In the western sea area, due to an unfortunate encounter with a tsunami, Shen Qingyang and the prophet's small fishing boat capsized. Shen Qingyang had to use his own tentacles to paddle in the sea. The prophet's face turned pale as he sat on Shen Qingyang's tentacle, saying, "I always feel that this journey is filled with ominous vibes..."
He wanted to open his eyes to see the future, but as soon as he opened a slit, his eyes stung intensely. The prophet even had the illusion that if he continued to look, his eyes would split open, so he reluctantly closed them to rest.
Having lived for more than twenty years as a human, Shen Qingyang had only grown his tentacles this year and was not yet proficient in using them. Initially, he couldn't even swim and had to learn by observing a sleeping octopus on the seabed. As a token of gratitude, Shen Qingyang grilled it on a black reef, and it tasted delicious.
After a long, almost half-month drift, they finally arrived at the sea area the prophet mentioned. The prophet's face showed a nostalgic expression, "The last time I came here was 15 years ago. At that time, the mermaid club was just taking shape. I suggested helping him turn the mermaid club into an isolated utopia, and in return, I would take away the eggs parasitizing on the fish people after 15 years."
It was a story of a farmer and a snake. A long time ago, a common person who went on an island vacation was contaminated. His face kept mutating, and scales even grew on his body. At that time, cases of pollution disease were not widespread. He didn't become a harbinger, but he didn't continue to deform and become pollution either. He was a person stuck in the second stage of mutation, unfortunate in his evolution towards a mermaid. Like those flesh fish, he had a fish head and a human body, appearing terrifying.
He bid farewell to his family and hid alone. He came to Mermaid Island, living there for nine years. The long time brought endless loneliness until one day he saw Shen Qingyang seeking help on a piece of driftwood.
Knowing he looked ugly, the fish person hesitated to approach. Until one night, Shen Qingyang circled to the edge of the reef. A bit scared, but still mustering courage, he forced a smile, "You're the one who saved me, right? Thank you."
The fish person felt that on that night on the island, he saw the most moving starlight in his life.
...
"When I went to the mermaid club, that flesh fish had been kept in a small box for a long time and became mentally disabled," the prophet took a bite of grilled octopus leg, saying, "The boss asked it to send him back to human society. It was naive, thinking it had found love. Humans are really interesting; a little love during loneliness can make them reckless."
"A very small black metal box, stuffed inside and couldn't move. The boss said it felt disgusting to think about having love affairs with a fish. But he needed the fish's genes. So, he locked it up."
"At that time, the mermaid club's sign wasn't about beautiful mermaids but focused on grotesque flesh fish," the prophet laughed, "Visitors could buy fish feed and watch the flesh fish compete in the water from behind an iron cage."
"I asked him if he wanted a real mermaid."
The prophet's tone was like reporting his work results, full of pride and satisfaction.
Shen Qingyang curled his tentacles, "Enough."
He remembered that he was no longer human now. Although he could use mimicry, it would fail when he lost consciousness. In this state, Dr. Lu probably wouldn't like him.
The prophet said, "You still have compassion."
"I want to hear stories about princes and monsters living happily together, not mermaids turning into bubbles," Shen Qingyang replied thoughtfully.
The prophet wanted to tease a bit more, but in his "foreseeing" vision, he quickly became alert to hundreds of ships hundreds of miles away. If it were ordinary ships, the prophet wouldn't be so nervous, but he clearly saw the emblem of the "Fifth Research Institute" on those ships!
This was a combat ship specifically built for searching and dealing with shallow-sea pollutants.
"How could this be? This sea area has always been very safe. Why are there suddenly search ships?" The prophet cursed in a low voice. "Next time we come here, let's leave first."
However, the prophet's discovery was a bit too late. "Captain, strong pollution source detected in the southwest direction at 35°. Pollution range 03 miles, pollution intensity around 1700."
Due to mimicry, Shen Qingyang detected pollution levels much lower than the actual ones.
