MASG chapter 22

 

Mi Dou stopped laughing. Mo An stopped swishing his tail. Xia Yu was the first to stand up straight.

As the oldest, he had to protect his companions no matter what. What he feared was sure to come true. Why was there a knock on the door?

This wasn’t just any safe house—it was inside Power Plant No. 3! Even putting aside the acid, no one could open that door alone unless they had a wristband. Xia Yu stared at the door as if he had seen a ghost, pondering his escape route.

Escaping the fungus-infested people was possible because there were ventilation ducts. However, the safe house they were in had no back door, and the other three sides were completely walled. This left Mi Dou and Mo An with no escape route.

“Hold still. I’m going to see what’s outside,” Xia Yu said, turning around. A wave of curiosity washed over him. Who could it be? Could it be the fishman companions from earlier? Were they following him back? But that didn’t make sense. As he passed the massive door, he glanced back just in case. No one was behind him.

Who else could have knocked? Just as he was feeling uneasy and hesitant, the person outside banged on the door twice more, sounding impatient.

“Open the door! If you don’t, I’ll be rude. You’re living in my place, and you have the nerve to lock it?”

His place? Xia Yu and Mi Dou both recognized the deep voice of a man. The next moment, having exhausted all their patience, the person outside kicked the door open with all their might.

The sound startled Mo An this time. He had been sitting on the edge of the bed, but suddenly stood up.

Seeing him stand up made Xia Yu’s heart skip a beat; his little head was filled with too much information to process. Mo An’s hatching and ability to stand had both dealt Xia Yu a heavy blow. Mo An was even taller than him when he stood up.

His tail, which was far longer than a man his age’s legs, reflected light from its scales. It appeared powerful and robust; even a small mermaid’s tail possessed boundless strength. It curved slightly, making Mo An’s pelvic fins more visible.

The fins were devoid of scales, and transparent bones could be seen at their bases. However, the bones did not extend outward; overall, the pelvic fins were soft with a texture like silk ribbon. This stance didn’t last long, though. Within two or three seconds, Mo An slumped back down, clearly unable to support himself with his tail.

Bang! Another kick from outside blasted the small door open!

Xia Yu immediately stretched out his arms to block them but dared not look straight ahead. From the corner of his eye, he saw a tall man wearing a strange hat walk in. As he approached, Xia Yu could smell the salty ocean breeze.

The scent of the ocean!

“Mermaid? She was right!” The man walked straight toward them. His height made him look like a towering monster compared to the three tiny creatures.

“Who… are you?” Xia Yu finally looked over. The man was probably in his thirties with short stubble. His clothes were strange, too: a black shirt underneath and a leather jacket on top. Beneath that, he wore leather pants and boots with a knife attached to one of them.

A weapon! Xia Yu’s eyes lit up. It was a real weapon, far more powerful than the small piece of metal in his hand.

“Who am I? You’re living in my place and have the nerve to ask me who I am? I should have kicked you all out or thrown you into the sea.” The man threw the things from his waist onto the bed. “Wow, you ate all my food?”

“Yes, I ate it all by myself!” Xia Yu clenched his fists and took a brave step forward. “How much… I’ll have money later and pay you back.”

“You ate it? Who are you kidding?” The man took two or three steps toward Xia Yu, pinched his chin, and tilted his face upward.

The overhead light hit Xia Yu’s face, revealing no features.

“What are you?” the man wondered. “Your eyes remind me of a fish. What the hell is in your genes?”

“A jellyfish? Not a fish, a jellyfish,” Xia Yu replied timidly. He wanted to take a step back, but the man held him tight with his strong hand. He didn’t recognize the man in front of him. It was strange that this man had no reaction to the mermaid, yet he rushed toward Xia Yu.

Those fishmen had screamed and yelled when they saw the mermaid, but this man seemed accustomed to it. He’d seen mermaids before.

“Jellyfish? There are many kinds of jellyfish. This is the first I’ve heard of humans and jellyfish merging.” The man pried open Xia Yu’s mouth and examined his teeth. “Your teeth are human-like, and you only have eyes?”

“Huh? Oh, um!” He questioned his own abilities, but Xia Yu, having learned his lesson, refused to answer. “My eyes are the only difference. Who are you? What’s your name? I’m Xia Yu. My friend is Mi Dou, and his name is Mo An. Please don’t hurt us. We’re still young. It’d be easy to kill us, but please don’t.

“I’m too lazy to kill children.” The man let go. He pulled a black pipe from his pocket and lit a cigarette. “My name is Talos, and this is my place.”

“That’s impossible,” Mi Dou finally said. “Uncle, how did you get in?”

