Chapter 93 – Discovery on the High Sea
After Liao Tingwang was rescued, he was immediately taken to a hospital in City A.
He had been abducted by the Haijia clan after a car accident and had experienced several life-and-death encounters at sea before finally being sent to the hospital.
After examination, it was found that several of his ribs were broken, and his right calf bone had been shattered. The delay in treatment meant that even if the surgery was successful, whether he could stand again remained uncertain.
Si Xu accompanied Lin Jiu to visit Liao Tingwang in the hospital. His anesthesia had worn off, and he lay on the hospital bed staring blankly out the window.
His eyes were empty as if lost in thought, seemingly unaware of the pain from his broken bones.
Lin Jiu had already heard about the situation of the Liao family. Now, with so many dead or gone, Liao Tingwang was the only one left.
When Liao Tingwang saw Lin Jiu again, he no longer showed the agitation he had at the beginning.
Liao Tingwang had defied the safety of both himself and Old Master Liao to rush to City A and inform Lin Jiu of the Haijia clan’s plans. This was something Lin Jiu hadn’t expected. Liao Tingwang’s actions had completely enraged the Haijia clan, leading them to kill Old Master Liao.
If Liao Tingwang weren’t Lin Jiu’s father, posing some potential threat to Lin Jiu, they might have done more than run him off the highway—they would have simply crushed him and taken his life.
“You can stay in City A to recover.”
With the Liao family in City B practically gone, there was no point in returning. Lin Jiu certainly didn’t want another kidnapping incident.
Liao Tingwang’s eyes were devoid of any spark as if he had lost the will to live. “Can you go to City B? Your grandfather’s body is still in the hospital. We can’t just leave it there.”
Lin Jiu was silent for a moment. “I have things to do. You can handle it yourself.”
Lin Jiu had no affection for Old Master Liao and didn’t care for him. Liao Tingwang, as his son, would surely be heartbroken by his death. Letting him take care of the body was better than Lin Jiu doing it.
Lin Jiu handed him a basic healing serum, the last one he had, which would help Liao Tingwang recover physically.
Liao Tingwang looked at the serum with a mix of pain and irony in his eyes. His father had been so stubborn all these years, never admitting his mistakes. He had given up on his own grandson and placed his faith in a stranger who claimed they could save him, only to die at that person’s hands.
How could it not be ironic?
Liao Tingwang had lived a muddled life, always listening to his father. His last two marriages had ended in divorce, leaving him with nothing. Even his only son was estranged from him. Liao Tingwang felt like he had failed as a person.
He didn’t refuse the serum and drank it in front of Lin Jiu.
Lin Jiu told him that by this time tomorrow, he would be fully recovered. He could go to City B to handle Old Master Liao’s funeral and the aftermath of the Liao family’s collapse. If he wanted to return to City A afterward, Lin Jiu wouldn’t stop him.
Liao Tingwang only nodded, saying nothing.
The next day, after fully recovering, Liao Tingwang left the hospital, startling the doctors and nurses. They had assumed that his right leg was beyond repair, so who would have thought that he’d be walking out the very next day after his bone surgery?
But with so many strange things happening lately, this was just one more to add to the list.
Lin Jiu soon received word of Liao Tingwang’s departure from the hospital, but he didn’t say much.
After discussing with Si Xu, they both agreed that the chances of Vera being in the hands of the Haijia clan were slim. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have ignored Vera and gone through such trouble manipulating the Liao family. No one would go through all that effort when a more straightforward approach was available.
Lawson also believed that Vera couldn’t be in the hands of the Cecil family, the strongest among the Haijia clan.
Lin Jiu had already informed Lawson about his encounter with the Haijia clan, telling them that the Haijia clan had altered their genes, allowing them to move freely in the ocean. The mutated Haijia forms were grotesque and ugly, and Lin Jiu had seen at least a dozen of them.
After learning this, Lawson was silent for a long time.
