Free Web NovelFacing Mu Shicheng’s strange eyes, the viewers who had been acting high and mighty only moments ago swallowed in unison. Their backs went faintly cold, and they retreated two steps, shaking their heads in fear.
Mu Shicheng smiled as he pulled the cartoon monkey hat out from behind his back. Pointing at the hat with his other hand, he made a presenting gesture. “Because I hated those viewers. Those hateful viewers were all killed by me in the game.”
He spoke casually, as if killing people was an ordinary occurrence for him, not worth mentioning at all. “If Bai Liu comes out, I’ll support him killing you talkative fellows too. Of course, that’s just my suggestion as someone who’s been through it.”
“Because you’re all really noisy.” Mu Shicheng smiled politely. “You’re disturbing me while I’m watching his TV, you idiots.”
The monkey on Mu Shicheng’s hat suddenly opened its mouth and began giggling, hee hee hee. Red light flickered in its eyes, as though echoing Mu Shicheng’s suggestion to kill. It looked eerie and terrifying.
Those viewers who had previously felt so superior were scared out of their wits. They screamed and scattered in all directions. Several of them ran too fast and collided during their escape, falling to the ground and scrambling pathetically out of Bai Liu’s small TV viewing area.
Mu Shicheng put on his hat and stood in the front row with his hands in his pockets, as if nothing had happened. His expression returned to calm indifference as he continued looking up at Bai Liu’s small TV.
The surrounding viewers all retreated a few steps by tacit agreement, leaving Mu Shicheng enough room to watch. Even the normal discussion among the audience became much quieter, as though everyone was afraid of disturbing Mu Shicheng while he watched Bai Liu’s small TV.
Wang Shun stood behind Mu Shicheng, his expression just as complicated as his mood.
For the first time, he directly perceived Mu Shicheng’s danger.
This was the reason there were almost no viewers pointing fingers in the live rooms of top-tier God-level players; it was almost always one-sided praise. Because games here could kill people. If your remarks offended a certain God-level player, killing you would be as simple as crushing an ant.
Only the small TV viewing areas of newcomers and some mild-tempered players had so many of these finger-pointing viewers. In Mu Shicheng’s live room, the graves of those who dared talk trash to him would already be covered in green grass.
Many of the trolls who dared talk trash about Bai Liu were guild players with no real ability. Their game skills were quite low-level, and many of the games they cleared were passed by following high-level players from their guilds or directly looking up guides. Their own abilities were very limited.
These players, living hand to mouth every day, actually loved talking trash everywhere. They did not dare offend God-level players, but they especially disliked newcomers with great explosive potential and competitiveness. Such newcomers would steal their paying audience and their promotion slots. Therefore, they harbored enormous malice toward newcomer players who were clearly about to stand out.
Like Bai Liu.
And like Mu Shicheng back then.
Wang Shun edged closer to Mu Shicheng. Although he was also a little afraid of the current Mu Shicheng, he still wanted to stand in the front row. Facing Mu Shicheng, Wang Shun could not suppress his curiosity for collecting information and asked in a very low voice, “God Mu, did you really kill those viewers who scolded you?”
“How is that possible?” Mu Shicheng said indifferently. “I’m not that bored. I just said it to scare them. They kept talking trash. It was annoying.”
Wang Shun let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, oh. So it was fake.”
“Although I didn’t kill them, my monkey headphones really like eating people I hate, so they did actually eat a few.” Mu Shicheng suddenly turned his head to look at Bai Liu on the small TV and chuckled.
With his hands still in his pockets, he shrugged and defended himself with no sincerity at all. “But that was mainly because they chose to scold me, which led to that outcome. I don’t think I’m to blame.”
Wang Shun: “...”
Bai Liu dragged the cart down from the large ship again.
There were still a few scattered Mermaid Sailors following him, but they were no longer a threat. Bai Liu had the Siren King in his hands. Without the weather and the amulets strengthening them, these Mermaid Sailors could only trail far behind Bai Liu, watching him with resentful and greedy eyes.
But Bai Liu’s mind was no longer on those Mermaid Sailors.
He had found something rather strange. The system had said that most of the monsters on land had been restricted, so it gave up on using the weather to further weaken him. However, the Siren Town Monster Book had four pages: the Mermaid Sailors, the Mermaid Wax Figures, and the Siren King in Bai Liu’s hand.
Aside from those, there was still a massive number of the weakest and lowest-tier monsters that had not appeared.
The Mermaids.
Or, one could say, the larval form of the mermaids.
Bai Liu had been chased and intercepted on land for so long, yet he had not seen a single Mermaid. This was unreasonable. If the monsters on land had indeed mostly been restricted by him, as the system claimed—assuming it had not lied to him—then in other words, these weakest Mermaid monsters were likely not on land.
Bai Liu’s gaze slowly fell on the calm, wave-less sea ahead of him.
Those vast numbers of Mermaids were likely all lurking in the sea.
[System Notification: One hour remains until the Siren King awakens. Player, please pick up your pace and clear the game quickly.]
One hour. Bai Liu estimated the speed at which he could swim while dragging the Siren King; it was barely enough. However, there was an uncertain factor: the Mermaids hiding in the sea. With interference from the Mermaid monsters, that amount of time might not be sufficient.
