The first day of wilderness survival.
At night, of course, they still slept in the huge cage inside the Bastille.
Shu Tang took out a compressed inflatable pillow and a small blanket, making a simple bed arrangement in the cage. She gave the blanket to the mermaid and covered herself with the protective suit, soon falling asleep.
However, she didn’t know that after she fell asleep, the mermaid with silver-white hair opened its eyes, moved closer to Shu Tang, and gently shifted the protective suit off her. Wrapping its tail around her, it enveloped Shu Tang within its own tail.
In fact, Shu Tang’s scent was very pleasant, and being close to her easily calmed the mermaid, bringing it a sense of peace and tranquility. Yet, throughout the night, the mermaid didn’t sleep soundly, occasionally opening its eyes to ensure Shu Tang was still there before closing them again.
The mermaid woke up early, continuously watching Shu Tang, observing her reactions, waiting for her to realize her predicament today.
On her first day of confinement, Shu Tang, who hadn’t woken naturally in a long time, slept for over a dozen hours, completely unconscious.
The mermaid waited from morning until noon, and from noon until the afternoon.
Thinking Shu Tang was unconscious, the mermaid picked her up and shook her.
Shu Tang mumbled groggily, “Stop it, I’m not going to work today.”
She wanted to continue sleeping, but the mermaid already lifted her up.
Indeed, having not eaten for over a dozen hours, the mermaid thought she would starve if she continued to sleep.
So, ignoring Shu Tang’s desire to stay upstairs forever, it forcibly carried her downstairs.
The weather was splendid, perhaps out of sympathy for Shu Tang, who as a corporate slave had not rested for too long; it was sunny these two days. The sunlight streaming into the Bastille lessened its gloomy feel, and Shu Tang was completely awakened by the sun as soon as she stepped downstairs.
Once downstairs, she briefly explored the fortress. The Bastille’s automatic water filtration system worked well without electricity; the first floor had a fully equipped toilet and washroom, providing all the essentials of daily life except for a door that resembled prison gates, offering her a great sense of security.
A tall dark figure followed behind Shu Tang, quietly watching her as she curiously flipped things over to the left and right, only picking her up and bringing her back when she ventured beyond a safe distance, continuing to watch her silently.
While Shu Tang was washing up, the mermaid tilted its head.
However, seeing Shu Tang continuously spit out foam, the mermaid’s confusion peaked.
It suddenly moved closer.
The mermaid’s dark eyes watched Shu Tang’s puffed cheeks and poked them.
Shu Tang: “…”
Shu Tang had also bought toiletries for him.
She pulled out a blue toothbrush, squeezed some toothpaste onto it, and started demonstrating how to brush teeth to the mermaid, who tilted his head watching her.
Shu Tang confidently said, “Follow me, it’s very simple!”
The mermaid had a strong learning ability and quickly grasped the essentials.
—Except that the toothbrush was too brittle and small, so the mermaid handled it with care.
When Shu Tang reached the final step, just about to teach the mermaid to spit out the foam, she hadn’t yet spoken when suddenly a “gulp” was heard.
The beautiful mermaid next to her tilted his head, his silver-white hair cascading down like water, and he even flicked his tail.
Shu Tang connected with the mermaid’s line of thought.
She imagined his line: “Cool and tasty.”
Shu Tang thought to herself: How could it not be tasty? It’s the most expensive mint flavor.
She worried: Could a fish die from eating toothpaste?
After observing the mermaid for a while and seeing no signs of poisoning or collapsing, and even casually flicking his tail, Shu Tang breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly felt the weight of responsibility.
As she was heavy-hearted packing up, she suddenly noticed the toothbrush had been bent.
Shu Tang: “…”
Shu Tang left, doubting life itself.
Unbeknownst to Shu Tang, the mermaid’s thoughts were actually like this—
In the sea, there are seaweeds that can clean teeth, but Shu Tang insisted on using a little stick to clean her fragile teeth. Considering Shu Tang’s weak biting force, the deep-sea overlord, who usually hunted only large sharks, specifically hunted the softest small fish to accommodate her fragile teeth.
However, despite this, the mermaid indulged Shu Tang’s little quirks and even swallowed the weird-tasting toothpaste just to not upset her.
However, when the delighted mermaid followed Shu Tang to the kitchen afterward, he suddenly noticed Shu Tang secretly slipping several round pills into his bowl.
At that moment, the mermaid’s flicking tail stopped.
Yes, there was another issue in front of Shu Tang: how to medicate the mermaid.
Shu Tang decided to use the method of feeding a cat hairball remedy pills, and thus added today’s dose of nerve pain relief and mental stability medication into the mermaid’s bowl.
