Xiang Wan didn't say anything, but silently reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

Ladders had been lowered from the giant ship, and a group of people went down and began chiseling with tools. The clanging and hammering sounds pierced through the thick ice and reached the seabed.

"Do they come here every year?" Xiang Wan asked.

"The time is uncertain, but it's usually around this time," the siren said gently.

"Just to get ice?"

"...and things frozen in the ice."

"Something frozen?" Xiang Wan's curiosity was piqued. "What could be so important to them? Did they get it?"

The siren's gaze pierced through the ice, as if recalling memories or pondering something.

"Perhaps this time we will succeed."

In other words, they haven't gotten what they want yet.

After a moment's thought, Xiang Wan came up with a good idea.

"Siren, I think I can get that thing ahead of time, but I need you to cover for me."

Since it was something the Water Tiger wanted, Xiang Wan was determined not to let him get it. So, Xiang Wan and the Siren split up. The Siren lured the whales that were surfacing for breath nearby, circling the iceberg and spouting water to disrupt their movements. Xiang Wan, on the other hand, focused all her energy on using her Frost Technique, melting an ice cave just large enough for her to enter from the closest point to the object.

With the system's help, Xiang Wan saved a lot of effort and arrived at the place where the things were hidden in the iceberg in the shortest straight distance.

Xiang Wan was stunned when she saw the ice bead, which was about the size of a baby's fist. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed no different from the surrounding ice.

But when she held the ice bead in her hand, Xiang Wan understood why Shui Hu had gone to such great lengths to send someone to retrieve it.

This ice bead is a crystal formed from millennia-old glaciers. By activating it with mental power, it can instantly freeze seawater into ice. In this way, even if they are not skilled in diving or underwater combat, they can create an underwater ice tunnel and, if necessary, cut off the seawater.

Once seawater can solidify, humanity will be able to conquer the ocean. Because no matter how large a sea monster is, without water, it will only be at the mercy of humans.

The thought of such an outcome sent chills down Xiang Wan's spine.

Sea monsters and sirens might know about the ice beads in the glacier, but how did humans find out?

If it weren't for the system, and Xiang Wan had intercepted the fish in advance, the marine creatures would probably have died without even knowing how, let alone how they were protected.

Furthermore, why did the Sirens keep such a big secret from her?

Xiang Wan was full of questions and very angry, but this was not the right time to get to the bottom of things.

After swallowing the ice bead, Xiang Wan condensed another identical ice bead from her fingertip, placed it in the same spot, and then retreated little by little, filling the ice hole again.

The siren submerged into the sea and saw Xiang Wan's hesitant expression, as if she didn't know what had happened. She asked, "Did you get the thing? What is it?"

Xiang Wan shook her head, not because she was unwilling to tell him, but just in case.

A hint of disappointment flashed in the siren's eyes, but she didn't delve into it. Looking up at the several giant ships floating on the sea, she murmured, "They were like that before, as if they would just throw you into the sea without a second thought, without even a trace of regret."

"Why did you save me back then?"

Xiang Wan had many questions to ask, but in the end, she only asked this one.

It seems that this is the only question she should ask right now.

The siren turned around and chuckled, "Aquatic creatures never harm the young, not even you."

Xiang Wan fell silent. If she had chosen to return to humanity like the original owner, would the Siren still be able to say such things so easily?

How did I adapt to the ocean back then?

Xiang Wanwa didn't believe that this body could live in the sea from the beginning, since humans don't belong to the ocean.

“When I saw you, you were almost dead,” the Siren recalled. “So I thought I’d take you back to show the old clams what humans really look like. But then you came back to life, and you’re doing very well. So, I’m pretty sure you were born to belong to the ocean.”

The siren's resolute and trusting gaze made Xiang Wan feel a pang of sadness.

In his past life, he trusted the original owner of this body in the same way, which led to his tragic end. Even if he had the slightest doubt about her, at least he could have saved his life.

"Sigh," Xiang Wan sighed. "Perhaps this is fate, so she came."

She didn't plan to tell the Sirens anything about hiding the Ice Pearl from them.

The more you know, the heavier the responsibility on your shoulders becomes.

Before, the Sirens protected her; from now on, she will protect the Sirens.

"Sirens, let's capsize their ships."

Xiang Wan looked excited, as if she were doing something fun.

The siren's eyes flickered, and she said, "Okay."

As a result, all of these large ships were capsized by the whale, leaving only a few small lifeboats.

As night falls, the wind rises and the clouds surge, and the waves begin to crash against the ice.

All the people who fell into the sea climbed onto the iceberg, and even the small wooden boats were pulled onto the iceberg by them.

The ice caves they carved out became their shelter.

The iceberg slowly moved forward, propelled by the seawater.

Ahead lies the warm sea, and the icebergs beneath the water are slowly shrinking.

Xiang Wan and Siren followed behind them, watching them cheer, watching them fight for the small wooden boat, and watching the few remaining people row desperately back the way they came.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!