The Little Merman in the Apocalypse
In the dilapidated apartment building of the city.
Occasionally, the terrifying roars of monsters and the crunching sounds of chewing could be heard.
Thick red blood trails snaked down the hallway.
The air was filled with a nauseating stench.
Yang Gang moved a solid wood table and a refrigerator to block the door tightly.
Sweat rolled down his forehead as he was too exhausted to breathe loudly, fearing they would hear him.
The man silently comforted his wife.
“Hang in there a little longer.”
The entire city had become a wasteland, and those who hadn’t evacuated in time could only resign themselves to fate, waiting for a second rescue.
Upstairs, the neighbors had fallen silent after a piercing scream.
After setting up the barricade at the door,
he helped his eight-month-pregnant wife, carefully seating her on a stool to rest.
The woman moved clumsily, slowly supporting her heavy belly, her young face full of worry and a hint of despair.
“Do you think… we might die?”
Xiao Li knew her husband was also feeling suppressed, but she couldn’t help asking the question, seeking some sense of security.
They had struggled to conceive a child, only to face an apocalyptic crisis.
No one had expected their ordinary life to be suddenly shattered.
The world had turned upside down.
Smoke billowed up from the streets, drifting through the window and making Xiao Li want to cough.
Yang Gang immediately covered her mouth.
His tired eyes lacked confidence, but he couldn’t show it.
He was the pillar of the family, the backbone for his wife.
“Don’t be afraid, trust me. Just hold on a bit longer, we’ll be fine.”
With that, Yang Gang went to the balcony to close the glass.
In those few minutes, he heard his wife’s startled cry.
Rushing over, he saw blood flowing from beneath her skirt.
Instantly, they locked eyes, capturing the shock in each other’s gaze—they were about to have the baby.
Perhaps the immense stress had induced early labor.
Xiao Li bit her lower lip until it bled, the intense pain coursing through her body, making her tremble so much she could barely sit.
Yang Gang hurriedly wiped his wife with a warm towel before the scent could spread.
The two of them struggled to move to the bathroom.
The running water could temporarily mask the smell of blood.
But this was not a long-term solution.
Xiao Li’s face was unbearably pale, “Husband, it hurts so much…”
Yang Gang was so panicked his limbs felt weak. What should he do? What could he possibly do?
Once the baby was born, those bloodthirsty monsters would break in and devour them.
In just a few minutes.
Xiao Li’s tears flowed uncontrollably, her abdomen hurt too much!
The roars outside the door occasionally sounded, chilling them to the bone.
Yang Gang had no experience with childbirth, his anxiety and fear nearly overwhelming him.
Xiao Li soaked in the bathtub, the clear water turning red with blood. If they didn’t hurry, the baby would suffocate.
But she dared not push through the pain, fearing it would attract zombies.
Faced with a difficult choice, Yang Gang suddenly seemed to age several years, red veins appearing in his eyes, his unshaven stubble making him look even more haggard.
In those agonizing moments, the man finally made a decision, smiling as he spoke.
“Wife, go ahead and give birth, it’s okay…”
With her husband’s reassurance, Xiao Li could no longer endure the contractions and began to deliver.
Yang Gang blocked every gap in the bathroom door, doing his utmost to prevent the scent of blood from escaping.
Ten minutes later.
A strong cry echoed in the cramped space, Xiao Li’s face drained of color, trembling with fear.
“Baby, please stop crying, I beg you!”
The woman, on the verge of collapse, wanted to cover the baby’s mouth with a towel but was stopped by her husband.
Yang Gang had anticipated this moment, his face showing only relief and the joy of becoming a father for the first time.
“It’ll be okay, don’t be afraid.”
Xiao Li looked at the man in confusion.
After washing the baby clean, he gently stroked the infant’s face, wrapping the child in a clean little blanket.
Yang Gang placed a carefully crafted Golden Safety Pendant in the soft blanket, his words tender and reluctant.
“Baby, grow up well, help Daddy protect Mommy.”
