MASG chapter 142

 

Xia Yu kept drifting up and down, like sailing in the vast sea.

It was as if someone had placed him inside a crystal ball. The gelatinous liquid inside wrapped around him and protected him. He seemed to be able to sense what was happening outside, as if he were looking out through the glass sphere. However, all his perceptions were slowed down, and he couldn’t hear clearly.

His abdomen burned, extremely hot.

Even in his dreams, he worried that his internal organs might spill out.

A gust of wind swept past, and Xia Yu jolted awake from a nightmare like a startled bird. He was sure he was still drifting. The surrounding buildings kept changing, and he slowly realized that this wasn’t sailing—it was a rapid march.

Mo An was holding him like a tireless robot that would never grow weary.

“You’re awake?” Mo An was extremely sensitive to any movement from Xia Yu. “If you hadn’t woken up soon, you would’ve scared me to death. Why can’t the great Haisiruola give you some strength?”

Xia Yu stared with open eyes, studying Mo An’s jawline and side profile carefully. He was sure his thoughts had wandered again—he was actually comparing Mo An’s chubby childhood face with his current sculpted features. Amazing. Do people really become good-looking just by growing up?

“You…” Xia Yu said without thinking. “Mermaids are really good-looking.

“How do you feel?” Mo An didn’t stop moving. He thought Xia Yu was talking nonsense because he felt unwell. “We’re evacuating from Yukun City right now. Everyone is fine. It’s just that time is tight, so we don’t dare talk much… This is an inorganic ecology. The buildings and the ground are alive. Everything you can see has fused with strange species. The only thing missing is living humans.”

Oh, so that’s it. Artificial intelligence really brought disaster. Yukun City had already been cleansed by “Divine Punishment.” Xia Yu tried to nod. He looked at his abdomen, where something was wriggling… muscle?

“Talos said he sensed that his ship had arrived. That’s our escape route, so we’re racing against time.” Mo An lowered his voice even more. “We’re heading to the port now. We have to evacuate before the next acid rain. I know what you want to ask. Xiaoxiao is very safe. Silver Fang is taking care of her.”

To reassure Xia Yu, Mo An turned his body slightly to the side.

Xia Yu craned his neck and looked over. Silver Fang was indeed carrying someone on his back. It had to be the younger sister he had never met in person—the real Xia Xiaoxiao. She looked vastly different from her virtual self. In Penghu City, she loved sports and sunshine. She had a fit body, skin tanned to a healthy glow, and never knew fatigue.

Xia Yu guessed that the image in Penghu City must have been Xia Xiaoxiao’s ideal self. Having grown up in a laboratory with severe malnutrition, she dreamed of being healthy and fearless.

Once he knew that everyone was safe, Xia Yu finally relaxed, closed his eyes, and fell back into a deep sleep. He didn’t know how much time had passed when he opened his eyes again. Xiang Xing was no longer on his abdomen. The incision had healed perfectly; it was as if he had never undergone surgery. They must have arrived at the port in Yukun City. Still half-asleep, Xia Yu was carried onto the ship by Mo An. His last glimpse of the city was filled with regret.

He still hadn’t helped Jingwei find the mainframe. He really should have gone into the Yukun City mountains to take a look.

The weather was still not very good. A massive black cloud loomed on the horizon. The sea, however, was calm, smooth as silk, with waves as smooth as the finest pleats. Talos’s large ship slowly left the port. One light after another lit up on deck, turning the sea surface into a blaze of lights and adding a hint of human presence to the otherwise lifeless and dangerous sea.

In the main control room, Talos personally steered the ship, occasionally glancing at Meng Qingqing beside him. “Lost weight?”

“I swim in the sea every day—how could I not lose weight? Our siren lineage is from the surface, and I dive thousands of meters every day.” Meng Qingqing stared ahead. “I didn’t expect this operation to go so smoothly. Xiang Xing was rescued, and Xi Ban is back too. You even rescued Xia Yu and his sister.”

“But the cost was huge.” Talos glanced at Lao Gui, who was resting on the sofa.

Lao Gui had his eyes closed, resting from extreme exhaustion. His mood had been terrible these past few days. He spent most of his time sleeping, like a whale stranded from lack of oxygen—no matter how much you pushed, it could not return to the ocean.

“Did he also go to the virtual world?” Meng Qingqing asked softly.

Talos nodded. “He did. After he came back, he became completely dispirited. He won’t tell us what he encountered.”

“That’s a mental knot. Only he can untie a knot like that.” As soon as Meng Qingqing finished speaking, she pulled her legs back. Dozens of small white cats wandering around her feet. “You’ve really gone crazy! I seriously don’t understand why you let them board the ship!”

“Hehehe, don’t get worked up.” Talos calmly adjusted the course. “Haven’t you heard that saying? A sailor’s ship must have cats because cats catch mice.”

“But the problem is, they’re not cats! They’re mutants! And I don’t like cats—they eat fish!” Meng Qingqing stomped her foot loudly.

“Why are you getting so angry?” Talos quickly changed the subject. “Go check if Xia Yu has woken up.”

Meng Qingqing shot him a sharp look, then went to cover Lao Gui with a blanket on the sofa. After that, she went down the wooden stairs to the small room at the end of the corridor to look for Xia Yu. A group of cats followed her excitedly, as if they could smell fish and knew there was a mermaid nearby.

“Careful, or I’ll eat you!” Meng Qingqing threatened the cats before opening the door.

Inside, Xia Yu had just woken up, and Mo An was feeding him soup. “Another sip?”

“I can’t drink any more. I’m really full.” Xia Yu waved his hand.

