The museum caretaker stood silently at the doorway, watching them depart. Behind him, the vague outlines of countless wax figures emerged, their marble faces expressionless as they slowly protruded from the darkness, like fish rising from the depths of the sea.
[Main Quest: Explore the Siren Wax Museum—Completed. Points Reward: 50]
[Current Points Balance: 81. Would you like to purchase an item?]
Eighty-one… Bai Liu stroked his chin and inquired: [Is there any high-concentration alcohol available?]
[Shop Opened—Yes, there are 218 varieties of special-grade alcohol, 18 of which are available for purchase in this instance.]
[What's the cheapest?]
[9 points for 25L. Friendly reminder: the alcohol in-game is not the same as real-world alcohol. Modified by the system, its effects may vary. Please read the manual before purchasing.]
[System Suggestion: Sufficient points detected. We recommend purchasing the "Blazing Torch" item in this instance for better and safer results!]
Bai Liu mused: [Read the alcohol item manual.]
Instantly, a barrage of panels popped up, dozens of pages of fine print so tiny it hurt the eyes to read.
Unfazed, Bai Liu opened a page and began to read at his leisure.
This was always how the game's shop worked: the cheaper the item, the longer the manual. By contrast, the hot-selling items in the promotional section had short, enticing descriptions, highlighting their effects and tempting desperate players to buy.
As a perpetually broke wage slave, Bai Liu was all too familiar with the tricks of e-commerce, always hunting for the most practical and affordable deals amid a sea of marketing.
The more cost-effective an item, the more obstacles stood in your way.
One such obstacle was the overwhelming amount of text for cheap items, making it hard to discern their use and nudging players toward other purchases.
As a result, these cheap items were rarely bought, with sales often in the single digits—few had ever read their manuals in detail.
Bai Liu narrowed his eyes, glancing at the menu where "Blazing Torch" and "3D Projector" were marked—[Price Change Detected].
[Blazing Torch: Price reduced to 17 points in "Siren Town"]
[3D Projector: Restored to original price, 6 points each in "Siren Town"]
Both items he'd previously considered had changed in price.
Items like "High-Powered Flashlight" and "Blazing Torch"—common and effective in horror games—were now even more expensive.
But it seemed that after Bai Liu used certain items, their prices shifted, and he knew he was in a live broadcast system…
He surmised that the number of players purchasing these items during his game had affected their prices.
He finished reading all the alcohol manuals and ultimately chose the cheapest option.
Bai Liu was generous: [I'll take them all.]
[9 bottles of high-concentration alcohol have been added to Player Bai Liu's shopping bag. Thank you for your patronage.]
In front of the little TV, Wang Shun slapped his thigh in exasperation. "What is this rookie doing?"
"Is he planning to burn the wax figures with alcohol? They fear light, not fire! If you melt the wax, the monsters inside will escape! Why spend all your points at once—how foolish!"
Other players whispered:
"What's with this rookie? Spent all 81 points on the cheapest alcohol—what is he, an alcoholic? No one ever buys that stuff."
"He's being naive, thinking mermaid wax figures fear fire just because they fear light. Other rookies have made the same mistake—using torches to burn instead of illuminate. When the torchlight dims, they die horribly."
"Forget it, I thought he was something special, but it's just dumb luck…"
"The central screen's standards are dropping. Even rookies like this can get on. The last batch, like Shepherd, were the real deal…"
…
[0 new likes for Bai Liu's little TV, 2 new bookmarks, 166 new dislikes, no one charged points]
[1,447 new viewers are watching Bai Liu's little TV, over half have disliked it. Player Bai Liu has earned the title "Unworthy of Reputation"—your play is truly disappointing, everyone hopes you die soon~]
[Player Bai Liu's central screen edge promotion slot has expired]
[Dislike count rising rapidly—Player Bai Liu has entered the "Death Comedy" screen. Entertain the masses with your ridiculous deaths and gameplay!]
Wang Shun watched as the little screen on the edge of the central area flickered and went dark.
He pushed up his glasses, realizing he hadn't finished collecting data on the god-level roaming NPC, and after a moment's hesitation, rose and headed for the Death Comedy section amid a chorus of regret and ridicule for the rookie.
