The Fallen Merman

The Red-Throated Bird paid great importance to this drug transaction, so after the news was intercepted by the Technical Department, they sent more than one member to protect the transaction. From the fragment of the contact code deciphered by Duan Yang, the ace of the Technology Department, they discovered that members of Red-Throated Bird were watching inside the monitoring room of Ocean Park in real-time. Hence, they speculated that they were more likely to complete the trade deal under water.

Therefore, Bai Chunian and Rimbaud separated. Bai Chunian oversaw land operations while Rimbaud took care of underwater operations. Even if the transaction arrangement was changed temporarily, they could respond in time. 

Due to the higher possibility of it being an underwater transaction, Bai Chunian gave the Ac agent, containing the tracking cells, to Rimbaud in advance.

He examined the staff member’s whole body as he changed the clothes of the latter who played as a mermaid but found no Red-Throated Bird tattoo. Along the way, he pushed the wheelchair straight away and took this staff member out of the Ocean Park exit.

He took a detour to the highway road 500 meters away from Ocean Park. Bai Chunian hailed a taxi, carried the omega who passed out from pain into the back seat, folded the wheelchair, and threw it in the trunk. He gave the driver a 100 bill and humbly begged the driver to take him to the nearest hospital.

The driver saw Bai Chunian was dressed like a student and agreed thoughtlessly.

After the taxi left, Bai Chunian walked around the bus stop while taking off his jacket. The inside of his white tracksuit was black; he turned it inside out and tied the black jacket around his waist. He was wearing a black tank top underneath, and there was a cool square silver pendant hanging around his neck. He took out a few high-end rings from his pocket and slipped them on his index and pinky fingers. He brushed the short hair on his forehead backwards and tapped the frame of his glasses. The transparent lenses immediately darkened and became a pair of sunglasses.

After ambling around the bus stop for a short time, Bai Chunian came out as a completely different person. He went to the common entrance to go through the security check, then took out a special ID card from the Technology Department and swiped it at the gate.

He glanced at his wristwatch; it was currently ten minutes before the mermaid show would begin.

The mermaid exhibit aquarium was the only place where visitors could connect to the display tanks from the outside. If they wanted to trade under water, this location would be the most optimal. 

The tracking glasses didn’t lose their function when it turned into sunglasses. The red dot marking Chen Yuan’s location remained in a certain position.

Bai Chunian advanced quietly to Chen Yuan’s location and contacted Rimbaud. He said in a low voice, “Are you in position?”

Rimbaud was hiding behind the coral reef at the bottom of the display aquarium when he heard the sound from his waterproof communicator. He replied in a low voice, “I see…merman…back waist…bird tattoo.”

Bai Chunian said, “It seems that the remaining merman is the frontman of the Red-Throated Bird for communication. They must have some way to trade, maybe through interacting with the audience or something. Pay more attention.” 

Rimbaud frowned. “Beautiful merman?”

Djl Jtecljc rjlv, “Fuis wfgwjc. Tbe’gf atf yfjealoei wfgwjc.”

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He had no caudal fin and his whole tail was soft and glossy until it gradually tapered into a slender tip. There was no split in it and the translucent fin, like drifting gauze, was essentially concentrated at the waist and knees. 

Rimbaud said, “You like big tails.”

Bai Chunian refuted, “No, I like the little manta rays that can use their tails to form finger hearts.”

Rimbaud questioned, “Niy?”

Bai Chunian said, “Really. Hurry up and get back to work, baby.” 

Rimbaud said, “Hen.”

He searched for a coral reef cave with his back facing the display aquarium, plunged inside, and deliberately hid his scent in the water. Every now and then, a small tropical fish would swim through the reef cave, while Rimbaud would reach out his hands, take the fish, then bring it into his mouth to eat.

When the mermaid spectacle was about to begin, the omega wearing the gold and red fishtail twisted his body enchantingly and blew out a string of bubbles, drawing applause from the audience outside the display tank.

Rimbaud still hid within the coral reef cave. There was only a small gap for him to observe the situation outside. He peered as the human omega playing as a merman in the water winked charmingly. Rimbaud leaned comfortably in the coral and watched it in admiration as he ate more than 20 clams in a row. 

Bai Chunian’s voice rang out from the communicator. “Is there anyone in the audience who’s acting suspiciously?”

Rimbaud sucked on a conch. “None. Silly. Fish and people are the same, can’t tell the difference.”

Bai Chunian said, “Pay attention to the shark show next.”

At the moment, Bai Chunian wasn’t in the performance hall but in the shark viewing area next to it. The tracking dot on his glasses showed Chen Yuan entering the shark viewing area with his child. 

Bai Chunian pretended to pass by and get tripped by other tourists. He stumbled and crouched down to tie his shoelaces while glancing at the wheelchair, where Chen Yuan’s child was sitting. After making sure that the foam under the wheelchair seat was gone, he took off the locator attached to the wheelchair pedal and threw it into his pocket.

The child was very interested in sharks, so Chen Yuan called a staff member to describe the habits of sharks to his child. While the staff was explaining to his child, he silently stuffed the foam he was holding into the shark aquarium through the gap between the viewing platform railings.

The foam shell encapsulated with an Ac enhancer incorporated a bionic Plecostomus punctatus technique to quickly attach onto the belly of the nearest shark.

The staff member introduced the sharks through a waterway port inside the mermaid display tank in the performance hall. 

Bai Chunian witnessed all these details, and at the same time, he wanted the questions in his mind to be answered more so than ever.

