Chapter 14: The small town of Siren

No wonder the side quest [Ship of True Love] had a hundred points — the danger level was far higher than several other quests combined.

Andre, unable to control his appetite, lunged for the driver's sandwich. "Give me a bite!" he demanded.

The driver didn't resist, watching with a strange, almost pitying look as Andre devoured the sandwich. Andre wolfed it down, chewing only a few times before pounding his chest and swallowing in one quick motion.

The driver didn't try to snatch the sandwich back. Instead, he simply observed Andre, who was hunched over and eating with a wild hunger, as though feeding an animal. "Eat, my boy, eat. You're starving, aren't you? Haven't eaten much, have you? Enjoy your dinner."

Bai Liu glanced at the scene and dryly commented, "This is his second dinner tonight. The first was when Andre stole Jeff's meal."

The mention of Jeff's stolen dinner made the man flinch. His face darkened as he lowered his head, but not before the same gill-like pattern appeared around his ears. For a brief moment, Jeff's gills opened in anger, and his teeth elongated, sharp and thin like a shark's.

But the unsettling scene was fleeting. As soon as Bai Liu glanced over again, Jeff had covered his face and avoided looking at anyone, though his eyes, reflecting eerily in the rearview mirror, still rested on Bai Liu.

[Jeff's Bloody Plot - 50% Progress on Branch]

Bai Liu frowned, sensing something had shifted. The quest progress jumped again. How was this task advancing so quickly? It seemed tied to something Jeff had triggered earlier, but what was this new development? Could it be linked to Andre's behavior? Bai Liu couldn't shake the feeling that things were accelerating dangerously.

When the van finally reached the port, Bai Liu couldn't ignore the fact that the driver's trust level was low, which likely meant he was somehow involved in Jeff's bloody plot.

As they disembarked, Bai Liu handed the driver a penny as a tip, in an attempt to gauge the situation. The driver looked at the money in Bai Liu's hand, his expression dark and sullen, before cracking a grim smile. He kissed the tip as if it were a prize, then waved it away carelessly.

"Have a good time," the driver said, his voice laced with a strange satisfaction.

[Jeff's Bloody Plot - 80% Progress on Branch]

Bai Liu, unfazed, noted the driver's greedy eyes fixated on the money in his pocket. "We will," he replied with his usual calm smile, as if nothing were amiss.

The place for the mermaid fishing was a massive ship.

The colossal vessel slowly pulled out of the harbor into the dark night, its deck silent except for the hushed movements of sailors. Some smaller boats, tethered to the larger ship, were filled with the fish-like fishermen.

These fishermen, who had been eyeing Bai Liu's group since boarding, stared at them with emotionless faces as the darkness settled in.

There was a stark contrast between the sailors on board the ship and the fishermen below. Most of the sailors looked human — no strange fish-like patterns on their skin or fishy smell emanating from them. They appeared paler, almost albino, similar to the receptionist at the hotel.

Bai Liu noticed that there weren't many people on board, which puzzled him. Why fish on such a large, seemingly extravagant ship? It seemed wasteful. Furthermore, the boat's draft was unusually deep, suggesting something heavy was on board, hidden beneath the surface.

As he surveyed the surroundings, Bai Liu caught sight of several sailors standing in dark corners, watching him intently. They whispered to one another, their smiles twisted and satisfied, as if sharing some private joke.

The ship sailed deeper into the night.

The sea was eerily calm, with only the light from the ship's searchlight illuminating a small patch of water. Beyond that, darkness seemed to swallow everything whole. The occasional sound of waves passing on either side was the only noise breaking the silence.

The sailors continued their work, distributing tasks methodically, while the fishermen began to lay out their nets, preparing for the night's catch.

The boat sailed further into the abyss of the night, its destination unclear but its atmosphere growing more ominous with each passing moment.

