Chapter 67: I Am Not A Merman (IV)

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Chapter 67: I Am Not A Merman (IV)

The aircraft crashing into the Xinglu Marine Wildlife Rescue Center quickly caused a sensation online. It wasn’t because of the crash itself, nor because an environmental organization dedicated to marine life had been destroyed, but because many survivors claimed they had been rescued by a large “fish.”

There had been 176 passengers aboard the aircraft. Of them, 121 survived because their escape pods remained intact. The remaining 55 had lost their pods and fallen into the raging sea, where even expert swimmers would have struggled to survive. Yet in the end, 47 were rescued, leaving only eight fatalities. It was undoubtedly a miracle.

Afterward, most of the survivors still vividly remembered how they had been rescued. But because everyone had been panicking and the light had been poor, very few had clearly seen the large “fish” in its entirety.

The public remained skeptical. Quite a few people even accused the reports of being fabricated, mocking the media for abandoning all standards simply to attract attention.

Before long, however, a video released online confirmed that the story was true. It was Xinglu’s underwater surveillance footage showing the entire process of Flame rescuing people during the disaster. He cut through the raging waves to save those in danger, his graceful yet powerful body glowing faintly blue as he traced a beautiful streak of light through the dark seawater.

When viewers saw Flame being injured again and again by survivors who did not understand that he was trying to help them—even nearly dying at one person’s hands—yet still refusing to abandon anyone, everyone was stunned. What followed was an indescribable wave of emotion.

A “fish” would actually rescue humans? What species could it possibly be? People quickly began asking that question. Judging from his appearance, he looked somewhat like a shark, but a shark certainly would not behave like this.

The mystery did not last long. Someone soon provided the answer: this creature was not a fish at all, but an aquatic mammal known as a dolphin, a species that had disappeared more than two hundred years ago. Dolphins possessed high intelligence, rich emotions, and had once shared a close relationship with humans.

The revelation caused an uproar. That was a dolphin? A species that disappeared two hundred years ago? People immediately began searching for every scrap of information they could find. But after more than two centuries, very little remained online beyond a few images and brief written descriptions.

Naturally, attention shifted toward Xinglu. The dolphin had appeared near its facility, and no one would believe there was no connection between them.

Dr. Cui asked Qin Yuan for his opinion. Qin Yuan nodded. “Release some of the footage.”

Flame’s existence had already been discovered, so continuing to keep him secret was meaningless. Allowing more people to know about and protect him was not necessarily a bad thing.

With Qin Yuan’s approval, Xinglu uploaded footage of Flame and Wave going about their daily lives.

Dolphins hunting, dolphins leaping, smiling dolphins, affectionate dolphins, clingy dolphins, dancing dolphins… Every scene showed another charming, adorable side of them.

Within hours of the videos going public, the view count shot through the roof, and an overwhelming flood of comments nearly drowned the website.

【Oh my god, how can something this cute exist? I want one all to myself!】

【I used to care only about cats and dogs. From now on, I’m Flame and Wave’s ultimate fan!】

【AHHHHHHH! I want to play with them so badly!】

【Damn it, let go of that dolphin and let me at him!】

……

…

Overnight, the two dolphins became a worldwide sensation.

A species that had vanished two centuries earlier had reappeared. Their intelligence and adorableness won everyone’s hearts, while their courage and fearlessness moved countless people. Xinglu received endless requests from people hoping to see the dolphins in person, along with enormous donations intended to ensure they received the best possible care. What none of them knew was that their beloved Flame was, at that very moment, in mortal danger.

Shang Ke had hidden Wave in the waterway beforehand, so the calf had not been injured. But after returning, Wave refused to eat, wandering alone through the water and occasionally letting out mournful cries.

Everyone at the base understood that if Flame could not be found, little Wave probably would not survive for long either.

Ordinarily, Flame should have returned to the base once the storm passed. But two full days had gone by without any sign of him. Something had clearly happened.

Just as Qin Yuan’s patience was reaching its breaking point, news arrived: someone in Linhai Village had discovered a creature “suspected” to be a dolphin.

Qin Yuan did not stop to question the word “suspected.” He immediately gathered his people and rushed to Linhai Village.

That day happened to be Linhai Village’s Sea God Festival. The entire village was bustling, with each household bringing a live fish to the shore to be cut open as part of the ceremony.

The greatest attraction was the huge “fish” caught two days earlier by the village chief’s son. It measured roughly two meters long and weighed 140 kilograms.

That “fish” was Shang Ke. He lay in a container beneath the offering table, barely alive.

