MASG chapter 21

 

Xia Yu was still in shock, but that smile made him feel momentarily dazed.

There was no mechanical rebellion, no rise of the parasite host, and no electronic corruption. This was just a normal day in their lives. He had a delicious breakfast of fresh krill and small fish that morning and then ran to the X-Series Observation Room to see Mo An hatch.

Mo An sat on the clean observation platform next to Professor Wang Qin. There was no blood or broken limbs, and his tail fin was intact. He smiled innocently at Xia Yu.

His dream shattered in an instant. Mo An’s damaged tail fin wrapped around his calf, serving as a constant reminder that this place was not safe. However, Mo An had already hatched, so tucking him back into the eggs to protect him was impossible. They had to find another way.

“Midou, quick! Get some clothes!” Xia Yu pointed at the white coat on the ground.

Professor Wang Qin’s bloodstained white coat came in handy once again. The fabric offered Mo An a last glimmer of hope as it felt like his true swaddling clothes. The coat had shattered into two pieces. Xia Yu, not caring for anything else, tied the torn pieces into a knot. With that, he barely managed to form a single cloth bag. Xia Yu turned to embrace Mo An, squatted down, and exerted force.

He couldn’t lift him. Mo An’s body was slippery, and his tail secreted a moist mucus that protected his delicate scales. Mo An, who wasn’t being held, rubbed his head with his sharp-nailed fingers, confused by the large bump.

A very obvious, red bump.

It had just been caused by Xia Yu carelessly bashing him with the iron rod.

Xia Yu was at a loss for words. “Come on, hold me, and let’s get out of here!”

“Hold… hold me?” Mo An had started learning the language, and suddenly, he understood everything. Xia Yu placed his plump, white arm on his shoulder. When he looked down, he was surprised to see that Mo An’s elbows were different from his own.

He clearly had fins on his elbows, although they hadn’t sprouted yet. He could see the spikes poised to break through his skin. So, mermaids are dangerous? Their whole bodies are weapons!

While he was lost in thought, Mo An embraced him and bit Xia Yu’s neck.

Blood gushed out instantly, and Xia Yu froze in fear. “Wait, wait! I’m not food. I’m not tasty…”

“Bleeding!” Mi Dou spun around in a panic. Who would have imagined that mermaids would eat humans after hatching?

However, Mo An didn’t dig any deeper. Instead, he loosened his jaws and carefully sucked Xia Yu’s blood. He didn’t understand what the little jellyfish was afraid of. This was how mermaids behaved after hatching—they had to remember the blood of those who hatched alongside them.

Then, they form the sea’s most steadfast alliance—brothers and sisters. They would grow up in groups, avoiding enemies, until they could hunt alone. But the ocean would always bind them together. No matter who shed blood, its scent would draw them close.

Now, there were no other members of his family around, only Xia Yu.

Xia Yu still didn’t dare move because he could sense the sharpness of Mo An’s teeth. Although he couldn’t feel the pain, he could feel the wound forming clearly. It was as if he were being cut by a scalpel—a gentle scrape of the tooth tip—and his skin would bleed automatically.

Mermaid teeth were so dangerous.

Only when Mo An began to suck did Xia Yu feel reassured, certain that he was only seeking a taste of his blood and not trying to eat him. Unconsciously, Mo An’s arms tightened around his neck like a tightening rope, impossible to break free from.

His silvery tail attempted to wrap around his legs, but its movements were clumsy.

“No, no, Mo An…” Xia Yu couldn’t let him act like this; otherwise, no one would be able to escape. “We need to leave here. Do you understand me?”

Mo An nodded, focused on completing the post-hatching bonding ritual. His language talent had activated the moment he became aware. He could understand and quickly imitate languages—an innate ability.

He’d heard adult mermaids in the hatching grounds say that mermaids could speak every language in the world as long as they heard it once. That’s why sailors from different seas would hear merfolk speaking their native tongue—to confuse humans.

“Okay. Then let me go now. I’m going to take you away. We’ll hug each other after we get home, okay?” Xia Yu said. The priority was to get him away.

“Home, then I’ll hug you again,” Mo An repeated. He released his arms. However, his tail didn’t let go. As if it had a mind of its own, it was still wrapped around Xia Yu’s leg.

“Come on, let’s untie it first.” Xia Yu carefully untangled the tail fin and examined the wound. The injured fin relaxed under his touch, and pale blue blood flowed into his palm.

Mi Dou squatted down to examine him, too. “His… tail is really injured. Those people did it! They’re so mean!”

“It must be them,” said Xia Yu, unable to think of any other possibility. “Let’s wrap him up and take him back.”

“Okay!” Mi Dou sincerely wanted to help. He had been with Mo An day and night during this time and had come to think of him as a close friend. He hadn’t expected to be bitten the moment his hand touched Mo An’s tail. Fortunately, he dodged quickly.

“Oh my god, he’s so fierce!” Mi Dou was still terrified. “His little teeth are so sharp. He’ll definitely bite my finger off.”

“Mo An, you can’t do that. Mi Dou is your companion.” Xia Yu had to teach Mo An a lesson. “You can’t bite just anyone.”

