Chapter 85 – Mermaids Really Exist
Si Xu piloted the aircraft back to Xipolo Island.
Si Xu asked, “Do we start the mission now, or wait until tonight?”
Since they had returned yesterday, Si Xu had stayed with Lin Jiu the whole time. Lin Jiu knew Si Xu was probably busy. He had followed Lin Jiu to the Demon Sea dimension, leaving his phone in the bedroom, making it hard for the “Special Security Department” to reach him in case of an emergency.
Besides, Lin Jiu’s body was still sore, and he needed rest. He also needed to clear out space in the freezer for storing more fish roe.
Lin Jiu: “Let’s go back first and come back tonight.”
“Alright,” Si Xu agreed, stowing the aircraft and preparing to return.
Suddenly, Lin Jiu remembered something. ‘System, you mentioned there are materials for gene potions on Xipolo Island. Lead us to them.’
[…]
Faced with Si Xu, the system didn’t dare to hesitate and obediently guided them to the materials.
The two ventured deep into the island, where towering ancient trees and thick vines made the path difficult.
Si Xu held Lin Jiu’s hand and used his magic spirit blade to clear a way through the jungle. After much effort, they arrived at the location indicated by the system. They looked up and saw a massive ancient vine, its strong tendrils wrapped tightly around a towering tree, stretching skyward.
The Demon Hunter System spoke into their minds again.
[The magic fruit from the Magic Fragrant Vine is an important ingredient in basic genetic enhancement potions. Adding it can boost the effectiveness of Earth’s gene potions by around 2%. Be cautious when picking the magic fruit, as its scent can cause hallucinations.]
Lin Jiu looked up at the magic fruit hanging high in the air. ‘Do you expect me to climb up there and pick it?’
[Do you really need to climb to pick it?]
Lin Jiu: ‘Should I use sound waves to knock it down?’
[Then make sure you step back. Don’t drag my crush down with you.]
Lin Jiu: “…”
He really wanted to smash this system to pieces!
Si Xu said to Lin Jiu, “Step back, I’ll go pick it.”
With a quick start, Si Xu leaped onto the vine. In a few nimble jumps, he stood in front of a magic fruit.
Lin Jiu’s jaw dropped. It was as if Si Xu had suddenly gained the ability to fly — climbing the tree had been effortless for him.
If Si Xu weren’t worried about damaging the fruit, he wouldn’t have needed to climb the tree at all. His abilities were perfectly suited for the task.
From the ground, the magic fruit looked no bigger than a fist, but up close, Si Xu realized it was much larger—about the size of a jackfruit.
Si Xu touched the fruit, noting that its purple-black skin was somewhat like that of mangosteen, and it didn’t seem fragile.
He cradled the fruit, cut the vine with his magic spirit blade, and stored the magic fruit in his spatial ring before leaping down from the tree.
Back in their room, Si Xu’s phone was ringing.
Si Xu answered, and whatever the person on the other end said caused his expression to darken.
Si Xu: “I understand. I’ll come over now.”
Early in the morning, his assistant had delivered his clothes. At that time, Lin Jiu hadn’t woken up yet.
Si Xu grabbed his coat, preparing to head out. “I need to go to the ‘Special Security Department.’ Rest well today. I’ll take you on the mission tonight.”
Lin Jiu nodded obediently. “Okay.”
Si Xu kissed him gently before leaving.
—
Lin Jiu had planned to nap, but after lying in bed for a long time, he couldn’t fall asleep.
He grabbed his phone, intending to browse the internet.
He still owed his customers a dinner, which he planned to make up for tonight.
Si Xu had returned his phone and ID card. The phone had been placed in a waterproof case beforehand, so even though it had fallen into the sea, it was still functional.
Lin Jiu posted a message on Weibo, announcing that dinner service would be resumed, and the meal missed three days ago would be made up. Those who had booked a spot could come at the scheduled time.
He also had the Master Chef System send out a message on the app, notifying everyone that the service wouldn’t wait for latecomers.
Lin Jiu then checked the news about the tsunami in Country H, and what he saw made him furious.
Just recently, Country H had publicly declared that it was the only nation in the world to confirm the existence of mermaids/sirens. Experts from Country H speculated that mermaids/sirens had the ability to control mutated sea monsters. They suggested that the tsunami in Country H was likely caused by a mermaid/siren controlling a giant mutated sea monster, and issued a worldwide bounty for this mermaid/siren.
