Free Web NovelIn the curtain of rain, another beam of light traveled from afar and merged with the beam in the alley, blending into a powerful pillar of light across the main road of Siren Town.
The Mermaid Wax Figures, who feared light, were blocked almost instantly. None of them dared move forward.
Because this dazzling, scorching beam of light had nearly pierced through the whole of Siren Town, the light-fearing Mermaid Wax Figures were completely trapped behind it, unable to cross the beam and pursue Bai Liu.
Even the Mermaid Sailors, protected by amulets and therefore less afraid of strong light, did not cross the beam easily. Instead, they hovered nearby, testing it warily.
On the other side, Bai Liu leaned against a wall, panting. A 3D projector had been placed at his feet. The projection of Bai Liu was holding a flashlight, and its beam had merged with the flashlight beam of the Bai Liu in the alley, forming this barrier of strong light.
Wiping the rainwater dripping down his forehead, Bai Liu let out a long breath. “Fortunately, this 3D projector is waterproof.”
Bai Liu’s small TV was still broadcasting the beam of strong light that could almost blind a person.
The audience in front of the small TV fell silent for a few seconds. The viewer who had previously questioned whether Bai Liu would be caught was dumbfounded. After a long stunned pause, they stammered, “So... so powerful...”
“I doubted God Mu’s judgment before. That was my mistake. I had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. The noob here isn’t this player, it’s my own vision. I’m going back now to use my eyeballs as a side dish with my meal.”
“This newcomer plays like he belongs in the Death Comedy zone, right? I feel like he’s genuinely playing this horror game as a game. Winning and points aren’t the most important thing; the game experience is.”
“Interesting.” Mu Shicheng narrowed his eyes, his tiger teeth biting down on a piece of candy. “The rain was clearly a condition the system created to restrict Bai Liu, yet he actually used it in reverse.”
Bai Liu dragged the cart all the way to the seaside. The Mermaid Sailors behind him hesitated and wandered for a while before finally crossing the beam of light and continuing their relentless pursuit—Mermaid Sailors did not fear light.
However, the light-fearing Mermaid Wax Figures had indeed all been trapped behind the beam, so the danger here had already dropped by a large margin.
At this point, under normal circumstances, a player would only need to enter the sea immediately and send the Siren King to the bottom of the ocean to clear the game. Because most players who reached this stage would already be highly mutated, their forms closer to mermaids, they could dive directly into the sea and send the Siren King back into the deep.
Seeing this, Wang Shun finally understood why Mu Shicheng had said it was best not to cleanse the mental value.
Mental value was connected to the state of mutation. If it was cleansed and the player’s mental value rose, they would change from a “mermaid” state back into a “human” state.
A “human” could not enter the deep sea to deport the Siren King.
The final step of Siren Town—“deporting the Siren King”—could only be completed by a “mermaid.” Bai Liu’s degree of mutation was just right. He did not need to cleanse it; he could enter the sea directly as a “mermaid.”
Thinking this, Wang Shun breathed a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat ashamed of his own backseat gaming.
The game awareness of a great god like Mu Shicheng really was not something a shrimp like him could compare with. And for a newcomer like Bai Liu to remain so steady without cleansing...
Comparing people really was infuriating. Wang Shun shook his head.
Logically speaking, Bai Liu only needed to drag the Siren King into the sea while finding a way to dodge the Mermaid Sailors behind him. However, upon reaching the shore, Bai Liu unexpectedly made a turn. Instead of entering the sea, he headed back toward the large ship he had boarded during the mermaid fishing activity.
The large ship was moored at the shore. Bai Liu pulled the cart and rushed onto the ship with a clatter.
That was the Mermaid Sailors’ headquarters!
Wang Shun nearly had a heart attack from Bai Liu’s constant plot twists. He clutched his aching chest. “He’s about to clear the game! Why is he going onto their ship? Is he delivering himself right to their door?”
Mu Shicheng was also so startled by Bai Liu’s pre-clearance “passionate suicide” operation that he accidentally bit through his lollipop and coughed several times on the sugar fragments.