"Damn it, looked for Mermaid Island for a week. Haven't seen a damn thing. Finally, we encounter a pollutant we can deal with," the captain said, "Let's go! Engage!"
The entire ship had only the captain as a harbinger; the rest were well-trained navy personnel. However, when facing pollutants, these people showed no fear on their faces. It was all thanks to this ship.
The steel giant produced by the Fifth Research Institute might not be powerful against advanced pollutants, but it gave ordinary humans the power and courage to hunt low-level pollutants.
Among the thirteen research institutes, the Fifth Research Institute had the largest land area and received the most financial funding every year.
Shen Qingyang's speed in the sea was not slow, but compared to the ship, he was far behind. Not to mention, he was carrying a prophet on his back. The distance between the two kept shrinking, quickly entering the attack range of the ship.
On the search ship's deck, a dark steel pipe emerged. It was the barrel of a railgun. "Fire!"
A torpedo-shaped projectile was shot towards Shen Qingyang. His tentacles expanded in an instant, reaching almost ten meters in height, forming an impenetrable wall. The projectile exploded on this fleshy wall, damaging many eyeballs and scorching the surface skin, leaving black carbonized traces.
Shen Qingyang's face contorted in pain. The captain was astonished, "How is this possible? According to reason, this torpedo should have blown up even a sea turtle with a pollution level of 2000. What kind of big octopus is this, and why is it unharmed?"
Turning to the first mate, the captain said, "Quick, call headquarters immediately, request support. Unknown pollutant found at sea! We'll retreat first, maintain distance, and keep bombarding. Let the White Team handle the rest!"
Due to mimicry, Shen Qingyang detected pollution levels much lower than the actual ones.
"Damn it, looked for Mermaid Island for a week. Haven't seen a damn thing. Finally, we encounter a pollutant we can deal with," the captain said, "Let's go! Engage!"
The entire ship had only the captain as a harbinger; the rest were well-trained navy personnel. However, when facing pollutants, these people showed no fear on their faces. It was all thanks to this ship.
The steel giant produced by the Fifth Research Institute might not be powerful against advanced pollutants, but it gave ordinary humans the power and courage to hunt low-level pollutants.
Among the thirteen research institutes, the Fifth Research Institute had the largest land area and received the most financial funding every year.
Shen Qingyang's speed in the sea was not slow, but compared to the ship, he was far behind. Not to mention, he was carrying a prophet on his back. The distance between the two kept shrinking, quickly entering the attack range of the ship.
On the search ship's deck, a dark steel pipe emerged. It was the barrel of a railgun. "Fire!"
A torpedo-shaped projectile was shot towards Shen Qingyang. His tentacles expanded in an instant, reaching almost ten meters in height, forming an impenetrable wall. The projectile exploded on this fleshy wall, damaging many eyeballs and scorching the surface skin, leaving black carbonized traces.
Shen Qingyang's face contorted in pain. The captain was astonished, "How is this possible? According to reason, this torpedo should have blown up even a sea turtle with a pollution level of 2000. What kind of big octopus is this, and why is it unharmed?"
Turning to the first mate, the captain said, "Quick, call headquarters immediately, request support. Unknown pollutant found at sea! We'll retreat first, maintain distance, and keep bombarding. Let the White Team handle the rest!"
Shen Qingyang shook his damaged tentacle and turned to leave.
"Don't go," the prophet's tone was serious. "If this ship doesn't continue forward to capture us, it must have called for reinforcements. If you don't deal with it, you'll soon be surrounded. Then you won't be able to escape. We can't let this ship keep following us."
"But..." Shen Qingyang felt wronged. "I'm not a fast swimmer."
The prophet scolded him, "Must you run? You're a perfect evolved being, an advanced pollutant! Destroy this ship!"
"But there are people on it," Shen Qingyang said.
"How many times do I have to repeat? You're no longer human for humans. If you're willing to be killed, you might as well commit suicide on the day you turn into a pollutant. Think about why you didn't die!"