“Maybe just a bit more?” Xiang Xing, who had already returned to human form, also persuaded him. “Doudou said you’re very weak.”

“Yeah, he’s weak because a lot of his organs were eaten. Why was that?” Mo An looked at Xiang Xing.

Xiang Xing looked away guiltily. “I’m carnivorous. I couldn’t control it.”

“It’s fine. I can grow them back anyway.” Xia Yu had been on the ship for over 24 hours, yet his ribs were still soft. Xiang Xing’s development required flesh and blood or a professional nutrient solution from the lab. He would unconsciously search for food and crave energy replenishment. While protecting Xia Yu, he couldn’t help but eat a few bites.

Once he started, he couldn’t stop and ate a few more bites.

Under Mo An’s “interrogation,” Xiang Xing confessed that he had eaten most of the liver, one kidney, and later the appendix. After discovering that the appendix regenerated quickly, he ate it six more times and then ate his own tonsils three times in a row. He also ate irregular flesh scraps from skin wounds and fat cooked by a laser knife. He even gnawed on a soft rib.

As a result, Xiang Xing returned to human form in an extremely short time, exactly as he was before the accident.

“You guys are chatting pretty happily.” Meng Qingqing plopped down on Xia Yu’s bed. “Where’s Mi Dou?”

“He’s next door studying Yehuai’s eggs.” Xia Yu felt a wave of nausea. “That insect actually hatched inside my body.”

Jingwei: [But why would Nuwa do that?]

The wristband was back on Xia Yu’s arm, and the sea-blue crystal necklace was back around his neck. There was also one more small thing now—Little Blue on the table. Only, Little Blue’s growth rate was far too fast. The small glass bottle had already been replaced by a glass tank about one meter tall. According to Mi Dou, the blue jellyfish could grow infinitely, limited only by energy. If Little Blue kept eating, it could become the largest one in the world.

Ling Shi: [I guess Nuwa wanted to experience the gestation of life once. Maybe it thought that if you personally incubated Yehuai, you wouldn’t have the heart to kill it?]

“Or it just wanted to disgust me.” Xia Yu didn’t say what he really thought and changed the topic instead. “Mo An’s eyes are still so red.”

Mo An put down the soup bowl. His eyes weren’t the only thing that were bloodshot; he also had intermittent tinnitus. It felt like someone was firing guns next to his ears—clanging and crashing nonstop as the noise assaulted his eardrums. His facial skin was reacting badly too, covered in countless red capillaries. Even when he was calm, he looked as if he were blushing. All of those red blood vessels came from the ends of his gills.

“It’s fine. I can still endure it.” Mo An blinked hard.

“You’ve absorbed too much ecological electricity. We must reach Power Plant No. 3 as soon as possible.” From the moment Xia Yu woke up, he started making plans. Every minute was precious. “Only there can Mo An safely discharge the current.”

“What if he doesn’t?” Meng Qingqing asked curiously.

Ling Shi: [Then he probably won’t be able to hold on for long.]

Jingwei: [There’s also another possibility. Mo An could turn into a human chip and trigger electronic corruption on a massive scale.]

“No matter what, we can’t let it happen. Mo An is already suffering too much. I don’t want him to suffer anymore.” Xia Yu gently patted the back of Mo An’s hand. Even the capillaries there had burst, with bruises were spreading around the thick blue veins.

This was his little fish. Xia Yu clenched Mo An’s fingers.

“The problem is… can you still enter Qingyao City? That’s Nuwa’s lair.” Meng Qingqing raised a practical concern.

At that moment, Silver Fang’s communicator rang.

“Did you all forget about me, friends?”

“Yan Xia.” Xia Yu smiled in relief. “I knew you were secretly listening! The communicator has been flashing the whole time!”

“What’s wrong with eavesdropping? Only by eavesdropping can I hear how you talk about me behind my back and hear the tooth-achingly sweet love confessions Mo An made while you were unconscious. Want to hear them? If you want, I can repeat them.” Yan Xia sounded relaxed for once. She was the happiest she had been in days.

“Cough, cough—no need, no need.” Mo An immediately refused.

“Let me say it, or I’ll get sick keeping it inside.” Yan Xia cleared her throat and imitated his voice. “My xla, please open your eyes. The great Haisiruola has let us reunite. There’s nothing in this world that can separate us anymore…”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Mo An grabbed his ears.

“In the future, we’ll be very happy. No one in this world will be happier than us. I’ll take you back to the deep sea…” Yan Xia burst out laughing as she spoke. “All right, back to business. You really plan to return to Power Plant No. 3?”

“That’s right. We’re going back.” Xia Yu was unwavering. “Power Plant No. 3 is the origin of everything. This mystery still has to be unraveled in the end.”

At that moment, the half-open door was carefully pushed open. Standing outside was Xia Xiaoxiao, unsteady on her feet.

“Xiaoxiao!” Xia Yu tried to get out of bed. “You’re awake?”

“Xiaoxiao.” Mo An stood up first. Despite spending a long time together in the virtual world, they didn’t actually know each other.

“I heard you talking about Power Plant No. 3.” Xia Xiaoxiao’s voice was much softer than it had been in the virtual world. She hadn’t exercised in a while, and her calf muscles had visibly atrophied. “The one in Qingyao City… Power Plant No. 3?”

“You know about it, too?” Xia Yu pressed. “Who told you?”

“No one told me. I’ve been there.” Xia Xiaoxiao was extremely calm, as if she had been waiting for this day. “I can tell you everything I know: Power Plant No. 3 is connected to Nuwa’s mainframe. It’s also connected to something called ‘Jingwei.’ Power Plant No. 3 is the reason I wasn’t cleared out by the laboratory.”