Chapter 41
Chapter 41
The merman slammed into the tank again and again. The cracks in the glass widened, and red water poured through them.
Lin Yinxi watched shards of glass pierce the merman’s body. His scales peeled back, but no blood flowed out.
When she first read the rules, Lin Yinxi had taken it for granted that red water was dangerous and blue water was safe.
But after investigating over the past few days and hearing Xu Haitang’s information, she had discovered that both kinds of water meant danger for survivors.
In this aquarium, red water meant that fragments of confused human consciousness had emerged in the exhibits. Terrified and desperate to escape, they would attack visitors and employees indiscriminately.
In that situation, the water itself was safe, but the exhibits were dangerous.
Blue water, on the other hand, had a sedative effect on the exhibits in the tanks and could stabilize them.
In that situation, the water itself was dangerous and would infect survivors. But the exhibits were safe and would not attack them.
Lin Yinxi saw it with her own eyes. The merman hadn’t opened his mouth, yet Chen Fei’s voice came from his throat.
So creepy!
His face showed no human expression, yet he spoke with human inflections, his voice full of love. “Yanran… don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you, even if I become a monster… I’ll get you out of here and take you home. We’ll get a cat and move to a place with a balcony…”
In stark contrast to his voice, his tail kept striking the cracked glass, frenzied and ferocious. The cracks grew wider and wider.
That voice, so loving it was almost devout, came from the merman’s throat again and again.
“Yanran… we grew up together. We’ve always been together. Let’s get married… All I’ve ever wanted in this life is a home with you…”
The floor was slippery. Lin Yinxi struggled over to the console and began operating the program, which was already running out of control.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
At that moment, Lin Yinxi’s brain went into overdrive.
She ignored the red error codes popping up frantically on the screen because of the short circuit. Drawing on her experience from previous part-time jobs, she quickly switched to the console’s underlying physical control panel without looking.
If red water meant the exhibits’ consciousness was in revolt, the only solution now was to forcibly inject the blue solvent with its sedative effect and lower the emergency blast door, sealing the small tank completely!
Hiss…
As the high-pressure air valve vented, a green light flashed on the console.
Lin Yinxi had succeeded. The reserve supply of blue sedative water sprayed down from above, and the heavy metal gate began descending with a rumble.
Lin Yinxi was about to breathe a sigh of relief when something went wrong.
Clack, clack, clack… The machinery made a grating, stuttering noise.
The gate stopped just before it could close!
Lin Yinxi leaned forward to look. Her pupils contracted sharply.
That big-tailed fish wasn’t afraid of pain. He had brutally jammed his own tail into the gap in the hydraulic track!
People always said fitness buffs could be ruthless with themselves.
Even as a merman, he was still just as ruthless.
He refused to budge, even as the gate crushed his tail into a bloody mess. With the gate jammed, the system overloaded and crashed.
The glass was already cracked.
Then it happened.
Crash!
With a deafening roar, the glass shattered completely.
Scarlet water surged out like a flood through a broken dam, carrying sharp shards of glass of every size straight toward Lin Yinxi.
Good grief. Reacting fast, Lin Yinxi clung desperately to the console’s metal support, which was anchored to the floor. She only just avoided being swept away by the enormous surge of red water.
So much for last night’s shower.
The tank was broken. The merman was free.
Chen Fei fell onto the slippery tiles, his body studded with glass shards.
Freed from the tank, his frenzy reached its peak.
Lin Yinxi was still immersed in the water.
Please, please don’t notice her!
She rapidly searched her brain for ways to beat up a merman.
Nothing. She’d only worked part-time looking after kangaroos at a zoo. She had no experience with creatures like mermen.
Lin Yinxi’s mind raced.
Visitor rules, employee rules.
Red water, blue water.
The merman was now in a red-water frenzy. His predatory instincts would most likely drive him to attack the weakest, easiest target present.
Chu Yanran was protected by the rules, and Lin Yinxi herself was farther away. That made Xu Haitang the one in the greatest danger.
“Haitang, watch out! The merman’s coming for you!”
Sure enough, driven by his predatory instincts, the merman immediately fixed his pitch-black eyes on Xu Haitang, who had hit her head.
Xu Haitang came to, dazed. She struggled several times to get up, but her arms gave way and she fell back down.
Gritting her teeth, she tried to reach for the taboo handgun at her waist.
But she had lost too much blood. Her fingers trembled and wouldn’t obey her.
The merman’s mouth slowly split open, revealing rows of serrated teeth. Bracing his arms against the floor, he dragged his heavy tail and lunged at Xu Haitang.
Fortunately, being on land slowed him down.
“Haitang!”
With her back to the tank, Chu Yanran heard the rush of water and Xu Haitang’s pained grunt. She immediately realized what had happened.
Chu Yanran was an ordinary student with a tender heart. After so many brushes with life and death, her grief had reached its limit.
She bit her lower lip, wanting to turn around, but forced herself not to.
The rules in the Visitor Guidelines were engraved in her mind.
Fish did not grow hands. She must never make eye contact with a creature with human hands in a tank, or answer his calls for help.
If she turned around, that indescribable mental contamination would swallow her instantly.
She couldn’t turn around.
But she couldn’t simply let Xu Haitang be devoured alive, either. Xu Haitang had risked her life to protect her all the way here.
What could she do? What could she do?
Sacrifice herself? Could she really do it?
Chu Yanran was torn.
The merman lunged at Xu Haitang.
Lin Yinxi shouted to Chu Yanran, “Don’t turn around! Throw the iron bucket beside you behind you and to your left, as hard as you can!”
At that critical moment, guided by her sense of direction from the sounds she’d just heard, Chu Yanran seized the heavy iron bucket that had floated up beside her with both hands.
Using the thick red water on the floor to slide, she kept her back turned and launched herself backward in a powerful sliding tackle. At the same time, she swung the iron bucket and smashed it behind her without looking!
“Come back! Don’t go over there! Just throw the bucket! You have to stay where you are!” Lin Yinxi tried to warn her.
Bang!
The heavy iron bucket struck the lunging merman squarely on the head, knocking his attack off course.
At the same time, Chu Yanran’s back slammed into Xu Haitang and knocked her clear of the merman’s attack.
But the momentum, combined with the wet, slippery floor, sent Chu Yanran herself falling into the arms of the merman who had missed his target.
She raised her head and saw the merman’s face.
Her lover’s face, both strange and familiar.
He held her in his arms.
She saw his eyes, so full of love.
His open mouth wasn’t speaking at all. The voice came from deep in his throat.
“Love you… Yanran, I’ll always love you…”