The fourth day of survival in the wilderness.
Although there had been an argument, life had to go on.
Especially since the beach is swarming with a huge army of mantis crabs, forcing an uneasy alliance with the mermaid.
In the morning, just as Shu Tang was about to administer the medicine, she remembered the events of the previous day.
So, she patted the mermaid and passed over the medicine tablet.
The mermaid looked down and naturally took the tablet.
Drank water.
Gulp.
Eliminating the sneaky process of medicating greatly increased the efficiency of the task.
Unfortunately, however:
The self-heating bowl, after being used for three days, broke down this morning.
Shu Tang boiled porridge for a long time, and when she lifted the lid, the rice was still raw and there was only a little bit of lukewarm water left.
This also meant that for a long time Shu Tang would not be able to drink porridge or eat cooked food.
Shu Tang regretted, “There’s still so much seafood left, we can’t make soup anymore.”
Under the prolonged absence of supplies, this was expected.
Still, although a bit disheartened, the fresh salmon was quite delicious.
Shu Tang quickly forgot about this matter.
But before leaving the kitchen, the mermaid stared at Shu Tang’s self-heating pot for a while and touched the remaining warmth of the pot.
However, Shu Tang did not notice this small detail.
…
After eating, they went for their usual stroll around the building.
Shu Tang checked the elevator power supply, and as expected, it was still not restored.
Shu Tang suspected that little Chen had completely forgotten about them here; when she saw him with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, he looked like a good person, even resembling a security team leader. How could he just abandon them like that?
Probably because the self-heating pot was no longer usable, Shu Tang finally started to worry.
However, thinking that if they delayed another two days, she wouldn’t have to submit their report, Shu Tang’s mood improved.
Yet, as they were about to leave, Shu Tang looked up and saw a camera.
Cameras were not uncommon in the building, but this camera—it was moving.
The mermaid behind Shu Tang also stopped in its tracks.
“He” slowly fixed his gaze on that camera.
The camera’s red light turned on, indicating it was in operation.
On the fourth day after being abandoned by the main group, this ignored world finally reestablished contact with the outside.
—Though it was just through a camera.
However, for Shu Tang, this probably rekindled hope after four grueling days.
The mermaid watched for a while and then looked down at Shu Tang.
Shu Tang really stopped in her tracks.
Asking for help is necessary, but there’s an art to it:
Though stranded on a deserted island, Shu Tang had spent these four days as if on vacation, but she absolutely could not show that she was enjoying herself.
Otherwise, upon returning, Director Zhou would certainly—
“You’ve been idle for four days with nothing to do, why didn’t you write a report?”
“What? You say you were trapped? Is that an excuse not to submit a report? There are always more solutions than problems! Why didn’t you overcome it?”
The mermaid stared intently at Shu Tang.
Then, seeing Shu Tang lost in thought for a moment, she suddenly ruffled her hair and smeared her face with dirt.
She turned her head to glance at the mermaid, saw that the mermaid was spotlessly clean, and quickly signaled for the mermaid to lower her head too.
Mermaid: ?
Although unsure of her intentions, the mermaid still lowered its head.
Shu Tang quickly smeared dirt on “his” face too.
Caught off guard, the mermaid was stunned.
“He” looked at her quizzically.
Then, letting Shu Tang drag “him” under the camera.
The mermaid’s eyes met the red light of the camera, its pitch-black, pupil-less eyes looking quite eerie.
Beside it, Shu Tang, who had dragged the mermaid over, began her performance—
Although she was not sure if anyone was watching through the camera, Shu Tang immediately displayed a look of despair:
“Is anybody there? We’ve been trapped here for four days, the elevator’s out, we’ve been out of food for three days and are about to starve, someone please come save us!”
“Is anyone coming to rescue us? Help! Help!”
After performing, a despondent Shu Tang contentedly walked away with the still confused mermaid.
Shu Tang: “Hurry, hurry, we’re having big sweet fish for lunch!”
The mermaid actually didn’t understand what Shu Tang had just said or what she was doing.
The mermaid understood the phrases “starving” and “help” because every time she was pinched by a crab, she would start yelling “help”; and after cooking the crab into a soup, she would exclaim “I’m starving.”
Yet she ate four or five crabs every day, knocked on scallops after finishing, and even ate several pieces of salmon at noon. After eating, she would lie on the beach, and Shu Tang commented, “This is contemplating life.”
The mermaid, however, felt it was just being too full to want to move.
Why did she lie about that?