At the cry of “Begin the ceremony,” Shang Ke was lifted from the container and laid flat across the offering table, with people holding down both his head and tail.

Dolphins had no scales, so the man preparing him simply placed the blade against his abdomen and cut downward.

Agony tore through Shang Ke. His body convulsed weakly as he felt his life rapidly slipping away…

“Stop!” A furious shout came from nearby, halting the man just as he was about to reach inside.

Qin Yuan could hardly believe his eyes. The adorable, kindhearted Flame was lying on a wooden table like a dead fish being gutted. Wounds covered his body, a deep injury from a sharp weapon marred his tail, and the fresh cut across his abdomen was wide enough to reveal the flesh beneath.

Killing intent surged through Qin Yuan. Dr. Cui and the others were equally enraged by what they saw.

“Damn you!” Qin Yuan charged forward and sent the man flying with a single punch. His bodyguards immediately moved in to surround and protect him.

“Who are you people?! What gives you the right to hit someone?”

“Fuck! They dare ruin our Sea God Festival! Everyone, get them!”

The villagers grabbed whatever they could use as weapons and clashed with Qin Yuan’s bodyguards, plunging the scene into chaos.

Qin Yuan ignored the fighting around him entirely. At that moment, the only thing he cared about was Flame.

“Flame. Flame.” Qin Yuan called softly, afraid that even raising his voice might frighten him.

Flame’s eyes were only half open, but when he saw Qin Yuan, light suddenly returned to their dim depths. They curved faintly, as though he were smiling.

“Hold on. I’m taking you home right now.” Qin Yuan’s eyes were red, his heart aching beyond words.

“The water tank is here! Hurry, get Flame inside.” Dr. Cui and the others pushed over a huge tank, then carefully lifted Flame into it together.

The instant Shang Ke entered the water, relief washed over him and the pain eased considerably.

【Congratulations, Host, on completing the Main Mission—become food for humans.】

【Host has heroically survived the Main Mission. The System awards five years of additional stay time.】

Hearing the System’s voice through the haze, Shang Ke found it strange. He clearly had not actually been eaten, so how had he already completed the mission?

【The mission requires Host to become food for humans. Whether Host is actually eaten is irrelevant.】

Shang Ke: …Hehe. So that’s how it works.

Haa… I’m exhausted. I’ll sleep for a while first…

Shang Ke was temporarily taken to Qin Yuan’s private aquarium, which had comprehensive medical facilities and offered complete privacy.

While he was receiving treatment, the Linhai villagers who had been beaten by Qin Yuan’s bodyguards took the Qin family to court on a string of charges, including assault, robbery, and disruption of their ritual.

As the heir to a globally renowned corporation, Qin Yuan naturally attracted enormous public attention. News of the incident quickly spread online. After seeing photographs of the injured villagers, people condemned Qin Yuan for abusing his power and demanded that the case be handled fairly.

Public opinion overwhelmingly favored the villagers, who seized the opportunity to demand compensation from the Qin family for bodily injury, property damage, emotional distress, and other losses totaling more than fifty million.

That lasted until a horrifyingly titled post appeared online—“We Killed the Dolphin That Saved Those People!”—accompanied by a series of photographs.

Dolphins were currently the hottest topic in the world, so the post immediately attracted enormous attention. At first, people assumed it was merely sensational clickbait, but once they saw the photographs, outrage erupted.

The photographs showed Flame laid across a wooden table, a knife cutting into his abdomen. The Crimson Skyfire on his belly looked almost as though it were withering, and the sight pierced everyone’s hearts.

Only days earlier, he had braved towering waves and saved forty-seven human lives. Now he had become meat beneath a human blade, seemingly leaving the world alone.

The internet fell briefly silent before the shocking photographs.

Then anger surged like a tidal wave.

【Fuck! This is unforgivable!】

【I refuse to believe that’s Flame!】

【Flame looks so heartbroken. I seriously want to cry.】

【I’m already crying. This is too cruel.】

【No wonder President Qin hit them. If it were me, I’d want to kill them too!】

【And they still dare demand compensation? They hurt a national treasure—they’ll be lucky if they don’t end up in prison.】

【You can understand how the fishermen made the mistake. They may not have known he was a dolphin or followed the news about Flame. But the harm they caused is still impossible to forgive.】

……

…

Public opinion reversed almost instantly. The villagers who had once received widespread sympathy became targets of condemnation, while article after article on wildlife protection appeared, triggering an enormous social response.

As for the villagers, not only did they receive no compensation, they now faced a series of legal consequences for harming a protected animal.

