Tonight is destined to be different from the usual silence.
Two minutes ago, intermittent broadcasts began to be heard in the distance, reminding students that dangerous goods had been piled up behind the campus and asking them not to run around.
Wen Shi took ten seconds to think about the mastermind behind the explosion and came up with three suspects: the principal, Teacher Qi, and Teacher Ruan.
All three of them had motives for committing the crime. The principal wanted to blow up something; Teacher Qi wanted to do it because he cared about his students. Song Yan said that he buried water grass seeds that night, and the scent emitted by the water grass in the lake can affect the human body. This may have been noticed by Teacher Qi; as for Teacher Ruan, the reason was even simpler. He wanted to injure the principal so that he would be completely unable to deal with the mermaids, thus creating a good environment for the merman king to revive.
Mermaids are all masters of tactics. Wen Shi is more inclined to believe that it was Teacher Ruan who did it. Now time is tight, so he can only wait and confirm it later.
·
The explosion behind the campus lake was arranged by Teacher Ruan.
He was always very cautious about important matters and had never told anyone before.
Since the principal discovered that there was something wrong with the lake and often conducted secret investigations at midnight, Teacher Ruan took advantage of the situation and buried explosives nearby in advance. He didn't expect to kill the other party in one go, but at least he could seriously injure him.
"The smell of nitric acid."
A familiar and hateful voice appeared, and a hot breath that was completely different from the night air rushed from behind. Before Teacher Ruan turned around, his waist collapsed and he was pressed down on the table by mental force again.
"After planning the bombing, at least I can cleanse myself of the criminal aura."
"you..."
Yaerlin was a very domineering person and never liked to be interrupted when he spoke. Before Teacher Ruan could utter a word, his throat felt like it was being strangled and he couldn't speak.
Yaerlin heard everything Wen Shi and the others were discussing their mission. He leaned against the wall, his ability to spin nonsense even stronger than Wen Shi's. "I'm here to kindly remind you that the principal has found a way to detect the Mermaid King's true followers. If you want to survive, you'd better throw your loyalty into the mud."
Yarlin shrugged: "As long as you don't believe in the Mermaid King, you won't be felt."
Teacher Ruan was about to refute with an expressionless face, but he heard the other party speak in a calm tone: "I am a jerk, but I don't lie."
A strong and domineering person really gives people the impression that he disdains to lie.
Unfortunately, the reality is completely the opposite. What matches Yarlin's fighting power is not his contempt for conspiracy, but more conspiracies and tricks.
"You left the scene too early and didn't hear the principal say that he would soon use something to catch you all in one fell swoop."
When Wen Shi mentioned that the Mermaid King's heart had been dug out, Yaerlin was right next to him. He hinted that Teacher Ruan and Principal Ruan had been able to find them through the Mermaid King's heart.
It was just a lie with some basis, and Yaerlin didn't expect Teacher Ruan to believe it, but when people betray, they always need an excuse.
It can serve as self-comfort, making the betrayal more complete.
The main purpose of Yarlin's visit tonight was just to help Wen Shi identify the suspect in the explosion case. He guessed that his younger brother would definitely investigate the matter after he came back.
Instead of hearing Teacher Ruan scold him for talking nonsense at the first time, Teacher Ruan fell into deep thought for almost two seconds. Yaerlin couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. This was not like the behavior of a loyal believer.
As a believer, the quickest reaction is to unconditionally protect the master and then start cursing immediately.
Did he actually feel a little shaken? Yarlin subconsciously looked towards the mirror.
Mirror: [Is Wang Ke all right?]
Then he knocked [666] on Yarlin's lie.
Yarlin's expression was a little complicated for a moment.
At least I was sober, and they all forgot that there was another person who was in the play from beginning to end.
Teacher Ruan was pinned down on the table by mental force and couldn't raise his head. He didn't see the small words constantly appearing on the surface of the mirror above him: [Don't worry about me, Wang].
Song Yan's philosophy of life is half about protecting his master, and the other half about devouring true spirits.
The [Philosophical Mirror] he transformed into was a perfect match for the task of making Mr. Ruan question the rules in order to retaliate against the Mermaid King!
Yaerlin, who hadn't heard Wen Shi mention Song Yan for a long time, thought silently that when he left later, he had to remind his younger brother that there was someone here, otherwise he would most likely be left behind.
The cat master recently briefly forgot his most loyal little slave.
Song Yan's transformed body can be continued continuously, and there is no risk as long as he is not discovered, so Wen Shi is not too worried.
The black cat was still reading rapidly under the moonlight, its claws nearly tearing the pages apart. The book on the table detailed the history of mermaids. The principal's collection of books was free of textual contamination, making it much easier for the cat to read. After skipping through a few pages, it paused.
The key points of these pages were all highlighted with a marker. The principal had almost torn the book apart every day, but he didn't notice any clues. He might not be able to match the other party in terms of knowledge and memory.
The cat's pupils reflected the night view outside. After pacing back and forth on the windowsill for a few seconds, Wen Shi turned to observe other parts of the room.
