Ever since Lin Feng sensed something odd about Qiao Ying, she had been quietly keeping an eye on her.
Qiao Ying had stormed out earlier, hurling harsh words at Lin Feng, but now she seemed like a completely different person—her temper mellowed, her words sparse. From the moment she entered the room, she had barely spoken, offering at most a nod before pretending to sleep.
It was well past midnight now. After some initial excited chatter, everyone had settled into their bunks, and snores rose and fell in waves. The noise was faintly annoying, yet oddly reassuring.
The room’s door stood ajar, with only a small nightlight glowing at the entrance. In the dim space, no voices broke the silence, save for the faint sway of the ship as it cut through the waves.
Lin Feng stole several glances at Qiao Ying. Something felt off, though she couldn’t pinpoint it. That subtle gaze clung to her like a shadow, making her stomach twist with unease.
Eventually, exhaustion overtook Lin Feng. She shifted her position, leaning against the wall, and drifted off to sleep.
Once Lin Feng was deep in slumber, Qiao Ying rose from her spot. She stepped carefully over the sprawled bodies littering the floor like obstacles and approached Lin Feng. Squatting down, she met her at eye level.
Lin Feng slept soundly, oblivious to the figure scrutinizing her. The ship rocked gently, tilting Lin Feng sideways toward the wall. The person ahead reached out swiftly, catching her and pulling her into an embrace. Lin Feng’s head came to rest on her shoulder, while an arm wrapped intimately around her waist.
The person’s dark pupils flickered faintly. She lowered her gaze to the sleeping girl, noting Lin Feng’s slightly parted lips, which revealed the tip of her pink tongue.
Still unaware she was being held, Lin Feng nestled into the soft, warm spot, rubbing against it contentedly. The ends of her hair brushed the person’s neck, and she nuzzled closer. Then, suddenly, she felt herself lifted into the air.
In her drowsy haze, Lin Feng cracked her eyes open and met a pair of familiar black ones. She squinted and murmured the name softly: “Zhao Shuqing…”
Zhao Shuqing didn’t look down. Clutching the person tightly in her arms, she strode quickly toward the corridor outside the door. The ship’s sway had woken a few others, who lifted their heads upon seeing Qiao Ying carrying Lin Feng away.
“Qiao Ying, where are you taking Lin Feng?”
Someone called out from behind Zhao Shuqing.
Zhao Shuqing ignored them entirely, pressing onward with long strides until she vanished around the corner. Only then did the others realize something was wrong.
“Something’s happened!” The group shook awake those nearby. “Hurry to the captain’s quarters and find Group Leader Xu. Qiao Ying’s taken Lin Feng!”
Everyone scrambled up at once. Some rushed to the captain’s quarters, while others paired off to search for Lin Feng. They didn’t find her, but in the farthest stall of the bathroom, they discovered the real Qiao Ying—unconscious, her clothes stripped away.
By the time Xu Tang arrived, her face had darkened completely. She stared at Qiao Ying, who was wrapped in a blanket and coming to, and demanded in a grim tone, “What exactly happened?”
Qiao Ying was still dazed herself. Clutching the blanket, she recounted everything from the start.
She had only locked eyes with her reflection in the mirror when her consciousness faded. Vaguely, she remembered the mermaid stripping her clothes and donning them herself, then biting into her forearm.
Qiao Ying extended her arm, revealing a bloody bite mark that looked quite severe.
“I thought I was done for,” Qiao Ying said with lingering fear, staring at the wound. “I never imagined I’d still be alive…”
She truly had a lucky escape.
Xu Tang listened, her gaze involuntarily drawn to the wound. She turned to the others and asked, “None of you noticed she’d been swapped out? Even in the same clothes, there should be differences, right?”
The group exchanged uneasy glances and shook their heads.
“No differences at all,” one said. “She was identical to Qiao Ying. That’s why none of us caught on.”
Xu Tang’s brows furrowed. After a moment’s thought, she ordered, “First, get her checked out. The rest of you, pair up and search for Lin Feng.”
Lin Feng felt a chill and shrank her neck, blinking awake to a brilliant starry sky overhead.
The sea breeze snapped her fully alert. Only then did she register that someone held her close. Beyond the stars loomed a familiar face.
Zhao Shuqing?
Lin Feng stared in shock at the mermaid before her. How was she still on the ship? Noticing the clothes on Zhao Shuqing, she realized they were Qiao Ying’s.
Her suspicions confirmed: Zhao Shuqing had transformed into Qiao Ying and infiltrated their midst.
But why?
Lin Feng’s mind raced with questions, unsure where to begin. Zhao Shuqing stood at the deck’s edge, cradling her as she gazed thoughtfully at the endless sea.
