The monkey on Mu Sicheng's hat suddenly opened its mouth in a wide grin. Its eyes flashed red, as if responding to Mu Sicheng's suggestion of killing. The sight was bizarre and terrifying.
The previously arrogant audience members were so frightened that they screamed and scattered in all directions. In their haste, some collided with each other and stumbled, scrambling out of the viewing area in utter embarrassment.
Mu Sicheng calmly put his hat back on and stood in the front row as though nothing had happened. His expression returned to its usual indifferent look as he continued watching Bai Liu's small TV.
The surrounding audience instinctively stepped back, leaving ample space for Mu Sicheng at the front. Even the normal discussions grew noticeably quieter, as if everyone was afraid of disturbing him while he watched.
Standing behind Mu Sicheng, Wang Shun's expression was complicated. For the first time, he was truly confronted with how dangerous Mu Sicheng was.
This was why there were almost no critical spectators in the live broadcast rooms of the top gods. Those rooms were nearly always filled with praise. After all, this was a game where people could die. If someone's words offended a great god, that god could kill them as easily as crushing an ant.
The loud critics mostly gathered in the viewing areas of newcomers or mild-tempered players. If they dared to behave like that in Mu Sicheng's viewing area, grass would already be growing over their graves.
Many of the spectators who liked to criticize Bai Liu were low-level guild players. In truth, their own skills were mediocre. They often relied on guild teams or strategy guides to clear instances. Their individual ability was extremely limited.
Instead of struggling to survive through skill, they preferred to gossip and belittle others. They especially resented explosive newcomers with strong potential—because such players would steal their paying audiences and promotion slots. They harbored obvious hostility toward rising stars.
For example, Mu Sicheng in the past.
Wang Shun stepped closer to Mu Sicheng again. Though slightly afraid of him, he still wanted to stand in the front row. Suppressing his curiosity, he lowered his voice and asked, "God Mu… did you really kill the audience members who cursed you?"
"How could that be?" Mu Sicheng replied indifferently. "I'm not that idle. I just said it to scare them because they were being annoying."
Wang Shun let out a long breath. "Oh… so it was fake."
"Although I didn't personally kill anyone," Mu Sicheng added casually, "my monkey headphones like to eat the people I hate. So it did eat a few."
He turned his head slightly, smiling faintly as he looked at Bai Liu on the screen.
He shrugged, making no real effort to defend himself. "Still, they were the ones who insisted on provoking me. I don't think I should be blamed for how that ended."
Wang Shun: "..."
-----------------
Meanwhile, Bai Liu dragged the cart off the ship once more. A few mermaid sailors trailed behind him, but without the blessing of the weather or the amulets, they could only keep their distance, glaring at him with resentment and greed.
Bai Liu no longer paid them any attention.
Something felt strange.
The system had said that most of the land monsters had been restrained, so it withdrew the weather debuff. But the monster book had four entries: mermaid sailors, mermaid statues, the Siren King, and the weakest, most numerous monsters had yet to appear.
The mermaid in their larval form.
Bai Liu had been chased along the shore for so long, yet not a single one had shown up. That was unreasonable. If the system wasn't lying and most land monsters had indeed been restricted, then the weakest and most numerous monsters likely weren't on land at all.
Bai Liu's gaze slowly shifted to the calm, waveless sea before him.
The massive swarm of mermaids was probably lurking beneath the surface.
[System notification: One hour remains before the Siren King awakens. Please accelerate and clear the instance.]
One hour.
Bai Liu calculated the time it would take to swim while dragging the Siren King. It should be enough—under normal circumstances.
The variable was the mermaid hidden in the sea.
If they interfered, that hour might not be sufficient.
Still, different situations required different responses. Bai Liu didn't dwell on it. He left the cart by the shore, knelt down, and examined the Siren King.
The Siren King, who had remained completely unresponsive during the chase and battle, now fluttered the fins at his ears. His chest rose and fell faintly, and the jade-like sheen of his skin seemed almost alive.
He was about to awaken.
Bai Liu slung the Siren King's arm over his shoulder, took a deep breath, and ran into the sea.
As the water engulfed him, silver-green scales spread across his legs, waist, the corners of his eyes, and the bridge of his nose. Gills split open along both sides of his face. His pupils shrank to half their original size, trembling faintly in the center of his eyes.
