Mermaid Trap E-Book

Nicholas Wamalwa

• Herausgeber: neobooks
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Deutsch

Seitenzahl: 193

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

When Marsh Hawthorne came in, a female researcher put down the tablet in her hand and walked towards her. Seeing this, others also gathered around. The female researcher had her hair neatly tied up, wore a pair of rimless glasses, was tall, had two deep nasolabial folds at the corners of her mouth, and did not look young. Arriving in a new environment for the first time, Mash Hawthorne wanted to show due enthusiasm and affinity, but—— She glanced at her future colleagues who half-surrounded her. Everyone was taller than Marsh Hawthorne, but she was used to it. Mainly, their expressions were more serious than each other, and they didn't seem like they were welcoming a new colleague, but rather participating in an important interview. Considering the clothes everyone was wearing and the cold environment, Mash Hawthorne felt a little scared. "Hello." Marsh Hawthorne greeted with a smile and a crinkled eye. This sentence seemed to trigger some entry. "Hello." "Hello." … The other researchers nodded and greeted one after another. Their voices were different, but the tones were all calm, as if they were a set program that automatically triggered a standard reply when the command "hello" was entered. With the last person's 'hello', the scene fell into silence. Mash Hawthorne felt that the smile on his face could no longer be maintained... Well, why don't you say a few more words? Like, an introduction or something. Or do they not welcome me? The colleagues across from her obviously did not understand the new employee's thoughts and continued to stare at her as if she were an exhibit. If you didn't know better, you would think they were looking at some new geographical discovery. Marsh Hawthorne suddenly began to worry about his future career . Although she graduated from Ark College, it was a rare opportunity for her to enter this laboratory. As it was her first job, she wanted to do her best. Most importantly, the units here can be allocated houses. This slightly embarrassing scene did not last long. Just as Marsh Hawthorne was thinking about what to say to break the deathly silence, the first female researcher spoke up. "You should be Marsh Hawthorne, right? Let me introduce myself. My last name is Ji, my given name is Wutong, and I'm the head of the laboratory. You can just call me Sister Ji." Although it was a question, the tone was affirmative.

Leseprobe

Nicholas Wamalwa

Mermaid Trap

Dieses ebook wurde erstellt bei

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Titel

Mermaid Trap

Impressum neobooks

Mermaid Trap

Y作者：Nicholas Wamalwa

第1章

“你的名字？”

“馬什·霍桑。”

“性別？”

“……女性。”

一條長得彷彿看不見盡頭的走廊裡，正趕著上班的馬許‧霍桑被一個穿著黑色T恤的男人攔住了。

另一個人三十歲左右，戴著眼鏡。他一臉嚴肅地問了幾個問題，左手拿著平板，右手記錄著什麼。

白熾燈把走廊照得亮如白晝。馬什·霍桑甚至能看到這個男人的下巴上有幾顆零散的鬍渣。從他的表情來看，他是一名盡職盡責的斥候，甚至有些僵硬。

想到這裡，瑪什霍懷恩就有些著急了。

“目的地？”

“0號實驗室。”

聽到對方的目的地，男人抬頭看向眼前的女孩。

我之所以稱她為女孩，是因為她看起來很年輕。她的身高只到男人的胸口。她有一頭烏黑的長髮，自然垂落，整齊。她穿著一條藍色及膝裙。或許是因為她五官的緣故，她的臉上總是掛著淡淡的笑容，如沐春風。

這和那個實驗室的人的風格完全不一樣。

男人自言自語道，但臉色卻依舊凝重。

“嗯，認證沒有問題，抱歉打擾了。”

“你也遵守規矩。”瑪什霍懷恩輕輕一笑。

太煩人了。如果她再說話，她就要遲到了！

她不想給別人留下她第一天上班不準時的印象！

馬什霍桑看了一眼男人胸前的標籤－調查員N12：秦子平。

看到這樣溫柔的笑容，秦子平原本嚴肅的表情不由放鬆下來，又說了幾句話。

“熟悉了之後，就很少抽查了。”

