MASG chapter 68

 

A Very Strange Mermaid

Xia Yu looked at him from afar.

So this is a white siren? He had seen sirens and double-tails before and had heard that Mo An’s father was a black siren. He had also heard that white sirens were the most common, but he never expected them… to not look human at all.

After Xiban and Mo An transformed into fish, their upper bodies remained the same. Mo An’s face almost didn’t change; only his double-layered ear fins highlighted his monstrous nature. His teeth became sharper, and his skin turned blue-green. Sirens are the strongest of the mermaids, so their bodies need more energy and have a higher blood oxygen concentration. This is why they have the most gill slits.

Double-tails didn’t have that many gill slits, but their ear fins were extremely long. Combined with their huge, double-layered tail fins, they were unforgettable at one glance.

However, the appearance of a white siren was even stranger.

His face didn’t look human. It was too thin and long with sunken cheeks and a high, sharp nose bridge. His eyes were tilted upward, and there was a deep indentation between his brows. His hair was also different from Mo An’s. Mo An had silver hair, but the white siren’s hair was completely lusterless white.

Even stranger, the white siren had no external ears, only ear fins and holes. His ears had completely degenerated, and his tail was much thinner and longer than a siren’s. Xiban’s scales were pearl white with a gentle luster, but the white siren had no shine at all. Everything, whether hair or scales, was covered in a hazy, foggy filter.

It was a unique kind of beauty, like a plaster sculpture—a piece of art whose surface had fogged over.

But he was too thin, as if he would collapse with the slightest touch. His tail was covered in slash wounds in a crisscross pattern, and some scales had been torn out and scattered unevenly. Silver Fang could only focus on steering the ship first—they couldn’t stay long in this region of the sea. They needed to reach cleaner waters.

Mo An didn’t waste time either. He found a clean towel first and draped it over the white siren. “Don’t be afraid. It’s safe here. Everyone here is your companion. What’s your name?”

The white siren took the towel and wrapped it around his body, trembling with fear. He rasped, “My name is 107. Are you all companions? Why aren’t they…mermaids? Are you my sisters?”

“107? What kind of name is 107?” Mo An crouched down to take a good look at him. “This is just a number, isn’t it?”

Xia Yu circled around them, feeling useless. In the end, he could only hand 107 a cup of hot water.

“I don’t remember my real name,” said 107, lifting his head to glance at Xia Yu. “Are you also a mermaid?”

“I…I’m not.” At that moment, Xia Yu wished he were. “I’m a jellyfish. A Blue jellyfish, so don’t touch me. I usually wear gloves.”

But he wasn’t just not one; he was also the natural enemy of mermaids. For the first time, Xia Yu felt a heavy sense of loss, as if he were falling from high up in the sky. 107—he and Mo An were the same kind.

“Don’t worry. Everyone here is nice,” Mo An said, looking at the wounds all over him. “How many years were you locked up?”

107 raised a few fingers. “The years I can remember…about five. The years I can’t remember, I don’t know. They…they were a plastic surgery hospital,” 107 said slowly. Under the towel, his fishtail began to transform, but much more slowly than Mo An’s had. “There… were many people.”

“Rijianmei?” Xia Yu instantly made the connection.

107 tried hard to recall, but he only shook his head. “I don’t remember.”

“It’s fine. Rest first, and talk about it when you’re ready.” Mo An asked no more. The weathered appearance of 107 clearly indicated memory impairment—living alone in such a place for so long would distort one’s sense of time. “Xiban, look after him. I’ll go catch some fresh fish.”

“Alright,” Xiban nodded. Though 107 was no longer a juvenile, he still needed care.

Silver Fang’s boat quickly left the polluted waters. Though unable to touch him directly, Xia Yu quietly tended to 107. In front of him, 107 shifted into human form—still as white as plaster, extremely thin, and with wounds covering his legs. He wasn’t tall and was clearly malnourished. His eyes, however, were beautiful—mermaids always have bright eyes.

As they left the freezing island, Mi Dou finally woke from “hibernation.” The moment he opened his eyes, he was startled. “Ah! Who are you?!”

107 was so frightened that he hid behind Xiban. Xiban quickly said, “Don’t scare him. He’s a white siren mermaid that Mo An and I rescued from the frozen island. His temporary name is 107. 107, this is Mi Dou. He’s a bear-type genetic hybrid.”

“White siren? 107? What strange names,” said Mi Dou as he hopped down from the sofa and rushed up to 107, immediately poking him. “You’re a mermaid? Why are you so white? Why were you on the frozen island?”

Xia Yu laughed helplessly. “Mi Dou, stop asking so many questions. He’s very weak.”

“No, I’m willing to answer.” 107 slowly peeked his head out from behind Xiban; his dull hair looked like a wig. “I think I was caught and taken back to the hospital. Maybe my number represents my order. Maybe I was the 107th mermaid they caught. They seem to really need mermaids.”