He inhaled deeply, tightened his grip on the Siren King, and plunged into the boundless blue depths.
-----------------
In front of the small TV, Wang Shun sighed in relief. "He's finally entered the sea. It should be cleared soon."
"Not necessarily." Mu Sicheng folded his arms, a trace of unpleasant memory flickering across his face. "When I dragged the siren banshee into the sea, I thought it was about to end, too. But once I reached the sea area called Siren's Gift, it was packed with green-eyed mermaids. I was nearly killed."
"In the end, I had to buy a powerful flashlight to escape. It cost me over 200 points."
His tone turned slightly depressed. It was one of the biggest losses of his career.
"Over 200 points?" Wang Shun exclaimed. "How could it be that expensive?!"
Then realization dawned on him. "Bai Liu would've had to pay 250 points for a flashlight earlier. If the system raises the price again, won't it be even more outrageous?"
"It will," Mu Sicheng replied calmly. "The system prices items based on two factors. First, overall market supply and demand. Second, it evaluates how urgently a player needs the item. In short, if the system thinks you desperately need something, it will raise the price."
He watched Bai Liu swim deeper into the sea and revealed a rare, mischievous grin.
"Once Bai Liu reaches Siren's Gift, he'll be surrounded by mermaids and thrown into an emergency. Then the system will slaughter him financially. Just wait—I guarantee the flashlight will cost at least 400 points."
As they spoke, the novice player who had previously pushed Bai Liu out of the promotion position—Mu Ke—had already entered Siren's Gift.
Mu Ke held the white bones of the siren banshee in one hand. His legs moved like a fishtail as he swam toward the dark, bottomless seabed.
He clearly believed he was about to clear the instance. The ecstatic smile on his face was visible even through the slightly blurred broadcast.
From Bai Liu's viewing area, Wang Shun could see other players' small TVs, though not as clearly. They looked as if viewed through frosted glass.
Even so, it was obvious that Mu Ke had already reached the bottom of Siren's Gift.
Wang Shun sighed regretfully. "He's already at the seabed while Bai Liu is still swimming… This newcomer Mu Ke might clear it first after all. He'll probably be the first of this batch to pass."
"The system gives a special reward to the first player in each batch of newcomers to clear the instance," Wang Shun explained with a sigh. "It's a personal skill—extremely valuable to a player. Bai Liu could've gotten it."
As he spoke, Wang Shun stared at Bai Liu, who was still swimming steadily on the small TV. Frustration welled up in him, and he blurted out, "Hey, Bai Liu! Who told you to waste time pulling all those tricks? Sure, you saved some points—but there are trade-offs! If you had moved faster, you would've been first in this batch!"
After Bai Liu reclaimed his spot in the central screen's strongly recommended position, Mu Ke was now ranked one place above him in the system's "Single-Player Strong Recommendation" list.
Comparing Mu Ke's visibly ecstatic expression—so close to clearing—with Bai Liu's unhurried pace as he dragged the Siren King forward like he was sleepwalking underwater, it almost looked as though Mu Ke had firmly stepped on Bai Liu's head.
Wang Shun shook his head helplessly. It felt like watching his own gifted child, so obsessed with playing around that he lost an exam to the ordinary kid next door. The feeling was suffocating.
Mu Sicheng, however, was completely indifferent. He glanced at Mu Ke's screen and said calmly, "Who will be the first newcomer? That's still hard to say."
-----------------
Meanwhile, most of the viewers gathered around Mu Ke's small TV shared Wang Shun's opinion—especially those who had been chased away from Bai Liu's viewing area by Mu Sicheng. Many of them had relocated to Mu Ke's side.
As if they had already forgotten their earlier humiliation, they began mocking Bai Liu again.
"Oh, Bai Liu's in the strongly recommended position, yet he can't even beat another newcomer. What's the point of all those flashy tricks? Once Mu Ke clears and gets the system's skill reward, his growth will leave that idiot Bai Liu far behind."
"I don't know why God Mu is protecting such a useless rookie. If he doesn't get first place, he won't receive the skill reward. He'll die sooner or later. What's the point of struggling?"
Several more level-headed spectators nearby stared at them in disbelief.
