MASG chapter 145

 

Xia Yu’s hand stopped at Mo An’s ear.

It looked like a human ear, yet it wasn’t. Xia Yu carefully flipped it back and forth, treating the fierce mermaid’s earlobe like a toy. “These words are actually what I wanted to say to you, too.”

“I will protect myself.” Mo An tilted his head, letting Xia Yu touch it. He comfortably closed his eyes.

“Sigh, you’re really a silly little fish. You’re always so silly. How can I ever feel at ease?” Xia Yu laughed. “Silly.”

Mo An opened his eyes in confusion. “Me?”

“Yes, you.” Xia Yu still couldn’t feel at ease. Despite having seen the blizzards of Frozen Island and the spring flowers of Penghu City, he still yearned for the vast ocean in Mo An’s eyes. “Did you forget that I can regenerate endlessly? Even if robots riddled my body with holes, it wouldn’t matter—I’d just need time to return who I am now. But everyone else…”

“Stop talking. I can’t take it.” Mo An would go crazy just imagining it.

“I’m just giving an example. Don’t worry.” Xia Yu flicked the bridge of the cute little mermaid’s nose. “You just need to protect yourself, okay?”

Mo An unhappily pinched his cheek. “I want to protect you.”

“You…” Xia Yu was helpless. Despite the world being on the brink of disaster, he was still willing to spend time coaxing the younger brother he loved. “You’re throwing a tantrum.”

“Throwing a tantrum is normal. Every fish has its own temperament. Hmph, I’m already pretty good.” Mo An didn’t have time to tell Xia Yu what he had encountered. He wanted Xia Yu to know about the miraculous branches. “When everything is settled, I’ll take you into the sea to meet my new friends. You probably won’t be able to see Haisiruola because it’s the farthest offshore place in the world. Or… I could get you a high-end diving suit?”

“Forget the diving suit. I don’t like it.” Xia Yu wanted to laugh. “I can send a jellyfish down instead.”

“Little Blue?” Mo An looked at the aquarium on the table.

The beautiful jellyfish seemed to be asleep. Looking at it, Xia Yu felt as if he were looking at himself. He had heard from Mi Dou that, given enough nutrients, the Blue Jellyfish could grow infinitely large. Xia Yu was shocked by the size and abilities of his own kind. In the unexplored depths of the sea, there might really be jellyfish hundreds of meters long.

“All right, let Little Blue take my place and go with you to see Haisiruola. Your mermaid’s god—the great woman—and Professor Wang Ling created the legend of the ‘Mending the Heavens Plan’ together. She must have many things she wants to tell us. But Wang Ling mentioned three women—besides herself and Haisiruola, who else could it be?” Xia Yu gently tapped Mo An’s brow. “Promise me one more thing.”

“I won’t.” Mo An always felt like he was being led into a trap.

“Don’t cry pink tears anymore. I know you love to cry, and you cry easily. Mermaids are naturally sensitive. Actually, that’s fine. You’re not as cold or ruthless as humans are. Pink diamonds are pretty, but…” Xia Yu looked at the full bottle on the table.

Mo An rubbed his silver hair. “As long as you’re okay, I won’t cry pink tears again. Do you know what I want to do right now?”

Xia Yu’s face flushed for a moment. “Kiss me?”

“That too, but what I want most is to hold you like this.” Mo An tightened his arms around him. A simple embrace was more effective than any medicine. Ever since Xia Yu’s toxicity flared up, Mo An had almost forgotten what it felt like to hug him. Sometimes, he would become envious and jealous of anyone who could touch Xia Yu, including Mi Dou.

What does a hug feel like?

Probably… ordinary and plain, yet indispensable—something that can soothe everything. Mo An was immersed in the embrace. After all these years, he still wanted Xia Yu to hold him like he once held the fish eggs to keep warm.

At that moment, abnormal winds and waves had already risen on the sea surface.

“Yan Xia, report your situation over there,” Silver Fang said over the call.

It was exactly noon. Yan Xia climbed the stairs alone from the emergency stairwell, one step at a time, instead of taking the elevator. “I’m heading to the highest control room on the middle level.”

“Nuwa didn’t control you?” Silver Fang could hear the sound of her climbing, her boots thudding against the steps like a countdown striking everyone’s hearts.

