Chapter 8

Not sure how long it had been, Lance woke up. He opened his eyes and looked up—still a deep blue.

Lance gazed at the endless seabed, feeling a bit down. As a human living on land, he was already used to the rising and setting of the sun, but here, everything was always the same, which felt more like hell to him.

Lance sat up and then realized he was the only one inside the sea anemone.

“Wei Er?”

Not seeing Wei Er made Lance a bit curious. He swam out of the sea anemone and saw Wei Er floating above him, staring at the empty space above the pile of coral bones.

What was he doing?

Lance was a bit curious. He flicked his tail and swam clumsily to Wei Er’s side, asking, “What are you looking at?”

Wei Er withdrew his gaze and shook his head. “Nothing.”

Lance blinked and followed Wei Er’s line of sight, trying to track those little blue fish.

But as he watched, Lance suddenly realized something: “Wow, they’re all here. None of them swam out?”

There were gaps between the coral bones, but even though he and Wei Er hadn’t eaten, those little fish didn’t take the chance to slip out through the gaps.

Wei Er, on the side, kept watching Lance’s changing expressions. His pupils were bright and deep, reflecting a white figure in the flickering light. “Maybe for them, staying here is better than going out.”

The white mermaid, being observed, was completely unaware. He danced gracefully, his white, gauzy tail fin floating in the water.

Lance pursed his lips. “Then they’re silly.”

Lance cautiously swam around the coral bones. Through the gaps, he didn’t see any signs of “tentacles.” He felt a bit puzzled and then asked Wei Er, “Wei Er, did you see any tentacles?”

Wei Er looked a bit surprised. “Aren’t you the one who hates them? Why bring it up?”

“I’m just a bit curious.”

Lance blew a bubble and said, “When I was alone before, that tentacle watched me every day… It hasn’t shown up for a long time now… What do you think it’s doing?”

Wei Er fell silent.

After a moment, he cleared his throat and said seriously, “It has its own business.”

Then, Wei Er changed the subject and asked, “You said you always wanted to go out. Have you thought about what you would face once you’re out? What do you plan to do?”

Lance turned his head, hesitated for a moment, and smiled slightly at Wei Er. “I don’t know… but I want to see the ocean for myself.”

Wei Er sighed, looking at him like he was a mischievous child. “The dangers of the ocean are much greater than you think… Isn’t it good to face everything together here with me?”

Lance flicked his tail and swam closer, brushing his tail fin against Wei Er’s body, smiling. “I never said I’d go alone. I’m going with you… If we’re together, we won’t be afraid.”

Wei Er didn’t expect that answer. He stared blankly at Lance, his expression quite complex. “You want to be with me?”

“Of course! In such a big world, it’s better to have a companion; otherwise, it would be so lonely.”

As Lance said this, he tried to recall the things Wei Er had taught him yesterday.

Turning around, Lance saw Wei Er and was momentarily stunned, as if he had discovered a new continent, exclaiming, “Wei Er, did your tail turn red?”

Wei Er calmed down, flicked his tail, and replied, “It’s just light reflection; you’re mistaken.”

“Oh.”

Lance looked down at his white tail and sighed, realizing that Wei Er’s black tail was indeed much prettier than his.

“When will I be considered ready to go out on my own?”

Lance swam a circle and asked.

Wei Er pondered for a moment, glancing at the nearby blue flames, and said, “You need to learn to hunt… Once you can catch these fish by yourself, that will prove you’re ready.”

“Okay.”

Lance eagerly turned his tail and dove into the school of fish. As he did, the blue flames scattered immediately, the flickering glow shining brightly in the small space.

“Really lively.”

Watching Lance wreak havoc among the coral bones, Wei Er’s lips curled up slightly.

While Lance was hunting, Wei Er leisurely swam to a higher spot in the coral bones, sitting somewhere and looking down at Lance’s every move.

At first, Lance was still making the same futile efforts as before, letting the blue flames slip away from his hands each time.

And because his movements were too rough, he bumped into the surrounding coral bones several times, making sounds that even made Wei Er frown.

However, Wei Er still didn’t intervene.

His little fish was growing.

Lance gradually learned the movements Wei Er had taught him before, twisting his tail and awkwardly adjusting his posture.

His learning ability was strong; relying solely on memory, Lance had already memorized and replicated several of Wei Er’s techniques.

Now, Lance just needed time to accumulate some experience.