There were 100 newcomers in each batch. Only one would receive the skill reward. A one-in-a-hundred chance—and these people spoke as though anyone without a skill deserved to die.
Quite a few players present had no personal skills. Their expressions darkened.
One audience member finally grew fed up. Judging by his aura, he was probably fairly strong. He scoffed and retorted impatiently, "If you think people without skills deserve to die, then show us your skills. Otherwise, I can kill you right here—and you'll be the one dying without a skill."
So many "experts" pointing fingers at others. What a joke.
Sure enough, the loudest critics fell silent. A few of them flushed red and subtly hid the game managers in their hands, clearly unwilling to display their so-called abilities.
The man who had spoken snorted in irritation. Just as he expected, none of them had skills. Yet they dared to claim others deserved to die. Then why were these loudmouths still alive?
Of course, killing was forbidden in the central hall. He had only said it to shut them up. Seeing no point in arguing further, he turned back to Mu Ke's small TV.
-----------------
At that moment, Mu Ke was diving deeper.
One green eye lit up in the darkness below—like a lone firefly.
Then another. Then countless more.
A dense field of green fluorescence gradually illuminated the seabed. It took Mu Ke a moment to comprehend what he was seeing. When he did, goosebumps erupted across his skin.
Thousands of mermaid corpses lay scattered across the ocean floor.
Their heads were raised, all staring directly at him.
Most of their bodies were rotting, pale flesh being devoured by swarms of small black fish. In many places, the flesh was gone entirely, leaving exposed white bones and those eerie, glowing green eyes.
Everywhere around Mu Ke, green eyes flickered like ghostly flames in the abyss.
It could hardly be called a seabed anymore. The ground was completely obscured by writhing black fish in numbers so vast they made the scalp tingle. The sand was invisible. Only fish eggs squirmed along the ocean floor, resembling clusters of black maggots. Beneath them, green eyes glowed faintly.
The sight was so horrifying that even the spectators watching from outside instinctively stepped back, their scalps tingling.
Mu Ke spun around and fled, opening the item store mid-swim. Behind him, the mermaids surged upward from the seabed, and the tide of black fish swarmed around him like flies.
Up close, the fish—though only thumb-sized—had razor-sharp teeth.
Mu Ke barely turned before half of his arm was bitten away.
He let out a silent scream beneath the sea. Blood streamed from the torn flesh, trailing through the water and attracting even more mermaids and fish.
The audience shouted frantically, "Buy items! Hurry! Push them back, or you'll die!"
Clutching the siren banshee's skeleton with his remaining hand to keep it from being swept away, Mu Ke opened the store in a panic. The deep-sea fish were photophobic—just like the mermaids. He made a swift decision.
[I need a strong flashlight!]
[Cost: 417 points. Thank you for your patronage.]
Mu Ke froze. [How many points?!]
[Cost: 417 points. Thank you for your patronage.]
He didn't have that many points.
For a brief second, he was stunned—but he quickly forced himself to calm down. He didn't necessarily need a strong flashlight. A water bubble could also repel fish.
The problem was that, against such a massive swarm, the bubble might not hold.
But he had no choice. Gritting his teeth, he declared: [I need a water bubble!]
[Cost: 322 points. Thank you for your patronage.]
Mu Ke nearly choked. It felt as though the system itself was trying to kill him beneath the sea. He didn't have that many points!
The water bubble had previously been discounted to 40 points. Now it costs more than eight times as much. This was blatant exploitation!
Arguing with the system was useless. In desperation, Mu Ke began checking his remaining items. The torch was still usable—but he was underwater; fire was impossible. He had purchased the water bubble twice before, using most of it during the True Love Ship task. Only half an hour of usage remained.
Half an hour was nowhere near enough to clear the instance. He couldn't even reach the seabed at that time.
Worst of all, his points had been drained from buying various items earlier.
Just as despair threatened to swallow him, Mu Ke remembered he could request point donations from the audience. Thus, the viewers in front of his small TV saw him pleading for contributions. He looked humiliated and pitiful, his eyes burning with a desperate will to survive.
He cried as he fled, but his tears dissolved into the sea, unseen by anyone. The audience members who had once praised his boundless potential—and used him as a tool to belittle Bai Liu—fell silent.