In the image they released, among a forest of thick, pale bone spikes, a creature with long, dark hair and a black fishtail lay leisurely in the bones. Some fishing nets were draped across the spikes in front of it.
The mermaid/siren seemed to have noticed the photographer, staring directly at the camera with purple eyes. Unfortunately, the mermaid/siren’s face was covered with a black mask, but the exposed purple ear fins looked both alluring and strange.
Lin Jiu: “…”
Lin Jiu: “!!!!!!”
Are you kidding me!?
What does angering a giant sea monster have to do with me?!
I’m not taking the blame for this!
Lin Jiu belatedly realized that the color of his eyes and ear fins seemed to have changed. His black fish tail wasn’t entirely black any more—there was a purplish hue to it, and the tip of the tail had become a translucent purple, just like his ear fins.
That night had been too dark; not only did Si Xu fail to notice his exact colors, but even Lin Jiu hadn’t seen them clearly. If it weren’t for this photo, he wouldn’t have known he’d changed color.
The bloodline purifier really was something extraordinary.
It seemed his true color wasn’t black but purple. Just one vial of the primary bloodline purifier had already revealed his color.
Lin Jiu was so angry at the news from country H that he rolled around in bed. After just a few rolls, his phone rang.
As soon as he picked up, Si Xu’s voice came through.
“Don’t post anything on social media. Don’t transform, and protect yourself. I’ll come to you as soon as I’m done here.”
Lin Jiu, who had just posted on Weibo: “…”
He could only confess the truth.
Si Xu: “From now on, don’t make any more statements. You can go to the shop, but be mindful of strangers around you. Don’t let anyone get too close.”
Lin Jiu: “O-okay.”
Lin Jiu hadn’t yet realized how serious this situation was, but Si Xu knew very well.
Country H’s actions had essentially thrust Lin Jiu into the global spotlight. The mermaid/sea monster, once a mere legend, was now proven to exist, with his powers exaggerated to the level of controlling giant sea creatures. This made him both feared and desired by many nations.
Special departments had already received word: multiple foreign powers had started investigating the whereabouts of the mermaid/sea monster.
Si Xu hadn’t initially understood why their offer to assist country H was refused, which had been suspicious in itself. But upon learning that Lin Jiu’s sea monster form might have been captured on camera, and realizing that country H knowingly sent people to retrieve something from the sea despite the presence of giant sea creatures, it became clear they were determined to obtain the mermaid.
Refusing their help was likely to prevent any leaks about the mermaid. Now that they’d gone public, it was probably because they had confirmed the mermaid had already left, giving them the upper hand. If the mermaid fell into another country’s hands, they would still have grounds to claim it.
Since the mermaid first appeared in country H, they would insist it belonged to them. They were experts at this kind of tactic.
Lin Jiu got up, found the black mask, and burned it to destroy the evidence.
He also tugged at his long hair, wondering if he should just shave his head bald. That way, who could recognize him?
Remembering Si Xu’s instructions not to do anything drastic, he reluctantly spared his hair.
*
The news of a mermaid appearing in country H had already gone viral online, with countless people eager to catch a glimpse of the mermaid.
When Lin Jiu went to the shop in the afternoon, even Jiang Xiwen was looking at him strangely.
Lin Jiu, feeling guilty, asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Jiang Xiwen stared at his long hair for a few moments. “How about cutting it short? Right now, the whole internet is trying to uncover the mermaid’s true identity, and your long hair is giving people the wrong idea.”
Lin Jiu: “…”
Lin Jiu: “I have a clear conscience, so I don’t need to worry about rumors. I’m not cutting it!”
He sounded righteous, but inside, he was panicking.
That night, four waiters showed up at the shop: Fu Jiao, Weng Cheng, Lin Han, and Chang Beimu.
Fu Jiao had officially joined Squad Seven.
Lin Jiu understood why Si Xu had arranged for four people. He was likely worried that Lin Jiu might be in danger.
Lin Jiu asked about the casualties from the recent incident in S City. One enhanced person had died, and a few were injured. Several civilians had also lost their lives, with many more wounded, mostly from encounters with smaller monsters that had entered the city.
