After disembarking, Lu Yan received a room card. It was only then he realized that the patrons of the Mermaid Club were divided into tiers. Those, like him, who paid just a million for the ticket were the lowest, called "Grey-tail customers." Above them were "Blue, Red, Gold."
The Grey-tail customers were numerous and could only stay in standard rooms, serving as a reference for the truly wealthy to experience luxury. Spending three million made one a Blue-tail, ten million a Red-tail, and fifty million a Gold-tail.
Even in standard rooms, the quality matched that of a five-star hotel. The floor was about a meter wide, laid with transparent glass overlooking the gently rippling pink sea—a beautiful sight.
Lu Yan hung his bow and arrow by the bedside and asked, "Aren't you concerned about high tide being so close to the room here at the club?"
"We're safe. The pollutants here control the water. Even if it rises, it's you Grey-tails who'll be first to get soaked," came the reply.
Lu Yan wasn't worried about drowning but dreaded wetting his bedsheet if water surged at night. He checked the room thoroughly; there were no surveillance cameras. However, as he stepped onto the balcony, he heard the long-lost sound of the tides.
Back when he first merged with the Kingfisher, he'd always heard waves. But as his spiritual threshold increased, that negative buff gradually faded. It had been a while since he heard such noise.
Yet, upon careful listening, it wasn't the same as the waves in Quhai.
The system lazily chimed in, "It's the tides at the Mermaid Bay."
At 6 PM, staff in uniforms knocked precisely and delivered dinner. Lu Yan had a keen nose, especially for the fishy scent on aquatic creatures. He could sense a faint sea scent on the server, masked by a refreshing fragrance.
"Sir, as it's your first day here, we've taken the liberty of bringing you dinner along with a map and guidelines for the island. Also, the buffet on the second floor is open 24/7, no extra charges. Would you like to dine?"
"Sure," Lu Yan replied.
The server placed the tray on the table, bowed deeply, and left. Under the metallic lid were succulent meats emitting a tantalizing aroma of oil and herbs. It looked mouthwatering, but Lu Yan sensed it wasn't regular meat; it was pollutant meat.
This meat hadn't even been processed at the research institute. Its contamination level exceeded safety standards, above 5.
Lu Yan was used to consuming pollutants, but for some reason, he felt no appetite when presented with such food. He involuntarily recalled the data he had seen earlier.
Every year, some tourists on the island ignored warnings, swam to deep areas, and vanished.
"Will all the food be like this for the next half month?"
"All the meat on this island is pretty much the same. You can choose vegetarian. At least plants are safe," the system suggested.
Although Lu Yan's appetite had decreased due to pollution, he couldn't completely avoid eating. Hence, after settling in, he chose to head to the restaurant on the second floor.
The restaurant wasn't much different from the luxurious buffets he'd seen on TV. The only distinct feature was a grand performance stage in the center, where besides the symphony, there was a pool.
A stunning Red-tail mermaid gracefully played the harp in a Greek-like gown, adorned with pearls and various gems, her nearly two-meter-long red fishtail adding to her alluring and melancholic aura.
Just a glance at her made many affluent individuals feel excited.
"Red-tail Mermaid, Class E pollutant, contamination value 300. Under manipulation."
"Talent: Beguilement."
"Mutation: Mermaid transformation, beauty."
Lu Yan was surprised. "Is being good-looking also a mutation?"
"Excessive beauty can also harm. Want to try painless beauty enhancement? Our Mermaid Island Cosmetic Center can fulfill your desires."
Lu Yan filled his plate with vegetables, fruits, and eggs. Without consuming meat, he relied on fatty fruits and high-protein eggs for nutrition. Luckily, the island had abundant supplies.
"What does 'under manipulation' mean?" Lu Yan inquired.
"Literal meaning."
"Who's controlling it?"
"Behind-the-scenes boss, unscrupulous businessmen, powerful capital holders."
"The owner of the Mermaid Club?" Lu Yan asked, pondering.
"Don't ask. By the rules, I can't spoil it."
A staff member approached Lu Yan and softly asked, "Sir, I noticed you didn't choose a main course. Can I suggest something?"
"No need. I'm a Han Buddhist practitioner, strictly vegetarian for now," Lu Yan responded.
The server looked surprised. "I see. Apologies... But sir, we have many mermaid performances. They might go against your principles. How about..."
Having worked on the island for years, this was the first time the server encountered a Buddhist.
Lu Yan clasped his hands, "Rest assured, I'm not that conventional. The body is merely organic matter, a product of delusional attachment."
"...," the server was speechless.
Not many people dined at the restaurant that night. As Lu Yan ate, the chair opposite him was pulled.
"Hello, I'm Shang Zhou," the youth smiled, "I'm a travel vlogger."
Shang Zhou was quite good-looking. "Did you also win the lottery for the trip here?"
To him, Lu Yan didn't seem like someone who could afford the 1-million entrance fee, oblivious to the fact that Lu Yan had recently purchased a nearly 30-million school district property.
"No," Lu Yan pondered for a moment, "there's a lottery? How many spots?"
