MASG chapter 17

 

Midou disagreed with his statement.

“What can you do?” His little round face wrinkled in worry. Midou was also worried about their next journey.

“Don’t worry. I’m the oldest of the three of us. I’ll think of a way to get nutritional supplements!” Xia Yu said easily, as if he had already come up with an idea. “Just take good care of Mo An. When he wakes up, sing to him and he’ll calm down.”

“I already know your ‘Little Jellyfish Song,'” Mi Dou said. He heard Xia Yu sing it every day. The simple lyrics weren’t hard to remember. Strangely, Mo An was always restless when he woke up, but this song seemed to calm him down.

After tidying up quickly, Xia Yu changed his clothes and returned to the surface, walking down the street again. He couldn’t tell what season it was. It must be spring, but there were hardly any flowers in the city—not even as many as at the research institute.

Where could he find nutritional injections?

“Nutrients, where are all the nutrient injections?” Xia Yu muttered to himself as he weaved through a crowd of people much taller than him. Some had incredibly advanced transportation, like hover bikes that could fly close to the ground, while others could only walk.

Based on his experience from the previous two times, Xia Yu’s first choice was to look for a roadside vending machine. But when he saw an intact vending machine by the road, he dismissed the idea. He couldn’t get anything by picking up scraps.

What about the old energy pharmacy? Xia Yu turned around and searched, following the route he remembered to find the store he had once “patronized.” This time, his hopes were dashed even faster. Before he could cross the street, he saw people lining up to buy things.

Life had returned to normal, and the stores were no longer shabby and waiting to be plundered. Now, everyone had to buy things on their own. Although Xia Yu was afraid of adults, he went over to see how they were doing it.

It was strange. It seemed like they weren’t paying at all. They just had their faces photographed by a device, and then they took their items. Could I just walk up to the line, get my face photographed, and get away with it?

Without any experience, Xia Yu blundered into the line. Each time someone in front of him started to move forward, he stepped back and let the person behind him pass. He knew stealing was wrong, but he had no other options. Ultimately, he had to bite the bullet and follow the line, hoping to trick them.

The last time he entered this shop, it wasn’t like this at all… Xia Yu glanced around quickly. Stealing anything wouldn’t work; the walls were covered in surveillance cameras. He had no choice but to follow the others’ lead. Just then, a woman in front of him came in to buy nutritional injections. She said to the clerk, nonchalantly, “Give me two.”

Xia Yu’s eyes widened as he watched the clerk pull an injection from the refrigerator.

It was the same one he’d given Mo An! A burning desire consumed Xia Yu. He desperately wanted the clerk to hand it to him.

“Please look here.” Instead of handing the injection directly to the woman, the clerk held up a tiny device. It looked as thin as a leaf, and Xia Yu saw a light flash on it.

“Sorry, but we only offer facial recognition payment at this time. We’re still working on other payment methods.” The clerk confirmed her payment before handing her the injection. The woman thanked him and left, completing the transaction smoothly.

Great! Now I’ve memorized all the steps! Xia Yu encouraged himself as the line moved forward and he took a step forward.

Soon, it was his turn.

“Hello, and welcome. It’s a pleasure to serve you. May I ask what you need?” the clerk asked with a smile.

“Two nutritional supplements,” replied Xia Yu, standing on tiptoe to appear taller.

“Nutritional supplements? Are you using them yourself or buying them for someone else?” This time, however, the clerk didn’t turn around to get the items for him. Instead, he simply handed him the scanner. When the overhead light shone in his eyes, Xia Yu stood perfectly straight and smiled at the device.

His smile was careful and ingratiating, hoping to deceive the machine.

But it was clearly a failure; the scanner didn’t recognize his information.

“You have no points and no money. I can’t even scan your personal information. Who are you?” The alert clerk grabbed Xia Yu’s neck. “You haven’t been classified yet?”

“I… I…” Xia Yu clutched the back of his neck in fear. “I’ve been classified. I’m a sixth-class citizen.”

