Merry is missing

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

Like a spark falling into an oil drum, the crowd fell into panic, pushing and shoving the people around them like headless flies, running around looking for an escape route.

But there are too many people!

Many people had no idea what was happening in front of them. They only saw the person in front of them suddenly turn around and go back. Everyone bumped into each other, some fell down, some screamed, and the scene was extremely chaotic.

After seeing the chaos ahead, Snake called out to his companions in time: "The fire has spread. We can't go any further."

"So which direction should we go?"

"To the left."

Snake was in a commanding position, able to see the surrounding terrain clearly. He quickly found a relatively safe direction and led Shanks and his party to retreat to the left.

The fire grew bigger and bigger, and crackling sounds continued to be heard, mixed with chaotic crying and shouting.

Looking at the jumping flames in front of him, Merry felt uneasy. He volunteered, "I can go and help put out the fire."

Gulixiati's expression changed, but she did not stop him. She just warned him, "Be careful."

"I see."

The little octopus jumped off Snake's head and landed on Lakiru's head, which was closer to the fire, and began to spray water towards the flames.

Puff—a column of silver water cuts through the night sky.

However, Meli was still a little far away from the fire source, and the water column fell two meters away from the fire source, splashing on everyone's heads.

"Great, it's raining!"

A cry of surprise came from the chaotic crowd, and the water droplets quickly disappeared.

"Huh? The rain stopped so soon?" A puzzled voice rang out.

Merry raised a tentacle and scratched his head. He patted Lakiru sheepishly with the other. "We're too far away, Ruusan. We need to go further."

"No problem." Laqilu grinned and walked towards the fire source, "Excuse me, excuse me..."

There were so many people and the situation was so chaotic that it was very difficult for Laqilu to squeeze through against the flow. He was even cursed from time to time for going upstream.

"Asshole! Where are you trying to squeeze into!"

"Get out of the way! Fatty, don't block the way!"

The crowd around him kept pushing and shoving, but Laqilu didn't care about their curses at all, nor did he take the opportunity to attack them. He just squeezed forward with difficulty.

Hearing passers-by scolding Laqilu, Meli couldn't help but pursed his lips: I just wanted to help put out the fire with good intentions, so why did I end up causing Rusang to be scolded?

"I'm sorry, Rusang, for causing you to be scolded."

"Hahaha, it's just a small matter, don't worry about it."

With the secret instigation of some people with ulterior motives, the flames from the burning stall quickly spread to the surrounding stalls, lighting up the entire night sky red.

Everyone was in complete panic. They ran around in fear, and people kept screaming, falling, and getting injured, exacerbating the chaos.

Shanks and his group were quickly dispersed by the panicked crowd.

"Everyone, please be safe and gather on the boat later."

"Mellisan, Rusan, be careful when you go put out the fire."

"knew."

"receive."

Responses came from the crowd.

Snake's tall body held Gulishati tightly in his arms. Shanks held Uta tightly around his neck and walked behind Snake.

In the crowded crowd, Punch grabbed a girl who was about to fall, Jesus carried a young child, and Hongxiang, Lime Jones and others also helped to protect the elderly, women and children who needed help on the way.

Soon, a trail of tails followed them.

Thinking of the malice he had sensed in the crowd before, Beckman always felt a little uneasy. He did not escape, but followed Lachilu and Meli who were going against the current to put out the fire.

"Merry, the fire is getting bigger and bigger. I'm afraid the little water stored in your body won't be enough to put it out."

"But... we can't just ignore it..." Merry recalled the memory of the Merry being engulfed in fire, and a trace of pain and reluctance flashed in his eyes.

Actually, it was quite painful when I was burned!

Merry looked at Beckman pleadingly and said, "We have to find a way to help put out the fire."

Beckman's heart softened when he saw those big, wet eyes. His mind began to think frantically, and he soon remembered something.

"Merry, we can go to those stalls that sell goldfish and water balls. There's plenty of water in those little pools."

"Yeah! As expected of Beckman!"

Amidst the chaotic crowd, Beckman and Laqilu walked towards the pool.

"Bagaya deer, why are you pushing so hard?"

"Wall-E, Wall-E~"

There were simply too many people, and Beckman and Laqilu couldn't be too rude to these panicked citizens, so they were stuck in the middle and had a very hard time squeezing through.

"Sorry, could you please let me through?"

"Excuse me, can you lend me that?"

Seeing the fire in front of him getting more and more fierce, and the flames had already spread to the roof of the tent, Meli couldn't help feeling anxious. If he delayed any longer, the whole street would be burned down.

"I'm more maneuverable on my own, so I'll go first. We'll meet up on the boat after we're done."

Before he finished speaking, the little octopus jumped off Laqilu's head and jumped around above the heads of the crowd, causing another commotion.

"What is this?"

"God damn it, how could there be an octopus!"

"Help! Don't touch me!"