It was like how she was actually the one to touch the crab first, but she always accused the crab of pinching her first;
It was also like how she didn’t want to sun-dry the quilt herself, but she claimed it was to teach “him” how to recognize things;
And like how she said she liked “his” world, yet she still thought about leaving.
The mermaid concluded:
She was a little liar who liked to lie.
…
After Shu Tang came back, the mermaid became very silent.
Actually, apart from occasionally hissing or making indistinct noises from his throat, the mermaid was always quiet. However, over the past few days of interaction, Shu Tang had begun to faintly sense “his” mood changes.
“He” silently carried her to the rock in the sea, then turned around, and with a flick of his tail, his agile figure disappeared into the ocean like an arrow released from a bow.
These days, when hunting, the mermaid often took Shu Tang to this rock.
Sometimes, too lazy to return after hunting, they would just eat right there on the rock.
Today was the same.
But after hunting, the mermaid didn’t go ashore.
The mermaid’s tail was very beautiful, occasionally splashing water when flicked, and under the sunlight, the droplets looked like pearls—
Shu Tang could watch the mermaid flick his tail all afternoon.
But today, the tail was just spread out beautifully in the water like a “ribbon,” appearing very calm.
“He” remained silent, and his expressionless face seemed somewhat gloomy.
These past few days, aside from building sand castles and collecting shells, although Shu Tang felt relaxed, she was already a bit bored. Her greatest amusement had become pestering the mermaid, occasionally grabbing his tail or sneakily using a crab to pinch his fingers—and the mermaid basically didn’t mind, always just showing an expression like watching small fish play, simply lifting the crab away.
Today was the same, she sat on the rock all afternoon until it got dark, watching the sea, and when bored, turned to look at the mermaid with his eyes closed, playfully splashing seawater on the mermaid’s tail.
The mermaid opened his eyes and looked at Shu Tang.
At that moment, Shu Tang didn’t know what was about to happen next.
The mermaid came out of the water.
Shu Tang thought he was going to carry her away—
Suddenly, she felt her ankle being grasped.
The next second, Shu Tang was dragged into the sea by a mermaid.
“Help! Help!”
Shu Tang thought the mermaid intended to harm her.
She struggled in the water, thinking she was about to be murdered by the mermaid.
Shu Tang yelled, “It’s just a little splash of water! What a petty fish!”
The mermaid: “……”
The mermaid reached out and lifted her.
Shu Tang steadied herself as she was lifted up.
Only then did Shu Tang realize that this area of the sea, which looked deep, had a thick reef beneath, and the water only reached her calves.
Shu Tang: “……”
The mermaid plunged back into the water like an arrow, gliding far away, then turned back and hissed at her.
Shu Tang understood his intention: “He” wanted to take her somewhere.
She didn’t particularly like getting wet, but having been playing on the beach all day, building sandcastles had already lost its appeal. Seeing that the mermaid wanted to take her out, she became curious.
Shu Tang could swim, though just a basic dog paddle, so she ventured deeper toward the mermaid.
But the mermaid waited for her for a long time, while Shu Tang was still dog paddling in place.
Finally, patience exhausted.
The mermaid flicked its tail and dived into the water, reaching Shu Tang in seconds.
Before Shu Tang could react, she was already grabbed by the mermaid.
The mermaid surfaced, encircling her waist.
With a movement of its tail, it glided far into the sea, and Shu Tang could only hear the sound of the water breaking, along with the mermaid’s heavy breathing and heartbeat.
Perhaps in the warm seawater, the temperature of the mermaid’s body didn’t seem as cold as the sea itself.
The mermaid’s tail fanned out in the water like a blue veil, swiftly cutting through the blue sea.
The scene was beautiful and dreamlike.
The speed of the mermaid in the water was incomparable to its speed on land. Underwater, the mermaid was as swift as a cheetah, astonishingly fast.
Shu Tang could barely hear anything but the rushing water, her eyes tightly shut, holding on to the mermaid, afraid to let go.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the mermaid stopped.
Shu Tang was brought to the surface, and the underwater mermaid pushed her onto the reef. Shu Tang crawled up and lay there, gasping for air. The mermaid casually climbed ashore and flipped Shu Tang over like a turtle.
In the darkness, she felt the mermaid must be smiling.
Shu Tang swore, she had never been on a faster ride, not even the fastest boat; if there were underwater traffic cops issuing tickets, the mermaid would surely be fined into bankruptcy on this journey alone.
It took her a while to calm her breathing, then she got up and wrung out her clothes.
She only realized that the sky had gradually darkened, and this place was a bay.
