Extra Chapter 4
In the library, Zhong Li sat before a vast pile of documents, tapping away on her computer to complete her thesis.
She was a history student and, having grown up by the sea, had always been deeply fascinated by the stories of Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Seas.
Zhong Li had sifted through countless materials and knew Zheng He's life and deeds inside out.
Zheng He’s original name was Sanbao. In his youth, he had accompanied Zhu Di on military campaigns and was well-versed in the art of warfare, which led to his selection as the envoy for the voyages to the Western Seas.
Zheng He embarked on seven voyages, his journeys spanning Vietnam, India, Malaysia, and reaching as far as Africa, even bringing back a giraffe.
Upon arrival in the Ming Dynasty, the giraffe caused a sensation; people from all over the streets gathered to catch a glimpse.
Zhu Di even publicly proclaimed it a qilin, a mythical creature, and honored it accordingly.
This incident often became a joke among netizens, but Zhong Li believed Zhu Di was no fool; he must have been fully aware of the difference between a giraffe and a qilin.
Had he truly mistaken the giraffe for a qilin, depictions of qilins in Ming Dynasty paintings would have transformed into giraffe-like figures.
It was more likely that Zhu Di deliberately called the giraffe a qilin to affirm his legitimacy.
After all, the qilin is an auspicious beast symbolizing a prosperous era and a wise ruler.
“Judy, you’re truly impressive!”
Zheng He’s voyages were a grand feat, carrying great significance in humanity’s exploration of the world.
Ever since Columbus discovered the Americas, the West had been swept by a frenzy of exploration, with everyone eager to carve their names into history.
It was said that an adventurer once reached the port of Guli in India, exhilarated at having discovered a new land, only to find a stone inscription upon landing, etched with unknown characters:
“Traveling over a hundred thousand li from China, the customs and people resemble each other, harmonious as the morning breeze; this stone is carved here to be an eternal testament for future generations.”
It turned out that decades earlier, the Chinese had already explored this place.
This very stone now resided in the British Museum, symbolizing the glorious years of the Ming Dynasty, attracting historians who studied it every year.
Reflecting on maritime history, Zhong Li couldn’t help but compare East and West, growing disdainful of the West.
China embraced the ideal of universal harmony, advocating for subjugation of other nations through nonviolent means, yet prepared to strike with thunderous force when necessary.
Wherever the Ming fleet sailed, foreign nations paid tribute and submitted, forging a flourishing Maritime Silk Road.
Chinese porcelain and silk were bestselling commodities in the West, while Western spices found their way to China.
This exchange was friendly, peaceful, and mutually beneficial.
In contrast, the Western adventurers, upon discovering new lands, pillaged indiscriminately, transforming these places into colonies.
They were less explorers and more thieves.
Even China had once fallen victim to their colonial ambitions.
The thought of such humiliating history made Zhong Li momentarily lose her focus. She picked up her phone to relax.
The moment she opened an app, a striking red headline caught her eye: “Do You Believe Mermaids Exist in the World?”
Many netizens replied that mermaids were mere fantasies, their prototype the dugong.
However, the original poster claimed to be a researcher who studied whales, recording their sounds with specialized equipment.
One day, he captured an extraordinary audio clip in the ocean: a voice so beautiful it surpassed any song he had ever heard.
The sound resembled a human’s but was at a frequency impossible for any human to produce.
He tried to trace the source but failed, and never encountered the voice again.
Moreover, sailors often encountered whales seeking help to remove barnacles.
But how did the whales know humans could assist with this?
Who was the first to help the whales?
The poster boldly speculated: mermaids.
He attempted to attach cameras to whales, but the creatures seemed aware of his intentions, systematically destroying the devices.
Frustrated, he shifted his research focus to mermaids, visiting many who claimed to have seen them—all of whom turned out to be frauds.
Until one day in England, he met an old man.
This man had once participated in the Eight-Nation Alliance’s looting of the Old Summer Palace, loading treasures onto ships for transport back home.
As soon as netizens saw the mention of the Old Summer Palace, they all erupted with excitement.
“Senluo: Damn! The Old Summer Palace!”
“Wanqian Shiguang Biji: When the Eight-Nation Alliance looted the Old Summer Palace, they loaded all the treasures onto ships, but the ships sank before leaving Chinese waters—treasures lost forever.”
“I Just Want to Call Cat Head: I remember my history teacher saying it was as if Heaven had justice—the treasures better remain sunken than fall into foreign hands.”
The poster continued: On the day of the incident, the weather was clear, and the sea calm, with no sign of storms.
The old man was on deck when he heard a mysterious song, followed by a towering wave that suddenly surged, swallowing the ship.
The wave was strange—normally, such waves build gradually, but that day it was as though a colossal force had abruptly lifted it, targeting the ship deliberately.
The old man was the sole survivor, and upon returning, he became mad, telling everyone the incident was caused by mermaids.
“Shangshan Da Songsu: Can mermaids wield such power?”
“Qiu Ye: Unknown creatures, some mysticism is to be expected.”
“Qiufeng Xiaoxiao: Humans have explored less than 1% of the ocean.”
“Yan Xia: But why would mermaids do this?”
“Cong: I heard Zheng He encountered mermaids during his voyages.”
“Cheng You: Yes, I’ve heard that story too.”
After scrolling through the posts, Zhong Li put down her phone, considering it just a sensational tale designed to attract attention.
She had to admit, it was well-crafted.
Noticing the time, Zhong Li headed to the cafeteria to get some food.
Suddenly, a breaking news alert flashed on the public screen: A national research vessel named Zheng He had gone missing at sea, guided by a mysterious song it couldn’t resist following—and had, in fact, discovered the Old Summer Palace’s treasures.
!!!
Zhong Li quickly checked her phone. Sure enough, the story was dominating the trending topics.
She tapped into the earlier post, now buried under thousands of comments.
“Ye Xiang: Bro, I thought you were making this up, but you’re serious?!”
“Huhu: I was wrong, mermaids really do exist!”
“Amphitrite: So those legends are true? Zheng He really met mermaids?”
“Haokun: Absolutely, it’s too much of a coincidence otherwise.”
“Today Also Want to Escape: The Ming brought peace, but the West brought plunder—that’s why the mermaids sank the ships, leaving the treasures in the sea.”
“Litu6927: From another perspective, the mermaids are safeguarding these treasures for us, waiting for China to grow strong before returning them.”
“Gentle Under the Sunset: And it just so happens to be the Zheng He vessel.”
“Ji: How romantic.”
“Food Is Terrible, Don’t Want to Live qwq: If mermaids have existed since the Ming Dynasty, they’d be over six hundred years old now; their immense power wouldn’t be surprising.”
“Red Hood Little Red Riding Hood: Speaking of which, the island nation is about to discharge sewage soon—what will happen to the marine creatures then?”
“Sakata Gintoki: Damn it!”
After reading the posts, Zhong Li’s worldview of over twenty years wavered slightly, yet she remained steadfast in her belief in science.
Until a month later, when the island nation proceeded with their scheduled sewage discharge.
As the internet erupted in condemnation, a mysterious ocean current suddenly surged, pushing all the sewage back, forcing the island nation to halt their dumping.
!!!
To hell with science! The mermaids’ grandmother has shown her wrath!