MASG chapter 96

 

Meng Qingqing sat on the rock in the trench with her tail. Green fluorite scattered around her like points of light, creating a beautiful scene.

She wanted to laugh, but she couldn’t quite believe it. Her once vague and boundless obsession had become reality. Instead, she suddenly felt tired. She still hadn’t let go of the Black Siren’s hand, yet she was already thinking about what to do next: send some people back to notify Talos and send another group to continue the chase with her. Tears burst out of her eyes, turning into sparkling diamonds without her noticing.

A mermaid’s tears can never dissolve into seawater. That’s just common knowledge. She took a deep breath of seawater. That felt great.

Mo’an was not dead.

As a siren, Meng Qingqing had always been worried about this mixed-blood’s safety. She never doubted his origins and felt a sense of shared empathy. Sirens only have female offspring, so many sisters fall in love with males of other species. However, due to concerns over bloodline and health, they cannot produce offspring.

Moreover, sirens’ bodies are the least suited for reproduction. A single small fish egg can weaken them by more than half. Invincible, ferocious warriors are weakened during this period. At that time, sirens will leave their sisters and kin and travel alone to the incubation grounds, waiting for an unknown fate.

In the deep sea, one of her sisters did exactly this, leaving Mo’an behind at all costs. She may have died at the incubation grounds because she was too weak to swim back to the seabed. Or she may have died on the return journey, turning into bubbles early on. The only thing a siren who cannot sing leaves behind in this world is Mo’an.

Not only are they of the same race and branch, they also share a unique resonance found only among female fish. Mo’an is the child of a sister, which makes him the child of all sirens. This is why Meng Qingqing tested him from the beginning, stirring his desire to conquer the sea and probing his determination to return to the ocean. She did not want him to forget his mother’s will. They should have raised him together.

But then he was lost.

Meng Qingqing was only willing to believe that he was lost and not that he met a violent death. Once a mermaid dies, they turn into bubbles, leaving no corpse. She would keep searching, keep searching, keep searching.

Now that she had really found him, Meng Qingqing was exhausted. She didn’t say another word. Despite her battle-hardened nature, she fainted from exhaustion on the rock. Large groups of sirens and Black Sirens gathered around her, causing a wave of panic.

At the entrance of the research institute, Yan Xia used her authority once again to open the door.

“Is this the door where Xia Yu carried Mo’an and ran out?” she asked.

Ling Shi: [Yes, it’s this door.]

Ling Shi’s voice came from Yan Xia’s communicator, which was linked to her goggles. A map unfolded in front of Yan Xia. She tapped the air twice, and the map began to zoom in like a maze.

“This is the X-series laboratory, which is also our destination,” Yan Xia muttered to herself. “Ling Shi, are you sure this is the path Xia Yu took back then?”

Ling Shi: [Very sure, because I was the one who opened this door back then. If you don’t believe me, you can turn around and take a look. Wasn’t there a camera on the door?]

Mi Dou immediately turned around after hearing this, and sure enough, there was a camera.

Ling Shi: [That was the only authority I had at the time. Unfortunately, I couldn’t save Professor Wang Qin.]

“No, you’ve already done a lot,” said Mi Dou as he walked to the door and carefully touched it, only to feel dust. Over ten years ago, Xia Yu carried Mo’an through this door. They were so small back then. How scared he must have been! That day was not only a nightmare for Xia Yu; Mi Dou was also deeply affected, nearly dying in the sewer.

“Let’s go. I don’t want to look at this door anymore,” Mi Dou sniffed, turning to walk forward. He was stopped again by Yan Xia.

“Don’t rush. Let me check first.” Yan Xia was not at ease, especially given the mutant species’ pursuit—she didn’t trust anything, not even a blade of grass or a tree. Silver Fang had already taken out his equipment: a golden flying device that looked like a three-dimensional pyramid. When he activated it, it buzzed and flew up, becoming the vanguard.

As it flew, the laser scanner was fully deployed. Silver Fang opened the companion screen on his back and precisely visualized the returned signals.

Dark red lasers projected in all directions, scanning the corridor with no blind spots. The companion screen began rendering the scene as well. Half a minute later, the road conditions 500 meters ahead appeared in front of everyone.

Lao Gui marveled, “As expected, nothing in this world works without money. How much does this whole set of equipment cost? I want it too.”

“About one million points,” Silver Fang replied fondly.

“Get lost. That’s way too expensive,” Lao Gui said, smacking his lips.

“There’s nothing in this world that works without money,” Silver Fang repeated. “Ling Shi, has the surrounding gas been analyzed?”

Ling Shi: [Analysis complete. Oxygen concentration is sufficient; you don’t need to wear oxygen masks. Non-toxic; no flammable gas leaks.]