She thought the mermaid had brought her here for a drive, since the wind here was particularly strong, and they had only stayed around the Bastille, never venturing elsewhere.
Shu Tang thought to herself: If there were barbecue, it would be nice to grill some skewers here.
The mermaid flicked his tail and hissed at her.
Normally, after dark, the entire Zone 01 would be pitch black, and that’s when they would return to the fortress to sleep.
However, Shu Tang slowly, suddenly saw a blue starry river lighting up not far away.
—There is a type of bioluminescent plankton called “sea sparkles” that emits a light blue glow when their light glands are stimulated at night.
It has a beautiful name, called “blue tears.”
Shu Tang stood frozen, even stopping her action of wringing her clothes.
She sat next to the mermaid, watching together as wave after wave of glowing seawater crashed over.
Shu Tang thought that, in four days of isolation from the world, she would feel lonely and bored.
Because the mermaid could not speak, and her only means of communication with the outside world had run out of power, life suddenly consisted only of the endless ocean.
But at this moment, Shu Tang suddenly realized that it actually wasn’t the case.
With a fish, three meals a day, the rise and fall of the tides.
Shu Tang said to the mermaid beside her:
“Little Rose, have you ever heard a story?”
“There was a man named Robinson Crusoe who was stranded on a desert island and met his nonspeaking friend Friday.”
Shu Tang turned her head to look at him, and suddenly noticed, the mermaid’s pitch-black pupil-less eyes, reflected in the blue tears, turned into a blue starry river.
She instinctively held her breath.
Robinson met his nonspeaking good friend Friday.
And the orange drumstick met its nonspeaking little blue rose.
So, in this time of isolation, she was not lonely.
The sea of blue tears rolled wave after wave towards the shore, like a starry river crushed and falling into the sea.
Between heaven and earth, only the two of them remained.
The mermaid did not understand her metaphor, just quietly watching the way Shu Tang spoke.
After a long while, the mermaid turned his head towards the sea of blue tears.
“His” world had the vast ocean, the boundless blue starry river, the serene world beneath the sea.
Compared to the bizarre world outside, it was also very interesting.
The mermaid heard her say, “Little Rose, I really like it here.”
…
Then, can you stay?
Stay in ‘his’ world?
*
On the way back, the moon had already risen.
Shu Tang asked what the place with the mermaid was called. The tall mermaid silently followed behind her.
The forbidden area had been sealed off for too long; perhaps it never had a name to begin with.
So, Shu Tang decided to name it: Sea of Tears.
After returning to the fortress, Shu Tang was not in a hurry to sleep; she began to deal with the unfinished tasks of the day: she was preparing to hang up the curtains.
It wasn’t noticeable on cloudy days, but on sunny days, the Bastille without curtains seemed very impractical: Shu Tang was always woken up by the sun in the morning.
At that time, she had to burrow under the covers to hide from the sunlight. Yesterday, she simply let the mermaid sleep outside, and she hid in the large shadow of the mermaid to avoid being awakened by the sun.
Listening to her, the mermaid seemed to understand what she meant.
He just silently watched her, somewhat puzzled.
Didn’t she want to leave? Why was she still arranging this place?
Shu Tang counted the number of curtains and hooks, looking up at the high window top.
The mermaid was tall, but because he was so strong, he could easily crush the hooks;
And Shu Tang was too short, and there were no stools available to stand on.
Then, an idea struck Shu Tang; she turned her head and gestured for the mermaid to lift her up to hang the curtains.
The mermaid was silent for a while, then looked down at Shu Tang, who was quite small compared to “him”.
In the mermaid’s eyes, Shu Tang was a fragile species: she had to remove the skin and bones from her food before eating; she had to hide under the covers to sleep, or else the sun would wake her; even a pinch from a crab could swell her fingers.
The mermaid couldn’t control his own strength, what if he accidentally crushed her when lifting her?
Suddenly, the mermaid lifted Shu Tang up.
Shu Tang thought: This isn’t high enough!
Then, a hand gently supported her thigh and lifted her onto his shoulder.
Shu Tang was bewildered.
But by the time she regained her senses, she was already sitting steadily on the sturdy shoulders of the mermaid.
The deep-sea monster had broad shoulders and long legs, and his strength was quite fearsome; this weight was nothing for the mermaid to handle.
The mermaid was nearly two meters tall, including the height of his ear fins.
That was high enough.
The mermaid looked up, signaling that she could hang the curtains now.
It seemed that the kitten remained motionless because she feared falling.
The mermaid was silent for a while.
He raised one hand and gently supported her waist.