Under the guidance of the clownfish, Lansi and Winsor quickly found the island.
Winsor didn't care at all. He went ashore directly at a monitoring blind spot.
Then, just like last time, he quickly transformed his fishtail into legs. Black mucus leaked from his body and formed a set of clothes.
Since this body had been shaped by Winsor, it wasn't difficult for him to squeeze out another layer of material and turn it into clothing.
After watching this scene, both the clownfish and Lansi looked at Winsor with the same stunned expression.
No matter how they looked at it, the ability to freely change clothes like this was simply magical.
[Wow, you mermaids can do that?]
After recovering from its surprise, the clownfish turned its attention to Lansi enthusiastically.
Obviously, it was waiting for the moment when the same "miracle" would happen to him.
Lansi was speechless. Of course he couldn't do what Winsor could.
Winsor, standing on the shore, said in a low voice,
"I don't have any clothes. How can I go ashore?"
Lansi was indeed able to transform his fishtail into legs after reaching land.
The problem was that he couldn't conjure up a suit of clothes on his own. If he went ashore now, he'd be completely exposed.
"I'll find you some clothes."
Winsor glanced around.
The most obvious—and only—building on the island was the lighthouse.
There was a high wall nearby, and people could be seen moving around it. Combined with the strict security, it was clear that this place was more than just a lighthouse.
The spot where Winsor had come ashore happened to be outside the lighthouse's surveillance coverage.
An hour later, Winsor returned with a uniform. He tossed it onto a rock by the shore and beckoned for Lansi to come up.
Lansi swam over and unfolded the clothes, immediately looking surprised.
"Why is it a reserve soldier's uniform again?"
During his time as a reserve soldier, he had gone through so much that he had practically developed trauma from the uniform.
"The situation here isn't quite right."
Winsor sat nearby, openly watching as Lansi emerged from the sea and put on the uniform.
After Lansi got dressed, Winsor thought for a moment and changed his own clothes, transforming them into the same reserve soldier's uniform.
"What are you doing?"
Lansi turned around, surprised to see that Winsor's clothes were almost identical to his own.
"You want to go in there?"
"Yes."
Winsor nodded.
Somehow, he produced a transparent box filled with water and placed it at his feet.
The lighthouse was merely a disguise.
While searching for clothes for Lansi, Winsor had also tried to investigate the lighthouse.
To his surprise, the place was still under construction. Countless reserve soldiers were working there, while others patrolled the area.
Judging by the level of security, it didn't look like they were simply building a lighthouse or even a laboratory.
In other words, this wasn't a lighthouse at all—it was being converted for another purpose.
According to the information Winsor had gathered, the black water being discharged from the island into the sea wasn't pollution as he had originally assumed. It was being released deliberately.
Considering the effects of the black water, Winsor couldn't understand what the builders were thinking.
Were they trying to eliminate all living creatures in the surrounding waters in order to defend against something?
Winsor explained his suspicions to Lansi and then described the purpose of the box he had brought.
It was for holding the clownfish.
"If the clownfish is the only living creature that can survive in this sea, then it's definitely worth studying."
Lansi thought for a moment before suddenly understanding Winsor's reasoning.
In other words, Winsor planned to use the clownfish's ability to survive in the black water as a way to gain access to the lighthouse.
But Lansi didn't think that was necessary at all.
Shouldn't they just disguise themselves as reserve soldiers, find a boat, start the motor, and leave with a cheerful "da-da-da"?
There was really no need to investigate the lighthouse.
Besides, what if the clownfish got trapped inside?
[I agree to go in and take a look.]
Before Lansi and Winsor could finish their discussion, the clownfish spoke up first.
It raised its tiny fins high, puffed out its chest, and lifted its head proudly, brimming with energy.
[ Aren't you afraid of dying if you go in there? ]
Lansi was speechless. It was truly the first time he had seen a fish so eager to go ashore.
[ Hey, I've spent my whole life swimming in the sea. Now that I finally have a chance to go ashore and see the world, why wouldn't I take it? ]
The clownfish really lived up to its adventurous nature. It looked at Lansi solemnly and said,
[ Even if I die on land, when I meet other fish after I die, I can still brag about what the shore looks like. ]
After listening to the clownfish's speech, Lansi turned to Winsor and asked seriously,
"After a sea monster evolves, do its personality and memories go in the opposite direction?"
Weren't clownfish supposed to be timid?
Didn't Quirrell, a sea monster far larger than this clownfish, spray ink everywhere in fright the moment he heard about going ashore?