As he spoke, fresh fish fell onto the deck like rain, crackling nonstop. It was Mo An throwing the fish up from the sea. Xia Yu put on gloves to help pick them up. When he looked up, he saw Mo An tirelessly moving through the floating ice.

Xia Yu didn’t know why, but his heart suddenly tightened when he saw Mo An. It was so strange—why did such an unfamiliar, sudden emotion squeeze in like this? He tried to ignore it, but he just couldn’t. What was going on? As he picked up fish, Xia Yu began to sincerely reflect on himself. Had he been too harsh on Mo An recently? Or had they both grown up, each with their own paths and choices, and did seeing him meet new family members make him sad?

He couldn’t figure it out. I’m just a little jellyfish! The calmer Xia Yu appeared, the more turbulence there was inside. As a sea creature, it was really hard for him to understand human-like emotions.

After eating fresh fish, 107 looked much better. He looked enviously at Mo An, who had just boarded the boat. “You’re a siren? I heard that sirens are all girls and very fierce and strong.”

Mo An wriggled his tail as he “walked” over, wrapped in a towel. “I’m a male siren and the only male fish in my tribe. I’m shorter than the females of my clan, and my elbow fins aren’t as developed, but I’m not weak. Xiban said my father was a black siren. Have you seen a black siren?”

“I’ve seen them. They’re completely pitch-black with no shine. They have silver hair, red eyes, and horns on their heads.” 107 placed both hands on his head to demonstrate. After returning to human form, he finally had ears again — he was a delicate, scarred young man. “Then can you foresee the future?”

“Sometimes, very rarely.” Mo An was a rare hybrid mermaid, so he didn’t fully inherit the Black Siren’s abilities. “We’re going to HuTi City next. Have you heard of it?”

Everyone expected 107 to say he hadn’t since he’d been captured early on and lost parts of his memory. Unexpectedly, however, his reaction exceeded everyone’s expectations. “I’ve heard of it. I’ve seen people from HuTi City.”

“You’ve seen them?” Mo An sat in front of him as if he’d discovered something huge.

Silver Fang and Xiban came over, too. The information that 107 could provide far exceeded imagination — a completely unexpected gain. 107 continued, “Two people from HuTi City came over. They were…discussing something.”

“Wait, how do you know they were from HuTi City?” Xia Yu asked.

“They told me themselves. They said Yukun City needed me and asked if I wanted to go. They said the water there would be better for me and that they’d help me escape if I agreed.” 107 shook his head, his distrustful gaze making him seem even weaker. “I don’t believe them. They’re just trying to trick me into going there for an experiment.”

“Hold on…” Xia Yu had so many questions. “How many years ago?”

“About… a year and a half?” 107 recalled vaguely.

A year and a half? Everyone was stunned by this timeline. Yukun City had long been inaccessible. Why would people from HuTi City transport a mermaid there? Did they have a way in?

“Of course I wouldn’t agree. Humans only want to use us.” 107 didn’t know what Yukun City was like now. “Under that prison, there’s a warm water layer gushing up from the seabed. I’ve been down there. There’s a dormant volcano. If I took the water route, I could have escaped long ago. But the waters around that island are all foul and terrifying. I tried swimming out several times, but each time it hurt badly and my gills bled nonstop, so I was trapped there. After they finished their experiments, they left me to die.”

“How did they pollute the seawater? Do you know?” Xiban asked.

It wasn’t just about 107’s past; it concerned the future of the sea and the mermaids. Since ancient times, humans and mermaids had never interfered with each other. Most humans didn’t even know mermaids existed. But now, that line was breaking. More and more people were trafficking mermaids, knowing how to build “cages” for them.

He didn’t believe the pollution was random. Clearly, those people understood the mermaids’ weaknesses. They had trapped 107 for years at no cost. Although their people had withdrawn, the experiment continued, perhaps to explore whether 107 could escape the polluted waters successfully.

The result was obvious—the experiment succeeded, and 107 could not escape. Had they not stopped at the frozen island, the white siren would have died there, trapped in the sea yet unable to move an inch.

107 ate another large fish, holding it in his hands like withered branches. “I don’t know. But you saved me, so I will help you. Earlier, I heard that you’re going to HuTi City. You can bring me along. As long as I touch a creature’s body, I can read minds.”

“Is that amazing?” Mo An suddenly became very curious.

If it really was that amazing, could it help him read Xia Yu’s mind? But no! Mo An immediately dismissed the thought. 107 would probably faint the moment he touched Xia Yu.

“Yes, we can read minds, just like black sirens can predict.” 107 put down the fish bones and wiped his hands with a towel. “But many misunderstand our ability. We can’t constantly see into a person’s thoughts. We can only read the strongest desire at the moment we make contact—what they want most.”