They had always known that the Haijia clan was conducting genetic research, but they hadn’t expected it to reach this point.
After so many years, it wasn’t surprising that they had made such progress.
What Lawson cared about most was another matter. “Did you see any sirens among the mutated Haijia?”
Lawson’s words were still incomprehensible to Lin Jiu, so Ansair had to translate for him.
By the way, Ansair has already returned with his wife and two children. Lottie is currently handling the paperwork to transfer schools to Z Country because he wants to follow Lin Jiu and is in the process of completing the formalities.
Those mutated Haijia have various forms, but Lin Jiu didn’t see any merfolk with fishtails.
Lawson sighed, “They’ve captured young members of the Elton and Limo families. The females might be kept for breeding, while the males could be used for research or as combat forces for the Haijia tribe. We’ve tried to rescue them, but we can’t pinpoint their exact location. We don’t even know if they’re still alive.”
At the end of the conversation, Lawson solemnly warned Lin Jiu, “The Cecil family is extremely cunning. Don’t trust anything they say.”
The mutated Haijia told Lin Jiu this information, clearly to lure him into a trap. No doubt, they’ve set a snare from which there will be no return. A true merfolk like Lin Jiu is far more valuable than any of their incomplete experiments.
Lin Jiu wanted to use the system to help locate them, but they had no idea where the Haijia tribe’s laboratories might be. Searching across the entire Earth would consume so much energy that Lin Jiu’s current magic power might not even be enough.
Lin Jiu deeply realized how poor he was. He desperately needed magic power. It wasn’t just locating the Haijia research base that required magic, Lin Jiu also wanted to buy himself a mid-level bloodline purification serum. His sea demon bloodline needed further purification—the purer it was, the stronger he’d become. He absolutely couldn’t afford to lose to the mutated Haijia in a group fight.
He needed to get stronger.
The magic points earned from completing tasks in the Demon Sea Plane weren’t enough to meet Lin Jiu’s needs anymore. A single mid-level bloodline purification serum required 500,000 magic points, which was even more expensive than the mid-level gene enhancement serum. The high-level gene enhancement serum cost 1 million points, and a high-level bloodline purification serum skyrocketed to 5 million points per dose. The price was so high it made Lin Jiu dizzy. Accumulating enough magic points by completing tasks wasn’t impossible, but it would take time—something Lin Jiu didn’t have.
If Vera was truly alive, Lin Jiu would do whatever it took to rescue her.
It was only now that Lin Jiu fully understood what the system had once said—that relying on blind boxes to obtain the items he needed was a long shot. The odds were even lower than drawing treasure chests. At least with treasure chests, the items inside corresponded to the box’s level.
The items in the blind box were numerous and mixed, with various levels of rarity. You could end up wasting three attempts on things like coral greens lettuce, a jug of soy sauce, or a bag of jade rice. Given Lin Jiu’s terrible luck, hoping to draw top-tier serums from these blind boxes was unrealistic.
To obtain more magic points, Lin Jiu needed magic crystal cores.
One crystal core wasn’t enough for him anymore.
Lin Jiu and Si Xu discussed secretly making a trip to the center of the magic crystal core explosion to search for any remaining magic crystal cores.
There was no need to elaborate on how dangerous that place was.
Since it was the center of energy, all the sea creatures there could potentially be giant sea monsters. Rushing in was practically asking for death.
Fortunately, Lin Jiu and Si Xu had a portal. If things went wrong, Si Xu could create a flat sea surface, and they could escape directly to Xipulo Island.
The two chose a night to set out, traveling by car to H City, which was closer to A City, and from there, they headed out to sea.
They didn’t take a boat or bring anyone else. Instead, they planned to use the smart flying device.
They couldn’t act during the day, as they worried about being seen. This flying device was so advanced that it could easily be mistaken for a UFO, so keeping a low profile was the safest option.
