I Fished Up a Battle-Worn Merman

Zhuang Yi had gone out to sea to collect experimental samples when a calm ocean suddenly erupted into a raging storm. Something huge and fierce smashed his boat to pieces, sending him plunging into the depths.

Not long afterward, Zhuang Yi and the creature were both swept ashore by the waves.

The creature lay stranded on the beach, gradually shrinking to human size. It was half human, half fish. Zhuang Yi narrowed his eyes and moved closer, making out a beautiful tail unlike those of ordinary mermaids.

A pure silver shark tail: the kind of mermaid that drove countless scholars to write and publish papers, even a human-shark subspecies seen only once in fifty years!

But the plump, long tail was swollen, half of it torn away, exposing a mess of white bone and oozing murky black blood!

Professor Zhuang: If I can save it, I will. If I can't, taking it home as a specimen is better than letting it rot on the beach. Sounds fair to me.

*

Human-shark mermaids are fearsome, grotesque creatures.

They are immensely strong, low in intelligence, gloomy and jealous, and bring endless misfortune to those at sea.

The Fisherman's Guide advises sailors and diving enthusiasts to spray themselves with human-shark repellent. If you encounter one in the deep sea, retreat immediately to save your life, or it may charge at you from a kilometer away and bite you to pieces.

Yet Professor Zhuang, a devoted mermaid fan, kept the vicious creature in his luxurious bathtub for convenient treatment and close observation.

Zhuang Yi discovered that it was exceptionally quick to learn.

After watching Zhuang Yi squat on the toilet and play with his phone one time, the mermaid began copying him. It soon learned to speak, borrowed a computer from Zhuang Yi, watched all kinds of professional tutorial videos, adjusted the salt concentration in the bathtub, repaired electronic devices, and then started programming in thirty-six languages.

Zhuang Yi pushed up his glasses with practiced composure: "...Thanks for asking. My worldview is shattered, my intelligence has taken a hit, and my life experience has been challenged."

The gloom on the mermaid's face gradually faded, until he finally revealed his true name to Zhuang Yi.

Cait, Atlantis: not only regarded as a symbol of disaster, but also a notorious deep-sea overlord and ruthless predator who spared none of his own kind.

*

Cait had fully recovered under Zhuang Yi's careful care. The custom supplies Zhuang Yi had ordered online, delayed in delivery, finally arrived, and Zhuang Yi had completely forgotten about them.

The tools for making a large mermaid specimen made Cait furious, and he returned to the sea. Zhuang Yi knew he was in the wrong, but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find him.

Several months later, however, Zhuang Yi suddenly received a distress message.

Afraid that something might happen to this rare, highly intelligent marine creature, Zhuang Yi rushed to find the place where Cait was being kept, before the research institute could execute him.

Researchers lay scattered all over the floor, while the evil, chaotic deep-sea mermaid, who had injured countless people, curled up in a narrow, slippery water tank. The silver-haired, blue-eyed beauty's long tail swayed slightly, his eyes full of tears. "I want to go home. I want a round bathtub, salmon-scented bath salts, water at 39 degrees Celsius, a top-of-the-line laptop, and you to get in with me. I don't like being alone in the water."

*

"At the marine observation station, I learned that mermaids sing both to bewitch and to court their partners."

"I asked Cait which one he was doing, so he wrapped his tail around me and answered through his actions: both."

All fictional, set in an entirely made-up world, and written off the top of my head. No pregnancy or children. Written at kindergarten level.

Cyberpunk (struck through) ferocious, clingy deep-sea overlord x mermaid-obsessed marine biology PhD.

Cait, the overlord of the sea, with unmatched combat ability. There is another reason he was injured, and being captured was all part of his elaborate plan to win over Professor Zhuang. A partial hybrid with both human-shark and human forms, though most of the time he looks like a beautiful, cool mermaid.

Cait's name comes from "die Zeit," the German word for "time."

Zhuang Yi, once the top researcher at his institute, was fired for opposing the hunting of intelligent marine life and is now an independent scholar. He has a special fondness for mermaid tails, especially tail fins.

Green River neck-only content warning. No fixed top or bottom.

My upcoming novels are lined up. Feel free to bookmark them in advance.

Theme: Protect the environment, starting with yourself.