Probably because the mermaid had previously learned human eating methods with Shu Tang, he perfectly replicated Shu Tang’s posture and calmly finished his lunch today.
—His expression did not change when swallowing the pills.
The mermaid’s body had undergone mutations difficult for ordinary people to comprehend; otherwise, his tail wouldn’t possess such strength. Not to mention a couple of small “poisonous” pills, he could eat several bottles without any problem.
When the mermaid was with her, he kept staring at her. Shu Tang had grown accustomed to being stared at by “him” and hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
In the afternoon, Shu Tang dragged the mermaid around the beach searching for a signal, but it was clearly a futile effort.
Seeing that the battery of her communicator was almost depleted, Shu Tang finally made up her mind.
Although Shu Tang wanted to extend her vacation, running out of battery in her communicator would be troublesome. How would she catch up with the main group or even hail a cab?
Reluctantly, Shu Tang gazed at the azure sea and blue sky of this place, then turned to the mermaid and said, “Let’s leave.”
At that moment, the mermaid’s sharp dorsal fins perked up.
It wasn’t until Shu Tang stood up and took hold of the mermaid, signaling for him to come with her, that he followed her quietly, looking at her hand in silence.
—Wasn’t she planning to escape? Why take him along?
They returned to the building. On the way, Shu Tang looked dejected, just like any office worker depressed about ending a happy vacation on a Monday.
Shu Tang sighed, “I have to wait another half-month for my next holiday.”
Shu Tang said, “When I get back, I’ll need to make up for a lot of paperwork. Who knows when I’ll be able to sleep in again.”
Shu Tang turned her head to look at the azure sea and blue sky outside, her expression very gloomy.
The mermaid couldn’t understand many of the words Shu Tang was saying, like “paperwork” and “holiday.” Those terms were very vague to him, but Shu Tang’s expression was easy to read—
She looked almost exactly like she did this morning when she was reluctant to get out of bed.
“He” looked at her curiously.
Suddenly, “he” realized that Shu Tang might not actually dislike or fear his “nest.”
The mermaid tilted his head slightly, feeling a bit pleased.
With a heavy heart, Shu Tang approached the elevator.
It seemed that such high-end elevators had a backup power source, especially since the only passage from Zone 01 to the outside world was this one elevator.
But Shu Tang pressed the button for a long time, and the elevator never lit up.
Shu Tang’s heart skipped a beat, and she started pacing in place, asking the mermaid, “Is there another exit here?”
The tall mermaid didn’t answer her but instead shifted his gaze from the elevator back to Shu Tang.
Shu Tang then began wandering around Zone 01 with the mermaid in tow.
However, the reason this area is designated as a restricted zone is because it is isolated from the world. Besides the tall, blue-rose-covered warning tape, there is nothing but the endless sea.
Finally, Shu Tang came up with three escape plans:
1.Open the elevator, escape through the underground passage by extreme rock climbing, with the downside being the risk of falling to death alongside the mermaid;
2. Travel one hundred nautical miles riding the mermaid to the neighboring city. If lucky, they might even catch a boat along the way, though it could be quite exhausting for the fish;
3. Wait for rescue personnel, the downside being the need to depend on the conscience of the rescue team.
Weighing her options, Shu Tang asked the mermaid, “Little Rose, can you open the elevator door?”
In truth, Shu Tang was a bit uneasy, really worried that the mermaid might actually be able to do it.
After all, if the mermaid could, she would have to brave the risk of climbing barehanded, risking her life crawling down the elevator shaft.
—All this, just to get to work, seemed a bit too much.
She wasn’t some chosen work-warrior, or a super office hero.
The mermaid’s tail was capable of severing even a research vessel in half, let alone a mere elevator.
But the mermaid averted its gaze, pretending not to understand and flicked its tail.
In reality, “he” watched Shu Tang constantly scheming to leave, feeling an unspoken restlessness, which often made the mermaid glance at her.
Yet, the mermaid couldn’t speak, “he” couldn’t even express the desire for her not to leave.
The two of them fell into silence, surrounded only by the sound of the waves.
Suddenly, Shu Tang’s communicator rang.
The mermaid immediately shifted its gaze, its dark eyes fixed on the communicator.
Shu Tang took it out and saw it was an alarm, reminding her that she had to submit a three-month internship case summary report by the end of the month. This work was incredibly dull yet burdensome, and Shu Tang, who often procrastinated, always left it to the last few days.
Checking the calendar, she realized today was the last day.
Her heart sank.
The report needed to be at least ten pages long and had to be handwritten. Shu Tang hadn’t started at all, and even if she stayed up all night, she wouldn’t finish.
The deadline immediately put immense mental pressure on Shu Tang, and at that moment, her anxiety reached a peak.
She was very nervous, clutching the communicator, fearing it would regain signal immediately and she’d be rescued in half an hour, having to submit the report right away.