But when soldiers came, one blocked them; when water came, one covered it with earth. Bai Liu did not think too much about it. He abandoned the cart by the shore and crouched down to examine the Siren King lying on it.
The Siren King, who had shown no reaction during the chase just now, now had the fins behind his ears gently fanning. His chest rose and fell slightly, and a sense of vitality pulsed beneath his jade-like skin.
Bai Liu could feel that the Siren King was about to wake.
He hoisted one of the Siren King’s arms over his shoulder, took a deep breath, and ran toward the sea.
As the seawater submerged his legs, fine silver-green scales covered Bai Liu’s legs, waist, the corners of his eyes, and the bridge of his nose. Slit-like gills appeared on both sides of his face, and his pupils shrank to half their original size.
Bai Liu took a deep breath and, pulling the Siren King’s hand, plunged into the boundless blue sea.
In front of the small TV, Wang Shun finally let out a sigh of relief. “He’s finally in the sea. He should be able to clear the game soon.”
“That’s not certain.” Mu Shicheng crossed his arms over his chest. He seemed to recall some unpleasant memory, and his mouth twitched. “Back then, when I dragged the Siren Banshee into the sea, I also thought I was about to clear it. I didn’t expect that when I was about to swim to the Siren’s Gift sea area, the water below would be packed with green-eyed Mermaids. I almost got killed.”
“In the end, I was forced to buy a high-intensity flashlight to drive those Mermaids away. It cost me over two hundred points.” Mu Shicheng recalled one of the few Waterloo moments of his gaming career with some gloom.
Wang Shun was shocked. “No way! Over two hundred points? That expensive?”
As he spoke, he seemed to realize something. “Bai Liu’s flashlight was already over two hundred and fifty points earlier. By then, the system will definitely raise the price again. Won’t it be even more expensive?”
“Most likely. The system’s pricing for each item is mainly based on two factors. First, the supply-and-demand relationship of the entire market. Second, the system’s assessment of how much the player needs a certain item at that moment. Put simply, the more urgent the system thinks your need is, the higher the price it sets.”
Mu Shicheng looked at Bai Liu on the small TV, who was unknowingly paddling toward the deep sea, and revealed a rare smirk of schadenfreude. “When Bai Liu swims to the Siren’s Gift sea area, surrounded by Mermaids in that kind of emergency, the player won’t have many good options. He can only let himself be fleeced by the system. Bai Liu is in for heavy bleeding. His flashlight will cost at least four hundred points.”
Just as they were discussing this, the newcomer player who had earlier squeezed Bai Liu out of the promotion slot and taken the strong recommendation position—Mu Ke—had already swum to the Siren’s Gift sea area.
Mu Ke held the skeletal remains of the Siren Banshee in one hand and moved his flexible, tail-like feet as he swam toward the even deeper, pitch-black bottom of the sea.
He also seemed to realize he was about to clear the game, and a visible, ecstatic smile of surviving calamity appeared on his face.
Wang Shun and the others in Bai Liu’s small TV viewing area could also see the small TVs of others, though not as clearly as Bai Liu’s. The image had a blurred, frosted-glass quality. Even so, they could roughly see that Mu Ke had already reached the bottom of the Siren’s Gift sea area.
Seeing Mu Ke about to reach the seabed, Wang Shun could not help sighing with regret. “He’s almost at the seabed. Bai Liu is still swimming... This newcomer named Mu Ke should still clear the game faster than Bai Liu. He’ll probably be the first of this batch of newcomers to clear it.”
“The first newcomer in a batch to clear the game will receive a special reward from the system: a personal skill. That’s extremely precious to players. Bai Liu could have gotten it.” Wang Shun sighed.
As he spoke, Wang Shun looked at Bai Liu, who was still unknowingly and slowly swimming on the small TV, and said with a bit of frustrated disappointment, “Sigh! Bai Liu! I told you those tricks would waste time! Although you did save some points, the loss outweighs the gain! If you’d moved faster, first place among this batch of newcomers would have been yours!”
Because Bai Liu had dropped off and then rushed back onto the central screen’s strong recommendation slot, under the system’s comprehensive evaluation, Mu Ke’s ranking in the Single-Player Game Zone Strong Recommendation Slot was one position higher than Bai Liu’s.
Add to that the fact that Mu Ke looked like he was about to clear the game, while Bai Liu was still dragging the Siren King through the sea, moving elegantly as though sleepwalking, and it looked as if Mu Ke was firmly suppressing Bai Liu. Wang Shun kept shaking his head.
It was like seeing his own talented child being playful and unable to outscore the ordinary child next door—helpless and frustrating.
Mu Shicheng’s attitude was completely different. He only glanced at Mu Ke next door from the corner of his eye and said indifferently, “It’s still hard to say who the first newcomer will be.”
However, most of the players watching Mu Ke’s small TV shared Wang Shun’s view. Especially those troll viewers who had been chased away from Bai Liu’s small TV by Mu Shicheng; most of them had gone to Mu Ke’s small TV viewing area.
This group of viewers never learned their lesson. As soon as they changed venues, they immediately began mocking Bai Liu with great arrogance and satisfaction.
“Hehe, even if Bai Liu got onto the strong recommendation slot, he still can’t beat other newcomers. What’s the point of all those flashy moves? Once Mu Ke clears the game and gets the skill reward from the system, he’ll develop quickly and leave an idiot like Bai Liu far behind.”
