Merfolk don’t lie. He indeed wanted to drag Li Shu back to his lair and slowly enjoy him. Li Shu also knew he wasn’t joking. Merfolk live in the deep sea without human moral concepts. They act as they please.
If he didn’t find a way, he would really be dragged back to the lair. Li Shu didn’t know if the lair the merman was talking about was underwater or in the huge petri dish. The merman shouldn’t be able to escape from the laboratory, but… If he were dragged into the lair, the mission would probably fail directly.
If one fails a normal mission, they will enter the punishment world. Who knows what will happen if one fails a mission in the punishment world? Li Shu didn’t want to try at all.
He pushed the merman’s arm with all his strength. His strength wasn’t small, but compared to the merman, it was insufficient. If it were an ordinary man holding him, Li Shu could definitely break free. His exertion was nothing more than a trivial push to the merman.
Prey always wants to escape. The more energetic the prey, the stronger their struggle. He didn’t pay attention to Li Shu’s movements. Human strength meant nothing to him. If not for those strange instruments, he would have left here long ago.
Unexpectedly, he found prey he coveted. During this period of time, the anger of being controlled by humans had decreased a lot. The merman has always dominated the seas and had never suffered such grievances like the ones he faced in this small place. After capturing the prey into his arms, the merman no longer minded the cramped temporary lair.
The merman had a strong sense of territory and this laboratory had long been marked as his territory. Apart from prey and mates, the merman wouldn’t allow any other beings into his territory.
Li Shu’s legs were wrapped by the fishtail. Strangely, the merman’s body was dry, as if he hadn’t just come out of the water. Li Shu curiously touched the hair hanging beside him, it was also dry.
The skin that had not seen the light for a long time was pale, and the hands had rarely done any heavy work except for handling experimental tools. The five slender fingers were so white that they were almost transparent against the dark blue hair.
Inadvertently, the merman was captivated by this scene.
He extended his hand, caught the hand that had brushed through his hair and spread out his palm. The merman’s hand was larger by a circle, and the fingertips were sharp and dangerous – that was the merman’s weapon, capable of easily slicing through prey armor.
The two overlapped hands were unexpectedly harmonious.
Li Shu was completely trapped in the merman’s embrace, unable to resist. But he couldn’t accept his fate like this. He couldn’t let the mermaid drag him back to the “lair”.
He remembered a hurried glance in the original owner’s journal: A merfolk’s lair was a forbidden place within forbidden places. Apart from prey about to be eaten, only the merfolk’s approved mate could enter. Compared to that, his current identity could only be prey about to be eaten.
Li Shu had no interest in being eaten by the natives of this small world.
1314 couldn’t be relied on, so he had to find a way to escape on his own.
He didn’t know what the merman had done. The lab was filled with mist, carrying the salty smell unique to the sea. If his will weren’t firm, he might have thought he was already above the sea, but he was certain they were still in the lab.
This should be a unique ability of the merman. He’d seen it on his first day in this world. The original owner’s journal hadn’t mentioned this; perhaps the merman had been too badly injured previously and couldn’t use the ability.
He still couldn’t understand how the merman came out of the petri dish. Could he always come and go freely, or was it only now? If the former, Li Shu believed this solid research base couldn’t contain him; so why was he willing to be kept here for so long?
“How did you come out?” Li Shu suddenly asked.
“If I want to come out, naturally I can,” the merman said in a calm voice, “Don’t delude yourself into thinking I’ll let you go. After being with you for so long, a little reward isn’t unreasonable, right? I cooperate with your research, and you give yourself up to me, hmm?”
They were close; the merman’s voice came directly to Li Shu’s ear, his cold breath spraying over his neck and raising goosebumps. The merman’s voice was low, and it was tingling in his ears. He shivered subconsciously.
‘What was going on with this merman?’ Li Shu was so surprised he forgot to immediately refute him; he quickly looked over the original’s memory, confirming there was no relationship beyond that of a researcher and subject between the original and the merman. As the primary researcher on the merman, the relationship between the original owner and the mermaid should be irreconcilable. He had always seen the hatred in the merman’s eyes, although this emotion seemed to have lessened over time.
When did this start? If he remembered correctly, it was after he had moved Qin Le’an to the lab to help, so was it the butterfly effect?
The immediate concern wasn’t considering these things, but escaping from the merman’s grasp.
“You smell so good…” The merman’s arm tightened around the person in his embrace, he lowered his head, and his nose touched the carotid artery in the person’s neck.
Through the skin, he could see the blood flowing inside. Human blood was warm, different from the prey he’d eaten before. The warmth emitted by the person made the merman suddenly not want to eat him so quickly.
He gently licked the skin within reach. It tasted even better than he’d imagined. He drew closer, fangs bared, about to pierce the snow-white skin and suck the seductive blood, when the prey tilted back his head, just saving his neck.
