Humans are coming.
Lapers held Jiang Mian in his arms and slowly opened his eyelids. His golden eyes, like burning lamps, opened silently in the hazy night.
His blood flowed through the bodies of many hosts, multiplying endlessly, devouring their weak cells, barren flesh and blood, and then grudgingly giving back to the hosts a little meager nutrition and vitality. Through nearly a hundred pairs of lifeless eyes, the mermaid heard the collective command issued by the "Headquarters" and saw the light spot symbolizing its existence approaching the airspace of the Sigma Research Institute.
The male mermaid's face was extremely indifferent, still like solid marble, not even a ripple caused by the arrival of this group of people.
Jiang Mian in his arms had not yet woken up. With his partner, pillow fortress, and dolls within reach, Jiang Mian slept soundly in the comfort of a full stomach. Rapos quietly lifted him up, and then put his ear fins close to Jiang Mian's chest, listening attentively to the small, tough heart beating again and again, as if he was raising a warm and lively little bird.
Lapers hummed with satisfaction. He raised his head and gently touched the base of Jiang Mian's ears with the force of touching a snowflake without melting it. There were already dark lines on the cheeks, faintly visible under the fair skin, just waiting for the opportunity to transform.
After looking at the gill patterns, the mermaid quietly swam around, letting Jiang Mian stay trapped in his huge body. The pillow and soft mattress rubbed against his dry scales, making a rustling sound similar to the sound of heavy rain. Finally, he stopped at Jiang Mian's legs and carefully examined the newly formed delicate scales there.
Even though he had only been feeding Jiang Mian for a short time, the sufficient food and nutrition had an immediate effect on Jiang Mian. The young man had not gained weight yet, but he had gained a lot of weight. After growing again, his complexion was also better. In the dead of night, when Lapers held him, he could hear the sound of bones growing, like a subtle but magnificent resonance, playing in Jiang Mian's body.
The new scales could not be considered scales yet. They felt soft to the touch, and on Jiang Mian's already smooth skin, there were tiny dots of glittering spots, like the halo on jade.
Lapers laughed, remembering Jiang Mian's protest against him always kissing him secretly. The mermaid couldn't help but imitate the humans and shrugged innocently.
If Maomao didn't want him to always secretly kiss his eyes, cheeks, fingers... or other parts of his body, then he shouldn't have been so cute in the first place.
The mermaid swam back and gently kissed Jiang Mian's increasingly transparent little ear.
"Those people are coming." he whispered.
At this moment, Jiang Mian didn't have enough strength to crawl out of the nest that Lapers built for him. Their nest smelled like the intersection of sea breeze and ocean, warm and soft. He wrapped himself in a small blanket and curled up in the mermaid's arms. He felt that there was no place in the world more secure and stable than this. He could sleep like this until the end of time.
It was not until Lapers touched Jiang Mian's cheek with his long nails that he said "hmm" as if he had sensed something.
Jiang Mian was dazed, and greedily enjoying the pleasure and security of skin-to-skin contact, and turned his face from one chest to the other.