A Glimmer of Moonlight and the Looming Leviathan

After dinner, Ming Yu realized that the distance between her and little Nightingale had subtly narrowed. This was an unexpected delight.

As night deepened, Ming Yu began tidying Nightingale’s bed.

The girl emerged from the bathroom, moving cautiously. Her long hair was damp and loose, a bathrobe wrapped around her small frame, her bare feet pattering on the wet floor as she steadied herself against the wall.

Nightingale had not been blind since birth.

She recalled that four years ago, after her father bid her farewell, she had cried alone in her room for a long time. Viktor’s departure had emboldened the bullies at her church school, making them even more reckless.

Then, one morning, she could no longer see anything.

Aunt Misha then took her out of school. From that day on, she remained confined to the house, staring blankly into a world of darkness.

Yet, in her mind, the world was not always shrouded in darkness.

Occasionally, a streak of flowing light would pierce her vision, like a comet crossing a silent night sky.

Tonight, Nightingale saw a shooting star once more.

At first, the faint glimmer of light seemed to drift aimlessly. Only when the light particles gradually expanded, transforming into a full moon, did she realize it had been flying toward her all along.

An inexplicable urge led her to conjure an image of Ming Yu, wondering if she resembled this luminous moon.

Nightingale sat silently by the bed, allowing Ming Yu to gently run her fingers through her long hair, drying the moisture from the strands with a hairdryer.

Meanwhile, the luminous moon in her vision continued its descent.

Finally, a dazzling brilliance enveloped her for the first time, and her world of darkness was flooded with light.

She touched the moon.

Nightingale felt a sharp pain erupt deep within her mind. The intense tearing sensation threatened to split her consciousness, causing her to instinctively frown.

She endured the throbbing pain, striving to maintain control over her facial expressions.

Soon, the pain gradually subsided, and the rustling noises faded, leaving a familiar female voice echoing in her mind.

‘In another two or three years, little Nightingale will be an adult…’

‘I was the same back then; as soon as I came of age, I ventured out to sea. I’m not well-educated, and my hunting skills aren’t easily taught to her…’

‘She should have her own life, settle down, marry, have children, and live an ordinary life. She can’t follow the same path Viktor and I did…’

‘In a few days, I’ll ask little Nightingale about school…’

‘…’

‘This is… Ming Yu’s voice? Are these Ming Yu’s inner thoughts?’

‘She can hear Ming Yu’s thoughts?’

Despite her astonishment, Nightingale maintained an impassive expression.

For some unknown reason, a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over her, making it difficult for Nightingale to keep her eyelids open.

Before long, the sound of the hairdryer ceased.

Ming Yu gently ruffled the girl’s head, feeling the silken smoothness beneath her fingertips.

Nightingale pressed her lips together. Unpleasant memories of school surfaced in her mind, forming a knot of frustration in her chest that she couldn’t shake.

She wanted to explain herself to Ming Yu but didn’t know how to begin.

‘I don’t want to go to school.’

****

Ming Yu helped Nightingale into bed, tucked her in, then quietly left the bedroom, gently closing the door behind her.

After completing these tasks, she let out a long sigh.

The table was still laden with bowls, chopsticks, and plates, awaiting her attention.

She couldn’t help but wonder if she possessed a hidden talent for being a good husband and father.

While Ming Yu didn’t mind doing housework, the thought of her hands, once bathed in blood and gripping an indestructible blade, filled her with an inexplicable sense of unreality about her current situation.

Here, there was no need for constant worry, no need for perpetual vigilance.

This feeling was remarkably pleasant.

Ming Yu, in a rare moment of contentment, temporarily cast aside her troubles, focusing instead on managing the household chores.

Beyond that, she needed to adapt to her new body, to re-acclimate herself to this unfamiliar vessel.

Just like now.

Inside the bathroom, water pattered softly.

Ming Yu’s crimson eyes were tightly shut, her brows furrowed. She let the water cascade over her head and face, soaking her abundant silver hair.

