Princess Jinzhu had managed to shed a single pearl teardrop. Harker reminded her that it should be small enough to be unnoticeable and easy to slip into his nasogastric tube he will be fed with. The result was a pearl that's only 1mm in diameter, almost like a speck of sand.
They waited for the worker to bring them their dinner. They were told they would receive it at 6pm, and it was currently 5:43pm. According to the date and time screen, it has been 2 days since Harker went to Las Vegas.
Since there was still a bit more time before the worker arrived, Harker decided to ask some of the most burning questions about the jiaorens and Mr. Xi.
'You said you were kept for 15 years…. What exactly happened 15 years ago that made you agree to be under Mr. Xi's "protection"?'
Princess Jinzhu was observing the very small pearl from side to side. "For that, I had to explain what happened to our Mother and Father. Less than a hundred years ago, humans had advanced at a very fast rate. They can fly on metal birds, destroy entire cities with just one explosion, observe the depths of the ocean they never had before through metal whales…"
She lamented the memory. "Those moments were very difficult for us jiaorens, who just want to live in the South Sea in peace. The cultivators had lessened in numbers and were replaced by scientists, who do not know the limitations of seeking knowledge. The agreement between cultivators and jiaorens has been forgotten."
'What agreement?' Harker asked.
"The agreement that we shall live far, far below…. Never interfering with the surface. We could perform business like selling pearls and silk we have woven in exchange of their fruits and vegetables from the land. But other than that, human cultivators must not explore too far into the ocean and we must not stay on the surface of the water too long."
'And yet humans did that once they have invented new technology.' Harker thought.
She smiled. "Human technology is fascinating, and greatly beneficial for them. But not for us, not for nature where they take resources for such technology. My father and mother are quite old-fashioned people, they could not see that we have to instead adapt and ask help from other land monsters. They still believe they can appeal to humans about the agreement."
'But humans have no idea about this agreement anymore. We don't even believe you guys exist.' Harker said.
"Exactly. So, a few decades back, a company had launched the first deep-sea mining in China. This would truly damage our anemones and the homes we made for ourselves. The miners were surprised by the large-sized coral reefs and decided to exploit that as well, not knowing we live there."
Princess Jinzhu made a rising gesture. "So, my father and mother went up to the surface to stop them. They were diplomatic about it, as my father was a real gentleman. However, the shock of the merman appearing had brought the company in a state of panic."
"They pretended to listen to the appeal. But deep down, they must have known that if news about merpeople living underwater reached the environmental activists, they would have more fuel to stop operations like this that can damage the ecosystem." Princess Jinzhu said. "So they tried to erase our existence."
She then scrunched her eyebrows. "I don't really understand it."
'Huh? Which part do you not understand?' Harker asked. 'How humans can be so cruel for their own greed?'
Princess Jinzhu shook her head. "No. I can understand that, even jiaorens can be greedy too. What I mean is…."
"I don't know what 'ecosystem' or 'environmental activists' are. That's how Mr. Xi explained it to us, I just repeated it word for word." She explained. "Eldest Sister Meizhu said he was honest, so I shared it with you."
Harker does not know what to say again. She can really replicate sounds so well to the point that she can memorize what people said a long time ago word for word.
"What I do know is this…. We thought that teaming up with the snake demons would be the best idea. Because Mr. Xi was being honest in his words, we trusted him. But we were wrong…. He tricked us." Princess Jinzhu frowned.
Harker said. 'Well, in his mind, he was still helping and protecting you. He's a delusional man. He can't see that what he was doing was wrong."
"My sister heard from his voice that he was being misguided by the words of someone he looks up to. She said this to him and asked him to stop listening to this person, but he didn't." Princess Jinzhu pouted. "Otherwise, why would we be kept here like this?"
'She must be talking about his father. Mr. Xi was raised wrongly by her father. His wife too, had been raised in a bad environment that's why she also imprisoned people.'
"Monsters?"
'No, she kept humans and took advantage of them. In her mind, it's the natural thing to do because that's how she was raised. In a place where everyone takes advantage of each other. So she thought that she should just do it too.'
Princess Jinzhu crossed her arms. "I see. Delusions are dangerous."
Harker nodded. "Especially if it's belief that you're doing a good thing for someone."
They then heard footsteps, and looked up to the clock. It's 6pm now, time for dinner.
Princess Jinzhu stood upright and kept her hold on the very tiny pearl. She wore the same blank and gentle expression, but Harker could tell that she was determined to get this right.
The workers came in with wheeled trolleys that had trays covered by a metal dome called 'cloche'. It's those fancy covers you usually see in fine dining restaurants. The workers were like waiters delivering the dishes, complete with a uniform and bowtie.
pαпdα-ňᴏνêι·сóМ However, there was something different about these fancy waiters.
They were wearing gas masks. Possibly to not inhale a certain scent.
Harker clicked his tongue. So Mr. Xi knew about him having the Succubus Ability. But that's not all.
The workers do not open the tank to bring the food. They bring out large tubes as a chute to send them out on holes that are as large as a human fist. These holes are made of steel and could only be opened with a key.
"For dinner, the mermaids will have some de-shelled lobster and yellowfin tuna. Princess Jinzhu will have some medicine to fix her ruined throat from the strain earlier. As for Mr. Jones, it will be blenderized potatoes, blenderized nuts, and milk."
The worker in front of him opened the fancy metal cloche….
And revealed a literal syringe of blendered food.
What fine dining indeed. Harker felt like a baby all over again. But he's not too worried about being fed baby formula….
He's more focused on thinking of how he can get that pearl into this baby food that will be fed through his nose.
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