Becoming the Keeper of an Alluring Merfolk - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: They Are Merfolk, Not Sirens

By the time Song Xiu arrived at the Binhai Biological Research Institute, it was already dusk.

The institute was built on a solitary island on a coastal cliff. The entirely silver-white complex was surrounded by breakwaters. In the distance, the sea glowed with an eerie blue luminescence, contrasting sharply with the hazy, dusty, and yellowish sky—likely caused by a massive bloom of marine plankton after the lunar impact.

“Song Xiu, right?” A girl in a white lab coat with a bob haircut stopped her at the lobby’s security checkpoint.

The girl’s gold name tag displayed her name and age: Jian Xu, 23, A-level Researcher.

“Hello, Song Xiu. My name is Jian Xu. We’re colleagues now, please take care of me. However, you’ll be in a close-contact position; I mostly do biological research.”

Song Xiu, slightly reserved, shook Jian Xu’s hand back. Accustomed to the roughness of the desert Gobi, she was a little unaccustomed to meeting such a polished colleague: “Hello, Researcher Jian. I’m new here and have a lot to learn. I might have to bother you for a while. So, where do I report now?”

Jian Xu shrugged: “The Merfolk Hall. It’s an abandoned aquarium we repurposed. Don’t set your expectations too high for the working environment.”

“I came from the desert. As long as there’s no sand in my lunch, it’s an excellent working environment.”

“Hahahahaha, that’s good. You certainly have a lot to adjust to, coming from the desert,” Jian Xu brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, affectionately took her arm, and led her into the Merfolk Hall.

After entering, Song Xiu was completely stunned. Even though she was mentally prepared, she froze at the observation window, a mix of emotions in her heart.

A dozen or so Merfolk floated in the slightly murky circulating water.

They were separated into small sections by metal nets, like live fish for sale in a supermarket tank. The most special and beautiful one was scratching at the glass with a fingernail, her light cyan scales shimmering coldly under the light.

“Their range of activity is really too small. They seem very prone to depression and stereotypical behavior.” Song Xiu gripped her camera, taking a few record photos. On the flight over, she had hastily looked up various rearing guides for high-intelligence animals, and depression and stereotypy caused by restricted environments were the most frequently mentioned issues.

“No choice. Their aggression is very high, especially when in heat, and we haven’t found a pattern for it yet. The isolation nets will only be removed once that’s sorted out.” Jian Xu’s tone was indifferent and devoid of emotion.

Before she finished speaking, a string of bubbles suddenly erupted in the water.

The Merfolk scratching the glass suddenly pressed against it, startling Song Xiu. Her damp, pink hair floated like seaweed. Her lips opened and closed rapidly, seemingly struggling to express something.

Finally, Song Xiu, stunned by her beauty, managed to discern her lip movements. She was mouthing: “Save me.”

“Can she come ashore?” Song Xiu asked Jian Xu worriedly.

Jian Xu answered without hesitation: “Theoretically, yes.”

“Then can we try? I’ll take the consequences. She clearly doesn’t want to be in there.”

To maintain good relations with her new colleague, Jian Xu pressed a button on the wall, unlocking the upper cage and placing an inflatable raft on the water’s surface. In truth, she disliked these strange and fierce humanoids.

When Song Xiu went up to the second-floor viewing platform and squatted by the pool’s edge to reach out, the Merfolk was curled up on the inflatable raft, slowly propelling herself with her hands, cautiously approaching Song Xiu.

When she reached her, the Merfolk suddenly “sat” up. Water droplets rolled from her shoulder blades to the small of her back, finally disappearing into her pearl-lustered tail fin. On an impulse, Song Xiu reached out and touched a scale just below the small of her back.

“Smack!” The cyan tail heavily slapped her hand. The pink ear fins spread open like a fan in nervousness. “Don’t touch. That’s for mating rituals.”

Song Xiu looked at her rapidly reddening hand and managed to collect herself: “Sorry, I’m the one who should apologize. What’s your name? And how can you… speak?”

