In the abandoned restricted zone building, after enduring a severe psychic uproar, the once intact basement ceiling collapsed, allowing rainwater to seep in. In the darkness, only the tick-tock of dripping rain could be heard.
Shu Tang stepped into the basement; even with the light from a communicator, visibility was minimal.
In the basement, a mermaid leaning against the ruins slowly opened his pitch-black eyes.
The sharp neural pain eased, and the congested buzzing sound weakened. This ferocious monster barely regained a bit of its senses.
However, the next second, his extremely keen senses immediately made the mermaid notice someone approaching and he abruptly turned around.
In the darkness, very light footsteps were heard, accompanied by a breathing sound.
Hidden in the darkness, the monster, with its extremely powerful night vision, saw Shu Tang not far away.
Shu Tang, drenched, was struggling to grope her way deeper into the basement.
The moment the mermaid saw her in the darkness, his gaze became extremely angry. The fins behind his ears immediately stood up with a sharp curve at the sight of her, his fierce eyes glaring intensely at the figure.
“His” sharp and cautious attitude seemed to ask: Wasn’t she scared away? Why did she come back?
Shu Tang immediately felt that intensely strong gaze. In the basement, another heavy breathing was very clear; she immediately stepped towards that direction.
However, she had only taken two steps towards the mermaid—
In the darkness, enduring severe neural pain, the mermaid immediately let out a hoarse cry from his throat!
Compared to the previous few insubstantial threats, this hoarse cry was the real intimidation of the monster. Almost at the instant it was heard, Shu Tang’s brain immediately sounded a strong alarm, and her biological instincts made her freeze in place.
The fins behind the mermaid’s ears stood up, the strong hostility utterly unmasked.
As if with just one more step closer, she would be immediately torn to pieces.
In the darkness, those pitch-black eyes stared deathly at her, exuding a cold scrutiny.
Memories from before the psychic upheaval returned to his mind, a wave of unprecedented strong anger and loss swept over the monster.
“He” remembered the terrified scattering crowd, remembered Shu Tang’s disappearance.
If she had been scared away once, why would she come back again?
In the darkness, the mermaid’s fierce and chilling gaze fixated on her, and from his throat came another threatening hiss.
Shu Tang had no choice but to retreat.
Until Shu Tang backed far enough away, the hissing finally stopped.
One could say that all the harmony of the previous period seemed to shatter into bubbles in the face of the mermaid’s sharp aggressiveness.
Shu Tang should have fled and escaped like those screaming “monster” when this naturally ferocious creature revealed its hostility.
After everything that happened today, the mermaid finally realized—
They belonged to two distinctly separate worlds.
And she, the intruder, would be better off not entering the monster’s barren and dark world, opting instead to retreat to her own safe, civilized world.
However, Shu Tang actually had no intention of running away.
Shu Tang was indeed retreating; she realized the mentally unstable mermaid could not be approached. To lower “his” guard, she kept obediently moving backward.
Once she had backed up to the door, Shu Tang displayed the agility of a feline, and in the moment the mermaid began to relax, she unexpectedly and swiftly approached the dark corner.
“The Art of War”: Attack them where they are unprepared, appear where you are not expected!
Shu Tang moved too fast, and at this moment, the mermaid was overwhelmed by a buzzing in his ears, almost unable to think, and thought she had been scared away, totally unprepared for Shu Tang to suddenly approach.
—The mermaid immediately tried to shrink back.
But Shu Tang had already seen “his” current state.
The fins behind the mermaid’s ears were flapping, and the veins on his arms and forehead were protruding, the sharp pain made “him” tightly grip a nearby metal frame, which began to emit a fragile creaking sound and underwent a terrible distortion.
This made “him,” hidden in the dark corner, look completely inhuman, especially when his gloomy, pitch-black eyes fiercely turned towards Shu Tang, truly resembling a thorough and complete monster.
Shu Tang immediately realized “his” state was not right, seeming as though the mental upheaval had not ended.
Shu Tang was somewhat anxious, but as soon as she approached, the mermaid immediately let out an even louder hiss in anger.
