Mermaid Science Popularization Time (Part 2)
"Then I'll really ask."
Song Fei, a bookworm who had become a bit dim-witted, fully demonstrated his indomitable spirit of asking questions whenever he didn't understand: "So how did the Silver Scale Clan disappear?"
I've seen people who can talk, but I've never seen anyone talk like this. Everyone fell into an eerie silence.
That's a good question. Don't ask it again next time.
“The process is very complicated.” Shen Huai’an did not shy away from the topic, but simply said with a smile: “To put it simply, you can understand it as—how Neanderthals disappeared, and that’s how Silverscale disappeared.”
That's complete bullshit!
Yunhe silently complained in her heart. However, since Shen Huai'an was unwilling to reveal Yinlin's "honeycomb social structure," she didn't need to say anything more.
"Hey Song Fei, why do you keep asking these questions? It's so boring!"
Elsa quickly chuckled and tactfully changed the subject: "By the way, Chief Shen, your face..."
She glanced shyly at Shen Huai'an's now "restored human form" face and whispered, "Is it true?"
Good question!
That's a good question!
She didn't know what others thought, but at this moment, Yunhe truly felt the same way. She pursed her lips, forcing a smile to remain hidden within, as she heard Chen Huai'an say:
"Of course not." He shook his head gently, his gaze shifting to the night view outside the French windows, where the city lights were just coming on, as if he were reminiscing about something:
"Mermaids do not have a strictly corresponding 'real human face.' This face is modeled after a human scientist from many years ago."
"Huh? A transformation?"
Elsa completely missed the first half of his sentence. She simply reached out curiously and, quite boldly, touched his face: "..."
The texture is real. But...
However, the sensation she felt didn't match the lines and contours of Shen Huai'an's face in her eyes. It was as if when she tried to touch the tip of his nose, her fingers could only stay about half a centimeter away from the "tip of his nose," as if there was something blocking her way.
"Is this what fluid mimicry is?"
Elsa was still standing there, stunned, when Yunhe suddenly asked a question. Aiqiqi, who had finally returned to normal, immediately chimed in: "Yes, that's fluid mimicry! Fluid mimicry is one of the 'super-biological abilities' possessed by only a very few mermaids and vampires!"
Seeing everyone looking at him with disdain, he stubbornly retorted, "What! I'm a PhD who specializes in mimicry!"
“Yes.” Shen Huai’an nodded, agreeing with Ai Qiqi’s statement. At the same time, he glanced at Yun He, seemingly with a probing look in his eyes.
Why are you looking at me like that? Hmm, why are you winking? Why is your eye suddenly twitching?
Yunhe, a straight-laced woman, thought to herself indifferently.
"This, hahahaha..."
Elsa gave an awkward laugh, and the others laughed along, but the atmosphere only grew more awkward. It was Zhang Can, the "sasaeng fan" who had been silent from the beginning, who suddenly said this:
"What's so great about a human face? If you ask me, Chief Shen's own face is already a work of art!"
Flattery never fails. The atmosphere was inexplicably eased. Thus, this pointless "social gathering" ended with everyone laughing and taking a few group photos. However, Yunhe, who received the photos, was slightly taken aback—
She felt that something was off about the photo, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Back in the lab that evening, before even falling asleep, Yunhe brought up the question she hadn't had a chance to ask at the social gathering:
"Hey, Shen Huai'an," she stammered, "you said your face was sculpted from a human scientist?"
"..." Perhaps amused by her mention of "pinching cheeks," Shen Huai'an couldn't help but chuckle and asked, "Why did you suddenly think of asking that?"
"Just out of curiosity."
Yunhe turned over, facing the mermaid sitting on the bed reading a book: "When did you meet that person? How did you meet him?"
——————————
Two hundred and thirty-three years ago.
Shen Huai'an sat by the window, intently writing and drawing in his notebook. The faint light of the setting sun shone through the window lattice into the room, casting a small, ambiguous, and warm yellow glow.
"It's already the thirty-third day."
As he wrote, he read aloud softly, "For the past thirty-three days, it has been very quiet, never making a sound, and too lazy to even do the most basic swimming. What a lazy mermaid."
As he wrote this, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. Laughing, he turned to look behind him. Behind him stood a makeshift water tank. The water inside was clean, and floating in it was a creature that was half-human, half-fish.
—A strange yet breathtakingly beautiful mermaid with silver-white scales and long silver-white hair.
Actually, he bought this mermaid from a local fisherman. Recently, there had been a series of maritime accidents in this area, and the villagers were spreading rumors that sea monsters were causing trouble and taking lives. As a result, mermaids were almost disemboweled and sacrificed to the victims as soon as they were caught. Fortunately, Shen Huai'an, as a researcher at a well-known local research institute, had some money, so he decisively bought it and kept it by his side.