But, fortunately, fate was kind to her.
Shu Tang stared at the communicator with hope.
The next second, the screen of the communicator went black—it had run out of battery.
At last, the last glimmer of hope for escape had shattered.
From start to finish, the mermaid had been watching Shu Tang, not missing any expression on her face.
Then, the mermaid heard Shu Tang let out a sound: “Ha.”
Mermaid: ?
The feeling was very much like when you haven’t done your summer homework—
And the homework suddenly falls into the river.
The mermaid flicked its tail and hissed at her twice in confusion.
It seemed to be asking her why she was laughing.
Shu Tang tried to make a sad face, but she couldn’t help her corners of her mouth from starting to rise wildly.
Shu Tang sighed, “What can we do? We can’t escape. We can only wait for someone to rescue us.”
Then, the mermaid heard Shu Tang humming a tune and began sitting cross-legged on the beach, piling up sand.
Mermaid: ?
The mermaid was silent for a while, then reached out to touch Shu Tang’s forehead.
Shu Tang: ?
…
After confirming that the deadline had moved away from her, Shu Tang completely relaxed, and the sky seemed even bluer.
Originally, the first day of surviving on a deserted island should have ended with Shu Tang eating her meal and going to sleep contentedly.
But after dinner, Shu Tang suddenly realized the mermaid had disappeared.
Shu Tang thought the mermaid had gone hunting and wasn’t too worried—
After all, the first time they came to this fortress, the mermaid had left midway to catch sharks.
However, Shu Tang was wrong.
The mermaid hadn’t left; it was just observing her in the dark.
Initially, when Shu Tang first left the forbidden area, the mermaid thought she had been scared away. The anxious “he” didn’t know how to get along with Shu Tang and could only sleep beside her bed at night, trying to stay with her without letting her notice;
But this time, after a severe mental force outbreak, their relationship had dramatically closed.
She even fixed the small umbrella and returned it to “him.” Now, that worn umbrella is still next to the mermaid’s cage, carefully picked up and stored by the mermaid.
However, the mermaid still harbored doubts. The monster was sensitive and cautious at heart; “he” wished that Shu Tang would stay forever by “his” side.
—Even if it meant giving “him” those round pills, it didn’t matter.
Yet, the mermaid couldn’t quite gauge Shu Tang’s attitude, “he” was still carefully testing her.
For example, that night, the mermaid decided to disappear for a while.
In fact, this monster was hiding in the darkness, observing Shu Tang with a cold, sharp gaze. Seemingly fierce and ruthless, but if she were to run away, that sharp scrutiny would immediately turn into anger and pain.
Like a very awkward hedgehog, or some kind of spiky cactus.
And Shu Tang, obviously, did not grasp such profound meanings.
She had been closely followed by the mermaid these past few days, and this was her first time moving alone.
Shu Tang first explored the Bastille prison with great enthusiasm, then started rummaging around, curiously wandering; after satisfying her curiosity, she cautiously looked back, confirmed the mermaid was not there, and seized this rare opportunity, sneakily—
—to touch the remaining pack of instant noodles in the plastic bag.
The tall, dark shadow watching Shu Tang in the darkness: “…”
Shu Tang: Ah, I finally found the opportunity, they’ll expire soon if I don’t eat them now.
Though small fish are tasty, junk food also has its unique flavor.
Shu Tang planned to take advantage of the mermaid’s absence to quickly sneak a taste of junk food.
But as soon as Shu Tang turned around, she immediately came face-to-face with the tall dark shadow.
The mermaid, unknown when, appeared behind her. His silvery white hair shone bright under the moonlight, and his pitch-black eyes were gazing at her intently—
—at the instant noodles in her hand.
Shu Tang: “…”
She looked down at the instant noodles, thinking: This must be some kind of mermaid summoning device.
At that moment, their communication suddenly became unobstructed.
The mermaid tilted his head, signaling her to hand over the hidden instant noodles.
But Shu Tang didn’t really want to hand over the noodles.
The mermaid hissed at her, his attitude leaving no room for refusal.
Shu Tang wanted to use her old trick again, but as she looked around, there was nothing else she could put into the mermaid’s hand, and her own hands were hidden behind her back, revealing them would give it away.
The two faced off for a moment.
The atmosphere was very tense.
Finally, the mermaid reached out his hand.
Shu Tang laid her head in the palm of the mermaid’s hand.
The mermaid looking down: “…”
Shu Tang: “…”
Looking at her face resting in “his” palm.
The expressionless mermaid’s lips suddenly curled up ever so slightly.
In the darkness, she heard a muffled, hoarse laugh emanating from someone’s throat.
TL: Nothing to look at here, it’s just two fools playing.