MASG chapter 12

 

It was the most comfortable Xia Yu had felt in two days.

With the door locked, the room became their safe house, shielded from any sound outside. Xia Yu divided the food and water in the room into four portions, enough to last at least four days. He also divided the nutritional injections into seven portions, giving Mo An five shots daily.

After everything was settled, Xia Yu went to bed.

The room was still a bit chilly, and Midou was already drowsy. “Xia Yu, I can’t do it anymore. I’m… falling asleep…”

“Why are you so sleepy so quickly?” Xia Yu was surprised. Midou had been so alert just moments ago.

“Because I’m a little bear, and when the temperature drops, I want to sleep…I’m… so sleepy… Goodnight…” Midou managed to hold himself up, but after that, he fell silent and started snoring softly half a minute later.

Xia Yu didn’t wake him. Instead, he draped his coat over Midou’s chubby little feet. Midou hadn’t worn shoes the entire way.

Thankfully, unlike his own, his feet had distinct pads of flesh, more than enough to handle any terrain. Xia Yu slipped off his shoes and looked at his feet. They were completely soft and supple, and they would tire from walking too much.

After all, his greatest strength was floating in the water like a jellyfish, not walking.

Xia Yu rubbed his feet, savoring this precious moment. Having enough to eat and drink wasn’t enough, being with Mo An brought him joy. After a good meal, the little fish fry were especially active. I wondered what he was doing inside the egg, refusing to be still.

“Don’t move! Don’t move!” Xia Yu kept stroking the eggs, fearing they might get hurt. “If you keep moving like this, it’ll hurt. If you get hurt… I can’t bear the pain for you.”

Mo An was still struggling with his tail fin. No matter how hard he tried, it would not unfold. Although he had never seen one of his own kind before, he knew instinctively that a real mermaid would never look like this.

His species was fierce, possessing supreme love and strength. He thought that once his tail fin was fully expanded, it would be beautiful, and he could show it off to the little jellyfish in the deep sea.

But, for now, he couldn’t do anything.

Feeling Mo An’s frustration, Xia Yu gently placed his face on the egg. “Don’t be anxious. There’s no need to come out yet because the outside world is dangerous, and you’re still too small. Look, you’re still a little fry. With all these nutrient injections, you even burp. Big kids like me don’t hiccup.”

“Hehe.” Although he didn’t fully understand, Mo An smiled at Xia Yu, his sharp teeth tightly closed.

“Don’t worry. I…I will definitely find lots of nutrient injections and feed you every day. When you’re big enough to come out, I’ll have found the sea by then. You can return to the ocean and swim as deep as possible so that no human will ever find you.” Xia Yu imagined what that day would be like: They escaped the airtight metal building and reached the edge of the ocean.

However, Mo An didn’t seem happy hearing this. His smiling mouth drooped sadly. Why put him in the ocean? Would the little jellyfish not want him after hatching?

“The ocean has your kind and mine, but my kind may not accept me because I’m a hybrid.” Xia Yu felt a bit down, but he quickly cheered Mo An up: “You’re different. You’re a mermaid, too. They’ll take you home!”

Home? Kind? Mo An didn’t think too much of it. His little brain had only one question: Would the little jellyfish really not want him? Had he eaten too much?

“I don’t even know what kind of jellyfish I am…” Thinking about the day he might have to leave Mo An, Xia Yu produced two more lines of tears, which dripped onto the fish egg. “You have a family. I don’t. Professor Wang Qin doesn’t know what happened either. You can’t die. You have to return to the ocean!”

“Wuu…” Mo An could only express his dissatisfaction by blowing more bubbles to get Xia Yu’s attention.

“Do you want to talk to me?” This method worked, and Xia Yu looked over.

At that moment, something magical happened. Mo An, now well-fed, glowed once more. This time, it was more like he was playing a game with Xia Yu, rather than the urgent energy he had shown last time. The inner membrane of the egg lit up, illuminating Xia Yu’s face in the dimly lit safe house.

His eyes were illuminated as well.

As if he were seeing the unpredictable ocean depths, Xia Yu placed both hands on the egg. The ocean was within reach. His eyes reflected the light, silver and blue like water flowing in his pupils. Though he had never seen the ocean, he fell deeply in love with it at that moment, realizing that it was also his hometown.

“Are you playing a game with me?” Xia Yu laughed and poked the egg.

The light inside the egg flickered twice in response. Life always finds a way, and marine life is no exception. Unable to communicate, Mo An, who had opened his eyes early, had already mastered the glowing technique. The bioluminescent material on his tail fin lit up.

It also illuminated his scales. Mo An remained curled up with his clearly non-human hands on the inner egg wall, imagining what it would feel like to touch the little jellyfish’s fingers.

“Mo An, you are the most beautiful little fish in the world. I haven’t seen you, but I believe you must be beautiful.” Xia Yu was overjoyed. The abnormal species that had never reacted in the lab was actually communicating with him. “By the way, when you hatch, you’ll be a third-class citizen, just below robots and half-robots. You are an abnormal species. Professor Wang Qin said that you have the right to survive as well.”