Shen Qingyang raised his head above the water. Another missile came, and Shen Qingyang blocked it with his tentacles. This time, it broke a section of his tentacle.
Blue blood sprayed out.
Shen Qingyang had never bled before and didn't realize his blood had turned blue.
He looked somewhat dazed, saying, "In City K by the sea, one day Dr. Lu reserved a large squid from the seafood shop. When it was delivered, he wasn't there, and I helped move it upstairs."
"After he came back, he invited me to his house for dinner. I saw him dissecting the squid. He told me the blood of cephalopods like this is transparent, but because of hemocyanin, it turns blue after absorbing oxygen. That was the first time I knew animals' blood could be blue."
Now, his head was soaked in blue blood.
Shen Qingyang inexplicably felt very, very lonely.
Nothing made him more aware of his inhumanity than this blue blood.
He used another tentacle to roll up the broken tentacle and stuffed it into the prophet's arms, letting him float on the sea surface.
Then, Shen Qingyang dived into the deep water, using mimicry to reduce his breath to the lowest level. He arrived at the bottom of the ship and dozens of thick, black tentacles entwined around the hull, like giant pythons, crushing and deforming it.
Shen Qingyang's direction of mutation was gigantism and tentacles. Perhaps, even the prophet hadn't expected his tentacles to expand to such an extent.
The steel giant wheel, which couldn't be penetrated by shells, was squeezed and deformed. Seawater poured in.
He heard anxious and panicked shouts. In the critical moment of life, some people called for help, some were busy writing wills, some tried to pilot planes to escape, and some smashed their heads, the bloody smell spreading in the seawater.
So hungry.
Some say that octopuses are the most alien-like creatures. They have one central brain and eight auxiliary brains. Each brain has its own separate memory system.
The writhing tentacles move as if possessed, no longer needing instructions from the brain.
【Talent 17 - Life Absorption】
In the end, none of these people were able to leave.
Shen Qingyang steered the boat towards the deep sea.
The eyes on the tentacles, some laughed, some cried.
After a long time, Shen Qingyang returned from the swim.
The prophet originally thought he would see a pale face, but to his surprise, there was a satisfaction and tranquility on the other's face, as if after a hearty meal.
He had been hungry for a long time. In his dreams, he was always eating fish, but Shen Qingyang knew that what he really wanted to eat was not fish.
The prophet said, "It seems we can't come to this sea area recently. Let's go back and find a place to land. Anyway, the fish won't run away."
Shen Qingyang tilted his head and smiled, replying, "I can't go back anymore, teacher."
Midnight, 12 o'clock.
This was the scheduled time for the auction to begin.
However, because a mermaid had not arrived yet, the auction was forced to be delayed. Despite the auctioneer's attempts to calm the crowd, there was inevitably some restlessness in the venue.
The staff said that the iron cage of Mermaid No. 6 was taken away by Yang Tianxin.
Yang Tianxin had been a security guard at the mermaid club for decades, and he was his most loyal dog. Moreover, due to the spatial power of Mermaid Island, it could only open at regular intervals each month. The owner was not worried that Yang Tianxin would take the fish and escape.
The boss had already sent staff to look for him, but the surveillance abruptly stopped at 11 o'clock. The only person with such authority, aside from him, was Yang Tianxin.
The boss repeatedly dialed Yang Tianxin's pager, but no one answered the phone.
Until now.
The call finally went through.
In that instant, the boss couldn't help but curse loudly in the private room, "Where the hell did you take No. 6?! Hurry up and bring it to the auction hall! Everyone is waiting here!"
He slammed his hand on the table, "Hurry up and come over to me!"
The person on the other end of the phone answered quickly.
But the boss did not get reassurance; instead, his face changed dramatically.
Because the voice coming from the walkie-talkie was definitely not Yang Tianxin's!
The unfamiliar voice chuckled lightly and said, "I'm here."
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