His eyes reddening, Mu Shicheng pounded his chest a few times. After finally swallowing the fragments stuck in his throat, he coughed and said, “At this point, if Bai Liu rashly enters the sea, he really will be easily caught by the Mermaid Sailors behind him, because Mermaid Sailors move faster in water.”
“The conventional way to clear the game is to use items to limit the Mermaid Sailors’ movement speed. For example, that previous newcomer floated on the sea surface and used a blazing torch to restrict them. Or you can just tank it directly—as long as your mental value doesn’t drop to zero before you finish the task.”
“Bai Liu probably wants to use the ship to shake off the Mermaid Sailors behind him,” Mu Shicheng analyzed clearly. “But going onto the ship won’t work. First, there are still some Mermaid Sailors on the ship who haven’t disembarked. In such a small space, as soon as Bai Liu goes up, they’ll easily catch him.”
“Second, the Mermaid Sailors in the sea can also climb onto the ship, and these monsters move faster than the ship. Bai Liu boarding the ship has no meaning.”
Just as Mu Shicheng finished speaking, something went wrong with Bai Liu on the small TV.
Bai Liu pushed the cart up the wooden plank connecting the ship to land, running at high speed. The Mermaid Sailors on the ship heard the movement and appeared before Bai Liu in an instant, stretching out sharp webbed fingers to scratch at his face. Meanwhile, the Mermaid Sailors chasing him had also stepped onto the plank and looked as though they were about to grab Bai Liu’s shirt.
Wang Shun watched this pincer attack with his heart in his throat, but Bai Liu himself did not even let his gaze waver. Unmoved, he pulled another 3D projector from his pocket and threw it over the side of the ship.
The projector bounced twice when it landed, then reflected another provocative projection of Bai Liu. The Mermaid Sailors hesitated for a moment between the two Bai Lius before heading toward the other one.
Wang Shun broke out in a cold sweat and took out a towel to wipe his forehead. “Is Bai Liu going to repeat his old trick and use the projector’s light to restrict these Mermaid Sailors, or is he simply misleading them to stall for time?”
But soon he became confused again. “But Mermaid Sailors aren’t afraid of light. Even if this projection of Bai Liu takes out a strong flashlight, it won’t stop Mermaid Sailors who don’t fear light. The beam on land didn’t stop them before, so it definitely won’t stop them here.”
“You’re wrong. You recorded the Mermaid Sailors’ Monster Book page, didn’t you? Take another proper look at what the weakness on that page actually is.”
Mu Shicheng’s eyes brightened slightly as he watched the calm Bai Liu on the small TV. He could not help praising him. “I know why he came onto the ship. This guy really is amazing. No wonder the system had to weaken him this much.”
Wang Shun hurriedly opened his electronic recorder. He had indeed recorded and copied the page for the Siren Town Monster Book — Mermaid Sailors. He opened it and checked carefully:
[Siren Town Monster Book] — Mermaid Sailors (3/4)
Monster Name: Mermaid Sailor (Cocoon State)
Weakness: Fear of strong light, Amulets, Siren King
Attack Method: Biting and scratching (after being scratched, there is a certain probability of triggering a mutation state)
“Eh, that’s strange.” Wang Shun muttered to himself, pointing at the Weakness section on the recorder. “The Mermaid Sailors’ weakness clearly includes ‘Fear of strong light.’ Why did they seem completely unaffected by the light back on land?”
“Amulets,” Mu Shicheng said, pointing it out to Wang Shun. “With the amulets protecting them, strong light has no effect on the Mermaid Sailors.”
Wang Shun suddenly understood. He looked up at the small TV. “Right! That’s it! So Bai Liu is going to—”
Mu Shicheng looked up at the screen and also began to smile. “Exactly. Bai Liu is going to the bottom hold of the ship. The hold is where these monsters keep their amulets. He’s going to smash their mermaid amulets. Once they lose that protection, the strong-light items in his hand will work and restrict their movements.”
On the small screen, Bai Liu had already shaken off the monsters and reached the hold. He raised the pickaxe he had used to smash the bulletproof glass and calmly began smashing the Mermaid Amulet Wax Figures one by one.