It searched through almost all the drawers, cabinets and other places where things could be hidden. Half of the countdown on the panel had passed, and in the end it only found one rather suspicious item: there was a file bag in the principal's bedside table, which contained a torn medical examination report.
But Wen Shi doesn't have time to fight now.
"We can't just search aimlessly." Black Cat forced himself to calm down.
When doing a test question, the first thing to do is to examine the question carefully. The most urgent thing is to find out how the mermaid king's heart was lost.
It's unlikely that this information is recorded in the book, suggesting it must have been obtained through other sources. The background story of the dungeon mentions that a hundred years later, mermaids have become a terrifying legend. The principal is definitely not over a hundred years old, otherwise the teachers, students, and parents would have noticed something was wrong long ago.
Therefore, the matter of the Mermaid King must be traced back to generations above the principal.
I have to start looking from the principal's grandfather's generation or even older.
The principal lives alone, and there are only traces of his personal life in the house. Wen Shi had previously searched through all the drawers and cabinets, and the only thing that could be related to the principal's relatives and friends was the photo album.
"Family portrait."
It ran to the cabinet and started flipping through the photo album rapidly.
After all, claws are not as useful as hands. However, in the pitch-black building, the light is too conspicuous. Wen Shi needs to rely on the cat's night vision ability and can only maintain the state of transforming his body.
The family portrait was not found, but a man with features somewhat similar to the principal was seen. Behind him was a huge fishing boat with a harpoon flag on the front, and workers were constantly carrying sealed barrels onto it.
The styles of photos from different eras can be seen at a glance. There is a small line of date marks below the photos, which is exactly one hundred years from now.
Referring to the time point mentioned in the background of the story, this ship is very likely related to the demise of the Mermaid King.
Wen Shi noticed the sealed barrel in the photo. If it was used to deal with mermaids, it would contain two things: contaminated liquid or weapons.
I've never heard of a torpedo being able to fit into a barrel, so it's clear what's inside.
One hundred years ago, an elder in the principal's family participated in a plan to eliminate mermaids, using extremely extreme means.
"So the mermaid might not have been this powerful at first," Wen Shi frowned, "it's probably a second round of mutation."
Players in the study room will be infected and mutated due to wounds, which is consistent with the attack characteristics of all NPCs in virus copies. Whether it is a large factory dominated by Meiling Liquid or Sunset Town dominated by Evolution Liquid, players are likely to be infected and mutated in a similar way.
You discovered the secret in the photo album
The system's cold prompt sound rang out.
Just as he was about to put the photo down, Wen Shi suddenly noticed something. The kitten's face moved closer to a rough spot on the sea surface.
There was a turtle paddling against the tide.
If Wen Shi had not been to Sunset Town, he would have simply skipped over this inconspicuous turtle. However, Wen Shi, who had dealt with turtle people several times, could tell at a glance that the limbs exposed under the turtle shell were not right and were more like human limbs.
"Turtle man?"
Wen Shi once speculated whether the True Spirit was inspired by the evolution of mermaids and created an orc kingdom. Now, regardless of whether the two places are connected, at least the Turtle People have been to the Mermaid Coast.
He began to look for books on the bookshelf purposefully, took out the admissions brochure, and made sure that the places the off-campus admissions office passed by did not include Sunset Town.
The turtle man in the photo just appeared inadvertently, and was actually sailing on the sea. There was no sign of any deep contact with the principal's family.
There may be more than one secret in the album.
Wen Shi thought about it and began to examine the album further. The cover was not of uniform thickness. He scratched it lightly with his fingernails and found a letter hidden inside the outer cover.
"Tsk." A human-like expression appeared on the cat's face.
The photo album was covered in dust. If the principal had flipped through it a few more times, he would have found the letter.
The letters were written in several parts, more like diaries at different time periods:-
Young people have been disappearing along the coast lately. While the police were still investigating, I knew it was the mermaids who had reappeared. I remember when I was young, my grandfather often told me that the mermaids and the coastal residents had a long and bloody conflict. After both sides suffered heavy losses, the mermaids returned to the sea.
This is a war about survival. My grandfather participated in that siege. Before the mermaid disappeared, he vowed to kill all the residents on the coast.
Someone has gone missing again, and this time it's my own brother. I've decided to completely eradicate this species at all costs.
The few lines of words were written in a sloppy and forceful manner, and some of the handwriting even scratched the paper, showing the hatred in the writer's heart.
These guys are very cunning, and it is not easy to catch them, because mermaids have a good voice and they are very good at confusing people-
Maybe I can try to poison their throats, but I don't have the skills to make medicine, I have to go to the hospital for a doctor-
The doctor's son was eaten by a mermaid. He hated mermaids very much and said that ordinary medicines were useless and we had to use more extreme methods.
There were more words on the back of the letter, even more scribbled:-
I'm a little regretful. I thought I was very thorough, importing fresh water from outside to provide for residents and developing art as a new source of income. But I didn't expect that pollution would bring more than just death.
