Because she went to bed in the early hours, Shu Tang woke up groggily around three or four in the afternoon.
She got up and instinctively wanted to go out to find the mermaid, took a few steps in slippers before remembering that she had moved into a new dormitory.
It was drizzling again in South Island City, and the sky remained perpetually grey, as if the bright sunshine of the previous days had been an illusion.
On her first day on the job, she was supposed to go to the emergency department for a handover and to tidy up.
But Old Wu said the people in the emergency department hadn’t returned yet and that it would take a couple more days.
So, Shu Tang was called in for some pre-employment training to learn about the personnel structure of Zone 01, important precautions, and more. Old Wu was the one briefing her.
Shu Tang listened intently with a notebook, actually fighting off sleepiness with her eyes wide open.
Old Wu’s speech boiled down to: first introducing the dangers of the forbidden area, the preparations before and after entering, various precautions; then discussing the compensation policies in case of accidental death; and finally, benefits like reimbursements.
Old Wu made the dangers very clear, even mentioning that Shu Tang needed to sign a life-and-death agreement.
However, what reached Shu Tang’s ears was: “blah blah blah reimbursement blah blah blah.”
Shu Tang perked up.
Actually, this wasn’t the first time Old Wu had been called to protect a therapist. Since the psychic force riots started over a decade ago with the Founder, Old Wu had voluntarily become the protector of the Founder’s therapists. However, whether it was ten years ago or ten years later, all therapists facing this level of psychic force riot were utterly terrified.
However, as a price-sensitive consumer, I’m just a poor cat with only fifty bucks in my pocket.
The cat only heard: reimbursable, all reimbursable!
Shu Tang suddenly stood up, “Old Wu, Old Wu, let’s go to the supermarket!”
Old Wu: ?
On the way, Shu Tang asked about the reimbursement process.
After all, most companies are quite stingy with reimbursements.
“Therapist Shu, all official employees in Zone 01 have their expenses reimbursed. If you’re thinking about buying something for the Found… for Subject 001, the reimbursement limit is quite generous.”
Zone 01 is different from other places; several therapists of the Founder have their expenses directly billed through Yuanxun’s account, covering daily expenses as an employee benefit.
—After all, it’s a high-risk job.
After listening, Shu Tang suddenly found Old Wu looking kind and agreeable.
Shu Tang’s enthusiasm for shopping was unprecedentedly ignited. Initially, she thought Zone 01 was in disrepair because no one cared, but after hearing Old Wu’s explanation, she realized that everything could be reimbursed if added.
Shu Tang couldn’t help saying, “Old Wu, there’s nothing in Zone 01, and if I hadn’t turned out the blankets, I’m afraid Little Rose and I would have frozen to death.”
Upon hearing this, Old Wu paused.
For the first time, a somewhat sorrowful expression appeared on his somewhat fierce face.
But soon, Old Wu couldn’t maintain that expression.
Old Wu thought she would buy some armor, daggers, or emergency supplies for hiding in Zone 01 corners during psychic riots.
But the first thing Shu Tang shopped for was kitchenware, including a rice cooker, an induction cooker, and even a hot pot stove, specifically a yin-yang pot.
This seemed like living the high life inside.
This déjà vu peaked after Shu Tang bought cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and several hot pot bases.
Old Wu thought: Maybe it’s for regular use.
However, Shu Tang then turned towards the men’s section, buying several of the largest shirts and T-shirts.
Old Wu started to hesitate: Who is she buying these for?
Shu Tang, unsure of the mermaid’s size, compared it to Old Wu, but Old Wu, being 1.8 meters tall, was much shorter than the mermaid.
Shu Tang: “Old Wu, do you think it will fit Little Rose?”
Old Wu: “…”
He looked at Shu Tang strangely several times.
The Bastille has no lights, two desk lamps, buy;
The shower head of the shower had also been broken for years, buy;
…
Old Wu sleepwalked behind her carrying things.
Fortunately, the items Shu Tang purchased were all quite normal.
Snacks, shampoo, lemon-scented shower gel, and olive oil for hair care.
All pretty standard.
Until Shu Tang bought an extra-large soft-bristled brush.
Old Wu couldn’t help but ask, “What is this used for?”
Shu Tang: “For brushing mermaid tails.”
Old Wu: ?
You mean the tail that sliced the research vessel in half?
Can that even be brushed?
Old Wu: “That tail has a lot of destructive power, the force could be hundreds of tons.”
He hinted that she shouldn’t get too close to that terrifying tail, as an alpha like Shu Tang could easily be killed by one swipe of it.
But Old Wu received no reply.
Instead, Shu Tang picked a blue cat paw brush from among the many brushes, placed it in her shopping cart, and started selecting shower gels.
—She didn’t say anything, but it was as if she had said everything.
Cat: The tail is powerful, but what does that have to do with brushing it?