Winsor fell silent for a few seconds before replying helplessly,
"How would I know? What do you think?"
Lansi began seriously reflecting on his own changes.
In the end, he came to the conclusion that compared to when he was human, he had changed a little... and yet somehow hadn't changed at all.
What a headache.
Anyway, since the clownfish had already raised its fins in support, Lansi could only agree to Winsor's plan.
In fact, Lansi had vaguely noticed that this lighthouse seemed to be connected to Winsor somehow.
The black water appeared to suppress some of Winsor's senses.
At least, if Lansi wasn't mistaken.
After that, everything proceeded naturally.
Winsor carried the transparent box filled with clean water and the clownfish inside.
The clownfish floated around in the box, curiously observing the scenery outside while asking questions nonstop.
[ Ahhhh! What's that green thing? Why is it so tall? And what's that way up above your heads? There are so many of them~~ ]
It was extremely excited.
Even though neither Lansi nor Winsor paid much attention to it, the clownfish was perfectly content entertaining itself. It swam circles around the transparent box, looking incredibly energetic to anyone watching.
Lansi, however, was quite nervous.
He didn't know how long their disguises would hold.
Based on his previous experience in the Alliance, access to important facilities required an identity chip. Lansi had long since returned his identity chip to Li Si and Michael, while Winsor had completely changed his body.
In short, neither of them had an identity chip.
So how exactly were they supposed to get into a place as heavily guarded as this lighthouse?
When they arrived near the entrance, Lansi remained hidden nearby, watching the guards patrolling the gate with growing anxiety.
Then Winsor simply picked up the transparent box and walked straight toward the entrance.
"Winsor?!"
Lansi stared at him in shock.
"What are you doing?"
One of the guards immediately spotted Winsor and raised his weapon.
"Reserve soldiers aren't allowed through here!"
he shouted sharply.
However, Winsor paid no attention to the weapon pointed at him. He continued walking toward the guard at a steady pace, one step at a time.
Seeing this, Lansi nearly lost his mind.
Grabbing at his hair in frustration, he could only step out from his hiding place and follow.
He hadn't expected Winsor to be this reckless.
Seriously, hadn't Winsor spent several years pretending to be Wen Yu?
Since this place had once been compared to a military facility, it was only natural that, under special circumstances, the guards had the authority to eliminate suspicious individuals.
"Wait, wait a minute!"
Lansi couldn't help but run out and try to explain to the guards.
"We're new recruits..."
"We accidentally found a living clownfish."
Winsor walked up to the guard and raised his head. His pure black eyes quietly met the guard's gaze, their depths unfathomable.
Under the guard's watchful stare, Winsor slowly lifted the transparent box in his hand as a signal.
But that alone shouldn't have been enough to convince the guards to let them pass.
Sweat formed on Lansi's forehead as he desperately searched for an excuse that could clear both of them of suspicion.
However, to his surprise, after staring at them silently for a moment, the guard lowered his weapon and said to Winsor in a remarkably friendly tone,
"Really? Then you can go in and find a doctor."
Lansi: ????
Completely bewildered, Lansi watched as the guard smiled at both of them, opened the gate, and kindly added,
"Just go straight ahead, take the elevator to the top of the lighthouse, and you'll find the doctor there."
Lansi: "..."
Wasn't this a little too friendly?
"Hurry up."
Winsor spoke in a low voice before grabbing Lansi and leading him through the gate.
Even after they entered, Lansi still couldn't understand why the guard's attitude had changed so drastically.
"What happened?"
The guard hadn't even bothered to check them further. It was far too strange.
Could it be that the guard knew them?
But Lansi was certain he had never met that guard before.
As for knowing Winsor...
That was even less likely.
"He was injected."
Winsor motioned for Lansi to follow him toward the lighthouse while explaining quietly.
"He carries my genes. Under my influence, he'll naturally develop a strong sense of trust and affection toward me and help me unconsciously."
That guard had been injected with Nate Serum to enhance his physical abilities. As a result, he carried a portion of those special genes within his body and possessed a subconscious fondness for Nate that he didn't even realize existed.
That admiration, engraved into his genes, temporarily clouded the guard's judgment. So when Winsor confronted him, the guard's thoughts were subtly disturbed.
For that brief period, he would obey Winsor's instructions without question.
After hearing the explanation, Lansi clicked his tongue in amazement.
At the same time, another thought occurred to him.
"Then I..."
Pointing back and forth between himself and Winsor, Lansi asked,
"Do I like you because of your genes too?"