馬什霍桑一直微笑點頭。

明白了，你是今天第三個來找我並說同樣話的人了。

馬什·霍桑開始懷疑自己。她看起來真的很可疑嗎？

“嗯……沒什麼別的問題了，我先去上班了？”馬修霍懷恩苦笑一聲，輕聲問道。

面對這個已經洗清了嫌疑的女孩，秦子平被她的笑容弄得眼花撩亂。回過神來後，他結巴道：“當然。”

看著女孩離開時瘦弱的背影，從小在實驗室長大的秦子平不禁在心裡感嘆：真是個溫柔的女孩啊…

*

明亮的走廊裡，馬什霍桑轉了好幾個彎，終於來到了實驗室門口。經過瞳孔和指紋雙重識別，穿上防護服並用酒精消毒後，他終於進入了內部。

映入眼簾的是一個充滿金屬質感的空間。瑪什霍桑一眼就認出了。這種物質就是上個月星球上新開採出來的A-7礦石。可塑性好，耐高溫、嚴寒，有隔離輻射的作用。

實驗室大約有五十平米，高度正常，裡面擺著三張桌子和幾台我從未見過的儀器。中央，有一根巨大的金屬柱子，寬度至少需要四個成年人才能摟住。

目前有五名研究人員看起來像是未來的同事。他們穿著與馬什·霍桑相同的藍色防護服，似乎還沒有開始工作。

但這些都不是重點…

當目光轉向正對大門的電子鐘時，瑪什霍懷恩的笑容更深了幾分，眼中帶著悲憤——好，她遲到了。

“歡迎！”

當馬什·霍桑進來時，一名女研究員放下了手中的平板電腦，朝她走了過來。

Seeing this, others also gathered around.

The female researcher had her hair neatly tied up, wore a pair of rimless glasses, was tall, had two deep nasolabial folds at the corners of her mouth, and did not look young.

Arriving in a new environment for the first time, Mash Hawthorne wanted to show due enthusiasm and affinity, but——

She glanced at her future colleagues who half-surrounded her.

Everyone was taller than Marsh Hawthorne, but she was used to it. Mainly, their expressions were more serious than each other, and they didn't seem like they were welcoming a new colleague, but rather participating in an important interview.

Considering the clothes everyone was wearing and the cold environment, Mash Hawthorne felt a little scared.

"Hello."

Marsh Hawthorne greeted with a smile and a crinkled eye.

This sentence seemed to trigger some entry.

"Hello."

"Hello."

…

The other researchers nodded and greeted one after another. Their voices were different, but the tones were all calm, as if they were a set program that automatically triggered a standard reply when the command "hello" was entered.

With the last person's 'hello', the scene fell into silence.

Mash Hawthorne felt that the smile on his face could no longer be maintained...

Well, why don't you say a few more words? Like, an introduction or something.

Or do they not welcome me?

The colleagues across from her obviously did not understand the new employee's thoughts and continued to stare at her as if she were an exhibit. If you didn't know better, you would think they were looking at some new geographical discovery.

Marsh Hawthorne suddenly began to worry about his future career .

Although she graduated from Ark College, it was a rare opportunity for her to enter this laboratory. As it was her first job, she wanted to do her best.

Most importantly, the units here can be allocated houses.

This slightly embarrassing scene did not last long.

Just as Marsh Hawthorne was thinking about what to say to break the deathly silence, the first female researcher spoke up.

"You should be Marsh Hawthorne, right? Let me introduce myself. My last name is Ji, my given name is Wutong, and I'm the head of the laboratory. You can just call me Sister Ji." Although it was a question, the tone was affirmative.

"Hello , hello . I was delayed today because of several inspections."

Although he didn't know the other party's attitude towards his lateness, Mash Hawthorne thought it would be better to explain it first.

Tennyson nodded slightly, not seeming to care.

She glanced at the time, then suddenly turned her head and instructed the researchers beside her, "Go turn on the equipment first."

at Mash Hawthorne with an ambiguous look , and then returned to their posts one after another.

After the others left, Mash Hawthorne felt less stressed.

She thought: The people here look weird, is this the style of this laboratory?

Marsh Hawthorne didn't think long before Tennyson interrupted her.

The female researcher, who looked like she was not easy to mess with, glanced at Mash Hawthorne and said without further ado: "It's already working hours. Do you know what we do here?"

Marsh Hawthorne nodded honestly: "I remember that he specialized in studying new species."

