Chapter 19: Lost

Chapter 19: Lost

Frail, the complete antithesis of a merman, devoid of sharp claws or fangs, lacking a lithe physique—possessing only clumsy hunting methods and a voice capable of bewitching the mind.

If it was a failed experiment,

then everything made sense.

The sea surface was deathly still.

Even through the screen, the adjutant felt the chilling aura emanating from their marshal, though the marshal's expression remained utterly unchanged.

Having served the marshal for years, the adjutant dared not break the profound silence. He waited quietly until, after a long pause, a message finally arrived: "Understood."

The adjutant lowered his voice, "What about the military's starship?"

"Depart immediately."

The communication was abruptly terminated.

As the sun rose, the darkness and chill over the sea were dispelled by the approaching light. The waves shimmered, reflecting rainbows in the sunlight, beautiful as a fairy tale.

Its very falseness made it dreamlike.

When reality was exposed to the light, the warmth of the sun carried a pervasive chill.

Si Jisheng stared at the two-minute communication log on his device, silently mouthing, "Failed... experiment."

He stood motionless on the sea's surface, as if frozen into a cold statue—one erected in the central square of the empire's capital, clad in a pristine, heavily decorated uniform, adorned with icy medals, a statue for admiration and reverence.

The war between the empire and the federation had mobilized hundreds of thousands of soldiers. As the commanding officer, he had lost his rationality at a critical moment. When he regained consciousness, the massive starship was empty, its self-destruct sequence activated at some unknown time.

Apart from the system's cold countdown, there was no sound. He called out to every battleship, his throat burning until his voice turned hoarse and vanished entirely. Only then did he face the agonizing truth: he bore the weight of tens of thousands of cold graves.

Self-loathing and self-destructive—he allowed the power-depleted starship to disintegrate, swallowed by endless darkness, until it crashed onto an unnamed, primitive planet. There, he met his only kin.

Whether by design or pure coincidence.

The merman race was, by nature, a cruel and cold-blooded species—deceptive, cunning, and utterly insincere.

Si Jisheng removed the conch necklace from his neck, studying it in his palm for a long moment, confirming it was nothing more than an ordinary shell. His fingers loosened slightly.

The conch fell into the churning waves, carried by the tide into the vast ocean. In the blink of an eye, it vanished from sight, never to be seen again.

·

After the silver-tailed merman left the nest, Deng Xi portioned out the remaining shellfish meat with a small stone blade. The already meager portion was unevenly split—one half larger, the other smaller.

Deng Xi ate the smaller portion himself, saving the larger one for Little Mute.

The golden-haired and blue-tailed little merman sat at the entrance of the nest, leaning against the reef, teasing the glowing jellyfish circling around him with his fingertips. The jellyfish wrapped its translucent tendrils around his plump, pale fingers.

Deng Xi waggled his fingers.

The glowing jellyfish swayed along with the motion.

Leaning closer, Deng Xi blew a bubble, trapping the jellyfish inside. With a gentle poke of his nose, the bubble burst, startling the jellyfish into a tremble.

The little merman's eyes crinkled mischievously.

Deng Xi played with the glowing jellyfish for a long time while waiting for Little Mute to return. He waited and waited, his stomach growling again, yet there was no sign of the silver-tailed merman.

Knitting his brows, Deng Xi grew worried.

He feared Little Mute had encountered a predator too large to handle—without Deng Xi there, he might be in danger.

But he also worried he was being paranoid.

Troubled, he began counting the small jellyfish's tendrils. "Look, don't look, look..."

The glowing jellyfish was translucent, its tendrils too numerous and tangled, constantly shifting. Deng Xi quickly lost count. Giving up, he poked the jellyfish's head, shooing it back into the nest. With mock sternness, he instructed, "Be good and wait for me!"

With a flick of his deep-blue tail, Deng Xi swam away from the nest. The sea was vast, abundant with sea creatures. Without the scent of blood to guide him—since the silver-tailed merman wasn't injured—Deng Xi could only search haphazardly.

"Little Mute?"

The merman's call rippled through the water, yet no response came. The sea seemed suddenly deserted, as if Deng Xi were the only one left.

His heart skipped a beat.

Deng Xi swam past coral reefs and outcroppings of rock, searching the entire sea without finding the silver-tailed merman.

He was certain—Little Mute wouldn't abandon him. Something must have happened, causing the silver-tailed merman to disappear.

Mermaids weren't built for speed. By the time Deng Xi finished searching the entire area, a long time had passed. Weary and famished, he resurfaced with great effort after scouring the seabed.

The sea breeze churned the waves. Completely drained, Deng Xi drifted like flotsam at the mercy of the currents.

Floating listlessly atop the waves, he had no idea where the tide had carried him. Sinking back underwater, he was about to return when a flash of silver caught his eye.

The little merman's eyes lit up.

Found him!

This was an expanse of sandy seabed, gray silt covering countless shells. Aside from a few scattered strands of seaweed, the area was barren.

The gleaming silver tail shone conspicuously against the desolation. The silver-tailed merman swam above the sand, his fins kicking up silt as if searching intently for something.

"Little Mute!"

Si Jisheng paused, turning his cold gaze toward the voice.

Deng Xi swam over happily, unfazed by the merman's standoffishness. "Where did you go? I looked everywhere for you! Were you in danger?"

Scanning the area and seeing no large fish, Deng Xi asked curiously, "Why did you swim so far?"

The blue merman looked up at him with earnest concern. Si Jisheng's mouth set in a thin line. He had offered trust once, showing his device openly—yet the blue merman had not reciprocated his honesty.

How could such a simple-minded merman be of any use? How had he been purposely positioned near him?

The conch, lost to the waves, had drifted far before coming to rest here, sinking into the gray sand, buried beneath the silt.

Si Jisheng's gaze swept the area, seeing only darkness.

His bare neck on display to the blue merman's uncomprehending gaze, Si Jisheng remained silent, holding his gaze with Deng Xi.

Deng Xi blinked, finally detecting something wrong. Softly, he ventured, "Little Mute... did you lose the conch by accident? Is that what brought you here?"

After a long moment, Si Jisheng finally gave a slight nod.

Not by accident—on purpose.

Deng Xi bit his lip, fidgeting. Such a tiny conch—if it fell into the sea and was carried away by the waves, it would be nearly impossible to find again.

Deng Xi was at a loss too.

Under Si Jisheng’s scrutinizing gaze,

Deng Xi pondered for a while, his striking blue eyes bright and untroubled. He wasn’t angry or upset. Instead, he spoke with understanding, “Then I’ll just get Little Mute another one.”

“Let’s head back together, alright?”

Author’s Note:

He actually threw away the love token his wife gave him? So mean!