The Merfolk blinked, blew a string of crystal-clear bubbles, and proudly lifted her chin: “Shui Se. Of course, Merfolk (Jiaoren) can speak.”

The sensation of Shui Se’s scales still lingered on Song Xiu’s fingertips—cool, but not icy, like a summer night stream, passing over her skin with a subtle resistance.

The etchings on those scales, when viewed up close, looked astonishingly like an ancient script.

She reached out again but didn’t dare to touch.

Shui Se’s ear fins instantly stiffened. Her tail slipped into the water with a ‘whoosh’, leaving only a pair of wet, light brown eyes staring at her.

Song Xiu couldn’t help but laugh out loud: “So sensitive?”

Jian Xu coughed frantically from the side: “Song Xiu, regulations state that the first contact should not be too long. It’s truly dangerous.”

Shui Se suddenly submerged. Her slightly curly hair fanned out like silk. When she resurfaced, she held a blue abalone shell.

She hesitated, then handed it towards Song Xiu.

“Is this a gift for me?” Song Xiu asked in surprise.

“No. I’m done eating. Please throw away the shell for me. Thank you.” Shui Se’s ear fins quivered slightly as she submerged, secretly smiling.

“Okay.” Song Xiu wasn’t upset at all; instead, she was even more captivated by the Merfolk in front of her.

“Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!” The alarm suddenly blared, piercingly loud.

“Isolation net breached! Repeat, Isolation net in Pool Two breached!” The female voice on the broadcast was urgent and sharp.

Jian Xu’s face went pale: “Damn it, it’s that group of Sirens (Renyu).”

Intense splashing sounds came from the distant pool, followed by the grating noise of twisting metal.

Song Xiu turned to look at the large monitor. Three robust Sirens were tearing at the breach in the isolation net, their dark golden vertical pupils fixed intently on Song Xiu and Jian Xu.

Shui Se’s tail suddenly straightened, and a high-frequency, almost warning, hum escaped her throat.

The three Sirens paused for a moment, then began crashing into the barrier even more wildly, as if suddenly driven mad.

“What do they want?”

“Mating competition,” Jian Xu tugged her backward. “Aggressive males in heat.”

Shui Se suddenly came ashore and grabbed Song Xiu’s wrist, preventing Jian Xu from pulling her away.

“Don’t be afraid.” Song Xiu squeezed her hand back, noticing the Merfolk’s fingers were trembling. “Can you communicate with them?”

Shui Se shook her head, her ear fins pressed tightly against her hair: “They’re not my kind. They are Sirens (Renyu), and I am Merfolk (Jiaoren). I don’t know why they group us together. They love to sing too much, it’s noisy and annoying. Also, the isolation net is too small. They are uncomfortable and want to fight, it’s not mating season.”

Song Xiu was stunned by these words. If they were clearly two different species, they obviously couldn’t be mixed together—that would easily lead to problems. But since they were all collectively called Jiaoren, they must have been DNA-tested and classified as organisms without reproductive isolation.

The broadcast blared again: “All personnel evacuate immediately! Initiate Level Two Anesthesia Protocol!”

Several spray devices popped out of the ceiling. The gas quickly diffused. The three Sirens finally stopped crashing and slowly sank to the bottom.

Shui Se also began to feel drowsy but stubbornly clung to Song Xiu. For her, this was her only chance.

“You want to come with me?” Song Xiu held her breath and bent down to pick her up.

“The higher-ups strictly forbid Merfolk from leaving the aquatic area!” Jian Xu cried out in distress, covering her nose with her sleeve.

After much hesitation, Song Xiu stubbornly lifted Shui Se into a bridal carry.

The Merfolk was much lighter than expected. When her tail hung down, it felt like soft silk. The scales brushed against Song Xiu’s forearm, causing a delicate itch—a very strange sensation.

Shui Se rested her head on Song Xiu’s shoulder, her breathing already deep and steady.

Song Xiu looked down at her trembling eyelashes. For some reason, she was suddenly reminded of the image of the asteroid “Fish Tail” heading straight for the moon.

On the surface, these two events had no direct connection, yet fate had somehow led her to meet the Merfolk.