Lansi finally managed to snatch that conch, but the price he paid was a bit steep.
After resting for a few days, Lansi and Winsor reached the edge of Antarctica.
"I don't want you to apply it," Lansi said, clutching the conch around his neck and glaring at Winsor. "I'll do it myself."
Antarctica was indeed very cold, but after applying the oils Winsor had provided, Lansi found the temperature bearable.
Seeing how wary Lansi was of him, Winsor touched his nose and gave him a meaningful smile.
"That oil… it's pretty slick, right?"
Lansi: "…"
Go away, Winsor. Has your brain been oiled too?
The two mermaids bickered and played around as they finally entered the Antarctic Circle.
It had been a long time since Lansi had felt this happy. Looking at Winsor beside him, he felt completely at ease for the first time in ages.
There were no grand conspiracies, no need to worry about anyone else. It was just him and Winsor, free and unrestrained.
What made Lansi even happier was that he could finally fulfill his dream—and with the person he liked most.
With his burdens lifted, Lansi was like a child in the ocean, exploring here and there. Winsor indulged him, his attitude akin to letting someone he liked enter his world and treasure hunt within it.
The closer they got to Antarctica, the more excited Lansi became.
He wanted to see penguins. So, when he spotted a piece of floating ice, he immediately thought about going up to take a look.
Of course, Winsor stopped him, holding back a laugh as he patted Lansi on the head.
"It's the first time I've seen you so happy."
Lansi felt a little embarrassed.
As a human, he had read countless magazines claiming that Antarctica and the Arctic were stunningly beautiful, and that not seeing the auroras or penguins was a major regret in life.
Those advertisements were indeed exaggerated, but they hadn't stopped Lansi from dreaming of Antarctica as a beautiful place.
The glaciers he saw along the way were even more magnificent than the photographs in magazines, fueling his curiosity about this last pure land on Earth.
But what about the penguins?
Would they be beautiful too?
With this anticipation, Lansi and Winsor searched for a while before finally following a penguin fishing in the sea and finding a penguin colony.
The two mermaids came ashore.
Seeing the fluffy scene before him, Lansi impulsively wanted to rush over and hug them.
Of course, Winsor stopped him by grabbing his tail.
"Winsor?"
Feeling the pull on his tail, Lansi paused and turned to look at Winsor with a pitiful expression.
If he had brought a down jacket, he would have already swapped his fish tail for legs and run wild across this little island.
Winsor looked at Lansi, then at the group of penguins in the distance, and couldn't help laughing.
"We saw other penguins on the way here. Why are you so excited now?"
"You don't understand. Those are emperor penguins," Lansi said.
In the eyes of humans, emperor penguins were a unique symbol of Antarctica.
Winsor tilted his head. Pointing at the penguins in the distance, he said, "Those aren't emperor penguins. They're king penguins."
Lansi fell silent for a moment.
He stood up, looked at Winsor, then at the penguins in the distance, and became confused.
"What's a king penguin?"
He confidently put his hands on his hips.
"You're lying to me again. Isn't Antarctica only home to emperor penguins? I remember emperor penguins look like that."
Winsor rubbed his chin, thinking about how to explain to Lansi that king penguins were king penguins, not emperor penguins.
Antarctica wasn't only home to emperor penguins. Besides, they hadn't actually reached Antarctica yet.
Apart from emperor penguins, which lived closer to the poles, king penguins lived on the small islands around Antarctica.
Adult king penguins and emperor penguins looked quite similar. The most noticeable difference was around the neck. Emperor penguins had continuous black feathers extending from the neck to the belly, while king penguins had a break in the black coloring.
Of course, there was an even simpler way to tell them apart: their chicks.
Emperor penguin chicks were particularly cute. They were gray and had an appearance that humans adored, often inspiring plush toys.
King penguin chicks, on the other hand, looked like giant "kiwis" from a distance.
Although they were called chicks, some of these "kiwis" were even bigger than their parents.