“I can tell you’re a sixth-class citizen.” One of the clerk’s hands was robotic, indicating that he was a second-class citizen who could easily manipulate Xia Yu, a sixth-class citizen. “Genetically modified human. I can tell from your eyes.”

Xia Yu closed his eyes, bewildered. No one at the institute had ever said there was anything wrong with them. Professor Wang Qin had even praised his silver eyes, saying they resembled those of a fish from the seabed. He wanted to escape, and indeed, he had a chance.

The clerk released his hand. “Get lost! Stop trying to cheat people out of food and drink. If you don’t have money, go earn some.”

Xia Yu also wanted to escape the crowd. However, when he thought of Mo An’s condition, Xia Yu, who was already on the verge of giving up, decided to give it one more try, just in case this guy softened his heart.

“Please! I really want the nutritional supplements. I want one. Could you give me one? I’ll pay you back when I have money!”

A few seconds later, Xia Yu was thrown into the middle of the street and narrowly avoided an oncoming aircraft.

The scanner didn’t recognize him, and the shop clerk certainly wouldn’t give him one for free. Only then did Xia Yu truly understand what it meant to be “unable to take even a single step.[mfn]“寸步難行” — a Chinese idiom meaning to be unable to move an inch, describing a situation where someone is utterly stuck or unable to proceed due to obstacles.[/mfn]” It wasn’t just his predicament—it was also Mi Dou’s and Mo An’s. This showed that they couldn’t hide in the power plant forever. It might be safe, but there was no food or water.

Joining the parts team on the middle level was almost their only option.

Before taking this route, however, Xia Yu spotted a few cyborgs emerging from a store.

They were buying nutritional supplements and already holding them. Chatting and laughing, they left the street and headed towards their next destination. The chip implants hadn’t affected their lives, humans could no longer live without artificial intelligence.

But as they reached the entrance of the alley, they sensed something was different.

“Hello, could you share a nutrient? My friend needs it, and he’s dying.” Xia Yu followed them. If he weren’t so much smaller and weaker, he might have tried to snatch it.

“Aren’t you the one from the store?” One of them immediately recognized the child. “You don’t have the money to buy it, and we paid for it. Why should we give you one?”

“Please don’t say that. I’m trying to think of a solution.” Xia Yu racked his brains. Begging wasn’t going to work. The only way to exchange it seemed to be to offer tangible benefits. “Do you need human organs or limbs? I’ll give you some. If you don’t want them all, just give me the heart and lungs.”

“Hahahahaha…” The man laughed as if he had just heard something funny. “Why would I want to? I could easily buy better metal organs. Why use flesh and blood?”

“Yes, why use mine…” Xia Yu seemed to be repeating himself, but he was actually continuing to think. Since they didn’t need organs or limbs, he had to think of something else.

“Excuse me, would you like to see a transparent body? My body can become transparent, and each viewing costs a nutritional supplement.” Xia Yu suddenly had an idea—it seemed he had found a way to survive!

The others were about to turn and leave, but when they heard this, they all looked interested.

“Are you trying to trick us?” the youngest asked. “How can you become transparent unless you’ve completely replaced your skin?”

“I can do it!” Xia Yu happily unbuttoned his clothes and took off his dress.

At that moment, Mi Dou was at a complete loss. He had sung the Little Jellyfish Song countless times, yet Mo An showed no sign of settling down. As if by telepathy, Mo An woke up the moment Xia Yu left and refused to stay in bed. Mi Dou had wanted to tidy up the room, but eggs fell out every time he turned around. In the end, he could only stay with Mo An and sing to him.

“Pu-lu-pu-lu, I’m a little jellyfish. I come from the depths of the ocean. I can sink or float, pu-lu-pu-lu.” Mi Dou sang again.

Mo An still tried to get off the bed. What kind of singing was that? It was awful! Where’s Xia Yu? Where did he go?