“Hehe.” Mo An smiled again, understanding only the words “most beautiful.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll raise you well. In the future, you will be my little fish, and I will be your little jellyfish. Once we find the ocean, we’ll swim together.” Xia Yu regained some of his childlike innocence. Mo An was not only his responsibility, but also a friend he could never let go of.

“Mom… Mom…” Snoring, Mi Dou muttered in his sleep and turned over. Xia Yu covered him again, not expecting this small gesture to make Mo An anxious.

Mo An vaguely saw Xia Yu leave, his figure moving away. This was something Mo An could not accept. He only wanted the little jellyfish to stay with him.

Luckily, Xia Yu soon returned and leaned against him. In the not-so-safe safe house, they huddled together, sharing body warmth. Xia Yu rubbed his nose: “A-choo…”

It was still a bit cold; there weren’t enough blankets. After sneezing, Xia Yu, holding the fish egg, felt sleepy and drifted off to sleep.

The continuously glowing fish egg quietly warmed up, providing heat like a constant-temperature egg.

Mo An stretched out his little hand, poked Xia Yu’s cheek through the egg, and smiled.

This sleep was so comfortable that Xia Yu temporarily forgot about other things. He didn’t need to rush to get up. He lay on the small bed, blinking. Without blankets, he wasn’t cold at all—this strange feeling was new to him.

“Good morning, little fish fry. Nuwa used to say this to me, and now I’m saying it to you.” Xia Yu turned slightly, shifting his small feet on the egg and imagining the soft ocean floor. Mo An hadn’t been idle. He had been awake for a while, his eyes following the little feet.

After playing for a while, Mi Dou woke up and opened his eyes to see Xia Yu hugging the egg and softly singing. “I thought I was dreaming, but you are really singing.”

“I’m teasing Mo An. He understands a lot now.” Xia Yu said with a smile.

“Impossible. He hasn’t been born yet.” Mi Dou added, “He must be like us and not remember anything before birth. He must be stupid now and only smart after birth.”

“Ah?” Xia Yu was shocked. Indeed, neither he nor Mi Dou could remember anything before birth. Mi Dou had a mother and was born from her. But he was born in an artificial cradle and was also unable to remember anything. What about Mo An? Would he not remember anything after birth?

Bang! The fish egg shook violently.

Mo An swung his tail hard, hitting the inner wall with his chubby tail. You just grew a brain after birth! You’re the dumbest!

“Hahaha! Look! Mo An is talking to us! He’ll remember us.” Xia Yu kissed the egg reassuringly and said, “Let’s eat now. Don’t get hungry.”

“Yes! I’m already hungry!” Mi Dou happily jumped off the bed and rummaged through the food box. Xia Yu opened the big bag first and took out a nutrient injection. He focused on injecting Mo An.

When the egg was pierced, Mo An felt only slight pain. His round little belly rose and fell as he took in and expelled water. The slit-like gills on both sides of his neck slowly opened and filtered the amniotic energy.

After two injections, Xia Yu stopped, leaving the rest for the afternoon. Mi Dou found two cans of rice, and the grains were wrapped in salty meat juice. “This is tasty. My mom and I have eaten it before.”

“Eh? You’ve eaten this?” Xia Yu took one and tasted it with a small spoon.

“This is just ordinary canned food. In the mine, when we don’t have time to eat, we eat this.” Mi Dou stuffed a big bite into his mouth.

“I’ll try it too.” Xia Yu wasn’t used to eating rice, he preferred meat. His carnivorous jellyfish gene was too strong, and rice tasted bland to him. But he didn’t waste any. He finished every grain of rice and drop of juice. Then, he turned his gaze to the door.

The full Mo An seemed to sense something.

“What exactly is in Power Plant No. 3? Why must Jingwei make us go in?” Xia Yu muttered to himself.

“I don’t know. It should be a safe house.” Mi Dou shook his head helplessly.

“But this is already a safe house. It’s very safe. Why go in?” Xia Yu walked to the door, opened it, and stood before the huge entrance to the underground passage of the power plant. He tried pushing it again but gave up decisively. Apparently, he must enter via water.

“Do I really need to swim in?” Xia Yu looked at the clear water nearby, crouched down, and stuck his finger in it.

He just wanted to check the temperature of the water, but it felt like it bit him.

“Eh-yo!” He quickly pulled back. The water was acidic and corrosive. That was probably why the power plant was so secure—no one could easily enter.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Mi Dou ran out when he heard the sound, which made Mo An anxious. However, he could only watch from the egg. When Mi Dou reached Xia Yu, he also reached toward the water. “What just happened?”

“Don’t touch it! This water is acid!” Xia Yu stopped him. “It will burn you.”

“Ah?” Mi Dou pulled back in fright.

“But maybe this is the way in. I think I can try.” Xia Yu had a bold thought. He wasn’t afraid of pain, and entering wouldn’t be life-threatening. Moreover, this was a challenge tailored for him, and burned skin would quickly heal.

“Watch Mo An carefully. I…” Xia Yu was about to take off his clothes when another sound came from the safe house. He and Mi Dou turned around.

The fish egg, which had been on the bed, had somehow rolled onto the floor and was slowly moving toward them.

“Hehe.” Mo An continued to swing his tail. After a night of practice, he had finally mastered the movement of his tail fin!