Meanwhile, Bai Liu continued swimming toward Siren's Gift. Wang Shun could vaguely glimpse Mu Ke's situation. Watching Bai Liu swim through the darkness, he nervously opened his game manager to check his point balance.
He was worried Bai Liu might face the same predicament and wanted to be ready to donate.
Seeing this, Mu Sicheng said, "Relax. That guy has over 3,000 points. No matter how high the price is, he can afford it. Even if one flashlight costs 400 points, he can buy it."
Even so, Mu Sicheng couldn't resist checking his own balance before looking up and letting out a quiet sigh of relief. If everyone contributed, Bai Liu would definitely have enough to clear the instance.
It wasn't just Wang Shun and Mu Sicheng. After witnessing what happened on Mu Ke's screen, many of Bai Liu's viewers checked their point balances as well, whispering among themselves.
"If Bai Liu doesn't have enough, I can donate 10 points."
"I have three or four points. That should help."
"I-I can give one point. I donated too much before, QAQ."
Mu Sicheng found himself slightly surprised at the scene of so many viewers willing to support Bai Liu. He glanced at Bai Liu, still swimming steadily, and raised an eyebrow. This guy was unexpectedly popular. So many people were willing to spend their own points to keep him alive.
It was different from himself. Because of his personal skill, Mu Sicheng had an extreme relationship with the audience—people either adored him or despised him, believing him immoral.
Like Mu Ke, Bai Liu soon encountered the green eyes on the seabed after entering the area. Wang Shun immediately held his breath, looking even more nervous than Bai Liu on the screen. His fists were pressed against his chest, the donation interface already open.
"Buy items, buy items!" he whispered urgently. "If those monsters wake up, it'll be too late!"
"You don't need to panic. He won't die so easily," Mu Sicheng said—but his gaze was fixed firmly on the screen. The game manager remained in his hand, ready to open the donation interface at any moment.
Almost everyone held their breath. Some had their fingers poised over the donation button, waiting for Bai Liu to open the item store.
Yet when Bai Liu saw the terrifying schools of fish and mermaids below, he merely raised an eyebrow. There was no trace of surprise. He continued swimming downward unhurriedly.
The audience nearly stopped breathing.
They watched as Bai Liu casually used the Siren King to provoke the mermaids and fish, deliberately angering them so they would chase him.
Unfortunately, Bai Liu's underwater movements were clumsy. He was clearly a novice, kicking awkwardly as he swam. He moved slowly and was almost overtaken by the pursuing monsters.
"Bai Liu, what are you doing?!" Wang Shun shouted in despair. "Why are you provoking them?!"
The other viewers were equally frantic.
"Ahhh! Buy items already, Bai Liu!"
"Damn it! Don't fool around at a time like this!"
"He was about to clear the instance! If Bai Liu dies, he'll become my psychological trauma!"
"I can't even look! Is he going to be eaten?!"
"My mentality is collapsing. If he dies here, I'll never watch a newcomer's small TV again!"
Wang Shun didn't dare look away. Sweat dripped down his forehead into his eyes, but he didn't blink.
On the screen, the mermaids and fish had already reached Bai Liu's feet.
Even Mu Sicheng's usual smile had faded. His arms were folded, his right index finger tapping against his left arm—a rare sign of agitation. "Bai Liu… what are you doing?"
Bai Liu glanced back calmly, confirming that nearly all the mermaids and fish were behind him. He spread his legs and surged forward like a sea rabbit, widening the distance.
But the gap quickly closed.
The mermaids, their white eyes hollow and faces half-rotted, floated grotesquely through the water. Their skin peeled in strips. They let out hunting cries from the dark seabed, opening their bloody mouths toward Bai Liu. From their ragged black throats burst schools of sharp-toothed fish, surging forward like a black rope.
Even at such a critical moment, Bai Liu found himself contemplating the origin of these mermaid corpses.
On land, they clearly had another form.
Yet once they reached the bottom of Siren's Gift, they reverted to corpses. This confirmed his speculation—the seabed in this area restored them to their original state. All that remained was the Siren King in his hand. If he returned it, these creatures should become true corpses.
A mermaid lunged at him. Bai Liu awkwardly twisted aside, but half his palm was still bitten off. Blood spread into the sea.
