The mermaid who loves to drink
Founded over a hundred years ago, the GI Institute is the highest-level research institution in the entire Federation, possessing state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment. Its main business is "special biological genetic engineering research".
—"Special creatures" is a collective term for the various alien creatures that have appeared since the massive cosmic radiation over the past thousand years. For example, bird-men with wings, werewolves, tiger-men, and leopard-men with tails and sharp teeth and claws, fish-men with fins and large tails... Sorry, I misspoke, it's mermaids.
Birdmen, werewolves, and tigermen are all products of the Great Radiation, but mermaids are not. But it doesn't matter; they all have the same status and treatment within the GI Research Institute.
Yunhe enjoys studying these exotic creatures. When she was very young, she first learned about mermaids in class and in books, and she vowed to see them with her own eyes when she grew up: after all, they are so beautiful, so beautiful that they don't seem like living things that can grow on Earth.
Besides, she's hopelessly obsessed with looks.
But now...
"Card swipe successful. Researcher Y049 has entered the laboratory."
A cold, mechanical female voice echoed in front of the security gate. The young female researcher adjusted her glasses, her thin, expressionless face devoid of emotion. As usual, she glanced at the electronic screen above the gate, and only after confirming that all indicators were normal did her tense expression relax slightly. She murmured softly, as if talking to herself, "Awake?"
There has been no response, just like every day for the past month.
Yunhe walked straight to the refrigerator, took out a bottle of cheap red wine, opened the cap, and poured himself a glass. Drinking alcohol was strictly prohibited in the lab, but aren't rules meant to be broken?
Sure enough, there was movement in the cage the next second.
"Hey, Researcher Yun." A very pleasant male voice, deep and resonant, with a husky, electric quality: "Give me a taste too."
Yunhe turned her head and met the mermaid's icy blue eyes. Then, those eerily beautiful eyes curved into a smile, and her voice held a hint of amusement: "What, is it not allowed?"
"You want to drink fake liquor bought from the supermarket?" Yunhe raised an eyebrow and shook the bottle in his hand.
The mermaid raised her hand and stroked her long, snow-white hair, smiling broadly and appearing quite philosophical: "It's better to settle for something than nothing."
Yunhe had no choice but to point to the laboratory rules on the wall: "Drinking alcohol is strictly prohibited in the laboratory."
The mermaid merely smiled at her shameless act of "allowing officials to set fires while forbidding commoners to light lamps," saying nothing more. A slick, almost slick, look appeared on Yunhe's usually wooden face as he drawled, "Wanting to drink isn't impossible, but..."
The mermaid knew what she was going to say, but rather rudely remained silent. She slowly closed her eyes, as if she were getting sleepy.
Yunhe, having been rebuffed, could only carry the wine bottle to the cage door, squat down, casually twirl a strand of long hair on the mermaid's shoulder, and whisper, "Hey, S1."
The mermaid's ears twitched.
"Are you really Researcher Shen?" she whispered, still seemingly unable to believe what had happened a month ago. The mermaid blinked, her long white eyelashes trembling. "Does it matter?"
Yunhe was speechless. After a long while, she finally stammered, "...It's very important to me."
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Let's go back three years.
Three years ago, in the summer, Yunhe, who had just graduated with a master's degree, finally received an offer of employment from the GI Institute. With great excitement, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door of the research group on the third floor.
"Please come in."
The man's voice was gentle and warm; he sounded to be around thirty years old. Yunhe composed herself and nervously pushed open the door. The man in the white lab coat had his back to her, slightly bowed, seemingly fiddling with experimental equipment. Only when she approached did he straighten up and turn to look at her.
What a handsome face.
In Yunhe's mind, scientists were usually elderly people over fifty, or middle-aged men who wore glasses and looked like bookworms. He never expected the researcher in front of him to be such a handsome man, like a movie star. Unlike the currently popular "pretty boys" with their fair skin and delicate features, this man was strikingly masculine, with a sharply defined face that almost resembled that of a foreigner!
"My name is Yunhe, and I'm a new employee who just started working here today."