“That’s great,” Lao Gui said as he chambered his dual guns. The absence of flammable gas meant one thing: open fire was possible. Fear comes from insufficient firepower. As long as the firepower is sufficient, mutant species and hosts are nothing to worry about.

Yan Xia checked her watch and reset the countdown. “Alright, hopefully we can successfully return to the surface within 48 hours. Ling Shi, you also need to pay special attention to your own safety.”

Her words were not without reason. Nuwa’s power and computing ability far exceeded those of anyone else there. While they were carefully planning how to reach Yukun City, Nuwa was planning how to wipe them all out. The two sides were not on the same level at all. Defeating Nuwa was wishful thinking; they had to act cautiously.

Ling Shi: [Don’t worry, I’m hidden well. As a subprogram, I’m constantly evolving. There’s also a lock in my program that cannot be erased.]

“Then do you know Xia Yu’s whereabouts?” Mi Dou couldn’t help asking. He had wanted to ask this for a long time.

Ling Shi: [I’m very sorry, I truly don’t have an answer to that question. But I can reveal one thing: Xia Yu is definitely still alive. Nuwa doesn’t have the authority to kill him, and he’s still alive and well. Based on my understanding of Nuwa, it will control Xia Yu. It likes to manipulate and control everything and everyone. It will make Xia Yu belong to it.]

These words plunged all four of them into silence. Although Xia Yu was no longer by their side, the basic agreement he proposed still protected them. That foolish jellyfish had racked his brains to ensure that everyone had a layer of protection.

“Let’s go,” Mi Dou said, pulling himself out of his emotions and steadying himself. “Move forward.”

Thanks to Yan Xia’s map and Silver Fang’s detector, they could see where to put their feet even though the road ahead was pitch black. Detection lights were on above their heads, and their weapons were ready to fire at any moment. But as they walked, Yan Xia sensed that something was wrong.

“Why aren’t there any bones?” she asked, scanning the ground.

“Too clean. It’s too clean in here.” Lao Gui touched the ground. According to Xia Yu’s memories, no one survived in the institute except him and Mo’an. There should be many corpses on the ground. Even if the bodies rotted, bones would remain because there’s no ventilation here. It’s impossible for everything to have weathered into dust in just over ten years.”

“Could robots have cleaned it up?” Silver Fang asked. “The robots killed all the humans in here back then. Conservatively speaking, there would have been hundreds of bodies. Could they have been disposed of?”

“That’s possible, but the probability isn’t high because it would have been meaningless. The robots could have just abandoned this place. Why clean up a place destined to be useless?” Yan Xia suddenly had an insight. “Unless…”

“Unless this place has always been useful.” Mi Dou’s hope was reignited. If Nuwa hadn’t given up on maintaining this place, then it must have value!

Ling Shi: [I have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. The good news is that I’ve followed your signal into the research institute.]

As soon as she finished speaking, the corridor’s emergency lights lit up, though they were far inferior to incandescent lighting.

Ling Shi :[If there are password-protected doors ahead, I think I can help you pass through them. But the bad news is that many core research rooms cannot be breached.]

“This bit of light is enough. We didn’t come here to breach and occupy—just take the samples and leave.” Yan Xia had no intention of lingering. “Are there any lifeforms nearby, Silver Fang?”

Lao Gui spoke first. “Probably not, right? No sounds should be a good thing.”

Silver Fang and Yan Xia stopped at the same time, afraid that a bizarre creature might suddenly rush out from ahead. Mi Dou suddenly sniffed the air. “Do you smell something? It’s really strange. Just for a moment, I—”

The musty odor not only made him stop, but also stirred Mi Dou’s nightmarish memories. He took a step back and shrank behind Silver Fang. “Fungus!”

The fungus-like being could not be detected by detectors and was stuck to the ceiling. If Mi Dou hadn’t experienced its attack before, he really wouldn’t have noticed it. It hadn’t changed at all since years ago—it looked like a piece of human skin covered in pus and mold, but it was much taller than an average person.

It was this thing. Back then, it followed Xia Yu into the sewers and almost killed him. Had Xia Yu not been a pure body immune to infection, the creature would have killed him back then. Who would have thought that, more than ten years later, it would be hiding here? Mi Dou quickly took out an ecological bullet. Just because he couldn’t deal with it back then didn’t mean he was still helpless now. Even artificial intelligence can evolve on its own—humans wouldn’t lag behind!

Sensing his movement, Silver Fang didn’t open fire.

The fungal man’s attack method was infection, yet its movements were extremely slow. After sensing footsteps, it fell from the ceiling and swayed as it tried to stand upright. Lao Gui yielded the firing position to Mi Dou. It was time to test Mi Dou’s abilities. If he couldn’t take it down, Lao Gui had plenty of other options.