“Nuwa doesn’t have time to control me right now. It’s doing everything it can to stop you from landing. I just received a sea disaster warning—Nuwa adjusted the weather control system again. Your ship might be hard to handle,” Yan Xia said.

Silver Fang looked at the wall-like waves forming in the distance and fell into deep thought.

Time passed second by second. There were 5 hours left before landing.

After the long climb, Yan Xia reached the highest control room. She took off her coat and straightened the administrator badge on her chest. “How are things on your end? Lao Gui? Silver Fang? Talos? Can anyone hear me?”

The ship was closer and closer to Qingyao City, but harder and harder to sail. Waves up to 20 meters high lifted the ship into the clouds and slammed it back down. If the ship were not a self-balancing monster species, there would be no trace left on the sea—everything would be swallowed.

“It’s about to fall apart.” Talos laughed.

“You’re still laughing? The predicted wind speed will reach Level twenty-five. Simulation models predict waves exceeding thirty-five meters. Your ship can withstand it, but the people around you can’t. We have to think of something,” said Yan Xia as she activated the panoramic camera. Residents of Port A had already been evacuated. Only rows upon rows of robots remained. The drones in the sky formed a dense net. At a glance, it looked like a glowing screen.

“Nuwa won’t break the agreement and kill you. It will use other reasons to attack. What will it be?” Yan Xia murmured.

Talos was accustomed to rough seas. The Mermaids and the Jellyfish clans wouldn’t feel fear or dizziness from the waves. Xiang Xing was like a mushroom; he spread his mycelium to secure everyone firmly so they wouldn’t be thrown around. But Mi Dou and Lao Gui had already vomited many times, enduring the pain of weightlessness.

“This can’t go on like this.” Xia Yu said as he stood with his sister in the main control room.

“Everyone won’t be able to hold on.” Xia Xiaoxiao reached out and touched the glass in front of her.

One second, the outside of the glass was filled with air; the next second, as the ship plunged to the bottom of the waves, it sank into the sea. The ship shifted from sailing mode to diving mode. Seawater slammed against the glass and formed white foam. For a moment, nothing could be seen. The only thing they could sense was that the ship had entered the water.

Then, due to enormous buoyancy, the ship sprang back to life and surfaced again. Once more, lights appeared outside the glass. Visibility was less than half a meter—beyond that lay a vast expanse of black ocean.

Suddenly, blue light pierced the night. As the waves shattered, the entire stretch of sea lit up for them.

A large number of blue jellyfish had arrived in the area at some unknown time, using their faint light to illuminate a path for them. The huge waves collapsed in front of the ship, and it was about to be smashed back underwater again—but this time, the glass in front of Xia Xiaoxiao was not hit by the waves.

They were floating on the sea’s surface.

Hundreds of millions of jellyfish steadily supported their ship.

“Huh, it doesn’t seem that bumpy anymore!” Xiang Xing protected everyone with his mycelium. “Doudou, Lao Gui, how are you doing?”

The mycelium was Xiang Xing’s consciousness. As he spoke, the slender mycelium thickened again, binding the two of them tightly. Their surroundings looked like ruins. The violent shaking of the ship caused many items to fall and shatter, but the people were safe.

“I… I’m okay. I can hold on,” Mi Dou said.

“I’m fine!” Lao Gui rubbed his stomach.

Both Talos and Mo An noticed the unusual stability at the same time. They quickly looked up toward the main control room. The control room had become a sphere of light. Xia Yu and Xia Xiaoxiao were surrounded by blue light, reminiscent of the brave yet fragile jellyfish beneath the ship.

There was only half an hour left before landing.

At this moment, Talos had already seen his lighthouse.

Dawn was approaching. The massive waves in the darkness had not torn them apart, but they had torn apart countless jellyfish. The light of the lighthouse provided them with final guidance. They had left from Port A, and in the end, they would return there as well.

“Everyone, enter the second level! Xia Yu! Take Xiaoxiao and leave the main control room!” Talos’s roar shook the deck.

In a flash, alarms blared across the Deck—the howl of air-defense warnings. An entire row of shells trailing white smoke rushed straight toward their ship, accompanied by piercing shrieks. Talos reacted quickly, pressing the protection mode button and slowly unfurling the sails.