Given the severity of the crisis, the fact that they had managed to control the casualties to this extent was far beyond expectations.
The one enhanced person who had died had gained his strength from eating food from Lin Jiu’s shop. He had voluntarily joined the Special Security Department but hadn’t been in training long. In the battle against the smaller monsters, he was fatally injured by a claw to the chest and died from blood loss.
Because of this, the Special Security Department would be even more stringent in selecting candidates going forward.
In Lin Jiu’s view, with gene enhancement serums available, they would undoubtedly start choosing better candidates from the military. These soldiers, already disciplined and battle-hardened, wouldn’t need as much training and could become powerful fighters in the shortest time possible.
During dinner, the customers also talked about the mermaid.
Once dinner was over, Lin Jiu could leave.
He brought some enchanted food and headed to the base to check in, planning to clear out the seafood in his cold storage.
The shop had never sold frozen seafood before, and Lin Jiu was worried that storing it for too long would weaken the magical energy in the seafood. Since he had too much to eat on his own, Lin Jiu decided to donate the frozen giant demon stingrays and little blue demons to the Special Security Department.
He took Fu Jiao and Lin Han along to help, while Weng Cheng and Chang Beimu stayed behind to assist sister Wen at the shop.
Lin Han contacted the Special Security Department’s logistics office, asking them to send over eight refrigerated trucks for the seafood. That night, they had used eight trucks to haul the seafood to the cold storage, and this time they planned to do it in one go.
The logistics team, hearing that Boss Lin was donating eight trucks of highly potent seafood, was thrilled and sent plenty of people to help load it up.
Around 7 PM, during peak traffic, the sight of eight refrigerated trucks loading up seafood attracted a large crowd.
People in the crowd began asking where all this seafood came from, where it was going, and whether it was for sale.
The soldiers guarding the trucks didn’t hide anything, saying outright that the seafood was from Lin Jiu’s shop, and Boss Lin had donated eight trucks of it to the Special Security Department to reward the enhanced personnel and soldiers who had gone to assist in S City.
By now, the existence of the Special Security Department was no longer a secret. Each region had its own branch, and everyone knew that abilities were managed by this department, which had become synonymous with power in the public’s mind.
There was a large crowd watching as several people carried out a single tentacle, and everyone gasped in awe and fear. Just one tentacle was that massive, so how big must the full “octopus” be?
What they didn’t know was that all this meat came from just one fish. If word got out, it would definitely scare a lot of people.
After the cold storage was emptied, the eight trucks lined up and left. Lin Jiu, Fu Jiao, and Lin Han sat in the lead truck, heading to the base.
The news that Boss Lin had donated eight truckloads of energy-rich seafood had already spread through the Special Security Department. When they saw Lin Jiu, everyone greeted him enthusiastically, whether they knew him or not.
Lin Jiu: “…”
Lin Jiu was carrying an insulated box, wearing a black mask with a white skull printed on it.
Lin Han chuckled, “They’re just excited. They’ve probably been craving the magical seafood from your shop for a while now.”
They entered the training room, where the radiation chamber still stood, though no one went in anymore.
The training area was divided into four sections around the small chamber. One of the sections was crowded with people, and inside, two individuals were sparring, their abilities flying all over the place.
Lu Yu and Shi Shuqing were present, with Shi Shuqing busy taking notes.
Lin Han lowered his voice, “They’re doing evaluations. Those with lower scores will be transferred to a branch. With the increase in enhanced people, the requirements to stay at headquarters are higher. If they don’t want to be transferred, they have to train hard.”
Lin Han looked troubled, “It’s currently Team One and the newly enhanced undergoing evaluation. Team Seven will be next. I’m the weakest in our team, so once we get evaluated, I’ll definitely be transferred, and I won’t be able to work part-time at the magical fish shop anymore.”
Lin Jiu reassured him, “Your ability is defensive, and there aren’t many defensive enhancers. Being rare is an advantage too.”
“There may not be many defensive enhancers, but even among them, there are differences in strength. Our Team Seven’s captain is known for having the highest RT score, so his team should be the strongest.”
The speaker was a young man with small eyes, and average height. Noticing Lin Jiu looking at him, he introduced himself with a smile.
