Age Of The Sirens

"The main task this time is to monitor the movement of the second base on the western border. According to intelligence, the second base and the first base have contacts with the rebels, and they often meet near the big saltwater swamp. We will be near the swamp. Lurk for a while, gather intelligence and evidence."

The Great Saltwater Swamp is in the uninhabited land between the second base and the first base. It was originally formed by the land of northern Europe being submerged by the rising sea level. It is a wetland as vast as an ocean.The climate there is hot and humid. Although there are some plants, most of them are mangroves, which hide some rare mosquitoes with germs, and because of the dense and wide distribution, it is very suitable for some fugitives or dangerous elements to hide in and engage in illegal activities. Activity.

Now the cities in the base are all scattered on the remaining land one by one, and the large wasteland in the middle can only be connected by the tracks of the suspended train.In a place like the Great Saltwater Swamp, there might not be even a single person within a hundred miles.It is really not a comfortable thing to stay in that kind of place for ten days and half a month.

Lin Maochen's face collapsed, and most of the excitement of the others faded away.Originally thought that they would be assigned some exciting tasks, but in the end they were assigned to stay in a place where the birds don't shit...

"The mission information has been transferred into your personal folders. This time, I will act together with you."

"Hey?!" Tang Yi couldn't help making a surprised sound.It doesn't sound like this is an urgent task, why does the captain want to follow them personally?

Jiang Yanfeng glanced at him indifferently, and said simply, "Get ready, we will leave at five o'clock tomorrow morning." Then the line was disconnected.

Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, and Lin Maochen said in a low voice, "Oh my god... the captain is also coming, this is not a good time..."

Luo Wei asked, "Why? Is the captain scary?"

Lin Maochen was crying, "It's not the captain who is scary, but the sea monster beside him..."

That sea monster... seems to be called Liuhuo, right?Tang Yi remembered that golden and gorgeous sea monster, it looked really dangerous...

Lan Huang comforted, "Okay, okay, whoever told you to speak ill of the captain behind his back was heard by him..."

"Then he doesn't need to use the 'magic sound filling ear' trick on me?!" Lin Maochen held the Lan Huang's waist tightly with a terrified expression, "What should I do? I want to go home~~~"

Tang Yi asked Peacock in a low voice, "What the hell is the magic sound filling the ears?"

Peacock suppressed a smile and leaned into his ear and said, "It's just pouring a special melody into your mind, and then you will keep playing that melody in your mind for the next week. This is Liuhuo's unique trick. "

"...Is this scary? I sometimes listen to music, too?"

Tan Mingyuan interjected at this time, "Your kind is a common phenomenon called earworms. A certain melody keeps repeating in your mind. But most of the time you can ignore it and it won't affect your daily life. .Simply put, it’s like background music. Imagine if you increase the level of earworms by ten times, it’s no longer background music, but a super subwoofer that keeps playing back to your ears...”

Tang Yi imagined it for a while, and then he understood why Lin Maochen looked like he was about to die.

If he was forced to listen to the same melody non-stop day and night for seven days, there was no way to ignore it, and he couldn’t concentrate on thinking about other things. Isn’t it the experience he had when he first underwent hearing modification surgery...

Tang Yi then repeatedly told himself not to offend Liu Huo...

After Quicksilver came back, Tang Yi told him the content of the mission.The siren nodded calmly and went into the bathroom to take a bath without saying anything.Looking at the closed door, Tang Yi always felt empty in his heart.

Mercury has been a little cold recently, staying away from home all day long.What is he doing behind the scenes?Now even he no longer believes it?

[Talking with him is the only way to find a chance] Tang Yi decided in this way.

The next day they each boarded a midsize mini machine with a large backpack on their backs.Tang Yi found out that they were the only team on this mission, plus the captain, Liu Huo, and a pilot.

The captain sat on the seat at the front of the aircraft, leaned against the bulkhead with his eyes closed to rest, and still held his cane firmly in his hand.And the blond sea monster looked at each of them with great interest, especially... Tang Yi.

Tang Yi twisted his body a little uncomfortably, turned his head and whispered to the peacock next to him, "Why does he keep looking at me..."

Peacock replied teasingly, "Maybe he is considering whether to take you under the knife."

Tang Yi shivered, "I didn't mess with him..."

"Maybe it's because you're cute?"

"Cute your sister... Brother is obviously handsome!"

Mercury glanced at Tang Yi, coughed in a low voice, with a stinky expression on his face.On the other side, Tsuruta's face was also a little stiff.Tang Yi touched his nose and stopped whispering to the peacock.

