A fragility that was the polar opposite of a Naga no sharp claws or teeth, no elongated, powerful build; only a clumsy hunting style and a voice that could seduce one’s very soul.
If he was a “reject,” then everything made sense.
A deathly silence hung over the sea level. Even through a screen, the adjutant could feel the bone-chilling coldness emanating from his Marshal, even though the man’s expression hadn’t changed in the slightest. Having followed the Marshal for years, the adjutant didn’t dare break the silence. He waited quietly for a long time before finally receiving a single message: “I understand.”
The adjutant asked in a low voice, “Then, what of the military starship?”
“Depart immediately.”
The communication was terminated unilaterally.
The sun began to rise. The darkness and coldness over the sea were dispelled by the approaching sunlight. Between the surging waves, colorful rainbows reflected in the light, as beautiful as a fairy-tale world. Because it was false, it was dreamlike. When reality was exposed to the light, the sunlight shining on one’s body carried a lingering chill.
Si Jisheng stared at the two-minute communication record in his optical computer and whispered soundlessly: “Re-ject.”
He seemed to have frozen over the sea, turning into a cold stone statue—like the one standing in the central square of the Empire’s capital star, draped in a heavy, pristine military uniform and cold medals, a statue meant for people to admire and adore.
The war between the Empire and the Federation had mobilized hundreds of thousands of soldiers. As the commander, he had lost his reason at a critical moment. When he woke again, the massive starship was empty, and the self-destruct sequence had been activated at some unknown time.
Aside from the system’s cold countdown, there had been no sound. He had called out to every single combat starship until his throat burned like fire and his voice was so raspy he became completely mute—only then was he forced to face the agonizing reality: he bore the weight of over a hundred thousand cold graves.
Self-loathing, self-destruction—he had let the energy-depleted starship disintegrate and be destroyed, finally being swallowed by the endless darkness and falling to an anonymous, backward planet where he met his “only clansman.”
Whether it was a deliberate setup or pure coincidence.
The Naga species, by nature, is a cruel and cold-blooded species—treacherous, cunning, and devoid of a true heart.
Si Jisheng took off the sea snail necklace from his neck. He stared at it in his palm for a moment, confirming it was truly just an ordinary snail, and then his fingertips loosened slightly. The sea snail fell into the rolling waves, carried by the tide into the depths of the ocean. With a blink of Si Jisheng’s eyes, it vanished from sight, never to be seen again.
After the silver-tail left the nest, Deng Xi used the stone shard to slice the remaining clam meat. The already small amount of meat was unevenly divided into two halves—one large, one small. Deng Xi ate the smaller portion himself and left the larger one for the Little Mute.
The gold-haired, blue-tailed little mermaid sat at the nest entrance, leaning against the reef. He used his fingertips to tease the fluorescent jellyfish circling around him; his slender, rounded finger pad was held tight by the jellyfish’s tentacles. Deng Xi wiggled his finger, pulling the jellyfish along with it.
Deng Xi leaned in and blew a bubble, trapping the jellyfish inside. The little mermaid gave it a gentle poke with his nose; the bubble popped with a click, and the jellyfish shuddered in fright. Having succeeded in his prank, Deng Xi’s eyes curved into smiles.
Deng Xi waited a long time for the Little Mute to return, playing with the jellyfish the whole time. He waited and waited until his stomach grew hungry again, yet there wasn’t a single trace of the silver-tail.
Deng Xi scrunched up his small brow, feeling a bit worried. He feared the Little Mute might have encountered a large creature he couldn’t handle while out alone; without Deng Xi there, he would be in danger. Then again, he feared he was just overthinking.
Perplexed, he began to count the little jellyfish’s tentacles. “Go look, don’t look, go look…” The fluorescent jellyfish was transparent, its tentacles numerous, messy, and constantly moving; Deng Xi lost count after only a short while. He simply poked the jellyfish’s head, nudging it back into the nest, and instructed with a serious little face: “You must be a good boy and wait for me to come home!”
With a flick of his deep blue tail fin, Deng Xi swam away from the nest. This stretch of sea was vast and teeming with life. Since the silver-tail wasn’t injured, Deng Xi couldn’t rely on the scent of blood to find him; he could only swim aimlessly.
“Little Mute?”
The mermaid’s call spread infinitely through the water, yet it remained unanswered. This part of the sea suddenly felt so quiet, as if Deng Xi were the only fish left. His heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Deng Xi swam past reef after reef of coral and through one jagged rock formation after another. He searched the entire territory but could not find the silver-tail. Deng Xi was certain the Little Mute wouldn’t just abandon him and run away; something must have happened to make the silver-tail swim off to somewhere unknown.
A mermaid’s swimming speed isn’t particularly fast. By the time he had searched the entire area, a long time had passed. Deng Xi was hungry and exhausted; having searched the seabed, he laboriously swam to the surface.
The sea breeze stirred the waves. With his physical strength completely depleted, Deng Xi was like a small boat drifting with the tide in the vast ocean, carried along by the waves. He lay in the waves to rest for a while, not knowing where the tide had taken him. He sank from the surface back to the seabed, and just as he was about to turn back toward his territory, his eyes caught a glint of brilliant silver.
The little mermaid’s eyes lit up. Found him!
This was an underwater sandy plain. Many shells were buried under the gray sand, and aside from a few scattered stalks of seagrass, no other underwater scenery could be seen. The brilliant silver fish tail was exceptionally prominent in the wasteland. The silver-tail was swimming along the seabed, staring at the gray sand, his tail fin churning up the silt as if he were searching for something in earnest.
“Little Mute!”
Si Jisheng’s movements paused. He turned sideways with an icy expression.
Deng Xi swam over happily. He was used to the silver-tail’s coldness and didn’t mind it, complaining instead: “Where did you go? I looked for you for a long, long time. Did the Little Mute run into danger?” Deng Xi looked around and saw no large fish, then asked curiously, “Why did the Little Mute swim so far away?”
The Blue Naga looked up at him with concern, his expression showing no hint of falsity. Si Jisheng’s thin lips were pressed tight. He had offered his trust once, presenting his optical computer before the other, yet the Blue Naga had not been honest with him. How could such a stupid Naga be utilized? And how was he so intentionally placed by my side?
The sea snail that had been dropped into the waves had been carried afar by the tide, finally stopping here, wobbling as it fell into the gray sand and was covered by the silt. Si Jisheng looked out, but could only see a vast, murky darkness.
His empty neck was exposed to the Blue Naga’s oblivious gaze. Si Jisheng stared at Deng Xi in silence.
Deng Xi blinked, finally realizing something was wrong. He asked softly, “Did the Little Mute accidentally lose the sea snail, so you came here to look for it?”
After a long pause, Si Jisheng gave a single nod.
It wasn’t an accident. It was intentional.
Deng Xi bit his lip, picking at his fingers in helplessness. Such a small sea snail if it fell into the ocean and was carried away by the waves, it would be very, very difficult to find again. Deng Xi didn’t know what to do.
Under Si Jisheng’s probing, scrutinizing gaze, Deng Xi thought hard for a moment. His beautiful blue eyes held no shadow; he wasn’t angry, nor was he unhappy. Instead, he expressed his understanding: “Then I’ll just give a new one to the Little Mute.”
“Let’s go back together first, okay?”