Chapter 55
Over the past ten days, the higher he went, the more coral reefs gradually appeared even in waters that were one or two hundred meters deep. Inside them lived various colorful and peculiar fish, which were not afraid of humans at all.
However, those swimming around Xia Yi were all dispersed by the splashes caused by the playful antics of the little dolphin.
Xia Yi felt unexpectedly nostalgic when he saw groups of jellyfish pulsating upwards like mushrooms.
There were not many bioluminescent creatures in shallow waters, and jellyfish were one of them. They could be found in different species throughout the oceans, both in deep and shallow waters, like suspended colorful lights swaying in the sea.
However, these jellyfish were quite small. Xia Yi had seen a jellyfish about seven or eight meters in size a few days ago. Surprisingly, there were several shepherd fish swimming around under its tentacles, intentionally attracting a flatfish to bump into a nematocyst, instantly becoming a feast for the jellyfish.
It turns out that the habits of Nereids are not individual preferences but rather a racial hobby!
Thinking of the huge but pitifully lonely Aurora jellyfish among the sea monsters, Xia Yi couldn’t help but speculate.
Was it true that the heavyweight contenders were the strongest solely based on strength? It didn’t seem right either; after all, Siren was not like that, yet he was still very—
Xia Yi furrowed his brows. He had been deliberately trying to avoid thinking about the Siren, but it seemed to have little effect.
Ever since the dolphin came bounding over, Xia Yi hadn’t seen the Siren appear in front of him. But whether it had left or not, Xia Yi couldn’t say for sure. He couldn’t catch up to the dolphin, let alone the mermaid.
If the Siren wanted to remain hidden, it could truly vanish without a trace. Sometimes, Xia Yi would stare at the distant white waves and suspect that the Siren was there.
But the distance was too great, making it impossible to see clearly.
Xia Yi hoped that the Siren had already left because, in the end, when he first saw that pale silver mermaid on the deserted island, he did not refuse the food it offered.
How laughable his thoughts were at that time.
He thought that because mermaids were not humans, he could approach them casually?
The sea monsters thought Xia Yi was the same kind as the Siren and arrived at a conclusion that seemed extremely distorted to him, because the Siren knew he was human.
Suddenly, Xia Yi thought.
What’s the difference between humans keeping tropical fish and the Siren looking at him?
The sea monsters had long said, “Collectibles,”
Ah, living creatures with autonomous thinking always had hobbies.
Just like this restless little dolphin, leaping out of the sea all day without repeating the same jump, performing high-difficulty diving, and occasionally rotating in mid-air.
Isn’t that also a hobby?
Um, but looking at it this way, the little guy seems quite pitiful, because it has nothing to play with, so it has to play by itself…
“Look, there are dolphins, dolphins!!”
A hoarse voice, faintly heard from the sea, ecstatic:
“Dolphins only frolic in nearshore and shallow water areas. We’re not far from land!”
“Really? That’s great!”
Xia Yi suddenly shivered and quickly dove down.
Actually, his action and reaction were quite similar to that of a mermaid. Mermaids tend to avoid humans unless they’re singing and usually don’t show themselves on the water’s surface to watch boats.
It’s not that they have any other intentions, it’s just like how a cheetah wouldn’t like to expose itself in front of a rabbit. Lurking was the nature of a predator, even if it has no desire to eat.
Xia Yi simply didn’t want to encounter people.
If his drifting figure were to be seen in the sea, and others tried to rescue him onto a boat, what would he do?
Fake suicide and jump back into the sea?
Of course, perhaps the people on the boat wouldn’t even extend a helping hand. Food and space might be limited on board. Xia Yi found it understandable; he was emotionally deprived and wouldn’t resent those who acted that way.
He just thought the aftermath would be troublesome. Yes, if those people just coldly stared at him, watching without moving, wouldn’t it be like waiting for Xia Yi to struggle for help as they predicted, only to drown in the end?
Even though he had once been an actor, Xia Yi never thought about troubling himself in reality.
He wished he could hide himself behind the coral reefs.
The reason he didn’t was that for many days, what seemed to be beautiful seaweed-covered coral reefs were actually full of hidden dangers. You never knew which cluster of colorful seaweed was actually a fish disguised, and there were many creatures waiting for a quiet moment to come and deliver a meal.
These raiders had sharp teeth and always gave warnings before attacking. If you were slow to escape, you would definitely be torn apart.
Approaching the tropics, the transparency of the seawater was good enough to clearly see that over twenty rubber boats formed a large fleet, drifting on the sea. Surprisingly, they were all well-equipped, with each boat having oars. Although they varied in size, a fleet of this size would have at least over a hundred people!
This was quite remarkable—if there were any wind attribute ability users in the fleet. Otherwise, it was just foolish—to search for land.
The reason why all the rubber boats were yellow was that sharks didn’t like this color. For safety, each life raft had its own attention to detail. Xia Yi estimated the shadows cast on the sea surface and found that these rubber boats were quite large and seemed very sturdy, unlike the emergency life rafts he had seen on TV. There were also luminous SOS markings on these boats, which had not been corroded by seawater.