First of all, if they were just going to do a drug transaction, they could have traded out in the open through the contact process. Also, their offline private transactions meant that this drug transaction wasn’t explicitly allowed by the 109 Institute.

Secondly, even if it was a private offline transaction, each party could send one person to exchange in an exclusive location. However, they adopted a contactless and non-confrontational delivery method. The Red-Throated Bird wouldn’t worry about this, they had done too much evil already. Then in this case, it could only be this researcher Chen Yuan, who didn’t want to show his face to the other side, to leave himself an escapeway.

What do they need to be so cautious of? 

What they wanted to do with the Ac enhancer must be something that Chen Yuan couldn’t bear the consequences of.

Bai Chunian contacted Rimbaud in a low voice. “It’s done. It’s under one of the shark’s belly.”

Rimbaud leaned lazily against the coral reef, and soon, about six sharks swam by. Rimbaud stretched out the tip of his tail to wrap it around one of them and pulled. “Kivi. (You, in a contemptuous and commanding tone.)”

The shark turned back aggressively. With rows of sharp teeth in its huge mouth that looked terribly hideous, it swam rapidly towards Rimbaud. It was obviously enraged and took an attacking stance. 

Rimbaud swatted it and pressed the shark’s head into the underwater grit, crushing it, and said in a low and indifferent voice, “Molanto kivi nuva jibi jeo? (Who do you think you are talking to?)”

The shark shuddered and closed its mouth. The shark felt the oppressiveness that entered its body through his palm and didn’t dare to move.

Rimbaud removed the foam suction cup from under its belly, pulled out the Ac enhancer inside, and replaced it with the one he was holding before. He then stuffed the suction cup back onto the shark’s belly and patted its head. “Goon. (Go.)”

The shark pushed the distant scallop and sea cucumber with its head in front of Rimbaud and trembled as it swam away. 

After Bai Chunian vacated the shark aquarium, he followed the staff into the gate control room.

The staff controlled the waterway gate connecting the shark viewing area and the performance hall to close. After observing and understanding the procedure, Bai Chunian stealthily used his associate ability Pain Deception, giving the staff member a severe headache. He took this opportunity to knock him out from behind, then sat down in front of the gate controller and opened the gate that had just been shut.

Rimbaud swam along the waterway.

Through the glass of the shark viewing area, a merman emitting a cold blue glow approached from afar in the water. His fishtail swung gracefully, and the blue longfin at his waist fluttered like a gossamer in the water. The intestines and internal organs in his translucent fishtail bulged faintly and the blue jellyfish formed by the fishtail churned the water flow, which followed and danced around him. 

Rimbaud’s slender arms stroked the water current aside, as his thin waist swayed along with his fishtail that swung forward in the water.

This was a mysterious aura that humans could never imitate no matter how hard they tried to. Mermaids and mermen were born with an air of arrogance and fragileness. Bai Chunian gazed mesmerizingly at him, wanted to embrace him, and also wanted to pinch him.

Bai Chunian opened the gates and circulation purifiers in order, then turned off the motor of the seawater pumping outlet. The gates opened, letting Rimbaud burrow through the exit in the nearest shallow sea adjacent to the aquarium.

After the mission was completed, Bai Chunian left Ocean Park and drove to the shallow sea to pick up Rimbaud. 

The car stopped at the beach. Bai Chunian took off his sunglasses and stepped on the soft sand. Rimbaud was sitting on a round reef along the shore as he looked at the distant sea.

The sun shone on his translucent fishtail, reflecting the pale blue rays off the sand and Rimbaud’s pale skin. A wave would occasionally come and hit Rimbaud’s body, splashing intosnow-white foam.

He didn’t seem to belong here.

Bai Chunian was focused on Rimbaud’s azure eyes. For some reason, he became terrified of his thoughts, terrified of seeing something like homesickness in Rimbaud’s eyes. 

He walked over, and the sea breeze blew up the coat tied around his waist.

“If you really want to eat those scallops, I’ll ask someone to ship a few for you,” said Bai Chunian.

Rimbaud looked back at him. “No, they’re cooking.”

He pointed to an enormous shell on the shore. A lot of kelp was stuffed into the opening of the shell, and a pit was dug underneath it. There was a fire burning inside, and the scallops were sizzling. 

Rimbaud tossed the lighter in his hand. “Originally…mine.”

Bai Chunian: “…”

After eating his fill, Rimbaud got into the car and lounged in the backseat with his round belly up. From the clear part of the fishtail, the shell fragments being dissolved in the intestines could be seen.

The next mission was to follow the merman staff who received the Ac enhancer and see where he was going to deliver it. The merman took off his work apparel and drove away from Ocean Park with the drug he obtained from under the shark’s belly. 

In order to not alert the enemy, Bai Chunian didn’t put a tracker on the switched drug. He could only infer the target’s route by personal experience based on the traffic surveillance transmitted by the Technology Department.

He wasn’t surprised that the man didn’t drive to the city but drove towards the seafood import and export factory at the port.

Bai Chunian followed that car from another route. From time to time, he’d look through the rearview mirror to see Rimbaud lying in the backseat patting his bulging belly.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you go to the bathroom.” Bai Chunian casually mentioned, “Your digestion is so strong, like a potent acid.” 

Rimbaud climbed up, held onto the backseat headrest, raised his fins to Bai Chunian, and introduced it honestly. “But I have… a drain hole.”

Bai Chunian almost got thrown off the road with his sudden hit of the brakes.