He refused to take responsibility
At the same time, in the women's restroom.
Yunhe stood in the cramped space, staring blankly at the door in front of her. It wasn't that she was afraid of being seen—after all, the "live broadcast" was happening in her mind—but she couldn't help feeling guilty.
Celestis?
During the "live broadcast," Heinrich's sudden mention of this name made her feel a little embarrassed. It seemed...where had she heard it before?
No, that's not right. The point shouldn't be... "Shen Huai'an" is actually a fake name?!
"Oh."
The "live broadcast" continued. Faced with Heinrich's sharp questioning, Shen Huai'an simply chuckled, displaying a nonchalant air: "Commander Heinrich, you are indeed well-informed."
"snort!"
Heinrich seemed utterly disdainful of Shen Huai'an's attitude. He narrowed his eyes, put his hands behind his back, and circled Shen Huai'an several times, as if he were touring monkeys in a zoo.
"Then let's not beat around the bush." He scoffed, "Before we get to the point, I've been completely baffled—"
Heinrich paused, then deliberately drew out his words: "—You're a mermaid nobleman, why don't you stay in the sea? Why do you insist on coming ashore and infiltrating human society, and even infiltrating research institutes?"
That's a good question. The good thing is, everyone wanted to ask it before, but hadn't found a suitable opportunity, including Yunhe. So Yunhe and everyone else present held their breath in anticipation—
"Since we're being honest, let's not beat around the bush."
Shen Huai'an slowly opened his mouth, repeating Heinrich's catchphrase from earlier, his tone indifferent: "Then the commander must know that no matter the East Sea, the West Sea, or the Ruins Sea, no sea can accommodate me, this 'exile,' anymore."
——————————
Two hundred and forty-nine years ago.
"...In the name of our ancestors, we hereby formally declare that the unworthy scoundrel Ceresis shall be expelled from this day forth."
Compared to four years ago, the high priest seemed much older. Yet, at this moment, his voice was still quite strong. Having finished his announcement, he set down the "holy decree" in his hand and looked down at the young male merman below:
“Celesis, this is your own choice, and your own fate. You can’t blame anyone else.”
"I know."
Celestis calmly raised her head. This mermaid, who had just reached adulthood and differentiated four years prior, possessed the typical delicate and exquisite beauty of the Silverscale race, even surpassing all other Silverscale members in beauty. The reason was simple: "she" was originally supposed to be the "Queen" in the ancestral prophecy, bearing the hope for the revival of the race.
But he differentiated into a male. And...
“If everyone in the Silverscale were as willful and selfish as you,” the High Priest said, closing his eyes in anguish, tears welling in his cloudy old eyes, “the Silverscale race would not have been able to endure for millions of years!”
He raised his withered old hand, adorned with several magic rings, and pointed tremblingly at Ceresis's still calm face, his voice also trembling slightly: "...You, you traitor to the Silverscale...Disgrace, disgrace! For millions of years, not a single Silverscale has dared to defy the ancestral prophecy, yet you, you actually did something like forcibly differentiating into a male to escape responsibility!"
These words had been said a hundred and eighty times already, four years ago when it was announced that he would be imprisoned in the altar awaiting judgment and punishment. Celestis couldn't help but chuckle inwardly for a few seconds, then nodded understandingly at the old man: "You're right."
High Priest: "..."
Celesius continued in a very courteous manner, "Is there anything else you would like to advise me on?"
High Priest: "..."
Seeing that the other person was so angry that he almost fainted, Celestis calmly straightened up. He faced the high priest, gave a simple bow in the Silver Scales salute, and then turned and left.
—And from then on, they completely left the ocean.
——————————
That night.
Yunhe lay in the corner of the observation room, her eyes wide open, staring in the direction of the mermaid. In reality, she couldn't see anything in the pitch-black night, but she just couldn't fall asleep.
"Is the cloud researcher having insomnia?"
Shen Huai'an's voice was soft, yet clear enough. Yun He was startled at first, then sighed helplessly, "Damn! Why aren't you asleep either?"
After a moment of silence. For a long while.
"Then..." Yunhe finally mustered up the courage to ask the question she hadn't dared to ask during the day: "Shen Huai'an, can I ask you... about your past, those things?"
"Of course. Why not?"
Shen Huai'an, however, was quite frank. He didn't even bother to use "telepathy," and simply said with a smile, "As long as Researcher Yun wants to know something, I will tell you everything I know without reservation."
Her tone was light and cheerful, as if she had suddenly unloaded all the burdens in her heart. Yunhe simply sat down on the edge of his bed, her big eyes sparkling as she looked at him in the moonlight streaming through the window.
In that instant, Shen Huai'an was slightly taken aback. He didn't even know why he had been so inexplicably stunned for a moment.
