I’m No Longer Human After Being Blacklisted – CH95

Chapter 95 – Introducing a Guardian Fish

Lin Jiu then asked the system if there was a way to restore Vera to her human form.

The system hesitated for a long time as if it had no real solution. Finally, it gave a suggestion:

[Try using a basic genetic enhancer. If it can activate the remaining mermaid bloodline in her, turning her into a true mermaid, she should be able to change her form freely, just like you.]

There was no other option, so they had to give it a try.

Vera’s mermaid bloodline was purer than that of any other mermaid descendants, but after two stages of suppression, it was uncertain whether the remaining mermaid genes would be enough to awaken her into a true mermaid.

Lin Jiu explained the process of awakening into a true mermaid to Vera, and naturally, she didn’t refuse.

Without the drugs from the Siren clan, she couldn’t transform into her human form and would be unable to return to land.

Since Lin Jiu didn’t have any sterilization tools on hand, he had no choice but to inject the serum directly.

After receiving the injection, Vera dives into the sea, wanting to complete the transformation into a true mermaid underwater.

Her bare skin was already covered in tiny scales, and her upper body was dressed in tattered clothes. If she successfully awakened as a mermaid, she didn’t have the heart to appear before the two youngsters in this state.

As Vera endured the pain of the serum, Lin Jiu and Si Xu averted their eyes. They understood how excruciating the process was, but if she could survive it, Vera would become a true mermaid.

Although Lin Jiu didn’t look, he listened closely to the sounds coming from the sea. It wasn’t until the sharp cry of a mermaid echoed from the water that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She succeeded!

Lin Jiu took out clothes from his spatial ring and tossed them into the sea for Vera to wear.

When Vera reemerged, dressed in Lin Jiu’s clothes, the scales on her face had disappeared. Her arms and neck were also free of scales, and her once-damaged tail had been restored, now resembling Lin Jiu’s dark-colored tail. However, her tail had a duller sheen, and her fin was not as long or elegant as Lin Jiu’s, likely due to the weakened mermaid genes.

Even so, Vera was overjoyed. She had become a true mermaid, not a monstrous imitation.

Vera was content.

The newly reunited mother and son sat together on the head of the giant anglerfish, their fish tails lined up side by side, occasionally flicking their tails in happiness.

It was only then that Vera remembered to ask why Lin Jiu and Si Xu had come here in the first place.

Lin Jiu suddenly recalled their mission. “We came here looking for magic crystal core. We detected that the giant anglerfish had some in its mouth, so we opened fire, hoping to get it to open its mouth. Is the fish okay? I wonder if there’s a way to fix its tooth?”

Lin Jiu guiltily patted the giant anglerfish’s head.

This was the fish that had saved his mother’s life. It had been protecting her, which is why it kept its mouth closed. Now, its once perfect teeth had a hole in them, and Lin Jiu couldn’t help but feel sorry for the fish, imagining how difficult it might be for it to eat without letting small fish slip through.

Vera’s expression turned a little strange. “Fixing its tooth might be impossible. There’s no dentist brave enough to work on a giant sea monster, but I do have the magic crystal cores.”

With that, Vera reached into the knotted fabric of her clothes and pulled out three pieces of magic crystal core.

Lin Jiu: “…”

Si Xu: “…”

Wait, can you just carry something like that on your person?!

The radiation!

Vera stroked the anglerfish. “This fish was probably attracted to the magic crystal cores on me, which is why it stayed by my side. The explosion sent the more stable pieces flying, and three shards ended up lodged in my body like hidden weapons.”

“I know the radiation from the magic crystal core is intense, so after I woke up, I hid the shards in a rock crevice to block the radiation as much as possible. Later, I noticed that wherever I hid the cores, the anglerfish would guard that spot. Once I healed, I wrapped the shards in some cloth and hung them on the anglerfish’s teeth. It seemed to like that. Maybe the radiation was too strong, causing the anglerfish to grow much faster than other giant sea monsters.”

Vera handed the three pieces of magic crystal core to Lin Jiu. “Take them if you need them. I don’t have anything that can shield the radiation here.”

Lin Jiu hadn’t expected to actually find magic crystal cores, let alone discover his mother on this trip.

The three pieces of magic crystal cores vanished from Lin Jiu’s hand, and transferred to the energy collection system for processing, preventing them from endangering others.

Now that they had these three pieces, there was a chance they could find more.

Lin Jiu asked, “Are there any more magic crystal cores nearby?”

Vera replied, “There shouldn’t be much left in the sea. Giant sea creatures love that stuff, and they’ll eat it if they find it.”

This highly radioactive energy source wouldn’t be digested but would cause the sea creatures to grow even larger and mutate further.

Vera continued, “After the explosion, many people came to scavenge, but none of the ships, planes, or submarines I saw ever made it out alive. The seabed around here is littered with wreckage.”

Lin Jiu fell silent.