“Hello, my name is Jiang Shiyao. I’m aiming for a spot as the defensive enhancer in Team Seven.”
Lin Jiu: “…”
Lin Han’s face immediately fell.
Jiang Shiyao continued, “A new notice came out today: a full evaluation and the formation of new teams. Each team will be selected based on their enhancement abilities, so that, when necessary, every team will be as sharp as a sword.”
Lin Jiu was surprised, “Are Team One and Team Seven going to be split up?”
Jiang Shiyao smiled, “Team One and Team Seven will remain, but in the future, they’ll become the main forces, choosing only the most outstanding enhancers to join. Team One has been around longer, and its members are all battle-hardened, so there won’t be many replacements.”
“Team Seven is different. It was just formed, and there’s a serious power gap between the captain and the team members. During the S City battle, while Captain Si was fighting the sea monster, he also had to clean up the mess made by his teammates. Instead of helping, the team members were a burden.”
“The higher-ups were very dissatisfied with Team Seven’s performance. Whenever they ran into trouble or danger, all they could do was call for their captain. Captain Si was heavily dragged down, unable to fully display his strength because he had to save the team members.”
Lin Han bowed his head in shame. Jiang Shiyao was right—during the fight with the giant sea monster, each of them had been saved by the captain at least once. Captain Si had shouldered all the pressure alone.
Jiang Shiyao added, “If you voluntarily leave the team, with your defensive ability, you’d probably stay at headquarters, but you’d be assigned to a newly formed support team.”
Lin Han clenched his fists tightly, grinding his teeth. He refused to accept this. Why should he leave such a good team? He might not be strong now, but he was determined to improve and become stronger.
Jiang Shiyao turned to Fu Jiao, who had been silent the whole time. “I heard you’re an altered-type enhancer. Is your altered form a wolf?”
Fu Jiao: “???”
No, he wasn’t a wolf; he was from the Ruta tribe.
Jiang Shiyao regretfully spread his hands. “That’s unfortunate. Someone else is also aiming for your spot, and his altered form is a black panther. I wonder who would be stronger—a wolf or a black panther?”
Fu Jiao: “…”
Lin Jiu: “Aren’t you a bit too full of yourself?”
Lin Jiu hadn’t planned on speaking since this was an internal matter for the Special Security Department. But after Jiang Shiyao had criticized Lin Han, he started going after Fu Jiao as well.
Fu Jiao was Lin Jiu’s most loyal follower and was personally recommended to Si Xu by Lin Jiu. Just who did this guy think he was looking down on?
In the past, Lin Jiu would have stayed quiet, letting things slide. But his mentality had completely changed now.
Jiang Shiyao smiled, “Don’t get me wrong. I’m only saying this because you’re a friend of Captain Si. Luckily, Captain Si was strong enough that nothing bad happened this time. But if the team doesn’t change, trouble is inevitable sooner or later. When that day comes…”
“Who are you cursing to have trouble?” Lin Jiu’s gaze turned cold.
Jiang Shiyao acted as if he didn’t notice Lin Jiu’s displeasure. “I’m just stating the facts. Their strength isn’t worthy of Team Seven. Everyone knows that Team Seven has the best benefits in the entire Special Security Department, and yet the enhancers they’ve produced are mediocre at best.”
“Judging by your tone, you’re saying only you deserve to be in Team Seven, right? Why don’t you show us your ability?” Lin Jiu challenged him.
The commotion caught the attention of those nearby.
Lin Han whispered, “Boss, his defensive ability really is strong…”
Lin Jiu shot him a glare. “Stop belittling yourself and boosting others. Do you really want to leave Team Seven?”
Lin Han fell silent, no longer daring to speak.
Jiang Shiyao laughed, “He’s telling the truth. I am stronger than him.”
Lin Jiu: “Less talk. Strength isn’t for you to decide.”
Jiang Shiyao: “And it’s not for you to decide either, right? What’s the point of showing you my ability? Can you make decisions for Captain Si?”
Jiang Shiyao smirked, “In Team One, the strongest becomes the captain, and the best defensive enhancer becomes the vice-captain. The vice-captain is responsible for defending the captain.”
The implication was clear. Jiang Shiyao didn’t just want to join Team Seven; he wanted to become its vice-captain, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Si Xu. That was absolutely unacceptable!
