Zhang Haiyang then launched into a lengthy explanation, all of which boiled down to how much effort he had invested in creating a mermaid.
First, he had to find a sufficiently large fish, one whose body matched the size of the subject's waist. Then came the challenge of connecting the nerves in the fish's tail to the human lumbar nerves.
Initially, the suturing was easy, but later the fish tail began to rot, and the subject died.
Thus, he had to conquer the challenge of life itself, spending a great deal of money to procure various potent agents from both domestic and international sources.
Listening to his lengthy discourse on the arduous nature of his experiments, everyone could only think of the failed test subjects.
This man was a complete lunatic. For the sake of a mythical being, he had callously taken so many lives.
In the eyes of everyone present was pity and regret for those who had died accidentally. To Zhang Haiyang, however, these glances were interpreted as admiration for him.
When the speech concluded, Zhang Haiyang slowly exhaled, "Haiyu is meeting everyone formally for the first time. I hope you can give her more applause to help her regain her confidence. She will have many more wonderful performances to come."
Upon learning that this mermaid was artificial and understanding the entire creation process, everyone lost the desire to watch further.
She was a living person, not a test subject!
However, as Ning Wei and the others were no match for Zhang Haiyang at the moment, they could only reluctantly comply.
Under Ning Wei's lead, everyone began to clap enthusiastically, the sound echoing through the space once more.
Zhang Haiyang cracked his whip about a meter away from Haiyu. Ning Wei, with her sharp eyes, saw Haiyu flinch slightly.
"Begin your performance. Let everyone see how wonderful you are!"
The mermaid was quite modest. Before acting, she glanced to see if her hair was covering her chest.
She first swayed her fish tail, and Zhang Haiyang explained beside her, "Haiyu has completely mastered this fish tail, which proves how successful my experiment is."
She slightly parted her lips and hummed a melody.
Legend says mermaids possess enchanting voices that captivate the soul, but Haiyu's voice could only be described as slightly better than an average person's.
The entire song lacked lyrics, consisting solely of her soft humming.
Fortunately, everyone was quiet; otherwise, her voice would have been inaudible.
The overall tone was gentle, with a certain enchanting quality that could indeed draw one in.
After the song, Ning Wei led the applause.
Next, Haiyu leaped into the pool. She first demonstrated her speed, moving with remarkable grace, indicating that she and the large tail had truly become one.
Then she surfaced and began to dance in the center.
The movements were simple, involving only the upper body or occasionally flicking her fish tail to splash water.
The overall performance lacked much in the way of aesthetic appeal. It was fortunate she had such a beautiful face, otherwise, it would have been even more tedious.
However, judging by Zhang Haiyang's expression, he was extremely satisfied with the performance.
After all, the fish tail was utilized throughout, indirectly demonstrating the success of his experiment: to have truly combined a human torso with a fish tail, creating a grotesque mermaid.
Everyone watched quietly, silently hoping the performance would end soon so they could leave this cursed room.
The performance was not yet over, but Haiyu's expression turned pained, and something seemed amiss.
Everyone's eyes widened. Since she was still in the water, it was difficult to discern what was happening.
"Did she accidentally hit something?" someone muttered softly.
Seeing Haiyu in pain, Zhang Haiyang appeared nonchalant, as if accustomed to it.
He reached out and grabbed Haiyu's arm, pulling her forcefully towards himself.
Haiyu swam in that direction, her upper body hanging over the edge of the pool while her fish tail remained submerged.
Presumably, she lacked the strength to pull herself ashore, and Zhang Haiyang, an elderly man, also lacked the strength to pull her up.
However, this was merely Ning Wei's speculation; she couldn't jump to conclusions yet, lest she be proven wrong later.
Given how he could train sea lions and walruses to that extent, their backs covered in scars, his strength was likely not to be underestimated.
Once in position, Haiyu stopped moving. Zhang Haiyang brushed aside the black hair clinging to her neck, then produced a syringe from somewhere. It contained a pale yellow liquid, which he injected directly into Haiyu's neck.
His movements suggested he had done this many times before. He was highly skilled, and Haiyu, though conscious, showed no signs of struggling.
After the injection, Haiyu slowly pushed herself up, appearing re-energized before the crowd.
She shyly used her hair to cover her chest and then dove back into the water to resume her performance.
She performed with great effort. Despite the injection, fatigue was evident on her face.
To allow her to rest sooner, after the performance concluded, everyone applauded immediately, without needing Zhang Haiyang's prompt.
Anyone with eyes could see that the mad old man, Zhang Haiyang, reveled in such adoration and admiration.
After performing all the maneuvers, Haiyu sat back on the edge of the pool, occasionally curling her tail to splash water towards the opposite side.
Those in the front row would likely get their clothes wet.
"Are you all satisfied with the performance?" Zhang Haiyang asked the audience.
"Satisfied!" everyone responded in unison, raising their voices.
Zhang Haiyang was also very pleased. He patted Haiyu's plump shoulder and whispered to her, "You may go back now. The performance is over."
Haiyu leaped and vanished into the pool.
Zhang Haiyang slowly backed away, returning to his original position.
"Although today's performance was the highlight I wanted you all to see, what follows is the core of my plan."
"A performance is not easy. Since you were able to find this place, I believe you can also find the keys to open the door."
"If all else fails, you can try jumping into the water like Haiyu. Perhaps there's a sliver of hope."
"However, I greatly admire one person present and hope to have the opportunity to turn this individual into a marine creature and join our oceanic family."
"Therefore, before that happens, I hope you will preserve your lives and live a few more days."
After Zhang Haiyang finished speaking, the area beneath his feet began to descend.
He vanished from everyone's sight, leaving behind a so-called trial.
It turned out the performance was merely a visual spectacle, while being trapped here was the true mental torture.
Everyone rushed to the spot where Zhang Haiyang had disappeared. The floor indeed looked different, slightly lower than the surrounding area, easily overlooked if not examined closely.
No wonder Zhang Haiyang kept moving around and always returned to this spot; the secret lay in the distinctiveness of this floor panel.