Late at night, inside an aquarium after closing hours, only a few emergency lights remained on. They cast faint, shifting blue glows across the massive water tank glass, like dying phosphorescence in a sunken ship.
Old Chen pushed his cleaning cart, the sound of the brush scraping against the floor echoing sharply through the empty hall.
“Tsk, popcorn again… cola cups… Can’t they just throw their trash in the bin properly? Do they think this is their own backyard?”
he grumbled as he swept the garbage into the trash cart.
Every night after closing, the silence that replaced the daytime laughter and the mess left behind always put him in a foul mood.
He paused, using the dim light from the water tank to look inside at the fish swimming slowly.
A devil fish glided past with its “wings” spread wide, rays stirred up clouds of sand on the seabed, and colorful schools of small fish darted in unpredictable patterns. This artificial, tranquil deep blue was the only comfort in his annoying job.
“Sometimes I really envy you fish. All you have to do is swim around in the water every day, free and easy. Not like us humans.”
Old Chen shook his head with a sigh as he watched the fish. Just then, a long, low call suddenly pierced his ears without warning.
“Wooooooo————”
The sound carried an indescribable penetrating power and an ethereal echo that reverberated throughout the vast hall.
Old Chen froze instantly, the brush halting in mid-air.
Was that… a whale song? How could it be?
He wondered if he had misheard. The largest creatures in this aquarium were a few whale sharks that had only grown to about eight meters. Where would a whale come from?
There were a few beluga whales, but they couldn’t possibly make a sound like that.
He listened carefully. All he could hear was the low hum of the circulation system and his own slightly hurried breathing.
Must have been his imagination. He was getting older and staying up late too much.
He shook his head and continued cleaning.
“Wooooooo—ahhhhh——”
The sound came again, clearer this time, as if it was coming from the direction of the largest circular tank—the one originally used for open-ocean fish.
That tank had been emptied for maintenance over two weeks ago. It now contained only decorative coral, rockery, and water.
Old Chen felt a chill creep up his spine. He set down his tools, hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked toward the circular tank.
His footsteps sounded unusually loud in the silence, and the closer he got, the dimmer the emergency lights became.
The enormous tank loomed like a giant transparent vertical shaft, casting large, swaying shadows under the faint lighting.
He stopped in front of the empty circular tank and peered inside through the thick glass.
Only gentle ripples disturbed the light and shadows. The rockery and coral stood quietly in the gloom. Nothing seemed out of place.
Strange… There’s clearly nothing here. Where is that whale sound coming from…?
“Wooooooo—”
The whale song rang out a third time. This time, the sound was incredibly close, as if… it was right behind the glass!
Old Chen’s body jerked violently. His hair stood on end as he instinctively took a step back.
Something was wrong… Definitely wrong! Where was the whale song coming from? Was it from the speakers? No, the announcements should have stopped by now…
Snap!
Snap!
The remaining emergency lights in the hall suddenly went out without warning, making Old Chen flinch again.
His breathing had already grown rapid. He instinctively looked back toward the direction he had come from. One by one, the lights were extinguishing.
Snap!
When the last light source vanished, darkness—cold as the water in the tank—swallowed him instantly.
His heartbeat pounded faster and faster, hammering wildly against his eardrums in the dead silence and darkness.
“Hey! Who’s there! Who turned off the lights?! Don’t you know someone’s still cleaning in here?!”
Old Chen instinctively shouted to bolster his courage. He had always hated pranks, but right now, he desperately hoped someone was just playing one.
He couldn’t see anything now. All he could hear was his own heavy panting and… that faint, continuous whale song that seemed to be right beside his ear…
“Flashlight… flashlight!”
He fumbled at his waist with trembling hands. The cool metal touch helped him steady himself a little.
It was his trusty high-powered flashlight. He was saved!
He shakily pressed the switch. With a click, a blinding beam of light pierced the darkness and swept erratically ahead.
He lit up the path he had come from—the floor, the walls. There was nothing strange.
