chapter 30
"Very well." The Siren King closed his eyes and, without hesitation, pressed his lips to Bai Liu's.
For a moment, Bai Liu was utterly taken aback. He had only meant it as a jest, the sort of mischief players indulge in when teasing the final boss at the end of a game. He never expected the ultimate boss to respond so earnestly. The Siren King's lips were soft and cold, carrying a faint, elusive scent of wild grass—an ephemeral touch, and then they parted.
Bracing himself above Bai Liu, the Siren King's expression was tinged with subtle bewilderment. "You are warm."
"Of course," Bai Liu replied with a wry smile. "I'm a warm-blooded creature. Until next time, Tavir."
Bai Liu gently embraced the Siren King, patting his back as one might comfort a child, treating this final boss with a rare tenderness.
He always felt a certain affection for the final bosses of games—so difficult to design, inevitably the product of the creator's greatest devotion. Seldom had he encountered a guardian as exquisitely crafted and elegant as the Siren King.
From the depths of his heart, he sighed, "Tavir, I truly admire your design."
But before Bai Liu could finish, as the Siren King hesitated, perhaps about to return the embrace, Bai Liu's body dissolved into a flurry of luminous motes at the ocean's darkest depth. The light spilled from the Siren King's fingertips, drifting upward like fireflies, rising through the blackness to the sunlit, golden surface above.
The Siren King gazed upward at those vanishing points of light for a long, long time, before folding his hands and lying down upon the seabed, closing his eyes and sinking once more into slumber. In a whisper, he said, "Until we meet again, Bai Liu."
[System: Congratulations, Player Bai Liu, for returning the Siren King to the sea. 'Siren Town' cleared.]
[System: Player has achieved the 'true end' of 'Siren Town'—'Return to the Tranquil Old Town'.]
[…As the mermaid, once dredged from the deep, is returned to its home, the townsfolk of Siren Town gradually regain their senses. The statues are destroyed, the restless ghosts sink to sleep beneath the waves. Until the day they rise again, the waters where the Siren King once lay become forbidden, a place none dare tread. No one knows that beneath those waves slumbers a taboo that can rouse the dead. Perhaps, one day, greedy mortals will disturb it again—but not today. Hush, let us tread softly, lest we wake the sleeping Siren King and the ghosts who cannot rest…]
[System: Player Bai Liu—'Siren Town Monster Manual—Siren King' page completed.]
['Siren Town Monster Manual' updated—Siren King (2/4)]
[Monster Name: Siren King]
[Weakness: None (players are not required to discover this monster's weakness)]
[Attack: Tail Strike (1/???). (Note: As the upper limit of attack types cannot be determined, recording one is considered completion.)]
[System: Congratulations, Player, for completing the entire 'Siren Town Monster Manual'!]
For several minutes, silence reigned before Bai Liu's small television. Heads were bowed, the only sound the steady cascade of likes and donations. At last, someone could no longer hold back and broke into loud, tearful sobs:
"First place! Bai Liu is now number one in 'Siren Town'! We've liked and donated him to the top! He's broken Shepherd God's record!"
"I'm losing my mind! He actually won! He faced off with a god-tier NPC and won! The rookie I picked is incredible!"
"Damn, that final 0.1 sanity—if I could, I'd write 'awesome' on the ground with my nose for him! Unbelievable!"
"They said his stats were undetectable, but he survived a god-tier NPC. Bai Liu's potential must have reached S-rank!"
"I feel like I've witnessed history. My god, Bai Liu is the second entity in this game whose data the system can't directly measure and must report up—apart from the god-tier NPCs!"
Many spectators wept and laughed, embracing in celebration. Even Wang Shun and Mu Sicheng exchanged a high-five and a knowing smile, while the ever-complaining guild players looked utterly ashen.
Still, they muttered sourly:
"Tch, it's just a solo game. So what if he cleared it?"
"Let's go watch the main screen in the central hall. He's just a rookie, getting cocky after clearing his first game. He should learn some humility."
Hearing this, Mu Sicheng's eyes narrowed. He slowly pulled his hat back over his head, the red light in his eyes flickering darkly, while the monkey atop his hat bared its teeth in a bloodthirsty grin.
Normally, Mu Sicheng would never offend others for a rookie's sake, but after such a thrilling performance, these words left him deeply displeased.
He turned, lazily eyeing the loudmouthed spectators, about to approach and confirm their identities—so he could kill them in-game.
Wang Shun, quick to catch on, stopped him. "They're all from the King's Guild."
"Oh, the King's Guild?" Mu Sicheng sneered. "That guild is full of arrogant, useless idiots."
"Ahem." Wang Shun coughed awkwardly, muttering, "Shepherd God, I'm in the King's Guild too."
Mu Sicheng: "…"
"Shepherd God, we do have a lot of idiots, but I advise you not to cross them. Insulting is fine, but don't kill them. Our guild leader is…"
Mu Sicheng clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I know, the King's Guild leader is Queen—the Red Queen, ranked second on the leaderboard. She's ruthless and fiercely protective. Best not to provoke her people."
"But hearing Bai Liu judged by these nobodies—" Mu Sicheng bit down on his lollipop, eyes dark. "It reminds me of when I was a rookie."
Wang Shun sighed. It was always hard for newcomers, especially lone wolves like Mu Sicheng who refused to join any major guilds and were inevitably ostracized.
Most players formed guilds to help each other, greatly reducing the risk of death. The largest was the King's Guild, founded by Queen, the second-ranked player. The guild had mechanisms to recruit and nurture talented newcomers, pairing them with veterans for dungeons. Wang Shun knew Mu Sicheng had once been courted by the King's Guild, but after refusing, he'd been subtly targeted ever since.
