MASG chapter 32

 

Is there one more person?

Mo An looked at them again and, after counting, found that there was indeed an extra person.

“Strange. Why didn’t Silver Fang notice?” Xia Yu was even more puzzled. As the team leader, he should’ve realized it long ago if even they had noticed the wrong number.

“Maybe it has something to do with the mist around here,” Mo An guessed, though he wasn’t sure. Xia Yu thought so too—this mist might be toxic gas caused by electronic corruption, poisoning these people.

But why weren’t he and Mo An affected? He couldn’t figure it out. Everything here made Xia Yu feel terrified.

After checking the equipment, Silver Fang told everyone, “We’ve now entered the electronic corruption zone. You all know what kind of situations might occur here, right?”

Everyone nodded. Clearly, there were already veterans among them. But Xia Yu bravely raised his hand anyway. “Excuse me, but I don’t know…”

Everyone turned their heads at once. Some immediately looked disgusted, instantly classifying Xia Yu and Mo An as burdens. Others clicked their tongues. Some just stood by indifferently, pretending not to care. Because Silver Fang had received Lao Gui’s instructions, he reiterated, “The electronic corruption zone is extremely dangerous. Now, listen carefully.”

“First, avoid direct confrontation with those causing electronic corruption. Even during normal contact, you must protect yourself. The most important thing is to find the personnel at the center of the corruption as quickly as possible. Awaken or kill them and take the ‘defected’ parts.”

“Second, don’t trust the time or space here too much.”

“Third, maintain communication, and finish the mission within 24 hours if possible. Staying too long in the Corruption Zone will corrode your consciousness and eventually turn you into one of them. The ‘assimilation’ process is irreversible, so stay alert.”

Mo An raised his small hand. “Then, may I ask… what if someone here insists on speaking to me? What should I do?”

Xia Yu, however, had a much more practical thought. As expected, these adults didn’t have a concrete plan for finding an antidote. They were only here for the operation. If they found the medicine, they’d bring it back. Otherwise, they wouldn’t risk acting on the ship. This was the “selfishness” Jingwei had told him about. But it wasn’t exactly wrong; everyone feared for their own life. Fortunately, he and Mo An had come.

A child’s voice naturally didn’t draw much attention, but Silver Fang still answered him. “Act like everything’s normal. Treat them as if they’re normal people. Now, we’ll divide into groups.”

Although Xia Yu and Mo An weren’t familiar with Silver Fang , he spoke with authority. Since he didn’t treat them as burdens, the others didn’t complain further. Soon, the team was divided into three groups.
Group A was to find any surviving crew members and figure out what had happened here.
Group B was to locate the core and make contact with infected personnel. Silver Fang belonged to Group B.
Xia Yu and the others were assigned to Group C to search the cargo hold.

This matched Xia Yu’s goal perfectly. They were too young to participate in rescues or front-line combat.

“All right, move out,” Silver Fang said, giving the final order. “Keep your comms open at all times. The current corruption level is Level 1. Stay sharp.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the groups scattered and began their separate missions. Xia Yu held tightly onto Mo An’s hand, not daring to let go for even a moment. Group C consisted of only four people: the two of them, a girl with waist-length braided hair, and a pale, thin boy.

They all looked young, just in their teens.

“Damn, I knew they’d stick me with you guys.” The girl shook her head. “I’m Yan Xia. You two better not wander off.”

The boy smiled slightly. “Just call me Xi Ban. I prefer using my code name. I didn’t expect to end up with you guys, though.”

“It’s Silver Fang’s prejudice. He always thinks female members are better suited for logistics or babysitting.” Yan Xia shook her head. “Even though my record is better than any man’s on the team, I’m still sent to search the cargo hold.”

Xi Ban hooked his slender wrist around hers playfully. “It’s fine. Let’s go together.” Then, he turned to Mo An and Xia Yu. “Come on, let’s go.”

Xia Yu nodded and pulled Mo An along to follow them. After Groups A and B had disappeared, they finally came across a cross-sectional view of the Tide. The cargo holds were on the bottom two levels, B1 and B2. B3, the lower equipment level, was accessible via an elevator.

They approached the central elevator and passed through the Tide’s F1 lobby.

