Chapter 13 — Mermaid Rising Waves

The laboratory has an underground pipeline connecting to the ocean, used to transport captured marine life inside. Through this tunnel, you can bypass the security system on the ground. Thanks to the internal signal, Lam Triet and San Ho were able to penetrate straight into the core area of the laboratory. Next, the demobilized task force will cut off the power source and communication system of the laboratory, and open the water discharge valves of the tanks holding marine creatures. As for my mother, she stood ready for ships at sea, preparing to move rescued sea creatures to safe waters. At exactly 12 o'clock at night, the campaign began. I sat in the safehouse right next to the laboratory, straining to watch the security camera screen. Through the screen, the task force successfully cut off the power source. The whole building was in darkness. The backup light system turned on dimly, but the entire surveillance camera system and electronic door lock were paralyzed. At the same time, Lam Triet and San Ho entered from the underwater tunnel. The tunnel is very narrow, only one person can fit through. They swam for about three minutes, Lam Triet was the first person to stick his head out of the other end of the tunnel - it was a large water tank inside the laboratory, used to temporarily trap newly captured sea creatures.

“I'm inside.”

Lam Triet's voice echoed in the headset, echoing the buzzing sound, "There are at least 20 creatures in the tank." His voice trembled slightly, "They were locked in cramped cages, their bodies were full of injuries, the Cau Gai and the Octopus were the worst..." My eyes stung.

“Don't waste any more time.”

I tried to force myself to calm down, "Open the cage now, the task force is cutting off the lab's security system, you have about 15 minutes."

“That's enough.”

Lam Triet swam out, the first thing he did was open Cau Gai's cage, carry him out and hand him over to Coral behind, then turned to save Octopus Ca. Now is not the time to chat, they have to make the most of every second. After bringing San Ho, Cau Gai and Octopus Ca to safety, Lam Triet immediately turned around and swam towards the cages. His movements are quick and precise. Every time he opened a cage, he whispered to the sea creature trapped inside: "Don't be afraid, I'm here to save you. Swim out to the tunnel, there are people waiting outside." There are several cages holding sea creatures that are too weak to swim on their own anymore. Lam Triet carried each child out one by one, pushing them towards the underground bunker. San Ho, after bringing Cau Gai and Octopus Ca onto the ship, also returned to help Lam Triet. At the 12th minute, the task force's voice rang out: "The backup power source of the security system has started, the power is expected to be restored in 3 minutes."

“Lam Triet!

San Ho! 3 more minutes!”

“I know!”

At the 14th minute, Lam Triet pushed the last dolphin to swim into the underground tunnel.

“All evacuated.”

“Withdraw!”

The moment Lam Triet jumped out of the tunnel, the laboratory behind him suddenly lit up. The valve of the underwater tunnel began to slowly close. In just 30 seconds, he was stuck inside. He rose to the surface, breathing in large gulps. Standing on the boat, San Ho reached out and pulled him up.

“Where is Cau Gai?”

I asked.

“In here.”

Lam Triet's voice was mixed with giggles, "I'm cursing, we're too late, he'll be moldy in this corner." In the earphones came a familiar voice, although still weak, the harshness was still the same as before: “Jiang Tieu Ngu! You were trying to buy time, weren't you? You want me to rot in this godforsaken corner to carry my entire pearl collection, don't you? I burst out laughing, laughing and tearing up at the same time.

“Damn Cau Gai, do you even have a pearl collection?

Where are you hiding?

“Don't bother telling you!

I'll tell you when you come to save me!

—— Hey, you came to save me, okay, tell me now, hide it under my bed!”

“Can you two stop this gossip!”

Lam Triet's voice was both angry and amused, "Get away quickly!" People from Tham Lam Group may have already discovered the power outage!”

“Fuck!

Run away! Scoot!" San Ho shouted, “All aboard!” On the safe room screen, a fishing boat slowly left the waters near the laboratory. Moonlight shines on the sea surface, the water waves shimmer with silver. I leaned back in my chair and let out a long breath of relief. Exactly at 10 a.m. on Friday morning, the entire platform system of Huaxia Media Group simultaneously released a shocking investigative report: "Beneath the Abyss: Ocean Crimes of the Ten-Billionaire Group" The article exposed details and hard evidence about the series of illegal discharges, falsification of environmental protection reports, and illegal fishing of intelligent marine life by the Deep Lam Group over the years. Attached to the article are three videos - one recording footage of waste disposal on the seabed from a camera, one recording images of marine creatures being held captive in a laboratory, and a final video provided by Lam Triet. He recorded a video himself. In the video, he sits on a reef, his fish tail has turned into human legs. He didn't say much, just silently pointed at the bare, dead coral reef behind him. In the distance, the water is murky and yellow, the sea surface is glistening with thick black oil scum. A person of infinite beauty, but only the worst, ugliest destruction. That is the layout of that video. The human brain has limits in processing such intense opposition. When you see the most beautiful face in the world and the most horrifying scene of environmental destruction in the same frame, your consciousness will constantly dance between “Oh my god, he is so beautiful” and “Oh my god, this scene is terrible”, and eventually the two signals collide in your brain, exploding into a mushroom cloud. Then, Lam Triet spoke: "This place used to be my home." He speaks Mandarin very well, I have to thank my mother for this. When he was a child, his mother always forced Lam Triet to watch the program "News at 19:00", saying "Mermaids also have to keep up with the trends of the times".

“Now,” he paused, his throat moving slightly, “it's dead.”

He lowered his head, a tear rolled slowly from the corner of his eye, the video suddenly stopped. And so this video blew up social networks...