"When the answer was found, Vivian was very happy. She even gave me a gift."
At Fu Qian's exclamation, Ninianni continued reminiscing about the past.
"A mermaid, a real mermaid from the outside world."
"I heard their voices more than once, but my sister wouldn't let me answer."
"But that day, she personally led a lost mermaid here and let me use her to test my discovery."
"I was very happy, and while we were experimenting, I shared something with her to show my gratitude."
So that was how the fishfolk first came to be?
Ninianni's words naturally brought Siren's cage to Fu Qian's mind.
That different-looking face had indeed been made by a different hand.
"Vivian didn't approve. She thought it would cause trouble, but after the test proved successful, she was happy and didn't scold me too much. The same went for when I secretly did similar things again afterward."
Ninianni's recollections came to an abrupt end.
"Fu Qian, you came from outside too, didn't you?"
"Yes."
Fu Qian didn't mind her asking so casually.
"You came in on your own, without being guided? You're very impressive."
Ninianni's praise sounded quite sincere, but her question sent Fu Qian's thoughts wandering.
Although it seemed like an accident on the surface, looking back over everything, it was hard not to wonder whether there really had been no guidance behind it.
At least according to his earlier guess, "Vivian's" survival strategy had been an absolute trap for him.
Of course, she didn't have the power to convince him, so she couldn't really ensnare him.
But his core plan to find the anomaly had made no progress. He was being held up and delayed.
With his meeting with Chief Yuan coming up, he didn't have much time left.
"You're looking for Vivian