Seeing the "kiwis" everywhere, Winsor knew they had found a colony of king penguins.
Unfortunately, Lansi didn't know this method of identification. Seeing the adult king penguins, he assumed they were emperor penguins because they matched what he remembered.
While the two mermaids were debating what kind of penguins they were, the penguin colony in the distance also noticed Lansi and Winsor and began to stir.
Oh my gosh, what are those things?
They have fish tails, and they're so tall!
Could they be some kind of mutated seal?
In the penguins' eyes, Lansi and Winsor standing together looked a lot like seals with drooping tails standing on the ice.
For a moment, the entire penguin colony was in turmoil. Families began moving together, trying to avoid these two strange "seals."
[I don't think they're seals.]
Among the chicks, a small "kiwi" said seriously to the other two "kiwis," [Their skin color isn't what the elders described, and their upper limbs are so long.]
One of the "kiwis" nodded.
[The boss is right!]
[Then… then will they eat us?] another "kiwi" asked weakly.
[So, we should go see for ourselves. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect!]
The "kiwi" boss puffed out its chest.
[Why not ask them? They seem smart. Maybe they're like us!]
Not many penguins in the colony could communicate with one another, mostly those among the new generation. These three were the only "sea monsters" in the group.
The king penguin parents nearby watched their children whispering among themselves again. Speechless, they could only peck each "kiwi" on the head, urging them to move along with the group.
[Dad, stop hitting my head!]
The kiwi boss puffed up angrily, looking even more like a kiwi.
[I'm the smartest in the group! What if you knock me silly?]
[We should follow the group,] the smallest kiwi said weakly. [Stragglers will die.]
[Do you think I'm that dumb?] The kiwi boss sneered. [We're not going far.]
The second kiwi, as always, agreed.
[The boss is right!]
[The second agrees. Two to one.]
With that, the kiwi boss glanced smugly at the third and waddled toward Lansi and Winsor.
It just had to see what those two were.
Always following the group and doing whatever the group demanded was so boring.
…
"Alright."
After Winsor's explanation, Lansi remembered that these penguins did look different from the emperor penguins in his memory.
But that was okay. He could still take a look.
Just as Lansi was about to examine the penguins to see whether they matched Winsor's description, he turned his head and saw three kiwis wobbling toward them from the penguin colony.
Lansi: ???
He instinctively took a few steps back.
Once he calmed down, Lansi remembered that life in Antarctica was tough and that, if unnecessary, it was best not to interact with the wildlife.
But he hadn't expected these penguins to approach them.
Under Lansi and Winsor's curious gazes, the three kiwis came over and stopped three meters away.
The largest kiwi, leading the way, opened its mouth toward Lansi.
[Hey, can you understand me?]
Lansi instinctively glanced at Winsor.
After Winsor had told him about the origins of sea monsters in the ocean, Lansi had always subconsciously believed that mutations varied.
Land animals that turned into bizarre forms—the kind that attacked humans—were the lowest level of mutation.
Those that mutated into creatures like jellyfish or orcas, possessing some intelligence and the ability to communicate in the sea, were only found in the ocean and had been mixed with Winsor's genes.
Little Seagull might have been an exception, but if it had to be explained, perhaps it was because Little Seagull was always in contact with marine life.
But with the appearance of a second exception, Lansi couldn't help wondering whether Winsor's cells had a more profound impact than he had imagined.
Winsor also seemed quite surprised that these three little kiwis had evolved, so much so that he didn't notice their lack of respect.
[Kids, you should speak politely.]
Lansi was the first to recover. He looked seriously at the three kiwis in front of him.
[Wow, he really understands us.]
The largest kiwi was surprisingly excited upon hearing Lansi. It happily flapped its short wings before apologizing.
[Sorry… may I ask what species you are?]
"Mermaids," Lansi replied.
The three little kiwis whispered among themselves.
Finally, the boss asked:
[What's a mermaid? Is it a type of fish?]
