Chapter 43 - Deeply In Love With You [Quick Transmigration]

Translator's Note:

Hello, I hope you've all been doing well.

 

This bonus chapter marks the continuation of a 10-chapter daily Ultra Boost release. 🎉

The winner of the Ultra Boost Quiz I hosted on the Bella Novels Discord server chose this novel to receive the boost—and here we are!

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the quiz. 💖
And don’t go too far—more quizzes may be coming sooner than you think. 👀

If you’re interested in boosting your favorite novel, check out the Chapter Boost System on my Discord. You’ll find all the details on how it works and how you can boost future releases!

  

If you’re able to provide me with the Raws of the Novels I need, you'll be the first person to receive my translation of them. You’ll also gain instant access to up to 30 advanced chapters for the novel of your choice, OR you can also request a SuperBoost for that novel.

For more details, you can check out the Raw Provider new page. 

 

And, as I said before, if you wish to read ahead, you can head over to my Patreon to get early access to all the translated chapters. 

 

Here you go, and I wish you a good read. 

Chapter 43: Invitation (2)

 

 

[Awoooo!] 1314 howled excitedly. [Beautiful merman! Stunning merman! Gorgeous dream merman!!!]

 

Zong Que paused, glancing back toward the sea. But there was only the familiar sight of endless water—no hint of a merman anywhere.

 

Could the repeated appearances of the merman be the result of the world's Law at work?

 

Zong Que pondered briefly, then, without a backward glance, stepped back into the institute.

 

His tall, upright figure disappeared inside, and behind the rocks, a faint splash stirred the surface of the water. A slender, snow-white arm rested upon the stone, adorned with a bracelet woven of smooth shells and golden threads. The beautiful, powerful lines of the arm shimmered brilliantly under the sun.

 

A pair of crystalline eyes lingered on the white walls of the institute. When they caught a fleeting figure passing by a window, they lowered slightly, and with a flick of a shimmering tail, the figure vanished like an illusion born of sunlight.

 

1314 howled for a long time. When it finally quieted down, Zong Que had already been sitting at the window for quite a while, absorbed in his data.

 

[I'm sorry, Host, I got too noisy.] 1314 said softly. [But that merman really was so beautiful.]

 

[Mm, you've already said that 56 times.] Zong Que replied, lifting his eyes to watch the sunset fall beyond the window.

 

Humans were drawn to beauty—beautiful landscapes, beautiful creatures—and Zong Que was no exception. Otherwise, he wouldn't have traveled to that desolate desert in the previous world, just for a single perfect photograph… only to be buried under the endless yellow sands.

 

The unpolished beauty of nature displayed the craftsmanship of time itself, recording the ages. So too did the legendary beauty of mermaids.

 

It was a beauty beyond humanity—a beauty belonging to another form of life. Naturally, Zong Que wished to see it, to record it. But creatures so breathtaking should never be touched by human hands. Only by remaining apart could they retain their original, untarnished splendor.

 

Rather than meeting it, he would prefer the merman to never appear again.

 

And this beach, as it was now, was already beautiful enough.

 

[I'm sorry...] 1314 whimpered, banging its head against the ground.

 

[It's alright. You're not really a bother.] Zong Que said calmly. He had long grown accustomed to its presence.

 

Its pure, uncalculating companionship was a quietly reassuring existence.

 

And besides, it had at least let him know: the merman had been here.

 

The sun slipped lower along the horizon, setting the waters ablaze in a vibrant, reluctant red. Clouds darkened at the edges of the sky, and stars had already begun to flicker into life, heralding the coming night.

 

The evening wind picked up. Zong Que rose, grabbed his jacket, and walked down to the shore.

 

At twilight, the sea no longer shone a brilliant blue. Though the surface was streaked with crimson, its breadth and depth now seemed vast and almost terrifying. Yet it was also heavy and profound—earth bears life with quiet endurance, and the sea gathers all rivers into its depths.

 

The waves crashed and churned. Zong Que recorded the scene, switching angles and playing it back again and again.

 

If he could sketch it by hand, perhaps he could better capture its misty, hidden beauty.

 

The sun finally vanished beneath the horizon. Stars scattered across the sky, so thick it seemed they could fall at any moment—a sight rarely glimpsed in the previous world, but here, a nightly blessing.

 

Zong Que tilted his head back to gaze upward. The sound of the waves grew fiercer with the evening breeze, and the spray of the ocean burst wildly several times. He could even feel the rock beneath his feet trembling slightly. In that moment, a flash of silver caught the edge of his vision.