Tennyson uttered a 'hmm' and signaled with her eyes that Marsh Hawthorne should follow her.

Marsh Hawthorne followed closely beside the person in charge.

"That's true, but as Laboratory 0, we study more than just new species. The most important thing is to study creatures with a certain degree of destructiveness and a high impact, and with a risk factor of A or above. For example - you should have signed a confidentiality agreement, right?"

Tennyson suddenly changed his tone and asked about the employment agreement. His brown eyes stared at Marsh Hawthorne, like a cheetah locking onto its prey, giving people a sense of oppression.

The girl in front of him didn't seem to feel the threat. She curled her eyes and answered sweetly, "I remember that my work must be kept strictly confidential."

Marsh Hawthorne's impression of this laboratory, in addition to the recommendation from the sponsor, also came from the more than 100,000-word rules before joining the company and the confidentiality agreement printed on paper.

When the other party took out the paper, she was shocked. As far as she could remember, paper only appeared in descriptions and pictures in textbooks.

For this reason, Marsh Hawthorne developed a strong curiosity about his future research subjects - what kind of organisms require such a configuration?

The person in charge nodded, but it was unclear whether she was satisfied with the newcomer's attitude. She pressed a few buttons on the operating table near the central iron pillar .

Under Mash Hawthorne's slightly nervous eyes, the surface of the middle 'pillar' made a slight 'crackling' sound, and then cracked up and down along the middle.

Come on, come on, does she want to see the 'confidential' part of the lab?

After seeing the entire interior of the 'pillar', Mash Hawthorne looked at the person in charge in confusion.

There was nothing inside except clear liquid.

Tennyson certainly understood the newcomer's look and began to explain, "This is a water tank. It contains a Class A alien. It was discovered by an explorer in the waters of Area D a week ago... It is also the subject of our recent research."

"Where is it?" asked Marsh Hawthorne curiously.

The water tank is empty.

Tennyson looked at the water tank in front of him and said softly, "Wait a moment."

She pressed the red button.

Under the water tank, the base gradually moved away, revealing a hole with a diameter large enough for a person to lie flat. There was no light at the bottom, and it looked somewhat unfathomable.

"When the sound waves below are disturbed, the creature will come out." Tennyson's voice was a little solemn. "Your job from now on is to take care of it."

"Okay." Mash Hawthorne nodded subconsciously.

Wait…huh?

If she understood correctly, the job assigned to her was that of a zoo keeper.

Mash Hawthorne was a little disappointed, as if she thought she was going to build a space station before joining the company, but in the end she was just asked to cook for the people who built the space station...

She turned her head to look at the person in charge, but the light reflected on his glasses and she couldn't see his eyes clearly.

Suddenly, the other person's expression changed.

In the laboratory, the light alarm sounded and there was a faint vibration from below.

[Warning, the laboratory was hit by an unknown attack, the power machine was damaged by 9.15%, it is recommended to repair it immediately...]

An emotionless metallic sound came from above.

【Warning, power reserve leakage...】

The shaking floor made Mash Hawthorne subconsciously grab the nearest operating table, and she could hear a faint "clicking" sound in her ears.

what happened!?

Looking around, others also stopped what they were doing and grabbed the nearest support.

The light seemed to become unstable due to a problem with the circuit, flickering so much that people could not help but worry that it would go out completely in the next moment. The test tube slid to the ground while shaking, making a crisp crackling sound...

This is just like the legendary earthquake!

Marsh Hawthorne recalled all the disaster response skills he had learned, but it was obviously not realistic to escape from the underground and completely enclosed laboratory.

Could she be so unlucky as to get into an accident on her first day at work?

"here we go again!"

"I said we should have stepped it up last time!"

"I think we should be able to get funding for this accident, right?"

…

Amid the system's alarm, the voices of the researchers rose and fell. The researchers, who had been silent at first, suddenly began to seem alive.

Marsh Hawthorne noticed that although they were a little flustered, their expressions were not panicked.

She lowered her eyes: You are still in the mood to quarrel, it seems the problem is not serious.

It sounds like this vibration has occurred before and is common?