Xia Yu kept glancing around, feeling as if countless invisible eyes were watching them. A chill crawled up his back. Worse yet, the entire ship was soaked, dripping with seawater. Seawater formed a thin film across the floor, clinging to their boots.

When they reached the lobby, Mo An caught the scent of blood.

“Look—that’s what I should be doing,” Yan Xia said, glancing toward Group B ahead with a trace of envy.

Silver Fang was questioning two male crewmen. They wore identical uniforms and rubber boots, ready to fight the seawater at any moment. Xia Yu and Mo An were both shocked. They’d thought finding the survivors in the corrupted core would be difficult, yet it seemed so easy.

“Careful,” Xi Ban nudged them. “Look at their ears.”

They both looked and realized their ears were rotting. Huge ulcers had burst open, oozing yellow pus and red blood that mixed together. It was always the left ear — the right one remained intact.

It must have hurt terribly, yet their expressions were calm, as if nothing were wrong.

The combination of an abnormal environment, severe wounds, and steady emotions was unnervingly strange.

“No matter how we tried, we just couldn’t get the ship to dock anymore. Otherwise, everything’s normal. The crew is following the duty roster, and we’re continuing to work.”

“The sea’s rough; we often get seasick. When will this end? When can we leave?”

Silver Fang replied smoothly, “The ship is experiencing a malfunction. We’re here to check the power engine. Once we find the issue, we’ll repair it, and everyone can disembark safely.”

It was a blatant lie, yet the abnormal crew believed it completely. While they continued talking, Group C slipped past them to the central elevator. There were already crew members waiting in line, all wearing the same uniforms and all with identical wounds on their left ears. No one knew what was really happening.

The crew stood politely, waiting for the doors to open. “Which floor are you going to? You’re here to fix the ship, right?”

“Yes, we’re heading to the cargo hold for repairs. Could you please press B1 for us? Thank you,” said Xi Ban, his smiling eyes making him look friendly. Yan Xia said nothing, waiting as the elevator descended.

Mo An stared at the elevator lights—that familiar aura grew stronger. Could there be a mermaid hiding in the cargo hold? How interesting.

*Ding!* B1. Group C stepped out together. The door closed behind them as the crew rode up to the fourth floor. When the doors shut, the light dimmed for a second before the emergency lights flickered on and revealed an endless cargo bay ahead.

“There’s a lot of water — be careful,” Yan Xia warned.

“Thanks, we can see that,” said Xi Ban, lifting his foot. They were all wearing rubber rain boots because they had to board the ship that day. Water splashed softly beneath their feet—seawater. The areas it had covered were crusted with a thin layer of white salt, like pale lines drawn across the floor.

The cargo hold was supposed to be at the waterline, but the ship had sunk lower. Now, the sea level outside had surpassed the round portholes. Without natural light, the seawater outside was pitch black, revealing nothing but deep, murky blue.

Everyone else seemed more or less afraid of this environment, aside from Mo An.

“It’s scary,” Xi Ban said.

“What’s scary about it? It’s just seawater.” Yan Xia laughed. “How old are you? I haven’t seen you before.”

“Seventeen. You?” Xi Ban gave her a brief glance. “I don’t think I’ve seen you either. Where do you work?”

“I’m already eighteen, so I’m an adult team member. When I’m not on missions, I’m stationed at security.” Yan Xia paused for two seconds. “Now I finally understand why Silver Fang put me in Group C! He just wanted me to babysit. All three of you are underage.”

“Don’t say that. They’re kids, but I’m not. I was already in the St. Maria’s electronic corruption zone two days ago.” Xi Ban was young, but his tone carried experience. “Don’t you find it strange? All of the first decay zones that appeared were at sea.”

“I don’t care if it’s strange or not. As long as I can earn points and money, that’s enough. With more points, I can trade for a better place to live. With more money, I can afford better surgery and upgraded equipment. As for the rest, I don’t care how rotten the world becomes. The sooner it explodes, the better.” Yan Xia’s voice echoed inside the cargo hold. “Where are those two little brats?”