Old Wu felt this cat was quite stubborn.
But then he looked at the cart filled with various condiments.
Old Wu: …
Before leaving, Old Wu asked Shu Tang what she thought about mermaids.
Because looking at the cart full of items, it almost seemed like Shu Tang was off to a restricted zone to relax and enjoy herself.
Shu Tang was packing up, and paused when she heard him.
Shu Tang looked at the rain outside and thought.
“Don’t you think he seems like a character out of a story?”
Old Wu thought she was going to mention something like a butcher on a rainy night, midnight scares, or a water monster.
Shu Tang with her hands in her pockets: “The daughter of the sea.”
Old Wu: ?
The evidence follows:
Doesn’t speak.
After going out to sea, the tail can transform into legs.
Walking very slowly when they first met, as if he had just traded his voice to a witch for legs.
Isn’t this a gender-swapped version of The Little Mermaid?
Shu Tang, dragging a small trolley borrowed from the supermarket, sauntered away leisurely.
Shu Tang dragged her stuff all the way back to Zone 01.
She found Chen Sheng and asked him for some medicine to relieve nerve pain.
Chen Sheng was stunned for a moment: “Everyone’s progress is still at the stage of being overjoyed about the data on the medical records, and treatment hasn’t started yet.”
They had planned to hold several meetings to discuss this precious data, formulate a treatment plan, and then send a daredevil team to carry it out.
But Shu Tang had fast-forwarded through all that.
Chen Sheng was feeling very conflicted.
But he quickly had someone bring the medicine over.
Shu Tang asked him, “Little Chen, can I go see Little Rose anytime I want?”
Chen Sheng: “…Yes.”
So, you also want to drop by anytime you like?
Shu Tang continued: “Can I bring things in with me?”
Chen Sheng was about to ask what things when he saw a small mountain behind Shu Tang.
Pots, pans, ladles, everything was there.
Chen Sheng: “…”
Only then did Shu Tang realize that normally, everything brought into Zone 01 had to go through a security check.
Her cartload of things would take a while. During the wait, Chen Sheng couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer, despite his usual composure, and blurted out, “How on earth did you manage to get him to take his medicine?”
Shu Tang looked profoundly mysterious: “I told him it was a potent poison.”
Chen Sheng kept urging Shu Tang to continue sharing her secrets: Was it about using a spirit to distract him, a diversionary tactic; or was it some other complex trick?
But Shu Tang didn’t continue.
Because that day, after misunderstanding it as a deadly poison, the mermaid just ate the medicine in front of her— and that was that.
Chen Sheng watched as Shu Tang dragged her mountain of stuff into the elevator.
She didn’t speak again until the elevator doors closed.
So, what happened next?
Why did she leave after only telling half the story?
Wait, she told the Founder it was deadly poison, so why is she still alive?
*
Shu Tang, like a mobile shelf, dragged her bags and packages toward the Bastille.
Actually, stepping back into the restricted area again, Shu Tang felt a bit uneasy.
Before she left, she and the mermaid had a standoff for a while, and if it weren’t for the reflection she saw on the glass window, she might have thought the mermaid really didn’t want to see her off.
She struggled to push the small cart into the fortress, calling out for “Little Rose,” but after several rounds through the vast fortress, she still saw no sign of the mermaid.
Rain began to fall outside again, splashing droplets on the stone window, wetting the newly hung curtains.
Although she knew that building trust was a process, Shu Tang still felt somewhat disheartened not seeing the mermaid upon her return.
She thought the mermaid must have gone hunting again.
So she simply sat down on the floor, unwrapping various packages while waiting.
She couldn’t help but look out the window frequently.
…
The mermaid had waited for her for a long time.
Initially in the fortress, and later just staring at the direction of the building from the rocks, its dark eyes unblinkingly fixed there.
The monster’s heart was filled with intense unease.
After all, the first time Shu Tang left the forbidden area, she never returned.
—Even though this time she had sworn she would come back and even gave the mermaid a hug.
But as the day gradually darkened, the waiting creature still felt an unprecedented anger and loss.
The mermaid’s eyes drooped, and it thought coldly:
Little liar.
The calmer the mermaid appeared, the colder the anger and pain of being deceived simmered beneath the surface like magma under the sea.
Naturally, such a monster was not a kind creature, and almost immediately, its psychic magnetic field expanded, becoming volatile and unstable.
Usually, at this time, the mermaid would go hunting, feeding the little liar.
Thus, the mermaid on the rocks, as usual, dived into the deep sea to hunt for her.
However, sensing the deep sea overlord’s terrible agitation, the nearby fish kept their distance.
So this time, the hunt took longer than usual.
When the mermaid returned from hunting, a heavy rain began.
In the abandoned building, a tall, dark figure appeared, its dark eyes fixed on the elevator.
But the elevator never lit up again.
