Stop pretending, the fake heiress is actually a master of metaphysics.

The next morning, after having breakfast provided by the production team, the guests went to Grandma Fan's house to continue their studies.

Although making the mermaid lamp was not easy, the guests were quite skillful and managed to complete a basic version after a day's work.

Dinner was still obtained through games. After the games and dinner, as the sun was setting, the guests boarded their respective boats and prepared to set sail.

The weather was nice today, with almost no wind, so there were hardly any waves at sea.

The guests only boarded the boat and went out to sea after the production team tested the environment to ensure it was safe.

The sun has completely set.

The sky was a clear, bluish-green, and the seawater near the islands was relatively clear.

The butterfly looked down at the seawater and could see coral and small schools of fish.

Lu Mengmeng hummed the nursery rhyme she had learned that day very softly.

"Is it really possible to find mermaids?"

Hu Die: "I don't know."

The production crew's large ship followed closely behind, equipped with rescue personnel, in case the guests encountered any accidents at sea.

Hu Die suddenly remembered what the village chief had said last night, and a similar feeling welled up in her heart.

As darkness fell a little further, the guests placed the lanterns they had made on the bows of their respective boats.

Against the backdrop of the deep blue sea and the night, it actually looks rather beautiful.

As Lu Mengmeng hummed a song, she reached out to splash the seawater. Suddenly, she saw something and let out a scream.

"What is that?!"

Shen Nian glanced to the side and saw something white flash by beneath their small boat.

It was especially noticeable in the dark sea.

Holy crap!!!

[There really is something?]

[Stop singing, Mengmeng! What if you've really attracted some kind of evil spirit?]

[Holy crap, stop singing! That thing is terrifying!]

Could it just be a fish?

[A ten-year fishing veteran's experience tells you that it doesn't look like a fish...]

[Holy crap!!! Could something really have happened?]

Have they left?

No, look closely, that thing is still clinging to the bottom of the boat.

Shen Nian said coldly, "Stop singing, there's something at the bottom of your boat."

She pulled out a talisman, lit it, and threw it towards where the thing was.

All everyone heard was a strange, teeth-grinding scream, along with a sound like fingernails scraping against the bottom of a boat.

What exactly is that thing...?

"We have them on the bottom of our boat too."

Mu Sinian said.

He shone his flashlight into the water beside the boat and unexpectedly met the gaze of a pair of dark, empty eyes.

Even Mu Sinian was startled for a moment and almost dropped the flashlight.

[Holy crap, what is that? A human face?]

Is this what they call mermaids? Don't scare me.

This looks...so much like one of those bloated, floating corpses?

[Holy crap, this is a paranormal show, not a legal program!]

[Stop messing around, okay? Where's the production team?! Are they dead again?!]

[Isn't everyone saying it's scary? I feel like my thalassophobia is about to flare up.]

Shen Nian said, "They were attracted by the singing and the fish lanterns."

She picked up the fish lantern, brought it close, and smelled it.

When making fish lanterns, the materials need to be soaked in a special oil to achieve a waterproof effect.

The oil had a unique fragrance, which Granny Fan said was extracted from special spices and seeds.

Neither Shen Nian nor Lin Xiyue participated in the making of the fish lantern, nor had they paid attention to the problem with it before.

Lin Xiyue also picked up the fish lantern and sniffed it carefully for a moment.

Then he shook his head: "I can't smell what kind of animal or plant oil it is."

Shen Nian's face darkened.

"Because...this oil contains a human, and a creature that has never appeared before the world..."

Shen Nian raised her hand and threw the mermaid lantern onto the sea.

The light swirled a few times on the sea surface but did not sink; instead, it remained floating on the water.

The monsters that had been gathered below the ship seemed to be genuinely attracted by the fish lanterns, and they leaped toward them in a rush.

Their bodies had a pale, transparent texture and bizarre, indescribable shapes.

"What is this...?"

Zhang Xiaoling and Lu Mengmeng were too frightened to speak.

Shen Nian said, "This is the legendary mermaid."

"...This is a mermaid?"

Lu Mengmeng said in disbelief.

"They don't look beautiful at all, and..."

It looks quite terrifying.

Shen Nian said, "The beautiful half-human, half-fish creatures you imagine should be called merfolk, not mermaids."

"Mermaids are incomplete merfolk. The difficulty of transforming from a mermaid into a merfolk is no less than that of a snake transforming into a dragon... Do you understand? I once encountered a group of them in another sea area, but that was in a very deep sea."

This place is close to an island, and the water isn't very deep, so why would mermaids appear here?

[What the heck? This is a 'mermaid'?]

Do the islanders consider themselves descendants of these things?

This is a bit abstract...

[What kind of creature is the mermaid the islanders are talking about, or is it a merman?]

【have no idea……】

This thing looks really ugly...

Do you think this thing is edible?

Zhang Xiaoling shivered from the sea breeze and said, "Is it because the oil used to make the mermaid lanterns contained oil from their bodies that they were attracted here?"

She almost instantly filled in the gaps in Shen Nian's words.

Lu Mengmeng asked incredulously, "Could it be that the islanders once caught these creatures and extracted their oil?"

Otherwise, where does this oil come from?

If that's really the case, then the village chief's warning to her seems to have some basis.

Lu Mengmeng instantly imagined a grand drama of racial revenge.

There was almost a sense of disorientation, as if I were not in the real world.

Shen Nian threw away all those mermaid lamps.

After tearing the mermaid lamp apart, the mermaids dragged the lamp skin into the depths of the ocean.

Shen Nian shook her head: "I don't know."

"Logically speaking, mermaids are almost invincible in the ocean."

Unless this unassuming island was once inhabited by sorcerers, like those in the ancient cultivation world, who hunted mermaids to satisfy some special need.

But if that's the case...

Mermaids should definitely not be in this area.

All living beings should possess the instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm.

Even if decades have passed and the sorcerer may have disappeared, he should not reappear in this sea area.

Lu Mengmeng asked, "Have they... left?"

Shen Nian shook her head: "No."

She could sense that the group of mermaids were still lurking in the depths of the sea not far away, seemingly waiting for something.

"Shall we... turn back now?"

"Let's turn back. The wind is getting strong, and it's not safe at sea."