“I don’t know why God Mu is protecting such a useless newcomer. If you’re not first place, you can’t get the skill reward. He’ll die in a game soon enough. I don’t know what he’s still struggling for.”
The normal viewers nearby looked at these loud-mouthed people with speechless expressions.
There were a hundred newcomers in a batch, and only first place received the system’s skill reward—a one-in-a-hundred chance. These people made it sound as if anyone without a skill deserved to die miserably in the game.
Many players present did not have skills either, and their expressions turned rather unpleasant.
One viewer grew tired of their incessant chirping. Likely possessing decent strength himself, he gave a cold laugh and impatiently retorted, “Those saying people without skills are bound to die, show your own skills. Otherwise, I’ll kill you on the spot and fulfill your dream of dying without one.”
So many skillless players gathered together to point fingers at others—how ridiculous. Did they think skill players were as common as cabbages?
Sure enough, the group of viewers who had been laughing loudly just now, their voices blaring like trumpets, immediately fell silent. Several of the loudest flushed red and shrank back, hiding their game managers behind them, clearly unwilling to display any so-called skills.
The viewer who scolded them was amused by the sight.
So it turned out that among those who had been talking so big just now, not a single one had a skill. How did they have the nerve to say someone else would definitely die without one? How were these long-tongued, skillless viewers still alive, then?
The viewer who scolded them felt it was beneath him. Killing was not allowed in the Central Hall; he had only said it to scare those chatterboxes. Arguing was not interesting either, so he rolled his eyes at them and continued watching Mu Ke’s small TV.
As they spoke, in Mu Ke’s pitch-black small TV as he dived, pairs of green eyes began lighting up like fireflies from a corner of the seabed. At first, there were only one or two pairs. Then, suddenly, dense green phosphorescence lit up everywhere.
It took a moment for Mu Ke’s eyes to adjust before he could clearly see what those things were. Goosebumps instantly rose all over his body. His spine went numb, and he froze in place.
Thousands of Mermaid corpses were lying at the bottom of the sea, looking straight up at Mu Ke.
Most of their bodies had rotted. Their faces were tattered, and their water-bloated, pale, decaying flesh was being gnawed by dense clusters of small black fish. Their entire faces and bodies were covered in thumb-sized fish eating their flesh. Some areas had already been eaten down to the bone, leaving only pairs of glowing green, dark, sinister eyes exposed.
Everywhere Mu Ke looked was filled with the green eyes of Mermaids, lighting up the pitch-black seabed like ghost fire. Or rather, it could no longer be called the seabed. The seabed was entirely covered by those black scavenger fish, so numerous they made one’s scalp tingle. Looking down, one could not even see sand, only little fish wriggling like fly larvae. Visually, they looked very much like black maggots, interspersed with the fluorescent green eyes of the Mermaid corpses submerged among them.
The scene was so shocking that even the audience in front of Mu Ke’s small TV could not help hugging their arms and retreating a few steps, their scalps tingling.
Mu Ke turned and ran. As he fled, he opened the item shop. Behind him, those Mermaids suddenly surged up from the seabed at high speed. The churning black schools of fish surrounded Mu Ke like a swarm of flies.
Looking at these small fish up close, one realized that although they were only thumb-sized, their teeth were extremely sharp. With just one sweep over Mu Ke, half his arm was bitten off. He let out a silent scream underwater. Blood from the stump of his right arm dragged a long red line through the water, attracting even more Mermaids and schools of fish.
The audience was also gripped by this thrilling scene, shouting anxiously, “Buy an item! Hurry! Buy an item to drive those monsters back! Otherwise, you’re going to die!”
Mu Ke used his remaining hand to clutch the skeleton of the Siren Banshee, preventing it from being swept away by the fish and Mermaids. Then he frantically opened the game shop interface, intending to buy an item to restrain these arrogant monsters. Deep-sea fish were generally photophobic, and Mermaids also had photophobia as a weakness. He quickly made a decision.
[I need a high-intensity flashlight!]
[417 points, thank you for your patronage.]
Mu Ke was completely stunned. He asked back in disbelief:
[How many points?!]
[417 points, thank you for your patronage.]
Mu Ke did not have that many points at all. He was utterly dumbfounded, but he quickly forced himself to calm down again. Driving back the fish did not necessarily require a high-intensity flashlight; the Underwater Bubble also had the function of repelling fish.
However, in front of so many Mermaids, the Underwater Bubble would likely be smashed through by the schools of fish. But Mu Ke had no other choice. He could only gamble. Mu Ke gritted his teeth.
[I need an Underwater Bubble!]
[322 points, thank you for your patronage.]
Mu Ke almost choked. He was nearly infuriated to death by the system under the sea.
He did not have that many points!
Earlier, the Underwater Bubble had dropped to 40 points, and now it had increased more than eightfold. This was outright robbery!
But arguing with the system was useless. Mu Ke could only desperately check the items he already had in a panic. The Blazing Torch could still be used, but this was underwater; the fire could not burn at all. He had bought the Underwater Bubble twice before.
But the Underwater Bubble item had mostly been used up by Mu Ke to pass the Ship of True Love task. There was only about half an hour left.
