The Full Moon Transformation would last seven days, according to the information Shelly had left him. Seven days of needing to stay hydrated in mermaid form. Seven days of potentially depleting his entire life savings on this expensive bathwater.

Neville stared at the ceiling of his bathroom, his silver-black tail draped over the edge of the tub.

Beautiful, sure.

Expensive? Absolutely.

"But since I could transform back to my human form in forty-eight hours," he muttered to himself, "Therefore, I probably wouldn’t need as much water... right?" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

But there was only silence.

Neville pulled up the calculator on his light brain, the holographic interface flickering to life. He started doing math, each number making his heart sink.

How much water did he even need per day?

A standard bathtub held approximately 300 liters when filled to the brim. But this was much bigger; therefore, he would need to add more. He would need to change the water at least twice daily to keep it fresh.

Multiply that by seven days...

His finger hovered over the numbers as cold dread settled in his stomach. His savings would surely take a big hit this time.

How long until his next paycheck arrives? Two weeks? Could he somehow ration the water? Change it only once a day?

But then he would be sitting on his own... No. That was disgusting. Although he was a struggling mermaid, he had standards. Also, it wasn’t that he couldn’t afford it.

It was just...really expensive.

"Maybe I could collect some actual seawater from the ocean? Or maybe go there myself?" Neville contemplated. "But getting to the ocean in my current legless state is really a problem."

"Never mind." Neville groaned and let his head thunk back against the tub’s edge.

"Now I just need to figure out how to survive three days in a tub," he muttered.

His stomach chose that exact moment to growl. It reminded him that he hadn’t eaten anything yet.

Neville quickly explored his inventory with ease. Good thing Shelly prepared self-heating meal bundles for him.

Now he didn’t need to think about how to move to the kitchen and cook. He also didn’t need to think about just eating snacks to survive. Nor did he need to scroll all over the long list of items in the system mall for the self-heating meals.

He took out the braised pork with rice first, then came the ramen self-heating bundle. Finally, a beautiful tray of sushi—just in case his mermaid form decided to reject land-based meat.

Better safe than sorry.

Neville activated the self-heating mechanisms on both bundles, watching the chemical reactions warm his dinner through clear packaging. Steam rose from the containers, carrying the rich aroma of soy sauce and spices. His stomach growled again, more aggressively this time.

While waiting for the food to heat properly, he pulled out additional supplies. A portable knife to cut the apples he saw in his inventory earlier. A well-balanced meal was always a good option if available.

Then he pulled out a milk in case Shelly bought the spicy version of the meals and yogurt for digestion. Propping up a collapsible breakfast table, Neville put the meals on top of it one by one and had a feast.

Neville peeled the film off the braised pork rice. The meat was tender, practically falling apart, swimming in a thick brown sauce that smelled so good. He took his first bite and nearly moaned.

He wondered when the last time he had eaten something warm and nostalgic.

His home-made meals were by no means bad, but it was still different from those casually bought outside or eaten in a restaurant back on earth.

As he ate, Neville pulled up the StarNet interface with his free hand.

The light brain’s holographic screen materialized in front of him, displaying the familiar homepage with its rotating news feed and trending topics. The soft blue glow reflected off the water’s surface.

When was the last time I just... existed?

He couldn’t remember.

Even when he was cooking or taking photos, there was always a hesitation. This was the first time he completely, albeit not on his own free will, dropped everything and just focused on himself.

But right now, trapped in a bathtub with a tail, unable to move elsewhere with a bunch of self-heating meals?

He was just...keeping himself entertained.

He almost wished to just stay like this, forever.

Neville scrolled through the entertainment news with lazy flicks of his finger, not really looking for anything specific: celebrity gossip, movie premieres, scandal after scandal—the usual.

Then a familiar face caught his attention.

Elliot Frost’s smiling, innocent face stared back at him from the screen. Those distinctive deep blue eyes seemed to look right through the camera.

The headline read: [Hot Entertainment: Rookie Actor Lands Major Role in ’Stellar Dreams’—Mysterious Background, Secret Backer or Hidden Talent?]

Neville tilted his head, studying the image.

So Elliot had become controversial because he had landed a big role despite being a rookie celebrity?

The comments section was on fire. Each one was vicious and traumatizing. They were really trying to thrash this poor young man.

What did Elliot really do?

Never mind that the kid would still thrive in the entertainment industry because he had real skills. He was better than any other established stars in the interstellar era.

However, that would be five years from now. Whatever happened now didn’t really matter in the original timeline.

Neville tried to remember the original timeline again. The protagonist shou’s day job was being an actor. It went a little off in the background because of Xavier and the main plot.

In the original timeline, where it only focuses on the main couple, Xavier and Elliot always meet at the hospital, where Xavier was busy with the injured soldiers and Elliot was volunteering.

Why did he feel the need to volunteer? How can an actor even help?

He had no idea.

Just that looking at these controversies around him before the original timeline even started made him wonder.

If these also happened before, did he stop acting then continue later on? Or did he continue volunteering at the hospital while doing some acting jobs on the side?