Chapter 94

“Blood pressure normal, heart rate normal…”

“Implantation complete.”

“The mermaid’s breathing is rapid. Is there a problem with the implantation?”

“Check the equipment… No issues. Maybe she’s about to wake up?”

“So soon? We’d better hurry.”

“…”

‘Beep—beep beep—’

In a daze, Lin Feng felt someone parting her scales before piercing her with something long and sharp. Her breathing grew labored, her mind foggy. She knew full well that someone was tampering with her body, yet she lacked the strength to resist.

She drifted in and out of consciousness for an unknowable stretch of time until her fingers twitched faintly.

The voices around her seemed to be discussing something. Once the ringing in her ears subsided, Lin Feng finally made out their words.

“Group Leader Xu says we need to implant a tracking device. Where should we put it?”

“Usually in the nape for animals, but she doesn’t seem suited for that. The lower back instead?”

“Under the subcutaneous tissue there? Should work. Let’s give it a try.”

“Alright, I’ll get things ready.”

What kind of device were they implanting?

Group Leader Xu… Xu Tang? What was she planning to do to her now?

Lin Feng struggled to pry her eyes open. Blinding shadowless lamps flooded her vision, their harsh white light washing over her face and making her skin look even paler. The two medical staff nearby hadn’t noticed she was awake. They had just finished the ovum embryo implantation procedure and were now disconnecting the instruments in preparation for the subcutaneous tracking device surgery.

One of them turned her head and locked eyes with Lin Feng’s brilliant blue ones. She froze on the spot.

Her companion glanced over curiously, then followed her gaze to Lin Feng’s open eyes. Her breath caught in her throat.

“Help—”

The second woman had barely opened her mouth to shout when Lin Feng swung her tail with what little effort she could muster, slamming her into the wall. Fresh from anesthesia, Lin Feng didn’t have much strength, but it was enough to knock the woman out cold on impact.

Lin Feng pushed herself upright and slid down from the operating table. Her tail barely brushed the floor before giving out entirely, leaving her sprawled limply on the ground.

The doctor who had frozen earlier snapped into action at the sight and spun toward the door to flee. Lin Feng narrowed her eyes, gripped the edge of the table to haul herself up, snatched a nearby instrument, and hurled it at the woman’s back.

The doctor collapsed instantly, sprawled less than a meter from the exit.

Lin Feng slumped against the operating bed and slowly slid to the floor. Her head swam in a fog, the anesthesia’s grip still potent enough to send the world spinning with the slightest motion.

Her hands trembled. Her tail offered no support.

She leaned there for a moment until her wits began to sharpen.

She had to get out of here.

She had no idea what Xu Tang had done to her, but her instincts screamed that she needed to escape this place.

With a great effort, Lin Feng dragged herself upright. She glanced at her tail and frowned slightly before swiftly transforming it into a pair of legs. Leaning on the wall for support, she shuffled over to the unconscious doctor, stripped off the woman’s surgical gown, and pulled it on haphazardly.

Her newly formed legs felt unsteady beneath her. Lin Feng skirted past the body blocking the doorway and shoved the door open.

Beyond lay a quiet anteroom lined with equipment. Lin Feng staggered onward, shoving open another door to reveal white coats hanging on hooks not far away.

She shrugged on a white coat, grabbed a disposable mask from a nearby shelf, and donned her crude disguise before padding barefoot into the hall.

Bracing herself against the wall, Lin Feng made her way outward.

She had no sense of the hour or even her location. She pushed open every door she found and descended every staircase she encountered. Somehow, through sheer blind luck, she stumbled out into the open air.

The starry sky overhead had wheeled across the heavens. By gut instinct, Lin Feng figured dawn was just a few hours away.

That meant she’d missed Zhao Shuqing’s video call.

The building looming behind her looked familiar—it was Xu Tang’s laboratory. Lin Feng had never liked the place, and with her condition improving, she resolved to walk all the way back.

She had little sense of direction. She was always either accompanied by Zhao Shuqing or shuttled by car whenever she ventured out. The lab and Zhao Shuqing’s dormitory were only a few kilometers apart, but Lin Feng took a massive detour. By the time she reached the doorstep, the sky had lightened with the promise of day.

Pausing at the entrance, Lin Feng wondered what she’d even come back for.

Zhao Shuqing wasn’t here. Returning changed nothing—she’d just get recaptured by Xu Tang.

Shivering with cold, she punched in the code from memory. The door beeped twice and swung open. Lin Feng stepped inside, eyed the empty bed, and collapsed facedown onto it, her strength finally spent.

Gu Yao had risen at the crack of dawn that morning—Little Fatty had parked herself on her chest before six, demanding breakfast and startling her awake.

With no other choice, she dragged herself out of bed to feed the chubby cat. She doubled the portion in the automatic feeder to head off any repeats tomorrow.

Since she was already up, Gu Yao skipped going back to sleep. As she leaned out to check if the distant pancake stall had opened yet, she spotted the door to Zhao Shuqing’s place standing wide open next door.

Her heart skipped a beat. Bad news—thieves had broken into Zhao Shuqing’s home.

