MASG chapter 164: Extra 4

◎ A pair of strong arms reached toward him, slid under his armpits to behind his back, and steadily lifted him up. ◎

 

There was not a single bit of light.

When nature took back the advantages it had gifted to humanity, the only thing left was cruelty. In the silence, the hand of death had already reached toward them. The international traffickers who had just been bargaining were overtaken in an instant. Vaguely, it felt as if they had become prey.

“Where’s the backup power?” they shouted at the white-haired man.

The white-haired man narrowed his eyes, trying to see everything clearly. He seemed to see a black shadow flash by. But when he pointed the gun in that direction, only a lonely shadow remained.

“Something’s wrong! There’s something in the sea!” He fired wildly toward the ocean, where the sound had come. The highly destructive laser gun blasted seawater into a spray more than ten meters high—like throwing a shell directly into the sea. The frightening water column splashed onto their faces and bodies, soaking them completely. The ship was no longer stable, either, swaying left and right.

He knew he shouldn’t fire. Even if the ship’s hull were welded to the water, it could not withstand such powerful water columns. But at that moment, he didn’t care. The ship was dark, the captain’s room was silent, and there was a horrifying giant creature in the sea. He truly wished the weapon in his hand were advanced enough to boil this entire area of the sea!

“What’s in the sea? What exactly is in there? Is it a mutant or a parasite host?” The foreign men were consumed by panic, as if they had stepped onto death’s sickle—only one second away from being harvested.

Even the most vicious criminals activate their survival instincts in the moment between life and death, and they were no exception. But the thick warm smell of blood gave them the final blow.

Not good—someone nearby was dead!

Someone near them had definitely been killed!

The feeling of approaching death swept through their bodies, striking them with terror and clutching their skin coldly as it drilled into their pores. The white-haired man pulled out his handgun and began firing wildly, not sparing any corner he could not see.

“Come out! If you’ve got guts, come out! What are you?” He wasn’t afraid of facing an enemy; he was afraid of facing something that wasn’t human.

At that moment, a round object rolled to his feet.

The white-haired man had had enough of being hunted like prey. He stomped on the object, grinding his teeth loudly. Using the light from the gun, he finally saw what was under his foot.

A human head! Its eyes were wide open, preserving the final expression before death!

A real human head, the bloody torn break proving that removing it had not involved any cold weapon, only pure tearing by external force. Some kind of creature had boarded their ship undetected, bypassed the surveillance and weapons, and gone to the captain’s room to slaughter everyone.

At that moment, the backup generator on the mechanical ship automatically started. The first equipment to turn on was the outside lights. Bright red entered their vision. Only minutes ago, the deck had been spotless; now, it was covered in blood, which had been dragged into one long trail.

The blood trail was like a snake. The traffickers immediately pressed back-to-back, pointing their weapons outward. Suddenly, they realized someone was missing!

The monster on the ship had already begun hunting, aiming to wipe them out. Despair surfaced on their pale faces, which twisted with fear. The white-haired man did not know what had been provoked, but it was definitely more than just a security force!

Bang!

A bloody corpse fell from above and smashed down right before their eyes. It was the accomplice who had just disappeared. His chest had been hollowed out; traces of beast-like tearing were visible everywhere. The wound on his neck was especially strange, as if he had been strangled by a peculiar rope that left net-shaped cuts.

Each wound was deep enough to show bone. Even the white vertebrae of his neck were visible. Whispering voices echoed in their ears, more elusive than nightmare hallucinations.

“Damn it! Damn it!” The white-haired man had never heard such whispering and couldn’t identify the language. Panicking, he forgot that the most dangerous place was often the safest. He grabbed his gun and fled the crowded deck toward the cabin door.

That panicked expression seemed to believe that as long as he left the blood-covered ship outside, he would be saved.

The flashing emergency lights marked his route. The dangerous presence came closer and closer; the door was his only escape path. Just when he reached it, something curled around his legs. His center of gravity failed, and he fell hard to the ground.

Listening carefully, he could even hear dozens of children crying inside the cabin.

The white-haired man raised his head and touched his ankle. Warm—blood. The wound on the ankle also showed a net pattern!

The sliding sound came again, but this time it did not spare him. It came directly before his eyes. The white-haired man’s vision finally focused. The monster in front of him was tall and strong, taller than two adults stacked on top of each other. The lower half of the monster had no legs, only a fully arched…fish tail. Its black scales flared layer by layer, leaving net-shaped wounds that sliced flesh piece by piece.

That was the last image he ever saw.

Crack—Xia Yu heard the breaking sound.

Little Nut had cried until he could no longer move. The tiny, sharp spines in Little Nut’s palm pricked Xia Yu’s skin, making it slightly itchy. Xia Yu patted his head and said, “Stop crying. I can already hear Mo An’s voice.”

But to Little Nut, there was no Mo An’s voice outside? There were only shrill screams and gunfire. This did not sound like a rescue at all; it sounded more like a one-sided slaughter. He also heard crying from other rooms. Children’s cries naturally gathered together, one cry answered by many.

Only Xia Yu’s heart was calm, like a pool of still lake water.

A few more minutes passed, and even the screams outside disappeared.

Xia Yu looked toward the cabin door and listened quietly for any movement. When the cabin door opened mechanically, Little Nut screamed wildly in fright in his arms. Xia Yu narrowed his eyes to see who had come and hesitantly asked, “Mo An? Is that you?”

