Chapter 3

It’s hard to describe Zhang Jingzhu’s current feelings. She’s someone who easily feels pity for vulnerable animals. But at the same time, she’s also very cautious. She admits that she’s not as brave as the group leader. When facing stray animals whose danger level is uncertain, she doesn’t dare to get close. She always hides behind everyone else.

But eyes can’t lie.

She usually judges the degree of an animal’s closeness to humans based on their eyes.

The eyes of those abandoned animals are filled with deep sadness and longing. They can’t speak, but they know they’re not loved. The eyes of those abused animals are much more complex. There’s anger, despair, numbness, and some even hold a glimmer of hope, longing for redemption.

Zhang Jingzhu couldn’t forget the moment she accidentally made eye contact with the merman yesterday. There was no hatred, no anger, no intense emotions in his eyes. As if all his vitality had been drained, leaving only despair and pain that could numb him.

And faintly, a hint of pleading.

Pleading for what?

To save him?

Zhang Jingzhu felt that his eyes weren’t pleading for help, but rather seeking release. He had completely lost hope of living.

It was this kind of look that made Zhang Jingzhu fall into the trap of first impressions. She let down her guard and vigilance towards the merman. As a result, her wrist was bitten. It’s not true to say she wasn’t scared. At that moment, Zhang Jingzhu had the urge to run away. But just as fear was spreading, the merman released his grip and shrank back into the deeper corner.

He seemed a little…timid?

The bread in her palm was suddenly taken away.

The sound of chewing brought Zhang Jingzhu’s wandering thoughts back.

She couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction, quietly opening a slit in her eye.

Observing the merman up close, Zhang Jingzhu discovered that the merman’s upper body wasn’t entirely human. His waist and abdomen were covered in black scales. The fish scales shimmered faintly in the dim light, like countless stars, emitting a faint glow. On both sides of his fish tail were wide, soft pelvic fins. His chest was very thin, almost without flesh, only a thin layer of skin, and a few black scales were scattered on it.

His ears, perhaps it would be more accurate to call them ear fins. In the place where human ears should be, ear fins had taken their place. The ear fins, the same color as his skin, stood upright with three long, thorn-like…ear bones? Connected to the ear bones was a thicker membrane than the pelvic fins, and the color at the tip of the ear fins turned dark black.

Cheng Shui’chewed the bread slowly. Even though he hadn’t eaten in a long time, it didn’t affect his speed. He cherished the soft half-piece of bread in his palm, gently biting into it, his thin cheeks puffed out slightly.

He sensed Zhang Jingzhu’s gaze, and his fingers holding the bread unconsciously tightened, speeding up his eating. At the same time, his back pressed tightly against the wall. If possible, he would have liked to embed his whole body into it.

His thick, curly hair slid down in front of him, blocking his prominent ear fins.

Zhang Jingzhu didn’t notice the merman’s discomfort at all. She was once again shocked by the merman’s appearance. Of course he was handsome, but just being handsome wasn’t enough to make Zhang Jingzhu lose her mind. She couldn’t help but question what she was seeing.

Are there really mermaids?

Am I dreaming?

Cheng Shui’swallowed the last bite of bread. His palm maintained its original position, with breadcrumbs scattered inside. He glanced at Zhang Jingzhu a little awkwardly, noticing that her gaze was fixed on his ear fins. He slowly breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his head, and carefully approached the crumbs in his palm.

Cheng Shui’lowered his head, his gaze directly facing his dirty and hideous fish tail. The torn flesh was oozing blood. Zhang Jingzhu squatted in front of him, her clean white sneakers were only a fist’s distance from his fish tail, and the sides of her shoes were covered in mud and blood.

His gaze turned to self-blame. He slowly curled up his fish tail, and the curved fish tail tore open the hideous wound. He just frowned slightly, then raised his eyes and looked at Zhang Jingzhu with pleading and expectation.

Zhang Jingzhu looked over.

Cheng Shui’wanted to ask Zhang Jingzhu to help him kill him. Although he knew this request was unreasonable, the daily torture had reached his limit. He didn’t want to live like this anymore.

Before asking her to fulfill his wish, he should thank her.

The kindness he felt from humans before his death.

It was also the only kindness in his short life.

Cheng Shui’s throat hadn’t made a sound for a long time. Even when facing cruel torture, he gritted his teeth and didn’t make a sound.

“Tha…nk…” He made a hoarse, rough sound, his gaze suddenly fixed on the warehouse door, and the ear fins standing on the side of his face opened slightly.

Zhang Jingzhu couldn’t hide her curiosity and surprise.

He could indeed speak.

Just not clearly.

Cheng Shuis body suddenly trembled. He helplessly lowered his head, curled up into a ball in the corner, and the oozing blood soaked the area around him.

Zhang Jingzhu noticed that the deathly aura around him was getting stronger.

She was about to say something to ease his mood.

He suddenly spoke. In a strange, somewhat unpleasant voice, he said, “Qu…ick…go, they…are coming.”

Zhang Jingzhu’s heart skipped a beat.

The merman’s wrists were pierced by iron chains, fastened to a specially made iron ring on the ground.

