MASG chapter 19

 

The giant fish eggs collapsed at a visible speed. Everyone watched in amazement as a merman slid out of one of the eggs. It was like a cracked egg, its yolk leaking out. It was clear that the merman was very small—a child.

A little boy.

His silvery tail was much longer than his upper body. His enormous, translucent tail fin fanned out, smeared with clear mucus and pale blue blood. Transparent fish bones lined either side of the fin, crisscrossed with countless pale blue blood vessels. A pale blue umbilical cord hung from his belly button, but it was broken in half and bleeding.

Silver-white scales covered not only his tail, but also his waist and elbows. His ears, unlike a human’s, were striking, as if they had wings. His silvery hair had grown long and extended past his shoulder blades.

Suddenly, he coughed up a mouthful of water and began breathing heavily with his eyes still closed. Just as quickly as it started, his coughing stopped. He blinked rapidly, and, aided by the slime, his body slid toward the pool.

Splash!

In an instant, the little merman who had just been before their eyes vanished, sliding into the vast cooling pool of the garbage factory. As he slid in, he carried the fish eggs, which had just been spread out on the shore, with him into the water. They sank, leaving no trace of foam.

Only the transparent slime remained on the ground. Without the slime, the entire process would have been too bizarre and unbelievable. Mi Dou and Xia Yu were not just stunned but horrified.

Especially Xia Yu. What happened to Mo An? Did the fish eggs burst prematurely?

If so, Mo An would have been exposed to oxygen beforehand. Had he died instantly? Xia Yu felt a chill run down his spine. His eyes were wide open as he looked desperately at the water, hoping that Mo An would surface.

But his hopes were dashed. The water remained silent, cold and still.

“What was that just now?” One of the men holding Xia Yu down finally asked.

“Fuck! It’s a live merman!” the shortest man exclaimed, releasing Xia Yu’s arm. “I thought I’d caught a jellyfish, but he brought back an even bigger one! We’ve got a monster!”

“And it’s just a little brat. Catching it is a piece of cake!” Another man released Xia Yu. After weighing the pros and cons, they simultaneously abandoned the flawed jellyfish and rushed toward the real monster.

“Don’t catch him! You can’t catch him!” But Xia Yu sprang to his feet and grabbed a man’s leg. He was determined to stop them, even if he had to be dragged along.

“Get out! I’ll deal with you later!” However, Xia Yu’s weight was no match for the adults, and one of them easily kicked him away. Xia Yu rolled twice before stopping. He tried to stand up and continue holding onto their legs, but the men had already run to the edge of the pool.

The frenzy in their eyes frightened Xia Yu and Mi Dou, and the memory remained etched in Xia Yu’s mind.

The previously silent water finally began to stir. First, a single, barely noticeable bubble rose and burst. The ripples it created were negligible, and the surface instantly returned to calm. But then another bubble emerged and burst, and the surface never returned to calm again.

A flood of bubbles surged forth as if a spring were hidden beneath the surface. Pale blue blood also gushed out, staining the surface blue and clearly indicating a “hemorrhage” beneath.

“Quick! Let’s get this brat out now! With this, we’ll be safe when the day comes!” The shortest man leaped into the water, sending up a massive splash. The others followed suit without hesitation.

Xia Yu struggled to his feet and rushed toward the pool’s edge. Mo An was down there—those men were going to capture him!

“What are you doing?” Mi Dou grabbed him.

“I’m going down there to save Mo An. He just hatched. He’ll die!” Xia Yu started to jump again, but Mi Dou stopped him. Instead of arguing, Mi Dou picked up an iron rod and shoved it into Xia Yu’s hands.

“You’re stupid! They must be fish-like creatures. They’re amazing swimmers! You won’t be able to defeat them if you go down there!” Mi Dou picked up another rod. “Let’s wait for them to pull Mo An out. Then, we’ll deliver a killing blow from the shore!”

A killing blow? Could he? Xia Yu hesitated. He had no experience with real combat tactics.

“Trust me, I’m incredibly strong!” Mi Dou, however, was full of confidence. “As long as I have a chance to hit them in the head!”

“Okay, okay…” Xia Yu could only agree to this plan, feeling helpless. Although he was a good swimmer, he couldn’t beat those fishmen. They were fishmen, and Mo An was a merman. If Mo An was still alive, he had to swim away—he could not get caught!

In the icy pool, the fishman certainly wouldn’t find the newly hatched merman..