She crept to the doorway cautiously, then remembered that the Research Institute dorms were hardly the sort of place burglars targeted. Maybe Zhao Shuqing had come back early?

“Shuqing?” Gu Yao called, peering inside while gripping the frame. The bedsheets bulged in a mound, a pair of bare white feet poking out.

Those feet were strikingly pale and delicate, the ankles slim, the toes a soft pink. Aside from a light dusting of grime, the soles were flawless, without so much as a wrinkle—like the tiny feet of an infant.

Definitely not Zhao Shuqing’s.

A real burglar had broken in.

Gu Yao panicked. She was just a single, unmarried researcher without so much as a girlfriend—what could she do against a thief? Her first instinct was to bolt.

Lin Feng heard the noise and looked up to see Gu Yao. She called out to her.

“Gu Yao.”

Gu Yao froze.

A thief who knew her name?

No, that voice—it sounded familiar.

She whipped her head around and spotted Lin Feng propped up on the bed, swaddled in sheets with pale hair spilling out. Gu Yao stepped inside in shock. “Lin Feng? Weren’t you at the oceanarium? How did you…?” Her eyes dropped to Lin Feng’s curled-up legs, widening slightly. “Your… tail?”

Lin Feng glanced down at her feet and loosened the bedding. “Gu Yao,” she said slowly, “I need to find Zhao Shuqing. Will you help me?”

Gu Yao stammered, “H-how? You don’t have ID or a visa—how would you even board a plane? And those feet of yours, they…”

Lin Feng tucked her feet back under the covers and met Gu Yao’s gaze. “Just tell me which city she’s in. I’ll swim there.”

Gu Yao’s vision darkened, then darkened again.

A million questions swirled in her mind, but Lin Feng refused to answer any. Gu Yao tried calling Zhao Shuqing, only to get no answer.

It was nighttime there, by her calculations.

Damn that Zhao Shuqing—what was she doing sleeping at a time like this?

Didn’t she know the sky was about to fall here?

Why did mermaids grow legs? Why, why?

Gu Yao’s head buzzed with whys. She stared at Lin Feng’s legs and the pilfered white coat and surgical gown draped over her, certain something terrible had happened. Otherwise, Lin Feng wouldn’t show up like this.

“Lin Feng,” Gu Yao said, eyeing her pale face and the hand clutched to her abdomen. “Are you okay? Should I take you back to the oceanarium? Where’s your wheelchair? Or can you… walk there?”

Lin Feng shook her head. She’d been taken from the oceanarium—she couldn’t go back.

All she wanted now was to find Zhao Shuqing.

“I can’t return,” she said, lifting her gaze to Gu Yao’s. “Please, will you help me? I need to find Zhao Shuqing.”

“But she’s overseas right now, and you’re in this state—how?” Gu Yao fretted.

Lin Feng shook her head again and bowed it, her light hair slipping over her shoulders to hang limply in front.

“I have to find her,” she murmured. “At least see her one last time before I die.”

Gu Yao had no clue what had transpired and couldn’t reach Zhao Shuqing by phone. She watched helplessly as Lin Feng slid off the bed to rummage through the wardrobe, then hurried over. “Don’t move! Sit over there—I’ll pack whatever you need.”

Grateful for the assistance, Lin Feng tugged the corner of her mouth into a faint smile. “Thank you.”

Gu Yao’s head throbbed. She couldn’t bear to meet Lin Feng’s eyes and simply followed her instructions, pulling clothes and other items from the closet.

“Zhao Shuqing has a waterproof backpack. Put everything in there,” Lin Feng said softly.

Gu Yao dug the backpack out from the deepest corner and frowned. “You’re not seriously planning to swim after her, are you? Do you even know the way? Planes take over a dozen hours—you alone, a single fish… how long would that take?”

Lin Feng replied evenly, “I’ll find her anyway.”

Gu Yao wagged her head vigorously. “No, no way. Come with me to the oceanarium. I have to get you back.”

As she reached for Lin Feng’s hand, Lin Feng dodged aside. Suddenly, the world spun for Gu Yao. When she came to her senses, Lin Feng had her pinned to the floor, one hand loosely around her throat, the other pressing her shoulder. Lin Feng straddled her, leaning close.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Gu Yao,” Lin Feng whispered. “Tell me how to get there. I have to find her.”

Gu Yao’s chest heaved wildly. She had never seen Lin Feng like this. Before, she’d been lively and outgoing, even a bit adorable—aside from hating to be touched, nothing unusual about her.

But today, Gu Yao realized Lin Feng was different.

Lin Feng could kill.

“I-I have a world map on my bookshelf,” Gu Yao gasped from the floor, staring into Lin Feng’s weary eyes. “You’re scared of cats, right? I’ll fetch it for you.”

Lin Feng’s pupils flickered. After a long moment, she slowly released Gu Yao’s neck, climbed off, and sat beside her.

“I’m sorry,” she said to Gu Yao as she sat up. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“I understand.” Gu Yao rubbed her sore neck, her hand coming away slick with blood.

The scratch wasn’t deep—likely from a fingernail—but it left her shaken all the same. She couldn’t even look at Lin Feng as she scrambled to her feet. “I’ll get the map right now.”