The octopus jumping around overhead made the crowd even more panicked.

Amidst the chaos, Beckman's worried voice followed: "Merry, be sure to stay safe! Don't push yourself."

"I see."

......

Meli quickly found the water ball fishing stall.

"Slurp--" It sucked all the water in the pool into its stomach, and the whole octopus became round and plump, like a balloon filled with water.

Streams of water spurted out of the octopus's mouth, flew towards the source of the fire, and evaporated into water vapor in the blink of an eye.

Meli continued to turn and headed to the next stall, sucking water, spraying water, jumping and spraying, repeating the fire-fighting movements.

However, this little bit of water is just a drop in the bucket compared to the flames of greed, and its effect is minimal.

Flames shot up into the sky, the temperature around them rose sharply, and the air was filled with choking smoke.

"Just... a little more..."

Meli's movements of spraying water became slower and slower. No one knew how much time had passed, but the little octopus who loved water and was afraid of fire felt increasingly exhausted.

Thick smoke seeped into the breathing holes, making the vision increasingly blurred.

"White Teeth! Why is Merry gone?"

Beckman looked around for Merry.

"Merry! Where are you?"

There was a lot of noise all around, no response from the crowd, and the octopus disappeared without a trace.

"Lu, have you seen Merry?"

“I didn’t see it!”

"Hurry up and split up to look for them!"

"Merry—"

......

The firelight, the noise of the crowd, and the calls of companions seemed to be still in front of my eyes, but suddenly turned into nothingness.

When Meli woke up again, everything was dark and the water was swaying gently around her.

What’s going on!?

Isn't it putting out fires at the fireworks display?

Why is everyone gone?

The little octopus was soaked in cold water and could not see anything. It could only rely on the suction cups on its tentacles to sense the surrounding environment.

Strange, why is the goat hat on its head gone?!

It only wore that hat for a few hours!!!

Damn it! How could it just disappear like this?

While cursing in his heart, Merry instinctively spread out his tentacles and groped around in the darkness, and soon touched a solid wall.

What is this place??

Meli tried to open all his tentacles, spreading himself like an octopus cake, touching the wall inch by inch, sensing the movements around him.

The more the little octopus explored, the more uneasy it felt. The walls around it were smooth and rigid, without a single crack. It seemed like a completely enclosed tank.

It's locked up!

Meli became increasingly uneasy, pressing his tentacles against the glass wall, sensing changes in the environment outside the tank.

There was a slight shaking beneath the body, and the water pressure and flow impact generated by the ship's hull passing through the sea were clearly transmitted to the sensitive nerve endings of the tentacles.

It should be on a boat now. The sea is relatively calm and there seems to be no danger, so the boat is sailing very smoothly.

There were many sounds of people moving back and forth on the ship, occasional conversations and laughter, but none of them sounded like Shanks and his group.

The little tentacle couldn't help but curl up slightly: Uta, Shanks, Aunt Shatti, Beckman, Russan... where did everyone go?

Why am I trapped in this place?

Meli tried hard to recall what happened before he lost consciousness. The fire around him was so huge that it seemed impossible to put it out. He remembered that he had been spraying water desperately until his eyes went black and he knew nothing.

What happened after it lost consciousness? Where is this place? Is everyone safe?

Meli tried to calm himself down. He chose a corner of the glass and tapped it gently with his tentacles, trying to increase the strength little by little.

Before it could smash the glass, the shaking beneath it suddenly became heavier, and the hull seemed to hit something, but it soon calmed down.

There was a noisy sound outside, as if someone was discussing something.

The sound was getting closer and closer, and it was very strange.

Merry cautiously stopped the tentacle tapping.

After a while, Meli's eyes suddenly lit up. The black cloth covering the sink was lifted up, and the dazzling light suddenly shone in, making her squint.

The little octopus subconsciously curled up into a ball.

Several tall figures appeared outside the glass, their figures seemed a little blurry under the strong light.

One of the figures walked to the sink, put his big face close to the glass, and looked up and down at the small octopus inside with disdain.

"Isn't this just an octopus? There's nothing special about it except that it looks cuter than other octopuses. We don't want such a thing." A cold voice came out of the man's mouth, as if he was evaluating a worthless item.

"Sir, this is no ordinary octopus," the bald-headed man behind the man said flatteringly with a flattering smile, "Not only can it speak human language, it can also sing and dance."

"Oh? You can talk? Then show me how."

"no problem."

The bald-headed man responded and turned to look at the octopus in the sink. He first took out a candy and said in a seductive tone, "Little octopus, come and sing a few lines of songs for Oji-san. After you finish singing, you will get candy."

Meli could sense the malice in the other person, and a wave of disgust welled up in his heart.

It shrank to the corner with a whoosh, holding its breath and curling up into a ball, completely ignoring the temptation of the bald-headed man.

Damn it! What the hell is this place? Who are these nasty people?