"What is a siren?"

"As the name suggests, it's a sea monster."

“…”

Fu Bo's face froze: "Don't scare me on purpose."

"I didn't." Jiang Ran said innocently, "That was really the sound of a siren."

Not far away, the sound of different pitches was still coming slowly.

If you listen carefully, you can actually hear something like singing. A thunderous bass note, a shrill whistling treble, a medley of sounds: wails, screams, roars, and snoring, all blending together like a richly woven chorus.

The more Fu Bo thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he glanced at Jiang Ran frequently.

Unfortunately, Jiang Ran seemed to have noticed nothing. Not only did he not comfort him, he even leisurely told him the legend of the mermaid.

"In ancient stories, the siren is a sea nymph that is half human, half bird."

"They are very good at using their enchanting singing to mesmerize sailors, causing their ships to lose control and crash into rocks."

“…”

With every word Jiang Ran spoke, Fu Bo's face turned paler.

After the brief legend was told and everyone had had enough fun, Jiang Ran was about to change the subject when he heard Ren Xiayang ask, "Sea Siren? Is it pretty?"

Jiang Ran: “…”

However, it is no longer Jiang Ran's turn to answer this question.

In just a short while, the symphonic sound became closer and closer, and the source of the sound gradually became apparent to everyone.

Fu Bo looked ahead carefully, and his pale face gradually regained some vitality.

He asked haltingly and uncertainly, "The Siren...why is it so big...and so blue...am I seeing things?"

"You're not mistaken," Ren Xiayang said with a troubled look on his face, "This monster looks... a bit strange indeed..."

Jiang Ran: "Actually..."

Ren Xiayang: "But why does he look a bit like Xiaolan?"

Fu Bo: "Now that you put it that way, it's true!"

As soon as the words fell, Xiao Lan also made a sound.

Jiang Ran: "Actually, they..."

Ren Xiayang: "Hey, not only do they look alike, but even their voices are a bit similar!"

Fu Bo: "Yes! They really look alike!"

Jiang Ran: “…”

She held her forehead and said, "Actually, that's..."

Before he could finish his words, those "monsters" had already swam right in front of him.

The "monsters" that came from far away happily mingled with Little Blue and the other whales as soon as they arrived.

Look at those similar bodies, each more than ten meters long, their broad dark blue backs and snow-white bellies, and the way they meet passionately...

No matter how you look at it, they come from the same population.

Fu Bo turned his head, his face full of disbelief.

"Is this a siren?" His tone was even more shocked than his expression. "Why does it look like Xiaolan?"

Ren Xiayang was also very shocked: "How can you tell it's a banshee?"

Jiang Ran: “…”

If I had known this, I wouldn't have teased him just now.

It took Jiang Ran a long time to explain the whole thing to them.

Fu Bo and Ren Xiayang kept their eyes fixed on the humpback whales gathered together from beginning to end.

After a long while.

Fu Bo still looked suspicious: "Xiao Lan was called the Siren before?"

Jiang Ran nodded: "To be precise, a long time ago, the entire humpback whale group was mistaken for sirens."

"Sea Siren..." Ren Xiayang's face was filled with disbelief. "Looking like this, how could people at that time...how could they think it was a Siren?"

He paused, and continued in a daze: "Let's not talk about anything else. How do you tell the difference between male and female? I... I still don't know whether Xiaolan is a boy or a girl..."

Jiang Ran: “…”

This focus is also very clear.

"The Siren is a very ancient legend."

With a slight sigh, Jiang Ran continued to explain, "At that time, detection technology was not yet developed, and the crew members had never witnessed the true appearance of the 'Siren' with their own eyes. They only relied on word of mouth to pass down this story."

"It wasn't until human civilization developed to a certain point, with the availability of advanced equipment, that people discovered through various studies that the 'mysterious singers' who sang the 'Siren's Song' were not monsters at all, but humpback whales."

"Later, people carefully considered those legends and believed that the early sailors must have collided with a huge humpback whale after hearing the sound, but mistakenly thought they had hit a reef, so they thought they had encountered a 'Siren' and were being deliberately lured."

After finally explaining the whole story, Ren Xiayang finally understood and nodded in understanding.

However, Fu Bo still looked confused, with his lips half-open, and he seemed to want to say something but stopped himself several times.

Jiang Ran: "What do you want to say?"

Fu Bo seemed to have been waiting for this sentence for a long time, and blurted out: "It's fine to say that their voices are like 'monsters', but why do you have to say they are 'banshees'?"

Jiang Ran was stunned for a moment when he heard this.

Fu Bo continued, "Little Blue and its companions do make very pleasant sounds. To say they sound so good doesn't sound human, but more like monsters. That's nothing..."

"But no matter how you listen, their voices are always rather deep, right? Judging from their voices, they clearly sound more like male voices!"

Jiang Ran didn't know how to answer for a moment.

She was very young when she heard this story. She didn't think there was anything wrong with it at the time, and later she got used to it... She really hadn't thought about it carefully.

