MASG chapter 8

 

Once mermaids reach adulthood and form groups, they have no natural enemies in the ocean. Mo An knew this as soon as he became conscious.

Once the juveniles have fully grown into their adult forms, mermaids have almost no opponents in the deep sea. However, when they are juveniles, several creatures prey on them as their main food source.

Or simply for entertainment.

These predators cut open developing juveniles inside eggs while they are still alive. The fry had no resistance at that time, and the only possible outcome was to become broken limbs at the bottom of the sea. This is why adult mermaids gather in large numbers near the hatching grounds to protect their offspring.

The fry break out of their eggs when the time is right, which takes about ten years. Even before that, though, they are living beings. They experience joys and sorrows and can communicate with their group through the egg membrane. Mo An still didn’t know exactly what his natural enemies were, but this awareness etched into his DNA made his scales bristle first.

The creature chasing them might not be a natural enemy, but Mo An already understood survival.

He wasn’t the only one seeking survival; Xia Yu and Mi Dou were as well, running fast. Xia Yu wasn’t sure how old Mi Dou was—maybe six or seven. They were about the same height, but Mi Dou’s physique was clearly much stronger than his. He carried Mo An on his back and didn’t even breathe heavily, his bare feet moved rapidly.

The pair of shoes was still on Xia Yu’s feet. The strange sound behind them was getting closer. He fell flat on his face because he was off balance. His chin split open instantly and blood flowed out, but Xia Yu couldn’t care about that now. He looked back once, then got up and continued running forward.

Blood ran down his chin and onto his thin neck. There was nothing behind them, so why was the sound getting closer?

“What is it? What is it?” Mi Dou didn’t dare turn his head, afraid of seeing a monster that would scare him to death.

“There’s nothing. Nothing at all. No, no, nothing!” Xia Yu stammered.

Mi Dou didn’t ask any more questions. He wasn’t sure if Xia Yu really hadn’t seen it or was just saying that to comfort him. Either way, the important thing was not to stop. They kept running—when they were tired, they jogged slowly and then ran faster again after gathering their energy. Finally, the two children saw the door at the same time.

“There it is! There it is!” Mi Dou saw their way out.

“Ah!” Xia Yu couldn’t even shout a complete sentence, he was sweating profusely from exhaustion. He had never sweated so much, as if all the water in his body were being wrung out. At that moment, he turned back again. The long corridor was still empty.

The pale lights illuminated everything, making it look cold and deathly pale.

Plop, plop. Yet the sound behind them was drawing closer.

Jingwei: [Open this door, the parasite host is still nearby.]

“Open it? How do I open it?” Xia Yu pounced on the door. He thought it was a password door, but after searching everywhere, he couldn’t find a place to enter a password.

Plop, plop. The approaching sound behind them sent chills down their spines. A sticky drop of water dripped from the ceiling and landed right down the back of their collars. It didn’t freeze them to the bone, but it was extremely uncomfortable and made their hair stand on end.

“I’ll do it!” Before Jingwei could respond, Mi Dou stepped forward and grabbed the handle. The door didn’t look sturdy. The old drainage system leaked water from time to time, corroding its surface.

Large flakes of the silvery metal skin had peeled off, which Mi Dou noticed. He grabbed the handle with both hands and pulled outward with all his might. Bang! With a loud crash, the door opened!

He had broken the lock by force. Inside, it was pitch-black. They had no other choice, so they dove inside without hesitation.

The musty smell made Xia Yu very uncomfortable. He turned around and closed the door, not forgetting the most important thing. Though the lock was broken, the door could still be shut, and there was a chain lock on top. Hopefully, the thin chain would protect them.

Jingwei: [Keep going forward.]

“What if we keep going?” Xia Yu was already moving forward.

He completely trusted Jingwei, even though this AI was sometimes online and sometimes offline. Humanity depended on high technology, and now Xia Yu had no choice but to depend on it too, otherwise, he wouldn’t survive. Fortunately, Jingwei was still on his side for now.

He wasn’t sure if that would last, though. Xia Yu couldn’t imagine what would happen if these machines gained an independent will. Jingwei might even betray him one day.

Jingwei: [I don’t know what comes next.]

“What? You don’t know? I thought you knew everything.” Mi Dou carried Mo An on his back, groping forward in the dark.

Jingwei: [Because my browsing permissions are limited. For now, I can only see this far. But I can tell you the destination: Power Plant No. 3. You must enter there.]

“Wait, who set this path for us?” Xia Yu suddenly asked.

He realized that ever since his escape, someone had been helping them. Otherwise, there was no way they could have survived this smoothly. That person had set some parameters for Jingwei, but Jingwei couldn’t see that much.

It was contradictory—if that person really wanted to help, why wouldn’t they let Jingwei see everything?

Jingwei: [Please keep moving forward. Power Plant No. 3 is safe.]

After saying that, Jingwei fell silent. Xia Yu and Mi Dou wanted more information, at least a powerful AI to guide them, but now they could only rely on themselves.

“It’s fine. Let’s keep moving.” Xia Yu said to lift his spirits again. “I’ll give your shoes back.”

Mi Dou shook his head. “You wear them.”

“You’re still carrying Mo An.” Xia Yu looked at the egg. Thankfully, there was Mi Dou.

“It’s fine, he’s light. I used to help Mom with work, and what I carried then was much heavier than this.” Mi Dou didn’t mind. “It’s just…it’s so dark here.”