Seeing so many people, the dolphins naturally became excited and bounced around several times.
They were on the verge of successfully misleading them with the notion of being “near the shore” when someone on the boat felt something was wrong:
“No, there’s only one!”
Dolphins were social animals and would never see their companions frolicking while they themselves remained still.
Although a group of dolphins might all look the same from afar, there was always only one leaping about at a time. For those who understood the habits of marine life, this was a glaring flaw.
“Is it a lone dolphin?”
Everyone on the boat fell silent, and the atmosphere became very heavy as they continued to row with all their might.
This kind of seeing hope, only to instantly realize it was a mistake, or perhaps they themselves were the pitiful ones who had strayed?
Xia Yi gazed at the shadows of the rubber boat bottoms from afar, pondering over the first sentence he had heard earlier. Although it was shouted unclearly, it was indeed in Chinese.
In that case, could it be that these were people stranded at sea after the apocalypse?
The dolphin jumped around vigorously for half a day, but no one applauded over there, so it could only swim back dejectedly to seek comfort.
Xia Yi had been helpless against it for so many days, so he reached out and touched its large forehead. Otherwise, this little guy would keep butting against him.
If it could talk, it would probably say, “Come on, stop thinking so much.”
Xia Yi had no choice but to pat it a few times, unaware that the Siren silently following them in the distance was annoyed, gripping his fingers tightly, his sharp nails scratching himself.
—How could the dolphin be so close to humans, have no need to rest, be so daring as to fight with sharks, and yet be so good?
This dolphin was clearly foolish and clueless. It saw a lot of people over there and foolishly ran over to show off.
When those humans ignored it, this guy came back to Xia Yi!
Xia Yi even comforted its forehead and back…
What comfort?! This fickle creature was seeking attention from someone else even when its benefactor was right there!
There was no dolphin in the mermaid’s cookbook, but Xia Yi really wanted to take a bite to vent his frustration.
It didn’t matter if it tasted bad!
Xia Yi didn’t know that on the rubber boats gradually drifting away, there were Annie and Li Shao. Their experiences were legendary and quite tragic.
According to their plan, they failed to capture Saipan Island because there were also esper* abilities among the original American troops stationed there.
Although they weren’t as powerful as Annie, they had fortifications, and they were professional soldiers—although the combat effectiveness of American soldiers was a problem, they were famously reluctant to engage without vigorous support!
- T/N: extrasensory perception
However, when faced with life and death, without those politicians and those congressmen to curse at, realizing that they could only rely on themselves to survive on this small island, they were willing to risk their lives to fight.
Although Annie had four powerful espers on her side, espers were also human and could be killed by bricks or grenades!
In the end, Annie’s only gain was gathering over a dozen Chinese tourists or tour guides on Saipan Island, seizing part of the American troops’ supplies, including these rubber boats, and then successfully evacuating.
The only thing that surprised Annie and Li Shao was that when they were about to leave, Nalin suddenly said she wanted to stay and refused to continue following them.
Saipan Island was large, with fresh water and food to be found. She didn’t want to take the risk of drifting again.
There was no further discussion. Everyone went their separate ways. Annie , Li Shao, and the wind esper, along with the captain, tied all the rubber rafts together, even though they weren’t fully occupied.
But after all, it was loot, and according to the captain, American supplies were different. Even the canned food had been specially supplemented with vitamins, and the taste wasn’t bad. The officers’ supplies even included condoms and adult magazines (this was true). American soldiers weren’t here to be soldiers; they were here to enjoy themselves.
But you know what? Those condoms had particularly good waterproofing and weren’t easy to break. Now they used them to collect rainwater.
They stretched them open with their fingers, filled them with rainwater, and immediately tied the mouths shut and put them in the grabbed supply box.
Of course, the downside was that there was always a rubbery taste in the water and a strange scent of strawberries and oranges.
Forget it.
In this unpredictable post-apocalyptic world, having food and drink was already good enough.
Why bother about these things?
Now staring at the empty sea, Li Shao felt particularly lost.
That matter had been kept in his and Annie’s hearts and had never been discussed even once.
The boat was so small that there was no way to avoid people during conversations.
Heaven knew how startled he was the first time he heard Xia Yi’s name in that strange infrasound, dumbfounded for half a day. More than half a month ago, he heard the explosive topic of mating partners in a daze.
Siren… seems like that mermaid!
Li Shao seriously felt that his brain capacity was not enough.
Was all of this a nightmare, an illusion, or had he never known the “Brother Xia” he had once followed!
Even if he was someone everyone thought was strange, no one had ever thought of the possibility of him being non-human!
If it weren’t for the apocalypse, wouldn’t Xia Yi have continued to disguise himself as a human and live on?
Li Shao felt extremely overwhelmed when he thought about eating with him at the same table, often sharing food and drinks, and often carrying luggage and things for him.
Well, the low IQ action faction representative Li Shao thought that Xia Yi was doing fine and wouldn’t die because of vitamins or other problems, so there was no need to worry.