 

Lowering his gaze, he caught a glimpse of a shimmering silver tail, glowing faintly as if dusted with starlight, slipping beneath the waves.

 

At the exact moment his eyes locked onto it, the figure that had disappeared beneath the dark surface erupted upward.

 

Water streamed down silver-white hair, falling in shimmering rivulets like fragments of a collapsed galaxy, converging on the ocean's mirror. The merman's skin gleamed like the finest pearls.

 

The face, framed by trailing drops of water, was breathtaking. Wet, curled lashes framed a pair of deep blue eyes, as clear and mysterious as the heart of the sea. Thin, lightly upturned lips, and every line sculpted as if by the hand of a master—delicate yet infused with the strength of the ocean.

 

The moon had risen without his notice. Under its light, the figure before him, hair drifting on the water's surface, and tail swaying gently, seemed like the very incarnation of the moon god—a spirit worthy of the ocean's legends.

 

Even Zong Que had to inwardly acknowledge: such beauty needed no camera to capture it. It was enough simply to witness it.

 

Meanwhile, 1314, after howling, had begun singing praises, perfectly suited to the moment.

 

Their eyes met—one pair, clear and glassy, blinking slowly; the other, steady and calm, studying without a trace of surprise.

 

Until, at last, the merman extended a slender hand—the moonlight tracing its delicate muscles, arm adorned with that beautiful golden shell bracelet—reaching toward Zong Que.

 

Zong Que lowered his gaze to the hand before him. It was a man's hand—long-fingered, sharply defined, yet free of the webbing or bloated texture one might expect from endless immersion in seawater. Instead, under the moonlight, it gleamed with the luster of a perfect pearl.

 

But Zong Que did not reach out. Instead, he looked at the merman floating on the sea and asked, "What is your name?"

 

The merman tilted his head slightly, confusion flickering in his eyes, but still answered, "Yue."

 

His voice carried the mystery of the ocean—rich, magnetic, and utterly entrancing.

 

The Silver Moon Clan were descendants of the Sirens, creatures of legend who could beguile sailors with their songs, luring them to their doom.

 

And the merman before him proved every bit of the myth—flawless.

 

"Your name," Yue said, parting his lips slightly.

 

"Zong Que," Zong Que replied.

 

"Zong Que," Yue repeated with a soft smile. "A beautiful name. I'll remember it."

 

"What brings you to the shore?" Zong Que asked, bending to sit atop the rock.

 

Their distance closed slightly, and the merman's beautiful eyes drifted from Zong Que's brow, brushed faintly by stray strands of hair, to his long legs resting casually on the rock, a faint gleam of curiosity within them.

 

"I once saved a man," Yue said, his tail flicking gently, drawing closer. "I wanted to know if he survived."

 

1314 murmured, [Master, he didn't recognize you.]

 

[Mm,] Zong Que responded inwardly.

 

Considering the state he'd been in back then, even acquaintances might have failed to recognize him, and he was no longer exactly the same as before.

 

"He's alive. Thank you for saving him," Zong Que said aloud.

 

"Then, would you come with me into the sea and take a look?" Yue asked, his silver tail rippling as he moved nearer.

 

"The ocean is too dangerous for me," Zong Que replied, subtly tensing as he perceived Yue's approach.

 

The deep-sea merfolk were kings of the ocean. However beautiful their appearance, a single sweep of their tails could shatter steel; a flick of their fingers could tear a fish apart with ease. Even a great white shark would think twice before challenging them, whereas humans were utterly powerless in the sea.

 

"I would protect you," Yue said, resting his arm lightly on the seaside rock, his moon-bright hair brushing gently against Zong Que's hand.

 

It was softer than silk, yet astonishingly dry.

 

[Ah,] sighed 1314, [I once heard a story about a little mermaid saving a prince. If the prince had bloated from the seawater, the story would've ended right there.]

 

It seemed even a dreamlike mermaid preferred a handsome face; if not, they'd be tossed back onto the shore without a second thought.

 

As 1314 babbled on, Zong Que found his thoughts drifting to another myth: angels were said to be hideous because they had no need to seduce—only to judge. Devils, on the other hand, were exquisitely beautiful, because they needed to tempt mortals into willingly sealing their doom.

 

"Yue, don't reveal yourself to the human world," Zong Que said, meeting his gaze.

