Killed and Reborn: I Became The Jellyfish Who Outlived the Apocalypse

The day I revived, I was shocked to discover that I was a jellyfish James kept at home. Yes, I didn't even have eyes. I only had some basic light-sensing systems, and my thoughts were infinitely simplified. But I always remembered my caretaker. He would feed me delicious little shrimp. He would mix the most comfortable saltwater for my tank. He would gently poke my bell and my tentacles with his finger. But one day, he never came back. I... missed him so much. Damn it, that human had totally gotten to me! When the apocalypse hit, every plant and animal on Earth mutated to some degree. It brought massive tsunamis and famine; eighty percent of the land was swallowed by the sea. I knew nothing of this. All I knew was that one day, my tank suddenly became so, so much bigger, big enough for me to drift around the entire house. At first, I couldn't see anything clearly, but gradually, I started to make out the furniture. Straining to use the intelligence from my past life, I deduced this was a single guy's home. Maybe before the end, it was a nice place. But now, the huge floor-to-ceiling windows were completely shattered, wooden furniture was floating haphazardly under the ceiling, along with lots of medals and awards, creating a bizarre underwater spectacle. During this time, I even found a photo of my presumed caretaker. The photo was laminated. It showed a handsome man with a buzz cut, wearing a white lab coat hanging open arrogantly, and a weird pair of goggles pushed up on his forehead. He was frowning at the camera. ...He looked kind-hearted. Definitely a good person. Yep. I gently touched the photo with a tiny tentacle, and my body glowed faintly. I had to find him. A caretaker who abandons his pet isn't a good human. Besides, I was so, so hungry. If I could just find him, I'd get to eat lots of little shrimp again, right? The first time I tried to leave, I bumped into the furniture and almost hurt my head (my bell). The outside world was way too dangerous for a little jellyfish. I don't know how long it took, but I strained with all my might to transform into my former human shape. Jellyfish are mostly water, boneless plankton, but I kept absorbing the surrounding water, and somehow, I actually managed to turn into a vaguely translucent human form! Using all that energy made me even hungrier. Feeling dizzy and disoriented, I pushed through the overgrown algae and barnacles, and "swam" out through the broken window. Before me lay a magnificent, dead, sunken city. Fish darted through the skeletal frames of once-tall buildings. Clothes, gnawed down to scraps, drifted everywhere. I noticed the fish weren't like before; some had grown to enormous sizes, others bristled with deadly spines or flashed with toxic colors. Everything looked incredibly dangerous. No matter how glorious human civilization once was, it was pathetically fragile against this flood. The moment I emerged from the house, a dark mass of fish turned towards me, and the algae lunged hungrily in my direction! Back when James kept me, if the water temperature dropped even one degree, I'd droop my bell and pretend to be dead for him. Jellyfish are hard to keep; one little mistake and you're a goner. The water temperature now was freezing, and I couldn't help but shiver. "Oh, algae! Just what I was hungry for." I casually grabbed a big handful and started munching on it as I swam. "This fish looks like it wouldn't have many bones, let me try..." I noticed some fish trying to bite me, but after a moment, my body was already healed. Jellyfish have great regenerative abilities. "The taste isn't great... *burp*." Suppressing my distaste, I ate everything edible nearby, then pulled out the photo again. There was an address at the back... probably where my caretaker used to work. I clapped my hands (metaphorically) and decided to head there without a care in the world. --- "Captain James, we're detecting abnormal magnetic field fluctuations in Sector Z!" The man at the monitor looked grim. "Sir, you need to see this. It's what we call the 'Dead Zone' – the sea area with the most severe marine mutation. Our own surveys there have cost us several people..." And now, the piercing red on the screen had faded significantly, which usually indicated a decrease in danger level. But no one in the observation room looked relieved. Their faces were troubled. A low, cold voice spoke: "A new apex predator might be emerging. Once it successfully mutates, it will have near-total dominance over its environment. We need to prepare." James Chen stared at the screen. His gaze deepened, his lashes casting a small shadow under his eyes. "Let's head back to the Compound first." My caretaker's workplace was underwater too. There was no one there. I hugged my empty stomach, at a loss. Just then, I heard a crackling waterproof radio: "... Broadcast number 27803... *crackle*... The current year is 20XX1... To any humans still surviving on this Earth... please do not give up... *crackle*... Please head east... This is the Compound... We are still searching for survivors..." Perfect! I clenched my fist. I'd go to the Compound and look for him there. I grabbed a white lab coat from somewhere and put it on, completely unaware that the surrounding area had become a dead zone—not even a single small shrimp would swim near me. On the desk, I found some files in sealed bags. One, with strong, bold handwriting, was titled: *On How to Raise a Picky, Spoiled, Proud Jellyfish:* 1. *Change water promptly.* 2. *Provide sufficient food.* 3. *Gentle touching.* ... Gentle? He just poked my bell randomly. Heading east for a while, I felt the water getting shallower. Along the way, I found a cute light-blue backpack. I carefully picked out pretty seashells, colorful rocks, pink coral branches, and strangely shaped stones, packing them away neatly. I planned to give them to my caretaker when I found him. The surviving humans had gathered on the last remaining dry land on Earth. I didn't know if I could survive out of water, so I cautiously swam upwards and reached my hand out. No pain. I climbed onto the shore, dripping wet. The translucent quality of my body faded a lot. The only problem was, I wasn't as agile as I was in the sea. Because the human population had plummeted, I hadn't met anyone while traveling. But shortly after getting on land, I ran into a small group of humans—men and women, guarding a net of food. When I asked for directions, they just stared at each other. "You want to go to the Compound?" The lead man smirked sarcastically. "Do you know how dangerous the road there is? And why would the Compound even take you in? Plenty of people are dying to get in!" He was about to say more when a woman beside him nudged him subtly. She turned to me with a more pleasant expression. "Why don't you stick with us? We're heading that way too. Safety in numbers." I nodded obediently. "Okay!" Late at night, by the campfire. Whispered voices came from behind the trees: "You i***t! Didn't you see she's alone? Surviving to get here? She must have something good in that bag. Besides, a girl like her would sell for a fortune in gold on the black market... Maybe we could even buy our way into the Compound! " "We'll just starve her until she's weak, then sell her..." In the wind, two pairs of greedy eyes sized up the girl sleeping peacefully. This area was now the human settlement built around the Compound. The Compound provided some aid to everyone—medical care, food—but not everyone could live inside. Only those who passed their assessment could become members. --- The next morning, we set off for the Compound without even eating breakfast. Along the way, the woman, who called herself Lily, kept chatting with me: "What do you want at the Compound? How did you get here?" I almost said I was looking for my caretaker, but afraid of revealing I was a jellyfish, I struggled to answer: "I'm... I'm looking for my guardian. I swam here myself." Lily thought to herself: *Can't even lie properly. Swam through that deadly sea? Yeah, right.* *What an idiot.* "What's in your bag? It looks heavy. Want me to carry it for you?" I patted my little backpack proudly. "No need! They're my treasures." *My caretaker will be so happy when he sees all these pretty flowers and rocks I found.* "..." "Hey, sis, how old are you? Where do you usually hang out?" I asked, curious.