Marsh Hawthorne's eyes rested on the black hole at the bottom of the water tank. It was like a deep well, so dark and unknown that it made people unable to help but imagine.

She had an inexplicable premonition that the vibration was caused by the creatures below.

Faced with the sudden accident, Tennyson stabilized himself first.

[The power system will be completely paralyzed in ten seconds. Countdown: ten, nine, eight...]

Tennyson input a series of complicated commands into the operating interface. The blue fluorescence projected a small image on her lenses. Although the alarm sounded continuously, her expression was calm and composed, as if it was just an ordinary job.

【Three, two, one.】

As the system countdown ended, the ceiling light struggled for a few seconds, and then the laboratory fell into complete darkness.

Did it fail?

“Crack—”

Marsh Hawthorne heard the voice again.

Before she could react to the source of the sound, she heard a 'pop' and the glass exploded instantly.

In the darkness, he felt a slight pain in his arm. Mash Hawthorne guessed that his arm was probably cut by the broken glass. He hoped that the wound was not deep.

Because of the sudden loss of light, it was difficult for her to see what was happening.

A salty and wet smell was faintly coming, and Mash Hawthorne felt her shoes floating in the water. The water level gradually rose and reached her knees.

The water tank must have been broken.

She wanted to ask something, but then she stopped herself.

Since no one is panicking, it means there will be arrangements for the future.

I don't know how long I spent in the darkness, maybe five minutes? Or ten minutes?

The lights in the laboratory flickered on again, and Mash Hawthorne was able to see his surroundings clearly.

The water tank was less than one meter away from her. The glass was covered with dense cracks. The water inside flowed out and rose to knee height in the closed laboratory. Many instruments that fell during the vibration were still floating on the surface.

Tennyson on the side breathed a barely audible sigh of relief.

"Everyone, clean up."

"good."

After the other researchers responded, they started cleaning one after another .

What about water?

As soon as Marsh Hawthorne had this thought, he saw Sister Ji push a few buttons on the operating bar again, and the drainage system started.

After a dozen seconds, the water on the ground automatically drained away.

Seeing this, Mash Hawthorne also came to help clean up the mess.

When she met the gazes of other researchers, they would look at her with concern.

As a result, Mash Hawthorne felt that he might have to reassess his views on his new colleagues.

"Was the vibration just now caused by that A-level creature?"

When everything was almost cleaned up, Mash Hawthorne returned to Sister Ji and asked.

Tennyson nodded, looking relatively calm.

"Is there any risk in taking care of it?" Mash Hawthorne couldn't help but continue asking, and he tidied his hair - because of the shaking just now, a few strands of hair stuck to his face.

Hearing this, the person in charge, Tennyson, turned sideways and looked at Marsh Hawthorne, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was a little displeased.

Marsh Hawthorne was not frightened at all and looked at him calmly.

It concerns the right to life and health, so it is very necessary to understand it clearly. If it is dangerous, there will be another price to pay.

Tennyson walked to the water tank, looked at the black hole below, and whispered, "Yes, but there are protection measures. If there is any danger, there will be emergency rescue, so don't worry."

"What's it called? I mean, there should be a code, right?" Marsh Hawthorne also walked to the water tank.

in this dark hole ?

" Smerman - A -018."

chapter 2

The seventy-first year of the Star Calendar, December 7th.

Marsh Hawthorne was walking home with a lollipop in his mouth. After leaving the central area, the road became muddy and the air seemed to be dripping without a conditioner.

This is a stretch of golden sand, which is so flat and uneven, and there are very few people. It is just like this city, boring like a piece of gum that has been chewed a hundred times, which makes people feel sick.

Mash Hawthorne has no memory of chewing gum, but she vaguely knows what this historical product that only exists in documents tastes like.

She touched a spot on her upper arm and found that the small wound had almost healed.

The experimental mermaid suddenly rioted, and she was the only unlucky victim. Although the laboratory had used 20-centimeter-thick double-tempered glass, the power of the experimental subject still exceeded everyone's expectations.

Marsh Hawthorne recalled a scene later in the laboratory...

*

After cleaning up the mess, Mash Hawthorne reported his wounds.

Because of the power outage, the lights in the laboratory were not as bright as they originally were.

