Chapter 83
The island wasn’t large, and it had started raining again, so there was no need to use seawater for irrigation. However, because of the Siren’s uniqueness, everyone on the island ran over to watch from a distance. However, there were only about a dozen children on the entire island, playing together, picking up shells and small fish, or helping to pass around baskets.
Their sun-darkened faces were smiling happily, completely unlike people in a post-apocalyptic world.
No, the atmosphere on the entire island didn’t seem like the end of the world at all.
There was no despair or panic. The men were sawing fallen palm tree branches and stripping off excess leaves, seemingly to make a dugout canoe, while women searched through collapsed ruins for anything still usable.
“They have cellars under their houses.”
Xia Yi said, that when she woke up, although lying on a rudimentary bed on the ground, she climbed up the wooden ladder to look, finding that the house was almost empty, as if all the items were stored in the cellar, and the house above was just a workshop or place for cooking and resting.
“Perhaps they often have hurricanes here.”
The Siren had heard from Thomas that many islanders had sturdy cellars to hide in during hurricane season. So the happy lives of the people on this island could be explained—when they noticed the unusual behavior of seabirds wandering aimlessly, they probably all thought a hurricane was coming and went underground, unaffected by the lethal cosmic astronomical radiation caused by the disappearance of the magnetic field. At most, it was later discovered that many plants inexplicably died from being sunburnt.
Saws and plastic barrels were the simplest things, probably traded goods. Modern items were almost extinct on the island, including anything related to electricity.
The island was probably in a remote location, not on the route of ocean currents or specific shipping lanes. It was normal for months to pass without visitors arriving, and the people on the island continued unknowingly with their lives.
They shouted rhythmic chants while working, like singing.
After a while, a young man who could speak English even came over. However, his level wasn’t high, similar to Xia Yi’s. He couldn’t speak more complex sentences at all, struggling to listen and understand for a long time before barely finding out where this was.
Anuta Island.
Not a country or a tribe, in any case, there were less than four hundred people in total, no leaders or chiefs.
The young man had traveled on trading ships to the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, with some experience, but in the end, he returned to this land because there was no competition or professional status gap.
Everyone worked together, planting root crops and breadfruit on the land, fishing together at sea, and the food they ate was not preserved separately, but collectively pickled.
They were probably more concerned about how to catch fish and where to find fish schools.
Or when the crops weren’t mature yet when the hurricane came, it was really troublesome.
But this was a lonely island, with nearby islands very far apart. According to Anuta’s boat, it was impossible to reach other islands.
The young man kept looking at the Siren’s eyes, and eventually his neck was stiff. He tried hard not to stare.
“Ah… When we saw stranded dolphins before, we watered them like this…”
The young man accidentally glanced at the Siren’s fish tail and immediately became embarrassed.
“We had to wait for the tide to come up, then put them, oh no, I mean him, no, I mean the previous dolphin…”
The young man was awkwardly gesturing and muttering, “Dolphins rarely come to our side because there are few fish, but when they appear, it’s a good sign that fish schools are migrating towards us. When we go fishing on the sea, seeing them also helps us find fish schools!”
Xia Yi couldn’t help but think of that cute little fellow.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know where it went afterwards, and the Siren only said that Abiseth sent it back.
Well, dolphins play in groups, even if they can keep them, the little guy loves to toss around. It would be lonely without playmates.
But the Siren’s expression was somewhat subtle.
Dolphins eat a lot, chasing fish schools. Although they like to be close to humans, the South Pacific is known as a marine desert. Even in some larger groups of islands, many people hunt dolphins because they believe they compete for food.
This island called Anuta… is really interesting.
“Last time, even a whale was stranded here… Ah, also after the hurricane, also on this gentle slope!”
Dolphins and whales are mammals. Although they can survive for a short time out of the water, whales are too large to support their own weight outside the water. Their internal organs will soon fail and break.