If they had come searching for magic crystal cores, others would have as well. But with so many giant sea monsters concentrated here, it was hard to imagine what the explosion’s center looked like… No, they had already seen it. That seven-star sea demon’s location was the explosion’s center.

With such a terrifying creature occupying that area, any attempt by humans to approach would be futile.

Thinking this through, Lin Jiu realized that even the outskirts weren’t safe. Given the size of that seven-star sea demon, who knew if its tentacles could even reach the outer zones?”

Lin Jiu said, “Mom, have you been to the explosion site?”

Vera immediately responded, “That place is off-limits, something terrifying lives there.”

Lin Jiu tensed up, “You saw that thing?”

Vera nodded, “The lanternfish and I once tried to get close, but a giant tentacle scared us off.”

Lin Jiu’s heart nearly stopped. “Thank goodness you didn’t go, otherwise I’d really be without a mother.”

Vera gently smoothed her son’s long hair, feeling heartache. “You saw it too?”

Luckily they had, otherwise, if they had gone rushing in, they probably wouldn’t have made it back alive.

Since Lin Jiu was here, he was determined to bring back as much of the magic crystal core as possible. He always thought the system was pretty useless, but now he felt it was incredibly handy.

Lin Jiu instructed Si Xu to follow them with the aircraft while he and his mother rode the giant lanternfish to search the area. If they found any magic crystal core, the system would alert them. Even if it was inside a giant sea monster’s stomach, the system would locate it.

Of course, it was best not to disturb the sea creatures if they didn’t have to. This wasn’t the place for a fight—if they accidentally caused a scent of blood, they could be torn apart by countless giant sea monsters. Even without blood, any accidental injury could be big trouble. These mutated sea creatures had not only grown in size but seemed to have evolved their brains a bit too.

Lin Jiu and Vera rode the giant lanternfish for a while. As soon as they dived to the seafloor, sitting on the fish’s head wasn’t safe anymore; they could easily be swallowed whole by another giant sea creature. The best option was to stay inside the lanternfish’s mouth.

Entering the lanternfish’s mouth for the first time was like entering a cave. It was safe, sure, but the smell inside was unbearable for Lin Jiu—the stench was overwhelming.

Grabbing the sharp teeth of the lanternfish, Lin Jiu stood at the edge of its mouth, looking outside, where the seawater was much fresher.

But Lin Jiu’s focus wasn’t on the giant sea creatures; it was on the cracks and trenches in the seabed. If any magic crystal core was stuck in a crevice, the sea monsters wouldn’t be able to eat it, which would be a lucky break for Lin Jiu.

Vera led Lin Jiu to the place where she had regained consciousness. There might still be other pieces of magic crystal core nearby.

To Lin Jiu’s excitement, before they even reached the crevice where Vera had been injured, the energy collection system gave a sudden alert.

Lin Jiu immediately followed the system’s guidance and dove deeper until he spotted a cluster of rocks on the seafloor. He swam toward them.

Si Xu turned on the aircraft’s large lights, illuminating the rocks. Lin Jiu searched and finally confirmed that the system was pointing to a small crack in the rocks.

Lying outside the crevice, Lin Jiu peered inside. With the light, he could see a flat piece of magic crystal core. It looked like it had been shattered by an explosion, and a remaining fragment had landed here. But the crevice was too narrow for Lin Jiu’s arm to reach in.

Frustrated, Lin Jiu paced around the crack. Vera tried too but also couldn’t reach inside.

From the aircraft, Si Xu gestured for them to back away. The two quickly moved to a safe distance.

Si Xu adjusted the aircraft’s angle and fired at the crevice, blowing apart the rocks.

Lin Jiu rushed over, and together with Vera, they cleared away the debris, finally finding the damaged piece of magic crystal core.

Lin Jiu touched it and successfully collected the crystal.

Overjoyed, Lin Jiu didn’t return to the safety of the lanternfish’s mouth but stayed close to the seabed, searching among the rocks. There had to be more fragments around. If any had flown into areas unreachable by the sea monsters, they could still be there.

Lin Jiu’s instincts were right. Soon, the energy collection system chimed again, and he followed it to another rock crevice, finding another shard of magic crystal core. This time, the fragment was lodged shallower, and Lin Jiu could reach in and grab it.

Just as Lin Jiu was happily collecting the crystal fragments, a distant “whoosh” sound reached his ears from the surface. Lin Jiu recognized it—it was the sound of fighter jets flying overhead.

Lin Jiu glanced up. They were deep underwater, so even if the jets fired, their bullets wouldn’t reach this far.

As he was thinking this, a muffled explosion sounded nearby.

What the hell!

They weren’t following the usual tactics—they were bombing?!

Only someone whose brain had gone completely haywire would do something like that!

Knowing full well that this area was teeming with giant sea monsters, they were still bombing. Did they want the sea monsters to rampage elsewhere?!