Let’s not think about it.
Repeat that a hundred times silently, self-hypnosis.
He had no idea that Annie had long determined that Xia Yi was not human… so from start to finish, he was the only one tangled up.
The dolphin ate small fish, preferred squid, crabs, and shells, which happened to be similar to Xia Yi’s preferences. It liked to cling to Xia Yi, but it was good at sharing when it came to eating. Moreover, with it taking the lead, there was no danger for Xia Yi when he followed to find food.
However, when Xia Yi saw the dolphin swiftly and neatly gnawing on a crab, with claws and joints constantly falling from its mouth, he couldn’t help but envy its good teeth.
Xia Yi, who could only crack shells open with difficulty, could only silently recall the small tools used to eat crabs. Even if he successfully condensed ice, it was quite difficult to deal with a live crab.
Well.
It was either fish or shells, and he had already grown tired of them.
The most crucial thing was that Xia Yi remembered the meat of marlin, tuna, and other things brought back by the Siren, which was white, fibrous, and tough, with a taste similar to beef.
But marlins were usually three or four meters long, and tunas were even larger. These creatures were quite difficult to deal with!
Xia Yi didn’t dare to eat those brightly colored tropical fish or other small shrimp, so he could only quietly grab a handful of seaweed similar to sea lettuce to change the taste.
When people want to forget something, they often remember it even more firmly.
If the Siren was right in front of him, Xia Yi would only hate himself for not being able to go further away. Being so deeply affected by his emotions made Xia Yi extremely uneasy.
But the mermaid was not in front of him, and might have been swimming freely in some unknown deep sea long ago.
It’s just that before leaving, it found him such a lively little guy to accompany him…
To be honest, Xia Yi felt indebted. According to the bits and pieces of trivial things since they met, without any emotional involvement, a direct judgment, it was indeed like this.
The ocean was vast, and perhaps one day they would meet again, but Xia Yi would never want to change himself completely because of someone’s existence.
It’s like that willful and proud little cat downstairs. Its owner is very righteous and cheerful, but even if Xia Yi likes it, he wouldn’t knock on the door downstairs, find an excuse to see the little cat, or directly ask to touch it.
Xia Yi would only put the best cat food bought from the supermarket on the balcony or in a corner of the street, waiting for the little cat to come and eat, and incidentally, he could take a closer look at it.
As a result, the cat glanced from afar, arrogantly turned its head, and walked away.
—Does the Siren have similar thoughts when giving himself food?
Xia Yi thought hazily, but couldn’t quite figure it out, and fell asleep.
But in the sea, there was no such thing as a sleeping position. For Xia Yi, the time where he used most of his ability was when he was unconscious, and all around him was seawater…
Gradually, the layer of water surrounding him became thinner, just in case he encountered anything poisonous.
Xia Yi never slept soundly, but recently, he didn’t know if it was because he had gotten used to it or because the dolphin was playful. So, any slight movement, he didn’t feel it at all. The seawater was constantly in motion.
The dolphin circling in the seawater suddenly sensed something was wrong.
Using echolocation, the dolphin could fully visualize the size and location of objects in its mind without using its eyes, and what it sensed now!!
The dolphin suddenly flicked its tail and swiftly escaped. Almost immediately after, a mermaid with light silver slightly curly long hair appeared silently in the water. He approached the sleeping Xia Yi and gently touched his arm.
Seeing no reaction from Xia Yi, the Siren leaned down and, through the thin layer of water, touched his closed lips.
How annoying!
The layer of water was so thin that a little force could break it, but for some reason, it couldn’t.
Sensing Xia Yi’s slight mental fluctuations, the Siren immediately raised his head, and swiftly swam away. There were many coral reefs on the seabed, and it easily disappeared without a trace.
When Xia Yi woke up suddenly, he looked around in a daze. The dolphin was not beside him, probably ran nearby to play again.
But why did he suddenly dream of the Siren again?
It wasn’t on the deserted island, where he was shocked at first sight, but the faint silver shadow he saw when he fell from the Goddess Talassa, about to suffocate, and the cool feeling on his lips…
So, was that liking?
Xia Yi thought dazedly, those memories becoming clearer.
It turned out that he… had feelings for the Siren, hence the subconscious rejection, because only something significant could have an impact on him…
The subconscious mind was always honest and reliable, it would be suspicious, not liking the way the Siren interacted with him.
He didn’t want to be a companion, negating the sea monster’s speculation and caring for the Siren as if it were a “pet”…
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Sleepyblue’s Corner:
Please also check my other works! What to Do When I Become a Koi and Fall into the Male God’s Bathtub and Incurable Pain👫
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Dear Benefactors💌🙇♀️ ,
I’m glad this series caught your attention (I got worried that no one was that interested to read this at all🥹)! Also, I’d like to apologize for not updating that fast as I should have been. It’s been a hellish month in my university so I wasn’t able to consistently upload chapters (Should have prepared it in bulk first, my fault🙇♀️). That still, I hope this would be an enjoyable read for you as much as I do :>
Cheers,
Sleepyblue🎀
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