[System Warning: Player Bai Liu has been attacked by guard monsters, the mermaid corpses. You are entering a state of alienation. Mental value is decreasing. Current mental value: 41.]
[System Warning: 21 minutes remain before the Siren King awakens. Please clear the instance quickly!]
Bai Liu was spinning dizzily at the bottom of the sea. He felt as if he had been forced to drink half a bottle of cheap liquor by his company's general manager at the annual meeting—his limbs were numb, his head heavy, his movements uncoordinated.
He wanted to keep his eyes on both of his legs while swimming, but because of the numbness and dizziness, he could only focus on one. The result was rather absurd—like a rabbit with a lame leg hopping frantically to avoid predators.
Wang Shun opened his mouth. "…His mental value is only 41. He'll start experiencing serious hallucinations soon. And the Siren King will wake up in 21 minutes."
Mu Sicheng's expression turned complicated, tinged with confusion. His tone grew more anxious. "Yes, but he could just clear the instance directly…"
The rest of the audience was even more frantic. Some were stomping their feet in place.
Just as Wang Shun had predicted, Bai Liu began hallucinating. The monsters in front of him distorted into "mountain ranges." A single mermaid seemed to sprout three swaying heads before his eyes. Most people would have panicked or collapsed—but Bai Liu merely shook his head and stubbornly continued dodging.
Even so, he didn't head toward the seabed where he could clear the instance. Instead, he swam aimlessly, like a fish that had lost its sense of direction.
As a result, he was attacked twice more. One of his feet and his already-injured palm were bitten again. The pain made him instinctively curl up, trying to protect his wounds.
That defensive posture exposed his back completely.
The merman behind him grinned grotesquely, its cracked mouth stretching wide. Its powerful fishtail whipped toward the side of Bai Liu's face.
The sheer force stirred violent currents in the water. Even with the sea acting as a buffer, the attack's power was unmistakable. If that tail struck him, Bai Liu's spine would be shattered without a doubt.
Almost all the audience members instinctively shut their eyes, unwilling to witness his death.
Then—
A massive transparent bubble suddenly appeared between Bai Liu and the merman. The fishtail struck the bubble and rebounded, sending the merman flying backward. Bai Liu shrank inside the bubble, breathing slowly through fish gills as air filled the enclosed space.
Wang Shun shouted, "The water bubble! Right—Bai Liu bought a water bubble earlier!"
Bai Liu was safe—but the viewers watching looked like they were the ones who had nearly died. They slumped in relief, speaking weakly.
"Bai Liu, please, give yourself—and us—a way to live! Stop messing around and clear the instance already!"
"Damn it, Bai Liu. I must've slaughtered pigs in a past life to deserve this. Watching your stream is too stressful. I almost had a heart attack."
Mu Sicheng let out a long breath. "When did he buy that? He was willing to spend points on it?"
But as soon as he asked, he realized something was off. In the mid-to-late stages, the water bubble was extremely expensive. He hadn't seen Bai Liu purchase it recently. If Bai Liu had bought it early and saved it until now, that meant he had spent 70 points in advance to stockpile an item—quite risky for a newcomer.
Mu Sicheng frowned. "Did Bai Liu really squeeze out 70 points just to stock up?"
"No." Wang Shun's expression turned complicated. "He bought it for 40 points."
"Forty?" Mu Sicheng looked surprised. "The regular price is 70. How did he get it for 40?"
Wang Shun explained what had happened, sighing as he did. He had suspected Bai Liu was exploiting a time-based price difference—but he hadn't expected it to be true.
Bai Liu had predicted early on that item prices would skyrocket later, so he bought the water bubble when it was at its cheapest.
Mu Ke's water bubble now costs nearly 400 points, while Bai Liu had secured one at one-tenth of that price. While Mu Ke was being squeezed dry by the system, Bai Liu had already exploited its pricing mechanism to profit from the difference.
The audience member who had mocked Bai Liu for "hoarding items to save his life" and claimed he knew nothing about the system store was still present. Now he looked utterly foolish watching Bai Liu's calculated maneuvers. It was clear that Bai Liu not only understood the store system—he knew how to exploit its loopholes.