And half an hour of Underwater Bubble was definitely not enough for him to clear the game. In half an hour, he would not even be able to dive to the seabed...
Even worse, his points had mostly been consumed by various items...
In his despair, Mu Ke suddenly remembered that he could ask the audience to charge points for him. Thus, the audience in front of Mu Ke’s small TV saw him bowing and pleading inside the screen, begging everyone to charge points for him. He looked wretched and pitiful, his eyes filled with a crazed desire to survive.
He cried as he ran, but his tears quickly merged into the seawater and were seen by no one.
Those viewers who had previously predicted his bright future and used him to disparage Bai Liu were now speechless.
On this side, Bai Liu had also swum into the Siren’s Gift sea area. Wang Shun could vaguely see the situation on Mu Ke’s side. Seeing Bai Liu also swim into this pitch-black sea area, he could not help worrying and opened his game manager to check his point balance.
He was a little afraid Bai Liu would encounter the same situation. At least he, Wang Shun, could help by charging a few points.
Mu Shicheng caught Wang Shun’s movement and said, “Relax. That guy has over two thousand points. No matter what, that’s enough. Even if the flashlights cost four hundred points each, he can buy five of them.”
Despite saying that, Mu Shicheng could not help checking his own point balance as well. After looking, he raised his head, the corners of his mouth twitching upward as he let out a long breath.
If he charged it all, it would definitely be enough for Bai Liu to clear the game.
It was not just Wang Shun and Mu Shicheng. Because the commotion on Mu Ke’s small TV was not small, many viewers on Bai Liu’s side had seen it too. They also opened their point wallets to check their balances and whispered among themselves.
“If Bai Liu’s points aren’t enough to buy items later, I can charge a few.”
“My four points here should be enough.”
Mu Shicheng looked curiously at the scene of so many viewers saying they would charge a few points for Bai Liu. He tilted his head to look at Bai Liu, who was still paddling through the seawater, and raised an eyebrow.
This guy actually had quite a lot of “audience affinity.” So many people were willing to spend money on him and did not want him to die.
On this point, Bai Liu was actually stronger than him. Because Mu Shicheng’s personal skill was special, his audience affinity was quite extreme. Those who liked him liked him a lot, and there were also many who hated him or thought he was immoral.
Like Mu Ke, not long after entering this sea area, Bai Liu saw those pairs of green eyes on the seabed.
Wang Shun immediately held his breath. He looked even more nervous than Bai Liu on the small TV. His fists clenched unconsciously in front of his chest, and the charging interface was already open. Wang Shun whispered rapidly, “Buy an item! Buy an item! Hurry! It’ll be too late once that group of monsters down there wakes up!”
Mu Shicheng said, “You don’t need to be so nervous. He won’t die in the short term.”
But Mu Shicheng’s eyes were also glued to Bai Liu’s small TV without shifting away, and his hand was holding the game manager as if ready to open the charging interface at any moment.
Almost all the viewers held their breath in anticipation. Some people’s hands were already on the charge button, just waiting for Bai Liu to open the item shop before pressing down and charging points for him.
But when Bai Liu saw those terrifying schools of fish and Mermaids on the seabed, he merely raised an eyebrow slightly, not looking surprised at all. He continued swimming downward at a leisurely pace.
The audience’s breath caught. They watched with wide eyes as Bai Liu slowly and deliberately used the Siren King to provoke those Mermaids and schools of fish, inciting those monsters to chase him. Then Bai Liu fled. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Unfortunately, Bai Liu’s underwater movements were very unskilled. He swam in a one-kick-at-a-time manner, purely like a beginner. His speed in the seawater was not fast. It looked as though he was about to be overtaken and torn apart by the massive black mass of fish and Mermaids behind him.
“Bai Liu, what are you doing, Bai Liu!” Wang Shun screamed, breaking down. “Why did you go and provoke the monsters?”
The other viewers were also going crazy, screaming one after another.
“Ahhhh! Buy an item! Bai Liu!”
“Damn it! Bai Liu, stop playing at a time like this! Come out and this big brother will play with you slowly!”
“You’re about to clear the game! If you die, it’ll become my psychological shadow, Bai Liu!”
“My mentality has collapsed! If Bai Liu still dies after getting this far, I’ll never watch another newcomer’s small TV again!”
Wang Shun stared at the screen without daring to breathe. Sweat soaked his forehead and slid from the corner of his eye, but he did not even dare blink. Because in the small TV, the Mermaids and schools of fish had already touched Bai Liu’s feet.
Even Mu Shicheng, who usually stood there smiling, no longer had much of a smile on his face. His arms were crossed, and his right index finger kept tapping his left arm. He was uncharacteristically agitated. “Bai Liu, what the hell are you doing?”
Unhurried, Bai Liu glanced back. After confirming that almost all the Mermaids and schools of fish were following behind him, his legs kicked. Like a sea hare, he struggled forward through the seawater by half a body length, pulling a little distance from the monsters behind him.
But that small distance was quickly closed. The Mermaids’ eyes were snow-white, their faces hideous and rotted. Their skin floated in the seawater, half peeled from their bodies. They let out predatory screams in the deep-blue seabed and opened their bloody maws. Thumb-sized fish with sharp teeth poured from the Mermaids’ tattered, blackened throats, rushing toward Bai Liu like a black rope.
