Did the mermaid turn back into a human?
On the west bank of the Ruins Sea, the research vessel "Asura".
This ship, in terms of tonnage, draft, equipment, and technological level alone, ranks among the top five globally. It is widely known that this research vessel, representing the highest level of federal technology, actually belongs to the GI (Gic Innovation) Institute and conducts a medium- or large-scale scientific expedition every three months in specific sea areas.
It was ostensibly a scientific expedition, but in reality, it was a fishing expedition.
However, the word "fishing" doesn't sound pleasant, inevitably conjuring images of fishermen who make their living from the sea. Of course, fishermen only aim for fish, shrimp, crabs, and clams, while the Asura's ambitions are far greater...
"Rare and exotic species".
Or to put it more bluntly, mermaids.
"Hey, have you heard?" On the ship, Researcher A whispered to Researcher B, "Director Li has made some big news!"
"Which Director Li?" B asked, looking completely bewildered.
"Who else could it be? That guy from the gene-editing group!" A's tone unconsciously carried a hint of disdain: "The one who drove his student to jump into the river a few years ago!"
"Damn! Li Liguo? What kind of news could he possibly make?" Yi also chimed in with disdain: "What if he's been caught plagiarizing another paper? His powerful backer might not be able to protect him this time!"
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" A said dejectedly, "He's really struck it rich this time—he actually figured out the mermaid transformation technology. I really don't know why God is so blind!"
Upon hearing this, Yi nearly popped his eyes out of their sockets. He was about to say something when he heard exclamations and laughter coming from outside the cabin door:
"——Mermaid! Oh My Gosh, Golden Mermaid!!!"
——————————
It has been almost half a month since Er Gou "went away".
Yunhe initially couldn't get used to not seeing it, but humans are extremely adaptable, and she was no exception.
"Hey, Chief Shen." Taking the opportunity to let him rationally clean the scales, she asked in a low voice, "Er Gou... Er Gou, will it be alright?"
Shen Huai'an lowered his eyes, maintaining his quiet reading posture, and said in a calm voice: "Er Gou is a 'half-finished product' with extremely serious genetic defects. He was originally only supposed to live for a maximum of twenty-five years. You should know that."
These days, he has been using witty banter less and less in front of Yunhe. Correspondingly, the seemingly gentle and kind but actually cold and indifferent face of "Chief Shen" has also returned.
"..." You can't expect something ivory from a dog's mouth.
Yunhe muttered a curse under his breath, but remained polite: "That's still seven years. I just hope it can live peacefully through those seven years, is that so wrong?"
"Do cloud researchers want to hear the truth?"
"What?"
Yunhe was stunned, and didn't react for a long time. Shen Huai'an turned a page of his book, but turned his face slightly to look directly into her eyes:
"Ergou's fate depends on their conscience."
Hearing your words is like hearing a lecture. The last time I felt they made so much sense was before.
Even Er Gou knows this, why does he need to say it?
"What if they...!"
The words "heartless" lingered on his lips for a few moments, but he ultimately couldn't bring himself to say them. Torn between righteous indignation and saving his job, Yunhe decisively chose the latter: "...If, if...for Er Gou..."
How should we handle the harmless disposal?
She dared not think any further.
Shen Huai'an calmly gazed at the bewildered woman before him, his heart unmoved.
Human women are always like this, troubled and indecisive over trivial matters. And the things they struggle with are destined to end from the very beginning.
Er Gou is now the first mermaid in human history to be successfully transformed into a human—although it hasn't yet received certification from the International Committee on Alien Species, this alone is enough to bring it disaster. Unless…
He hesitated, wondering whether he should tell her now. But the lessons learned from over two hundred years of human society told him that saying more would be pointless and would only lead to more mistakes.
He had no one left to rely on, and he couldn't afford to lose this last, most convenient, and least costly "barrier."
Therefore, it seems that the only solution is—
Pretend you know nothing about it.
What she sought was not an answer, but hope.
So he gave her hope, even if it was just a lie.
"Highly unlikely."
Shen Huai'an said gently, his eyes curving slightly into a standard comforting smile. But his eyes didn't smile—Yun He simply didn't notice at that moment.
He smiled and said softly, "It's still useful, so it'll be fine. Don't worry."
——————————
Even Shen Huai'an himself didn't expect the research institute to act so quickly.
"Haha, Chief Shen, good morning!"
Early in the morning, Li Liguo, beaming, pushed open the door and entered, followed by seven security guards. These guards had small, pointed heads and long snouts, their faces completely covered by black masks, revealing only pairs of cold, golden, vertical pupils. They looked like a hybrid of lizard and human (nowadays they were called "Outcasts"). Shen Huai'an smiled slightly, not bothering to beat around the bush with him:
"Director Li, have you encountered another 'technical problem'?"