…
In-game.
Night had fallen.
The driver steered the van through the darkening streets, streetlights flickering to life. Along the roadside, fishermen dragging nets and machetes watched the van pass with vacant, glassy stares.
These were the fishermen participating in tonight's mermaid hunt.
Under the dim streetlights, their faces were crisscrossed with marble-like blue-black veins, and viscous fluids dripped from their bodies.
The townsfolk looked even more terrifying at night, their eyes glowing a ghostly green in the darkness.
The driver warned again, "These townsfolk are dangerous. They haven't had any income in a long time. Just watch the mermaid hunt from the designated boat—don't interact with them. You look like outsiders, easy targets for robbery."
He spoke as he devoured his sandwich, fish fillet crumbs falling from his mouth. Bai Liu caught a whiff of the putrid fish stench that made him want to retch, but no one else in the van seemed to mind. Andre, in fact, kept eyeing the sandwich hungrily, scratching anxiously behind his ear.
Lucy couldn't help but comment, "That sandwich smells delicious."
Andre snapped, "What have we been eating for dinner? I'm starving!" He shot a resentful glare at Bai Liu.
They'd dined at the wax museum, where Bai Liu had ordered the cheapest all-vegetarian meal—no fish at all. Not only did Andre lose his temper, even Lucy was surprised, but Bai Liu was paying, and if he didn't want fish, everyone else had to go along.
Andre cursed, "If you can't afford it, don't play grown-up games. Go home and drink your mother's soy milk!"
Bai Liu only smiled. "If that's the case, Andre, order your own meat."
He canceled Andre's vegetarian meal, but all the museum's set meals were expensive, and Andre couldn't afford them. Bai Liu simply refused to pay.
Andre dared not provoke Bai Liu further—he still needed him to pay for the hotel, and didn't want to sleep on the streets in this town.
Jerf, on the other hand, didn't care, so Andre stole his vegetarian meal and punched him a few times, leaving Jerf curled in the corner, clutching his stomach in silence.
Now, smelling the sandwich, Jerf's Adam's apple bobbed with suppressed hunger, his gaze at Andre nearly blood-red.
[Jerf's Bloody Conspiracy—Side Quest Progress: 30%]
Bai Liu glanced at the downcast Jerf.
Andre, tormented by hunger and the aroma of food, grew increasingly irritable, scratching furiously behind his ear.
Bai Liu noticed the skin behind Andre's ear, raw from scratching, suddenly flexed, revealing several curved folds—like the gills of a fish—opening and closing for a moment before sealing shut.
The skin seemed almost alive, pulsing faintly.
Just like the subtle movement of a fish's gills on land.
Bai Liu scanned Andre with his coin.
[NPC Name: Andre (Undergoing Advanced Mutation)]
Since leaving the wax museum, Andre's mutation had worsened…
Bai Liu raised an eyebrow. "Andre, did you touch the mermaid wax figures in the museum?"
"So what if I did?" Andre snarled, turning. "Bai Liu, tonight we'll see who should go home and drink milk!"
In that instant, Andre's furious growl revealed gills flaring on both sides of his neck in the dim van, the fin-like structures behind his ears trembling violently.
The driver barked, "Hey, boys, no fighting in my van!"
Andre instantly retracted his gills, but his glare remained fixed on Bai Liu.
The driver continued, "As you requested, I've found you a place for your duel—or bet, whatever you call it. Tonight, a secluded beach and two wooden boats. Be careful. If you drown, I'm not responsible."
After a pause, the driver chuckled to himself, "But you've been here long enough—you shouldn't drown… You should all know how to swim by now."
Bai Liu's face darkened. He couldn't swim.
The townsfolk were all becoming more fish-like, and even his companions, after just a day, were changing—craving strange fish meat, exuding a subtle fishy odor…
Fish are born swimmers, of course they won't drown.
Except for Bai Liu.
He was different: he hadn't eaten any of the bizarre fish, nor let any mermaid wax figure near him.
He suspected these were the reasons the others were mutating, while he remained unchanged. But once he boarded the boat for the bet, his danger would double.
Who knew what lurked in the sea, or whether Andre would turn into a monster and capsize his boat?