As he spoke, he placed his fingertips on the webbing of Mo An’s hand.

Hm? Mo An’s eyes widened.

Just two or three seconds later, 107 also widened his eyes as if he had seen something shocking—a wish too unspeakable to say out loud. He quickly pulled his hand back, his face burning red. He secretly glanced at Xia Yu from the corner of his eye and instantly understood the interpersonal relationships on the boat.

What an unspeakable scene; what chaos! 107 took a sip of water hurriedly to calm his shock. “Sometimes…we really can’t figure it out. Let’s head to HuTi City first. In return, I’ll definitely help everyone.”

Mo An shook his wrist and didn’t take it seriously at all. With 107 being so weak, his mind-reading superpower might have already failed. But Xia Yu really wanted to ask: What was going on in Mo An’s mind? What did he desire the most?

107 continued to sit there with a red face and burning ears, drinking water and rubbing his eyes from time to time to try to chase away the images he had just seen. Mo An was simply too bold and reckless. How could a human and a mermaid possibly…

The Silver Fang Ship couldn’t dock at Frozen Island and could only drop anchor in the icy waters nearby. To avoid Nuwa’s surveillance, they used the most ordinary type of ship. A few hours later, Jingwei sent a message.

Jingwei: [Good news, HuTi City has already been arranged. You can go now.]

“What about the bad news?” Xia Yu asked.

Jingwei: [The bad news is, you’ve already committed suicide by shooting yourself.]

“What happened? Did Xiang Xing get into trouble?” Xia Yu choked on air in panic.

Jingwei: [Yes. The news was released half an hour ago. As the primary person responsible for this incident, Xia Yu has already admitted to all crimes. Out of guilt, he snatched a guard’s gun and ended his young, sinful life. Of course, that’s only the explanation given to the public. According to Ling Shi, however, Xiang Xing was secretly executed. While resting, he was shot in the forehead. Fortunately, he’s a mushroom—his physical makeup is different from that of humans. Before entering the cremation furnace, he escaped. Under Ling Shi’s arrangements, he will reunite with you in HuTi City.]

This message nearly stopped Xia Yu’s heart. “It’s great that Xiang Xing is okay. Were they that desperate to silence him?”

Jingwei: [If your suspicions are correct, then Nuwa has a strong motive to kill you. I checked the surveillance, and the person who shot Xiang Xing was a mechanical being. You killed the Plague Knight, and now it’s your turn.

“The Plague Knight… actually, back on the Tide Ship years ago, we also took out the Famine Knight.” Xia Yu didn’t dare think further. If Nuwa truly wanted to settle this old debt, everyone would be in danger.

Following Jingwei’s instructions, the Silver Fang Ship took the designated route to HuTi City and docked successfully around 8 p.m. Ling Shi used his position to create fake records for their ship, and now the entire crew had been “cleansed” and safely stepped onto the streets of HuTi City.

An unmanned aircraft was waiting for them—clearly also arranged by Ling Shi. After a full day of travel, they finally arrived at Ye Huai, the place where the Plague Larva originally came from.

There was also a clean set of clothes inside the aircraft for 107. 107 finally removed his bathrobe and changed into normal clothing. It was nighttime in HuTi City. Unlike Qingyao City’s brilliance and glare, if Qingyao City were a dazzling gem in a bay, then HuTi City would be the jade beside it. HuTi City had less light pollution, and there was a green lake at the center of the city.

The buildings weren’t as tall as those in Qingyao City—those towers reached so high that they seemed to stab straight into the clouds.

Ling Shi: [Let’s go find Ma Jiayuan’s supermarket owner, Chen Jiehao. Male, half-mechanical, 62 years old, widowed, with one son who has moved to another city and rarely stays in touch.]

“Sounds like someone living alone.” Mo An commented.

Ling Shi: [Indeed, he lives alone.]

Twenty-eight minutes later, the aircraft landed smoothly in a designated spot in a residential area. Xia Yu stepped out and looked up at the lit windows. He couldn’t help but ask, “Why are we visiting him? It’s so late. Will Chen Jiehao even meet with us?”

“As long as we meet once, I just need to touch him to know his desires.” 107 chimed in, afraid of not being helpful.

“Alright, we’ll do what we can.” Xia Yu nodded, his main concern still being how to successfully talk to Chen Jiehao. It was nearly bedtime for the elderly—he couldn’t just knock on the door and say that they were there to verify his identity, could he?

“I actually have a good idea.” Mo An’s voice suddenly shifted upward as he leaped onto an electric storage tower several meters tall and grabbed the fuse in one motion. The electrons he had absorbed from the seawater surged out violently and instantly melted the fuse. Before their eyes, the entire building flickered, then went pitch black.

Curses drifted out from the windows one after another.

“All right, now let’s go check the circuitry at Chen Jiehao’s place.” Mo An jumped down. Releasing electricity felt so refreshing.