He and It Chapter 2: The King’s Pearl (2)

Chapter 2: The King’s Pearl (2)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: KarateChopMonkey

 

A mermaids’ origin, how this strange creature evolved the ability to survive in the deep sea and have a human-like — or even more than human — intelligence, their social customs, language, writing, habitat, and even the civilization they created, has remained a class of ponderous and transcendent mysteries.

The only thing human society could be sure of was that mermaids were no longer a species in a page of mythical reverie, a mysterious dream, they really existed on this planet. Just as humans ruled the land, several unknown millennia fluttered past and mermaids ruled the oceans.

Unlike the universal household legends, they weren’t delicate, nor fragile, they weren’t able to shed tears into pearls, and wouldn’t turn into bubbles of illusionary beauty with the morning light. On the contrary, mermaids were apex deep-sea predators. They used ultra-frequency sound waves, which researchers were so far unable to decipher as a language, to communicate with each other.

Since the first human sighting of mermaids in the English Channel thirty years ago, researchers around the world have been burning with their fervent desire to know and compile a list of mermaids.

——The most mysterious, dangerous, and isolated of these kingdoms were a colony of mermaids that inhabited the Drake Passage; the Stormhaven mermaids.

“Where did Fabian catch the mermaid?” Jiang Mian asked.

Ted hissed, “I really don’t know… But from what I’ve heard, it’s definitely in the waters away from the Drake Passage.”

“Based on the first video sightings, it’s assumed that Raperth has a very high status in Stormhaven, and he’s also an extremely xenophobic pack leader.” Jiang Mian mused, “Why would he leave his homeworld? There’s no reason…”

The Drake Passage was the most dangerous navigational channel in the world, and people collectively referred to its undersea inhabitants by the never-ending storms at sea. In fact, there had been a dispute in academic circles as to whether the Stormhaven mermaids were real or a hallucination of eyewitnesses amidst the violent bumps and bruises of the gale force winds.

That was until ten years ago, when a research vessel in the service of a private enterprise crossed the Drake Passage again, and Stormhaven’s bronze king heir suddenly appeared on the royal ride of hurricanes and tsunamis, surrounded by more than ten retainers.

There was no doubt that it looked furious and vengeful. According to the mermaid’s age, the king was just a young boy, however, it was this “young boy” that made the thousand-ton ship completely overturned in the depths of the ocean.

The sea was wild, and every moment, it was like a hundred thousand thunderbolts exploding in the sky. In this overwhelming natural disaster, human wailing could only be reduced to the most insignificant sound. The red blood of the crew filled the air, the torn flesh also filled the air, and the thrilling killings all went away in a flash of lightning, and when the storm stopped, the last thing people found was the metal wreckage of the ship, and more than forty human bones hanging from it, which were cleaned by the fish with sharp teeth.

Later, for some reason, this tragic case that should have attracted the world’s attention was suppressed by the Sigma Institute, so that it was only circulated in a very small area and became an open secret of a small circle. Because of Jiang Pingyang, Jiang Mian also only vaguely heard about it.

Prior to this, no other mermaid of the territory had ever committed such a violent and excessive massacre, so the scholars, with scorn and concern, gave a bloody name to this mermaid ruler who hated intruders — or humans.

They picked up the name of the legendary sadist torturer and called him Raperth.

“The point is,” Ted hurriedly deleted the video, “can you really be sure of the identity of it?”

“First, in the known samples of mermaids, there are few individuals with a body length of more than three meters and a half, the only example that can be deduced is Raperth. He appeared ten years ago, and his size was already alongside that of an adult fish, and ten years later, he would only get bigger, not shrink.” Jiang Mian said hurriedly, “Secondly, he’s called the Bronze King Heir, have you ever wondered why?”

Ted wasn’t stupid, he immediately woke up, “Because of his unique scale pattern.”

“Exactly.” Jiang Mian breathed in anxiously, “They… How the hell did Fabian manage this? He’ll start a war!”

Ted’s mind was filled with a twinge of apprehension that he quickly extinguished. He shook his head and said, “You know, Jiang, Sigma has never been afraid to start a war, we’re the war itself.”

Jiang Mian closed his eyes, his lips twitching, looking like he wanted to say something, but he suppressed it in the end.

…But we’re not gods, he thought bitterly, and those who start wars will eventually die in them.

“Please take me to Fabian,” Jiang Mian whispered, “I can help with this project.”