Si Xu’s piloting skills had become increasingly proficient, and the flying device was incredibly fast, skimming the surface of the sea with a whoosh.
Lin Jiu didn’t feel much time had passed when Si Xu suddenly began to slow down, eventually coming to a complete stop.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Jiu asked in a low voice, as if afraid of disturbing the giant sea monsters here.
Due to the time difference, it was just before dawn— the darkest part of the night.
Si Xu dimmed the headlights and motioned for Lin Jiu to look ahead.
Lin Jiu looked but saw nothing but darkness.
Si Xu then turned off all the lights, and under the night sky, several enormous, towering black shadows loomed over the sea, writhing in the air. These shadows weren’t stationary like buildings—they were living creatures, moving in the air.
Even though the flying device was still some distance from those massive shadows, their sheer size was daunting. Lin Jiu couldn’t imagine how terrifying these creatures would be up close.
Lin Jiu held his breath, realizing that the giant sea monsters he’d seen before were small fry compared to these terrifying entities.
In his mind, Lin Jiu quietly asked the system what those things were.
The system’s mechanical voice turned grave.
[Host, Earth might be in big trouble. Those are the Seven-Star Sea Demons from the Demon Sea Plane, specifically the gigantic Blue Demon, the adult form of the small Blue Demon. You and your man should avoid getting close—they are one of the most troublesome types of sea demons.]
Both Lin Jiu and Si Xu’s expressions became grim.
The great disaster in the Demon Sea Plane had not only brought the remnants of the Demon Sea to the Earth but also the sea demons. Over time, the Seven-Star Sea Demon must have run out of energy and fallen into a slumber. But the explosion of magic crystal marrow had woken this terrifying creature up.
Lin Jiu asked, “I remember you once said that the Haijia tribe could stand toe-to-toe with the powerful sea demons. Are they really that strong?”
“I said they could fight the sea demons, but not just any Haijia has that strength. Only a few historically powerful Haijia could fight a sea demon.”
Lin Jiu continued, “So what you’re saying is that the strongest species in the Demon Sea is actually the sea demons, right?”
“Sea demons are powerful, but they lack intelligence. In the Demon Sea, the only intelligent species are the Haijia and the Merfolk.”
That’s why the Haijia could become the rulers while the sea demons couldn’t.
The system paused before adding, [Though the Haijia tribe in the Demon Sea is aggressive, brutal, and powerful, they never direct their strength against the Merfolk. On the contrary, they protect them. The Haijia’s possessiveness is strong, but they’re gentle toward Merfolk. In their eyes, every Merfolk is a companion, and they will not harm their companions—only protect them.”
[I don’t even want to acknowledge the Haijia from the Earth plane. Their relationship with the Merfolk is too terrible—they’re too cruel to the Merfolk tribe. They’re monsters, not true Haijia. True Haijia would never behave like this.]
The mutated Haijia stabbed Lin Jiu’s tail with a trident, a situation so shocking that even the system was taken aback. The tail’s importance to a siren is as vital as certain body parts are to men, and in the system’s memory, nothing like this had ever happened.
According to the laws of the Demon Sea, the Haijia tribe has a death penalty, but the Merfolk tribe does not. Even the most heinous of Merfolk would only be imprisoned until death—never executed.
Hurting a Merfolk is a grave crime.
If a Haijia harms a Merfolk, the punishment is even more severe.
This is why, in marriages between Haijia and Merfolk, domestic violence is almost unheard of. And if it does occur, it’s typically the Merfolk abusing the Haijia.
If a Haijia truly fought a Merfolk, the Merfolk wouldn’t stand a chance.
The Haijia on the Earth plane have strayed too far from their origins. They think they are restoring their ancestors’ glory, but they don’t realize that their actions severely violate the taboos of the Haijia tribe. If their ancestors were to awaken, they’d be infuriated by what they’ve done.
