Doll Survival Game - Chapter 28 - The Vanished Mermaid (Part 21)

Luo Yiran gazed at the black cloaked man standing atop the pile of garbage.

The wide black cloak obscured his entire face, revealing only his arms, but there were no black markings on his hands.

Not someone from the prison.

Luo Yiran was absolutely certain.

The fierce wind tousled his hair as Luo Yiran smiled at the man holding the long sword.

The black cloaked man sheathed his sword and abruptly turned to leave.

Artel, squinting against the wind, put on his disguise sunglasses and, oblivious to the garbage heap, asked in confusion, “Why aren’t we knocking?”

Luo Yiran turned back and glanced up at the magician.

The magician was watching the direction in which the black cloaked man had disappeared.

The doll interrupted his gaze, directing the magician to knock on the wooden door ahead.

The houses in the lower class area looked ready to collapse, and Artel was visibly displeased with the place, gingerly stepping with the tips of his shoes.

“Why isn’t anyone answering? So rude,” Artel grumbled, growing more discontented. “And why are we in a place like this?”

“So dirty.”

The magician chuckled softly, “Indeed, why are we here? After all, young master, your goal is survival. Some things are better left unknown.”

The doll looked up, “Not understanding the situation can be a disadvantage.” Besides, isn’t the point of playing a game to fully understand it?

Just as Luo Yiran finished speaking, the wooden door creaked open slightly.

From the narrow, dark gap, a pair of gray eyes stared intently at them.

Artel held his breath in fright.

“Hello,” Luo Yiran said without blinking, meeting those eyes. “I have some questions for you.”

The owner of the eyes blinked slowly, then opened the door a bit wider.

His face was revealed-an old, scarred visage, deeply lined and uneven.

Artel silently took a few steps back.

Inside the hat, the doll stood on tiptoe, “Tomorrow, Water City will be submerged. We might all die, so telling me won’t make much difference, and you wouldn’t want to take secrets with you, would you?”

The word “submerge” caused a flicker in the old man’s dull eyes. He seemed to struggle for breath, his laughter sounding like gasps, “Submersion is good.”

“Once submerged, everything will be over!”

The doll watched him as the old man rambled on, then suddenly lowered his head, “…Who are you? What do you want?”

The doll pointed casually, “I’m from outside Water City. I’m here to ask about the past.”

The old man’s eyes cleared for a moment, and after a pause, he seemed to recall something and stepped aside, “Come in.”

The wind outside was too strong, so the doll agreed, guiding the magician inside.

Artel refused to enter, wrapping his coat tightly around himself, his golden curls nearly blown into a mess by the wind, “I’ll wait outside!”

“Alright,” Luo Yiran replied nonchalantly.

The old man’s room was pitch black, with no windows or any way to see outside, as if the old man couldn’t stand the light.

Click.

The wooden door closed, and the old man walked past, “There’s a chair by the door. Sit down.”

The doll directed the magician to sit.

“What do you want to know?” The old man, familiar with every part of the room, moved without bumping into anything, even in the dark. He went to a spot and sat down.

Luo Yiran paused for a moment before speaking, “Is there something I need to do before you tell me what I want to know?”

The old man laughed, a harsh, raspy sound, “No need for you to do anything. Just ask.” There was no need for conditions anymore, as they were already met.

The doll couldn’t see the layout of the room, but he accurately faced the old man’s direction, “Then I’ll ask directly.”

“Was Water City submerged before? I want to know what happened then.”

The first question covered most of the story. The old man lowered his head, fumbling for a cigarette. As he reached for a lighter, a sudden flame flickered in the darkness.

The old man looked up to see a playing card burning, illuminating a face wrapped in bandages, with the doll’s red eyes gleaming like crystal in the firelight.

Silently, he had approached the old man.

The old man froze for a moment, then used the burning card to light his cigarette.

“Water City was submerged before,” the old man said, his voice hoarse but clear. Yet, he hesitated with the next words, finally speaking after a long pause, “How much do you know?”

Luo Yiran didn’t hesitate, “Idia was imprisoned by Water City for over a decade. During that time, anything could have been done to him.” Speculations were unnecessary.

“They’re all cowards,” the old man said, taking a deep drag, smoke swirling as he looked towards Luo Yiran in the dark.

The old man shook his head slightly, “Before the last submersion, there was also a mermaid. That mermaid went through the same as Idia… even worse.”

“Do you know what a mermaid looks like at first? Like a blank sheet of paper, like a newborn child.” The old man’s face showed a heavy, longing expression, “Water City always had legends of mermaids, but it wasn’t until decades ago that we actually saw one, brought back by a man from the village who went out to sea.”

“It was obedient and gentle, never resisting no matter what was done to it, accepting even pain.”

