Half a month into revision, the radio’s batteries were depleted, and the supercharger along with the communicator went into low power mode, the desk lamp flickered honorably a couple of times before losing its last bit of light.
Shu Tang had no choice but to call Chen Sheng to inquire about repairing the electrical system, only to receive some bad news:
The power supply system for the forbidden area was on an offshore power station that had been abandoned ten years ago. Therefore, if they wanted to restore power, they needed to go to that abandoned power station to activate it.
Shu Tang had initially planned to go after her exams, but thinking about the last half month being stimulated by the mermaid, not wanting to be surpassed by the mermaid’s learning speed, she studied extremely actively, thus significantly boosting her efficiency.
There’s a saying called “catfish effect”—Shu Tang was now quite willing to rename it “scroll fish effect”.
Seeing that she had only half a booklet of material left to memorize, she thought of going out with the mermaid to relieve the pressure from the exams.
Shu Tang pulled out a map sent by Chen Sheng from the communicator, leaned over, and asked the mermaid, “Little Rose, do you know where this power station is?”
She gestured for quite a while. Strictly speaking, the nearby sea area was like a vast hunting ground for mermaids, so naturally, it knew the place.
The mermaid hissed at her.
Such a distance was nothing to the mermaid—but it was easy for Shu Tang to die.
He remembered the manned exploration boat he had seen on the sea surface at the beginning. Thus, the mermaid directly carried Shu Tang to the underground storeroom, where they dug out a dusty lifeboat.
Because the journey was long, Shu Tang thought that if the mermaid got tired of swimming, it could rest on the boat.
The lifeboat was not small.
She found a hemp rope and tied it to the boat, laying down tracks on the ground.
The mermaid watched for a long time, initially thinking that Shu Tang was playing, then heard Shu Tang say it was some kind of “labor-saving device”.
Finally realizing what Shu Tang was about to do.
Then, with one hand, it picked up Shu Tang, and with the other, it pulled the boat’s bow and walked on.
Shu Tang: ?
Until the mermaid dragged the lifeboat single-handedly into the sea, Shu Tang was puzzled for a moment.
Shu Tang crawled in to check, the hull was intact, she pressed the automatic pilot system, thinking it was definitely useless. But, to her surprise, it started up.
She didn’t know, this model was military-grade from the federation, although it was a product from ten years ago, it was the latest automatic control system back then. The requirements for lifeboats in the polluted area were extremely high; not just ten years, even twenty years would still allow it to start up as usual.
Thus, Shu Tang stocked up on some snacks and enough fresh water for three days, and set off with the mermaid towards the power station.
Shu Tang shouted from the boat, “Little Rose, hurry and get on the boat! I checked, and this lifeboat is really fast. You swim too slowly, we’ll be separated in no time!”
However, the mermaid just looked at her from the water.
Shu Tang: What kind of look is that!
Then, with a flick of her tail, the agile figure of the mermaid disappeared into the ocean.
Thus, Shu Tang realized that the lifeboat’s speed was, to a mermaid, akin to an old car.
Shu Tang: =O=
The journey was smooth sailing.
Shu Tang continued to study, taking sips of water whenever she felt tired.
During breaks, she would change into a swimsuit, lie on the deck, and sunbathe, even preparing a pair of sunglasses.
The mermaid grasped the railing, looked up at her, and hissed.
It was a gesture suggesting that the lazy cat should get moving.
Wearing her sunglasses, Shu Tang waved her hand: “You go swim on your own.”
She took a sip of soda, thinking to herself: Studying has drained me dry; he’s a little fish that doesn’t need to take exams, he wouldn’t understand this kind of exhaustion.
She wanted to thoroughly enjoy the sunlight.
The mermaid cocked his head.
At that time, Shu Tang was still unaware of the other party’s sinister intentions.
It wasn’t until the mermaid suddenly grabbed Shu Tang’s foot.
And pulled her toward itself.
Shu Tang immediately began to struggle and scream, “Help!”
Then the mermaid scooped her into its arms and dragged her into the sea.
The mermaid’s laugh emanated from its chest, husky and pleasant.
Dragging her rapidly diving and surfacing in the sea.
With a flick of its tail, it quickly swam hundreds of meters away.
She started off screaming.
But soon, Shu Tang began to enjoy it.
Especially when the mermaid accelerated, it felt as though the entire ocean was receding beneath them.
The immense resistance was all borne by the mermaid, so she felt as free as if she were flying in the sky.
The mermaid stopped to let her catch her breath, and Shu Tang dog-paddled a bit in the water, popping her head up in front of the mermaid’s chest, patting him to hurry up.
The mermaid cocked its head, leaned in close, and let out a hoarse laugh.
Then with a dive of its tail, it took her to a farther part of the ocean.
Shu Tang looked up and saw a colossal creature—a giant sperm whale surfacing to breathe not far away.
The enormous whale song resonated through the heavens.
Ethereal, distant.
It was a profoundly shocking feeling.
Shu Tang watched in awe for a while.
Seeing the whale about to leave, Shu Tang hurriedly said, “Whale, oh whale, little rose, chase it!”
The mermaid looked at her.
And leisurely followed behind the whale.
As they swam behind, the sperm whale seemed to be fleeing from a ghost.
Shu Tang grew more anxious to get a closer look.
The whale sped up even more.
Shu Tang looked back at the mermaid suspiciously.
Occasionally, the mermaid would let go, allowing Shu Tang to swim by herself. However, it would follow at a leisurely pace, ready to scoop her up if she neared danger; if it noticed her limbs weakening, it would rush over to pull her into its arms.
Thus, they played all the way until the mermaid finally brought her back to the lifeboat.