She couldn’t take him away today.

Zhang Jingzhu stuffed all the things she had brought into her backpack: “I’ll come back tomorrow. I’ll find a way to break the chains.”

Cheng Shui”s lowered head raised slightly, his eyes nervously and anxiously watched Zhang Jingzhu’s hurried back. As she was about to leave the warehouse, he finally came to his senses, his voice filled with longing and gratitude: “Don’t…come again…it’s very dangerous here…”

He didn’t know if Zhang Jingzhu heard his last words. She didn’t hesitate for a moment before leaving his sight. The dim light in the warehouse seemed to disappear instantly, and the thick stench enveloped him.

Outside the small window, the shadows of the trees swayed, and a few twinkling stars could be faintly seen in the deep sky.

Zhang Jingzhu’s arrival was as beautiful as a dream.

A dream he dared not imagine when he was awake.

The sound of the car suddenly broke the silence of the night. The men’s drunken chatter mixed with filthy insults echoed into the warehouse.

Cheng Shui’ closed his eyes.

His dream was over.

Zhang Jingzhu got into the car, her chest rising and falling slightly from the intense running. The enclosed space of the car quickly calmed her nervous mood. Then came the annoyance and self-blame for not being able to take the merman away.

She had guessed that the merman could speak. But hearing it with her own ears was more shocking than she imagined. She couldn’t recover for a long time, and her eyes were soon wet with tears.

She couldn’t imagine what kind of demon could do such a cruel and inhumane thing. His speaking made her realize that he was no different from her, except for having a fish tail. The emotions he perceived were much stronger than those of simple animals without language or thought. How did he get through one dark night after another?

The last glimpse she had of him before leaving the warehouse kept replaying in her mind.

He seemed to be saying something, but his voice must have been silent for a long time, like a rusty instrument suddenly playing out a crude note. Even though the light in the warehouse was dim, she could clearly see two long tear streaks on his cheeks, crystal clear tears rolling down from his eyes.

They fell into her eyes, like an unsharpened knife slowly cutting through her heart.

Zhang Jingzhu made up her mind.

She would definitely take him away.

Zhang Jingzhu returned to the city center and went to the hospital to get a rabies shot. The doctor questioned her wound. It didn’t look like the tooth marks of a common animal.

The doctor said the shape of her wound was like it was bitten by a row of canine teeth.

Zhang Jingzhu vaguely said that she was bitten by several dogs in the same place.

The doctor was shocked and half-believed her.

After returning home, Zhang Jingzhu simply cleaned up. Her tired body didn’t get any rest immediately. Her brain was still clearly replaying everything that happened in the warehouse. Then she started searching for ways to break the chains.

Zhang Jingzhu went to a hardware store before dawn. She searched all over the city center before she found one that was open, and she bought a lot of things that might be useful. And with the recommendation of the store owner, she got a steel saw that was said to be able to easily cut metal objects without effort.

Zhang Ning came to chat with her during her lunch break.

“I think our company is going to go bankrupt.”

Zhang Jingzhu’s thoughts were pulled back by the bomb she dropped: “Sister Zhang, why do you say that?”

Zhang Ning propped her chin with both hands: “Don’t be too surprised, I was just saying it casually. Although it won’t reach the point of bankruptcy, the economic benefits will definitely decline. I went to our company’s pearl cultivation farm after work yesterday, and those pearls can’t be said to be ugly, but they are very ordinary, they are all common pearls in the Nightlight Sea. There are no nightlight pearls that glow pink at night like those from a few years ago.”

Zhang Jingzhu: “I remember that only two nightlight pearl necklaces were produced back then, they were really amazing.”

Zhang Ning laughed: “They were even jokingly called sky-high prices at the time.”

Zhang Jingzhu: “Rarity is the key to value.”

Zhang Ning: “Even without the nightlight pearls, the pearls produced by the Nightlight Sea are enough for the company’s employees to get paid. It’s just a matter of more or less money. Let’s not talk about this. What have you been up to lately? You look listless, your dark circles are almost reaching your face.”

Zhang Jingzhu: “I’ve been having trouble sleeping.”

Zhang Ning: “If there’s anything I can help you with, tell me.”

Zhang Jingzhu hesitated for a moment, then smiled slightly: “Actually, there is something I need Sister Zhang’s help with. I want to take a few days off.”

Zhang Ning is the team leader, and Zhang Jingzhu and the other relatives are all under her.

Zhang Ning: “No problem, you really need to get some rest these past few days.”

Zhang Jingzhu got Zhang Ning’s approval, and after work, she went straight to the area near the Suhan District processing factory.

She bought a battery-powered video recorder, small in size, and placed it in the grass so that it wouldn’t be discovered. It was aimed at the warehouse door and the small path where the black car often went.

After squatting for two days, Zhang Jingzhu couldn’t wait to deduce their pattern of activity. Actually, the trajectory deduced in such a short time didn’t have any credibility, but she couldn’t wait any longer. Every day she waited, the merman would have to endure another day of pain.

Finally, in the dead of night, after they left, Zhang Jingzhu carried the steel saw and rushed into the warehouse.