu Quan bathhouse on the planet and has now become one of the most famous tourist attractions in the Imperial Court, attracting Extraterrestrials to visit annually."

The reason for the additional naming was simple—the names given by the company’s people were simply impossible to remember for an average person, so for convenience in diplomacy, the company’s executives who often traveled abroad would choose a common, easy-to-understand alias based on local culture.

"Huh? Didn’t you say that Universe Company discovered these elemental creatures? Why would they come here specifically to experience the Yu Quan bath?"

"Because only here do people use them as if they were fish."

The exploration team that initially discovered these elemental creatures brought them back to the flagship for research on weapon energy and eventually concluded that these elemental creatures had no research value.

Deep Sea Star is home to many elemental creatures, but they are extremely weak individually and are considered ’slime’ level, the kind you’d find in beginner villages.

In the current context of interstellar warfare, it’s difficult to send a team of slimes into battle.

Furthermore, these elemental creatures can only survive in water, so it makes sense that the company deemed them devoid of research value.

"The first person to discover the value of these elemental creatures was the Third Prince. A company representative once gave him a jar of elemental creatures during a visit. A palace maid accidentally knocked over the jar, releasing the elemental creatures into the royal bath, revealing their characteristics to the Third Prince."

The interactive holographic projection didn’t detail how exactly the maid managed to release the extraterrestrial creatures into the prince’s bath; it’s a question that can’t be dwelled on too much.

"In any case, all you need to know is that the Third Prince is also known as the father of the modern Yu Quan bath. He funded the construction of the first Yu Quan bath in the universe."

This title was far more significant than Mr. Lu San’s accolade as the "Founder of Modern Life Energy."

Jiuyue lowered her head and scooped up a handful of warm water. The water danced playfully in her palm for a few seconds before returning to the pool.

The elemental creatures have no fixed shape, but Jiuyue could feel that they were very happy.

Just as happy as she would be facing a table full of a whole chicken banquet.

"Theoretically, they are eating right now. They absorb the energy dispersed in the water, which serves as their food."

In this respect, the absorption of negative energy was not entirely a false marketing gimmick.

While waiting for Jiuyue, Duan Mingyuan finished reading the amusing stories in the holographic projection database. Combining this with his knowledge of Deep Sea Star, he arrived at a terrifying conjecture.

The maid who ’accidentally’ spilled the extraterrestrial creatures into the Third Prince’s bath must have intended to kill him.

He felt it was all Jiuyue’s fault for playing the Conan BGM earlier, which made him view everything through a gloomy and dark lens.

The holographic projection presented these elemental creatures as harmless little beings, akin to slimes, capable of coexisting harmoniously with humans. But if his memory served correctly, the Deep Sea Star had been labeled as one of the most dangerous planets by a science magazine he had read in his childhood, which claimed the entire Deep Sea Star was an ocean whose depths hid unknown things.

All exploration teams that tried to uncover this secret had perished, turning the question into an everlasting mystery.

This might also explain why Universe Company had once expended a great deal of manpower and resources to research these slimes.

So he strongly suspected the maid had read an issue of the science magazine and aimed to assassinate the Third Prince with these elemental creatures from the most dangerous planet.

Duan Mingyuan also lowered his head and scooped up a handful of warm water.

Which side was telling the truth?

Were these "slimes" really harmless?

But this time, the elemental little beings didn’t rush to escape his palm and return to the pool. Instead, they gathered together, looked up, and made eye contact with him.

Then, they grew eyes and a mouth.

Inside their transparent exteriors, a row of teeth sharp as a shark’s appeared.

The process didn’t take long, barely less than ten seconds, and the "slime" had mimicked a miniature shark in the palm of his hand.

The shark didn’t attack him, but instead leaped into the water, circling his body cheerfully. From time to time, it affectionately nuzzled against Duan Mingyuan’s arm submerged in the water, much like a spoiled child.

"How did you do that?"

Seeing this, Jiuyue’s eyes lit up. She hugged Duan Mingyuan’s arm and pleaded like a child, "I want one too! Make one for me!"

"I didn’t make it."

Duan Mingyuan watched the miniature shark swimming in circles in the pool, "It transformed on its own."