From her perspective, she could vaguely see that the cut was about the length of her index finger, and the blood had soaked her sleeve.

a tube of reagent from a row and carefully applied a few drops to her.

"It just so happens that we have recently developed a new healing potion. Although it has undergone clinical trials and is relatively safe, just in case, please report to me if there is anything unusual with the wound."

Marsh Hawthorne looked at his sleeves worriedly. The blue fabric was stained black by the blood .

Tennyson understood: "The cost of the clothes can be reimbursed."

"Okay, I will follow the organization's arrangements." Mash Hawthorne smiled again.

Clothes and stuff don’t matter; what’s important is to give something back to the organization.

Because of an unexpected accident and a work-related injury, Mash Hawthorne was notified that he could go home early.

Before leaving, Mash Hawthorne wanted to understand his future work flow, so he made a request to Sister Ji.

Tennyson didn't think long before agreeing.

"That's fine. Given the situation today, the experiment may not be able to proceed normally. I'll first help you get familiar with the content of the work ahead."

Led by the person in charge, Tennyson, Marsh Hawthorne came to the basement.

"We usually keep organisms in the basement, and the experimental subject you are responsible for is right below Laboratory 0."

Tennyson explained after coming down the stairs.

leading to the basement is to Laboratory 0. According to Mash Hawthorne's current authority, she can only reach the first floor and the basement floor, which happens to be the scope of her work. If she needs to go to other areas on a regular basis, she needs to submit an application.

" Is Grade A the highest grade?" Mash Hawthorne asked curiously.

"No," Tennyson shook his head gently, "The highest level is S, and the next ones are A, B, C... Our laboratory is responsible for test subjects above level A."

Mash Hawthorne lowered his eyes and thought : Being able to be in charge of the highest level, it seems that the level of the laboratory is not low. Can she understand that the treatment will also be the best?

Thinking of this, she looked up and asked sweetly, " Where are the other S-level test subjects?"

Tennyson stopped and looked at Marsh Hawthorne meaningfully: "This is knowledge beyond your current authority."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Marsh Hawthorne followed suit.

"It's normal for newcomers to be curious about these things. You'll know when you reach a position above level five." When he arrived at the door of the basement, Tennyson didn't look at Marsh Hawthorne again, but turned around and entered the password in the operation bar to open the door.

Mash Hawthorne certainly knew what positions above level five meant - first of all, there were seven levels of jobs here, and the number of people from top to bottom formed a pyramid structure. The first-level position at the top of the pyramid was executive officer, and people like her who had just joined the company would naturally start from the lowest level seven.

It sounds like this is just a laboratory, but its title is equivalent to that of the government, and a considerable part of the rules outside are made by researchers.

Due to the original design of the central continent, the laboratory is not just a scientific research institute in name only, but a huge institution to be precise.

Marsh Hawthorne recalled learning about the history at Ark Academy.

"Please write down the password I entered," Tennyson reminded.

"Okay," Mash Hawthorne came over and silently memorized the number pressed by Sister Ji, "Do you need to keep it secret from other colleagues?"

The sturdy door opened silently, and the lights illuminated the entire dark space section by section, revealing the mysterious interior to the visitor.

"certainly."

Tennyson walked straight inside.

The basement was quiet, and Tennyson's shoes made a slight 'tapping' sound on the tiles.

After realizing this, Marsh Hawthorne subconsciously slowed down his pace.

When she got closer to the water tank and looked down, she realized that the size of the tank was much larger than she had imagined.

Under the twenty-centimeter-thick glass, the picture inside was somewhat distorted, and the blue liquid was calm, like a lurking iceberg.

Marsh Hawthorne didn't know why, but his heart began to beat faster.

Gurgle gurgle …

what is that?

Marsh Hawthorne was alert.

That voice still rang in her ears.

"Food will be delivered to this door every morning at eight o'clock. After receiving the food, press this button and the food will be automatically delivered to the window... Mash Hawthorne? Are you listening? Mash Hawthorne?"

The constant noise made Mash Hawthorne's face turn pale, as if someone was screaming hysterically in her brain.

very noisy……

My vision seemed to be covered by a veil, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see clearly.

There is only blue everywhere.

A drowning blue.

Something seemed to be glowing in that blue.

Is that... scales?

