Chapter 12: The small town of Siren

Bai Liu now understood why the driver had described the first salvaged mermaid as "beautiful and high."

The wax figures of mermaids scattered throughout Siren Town were crude and lifeless in comparison—cheap tourist souvenirs of shoddy craftsmanship. The skeleton displayed before him, however, was intricate, elaborate, and hauntingly elegant.

Drawn in by its allure, Bai Liu, with his inherent fondness for expensive-looking things, stepped closer to examine the profile plaque next to the skeleton.

[Siren, discovered in Siren Town on the night of XX during a collective fishing activity. Verified by relevant institutions to have grown under purely natural conditions without any synthetic factors. Categorized as a rare organism.]

[Recovered in a carcass state. Preserved in a curing solution and displayed in the central gallery of the Siren Wax Museum for public viewing.]

Bai Liu's sharp eyes traced the skeletal structure as he finished reading.

This isn't just rare. This is a powerful monster, he mused.

But as his gaze lingered on the mermaid's right hand encased within the display cabinet, something shifted—so faint it could have been his imagination. The skeletal fingers twitched, almost imperceptibly.

The coin on Bai Liu's chest abruptly erupted in violent vibrations, spinning wildly as if possessed. Panels of bright red text popped up in rapid succession, cascading over his field of vision like a malfunctioning system.

[Siren Small Town Monster Book Refresh: Siren King (2/4)]

[Monster Name: Siren King]

[Weaknesses: None currently available (Players are not required to explore the monster's weaknesses at this stage)]

[Mode of Attack: ????? (Unknown, further exploration needed)]

[WARNING! You have triggered the wandering god-tier NPC, Siren King.]

[The survival rate for this game instance is dropping rapidly. Recalculating...]

[Original pass rate: 51%. Current pass rate: ??%.]

[CRITICAL WARNING: This NPC is extremely dangerous. No known weaknesses exist. If the Siren King initiates an attack, escape is impossible, and death is inevitable. Players must accelerate game progress to escape Siren Town before the NPC awakens.]

[Estimated time until full awakening: One day.]

Bai Liu raised an eyebrow as he calmly read through the barrage of warnings.

Something extraordinary, indeed.

While Bai Liu remained unfazed, considering his next move, the scene unfolding on his "Little TV" in the central gaming lobby sent shockwaves through the crowd.

Wang Shun, a veteran cloud player who had spent years analyzing and watching gameplay, was crouched in front of the massive screen in disbelief. His usually composed expression was replaced by a slack-jawed stare as he fixated on Bai Liu's broadcast.

"Wait... am I seeing this right? Is that a god-tier wandering NPC?!"

Cloud players—spectators who preferred watching gameplay over participating—had one clear advantage: their vast database of knowledge. Wang Shun's expertise was in cataloging gameplay information for guilds and player organizations.

But in all his years, he'd never seen a god-tier wandering NPC appear on a Little TV.

Horror games within the system were countless and isolated, each operating like a standalone world. Players entered self-contained instances with unique NPCs, rules, and monsters. Cross-instance interference was unheard of—until wandering NPCs emerged.

These bizarre entities transcended the boundaries of individual games, capable of appearing in any instance without warning. Worse, they could possess monsters within the game, transforming them into god-tier threats. Their sheer power was unmatched, leaving destruction and wiped-out teams in their wake.

The odds of encountering such an NPC were astronomically low. In fact, Wang Shun had only heard rumors of them. The few confirmed sightings were so brief—most players didn't survive long enough to relay detailed information—that these wandering gods remained shrouded in mystery.

But now, Wang Shun was witnessing it live.

"This is... top-tier information," Wang Shun muttered, his voice trembling with excitement. If he could document the Siren King's behavior, it would be worth a fortune in points.

He planted himself firmly in front of Bai Liu's screen, ignoring everything else in the lobby. It was rare enough to see a god-tier wandering NPC in action, but what truly amazed him was Bai Liu's composure.