“Let me go, let’s talk.” Li Shu said as calmly as possible. For a moment, he truly believed the merman would tear him apart and eat him.
“Do you think there is anything to talk about between you and me?” The merman casually played with his prey’s hand. These hands were fair, tender and boneless. It was hard to imagine that it was these hands that cut his skin with a sharp knife while he was powerless…
There was nothing to discuss; he just wanted to be released. He didn’t want to be eaten by the merman, and even less did he want to drown in the petri dish.
“You can’t get out, right? Do you want to return to the sea? I can send you back,” Li Shu was gambling, betting on an uncertain possibility.
“Oh?” The merman raised an eyebrow with interest, “I haven’t forgotten how I came here from the sea.”
Li Shu sighed in relief. He was betting on whether the merman could leave the lab and return to the sea by himself. If he could, he would have no chance of winning.
Fortunately, he won the bet.
“Your arrival here has nothing to do with me.” Li Shu wasn’t lying. The merman was brought up by the scientific expedition team and sent here by the original owner’s father. By the time the original owner heard the news, the merman was already settled in the base.
“You know I’m not lying to you, right?”
The merman hesitated for a moment and nodded. Just as Li Shu was about to let go of the heavy stone in his heart, the merman curled his tail, “You indeed didn’t lie to me, but what does that have to do with what I’m doing now?”
Does a predator need any reason to hunt its prey?
Li Shu almost couldn’t breathe, “Don’t you want to return to the sea?”
“I have my own way to go back. If you behave, I’ll take you to see the sea then.” The merman decided not to eat his prey for the time being. There was plenty of food here, no need to hunt. He would never admit it was because he couldn’t bear to part with him.
“Humans can’t breathe underwater,” suppressing his anger, Li Shu tried to reason with the merman, “If I stay in the water for too long, I’ll drown.”
The mist in the lab had faded at some point, and Li Shu could see the outlines of the equipment. They were already very close to the petri dish. Hearing Li Shu’s words, the merman stopped.
He didn’t want Li Shu to turn into a cold, lifeless corpse. He liked the warm Li Shu.
The mist dissipated further, like fog clearing, revealing everything in the lab. Li Shu could now see that they were only three steps away from the petri dish.
If he had reacted a bit slower, he would have been dragged into the petri dish and become the merman’s nourishment. Realizing it belatedly, Li Shu broke out in a cold sweat and looked at the merman.
“You’re right,” the merman released the tail that had been restraining Li Shu, “You humans are too fragile to live underwater.”
With his feet on solid ground and his legs free, Li Shu pried at the arm still around his waist. The merman’s arm was muscular, with gorgeous fins at the elbows, the same dark blue as his tail. They were semi-transparent, with visible veins under the light.
Li Shu’s eyes showed a hint of amazement. The merman was indeed the most beautiful creature he had ever encountered, with perfect features, a mysterious aura, and a faint scent of blood… all exuding incredible charm. As expected of the legendary siren that lures people to their doom.
He remembered the song he had heard that day. Unlike humans, the merman’s song had no lyrics. The beautiful melody lingered in his mind, with the power to make people forget everything.
“Ring ring ring—”
The phone rang abruptly. As the mist faded, the signal returned to the laboratory. The constantly flashing indicator light hinted at the caller’s anxiety. Ignoring the merman’s grip, Li Shu pressed the answer button.
“Professor, are you okay? Where are you? Are you in the lab? The alarm keeps going off. Is something wrong?” The rapid questions came without a breath, the caller anxiously awaiting a response.
“It’s me. I’m in the lab,” Li Shu answered calmly, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”
“Professor, Xiao Qin and I are outside the lab. Can we come in?” Gu Li asked cautiously, unable to relax without confirming his safety.
She knew better than anyone how dangerous the merman was. She also remembered that if the professor had not been there last time, she would have been eaten by the mermaid. She never wanted to recall the experience of being controlled and walking step by step to the devil’s mouth.
“Sister Gu?”
Qin Le’an looked at Gu Li anxiously. Gu Li nodded, holding the phone in one hand and placing the access card into the slot with the other. This lab only recognized Li Shu’s biological information. Others could only enter with this card and the cardholder’s fingerprint.
The door, which had been unresponsive earlier, opened easily this time. She was caught off guard by the pair of crimson eyes and the phone dropped to the floor with a clatter.
“Professor…” Qin Le’an, who had followed closely, stared wide-eyed at the shocking scene before her.
The beautiful merman and the cold, white-robed professor were nestled together. The merman held the person tightly, long hair draped down, covering most of the professor’s body, like a dragon guarding its treasure.
Crimson eyes met the shocked gaze, with undisguised killing intent.
