Chapter 197: Volume 1_Chapter 197 Mermaid? Shark person? (14)

Volume 1_Chapter 197 Mermaid? Shark person? (14)

Behind the shrubs not far away, Jiang Zhi finished listening to their conversation.

From the codes behind them, it was clear that A‑level was high enough to serve as a squad team leader on missions, while the lowest level was the one whose code began with F, who had pushed the cart with her that day.

The closer the letter is to the beginning, the higher the rank.

Jiang Zhi suddenly had an idea.

Suddenly, a torrential downpour fell from the sky, pattering on the branches and leaves, gradually dispersing the humid mist in the forest.

Code B-849's voice tense: "Captain, it's raining! We should go back."

326's face grim, raindrops struck his visor, blurring his sight; he lifted a hand to wipe it and said, "It's good that it's raining."

Experiment No. 6, tormented for a long time, hated humans to the core; whenever there was a chance, it would come ashore for revenge—this was exactly their opportunity.

849 understood his meaning, trembling as he said: "In rainy weather the monsters' strength increases several‑fold; we can hardly cope with them."

326 gave him a sideways glance and sneered: "If you're scared, just tuck your tail and run back, but I'll report you to the higher‑ups for shirking duty."

Those words completely dispelled 849's thought of going back; he lowered his head and said, "Captain, I'll go with you."

The other people in protective suits were all E‑ or F‑level; although they were also afraid, they dared not defy orders.

They walked toward the beach, guns in hand.

Having heard all that, Jiang Zhi frowned in puzzlement, unable to understand why that A‑level captain would suddenly change his mind—just because of the rain? What special significance does rainy weather have?

She didn't notice the meaningful flicker in the merman's eye beside her; the corner of its mouth twitched slightly, suffused with a blood‑thirsty chill.

Jiang Zhi took the hand of the merman beside her, stood up, and said, "I'll go have a look; if you're scared, Xiao Yan, you can head back first."

The merman lowered its gaze to the hand she held, feeling the warmth seep through the protective suit into its skin, making it unwilling to let go.

"I'm not afraid," it whispered, shaking its head.

Jiang Zhi said, "All right, then follow me."

After passing through the damp, chilly woods and catching sight of those people's figures, they stopped and hid.

The rain grew fiercer, the beach kicked up waves that rolled and slammed onto the sand; runoff streamed down the muddy slope into the ocean.

A monster three to four meters tall leapt out of the sea, its appearance ferocious, its body covered in corroded gray scales; its fish tail split into two thick, twisted, bent legs, its arms spread with worm‑like black markings, its bulging fish‑like eyes rolled, its limbs touched the ground, and it sprinted forward.

Jiang Zhi instantly recognized it as the monster that had been locked in the cage yesterday; after one night, it had grown scales, its body became much stronger, feeling as if one punch could kill several people.

A-326 saw this and immediately shouted to his subordinates behind him: "Fire!! Its legs are the weak point—shoot the legs!"

Once a merman comes ashore, its fish tail turns into legs, and those legs are its only weakness on land.

Gunfire rang out in unison, aimed at the running monster not far away; bullet after bullet struck its legs, yet the monster stood firm, raging as it charged at them.

This played right into 326's plan; seeing it draw nearer, his eyes filled with delight, he raised his most powerful air gun and fired repeatedly at its legs.

The monster soon collapsed on the sand, motionless.

326 knew well that unless a merman suffered a fatal wound, any other injury merely slowed it temporarily.

"Capture it and bring it back!" he ordered.

Having said that, they all hurried toward the monster.

But just then, countless monsters crawled out of the beach sand in orderly fashion, running toward the forest with a clear purpose, howling as they went; their voices echoed through the rain to the horizon.

——We've been tricked!

As soon as 326 saw that horde of monsters, he knew he'd been tricked.

These monsters' intelligence had increased again! They deliberately went berserk just to lure them out.

"Run! Run!!" someone shouted, and the people frozen in place panicked and fled.

But the monsters were too fast; they couldn't escape, and were thus torn apart by the swarm.

Jiang Zhi, hiding behind a tree, saw this; before she could look away, her eyes were covered.

Her body trembled with discomfort, her stomach churned, she couldn't stop the urge to vomit; she clutched her belly and gagged a few times, feeling utterly miserable.

She had seen monsters eat people before, but never so close, clear, and gruesome; so many were devoured by the monsters, not a scrap left.

The blood was washed clean by the heavy rain, seeping into the sand, as if nothing had happened before.

She came to her senses and realized the one covering her eyes was the merman; his whole body stood before her, shielding her vision, his voice coaxing:

"You should sleep, Zhizhi."

Jiang Zhi heard those words, smelled a peculiar scent, her consciousness grew hazy, and she soon collapsed into its arms.

The monsters finished eating, then caught the scent of other humans, turned their heads, and in unison stared toward a certain spot, sprinting over to devour that person.

But when they saw a human figure, their faces instantly filled with fear; they trembled and flung themselves to the ground, not daring to breathe.

He tore open his protective suit; when the rain struck the villainous merman's body, dark scales quickly sprouted across his skin, covering him entirely; his face returned to its original appearance—handsome as a deity, flawless—and the crimson mole at the corner of his eye stained him with an evil, hell‑shade aura.

All that could be seen was it lifting the girl before it, speaking unhurriedly: "Wait a bit longer; soon I'll let you devour everyone on this island."

Hearing this, the monsters became wildly excited, but dared not make a sound, fearing they'd disturb the companion in the king's embrace.

Mermen never seek mates of their own kind; they prefer humans or other creatures, but merman reproduction is harder than that of pandas—they must gestate eggs within the mate's body; after ten years, the young merman breaks free, and what it eats at birth is the mother's body, so the mother dies soon after giving birth.

And a merman has only one mate in its lifetime, which makes it both brutal and extraordinarily devoted.

It held the person and left, never returning to the sea.

When Jiang Zhi woke, she found herself in a cave, with the attentive merman beside her.

Seeing her awake, it moved close and said, "Zhizhi, you're awake."

Jiang Zhi knew her faint was its doing; gazing at the face inches away, she stepped back and asked, "How did I end up here?"

She wanted to hear how this crafty fish would spin its tale!

The merman's face full of worry: "After those monsters ate the people, Zhizhi fainted from fright; I was terrified, so I carried her back."

Jiang Zhi almost snorted laughing—she would faint from fear? That excuse is ridiculous!!

You damned fish! Making up stories, huh!

Is that so...?

It nodded its head, seriously said: "I've been dizzy for a long time, Zhizhi came back and still has a fever, I'm really worried!"