“I haven’t even asked you how you got in yet.” Talos took a few sloppy puffs; his scruffy clothes contrasted sharply with his exquisite pipe. “You’re smart to have found your way in here. Otherwise, you guys would have been found long ago.”

Xia Yu stared intently at the weapon on Talos’s boot. “Found? Who would look for us?”

“Not you, but him.” Talos looked at Mo An.

Mo An looked back, and their eyes met in a moment of silence. Mo An found the voice and appearance unfamiliar, but he could also sense that Talos wasn’t afraid of him, unlike the fishman.

The fishmen’s ferocity was mixed with fear. Mermaids are sensitive to emotions and instantly noticed it. It was strange that he didn’t even feel Talos was curious about him.

“What do you want with him?” Midou wondered, as if Talos knew something.

Talos pulled a small bottle of wine from the inside pocket of his leather jacket, took two gulps, and walked over to Mo An. Mo An instinctively raised his tail, intending to handle this man as he had Midou. However, the moment he swung his tail fin, the man grasped it.

This was embarrassing for the newly hatched Mo An, especially in front of the little jellyfish. So he turned and bit Talos’s wrist.

To his surprise, Talos thrust the bottle back at him.

With one gulp, two rows of deep teeth marks appeared on the flat metal bottle.

“Do you mermaids have any other tricks? Besides slapping and biting?” Talos said helplessly. He grabbed Mo An’s chin. Mo An remained motionless. Even as a child, he had learned to keep a low profile. His strength and reflexes were no match for Talos’, so he decided not to engage in a futile struggle.

“Don’t play tricks on me. I know what you’re thinking. You’re just biding your time. The moment you have a chance to strike back, you’ll tear me to pieces, right?” Talos saw through it all, though, his light brown eyes gleaming with intense interest. “Your teeth haven’t fully grown in yet. If you were a mermaid, you would have chewed up the bottle with that bite just now.”

“I ate it,” Mo An echoed.

“Yes, you can eat it all.” Talos released his jaw and studied his eyes for a few seconds. “Where are your tear membranes?”

Xia Yu watched him examine Mo An over and over again, feeling uneasy. “What are tear membranes? Do you know much about mermaids? How should I raise him?”

“You? Want to raise a mermaid? Honestly, mermaids can only grow up in the sea. You can’t raise one to adulthood.” Talos was shocked by the child’s courage and helpless against his ignorance. “He doesn’t even have tear membranes. Do you know what that means?”

Mi Dou and Xia Yu shook their heads.

“It means he hatched before his eyes were fully developed. He’s a premature fish, estimated to be three or four years ahead of his peers.” This was the first time Talos had ever seen such a tiny mermaid. “Come here and take a look at his ears.”

Xia Yu hurried over, taking Mi Dou’s hand, eager to see their good friend. It turned out that Mo An had been born prematurely.

“Excuse me, will there be any problems with his eyes in the future? Can they be saved?” This was Xia Yu’s biggest concern.

“I don’t know. I need to find someone more knowledgeable to explain.” Talos flipped Mo An’s ear. “Mermares have two layers of ear fins. One is connected to the ear bone and is called the inner ear fin. The other grows on the back of the ear and is called the outer ear fin. Mo An’s inner ear fin hasn’t fully expanded yet, and his outer ear fin hasn’t developed at all. He’s too young.”

Before Talos finished speaking, he quickly withdrew his hand, expertly dodging Mo An’s attack.

Mo An bit at nothing, annoyed, and wagged his tail. He will kill this man eventually.

“Then what about his tail? Should I buy some potions?” Xia Yu was at a loss. He had been excited about Mo An’s egg-breaking just now, but now he had to face such a cruel reality. However, he realized he couldn’t argue.

Mermaids are aquatic creatures. How could they possibly live on land with me forever? He would have to return to his homeland, which would mean being separated from Xia Yu.

Xia Yu’s eyes darkened unconsciously. He had never considered parting ways with Mo An since the moment he hatched. The ocean was vast; if they were separated, they would never meet again. If humans treated Mo An badly, he’d swim back to the depths without looking back, never returning to shore.

“What? His tail’s got a problem, too?” Talos didn’t have time to dwell on his grief. He glanced down. “How did it get so bad? Was it torn off at birth?”

“We’ve encountered Fishman! They’re terrible!” Midou clenched his fists in anger. “I really want to beat them up.”

“Okay, I can find someone to help you look after him. You can’t stay here. Mermaids become targets for sea monsters as soon as they’re born.” Talos had just finished speaking when there was a strange movement in the previously silent Power Plant 3.

“Shh.” He signaled to the three kids. “Don’t make a sound. He’s already here.”