In such a critical moment, Bai Liu still had the mind to think about the origin of these Mermaid corpses. On land, the Mermaids had clearly been in another form. But once they reached the Siren’s Gift seabed, they reverted to the form of corpses. This proved his hypothesis was correct: the bottom of this sea area could indeed make these things return to their original form. The only thing missing was the Siren King in his hand. As soon as the Siren King was in place, these things should become real corpses.
Facing the Mermaid’s attack, Bai Liu clumsily shifted to the side, but half his palm was still bitten off. The stump of his hand dragged a swirling line of blood through the sea.
[System Warning: Due to being attacked by the guardian monster Mermaid Corpse, player Bai Liu has entered an alienated state. His mental value is continuously decreasing. Current: 41.]
[System Warning: 21 minutes remain until the Siren King awakens. Player, please clear the game quickly!]
Bai Liu felt dizzy, as if he were spinning at the bottom of the sea. His current sensation was like being forced by his company’s CEO at a meeting to drink half a bottle of fake liquor, his limbs beginning to go numb and his steps turning uncoordinated.
This directly affected Bai Liu’s swimming. He originally wanted to kick with both legs, but because of the numbness and dizziness, he was actually kicking violently with only one. Visually, he looked very much like a lame rabbit trying its hardest to hop while avoiding a predator.
Wang Shun spoke woodenly. “...His mental value is only 41. He’s about to experience massive hallucinations. And there are only 21 minutes left until the Siren King wakes up.”
Mu Shicheng’s expression was complicated and confused, his tone and mood growing increasingly anxious. “Yes, but he clearly could have cleared the game directly...”
The other viewers were even more angry and anxious. Some were already stomping their feet in place.
Just as Wang Shun said, Bai Liu began hallucinating. The monsters before his eyes became overlapping mountains and ridges. A single Mermaid could sway into several heads in Bai Liu’s vision. Anyone else would likely have been frightened into a breakdown, but Bai Liu only shook his head and stubbornly continued avoiding those things.
But he did not dive toward the seabed where he could clear the game. Instead, like a fish that had lost its direction, he swam around the sea in a muddled, stumbling manner.
Because of this, Bai Liu was attacked twice more. One of his feet and the stump of his hand were swept by a Mermaid. The pain made Bai Liu curl up involuntarily, trying to cover his wounds.
Such a vulnerable action undoubtedly exposed even more weaknesses. It left Bai Liu’s back completely facing the monsters behind him. A Mermaid lurking behind Bai Liu revealed a hideous grin that split all the way to its ear, and its tail slammed toward Bai Liu’s cheek.
The tremendous force carved a wake through the seawater. Even with the water as a buffer, judging by the ripples, the attack power was enormous. If that tail hit, Bai Liu’s spine would 100% be broken.
Almost all the viewers instinctively closed their eyes, unwilling to see the moment of Bai Liu’s death. Suddenly, a massive plastic-like bubble appeared between Bai Liu and the Mermaid, bouncing the Mermaid away. Bai Liu curled up behind the bubble, slowly breathing through his gills.
Wang Shun cried out, “Underwater Bubble! Right! Bai Liu bought an Underwater Bubble earlier!”
Bai Liu was fine, but the viewers watching his small TV looked like they were the ones who had been in danger. They spoke with the exhaustion of people who had survived a disaster.
“Bai Liu, give yourself and us a way to live! Please stop playing and clear the game quickly!”
“Damn it, Bai Liu, I must have slaughtered pigs in my last life to have to watch your video in this one. This is too sinful. I feel like you’ve given me heart disease.”
For some reason, Mu Shicheng also let out a sigh of relief when he saw Bai Liu was alive. He asked, “When did Bai Liu buy it? He was willing to spend points on that?”
As soon as he asked, he realized something was wrong. The Underwater Bubble became very expensive in the middle and late stages. He had not seen Bai Liu buy it. But if Bai Liu had bought it very early and kept it until now without using it, then spending seventy points to stockpile an item was somewhat wasteful and risky for a newcomer like Bai Liu.
Mu Shicheng frowned. “Did Bai Liu forcefully squeeze out seventy points in the early stage to stockpile the item?”
“No.” Wang Shun’s expression became very complicated. “When he bought that bubble, it was only 40 points.”
“40 points?” Mu Shicheng was a little surprised. “The normal price for an Underwater Bubble is 70. How did he get it for 40?”
Wang Shun explained the whole situation to Mu Shicheng, lamenting how he had previously guessed that Bai Liu was playing a time-difference price war just to save money—and how that guess had turned out to be true.
That early on, Bai Liu had already predicted these items would rise in price and stocked up on the Underwater Bubble when it was cheapest.
To think Mu Ke’s Underwater Bubble had already risen to nearly four hundred points, while Bai Liu had bought one for one-tenth of the price. While Mu Ke was being tormented to death by the system, Bai Liu had already exploited a loophole in the system to win the price difference...
The viewer who had previously mocked Bai Liu, saying he stockpiled items just to save his life and definitely did not understand the system shop, was also there. Now, watching Bai Liu’s series of moves, he was stunned.
Clearly, Bai Liu not ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) only understood how the entire system shop functioned, but was also using the loopholes in its operation to profit for himself.
This viewer’s face turned red with shame. How could the gap between people be this large...