Lower-tier guild members often resented talented newcomers, knowing that if they rose, they'd be quickly recruited, given resources, and leave the rest behind. Jealousy was inevitable, and some would even band together to suppress promising new players.
Just like those earlier. Wang Shun noticed that whether they were criticizing Bai Liu or praising Mu Ke, these people only ever downvoted.
Seeing the excitement of Bai Liu's supporters, these sour players grumbled:
"He's still nothing compared to the real pros in the core slots. What's all the fuss? Haven't you seen someone clear a game before? Ridiculous."
[System: Bai Liu entering final small television evaluation—]
[24,000 people have liked Bai Liu's stream, 26,700 have bookmarked it, 7,190 have donated, and Bai Liu has earned 10,200 points.]
[In one minute, Bai Liu received 20,000 likes and 6,000 points in donations! Your fame is soaring! The audience is wild for you!]
[Congratulations, Player Bai Liu, on earning the final promotion slot and entering the core homepage of the central screen. Your view count is skyrocketing…]
Wang Shun held his breath, stunned. "Core? The core promotion slot? Bai Liu made it to the core slot? Seriously? My god!"
"Even I struggled to get that slot." Mu Sicheng looked at Bai Liu's stream and the celebrating crowd, half amused, half envious. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have donated so much to him, tsk."
He shot a smug glance at the guild players, drawling, "Wow, only the core slot, huh?"
The word "core" dripped with mockery.
The King's Guild members hadn't left yet, and seeing Bai Liu promoted to the core slot, their disbelief was even greater than the rest.
A few rushed to the screen, voices cracking. "System, are you sure? Bai Liu got the core slot?! How?! That's for the top players! How could a rookie get in?!"
The system replied flatly: [Player Bai Liu's overall game data ranks in the site's top 500, qualifying for promotion.]
"Top 500?! On his first game?! Impossible!"
The system was unmoved: [Bai Liu's stream is currently ranked 497th among all players in the same period.]
The King's Guild members slumped to the floor, Bai Liu's strength beyond their imagination. The system did not lie.
A rookie, first game, core slot, top 500…
They could already foresee the guilds scrambling to recruit Bai Liu, and if he joined the King's Guild, he'd be their superior, free to do as he pleased…
The rest of the audience ignored the shell-shocked guild members, hurrying to the central core screen to witness Bai Liu's moment of glory.
——————
Central Hall, central screen, core promotion area.
The décor here was far grander than the periphery—gilded halls, gold-framed screens, posters of famous players. The audience spoke in hushed, polite tones.
Mu Sicheng glanced up and immediately spotted Bai Liu's stream on the far wall.
Bai Liu stood out—on the core promotion screen, his was the only free stream. All the others, as the King's Guild had said, belonged to top players, and their streams required payment to enter the viewing area.
Without paying, one could only watch system-selected highlights outside the viewing area.
Bai Liu's stream, surrounded by paywalled broadcasts, seemed almost out of place—free, and thus oddly cheap by contrast. As a result, his audience was sparse.
Most who came to the core hall were there for the paid streams, and regarded sudden upstarts like Bai Liu as fleeting novelties.
And indeed, most who rose suddenly soon fell. So few paid him any mind.
But soon, the constant chime of system notifications from Bai Liu's stream began to draw glances—so incessant, it was impossible to ignore.
[System: Player Bai Liu's reward summary]
['Siren Town' true end clear—600 points]
['Siren Town Monster Manual—Mermaid Statue' completion—Item: Statue's Shell (Common Quality)]
[Effect: +100 Defense]
['Siren Town Monster Manual—Mermaid' completion—Item: Oceanic Stealth (Common Quality)]
[Effect: +100 Movement Speed]
['Siren Town Monster Manual—Mermaid Sailor' completion—Item: Mermaid's Talisman (Superior Quality)]
[Effect: Grants one-time escape from any danger by entering the talisman. Consumable, shatters after use.]
['Siren Town Monster Manual—Siren King' completion—Item: Siren King's Reverse Scale (Quality Unknown)]
[Effect: Unknown. Symbolizes the Siren King's favor. Recommended for long-term wear.]
['Siren Town Monster Manual' full completion—Item: Siren's Fishbone (Quality Unknown)]
[Effect: The Siren King's own bone, bestowed upon you—a divine relic that can pierce time, space, and all visible or invisible barriers—]
[—Born before truth, perished after the end of lies. Appears to be an offensive item; further effects to be discovered by the player.]
[System: Player Bai Liu's stream summary]
['Siren Town' stream received 49,074 likes, 52,899 bookmarks, 15,069 points in donations, but also 1,238 dislikes. At peak, over 50,000 viewers watched simultaneously.]
[Player Bai Liu's video possesses extraordinary appeal for the audience!]
[Bai Liu's stream data exceeds 100,000. Video rating: Silver Badge, but due to a high dislike-to-like ratio (1:40), downgraded to Bronze Badge. Eligible for VIP archive—Bai Liu's stream has entered the VIP archive.]
[After entering the VIP archive, future viewers must become VIP members and pay 40 points to watch Bai Liu's 'Siren Town' stream. Points are split 50/50 between Bai Liu and the system.]
[Bai Liu has achieved the following—]
[Highest donation points for a rookie video]
[First rookie to reach the core promotion slot]
[Highest score clear in 'Siren Town']
[First to clear among his cohort]
[System: Congratulations, Player Bai Liu. Please note: you must enter another horror game within one week or face fatal penalty. Countdown begins—7 days: 00 hours: 00 minutes.]
[6 days: 23 hours: 59 minutes.]
[Wishing you a pleasant next game, Bai Liu~]