 

Though many might hesitate to harm such a beautiful creature, darkness existed in every world, and human technology had already given some the power to hunt even merfolk.

 

Humanity's dominance persisted, despite their declining birthrates.

 

Yue's eyes widened slightly. His lips curved in a faint, amused smile as he flicked his silver tail against the water. "Why?"

 

"If humans discover merfolk, the Moon-Jade Sea will lose its peace," Zong Que said quietly.

 

"But I saved a human," Yue said, propping himself on his arm with a playful smile. "You haven't repaid me yet."

 

"What do you want?" Zong Que asked.

 

Yue's gaze flowed gently over him, reaching out as if to grasp Zong Que's arm—but Zong Que lifted his hand and avoided it. "Choose something else."

 

At that, Yue's brows drew together slightly, a trace of grievance flashing across his deep eyes. His body slipped backward; the water splashed lightly, silver light flared once—and then he was gone.

 

The waves stirred gently with the night wind. Moonlight stretched in a smooth sheet across the sea, leaving no trace of what had happened beneath the surface.

 

As if it had all been a dream.

 

[Host, the fish is gone,] 1314 sighed. [He was so earnest in inviting you. You could've gone into the sea, made a friend, and advanced your mission.]

 

[Merfolk aren't as friendly to humans as you think,] Zong Que said, rising to his feet.

 

While he wished no harm upon such a magnificent species, he couldn't afford to be charmed into risking his life.

 

The more beautiful something was, the more perilous it was beneath the surface. Wild forests had taught him that lesson over and over.

 

[But he could have just dragged you down then,] 1314 protested.

 

[Maybe it wasn't challenging enough,] Zong Que replied, stepping down from the rock and heading back toward the research facility.

 

[How could such a beautiful merman have bad intentions? He even saved you,] 1314 said.

 

[Mm,] Zong Que responded simply, not bothering to argue.

 

The system, sentimental and prone to losing its head over a pretty face, reminded him of how humans thought of house cats—forgetting that they were once tigers.

 

After organizing the photos he had taken, Zong Que had a simple dinner and sat by the window, recording the day's events.

 

Deep-sea merfolk were powerful beings, their fertility remarkable. But if humanity wished to solve its reproductive crisis, turning to merfolk was not necessarily the answer.

 

After all, the word "merfolk" still contained "folk"—people. Though they lived beneath the waves, their intelligence was no different from humanity's own.

 

Many people found it difficult to hunt creatures that could think and feel pain like themselves. Empathy—an understanding of what it meant to hurt—bred compassion.

 

To survive among humans, one had to learn to observe all the nuances of human nature. Only then could one truly blend in.

 

The light in the window burned deep into the night. The gentle stirring of the waves against the rocky shore continued just as long. From behind a hidden rock, a pair of watchful eyes fixed upon the serious, thoughtful figure by the window for a long, long time, while 1314 remained uncharacteristically silent.

 

Because it had realized—its host didn't seem to like kittens very much. No, not kittens...mermaids.

 

They simply didn't share the same interests.

 

…

 

At dawn, the first light spilled across the research facility, and the sounds of engines and heavy equipment unloading filled the air outside.

 

Zong Que paused at the entrance. A group of young people were busily operating robots, moving laboratory equipment inside. Luo Xin, spotting him with his slightly damp hair, waved enthusiastically. "Doctor, you're up early! All our experimental equipment has arrived!"

 

"Thank you for the hard work," Zong Que said, walking closer to inspect the machines briefly. "I'll go take a shower first. Gather in the lab afterward."

 

"Understood!" Luo Xin snapped to attention, almost giving him a salute.

 

Inside, the young researchers were bustling with excitement, an energy they hadn't felt in a long time.

 

"There's so much equipment now, I don't even know how to use half of it," one of them said, gently stroking an instrument with gloved hands, his eyes alight with joy.

 

"Same here. Feels like tech's evolving way too fast," Luo Xin laughed. "But I recognize this one."

 

"All thanks to the Doctor," another young man said. "If we can shift our research focus and produce some real results, maybe we'll finally get out of this godforsaken place."

 

"I actually think it's pretty here," Luo Xin mumbled.

 

"Pretty doesn't fill your stomach," Liu Chao sighed, but the sight of the new equipment rekindled a spark of enthusiasm in him.

 

Last Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter
⥼ Bonus Discord Chapter ⤴

 

❧ Join Bella Novels' Newsletter by clicking here ↫ and
receive an email for each New Update -͙✧˖*°࿐