Mo An’s tail twitched, and he showed Xia Yu the injured part to prove his point, completely unaware that he was wrong. Xia Yu sighed. “Okay, since Mo An is injured, I’ll talk about teaching him a lesson in a few days.”

“Come here. I’ll hold you.” Xia Yu picked him up.

“Treasure.” Mo An’s plan had succeeded. He lay obediently in Xia Yu’s arms and was then placed inside his white coat.

Judging by his upper body, Xia Yu guessed that Mo An was no more than eight years old—definitely younger than him. But his tail was too long. It had been invisible when curled up inside the egg, but now that it was released, it couldn’t shrink back down. They could only wrap it up as best they could, turning Mo An into a child… whose lower body seemed to have undergone a transformation. Then, they slung him onto Xia Yu’s back once again.

He was much lighter than before; the eggs and amniotic fluid were gone. Xia Yu adjusted his posture. Just as he was about to leave the scene of the crime, he slapped his head again. “I almost forgot. Where are their nutrients?”

“Oh, right!” Mi Dou slapped his head as well. They needed it, they had to take it. The nutritional injection fell to the ground. Mi Dou ran over, picked it up, stuffed it in his pocket, and ran back. “Let’s go home!”

“Okay.” Xia Yu turned his head and looked at Mo An, who was squinting. “Let’s go home.”

Home? It was a rather unfamiliar word; Mo An didn’t quite understand it. His home wasn’t on land, so where was he going?

His gaze lingered on not only Xia Yu, but also Mi Dou. He had two pairs of ears: one similar to Xia Yu’s on either side of his head and one on top covered in brown hair. He wanted to take another look, but as Xia Yu carried him out of the building, the light instantly stung his eyes.

It was so bright! Mo An immediately wilted, burying his face in Xia Yu’s hair.

“Are you scared?” Xia Yu mistook his gesture for affection and chuckled. “Just a little fish fry, huh? Such a tiny thing. Don’t worry, we’re already… quite used to this.”

“We can get back with our eyes closed!” Mi Dou said.

Mo An bared his teeth at Mi Dou, then slumped over Xia Yu’s shoulder again. His tail kept trying to flick and curl around Xia Yu. He was curious about the outside world, but his eyes were too sore to see it.

Xia Yu ran very fast, paying no attention to the bumps. He had to get back to the power plant quickly and absolutely could not let anyone notice Mo An. After reaching the manhole cover, Mi Dou helped lift it, and Xia Yu descended, pausing with each step. Sweat drenched him before he knew it.

He returned to the sewers, heavy with worry. Once inside the underground structure, Mo An raised his head and looked around curiously.

So this was the sewer they had walked through! Now he could finally see it clearly!

The real world repelled and attracted him at the same time. He took in every detail with wide eyes, not wanting to miss anything. The dimmer the light, the clearer his vision. Even in complete darkness, his vision remained undimmed.

Mermaids have incredibly good vision because there is no natural light in the deep sea.

When they passed the huge gate, Xia Yu reminded him, “Mo An, remember—this waterway is acidic. You can’t swim in it.”

“I’ll remember that,” Mo An nodded, learning his language.

They returned to Power Plant No. 3 once again. The mingled smell of dust and acid was new to Mo An. After a few whiffs, he began sneezing profusely. Xia Yu carried him back to the basement where the nightlight flickered on and cast a soft glow on everyone.

It was only then that Xia Yu truly relaxed.

His first reaction to the shift from excessive nervousness to complete relaxation was to laugh. He hadn’t laughed like this since escaping the research institute, and joy crept into his brow. Had he actually raised Mo An to hatch?

Xia Yu placed Mo An on their only cot, unbuttoned his white coat, and stared at him. “You really hatched… Are you real? Are you really Mo An?”

Xia Yu was in complete disbelief and couldn’t help but touch Mo An here and there. Mo An’s body was much colder than his own, but his skin felt similar. Mi Dou approached curiously as well, but, remembering how he’d almost been bitten earlier, he didn’t dare reach out.

Mo An sat on the edge of the bed, letting them stare. If he were an average-sized boy, his feet would have reached the ground. Now, however, his fishtail not only dangled, but also stretched far out. He looked like the youngest of the three, yet he was the longest.

“His hands are so pointy,” Mi Dou whispered to Xia Yu.

“Yeah, I saw that. The way his fingers are woven together is different from ours.” Xia Yu had barely finished speaking when the little hand reached out to him. “Huh? Do you want us to see it?”

Mo An gently flicked his tail, his fin flaring vigorously.

“Hahaha, he’s so funny, wagging his tail like the puppies we raise at the mine!” Mi Dou chuckled, amused. It turns out that mermaids can communicate with humans. But just as he finished speaking, the beautiful tail rose from the ground in front of him and finally rested just in front of his nose.

“Hey, do you want to play games with me?” Mi Dou wiped away the tears of laughter.

The next second, the tail swung back and forth, slapping his face loudly.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh…” Mi Dou’s face trembled as if he had been slapped a dozen times. Fortunately, Mo An didn’t use much force, so it didn’t hurt.

Xia Yu was so frightened that he grabbed the tail. He didn’t dare let Mo An continue his mischief. The monster was much more dangerous than he’d imagined. But they should be safe for now. No one could enter the power plant to look for them…

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

A knock on the door interrupted their brief moment of happiness.