The mermaid princess seemed to read Liu Yang's thoughts once more, offering a suggestion:
"Master, you could build a submarine like the one from earlier, fill it halfway with water, and then we can take it down into the ocean. That way, I can swim around inside while you still have plenty of air space. It'll be totally private underwater, with a great atmosphere and zero awkwardness..."
"Underwater?" Liu Yang raised an eyebrow.
As experienced as he was with women, he had never tried things out in an underwater setting!
How was this mermaid princess more adventurous than he was?
"Mmhm! I haven't tried it myself, but legend says our people have always done it this way." The mermaid princess nodded firmly.
Liu Yang found himself actually tempted by the idea. He really hadn't experienced water-bound romance yet, and when he thought about it, it didn't sound half bad. In fact, it piqued his curiosity about what the underwater world felt like.
With a wave of his hand, a Glacial Submarine materialized before them. He guided it into the sea, filled the interior cabin with a meter of seawater, and climbed inside with the mermaid princess before plunging the craft into the depths.
Once they reached the deep sea, the mermaid princess began to circle gracefully around Liu Yang within the flooded cabin.
Though the water was only a meter deep, she moved through it with the effortless agility of a forest fawn. Her supple body coiled around him like a snake, shifting and spinning continuously. The scene instantly brought to mind the legendary classic where the green snake taunts the monk Fahai.
With such an exquisite beauty gliding around him, periodically brushing against his body with playful teases, even Master Fahai himself would have cracked under the pressure.
Liu Yang was just a hot-blooded young man-how was he supposed to resist a test like that?
He reached out, pulled the mermaid princess into his arms, and neatly shed her remaining garments.
Only then did he realize that her upper body was identical to a human's, save for skin that was remarkably supple, smooth, and fair. Living submerged in seawater away from direct sunlight had clearly blessed her with a complexion softer and more delicate than an infant's.
People often exaggerated when they said a woman's skin could be squeezed to yield water, but with this mermaid princess, it was an absolute literal fact!
Liu Yang rested one hand gently on her slender waist, careful not to use too much force for fear of bruising her pristine skin.
Glancing down at his handsome face, athletic build, and well-defined muscles, the mermaid princess's breathing turned ragged. She looked up at him and whispered, "Master, come on. Let me serve you properly! I'll show you a level of pleasure you can't even imagine."
Liu Yang chuckled, "Bold little demon, trying to bewitch your master! Time to tame this monster! Da Wei Tian Long, Da Luo Fa Zhou!"
The mermaid princess played along, putting on a delightfully terrified expression. "Ah! I'm so scared, Master. Be gentle..."
Soon enough, the interior of the submarine became the setting for sights that defied description...
Over three hours later, Liu Yang brought the session to a close with a satisfied sigh.
By then, the mermaid princess was completely boneless and floating limply in the water.
Even though her baseline stats were three to four times higher than an ordinary human's, facing an opponent as monstrously powerful as Liu Yang had completely pushed her past her limits.
She drifted in the water, belly-up like an oxygen-starved fish, murmuring in a daze, "Good grief! Are all human men this insanely strong? My head is spinning... every single cell in my body is still trembling! If I'd known being with humans felt this incredible, why on earth did my race stay enemies with you guys? We should've just married all of you off the bat..."
Liu Yang laughed softly. "Not every human is built like me. If an ordinary guy ran into you, he'd probably surrender and tap out in under a minute."
There was no denying that the mermaid race was vastly different from humans. Liu Yang couldn't even begin to describe it fully-suffice it to say that the mermaid princess was infinitely more moist and responsive than any ordinary woman.
Her body possessed an unbelievable tightness and flexibility.
The old saying that women are made of water was flawed; female mermaids were truly the literal embodiment of water.
Liu Yang had never experienced anything quite like it. If his physique hadn't been continuously enhanced by the system, he wouldn't have lasted half as long.
Right on cue, the system notification chimed in his mind:
[Notification]
Lineage Expansion Successful! New Ability Acquired: Like a Fish in Water - Level 1
Milestone Bonus: Completed 30 consecutive victory kills. Extra Reward: Ability Advancement Scroll x1
Liu Yang beamed with satisfaction upon reading the prompt.
The Genetic Enhancement ability was absolute beast-mode!
Who would have ever thought a human and a mermaid could cross species and actually bear the fruits of love? Yet Liu Yang had pulled it off. That was the terrifying power of Genetic Enhancement at work.
It also completely validated his ongoing hypothesis: if it worked on a mermaid, it would definitely work on female zombies too!
He turned his attention to the newly acquired skill. It confirmed his theory that unlocking new abilities required expanding his lineage with elite targets like ability users or high-tier anomalies.
The system's standards were climbing higher by the day; trying to trigger rewards off ordinary women would likely yield a dead end for special skills.
He pulled up the skill description:
[Ability Info]
Name: Like a Fish in Water
Level: Level 1
Effect: Allows the host to breathe and maneuver completely unrestricted in water, granting true aquatic mastery.
This was precisely the skill Liu Yang needed right now.
Exploring the Merfolk Palace Treasure would require multiple dives in the future, but relying on ice-crafted submarines was too taxing on his mental energy, especially since he needed to maintain internal air pockets against the crushing water pressure.
If the underwater palace sat at extreme depths, even his massive mental pool would eventually run dry.
With the Like a Fish in Water ability, he could ditch the submarine entirely, making his treasure hunting expedition infinitely smoother.
Looking down at the exhausted mermaid princess drifting near the surface, Liu Yang asked, "What's your name?"
"Master, my name is Loulian," she replied weakly.
Liu Yang nodded. "Good. Loulian, tell me-where is the other half of the map?"
Loulian blinked up at him. "Master, just check your own mind. Focus your attention and picture a map, and you'll be able to see it right there!"