In fact, it was the first time she had even heard the sound of a humpback whale up close, and she had never thought about the voice line between a humpback whale and a 'siren'.

Jiang Ran paused and answered subconsciously: "Maybe it's because the legends at that time were mostly about female monsters..."

Fu Bo was still puzzled: "Do the prototypes of other monsters also make such a deep voice? Could it be that thousands of years ago, the voices of boys and girls were different from now?"

"The voice hasn't changed..."

Fu Bo: "That's strange. Why are all the monsters in legends female?"

Jiang Ran didn't know how to answer for a moment, so he asked, "Then, in the stories you've heard since you were a child, have there been any monsters? And what gender are they?"

"Science, science, we must talk about science!"

Fu Bo shook his head rapidly and waved his hands: "Don't talk about monsters, superstition, superstition!"

Jiang Ran looked at his face full of fear and horror, and remembered the time when he desperately shouted "ghost" to him in the underground cave. He felt that this person did not seem to believe in science very much.

It took Fu Bo a while to catch his breath.

Ren Xiayang jumped in first, saying, "When I was a kid, most of the stories I heard from adults were about the Galaxy Fleet wreaking havoc on the world."

"Their favorite story is the war of unification. They like to tell how the Federation began from humble beginnings, developed in twists and turns, and gradually defeated the Empire and unified the entire universe."

"They also like to tell the development history of famous generals. I listened to adults telling stories about Jefferson when I was very young."

"Jefferson was once the highest commander of the Galaxy Fleet. He won the Battle of Blood River with a smaller force, a force that was over a hundred times weaker. Everyone on the capital planet was talking about him at the time."

"But after I grew up, he seemed to have retired. No one mentioned him anymore, and I didn't know where he went."

Having said that, Ren Xiayang sighed regretfully.

Fu Bo also seemed very excited, and said with a flushed face that he also liked Chief Jefferson.

"Did you choose to join the Starship Fleet because of these stories?"

Ren Xiayang said without hesitation: "At least it can be regarded as the driving force, right? I grew up listening to these stories. My dream is to apply to the first military academy in the Federation."

"So……"

Jiang Ran thought for a moment and then returned to the previous topic: "Among the heroic deeds you have heard since childhood, are there more male heroes?"

"Of course not." Ren Xiayang was very surprised.

"So, in the current Galaxy Fleet, are there any differences in treatment between male and female students?"

When Ren Xiayang heard this, his expression suddenly became very sad: "Do you think if Zeng Pei had chosen to join the Galaxy Fleet back then, would her position be higher or lower than mine?"

Jiang Ran doesn't need to judge at all.

She still remembered that when she was at the Volcano, Zeng Pei herself mentioned that the Galaxy Fleet had invited her to join the Intelligence Department, and as long as she nodded, she would be the deputy director as soon as she entered.

...He is a superior at a level that Ren Xiayang has to stand at attention and greet whenever he sees him.

Seeing that Ren Xiayang was so sad, Jiang Ran didn't deliberately reveal the truth again.

After Jiang Ran asked many questions, Fu Bo finally couldn't help but say, "You still haven't told me why most monsters in stories in the past were female! Xiao Lan's voice is so deep, how can you tell it's a 'banshee'?"

At this point, Jiang Ran already had an answer in his mind.

However, she didn't say the answer. She just smiled and looked at Fu Bo: "Maybe it's because people at that time thought that a monster with such a beautiful voice must also be good-looking. After all, girls are generally more beautiful."

"whispering sound--"

Fu Bo was very dissatisfied with this answer: "Am I worse looking than you? Maybe not?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Jiang Ran echoed loudly, "You are a top player worth five million federal coins. Of course I can't compare to you!"

"Five million?" Ren Xiayang asked in confusion.

"Nothing, nothing!" Fu Bo glared at Jiang Ran secretly and waved his hands in panic, "She's just talking nonsense, nonsense."

At this moment, the humpback whales gathered together and sang charming songs almost at the same time.

Unlike the simple, repetitive chirping of birds, the sound was full of rhythm, like a rich and magnificent chorus, slowly pouring out onto the blue sea.

Xiaolan and his friends swam around everyone while singing.

After swimming around happily for a few times, they finally turned around and swam slowly towards the depths of the ocean.

The contestants who were intoxicated by the "Siren Song" finally came to their senses - it turned out that it was a farewell.

No one chased after them, but just waved vigorously and said goodbye to them in their own way.

Fu Bo looked at Xiao Lan's receding back from afar.

Jiang Ran secretly glanced at his face and felt that this man was probably sad again.

However, just as he was considering his words and wanted to comfort her, he heard Fu Bo's voice coming faintly.

"Such a beautiful, charming and deep voice, it must be a male demon!"

Jiang Ran: “…”

Jiang Ran: "Okay, you're right."

When Fu Bo's attention returned to the distant whales, Jiang Ran calmed down and thought.

The wheel of time rolls forward, and this is truly a great joyful thing worth celebrating.

The author has something to say:

Fu Bo: Look at me. Am I pretty? Is my voice nice? Do I look like a monster?