“No matter how we watered it, it was useless, and it was too big and heavy for us to move. In the end…”
Xia Yi listened silently, just feeling a sudden sense of sadness, but the young man’s tone turned cheerful again:
“In the end, it died, and everyone on the island ate it for several days before finishing it.”
“…”
Xia Yi was so horrified that he couldn’t speak.
But the Siren felt it was perfectly normal. After marine creatures die, their bodies naturally float in the seawater. Generally, they don’t eat their own kind, but eventually, the bodies are consumed by other creatures.
Isn’t it normal to try to rescue other beings, and if unsuccessful, to eat the body?
Killing for survival is justified; it’s only wanton killing, not for food, that is wrong.
However, mermaids are more selective. The Siren doesn’t eat any dead food; it only hunts live, delicious prey. The Siren looked at Xia Yi from the side. The only thing he knew was, if Xia Yi really wanted to leave, if he refused to see him again or became closer to other humans…
Mermaids drag the people they love into the sea, not even letting go of their bodies, or never parting completely. Some mermaids have done such terrible and cruel things in the past.
Love is great, but love is also terrifying.
“Is… he a mermaid?”
The young man didn’t notice, still excitedly asking.
Xia Yi didn’t answer. In fact, he had only used a few modal particles so far, and it had always been this young man talking.
“I’ve heard many stories about mermaids, from the sea, yes, completely different from what you write in books.”
He couldn’t help but glance at the Siren again, with its finely arranged pale silver scales.
“Those white-skinned people always say we’re joking, and even say that even if there were mermaids, they would be beautiful and good-natured… Haha, mermaids are indeed beautiful everywhere in stories, but their temperaments are really bad.”
He spoke hurriedly, with a strange tone, making Xia Yi, who was watching the dubbed film to learn English, unable to understand most of it, only catching a few words: story, mermaid, beautiful, temperament.
The worst thing was that this guy’s rhetoric was strange; he couldn’t use expressions like “excellent appearance” and could only repeatedly emphasize with the simplest vocabulary.
“Mermaids appeared near New Caledonia, with hair and eyes like the sea, blue, a beauty, with snow-white skin. She sunk a Spanish ship… It was terrifying. The bodies that floated up had deep claw marks and four arcs of blood…”
Because this part may have been described many times by people outside the island, it seemed to wander a lot. Xia Yi felt inexplicably tense and turned to look at the Siren.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing…”
Xia Yi knew the Siren couldn’t understand human language, but this sudden stabilizing emotion suddenly hesitated.
He strangely thought, if the Siren saw its kind, especially like that…
In English, “he” and “she” are different words; Xia Yi listened very subtly and vaguely.
“… Those wounds on the bodies were on the necks and chests… So if we catch a big fish with such wounds, we know it encountered a mermaid…”
The young man looked at the Siren and then at Xia Yi, still excitedly saying, “So initially, we thought you were attacked by a mermaid, and that’s why we moved you. We were nervous when you approached just now. You see, we didn’t dare get too close to it, uh, I mean him… The wounds on your back looked terrifying, even though they weren’t bleeding…”
He stuttered a bit, obviously used to using “it” before in front of the Siren.
But he hadn’t expected a mermaid to actually speak out a name, so using “it” in front of the Siren seemed a bit wrong. Regarding mermaids, the people on the island varied in their beliefs, and only the elderly firmly believed that mermaids could communicate.
Xia Yi had no idea what this person was thinking. He was still in a daze and suddenly couldn’t control himself to ask:
“Where is that mermaid you spoke of? In New Caledonia…”
The name sounded familiar, but it was English after all. Xia Yi pronounced it several times, slowly starting to think from around Australia, then suddenly frowned.
The archipelago was on the other side of the Coral Sea.
“Where has she been all along? Wasn’t she found by… I mean, the white people or other ships? What about the dead Spanish sailors? Has the international community covered up this matter?”
“Oh, no!”