"It would be great if it were because of your genes."
Winsor shot him an annoyed look.
"If you were really being influenced by my genes, would you be running around causing trouble all the time?"
Lansi stuck out his tongue and wisely chose not to continue the topic.
"That was only a temporary disruption of his thinking."
By then, Winsor and Lansi had already entered the elevator. Winsor pressed the button and continued,
"In human terms, it's similar to hypnosis."
Human thought processes were far too complex. Subconscious suggestions could only confuse someone for a short period of time; they couldn't maintain control indefinitely.
If humans were as simple-minded as sea monsters, perhaps Winsor would be able to control them for much longer.
Unfortunately, there were no such "ifs."
"Ding—"
The elevator arrived at the top of the lighthouse.
The two then stepped out.
To the surprise of both Winsor and Lansi, the top floor of the lighthouse appeared to be completely deserted.
Crossing the corridor, the two of them entered the room at the very end together.
The door was already open. Lansi stepped forward and pushed it wider.
"There's no one here?"
He found it strange and cautiously walked inside.
Then he froze.
In the southeast corner of the room stood a desk, and slumped across it was a corpse in a white lab coat.
Judging from the clothing, Lansi guessed this was the "doctor" the guard had mentioned.
He approached for a closer look and quickly spotted a bullet hole in the center of the corpse's forehead.
It seemed the unfortunate doctor had been shot clean through the head.
[Ahhhhh! It's you! You're the one... that...!]
A shrill clownfish scream suddenly came from Winsor's direction.
Startled, Lansi looked over.
Winsor was standing beside a large aquarium, while the clownfish inside the transparent box was frantically shouting at a fish inside the tank.
What happened now?
Lansi glanced back at the doctor's body before walking over to Winsor.
"The doctor seems to have been shot."
"Mm."
Winsor nodded, indicating that he had already noticed.
[Ahhh! Let me in! That's my friend!]
The clownfish was so excited that it kept swimming toward the aquarium, completely unconcerned with everything happening outside.
Unfortunately, a layer of plastic and a layer of glass separated the two fish, preventing any contact.
Inside the aquarium, a common blue tang—a flat-bodied blue fish covered with yellow markings often found among coral reefs—was also desperately swimming toward the clownfish. Several times, it bumped directly into the glass without slowing down.
"Dory?"
The fish looked exactly like the Dory from Lansi's memories.
Without thinking, he called out the name.
[Dory? That's not a bad name.]
The clownfish swished its tail happily and continued trying to get closer to the fish in the aquarium.
[Wait for me! I'm here to save you!]
Lansi and Winsor exchanged a speechless glance.
The clownfish and Dory looked like star-crossed lovers separated by fate, while Lansi and Winsor somehow ended up cast as the villains standing in their way.
[Fine, fine. I'll help you get Dory out.]
Unable to watch any longer, Lansi rolled up his sleeves and walked over to the aquarium.
The moment Dory saw him approaching, she immediately rolled onto her side, exposing her belly and pretending to be dead.
Blue tangs, also known as yellowtail surgeonfish, usually live among coral reefs, much like clownfish.
When frightened, they normally hide among coral branches or behind live rocks, anchoring themselves with their tail spines to prevent predators from pulling them out.
And if that failed...
They played dead.
Unlike adventurous clownfish, blue tangs were notoriously timid.
Lansi: "..."
It seemed Dory wasn't a sea monster at all, just an ordinary fish.
For some reason, that was actually reassuring.
Still, Dory's act made it much easier to catch her.
Lansi carefully transferred Dory into the transparent box Winsor had been carrying.
The moment she entered, the clownfish happily nudged him several times.
After a few enthusiastic bumps, Dory finally flipped herself upright and began interacting with the clownfish. The two fish immediately looked delighted to be reunited.
Winsor set the container aside and began examining the office.
Lansi followed suit.
As he wandered through the room, he stopped in front of a wall covered with diagrams and blueprints.
His expression suddenly darkened.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing the change, Winsor walked over and stood beside him.
He studied the documents on the wall.
To Winsor, they looked like construction plans of some sort, but human engineering was far outside his expertise. He couldn't make sense of them.
"Here..."
Lansi stared at the diagrams, then quickly flipped through the blueprints and engineering documents scattered across the desk beneath them.
In an instant, everything clicked into place.
"They're building a prison."
His voice turned grim.
"This entire place is a prison that's still under construction."
A prison specifically designed to contain Winsor.