The Creature Keeper - chapter 22

The Mermaid responded with a faint ‘mm’, her low, magnetic voice carrying a chill.

She was very indifferent.

But Tang Rou couldn’t recall having done anything to make her angry.

Tang Rou had no choice but to cling to her arm, struggling to keep her head above water so her mouth and nose wouldn’t be submerged.

“Why are you hiding here?” She looked at the giant water tank, its depths unfathomable, and felt a little afraid. “Is there anything dangerous in here?”

The Mermaid lifted her lashes, glancing at her with a half-smile, half-mockery.

“Afraid?”

“Mm.” Tang Rou nodded honestly.

It felt as if some ferocious monster was lurking in the water, ready to leap out and tear their throats apart at any moment.

The Mermaid fell silent, her cold aura intensifying.

As she turned, Tang Rou’s vision gradually cleared.

The Mermaid looked very different from last time. Around her slender neck was a tubular device, which at first glance resembled a collar. Her previously flawless skin was now connected to several needle patches and transparent infusion tubes, through which golden-red liquid flowed, looking especially strange.

Like a beautiful specimen soaked in formalin.

Tang Rou looked at those infusion tubes. “What happened to you?”

The Mermaid didn’t answer, simply let go of her hand, her beautiful platinum-silver eyes full of silent accusation.

Tang Rou had never hurt her, so she found the resentment in her eyes puzzling.

Perhaps her white uniform made the Mermaid associate her with the Researchers who had harmed her, and she was taking her anger out on Tang Rou?

Tang Rou maintained a quiet demeanor, showing she meant no harm. Once the Mermaid’s mood calmed a little, Tang Rou gently reached out and brushed aside the damp hair hanging over the Mermaid’s forehead.

As more skin was exposed, Tang Rou realized it wasn’t just the crisscrossing needles and infusion tubes- even the pale, graceful back of the Mermaid was covered in hideous scars, as if she’d been wantonly abused.

Someone once said that tragedy is showing people the destruction of something beautiful.

Tang Rou frowned, finding those scars shocking and heartbreaking.

Could it be…

The slender, beautiful Mermaid looked utterly out of place in the giant water tank, like a basketball court filled with ping-pong balls-so absurd that Tang Rou didn’t believe the tank was meant to confine her.

Besides, the Mermaid showed no aggression. Tang Rou had heard that the tank held the most dangerous creature in Sector S, so she ruled out that possibility.

That left only one explanation.

Tang Rou’s gaze grew sympathetic.

She might be the food for whatever creature was imprisoned in this tank.

The Mermaid had no idea that, in her brief silence, the human had already completed her own internal narrative. The Mermaid circled Tang Rou once, then came back, pressing close to her sleeve, her eyes drooping languidly.

Even as food, she was willing to lend Tang Rou a helping hand when danger approached.

Tang Rou thought, this is a kind-hearted Mermaid.

She looked at the glaringly red needle marks and asked, “Can these things be removed?”

The Mermaid finally lifted her lashes, gazing at her silently, her wet lashes unable to hide the darkness in her eyes.

In the end, she only said, “I can’t touch them.”

“What about me?”

The Mermaid didn’t reply.

Tang Rou reached out, and the Mermaid didn’t refuse, so she carefully pinched one of the needle tubes embedded in the Mermaid’s neck and pulled it out.

A muffled groan escaped the Mermaid’s lips, her wet lashes trembling, like a butterfly trapped in a spider’s web, unable to break free, her brows furrowed in pain as she leaned against the edge of the glass tank.

The needle was finally pulled out completely with her movement.
Golden-red liquid sprayed out from the narrow needle hole. The Mermaid raised her hand to press against her neck, her breathing quickened a few times, and her complexion grew even paler.

It turned out that the liquid flowing through the tube, shimmering with a golden glow, was her blood.

Tang Rou thought she had hurt the Mermaid and hurriedly let go, but the Mermaid caught her hand in return.

Tang Rou’s palm was forced against the Mermaid’s skin, feeling the smooth, cool body beneath her touch.

“Continue…” The Mermaid’s voice was weak, as if she had little strength left. “Help me.”

Tang Rou seemed to understand.

For some reason, the Mermaid couldn’t touch these things, but Tang Rou could. So the Mermaid wanted to endure the pain and let Tang Rou help her remove them.

Tang Rou could only say, “Then bear with it.”

The Mermaid nodded, lifted her hair to one side, and revealed a neck as slender as a swan’s. On the beautiful skin, veins were pierced by one tube after another-some delivering something into her body, some drawing her blood out.

The translucent tubes extended deep into the water, their destination unknown.

Tang Rou gritted her teeth, pinched one of the needles in the Mermaid’s neck, and resolutely pulled it out.

The needle tip was long and slender, glinting with a cold, sharp light. Tiny droplets of blood, tinged with pale gold, seeped from the minuscule puncture.

The Mermaid lowered her head, wet hair covering her face, leaving Tang Rou only a glimpse of her slightly arched neck, the bones clear and distinct, like bamboo joints carved from white jade.

“Does it hurt a lot?” Tang Rou asked worriedly.

The Mermaid hidden beneath the strands of hair kept her eyes tightly shut, her eyelashes trembling incessantly. Where Tang Rou couldn’t see, sharp keratin teeth bit into her own lip.

Suppressing the surge of pity that came with the Mermaid’s discomfort, Tang Rou forced herself to be ruthless. She found the needle, resisted the urge to close her eyes, pinched it, pulled it out, and tried to speed up, so as not to prolong the Mermaid’s torment. The Mermaid’s back bent downward, and she lay against the edge of the pool. Except for the initial muffled groan of pain, she kept her lips pressed together and said nothing.

Tang Rou couldn’t tell if it was an illusion, but she kept feeling as if there was a faint metallic clashing sound coming from underwater.

When she had finally removed all the needles, the Mermaid looked as if she was barely alive.

“It’s over.” Tang Rou tossed the things into the water and gently comforted her, “It’s all over now. It shouldn’t hurt much longer.”

In the dim world, only the cold pallor of the Mermaid’s skin remained, lifeless as she lay to the side. If not for the rise and fall of her breathing, Tang Rou would have worried she had fainted from the pain.

After a while, the Mermaid fluttered her eyelashes and looked up at Tang Rou. A few damp strands of golden hair clung to her jaw, trailing down her neck and outlining a breathtaking silhouette. Her ethereal, beautiful face was full of fragility and exhaustion, as if silently telling Tang Rou that she was in great pain.

Suddenly, Tang Rou felt her heart shatter.

“I’ll take you away,” she heard herself say.

But the Mermaid shook her head. “I can’t leave.”

“Why?”

A faint metallic clashing sound echoed from underwater. The Mermaid’s long, magnificent tail broke the surface, lifting a broad, translucent fin like a stunningly beautiful fan, its edges tinged with a clear blue.

Yet what was truly shocking was that a Chain of silvery metal, three fingers wide, ran across this beautiful tail.

Unknown black substances wound along the Chain, lurking in the grooves of the metal’s special patterns, which at first glance looked like carved designs.

“It locks me here.” The Mermaid’s voice was cool, as if holding a shard of ice.