The mermaid violently dodged backwards.
Yet Shu Tang soothingly said, “It’s okay, it’s okay, let me take a look, alright?”
Initially, in a highly unstable mental state, the mermaid retreated again and again, only wishing to quietly spend this time in a quiet corner; yet Shu Tang overstepped further, even extending her hand, wanting to touch the mermaid.
Before her soft fingers could touch it.
In the darkness, the monster suddenly raised its head.
In a flash, Shu Tang was not yet aware of what was happening when she felt herself being forcefully pinned against the ruins.
Her back against the wall, in front of her was the heavy breathing of a mermaid.
“His” breath overwhelmingly enveloped her, his cold breath on her cheek as chilling as ice; “He” easily lifted her up against the wall, and Shu Tang was powerless to resist, her mind going blank.
The monster drew close to her cheek, its pitch-black eyes locking with hers, and a rough, hoarse threatening sound emanated from its throat.
It was like a silent standoff.
With the height of a mermaid, Shu Tang’s legs couldn’t even touch the ground. Maintaining such a vulnerable and insecure position, she couldn’t help but shrink back, but the wall was right behind her, leaving her no room to retreat.
The mermaid had to exercise extreme restraint to avoid tearing her body apart. If those dark eyes were still their original beautiful gray-blue, one would surely see the bloodshot strands within them.
Shu Tang felt the air grow tight and constricted, the two breaths intermingling, one cold and somewhat non-human, the other warm and rapid.
After a long while, the mermaid’s pale throat bobbed, and he let out a low rasp.
Suddenly, before Shu Tang realized what was happening, her mind went blank, and she was locked in an abandoned injection room nearby.
After the loud door closing sound, the world fell silent again.
The injection room was the only sheltered place in this underground basement.
With a tall iron door and sturdy walls, even if the mermaid lost control of his highly unstable psychic power, Shu Tang could hide inside and evade him.
After locking her in, the mermaid stood silent for a while, then turned and stepped into the endless darkness of the basement.
Perhaps the door slamming awoke Shu Tang; she slid down from the wall like a liquid, and soon realized her legs felt weak.
Leaning against the wall, Shu Tang sat for a while and then heard faint noises from outside. But it was unclear whether it was because the mermaid was now too far away, as the sounds were not distinct.
She could only occasionally hear collapsing noises and the sharp squeal of metal under too much strain…
Shu Tang’s heart was pounding; she leaned against the wall, ears perked up listening to the outside noises.
Finally, slowly, the terrible noises ceased.
Her heart gradually returned to its normal rhythm; indeed, Shu Tang had been terrified, her body automatically going into defense mode, her mind momentarily emptied, completely forgetting the events before she was locked in the injection room.
Naturally, Shu Tang was frightened, but like facing that huge psychic entity outside, such fear often did not last long.
She rubbed her weakened legs, looked around, and faintly realized why the mermaid had locked her in here. The basement was a vast hall, cluttered with miscellaneous items, with only the injection room as a shelter if “his” psychic power had not yet fully stabilized.
Shu Tang leaned against the corner of the wall, lost in thought.
Today, Shu Tang witnessed a side of the mermaid rebellion that exceeded the imaginations of many in this world and far surpassed everyone’s understanding of it, otherwise, it wouldn’t have put such pressure on the Federation.
Having witnessed all this, it was already good enough not to be driven mad.
However, Shu Tang was a time traveler.
To her, the concept of ABO was already unimaginable, akin to the shock of “a mouse marrying a cat.”
If Shu Tang couldn’t accept reality, upon discovering that she was a supreme Alpha, she might have suffered a mental breakdown. But Shu Tang had lived well into her twenties, which showed that there was nothing in the world she couldn’t accept anymore.
Even if a dog walked past her on the street and said hello, Shu Tang would nod and think: Ah, a magical creature.
Shu Tang thought—
In fact, compared to seeing a box of pork priced at 2000 in the supermarket, the mermaid outside seemed much more acceptable.
While Shu Tang thought about these things, she waited for the mermaid’s mental power to fully stabilize. Gradually, the surroundings quieted down.