The strands gathered into thick ropes, flowing down her slender neck. The water traced the delicate curve of her collarbones, cascaded over the gentle swell of her chest, swirled around her small navel, and finally, traced the delicate, maiden-like curves below.

‘How strange.’

‘A woman’s body… it feels so peculiar…’

‘It seems a little too sensitive…’

Ming Yu’s brows furrowed even deeper. Holding her breath, she prepared to begin washing her body.

After fumbling for a moment…

‘Hiss—’

An electric sensation swept through her mind.

‘No, I’m too old for this. I truly can’t handle such stimulation.’

Large patches of crimson bloomed across Ming Yu’s skin. The strange sensation from her fingertips touching her own flesh left her utterly speechless with embarrassment.

She even mused that her heart hadn’t pounded this fast when she was impaled by a horn-eel, with adrenaline coursing through her veins.

The bath felt both fleeting and interminable.

Ten minutes later.

Ming Yu emerged from the bathroom, dragging her bare feet, her face etched with exhaustion. Yet, two stubborn crimson blushes still stained her cheeks.

She shed her bathrobe, donned her pajamas, and casually extinguished the living room light.

“Cough, cough—”

In the darkness, Ming Yu fumbled for a pill, took one out, and swallowed it with warm water.

‘Tomorrow, I’ll have to take little Nightingale to the doctor again…’

She collapsed onto the sofa, murmuring a few faint words before falling into a deep sleep.

****

Each district of Pharos was an oceanic fortress anchored to the seabed. Over a dozen outer districts interconnected, guarding the massive inner city at their center like stars orbiting the moon.

That night, all was silent save for a handful of buildings that remained brightly lit.

Inside the Pharos inner city, at the Hunter’s Association Headquarters.

The conference hall.

“Colleagues, the situation is critical. I won’t waste any more time; let’s proceed directly to today’s agenda.”

To the right of the square table, a slightly corpulent middle-aged man rose from his seat. Holding a laser pointer, he gestured for everyone present to look at the large screen, his expression grave as he presided over the emergency meeting.

The screen displayed a nautical chart, with “Pharos” marked at its center. Approximately 300 kilometers southeast of the oceanic fortress, a prominent red dot was marked.

Fujiwara Tachima activated his laser pointer, and a conspicuous pale green beam landed on the screen, circling the red dot a few times.

“According to reliable intelligence, an S-class sea beast has once again been sighted within the alert zone…”

“If it were just an ordinary S-class sea beast, we wouldn’t need to make such a fuss, nor would we convene all of you for a meeting in the dead of night.”

“But this time is different… We’ve decided to name this new S-class sea beast the ‘Mutated Leviathan’.”

“Compared to the last S-class sea beast, ‘Jörmungaṇḍr,’ which breached the alert zone, the ‘Leviathan’ poses a far greater threat. We absolutely cannot allow it to approach the fortress.”

“As for the reasons, Dr. Rhine will explain them to you next.”

After he finished speaking, a brief round of applause subsided, and Fujiwara Tachima resumed his seat. A thin man in a white coat, wearing thick glasses, slowly rose.

Dr. Rhine scanned the association’s high-ranking officials present, then his gaze returned to the paper file in his hands. He cleared his throat and stated in a deep voice:

“After the ‘Great Deluge’ descended, global ocean coverage increased from 71% to 99%. The existing ecosystem suffered devastating damage, but life, as it always does, found a way.”

“For nearly two hundred years, the ocean’s water quality has been thoroughly polluted by the alien ‘Great Deluge’. Global species have pressed the ‘fast-forward’ button on the evolutionary process, and that includes humanity.”

“Based on eyewitness descriptions of its appearance, combined with information captured by sonar, we have largely confirmed that the ‘Leviathan’ mutated from the sperm whale.”

“Through rough calculations, the ‘Leviathan’s’ whale song releases mechanical waves of immense energy. Within a one-kilometer radius, it can easily rupture the internal organs of ordinary people. Within a five-kilometer radius, it can cause severe damage to their organ functions.”

“Beyond that, the even greater threat lies in…”

Rhine pushed up his glasses, his voice grave.

“Sperm whales are social animals.”