Mu Shicheng looked at Bai Liu on the screen, who was curled behind the bubble to catch his breath, with a probing and thoughtful gaze.
...What kind of monster was this newcomer?
The last time he had seen someone who dared play with the system was the player ranked first on the points leaderboard—Spades.
“But I’m still curious.” Mu Shicheng hooked his index finger under his chin, looking at Bai Liu on the small TV with focused thought. “How did he know that the Underwater Bubble he bought would definitely be useful?”
“Siren Town has two endings. The first, the Normal End, only requires escaping Siren Town. Everything after that is a land chase, and the Underwater Bubble is completely useless. That’s the route most people choose to clear the game.”
Mu Shicheng continued, “Only the True End requires going into the sea. But the True End is essentially just an extra side quest, which is returning the Siren King. So the point reward isn’t much higher than the Normal End, but the risk is exceptionally high. Normal people wouldn’t choose this route.”
Wang Shun also fell into deep thought. “But Bai Liu is a newcomer. Maybe he didn’t know these things?”
“I think he could guess.” Mu Shicheng shook his head. “Bai Liu should have discovered that the game awards points according to task modules—clearing a task gives designated points. Essentially, if you only talk about point risk and reward, the Normal End is far superior to the True End.”
Wang Shun could not help looking at Mu Shicheng. “Then God Mu, why did you take the True End route?”
Mu Shicheng was silent for two seconds before saying, “High risk does indeed come with high reward. The True End route doesn’t give many points, or rather, the reward of the True End route isn’t something as simple as points. There’s something that can only be obtained by taking the True End route, and that thing’s value is absolutely worth the high risk.”
“What thing?” Wang Shun asked, puzzled.
Mu Shicheng glanced at him. “The reward for collecting the entire Monster Book. Only by taking the True End route can you complete the Monster Book and obtain that reward. But completing the Monster Book is something Bai Liu can’t possibly do.”
“Why can’t he...” Wang Shun instinctively began to refute, but he quickly reacted. He looked at Bai Liu on the small TV in shock. “Shit! Right! The Siren King in Bai Liu’s Monster Book is a roaming God-tier NPC!”
“I’m thinking of the worst-case scenario...” Mu Shicheng fell into deep thought. “It’s very likely Bai Liu doesn’t know how dangerous a God-tier NPC like the Siren King is. But he should be able to guess that the greatest reward is the reward for completing the Monster Book. I feel like Bai Liu is planning to complete the Monster Book, which means he’s planning to stall for time until the Siren King wakes up. That’s why he’s not in a hurry to clear the game...”
Wang Shun was so shocked his mind felt hazy. He stared blankly at the small TV screen, his mouth hanging open. “...No way...”
On the small TV, Bai Liu was hiding behind the Underwater Bubble. He did not enter the bubble, but instead played hide-and-seek with the Mermaids and schools of fish, circling around them.
The audience began worrying from afar again. Bai Liu always had a knack for making everyone worry for him while he played the game.
“That bubble’s defense is very low. If he keeps letting that group of Mermaids attack it, it won’t be long before it breaks. Then that item will be wasted!”
Bai Liu tilted his head to look at a certain spot on the Underwater Bubble behind him. That spot was being constantly attacked by the Mermaids and fish, and cracks had already appeared.
But water did not leak in. It was just that a Mermaid’s hand could reach into the Underwater Bubble. Bai Liu finally showed a comfortable smile. However, the viewers in front of the small TV were wailing and screaming, so anxious they wanted to jump through the screen and play the game for Bai Liu themselves.
On the other side, Mu Ke had also ducked into an Underwater Bubble and was fleeing all over the sea area to stall for time.
Those high-and-mighty viewers who had left Bai Liu’s side earlier and gone to Mu Ke’s side found it boring. Seeing that Bai Liu’s side was now on the brink of life and death, they excitedly returned. However, they avoided Mu Shicheng, who stood in the center, and only dared gather in a corner to discuss disdainfully.
“These people actually charged so many points for Bai Liu and Mu Ke. It’s annoying to watch. They have no vision at all. They’d be better off giving them to me. At least I wouldn’t die playing Siren Town.”
“It pisses me off. I’d had my eye on that edge promotion slot for a long time. I was just about to enter the game, but then two newcomers came and snatched it. So annoying. Die quickly. Once they’re dead, I can get onto the promotion slot.”
Bai Liu was completely unaware of the outside discussions, whether people were worrying for him or wishing for his death. His mental value had dropped to 40, teetering on the edge of the second mental-value danger threshold.
Once he crossed that threshold, he would experience massive hallucinations. Bai Liu’s consciousness was already somewhat scattered. He had to focus all his attention on the Underwater Bubble behind him.
One Mermaid had already squeezed through the crack in the bubble. Bai Liu let go of the bubble, turned around, and hugged it in front of himself. He stared at the rotten-faced Mermaid inside the Underwater Bubble as he slowly sank through the sea.
Mermaids and schools of fish continuously squeezed into this Underwater Bubble. The bubble seemed as if it could never be filled, continuously swallowing the incoming fish. And Bai Liu was the bait, pressing against the bubble to lure these Mermaids into the trap. The viewers in front of the small TV seemed to realize Bai Liu was about to do something big, but at the same time, they were puzzled.
