Chapter 104 – Underestimated Strength
Despite all the online drama, Lin Jiu’s shop had to keep running as usual.
The secret about him being a siren couldn’t be kept any longer. Influenced by Country H, people had started calling him a “merman,” and no one had stepped forward to correct this.
Ever since Lin Jiu’s public statement on social media, every diner in his shop couldn’t help but sneak glances at his legs, confused as to how they were still human legs. How did they turn into a fishtail?
Among the countless discussions about the merman, there were also some about the environment on the second floor of the Magic Fish Shop. Customers who had recently ascended to the second floor were stunned by the ambiance. Although no photos were allowed above the second floor, that didn’t stop them from describing it in detail.
Clearly, they were all very excited.
Even from just the descriptions, other diners longed to visit the second floor. Before, it was all about luck and drawing a ticket, but now, as long as you had money, you could just buy more silver carp caviar roe to rack up sales. Naturally, more people would start making it to the second floor.
The sudden interference from the Cecil family greatly affected Vera’s emotions, and Lin Jiu had to help her improve her cooking skills to distract her. He was genuinely worried that she might lose control and go after them on her own.
Lin Jiu spent every day with her, and Vera was well aware of how concerned he was.
Vera, in turn, comforted Lin Jiu. She’d endured for so many years, and now that she wasn’t alone—now that she had Lin Jiu—she wouldn’t act impulsively.
In an effort to reduce Vera’s hatred, Lin Jiu told her the truth he had learned from the Elton family, hoping that by knowing it, she might feel lighter and not carry so much anger.
Vera already understood that her mother had spiraled into madness later in life, hating everyone—both the Cecil family and the Elton family. She had hated to the point of losing her sanity, and by then, Vera was already in her teens, capable of thinking for herself.
While Vera inherited her mother’s hatred, she hadn’t let it blind her.
The suffering she endured didn’t make her fall into darkness. Instead, she became positive, passionate about people, and never lost hope for life. Now, having survived and reunited with the child she had longed for, she was even more grounded and careful, refusing to act recklessly.
Lin Jiu also told Vera about the Elton family’s search for her and how he had accepted their help. He worried that she might be disappointed in him, but Vera was much calmer than Lin Jiu had expected.
Lin Jiu hadn’t lived through Vera’s pain and couldn’t force her to forgive the Elton family. If Vera wanted him to distance himself from them, Lin Jiu would consider it. After all, he felt closer to his mother than to the Elton family.
Vera said, “It’s fine. You can stay in touch with them. With the Elton family’s existence, we now have a foundation.”
After a pause, Vera sighed deeply. “It must’ve been hard for them, still thinking of me after all these years.”
Lin Jiu replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll deal with the Cecil family sooner or later. As long as they exist, us merfolk won’t be safe.”
Vera smiled. “Of course I believe in my son.”
It was already late, and Lin Jiu and Vera were still in the shop when Si Xu came by looking for them.
“The Cecil family has made an offer,” Si Xu said.
Both Lin Jiu and Vera looked up at him.
Lin Jiu asked, “What kind of offer?”
Si Xu snorted. “They’re willing to trade a magic crystal core in exchange for their people.”
Lin Jiu slammed his knife onto the chopping board. “Dream on! Unless they bring five magic crystal cores, they can forget about getting anyone back!”
Vera pondered, “Would you really let them go if they brought five?”
Lin Jiu scoffed. “Of course not. I’m not letting them go that easily.”
Vera added, “Not everyone in the Cecil family can become mutant Haijia. Only a few have that ability. Last time, over ten Haijia and mutant humans were killed in the explosion. If they lose another group, the Cecil family will be seriously weakened. Even if they have more people left, there won’t be many.”
Lin Jiu and Si Xu exchanged glances, both thinking that Vera’s suggestion might actually be a good idea.
This kind of negotiation wasn’t Lin Jiu’s strong suit, so he left it to Si Xu. Extracting a few more magic crystal cores would be beneficial.
It’s worth noting that among the three magic crystal cores offered by Country F, one was funded jointly by Countries H and M.
The reason was simple: Country F couldn’t come up with the magic crystal cores on its own. To solve the problem, Countries H and M had to step in and help, since their own ability users also needed the medicine that could be obtained from the exchange. Unless they were willing to abandon their ability users, they had no choice but to assist Country F.
Clearly, ability users in every country were too valuable to be given up easily. Since that was the case, they had to provide the magic crystal cores. How the negotiations went was their own concern.
However, negotiating with the Cecil family was different from dealing with Country F. Everyone knew that the Cecil family had plenty of magic crystal cores and was already in the wrong. Even if Si Xu and Lin Jiu came up with an excuse to kill those they held hostage, the Cecil family would have no choice but to swallow the bitter pill. So, Si Xu set a firm price of five magic crystal cores, with no room for negotiation—take it or leave it.
The Cecil family and Country M tried every method they could think of, but while Si Xu and Lin Jiu were unhurried, the Cecil family grew increasingly anxious. The longer the delay, the more detrimental it was to the mutated Haijias. After a week of wrangling, the Cecil family had no choice but to agree to Si Xu’s terms.
The exchange location was set at sea. Si Xu didn’t involve anyone else; only he and Lin Jiu went to exchange the hostages. In case anything went wrong, the two of them would be able to handle it.
The dozen or so mutated Haijia were like toothless paper tigers, hidden under the effects of the advanced gene suppressor. They likely didn’t even realize what they had ingested. They still maintained their Haijia forms, but the Haijia genes inside them had already been weakened or eliminated. After this, once they reverted to human form, they would never be able to turn back into mutated Haijia again.
