C84 — Date with the Mermaid

Before him stretched an ocean that was vast and boundless.

The sky hung heavy and gray, mirrored in the sea’s own murky depths as wave upon wave rolled upward. Thick fog gradually crept in, steadily narrowing Kou Dong’s field of vision until all around him was nothing but a hazy, gray expanse. The wind was damp, carrying a faint briny tang. The touch of it, clinging tightly to his tail, was equally moist, giving Kou Dong the illusion that the wind itself was caressing him. His white lab coat was soaked through, gaping open at the collar and clinging viscously to his skin.

He was a small boat rocking in the sea, the siren his only island to stand upon.

Kou Dong was still coughing, unable to shake off the terror of near-drowning. His eardrums pounded rhythmically under the relentless pressure of water. The mermaid holding him opened his crimson eyes, a hint of amusement flickering within.

“Human,” it uttered the two syllables, as if mocking, “human…”

Regardless, this mockery still rankled Kou Dong to his core.

Laugh all you want, you can’t survive on land either.

Besides, have you forgotten you were once captured by humans?

The siren stared at him, as if understanding his unspoken words.

“That was for you,” the mermaid replied, tightening his tail around him—his tail felt flexible, yet it locked Kou Dong in like steel pincers.

His seaweed-like hair cascaded around him, slender fingers gently caressing the face of the one held close. Though his nails were razor-sharp enough to draw blood with the slightest carelessness, and he was clearly a fearsome creature, the Siren’s touch was incredibly light.

He stroked the young man’s cheek as if handling precious, fragile porcelain, carefully controlling the pressure of his touch.

Warm.

A body temperature unlike any fish in the sea—the young man was warm.

A few soft, satisfied gurgles escaped his throat. Rarely did he show such patience, allowing this fragile human to linger on the surface a little longer.

The sea fog thickened. Such dense mist made Kou Dong frown, yet it stirred the waters into a more violent churn. As if something lurked beneath, anticipating prey about to be caught in a net.

Kou Dong caught glimpses of many fleeting flashes of light. Before he could ponder what they were, he heard a massive rumble drawing nearer.

A ship cleaved through the fog.

When Kou Dong looked up, the ship’s hull loomed like a wall—vast and immense, like a floating building.

People stood on the deck. These enthusiastic tourists brandished binoculars, utterly unaware of the waters they had entered. But soon, the familiar second mate emerged from the cabin, his face pale as he waved them away.

“Get inside—navigation failed! This is the Devil’s Sea!”

The Devil’s Sea.

Those four words failed to rouse the utterly oblivious tourists, yet made Kou Dong’s heart skip a beat. He remembered that beside him was, in a sense, a predator that chose its prey. He turned his head. The siren clutching him kept his dark red eyes half-closed, seemingly utterly disinterested in the remaining people.

He didn’t even glance at the approaching giant ship, focusing all his attention on him instead, his fishtail occasionally giving a light pat on the water.

Instead, unusual ripples began to stir faintly from the depths of the sea, something stirring restlessly in the abyss.

The mermaid suddenly emitted a dissatisfied grumble, glancing toward the surface.

Then, he murmured lowly to Kou Dong, “Don’t listen.”

Kou Dong looked bewildered. “What?”

The merman’s sharp, slender claws closed over his ears, sealing out every sound.

“Don’t listen,” he whispered. “Their voices…”

Almost at the same time, a strange, resonant hum rose from the depths of the sea.

Even with his ears covered, Kou Dong could still faintly hear it. The sound wasn’t unfamiliar — he had heard something like it before, back in the dungeon instance, when the siren had sung.

The melody was soft and tender, as harmless as foam drifting on the waves — yet beneath that gentle surface hid a blade slick with blood.

On the ship’s deck above, many passengers had already leaned over the railings, faces slack and dazed, like drunk little birds leaning toward a snake’s nest. Reflected on the water were their entranced faces, and still the song didn’t cease.

A senior officer burst out of the cabin, pale and trembling, he shouted,

“Don’t look! — Don’t let them see your faces!”

He, a veteran sailor, knew the legend better than anyone:

If the sea’s demons set their eyes on you, they would pursue you across oceans, luring you with that bewitching song and dragging you beneath the waves. Their beloveds’ bodies would become the warmest nests for their kind.