Everyone knew that the coastal cities were only safe because the giant sea monsters were concentrated here. If they scattered, even the ability users wouldn’t dare venture out to sea anymore.

News of the unknown energy radiation and the ability users had already been made public. Nations with magic crystal stones could produce more ability users, while those without must have been desperate. Without these stones, they would have fewer ability users than other countries, so even with the risk of sacrifice, they were willing to take the gamble to find some.

Lin Jiu grabbed Vera, pulling her away from the area. Vera called out, and the giant lanternfish followed them.

The bombing was focused around the area of the previous palace explosion. Lin Jiu led Vera far from the outskirts until they had swum a safe distance before surfacing quietly.

Through the water, they could see bombers flying overhead. Lin Jiu had no idea which faction these people belonged to, but they were crazy to bomb this area. It would benefit no one. They didn’t care about the consequences, all for the sake of magic crystal core.

Suddenly, massive water spheres shot out from the sea, forcing the bombers to pull up sharply to avoid them. Then, out of nowhere, a thick tentacle shot up from the water, and one of the bombers crashed right into it, plunging toward the sea. The pilot ejected.

But the altitude was too low. Even though the pilot had parachuted out, they still landed in the ocean.

The sea was teeming with giant sea monsters, all waiting for a meal to fall right into their laps.

Even from a distance, Lin Jiu and the others could hear the screams. The water quickly turned red as the giant sea monsters became frenzied, surfacing one after another. Water spheres rained down like a downpour, and two more bombers were struck down, immediately torn apart by the waiting sea monsters.

The remaining two bombers fled in a panic but were caught by the enormous tentacles that suddenly emerged from the sea and dragged them into the depths.

Lin Jiu watched the whole scene as one bomber after another appeared and then quickly disappeared.

Those tentacles were just from ordinary giant sea monsters, and the Seven-Star Sea Demon did not show up.

Vera said, “During my time here, I’ve often seen this kind of scene.”

With the giant sea monsters becoming more agitated, it wasn’t a good time to continue searching for magic crystal cores, so Lin Jiu decided to return for now.

Vera was reluctant to part with the giant anglerfish, and after discussing with Lin Jiu and Si Xu, they decided to bring the giant anglerfish to the waters near City S.

This giant anglerfish was intelligent and had developed a bond with Vera. With it patrolling the waters near City S, any giant sea monsters attempting to approach would have to contend with it first.

Si Xu thought this was a great idea, but introducing a giant sea monster was a serious matter that needed to be reported.

Si Xu piloted the aircraft to lead the way, while Lin Jiu and Vera sat atop the giant anglerfish’s massive head, following the aircraft back.

As they moved away from the area with the highest radiation, the number of giant sea monsters decreased significantly, and the danger was greatly reduced.

The mother and son talked a lot along the way. Lin Jiu shared with Vera everything that had happened in his life over the past years. Vera’s appearance remained as youthful as ever, with no traces of time left on her face.

Once Si Xu regained the phone signal, he contacted the “Special Security Department” and reported the plan to bring a giant sea monster to guard the waters of City S.

The unconventional nature of the plan shocked the higher-ups, and they repeatedly asked for confirmation: was it really true that the giant sea monster wouldn’t come ashore? If the giant sea monster had special abilities and could cause tsunamis, wouldn’t City S be inviting disaster?

After careful communication with Si Xu, the higher-ups eventually approved the plan.

However, it was only a trial. They would need to observe the giant anglerfish for a period of time to ensure it was harmless before they could fully trust it.

The giant anglerfish was different from the bone-spurred sea monster they had encountered before. The anglerfish was a known species that had simply grown larger; it was entirely different from the mutated sea monster they had faced earlier.

By the time they arrived at the waters near City S, it was already nighttime.

Vera didn’t rush ashore. She wanted to make sure the giant anglerfish was settled, hoping it could make this area its home so that she could visit it often in the future.

Lin Jiu didn’t go ashore either, choosing to stay in the water with his mother.

Vera was worried about the safety of the giant anglerfish. Ever since she met it, she hadn’t seen it harm any humans. It was gentle, feeding only on smaller sea creatures.

The giant anglerfish wouldn’t hurt humans, but Vera feared that humans might harm it.

Si Xu reassured her, saying, “You don’t need to worry. As the guardian fish of City S’s waters, its safety will be ensured. The higher-ups will issue a strict order prohibiting any harm to the anglerfish.”

After all, it would take some serious courage for anyone to try to hurt such a massive anglerfish.

Vera spent two days in the water with the giant anglerfish and then two days in City S, observing whether the anglerfish’s temperament would change in her absence.

The result was clear: the giant anglerfish had a truly gentle nature. It was always happy to see Vera, and when she wasn’t around, it just roamed the waters peacefully, eating, drinking, and sleeping comfortably.

The higher-ups officially issued a protection order, forbidding any seafaring crew from harming the giant anglerfish. It was now recognized as the guardian of City S’s waters.