Miss Witch Doesn't Want to be a Diva

The entire 'Redstone Valley' space station was like a gigantic cross-shaped cylinder, with buildings distributed along the inner wall of the cylinder. The space station obtained a small portion of gravity through the centrifugal force of its rotation, allowing many facilities to be installed on the ground.

"Even so, the gravity here is still too low. A light jump can send you flying high," commented a student who accompanied us.

"It's quite novel. I see many people gliding through the air, needing only a small thrust from the devices on their backs to easily navigate within the space station."

After finding the accommodations arranged by the tournament organizers in the space station, our group settled down for a rest. Then, as tradition dictated, we went out for a stroll. However, since this was a space station, the shops and malls inside followed the design and construction style of the Federation mainstream. Other than a few products related to 'Red Marrow Crystal,' there was nothing particularly special about the content or goods, although the prices were quite a bit higher.

Soon, everyone lost hope in the specialty products because there wasn't anything particularly eye-catching. Instead, it was the structure inside the space and the lifestyle of the people that sparked curiosity among the students traveling with us.

Since the space station was entirely lit by artificial light, there was no distinction between day and night. As a result, recruitment and work schedules were sometimes inconsistent. Within the same family, someone might get up at 8 a.m. for school, while another might not start work until 3 p.m. Many shops operated 24 hours a day, but their staff worked in shifts.

Moreover, although there weren't large amounts of soil for growing plants and trees within the station, there were various elaborate glass terrariums. For instance, inside some large hotels and restaurants were completely glass-encased terrariums, growing a variety of lush plants and flowers, along with fluttering butterflies, a small number of insects, and even some birds and animals.

Some residents also had simpler clear glass boxes in their homes, with clear water circulating inside, filled with fish and aquatic plants, or other types of flora.

As for the distribution of species, Elves were scarce within the space station, likely because they did not favor an environment full of metal constructions and glass. Humans remained the majority, with a small number of Ork able to adapt to the space station environment. As for those who seemed to thrive in the space station, it was the Merpeople. They appeared to be born for life in the weightlessness of space.

For them, space was like the sea, and planets were like small islands of land. As a branch of humanity, their physical structure differed greatly from ordinary humans, and they had even begun to experience partial reproductive isolation. To conceive, they would need special artificial insemination to alter some genetic combinations.

"Costin, did you grow up in space from childhood?"

At that moment, we were dining in a space station restaurant, and in the center of the restaurant was a large crystal column filled with flowing light blue liquid. This liquid emitted a faint glow, and a young Mermaid woman swam inside. She occasionally sang and performed dances and, during her breaks, would detach from the top of the crystal column to walk and sit in the restaurant.

In the water, she had a tail, but once out, she could choose to change shape, transforming her tail into human legs. However, as she explained, this ability was generally something only Merpeople of Sequence 4 or higher could manage. When they were young, most Merpeople found it more comfortable to live in water or in weightless environments.

"Yes, I've mostly grown up in this space station, only occasionally traveling to other places aboard a starship," the Mermaid with sea-blue curly hair introduced herself with a light chuckle, swirling her wine glass.

"You're all so curious. I work in bars and restaurants, and basically, 80% of the questions I answer are about the differences between Merpeople and humans."

"It's because you are indeed rare. In the current Federation's mainstream species, Merpeople seem to have the smallest proportion, not even one in a hundred thousand."

"There are few Merpeople living in natural aquatic environments because we are also considered a High Rank intelligent species. We prefer clearer and cleaner liquids," she explained a bit.

"I feel like Merpeople are a highly designed, artificial species, made to live in space and high-tech environments."

"We don't really need to eat. As long as there are some nutrients in the environmental liquid, we're good. Besides, we can directly absorb electric energy. That's right, like charging a personal terminal, we don't need to eat and can simply soak in liquid with a weak electric current to store energy."

"That sounds amazing. That must save a lot of trouble," said a student, eyes shining with excitement.

"That's right. It's actually the result of highly adapting to interstellar travel. A starship doesn't have much space for producing food, so absorbing electricity is more convenient. Plus, we don't need to use the bathroom, hehehe."

As the others wanted to continue asking questions, the Mermaid singer seemed a bit afraid and quickly waved her hands, "Let's stop here for today. If you're still interested, you can come back tomorrow."

After saying this, she waved, leaped gracefully, and transformed back into a lively Merperson with a Silver Scale tail, swimming back into the crystal column, where she could sing, dance, or even snooze.

After finishing today's sightseeing tour, our group headed back to our accommodations. That's when the teacher also reminded everyone.

"Actually, in the 'Inverted Star Lake Sword Fighting' tournament, there are participants from the Merpeople as well, and they are even among the favorites to win."

"It's rare indeed, but in weightless environments, both fighting and performing are areas where the Merpeople excel. So, when you were chatting up that Mermaid out of curiosity earlier, I didn't stop you—in fact, I supported it."