The Love-Hate and Grudges Between Me and the Mermaid - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“Professor Lin, here is the information on that blue-haired girl, as well as the observation results from the past few days.”

On the coast of A-City, a luxury ship was moored at the shore.

In the top-floor office, following the secretary’s bright and crisp voice, the short-haired woman’s expression shifted instantly from doubt and disbelief to a sense of relief.

She moved her gaze from the computer to the person in front of her. “Belinda.”

“Professor Lin…”

They spoke in unison.

Lin Ling saw the files in Belinda’s hand and remembered her previous sentence was about the blue-haired girl.

Simultaneously, the email about the same girl flashed through Lin Ling’s mind, and she couldn’t help but let out a small smile.

Belinda, not understanding the reason, assumed she had made a mistake in her work and that her superior was laughing at her.

This job offered generous pay and benefits; the only downside was that one could not afford a single mistake especially when reporting to the leadership.

Word had it that the seventeen secretaries before her had all been dismissed for exactly that reason.

How could she easily lose a job she had fought so hard to obtain? Thus, Belinda hurriedly bowed ninety degrees and apologized, playing the sympathy card in hopes of obtaining forgiveness:

“I’m sorry, Professor Lin. I haven’t been feeling well these past few days; I’ve had a persistent cold and fever. Yesterday, I even spent the whole day in the medical room on an IV drip for anemia… Next time, I will definitely be more careful! Please forgive me…”

Upon hearing this, Lin Ling’s expression gradually grew stern. With a complex look in her eyes, she sat up straight and said with solemn gravity: “Belinda, you are not at fault. There is no need to apologize.”

“Huh?” Belinda looked up, her expression even more panicked, the corners of her eyes reddening before she knew it. “Professor Lin, you… what do you mean?”

“Belinda, I will say it once more: you are not at fault, and you do not need to apologize.” After speaking, Lin Ling tilted her chin toward the furnace in the corner, issuing the next command before the other could speak. “Now, burn that file and forget this ever happened.”

“Professor Lin…”

“Once you finish burning it, you may leave.”

Lin Ling interrupted her again.

“Could you please…” Belinda began to plead again.

Lin Ling sighed and was about to intervene when a reckless, flamboyant shout came from the window: “Of course she can’t—!”

Lin Ling looked toward the sound. Entering her vision was an eye-catching mane of long blonde hair.

It was Carla.

She and Yoshitani Kaede had arrived.

At that moment, Carla was nearly hanging halfway out of a helicopter, holding a megaphone and shouting loudly, “She can’t!”

This must have been a newly developed megaphone; the volume was loud enough to travel nearly ten miles. Even through the double-layered, bulletproof, soundproof glass, it could be heard clearly.

Belinda’s work was perfect; she hadn’t made a mistake, yet she had apologized.

Here, the act of apologizing itself was a mistake.

A superior cannot always be right; you may offer criticism.

You also cannot expect to never make a mistake; you can inquire about the erroneous behavior, but you simply cannot apologize at will.

If no outsiders had been present, Lin Ling might have been able to guide her and save her position, but these two had to barge in.

Lin Ling retracted her gaze and looked at Belinda. Meeting those bloodshot eyes, she couldn’t help but wonder again where those judged to have made a mistake were sent.

No one knew.

But it was certainly not as simple as being fired.

This was an experimental base established with decades of the Empire’s painstaking effort. No one left this place alive. Including her.

A few minutes later, Belinda was led away, leaving Lin Ling alone in the office.

Carla and Yoshitani Kaede were still outside the window. Lin Ling pressed a button, and the specially reinforced glass slowly retracted. The helicopter hovered steadily in the air.

The propellers churned the air, the wild wind tossing Lin Ling’s short hair.

“Lin, the Great Scientist,” in the wind, voices were muffled. Lin Ling didn’t hear clearly at first, and by the time she reacted, Carla’s hand was already before her eyes, just centimeters away from grabbing her collar.

There was a strange sense of familiarity to this; she stared at that hand, unable to stop herself from looking several times.

Carla paused, her brow furrowed. Enduring the discomfort, she continued: “We just received a secret notification. The Blue Ship Base has been discovered and is about to enter the defense phase. We are here to take you away.”

Defense meant self-detonation. Self-destruction.

At that moment, the Blue Ship Base would cease to exist.

Lin Ling snapped back to reality, first offering an apology: “I’m sorry.” Then she asked about what was to follow: “Why didn’t I receive the notification?”

A flash of red suddenly broke through the blonde hair. Yoshitani Kaede reached out a hand and tossed her phone, displaying an email, to Lin Ling. “Look for yourself if you don’t believe us.”

“Issued by the Empress personally, delivered by the Prime Minister himself.”

Lin Ling stole a quick glance: “This is too sudden. There are so many people in the base; it’s impossible for everyone to evacuate in such a short time.”

“The Empire will send people to save them. Our mission is only to take you.” Seemingly having no time left for nonsense, Carla finished speaking and lunged forward.

At the same time, Yoshitani Kaede maneuvered the helicopter closer to Lin Ling. Carla timed it perfectly, wrapping an arm around Lin Ling’s waist.

The helicopter’s tail swung back, and with the momentum, Carla and Lin Ling tumbled into the seats together.

Once they were settled, Yoshitani Kaede immediately accelerated, leaving A-City behind.

The moment the helicopter pierced the clouds, an explosion roared behind them. Thick flames and a sky full of black smoke announced the total disappearance of the Blue Ship Base.

They were so brilliant that they commanded everyone’s attention.

So much so, that not a single person noticed the countless creatures struggling and howling beneath the deep surface of the sea.