The water was clear with excellent visibility. At nearly 30 meters deep, they easily reached the bottom. For an average person, being at this depth would undoubtedly be extremely uncomfortable. Not to mention, the pressure of the water alone would be enough to cause panic before they could even consider holding their breath for such a long time.

However, they felt no unusual sensations as they walked on the flat ground. They could hold their breath for tens of minutes—long enough to catch their prey underwater. Although fishmen and mermen sound similar, they’re actually quite different.

They simply inherited some fish DNA. Thanks to their biological characteristics, they swim better than ordinary humans, possess greater strength underwater than on land, and have sharper vision underwater. Water is their primary battlefield, and ordinary humans can’t compete with them there.

However, mermans are a unique species that possesses a natural advantage: the ability to breathe underwater.

Thus, fishmen lack gill slits and organs to filter oxygen from the water.

So, where did the half-dead baby fish go? The leading Fishman surveyed the area and deduced that the Merman had fled in the opposite direction. He nodded, signaling for everyone to follow him.

They could catch up without seeing him because they could smell the blood in the water. The merman’s umbilical cord was still attached, and dragging such a large egg membrane would not allow him to swim far. The water’s surface rippled again, and they looked toward the other side of the concave shape. Some swam in the middle while others clung to the sides and cast a net from every angle.

The water was completely still, as if nothing existed.

The group suddenly turned a corner. They knew that some large fish stunned their prey with impact. But this time, they were the hunters—and the baby fish was the prey.

They were approaching the next bend, and the merman had nowhere left to run or hide. From various depths, they turned together, leaving no blind spots. Cold water wrapped around their bodies, flowing over the scales on their throats. Bubbles escaped from their nostrils, but their speed and oxygen weren’t affected—they swam like fish to the final hiding place.

A dead end loomed before them, and strangely, there were no mermen in sight!

What was going on? The shortest man looked down. Since they were hunting, they were swimming at different heights. The two men below him shook their heads too. Despite their superb vision, they hadn’t noticed anything either. He raised his head again and looked up at his companions.

They shook their heads again.

How could a few Fishmen lose such a tiny fish in such a limited space? It was almost impossible!

What was going on? Could the fish hatchling have made it ashore without being noticed? He immediately dismissed the thought. The merman looked like he had just hatched, and he still had a fishtail. Walking on land wouldn’t be easy for a fish, so it was better to stay in the water.

Could it be hiding beneath the pool? He scanned the bottom again but only saw the dark gray surface.

The cooling pool was a simple structure made of plain cement with no tiles. At first glance, it appeared to be a single, flat surface with no unnecessary patterns. This made it easier to spot movement.

But that damn merman hatchling had vanished! He had vanished right before their eyes! Not only the merman, but also the massive egg membrane. Where was the egg?

There was no way it could be anywhere but the pool. Lost in thought, the man suddenly noticed something drifting from the corner of the pool. He stretched his legs and darted toward the strange object, snatching it up in an instant.

When he grasped it, he barely recognized it. It was soft and cold, like a pale blue intestine.

Could it be a merman’s intestine? The man brought the strange organ closer, unsure of where it belonged in the human body. But, as his gaze drifted downward and he caught sight of the intestine’s end, a foreboding feeling struck him.

It looked as if it had been gnawed off, with traces of fangs tearing through it.

It wasn’t a merman’s intestine after all, but an umbilical cord!

After entering the water, the fish fry had bitten off the umbilical cord and eaten half of it. No wonder he couldn’t find the giant egg membrane; in just half a minute, the fry had devoured the eggs. They were no longer facing a weak, newly hatched merman but a ferocious… well-fed merman.

Light blue blood streamed from the end of the umbilical cord, assaulting their taste buds with its bloody smell. A tiny merman gradually emerged from the wall directly in front of them.

His upper body resembled that of a six-year-old child, but his enormous tail was more than twice as long as his torso. The silvery scales had only now revealed their true color. Supported by bones, the asymmetrical tail fin had a tear on the left side.

He was like a mural that had come to life, transforming from a flat surface into a three-dimensional form and surprising everyone.

A stream of bubbles erupted from the corners of his mouth. Panicking and fearful, he called out for help underwater. This merman was more dangerous than they had imagined! He was a freak! Monsters!

He used camouflage to hide himself! His skin and scales had just turned dark gray, making him invisible! He was actually hiding right under their noses, lurking and preparing to attack his prey!