Mu Sicheng stared thoughtfully at Bai Liu, who was catching his breath inside the air-filled bubble on the screen.
What kind of monster was this newcomer?
The last time he had seen someone bold enough to toy with the system like this was the top-ranked player on the leaderboard—Spades.
"I'm curious," Mu Sicheng murmured, resting his index finger against his chin as he watched intently. "How did he know that the water bubble would definitely come in handy?"
"Siren Town has two endings," Mu Sicheng continued. "The normal ending only requires you to escape from Siren Town. All the later battles are land chases—there's no need for a water bubble. Most players choose that route."
"Only the true ending requires going out to sea. But the true ending is basically an additional side mission to return the Siren King. The reward points aren't much higher than the normal ending, and the risk is far greater. Most people wouldn't choose it."
Wang Shun frowned thoughtfully. "But Bai Liu is a newcomer. He might not know that."
"I think he can figure it out," Mu Sicheng replied, shaking his head. "Bai Liu must've realized that this game operates on a task-based system—complete tasks, earn designated points. If we're talking purely in terms of risk-to-reward ratio, the normal ending is far superior."
Wang Shun couldn't help glancing at him. "Then why did you choose the true ending, God Mu?"
Mu Sicheng fell silent for a few seconds before answering, "High risk does bring high rewards. The point difference isn't significant—but the true ending offers something far more valuable than points. There's a 'benefit' you can only obtain by following the true ending route, and its value is absolutely worth the risk."
"What is it?" Wang Shun asked.
Mu Sicheng gave him a sideways glance. "The reward for completing the monster book. You can only fully collect the monster book by following the true ending storyline. But it's impossible for Bai Liu to complete it."
"Impossible? Why—" Wang Shun began instinctively, then suddenly froze. He stared at the screen in shock. "Wait—damn! That's right! The Siren King in Bai Liu's monster book is a god-level wandering NPC!"
"I'm considering the worst-case scenario," Mu Sicheng said slowly, his gaze deepening. "Bai Liu probably doesn't understand how dangerous a god-level NPC truly is. But he can likely guess that the greatest reward comes from completing the monster book. I suspect he's planning to collect it."
"In other words… he's deliberately stalling until the Siren King awakens. That's why he isn't rushing to clear the instance."
Wang Shun stood there in a daze, mouth hanging open as he stared blankly at the screen.
"…No way."
On the small TV, Bai Liu hid behind the water bubble—but he didn't stay inside it. Instead, he used it as cover, playing a dangerous game of hide-and-seek with the mermaids and fish.
The audience immediately grew anxious again. Bai Liu had an uncanny ability to play in a way that made everyone else nervous on his behalf.
"The water bubble's defense is really low! If he keeps letting the mermaids attack it, it'll break soon, and the item will be wasted!"
Bai Liu turned to glance at a specific spot on the bubble behind him. That area was under constant assault from the fish and mermaids. Cracks had already formed. Water hadn't seeped in yet, but a merman's hand was forcing its way through the fractured surface.
Bai Liu smiled calmly.
The spectators, on the other hand, were practically howling. Many of them looked as if they wanted to crawl through the screen and take over the game themselves.
On another screen, Mu Ke was also hiding inside his water bubble, desperately fleeing through the sea to buy time.
Meanwhile, the spectators who had previously abandoned Bai Liu for Mu Ke grew bored. Seeing that Bai Liu was now on the brink of life and death again, they drifted back eagerly. However, they avoided Mu Sicheng at the center and only dared to gather in a corner, whispering disdainfully.
"These people have donated so many points to Bai Liu and Mu Ke. It's irritating to watch. They have no judgment. Why not give those points to me? At least if I played Siren Town, I wouldn't fail."
"I've had my eye on that outskirts promotion slot for ages. I was planning to enter the game, but these two newcomers snatched it. I'm furious. Hurry up and die so I can get promoted."
Bai Liu, of course, knew nothing about the people outside who were anxious for him—or hoping for his death.
His mental value had dropped to 40. He was teetering on the edge of the second danger threshold. If it dropped further, his hallucinations would intensify. His thoughts were beginning to blur, and he had to focus entirely on the damaged bubble behind him.
A merman had already squeezed through the crack.
