Chapter 3

"The females go in the pot. The males stay with me. I've heard mermaid tears turn into pearls. They can make me a whole set of jewelry."

Laughter roared around us.

I laughed too.

"Lovely plan."

"Unfortunately, in tens of thousands of years, our clan has only produced one pretty mermaid. Me."

"The others probably aren't your type."

Gu Mingzhu's smile vanished.

"Gag her!"

Gu Xiao picked up a tranquilizer syringe, but Lu Chenzhou suddenly broke free of the guards and crashed into the instrument trolley beside the worktable.

In the confusion, Gu Mingzhu snatched the knife from the chef, furious and humiliated.

"I'll cut out your vocal cords first!"

The point pierced my neck.

A drop of blood fell into the stockpot.

BOOM—

The entire estate shook.

The chandelier fell. Screaming guests fled for the exits.

Outside the windows, the sea abruptly sank away, exposing black reefs that had never seen sunlight.

Gu Cheng's face changed.

"Tsunami!"

"Everyone upstairs!"

I forced my head up.

"Wrong."

"That's no tsunami."

A low whale call sounded in the distance.

The vanished sea rose vertically, forming an immense blue wall of water that towered above the clouds.

Gu Ye rushed to the controls and activated the estate's underwater cannons.

"I don't care what it is. Fire!"

The shells had barely left the barrels when an enormous tail bristling with bony spikes swept out of the sea.

They exploded in midair.

The tail kept coming. It smashed all three whaling ships and the estate's gun turret into scrap metal.

At last, the Gu family stopped laughing.

They stared out at the sea in terror.

One. Two. Hundreds. Tens of thousands.

Giant whales heaved up the waves. Sharks filled the coastal waters. Ancient beasts as vast as mountain ranges surfaced one after another.

Gu Mingzhu collapsed onto the floor, her lips bloodless.

"What… what are those things?"

【Chapter 5】

Following Mother's gaze, Gu Mingzhu looked down at her own foot.

She recoiled as though burned.

"I… I didn't know she was your daughter."

Mother ignored her.

She lifted a finger. A stream of seawater raised me into her arms.

The familiar scent broke through everything I'd held back for two days.

"Mother, they pulled out my scales. And they said I was seducing a man."

Her hand went still.

A moment later, Gu Mingzhu's right leg twisted backward without anyone touching it.

Bone cracked.

She screamed and crumpled to the floor.

"My leg!"

Mother held me tight. Her voice was ice.

"You like stepping on people?"

"Go on."

Gu Ye charged at her with his whaling axe.

My third brother yawned.

A gale swept through the hall.

Gu Ye and his axe flew dozens of meters. He ended up dangling upside down from the crystal chandelier, his clothes torn to shreds.

My brother spat in disgust.

"Not enough meat on him to fill a gap between my teeth."

Gu Cheng was deathly pale, but he still forced himself forward.

"Let's talk this through."

"The Gu family is prepared to compensate you. Five billion."

Father pointed at the whales the shells had wounded offshore.

"What will you give them?"

Gu Cheng changed his offer at once.

"Ten billion."

"We can establish an ocean conservation fund as well."

My eldest brother walked into the hall carrying a trident.

Half a cannon barrel still hung from its tip.

"Well, aren't you clever."

"First you shoot them. Then you pay to protect them."

"A complete business model."

The guests wanted to laugh and didn't dare. Their faces turned red with the effort.

Gu Xiao gritted his teeth.

"She's only suffered a few superficial injuries."

"The Gu family has already backed down. Don't push your luck."

My second sister crawled across the shattered outer wall. Eight tentacles slowly extended into the hall.

"What makes you think you're entitled to say that?"

"Are your ancestors buried under our sea or something?"

Gu Xiao couldn't get a word out.

But while no one was watching, Gu Mingzhu seized the remote and pressed the red button.

Machinery thundered to life in the basement.

A piercing sonic blast erupted.

My brothers and sister suddenly went rigid.

Out at sea, the great beasts writhed in pain.

The collar snapped tight around my neck. Blood trickled down my collarbones.

Gu Xiao wiped away his cold sweat. His smile returned.

"Did you think we'd spent all these years studying the ocean without making preparations?"

"This is a deep-sea resonator."

"We recorded every note she sang."

Gu Mingzhu hauled herself up against the table and retrieved the scaling knife.

"Now kneel."

"Or I'll kill your whole family."

Mother shielded me. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

I touched the burning collar.

And smiled too.

"You're using my voice against my own people?"

"All right, then."