# Chapter 3: Let the Ocean Disappear
The thought collective appears within the ocean. Without the ocean, the thought collective cannot appear, and thus the mermaid cannot be "birthed."
These three methods seem ridiculous, but they are indeed ways to completely eliminate the mermaid. As for other methods, they had been tried long ago with no effect whatsoever. For example, eliminating the thought collective that might appear in the sea ahead of time, or making the mermaid understand what love is—those kinds of cliché plans. Both the Containment Institution and the Eclipse Organization had tried them, and they were utterly useless.
What Su Xiao needed to do now was to contain the mermaid. After losing her freedom, the mermaid would die before long, but that would be enough to complete the first part of the main mission. During this time, he could also use the mermaid to attract the Death Chalice.
Su Xiao signaled Amu to open the crystal coffin. As the crystal coffin was opened, the seawater inside violently evaporated, turning into a colorless mist that drifted into the air.
It was worth mentioning that the primitive tribes living on the Unknown Continent, though still in an era of eating raw meat and drinking blood, had managed to create a crystal coffin that could completely imprison the mermaid, as well as concoct a special seawater that could block the mermaid's cries and songs. This was quite puzzling.
The mermaid slowly rose from within the crystal coffin, appearing harmless. But suddenly, her expression turned ferocious, and she seemed about to let out a sharp shriek. According to known records, the mermaid had never shrieked before.
*Slap!*
Amu delivered a heavy slap right across the mermaid's face, nearly knocking her back into the crystal coffin.
The Steel Straight Bull, Amu, knew nothing about being gentle with a lady. In its understanding, since the mermaid used sound to influence dangerous objects or creatures, hitting her mouth was the way to go.
*Thump, thump, thump…*
Amu rained down a barrage of slaps on the mermaid's face. After this storm of attacks, the mermaid lay stiffly in the crystal coffin, motionless.
"Amu, stop for now. Don't beat her to death."
"Moo."
"Boss, how do we handle her?"
"Don't let her cry, sing, or shriek."
"Got it. So, should we put a ball gag on her?"
"…"
"Woof?"
Bubu Wang looked at Baha with a confused expression, clearly not knowing what a ball gag was. This exceeded its knowledge storage. Baha described it with a sly grin, and Bubu Wang tilted its dog head, having gained some strange new knowledge.
Before long, the mermaid's mouth was sealed with tape, and the honeycomb-like small holes on her neck were also wrapped up.
"I ask, you answer."
"Mmph."
The mermaid nodded. Judging by her gaze, there was no killing intent or hatred in her eyes, only intense confusion.
"Every time you resurrect, you retain the memories from before your death."
"Mmph?"
The mermaid looked at Su Xiao. An unexpected scene occurred. Her originally pure white eyes actually developed blood-red pupils. The blood energy that Su Xiao had inadvertently released was being absorbed by the mermaid.
The mermaid's gaze turned cold, completely different from the dazed look before. Hidden killing intent gleamed in her eyes.
Seeing this, Su Xiao felt he had discovered a new characteristic of the dangerous object S-006 (Mermaid): this thing would mimic the person it was interacting with.
To put it simply, if the person interacting with the mermaid was kind, the mermaid would be kind. If the person interacting with her was fierce, the mermaid would also be fierce.
Su Xiao signaled Amu to drag the crystal coffin farther away, keeping his distance from the mermaid.
A few seconds later, the blood-red pupils in the mermaid's eyes disappeared, and her eyes turned pure white again. That white was so clean, as if nothing purer existed.
Almost simultaneously, Su Xiao and Baha's eyes turned to Bubu Wang. Bubu Wang raised one of its front paws, making a thumbs-up gesture, indicating that it understood and needed a moment to prepare.
Bubu Wang took out a miniature heater from the team storage space, turned it to maximum heat, hugged it to its chest, and crouched beside the mermaid.
As the heater in Bubu Wang's arms grew hotter and hotter, Bubu Wang, who was naturally born with a fur coat, stuck out its tongue. It was about to be overwhelmed by the heat.
Sure enough, the mermaid's eyes showed black-and-white pupils, and her expression became peaceful.
Amu tore off the tape wrapped around the mermaid's mouth, then picked up the Dragonheart Axe and retreated a few meters away, ready to throw the axe and chop off the mermaid's head at any moment.
"Such a beautiful soul… please don't let me… sink into the filth of desire again."
The mermaid tilted her head back, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Abyss Gate, Abyss Gate…"
The mermaid kept repeating these words in a low voice. The black-and-white color in her eyes faded. Each living being could only influence the mermaid for a few dozen seconds. Bubu Wang could no longer affect her.
With a *plop*, the mermaid fell to the ground, utterly exhausted. Although the mermaid was classified as an intelligent creature among dangerous objects, most of the time, she acted on instinct. She hated drifting alone in the sea, so she attracted other dangerous objects or bewitched the minds of other intelligent beings to keep her company.