—

Fabian Müller, over forty years old, was the Institute’s current power figure, and unlike Jiang Pingyang, he was a tall, dangerous man with limbs as developed and powerful as his mind. When Jiang Pingyang was alive, the atmosphere within the Institute was considered steady and moderate; by the time he took over as the main director, in just a few months, Jiang Mian had already felt the overwhelmingly aggressive atmosphere pulling inward and tightening his skin.

“So, Mr. Jiang has finally figured it out?” Fabian turned to look at him, spinning a steel command cane carelessly in his hand, “It seems that the reason Mr. Jiang ignored my proposals of the previous months was because I hadn’t really done anything to convince you yet.”

Jiang Mian didn’t take him up on his offer and asked, “Raperth is by no means an easy target, how on earth did you manage to do this?”

Fabian stared at him with amusement and asked, “Does it matter? Who cares about the process as long as the result is good enough?”

He approached Jiang Mian slowly and walked slowly around behind him. He was so close that the sound of his clothes brushing against each other was clearly audible, and the breath blowing on the back of his neck was so sharp that it gave him goosebumps, so Jiang Mian forced himself to stand still against the tingling sensation on his skin.

The room was silent, no one spoke up. Jiang Mian felt Fabian standing behind him, and he couldn’t help but clench his fist, his nails digging deep into his palm.

He knew that Fabian was watching him, just as he was watching the dissected remains of the mermaids, Fabian was also encroaching on him with a gaze that had no sense of decency.

The German suddenly reached out, his smooth, flat nail caps brushing the back of Jiang Mian’s neck as if on cue, picking up a strand of his dark hair.

“You seem nervous?” He blew out a soft breath, “Are you afraid of me?”

Jiang Mian’s body shook heavily, his sanity, which had been hanging at the highest point, collapsed at the same time. He didn’t know where he got the strength and courage to push against the German’s chest, the sound of resistance was loud and sharp, almost as harsh as scratching glass.

“Don’t touch me!”

Fabian’s body swayed, his palm stalled in mid-air.

When Fabian was still on the job, he heard many people call this person the “glass beauty”, a timid, fragile person, long immersed in his own world.

Strange, the glass beauty actually learned to resist… 

He smiled playfully, raised his hands, slowly stepped forward and tilted his head in compromise, “Okay, no problem, you’re in charge.”

Without waiting for Jiang Mian’s answer, he then added, “So, what can you do to help me, Mr. Jiang?”

Jiang Mian calmed his breathing and frowned, “You asked me to come…”

“Indeed!” Fabian interrupted, “I need the information Dr. Jiang left behind in his intellectual library, and the remarkable ideas he came up with in response to the Tablet Book. But just now, on second thought, yes, since I already have the mermaid in my hands, sooner or later I will catch up with Dr. Jiang’s research and then greatly surpass what he accomplished during his lifetime — oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to offend.”

Jiang Mian wasn’t offended; he only cared about his adoptive father’s legacy, not whether his achievements could be surpassed, so Fabian’s self-righteous grandstanding couldn’t anger him.

“So,” Fabian repeated with a languid smile, “what can you do to help me?”

Jiang Mian wanted to rebuke him for sitting on his hands, but he was in a real bind, and Fabian had lured him in with information about mermaids, and he was having trouble resisting the bait.

“I know how to take care of a seriously injured mermaid.” Jiang Mian looked at him coldly while speaking softly, “Six years ago, the Institute once caught a rare female mermaid, and I was responsible for controlling her diet and living.”

Fabian’s smug look stalled, absolutely destroyed.

After waiting for six years, he finally got a rare and priceless mermaid again, and with an exalted status, a member of the royal family. Could it be that the director fellows within the Sigma Institute, and the massive forces behind it, would really allow Fabian to dispose of Raperth at will?

The smile on the German’s face slowly disappeared. The Sigma Group, and the hale and hearty research scholars behind him, the living fossils and patriarchs of the Sigma Institute, the giant trees that were deeply rooted on the vast empire when Jiang Pingyang was still young, remained stubbornly standing when Jiang Pingyang was old and dead. What those people used exactly to unnaturally prolong their lifespan, he was clearly aware.

——”Immortal Water”, which was created using the flesh and blood of mermaids, a mystery inadequate for outsiders to know about.

Therefore, this male mermaid, not only couldn’t be left to his discretion to cut and study, on the contrary, he must also keep it well captive, to ensure that it will not die a violent death because of sudden accidents, or too heavy wounds.

Jiang Mian took advantage of the situation and braced himself not to back down, at least not in front of this scum.

He calculated his words, wrinkled his brow, and after several attempts to speak clearly, he said, “So, for the mermaid project, I’m willing to work for you. The only thing I ask is that you show some respect.”

