MASG chapter 175: Extra 15

◎ Something smooth also rushed into his arms. ◎

It was summer again.

“Do you feel like this summer is hotter than usual?” Talos sat beneath the lighthouse, looking at his boat that was “covered” in cats.

“Xiaoxiao said the north is even hotter this year.” Xia Yu turned off the communicator, ending his video call with Xia Xiaoxiao.

Another six months had passed since Talos awakened, and Qingyao City by the sea had entered summer. During these six months, many changes had taken place among their companions. The biggest change was probably that Xi Ban had gone back to the habitat with A’Dairi. He had stayed on land for too long, suppressing the instincts of his double tail all this time, but in his heart, he had never been able to let go of those little fish. He was not like Mo An, who had come ashore from the moment he was born. The ocean had always been the greatest influence on him.

On the day he left, Xi Ban said on the beach at Port A that he would come back in a year. Xia Yu said there was no need to rush. He should stay in the habitat for a few more years—there were countless fish eggs waiting for him there. When he and A’Dairi left the harbor, it was just at sunset. The rosy clouds cast a pale pink glow over his pearl-white fish tail.

Double-tailed mermaids swam slowly. To return to that distant hatching ground would probably take half a year, unless they happened to encounter a Abyssal Beast.

The second major change was that Xia Xiaoxiao had gone to another city, the northernmost one.

Industry there was not very developed, and its technological lagged decades behind Qingyao City. More importantly, it was Silver Fang’s hometown. This time, Silver Fang went back with her as well. As specially assigned personnel, they were going to completely change the fate of that city.

Lao Gui joined the virtual world research project. As a volunteer, he traveled back and forth into the virtual world many times, providing valuable data for Nuwa and Jingwei. There was someone in the virtual world he could not let go of. Lao Gui had said that even if that Wang Ming was fake, he was willing to treat him as real. Not everyone in this world had the courage to let go. Since he could not let go, then he would not let go.

Finally, Mi Dou went with Boden to the eastern country as a researcher. That country was about as developed as Qingyao City, but its customs and way of life were completely different. On the very first day Mi Dou arrived, he could not adjust to the local conditions and suffered from vomiting and diarrhea. Even so, he stubbornly refused to back down and insisted on seeing Boden’s research results.

After counting the days, in another half month, Doudou would be back. Xia Yu was calculating the date when a glass of red fruit wine was placed in front of him.

“Try this.” Jennifer carried her own glass, walked around Talos, and stopped in front of Xia Yu.

“Thank you, Ms. Jennifer.” Xia Yu smiled as he picked up the glass. After taking one sip, his face immediately turned bitter. My heavens, this tastes awful. For a wine to taste this bad was really no easy feat.

“It seems my winemaking skills still need improvement.” Jennifer sighed briskly, the captain’s hat on her head nearly blown away by the sea breeze.

The moment Talos awakened, Jennifer awakened as well. Only later did Xia Yu learn that even if they had not conducted the energy conversion experiment, they would have awakened in a few more years. As long as the energy of the Earth’s core remained, they would not die. During the previous decade or so, Ling Shi had continuously tried to break through the protective layer of Power Plant No. 3, which was why Jennifer had been unable to awaken—her own energy had been constantly consumed.

But the most miraculous thing was not that. Once gargoyles entered petrification, they would enter a collective dream, or perhaps not a dream at all, but another parallel spiritual world. So during the time Talos was petrified, he had always been with his mother.

“Sigh, life has become too dull.” Talos stretched lazily at that moment. “How about we go take a trip to the Black Sea?”

Jennifer smacked him with her hat. “Haven’t you had enough fun yet? You’re not allowed to go to sea this month. Can’t you learn a thing or two from Xia Yu?”

“Xia Yu is also very afraid of things becoming too dull. If you don’t believe me, ask him carefully.” Talos was dissatisfied. Only Jennifer could keep him in check. “Sigh, I really want to fight Leviathan. Leviathan doesn’t come ashore anymore either.”

“I heard from Meng Qingqing that Leviathan is hiding from the snake woman. Even though they won’t die in battle, it’s still not good to fight all the time.” Xia Yu quietly poured the wine into the sea. Although he also felt that life had become a bit dull lately, dullness meant peace. For the entire Earth, peace was the most precious thing. It would be best if there were never any disturbances.

But just as he finished thinking that, his wristband and Talos’s wristband rang at the same time.

Jingwei: [We need your help. Are you at Port A?]

Talos immediately perked up when he heard that. “Help, help, help! What is it!”