While the outside world argued furiously, Shang Ke—the subject at the center of it all—was quietly recuperating inside Qin Yuan’s aquarium.

With comfortable surroundings, proper treatment, and Shang Ke’s own extraordinary healing ability, more than half his injuries healed in less than half a month. Even dolphins from two hundred years earlier had been capable of recovering from wounds without leaving scars. The regenerative ability of this evolved dolphin was even more astonishing. In Dr. Cui’s words, “As long as no vital tissues are destroyed, even injuries comparable to death by a thousand cuts could heal without leaving a trace.”

That remark earned Dr. Cui two icy glares from Qin Yuan, giving him an immediate taste of what “death by a thousand cuts” felt like.

After Shang Ke was moved to Qin Yuan’s aquarium, Wave was brought over as well. There was no other choice—if the two were not reunited soon, Wave was liable to starve himself to death.

When Shang Ke heard that Wave had actually gone on a hunger strike, he privately lectured the calf, telling him to cherish his life and bravely face the cruelty of existence.

Wave cheerfully clung to Shang Ke like a little bee, leaving Shang Ke with no idea whether he had understood a single word.

The outside world was desperately curious about the two dolphins, and countless people requested a chance to see them. Qin Yuan rejected every request on the grounds that Flame was still recovering. Several major institutions also wanted to participate in dolphin research, but Qin Yuan ignored them entirely.

He was not merely a businessman, but also an honorary member of the World Environmental Protection Organization. His annual spending on environmental causes ranked first in the world, and he had financed the construction of several wildlife rescue centers and specialized medical teams.

The accident left Qin Yuan deeply blaming himself. To ensure nothing similar could ever happen again, he spared no expense in comprehensively upgrading the defensive system and strengthening security measures.

Qin Yuan’s aquarium was circular and divided into inner, middle, and outer aquatic zones that could be connected or separated as needed. The inner section contained intersecting glass tunnels and enormous transparent water columns, with all kinds of aquatic creatures swimming through them like a miniature ocean world.

When Qin Yuan entered the inner aquarium, he discovered Shang Ke playing on a water slide, repeatedly leaping onto it and rushing down into the pool. Wave, equally fond of playing, followed closely behind.

Qin Yuan’s eye twitched. He strode to the pool and scolded, “Flame, your injuries haven’t fully healed yet. Don’t play such dangerous games!”

Shang Ke splashed into the water, then resurfaced beside Wave. Together, the two dolphins stared at Qin Yuan with four bright, sparkling eyes.

Qin Yuan immediately softened beneath their gazes. “In a few days, I’ll have some safer and more interesting things designed for you.”

“Bo~~” Shang Ke shot high into the air and performed a somersault.

Qin Yuan: …He looks really happy. What should I do? Pet him? Or just get in the water and swim a few laps with him?

After considering the matter for five seconds, Qin Yuan decided to get in.

Seeing this, Shang Ke gracefully circled through the water several times, practically radiating invitation.

His man was going to play with him underwater!

Looking at Qin Yuan’s well-built muscles, Shang Ke could not resist giving him a few playful taps with his tail. Not bad at all. His gaze drifted lower and he mischievously nudged him with a flipper, then immediately put on his most naturally innocent expression when Qin Yuan looked over.

Qin Yuan, who had just been shamelessly teased: …Was that really an accident?

Qin Yuan and Shang Ke swam several laps together, accompanied by the little third wheel, Wave. Holding Shang Ke felt like hugging an enormous piece of jelly—cool, smooth, and so pleasant that Qin Yuan did not want to let go.

He examined the wounds on Shang Ke’s abdomen and tail. Only faint traces remained now, filling him with relief. Remembering how Flame had looked in Linhai Village, Qin Yuan had nearly believed he could not be saved. It had been the first time Qin Yuan had ever experienced fear and anger that intense.

“Flame, don’t worry. I’ll never let you be hurt again.” Qin Yuan kissed Shang Ke lightly on the forehead and made the promise in a low voice.

Shang Ke looked helplessly at Qin Yuan. You may say that, but you have absolutely no way to stop me from courting death myself.

【Congratulations, Host, on opening the door to a new world.】

Shang Ke: …What is that supposed to mean?

【Additional Mission issued—find the “merfolk.”】

Find merfolk?

System, are you sure you’re not joking? This world has merfolk?

【Mission hint.】

There’s actually a mission hint? Since when has the System been this generous?

【Host, please pay attention to the punctuation marks.】

Shang Ke: …Hehe. Fuck you.

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