Chapter 466 - 445: Trash in the Sea

"Why is there more and more trash? The seawater here smells absolutely awful."

When she swam into a particular stretch of ocean, Yun Jiao felt incredibly frustrated as she looked at the industrial waste floating on the surface and smelled the foul stench in the water.

In this area alone, countless marine animals had mistakenly eaten the trash.

Today, she had already pulled plastic bags from the throats of two sea turtles.

She had also saved a dolphin tangled in a fishing net.

And a killer whale that had nearly died from eating marine debris.

She had moved that killer whale to the lake on her small island.

Yun Jiao didn’t like the polluted ocean. She loved a clean, pristine sea.

The current push for industrial development was causing immense environmental damage.

But it seemed people hadn’t yet realized the severity of the situation.

With a grim expression, Yun Jiao kicked her legs and swam toward the polluted patch of sea.

The closer she got, the more unbearable it became.

Perhaps because her desire for an unpolluted ocean was so intense, Yun Jiao didn’t even notice the faint blue scales that had begun to appear on her skin.

She grabbed a torn fishing net and had the killer whales help hold the other end, scooping the floating trash into it.

Wherever she swam, the polluted seawater gradually began to purify in her wake.

’So much trash... Where am I supposed to put it all?’

Yun Jiao’s head throbbed.

’Whatever. I’ll just get it all to shore first and have someone come haul it away.’

’What happens to it after that isn’t my problem.’

Yun Jiao and the killer whales bustled about, finally managing to move most of the trash to the shore.

’I’m so exhausted. If only I could just command the seawater to wash all this trash ashore.’

Unfortunately, she didn’t have that ability now. In her past life, she could have.

Exhausted, Yun Jiao collapsed onto a killer whale’s back and fell sound asleep.

She opened her eyes the next day to find she was, what do you know, still in the ocean.

She yawned, and as she started to sit up, she suddenly noticed something was wrong with her legs.

"Are these... scales?"

Several scales had appeared on the outside of her thighs.

They looked a lot like fish scales.

But they were more beautiful and elegant than any fish scale.

They looked as if they were carved from the finest blue crystal—thin and seemingly fragile.

But a single touch revealed they were incredibly hard and sharp.

A normal person would be terrified to find such scales growing on their body, but Yun Jiao wasn’t.

’I was one of the Merfolk, after all.’

’That’s strange. Could I actually become one of the Merfolk in this life?’

’Is it because of that Jue Pearl?’

’Since when could swallowing a Jue Pearl turn an ordinary person into one of the Merfolk?’

’Oh, well. Whatever.’

’Even if I really do turn into one of the Merfolk, it won’t really affect me.’

’If I’m afraid of being discovered and don’t want to live a life on the run, I can always just turn myself over to the government.’

’Yeah, based on my experiences so far, I’ve developed a certain degree of trust in this country.’

’Still, unless it’s absolutely necessary, I’d better not reveal my Merfolk identity.’

After waking, she headed back to shore and found that quite a few people were already gathered there.

They were all gathered around the pile of trash on the shore, pointing and murmuring.

"Where did all this trash suddenly come from? What in the world is going on?"

"I have no idea. I came over here first thing this morning and found this mountain of trash."

"Good heavens, where did all this garbage come from?"

Yun Jiao blew a bubble in the water.

’I put the trash in such a remote spot, and people still found their way over here.’

’I should head back first.’

After getting ashore, she headed for home.

"Grandma! Auntie! Is Uncle home?"

Wang Mei saw Yun Jiao return. "Your uncle went over to the village chief’s house. Xiao Wu and the others called, so he’s taking their call."

Yun Jiao said, "Oh," then went to help feed the pigs before running off to the village chief’s house.

As for the minor matter of her not having come home all night, her family knew she had gone to the sea, so they weren’t worried.

"Uncle!"

Yun Jiao shouted as she ran up to the village chief’s door.

Yun Linhe pulled her over. "Perfect timing. Your mom and dad were just asking about you."

Yun Jiao trotted over to take the phone, her voice soft and sweet as she spoke to the person on the other end, almost as if she were trying to charm them.

"I haven’t eaten yet. Have you guys eaten, Mom?"

"Brother Nine is here. Remember to go see him, and don’t forget to call us back."

She chatted with her family on the other end of the line for a good while before hanging up.

After paying the village chief for the call, Yun Jiao pulled Yun Linhe aside.

"Uncle, last night the killer whales and I brought a whole bunch of trash to shore. Can you help me find someone from the town’s landfill to come collect it? Make sure to tell them to bring a tractor, or it won’t all fit."

Yun Linhe looked completely baffled. "What are you talking about? Where did you get all that trash from?"