MASG chapter 84

 

Visibility was very low.

Mo An stood at the stern of the boat, gazing toward Frozen Island. The sound of footsteps reached his highly alert ears, and he quickly turned around with his palm already reaching for his gun.

“It’s me.” Xiang Xing immediately raised his hands.

If this had happened before, Mo An might have been confused by how similar Xiang Xing’s face was to Xia Yu’s. Now, however, he was used to it and skilled at distinguishing them. Mo An’s mind was as calm as still water. “You startled me. Why don’t you go inside? It’s cold out here.”

“Are you looking at Frozen Island?” Xiang Xing was wearing the least amount of clothing, with only a short-sleeved T-shirt on his upper body. Snow landed on his skin as if it had landed on the ground. Something magical happened—the snow gradually absorbed into his skin, turning into crystal-clear dew. Eventually, the dew became the moisture that nourished the mushrooms.

Truly a peculiar mutant. No matter when Mo An saw him, he was amazed. Fortunately, Xiang Xing was on their side. If he had been on the opposing side, he would have been a formidable opponent.

“How can you see Frozen Island when visibility is this low?” Yet, Xiang Xing thought his absorption ability was ordinary. Everyone in the team was stronger than him.

Mo An casually pointed in a direction. In the darkness, it seemed as if a vast secret area were hidden there. “Mermaids never lose direction at sea.”

“Sounds like you guys have an anchor point in your minds.” Xiang Xing was extremely curious. Mushrooms don’t have brains, so they could never have an anchor point.

“Maybe. This is indeed our superpower. Haisiruola gave us the courage to never get lost.” Mo An pointed to his head.

“That’s nice. I always seem to get lost. When I see everyone communicating with their friends and family, I get overwhelmed because I can’t find anyone to talk to. Even my only friend sold me out. I don’t know if he escaped Yukun City. I’m curious about your relationship and your brains.” Sometimes, Xiang Xing couldn’t control his mycelium, just as Mo An couldn’t control his ear fins. As he spoke, the white, wriggling filaments tentatively tried to crawl onto Mo An.

“If you want, I can help you find that friend after everything’s over. But, in my view, he isn’t really a friend; he’s a traitor.” Mo An deeply hated such behavior. Mermaids could be cruel to enemies, but with companions, there was only loyalty and passion.

“No need. Even if I find him, I would only feel resentment. I don’t want to become a poisonous mushroom. I want to be a good mushroom, like a good person.” Suddenly, Xiang Xing changed his tone. “Milian is very worried about Dou Dou.”

Mo An stood his ground, his shoulders covered with snowflakes. The tips of his ear fins trembled, showing that he was unsettled.

“I’ll ensure Dou Dou’s safety. I’ll return him safely. I won’t let Milian lose him.” Mo An finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Honestly, I never planned to let Mi Dou enter Yukun City.”

“Then fine. Mi Dou and 107 can stay. I’ll go in with you. I know Yukun City well. If we can find the lab, I’ll be your living map and guide you through the maze to survival.” Unconsciously, Xiang Xing’s mycelium continued to grow upward, forming an umbrella shape that shielded him and Mo An from the wind and snow.

Is this what it feels like to protect companions? Xiang Xing rubbed his nose.

With Ling Shi presetting the navigation, Silver Fang didn’t need to control the direction. The boat followed an unexpected route. The snow grew heavier, forcing those remaining on deck inside the cabin. They sat around to warm themselves and discuss the next plan.

Xia Yu and Mo An sat together again, their knees barely touching.

Mi Dou looked at the small distance between them and still couldn’t imagine how mermaids reproduced.

Xia Yu sensed Mi Dou’s gaze and unconsciously lowered his head. Thinking no one had noticed, Mo An’s knee moved closer and touched Xia Yu’s leg. He occasionally touched his lips, but now they were numb, and he could not feel them no matter how he touched them.

The antidote wasn’t a panacea; it couldn’t counteract all the toxin’s side effects. When certain parts of their bodies were in contact for a long time, Mo An’s corresponding area would become numb. Not ideal at all.

107 seemed to see through Mi Dou’s expression and gently pulled him into his embrace. “Stop looking. They are definitely going to reproduce.”

“Don’t say that! Go away! I don’t want to see that!” Mi Dou poked him with his elbow.

“Ahem, has everyone rested enough?” Silver Fang held a portable projector. A blue 4D map unfolded in his palm, floating in the air like a miraculous vision. “We’ll dock in about four hours and are expected at Yukun City’s Port 5. Yukun City’s geography is very different from Qingyao City’s. Qingyao City is flat, but Yukun City is surrounded by mountains on three sides.”

Words alone aren’t always reliable, but a 3D map perfectly solves the problem of insufficient imagination. Silver Fang enlarged the full view of Yukun City and displayed it in front of everyone. The city looked like a recess embedded at the edge of the coastline with one side facing the sea and steep mountains on the other sides.

Xia Yu gazed toward the mountain on the west side of the city. Could this be where Jingwei’s mainframe was located?

“Generally, we would choose tunnels or pass through mountain paths.” Silver Fang casually moved his hand, and a red line appeared on the map. “This red line is our previous path. But now it’s completely blocked. No one can cross the death zone. The edges of the death zone have always been a research project of the control center. Mo An has been there many times.”

“Yes, there’s no sign of life there.” Mo An said.

Xia Yu stepped hard on Mo An’s tactical boot and pretended to say things like, “I don’t go to Yukun City often,” “Only occasionally,” “I’ve explored two or three times”—all lies. Mo An had likely already mapped out all the routes around Yukun City.