Not seeing Xia Yu when he woke up was a major concern for Mo An and made him feel insecure. Although Mi Dou was kind, Mo An could tell the difference between the two. Even Mi Dou’s singing couldn’t comfort him.

Where is Xia Yu? Where did the silly little jellyfish go? Mo An swung his tail, ignoring the pain in his fin. He shouldn’t have left alone. At least he should have taken Mi Dou with him.

“Stop moving! I can hardly hold you.” It was only then that Mi Dou realized how docile Mo An was around Xia Yu. Even though he was just an “egg,” his power was already greater than his own. He pressed down on the egg, trying to calm Mo An, but the egg tossed him around like a trampoline, leaving him speechless.

Finally, Mi Dou was “thumped” by the egg. The egg didn’t roll him down; he rolled onto the floor.

It was at that moment that Xia Yu opened the door.

“I’m back!” Xia Yu trotted back in, panting as he entered the house. “I traded for… for nutrient injection!”

“My butt hurts.” Mi Dou rubbed his soft buttocks and stood up. Why did he only have pads on his hands and feet? Why not on his butt?

“How did you fall off the bed? Did you fall asleep and fall off accidentally?” Xia Yu had no idea how he ended up on the ground. After rubbing his butt, he climbed back onto the bed, rolled up his sleeves, and gave Mo An the injection.

Mi Dou wanted to say something, but after seeing that, he knew it was pointless. This little fish was two-faced—so noisy before, but now perfectly quiet as if he had just woken up from a nap.

He, he, he, so scheming! Mi Dou could only swallow his complaints.

“Hurry up and eat! Are you hungry?” Xia Yu had to be very careful during the injection because Mo An was much more active than before. He used to sleep through most of the injections, but now his arms and tail were moving.

Mo An blinked hard. Xia Yu had finally returned. But where had he been?

“Where did you go? How did you get the nutritional injections? Mi Dou asked. “Did you buy them? Oh, I see. Did you pick them up at the store?”

“No, the stores are different now than they were a few days ago. We don’t have money, so we can’t buy anything.” Xia Yu emptied the nutrient injection. He had many things on his mind, such as where to get an ID. He’d have to spend money on that later.

Mi Dou was even more confused. “Then how did you buy them?”

“Of course I have my own way! Don’t worry. I can always get the injections and supplements later!” Xia Yu laughed heartily. That day, he realized that the X series was still somewhat useful.

As he said he would, Xia Yu spent the next few days showing off his ability to turn transparent at will and trading it for a nutritional supplement. He practically sat down at the store entrance and waited.

The most common sight on the street was a cyborg. Xia Yu disliked parasites even more than metal. Once, he saw someone with bulging eyes that immediately reminded him of the Fungus Man and Leech Man he had seen before.

But the good times didn’t last. After two days without a nutritional supplement, Xia Yu figured this “business” was over.

Many people stopped watching after seeing it or simply weren’t interested. Some suggested going to his home to see it, but he didn’t dare go back with them. He was terribly anxious. Mo An hadn’t moved for two days. Deprived of nourishment, he fell into a deep sleep. No matter how Xia Yu sang, Mo An wouldn’t blink.

He wasn’t glowing or getting any heat.

“Xia Yu, what’s wrong with Mo An? What’s wrong with him?” Another day passed, and Mi Dou couldn’t help but ask.

“Maybe he’s tired.” Xia Yu didn’t dare confront the question directly or assume the worst. But a cold voice in his heart told him that Mo An might be starving to death.

The little fish he’d laboriously carried from the research institute and raised so hard now seemed hopeless. Mo An had been incubated there for so long, brought ashore as a miracle, only to die at Xia Yu’s hands.

Xia Yu’s eyes reddened. No, Mo An hadn’t seen the real ocean yet. As a merman, he had been kidnapped by humans since childhood. He deserved a good life: growing up safely and reuniting with his tribe.

“Midou, carry him on your back. Let’s go up together.” After wiping away his tears, Xia Yu said firmly, “I’m going to try again! I’m going to snatch one from someone!”