There was a mermaid that couldn't be killed, so the victim's family came up with a crazy idea: cook and eat it. But before the plan could be implemented, someone suddenly became crazy and wanted to protect the mermaid, saying it was pitiful, and more and more residents joined in.
Before the armed conflict escalated, I secretly cut the mermaid into four pieces and had someone seal the severed body in four locations within the academy. Just in case, I told my children where the seals were, asking them to keep an eye out for them.
When I cut the mermaid apart, I discovered a horrible scar on its chest.
The last line of writing has blood stains on the edge, and the pen strokes are weak and powerless. The person who wrote it was obviously not in good health at this time:-
May the Lord forgive our sins.
Wen Shi read the entire thing calmly, then sorted out the timeline. The older generation hunted mermaids for revenge, but when it came to the principal, it was clear that he had other motives. That torn-up medical report might have been the beginning of his path of no return.
In order to get a healthy body, the principal dug out the heart of the mermaid king.
But the principal only has half a heart, and the other half is missing.
Coastal residents have to rely on pollution to deal with mermaids. The possibility of other ordinary marine creatures harming the mermaid king and leaving a deep scar on his chest is almost zero.
unless...
He had given himself this scar.
The task only requires guessing who hid the other half of the heart. If it were someone else, they might hesitate, after all, digging out one's own heart is outrageous.
But when Wen Shi thought that the Mermaid King might have had contact with the Turtle Man, he felt it was too normal!
"Fuck." The black cat cursed, not knowing what he was thinking about.
——Don't get close to the Mermaid King, or you will become unlucky.
If you think about it carefully, this doesn't sound like something a tour guide who doesn't believe in fate would say. It's more like the attitude of a turtle person.
Wen Shi reasonably suspected that the turtle man in the photo accidentally encountered the mermaid king when he swam to the sea here.
The turtle man probably chose to take a detour immediately, but just like when he met the tour guide at the train station, perhaps because of its strange appearance, or perhaps because of the same rebellious mentality as the tour guide, the mermaid king forced himself to make contact.
The course of events is unknown, but the outcome is easy to guess. After the Turtle Man returned to Sunset Town, he spread the topic of the Mermaid King's misfortune everywhere.
The final destination of the Sunset Red Tour Group is Sunset Town. The tour guide is such a stingy person that it is impossible for her to come to the Mermaid Coast for a private trip. She probably heard this from the turtle man.
Wen Shi was not 100% sure about the above speculation, but the clues in the letters in the album were enough to prove that the Mermaid King himself had hidden half of his heart.
He decisively gave the answer to the game.
"Are you sure the person hiding it is the Mermaid King?"
"yes."
The mission countdown is paused.
The next second, the game prompt sounded again.
[Side Quest - Lost Heart Completed]
[One hundred years ago, the Mermaid King encountered the Turtle Man. The Turtle Man took a detour and kept muttering about going back to find the brazier, which successfully attracted the Mermaid King's attention.
Faced with this strange-looking creature, the Mermaid King bewitched it with his singing. Knowing that the turtle man was good at fortune-telling, the Mermaid King suddenly had an idea and asked it to calculate whether it was possible to successfully take revenge on humans.
Upon learning of his failure, the Mermaid King was furious and threatened to eat the Turtle Man. Upon regaining consciousness, the Turtle Man immediately offered a solution: "As long as the mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. If he ever finds himself desperate, he can consider severing half his heart to prepare for a comeback."
[Quest Reward: You can trigger the hidden map under the lake by yourself, and have a chance to find half of the heart hidden by the mermaid.]
"…"
If there is a chance in the future, Wen Shi will definitely advise Turtle Man not to make suggestions again.
He suddenly checked the attribute panel. Ji Yuanzhi said that he had a complete path for apostle promotion to high priest, but he wondered if his other people had it.Signed books
Followers: 258
After the news of the punishment for betraying King Asa spread, the number of Wenshi's followers increased instead of decreased.
He opened the detailed list and tried poking it twice. The student from Mingzhu College did not respond after touching his name, but the turtle man at the bottom of the list was able to click further.
[Follower-Turtle Man Promotion Route: National Master]
[I'm no longer in the martial arts world, but my legend is still everywhere. After achieving the Divination achievement in at least three instances across different dimensions, you can transition to the rank of Imperial Master.]
The system likes to use old internet slang to describe NPCs related to Sunset Town. These were all heard by Zhen Ling from his father, but unfortunately there was no chance to further enrich the vocabulary later.
Who says a country can only have one national teacher? Your national teachers may be spread all over the world.
[After being promoted to Imperial Master, you can activate your bloodline talent]
[Click to view details↓]
…
The apostles' promotion routes are kept confidential, so Wen Shi cannot view Ji Yuanzhi's details about them, but it seems to have its benefits.
He began to poke at the "King" column frantically.
Since I am a king, there should be some promotion route for me to conquer the world.
[King: King of Ulthar. All roads lead to Rome. You were born in Rome. No need to advance, please actively develop downlines.]
"…" Don't force a polite cat to swear.