Perhaps because it stared too long, the mermaid’s extremely unstable psychic magnetic field became sharp and aggressive, causing the elevator to emit a sizzle and spout white smoke.
—The elevator was thus ruined.
The dark creature in the darkness was stunned for a moment.
After a long time, the tall figure seemed to slowly realize something and stiffly turned around.
Water droplets dripped down its long hair.
Drenched, it walked towards its own lair.
……
Perhaps too distraught, the keen monster didn’t immediately notice the disturbance in its lair.
Not until it saw a warm yellow halo—
Inside the wide-open door of the fortress, Shu Tang had turned on the new desk lamp and was unpacking one item after another.
A tall dark figure stood still, staring blankly at the scene inside.
……
Shu Tang felt the mermaid’s gaze and turned her head, only to see a drenched dark figure.
In the darkening sky and the somewhat cold heavy rain, Shu Tang suddenly remembered the small cat hiding in the storeroom, soaked by the rain.
So, she stood up and walked towards the mermaid.
He remained silent, looking down at her.
Shu Tang thought he was still sulking.
But the mermaid didn’t avoid her, so she tentatively reached out and tugged at him.
He followed Shu Tang back into the house.
Though the mermaid was large and fierce, Shu Tang always inexplicably felt he was like the pitiful little creature she had picked up on a rainy day.
Shu Tang pulled out a large towel, initially wanting to complain about this fish—after all, it was so cold outside, and he still went to the sea to hunt and stood outside the door without coming in; didn’t he know it was cold? But remembering that they seemed to have been in a quarrel earlier, she swallowed the words that had reached her lips.
She started bustling around him, now fetching a towel, now drying the mermaid’s hair.
Throughout this, the mermaid was very quiet, his dark eyes greedily watching her.
His gaze never moved away from her soft cheeks.
In reality, the mermaid was not afraid of the cold; the blood of such a top predator is cold, able to circulate freely under ice at sub-zero temperatures without being affected by the low temperatures. Such a fierce species doesn’t need to maintain body temperature or catch cold from the rain like Shu Tang does.
—Nor did he need to have the water wiped from his hair.
It was only because his skin was pale and bloodless that he looked as though he had been frozen. But the mermaid never told Shu Tang this, and even each time Shu Tang wiped his hair, he would lower his head to match her height.
Moreover, the mermaid planned never to tell her this truth.
The mermaid thought aimlessly.
Then he heard her speak:
“Little Rose, I’ve changed jobs.”
“I’ll be working in Zone 01 from now on and can come see you every day.”
While helping him dry his hair, Shu Tang began to tell the mermaid about her experiences while she was away.
From the bearded man to her strange, inseparable new assistant, and her new job.
Talking so much, actually, Shu Tang was appeasing the fish.
She wanted to tell him, she really wouldn’t leave.
She was anxious because she had a feeling that the mermaid had gotten himself into that sorry state today, probably because he thought she wouldn’t come back.
She did not know if the mermaid understood.
—Until she saw that tail flick lightly.
“He” was listening, and he understood it all.
So, she calmed down.
Gently stroking his hair, smooth as satin.
Only the sound of rain remained in the room.
…
Shu Tang felt the mermaid’s gaze on her, never shifting away.
Aside from a flick of its tail, the mermaid tonight seemed like a stone sculpture, staring at her without moving or reacting in any other way.
Shu Tang felt a bit uneasy, touching the mermaid’s cool forehead.
After drying her hair, she sat next to the mermaid and pulled out a rubber duck.
It was the kind of toy that squeaks when squeezed.
She enthusiastically demonstrated how to play with the rubber duck, trying to catch the mermaid’s attention.
The mermaid quietly watched her profile.
Shu Tang did not know that in the eyes of the mermaid, she was a clumsy and not-so-smart kitten.
But the mermaid could clearly feel that she always thought she knew more, so she was also actively accommodating “him,” constantly teaching “him.”
The mermaid did not know the word “to coax,” but from her actions today, it sensed something akin to that meaning.
Although clumsy.
—Like holding that squeaky toy.
Trying to amuse a fierce monster with such a toy was indeed very clumsy.
But still, the mermaid showed its first reaction of the night.
—”He” reached out, mimicking Shu Tang’s touch, and squeezed the rubber duck. Just when Shu Tang thought he was interested, suddenly, he pinched Shu Tang’s flushed face.
Just like squeezing the rubber duck.
Shu Tang, demonstrating how to use the duck, was startled.
She looked up blankly at the mermaid.
Outside, the rain drizzled.
Looking at the rubber duck, his expression was unimpressed, but when he pinched her and looked down at her, his gaze became intensely focused.
“He” was not interested in the rubber duck.
“He” was not interested in the world outside.
“He” was only interested in her.
Translator’s Note: The author is really good at writing an ending for these chapters 🥹