However, Shen Huai'an did not want to take it back to the research institute.
He was ill, and with an incurable disease. He didn't want to commit any more acts of killing before he died...
"Perhaps I've been too idle." Shen Huai'an chuckled softly while coughing, his pale face devoid of any color.
“I talk to it every day now. At least ten times a day, I tell it my name and ask it what it’s called. It never answers my questions, but I’m sure this mermaid is intelligent enough to understand human language…”
“I know it understands me. I think it just can’t speak human language—that’s related to the structure of its vocal cords, and I don’t blame it.”
He coughed up blood; it seemed he couldn't continue writing. Shen Huai'an wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief while frantically rummaging through drawers for medicine. Just then, a voice suddenly rang out in the room.
"Chen...Huai...An?"
It was a completely unfamiliar male voice. Or perhaps, a standard baritone voice, slightly hoarse with a reverberant quality. In his utter astonishment, Shen Huai'an even forgot to look for his medicine, rushing to the water tank with a speed far beyond what a patient could possibly possess:
"It was you! You were the one who spoke just now, weren't you?!"
The mermaid remained as still and silent as ever. However, its long white eyelashes trembled, and then it slowly opened its mouth, revealing a few sharp fangs:
"Celexis".
This time, it wasn't human language. Not only was it not the language of the Easterners he had previously mentioned, but it wasn't even a language that should exist in this world—or even a tone of voice. Shen Huai'an's eyes were glazed over for a moment, and it took him several seconds to react:
"...Is this your language?"
The mermaid slowly nodded.
"You can understand me now?!"
Shen Huai'an was overjoyed and hugged the water tank with both hands, as if he wanted to hug the mermaid inside as well: "What's your name... what's your name?"
“Se-Le-Xi-S”
The merman drawled out his words in a very stiff and flat tone. He was clearly speaking an Eastern language.
Shen Huai'an retorted, "So, for the past month or so, you've been learning how I speak?"
The mermaid watched him silently. Her eerie, icy blue eyes held no emotion whatsoever.
"Great, that's wonderful!"
Shen Huai'an stood up, then, due to his weakness, stumbled back a few steps until his back hit the corner of the table before he finally stopped. He covered his mouth and coughed a few times before saying in a hoarse voice:
"Celesis, what a beautiful name."
"I want your name."
The mermaid straightened her upper body slightly and opened her mouth slightly as she spoke. Then she added, "I like it, I want to buy it."
Shen Huai'an: "..."
Does it even know that human names cannot be bought and sold casually? Wait a minute, it's a mermaid, barely able to protect itself, what could it possibly use as a bargaining chip?!
“Chen, Huai’an.”
Seeing that Shen Huai'an stared wide-eyed and remained silent, Celestis patiently continued:
"You must not die, you must live. I will use your life to buy it."
"..."
This time, Shen Huai'an was finally amused by it.
"You?" He chuckled. "You can save me? Do you know I only have less than six months to live? Are you some legendary Tai Sui, who grants immortality with just one bite?"
The mermaid fell silent for a moment, a hint of confusion appearing on her unsettlingly beautiful face.
Clearly, for it, Shen Huai'an's words were still too "complex and profound".
——————————
"so……"
After listening to the beginning, Yunhe finally couldn't help but interject, "Wait a minute, let me sort this out."
Shen Huai'an patiently remained quiet.
"...So, in other words," she finally managed to say after half a minute, "you stole the identity of Shen Huai'an, a human from over two hundred years ago...?"
“It’s inheritance.” Shen Huai’an remained calm and composed, even making a harmless joke: “How can you call it misappropriation when it comes to mermaids?”
"Yes, yes, you're a mermaid, you're awesome." Yunhe couldn't help but chuckle, then retorted, "Stealing books! How can a scholar's actions be called stealing, right? You're like a modern-day Kong Yiji!"
Shen Huai'an chuckled, neither confirming nor denying.
Yunhe asked again, "Then, is that human Shen Huai'an mixed-race?" She pointed to his face: "I mean, your face is clearly mixed-race..."
"No."
Shen Huai'an calmly shook his head. He was silent for a while before handing her his phone (for some reason, the research institute had previously allowed him to use a phone): "I still have his photos; you can take a look."
The photo was clearly taken a long time ago, when photocopying technology was not advanced, and the figures in the photo were not very clear. Even so, Yunhe could still make out the appearance of the sickly-looking man in the photo.
—Handsome, pale, with delicate features, but completely of Eastern appearance. But upon closer inspection, one would find that Shen Huai'an's current "face" is based on his features and face shape.
Then why...
"Because you can't use the same face as someone who already exists."
Shen Huai'an shamelessly added, "And it looks cooler this way."
Yunhe: "..."
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