The only thing Lin Jiu and Si Xu needed to be wary of was the new mutated Haijia that the Cecil family might send. But Lin Jiu was looking forward to it—the more that came, the more of the Cecil family’s forces he could eliminate, further weakening their power.
Lin Jiu and Si Xu set sail. The dozen mutated Haijia were locked in a water prison, dragged along behind the boat.
When they arrived at the exchange point, the two boats faced each other from a distance.
The scene was familiar, and the one coming to exchange hostages was also an old acquaintance.
Hailier greeted them with a smile. “Lin Jiu, long time no see. How’s your tail? Still hurt?”
Lin Jiu knew full well that this man had a psychopathic streak. Just like last time, he could smile at you while planning to kill you.
Lin Jiu had already learned through the Elton family who this man was. Hailier was the youngest son, most favored by Vannes. His ancient family genes were the strongest. If nothing went wrong, Vannes would pass the position of family head to Hailier.
Lin Jiu’s eyes gleamed. If he could capture this psychopath and strip him of his Haijia genes, that would be a huge win.
When Lin Jiu’s eyes flickered, Si Xu knew exactly what he was thinking.
Si Xu asked, “Where’s the stuff?”
Hailier beckoned, and someone brought out an ancient wooden box. Lazily, Hailier unlocked the clasp and opened the box, showing Lin Jiu and Si Xu the five neatly arranged magic crystal cores inside.
Hailier closed the box, shielding it from radiation, then nodded. “I need to send someone to check the hostages.”
Lin Jiu replied, “Make it quick.”
Hailier smirked at Lin Jiu, his smile unrestrained.
A middle-aged man carrying a checkup kit stepped forward. He was dressed quite gentlemanly and stared at Lin Jiu for a long time before speaking.
“Please bring the hostages back, or I’ll go over there to examine them.”
Lin Jiu raised an eyebrow. “Then come on over.”
Lin Jiu shrank the water prison, pulling the mutated Haijia up onto the deck.
The middle-aged man, looking like an ordinary person, rowed a small boat over to Lin Jiu’s ship, clambered aboard, and opened his kit. He pulled out a strange device to examine one of the mutated Haijias.
The mutated Haijias had been confined for days. Though they hadn’t been tortured, their suffering was worse than torture. Their scales had dried out and curled from the lack of water, making them unbearably itchy and painful. Once back in the water prison, they were visibly relieved.
Lin Jiu and Si Xu stood by, allowing the man to conduct his checkup, confident he wouldn’t find anything wrong.
As expected, after examining each Haijia, the middle-aged man found no issues and gave a nod to Hailier.
Hailier’s smile never wavered. “Release them.”
Lin Jiu withdrew from the water prison, and the dozen mutated Haijias quickly jumped into the sea. Si Xu reached out, grabbing the box of magic crystal cores.
At the same time, Hailier’s men appeared with heavy weapons and fired at Lin Jiu’s boat!
Si Xu raised his hand to block, and all the incoming shells fell into the water on either side of the boat, sending up clouds of mist. From the mist, a water dragon materialized and lunged at Hailier, who stood at the bow of the opposing ship.
Still smiling, Hailier injected something into his neck. Just as the water dragon was about to strike, he transformed, raising his hands to summon a curtain of water that shielded him from the dragon’s bite.
More water tendrils rose from the sea, winding toward Hailier. Behind him, three more individuals injected themselves and transformed into mutated Haijias, diving into the water to attack from below.
But Lin Jiu and Si Xu gave them no chance. Si Xu stood on the water’s surface, hands pressed to the sea, quickly locking onto Hailier and his men. With a fierce pull, just like when he had captured the stone-scaled fish, the four hiding in the sea were flung into the air!
Si Xu grabbed hold of them mid-flight, and they were hurled toward Lin Jiu’s deck.
As they soared through the air, the four mutated Haijias didn’t stop their attack. Water dragons surged toward Si Xu and Lin Jiu…
But suddenly, four massive shackles of water appeared in the sky. With a heavy clank, the shackles locked onto the four Haijias, weighing them down as if they were burdened with a thousand pounds. The water dragons disintegrated into cascades, falling into the ocean. If not for Si Xu’s control, the four would have plummeted back into the sea, crushed under the immense pressure. Instead, they slammed down onto Lin Jiu’s deck.
It was only then that Hailier realized something was wrong. Lin Jiu had grown much stronger than the last time they fought. How had his power increased so drastically in such a short time?!
Before Hailier could ask, a massive water hammer appeared in Lin Jiu’s hand, and with a single swing, he knocked all four of them unconscious.
Si Xu jumped back onto the boat, and together with Lin Jiu, they stuffed medicine into the mouths of the four men. Once they were sure they had swallowed it, they tossed the four into the sea and sailed away.
Hailier’s ship remained on the water, but no one on board dared to stop them. The crew members all jumped into the sea to rescue the unconscious four.
Lin Jiu watched from a distance through binoculars. The mutated Haijias had all climbed back onto the boat and were in the process of injecting themselves with the serum to revert to human form.
Lin Jiu clicked his tongue, “This is your last time. Better make it count.”
As Si Xu sailed the boat away, Lin Jiu eagerly reached for the box, and Si Xu handed him the wooden chest containing the magic crystal cores.
All five magic crystal cores were genuine. Although their quality indicated they had been used before, it was better than nothing, and there was still a significant amount of energy left in them.
Lin Jiu put all the magic crystal marrows into the energy collection system to convert them into magic points. This should be enough to buy Si Xu a high-grade gene enhancer… No, wait, he should check his luck first. He hadn’t tried his luck with the blind boxes yet, and if he managed to draw one, he could save those magic points!