The Amulet Wax Figures shattered into stone chips at his feet. As Bai Liu smashed most of the amulets in the hold, the Bai Liu Projection on the deck took out a flashlight at exactly the right time. It looked as though a pair of Bai Lius were coordinating a battle from the top and bottom of the ship.
The Bai Liu Projection smiled and held the flashlight level, his finger on the switch as if pulling a trigger. With a click, a straight, brilliant beam of light pierced through all the Mermaid Sailors surrounding the projection.
The strong light struck. The ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Mermaid Sailors, having lost the protection of their amulets, covered their eyes and collapsed to the ground, letting out shrill, piercing wails. Even Wang Shun, Mu Shicheng, and some viewers in the front rows raised their hands to block the light coming from the small TV. It was simply too bright.
“This newcomer is also... too ruthless.” Wang Shun’s feelings were complicated. “I even think these monsters are a little pitiful.”
But those mermaid monsters soon began moving around the edges of the light. Some even jumped into the sea, preparing to climb up from the other side and ambush Bai Liu. frёewebηovel.cѳm
This made Wang Shun frown. “Even with the flashlight, Bai Liu only has one beam here. His 3D projectors have also been used up. Although one beam can limit the Mermaid Sailors’ movement, it can’t completely trap them the way it did back on shore.”
Mu Shicheng crossed his arms and calmly stated the facts. “Because even if two light sources connect into a line, it’s impossible to completely restrict these Mermaid Sailors. This is a ship, which is different from being in town.”
“On land, Bai Liu could use the light to seal off the road from town to the seaside. But on a ship, if there’s only one line of light, the Mermaid Sailors can circle around it and enter the sea. It’s useless.”
“Yes.” Wang Shun held his chin in thought. “At this point, it’s too late to buy more projectors and record new projections. He can only buy another flashlight. That way, three beams can form a triangle and trap the Mermaid Sailors within that triangular area on the ship.”
“I think so too.” Mu Shicheng nodded. “But at a time like this, if the player wants to buy a flashlight, they’ll probably have to bleed points. The closer you get to the end, the more expensive the relevant clearance items in the game store become. For example, at this point in Siren Town, a key item like a flashlight would cost at least a hundred points.”
“A hundred points?!” Wang Shun was stunned. “That’s too expensive. Isn’t that blatant robbery?”
Mu Shicheng glanced at Wang Shun. “At such a critical moment, would you buy a hundred-point flashlight?”
Wang Shun was silent and frustrated for a while before spitting out one word. “Buy.”
Bai Liu came out of the hold carrying the pickaxe and dragging the cart. He had a flashlight in his hand. It seemed his idea was the same as Wang Shun and the others’. As soon as he came out, he opened the system store to buy an item.
While he was scrolling through the interface, Wang Shun caught a glimpse of the flashlight’s price in Bai Liu’s system store and could not help sputtering, “A two-hundred-and-fifty-point flashlight?! Is this a point heist? This price is fucking ridiculous!”
However, when Bai Liu scrolled past the flashlight sales interface without changing his expression, Wang Shun started to worry again. “Hey, Bai Liu, even if it’s expensive, buy it! Expensive means it saves your life! After this operation, you’re 100% clearing the game! Don’t haggle over these points!”
The other viewers were also very anxious. He was only a tiny step away from clearing the game, yet Bai Liu was still slowly picking items. He looked like a poor person who could not bear to buy the flashlight right in front of him, making everyone scratch their heads in frustration.
“Bai Liu! Don’t care about this small change! I’ll charge points for you, just buy it already!”
“Quick, quick, quick! Let’s Waterdrop-crowdfund a flashlight for our Bai Liu! The child needs it to save his life!”
“Damn it! You’re scrolling back and forth like you’re choosing a spouse! Listen to me! That hundred-point flashlight is the most beautiful one! You’ll definitely be happy together! I’ll charge points as wedding gift money!”
Even Mu Shicheng opened his Points Wallet panel, preparing to charge points for Bai Liu.
At that moment, Bai Liu’s movements suddenly stopped. He seemed to have finally found the item he wanted, and a faint smile appeared on his face. With a firm gaze, Bai Liu clicked on an item.
