Chapter 70: 8. Crab Girl
It was already deep night, and on the Lauren cruise ship, most people had fallen into a deep sleep except for a few crew members still on duty. The ocean, coated in darkness, was so tranquil, while the sea breeze howled under the night sky, carrying an unknown shadow from either the sea or the sky.
That shadow silently landed on the deck, moving quickly in the fierce sea wind, slipping into the cabin of the cruise ship.
The lights in the cabin hallway were already off, and apart from a few rooms that still had lights on or faint conversations, everyone else was deeply asleep. The shadow quietly walked down the corridor, illuminated by emergency lights, leaving a giant crab shadow on the wall behind.
Curiously, the shadow scanned the closed doors of the cabins, seemingly wanting to see the structure and situation inside, but all the doors were hung with thick gauze curtains, making it only possible to vaguely see the light conditions inside.
The cruise ship tilted slightly due to the winds, but the shadow remained motionless like a mountain, stopping in front of a specific room’s door.
The shadow’s body trembled slightly, trying to breathe as if it caught a whiff of something delicious.
That was the scent of pearls!
The shadow leaned against the already darkened door, trying several times to see the precious pearl inside through the thick gauze curtain, but without the ability for x-ray vision, it couldn’t succeed.
In the next second, the door handle turned, revealing the dim emergency light from outside.
The shadow silently slipped through the crack, and was immediately greeted by the fragrant, floral aroma filling the room. The shadow quickly covered its nose, fearing it might sneeze and wake the sleeping guest inside.
Before long, the shadow caught sight of the pearl sitting on the table, shimmering like the moon.
It was treasure!
A bright, shiny treasure!
It must be very valuable!
The shadow quietly reached out to grasp the small pearl in its hand. The cool pearl felt delightful, and it wanted to hold it up in the moonlight to admire its quality. However, just as it lifted the pearl, the sight before it was not bright moonlight but a stoic-faced Fisher, who looked like a shadow.
“Ahhhh!!! It’s a sea ghost!!!”
The shadow emitted an odd cry in a language that Fisher completely didn’t understand. The small figure instantly collapsed to the ground, unable to hold onto the pearl, which rolled away across the floor and bumped against the wall.
The moment the pearl touched the wall, the small figure dashed backward with an escape speed that far exceeded Fisher’s imagination, reaching the door in the blink of an eye. But Fisher did not pursue, for in the next instant, an ethereal purple figure appeared at the door, easily restraining the fleeing figure.
“Let me go! Let me go!”
“Fisher, look! It’s a subhuman!”
“Don’t let her escape!”
As the lights turned on, Fisher, now in a white shirt, saw Renee holding a small humanoid girl in a lace nightgown.
The humanoid looked like a seven or eight-year-old human child, but instead of a human-like back, it had a complete crab shell.
The clothing on the child was very peculiar, resembling the leaves of some aquatic plant woven together, giving no sense of thread, yet it was exquisitely beautiful, making her look like a doll.
At this moment, she was struggling in Renee’s hands but, due to her small stature, she could only futilely flail her limbs. Fisher also noticed that she was clutching a leather bag in her left crab claw, which was bulging with numerous items.
Yes, you heard it right, she was pinching a leather bag.
The subhuman’s left hand was a complete crab claw, but her right hand was like a human’s, with chubby fingers that had web-like structures between them. This peculiar design fascinated Fisher, who had studied subhumans for years.
Renee smiled and flipped the child over, revealing a fierce-looking but continuously struggling pink-haired child. Her face appeared somewhat chubby, and she was wet but didn’t seem to be peeling; her skin structure appeared very different from that of a human.
Upon seeing Fisher’s expressionless face, she nervously puffed up her cheeks, and the next moment, countless bubbles began to emerge from her mouth, seemingly warning Fischer not to come closer.
“Look, she’s blowing bubbles!”
“Be careful, those bubbles might be poisonous.”
However, this unimposing action made Renee laugh. She curiously poked the subhuman’s face, prompting her to expel even more bubbles.
Renee avoided the bubbles, only constantly poking her face. She felt that the subhuman’s cheeks were more elastic than human skin and felt pleasantly squishy to the touch.
The subhuman walked silently, even opening the room door without a sound. If Fisher hadn’t added a layer of alert magic at the room’s entrance due to his nature of being cautious, they wouldn’t have noticed her entering at all.
“Let me go! Let me go!”
The child babbled incomprehensibly. Fisher had never heard a language like this before, but soon, she seemed to realize something, waving the leather bag she had in her left crab claw at Fisher, shouting frantically.
“Is she trying to use something from the bag?”
In response to Renee’s confusion, Fisher fell silent for a moment, turned to close the door behind him, and then activated the protective magic. The protective magic ensured safety from inside out; this creature would not be able to escape no matter what.
“Alright, let her down and see what she wants.”
