They began to move, and the mermaid slowly opened her eyes.
She seemed a little dazed, perhaps not believing how she had ended up here.
Everyone around was staring at her, but her mind was in chaos. She wasn't scared at all, but instead reached out to grab things and thrashed her large tail.
Yuan Yuan was woken by the commotion. She walked over slowly, maintaining a safe distance from the mermaid, and then gently called her name.
"Haiyu! Haiyu!"
The mermaid heard the voice and surprisingly stopped her movements. Her clear eyes looked at Yuan Yuan, and her face showed a look of painful turmoil.
She covered her head and shouted, "Ah! Ah! Ah!"
Her voice was sharp and piercing, making everyone frown.
Li Ye had his hands in his pockets, one hand fiddling with a bead.
The bead slowly emitted a red light. Li Ye took this opportunity to look deeply at the mermaid. She suddenly clutched her head and collapsed onto the ground, writhing in pain.
Everyone was forced to make space. Li Zi Ang had already retrieved the ivory tusk and was watching the mermaid's every move intently.
"My name is not Haiyu." After a period of intense pain, the mermaid's eyes shifted from dimness to clarity, as clear as seawater.
Everyone was somewhat surprised, not expecting her to be able to speak so coherently.
Of course, her name was not Haiyu. Haiyu was the name Zhang Hai Yang had given her, because the first time he saw her, he thought she was as beautiful as a sea anemone.
However, no one knew her real name, and it was likely Zhang Hai Yang didn't know either, or perhaps he simply didn't care.
The mermaid looked around at the people. "You are here to kill me."
Upon hearing this, Li Zi Ang instinctively hid the ivory tusk behind him.
"I know you want the key. The key is hidden inside me, and I can take it out myself. However, before that, I wish not to have sacrificed in vain. I want you to remember me forever. Would you like to hear my story?"
Everyone could understand. She had been confined here for so long, endured horrific surgeries, and been transformed into this monstrous state by Zhang Hai Yang.
Her sorrow and bitterness were known to no one. Her true feelings could only be buried within her heart, so it was entirely normal for her to want to express them now.
Before dying, to leave behind some last words, wasn't that something most people would want to do?
"You can tell us, but time is a bit tight now. You might need to speed things up," Ning Wei said, pointing a finger towards the ceiling.
The mermaid tilted her head back, revealing her beautiful swan-like neck.
"This is poison gas. When the room is filled, you will all slowly collapse and lose your breath," the mermaid said, indicating she was quite familiar with Zhang Hai Yang's devious tactics.
"What happens if you accidentally inhale it before the door is opened?" Li Zi Ang pressed.
The mermaid replied softly, "As long as you inhale fresh air, it won't cause much harm to the body."
Everyone felt a slight sense of relief upon hearing this and then watched her, quietly preparing to listen to her story.
The mermaid's original name was Zhang Shuang. She was a very cheerful girl who had graduated from university a year ago and had just signed a formal contract with a large company.
To celebrate this good news, she had arranged to have hot pot with her friends that evening.
During the day, she had passed by this place and was attracted by the childlike decorations outside. She decided to come in and relax by looking at marine life.
Little did she know that stepping inside meant walking into hell.
Zhang Hai Yang had taken a liking to her. When she got lost and wandered into a narrow passage, he had directly used a needle to knock her unconscious.
When she woke up again, her limbs were bound, and she was lying on an operating table. She twisted her head and looked around, confirming it was indeed an operating room.
"Stop looking, my test subject." This was the first thing Zhang Hai Yang said to her.
With an injection, Zhang Shuang fell into a deep coma again.
When she awoke, her legs were gone.
"You will be my most successful test subject." Zhang Hai Yang touched Zhang Shuang's body with obsession, his hands moving downwards until they stopped at her mangled legs.
Zhang Shuang could only weep silently, as Zhang Hai Yang disliked loud screaming and had already administered medication to prevent her from speaking temporarily.
Zhang Hai Yang patted her legs. "What a pity, these legs are somewhat of an eyesore."
Leg amputation was a major surgery, and Zhang Hai Yang had not yet found the most suitable fish tail, so Zhang Shuang remained alive as a human for some time.
The entire process lasted over half a month. Zhang Shuang's body below the waist was completely cut off, and an ugly fish tail was eventually attached.
As it turned out, the fish tail was not compatible with her, or perhaps Zhang Hai Yang had made a mistake during the surgery.
By the time Zhang Shuang realized something was wrong, a foul odor had begun to emanate from the area where her waist and the fish tail joined.
She nearly died because of this issue, but Zhang Hai Yang saved her again and replaced it with an even uglier fish tail, the one she had now.
"At that time, I thought I would die, and I was relieved for a long time. But when I opened my eyes, I was back in the familiar operating room. Do you know what I was thinking then?"
No one answered her question.
Zhang Shuang spoke to Yuan Yuan. "Do you dare to come closer? I want to say one thing to you."
Yuan Yuan pursed her lips. The suffocating feeling of being dragged into the water by Zhang Shuang was still with her, so she was still afraid of the mermaid.
"Don't go!" Zhu Yi Lian said, holding her hand.
Others also shook their heads, disagreeing with Yuan Yuan getting close to Zhang Shuang.
When she lost her sanity, she was a bloodthirsty mermaid. Who could guarantee she wouldn't become unstable again at any moment?
"If I don't come to hear what you have to say, you won't be willing to take out the key?" Yuan Yuan asked Zhang Shuang softly.
Zhang Shuang smiled slightly and shook her head. "I am about to die. Even if you don't listen, you can still get the key."
"But this white smoke is continuously pouring out, and I'm afraid you won't last until I die and you can retrieve the key through surgery."
Yuan Yuan's eyes darted. Then, she broke free from Zhu Yi Lian's grasp.
Zhu Yi Lian quickly grabbed her again, and Wang Jing, standing nearby, reached out to hold her other side.
"You're crazy! Even if she doesn't take it out herself, with so many of us, retrieving the key should be a matter of minutes," Wang Jing couldn't help but exclaim loudly, trying to dissuade her.
Zhang Shuang did not get angry upon hearing this, lowering her head slightly.
Once Yuan Yuan made up her mind, no one could stop her.
Since the incident with Young Master Zhou, Yuan Yuan's temperament had drastically changed, or rather, her hidden personality had been unleashed.
"Let her go. Nothing will happen," Ning Wei said softly, standing directly opposite Yuan Yuan.
As long as Ning Wei spoke up, no one else would say anything further.
Because anyone she had ever decided to protect had never failed so far.