Chapter 13: The small town of Siren

The keeper remained in the doorway, watching silently as Bai Liu and the driver left. Behind them, in the dim light, the wax figures in the museum seemed to stir. Their marble faces, expressionless and frozen, poked out from the shadows like fish emerging from the deep sea.

[Main Quest: Explore Siren Wax Museum - Completed. 50 bonus points awarded.]

[Current point balance: 81. Do you wish to purchase items?]

Bai Liu stroked his chin thoughtfully. [Is there a high concentration of alcohol available?]

[Open shop - 218 types of special alcohol are available. 18 can be purchased in this copy.]

[What's the cheapest option?]

[9 points for 25L of alcohol. Reminder: Alcohol in the game is not the same as real alcohol; after system modification, its effects may vary. We advise players to read the instructions carefully before purchasing.]

[System Suggestion: Detected that player has sufficient points. We recommend purchasing the Flaming Torch prop for better efficacy and safety.]

Bai Liu, considering his options, decided to take a look at the instructions for the alcohol first. As expected, they were long and tedious—full of dense text designed to overwhelm the reader. But Bai Liu had seen this before. As a savvy consumer in a world of e-commerce, he knew that the cheaper items often came with more convoluted instructions to discourage players from buying them.

Despite the complicated read, Bai Liu was accustomed to parsing through such details. He finally noticed the price adjustments for items he had previously considered.

[Flaming Torch price lowered to 17 points.]

[3D Projector "Siren Small Town" price back to original at 6 points each.]

The price changes intrigued Bai Liu. These adjustments suggested that the player market had influenced the system's pricing, likely due to the amount of demand for these props. He read through the descriptions of the available alcohols and, without hesitation, chose the cheapest one.

[Bai Liu purchases 9 bottles of high-strength alcohol. Welcome to your next adventure.]

Meanwhile, on the central screen, Wang Shun gasped in disbelief as he watched Bai Liu's actions.

"What's this newbie doing?" Wang Shun slapped his thigh in frustration. "Is he really going to use alcohol to burn the wax figures? Wax figures are photophobic, but they're not afraid of fire! If he burns them, the monsters inside will emerge! And why would he spend all his points on this?!"

Around him, whispers of confusion spread among the watching players.

"Is this guy really buying all that alcohol? No one's ever bought it before. Is he some kind of alcoholic?"

"What a fool. The mermaid wax figures aren't afraid of fire, but they are sensitive to light. Someone made this mistake before, using a torch and getting wiped out when the light faded."

"It's over. I thought he might be a big deal, but it looks like it's just luck. This newbie's going down."

"Why does he even have a spot on the central screen? Before, it was God Mu and that whole legendary group—now we're stuck with this guy."

[0 new likes for Bai Liu's TV. 2 new dislikes. 166 people stomped on Bai Liu's feed.]

[1,447 new viewers tuned into Bai Liu's mini-TV, most of them stomped on his feed. Player Bai Liu has been awarded the title of "Not Worthy of the Name." People are eager for his demise.]

[Player Bai Liu's center-screen edge promotion expires.]

As Bai Liu's feed flickered and his spot on the edge of the central screen disappeared, Wang Shun adjusted his glasses. He knew that Bai Liu had triggered the godly wandering NPC, and the situation was dire. But, unable to resist the allure of rare information, Wang Shun made his way to the Death Comedy section, where Bai Liu's impending failure would surely entertain the crowd.

...

In-game.

Night had fallen, and the van rumbled through the darkened streets, lit only by the flickering streetlights. Fishermen, carrying their nets and machetes, eyed the van with a strange, almost vacant expression as it passed by.

These were the fishermen who would participate in the mermaid fishery tonight.

The dim, uneven streetlights cast eerie shadows on their faces, revealing marble-like green and black veins that intertwined across their skin. Mucus dripped from their faces, giving them an even more grotesque appearance. The townspeople looked even more ghastly in the dark, their eyes glowing a dull green as they moved.

The driver, still munching on a sandwich, gave a warning. "These townsfolk are dangerous. They haven't had an income in a long time. Stick to your designated boat for the mermaid fishing later. Don't engage with them. You look like outsiders, and you'll be easy targets for robbery."

The driver took a big bite of his sandwich as he spoke.