“Long time no see.” Mi Dou aimed the gun at it and fired a bullet that spanned more than ten years. “Go to hell!”

The ecological bullet was shot out. Although Mi Dou’s shooting accuracy wasn’t very high, the fungal-man’s surface area was large enough to be hit. After being hit, it deflated like a balloon, with a contraction point in the middle. It was as if a black hole had appeared inside, triggering a gas collapse.

It left nothing behind—it just disappeared!

“Nicely done.” Lao Gui was relieved. It seemed he hadn’t taught Mi Dou in vain all these years. “You’ve been remembering this all along, right? So you were always prepared?”

Mi Dou’s hands were steady. He put the gun away, putting an end to a childhood nightmare. “Yes, I’ve never forgotten what happened back then. I was afraid that if I encountered it again, I still wouldn’t be able to save myself. People can’t always rely on luck.” When the fungus man swallowed Xia Yu, it was trying to infect him in an anaerobic[mfn]Anaerobic means without oxygen. It’s used to describe organisms, processes, or environments that can survive or function without oxygen, such as certain bacteria, energy production in low-oxygen conditions, or places like deep sediments and the deep sea.[/mfn] environment. I guessed its interior was also anaerobic. All it needed was a bullet that released oxygen.”

“Congratulations, kid.” Yan Xia patted his shoulder. “Killing a nightmare with your own hands.”

“Yes, I congratulate myself too.” Mi Dou smiled. “Let’s go. I have no idea what’s waiting for us ahead.”

Deep in the ocean, ten thousand meters down, Nixida set out with his kin once again.

“What exactly is an Abyssal beast?” he asked, confused. “According to you, it can grow to be very large?”

Kuni led the way, swimming slowly ahead. “Abyssal beasts are a separate branch and the only mermaid with three forms. After they go ashore, they have a human mimic form. Most of the time, they’re in mermaid form after entering the water. But their true appearance is that of a fish; their bloodline is closer to that of the snake women.”

“I haven’t seen many Abyssal beasts. They’re very rare,” said Aibaoyin.

“When they transform, they’re even bigger than sperm whales, with strength comparable to that of human cargo ships.” Kuni turned around and touched Nixida’s elbow fin. “Mixed-blood sirens, your elbow fins are your weapons. You are the sharpest blades among mermaids; you are the warriors among mermaids. You have a craving for war and an expectation of blood.”

“I think… I don’t.” Nixida rubbed his nose. “I’m very peaceful.”

“Maybe. But you can’t change any of this.” Kuni continued swimming forward. “You and the Abyssal Beasts are completely different. Abyssal beasts are the shields and guardians of the mermaids. With their bodies alone, they can shatter ships. But, contrary to their huge and terrifying appearance, they have gentle and affectionate eyes and compassionate hearts. They don’t like war. They are docile mermaids.”

“I think I’m pretty docile right now,” Nixida said, unwilling to concede.

“That’s because you haven’t remembered yet. Once you recover your memories, you won’t be anymore,” Aituoda cut in.

Nixida swept him with his tail.

“Ah… Sister, save me!” The powerful current swept Aituoda more than ten meters away, and Aibaoyin finally fished him back with her tail.

Nixida asked, “Then how do you plan to persuade the Abyssal Beasts to take us there?”

“Of course it’s…” Kuni turned around mysteriously, then blinked cleverly. “Act pitifully. Abyssal beasts are extremely softhearted. You might succeed just by crying once.”

“Thank you for the suggestion.” Nixida pinched his nose. He’d originally thought Kuni had some profound, unfathomable method. It turns out it was just dragging him over to wail loudly until the Abyssal Beasts softened. It was so direct, so simple, and so ridiculous.

“Worst case, we’ll cry with you. Abyssal beasts can’t stand seeing tears, so they’re easily deceived by humans.” Kuni clearly disliked humans very much.

“Wait, am I seeing things?” Nixida had already seen Black Sirens and Abyss Beings and knew what Abyssal beasts generally looked like. Logically, no matter what he saw now, it shouldn’t shock him so much.

Yet, he was shocked again. “Why are there humans walking on the seabed?”

He pointed straight ahead. The steep wall of the trench looked like a mountain waiting to be climbed. And were there actually people walking on that mountain?

“Oh, those are hybrids.” Kuni turned around again. “They’re descendants of humans and mermaids. Didn’t you know that hybrid mermaids have two tails? They look just like human legs.”

Nishida shook his head blankly. They were both mermaids, but they looked so strange.

“No, that looks like…real humans.” Aibaoyin rubbed her eyes; terror filled her heart. Nixida wasn’t mistaken. Those were humans, not mermaids!