The mini-machine quickly rose into the air and continued to accelerate after entering the stratosphere.The clouds below are spreading in all directions like an ocean, and the rare blue sky overhead is turned upside down like a giant bowl. It is so clear that it can ripple the color, and even the lead on the cornea is washed away at a glance. illusion.Tang Yi and Luo Wei turned around and leaned on the window and exclaimed, as if they had never seen the world.In the past, the mini-machines they took were all operating near the surface, and they had never flown to such a high place.

It traveled for half a day at an ultra-fast speed close to the speed of sound, passing through the entire territory of the First Base.When they descended from the clouds, what spread out under their feet was a gloomy gray-green, covering the subtle arcs of the earth and rippling, surrounding large areas of deeper green lakes.Tang Yi rarely saw so many plants. When he was fighting guerrillas, he went deep into the remaining jungles in no man's land, but none of them were as extensive and prosperous as the trees of the generation of the Great Saltwater Marsh.

Their mini-machine landed on a flat meadow with little vegetation, and the steam from its jets made waves on the soft wormwood.The trees around are low but dense, and the gray-green leaves that lack vitality are densely woven together.The suffocating and humid air seemed to be sticky on everyone's skin with a thick liquid, and a faint rancid smell lingered in the nostrils.

After getting off the plane, Lin Maochen unfolded his complex electronic map, pointed to a place and said, "There is very little water on the surface here, and it is surrounded by trees, so it should be a suitable place to camp."

The captain nodded slightly, and the group packed their bags and immediately headed towards the destination.The aircraft that picked them up and sent them back slowly took off and returned, and was on standby at the first base military area closest to the Great Saltwater Swamp.

There is no road between the forests that no one has set foot in. They need to forcibly step on a road on the ground where the roots are crisscrossed and weeds.Lin Maochen and Lanhuang, who are good at tracking and positioning, led the way at the front. They found a regular branch from somewhere to beat the grass to prevent animals such as snakes from being stepped on.The captain followed behind him, although his legs and feet were inconvenient, but his speed was not slow.

After walking for two hours, Tang Yi's mouth was parched, he pulled open the collar of the camouflage uniform, and wiped the sweat gurgling from his forehead.Luo Wei handed him a bottle of water, and he gulped down a couple of sips before sighing, "It's been years since I've marched in such a harsh environment..."

Luo Wei took off his helmet and wiped the sweat from his nose, "You used to be in this kind of place when you fought guerrillas with the rebels?"

"It's about the same as here, hotter than here." Tang Yi looked at Luo Wei's rolled-up cuffs, stretched out his hand and pulled them off for him, "This kind of place has a lot of poison, so don't expose your skin."

Mercury also looked tired.This sweltering environment is not suitable for sea monsters. His long hair sticks to his forehead, and his pale skin is coated with a layer of crystal clear sweat.Tang Yi followed behind Shuiyin, and when he heard that he was panting heavily, his footsteps were sloppy, and his eyes were a little blurred, he knew that he had some signs of heatstroke.He turned his head to look at Zixi and Ashes, and even Tan Mingyuan had a very ugly expression on his face.

But the captain hasn't shouted tired yet, no one dares to speak.

Of course, except Tang Yi, who is stunned.

"Hey! Captain! Let's take a break!" Tang Yi yelled at the front of the team.

Jiang Yanfeng stopped, looked back at the people behind him, pondered for a moment, and ordered, "Stay where you are for 10 minutes!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Tan Mingyuan sat paralyzed on the ground.He is a frail scholar, even if he has received basic combat training, it is still too much for him to walk like this.Tang Yi saw that Mercury sat down leaning against a tree trunk, with a bead of sweat hanging on his eyelashes, and the shadow of the leaves swayed on his beautiful face, with a touch of tranquility.

Tang Yi sat down next to Shuiyin, took out a small bottle from his backpack, sprinkled a few drops of the liquid on his finger, reached out his hand to Shuiyin's face, but was suddenly grabbed by the wrist.

Quicksilver opened his eyes, "What are you doing?"

Tang Yi curled his lips, "What else can I do to help you cool down?" Mercury's reaction made him a little unhappy. Could it be that he was afraid that he would poison him?

Quicksilver let go of his wrist, allowing him to smear the cool oil on the siren's temples.Quicksilver groaned comfortably, with a lazy cat-like expression.

Tang Yi sniggered in his heart, passed the water bottle over, watched Mercury greedily absorbing water, and commented, "You are like a dehydrated fish."

Mercury glared at him, "You're not much better either."

Tang Yi grinned, took the kettle and took a sip at the place where Quicksilver drank. When he came back to his senses, he found that Quicksilver was staring at him in a daze.Tang Yi stretched out his hand and shook it in front of Shuiyin, "Hey, you are hot and stupid, right..."

