Chapter 3 Mermaid 3
It's hard to describe how Zhang Jingshu feels right now. She's someone who easily feels compassion for vulnerable animals. But at the same time, she's also wary. She admits she's not as brave as the group leader. When faced with stray animals whose level of danger is uncertain, she doesn't dare approach, always hiding behind everyone else.
But eyes can't lie.
She usually judges an animal's closeness to humans based on their eyes.
The eyes of abandoned animals are filled with deep sorrow and longing. They cannot speak, but they know they are not loved. The eyes of abused animals are much more complex, with anger, despair, numbness, and some holding onto a glimmer of hope for redemption.
Zhang Jingshu couldn't forget the moment she accidentally met the mermaid's gaze yesterday. There was no hatred, no anger, no intense emotion in his eyes. It was as if all life had been drained from him, leaving only the despair and pain that numbed him.
Faintly, there was a hint of pleading.
What are you begging for?
Get him out?
Zhang Jingshu felt that his eyes didn't look like he was asking for help, but rather a plea for relief. He had completely lost hope of living.
It was this look that led Zhang Jingshu to fall prey to her first impression, causing her to let down her guard and vigilance against the mermaid. This ultimately led to her wrist being bitten. To say she wasn't afraid would be a lie. At that moment, Zhang Jingshu felt the urge to flee, but just as her fear crept in, the mermaid loosened her grip and retreated deeper into a corner.
He seemed a little... timid?
The bread in my palm was suddenly taken away.
The sound of chewing food brought Zhang Jingshu back to her senses.
She couldn't help but smile with satisfaction and opened her eyes slightly.
Observing the mermaid up close, Zhang Jingshu discovered that the mermaid's upper body wasn't entirely human. Its waist and abdomen were covered in black scales, which glowed faintly in the dim light, resembling stars in the sky. Broad, soft pelvic fins flanked its tail. Its chest was thin, almost devoid of flesh, covered only by a thin layer of skin, dotted with a few scattered black scales.
His ears, or perhaps more accurately, ear fins, replaced what should have been human ears. The ear fins, the same color as his, were surmounted by three spine-like... ear bones? Connecting the ear bones was a membrane thicker than that of the pelvic fins, and at the tips of the ear fins, the color turned a deep black.
Cheng Shuinan chewed the bread slowly and methodically. Even though he hadn't eaten in a while, it didn't slow him down. He held the soft, fragrant half of the bread in his palm with care, taking a gentle bite, his thin cheeks puffing up slightly.
He noticed Zhang Jingshu's gaze and unconsciously tightened his grip on the bread, speeding up his eating. At the same time, his back pressed tightly against the wall, so that if possible, his entire body could fit into it.
Thick, curly hair falls in front of the body, hiding the prominent ear fins.
Zhang Jingshu was completely oblivious to the mermaid's discomfort. She was once again stunned by his appearance. He was certainly handsome, but that alone wasn't enough to distract Zhang Jingshu. She couldn't help but question what she was seeing.
Do mermaids really exist?
I must be dreaming.
Cheng Shuinan swallowed the last bite of bread, his palm still in the same position, with crumbs scattered inside. He glanced at Zhang Jingshu with some embarrassment, and found that her eyes were fixed on his ear fin. He slowly breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his head, and carefully approached the crumbs in his palm.
Cheng Shuinan lowered his head, his gaze fixed on the filthy, hideous fishtail, its flesh protruding and dripping with blood. Zhang Jingshu squatted before him, her clean white sneakers only a fist's length from the fishtail, the sides of her shoes stained with mud and blood.
His gaze shifted to self-blame. He slowly curled up his tail, the curved tail tearing open the hideous wound. He simply frowned slightly, then raised his eyes, looking at Zhang Jingshu with pleading and expectation.
Zhang Jingshu looked over.
Cheng Shuinan wanted to ask Zhang Jingshu to help him kill him. Although he knew that such a request was too unreasonable, the daily torture had reached the limit of what he could endure, and he did not want to live like this anymore.
He should say thank you to her before asking her to fulfill his wish.
The kindness he felt from human beings before he died.
It is also the only kindness in his life.
Cheng Shuinan's throat had not made any sound for a long time. Even when facing cruel torture, he gritted his teeth and did not make a sound.
"Thank you..." He made a hoarse and rough sound, his eyes suddenly fixed on the warehouse door, and the ear fins standing on the side of his cheek opened slightly.
Zhang Jingshu couldn't hide her curiosity and surprise.
He could indeed speak.
It's just that the pronunciation is not clear.
Cheng Shuinan's body suddenly trembled. He lowered his head helplessly and curled up in the corner. The trickling blood left stains all over his body.
Zhang Jingshu found that the deathly aura around him became stronger.
I was just about to say something to calm him down.
He suddenly spoke, his voice unfamiliar and somewhat unpleasant, "Hurry... go, they're... coming."
Zhang Jingshu's heartbeat suddenly quickened.
The mermaid's wrist was pierced by an iron chain and tied to an iron ring specially made on the ground.