Xia Yu had already taken Mo An to start searching the warehouse. The seawater only reached the adults’ calves, but for the children, it was rather deep. The lighting was dim, but Mo An could still see clearly, so Xia Yu lifted him high up. “Can you see it? What’s written up there?”

“I can’t read it. It’s kind of hard.” Mo An said honestly. Mermaids could speak all the languages in the world, but that didn’t mean they could read all scripts. He looked at it again and again, but still couldn’t recognize it. Finally, he reached out to touch it. “It feels like some kind of wire.”

“Then it’s not a potion. We don’t need wires.” Xia Yu set him down, and the two of them walked forward a bit before Xia Yu lifted him up again. “What about here? What’s this one?”

“Let me see.” The shelf was a little high, so Mo An grabbed onto it, tucked his legs up, and climbed up with ease. “There’s a lot of stuff here.”

“Look carefully. Find something long and thin, like a syringe!” Xia Yu gestured as he spoke. “Like the nutrient shot I gave you before.”

Mo An nodded and moved smoothly along the shelf. The walkway beneath his feet was narrow—an adult would have to be very careful—but his size was just right. As he moved, he noticed something was off—there were claw marks on the shelf.

Metal shelves scratched by claws—it shouldn’t be possible for a human.

Who would leave claw marks here anyway? Mo An placed his hand over the marks to compare them. They were too big—even larger than a human hand.

What could they be from? Mo An stared at them for a few seconds, unable to figure it out. He continued searching for syringes. After checking every level of the shelf, he still came up empty-handed. There were only wires.

“Found anything?” Xia Yu reached out to catch him.

“No, there’s no medicine up there.” Mo An had no choice but to jump down and land in Xia Yu’s arms. The little jellyfish’s body was warmer than his own, which felt nice.

The spark of hope was instantly extinguished. Xia Yu felt a brief pang of disappointment, but he quickly recovered. “It’s fine. If there’s nothing in this one, the next surely will have something. Let’s go.”

“Let’s go. Hold my hand,” Mo An said, stepping through the water and glancing around. “Xia, look! There are claw marks up there.”

“Claw marks?” Xia Yu looked up. “Did you see them clearly? What kind?”

“Big ones—really big. Bigger than an adult’s.” Mo An gestured. “I saw them on the deck, too. This place is dangerous.”

Although Mo An was young, Xia Yu never doubted his words. “All right, then make sure to stick close to me. Don’t get separated. Once they find us—huh? Where are they?”

Despite being extra cautious, the two were still just children entering the electronic corruption zone for the first time and made plenty of mistakes. While searching for medicine, they hadn’t noticed that Yan Xia and Xi Ban had already disappeared. They were the only two left in the huge hold. No one responded, and most of the warehouse was covered with white plastic sheeting.

“Yan Xia Jiejie[mfn]”Jiejie” (姐姐) means “older sister.” It is used to refer to an older sister or a woman who is older than you.[/mfn]? Xi Ban?” Xia Yu called out boldly.

“Where are you? Where are you?” Mo An called out, too.

Only the hollow echo of the warehouse replied. Now, Xia Yu fully understood what Silver Fang had said: Don’t believe anything here. Space and time—none of it was real. The ship’s hold seemed to be playing a cruel joke on them by isolating them from the rest.

“Is anyone here? Can anyone see us?” Xia Yu refused to give up.

There was still no response, only the sound of dripping water and the feeling of seawater pressing against the hull outside.

At some point, moisture began to bead on the inner walls of the ship—touch them, and your hand would become wet. Mo An tugged on Xia Yu, who was about to step forward. He whispered, “It’s dangerous here. I have a bad feeling. I’ve seen this before.”

“What do you mean?” Xia Yu was sweating.

“I have the intuition of a mermaid. I can sense something here, and I can feel another of my kind very close by.” Mo An listened to the sounds inside the ship. To him, the sound of seawater pressing against the hull was beautiful, but it was probably terrifying to humans. He told Xia Yu everything he had sensed. He didn’t understand how he could see those images, but clearly, this wasn’t just electronic corruption.

“You mean…there’s a monster here, too?” Xia Yu held his hand tightly. That would be even worse. Who knew if the mermaid was good or bad?