In a trance, Mash Hawthorne heard Sister Ji's question, and she opened her mouth, wanting to say that she was fine.

Unfortunately, he eventually lost consciousness.

*

As time went by, my skin finally felt warm. There were gradually protruding metal marks on the distant horizon, and more people were around.

Mash Hawthorne's thoughts returned to reality and he looked at the time on his bracelet.

It was 12 noon and she still had two hours to enjoy the temperature.

You know, the 'sun' doesn't always bring warmth to people - especially for her, a little third-generation citizen.

Of course, all this predicament will change once she enters the laboratory!

Marsh Hawthorne licked the candy in his mouth again.

She woke up about two minutes after fainting in the lab.

Sister Ji did a small test on her and concluded that she just had hypoglycemia.

Before she left, Tennyson pulled two lollipops out of his pocket and stuffed them into her hands.

Mash Hawthorne savored the taste of the sugar with great care.

It can be seen that her boss must have a good family background, as he even gave her sugar, a product from the Old Earth.

At this moment, Mash Hawthorne received a message -

【You have received: 1000 C】

It seems that the compensation for the skirt has arrived.

Marsh Hawthorne narrowed his eyes and smiled with satisfaction from the bottom of his heart.

In such a lavish workplace, having a positioning chip implanted in your body is no big deal.

All people in the laboratory must have a chip implanted subcutaneously before starting work.

The main purpose of the chip is to ensure the safety of the staff, because most researchers have the task of going out to collect data. In order to protect everyone's safety, everyone must have a chip implanted before officially joining the job.

Does she have a second choice?

No.

Marsh Hawthorne never did what could not be changed.

As she got closer to home, the surroundings became noisy.

A newly promoted farmer was wearing waterproof boots. Behind him was a small robot dragging a box that was hundreds of times larger than its body. From the corner of the top, it could be seen that it was a box of potatoes. Several fully armed men with guns were conducting the final inspection at the city gate. Then a hole appeared in the transparent protective cover, allowing them to pass through...

This is a humid world. With the gray sky, people's figures seem to be covered with a layer of gauze, and the shadows are vague. This is also where Marsh Hawthorne lives - AN District.

"It's Marsh Hawthorne, good day!"

"Hello, Uncle He!"

"Marsh Hawthorne, you're back? Come, let me show you some of my latest potatoes, which I planted in just ten days!"

"Thank you Aunt Mo, but I'm allergic to potatoes, so I might have to let you down."

Along the way, many people noticed the girl and greeted her enthusiastically.

Marsh Hawthorne replied with a smile.

After only two or three years of living together, the neighbors here are a little overly enthusiastic, which is very rare in today's environment.

Just as Mash Hawthorne was approaching the city wall, there was a sudden commotion at the door of a place.

She glanced over casually.

Outside the door, several members of the exploration team were in a disheveled state, as if they had just been on the run. Surrounded by them was a red-haired man, half lying on the ground, his face blue and purple, his body terribly swollen as if it had been soaked, and he was gasping for breath.

The next second, the crowd burst into exclamations.

"ah--"

The red-haired man suddenly exploded. Yes, he literally exploded.

The ten-meter radius centered on the man was covered with flesh and blood, unknown tissues and organs, like fireworks, as if the sky was splashed with blood.

"Xiao Wu!" the man's teammates shouted in horror.

Mash Hawthorne was startled and her mind went blank. Because she was close to him, she could even feel the warm blood on her face.

In the blur, she heard the crying of a child, the comfort of an adult, the wailing of a man... all kinds of chaotic sounds intertwined together.

Marsh Hawthorne felt a tightness in his chest.

*

Police station.

"Hello, we have understood everything. You can go back now."

The guard opened the door and spoke to Marsh Hawthorne.

After learning that Marsh Hawthorne was a researcher, his attitude became polite.

Although the other party's level was not high, he was not someone a small guard like him could offend.

Is today an unlucky day?

Marsh Hawthorne smiled bitterly: "I want to know what caused the other party's sudden death?"

"I'm sorry, this matter is not..." The guard answered subconsciously, and paused for a second as if he had thought of something: "You are a researcher, and you may see the information later. To be honest, I don't know. It should be related to the purpose of their trip this time."