Symmetrical white sails atop a black wooden deck. Waves crashed around the ship, spray like rain falling.

“Hold on tight!” Talos shouted loudly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Flames and waves violently collided, blasting seawalls over 10 meters high. Rows of firepower appeared as if they wanted to carve a boundary across the sea’s surface, burning the blue ocean red. Below deck, Xia Yu stumbled and was pressed beneath Mo An. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Xia Yu looked into Mo An’s crimson eyes. “How about you?”

“I can still hold on!” Mo An bent down and pressed Xia Yu firmly beneath his body. The ship shook violently. Besides the onslaught of waves, there were also explosions. The seawater in all directions boiled instantly, evaporating around the ship with sizzling sounds. Flames had already risen at the stern, but they were quickly extinguished.

“Hahaha…” Talos split into a wide grin and laughed. “Is that all you’ve got?”

His laughter echoed through the trembling sails. An invisible net formed over the surface of the ship under his protection. Immediately after, the sky shifted from light to dark. Countless bullets rained down on the hull, blasting the deck apart and sending fragments flying. Wooden splinters fell into the sea.

Sharp wooden spikes cut Talos’s face. Facing the storm of drones, he raised the communicator high. “Yan Xia! I’m opening fire!”

“Go ahead.” Yan Xia was inputting the final command. In front of her, a mirror constantly reflected the omnipresent surveillance cameras behind her.

“Here we go!” Talos shouted passionately. With a loud bang, the ship’s traditional cannon fired straight upward, launching an extremely massive signal interference shell. With fierce momentum, the shell charged to the highest layer of drones, unstoppable, trailing white smoke like raging flames and emitting a series of *beep beep beep* sounds.

One drone lost control and plunged toward the sea. Another followed, its tail already on fire.

A row of burning drones turned into meteors, trailing debris splinters as they fell.

“Yan Xia, you’d better hurry.” Talos raised the communicator again. “You know I’m a gargoyle—I’m out at sea right now!”

“What’s wrong with being at sea?” Yan Xia’s hands didn’t stop moving. “Where’s Silver Fang?”

“I’m in the cabin,” Silver Fang replied, gripping another communicator.

Talos continued, “At sea, my abilities can’t fully activate. I can only guarantee that the ship won’t sink. But once this ship touches land—even just a little—it will become a sanctuary for a gargoyle. Forget shells—even if Nuwa came personally, she might not be able to destroy it. There are too many robots on shore right now. We can’t get any closer.”

Silver Fang could only hear Yan Xia typing on the keyboard. “Yan Xia, be careful.”

“Of course I know. Let’s try this.” Yan Xia pressed the final key. “I’ve bought you ten minutes. All the robots will fall into temporary chaos. Nuwa’s preset program instructs the robots and drones to attack monster species—that is, Talos, your ship. Think carefully—besides you, who else knows that your ship is a monster species?”

“What?” Talos was shocked.

“Someone tipped Nuwa off!” Yan Xia had just finished speaking when a red light flashed in the mirror. She tried to dodge, but she hadn’t undergone full-body mechanization, so she couldn’t avoid the laser cutting straight through her left shoulder. The red light instantly pierced her.

“Ah!” Yan Xia collapsed to the ground.

“Yan Xia! Yan Xia!” Silver Fang nearly crushed the communicator in his hand.

Yan Xia didn’t have time to respond. She climbed up, stepping through her own blood, and rushed into the final safe room. “Silver Fang, after you land, you need to move fast. I’m already exposed. The top-level safe room has a deadlock. I’ll enter the wrong password ten times in a row to seal the door. It will open automatically after three hours. But it’s also possible that… after three hours, my oxygen will be used up, so…”

“So, you have to move fast and help Xia Yu.”

“Take down this artificial intelligence!”

As Yan Xia finished speaking, all the red-glowing robots on the shore fell into brief chaos. The ship, as if of one mind, pushed its engines to maximum power. Amid towering waves, it charged onto Port A’s cargo dock. At the same time, Yan Xia finished entering the wrong passwords, trembling as she sealed herself inside the airtight safety room to await the outcome of the duel.

Blood continued to flow down her arm. Her life had entered its countdown.

At the same time, a monitoring screen lit up once again in the long-abandoned underground research facility, its blue light flickering.