The Old Man and the Mermaid

"Boat?" Royce stared at Aigre with a surprised expression and asked, "What are you buying the boat for? You plan to travel around the world? I can't tell you're so rich!"

"I just want to buy a small boat that can go smoothly in offshore waters without being overturned by waves." Aigre gave him a helpless look, "Wooden ones can also be considered, as long as they can be equipped with motors."

"Oh...that's it." Royce's expression was obviously a little disappointed, "I still plan to wait for you to invite me to travel around the world together - in this way, I can apply for a suspension of school, and then in a long time No need to go to those damn classes."

"This is your last year, so it's better to be careful." Egrele said casually as he walked towards the station, "The major you chose is very good, and your grades are not bad. Since you can have such a good self If the conditions are not enough, let’s do our best to step into the society as much as possible.”

"Hey, you're talking more and more like an old man. It sounds like when I was very young, our grandpa taught me by pointing at the ugly letters I wrote." Royce rolled his eyes He said something dissatisfied, and then continued to ask: "But since you are not leaving Dusk Island, what are you buying a boat for? Learning to fish and experiencing life?"

Aigre stood still in front of the station sign, looked back at the extremely puzzled look on Royce's face, thought for a while, and then slowly explained: "I want to write some stories that can be read by others. ——It’s about the sea. I think if you want to get the most perfect material, of course it’s best to be there. What’s more, don’t you think it’s quite good to get along with sea creatures?”

"Marine life?" Royce pouted and asked back, "Aren't there any rare marine life in the sea near you? I have been following Professor Nice for the past two days, and I have learned a lot of relevant knowledge."

"Whether they are ordinary or cherished, they are all part of the sea." Aigre said, "Just like people, no matter they are excellent or mediocre, they are also members of the society, aren't they?"

"That's right..." Royce knocked his head and admitted defeat, "Come on, I can't say no to you, let's take a look with you first. But as far as I know, even if it's a small boat, the price should be Isn't it cheap? Have you brought enough money?"

"Don't worry, I got an extra asset recently... Maybe it's an asset. It's no problem to buy a boat. What's more, my grandfather left all his life savings to me, and I haven't used it yet. What?" Aigre watched the bus approaching in the distance, and patted Royce on the shoulder, "——Have you brought some change?"

"Bring some."

"Then help me pay the fare, thank you."

Royce: "... Am I not a guest?"

Aigre stepped into the car, turned around and said with a smile: "When the boat is bought, I will invite you to be the first friend on board."

"It's almost there."

Since there might be heavy rain in the afternoon, Aigre didn't want to waste too much time in the commercial street, so after getting off the car, he and Royce went straight to the shop selling small fishing boats.The old fisherman Grandpa Pei's two boats seemed to be bought here, so Aigre also asked the old man for some information before coming here to know what kind of personality the owner of this shop might be.

This store was built after Aigre went out to study on the island. He didn't know the owner of the store. He only heard that the owner didn't seem to like customers questioning the quality of the ships in the store.

"Except for the power motor, every part of each ship is made by our family." After listening to Aigre's inquiry, the shop owner explained kindly, "We don't need to buy it from the manufacturer. Order something, people on the island are using our boats, so far there have been no accidents."

Aigre nodded to express his understanding, and stretched out his hand to try to touch the bottom template of the ship hanging in mid-air in the center of the store.These wooden boards should be coated with a layer of special glue, which will not be corroded by sea water. From the outside, it is indeed very safe and reliable.

"If you don't like wooden hulls, you can go to the workshop next door to see the boats made by our cousins." The boss said, pointing to the door on the right, "He went to college and was in school. Li specializes in the research of ships, and has been learning how to make metal hulls. However, although that kind of hull looks much stronger than wooden hulls, it is not as flexible as wooden boats. If you buy it for yourself, it is still It’s better to buy a boat that really suits your heart, young man decide for himself.”

Aigre nodded again, and after thanking the boss for his kindness, he and Royce went to the next-door workshop to have a look.

There is a speedboat parked in a grocery store under the hillside of the lighthouse, but it was used to rescue the drowned or the wounded in an emergency, and it is not suitable for casual driving on the sea. Aigre still hopes to buy a new boat .

He doesn't know how to use a boat in a stormy weather, so the only thing that needs to be considered is whether the boat can bear the weight of Mr. Mermaid and his amazing strength and destructive power.

——When we met for the first time, Eigre already had a deep understanding of Mr. Mermaid's weight.