He even thought of Nixos—that golden scale that had been divided by the clouds.
"What you said to the director during the day..." Yunhe, oblivious to his strangeness, continued to ask questions based on her own curiosity: "Is it true?"
This was utter nonsense, yet it was enough to bring Shen Huai'an back to his senses. He pondered for a long while before saying, "Do you believe it?"
"Of course I believe you! But..."
Yun hesitated for a long time before saying somewhat embarrassedly, "But, aren't mermaids supposed to differentiate because of pheromones from the opposite sex? So how... how did you forcibly differentiate into a male..."
This was a rather private question, at least from a human societal perspective. However, Shen Huai'an didn't seem offended and simply answered her calmly:
"It is difficult, but not impossible."
"Then why..." she hesitated even more, "...aren't there any females, or rather, mermaid girls, for you..."
"The social organization of the Silverscale Clan, if compared to a form that humans can understand, is actually similar to a beehive."
Shen Huai'an smiled and said, "Females naturally dominate, while males are only 'useful' when the queen needs to produce offspring; otherwise, they are useless. Moreover, apart from the queen herself, all other silver scales, regardless of gender, can only serve as the lowest-level labor force and soldiers, and have no right to reproduce."
Yunhe was stunned. This was the first time she had ever heard of such a thing.
“But,” Yunhe hesitated for a moment before finally remembering what to say, “but as far as I know, the vast majority of mermaids either don’t have a complete social structure at all, or they have built a council of elders similar to human society, like the Golden Scales… In any case, your, uh, I mean the Silver Scales’ social structure is really too bizarre!”
As a woman, she felt a chill run down her spine, deeply moved and filled with lingering fear: "Placing all the hopes for the continuation of the tribe on the queen, while other members of the tribe are naturally suppressed at the bottom by this inherent hierarchy, what's the point of living? Besides, doesn't the queen herself find it pathetic?"
At this point, she suddenly slapped her forehead as if struck by lightning: "I get it! You mean... the reason you refused to differentiate into a female back then was because..."
“Yes.” Shen Huai’an’s expression was gentle, calmly confirming her guess: “I refuse to take on the responsibility that the so-called ‘ancestral prophecy’ requires me to bear.”
Yun remained silent for a long while.
“Such a society should not continue to exist.” Shen Huai’an continued, “If the ancestral prophecy is true, and the Silver Scales will perish if no one inherits the throne, then let it happen, so what?”
Yunhe was completely stunned.
"You don't understand, do you?" Shen Huai'an smiled, seemingly unconcerned. "If you can't understand, then you don't need to. This kind of thing—"
“No! I understand.” Yun interrupted him decisively, “I completely understand.”
This time, it was Shen Huai'an's turn to remain silent.
"So, your people drove you away because of your 'betrayal'?" Yunhe asked again, "And then, a few years later, they were really wiped out by the Golden Scales?"
Shen Huai'an turned his gaze to the window.
"Yes."
Yunhe pressed further, "Can ancestor worship really be taken seriously? Um, I mean... why would you believe in such feudal superstitions and supernatural phenomena? Could it be that your special abilities all come from your ancestors?"
That's the advantage of chatting with a mermaid who speaks human language and understands human reasoning. If you were to ask a million questions of a wild mermaid who only knows how to eat raw fish, flick its tail, and bark and roar at humans, the effect would probably be like casting pearls before swine!
Shen Huai'an did not answer her question directly. He let out a long yawn.
"Go to sleep."
His voice sounded a little tired: "Good night, my researcher."
——————————
Shen Huai'an's identity underwent a dramatic change the very next day.
The so-called "drastic change" refers to the fact that he was no longer considered an "experimental subject" and had received almost 80% of the treatment of human researchers. It goes without saying how happy and excited Ai Qiqi and Elsa were; even Li Liguo and other leaders became increasingly "polite" towards Shen Huai'an. Clearly, Shen Huai'an's position had received tacit "recognition" from the higher-ups of the Human Federation through yesterday's brief but crucial "meeting."
"That's why I say it. Chief Shen truly lives up to his name."
During a small gathering in the cafeteria at lunchtime, Yunhe sipped her yogurt while listening to Elsa and the others gossip: "To turn the tide like this, even if he's not a mermaid, let alone a human, there's no way he could reintegrate into GI so quickly, right?"
"I think this matter might not be so simple." Song Fei carefully lowered his voice, his already small body shrinking into an extremely inconspicuous ball: "Who is the director? If Teacher Shen were really... wouldn't he have been dissected long ago? How could he still be alive now..."
"What are you talking about?"
The mere four words, "effortlessly," immediately silenced the colleagues present. Yunhe glanced up and was met with the somewhat unfamiliar yet "familiar" face of the person who approached—
It was none other than Shen Huai'an, whose face had somehow completely reverted to its human form.
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