Bai Liu released the bubble and turned around, hugging it from the front. He stared at the rotting-faced merman now inside the bubble as it slowly sank deeper into the sea.
More mermaids and fish poured in through the cracks.
The bubble was gradually filling with monsters. Bai Liu clung to its outer surface like bait, deliberately luring the mermaids to throw themselves inside. The audience in front of the screen sensed that he was planning something and grew curious despite themselves.
"What is he doing? The bubble's already broken. Without the outer barrier, it's basically just a ball of trapped air. He doesn't have any usable items left, right?"
The bubble, now filled mostly with air, resembled a translucent embryo enveloping the writhing mermaids. Their limbs twisted awkwardly as they were crammed inside.
Bai Liu closed his eyes and leaned back, exhaling slowly. A string of bubbles escaped from his gills. He released the membrane-like grip that had formed where he clutched the bubble, allowing it to float in front of him.
Then he spoke calmly to the system:
"Pour alcohol into the water bubble."
Clear liquid began filling the bubble from the bottom up.
Bai Liu reached into the sphere, ignited a light source, and tossed it inside.
At the very moment a monster lunged toward his hand—
Boom.
A blazing fireball erupted on the seabed.
The roars of the mermaids mixed with the crackling flames. Light and shadow flickered across Bai Liu's face.
Only then did the audience realize—
He was smiling.
The faint curve of his lips, illuminated by firelight; the bright green fish scales along the bridge of his nose; the reflected glow beneath his eyes—together they gave him an eerie, almost demonic beauty. At that moment, he looked less human than the burning mermaids trapped inside the bubble.
The mermaids engulfed in flames beat desperately against the transparent sphere. Blue-green blood smeared across the inner surface, along with filthy handprints. Smoke thickened within the globe, gradually obscuring their grotesque, contorted faces.
Outside the bubble, Bai Liu floated quietly, watching the monsters who had hunted him burn to death.
His expression remained calm, indifferent—almost gentle.
Yet that gentleness carried a cruelty more chilling than the monsters themselves.
After clearing the wave, Bai Liu dragged the burning bubble behind him, wielding it like an underwater torch. It was no longer just a defensive item. Because of the cracks, it could swallow mermaids whole and incinerate them from within. It had become both shield and weapon.
The mermaids themselves became fuel. The oil released from their burning flesh intensified the flames, making them burn even hotter than the alcohol alone. The fireball grew larger, devouring more creatures along the seabed.
The smell of cooked flesh began to spread through the water.
Driven by instinct, the remaining monsters continued to crawl into the bubble one after another, as if lining up for slaughter.
It was an absurd sight.
Bai Liu remained off to the side, resting calmly while the mermaids queued up to commit suicide inside the flaming sphere.
The audience was completely stunned. Many stared open-mouthed, unable to even comment on such a bug-like method of clearing the instance.
Mu Sicheng had weathered countless intense battles, yet even he couldn't suppress a long exhale. He tugged his hat down over his face in exasperation.
"Bai Liu is too much," he muttered. "When I cleared this instance, I was chased everywhere like an idiot."
"I'm convinced. Completely convinced," Wang Shun said over and over again.
"Fire-type items are highly effective against mermaids, but they normally can't be used at the bottom of the sea—there's no condition for combustion. Just like Mu Ke's torch couldn't ignite underwater. But inside a water bubble, the burning condition exists."
He paused, organizing his thoughts.
"However, this only works if you don't stay inside the bubble yourself—and if you intentionally let it crack. Once there's a gap, the bubble loses its external defensive function."
"In other words, you're essentially sacrificing a defensive item. What remains is only the internal containment function—once the mermaids enter, they can't easily escape. That turns a purely defensive item into an offensive trap to burn monsters alive. It's a bold modification of an item's usage."
Mu Sicheng nodded. "His earlier behavior—letting the mermaids keep attacking the bubble—was deliberate. He needed those cracks so they could get inside."
"How did he even think of this?" Wang Shun marveled. "Compared to Bai Liu, I feel like I haven't used my brain at all when playing."
"It's not about intelligence," Mu Sicheng said, shaking his head. "The method itself isn't that hard to think of."
"Bai Liu's real strength lies in his psychological resilience."
He glanced at the screen again.
