Yunyang and You Lu looked toward the cage at the same time.
Behind the specially reinforced metal bars was a merman covered head to toe in black, his original appearance impossible to make out.
Perhaps he had been injected with a sedative. The merman was currently slumped against the bars, asleep.
You Lu quickly withdrew her gaze and looked at the injured merman. “Nan Meng, what happened here?”
“Lord Yulu.”
Nan Meng tugged at the corners of his lips, attempting a friendly smile, but his injuries were too severe.
He could only explain softly, “He is one of our people whom we found at the secret base. His genes have mutated. It took considerable effort for us to bring him back.”
Qin Mo, standing behind Yunyang, was rather surprised.
The ten mermen sent to investigate had all possessed A-rank abilities or above. Yet this mutant merman had managed to seriously injure every one of his kin on his own?
You Lu was equally astonished and pressed on, “Then what do you intend to do with him?”
Nan Meng said, “We plan to report to Commander Lei Ou first, then take him back to our clan and submit a report to the Federation, to see whether there is any way to restore him.”
You Lu nodded and stepped aside with her beast husbands and escort unit.
Yunyang also moved to one side.
Nan Meng managed a smile at the two ladies before continuing toward the control tower with his people, wheeling the cage along with them.
The cage was driven by fuel, its base suspended twenty centimeters above the ground, so it made no sound as it moved.
The two females and the many beastmen remained silent as well.
But at that moment, the merman inside the cage abruptly opened his eyes.
His entire body was coated in black slime. Aside from his fishtail, he had none of the distinctive traits of a merman.
Yet the eyes that now entered everyone’s sight were a clear, brilliant blue—the same as those of other mermen.
A merman walking behind the cage met those blue eyes and immediately shouted, “Cover your ears!”
The surrounding beastmen were all exceptionally quick to react, covering their ears at once.
In those brief moments, Fu Shiyi even swept Yunyang into his arms and carried her away from the cage, shielding her within his ability barrier.
The newly awakened merman in the cage was quiet at first.
But once he realized where he was, rage and fear intertwined in his eyes. A harsh, grating sound immediately tore from his throat.
A merman’s throat was blessed by the ocean itself; among all beastmen, they possessed the most beautiful singing voices.
But this merman was different. Yunyang had never heard anything so unpleasant.
A trace of disdain flashed through her eyes as she covered her ears even more tightly.
The merman in the cage swept his gaze across the beastmen around him, before being drawn to a particular figure.
His sapphire-blue eyes met a pair of bright black ones, catching that fleeting hint of disgust.
The merman froze.
As though he had been deeply provoked, he suddenly stopped his sonic attack. Then he curled up in a corner of the cage, seemingly muttering something under his breath.
No matter the species, that posture looked unbearably fragile.
Yunyang blinked and instinctively touched her own face.
Was she really that frightening?
Why had this merman cowered in the corner after merely meeting her eyes?
Yunyang simply could not understand it.
Nan Meng looked at his clansman, who had suddenly ceased the sonic attack, then at Yunyang, who stood far away. For a moment, his expression was difficult to describe.
Lady Yunyang truly deserved her reputation as the most beautiful female.
That clansman had taken one look at her, and not only did he no longer dare make those awful sonic attacks, he kept repeating, “Don’t look at me.”
Of course, only their merman clan could understand those words.
Still, Nan Meng could understand why.
Lady Yunyang was not only beautiful; her spiritual power was S-rank. Many males in their clan wanted to become Lady Yunyang’s beast husband.
Nan Meng shook his head, deciding not to tell Yunyang what the mutant clansman was thinking.
After all... his clansman’s current appearance was indeed rather unpleasant to look at.
He approached the corner of the cage and gave the mutant merman another sedative injection. Only then did he and the others continue into the control tower.
Thanks to their swift response, Yunyang’s and You Lu’s beast husbands, along with the members of both escort units, had not been greatly affected by the mutant merman’s voice.
Only one or two of them had experienced a slight rise in contamination levels. Since their contamination levels had not been high to begin with, they would not lose control.
Once the mermen had disappeared from view, Yunyang returned to You Lu’s side.
You Lu was still looking in the direction the mermen had gone.
Earlier, she had told Yunyang that she had taken a liking to Nan Meng and planned to take him as a beast husband once the matter of the voices had been cleared up.
Yunyang gently tugged at her arm.
“Lulu, come back to earth.”
You Lu immediately snapped out of it. “Ah, Yangyang, what is it?”
Yunyang looked toward the two robots approaching them. “It’s time to go to the purification rooms.”
“Oh, right.”
You Lu nodded, then waved at her after the robots came closer.
“See you later, Yangyang.”
She led her beast husbands and escort unit toward the purification rooms on the left.
Yunyang, meanwhile, followed the robot toward the right.
While the two of them purified the Federation soldiers’ contamination, Nan Meng and the others brought the mutant merman into Leo’s office area.
“Commander Lei Ou, this is the mutant merman we found at the secret base.”
Leo lifted his head from behind a cluster of light screens.
The soldier’s sharp gaze settled on the mutant merman. Since the merman’s original appearance could not be discerned, it was difficult for him to determine exactly what kind of mutation had occurred.
But he clearly remembered that when the First Army had moved its garrison to Planet T01, they had thoroughly searched the bases belonging to those deranged researchers.
At the time, they had found no trace of this merman.
Even the life-detection device on their optical computers had issued no alert.
Was this merman truly nothing more than a mutant merman?
Leo shut down the array of light screens and fixed Nan Meng with a serious look. “How did you find him?”
Nan Meng promptly explained the circumstances in detail and expressed his wish to bring the mutant merman back to their clan.
Compared with other races, mermen were extremely few in number. Naturally, they did not want any member of their people left wandering outside.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t agree to that.”
Leo tapped the optical computer on his wrist.
“Based on what you’ve said, his voice causes male contamination levels to rise. For the safety of Federation citizens, he must remain under special supervision until he has returned to normal.”
“However, you needn’t worry. I will contact the research institute that took in the beastmen who were experimented on back then. They should have a way to restore him.”
The mermen exchanged glances and quickly came to a decision.
They had no reason to distrust Commander Lei Ou.
Nan Meng nodded on behalf of his people. “All right. If he returns to normal, please contact our merman clan immediately.”
Leo inclined his head.
He had not overlooked the injuries on the mermen’s bodies and soon arranged for someone to take them to the medical pods.
After the ten mermen had left, he activated his optical computer and contacted the head of the genetic research institute on Planet X92.
Upon learning that there was an experimental subject overlooked all those years ago, the person in charge immediately said that they would bring the mutant merman back as quickly as possible.