"Yeah, 20 spots in total. Tens of thousands participated, and I luckily won," Shang Zhou said, checking his phone. Suddenly, he muttered, "Huh, the lottery's been deleted. Maybe the event's over. Can I add you? We're both here alone; we could hang out."
The system matter-of-factly stated, "He's gay. Also, those tens of thousands of participants were all fake accounts; only 20 real people were chosen."
"These 20 individuals, men and women, without exception, are good-looking and come from unfortunate families. Either both parents are deceased, or there are family conflicts—simple relationships, easy to handle after death, just pay money."
Lu Yan wasn't fond of adding friends, but he agreed nonetheless.
The island of merfolk held an eerie air, and Lu Yan felt his solitary strength wasn't enough; he needed more sources of information. Shang Zhou's appearance and the system's background info made him seem like a fish on the chopping board in Lu Yan's eyes. After agreeing to "explore the merfolk island together tomorrow," they politely parted ways.
The second floor housed a restaurant while the third floor offered various wellness services like foot soaks, ear picking, and massages. Lu Yan, done with his meal, couldn't resist wandering around the third floor, feeling refreshed upon leaving.
"The masters here are really skilled," he remarked. "They're on par with the old traditional Chinese medicine practitioners at our hospital." The enthusiastic attitude, spacious private rooms—it all offered a top-notch experience.
The system was astonished: "[Are you genuinely here for tourism?]"
Lu Yan felt like he'd spent a fortune, thinking occasional indulgence wasn't a big deal. From the fourth floor onwards, entry for gray-tailed visitors was prohibited unless Lu Yan immediately paid 2 million for an upgrade.
"[The fourth floor is a casino, the fifth allows you to experience harmony with the merfolk, and there are alternatives if you're not into that. The sixth floor is the presidential suite for gold-tailed visitors. The seventh floor is the club headquarters.]"
"[Also, in the last few days, the fourth floor will be open to all visitors. That's why the merfolk island was established near the O'nan administrative area.]"
Lu Yan chose not to spend the money but opted to return to sleep. Before leaving, he slipped a sheet of paper into the door crack, indiscernible from the outside. When he opened the door now, the paper fell, displaying only a single crease. Good, no one had entered his room.
The bed, a memory foam, was exceptionally comfortable. However, Lu Yan's paranoia kicked in; he constantly felt a presence in the room. The wardrobe opened several times, and even under the bed was checked, but everything was empty.
"Is anyone there?" he asked the system.
"[Not at the moment.]"
"Will there be later?"
"[Possibly.]"
This left Lu Yan awake from 11 pm till 3 am, his hand hidden under the covers, tightly gripping the C-grade psychic weapon, "Venom Fang."
At three twenty, all was quiet. The beachgoers queuing for barbecues had returned to their rooms, yet Lu Yan remained awake, listening to the tidal sounds. It was then he heard the tapping of glass.
Opening his eyes, Lu Yan got up, and the bedside sensor light automatically illuminated, casting a warm, dim light indoors. He looked towards the source of the sound.
On the transparent glass floor, a hand resembling a frog's webbed limb vigorously pounded the glass. It brought forth unsettling memories for him. But being someone accustomed to grand spectacles, he grabbed a knife and approached the glass, looking down from above.
A hideous fish face pressed against the glass, devoid of emotions in its dead fish-like eyes, showing urgency only through the rhythmic hand tapping.
This fish-human was different from K City's kind; it lacked teeth, had a lantern-fish-like structure on its head with a glowing blue circular apparatus hanging from it. Its large fish head perched atop a narrow human-like body, akin to a frog. The creature bore numerous knife wounds, some festering and rotting, a scene beyond the scope of most people's nightmares.
Upon seeing Lu Yan, the fish-human opened its mouth wide, revealing an empty cavity devoid of teeth or even a tongue. It tried to convey a lack of aggression, unaware of how terrifying its actions appeared with that face.
Thankfully, Lu Yan's composure remained unaffected due to his exposure to such sights.
"[A flesh fish. One of the distorted beings on the merfolk island, retaining some consciousness. It was among the lucky tourists from the previous batch.]" The system sighed. "[It smells the 'fish' scent on you. It wants you to leave the merfolk island, to push you out of this area. What happens afterward isn't something we can guarantee.]"
"Them?"
"[Over the past decades, there have probably been a few hundred of these flesh fishes. The meat consumed by gray-tailed tourists is harvested from these creatures. After consumption, some awaken to become Harbingers, selected to become flesh fish. Harbingers have resilient bodies and aren't as susceptible to death. The tycoons of the streetlights have a perverse interest—they prevent them from reaching 100% mutation, becoming emotionless, sentient Pollutants.]"
"[These flesh fish have attempted escape but are lured back by the Sirens' song. Some lucky ones who managed to leave were devoured by the pollutants in the depths.]"
"[Therefore, these flesh fish unite to help others escape this fate. Unfortunately, not everyone appreciates their efforts.]"
Almost as soon as the system finished, a nearby guest room echoed with a scream—"Help! There's a monster!!"
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