She lay on the lifeboat and said to the mermaid, “So we just swam a mile or two for nothing!”
The mermaid pulled the lifeboat directly, and the whole fish shot towards the ocean like an arrow.
In just three to four minutes, they had traveled a mile or two.
Shu Tang stopped talking.
So, you even slowed down just to accommodate her.
Shu Tang lazily wiped herself dry with a large towel while lounging on the seat.
Occasionally, the mermaid’s tail would flick water onto her, and Shu Tang would shout, “Little Rose, where are your manners!”
Then she scooped up water to splash back at the fish, initiating a playful retaliation.
The next second, a wave crashed over them.
Manners, there were none at all.
Shu Tang found that since making up, the mermaid seemed more natural around her, so much so that they could splash each other all morning.
Shu Tang realized that her swimming skills had improved dramatically under the mermaid’s training.
She pondered, believing she had undergone a transformation:
From a genuine land cat to an amphibious one.
Based on the weather forecast, they had chosen a nice day to go out to sea.
The whole morning was calm and tranquil.
But just before noon, the sunlight disappeared.
Dark clouds gathered.
Shu Tang commented, “I told you the weather forecast was unreliable.”
Then she took her book and hid inside the cabin.
However, Shu Tang had only been writing for half an hour when she felt a slight tremor in the hull.
She immediately looked out the window, wanting to ask what was going on.
The mermaid, however, had stopped, its silhouette darkening ominously in the suddenly gloomy sea.
“He” stared intently at the sea surface.
In that moment, Shu Tang noticed a change in the mermaid’s demeanor.
“His” fins behind the ears stood up sharply, flaring, and his heavy breathing, like that of a wild monster, seemed like a huge fierce creature had been awakened, ready to enter battle mode.
The mermaid turned back, its dark eyes gave her a look.
A look almost like a command.
This glance made Shu Tang feel very alienated. She suddenly felt an imperious dignity from the mermaid, a presence utterly different from usual.
But miraculously, she immediately understood “his” meaning.
She immediately darted into the cabin and firmly closed the door behind her.
Following that, she noticed that the lifeboat began to “speed up.”
If the initial speed was stable, the current speed now made Shu Tang feel slightly dizzy.
However, she did not complain aloud but immediately held onto the table. Driven by some instinct, she felt that something was happening, and because of this sense of impending danger, her heart began pounding rapidly.
After waiting for a while, Shu Tang approached the window and stealthily peeked outside—
What she saw was a scene she would never forget.
As spiritual beings are not suited for combat, she was supposed to spend her life in safe zones, living a life similar to the ordinary people of the 21st century.
Yet, this world was not the largely peaceful 21st century, but an entirely unfamiliar world. Here, human survival was significantly affected; pollution zones covered 70% of the Earth’s area, with the oceans being particularly devastated.
Shu Tang had only seen various reports on TV but had never witnessed actual pollutants.
Most pollutants were parasitic monsters. They could inhabit marine life, a rabbit, a small dog, or even a human.
They had no fixed form, and only alpha warriors with strong spiritual powers could kill them.
But what she saw were large waves crashing towards her and the floating carcasses of fish in the ocean.
The waters were black.
This was due to the excessive concentration of pollutants, which created the illusion of black water.
She immediately sat back down, her fingers trembling.
Shu Tang was anxious to call back Little Rose from outside, but soon realized that all the safety measures on the lifeboat were no longer functional. She quickly crawled to the corner and rummaged through her bag, her hands shaking as she prepared to use the communicator to call for help.
Suddenly, Shu Tang felt a violent shaking of the hull, followed by terrifying collision noises from the bottom of the cabin!
She quickly dialed Chen Sheng’s number, but there was no signal on her screen.
However, just as the massive amount of pollutants at the bottom of the cabin were about to shatter the hull…
Shu Tang heard a roar, monster-like.
No, more than monster-like, it resembled an ancient, colossal evil deity.
The mermaid never sing or speak loudly. So far, he have learned to recognize some words and understand most of what Shu Tang says, but “he” has never tried to speak. Shu Tang faintly realized that the mutation in the mermaid might also have affected his vocal cords, making his vocal system different from that of humans, thus he cannot speak like humans do.
But then, she suddenly realized: the mermaid’s voice had become a weapon.
In the moment she heard it, she felt a strong vibration.
Anyone who heard that majestic, deity-like roar would never mistake “him” for a human again.
The collision noises at the bottom of the cabin ceased, and the hull returned to calm.
But the storm at sea continued.
Rain began to fall from the sky, pattering loudly against the windows. Shu Tang quickly sealed her communicator in a waterproof bag and clutched it tightly to her chest.
Soon, they reached the offshore power station.
However, beneath this power station, abandoned for ten years, had become a nest for pollutants. The sea around it was pitch black, almost stretching to the horizon.
A giant black squid loomed over the sea surface. This decapod, belonging to the order of squids, could grow up to eighty meters long, with sperm whales being its only natural predator.
But at this time, this giant squid had been parasitized by pollutants, its size swollen to twice its original. Its massive tentacles tightly ensnared the sperm whale Shu Tang had seen during the day.
Tremendous fear left her mind blank for a moment. What happened next was a blur in her memory; all she knew was that the mermaid had abandoned the lifeboat, grabbed her by the waist, and held her tightly to his chest.
She felt utterly cold, barely drawing a sense of safety from the mermaid’s large body.
The mermaid brought her to the power station. Shu Tang’s legs were weak, but she desperately clung to the hanging ladder, climbing upwards. However, after Shu Tang had climbed up and reached out to pull the mermaid up, he instead crushed the hanging ladder, signaling her to quickly find cover.
She was stunned.
The mermaid’s dark eyes stared at her.
They looked at each other for a while.