“And do you know how beautiful a mermaid is?” The old man’s voice wavered with emotion, “It’s far more beautiful than Idia, a strange beauty that clearly shows it’s not human, yet no one could resist approaching it.”

Luo Yiran remained silent, listening intently. The old man calmed down a bit, “I was just a teenager then, sneaking peeks at it every day.”

“Until later, the man sold the mermaid, moving his family into a nice house.”

“Then, the buyer of the mermaid accidentally fell into the water one drunken night, but returned alive the next day… That person gained the ability to breathe underwater from the mermaid, and they believed it was because they ‘loved’ the mermaid.” The old man smoked heavily, “Humans are creatures easily consumed by greed, with endless desires.”

The doll finally spoke, “By ‘love,’ you mean purely physical relations, right?”

“Yes, that’s the ability gained through intimate contact with the mermaid, the closer, the easier to obtain.” The old man didn’t hesitate, “Back then, the mermaid was beautiful and mysterious, never angry or resisting, like a pile of money laid before you without a lock.”

Luo Yiran frowned, disliking the analogy, and skipped over it, asking, “Was there no cost to gaining the ability to breathe underwater from the mermaid?”

The old man paused, “There was, but it wasn’t apparent at the time… I’ll explain later.”

Luo Yiran nodded, allowing the old man to continue.

“People might have been drawn to physical desires or simply needed the ability to breathe underwater, as Water City was often flooded by the sea. People feared accidents.”

The old man wiped his face with the back of his hand, “So the mermaid became a commodity, with many coming to buy time with it.”

“I was selected through numerous rounds to care for the mermaid,” the old man’s voice lowered, “But by then, the mermaid had learned to undress for anyone who approached.”

“No matter how I tried, I couldn’t teach it to dress.” The old man’s hand dropped, a red glow following his hand down, “Until it fell in love with someone.”

“That was another caretaker… perhaps to the mermaid, it wasn’t love, just the first time it felt something different, being treated with gentle kindness.”

“But soon, that person died, beaten to death by the mermaid’s ‘master,’ right in front of it.”

The old man took another drag, “In our legends, mermaids are like angels, untouched by the world, but if they cry, they become human, with emotions.”

“The mermaid cried in the water tank, and pearls fell from its eyes.”

“Then Water City was about to be submerged. It rained for days without stopping. I thought it was just a natural disaster.”

The old man recalled, “I was responsible for the mermaid, and many came for it, mostly seeking the ability to breathe underwater.”

“As the sea flooded more of Water City, people sought shelter, leaving only me and the mermaid locked in that house.”

“I was abandoned, the mermaid could still live.” The old man’s voice trembled, “At that time, people didn’t think Water City would be completely submerged, seeking the mermaid was just extra insurance, but I was doomed, lacking the ability to breathe underwater, unable to escape the locked house.”

“But as the water rose, the mermaid made its first request.”

“It said, take me to the mountain.”

The old man coughed, then laughed, “A blank sheet of paper painted over with white paint still looks white, but it’s no longer the original paper… That day, the mermaid and I went to the mountain, but it was the mermaid who opened the door.”

“I first realized it had sharp claws, but didn’t understand why it didn’t leave, knowing those people were hurting it.”

“Until we reached the highest mountain in Water City, I realized it wanted revenge.”

Luo Yiran finally showed some interest, “What did it do?”

“The sea was brought by the mermaid,” the old man’s voice was full of irony, “The sea quickly submerged the shelter, those who could breathe underwater thought they could survive, but as soon as they surfaced, they were dragged back down. The mermaid watched from behind a tree as they surfaced with hope, then were pulled down in despair, until they sank, starving underwater.”

“Ultimately, only a few who could breathe underwater survived.”

“The mermaid didn’t kill them all, but it did cause many innocent deaths, which is why I left it.”

“But it seemed to have learned a new ability, I felt it wanted to keep me.” The old man’s hand shook, “Then strangely, I wanted to obey everything it said.”

“But I was too scared, seeing the bodies float up terrified me.” The old man said weakly, “Then I felt that compulsion disappear.”

“The mermaid let me go.”

After saying this, the old man fell silent.

“And then?” Luo Yiran asked, understanding the old man’s silence.

“A few days after the sea receded, the survivors of Water City searched for the mermaid, unaware it had brought the sea, only knowing it could let them breathe underwater.”

“But the mermaid was dead, they only found its severed fish tail.”

“…?”

It wasn’t the people of Water City who discovered the truth and killed the mermaid.

So Idia’s existence could be explained, someone in Water City was trying to create a mermaid, perhaps to regain the ability to breathe underwater or for other reasons… and they succeeded.

But-who killed the mermaid?