“Mm, but don’t be afraid. Protecting xla is every mermaid’s… um… responsibility.” Mo An struggled to find the word. But he wasn’t afraid of the deep sea anyway. Even if the Tide sank, he could swim them both safely to shore.

Before he could finish speaking, hurried footsteps approached. Xia Yu stepped in front of Mo An and faced the sound.

Two silhouettes came closer and closer. Xia Yu held his breath, unsure of who they were. As the figures grew clearer, both Xia Yu and Mo An recognized them.

“Can you two stop running around?” Yan Xia scolded as soon as she arrived. “If you get lost, I’ll have to look for you! If you’re so eager to die, I might as well shoot you myself!”

“Alright, alright, calm down,” Xi Ban said, trying to soothe her. “They’re just kids…”

“Kids? If they were real kids, they should have stayed home. Since they’re out on a mission, they’re not kids anymore.” Yan Xia still hadn’t cooled off. She pulled out her electric gun and pressed it to Xia Yu’s forehead.

A spark of electricity flashed at Mo An’s fingertip.

“This is the first and last warning. No more acting on your own!” Yan Xia’s gun pressed hard against Xia Yu’s brow. “Can you do that? If not, I’ll shoot you both right now!”

“Yes, we can. Please don’t be angry. We know we were wrong.” Xia Yu apologized immediately. Yan Xia was a good person. She could have just left them behind, but she came back for them.

Yan Xia probably hadn’t expected Xia Yu to apologize so quickly. In her experience, spoiled children always argued back. She’d even been ready to beat them. After a pause, she finally put the gun away. “Don’t let it happen again. You’ve been missing for two hours, at least according to my timer. Who knows how much real time has passed? We still have a lot of warehouses to check—hurry up!

“Yes.” Xia Yu nodded.

Yan Xia was still fuming as she gripped her gun and turned around. Xi Ban, on the other hand, wasn’t angry at all. He bent down and patted their heads. “Don’t be scared. She’s actually very nice. When you disappeared, she was really worried.”

“It was our fault,” said Xia Yu, apologizing again. Xi Ban’s personality was completely different from Yan Xia’s—he was easygoing and gentle.

“Let’s hurry or we’ll get scolded again,” said Xi Ban with a smile as he lightly pinched Xia Yu’s cheek. His gaze lingered on Mo An’s wrist for a few seconds before he turned to follow his teammate. Xia Yu grabbed Mo An’s hand and hurried to catch up, afraid to be left behind.

“Oh, right. My brother found claw marks on the shelf earlier.” Xia Yu suddenly remembered. Now wasn’t the time to hide information. The two people in front of them turned a corner—it took only two seconds—but when Xia Yu hurried after them, they were gone.

Where did they go? Xia Yu broke into a cold sweat. Only now did he realize how foolish his earlier confidence had been. The Corrupted Zone was beyond his capabilities.

“Where are they?” Mo An stepped forward to look around. “They’re gone—like they vanished into thin air.”

“This place is all wrong. I might’ve underestimated the mission. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought you here.” Xia Yu tried to stay calm, but his legs were trembling. What was happening? Was this corridor making people disappear? If they walked ahead, would the same thing happen to them?

Would they vanish too and never return?

No, they couldn’t go forward. Xia Yu grabbed Mo An’s hand and ran in the opposite direction. Maybe the opposite direction was safer.

“Xla, don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you,” Mo An said, still trying to comfort his treasure as they ran.

“A Ni, remember—everything here is strange. Don’t touch anything!” Xia Yu was frantic. If they couldn’t find the antidote, Mi Dou would die. If they didn’t leave within 24 hours, they’d be assimilated. But now, they couldn’t even find the exit, and their teammates were disappearing.

Would they vanish too and never escape?

At that moment, the seawater outside seemed darker and more mysterious than ever, filled with an eerie unknown. The sound of the waves grew louder, and two figures ran toward them from the front.

“Can you two stop running around? If you get lost, I’ll have to look for you! If you’re so eager to die, I might as well shoot you myself!”

Yan Xia shouted, followed by Xi Ban’s attempts to calm her. Xia Yu and Mo An froze in place.

How could this happen?

Why did they meet again? Repeatedly?

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