Chapter 187: Volume 1 Chapter 187 – Mermaid? Sirens? (4)

Like a fish tail, the lower body's scales shimmered dark gold, with sharp, near-transparent fins growing along the edges, extending to both sides of the waist, layered upon layered dark gold fish scales giving a cold feeling, while the upper abdomen was human-like, bearing eight-pack abs.

His dark blue hair blended into the sea, his features exquisitely perfect as if finely carved, flawless; under the faint light reflected on the sea surface, his visage was mysterious and alluring.

This was what she saw through a gap in her eyes; she almost couldn't resist wanting to draw near and sink into it, but her will was strong, and she played dead so convincingly that even the grim reaper would want to give her full marks.

To her surprise, the mermaid before her was not picky; like a pervert, it pressed close to her body, extending its scarlet tongue to lick the exposed skin on her neck.

It brought a wet, cold, sticky feeling, as if a poisonous snake had coiled around her whole body, making it hard to breathe.

Jiang Zhi's fingers quietly covered the spot at her waist where she hid a dagger.

A tense feeling came from her legs; the mermaid's long tail, covered in icy scales and resembling a snake's tail, coiled around her legs, slowly tightening upward around her waist, drawing her into its bare, broad chest.

Jiang Zhi's fingertips unintentionally touched the scales; they felt hard and cold, as unyielding as dragon scales.

She couldn't help but wonder: was it really a mermaid??

Before she could think further, the mermaid entwined with her prepared to drag her down into the deep sea, as if storing her as reserve food.

This made Jiang Zhi's scalp tingle; she no longer bothered playing dead, drew her dagger and slashed at its arm, and taking advantage of its loosened tail, she hurriedly swam upward with all her strength.

Obviously the mermaid had no intention of letting her go; moreover, a human's speed could not match a fish's tail, and soon it caught up, tightly embracing her from behind, immobilizing her limbs, and even yanking away the obstructive oxygen tank at her back.

Without the oxygen tank, Jiang Zhi gulped a mouthful of bitter salty seawater; the lack of oxygen made her vision darken and her limbs gradually weaken.

She was unwilling to die here, having barely managed to hold on until now.

Thinking this, she opened her mouth and bit down hard on the arm lying across her chest; the mermaid was not only hard-scaled, its skin was as unyielding as steel, impossible to bite through.

Suddenly, the mermaid behind her loosened its grip, as if it did not want her to die so quickly; its cold, wet tongue licked her ear, and a voice seeming to come from the depths fell upon her ears.

"We will meet again."

——

"Cough cough cough!!"

The next afternoon, Jiang Zhi woke up on the beach, clutching her chest as she coughed violently, her breathing unsteady; scorching bright sunlight spread from above, falling onto the sand before her, casting a pale golden hue.

Waves repeatedly struck her body; clear birdcalls rang in her ears; behind her lay a lush, verdant forest; around her, not only she but also some crates from a cruise ship's cargo hold had been washed ashore, soaked by seawater and coated with fine sand.

Jiang Zhi examined her body; the satchel tied at her waist was not lost, her dagger remained, and otherwise she had nothing else.

She rested a few minutes, stood up, wrung out the seawater from her pant legs, and looked around.

This island is quite large, comparable to a domestic province; forests cover seventy percent, the remainder consists of beaches and rocky mountain peaks, with only a small amount of plains left.

However, this is merely the rough information she glimpsed from a high point; she still needs to explore around the island.

The memories from last night's storm sinking into the seabed remained vivid; recalling the words of that mermaid villain sent chills down her spine.

"We will meet again?" How could we meet?

If she avoids the sea, how could it find her?

The mission is to eliminate its corruption value.

With a hundred percent corruption value, how dark and vicious must it be!

Moreover, she could not obtain any further information, such as how the mermaid villain's corruption value became so high.

There must be some reason, after all.

But the most important thing right now is to stay alive; the world tag would not arbitrarily label something as horrifying, bloody, and supernatural, so this island must certainly harbor many dangerous factors.

"Jiang Zhi Zhi!"

A shout came from afar.

Jiang Zhi turned her head to look, and saw a familiar figure.

It was the female lead, He Jing Rou.

She came over in a light jog, breathing hurriedly, still wearing a life jacket, her hair tied back, her fair face delicate and unsophisticated, lips pink, exhaling in small breaths.

After a moment, she stood straight and said with relief, "You're unharmed—really great."

Jiang Zhi shifted the banana leaf she was using to block the sunlight overhead toward her, asking, "You're not hurt, are you?"

He Jing Rou shook her head: "I'm fine, and you?"

Jiang Zhi felt a twinge of envy; her waist had been scraped by the reef at the beach's edge, a skin injury soaked in seawater; although disinfected and medicated, walking was painful.

"I'm fine too."

They walked forward together.

He Jing Rou told her a piece of news: six classmates had been found on the island, each scattering to search for people.

They had agreed to meet at a cave beneath the rocky peak, a spacious spot suitable for habitation that Chen Qi Bai had found.

Now most of them have been washed onto this island; communication equipment has failed, and there are no ships, so they can only temporarily live on this island.

Jiang Zhi followed her to the cave's entrance, where she saw two severely injured classmates lying in the corner.

One had a leg wound deep enough to expose bone; the other had a head injury and remained unconscious.

They had received only rudimentary treatment, but lacking disinfectant medicine and penicillin anti-inflammatory drugs, they could only await death.

Jiang Zhi took out her medical supplies, leaving herself a bit of disinfectant and anti-inflammatory medicine.

Chen Qi Bai knew she had brought medicine; moreover, these medicines could save them, and Jiang Zhi was not a heartless person—this did not match her character setting.

He Jing Rou saw the medicine, was especially delighted; having studied medicine, she thanked Jiang Zhi and hurriedly applied the medicine to the two classmates.

Jiang Zhi's injury was not serious, but on this hot, humid island, wounds were hard to heal; even sitting now made her head feel dizzy.

She took a fever-reducing pill, then leaned against the wall and fell asleep.

Waiting for everyone to return before darkness fell, Chen Qi Bai entered the cave, scanning every corner, until he stopped at the girl lying in the darkest spot at the far end.

He strode over, saw her face with an abnormal flush, furrowed his brows, and placed his hand on her forehead.

Scorching.

Someone approached and said, "Brother Chen, the firewood stack is ready."

Chen Qi Bai got up, walked outside, the fire drove away the dampness and darkness inside the cave, his gaze shifted, and he asked everyone present: "Do you have any fever medicine?"

Everyone looked at each other, shaking their heads to indicate they didn't have any.

He Jing Rou stood up and said, "I have a little."

It was the medicine Zhizhi gave her during the day, and it included fever medicine.

Chen Qi Bai said, "Follow me."

The two went deeper into the cave.

The remaining girls showed envious expressions; the boys pretended not to notice, lowering their heads to look at the fire.