They looked at the size of Lansi and Winsor and didn't think they were the kind of creatures they could eat.
They had forgotten that these three had never left Antarctica since birth. It was already a wonder that they even knew what mermaids were.
"Not fish. Just remember the name," Lansi said with a smile.
"Can I touch you?"
The three little kiwis whispered among themselves again.
Finally, the boss asked:
[You won't eat us, right?]
"No!"
Lansi noticed the three kiwis occasionally glancing at his tail. He proudly flicked it.
"Want to touch it?"
After living in the sea for so many days, Lansi had discovered a fact: marine animals were very interested in his tail.
The reason might have been that Lansi's tail fin and scales were beautiful. From a fish's aesthetic perspective, Lansi was an especially beautiful fish.
After reaching an agreement, they began touching each other.
Lansi touched the smallest kiwi and was surprised.
[So this is what it feels like…]
Penguins were considered birds, but they were different from most birds in several ways.
For example, their texture.
Most birds had feathers growing from long feather shafts, so when you touched the feathers directly, you couldn't really feel their softness.
Penguins were different. After birth, their chick feathers were evenly distributed across their small bodies, making them look fluffy and cute, as though they were covered in down.
During the growth of little penguins, the first thing to grow was very fine, soft down, which looked and felt nice.
As the down gradually shed, feathers grew in, and the outer feathers didn't feel quite as pleasant to touch.
The three kiwis in front of him had been born at different times and were at different stages of growth, allowing Lansi to experience the texture of chicks at different stages.
Hmm.
The smallest one felt the best.
So, the smallest kiwi was thoroughly petted by Lansi, while the other two freed kiwis began hopping around Lansi and Winsor, occasionally poking Lansi's tail or jumping onto Winsor's tail.
The boss eventually concluded:
[The scales are so hard. Really pretty, like a stone.]
After petting the little kiwi for a while, Lansi smacked his lips, feeling content.
He was about to put the little kiwi down when he looked up and saw five or six adult king penguins staring at them from a distance.
Lansi: "…"
Winsor, his expression darkening, used his tail to sweep the little kiwis aside and urged them to go home.
[Alright, go home now. If you don't, your parents might come over and fight us.]
Still eager, Lansi asked the three kiwis:
"Can I touch your parents?"
The three kiwis looked at their parents, then at Lansi.
A moment later, one of the adult king penguins suddenly raised its wings, opened its mouth, and began "quacking" furiously as it charged toward Lansi.
Startled, Lansi dropped the three kiwis, grabbed Winsor, and jumped into the water.
As they swam away, he nervously asked, "Are they following us?"
Winsor blinked, unable to hold back his laughter.
Following Lansi, Winsor teased, "I thought you liked penguins so much that you'd go up and hug them."
"Uh, never mind."
After a while, Lansi turned to Winsor behind him and suggested,
"Let's go see the auroras!"
....
Maybe Lansi really did have good luck. After casually mentioning that he wanted to see the aurora, Lansi and Winsor actually saw it on their second day in Antarctica.
The aurora in Antarctica wasn't as easy to see as it was in the Arctic. So when Lansi sat on the ice floe and watched a faint green glow suddenly appear in the sky, he was momentarily speechless.
Winsor emerged from the water and looked up at the sky. When he realized it was the aurora, he chuckled softly, kissed Lansi on the cheek, and said, "In human mythology, the aurora is a blessing from the gods."
Lansi lowered his head and looked at Winsor with a smile. Clearly, he understood the underlying meaning behind Winsor's words.
"So beautiful."
Lansi leaned his head against Winsor's shoulder, watching the aurora in the sky while his tail gently swayed in the water below. He felt relaxed and at ease.
Under Lansi's gaze, the green aurora transformed from a fleeting wisp of smoke into a slowly expanding and extending glow.
The light gradually gathered, forming four or five distinct aurora bands that emitted a brilliant and beautiful glow.