Purchase.
[Does the player wish to purchase a High-Definition Reflective Mirror?]
Bai Liu did not hesitate.
[Yes]
[System Tip: 3 points. Thank you for your patronage.]
Bai Liu placed the reflective mirror in a corner of the ship. Then he tied the flashlight to the bow and lightly flipped the switch.
The bright beam from the flashlight shot through the mist over the sea and struck the reflective mirror, which reflected it back. Finally, this beam merged with the light from the Flashlight Projection in the hand of the Bai Liu Projection.
Three beams of light, so bright they made one’s scalp tingle, formed a brilliantly radiant triangular area on the ship like three high-wattage LED tubes, trapping the Mermaid Sailors inside. The Mermaid Sailors covered their eyes and rolled on the ground, wailing, unable to leave that area by even half a step.
Bai Liu sat on the bow with one knee bent. The sea breeze and heavy rain had made his hair very messy. His eyes were hidden behind the flying black strands, but his mouth was smiling.
“Stay obediently on the ship, sailors.”
[System Notification: Since most monsters have been restricted by player Bai Liu, the heavy rain has lost its ability to weaken player Bai Liu. Weather transition is now occurring. Player, please be prepared.]
[Weather Transition: Heavy Rain → Sunny Day]
Light slowly rose behind Bai Liu. With one foot on the cart and the other dangling off the ship, gold-leaf sunlight fell from the layered dark clouds. The heavy rain dispersed, and sunlight spilled over Bai Liu’s messy, disheveled face. Paired with his casual, half-smiling expression, it gave him a strange and captivating presence.
[Player Bai Liu has entered the final prologue of Siren Town — Return the Siren King] free𝑤ebnovel.com
After a brief silence, the audience in front of Bai Liu’s small TV erupted into frantic screams and point-charging. Players excitedly hugged one another and high-fived. The number of likes was climbing by an order of magnitude every second.
Mu Shicheng withdrew the hand he had been about to use to tip him. He froze for two seconds, then could not help smiling and clapping.
“You really are something, Bai Liu.”
Wang Shun also began clapping until his hands turned red. He was truly excited, sweat pouring down his face.
The other viewers were not much better than Wang Shun. They looked so excited they seemed ready to perform a rendition of Unforgettable Tonight on the spot.
“You said it would rain and it rained! You said it would be sunny and it turned sunny! Are you a Child of Weather, Bai Liu?”
“Go big! Make it explode! Take my charging money and rush to the front line! Bai Liu, rush! Rush onto the Rising Star Chart!”
——————
[12,011 people liked Bai Liu’s small TV, 12,000 people favorited Bai Liu’s small TV, 2,077 people charged points for Bai Liu’s small TV. Player Bai Liu received 3,011 points. More than 300 people charged more than one point for you.]
[Player Bai Liu received over 10,000 likes in one minute and over 3,000 points. Reputation is advancing irresistibly! Player Bai Liu has earned the ‘Showing Sharpness’ achievement!]
[Congratulations to Player Bai Liu, promotion position has risen. Entering the Central Hall Central Screen single-player game sub-screen strong recommendation position.]
[Welcome back to your original position, Player Bai Liu.]
————————————
As soon as Bai Liu rose to the strong recommendation screen this time, almost all the viewers from the edge zones followed him.
This large group of excited, flushed viewers crossed the entire game hall, attracting the attention of many passing players, who came over to ask what small TV they were watching.
“What are you guys watching? Why is it so noisy?”
“Child of Weather!”
“God-tier reflective mirror operation!”
“The awesome son God Mu just recognized!”
The inquiring players: “??????”
What kind of thing is playing on the small TV you people are watching?
By the time they reached the back, many players had joined them out of curiosity.
Running fastest were Wang Shun and Mu Shicheng. As Wang Shun ran, he discovered that Li Gou was unexpectedly still there. This person had likely hidden in the back earlier after seeing Mu Shicheng arrive.
Now, Li Gou was following the crowd with his knife, his face dark and gloomy. He had probably realized that Mu Shicheng was backing Bai Liu and sensed that Bai Liu was not a soft target he could easily handle.