He spoke calmly, yet the sarcasm in his words seemed to seep and flow from every single syllable.
"Ouch!"
Upon hearing this, Li Liguo immediately feigned anger: "Look at what you're saying! In Chief Shen's eyes, am I such a person who only comes to the temple when there's a reason, someone who's eager for quick success and instant benefits?"
Isn't that right?
Yunhe gave a silent, cold laugh and muttered to himself at his computer desk.
"I've come to bring you some incredibly good news!"
Meanwhile, Li Liguo continued his cryptic spiel: "Didn't I say before? I won't let you do this for nothing... cough cough! Help me out. So I talked to the council a while ago, we can't keep treating you so unfairly, can we?"
At this point, his small, slit-like eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze falling on the merman still bound by five chains in the cage. "I heard you haven't been out for over three months? That won't do! You know, if you don't exercise, your body will go bad!"
Shen Huai'an listened patiently to his rambling, unfounded tale. When he finally finished spouting a bunch of nonsense, he chuckled and asked, "So, the council has agreed to let me 'take a break occasionally'?"
"More than that!"
Li Liguo's tone held a strange, barely suppressed excitement: "Occasionally? How could that be enough? Chief Shen, you are a young talent with exceptional intelligence, how could you be confined to this... small space forever? So, after my reasoned and vigorous efforts, the director and the board of directors finally agreed—"
He deliberately dragged out his words, as if afraid that Shen Huai'an wouldn't hear him clearly, and spoke in a tone almost like a eunuch delivering an imperial decree:
"—You are hereby granted permission to reinstate some of your researcher functions and privileges, effective immediately!"
——————————
The so-called "restoration of researchers' functions and powers" implies two things:
They have the opportunity and the right to access some research data and to personally operate the experimental procedures.
And, restore human form.
The former goes without saying, but the real challenge lies in the latter.
Unlike Er Gou, a man-made defective product, and even unlike most wild mermaids as currently understood by humans, Shen Huai'an doesn't need human technology; she can maintain her human form solely through her own abilities. In the current field of xenobiology, this is called "fluid mimicry"—
In other words, without the need for a one-time dismantling and differentiation surgery of the skeleton, two legs that are highly similar to human body features and can be perceived by the human eye and touch can be generated from the fish tail.
Yunhe was his responsible researcher, and was therefore forced to "observe" the entire process of his "mimicking human legs".
In her limited memories of reading fairy tales, mermaids—if they exist in fairy tales—need to exchange their voices with an underwater witch to grow legs. Even with the legs they acquired, every step they took on land was like walking on a knife's edge; though unseen by the world, they were already covered in blood.
And what about him?
The extraordinary security personnel carefully dismantled the chains around Shen Huai'an's waist, simultaneously deactivating the bioelectric switches on his handcuffs one by one, leaving only the physical connections intact. While some were "dismantling the chains," the others injected him with three doses of sedatives—a dose powerful enough to take down an elephant.
But Shen Huai'an did not fall.
He didn't even change his expression.
"Oh my god..."
Yunhe heard it clearly, and Li Liguo, standing far away, still couldn't help but complain: "This, this... this is the mermaid's drug resistance? This is fucking terrifying!"
At the same time, Shen Huai'an, whose superpower restrictions had been partially lifted, first closed his eyes and then clenched his fingers one by one into his palm.
—His fingers were the first to change.
The sharp, bluish-purple claws slowly, but visibly, faded and retracted, gradually turning into rounded, pale pink human nail plates.
Then there are the ear fins.
Finally, there's the tail.
It wasn't a particularly impressive transformation. It simply vanished, taking only three minutes. Then, under the observation of both humans and machines, it reformed, transforming into a pair of long, jade-like human legs.
That's all.
But Yunhe knew he was in a lot of pain.
Shen Huai'an wasn't the kind of person who couldn't tolerate even the slightest pain. In fact, one could say his pain tolerance far exceeded that of ordinary people, even surpassing any other kind of supernatural being she had ever seen. Yet, even so, when everything finally calmed down, his clothes were soaked with sweat, his long hair was plastered to his face in strands, and his veins were bulging. He was deathly pale…
A sheet of Xuan paper soaked in water.
So beautiful.
She had an inopportune thought, and then, in frustration, slapped herself hard across the face.
"..." The room was deathly silent.
Not just Yunhe, not just Li Liguo. It even includes those seemingly emotionless superhuman security guards.
“…Huh.”
After a long while, it was actually Yunhe who reacted first. She scratched her head, looking utterly bewildered, and asked, "Why hasn't my face changed back?"
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