They floated lightly across the deep blue sky, flickering on and off. As the green aurora bands shimmered, they occasionally emitted red, blue, and purple lights.
The scene before them was magnificent and elegant, indescribable in any language and impossible to capture with colors and brushes.
The sky was filled with unpredictable, ethereal, dazzling lights, dyeing the dark firmament in sacred and distant, ever-changing colors.
Below was a vast snowy plain, crystal-clear glaciers, and blue seawater.
Leaning against Winsor's shoulder, Lansi watched this scene and suddenly understood why the ancients had lamented the vastness of the world…
"Humans are really so insignificant," Lansi said softly. "In the universe, in nature, we're like ants. In reality, no one really cares, right?"
Winsor patted Lansi's head without saying a word.
Although it sounded cruel, if Earth had consciousness, it certainly wouldn't care about the species "parasitizing" on its body.
"Forget it. Let's not talk about this. Let's enjoy the aurora."
Lansi perked up, not daring to blink as he watched, as if he wished he could engrave the aurora into his mind like a camera.
"Do you need a photo?" Winsor asked. "I brought a communicator."
"No, I'll just remember it."
Lansi shook his head, feeling that such a pure moment shouldn't be disturbed by man-made objects.
He exhaled a puff of white breath and whispered to Winsor, "I don't even dare to speak loudly right now. I feel like it would 'taint' this place."
Winsor was momentarily stunned, then amused by Lansi's exaggerated statement.
The aurora before them changed leisurely, seemingly not caring at all about being disturbed by Lansi and Winsor's words.
After half an hour, the green bands in the sky slowly contracted, and the colors gradually faded, spreading into the night sky.
Finally, under the witness of Lansi and Winsor, the green bands faded more and more until they became a wisp of green silk, disappearing into the boundless night.
"This is already considered a long-lasting one."
After the last wisp of light disappeared, Winsor asked Lansi with interest, "What were you doing just now?"
In the last few seconds before the aurora was about to dissipate, Lansi had suddenly clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and muttered something.
This piqued Winsor's interest.
At that moment, Lansi opened his eyes and said to Winsor with a straightforward expression, "Didn't you say the aurora is a blessing from the gods?"
Winsor raised an eyebrow, signaling Lansi to continue.
"I saw the 'god' was taking back the blessing, so I made a wish. Maybe when the 'god' takes it back, they'll take my wish too."
Lansi said this earnestly.
Winsor found it amusing and instinctively asked, "What wish did you make?"
"Not much, just three."
Lansi put his hands down, sitting there with his tail gently swaying and creating ripples on the surface of the sea.
Lansi paused for a moment, then pretended to speak casually.
"I hope everyone has a bright future… that humanity's plans succeed."
Winsor wasn't surprised by such a wish. He nodded and said, "Since I can, humans can too."
"I hope the people I care about and like all have a happy ending."
Lansi started counting on his fingers.
From Karl and Rose to every sea monster Lansi had encountered, he counted them all.
Finally, he even counted Winsor.
Hearing that he was included, Winsor couldn't help but laugh.
"Originally, humans regarded me as an ancient god, and many would only make wishes to me, hoping for my blessing… Now, you're blessing me."
Lansi snorted twice at Winsor's teasing, his ear fins slightly reddening.
"And the last one?" Winsor gently prompted.
"The last one…"
Lansi glanced at Winsor, then avoided his gaze, looking down at the sea.
He said softly, "I hope Winsor can always be happy and have someone who loves him."
Winsor was momentarily stunned.
Lansi raised his hand, wiped the corner of his eye, and explained, "Winsor, you're the creator of this world. You can live so long, while I'm just a human. Even if I live the longest, it's only about a hundred years."
In various human myths, when humans and gods fell in love, it never ended well.
Lansi looked up, gazing at the sky with longing.
