Chapter 5 — Mermaid Rising Waves

Action scheduled for early Friday morning. On Thursday afternoon, our group of fish landed on a small uninhabited island near the target area. My mother had set up a temporary field station, fully equipped with communication equipment, a first aid kit, and even... a bucket of KFC fried chicken.

“Why is there KFC like this?”

I pointed at the bucket of fried chicken.

“Your grandmother asked for it.”

My mother calmly replied.

“If you're this old, what should you do if you want to eat some hot food?”

Grandmother sat in the middle of the camp, her tone of argument was eloquent.

“……

Are you coming here too?

“Of course.

Even though she doesn't go into the water, she can command on shore."

“What do you command?”

“Commander, don't do anything stupid.”

Okay. After night fell, Lam Triet led San Ho, Cau Gai and Octopus Ca to dive into the water. They all wore custom-made underwater communication devices that my mother asked someone to make, a type of bone conduction headset that uses the vibration of the jawbone to transmit sound, the underwater communication distance is up to 500 meters. I sat on the shore, put on headphones, listening to the underwater movements.

“Lam Triet called the switchboard on shore, checked the signal, over.”

“The operator can hear you clearly.”

I replied.

“San Ho is in position, the target fleet has arrived at the expected coordinates.

Including three ships, two cargo ships, one tugboat. The discharge equipment is located on the port side of the center cargo ship.”

“Cau Gai in position.

We saw exhaust pipes, a total of three pipes, about half a meter in diameter, protruding from the side of the ship into the water. The mouth of the tube has a valve, which is currently closed.”

“Mmmmm, mmmmm, mmmmmmm!”

“Ok, Octopus Song!”

Everything went smoothly. Too smooth. My instincts told me something was wrong, but I couldn't say exactly what was wrong. Maybe it's because I think too much, after all, I'm naturally an anxious person, and even before the exam, I feel like the end of the world is coming.

“They've started releasing waste.”

San Ho's voice suddenly became tense, "The valve has opened... black liquid is being released... very concentrated concentration... pumped straight into the depression on the seabed." Octopus Ca's camera recorded all the evidence firmly.

“Continue monitoring.”

Lam Triet's voice was calm, "After 20 minutes we will retreat." Twenty minutes. I sat on the shore counting the seconds, my heart beating as fast as a drum.

“Wait.”

San Ho's voice changed, "There is movement on the ship."

“What movement?”

“There are people on deck!

No ordinary sailor! Do they wear protective gear? The kind that's covered from head to toe, with handles on——” Her words suddenly cut off.

“San Ho?

San Ho!” Lam Triet's voice became urgent.

“There's something in the water!”

Cau Gai shouted loudly, "It's a metal cage, they're releasing the cage!" A dull explosion passed through the water into my headphones, making my eardrums sting.

“Lam Triet!

Cau Gai! Coral! Octopus Ca! Answer me!”

“Retreat!”

Lam Triet's voice finally came, but it was broken, "They are blocking the underwater electric grid! Quickly withdraw——" The blood in my body froze. They know there are people in the water! No——they knew there was something in the water. They don't discharge waste randomly, they are using nets to catch fish!

“Cau Gai!”

Lam Triet's scream tore through the headphones, "Cau Gai is entangled in the electric grid! I'll go save him, San Ho, take Octopus Ca away now!"

“Lam Triet!

Don't go there!” San Ho's voice was filled with fear, "It's high voltage! You'll die!" Another loud explosion rang out, followed by the deafening noise of electric current. Then there was a dead silence.

“Lam Triet?”

My voice trembled, "Lam Triet, answer me."

“Lam Triet!!!”

“Tieu Ngu…”

His voice was weak as if coming from a very far away place, tears immediately welled up in my eyes.

“Lam Triet, where are you?

How are you?

“I…

It's okay..." His voice trembled, "Cau Gai... I pushed him away... but I..."

“What are you doing?”

“I was electrocuted…

The tail... can't move anymore..."

“Don't move!

I'll go down and find you!

“No——” His voice suddenly sharp, “Don't go down!

They have searchlights, shining all over the sea, absolutely don't go down!"

“I don't care!”

“Jiang Tieu Ngu!”

He suddenly called my full name, his tone carrying a pleading tone, "I beg you, don't come down, I promise you, I will come back, I will definitely come back." There was a burst of noise in the headset, then his last words: "Trust me." After that, communication was completely broken. I sat crouched on the shore all night. My mother stood behind, not saying a word. At five o'clock in the morning, Octopus Ca and Coral returned. Half of Coral's hair was singed, and her scales were full of burns. The Octopus Ca had two of its tentacles broken, and its ink sac was exhausted while running away. They brought back the camera. Cameras recorded the entire discharge process, from the black liquid, tar-like residue, to the metal cages dropped into the sea. What was in the cage, the camera was not clear, but grandmother said it was a bait trap device.

“Designed specifically to capture large sea creatures, when applied with electricity, it will create a magnetic field that will stun them.”

San Ho sobbed, pale pink pearl tears falling on the sand, making muffled popping sounds.

“Where is Cau Gai?”

I asked.

“Arrested.”

San's voice cracked, "We saw with our own eyes, they used a net to drag him onto the ship." I closed my eyes tightly. Tham Lam Group is not unaware that someone is preventing them from discharging waste. They know. They always knew. And they were prepared. Electric nets, bait cages, sailors armed to the teeth——they set it all up to wait for us. This is a trap. And we were like a bunch of stupid fish, just rushing in. The next day, Lam Triet returned. He swam from the sea to the shore near my house, then like a stranded fish collapsed on the sand, covered in injuries. The silver-blue tail was covered with black burn marks from electric shock, the scales had fallen off a third, revealing the pale pink flesh. When I ran downstairs, he was lying flat on the sand, struggling to raise his head to look at me. He smiled. The smile was weak and gut-wrenching, but the eyes were still bright.

“I told you, I'll be back.”

My tears fell again. This time I really couldn't hold it in anymore, it just flowed out like a stream, as if it didn't cost anything to buy——but anyway, it didn't cost real money.

“Are you stupid!”

I squatted down, frantically trying to help him up but was afraid to touch the wound, "Do you know how worried I am!"

“I'm fine.”