The young man touched his forehead awkwardly.
“That was seventy years ago!”
Xia Yi was still stunned because he hadn’t figured out whether he had just wanted the Siren to find its kind or was preparing to stay away from that area.
“The white people later brought a military force to investigate. Because they didn’t catch her and the body had decomposed, they thought the people on the island had killed them. It seemed to be a big deal at the time… Later, people like us who heard the story wanted to go and find out, but unfortunately, no one has seen her since…”
He said in a hurried and excited tone again.
“But we know mermaids definitely exist. I’ve been out and heard different stories about mermaids on many islands. They all have bad tempers and are very fierce. It’s said they’re not even afraid of sharks…”
The young man shrugged and made an exaggerated gesture.
The Siren didn’t understand; he just felt that Xia Yi’s mood was a bit off.
Naked and clean arms rubbed against Xia Yi’s legs, with sharp nails and half-transparent, slightly opened fins on the wrists suddenly appearing on Xia Yi’s tanned skin, the clearly visible pale white joints still terrifying.
The young man gasped for breath, and when he raised his eyes, he happened to see the Siren’s purple eyes filled with bone-chilling coldness.
After a shudder, this person laughed and turned around and ran away.
“Wait!”
“It’s… high tide!”
Dozens of people shouted out a chant, pushing out a strangely shaped boat.
If it were to be called a dugout canoe, it was slightly advanced. It was made from three large tree trunks, with a larger hollowed-out trunk tightly tied crosswise on top, and two thinner branches extending from both sides, resembling scaffolding. There were also three mast-like things standing on it.
As a result, the crowd discussed it for a while, and finally, the young man was pushed out by everyone, looking very embarrassed.
“Um, can you move it?”
The answer was obvious. Xia Yi looked down at the Siren.
“They say they’re going to send us back to the sea!”
“Not necessary!”
Even if the Siren felt that these people had no hostility, under the sway of crisis, he still wanted Xia Yi to leave quickly. However, he couldn’t have more relations with these people, lest he couldn’t solve several tunas in the future!
“You can completely bring the seawater over!”
“I know, but—”
Xia Yi looked at the children who were still happily digging shells and picking small crabs on the ground:
“Those are also their food. If the waves come over, it’s very likely to wash away a large number of herrings and shells that fell from the hurricane and tornado.”
“…”
After a few more people cautiously approached and lifted hands to help, Xia Yi knew the Siren’s fish tail was sensitive. Enduring the pain in his back, he forcefully grabbed the Siren’s tail and successfully lifted him onto the oddly shaped dugout canoe.
Although the process was brief, lasting less than a minute, when the Siren’s arms and shoulders touched the humans, there was an uncontrollable stiffness. With an unfriendly stare, he made the people feel immense pressure, their foreheads covered in cold sweat.
However, things got better afterward. The crowd started chatting and laughing again, chanting as they pushed the boat down the gentle slope, similar to how they often rescued stranded dolphins. They were very familiar with it, and soon they reached the shore.
Looking back, Xia Yi happened to see a child picking up the scales that had fallen from the Siren earlier.
Holding them up in their hands, the child laughed and ran away, followed by a group of children unwilling to chase after and grab them. Then the boat was pushed into the sea, and several people clumsily jumped in and picked up the paddles, starting to row forward.
Because the sea breeze was still strong, they didn’t dare go too far out. The dugout canoe stopped in water about seven or eight meters deep. Xia Yi stood up and jumped into the sea, startling the rowers. A sudden wave smoothly carried the Siren into the sea. The people holding the paddles were left gaping as the strange wave pushed them back to land with mouths agape.
Waves on the sea surface rose two to three meters high, the sky covered in dense clouds, and the rain intensifying.
Looking at the distant sea, the crowd gathered on the shore was a bit stunned.
They had sent the mermaid back to the sea, so why had that human also left?
Or did he jump into the sea himself?
