The Mermaid's Return - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

My name is Chi Hui.

My father devoted decades to merman research and accidentally perished at sea during a mission.

For me, mermen are creatures that definitely exist.

Because of that, I applied to study marine science.

After graduation, I came to work at the Quanke Rescue Center, which was founded by my father.

The “Accounts of the Strange” records: “The jiaoren, known as the spring forebears, are also called Quanke.”

In other words, guests who come from the source of a spring.

Not long ago, we received word that some fishermen had seen something resembling a merman in the South China Sea.

By the time we arrived at Paigang Village, it was dusk, and everyone decided to rest for the night and set out the next morning.

During dinner, we heard the villagers mention that Old Man Zhang, the most experienced fisherman in the village, had not returned.

Old Man Zhang was the fisherman who had witnessed the merman.

Team leader Wen Mo was puzzled; he had clearly told Old Man Zhang to wait for us in the village.

The villagers explained, “A group of foreigners came not long ago and had Old Man Zhang go with them. None of them have returned.”

Not returning can mean two things: either no one survived, or we’ve been beaten to the punch.

Either way, it left us with a bad feeling.
The next day at eight, we found a fisherman to act as our guide.

This fisherman remembered the location of the sea area Old Man Zhang had described.

Wen Mo, as team leader, stayed on the boat to observe the instruments and keep records.

At that moment, the sea was calm, and sunlight sparkled on the waves.

We put on our diving suits, secured our equipment, and entered the water one after another.

“Look!”

It was Yaoyao’s voice. Around her were schools of sardines, constantly shifting formation in orderly unison.

The sea was both romantic and mysterious.

As we dove deeper, visibility grew lower.

Over the walkie-talkie, Wen Mo guided our direction based on the detection radar; he needed to collect sound waves from various marine creatures.

My limit was two hundred and thirty meters, but over the walkie-talkie, Wen Mo kept saying, “Chi Hui, go down another ten meters.”

I looked down and froze.

In the pitch-black deep sea, a human figure was swimming.

His skin was so pale it seemed to glow, but only his upper body was visible; the rest was indistinct.

Those eyes stared fixedly at me. Once noticed, he swam away and disappeared, very quickly.

At the same time, over the walkie-talkie, Wen Mo repeated mechanically:

“Chi Hui, go down another ten meters.”

“Chi Hui, go down another ten meters.”

“Chi Hui, come down.”

“Come down.”

“Come down.”

“Bzz… bzz… bzz…”

A sharp sound pierced my eardrums, stabbing pain shot through my ears, and then the static gradually faded.

I guessed that this noise had transformed into a high-frequency sound wave, inaudible to humans.

But the dolphins around us resumed their playful leaping, completely unaffected.

Could this sound frequency be higher than 150,000 hertz?

Everyone was bewildered and uncertain.

Suddenly, a low humming came through the walkie-talkie.

It was melodious, enchanting, intoxicating.

Yaoyao was closest to me. I watched as her eyes filled with terror, and she actually began to remove her equipment.

The members above were in the same situation.

I tried to contact Wen Mo via the walkie-talkie, but it was dead.

My father’s diary recorded that a merman’s song could bewitch the mind and induce hallucinations.

As if sensing something, I turned my head. A merman was quietly gazing at me, so close we nearly touched.