The Lure is the twenty-first chapter of the Black Lagoon spinoff series Dismemberment Galore! The Gore Gore Girl. It was originally released on May 19, 2021.
Plot[]
In Mister Chang's office, he apologizes to Shenhua, Sawyer the Cleaner, and Lotton for calling them on such short notice. He introduces them to the beautiful Hong Kong actress, Ma Yanlin, sitting next to him, saying that he has been taking care of her at home between overseas locations. As the actress smokes a long tobacco pipe, Chang clarifies that Yanlin is returning to Hong Kong the next day but wants to explore Roanapur during her remaining time. Pausing in slight hesitation, Chang informs the three freelancers that Yanlin specifically wants the lady-killer Lotton the Wizard to serve as her escort. Shenhua drops her jaw in shock, but she quickly covers her mouth to hide her surprise.
Although Chang tells them that he originally advised her to take three people with her, he elaborates that she saw Lotton in public the previous night while having dinner and took a liking to him, adding that wishes from the home will be granted as much as possible. Getting up from the couch, Lotton's coat billows upward as he kneels down to Yanlin, telling her that Lotton the Wizard will risk his life to protect the "princess." Smiling, Yanlin greets the Wizard and leaves with him as Shenhua awkwardly asks Chang about Yanlin's background and what she and Sawyer should do. Smoking a cigarette, Chang replies that Yanlin is a business interest, as she is a powerful Triad executive's mistress, and he is ultimately responsible for her safety. Pointing at them and telling them that they will be in trouble too if she is put in danger, Chang reminds them that they know Lotton best.
In town, Lotton walks with the gazing Yanlin as Shenhua and Sawyer peer at them from behind a corner. Wondering if Lotton has a driver's license since he is not escorting Yanlin by car, Shenhua mocks Chang's notion that she and Sawyer know him, remarking that she does not truly know who he is. Lotton himself tells Yanlin that he thinks he has met her before, and the Hong Kong actress lightly laughs and responds that she has met him every time that she has been born again and again, confusing the surveilling Shenhua as to what she is saying. Lotton tries to remember, but Yanlin laughs again and assures him it is all right, saying that they should enjoy their current fate in this world.
As Shenhua continues watching, Sawyer tugs at her sleeve to point at several people approaching Lotton and Yanlin, and one man asks Lotton why he is with a beautiful woman. The man then amicably puts his arm around Lotton, telling him that their TRPG the previous night was fun and complimenting him for being a great gamemaster. Advising Lotton to be careful with the actress and that he is always waiting to game, the happy man bids him goodbye and recommends that they game together again sometime, and Lotton quietly waves. As Shenhua angrily wonders what he is up to, Yanlin requests the Wizard to take her to the sea since she knows Roanapur has a harbor and wants to see the sea. Arriving at a rocky cliffside overlooking the sea, she moves her hand through her own hair and compliments the atmosphere as Shenhua and Sawyer hide behind a rock to watch them. Commenting that their silence is frustrating, Shenhua whispers to Sawyer that Yanlin's only movie actress quality is her face. Breaking her silence, Yanlin confesses to Lotton that they had indeed met at sea.
Figuring that he probably does not remember, a brief flashback is shown of a mermaid Yanlin rescuing a sinking Lotton, explaining him that she saved him from drowning after falling off a ship when he was a child. Upon hearing this, Sawyer spits out her drink while Shenhua's jaw drops. Lotton's eyes widen as if he remembers, and Yanlin continues that after the incident, she was arrested in Shanghai and moved from place to place until becoming a servant of the Triad. Gleefully smiling, she remarks to Lotton that mermaid meat is the elixir of immortality. Turning her back to the cliff, she thanks Lotton and requests that they meet again in the sea. Letting herself fall off the cliff backwards as the two women watch in shock, he quickly dashes forward and grasps Yanlin by her lower back, preventing her fall.
Peacefully smiling, Yanlin laments she has failed to be free once more. As he continues to grasp her wrist, she rhetorically asks if his TRPG that he played was about mermaids, telling him that she got the idea last night while overhearing his game in a nearby seat. Laughing joyfully with a blushed face, Yanlin declares that she managed to make him believe her, and Shenhua snidely mutters that she is an actress after all. Recommending that they leave, the mistress states that she is hungry as the silent Lotton opens his own hand and sees several mermaid scales. Much later, Sawyer and Shenhua watch the VHS tape of Yanlin's latest movie with her mermaid story, but instead of a drama, the film turns out to be a slapstick comedy wherein a clumsy Yanlin spills food, cartoonishly falls over a cliff, and is spun around after her dress's cloth is pulled.
Notes[]
- The chapter title is a reference to the 2015 musical horror film The Lure.