Fabian looked at him, and after a long time, he suddenly laughed and opened his hands, “Sure, why not? I welcome Mr. Jiang to my project! I believe that with your talent and knowledge, combined with my ability, we can make something that will turn the world upside down!”

Jiang Mian hung his head restrainedly; he was getting annoyed, weary, and tired. Dealing with the outside world-especially with someone as difficult as Fabian-would take more of his mind and soul, and the social costs he would have to pay would be far greater than the energy he had accumulated on a daily basis.

He didn’t accept the compliment with implied malice, but instead asked, “When will I… When can I meet the mermaid?”

Fabian slowly lowered his hands, picked up his cane again, and replied warmly, “Why don’t you take a day off first, Assistant Jiang? You’ve been out of touch with your work for quite some time, so I’ll give you a day to prepare, and tomorrow, let me see you in your best spirits, okay?”

Such a sagacious tone, as if he hadn’t steered a workplace bullying campaign against Jiang Mian in the past three months, withholding Jiang Pingyang’s posthumous manuscript and benching him almost indefinitely — all for the sake of pulling Jiang Pingyang’s wisdom out of Jiang Mian’s mouth and squeezing every last drop of value out of the adopted father and son. 

Jiang Mian deeply believed that the reason why he had not been charged with “disposal of useless assets” and forcibly dragged into the laboratory to test the drugs, apart from the secret key, was because Jiang Pingyang’s bones were still cold and his remaining power was still there. Although the German was in power, his foundation wasn’t stable, so he had to take a roundabout approach, taking a soft knife to cut his flesh again and again.

It wasn’t until Jiang Mian, for the mermaid named Raperth, was forced to come to the door to nominate himself, that Fabian looked really satisfied.

But it didn’t matter, up to this point, Jiang Mian couldn’t regret it. From the time he saw Raperth, he had a kind of fatalistic determination, knowing that he had to go to the mermaid, even through water and fire.

—

Raperth didn’t open his eyes, but his consciousness had returned.

His supernatural senses instantly picked up everything around him, and the mermaid quickly assessed the situation at hand.

There was no doubt that he was in prison, in a heavily guarded place… The land people’s territory.

The hideous wounds from the battle with the whale hunting boat had not healed yet, and the water surrounding his body was filled with unnatural toxins, soaking through the open flesh like a thin layer of lava, endlessly searing and consuming his body.

But it didn’t matter, the abyssal mermaid was a cold-blooded being extremely tolerant of pain, and at the moment, only the anger of being offended burned in his veins. His eyes fluttered faintly under the cover of the eyelid membrane and looked viciously beyond the heavy cage.

In addition, four heavy chains extended from the rear, binding his neck, arms, and fishtail, made of an unknown, but heavy material.

——Light and flimsy garbage, but I can wait until later to break it. The more defenseless the prey, the more casual the slaughter… 

The heavily guarded prison was surrounded from all sides, with very thick outer walls and grid-shaped patterns buried among them.

——Good, it’s electricity, and it must be what humans call “high-voltage electricity”. What’s the use of this? I was seven years old when I could leap to the peak of the king tide, harnessing the most arrogant storms and thunder, this weak screen is no different from scratching my itch… 

What else?

Raperth’s gill lines opened and closed gently, and he perfectly controlled his body temperature, the flow of blood, as well as the frequency of his heartbeat. If needed, he could even disguise himself as a coral reef for up to nine days without being detected by his own kind, and it would be a piece of cake to fool human surveying equipment.

There seemed to be nothing more worthy of his attention.

So now there was only one question left: could he leave this ridiculous cage and go about his own important business?

An unpleasant sense of anxiety and urgency rose to the surface, and Raperth’s brow folded into a shallow crease, which was then smoothed out by the current, as quickly as if it were an illusion.

No, wait.

The smell of light and fishy blood, rapid heartbeat and breathing, the smell of panic as if a rope was about to break… Raperth opened his copper-gold eyes coldly, his translucent lid membranes turning abruptly to reveal a bestial, thin diamond-shaped pupil.

——On the left side of his head, there was a nervous land dweller lying on his back.

“It regained consciousness! Damn, it looks like the neurotoxin is less effective than we thought!”

In the observation room, a commotion was triggered.

“Quickly call him back… No! That’s it… That’s it, pull the camera closer again! This real time information is too precious!”

The mermaid lifted his head, Jiang Mian bent his body down, across the gap between sea and land, the gap between prisoner and jailer, one full of murderous intent, one breathing heavily. The moment they looked at each other, time seemed to freeze.