A pair of strong arms reached toward him, slid under his armpits to behind his back, and steadily lifted him up.

Rapid breathing broke through the darkness and reached Xia Yu’s ears. His feet left the ground, and he quickly stretched out his hand and touched the his ear fin for reassurance. “I’m fine. Nothing happened to me. They didn’t hurt me. Calm down, calm down…”

Calm down. It was like a drop of cold water falling into Mo An’s burning heart, cooling him down. The functions of his lungs and heart, stronger than those of humans, finally showed signs of returning to normal. Mo An did not dare restore power to the ship. He was afraid that the children would see torn corpses and that Xia Yu would see the blood on his own body.

“Shh, calm down, calm down, it’s alright now.” Xia Yu was like a beast tamer, using patience and actions to tame the most dangerous rare species. Mo An’s skin burned hot, and his ear fins were as stiff as boards. When he touched him carefully, it revealed that he was covered in sticky liquid.

It was surely blood. Xia Yu wiped his face, repeating, “I’m fine. Not hurt at all. Mo An? Mo An? A Ni, I’m fine.”

The surroundings were filled with the smell of blood, and a violent killing intent covered the siren like fire burning at the bottom of the sea that could not be extinguished. Mo An’s breathing sounded as if a deep pool was hidden in his chest. Sweat from lingering fear slid down his long eyelashes and fell drop by drop into Xia Yu’s tiny palm.

Fear made him dizzy. He just kept holding on, holding on, holding on, using bodily contact to awaken reason. Mo An firmly told himself, Xia Yu was fine, he would never leave him again.

“I thought…” After a long while, the cruel monster sounded like a frightened little animal. Mo An pressed against Xia Yu’s cheek and said, aggrievedly, “I thought I came too late.”

Xia Yu poked his ear fin with his fingertips. Then, he rested both arms on Mo An’s shoulders and said with exhausted strength, “You weren’t late. You will never be late. I’m very sleepy. I want to sleep, A Ni.”

“Sleep.” Mo An patted his head. He had finally successfully rescued childhood Xia Yu.

Xia Yu probably slept for two to three hours during this nap. When he woke up, he was already on the guard team’s ship. Xia Xiaoxiao sat beside him, looking worried. “You finally woke up. How did you get kidnapped?”

“It was an accident.” Xia Yu sat up, his hair a mess. “Why did you come?”

“I was originally at the shooting range with Yan Xia. When I heard the news, I rushed over immediately.” Xia Xiaoxiao put the wristband back on her younger brother right away. “Nuwa is investigating. Human trafficking is a new type of crime. Those people were very professional. After they caught you, they threw the wristband into the sea. They thought it was just a tracking device.”

Nuwa: [It’s good that you’re fine, Xia Yu. This was my negligence.]

Jingwei: [I was in the sea calling heaven and heaven did not answer, calling earth and earth did not respond ah. Heaven, so scary! Screaming!]

“It’s okay. I wasn’t afraid at all. I knew Mo An and everyone would find me immediately.” Xia Yu touched the wristband and asked again, “Is everything solved?”

“All one hundred and two children have been rescued. Meng Qingqing found the wristband. Mo An originally followed our ship during the operation, but halfway through, he couldn’t endure it anymore and insisted on acting alone to rescue people. There were fifteen criminals on the ship. He lost control…” Xia Xiaoxiao hesitated and said, “Only one survivor remains.”

“I knew it. I can’t control him. Mo An has grown up.” Xia Yu didn’t want to blame his little fish. At that moment, the cabin door opened. Mo An had restored his human appearance and was wearing special combat clothing. He had tied his hair into a high ponytail and stood there peeking in.

“Come in quickly.” Xia Yu immediately waved him in.

Mo An first smiled awkwardly at Xia Xiaoxiao. He knew he had gone too far by leaving only one survivor, who was severely injured. However, with Xia Yu backing him up, Mo An was confident that he would not be scolded. At worst… Xia Yu would beat him twice.

Fortunately, Xia Yu was small, so hitting him would not hurt much.

“How do you feel? You won’t be angry with me, right?” Mo An entered the room with Little Nut. He had cried until his nose and eyes were red. He circled around them, looking left and right. Then he lay by Xia Yu’s ear and said, “I believe now!”

Xia Yu lowered his head and asked, “Believe what?”

“Believe that Uncle Mo An is a tall, mighty mermaid!” Little Nut gestured. “When I got off the ship, I saw it! Splash! This tall!”

“It’s Brother Mo An.” Mo An reminded him.

“Oh… Brother Mo An.” Little Nut looked at them with admiration. “When I grow up, can I also become this tall?”

“Not necessarily. If you can pass the devil training, maybe you can approach my height.” Mo An said seriously. “Wait ten years, and we’ll talk again.”

“Okay, then. In ten years, Xia Yu and I will both be grown up and the same height!” Little Nut still didn’t know Xia Yu’s situation, but he imagined a future where the two would grow up together. Xia Yu held Mo An’s big hand. He knew he only needed a little over a year to recover. By then, he would probably scare Little Nut so much that he would turn around and run away.

In a year, Xia Yu also wanted to see what Xiaoxiao would look like as an adult.

 

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[Author’s Note]

The extra chapter everyone wanted about Mo An raising little Xia Yu is done! Starting tomorrow, Xia Yu will grow up!

Mo An: Hehe.

Little Nut: Not hehe.