Three whole hours passed, and Lance finally managed to increase his speed to a blur. He learned how to use every muscle in his tail to blend into the water flow.

He instantly moved in front of the blue flames, his sharp claws swiftly stabbing at the spot where the blue flames were, catching a small fish.

This was his first successful hunt.

Lance was as happy as a little child. He held the fish in his hands, swimming in circles below, and finally remembered that Wei Er was still watching him from above. So he swam up, presenting the small fish to Wei Er like a treasure. “Little Black, look.”

“Hmm?”

“I misspoke.”

Lance regretted blurting it out and quickly corrected himself, “Wei Er, look.”

“Hmm.”

A smile appeared in Wei Er’s eyes as he took the fish from Lance’s hands, dividing it into several pieces, then handed one piece back to Lance, keeping one for himself and discarding the rest.

Lance stared blankly at the piece of fish he received. The fish was perfectly separated, the white flesh reflecting a shimmering glow. He asked, “Don’t you want the rest? Isn’t that bad?”

Wei Er ate the piece of fish in his hand, giving Lance a mocking smile. “Why can’t we do this?”

Lance: “…”

Silently chewing on the piece of fish, Lance suddenly realized that the status of mermaids seemed to be higher than he had imagined, and they had the right to be so willful.

Wei Er watched Lance eat the fish piece, and after Lance finished, he suddenly leaned forward, reaching out to touch Lance’s shoulder, asking, “Does it hurt?”

“What?”

Following Wei Er’s gaze, Lance saw a sizable wound on his shoulder. It wasn’t bleeding, but the skin was peeling back, revealing a layer of white membrane covering the exposed flesh.

Lance was surprised. He reached out to touch it, and as soon as his hand made contact, the white membrane shattered, revealing the newly grown tender flesh underneath. “Wow, I’m amazing.”

“Mm.”

Wei Er was amused by Lance’s words. He leaned closer to Lance, affectionately stroking his shoulder.

Feeling the warmth on his shoulder, Lance blinked and came back to his senses. He looked up at Wei Er, asking in confusion, “Is this how all mermaids are?”

Wei Er nodded.

“That’s really nice.”

Lance’s tone rose, excitedly flicking his tail.

“But that doesn’t mean you can get hurt carelessly.”

Wei Er warned.

“I know, after all, we only have one life.”

Lance smiled.

Lance glanced at Wei Er and eagerly suggested, “Wei Er, I can swim now. Since the tentacles aren’t here, let’s swim out from above the coral bones.”

Wei Er: “…”

Looking at the eager Lance in front of him, Wei Er felt an urge to rub his temples.

Wei Er said softly, “No rush.”

As he said this, his tone seemed casual, but at the same time, the corners of his lips curled up, deepening the faint smile on his face, which seemed mocking yet almost sinister.

Lance paused.

“There are not just various…”

Wei Er paused for a moment, finally using the word “monsters.”

Then he said, “You wouldn’t be able to withstand the black storm outside.”

“What?”

Lance didn’t understand. Why would there be a storm in the deep sea?

Wei Er wasn’t in a hurry to answer. He looked up and muttered to himself, “It’s almost here.”

Lance: ?

He looked up in confusion. Above the previously deep blue water, it suddenly looked as if someone had splashed thick black ink over it. A dark, unknown substance gradually seeped in from afar.

The blue flame fish inside the coral bones also became restless. They formed schools inside the coral bones, frantically darting up and down, the flames flickering much faster than before.

“Let’s go.”

Wei Er didn’t explain anything but pulled Lance back into the sea anemone.

The tentacles of the sea anemone were much harder than before, no longer swaying with the water but closing up like a flower bud.

Lance lay inside the sea anemone, catching a whiff of a foul rusty smell. The seawater he breathed in also tasted sour.

“It’s here.”

Wei Er suddenly said to Lance.

The clear seawater roared, mixed with a whirlpool formed by black fragments, moving towards them.

At that moment, the seawater turned a dark red, as if soaked in blood.

The white coral bones were scraped by the whirlpool, gradually turning black. The flickering little fish were entangled by the whirlpool, and the black fragments within the whirlpool acted like blades, shredding them into bits, scattering them onto the bones.

Lance hid inside the sea anemone, listening to the sounds of the black storm raging outside, too scared to move.

Meanwhile, Wei Er lay comfortably beside Lance, stroking his hair and explaining, “This is the black storm.”

This was the first time Lance learned that storms could happen in the deep sea.