Mermaid Effect 《人鱼效应》 Chinese BL Translation by: 黑猫白袜子

Chapter 25

Kansas was having really nice weather that day.

The way the wind blew was just right, and the temperature wasn't too high either. The most wonderful thing was that there is just enough sunshine. Everything was so delightful that everyone went out of their home doors one after another— the end result was that the marketplace had a very full crowd of people.

In the beginning, Rand merely saw that the line next to this cash register was much shorter. Rogers said he needed sugar-free oatmeal, so Rand decided to hop in line first. However, Rogers was buying a lot of organic wheat flour, whipped cream, and a bunch of paper rolls. These things obstructed most of Rand's sight, so he didn't pay too much attention, rather, he pushed the cart up to the cashier's counter, as you do.

But how does that saying go?

Don't get into a completely empty metro car during the metro's rush hour— it is always empty for a reason.

This solemn survival tip for city folk makes complete sense.

After Rand drew closer, he found that the situation was far from good.

It reeks.

This was his first impression.

A violent foul odor filled the air near this checkout counter. It was like a kind of sweat-soaked clothes left to ferment for a long time in a moist sealed off environment, with a bio-odorous stench, simultaneously accompanied by a strong sour smell— this kind of result can be found when drunkards wake up in the morning and discover they had vomited all over themselves the night before after their hangovers.

Rand looked out from behind the carton with the phrase "Organic—Everyday Health" written on it, and without warning, he came face to face with a pair of blood-shot and puffy eyes.

Rand almost didn't recognize the man as the aggressive police officer from before, of course, it wasn't because he had too bad of a memory. The latter's face was like a plastic doll that had been over-inflated within the span of just a few short days. His lofty police uniform was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a large and wrinkled advocacy T-shirt. The pug on it had its tongue lolling out and a charity manifesto is printed on it. Officer Tony's facial hair was scraggly and his hair was greasily covering his forehead. Previously, his tall figure could have been said to add a bit of imposition to him, so his appearance now with a body that looked like a mountain of flesh, it only made him look abnormally down in the gutter and in dire straits. At this time, he was holding a mobile phone and was loudly yelling at the person on the other end of the receiver. Because of his emotionally stirred up mood and the swelling on his face, it turned into a purple-red, even some blood-red veins crawled out all over his eyeballs.

A petite Mexican woman, probably the cashier, stared at him in shock with the scanner in her hand, her lips trembling, opening and closing several times and failed to succeed in uttering a sound.

The things on the conveyor belt had already all finished being scanned, but Tony had not the smallest intention of checking out and was still yelling into the phone— until he suddenly saw Rand.

"Hey, it's you—"

His face suddenly distorted, practically rushing over like a bull after a red cloth in an arena, trying to grab Rand.

Rand was startled, he took a few steps back, and he then proceeded to watch Tony shakily twist his foot, falling down onto one leg.

The dense stench grew even thicker.

"You damn son of a bitch... you think you can silence me with money, and I don't know what you did to off Lawrence..."

Not knowing what went wrong, Tony's huge body swayed and was unable to successfully stand up for a long time.