Xia Yu nodded. His chin was probably still bleeding. “Yeah, it’s dark, but at least we’re safe now. Listen—the sound didn’t follow us!”

They had escaped another disaster. The sound seemed wary of something and didn’t come after them. But they still couldn’t let their guard down. Xia Yu had a terrifying thought: Would he spend his whole life fleeing with Mo An, never truly safe?

Tears welled up again. He wiped them away and led Mi Dou forward.

The path was pitch-dark, and the two children stumbled along with great difficulty. Holding hands helped them avoid falling, but Xia Yu’s balance wasn’t as good as Mi Dou’s. After passing the darkest stretch, they finally saw a faint light.

“There’s light at last.” Mi Dou let out a happy sigh. “I always worked with Mom on the surface. I never knew the sewers were this big. It’s like another world… Ah! How’s your chin?”

With the light, Mi Dou finally saw Xia Yu’s injured face.

Xia Yu touched his face. The bleeding wound had already scabbed over. “Just a fall. What should we do now?”

“I don’t know.” Mi Dou shook his head. “I…I’ll follow you.”

But I don’t have any ideas either.” Xia Yu’s pale face scrunched up. Jingwei still hadn’t responded. Just as they were stuck in a dilemma, footsteps sounded ahead.

They were human footsteps.

“Who’s there?” Xia Yu raised the metal shard. In just one day, he had learned not only how to wipe away tears, but also how to face danger.

“Who are you?” The man walking toward them stopped and sized up the two children who had appeared out of nowhere and the thing they were carrying on their backs.

“You say who you are first.” Mi Dou copied Xia Yu’s tone, bluffing bravely.

“Me? I’m a refugee. I accidentally wandered here. The outside world is in chaos. What about you two?” The man approached. He was blurry in the shadows, but up close, they saw a short, sallow, skinny man.

Xia Yu didn’t drop his guard, but the man was so short and thin that he felt much less pressure than before. “What’s happening outside?”

“Is there a war outside?” Mi Dou was very concerned, thinking of his mother’s situation.

“It’s over already. Humanity lost. It’s finished.” The man shook his head and sat down on the ground. “It only took a dozen hours. Machines all over the world went berserk and attacked humans. The army resisted, but all the weapons were connected to Nuwa’s terminal. Nuwa betrayed us.”

“Nuwa betrayed us?” Xia Yu couldn’t believe it. He had always feared this answer.

The man’s complexion was sallow, as if he hadn’t slept in days, his eye sockets were sunken. “There have already been two cleansing operations. The resisting humans were all killed. Now, the remaining ones all obey Nuwa, and society has been reorganized. You didn’t know?”

Xia Yu and Mi Dou shook their heads. They had no idea about the drastic changes outside.

“Don’t even mention it. We humans no longer have status.” The man looked exhausted. His thin, bony hands were full of wrinkles and frighteningly skinny. “Before, people like me—natural humans—were at the top. Then came the half-mechanical humans, then the robots, and finally, your kind… genetically modified humans.”

Xia Yu and Mi Dou looked at each other. genetically modified humans had long blended into society—their eyes and ears were proof of that.

“Now it’s all upside down. Natural humans are at the bottom.” The man swayed as he stood. “Since we met, let’s go together. At least we’ll have some company.”

Xia Yu and Mi Dou hesitated. Whether they wanted to or not, straight ahead was their only path. On one side of the corridor was another passageway; in the middle was a swift, turbid sewer waterway. After walking a dozen meters, Xia Yu asked curiously, “Can you tell us about the current order?”

The man stopped to rest, breathing heavily. “Now, the highest class is full robots. They all obey Nuwa’s commands. Next are the half-mechanical humans—anyone with even a little machinery is considered to be on the side of the machines. Then there are genetically modified humans like you. At the bottom are people like me—completely original with no mechanical organs or parts. Natural humans have no chance of survival.”

“Then, do you know what a parasite host is?” Xia Yu asked again. Jingwei had clearly mentioned it. Why hadn’t this man said anything? Did he not know?

“Parasite host? I’ve never heard of that. Sounds strange.” The man kept talking and walking.

From time to time, a drop of condensed water fell from the ceiling and landed on Xia Yu’s nose. Since he had never relaxed, he kept several meters away from the stranger. Now, without realizing it, he slowed down, widening the distance.

He suddenly wondered—did this man who fled from outside really not know what a parasite host was?

Or was he one himself?

Mi Dou slowed down, too. Just then, the egg on his back stirred. Mo An flicked his tail once, as if yawning after waking up, hitting the inside of the egg.

The merman, with his keen sense of danger, felt uneasy again. Mo An flicked his tail fin, hoping the little jellyfish could understand his signal.

“Mi Dou, can you swim?” Xia Yu suddenly asked.

“Huh?” Mi Dou was surprised. “Uh… sort of.”

“I’ll help you escape…” Xia Yu whispered. He was sure that Mo An was sending him a warning. The two of them slowed down and inched closer to the sewer waterway. The moment the man turned his head, Xia Yu grabbed Mi Dou’s hand and jumped.

As soon as they surfaced, Xia Yu looked at the shore in terror. The man, who had just been fine, took two steps toward them. “Where are you going? Where are you going?”

The next second, he fell to his knees. His legs had turned into countless deep red leeches.

Mo An, nearly fainting from hunger, bared his fangs again, wishing he could kill them all.