LSDWTWHA chapter 82

Chapter 81

Moonlight and starlight filtered through the misty clouds, casting a faint glow.

The floating ship slowly descended into the dark, ink-like waters, and metal stairs gradually extended outward, connecting to the port’s passage.

Su Su sat in a wheelchair, rolling out from the ship’s cabin. The temperature on Freedom Island was colder than in the Imperial Capital. As the sea breeze blew, it felt as if it could freeze a person to the bone. Su Su shrank his neck in against the cold and tightened the scarf at his collar, his eyes darting around restlessly.

Although it was night, the lighting here was not dim. The surrounding lights were brighter than the moonlight on a sunny day, illuminating every building and street clearly.

This was about the size of a small town, with various houses scattered around. By relying on the signs above, one could vaguely identify places such as hospitals, inns, and warehouses. The buildings here lacked any aesthetic appeal but appeared quite sturdy, resembling small fortresses. The tall building in the center, more than ten stories high, was no exception; it looked even sturdier than the Mo family’s circular building, with the flag of Yan Shipping hanging above.

The dock was surrounded by high walls to establish boundaries, and automated defensive facilities and weapons were set up on the walls, with guards fully armed on the watchtowers.

Various detection and surveillance aircraft flew in the sky.

Compared to the port or the small town, this place felt more like a military stronghold.

Su Su had good hearing. As he came down from the port, besides the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and the wind howling through the buildings, he also heard another sound that was more familiar.

Bombardments, explosions—sounds that belonged to the battlefield, mixed with the smell of dust and gunpowder, howling in the piercing cold wind.

“Freedom Island has various factions in competition, and battles of all sizes happen frequently. The Dark Tide needs to ensure the safety of its members, so the base must be built sturdily,” Yan Bai explained to Su Su. “Don’t worry, our equipment is top-notch. There are guards at the watchtower every day. It’s quite safe within the base.”

“Is this Freedom Island?” A surprised voice came from behind Su Su.

He turned around to see Mo Lin being pushed by two members of the Dark Tide as he walked out from the ship’s cabin. The once pampered young master suddenly found himself in a captured state, and the members of the Dark Tide, filled with disdain for him, must have made his last couple of days quite difficult.

His previously neat shirt and trousers had become dirty and wrinkled, and his usually well-groomed blonde hair resembled dry grass. Apart from the dark circles under his eyes and his pale skin, there were also several bruises at the corners of his mouth and cheekbones, not to mention the injuries concealed beneath his clothing.

The thin garment did little to protect him from the severe cold of Freedom Island. Although Mo Lin still straightened his back and tried to maintain the decorum befitting a noble, his slightly hunched posture and chattering teeth betrayed his true feelings at that moment.

But no one here felt sympathy for him. The members of the Dark Tide were either mermaids or humans who supported mermaids. They were well aware of what the Mo family had done at the Training Center, so why would they sympathize with Mo Lin, who was part of the management? In their eyes, the hardships faced by this young master paled in comparison to the suffering experienced by the mermaids.

In the end, Yan Bai waved at his subordinates: “Give him a coat. After all, he is from the Mo family; we can’t let him freeze to death. How are we supposed to negotiate with the Mo family later?”

At that, his subordinate brought over an old coat and draped it over Mo Lin.

Having suffered greatly in recent days, Mo Lin no longer held his previous arrogance. He stared hard at Yan Bai, realizing that his fate now rested in the hands of the other party. If he wanted to survive, he had to make Yan Bai understand his value: “What do you want? Money, or do you need something done? As long as the conditions aren’t too outrageous, if you send me back to the Mo family, I can help you achieve it. Conversely, if I die, the Mo family will surely spare no effort to convince His Majesty to send troops to Freedom Island. At that time, you, the Dark Tide, will be burying with me.”

But Yan Bai was not concerned about what he said. Before figuring out the situation with Yan San, Yan Bai didn’t have time to deal with Mo Lin and wasn’t in the mood to negotiate with the Mo family about anything: “Take him to the central stronghold, the bottom level, and find a single room. Make sure it’s secured.”

Yan Bai brought Mo Lin back merely to prevent him from leaking the relationship between the Yan family and the Dark Tide. This could influence their subsequent plans. But now there was no certainty that the follows-ups would move forward. If Yan San truly was a member of the Insect Clan, he didn’t even know what the future of the Dark Tide looked like.

Yan Bai, according to the two’s plan, settled Su Su in a little house at the port that was vertically positioned to the sea. The house was made of a special kind of anti-corrosive wood and coated with a water-repelling lacquer. The specially designed base structure resembled a small boat; when the tide came in, it would be lifted by the seawater, floating on the surface. When the tide receded, a wooden frame would support it, hanging above the sea.

There was a water slide designed specifically for mermaids here, allowing access to the sea without leaving home.

There were many such little houses at the port, all inhabited by mermaid hybrids who couldn’t fully transform; they could only maintain both fish and mermaid states. Compared to moving about in a wheelchair, they preferred the sea.

“You’ll stay here for now,” Yan Bai dismissed the others, letting them go rest while he pushed Su Su’s wheelchair into the room.

After closing the door, Yan Bai brought Su Su to the bedroom and pointed to a raised area on the floor.

“You have to open this cover to access the water slide,” Yan Bai said, demonstrating as he lifted a handle, raising a section of the floor that revealed a slide-like passage. From above, one could see the sea not far below.

“I’ll add a mechanism for you later, so that as long as the wheels of your wheelchair press on the mechanism, the cover will flip open, allowing you to slide right into the water slide.”

As Yan Bai explained, he commanded someone to fetch some parts from the warehouse.

“You can do this? You know how to?” Su Su stared in surprise as Yan Bai skillfully assembled various mechanical components together.