“What else can he do? The bubble is broken. The external shield function is gone, leaving only the internal shield function. It’s basically just a bunch of air that won’t leak out. He doesn’t have any more usable items, right?”
The bubble, now containing only air, was like an embryo, wrapping around the Mermaid monsters that were twisting their limbs to cram inside. Bai Liu closed his eyes, leaned back, and exhaled a long breath, a string of bubbles rising from his gills. He released his hand, which had already grown fleshy membranes, and the bubble floated in front of him.
Bai Liu said to the system: ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
[Take out a bottle of alcohol.]
A bottle of alcohol appeared inside the bubble. Bai Liu kicked it open.
Transparent alcohol slowly began filling the bubble from the bottom. Bai Liu reached his hand into the bubble, lit the lighter, and calmly tossed it in. He withdrew his hand just before a monster could touch it.
A burning fireball suddenly lit up in the deepest part of the sea.
The roars of the Mermaids and the flickering flames cast sharply divided shadows of light and dark across Bai Liu’s face.
At that moment, the audience discovered that Bai Liu was actually smiling.
His faint smile, the firelight, and the bright green scales reflecting light on the bridge of his nose and beneath the corners of his eyes blended together, giving him a subtle non-human quality. He looked even more like a monster suppressed in the deep sea than the Mermaids burning inside the bubble.
Inside the transparent bubble, the palms of the Mermaids being licked by the flames slapped desperately against the walls, leaving blue-green bloodstains and filthy handprints. Smoke rose and churned inside the sphere, quickly drowning out the increasingly hideous and distorted faces of the Mermaids struggling in pain.
And Bai Liu merely floated quietly in the water, watching those Mermaids who had once attacked him be easily destroyed by the flames. A detached, vague smile played on Bai Liu’s face—a smile that revealed both power and a cruelty more hair-raising than that of a monster.
After Bai Liu used this burning bubble to clear out a wave of Mermaid monsters, he dragged it along and used it as an Underwater Blazing Torch. It could not only defend, but because of the hole in the Underwater Bubble, he could also use that opening to swallow attacking Mermaids and destroy monsters. It was both offensive and defensive.
The Mermaids were treated entirely as fuel by Bai Liu. The rich oil that seeped out after they burned made the fire even fiercer than burning alcohol. As the fireball swallowed more and more Mermaids on the seabed, its light grew brighter and brighter.
Moreover, the aroma of roasted meat drifting out after the Mermaids burned caused those instinct-driven monsters to squeeze into Bai Liu’s bubble one after another, uncontrollably wanting to feed. This almost created a bizarre sight—
Bai Liu stood calmly to the side, watching the Mermaid monsters line up to commit suicide by squeezing into the Underwater Bubble in front of him, while he rested at his leisure.
The audience in front of the screen was completely stunned. Many people had their mouths wide open, not knowing how to evaluate this method of breaking the situation that could almost be called a bug.
Even someone like Mu Shicheng, who was used to great storms, could not help letting out a long breath. He felt somewhat depressed and pulled down his hat to cover his face. “Bai Liu, this is too much. This makes me look so stupid when I cleared the game—getting fleeced and running all over the place.”
“I’m convinced. Completely convinced.” Wang Shun marveled repeatedly.
“Flame-type items have strong killing power against Mermaids, but they can’t be used on the seabed because there are no conditions for combustion. It’s like how Mu Ke’s Blazing Torch couldn’t be used on the seabed earlier. But when paired with an Underwater Bubble, these items can be used.”
“But the prerequisite is that the person cannot stay inside the Underwater Bubble, and the Underwater Bubble must have a hole broken in it. That way, the bubble’s shield function against the outside schools of fish is gone.”
“This kind of action is equivalent to scrapping the item and only retaining the bubble’s internal shield function. Once the Mermaids enter, they can’t easily get out. Turning a defensive item into an offensive one to trap and burn monsters... what a bold modification of an item.”
Mu Shicheng nodded. “Bai Liu’s previous actions must have been to lure the Mermaids into attacking his bubble. He needed a hole to let those Mermaids squeeze in.”
“How did he think of it?” Wang Shun sighed in admiration. “I feel like compared to Bai Liu, I’ve been playing games without ever using my brain.”
“I don’t think it’s about using his brain. This method itself is actually easy to think of.” Mu Shicheng shook his head. “Bai Liu’s truly impressive point is his psychological quality.”
“The Underwater Bubble item in Bai Liu’s hand was brand new. He could have completely hidden inside it to clear the game. Although there was indeed a chance the Underwater Bubble would be broken by the Mermaids, the risk was lower and it provided a psychological sense of safety.”
“But to completely abandon a relatively safe environment, break the Bubble Shield protecting himself, and calmly use himself as bait to trap the Mermaids, counter-killing all of them through that broken Shield Hole and burning to death all the monsters that threatened him... this way of clearing out all the monsters without caring about his own survival is truly...”
“Extreme and crazy,” Mu Shicheng concluded.
The ordinary viewers who had been so excited just now, telling Bai Liu to hurry up and dive into the bubble, were now extremely embarrassed.
“Heavens, Bai Liu bought the alcohol so early to prepare for the later clearance... Earlier, there were people mocking Bai Liu for buying too much alcohol, saying he was an idiot. Now I see that person was the real idiot. Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about myself.”