They’re so eager to awaken their Haijia bloodline but seem unaware of a critical fact: the purer a Haijia’s bloodline, the more they need the Merfolk. Without the calming songs of the Merfolk tribe, they will be consumed by their primal instincts, losing all reason and becoming a mindless killing machine of the Demon Sea.
The union between Haijia and Merfolk isn’t just about producing pure-blood offspring; it’s about survival and a better life.
The Haijia tribe of the Earth plane don’t understand this. They’re on a self-destructive path with no return.
If they truly break with the Merfolks, it won’t be the Merfolks who go extinct first—it’ll be the Haijia.
That’s why the Haijia of the Demon Sea plane pamper the Merfolks as much as they can. It’s practically encoded in their genes, much like a life form’s instinct to reproduce. But the Haijia of the Earth plane just don’t get it.
The sky gradually brightened, and the massive black shadows standing over the sea began to submerge until all their tentacles had disappeared beneath the surface.
By then, the sun had risen, and daylight filled the sky.
Si Xu transformed the flying device and submerged it in the sea, avoiding exposure on the surface to prevent being seen.
The flying device didn’t dive too deep; they were already close to the explosion’s epicenter. Even the distant waters of Z Country had seen giant sea monsters, and there would only be more of them here.
Sure enough, within ten minutes of submerging, the display showed the red outlines of giant sea monsters—five of them appeared at once. They weren’t fighting but were foraging nearby.
Si Xu maneuvered the device as quietly as possible, skimming just beneath the surface.
Lin Jiu’s energy collection system acted like a detector. He instructed the system to stay alert while the flying device circled the area to see if any intact magic crystal core had been blasted away.
As for the explosion’s center—there was no point trying. It was impossible to get close, with the terrifying Seven-Star Sea Demon lurking there. That creature wasn’t just a giant sea monster; if it spotted them, they wouldn’t even have a chance to escape.
Neither Lin Jiu nor Si Xu wanted to disturb that Seven-Star Sea Demon. Since they couldn’t defeat it, it was better to let it remain where it was, without endangering humanity. They didn’t want to see humans destroy the very Earth they depended on to eliminate this creature.
Even the outskirts of the explosion zone weren’t safe; the situation here was worse than they’d expected. There were too many giant sea monsters.
Si Xu piloted the flying device carefully through the throng of massive creatures, turning off all lights except for the indicators on the control panel to avoid drawing attention.
The deeper they went, the denser the monsters became. Si Xu had no choice but to begin steering the craft around them.
This area had the highest concentration of radiation energy, which attracted the most giant sea monsters. It seemed that because there was no scent of flesh from the flying device, the monsters hadn’t attacked them.
Circumnavigating the monsters was easier than moving forward, at least. There was less need to dodge the sea monsters, and the pressure eased slightly.
The flying device circled the area for a long time, but the energy collection system gave no alert. Either they were still too far from the epicenter, or all the magic crystal cores had been destroyed in the explosion.
With the flying device’s energy supply still unresolved, they couldn’t keep searching indefinitely. If they couldn’t find anything soon, they’d have to head back before the flying device ran out of power.
After two more hours of searching, they still came up empty-handed.
Lin Jiu felt disappointed. It seemed his plan to find magic crystal cores had been too naive.
“Let’s go back,” Lin Jiu said. “We’ll use the portal to save energy.”
Si Xu nodded. “We’re too far out. Even the shockwave from the explosion might not have pushed the magic crystal cores this far. Water creates resistance.”
Lin Jiu knew this, but they couldn’t go deeper; it was too dangerous.
“We’ll have to think of another way. If it comes to it, I’ll infiltrate the Cecil family. I’ve heard they have a lot of magic crystal cores. Once I get my hands on it, I’ll flee to Xipulo Island. Let’s see what the Cecil family can do about that.”
As Lin Jiu spoke, he realized the plan wasn’t entirely impossible. If the Cecil family lost their supply of magic crystal marrow, they’d lose their ability to cause trouble.
“No.”
