Hyperthermal Hell || Apocalypse Paradise #1 [Complete]

105: Lin Sanjiu's Contingency

Without illumination from the fire, the oceanic trench returned to its original serene silence, enveloped by a darkness where one could not even see their fingers in front of them. It was as if it had always been this dark since the beginning of time, and the sound of gentle waves from a distance seemed to emphasize the deathly stillness in the air... until a soft voice broke the silence.

"What took so long? I almost fell asleep."

Once the calm, collected, female voice abated, a silver light lit up the surroundings and the woman who just spoke. She had short, slightly disheveled hair and an emotionless pair of amber eyes. She exuded a faint aura of ruthlessness that was perhaps created by her expression or the white bandage around her neck.

The sound of footsteps heading her way paused immediately as if startled by this unexpected encounter. Lin Sanjiu stood up while looking at the people before her; a faint smile appeared on her face. "You're surprised, aren't you? You must be wondering how I knew that you guys would take action tonight, right?"

The three ghastly white bloated faces remained expressionless under the silver light.

"Miss Lin, you never trusted us from the very beginning, did you?" Hannah said softly after a while.

"It's because of this." Lin Sanjiu smiled, shaking the bottle of mineral water in her hand.

-

[Another/Way - A Mermaid Cultivation Drink]

Are you tired of squeezing into the public bus with other like a can of packed sardines? Are you tired of working like a dog till 7 pm?

As you sit among the ruins, gnawing on your moldy biscuit, thinking about your dead family and wondering why you're the only survivor struggling to live each day, you're overwhelmed by existential angst.

Being human is painful, and you don't have much control over your life.

If someone offered you another way of living — a simpler, happier, and more relaxing path — would you accept it?"

This was the sales pitch that the Mad Scientist A thought up for the promotion of his newest experimental product. As hinted by the slogan, this bottle of Mermaid Cultivation Drink causes a mutation on a genetic level, changing a human's body cells gradually into that of a mermaid's. Long-term consumption or consumption of a large amount of this drink eventually changes a human into a mermaid completely.

Additional description: Mermaids are more advanced and better than humans (Mad Scientist A, 6958). Unlike humans, mermaids have abandoned all forms of negative thinking and negative emotions. Therefore, mermaids are living beings who are always peaceful, always happy, never suspicious, never doubtful, and do not know greed. Once you become a mermaid, you can live freely in the deep sea without a worry in the world.

History: The mermaid cultivation drink was banned two years after the product had been successfully developed. Thereafter, it has only been occasionally seen in remote places, far from civilization.

PS: If you eat a fully-transformed mermaid, you will either gain a more powerful and nimble body, extend your lifespan by a hundred years, or gain a more efficient brain. You will gain these attributes entirely by chance. If you would like to obtain all three attributes, please consume three different mermaids.

-

"This is obviously a special item generated by the apocalypse and not water that was stored aboard this ship. As previous passengers of this ship, you should have known this fact a long time ago. Aren't you his good friends? Why didn't you tell him the truth? Instead, you guys kept encouraging him to drink more of this water." Lin Sanjiu laughed mockingly. "Well, that's because you just can't wait for him to turn into a mermaid completely so that you can eat his flesh, right?"