“I counted. Nine bottles are just about right. And Bai Liu bought the alcohol when it was cheapest; he didn’t spend a single extra point. I’m convinced. What kind of brain can plan everything so perfectly and seamlessly...”
“...Bai Liu has cleared all the monsters on the Siren Town map, right? This is the first time I’ve seen someone clear every monster on a map...”
The group of players who had been mocking Bai Liu in the corner earlier looked even darker. Many among them had laughed at Bai Liu for buying too much alcohol for no reason. Now, Bai Liu’s use of the “extra” alcohol was so brilliant that it highlighted how shortsighted those mockers had been. This group of people had actually gone quiet now, shrinking into the corner and not daring to say another word of crap.
On the small TV, Bai Liu was dragging an entire Mermaid ball burning in flames with his left hand. Aside from a few stray Mermaids that had not approached, he had indeed almost cleared out the Mermaid monsters on the seabed.
But at that moment, the eyelids of the Siren King, whom Bai Liu had been holding with his right hand, suddenly twitched. His tail flicked gently. Bai Liu’s head throbbed violently as he held the Siren King. Blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth and quickly drifted away in the water.
[System Warning: Player Bai Liu is affected by the awakening of the Siren King. Current mental value: 21. It has dropped below the second mental value safety line of 40. The player is about to see massive hallucinations.]
Bai Liu only felt a buzzing in his head. If his mental value at 41 had felt like drinking fake liquor, then this sudden drop to 21 felt similar to what people online described after eating poisonous mushrooms. Everything before his eyes became colorful, like fragments of a kaleidoscope.
All sorts of strange and bizarre sounds overlapped chaotically in his ears, stuffing themselves into Bai Liu’s head. He felt like he was in an underground disco from the seventies or eighties. His head throbbed painfully, and his limbs no longer seemed to belong to him, slipping out of his control.
Countless shifting halos of color diffracted across his retinas. Human faces crawled out from within the halos. Among them were the Mermaid monsters, as well as various people and things Bai Liu had encountered in the real world. Bai Liu even saw his company’s CEO, along with Jeff’s and Andre’s faces, growing on those Mermaid corpses. They laughed eerily and pounced toward Bai Liu.
In the next instant, those Mermaid monsters vanished again. Bai Liu saw the Siren King in his arms slowly open his eyes and glance at him. In the following second, the Siren King turned into Lucy’s pale, charmingly smiling face. Lucy held Bai Liu’s hand and leaned into his arms, smiling softly as she said to Bai Liu, “I love you.” Yet Lucy’s hand plunged into Bai Liu’s chest.
Blood slowly dripped from Bai Liu’s chest and diffused into the water. Lucy dug out Bai Liu’s heart and swallowed it in large gulps. Blood and scraps of flesh slid from her happy mouth. She leaned in to kiss Bai Liu’s cheek. At the moment she was about to kiss him—
She turned into a rotted-faced Mermaid monster with its huge mouth wide open, biting down on Bai Liu’s shoulder. The sharp pain in his shoulder blade made Bai Liu’s overly groggy mind clear slightly.
This one seems to be real, Bai Liu thought indifferently.
Wang Shun saw Bai Liu’s pupils lose focus and his limbs lose strength as he floated in the seawater. His heart sank. His expression darkened. “Bad! Bai Liu has entered the massive hallucination stage!”
Soon, a Mermaid bit Bai Liu’s shoulder. Bai Liu showed no reaction, only twitching his shoulder slightly. This confirmed Wang Shun’s judgment.
Wang Shun grew anxious and no longer cared that Bai Liu could not hear him. He shouted at the small TV, “Buy an item to restore your mental value! Bai Liu! Restore your mental value!”
“No.” Mu Shicheng shook his head and interrupted Wang Shun. “It can’t be restored. If his mental value is restored above sixty, Bai Liu’s Mermaid alienation state will be directly lifted.”
“He’s still in the deep sea. If the Mermaid alienation state is lifted, Bai Liu will turn back into a Normal Human. He’ll drown immediately. Moreover, in this kind of deep sea, Bai Liu is more likely to be crushed into pieces of meat by the difference between internal and external pressure.”
Wang Shun looked at Bai Liu, who was floating motionlessly in the sea, truly anxious now. “Then what do we do?! If he doesn’t restore his mental value, his mental value will keep dropping as he gets attacked by Mermaids. If it drops to 0, he’ll completely become a monster!”
Mu Shicheng took a deep breath. “We can only rely on... Bai Liu himself. He has to maintain clarity under these high-intensity hallucinations.”
Bai Liu could not distinguish between hallucinations and reality. But he was not as motionless and unresponsive as Wang Shun thought. Bai Liu simply could not tell direction, but he knew the place he needed to reach was the seabed. So he adopted the stupidest and simplest method: relaxing his body and letting himself sink.
He was now a fish, not a human. After letting go of the Underwater Bubble, he still held the Siren King in his other hand. Theoretically, as long as he did not move, he could sink smoothly.
As for being attacked by those Mermaids during the sinking process—
Bai Liu closed his eyes and completely stretched out his body. The coin inside his white shirt strangely floated up from his collarbone, showing that it was not a real coin. Mermaids swam around the sinking Bai Liu, gnawing at him.
