After Bai Liu got off the ship, he had to remain in the museum until evening according to the sailors' customs. It was meant to wash the killing intent from his body. Before leaving, he had to atone for his sins. Lucy and Jeff accompanied him to the museum.
In the early morning, the dim museum felt gloomy and oppressive. A sailor escorted Bai Liu inside, warned him not to leave, instructed the museum keeper to watch him, and then departed.
Lucy moved closer to Bai Liu from behind and whispered, "Why is this museum still so terrifying even during the day?"
Statues loomed overhead, looking down at Bai Liu and the others. Their faces were even more vivid than those Bai Liu had seen the day before. He noticed that the fish tails of two statues had grown shorter. Only the part below the knees remained as fish tails, while their thighs had taken on the shape of normal human legs.
Bai Liu studied the faces of the two short-tailed statues. They bore a subtle resemblance to Lucy and Jeff. A strange smile curved on their lips as they stared directly at Lucy and Jeff behind him.
It was just as Bai Liu had suspected. Lucy and Jeff, who had spent the night here, had been "sacrificed" and were in the process of becoming "amulet statues." Meanwhile, the mermaid was statues that had enjoyed the "sacrifice" were gradually transforming into "Lucy" and "Jeff."
The statues were currently in an intermediate state of transformation—like breaking out of a cocoon into a butterfly. The mermaid statues had not fully "hatched" yet; the transformation would continue as the cocoon split further. This was why Lucy and Jeff still retained a trace of life.
Bai Liu didn't want their transformation to be completed. It wasn't out of some saintly desire to save everyone. It was because once the transformation succeeded, he would have to deal with two more powerful "butterfly" monsters. With this in mind, Bai Liu took out his flashlight to force the mermaid statues back.
However, the moment the light turned on, Lucy and Jeff reacted even more violently than the statues. They howled, and Jeff lunged forward, trying to snatch the flashlight. Bai Liu barely dodged in time and quickly switched it off. The two gradually calmed down.
Lucy slumped to the ground and looked up at Bai Liu with bitterness in her eyes. "Your flashlight was too bright. Bai Liu, were you trying to blind us?"
Jeff leaned against a statue for support and hysterically warned, "You'd better never turn that thing on again!"
Bai Liu spread his hands innocently. "Sorry. I didn't know you were so sensitive to light."
Of course, Bai Liu knew that once they began transforming into statues, they would inevitably become sensitive to light. He didn't particularly care if they were harmed. He simply hadn't expected them to resist so fiercely and try to seize his flashlight.
They were different from the mermaid amulet statues. They could move freely and weren't any slower than Bai Liu. If he turned on the flashlight and they went mad trying to grab it, he would lose his only advantage.
This severely limited his use of items.
It seemed obvious that at this stage of the plot, the game was deliberately using Jeff and Lucy to restrict the flashlight's ability to repel the statues. This implied that a chase sequence with the mermaid statues was likely to follow. To make it more thrilling, the game had effectively disabled the player's bright-light items.
Bai Liu often designed games this way himself. For example, there might be a mirror capable of repelling monsters. To heighten tension, he would give the mirror a cooldown period after each use. During that cooldown, players would be forced to hide to avoid being discovered and killed. The fear factor would increase dramatically.
He might have enjoyed designing such cruel mechanics—but he certainly wasn't enjoying experiencing them firsthand.
Bai Liu put away the flashlight and raised his hands to signal that he wouldn't turn it on again. At the same time, his gaze swept toward the museum entrance. It was already blocked by statues, and more were slowly advancing toward him.
If he turned on the light, Lucy and Jeff would attack him. But without the light, the mermaid statues couldn't be driven back. He had to stay here until evening to be released—yet at this rate, he would die long before that.
It wasn't just because the statues would approach and attempt to possess him, increasing his degree of alienation and turning him into an amulet statue. There was another crucial issue.
Bai Liu flipped the coin in his hand, and a system panel appeared.
[Warning: The god-level NPC, the Siren King, will awaken in seven hours. Players are advised to clear the instance before then.]
