In the depths of the Anner Ocean, a ship had been sailing for three days.
A voluptuous waitress, carrying food and wine, weaved through the noisy crowd, her strong perfume lingering in the air. She arrived at a door, her voice soft and sweet, “Sir, your meal is here.”
She unbuttoned the first button of her shirt, revealing a teasing glimpse of cleavage.
From inside, a low, distorted voice, barely audible over the sound of the waves, responded, “Mm, just leave it there.”
The waitress shrugged in disappointment, pulling out a note with her contact information from her bra, leaving a bright red lipstick mark on it. She placed it next to the food and wine outside the door.
This wild guest was truly hard to seduce.
The ship swayed slightly under the waves and the sound and scent of the sea filled every corner. You could still hear the playful chatter of men and women echoing throughout.
Zong Yuan lay on his bed, forcing himself to fall asleep.
His face was pale, with an unnatural flush. 0046, concerned, said, “Zong Yuan, you should eat before sleeping.”
He had a mild fever, but it wasn’t serious. Zong Yuan licked his dry lips and got up to fetch his meal. When he opened the door, the scent of the ocean became even stronger. 0046, noticing the clear weather, suggested, “Why don’t you eat on the deck? You can get some sunlight too.”
Zong Yuan didn’t have much of an appetite. He slipped on a jacket and made his way to the deck.
Luscious red-lipped women, men lost in fleeting romances.
A woman holding a glass of wine nearly spilled it on him. Zong Yuan swiftly grabbed her hand, his voice cold, “Watch where you’re going, miss.”
Without a change in expression, he continued walking. His deep-set features, broad shoulders, and long legs, paired with his flowing jacket, gave off an aura of aggression and dominance, even from behind. The woman he had grabbed watched him walk away and gently kissed the spot he had touched. What an irresistible man.
Zong Yuan stood on the deck, gazing out at the horizon. Seagulls soared above, the sea was calm, save for the small waves created by the ship’s wake.
As he stared out at the water, there wasn’t a trace of fish in sight. 0046 asked, “How do you feel?”
“Alright,” Zong Yuan replied, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “I won’t scare myself over something I haven’t even seen.”
He asked 0046, “Has the information come through?”
0046 checked the progress, “It’s still downloading. The magnetic field here is a bit unstable.”
The lack of signal was the reason everyone on board was indulging in leisure.
0046 tried to reassure him, “Don’t worry. If there’s any sign of fish, I’ll warn you in advance… huh?”
Zong Yuan asked, “What’s wrong?”
“There was just a slight fluctuation in the magnetic field,” 0046 said, though he didn’t think much of it. “Zong Yuan, move closer. I don’t see any fish. Dolphins don’t have scales—are you afraid of dolphins too?”
Zong Yuan cautiously approached the railing. “I don’t know.” Ever since he discovered his fear of fish, he had instinctively avoided seeing any kind of fish. There was no way he’d go out of his way to test if he feared scaleless ones as well.
Suddenly, the seagulls flying near the water scattered, and the closest one let out a shrill cry, flinging water droplets onto Zong Yuan’s face.
It was like lambs fleeing from a descending tiger.
The abruptness of it all drew the attention of everyone on deck. They gathered around the railing, curiosity in their eyes.
And then, Zong Yuan felt it—a chilling sensation of being watched.
A gaze filled with malevolent intent, powerful enough to trigger primal fear in any living being.
Zong Yuan instinctively turned around, scanning the crowd. Behind him, people were excitedly chatting, but no one seemed out of the ordinary.
He held his breath, gripping the railing tightly, leaning over to peer at the sea surface—calm and unruffled.
Separated by the distance of the ship, he gazed deeply at the dark expanse of water, slowly pulling his head back. Jokingly, he said to 0046, “I thought a shark was about to attack.”
He took a couple of steps back towards his cabin when suddenly, the entire ship began to shake violently!
The vessel swayed wildly from side to side, with waves crashing mercilessly onto the deck. Zong Yuan stumbled, grabbing onto a nearby pillar. “What the hell! What’s happening?!”
The sea’s surface remained eerily calm, yet the ship’s violent rocking made it feel like it would capsize any second.
“Ahhhhh!!”
The men and women who had been neatly dressed just moments ago screamed in terror, their carefully arranged hairstyles and makeup drenched by the seawater. Zong Yuan, standing on the deck, was now completely soaked.
Sailors frantically began launching lifeboats. “Everyone, line up and board the lifeboats! There’s enough for everyone, hurry up!”
Wiping his face, Zong Yuan hurried over to help release the ropes. His slight fever seemed to worsen, his face now radiating heat he could feel himself.
One of the sailors looked up at him, stunned, his face quickly flushing red. Without hesitation, he pushed Zong Yuan into a lifeboat that already had five people aboard. “This boat is full! Go!”
Zong Yuan, utterly bewildered by the sudden shove, could only sit there, confused.
The group in the boat quickly grabbed their oars and began paddling furiously, desperate to escape the waters that were soon to form a whirlpool.
Around them, other lifeboats packed with six people each were also furiously rowing away.
Zong Yuan took an oar from a nearby woman and, as soon as he dipped it into the water, realized something was off. “Wait… let go of the oars.”
Let go of the oars? How would they escape?!
However, his expression was so stern that three of the men in the boat cautiously lifted their paddles.