His strength attracted the attention of quite a few people in the physical fitness test at the time of admission. It can be regarded as a natural strength, so his load-bearing capacity is much stronger than ordinary people.But even so, when throwing Mr. Mermaid back into the sea, he still felt quite strenuous.In other words, Mr. Mermaid is definitely heavier than it appears on the surface.

But Mr. Mermaid's figure is quite beautiful and strong, which is not at all related to being fat, so Egre guessed that most of Mr. Mermaid's weight is probably brought by the long and powerful fish tail.

In the end, Aigre chose a fishing boat with a relatively simple appearance and function.Mr. Pei seems to be using the same kind of fishing boat. After hearing the introduction from the shop owner, Aigre signed the contract without much hesitation.

He just wanted a tool to meet his buddies at a location other than the lighthouse.

Although I don't know the specific reason, Aigre thinks that he really cares about Mr. Mermaid—this kind of concern hovers in his mind in a strong and rich way, filling his entire chest, which can be regarded as a kind of An emotion he had never felt before.

Royce only accompanied Eigre to sign the contract, and returned to Professor Nice first.After negotiating the delivery time with the boss, Eigre walked out of the store and took a look at the sky. He guessed that the heavy rain would come soon, so he didn't follow Royce to see Professor Nice, and returned directly to the lighthouse.

After he quickly returned to the lighthouse, he showed that he had put away the copy of the contract, and then he followed the stairs to the top floor of the lighthouse and checked all the equipment again.

It's not the normal dinner time yet, but the entire sky has completely darkened.Numerous thick and richly colored dark clouds surrounded each other and stopped right in front of the Twilight Island, completely covering the sunlight that had not yet sunk into the horizon behind the gray shadows.The sea breeze also gradually picked up, blowing layers of more and more fierce waves rushing to the shore.

Aigre calculated based on the weather forecast this morning, and estimated that the rain this time should not be as violent as last time, and it should stop before midnight.

After confirming that the lighthouse was operating normally, Aigre relaxed. He went downstairs and took out a fast food set meal from the refrigerator, and put it in the microwave for a few minutes. Be prepared for heavy rain.

This kind of heavy rain is usually not accompanied by fog, so even if there are ships passing by on the sea, they will not get too close to Dusk Island.But Aigre doesn't want any mistakes, so every time it rains, he will make sure that he can personally look after the facilities in the lighthouse as much as possible.

The rain cloud is still brewing emotions and explosive power at that moment, so the heavy rain has not yet landed.After throwing the plastic box of fast food into the trash can, Aigre went to the window and took a look at the sea.

It was precisely because of this casual glance that he was a little surprised to see the scene where Mr. Mermaid's tail sank into the sea—they had known each other for a long time, so he would definitely not mistake the appearance of Mr. Mermaid's tail fin.

Aigre didn't know exactly what he was thinking, but he took his coat and walked out of the lighthouse without thinking much, and set foot directly on the coast.

When he reached the shore, the waves were almost able to crash directly to the top of the boulder, so he didn't stand too close, and searched for the figure of Mr. Mermaid with his eyes not far away.

——and then witnessed a scene that he would probably be shocked for the rest of his life.

A giant creature rushed out of the sea that was not covered by reefs. Its fat body seemed even heavier in this dreary weather. It was thrown out of the sea like a moving boulder and fell to the sea again. .

And Mr. Mermaid jumped out of the sea the second the huge creature appeared, stretched out his hands and grabbed the creature's tail accurately and fiercely.

Mr. Mermaid's long black hair spread out in the air, almost covering his entire upper body and part of the fish tail, but it would never affect the beauty of his entire body at this time.One of his hands sank deeply into the creature's flesh, and at the same time successfully captured the creature's long wail.

The two seemingly useless side fins on the side of his fish tail and crotch, which had been hanging down all the time, were fully stretched back at this time, even longer than his arms—they looked Like the spread wings, supporting the mermaid to leap in mid-air above the sea.

After subduing the creature, the merman grabbed its fins and tumbled into the sea with its blood and spray.

Mr. Mermaid didn't seem to notice Aigre.

But Aigre's state is not very good, because his mood is completely messed up at this time.

He felt as if he was being sucked into a huge vortex, and he himself was the instigator—he stared deeply at the last phantom left by the mermaid after it fell into the sea, and deeply realized that he might never again There is no way to escape from this vortex.