The moment the warning appeared, the audience watching Bai Liu's small TV erupted in exclamations. Even Li Gou stood up, narrowing his eyes at the screen. A few seconds later, he burst out laughing.
"It's really a god-level NPC. This guy is either going to be killed by the monsters or by the god-level NPC. He's dead. No need for me to deal with him. He deserves it for taking my spot."
"Wasn't it just an ordinary siren banshee in the museum? How did it turn into a god-level NPC? How is anyone supposed to play this? He's definitely dead!"
"This area was originally for players to hide and seek until nightfall. After that, they'd usually get killed by the mermaid statues anyway. There's no way he'll survive until evening."
"Originally, escaping Siren Town by night would count as a clear, but that's just the normal ending with low evaluation and rewards. I heard God Mu triggered the true ending—he returned the banshee's corpse to the sea to seal the town's ghosts. And now the banshee has directly become the Siren King for Bai Liu. That's an instant game over!"
"He can't survive either way. This newcomer is finished."
Wang Shun's heart rose to his throat.
He hadn't expected Bai Liu to obediently enter the museum. If Bai Liu had run away midway, it might have triggered a chase scenario and given him a slim chance of survival. But now that he was inside, it was a dead end.
Wang Shun sighed regretfully. Objectively speaking, Bai Liu had immense potential—no less than Mu Sicheng. He simply lacked luck.
[0 new viewers liked Bai Liu's small TV.]
[422 new viewers bookmarked it.]
[0 viewers charged player Bai Liu.]
[378 viewers downvoted player Bai Liu's small TV.]
[4,500 new viewers have entered the stream. Congratulations to player Bai Liu. The total number of viewers has exceeded 10,000, yet not a single one has liked the stream. Player Bai Liu has unlocked the achievement: "No Approval Among Ten Thousand." The recommendation system is extremely disappointing.]
[Player Bai Liu's promotional recommendation slot is about to expire.]
Bai Liu walked toward the central exhibition hall, with Lucy and Jeff following behind him. The body of the Siren King still floated in transparent liquid behind a glass display case. Fine foam drifted among his long hair and pale eyelashes, as though a layer of snow had settled upon him.
Bai Liu stopped before the display case and looked up at the merman who had not yet been fully corrupted.
The merman's face was breathtakingly beautiful, yet it carried an overwhelming sense of strangeness. It felt as though he might open his eyes at any moment, use his long and powerful tail to shatter the bulletproof glass coffin imprisoning him, massacre everyone present, and then return to the sea.
Lucy glanced around uneasily. "Bai Liu, you said Andre is here in the museum. Where is he?"
Bai Liu didn't look back. His gaze remained fixed on the Siren King in the display case as he replied calmly, "Didn't you already pass by him when you came in? Jeff even gave him a hand."
"I gave him a hand?" Jeff pointed at himself in confusion. "Bai Liu, there's no one in this museum except the three of us."
"Yes," Bai Liu answered casually. "When did I ever say that Andre was still human?"
Lucy wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing them as she took a fearful step backward. "Bai Liu, don't joke like that. Where is Andre?"
Bai Liu seemed to catch the faint dragging sound of movement from the statues. His ears twitched slightly as he turned his head. Behind Jeff and Lucy stood a grim-faced mermaid statue of Andre, its sharp teeth bared, and claws extended, as if ready to strike.
Bai Liu spoke in a polite tone, "Lucy, Andre is right behind you."
Lucy and Jeff instinctively turned around—and immediately let out a piercing, synchronized scream. Bai Liu, having anticipated this reaction, calmly covered his ears.
Andre's skeleton had been taken away by the mermaid the previous night, and the Siren Museum had received two fresh offerings—Jeff and Lucy. Logically speaking, the museum should now have two mermaid statues capable of leaving after attaching themselves to the sacrifices' bodies. This meant Andre's skeleton would be turned into a mermaid statue to fill the vacancy in the museum. That was why Bai Liu had said Andre had "gone to the museum."
Although Lucy and Jeff's statues had not yet departed, Andre's mermaid statue had already entered.
