"Brother!" Bingbing called from above, "You come up, let me go! I'm better at swimming!"
"It's fine, there are so many of them, they can protect me," I said.
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?" Bingbing probed indirectly.
But I felt it was unnecessary. These merfolk seemed to know that the owner of the dam was human, not one of them. They were cooperating even without me revealing my identity, so stating it would be useless. Besides, what if they were from the Shan Hai Jing tribe? If I claimed to be a Bai Ze, it would only cause more trouble.
I waved to the people above, signaling that everything was fine, and followed the merfolk, gradually submerging into the water.
There was no need to swim; I just followed them down the ladder like they did. I didn't need to hold my breath either. The only thing I couldn't get used to was how incredibly cold the water in the dam was, making me feel like a pathetic wretch! kuAiδugg
Submerged and having descended another seven or eight meters, there was almost no visible light left. I relied entirely on my Qi sensing technique to follow them. The merfolk, meanwhile, kept surrounding me, possibly worried I'd be swept away by the current. That part was okay, though, as there were no undertows below, and the current's flow rate was constant, which I could handle.
At this point, one merfolk gently tapped me with its tail and stayed around my arm. Then, the other merfolk lined up, seemingly guiding me to swim in another direction.
I tried letting go of the ladder with my hands. Once I lost my grip, the current immediately pushed me away. I instinctively grabbed onto a tail. These merfolk possessed exceptional swimming abilities, able to "hover" in the swift river current without any external support. Holding onto its tail, I slowly moved towards its head, naturally having to shift my hands. From tail to head, I touched every part.
The feel was soft and springy, though as cold as the water. It was similar to ghosts; they had no warmth.
After embracing one merfolk, I grabbed the tail of another. The previous merfolk left its position and swam to the front of the line. It seemed we were going quite far. I moved from one merfolk to another, covering the positions of twenty individuals, before being surrounded by merfolk again. The first merfolk tapped my arm with its tail again.
Underwater, I could only see their energy signatures with my Qi sensing technique; I couldn't see any physical objects. Following the merfolk's tail, I felt around and found something that looked like an old-fashioned faucet handle, or more like a gas tank valve. I tried turning it counter-clockwise, but it wouldn't budge. I then turned it clockwise, and it opened easily.
It turned out that the screw mechanisms in the underworld operated in the opposite direction to the mortal realm.
After opening the valve, I clearly felt something pop open. I pulled it and felt around. It was a metal door, about the size of a safe. A merfolk swam past my arm and into it. Just as it was about to go in completely, I grabbed its tail and was pulled in as well. After entering, the merfolk changed direction and swam upwards. Shamelessly, I kept holding onto its tail, and it carried me out of the water.
Although I was out of the water, it was completely dark around me, and I couldn't see anything. I could only "see" the merfolk floating opposite me.
This was an independent space, and the water surface was very calm. I wiped the water from my face and asked, "Is the gate here?"
"Ah, yes, yes, please follow me," the merfolk replied.
I followed its energy signature and swam a few meters away. My hand touched a "wall." Judging by the feel, it was a slightly curved metal plate. I could imagine that I was inside a giant "boiler."
"It's here," the merfolk said.
I reached out and felt it. Indeed, on the metal plate, I found a huge lever, about a meter long, placed horizontally. One end was fixed to the plate with screws and other components, while the other end was suspended.
"How do I pull this thing?" I asked.
"It should be downwards," the merfolk said.
I tried, but the lever wouldn't budge. I felt around the screw area again and found a lot of rust.
"It's rusted, needs lubricant," I muttered to myself.
"Ah, yes, yes," the merfolk agreed. "I remember the adults before us would pour some oil here before pulling it."
There was pine oil above, but it would be too troublesome to go back and get it. So, I asked the merfolk, "Do you usually eat fish?"
"Ah, yes, yes."
"Get me a fish, the fatter the better," I said. Fish have a lot of oil in their bodies, especially fish living in such cold water.
"Alright," the merfolk said and left.