Wang Shun could not help breathing a sigh of relief for Bai Liu.
It was best for Bai Liu to avoid players with a playstyle like Li Gou’s.
By the time Wang Shun and the others reached the strong recommendation position, there were already many viewers gathered in Bai Liu’s small TV viewing area. Some were viewers who had followed him from the sub-zones but left halfway, while others were looking in surprise at Bai Liu, who had newly risen back up.
There were also those troll viewers from the large guilds in the central zone, the ones who had previously sneered at Bai Liu and called him someone with low aesthetic taste.
These viewers somehow, despite not liking Bai Liu, were among the first batch to come in once Bai Liu rose to the central screen. They crowded at the front, pointing at Bai Liu’s small TV and loudly complaining.
“Ugh, how did he rise up again? It’s so annoying to look at.”
“How can so many people like him? Why? This simply lowers the average level of the strong recommendation positions. No, I have to dislike him and stomp him down quickly.”
“I just don’t get it. What’s so good about posing? He actually managed to trick tens of thousands of likes out of people, and more than five thousand people charged points for him. Are they all idiots? Spending points on this kind of person? Do they have nothing else in life to waste?”
“So annoying, so annoying, so annoying. Can he just get off the strong recommendation position and let a few players with levels similar to God Mu come up?”
This group of viewers was already interfering with the normal viewers watching the broadcast. However, ordinary viewers generally did not want to clash with these crazies backed by large guilds, so they endured it.
Mu Shicheng looked at this group of viewers. The corners of his mouth and eyes drooped slightly, and his expression darkened a little, as though displeased, though he was still smiling.
He casually took off his monkey hat, walked to the front row, and turned to face the loudmouths. With a smile and a politeness completely different from before, he placed one hand over his chest and held his hat behind him with the other, giving these viewers a bow.
Because Mu Shicheng was holding a plush monkey hat, this gentlemanly bow looked somewhat ridiculous, but it did not stop the viewers from gasping.
“God Mu! You’re God Mu, right? You’re actually watching his small TV!”
Some questioned him directly. “God Mu, can I ask why you’re recommending this player? He has no game skill and keeps hogging the strong recommendation position for single-player games. It’s really annoying and low-class.”
Mu Shicheng smiled. “Hello, everyone. I just heard your conversation and felt a little nostalgic.”
These viewers instantly grew excited and began criticizing Bai Liu all at once.
“God Mu, you also find this guy annoying, right? This kind of posing monster should have died long ago. He’s hogging a spot and keeping capable people from getting on.”
“It’s been such a hassle scanning the broadcasts because this kind of person is hogging the screen. I can’t see any high-quality game streams! I just hope he dies soon and drops off the strong recommendation list!”
“God Mu, you should just enter a game and start a stream to push him down!”
These people spoke with conviction, their eyes excited, as though seeing this newcomer Bai Liu get pushed down would be a wonderful thing. After all, suppressing newcomers was always what these guild players liked doing most, especially those with no real skill of their own. They wished every newcomer would die so they could not take up promotion spots.
“No, what I meant by nostalgic was—” Mu Shicheng’s smile became more tangible. He held a lollipop in his mouth, his expression somewhat casual. “When I first reached the strong recommendation spot, there were also a lot of central-screen viewers who stepped on me and cursed me like this.”
The previously chattering viewers felt as though their throats had been strangled. They suddenly and awkwardly shut their mouths, looking at one another and communicating with their eyes.
Watching these viewers, who spoke so boldly in front of Bai Liu but fell silent in front of him, Mu Shicheng laughed out loud.
He laughed very innocently and leaned forward slightly to ask them, “Do you know what happened to all those viewers who cursed me?”
These viewers looked directly into Mu Shicheng’s shifting, dark-red eyes, and their hair stood on end as a chill ran down their spines.
Reflected in Mu Shicheng’s pupils was a cartoon monkey laughing hee-hee, ha-ha. The cartoon monkey’s eyes were emitting an extremely vivid red light.
Only then did the front-row viewers discover that the dark red in Mu Shicheng’s eyes was not his original eye color, but the light coming from the monkey reflected in his eyes.