Bai Liu, in the back of the van, could barely suppress the urge to vomit as the putrid smell of the fishy sandwich filled the air. The others, however, seemed unfazed. Andre, eagerly watching the driver eat, swallowed nervously, his discomfort evident as he fiddled with his ear.

Lucy couldn't help herself. "This sandwich smells so good," she said with an excited tone.

Andre shot a glare at her, clearly irritated. "What did we have for dinner? I'm starving!" he grumbled, casting a disparaging look at Bai Liu in the rearview mirror.

Earlier, during their stop at the Wax Museum, Bai Liu had ordered the cheapest vegetarian meal, refusing to touch any fish. His choice had angered Andre, who, along with Lucy, had been shocked at Bai Liu's refusal to eat fish. Despite ordering the least expensive meal, Bai Liu had paid for the entire group, insisting that they all accompany him. This had caused some tension.

Andre had cursed under his breath, frustrated by the situation. "Don't come out here playing big-boy games if you can't afford it! Go home and drink your vegan milk!" he had snapped.

Bai Liu, unfazed, had simply smiled. "In that case, Andre, you can order your own meat," he had replied calmly. He'd taken away Andre's meal, but given the exorbitant prices at the wax museum, Andre couldn't afford any other meal. Bai Liu had refused to hand it over unless Andre paid for it himself.

Andre had been forced to swallow his pride, unwilling to anger Bai Liu further—after all, Bai Liu had also paid for his hotel room. Andre didn't want to risk sleeping rough in a town like this.

However, Jeff, not caring about the others, had been the one to snatch Andre's meal and, when Andre protested, had been punched in the stomach. He had cowered in the corner, silently clutching his stomach in pain.

Now, as the pungent scent of the sandwich wafted through the van, Jeff's longing was palpable. His throat worked with suppressed desire, his gaze lingering on Andre, and his eyes burned with a hunger that seemed almost unnatural.

[Jeff's Bloody Plot - 30% Progress on Branch]

Bai Liu, keenly aware of the rising tension, shot a brief glance at Jeff, who kept his head lowered in shame. Andre, on the edge of irritation from both hunger and the food's aroma, couldn't help but snap, his anger flaring.

Bai Liu noticed something odd—Andre's skin, where he had been scratching behind his ear, suddenly twisted and contorted. The area seemed to breathe, folding in on itself like gills flaring open for a moment before quickly closing. The skin, slightly inflated, puffed out as though alive.

Bai Liu, intrigued, glanced at the display panel.

[NPC Name: Andre (High Alienation)]

Coming out of the Wax Museum, Andre's alienation has increased...

Bai Liu raised an eyebrow. "Andre, did you touch the mermaid wax figures in the museum?"

"So what if I touched them?" Andre growled, his voice dripping with malice. "Bai Liu, tonight we'll see who's going home to drink milk!"

In that moment, Andre's gills flared open once more, the fin-like protrusions visible behind his ears, shaking violently in the dim light of the van.

The driver, noticing the tension, barked a warning. "Hey, boys! No fighting in my car!"

Andre reluctantly retracted his gills but glared at Bai Liu, still seething with anger.

The driver, almost amused, chuckled to himself. "I've set up a place for your bet, like you asked—remote beach, two wooden boats. Take care of yourselves out there. I'm not responsible if you drown."

After a brief pause, the driver's voice dropped, almost darkly, "But with how long you've been here, you shouldn't drown. You should all know how to swim by now."

Bai Liu's face remained calm, though internally, he was tense. He couldn't swim.

The inhabitants of this town had all transformed into these fish-like creatures, and his group, after only being here for a short while, was already beginning to exhibit some strange traits—an unusual craving for fish meat and the subtle but pervasive fishy odor emanating from them. Bai Liu, however, had resisted the pull of the transformation. He hadn't eaten the bizarre fish meat nor gotten close to the mermaid wax figures at night.

Bai Liu couldn't help but speculate that these two things—eating the fish meat and interacting with the wax figures—were causing the others to evolve into something fish-like. But for him, the transformation seemed to have bypassed him. He would be more vulnerable in the coming challenges, especially with the impending bet on the remote beach. His danger had only increased.

And with Andre's strange transformation, Bai Liu was left to wonder: what if Andre, or any of the others, had already turned into monsters? Would they sabotage him during the upcoming challenge?