The broadcast itself was pushed to the far corner of the central screen—an obscure position typically reserved for novice players or unremarkable gameplay. Wang Shun had only noticed it because of his habit of scanning the entire display.

"Why is this buried in the margins? The algorithm must be glitching," he muttered.

Leaning closer, he observed Bai Liu's movements carefully. "This player... he's calm. Too calm. He's already unlocked the second page of the monster book and even triggered a god-tier wandering NPC without panicking. And he's still progressing in the game?"

Curious, Wang Shun opened the game manager to check Bai Liu's profile. The data loaded quickly, and as he read through it, his jaw dropped even further.

"...This guy is a newbie?!"

Wang Shun leaned back, stunned. "This is his first time playing?!"

For a moment, Wang Shun just stared at the screen in silence, his mind reeling.

Who is this player?

------

[Game Forum - Has anyone seen the new player on the central screen who just moved up from the newbie section?]

1L: Moved up in his first game? That's impressive! Is he going to be the new star of this year's rankings?

2L: No way. This guy is in serious trouble. I'm watching his "Little TV" feed right now, and he's unlucky enough to have triggered a godly wandering NPC. This is probably his last game.

3L: He was doing well in the newbie section before, but now... well, he's still good, but it's not necessarily a death sentence, right?

4L: Does no one else think this wandering NPC thing is a bug? It has no weaknesses, and whenever it appears, the player team is basically wiped out because they can't escape. I think the system just gave this wandering NPC a fancy name to cover up a bug they couldn't fix...

5L: I was rooting for him earlier. I thought he might break the record for the highest points in Siren Town. His strategy seemed really solid.

6L: The highest points record in Siren Town is held by God Mu, right? God Mu's now ranked fourth on the Nightmare Rising Stars list. This newbie's probably not even going to survive this game, so forget about crossing that line.

7L: It's a shame. The newcomer has a good look, though. If he survives, he might have a chance to hit the top ten high-value players.

8L: Pfft, this guy's face won't get him far. The top ten high-value players look at skill first, then appearance. He's done for in this game...

------

[1 new person liked Bai Liu's TV feed, 416 new people liked Bai Liu's feed, no one recharged the player].

[512 new people are watching Bai Liu's mini-TV feed, but no one is liking it. Is it because he's not doing well? Come on, watchers, give him a like!]

[The number of new likes is too low, and Bai Liu's central screen edge promotion is about to expire.]

Unaware of the discussions surrounding him, Bai Liu stood in front of the mermaid in the glass cabinet, silent and contemplative. The mermaid, with its skeletal form and haunting beauty, was undoubtedly the highest-level boss in the game. The system had made it clear that there was no escape from this boss by exploiting its weaknesses.

[Warning: Siren King NPC triggered. Upon awakening, certain death.]

Bai Liu frowned. He disliked the feeling of being completely out of control, but he couldn't deny the game's warning. There was no way around it.

But until the Siren King fully awakened, Bai Liu had a chance to outwit it.

He stroked his chin, mulling over his next move. Could he somehow use the Siren King to his advantage?

The thought might have seemed foolish to onlookers, but Bai Liu wasn't intimidated by the idea of facing a higher-level monster. In his mind, there was always a way to deal with any boss, no matter how tough they seemed. A monster might have a scary-looking panel, but as long as the game didn't have any bugs, it could always be overcome.

After all, if the system made a monster seem invincible, it was probably part of the designer's strategy to hook the player, to make them want to explore further.

What Bai Liu didn't know was that he had encountered something far beyond a typical game challenge. The [God-Class Wandering NPC] was an anomaly—commonly considered a bug within the game. It was not a challenge players were supposed to face, and it was nearly impossible to survive when triggered.

As evening approached, Bai Liu and the driver prepared to leave the wax museum. The keeper, his voice faint and weathered, waved them off with an eerie, almost gleeful smile.

"It's been a long time since we had such a big mermaid catch. The Siren Wax Museum will finally be able to welcome new wax figures tonight..."

He rolled his eyeless gaze toward Bai Liu, a strange satisfaction in his expression. "Have a pleasant evening."