A sharp pain shot through his foot, but Mo An chuckled and wiggled his knee. Being worried about by someone you like—it felt wonderful, even addictive.

Stop laughing, stop laughing. If you laugh again, my face will rot. Mi Dou lamented silently.

Silver Fang continued, “Right now, the navigation route provided by Ling Shi comes from Nuwa. I believe it’s the only way to get to Yukun City. Whoever communicated with 107 back then must have also known this sea route. This information was also obtained by Rijianmei. I suspect that Rijianmei has a base in Yukun City. We need to be extra careful.”

“Once we enter the city, I’ll do my best to help everyone!” Xiang Xing stood up excitedly.

“All right, but sit down first.” Silver Fang waved his hand. “Now, let’s discuss the action team. I’ll lead, Xiang Xing will provide support, Xia Yu will be the operational core, and Xi Ban and Mo An will cover the rear.”

“Huh? What about us?” Mi Dou looked at himself and 107, confused.

107 looked blankly at everyone, too. “Are you worried we’ll hold you back?”

“Not really. It’s just that Yukun City is too complicated. I can’t protect so many people at once. I want you to stay on the boat for now. Wait until we reach the lab and clear a safe path. Then, I’ll come back for you.” Silver Fang’s thoughts aligned with Mo An’s. Too many people acting together would actually lower everyone’s survival rate.

Also, Nuwa must currently abide by the Second Fundamental Treaty. As long as Xia Yu is safe, Nuwa cannot take action against Mi Dou or 107. The best protection target for Silver Fang and Mo An is Xia Yu.

“But…” Mi Dou had just begun to speak when the boat suddenly shook noticeably.

Such shaking is rare while sailing. They were in the deep sea, so hitting a hidden reef was impossible. Everyone froze for a moment, then immediately jumped up from the sofa and rushed toward the deck. The snow hadn’t stopped, which was also unusual at sea. The snow piled on the deck was beaten into ice fragments by the waves and returned to the sea.

“What’s happening?” Silver Fang turned on all the lights on the boat.

“Did we hit a school of whales?” Xiang Xing’s mycelium spread out again and stuck to everyone like seat belts. They were afraid the waves would sweep them away.

“They can’t be whales or any other kind of fish.” Mo An scanned the sea surface. “There are three mermaids on this boat. Do you really think any fish would be crazy enough to hit our boat?”

Right, Xiang Xing’s mycelium tapped his head. Forget about whales—there probably aren’t any small fish or shrimp left in the nearby few thousand meters. How could anything deliberately hit them? Then what’s happening now? Something strange must be happening under the sea.

“Could it be an underwater volcano erupting?” Mi Dou guessed.

Jingwei: [Currently detecting geographic environment… Why are my wings so heavy, I still can’t fly… Detection complete. No report of an underwater volcano eruption. However, there are anomalies in this sea area. About 3,000 meters beneath the boat, there are massive energy field fluctuations.]

“Energy field… Could it be… Impossible, right?” Xi Ban muttered to himself. He looked at the sea surface as if speaking in a dream: “No, no vortices. Don’t let vortices appear…”

However, his prayers to Haisiruola were ineffective. Instead, it seemed to manifest Lao Gui’s jinx: whatever he feared would happen. The sea surface, which had been like a mirror, produced slight ripples the next moment, with vibration waves transmitted upward.

To Silver Fang, this phenomenon was even more terrifying than a raging tsunami! Jingwei reported a depth of 3,000 meters. What kind of energy changes or shifts in water flow could cause the sea surface to ripple? And this was in a windless state. The ripples quickly turned into a sound-wave phenomenon, with water droplets separating from the surface and bouncing high into the air.

The scene resembled an upside-down rainstorm!

Water separated from the sea and bounced vertically toward the sky. After two or three meters, it fell rapidly, sometimes colliding with other droplets in the air. Silver Fang had never witnessed such a strange scene before. The sea in front of him was no longer familiar—it had become the mermaids’ domain.

But the even more terrifying part was yet to come: a massive vortex appeared on the surface of the sea.

It changed the surface currents, and their boat slowly turned in circles, following along. Xi Ban grabbed the railing with his hands and slowly unfolded his ear fins. However, his ear fins could not stand up; they hung like floppy rabbit ears on his shoulders.

They also grew longer. Silently, Xi Ban stepped onto the railing, shook off the mycelium, and jumped into the abnormal sea.

“Silver Fang, protect them! I’ll go down and see!” Mo An jumped into the ocean and transformed into a mermaid. He easily caught up with Xi Ban. Strangely, Xi Ban hadn’t transformed into a merman with a fish tail, nor did he scold Mo An for going in alone.

“Great! I can’t swim fast. Take me to the seabed!” Xi Ban grabbed Mo An’s hand. His jet-black eyes stared into the abyss. Pearl-white scales lay hidden on his neck, and his gill slits opened gently.

“Let’s go.” Mo An turned and swung his tail as he and Xi Ban swam into the bottomless darkness. They swam against schools of fish that were fleeing upward. Only they dove downward.

“What exactly is happening?” Mo An asked, looking back while swimming.

“It’s the hatching ground. The depths of this sea are hatching grounds! The strange sea area Jingwei mentioned must be here.” Xi Ban was extremely anxious. “Nuwa is destroying the hatching grounds, provoking the wrath of the twin-tailed mermaid. They will risk their lives to protect the eggs, creating massive vortices on the surface that will suck in all ships! If we don’t calm the twin-tailed’s anger, our boat is doomed!”