The baby continued to cry unabashedly, while outside, the battered wooden door could no longer withstand the zombies’ sharp claws, already scratched with cracks.
Xiao Li clearly noticed this too, and with her husband’s careful support, she sat on a chair padded with a soft cushion.
“Husband, they’re… they’re coming in!”
The woman was panicked and scared, holding the crying baby with no way to stop it.
“Please stop crying, okay? Mommy begs you…”
Yang Gang knelt in front of his wife and child, silent for a moment, then kissed Xiao Li’s forehead, unhesitatingly opening the bathroom door and stepping out.
The woman, too weak from the pain to stand, wanted to chase after her husband, realizing his intention.
“What are you doing? Come back!”
She bit her lip in despair, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably, her body too weak after giving birth to muster any strength.
Her voice hoarse, “Don’t… don’t leave me.”
Through the living room, Xiao Li could smell the thick stench and hear the intense sounds of fighting, the door opening and closing quickly.
Sweat clung to her body, but she had no mind to care, desperately trying to soothe the baby in her arms.
“Baby, your daddy is the bravest man…”
A few minutes later.
The baby cried until nearly out of breath, its face flushed red before finally stopping, whimpering softly.
Outside the door.
Yang Gang’s exhausted body slowly collapsed, his deformed nails still clutching the door frame.
Blood gushed from his mouth, he wanted to speak but had no strength left.
His insides spilled out, devoured by the frenzied zombies.
Yang Gang fell to his knees, arms hanging limply, motionless.
Just as the zombies were about to step over him into the house,
his head jerked violently, maintaining a twisted posture as he pushed the zombies away.
At that moment, Yang Gang’s features turned a ghastly blue, no longer human, black veins spreading across his dirty face, making him look terrifying.
“Grr… roar!”
He stood with his broken body and lunged at the other zombies, his throat emitting the same roar as them.
Amidst the chaos.
“Bang! Bang!”
Gunshots rang out in succession, the zombies’ heads exploding, foul liquid splattering the walls, nauseating.
The rescue team had arrived.
Yang Gang’s jaw dropped to a horrifying angle before he fell heavily to the ground.
He closed his eyes peacefully…
“Go inside and check, search for any human survivors to bring back to the base.”
The man who spoke was tall.
His voice was indifferent, his face hidden in the shadows, only the sharp, cold contours faintly visible.
Chu Weilin, dressed in a black high-density nylon uniform, various guns strapped to his legs.
As his words fell,
the subordinates behind him entered the house in an orderly manner, bringing Xiao Li and the sleeping baby out.
The man seemed to be on a call, his brow slightly furrowed, looking displeased.
With long, gloved fingers, he tapped lightly at his ear, speaking sternly to the person on the other end.
“First, do a basic scan on that thing, confirm there’s no zombie virus on it before entering the base. As for a more detailed examination, wait until I return…”
Chu Weilin casually brushed aside the hair on his forehead, revealing deep black eyes devoid of warmth, cold and impersonal.
“Captain, what’s going on?”
The deputy captain, an older middle-aged man who had fought alongside Chu Weilin several times, had a fairly good relationship with him.
He rarely saw his captain shrouded in such a menacing aura.
“The Research Institute over there has salvaged a female merman from the deep sea, and it’s on its way to the base.”
With the apocalypse, the environment had become increasingly harsh.
The global population of mermaids had sharply declined, especially female mermaids, making them extremely rare and precious.
The rare S-Class Male Merman imprisoned underground was about to enter its mating season.
The researchers were at their wits’ end.
The white female merman they had previously sent, gentle in nature and beautiful in appearance,
was expected to coexist peacefully and reproduce successfully, but was torn apart by Jing Chen.
Brutality was a genetic trait inherent in mermaids, but few would harm the opposite sex.
He didn’t even consider her food, letting her rot at the bottom of the pool, such horrifying methods were chilling.