Lucy stood beside Bai Liu, wrapped in her cloak. Her lips, stained with lipstick, were now a deep purple from the cold wind as she huddled next to him for warmth. "Why is it so cold, Bai Liu? I asked the crew, and they said we need to go to the sea where the first mermaid was caught to catch more. They called it [Siren's Gift], a sea with a legendary tale."

Bai Liu turned his head slightly. "Siren's Gift?"

"Yeah," Lucy shivered as she pulled her cloak tighter. "It's freezing. I feel like we're heading into a hell filled with ghosts — the only place that's this cold and windy."

Bai Liu didn't feel the cold, but something nagged at his mind. He reached into his pocket and flicked a coin towards Lucy.

[NPC Name: Lucy (in alienation)]

Bai Liu touched her hand, noticing it was cold and oily, like freshly solidified wax.

Lucy smiled, her face stiff. Despite the attempt to express affection, her expression was frozen, twisted into something unnatural, as if trying to mimic emotion but failing, like a surreal Picasso painting.

Her voice grew dry, edged with an unsettling eagerness. "Your hands are so warm... Can I kiss you?"

Bai Liu gently declined. "I can't." He quickly added an excuse. "There are too many people here."

Lucy wasn't shivering from the cold. Her body temperature was dropping.

Jeff, who had appeared next to Bai Liu without warning, looked out at the sea with an almost reverent gaze. He murmured, "Yes, Siren's Gift. Legend says the sea is a gift from the Siren King, capable of bringing the dead back to life."

Jeff's voice dropped, almost as if lost in the story. "Swimmers who fall into the waters and drown are reborn as mermaids, gifted with the Siren King's power. That's why fishermen can catch them here."

Bai Liu's thoughts flickered. If the Siren King had been fished out and placed in a wax museum, how could these waters still produce mermaids?

And if the Siren King had been caught long ago, why did the waters continue to create mermaids? It seemed less like a blessing and more like a curse, a mythos that had twisted over time.

Bai Liu mentally pieced the story together — the mermaids were no longer a divine gift but a revenge of the dead. Their wax figures were harvested, displayed for tourists, and some even made into food for the townsfolk. The wax figures, however, began to act on their own, and tourists started disappearing one by one...

A sailor approached with an air of authority. "We're entering Siren's Gift waters. Please stay close. We're not responsible for anything that happens if you wander."

The sailor's warning echoed as he turned to leave, heading below deck. Bai Liu noticed all the sailors were heading to the lowest part of the ship, leaving the deck eerily empty.

Bai Liu narrowed his eyes, pretending to follow one sailor discreetly.

The sailors moved with purpose, descending into the lower cabin. Bai Liu observed them as they filed down a wooden ladder, their faces empty of emotion. When they returned, it was accompanied by whispers.

"I... no problem."

"Make sure these are fine."

"A few broke before, but after these four are eaten, there will be new ones to replace them."

The sailors were checking something crucial — something important and heavy in the lower compartment. Bai Liu's suspicions deepened. The weight in the bilge was significant, and the sailors' strange behavior only added to the mystery.

Once the last sailor left, Bai Liu noticed the bilge door had been left unlocked, the lock swaying with the ship's motion, almost inviting him to explore.

He couldn't resist. Bai Liu opened the door and descended a narrow staircase, the creaking wood making each step feel ominous. The darkness of the compartment swallowed the light from his torch, but he pressed forward, determined to find out what was hidden.

As he reached the bottom, Bai Liu's breath caught in his throat.

The entire compartment was filled with wax figures of mermaids — so many that the floor seemed to disappear beneath the sea of white, eerie forms. Each wax figure was arranged with its head tilted back, eyes fixed forward, all staring blankly at Bai Liu as if waiting for something.

The eerie stillness was broken only by the scraping and rustling noises coming from the shadows, places that the light from Bai Liu's torch couldn't reach.

He didn't recoil. Instead, he dropped the torch and reached out to touch one of the figures.

On the other side of a small TV screen, Wang Shun gasped, eyes wide in shock. "!!!!"