Xia Yu had already stood up in advance, and at the same time felt very fortunate that he had not drunk that glass of wine. He did not want to go to work with a buzz. “Just send us the coordinates. What happened?”

Jingwei: [My maritime drone tracked a suspicious passenger ship. They are using their own signal network, which Nuwa has already cut off. I need some people to board and see what’s going on, and whether there is a hostage situation. The coordinates are not far from you.]

“Okay.” Xia Yu was naturally willing to go. “Where’s Mo An? If he’s far away, there’s no need to notify him. I’ll be back soon.”

Jingwei: [He was the first person I notified. His aircraft is already on the way. You should see him within three minutes. I wouldn’t dare make the decision to send you to work on my own. He’s too hard to soothe when his separation anxiety acts up.]

Xia Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry. “Don’t say that about him. He’s been taking his medication regularly and has improved a lot.”

Jingwei: [It’s because you indulge him like this that he keeps getting more and more unruly. Sometimes I think Mo An is pretending. His separation anxiety may have been cured long ago.]

Just as Jingwei finished speaking, a silver aircraft landed on the helipad at Port A. Mo An had arrived, carrying a faint fragrance with him.

“I’m here! Let’s go!” Mo An jumped down in one stride.

Xia Yu was already used to it. Meng Qingqing and Xi Ban had both said that Mo An was not doing it on purpose; it was simply a natural phenomenon. Xia Yu believed that as well. He only had Mo An get injections regularly because he was afraid that Mo An would suffer too much when his separation anxiety flared up. Since that they had an important mission, they did not chat much. Talos’s large ship drifted on its own to the outside of the lighthouse pier and lowered a soft rope ladder.

The water here was only five or six meters deep, but the giant ship’s draft line still remained steady on the water’s surface. Clearly, the ship was swimming by itself.

But for some reason, every time Xia Yu saw this scene, he thought of a duck paddling desperately in a small river. He really wanted to see whether there were little feet underneath the ship.

However, when the ship traveled at full speed, Xia Yu felt that it was not a little duck, but a swordfish. It was too fast, as if it were piercing through the waves. If they were not already used to it, they would definitely have been dizzy out of their minds. This time Jennifer joined the operation as well. She was even crazier than Talos, gripping the railing at the bow with one hand while leaning her entire body outward.

Well, the mother and son were exactly alike.

Two hours later, Talos’s ship located the target: a pitch-black mechanical ship.

Jingwei had already intercepted it for them. Dozens of maritime drones had been deployed, surrounding the vessel from every angle without any blind spots. The drones’ jammers cut off the ship’s signals. Now this ship could no longer contact the outside world and had become an isolated island.

“Woohoo!” Talos shouted excitedly. “We’re here! Get ready to board, babies!”

At his command, dozens of white kittens leaped into the sea without hesitation, splashing up faint sprays of water. After entering the water, they dove beneath the surface and moved toward the target. They no longer looked like cats when they swam, but more like otters. Upon reaching the outer hull of the black mechanical ship, the white kittens extended hook-like claws. Their claw tips embedded into the metal surface, and they boarded the ship ahead of the others.

Once aboard, they became the most useful little monsters. They first scattered in all directions, then slipped through every hatch they could find.

Following the kittens were more than a dozen drones. As cover, they were not equipped with powerful weapons, only ordinary guns. Only after all this was completed did Xia Yu board the ship. The moment he stepped onto the deck, he looked at Mo An. “You okay?”

Mo An had been waiting as well, his whole body giving off fragrance as he said, “I’m fine.”

That meant there was no major danger on this trip. If there were major danger, Mo An’s precognitive ability would appear. The group took out their weapons. Xia Yu and Mo An were equipped with mid-level laser guns, Talos still used his cold-forged revolver, and Jennifer’s weapon was actually a fencing sword.

“Drone report,” Xia Yu said to his wristband.

Jingwei: [No signs of life on the first and second levels. Everyone is on the third level. It seems they knew someone would board and transferred in advance. Xia Yu, be careful.]

“No problem.” Xia Yu turned back to his companions and said, “Let’s go to the third level.”

The third level was still primarily mechanical, and there were actually mechanical guards. These guards were similar to the ones in the middle level, but because the people on the ship had an independent signal network, they had altered the guards’ chips without authorization. If Xia Yu had rushed up alone, these guards would have immediately identified him as an “enemy” and opened fire.

But under the drones’ interference, they entered shutdown mode and lay collapsed on the floor one by one, looking even a little pitiful.

Mo An shook his head and said, “We should transport them all back later. I can’t believe these people managed to steal guards.”