She couldn't take him away today.
Zhang Jingshu stuffed everything she brought into her backpack. "I'll come back tomorrow. I'll find a way to break the chain."
Cheng Shuinan raised his head slightly, nervously and anxiously watching Zhang Jingshu's hurried back. When she was about to leave the warehouse, he finally came to his senses and said with a tone of nostalgia and gratitude: "Don't come again... It's very dangerous here..."
He wondered if Zhang Jingshu had heard his last words. Without a pause, she left his sight. The dim light in the warehouse seemed to vanish in an instant, and a strong, fishy stench enveloped him.
Outside the small window, the shadows of trees are swaying, and a few twinkling stars can be vaguely seen in the deep sky.
Zhang Jingshu’s arrival was as beautiful as a dream.
A dream he couldn't even imagine while awake.
The sound of a car suddenly pierced the quiet night. A man's drunken chatter, mixed with foul insults, drifted into the warehouse.
Cheng Shuinan closed his eyes.
He woke up from his dream.
…
Zhang Jingshu got into the car, her chest heaving slightly from the intense running. The confined space of the car quickly calmed her nervousness, and then she was filled with regret and self-blame for not being able to take the mermaid with her.
She had suspected mermaids could speak, but hearing it with her own ears was even more shocking than she had imagined. She was stunned for a long time, tears welling up in her eyes.
She couldn't imagine what kind of demon could do such a cruel thing. His voice made her realize he was no different from her, except for his fish tail. His emotions were far more intense than those of a mere animal without language or thoughts. How did he survive these dark nights?
Her last look before leaving the warehouse kept replaying in my mind.
He seemed to say something, but his voice, which hadn't uttered a sound in a long time, was like a rusty instrument suddenly producing a crude note. Although the warehouse was dimly lit, she could clearly see two long tear marks on his cheeks, and crystal-clear tears rolled down his eyes.
The look in her eyes was like an unsharpened knife slowly cutting her heart.
Zhang Jingshu made up her mind.
She must take him away.
…
Zhang Jingshu returned to the city center and went to the hospital to get a rabies vaccine. The doctor questioned her wound, saying it did not look like the tooth marks of a common animal.
The doctor said the shape of her wounds looked like they were caused by a row of canine fangs.
Zhang Jingshu vaguely said that she was bitten by several dogs in the same place.
The doctor expressed shock and doubt.
Zhang Jingshu cleaned up briefly after returning home, but her exhausted body didn't rest immediately. Her mind was still clear as she replayed everything that had happened in the warehouse. She then began searching for a way to break the chain.
Before daybreak, Zhang Jingshu went to a hardware store and searched the entire city center before finding one that was open. She bought a lot of things she might need. On the store owner's recommendation, she bought a hacksaw, which was said to be able to cut metal products effortlessly.
During the lunch break, Zhang Ning came to chat with her.
“…I feel like our company is going to go bankrupt.”
Zhang Jingshu's thoughts were pulled back by the bomb she dropped: "Sister Zhang, why do you say that?"
Zhang Ning propped his face up with his hands. "Don't be too surprised. I was just saying it casually. We're not going bankrupt, but our economic performance is definitely going to decline. I went to our company's pearl cultivation plant after get off work yesterday and took a look. The pearls there aren't bad looking, but they're very ordinary. They're all the common luminous pearls. There aren't any of those glow-in-the-dark pearls like we saw a few years ago that glowed with fluorescent powder at night anymore."
Zhang Jingshu: "I remember that there were only two luminous pearl necklaces released that year. They were really amazing."
Zhang Ning laughed and said, "At that time, people even jokingly called it a sky-high price."
Zhang Jingshu: "Scarcity makes things valuable."
Zhang Ning: "Even without the luminous pearls, the pearls produced by the luminous sea are enough to pay the company's employees. It's just a matter of how much money. Let's not talk about this topic anymore. What have you been doing lately? You look listless, and the dark circles under your eyes are almost reaching your face."
Zhang Jingshu: "I have a little insomnia."
Zhang Ning: "Please tell me if there's anything I can do to help."
Zhang Jingshu hesitated for a moment, then smiled slightly and said, "There's something I really need Sister Zhang's help with, so I'd like to take a few days off."
Zhang Ning is the team leader, and Zhang Jingshu and other relatives who are related to him are also classified under Zhang Ning's name.
Zhang Ning: "No problem, you really need to have a good rest these days."
After getting Zhang Ning's approval, Zhang Jingshu went straight to the processing plant in Suhan District after get off work.
She bought a compact battery-powered video recorder that could be hidden in the grass, facing the warehouse entrance and the path frequented by illegal taxis.
After two days of waiting, Zhang Jingshu couldn't wait to deduce their movements. Actually, such a short period of time wouldn't be credible, but she couldn't wait any longer. Every day she waited meant another day of suffering for the mermaids.
Finally, late at night, after they left, Zhang Jingshu rushed into the warehouse carrying a hacksaw.
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