Don't think the mermaid was harmless. If left unchecked, she would continuously absorb the life force of all marine life within a dozen kilometers, eventually transforming into the Sea Calamity: Helemi (Helemi is a phonetic translation, meaning "the mad thing in the sea").
Once the mermaid evolved into the Sea Calamity: Helemi, all marine life within several kilometers of the sea she passed through would go mad. They would not only attack each other but also attack passing ships. This madness was irreversible, lasting until those marine creatures died from exhaustion.
Fortunately, the mermaid could only absorb the life force of marine life. Otherwise, containing her would have been even more difficult.
After containing the mermaid in a glass pillar filled with seawater, Su Xiao met her gaze. If the mermaid tried to cry or sing at this moment, she would be instantly electrocuted.
"Do you want to return to the sea?"
"Mm."
The weakened mermaid responded softly. Her pupils had turned ice-blue, influenced by Amu. In this state, the mermaid should be quite straightforward.
"Lure the Death Chalice here, and I'll let you return to the sea."
"Alright."
The mermaid swam inside the glass pillar filled with seawater. Suddenly, her pupils turned dark blue, influenced by Baha. What was Baha's personality like? During battle, Baha was fierce and full of killing intent. Normally, it was loyal, scheming, and vengeful.
The corner of the mermaid's mouth curled into a sinister arc. She let out a faint, almost imperceptible cry, raised one hand, and an ancient metal chalice appeared in her hand. The chalice was adorned with four rings of rubies. This was… the Death Chalice!
The moment the mermaid smiled eerily, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha had already retreated ten meters away. That distance was safe enough.
Inside the glass pillar, the mermaid held the Death Chalice in one hand, her smile utterly sinister. This thing had no fixed pattern of behavior. One moment it might seem kind, and the next, it would suddenly change its face.
Centered around the mermaid, fine gray dust particles floated within a ten-meter radius. This was the Death Domain of the Death Chalice. Anyone approaching within five meters of the mermaid would be affected by the Death Domain.
The Death Chalice would disappear and move for unknown reasons every 30 to 50 days. During this period, it could barely be considered contained.
Baha flew up to get a high-angle view and noticed that the Death Chalice was filled with liquid. This liquid did not mix with seawater, and ripples spread across its surface.
"The Death Chalice you wanted."
"…"
"You promised you would let me return to the sea."
"Yes."
"Fulfill your promise."
"Wait a moment."
Su Xiao checked the notification.
[Notification: You have successfully contained Dangerous Object S-006 (Mermaid).]
[You have obtained the Tide Chest (this is a chest-type item, not obtained through killing enemies, but as a reward from Reincarnation Paradise).]
The chest had already been stored in his storage space. Su Xiao walked to the wall, grabbed a metal lever, and decisively pulled it down.
The mermaid had to die today, even if she would "resurrect" in the sea a dozen years later.
Su Xiao had used the mermaid to obtain the Death Chalice. As an intelligent creature, if other members of the organization learned this information through the mermaid, it would cause major problems.
With a *crackle*, blue-white electric arcs surged through the seawater in the glass pillar. The mermaid bared her fangs, her mouth nearly splitting to her neck. Before she could counterattack, she was electrocuted into a charred mass, glowing red-hot inside, sizzling in the seawater.
The glass pillar slowly rose on its own, and the seawater inside flowed out through the gaps at the bottom. When the water had completely drained, the Death Chalice stood on a stone platform about one meter high below.
The drained seawater leaked into holes on the ground. After filtration, a groove opened on the wall, revealing black ash still containing moisture. This was the residual ash left by the mermaid, which would be useful later.
The process went smoothly. In reality, the real difficulty was in seizing the mermaid. By obtaining the mermaid, Su Xiao's plan was already 50% successful.
Su Xiao collected the mermaid's residual ash, and a notification appeared.
[Main Mission: First Part - Preliminary Containment (Completed).]
[Evaluating mission completion rating…]
[You have successfully eliminated Dangerous Object S-173 (Calamity Bell).]
[You have successfully contained Dangerous Object S-006 (Mermaid).]
[You have successfully semi-contained Dangerous Object S-002 (Death Chalice).]
[Due to the Hunter's excessively high mission completion rating, a secondary evaluation is in progress…]
[You have obtained 5 Golden Skill Points (this is the maximum Golden Skill Points obtainable from this mission).]
[You have obtained an additional reward: Scroll Box (opening this wooden box grants a random aura-type skill scroll).]
[Due to the Hunter's excessively high mission completion rating, subsequent main missions have been altered. Mission difficulty will significantly increase.]
[You have triggered Main Mission: Second Part - Abyss Gate.]
[Main Mission: Abyss Gate (Second Part)]
Difficulty Level: Lv.79 ~ Lv.???
Mission Briefing: Seal the Abyss Gate.
Mission Time Limit: 10 natural days.
Mission Reward: Soul Crystal Core × 3.
Mission Penalty: Forced Execution.
…