He feared the sirens had already chosen their prey — especially the handsome young men from the East, whom the creatures always seemed to favor.

But today, nothing happened as expected.

Though the passengers leaned over the rail like addicts, the waters below stayed restless. The singing didn’t stop — it grew even more desperate, more alluring.

The officer shouted orders to turn the ship away, and as the vessel slowly retreated into the mist, the song still lingered over the sea.

The siren holding Kou Dong suddenly narrowed his crimson eyes.

He had caught a glimpse in the shifting reflections — the faint, delicate outline of the young man in his arms mirrored on the water’s surface.

And beneath that reflection, scattered points of silvery light gathered like a river of stars.

The creature realized what it meant.

Those in the deep weren’t singing for the people on the ship —

they were singing for him.

Fury flashed through the siren’s eyes. A low, violent cry tore from his throat — the sound of a beast enraged that its possession had been coveted.

In one swift motion, he pulled out a smooth, pearly orb, forced open Kou Dong’s lips, and pressed the bead onto his tongue.

Kou Dong made muffled sounds of protest, unable to speak clearly with the object in his mouth.

“Keep it there,” the siren commanded. Then, twisting his body, he lashed his deep-blue tail hard against the water, leaping high into the air with him in his arms.

The breath of open air lasted only an instant — then they plunged back down into the freezing sea.

Instinctively, Kou Dong clung to the siren’s neck… and only then realized he wasn’t suffocating.

The pearl was working — he could breathe underwater.

Tiny bubbles escaped his lips, hovering around him instead of floating away.

The roar in his ears faded, his nose and lungs felt clear, and soon he could make out the shapes around them in the dim seabed light — darting fish, swaying seaweed, all scattering in fear of the powerful creature carrying him deeper into the dark.

At the edge of the dark sea, something shimmered — countless fragments of light, glimmering like a river of stars.

They drifted closer, singing in soft, endless voices.

And then Kou Dong realized what they were.

It wasn’t starlight — how foolish of him to have thought so.

Those were the glints from mermaid scales, and he was now watching them draw near, surrounding him from every direction.

Up close, he could see their faces — the yearning in their blue-green eyes.

Unlike the crimson eyes of the siren holding him, these were cool and clear, yet filled with the same, heavy hunger. Kou Dong had no doubt that if the siren protecting him weren’t there, those creatures would reach out, seize him, and press him down among the swaying weeds and jagged rocks of the seabed.

So many of them.

His legs trembled — he wasn’t sure whether from the cold water or from sheer unease.

He had been ready to deal with a monster, not a whole school of them.

And these weren’t the cute, low-level creatures from the lab instances; these were S-class predators.

Maybe, he thought bleakly, this had been a terrible choice.

The merman route wasn’t looking much safer than the “big moth demon” one.

Before panic could fully take hold, the siren holding him let out a sound that shook the water — a deep, guttural roar that was pure dominance. He hovered in place, claws spread to shield the human in his arms.

The surrounding merfolk flinched. Their sleek bodies trembled; they retreated a little, cowed. Kou Dong realized they were smaller than the one protecting him — less powerful, their tails shorter, their frames slighter.

The siren wasn’t just strong; he was their leader.

His cry was a warning, and instantly, the haunting chorus around them broke off.

Kou Dong’s gaze caught one of the smaller merfolk — and his eyes widened. The creature’s body was changing before his eyes: scales gleaming brighter, limbs lengthening, a faint trace of muscle shaping across its chest. What had once been androgynous beauty was becoming distinctly male.

And not just one. All around them, the same transformation was taking place.

The siren roared again, furious. He pressed Kou Dong closer, his anger sending waves trembling through the water. The lesser merfolk quailed but didn’t leave. They hovered at a distance, trembling under their king’s power — yet their eyes stayed locked on the young man in his arms, desire burning there as their bodies continued to change.

Then a memory flashed through Kou Dong’s mind — words from long ago, back in that second game world:

 

“It became him.”

 

A mermaid’s body was flawless, unbreakable — until the moment they fell in love.

Only then did they gain a weakness, a gender, a heart.

Kou Dong: “……”

So what was this supposed to be?

A date that had turned into some massive underwater matchmaking event — with hundreds of contestants, all ditching each other to light up their signs for him, the poor judge in the middle?!

 

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