After what seemed like an eternity, Yunhe finally snapped out of her daze. The man nodded gently: "Hello, Yunhe. I'm Shen Huai'an, your senior. From now on, we'll be colleagues. Feel free to contact me anytime if you have any questions."
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Let's go back to the present.
After the unbearable embarrassment, the mermaid flicked her large tail, turned her head, and her long, snow-white hair partially obscured half of her equally snow-white and otherworldly face. A half-smile appeared on her inhumanly beautiful face: "Yes."
Mermaids typically don't speak human language—after all, their vocal cords are quite different from humans. However, the mermaid in the cage not only can speak, but her voice is also very pleasant, a deep bass voice unique to adult males.
Yunhe's hand trembled slightly, and his eyes dimmed for a moment.
She wasn't unprepared, but hearing the answer directly from the "person involved" was a different story.
"They all say you resigned and went abroad. I thought..."
"It's truly shameful to let a mermaid linger in a top research institute for so many years and even become a chief researcher." The mermaid slightly curled the corners of her lips, smiling nonchalantly: "If I were the director, I would do the same."
Yunhe chuckled at its amusement, about to mock it for finding humor in misery, when a muffled thud came from the nearby pool, followed by a series of piercing meows—
"Ergou!" Yunhe was immediately exasperated, furious: "What kind of trouble are you causing now!"
The mermaid nicknamed "Er Gou" (Second Dog) is actually codenamed "Experimental Subject X79," a product of artificial breeding at the GI Research Institute. This male mermaid has the intelligence of a six-year-old child and cannot speak human language. He's generally similar to a dog, hence the nickname "Er Gou" (Second Dog). Er Gou is handsome, but because he has human genes, he doesn't have the white or blonde hair of purebred mermaids. Instead, he has brown hair and brown eyes, and his tail is limp and looks malnourished—which is indeed the case.
Artificial mermaids have inherent genetic defects.
"Ah! Hmm!" Er Gou really liked Yun He. At eighteen years old, he regarded Yun He as his own mother and wished he could pester her and wag his tail every day. Not wanting to hit a smiling fish, Yun He had no choice but to take the mop and clean up the water it had splashed out. But then she heard another mermaid behind her chuckling with schadenfreude.
“Shen Huai’an, you…”
Yunhe was inexplicably angry and wanted to lash out, but then realized she was being unreasonable. Fortunately, the instigator herself smoothed things over and toned down her smug smile.
Suddenly I realized you were quite cute just now.
Upon hearing his words, Yunhe was slightly taken aback.
After all, this was the first time that Shen Huai'an, who had "become" a mermaid, had talked to her so much and even made jokes.
In fact, Shen Huai'an had been locked in the iron cage for over a month. Apart from being in a coma for the first three days, he seemed to have become deaf or mute for the next ten days or so, ignoring all the researchers' inquiries and not speaking. It was during that time that everyone in the research institute thought he had lost the ability to communicate with humans after "returning to his original form." At their wits' end, they arranged for Yun He, who was best at calming mermaids, to be the researcher for Shen Huai'an—that is, experimental subject S1.
Upon arriving at the lab, Yunhe immediately reported to his superiors that the cages were too small and would drive people crazy. However, the usually mild-mannered director simply replied:
"A person can indeed be driven crazy, but it is not human."
"Splash!" Another loud sound rang out as Er Gou, brimming with excitement, leaped out of the pool, then thrashed about on the ground like a carp, splashing water everywhere. Yun He, who had just finished mopping the floor and was now soaked to the bone, completely lost it: "Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!"
“Sellencia”.
Shen Huai'an, inside the cage, slightly opened his eyes and spoke, uttering a phrase in a language Yun He had never heard before. No, it wasn't just a language he had never heard before... it was an entirely new tone, as if it came from outer space.
What surprised Yunhe even more was yet to come. The previously boisterous Er Gou froze upon hearing those deep, somber words. And then…
It miraculously and obediently got up, then obediently returned to the pool and covered itself with the lid.
Yunhe: "..."
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