Behind Andre stood a large group of statues. They crowded densely at the entrance of the exhibition hall, and their faces were gradually becoming more and more similar to Bai Liu's. It was obvious that they intended to attach themselves to him. Bai Liu raised an eyebrow and sidestepped Lucy, who was screaming and trying to grab his arm.
For Lucy and Jeff, these statues posed no real danger. They were already in the process of turning into statues; it was only a matter of time before the transformation was complete. The real problem was Bai Liu. The statues, along with Lucy and Jeff, were all hostile toward him. He was also restricted from using the flashlight, and alcohol couldn't burn the statues.
These statues had far greater resistance than the mermaid sailors. The only method Bai Liu could use against them was direct human eye contact. However, this method had a major flaw—humans needed to blink.
Jeff and Lucy could no longer be considered human, and their gaze had no effect on the statues. Only Bai Liu's eyes worked. Each time he blinked, he could sense the statues inching closer.
In the dim room, the statues of various shapes began to melt slowly like wax figures. Their faces twisted, gradually resembling Bai Liu's own. Strange, satisfied smiles spread across their features.
Their elongated lips parted to reveal rows of sharp white teeth, while the scales on their tails began to peel away and vanish. The fishy stench in the air grew stronger. Lucy and Jeff clung to Bai Liu's left and right sides. The moment he took out the flashlight to repel the statues, the two of them would go berserk.
Of course, Bai Liu never considered killing Lucy and Jeff outright. If he did, the corresponding mermaid statues would instantly flee, and two additional mermaid sailors would appear in the museum. Those creatures moved quickly, and Bai Liu's current physical stats were poor. Without a significant environmental advantage—like the one he had in the warehouse—he would likely die.
Seeing this, Wang Shun closed his electronic recorder and sighed with mixed emotions as he prepared to leave. Like him, many viewers were ready to exit the stream. Almost no one was interested in watching a game that seemed doomed to fail.
However, just before leaving, Wang Shun glanced up at the small TV—and froze.
He stopped in place and muttered in disbelief, "Bai Liu… why is he smiling?"
Bai Liu lowered his head and slowly curved his lips into a smile. He found the situation quite interesting. It was a good game. He hadn't played such a high-quality horror game in a long time. His fingers flipped the coin rapidly, and system panels popped up one after another, dazzling the audience watching his stream.
Some viewers began to mock him.
"Is he panicking? Is this his last desperate struggle?"
"Item shop, monster book, mission panel… wow, he's opened everything. What is he doing? Spending all his points before he dies?"
Wang Shun remained silent. He held his breath, pulled out his recorder again, and watched closely. He could clearly see that Bai Liu was handling the situation swiftly and methodically. He wasn't panicking at all. He simply moved so quickly that it gave the illusion of recklessness.
At this moment, Wang Shun felt nervous—but also hopeful. He wondered whether this extraordinary newcomer might stage a miraculous comeback.
Bai Liu operated calmly.
[Item Shop: I need a pickaxe that can break bulletproof glass.]
[17 points. Transaction complete.]
[I need a mobile cart capable of hauling large animal carcasses.]
[7 points. Transaction complete.]
[System, open the Monster Book to the Mermaid Wax Statue and Mermaid Sailor entries.]
[Yes. Opening the Siren Town Monster Book… Completed.]
[Siren Town Monster Book – Mermaid Wax Statue (1/4)]
[Monster Name: Mermaid Wax Statue (Pupa State), Amulet Statue (Cocoon State)]
[Weaknesses: Direct human gaze, bright light (2/3)]
[Attack Method: Incubation]
[Siren Town Monster Book – Mermaid Sailor (3/4)]
[Monster Name: Mermaid Sailor (Butterfly State)]
[Weaknesses: Bright light, amulet (2/3)]
[Attack Method: Biting and scratching (chance to trigger alienation upon injury)]
[Only one more weakness is required to complete pages one and three. Please continue working hard!]
Bai Liu's rapid actions left the players watching the small TV stunned into silence. Those who had been laughing moments earlier were now quiet. They stared at Bai Liu's smiling face as he switched effortlessly between panels.