“I originally played ‘Star Wars’ by designing and assembling starships,” Yan Bai said, revealing a hint of pride: “If it weren’t for needing to manage the Dark Tide, I actually wanted to study mechanical design in college. I’ve always been interested in these things; the structure of these wooden houses was all designed by me. Unfortunately, there have been too many things to take care of, and I haven’t had the time.”

While they spoke, Yan Bai had already finished assembling the parts, testing them several times, and everything was very responsive: “Alright, if you encounter danger later, just hide over here. When the wheels press down on the switch, you’ll be able to escape immediately.”

However, Yan Bai still felt a bit uneasy, making adjustments to the mechanism. He only stood up when he saw the sky beginning to lighten, feeling a hint of fatigue: “Alright, you wait here quietly; I have to go meet him.”

This was the first time Yan Bai felt such mixed emotions when going to see Yan San, even feeling a bit of reluctance.

But reality allowed no time for escape. Standing at the top of the central building, at the entrance to Yan San’s lounge, Yan Bai took a deep breath, tried to appear as usual, then knocked on the door: “Father, are you up?”

“I’m already awake; come in,” Yan San said, sitting in a reclining chair by the window, gazing out toward the sea. “When did you arrive?”

“Last night,” Yan Bai’s voice subconsciously tightened.

“What are you nervous about?” Yan San turned his chair around, his expression unreadable: “Worried about punishment for acting privately?”

Yan Bai realized he had shown some signs of vulnerability. Fortunately, Yan San didn’t suspect anything. Gazing at that familiar and reassuring face, Yan Bai gradually steadied himself: “I’m not afraid of your punishment, but I don’t think I did anything wrong. The rescue was something you tacitly approved. As for destroying the Mermaid Training Center, it wasn’t an impulsive decision; I have my reasons.”

“Your reasons?” Yan San raised his gaze, as if trying to see through Yan Bai: “Let me hear them.”

“Su Su said that the permission to access the Baize is on himself.” Meeting Yan San was his first attempt to lie in front of him. Under the scrutiny of his profound eyes, he was so nervous that his palms became sweaty, yet he still barely maintained his composure.

Yan San showed a thoughtful expression: “When did he say that? How come I didn’t know?”

“Just by the warehouse at the dock; he told the others to leave and told me alone,” the lie now flowing freely from Yan Bai: “Su Su was quite affected by what happened at the Training Center; he internally resented that place. Because of that, he could empathize with the mermaids and understand our goal. But he also has some doubts about our previous actions. So he needs me to prove, through actions, that the Dark Tide can be trusted. Only when he trusts us will he be willing to cooperate with our plans.”

Facing his loyalty, Yan San had no doubts about Yan Bai lying. However, he did not find Su Su trustworthy: “So what did he tell you about that access permission?”

“He said it’s his gene encoding,” Yan Bai recited the pre-agreed narrative with Su Su: “Su Su told me that Qi Hanyi’s time is short; feeling that he has talent, he wants him to inherit the Baize’s access permission, so he customized a permission based on his gene encoding. In other words, besides Qi Hanyi, he can also enter and exit the Baize freely. But this permission cannot be transferred to others, as his body is the key to unlocking the Baize.”

Yan San nodded lightly: “So he wanted you to destroy the Training Center? He really dares to make such conditions, but how do you know he’s telling the truth? What if he’s just scared of falling into the hands of the Dark Tide and is deliberately dangling this before you?”

“It’s true. I had Lin Dian check the military records, and Qi Hanyi indeed recorded Su Su’s authority for the Baize. Father, this will be the closest we’ve come to our plan’s success, so I’d rather give it a try. I destroyed the Training Base to gain Su Su’s trust, I let him gain access to communication terminals and gave him the opportunity to leave freely. I even followed his suggestion to hand over the rescued mermaids to the High Priest. Everything I did was to earn Su Su’s trust.”

“And he didn’t leave, even willing to tell me about his private communications with Qi Hanyi, which further reassured me that he genuinely wishes to cooperate and has been trying to trust us.”

Under Yan Bai’s persuasion, Yan San showed a hint of interest: “So what does he say now? Is he willing to join the plan?”

Upon hearing this, Yan Bai hesitated: “He said he’s still a bit hesitant and hopes to meet the real person in charge here.”

Yan San’s eyes darkened even further, like a whirlpool that would swallow everything: “He wants to see me? Sure, you bring him here, and I’ll talk to him properly. I will gain Su Su’s trust, and as long as he can complete our plan, even if it means handing over command of the Dark Tide to him, I would willingly give my life for that.”

Yan Bai’s heart sank gradually, a chill creeping up his back. If this had been said before, he would have only admired Yan San’s selflessness; but now it sounded as if it carried another layer of meaning. He seemed to wish to latch onto Su Su, using Su Su’s identity to control the Dark Tide, and provide a rational explanation for his current body’s demise.

“There’s no need to go to such lengths,” Yan Bai advised in a dry tone: “Just talk to him nicely, and I believe you will manage to persuade him. However, Su Su cannot temporarily transform into a human, and he distrusts you greatly, stubbornly refusing to come to the central building with me. He insists on staying in the floating house at the port for the mermaids, saying he feels safer there. What do you think…”

“The floating house,” Yan San seemed to think of something, his face showing a hint of concern: “I don’t mind making the trip to see him; I just worry he’s not genuinely cooperating and merely wishes to confirm my identity, or even catch me to threaten the Dark Tide. After all, his true form is a shark, and it would be easy for him to escape back to the sea from the floating house.”

Yan Bai quickly replied: “You can rest assured about this; I will keep watch outside. We’ve come this far, and regardless of whether we can strike a deal, we cannot allow him to leave freely. I understand this principle.”