“Zhao Shuqing?” Lin Feng called her name. The mermaid glanced down briefly but remained rigidly facing the ocean. Curious, Lin Feng followed her gaze. On the gray sea’s surface, faint shadows flickered. Squinting, she made out several black shapes.
They were tiny, sesame-seed sized from this distance, but Lin Feng knew anything visible from afar in the ocean was no small fry.
“What are those?” she asked, frowning. “Whales?”
“Not just whales.” Zhao Shuqing’s low, resonant voice reached her before her lips moved. “We need to leave this ship and head to the seabed before they arrive.”
“Head to the seabed? Are you kidding?” Lin Feng wriggled free, gripping Zhao Shuqing’s shoulders. “Put me down first. I can walk on my own.”
Zhao Shuqing looked down at her and obediently set her on her feet.
Solid ground steadied Lin Feng. She smoothed her hair and clothes, then gripped the railing to peer at the distant specks. “Are those your friends?”
Zhao Shuqing said nothing.
“Hey.” Lin Feng kicked her leg irritably. “Stop with the one-word answers. You’re not mute. What’s going on? Why did you turn into Qiao Ying? Where’s the real one? Weren’t you off the ship already? Why are you still here?” She jabbed a finger toward the whales. “And why are your whale pals heading this way? Answer me properly!”
Zhao Shuqing paused, her dark pupils fixing on Lin Feng as she addressed each question in turn.
“Mermaids can transform into humans by consuming them—the more they eat, the more accurate the mimicry. I simply bit one at random and drank her blood for a temporary change. It doesn’t last long and isn’t perfect, so some disguise was needed. The human I bit has been rescued; she’s in no danger.”
“I never left the ship. I’ve been waiting for a chance to take you back from those humans.”
“And those whales,” Zhao Shuqing continued, “aren’t my friends. Their whole pod came because I struck a deal with them.”
“A deal?” Lin Feng echoed. “What kind?”
“A deal to devour everyone except you.”
Zhao Shuqing’s voice was deep and measured, almost intellectual, but her words sent chills down Lin Feng’s spine. They echoed the nightmare she’d had, where Zhao Shuqing lurked like a specter, vowing to eat everyone.
Lin Feng paled. “You’re joking, right?”
Zhao Shuqing regarded her calmly.
“You… you can’t do this.”
“Why not?”
“Because,” Zhao Shuqing replied, “they hunted me. This is retaliation. No human leaves this place alive except you.”
Lin Feng shook her head, her face ashen.
Zhao Shuqing’s expression softened tenderly. She brushed a stray lock from Lin Feng’s temple behind her ear and murmured, “It might seem cruel to you, but I’m a mermaid.”
She continued, “Mermaids aren’t the dainty princesses from your fairy tales.”
Mermaids weren’t the lovesick girls in stories, pining for romance, forsaking their tails for some stranger. They were savage and bloodthirsty, luring sailors with song to their lairs for a feast.
Even without humans, they never starved—the ocean teemed with prey. For larger fish they couldn’t handle alone, mermaids were clever, crafting tools and traps.
They understood everything, knew everything, and repaid human malice in kind.
Now, the mermaid would exact her revenge through the whales.
“Zhao Shuqing, please… let them go.” Lin Feng clutched the mermaid’s clothing, her face twisted in anguish. “They won’t come back once they’re gone, I swear. Let them leave. I’ll go to the seabed with you, stay by your side forever. Please?”
Zhao Shuqing tilted her head, gazing down with frank innocence. “But even if I kill them, you’ll still come with me to the seabed. What’s the difference?”
Lin Feng’s head spun, her vision darkening.
What kind of demon had she provoked?
She looked so beautiful—mermaid or human, like a brilliant female scholar—yet so ruthless and inhuman…
But she was a mermaid, a creature of the deep. How could she grasp human sentiments?
Zhao Shuqing caressed Lin Feng’s cold cheek, drawing her slender shoulders into a gentle embrace. “Don’t worry too much. I know what scares you. Once they’re all gone, no one will know you survived.”
Lin Feng inhaled the faint salt of the sea on her skin, her stomach churning.
Just then, the deck hatch burst open. The wind whipped Xu Tang’s long hair as she emerged, flanked by two teammates. Seeing Lin Feng and Zhao Shuqing together, she barked, “Lin Feng, don’t move! Hold that mermaid steady!”
Lin Feng peered past Zhao Shuqing’s shoulder. Xu Tang had drawn a gun from behind her—the one equipped before departure for crew safety.
Its dark muzzle now trained coldly on Zhao Shuqing’s back.
“They’re here,” Zhao Shuqing said lightly to Lin Feng. “Time for dinner.”