Multicolored system interfaces reflected across his features, fragmenting his face into shifting patches of light. The calm, relaxed aura around him was undeniable. It was clear he wasn't acting randomly.
One player asked weakly, "What the hell is he planning to do…?"
Only Wang Shun's eyes shone brightly. "He's completing the Monster Book."
"Fuck!"
Wang Shun slapped his hand in frustration and admiration. Why hadn't he thought of such a simple method to clear the game? If a previously discovered weakness was restricted and unusable, then abandon it and look for a new one!
The other viewers began discussing it in astonishment.
"No way—does he really intend to complete the Monster Book?"
"It was said that only God Mu ever successfully collected the entire Siren Town Monster Book. Ordinary players could barely complete one page. Can this newcomer actually do it?"
"I don't think it's possible. I've watched Siren Town's gameplay videos many times. I've never seen anyone discover the third weakness of the mermaid statues or sailors."
Bai Liu couldn't hear their confusion. He lazily raised the pickaxe in his hand, aimed it at the Siren King inside the glass showcase—
—and brought it down with force.
The glass shattered with a sharp crack. Liquid spilled across the floor as the Siren King's body slid out and collapsed at Bai Liu's feet.
The surrounding mermaid statues reacted as if struck by terror. They recoiled from the central exhibition hall and scattered in all directions. Even Lucy and Jeff clutched their heads and fled, screaming as though they had seen a demon.
Wang Shun's eyes shone brightly as he watched Bai Liu calmly wipe the liquid from his fingers. The answer was obvious now.
"The third weakness of the mermaid statues and mermaid sailors… is the Siren King!"
Bai Liu crouched and lifted the Siren King's chin.
Water clung to the merman's eyelashes like dew before sliding down onto his exquisitely shaped lips. The moisture made them glisten, as if inviting a kiss. His face was so enchanting, so impossibly beautiful, that it surpassed the limits of human imagination. Only words like siren or sea demon could possibly frame such a visage.
The texture beneath Bai Liu's fingers was cold and smooth—almost unreal.
He had to admit, the NPC modeling in this game was excellent. To create such a beautiful character…
Then, as he moved toward the exit, Bai Liu suddenly remembered he was livestreaming. Completing three Monster Book pages was a dramatic moment. The audience probably expected something theatrical.
He exhaled slowly, smiled faintly, and spoke in a deliberately serious tone:
"Everything begins with you, and everything will end with you, beautiful Siren King."
"Allow me to guide you to your ending—and my victory."
Bai Liu bent down and placed the Siren King into the small cart. He stepped onto the cart's footrest, pushed forward, and wheeled it out of the museum with calm arrogance.
Not a single mermaid statue dared approach.
They lingered in the dark corners of the museum, watching from a distance—too afraid to move forward.
[Siren Town Monster Book Updated – Mermaid Wax Statue (1/4)]
Monster Name: Mermaid Wax Statue (Pupa State), Amulet Statue (Cocoon State)Weaknesses: Direct human gaze, bright light, Siren KingAttack Method: Incubation
[The Mermaid Wax Statue page (Pupa and Cocoon States) has been fully collected. Please continue working hard.]
[Siren Town Monster Book Updated – Mermaid Sailor (3/4)]
Monster Name: Mermaid Sailor (Butterfly State)Weaknesses: Bright light, amulet, Siren KingAttack Method: Biting and scratching (chance to trigger alienation upon injury)
[The Mermaid Sailor (Butterfly State) page has been fully collected. Please continue working hard.]
[System Notice: Player Bai Liu is only one step away from completing the entire Siren Town Monster Book. Please keep working hard!]
A heavy silence fell over the viewers watching Bai Liu's small TV. For three full minutes, no one spoke. Even Li Gou was stunned.
Then suddenly, someone shouted excitedly: "Bai Liu! Charge forward! That's it! Amazing!"
The suffocating silence was shattered.
It was like a single drop of water falling into a pan of hot oil—instant chaos. The viewers, stirred by the desperate reversal and bold gamble, erupted into cheers and screams.
"The Monster Book is coming together!"