"I once read a story about the goddess of dawn falling for a human prince. She took the prince to the place where the gods lived and prayed to the main god to give the prince the same long life as hers, but forgot to ask for eternal youth…
"So later, the prince grew older and eventually turned into a cricket."
Although the human prince initially had impure motives, he eventually fell in love with the goddess of dawn, willing to become a cricket and sing every morning to welcome the dawn.
"I don't know how long I can be with you."
Lansi looked at Winsor and suddenly burst into tears, pearls falling from his face and scattering all over the ice.
"But I know, if I die and only Winsor is left, you'll definitely be sad."
Sometimes, surviving was the greatest pain.
Lansi couldn't imagine if he died, leaving Winsor alone in the river of time, what would happen to him.
"I don't want you to forget me because I love you and have experienced so much with you."
Lansi sobbed for a long time before continuing, "But I don't want you to be sad, so I hope if I die, you can meet someone who can make you as happy as I did. They must love you."
Winsor's eyes slowly widened.
"Of course, it's best if I don't know about it because I'm petty."
Lansi paused and said, "When you're with them, you can love them, but at that time, don't think of me because I'll definitely be jealous."
"You must think of me, but only when you're alone. Think of me a little."
Lansi's thoughts were simple.
He didn't want Winsor to be forever trapped in the past. And the way to not be trapped in the past was to have something that kept Winsor moving forward, so he wouldn't have time to drown in the past until he drowned himself.
He always spoke his mind, his emotions sincere and passionate.
He loved Winsor, so he wanted to pour all his love and sweetness into Winsor, keeping him away from the dark and cold deep sea, so he could see the beautiful world through Lansi's eyes.
After a long silence, only the sound of small pearls falling onto the ice remained.
With a sigh, Winsor helplessly reached out to touch Lansi's face and said, "If I were still human, just collecting your tears would probably make me a millionaire."
Lansi: "Wuwuwuwu…"
"Alright, stop crying."
Winsor smiled and said, "Lansi, you don't need to worry about me. In fact, I'm not a god."
In human legends, gods were omnipotent, omniscient, and had no end to their lives.
"In fact, my life isn't endless."
Winsor looked at Lansi with gentle eyes.
"I'm not that omniscient and omnipotent."
He reached out, took Lansi's right hand, kissed the back of it, and said, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have lost you in the first place."
Lansi stopped sobbing and looked at Winsor in confusion.
"What?"
"Lansi…"
Winsor looked at Lansi, his black pupils seemingly filled with starlight.
"What I mean is, I also have birth, aging, illness, and death. In this life, there's only you, and for the rest of the journey, I've chosen only you."
The temperature on Lansi's face gradually rose, and he stammered for a long time, not knowing what to say.
"I will walk with you to the end of the world," Winsor said.
What he didn't tell Lansi was that his life was no longer enough to support him living for tens of thousands of years.
He could just spend a lifetime with Lansi.
That's great.
Winsor even believed he had used the loneliness of the past tens of thousands of years to exchange for meeting Lansi.
That's really great.
Winsor was very happy.
With Lansi by his side, even when facing death, this beautiful little white fish would turn the dark death into a beautiful night sky.
After saying this, Winsor leaned forward, kissed Lansi's cheek, and said softly, looking a bit pitiful, "You see, I'm older than you. Don't dislike me, okay?"
Lansi's face turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
From a certain angle, Winsor had lived for so long, while Lansi had only lived a fraction of Winsor's age…
Hmm.
"Of course, I won't dislike you," Lansi said a bit shyly.
Although he was straightforward and sometimes unconsciously said sweet words one after another, he was always defenseless against Winsor's sweet words.
Winsor patted Lansi's head, his eyes gentle and affectionate.
"Then, we must always be together in the future."
"Okay."
Lansi agreed in a second.
"In the future, you accompany me to explore the entire ocean, okay?"
"Okay."
"I want to eat all kinds of fish."
"Okay."
"Oh, right, I still want to see Rose in the future. She's my sister now."
"Okay."