“Whew… Good, nothing weird showed up.”
Old Chen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, comforting himself. His tense nerves relaxed slightly.
Then… he swept the flashlight to the side, inevitably moving toward the huge circular viewing glass that now looked like the entrance to an abyss.
The beam stopped.
Right in the center of the glass, at eye level.
An eye.
A massive eye, covered in crimson blood vessels, was pressed tightly against the inside of the glass.
Its pupil was an inhuman, murky yellowish color, reflecting the tiny, trembling figure of Old Chen distorted by extreme fear.
There was no visible head or body around the eye—only a thick, slowly writhing shadow with faint, bizarre patterns that looked neither fully fish nor flesh.
It didn’t blink.
As if it had been waiting here, watching him, for countless nights.
Old Chen’s mouth hung wide open, but no sound came out. Only a wheezing “heh… heh…” escaped his throat.
The flashlight beam shook uncontrollably, making the giant bloodshot eye on the glass appear even more grotesque in the flickering light.
“Er… heh…………”
“Ah… AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!”
The fear that had built up to its peak finally broke through his throat.
A shrill, distorted scream erupted from Old Chen’s mouth. It echoed and bounced wildly through the empty aquarium before being swallowed by the boundless darkness…
The flashlight slipped from his powerless hand and fell to the ground with a clatter. The beam rolled a few times, shining crookedly into a corner, flickered once, and went out.
***
One day sometime later, during the daytime at Li Meng’s house…
“Ta-da! Xiao Qian, look what I found!”
Qiu Qiqian, who was making breakfast in the kitchen with her hair tied in a high ponytail, turned at the sound. She saw that Li Meng had somehow come in and was waving a ticket for some attraction.
“What is it?”
Qiu Qiqian asked while scooping breakfast out of the pan.
“This is a limited ticket for the Blue Abyss Aquarium~ It’s permanently valid! It’s single-use but never expires. And with this ticket, you can even get some small souvenirs.”
Li Meng proudly waved the ticket, clearly waiting for praise.
“Sounds pretty good… How did you get it?”
“The Association gives out extra rewards to outstanding Nether Bodies from time to time. I’ve got a whole stack of tickets like this!”
“But there’s only one here. How are you going to bring me in?”
“Hehe~ Don’t worry. This limited ticket allows you to bring one extra person. So? After we clock in at the Association, want to go check it out? The Blue Abyss Aquarium is the largest in the city and pretty famous nationwide.”
Li Meng blinked expectantly at Qiu Qiqian.
“What if there’s a mission at night?”
“No problem. You won’t even be able to stay until evening—the aquarium closes around dusk.”
“Hmm… We can go, but… do I really need a ticket?”
Qiu Qiqian leaned against the counter. With a thought, she switched into her Spiritual State, her feet lifting off the ground.
In Spiritual State, ordinary people couldn’t see her at all. She could even fly through walls. At worst… she could just possess Li Meng and sneak in. Tickets like this felt a little unnecessary for her.
“No sneaking in~”
Li Meng puffed out her cheeks and scolded her in the gentle, kindergarten-teacher tone she often used, poking Qiu Qiqian’s cheek.
“Besides, I already said this ticket lets you bring one extra person. You don’t need to sneak in, Xiao Qian.”
“No, I mean—if I get in some other way, then you could bring someone else along too, right?”
Qiu Qiqian gently pushed Li Meng’s finger away.
“Umm… But besides Xiao Qian, I can’t think of anyone else I’d want to go with. Xueyue and the others have already been there. Going again wouldn’t be as fun. Anyway, make sure you don’t sneak in, okay?”
“Fine, fine, I got it.”
Qiu Qiqian switched back to her physical form and summoned several black arms to carry the breakfast out of the kitchen.
“We’re having steak and fried eggs this morning. You should take a good look at what they’re supposed to look like.”
“Ehehe… Got it~ Next time I definitely won’t turn them into charcoal again.”
“There’s going to be a next time?”