But at this moment, Shuiyin, Tang Yi, Hetian, Jiang Yanfeng and all the sea monsters heard strange voices at the same time.

The call should be far away, and the sound pressure is very low, so other humans who have not undergone auditory modification cannot hear it.If there was anything strange about the sound, it seemed to be the cry of a baby.

There is nothing scary about the sweet and hoarse cry of a baby, but it appears in this barren mountain and wild ridge where there is no one inhabited.

Is it an abandoned baby?But where would someone abandon their children in this swamp that no one has set foot in for hundreds of years?If it weren't for abandoned babies, where else would any animal cry like this?

Tang Yi felt his scalp go numb, stood up abruptly, and looked in the direction of the voice.That seemed to be the direction they were headed.

"It can't be another mutant monster..."

But the sound was only for a moment, and it was far away.Lin Maochen speculated that it might be the sound of animals living in the swamp, so it should be fine.

After 10 minutes, the group continued on the road.After walking for about an hour, they finally arrived at the campsite.It was getting late, and everyone quickly set up a small temporary tent, used stones to pad a few pieces of artificial fuel and lit it into a bonfire, and cooked compressed food on it.Tang Yi took two cups of black bean soup and found Mercury by the pond full of dead trees near their camp. The latter was looking at the afterglow of the setting sun reflected on the dark green water.

"It's over. You're here again thinking about something messy." Tang Yi impatiently stuffed the stainless steel cup into Shuiyin's hand, and sat down on the other side of the dry tree trunk where Shuiyin was sitting.

Mercury frowned as he looked at the dark things in the cup.

Tang Yi glared at him, "Frowning again, you are still picky about food when you are marching outside...don't eat now if you are hungry at night, don't bark."

"I haven't said anything yet, you're just rambling on a lot." Shuiyin glanced at him, but there was a hint of a smile on his expression, "It's just like an old aunt."

"...Isn't it because you mysteriously disappeared all day and made me nervous." Tang Yi couldn't hold back, and vomited out the resentment he had held back for several days, muttering, "I didn't Seeing you go back to Siren Hall so frequently. You must not be having an affair?!"

Mercury chuckled twice, "Affair? Whose affair? Yours or Tang Ya's?"

Tang Yi was at a loss for words, his cheeks were flushed, and he felt bad for a while, "Of course it's... my brother's!"

Damn, he doesn't even have the qualifications to catch an affair.Tang Yi felt that he was going to be overwhelmed.

There was a touch of tenderness in Mercury's eyes, as if he had seen through Tang Yi's little thoughts.He said, "Don't worry, I just want to see more about the life of the Kraken."

"You yourself are a siren, what do you think?"

"Sometimes, you can see it more clearly from the perspective of a bystander." Quicksilver said casually, stirring the black substance in the cup with a spoon.

The twilight quickly spread to the entire sky like overturned ink, and the temperature dropped suddenly at night. In the darkness, insects and frogs croaked one after another, but there was no light source other than that.The trees looking around turned into silhouettes with fangs and claws, looking down at their small team gloomily.Except for Lin Maochen who was guarding the first night shift, everyone got into their tents to rest early after dinner.

Tang Yi and Shuiyin slept side by side in the tent. Halfway through their sleep, they vaguely heard the sound of someone walking outside.

Tang Yi opened his eyes, only to see the shadows of branches and leaves shaking on the tent cloth.The sound of walking was weird, dragging for a long time, as if someone was pulling shoes and sliding on the ground.

Who is the night watcher who is free to go around the tent now... Tang Yi cursed in a low voice, turned over, only to find that Mercury's eyes were open.

Just as Tang Yi was about to give birth, Mercury suddenly covered his mouth with a finger on his lips, motioning him to keep silent.

Only then did Tang Yi realize how wrong what he had just thought of.

Even if the night watchers were bored, they wouldn't use this strange rhythm to patrol, and they even went around their tents.

But if it's not the night watchman, who is it?Why can't I hear voices speaking?It's three o'clock in the middle of the night, who would run out and circle the tent in the middle of the night?Or use this method of pulling your feet?

The small tent seems to be floating in the center of the unknown sea. Who is walking outside through the thin fabric?Tang Yi couldn't help but wanted to get up and open the tent to take a look, but the voice suddenly stopped.

A moment later, Tang Yi heard a baby's laughter that was close at hand, as if it was just outside the tent.

Among the dark and messy tree shadows, in the desolate night, such a laugh looked particularly eerie.Tang Yi felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand upright, and the urge to open the tent suddenly disappeared.

He was afraid to really see a baby lying on the ground, with long trails behind it, opening its black mouth without teeth, and showing a weird smile at him.