Confirming that the child possessed no weapons except for the leather bag on her back, Fisher instructed Renee to release her.
The crab-like subhuman quickly landed on the ground, eagerly opening her leather bag to reveal many shiny items inside.
Among them were human items, such as brooches, necklaces, and rings, as well as some other crafts that Fisher had never seen before. Those items were exquisitely made and could rival human creations, though their odd shapes were not easily appreciated by humans.
After rummaging for a while, the child finally pulled out a small seashell that was quite heavy, requiring both hands for her to hold. Upon closer inspection, it was filled with a thick, bluish liquid, sealed by some invisible force, preventing it from spilling out.
She suddenly aimed the seashell at her mouth and inhaled. The icy liquid gradually slid down her throat. Just as Fisher was on high alert, preparing to strike her with his staff, believing she was either going to attack or flee, that liquid flowed through her vessels and spread throughout her brain, causing her eyes to emit a faint glow.
When she spoke again, her strange language seemed to be replaced by a magical force that allowed Fisher and Renee to understand the Nali language, similar to when they encountered the Brain Demon Race on the Southern Continent, except this time the speaker had to consume a strange liquid first.
“Bold humans! I am the Ocean Emperor Rena! I belong to the royal family of the ocean, with an existence of endless lifespan and a great companion sea beast! I can summon my companion sea beast to devour your vessel with merely a wave of my hand. If you know what’s good for you, release me immediately and also hand over that pearl!”
She put her hands on her hips, her crisp voice like a child’s echoed in Fisher and Renee’s ears. Despite her small stature, she held herself with an imposing demeanor.
Seeing Fisher captivated by her strange terminology, Fisher scrutinized the small pink-haired girl before him as he pondered.
She stood at less than 1.4 meters tall, and her fair feet were covered by a translucent shell, leaving no footprints or water stains on the ground, though it was unclear what it was made of.
Noticing that she had frightened the intruder, the girl named Rena grinned mischievously and waved her hand gracefully, saying, “Considering that this is your first time seeing my elegance, I’ll generously let it slide. Just be more careful to stay away from the nobles of the sea next time. Alright, I’m ready to leave.”
As she spoke, she approached the pearl, but suddenly a red wooden staff stood in her path, blocking her way and causing her body to stiffen slightly.
Behind her, the devil-like, expressionless Fisher spoke indifferently, “Do you think we would be deceived by your pale lies?”
“Yes, yes, this human right in front of you is quite fond of cute subhuman girls like you; he will definitely eat you.”
Renee playfully pinched the increasingly pale face of the crab girl, whispering, enjoying the drama.
The crab girl stared at Fisher’s staff, trembling in fear as she tried to push away Renee, who was still pinching her cheeks, but she was unable to do so no matter how hard she tried.
She opened her mouth, at a loss for words, glancing at Fisher and helplessly blowing more bubbles at him.
Fisher ignored her and snatched the bag she was clutching, lifting it high in the air despite her panicked shouts. Upon opening it, he discovered the space inside was larger than he had imagined, containing not only crafted goods but also shimmering pearls, shells, sea urchins, and even several live fish.
“Return it! Return it! That’s mine!”
“Are these not items you stole? How can they be yours now?”
Fisher ignored Rena’s frantic attempts to retrieve her bag. He suddenly realized that the theft on Captain Alagina’s ship might have been done by this subhuman, given her silent entry and rapid escape speed, it was clear that ordinary people would have trouble catching her.
After all, no one would expect a thief to sneak aboard in the vast ocean, right?
Listening to Fisher mention the word “theft,” Rena’s face became awkward and shy. Her little mouth pouted as she stammered, “You and that previous female human are in cahoots. She left her things on the wall, so taking them doesn’t count as theft.”
Such a twisted logic was something she could hardly convince herself with. Fisher sat on the nearby sofa with her bag in hand. He didn’t care for the pearl; instead, he had suddenly developed an intense curiosity about the sea subhuman who had suddenly appeared before him.
That strong desire for knowledge stirred within him, and he tapped his fingers repeatedly on the table as if pondering something.
Only Renee, who was familiar with Fisher, knew he was planning something again, likely contemplating how to set a trap to lure this subhuman and study her carefully.
“Do you want this bag?”
Rena nodded, hesitating for a moment before saying, “I don’t want that pearl anymore! I’ll return the human’s things to you! Just give me back my bag!”
“No, you can have the pearl, and I’ll also return your bag, but in exchange, I want to have a basic understanding of you, and I hope we maintain honesty.”
Uncertain if it was a threat or a trade, Rena glanced at the sparkling pearl and then at the bag in Fisher’s hand.
But that pearl was truly beautiful.
A hint of greed and compromise led her to fall entirely into Fisher’s trap.
How do you all feel about the update timing?
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(End of this chapter)