“They may have stolen them from other cities.” Jennifer used her fencing sword to lift one of them. “How pitiful.”

The drones and white kittens stopped in front of a large door. Clearly, something would happen the moment this door was opened. Jennifer walked to the very front of the group and said, “Everyone, stand back. Leave it to me.”

Talos was the first to step back. “We’re leaving it to you.”

“Tch.” Jennifer flicked her hair and faced forward. Using the intercepted signal, the drones’ signal gun opened the hatch door. After a hiss of released air, dense firepower greeted them head-on.

It was like a net of fire. The barrage was so intense that it stirred up a wave of hot wind, as if even the oxygen molecules had been ignited. A constant stream of curses and shouted commands pierced through the gunfire and reached their ears. The people inside were yelling themselves hoarse, trying to kill everyone outside.

Jennifer’s fencing sword struck the ground with a crisp sound, and a pink semicircular barrier spread out in front of them. Taking advantage of this opening, Xia Yu and Mo An carried out precise suppressive fire. Originally, they had wanted to keep these people alive for questioning, but now it seemed there was no need to show mercy.

The drones continued providing support, firing additional shots for them. Half a minute later, the entire third level fell silent, leaving only the smoking gun barrels.

“All done.” Mo An was the first to put away his gun. “Too boring. I was hoping for a big fight. How did we kill them all so quickly?”

“They definitely weren’t doing anything good. Otherwise, why would they try so hard to kill us?” Xia Yu did not step out from Jennifer’s barrier immediately. Only after the white kittens inspected the area and confirmed that there were no survivors did he pat Jennifer on the shoulder. The pink barrier gradually weakened until it disappeared. The group continued exploring, stepping through the bloodstains as they contacted Nuwa.

“Nuwa, a lot of people are dead here. It looks like this was a major criminal operation,” Xia Yu said.

Nuwa: [The forensic team has already been dispatched.]

“Okay, we’ll wait for you,” Xia Yu said with a nod. The forensic team had the most advanced equipment and would be able to analyze what these people had been up to. But when Xia Yu walked into the room next door, the other three all heard his cry of surprise.

“Mo An! Mo An!”

It was Xia Yu’s voice! Mo An ran toward the source, stepping through the slick blood, his fingers instinctively resting on his weapon, unsure of what had happened. When he rushed in, the first thing he saw was a room full of aquariums.

Inside the aquariums were all kinds of mutant species. Some were barely alive, while others had long since died and were already rotting.

These people were trafficking aquatic mutant species! Mo An turned his gaze toward Xia Yu and saw that Xia Yu was pressing both hands against the largest aquarium, whose glass was already cracked.

“Help me, quick! It’s going to break!” Xia Yu tried to use his own strength to protect the mutant species inside. It was too dark around him, and he could not tell what kind of creature it was. However, all of his efforts were only a drop in the bucket. Accompanied by a sharp cracking sound, shattered glass and stagnant seawater came pouring over him all at once, carrying a fishy stench.

Xia Yu was knocked over and fell directly to the floor.

Something smooth also rushed into his arms.

It was large, very large—his two arms could barely wrap around it. If Xia Yu had not had the experiences of his childhood, he would never have known what it was. But he had, so the moment he touched it, he understood exactly what it was.

Under the dim light, a huge fish egg had fallen into his arms.

“Quick! Mo An! We can’t let him come out!” Xia Yu not only recognized it as a mermaid egg, but could also tell that the mermaid baby inside was struggling in fear. Unfortunately, he was one step too late. It was already too late. A crack appeared on the egg right before his eyes, and with a splash, the amniotic fluid inside drenched him from head to toe.

“Xia Yu, are you okay? I’m here!” Mo An ran to Xia Yu and froze the moment he stopped, staring blankly at the floor.

A baby mermaid was hatching. One hand had already pushed through the inner egg membrane and was tightly clutching Xia Yu’s finger.

Why did this scene feel so familiar? Mo An caught the bloody scent of amniotic fluid.

“Help me, quick! This fish is about to come out! We have to stuff this little fish back in!” Xia Yu looked up at Mo An. If they stuffed it back in, they could still send the egg back to the hatching ground. But once the hatching was completed…

Rip.

The egg membrane tore wider, and a little mermaid successfully hatched in Xia Yu’s arms, slipping out smoothly.

He had a pearl-colored fish tail. His caudal fin, not yet fully separated, was half spread and carried a pale purple sheen. He lay on Xia Yu’s chest, breathing weakly as he took his first breath with lungs after coming ashore.

 

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Author’s Note:

Mo An: Good grief, he was born right in my wife’s arms…