Chapter 9 — Mermaid Rising Waves

Tong Vien Hang's voice was a little respectful, "But this person is a bit crazy, quiet, and just huddles in the laboratory all day."
“Deep sea landfill technology?”
I pretended to ask casually, "Do you find this technology trustworthy?" Tong Vien Hang glanced at me, his expression changed slightly, but quickly returned to normal.
“Is this…
The company always propagates that it is 'safe, environmentally friendly, and sustainable'. But to be honest, I don't know this field very well. I work in environmental monitoring, not deep-sea engineering." The answer is tight without any gaps. I decided not to rush to try to find out, just take it slow. The first week of work, I demonstrated the standards of a good, diligent intern: come to work on time, finish work on time, don't come in late and leave early, complete any work assigned by my superiors on time, and ask for help from colleagues who need help.
one-handed movement. I didn't say much, didn't ask curious questions, and didn't show interest in anything outside the scope of work. My job is mainly to synthesize environmental monitoring data - water quality sampling reports in marine areas, biome survey results, sediment analysis data, etc. All of these data are public versions that have been "processed", look completely normal, and the indicators are within the national standard threshold. But I know, these figures
is fake. Because I saw real photos of the seabed in Lam Triet's phone, if those photos were published, it would be enough for Tham Lam Group's shares to hit the bottom. The problem is, how to get real data? On the fifth day of work, the opportunity came. That afternoon, Director Ly called me into his office to give me a job: "Tieu Ngu, Dr. Trieu has a batch of data analyzing deep-sea sediment samples that needs to be entered into the system. Go to the lab to get the USB and bring it here."
“Yes, Director Ly.”
I walked out of the room, my heart pounding lightly. Dr. Trieu's laboratory is a key area of the Technology Research department, a place I have longed to enter since I first started working but never had the opportunity. The Technology Research Department is located on the 25th floor. I took the elevator up, the hallway was quiet, the lights were a bit dark, and the air had a faint chemical smell. On both sides of the hallway are a series of laboratories, through the glass you can see the insides are full of machinery and equipment, along with several giant stainless steel tanks.
don't know what it contains. Dr. Trieu's lab is at the end of the hallway. I knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
I pushed the door open and walked in. Dr. Trieu was sitting in front of the computer, the screen displayed a bunch of data charts that I didn't understand. He didn't bother to raise his head: "What's going on?"
“Dr. Trieu, Director Ly told me to come over and get a USB of deep-sea sediment analysis data.”
Only then did he raise his head and look at me through his thick glasses.
“New person?”
“Yes, I am Khuong Tieu Ngu, an intern in the Environmental Compliance department.”
“Ah.”
He bent down, took out a numbered USB from the drawer, and handed it to me, "Take it. Enter it and return it immediately."
"Yes."
I took the USB, turned around and was about to leave. But at that moment, the corner of my eye accidentally glanced at a line of text on his computer screen: "Report on testing heavy metal content in sediments around the deep sea landfill (Internal confidential document)" My heart skipped a beat. Below the text
it's a data table. I quickly glanced through: lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium... every index was incredibly high, far exceeding the national standard. The last line of the table notes the sampling coordinates! Those coordinates are extremely familiar. That was the sea where Lam Triet's group first discovered the discharge. I tried to suppress the shock in my heart and walked out of the laboratory without changing my expression. Returning to my seat, I plugged the USB into the computer and started entering data. The data has been scrambled, identical to the public versions
Otherwise, all indicators are at normal levels. The real data is on Dr. Trieu's computer, in the "Internal Confidential Documents" file. I have to get that file. But how? Over the next few days, I continuously thought about this issue. Second week of work. That afternoon, I was making coffee in the break room when Tong Vien Hang walked in.
“Tieu Ngu, is work going well these days?”
He asked while collecting hot water.
“It's quite good, everyone is enthusiastic to help me.”
I smiled and replied, "What about you?"
“It's okay.”
He raised his glass of water and leaned against the break room bar, looking absent-minded.
“What's wrong?
Do you have anything to say? He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice: “Do you feel… our room's environmental monitoring data is a bit… too perfect?” My hand stopped slightly, but my face showed no expression.
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean,” He looked around, confirming that no one was continuing, “in the waters I'm in charge of, according to the company's sampling data, the water quality is always excellent.
But last week when I independently took samples, the results were completely opposite." My heart beats continuously.
“What's the opposite?”
“Heavy metal content exceeds standards by 10 times.”
His voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, “There are also petroleum-based contaminants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, even traces of radioactive isotopes.” I looked at him, trying to control my expression.
“Why do you…
go and take samples yourself? I asked. He was silent for a few seconds, then smiled softly.
“Because my grandfather was a fisherman, he had been fishing in those waters all his life.
Last year, he was diagnosed with cancer.”
“The doctor said it was due to long-term exposure to heavy metals and organic pollutants.”
Tong Vien Hang's voice trembled slightly, "I don't trust the company's data, so I went to investigate myself."
“Do you know what you're saying?”
I whispered, “If the company finds out about this——” “I know.” He interrupted me, "So I never told anyone. Until now." We looked at each other for a few seconds.
“Then why did you tell me?”
I asked.
“Because I see you are not like them.”
"What do you mean?"
“Every time she sorts through data, seeing those perfect numbers, her eyebrows always frown a little.”
I was silent for a long time. To be honest, only now do I truly understand my grandmother's words - "You stand at the boundary". Right now, I am standing at the boundary between the Deep Lam Group and the mermaid tribe, on the left is the enemy, on the right is home, in the middle is an extremely thin rope. I am not allowed to take even one wrong step.