It was already four o’clock in the early morning.
In the silent night, there was no sound to be heard, only the drip, drip of water.
But Shu Tang knew that the mermaid were still in the basement.
Shu Tang lifted the curtain of the injection room to take a peek.
The basement looked even more dilapidated now, a section of the ceiling had collapsed, and wires from the first floor were hanging down. The already broken lightbulb flickered unstable cold white light due to the magnetic field of mental power, making it appear even more sinister and eerie.
But by this dim light, Shu Tang clearly saw the mermaid at the other end of the basement.
The mermaid sat on the ground with his back to her, his eyes closed, as if enduring immense pain. In the leaking basement, the beautiful fish tail of the mermaid was covered in scratches, and even the cold white face of the mermaid had one or two bruises.
At this moment, the restless mental power had slowly quieted down. However, the remaining intense nerve pain still nearly prevented the mermaid from thinking.
So, when Shu Tang reached out to unlock the door, the mermaid merely quietly lifted his eyes to look at her.
He was like a statue fused with the ruins of this underground.
Weary, self-loathing.
Shu Tang did not approach hastily and impulsively like the last time.
She moved closer to where the mermaid was.
The mermaid’s dark eyes flickered, and it seemed she was finally going to escape. However, he just tiredly closed his eyes and leaned quietly against the ruins.
But no footsteps followed.
Following his example, Shu Tang leaned against the ruins not far from him.
She sat on the ground, her back to him, twisting her damp pant legs while beginning to speak.
Shu Tang:
“I waited for you for a long time tonight, but you didn’t come.”
“I was going to wait longer, but then I was dragged away.”
The mermaid suddenly opened her eyes.
Shu Tang began to meticulously describe her emotional journey and the hardships she faced along the way. Shu Tang talked a lot, so even though the mermaid made no sound, the entire basement was lively because of her constant chatter.
She didn’t notice that the mermaid was staring intently at her back. In fact, she didn’t know whether the mermaid could understand her, but after such a chaotic and magical day, she had a strong desire to express herself.
In the end, Shu Tang concluded, “Ah, you don’t know how anxious I was coming all the way to find you.”
She twisted the water out of her trouser legs, “Look, my new pants, they are all messed up now.”
She received no response.
But in the darkness, the silent, almost motionless mermaid’s pitch-black eyes watched her.
Its pale lips moved slightly.
It seemed to want to respond, but ultimately, no sound came out.
Suddenly, Shu Tang saw a small blue umbrella not far away.
The small blue umbrella, pierced by bullets, had now fallen apart, lying quietly on the ground, looking somewhat lonely in a puddle.
Shu Tang stopped talking.
Although she didn’t know, at the moment this unintended “gift” was destroyed, the mermaid’s terrifying gaze and nearly crazed state, she still moved towards the small blue umbrella and dragged it over to her.
Shu Tang wanted to see if she could fix it. Two ribs of the umbrella were directly broken, but the handle was still intact, and the fabric had only a hole, which was not a big issue.
Shu Tang awkwardly pieced the umbrella back together.
She turned her back to the mermaid, who couldn’t see her actions in the dark.
When she stopped talking, only the sound of raindrops and the mermaid’s heavy breathing remained, as quiet as when the mermaid had just awakened.
Finally, Shu Tang stood up.
The mermaid’s pitch-black eyes stared fixedly at her.
— Was she leaving?
The monster, full of suspicion and vigilance, like a wild monster in a cage without an exit, felt angry and lost. Yet, ultimately, “he” made no move, just leaning against the ruins, watching her.
The collapsing ceiling of the basement dripped rainwater, forming a small pond around the mermaid.
Shu Tang sighed.
She quickly walked up to the mermaid and reached out, so the clumsily fixed blue umbrella now shielded the tall mermaid from the dripping rainwater.
Leaning against the wall corner, the mermaid looked up at her.
In this chaotic, perilous rainy night, with leaks everywhere, crowds fleeing, and the world in silence.
The blue umbrella was broken.
But the person who gave the umbrella was still there.