Yet, the lifeboat continued to speedily move forward in one direction.
Meanwhile, the other lifeboats, which had been moving alongside them, started falling further and further behind.
—They weren’t heading in the same direction.
The men on the boat grew grim and the two women froze for a moment before screaming in horror, “Ahhhhhh!!!”
Zong Yuan closed his eyes, dragging the oar through the water. He didn’t feel anything beneath, just the resistance of the water.
His expression relaxed a little.
Seeing his reaction, the others followed suit, cautiously dipping their oars in again. Just like him, they felt nothing beneath the surface.
No dangerous sea creatures? Then what was it? A current?
Zong Yuan said, “I’ll count to three and we’ll all row backward together to see if we can break free.”
In the blink of an eye, they had already drifted far from the sinking ship, so far that the yellow dots of the lifeboats were barely visible.
They couldn’t wait any longer. Once everyone was ready, Zong Yuan shouted, “One, two, three! One, two, three!”
Everyone paddled with all their strength, those without oars using their hands or shoes. But it was no use. The boat continued speeding in a single direction, the vast ocean stretching endlessly before them. They were as insignificant as specks of dust, enveloped by an overwhelming sense of despair.
Zong Yuan had never imagined he would one day find himself stranded at sea.
Perhaps he should jump off the boat and swim back. The distance wasn’t impossible to cover and it seemed far better than staying on this boat, heading toward some unknown place.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a sudden, overwhelming drowsiness hit him, as if someone were whispering seductively in his brain, “Sleep… you should sleep now.”
Zong Yuan tried hard to lift his eyelids, but he noticed that the other five passengers had already fallen into a deep sleep. The weight of the drowsiness was irresistible. Soon, his body limply collapsed onto the soft surface of the lifeboat.
The last thing he saw was the sky, slowly shrinking into a narrow sliver of blue.
Then he passed out.
“Zong Yuan! Zong Yuan! Wake up! Zong Yuan!!”
0046’s voice echoed persistently in his ears. Zong Yuan frowned slightly and opened his eyes. The dusk sky was dyed a soft crimson by the setting sun, breathtakingly beautiful.
He rubbed his forehead. “Is this… a beach?”
It was a stunning island.
Scattered across the beach, a few people were lying about. Zong Yuan brushed the sand off his body and went around waking everyone up. “You all okay?”
Luckily, none of the six were injured.
There were four men and two women, all adults, but their survival skills were quite lacking. The men pulled the lifeboat ashore. As night was approaching, they decided to leave everything for tomorrow.
Fortunately, the weather wasn’t cold. Zong Yuan took off his sand-covered jacket and left in just a damp, clinging shirt. “Let’s check the area, see if there are any signs of people or animals, and gather some firewood.”
A man in a suit said, “We don’t have anything to start a fire.”
Zong Yuan raised an eyebrow, pulling a lighter from his pocket and tossing it to him. “Take it. This one’s waterproof.”
The man stared blankly at the lighter, following Zong Yuan with a dazed expression as they headed inland. The rest exchanged glances before trailing behind.
Zong Yuan’s mind was calm, but he couldn’t shake his concern. He asked 0046, “What about the data?”
He cared deeply, very deeply.
Whether it was Fu Xin or Jiang Shengyan, both were his target missions. In this world, was it still him? Would it still be his lover?
0046 hesitated, then replied, “Zong Yuan, has the difficulty increased?”
Zong Yuan didn’t mind this. “Who is the target?”
0046 sighed. “There is no target.”
This time, the mission was different: “Your task is to survive and to help your companions survive as much as possible.”
It was a rescue mission of a different kind.
Zong Yuan stopped in his tracks, his expression darkening. “And him?”
0046 cautiously reassured him, “Zong Yuan, you’ll meet him eventually! Trust me! You’ll definitely meet him!”
One of the others patted Zong Yuan on the shoulder. “Are you coming?”
Zong Yuan took a deep breath, his face stern as he continued walking deeper into the island.
The island wasn’t large.
They found no traces of human activity, which could be either a blessing or a curse. While there were no fellow survivors, at least there were no hostile natives either.
There were indeed quite a few animals, all small-sized. They also discovered a naturally formed cave, inside which was a pool of fresh water, neither too shallow nor too deep.
For now, they didn’t have to worry about food or drink.
Zong Yuan skillfully started a fire and they ate the compressed biscuits that had been tied to the boat. The plastic bags were sealed tightly, so at least they didn’t have to roast animals tonight.
After a suffocating meal, a few people thought about wandering around, but Zong Yuan declined any invitations and sat alone on the beach, gazing at the distant sky.
Without that clingy idiot’s company, it felt a bit lonely.
The sky was already quite dark. Zong Yuan kicked the fire pit out, intending to head toward the cave, but as he looked up, he froze in place.
By the shallow waters along the shore stood a bizarre creature.
Its upper body resembled that of a human, while its lower half tapered off into a fish tail. It advanced forward with the waves, the strong fish tail firmly supporting its entire body.
The rippling light on the water avoided its vicinity as if even the water recognized its terrifying presence.
Even its silhouette seemed darker than the night behind it.
An adult, powerful, and fierce male mermaid.
The author has something to say:
“I saw him on human territory, and in the next second after our eyes met, I overturned the entire ship.”
“I want him.”