Before Lin Jiu could elaborate, Si Xu flatly rejected the idea.
Lin Jiu scratched his head, realizing it had been a bit of a far-fetched idea.
There were quite a few mutated Haijia around. Even though everyone’s combat abilities were limited on land, the Cecil family had access to firearms. Lin Jiu wasn’t invincible—being shot would still be dangerous.
Suddenly, the energy collection system chimed in: [Host, the energy collection system has detected magic crystal cores. Would you like to collect it?]
Lin Jiu shot upright, only to be yanked back into his seat by the safety belt.
Si Xu asked, ‘Is there movement?’
Lin Jiu, excited, replied, [Collect! Collect as much as you can!]
[Host, the magic crystal core is moving away and cannot be collected.]
Lin Jiu was puzzled. “What do you mean it’s moving away? Does it have legs or something?”
[Host, the magic crystal core was detected inside a fish, which is now swimming away.]
Lin Jiu: “…”
Si Xu: “Eaten by a fish?”
The subsystem’s messages couldn’t be shared with Si Xu, but he guessed it on his own.
Lin Jie nodded. “The fish swam away.”
Si Xu: “Give me the coordinates. I’ll chase it.”
Lin Jie hurriedly asked the system for the coordinates, and Si Xu shot off in the flying vehicle.
After confirming with the system several times, Lin Jiu finally determined that the magic crystal core was inside a giant sea monster with a light on its head.
Lin Jiu and Si Xu observed their surroundings, searching for the “light-headed” sea monster mentioned by the system.
“There! Is that the one?!” Lin Jiu got excited.
In the dark depths of the sea, the giant sea monster with a glowing head stood out. It was clearly an anglerfish, but it was much larger than the other sea monsters, leisurely swaying its massive body.
Si Xu cautiously steered the flying vehicle closer.
Lin Jiu whispered, “Is there a rope on the vehicle? How about we just tie it up and tow it away?”
With so many sea monsters around, getting into a fight here would likely lead to an all-out attack on them.
Si Xu: “No rope.”
Si Xu carefully controlled the vehicle, trailing behind the massive anglerfish.
Si Xu: “Ask the system where exactly it is, and I’ll see if I can pull it out with my abilities.”
Good idea!
Lin Jiu: “It’s in the anglerfish’s mouth.”
Si Xu thought for a moment, then sped up the flying vehicle, positioning it in front of the anglerfish and flying backward.
If the giant anglerfish opened its mouth to eat them, Si Xu would use the opportunity to extract the magic crystal core.
To Si Xu’s surprise, even as the flying vehicle hovered right in front of the anglerfish, it didn’t react at all. Its massive mouth remained tightly shut—could it be blind?
Lin Jiu: “Fire at it, make it open its mouth.”
Si Xu activated the vehicle’s onboard weapon, adjusted its aim, and fired a shot at the anglerfish’s mouth.
Boom!
The anglerfish’s jagged teeth were blown apart, leaving a big hole, and its mouth finally opened. Si Xu seized the moment, using his powers to pull something out.
As soon as Si Xu exerted his strength, he froze.
A dark figure was pulled from the anglerfish’s mouth, shooting rapidly toward the vehicle.
Neither of them had time to see what it was before hearing a loud *thud*—a sharp, white fishbone had stabbed into the windshield!
Luckily, it wasn’t ordinary glass, or that impact might have scared the life out of them.
Clinging to the front of the vehicle was a figure, repeatedly stabbing the fishbone into the same spot on the windshield as if determined to pierce through.
Si Xu turned on the cockpit lights, revealing the figure in full.
It was a woman’s face!
Her long hair hung loose, her gaze fierce. Pale scales dotted her face, and the hand holding the fish bone wasn’t a hand, but a webbed claw!
Startled by the light, the woman turned and fled.
Lin Jiu’s eyes widened as he caught sight of her tattered, inky fishtail.
It was a mermaid!