As for why the researchers were so intent on preserving the mermaid species,
it stemmed from Dr. Qiao extracting a component from mermaids that had an inhibitory effect on the zombie virus.
Therefore, the base leader also strongly supported the exploration and experimental research on mermaids.
The boy’s consciousness was in a haze of confusion.
He couldn’t open his eyes, the sound of water swaying around his ears.
His pale body floated uncontrollably, his dizzy head not yet clear.
“Where is this place?”
Su Luo only remembered being on his way to a blind date, having specially bought a bag of sweets girls liked.
Unexpectedly, while crossing the green light,
a runaway vehicle crashed straight into him, the scene abruptly ending.
So… was he dead?
As his awareness gradually returned,
the boy opened his trembling light-colored eyelashes, seeing his situation through the dim light.
His pruned fingertips brushed against the solid glass interior, sealed tightly to ensure he couldn’t escape.
A large black curtain covered the outside.
Su Luo’s bare body was astonishingly beautiful, his soft light blue hair floating in the water.
“Why am I not choking?”
His lips parted, releasing a series of bubbles, an uneasy expression appearing on his delicate face.
Noticing the anomaly below him,
the boy looked down through the cool seawater to see what didn’t originally belong to him… a merman’s tail.
Su Luo’s eyes widened in shock, tentatively flicking it, finding it fused with him.
Fine light blue scales covered the lower half of his body, the thin tail’s end as dreamy and soft as gauze, gently swaying to create an enchanting curve.
He raised his hand to look.
Between his delicate fingertips was a layer of translucent webbing, the skin on the back of his hand so pale the veins were visible.
Both wrists were bound by thick iron chains, as if to prevent his escape.
The boy’s skin was tender and soft, rubbed red by the rough chains.
Completely lacking the ferocity in the genes of a merman, the deep-sea overlord.
Annoyed, he couldn’t pull free.
A surge of inexplicable grievance quietly rose from his heart, Su Luo pressed his lower lip, his eyes moist and red with pity.
At the same time, a message appeared in his mind.
【Congratulations on successfully opening the first Instance. After testing, your intelligence and physical strength are low, survival ability is weak, the system recommends you purchase a beginner’s package, only 500 points to receive…】
The boy, confused for a few seconds, clenched his fingers.
“But I don’t have any points.”
【No need to worry, we can offer loans to players, with only 20% interest】
It didn’t sound very reliable, so Su Luo refused.
“No… no thanks.”
【Alright】
The tone was somewhat regretful.
【Your current Main Quest: Survive for 30 days. Side Quest: Find a potion that can completely kill the zombie virus】
This mysterious entity was invisible, its words spontaneously appearing in his mind.
Su Luo took a moment to understand.
So he was already dead, and could only obediently complete tasks to accumulate points for resurrection.
There were still many questions left unasked.
The glaring light made him squint.
The black curtain was pulled away.
The boy found himself face to face with Qiao Han through the transparent seawater.
The man was tall with long legs, dressed in a pure white fitted coat, a white shirt underneath, his well-defined face adorned with gold-rimmed glasses.
He smiled gently at the bewildered little merman in the glass tank.
Qiao Han’s narrow eyes squinted slightly, hiding the darkness within, as he softly instructed.
“Let him out, be gentle, don’t scare him.”
The staff beside him were bewildered, doubting their ears. Was a merman, the deep-sea killer, really so timid?
But they didn’t ask, and followed orders.
“Yes, Doctor.”
The glass above was removed, and Su Luo curled up fearfully at the bottom of the tank, his small body filling the corner.
Qiao Han’s lips curved upward in a warm smile, extending his hand.
“Don’t be afraid, come out, we won’t hurt you.”
The man’s deep voice was gentle and polite, not the terrifying figure the boy had imagined.
Content Warning:
Simple writing, not for innocent readers, a mindless story with a slightly overpowered protagonist.
Note: The protagonist’s combat ability is zero, intelligence is negative. Progress relies entirely on the partner (not described, proceed with caution).