Alcohol

Chapter 20: Siren Town

As Liam Watson was about to be attacked, the audience grew frantic, transforming into a group of irate fans yelling at the small TV:

"Wake up! Get up and fight the monsters!"

"Can't you sleep after this is over? Do you really need that one hour of sleep? Didn't your mom teach you not to AFK in games?"

"I've watched so many game videos, but I've never seen anyone throw a game like this. He could've won, but he's deliberately throwing."

Amid the chaos of voices, Liam seemed to stir, his eyes half-open as if waking from a daze. He looked toward the waves splitting the sea, where a fisherman with a fish head emerged, swimming toward his boat.

Liam could see their legs transforming into eel-like tails underwater, slithering and twisting like snakes, speeding toward him. Not far from him, Andrew's boat was covered in bloodstains and pieces of torn flesh, its white, skeletal remains grimly evident.

The skeleton's lower half had started to merge, resembling a fish, while torn strips of clothing hung from the boat's edge, floating eerily on the sea. This group of merfolk was truly vicious creatures.

In this desperate moment, Liam moved slowly, dipping his blanket into the water and pulling it over his boat as if trying to hide, trembling beneath it like a turtle withdrawing into its shell. His slow, reluctant movements only fueled the audience's growing fury.

Liam's actions were almost painfully sluggish like his body was frozen. His once pale fingers now bore veins resembling marble patterns.

He had reached the same state that Lucy had been in earlier—his body temperature dropping drastically, his movements slow and stiff, feeling like he was turning into stone. This is why he couldn't stop trembling.

Liam glanced at the bottles of alcohol in his inventory and gave the command: [Retrieve a bottle of alcohol]

[System prompt: Item retrieved.]

A bottle of alcohol appeared on the boat, causing it to sink slightly under the weight, making the viewers even more anxious. The monsters were closing in on Liam's boat!

Liam pulled a match from his pocket, shaking as he struggled to light it under the wet blanket. His face remained calm as he struck the match and carefully opened a corner of the blanket. He stood up and stepped onto the alcohol barrel. He laboriously poured the alcohol onto the sea.

The audience winced, unable to watch:

"Pouring alcohol into the sea... Did his mental state drop to the point he thought of this?"

"Sure, alcohol can burn on the surface of water for a while, but it's barely enough, and it won't affect the merfolk either. They're not afraid of fire."

He tossed the match onto the alcohol-soaked surface, and a blazing fire erupted immediately. Wrapped in his wet blanket, Liam stared calmly at the approaching merfolk as though he had been waiting for them to come closer for a long time.

A bright fire blazed on the dark, cold sea, and the merfolk swam greedily around the boat, flicking their tails, their eyes fixed on the warmth. Liam sat calmly at the boat's centre, his gaze reflecting the flames and the sea.

His eyes, now tinged by the fire and alcohol, appeared more like those of a siren rising from the depths of the ocean—enchanted and almost hypnotic.

When the ravenous merfolk poked their heads above the water, the flames immediately consumed them. They screeched in agony as their flesh was scorched, rolling over and struggling on the surface.

The burnt fish flesh emitted a strange, appetizing aroma, drawing the remaining merfolk to feast on their charred comrades. The sounds of bones cracking and skin tearing filled the air around the boat.

The pungent smell of blood and fish-filled Liam's nostrils, but he felt a strange, irresistible craving instead of disgust. He licked his lips, though his face remained expressionless.

Surrounded by the feasting merfolk, Liam sat still, his pale face turning a healthy flush from the heat of the fire and alcohol. He glanced at Andrew's empty boat and smiled for some reason.

It was a smile of satisfaction as if he had received a gift, a reward. The expression was eerily similar to those merfolk enjoying their meal, though it sent a chill down anyone's spine.

Liam whispered hoarsely, "Goodnight, Andrew."

[Side Mission—True Love's Boat: Player Liam Watson wins the bet against Andrew, completed. Reward: 100 points.]

[Side Mission—Gerald's Bloody Plot: Progress 90%]

[Main Mission—Participate in the Merfolk Catching Contest: Completed. Reward: 50 points.]

["Siren Town Monster Book" updated—Merfolk (4/4)]

[Monster Name: Merfolk (Larval State)]

[Weakness: Fire, Light, relatively fragile, similar to humans.]

[Attack Method: Bite, Scratch. Does not trigger mutation. Low intelligence. Do not use tools.]

[Merfolk (Larval State) entry complete. Keep up the good work.]

A long list of rewards and achievements popped up, leaving the viewers in front of the small TV stunned.

After a long silence, the viewer who had previously mocked Liam for "throwing the game" could only utter in disbelief: "Damn!"

That single exclamation snapped everyone back to reality, and the crowd erupted into frantic questions:

"What just happened?!"

"Throwing the game? This guy actually won! That move was insane."

"I can't believe it. I'm going to the forum to ask Mason what's going on!"

"Why didn't that alcohol dissolve in water?!"

"I found the alcohol he bought. You guys won't believe this—it's a specially modified alcohol that's insoluble in water. I'm impressed. How did this newbie find it?"

"Did he read every page of the manual?"

"Mason responded! He said merfolk statues and sailors aren't afraid of fire, but merfolk larvae are. So, merfolk without amulets are vulnerable to fire."

"Also, Liam's clever—he figured out that cooked merfolk meat attracts these monsters, so he roasted some larvae, and the merfolk stopped attacking him and went to eat the cooked meat…"

[2300 people liked Liam's small TV.]

[2670 people saved Liam's small TV.]

[499 people charged Liam's small TV. Player Liam Watson gains 499 points.]

[Player Liam Watson's reputation skyrockets as he gets over 2000 likes in one minute! He's now featured in the solo game division's recommended section.]

Bored, Liam rested his chin on his hand, watching the merfolk tear each other apart while keeping a wet blanket draped over himself to avoid the flames.

Once the merfolk finished tearing each other apart, he would pour more alcohol and ignite it again.

Roasted merfolk meat had a much stronger allure for the creatures than Liam, so they didn't attack him. Like a self-service grill chef, Liam calmly continued roasting merfolk for the monsters.

Liam estimated that with four or five more barrels of alcohol, he could make it until dawn—worth just 45 points, barely the equivalent of two underwater bubbles, but he still had five large barrels of alcohol left.

He had bought the alcohol after hearing from the keeper at the Siren Wax Museum that merfolk could be cooked and loved to eat their kind. So, cooking them was effective, and after being roasted, the merfolk were irresistibly drawn to the scent.

Judging by Andrew's hunger for fish fillets, he hadn't eaten as much raw fish as he had that morning.