"The water bubble he bought was brand new. He could have simply hidden inside and cleared the instance safely. Even if the bubble eventually broke, that approach would have been far less risky. It gives a strong sense of security."
"This method requires completely abandoning a safe environment, breaking the bubble barrier that is protecting you, and calmly using yourself as bait to trap the mermaids—using the broken barrier to burn all the fish to death. This way of killing all the monsters without caring whether he survives or not is really…"
"Extreme and crazy," Mu Sicheng gave his solemn assessment.
The ordinary audience members who had been excitedly urging Bai Liu to quickly enter the water bubble now felt embarrassed.
"When I think about myself five minutes ago telling Bai Liu to get into the bubble quickly, I feel very… stupid…"
"God, Bai Liu bought alcohol so early to prepare for the follow-up clearance method… Before, people were mocking him for being stupid enough to buy so much alcohol. Now I think they're the stupid ones. Yes, yes—I'm talking about myself."
"I counted. It was around nine barrels, and Bai Liu bought the alcohol when it was at its cheapest. It didn't cost many points at all. I'm convinced. What kind of brain does he have to make all his plans line up so perfectly?"
"Does this mean Bai Liu has cleared all the monsters in the Siren Town map? This is the first time I've seen someone clear every monster on a map…"
The group of players who had ridiculed Bai Liu in the corner wore dark expressions. Many of them had previously laughed at his seemingly useless purchase of alcohol. Now, Bai Liu's brilliant use of that "buy more" alcohol only highlighted their own shallowness. They shrank back into the corner, not daring to say another word.
On the small TV, Bai Liu dragged the burning "mermaid ball" with his left hand. Aside from a few mermaids who had stayed away, he was indeed about to clear all the monsters at the bottom of the sea. However, he was still holding the Siren King in his right hand. Suddenly, the Siren King's eyes trembled, and his tail flicked slightly. Bai Liu's body shook violently, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
[System warning: Player Bai Liu has been affected by the awakening of the Siren King. Current mental value: 21. It has fallen below the second mental safety defense line of 40. The player is about to experience multiple hallucinations.]
Bai Liu felt his mind buzzing. When his mental value had been at 41, he had merely felt drunk. But now, at 21, he felt as though he had eaten the poisonous mushrooms people talked about online. Colorful, kaleidoscopic fragments of light shattered across his vision.
All sorts of strange noises overlapped chaotically in his ears, flooding them until he felt as if he were trapped in an underground disco from the 1980s. His head throbbed painfully, and he seemed to lose control of his limbs.
Shifting halos of color refracted across his retinas, and faces began appearing within them. There were mermaid monsters, as well as various people and things Bai Liu had encountered in the real world. He even saw his company's boss. The faces of Jeff and Andre appeared on the corpses of the mermaids.
They smiled strangely and lunged at him.
In an instant, the mermaid monsters disappeared again. Bai Liu saw the Siren King in his grasp open his eyes, and stare at him. The next second, the Siren King transformed into Lucy's pale, smiling face. Lucy took Bai Liu's hand, nestled in his arms, and smiled softly. "I love you."
Yet her hand was plunged into Bai Liu's chest.
Blood slowly drifted from his chest into the seawater. Lucy dug out his heart and swallowed his entrails. Blood and flesh clung to the corners of her blissful smile as she leaned forward to kiss his cheek.
Just as her lips were about to touch him, she transformed into a rotting-faced mermaid monster. It opened its mouth and bit down on Bai Liu's shoulder.
The sharp sting jolted his overly dizzy mind into brief clarity.
'This one seems real,' Bai Liu thought casually.
Wang Shun saw Bai Liu's unfocused eyes and his limbs floating limply in the sea. A bad feeling rose in his chest, and his expression darkened. "No! Bai Liu has entered the stage of multiple hallucinations!"
Soon, something bit Bai Liu on the shoulder. He didn't react. Only the slight twitch of his shoulder confirmed Wang Shun's fear.
Panicked, Wang Shun shouted at the small TV, not caring that Bai Liu couldn't hear him. "Buy an item to cleanse your mental value! Bai Liu! Restore your mental value!"
"No." Mu Sicheng shook his head, cutting him off. "He can't cleanse it. The moment his mental value rises to 60, he'll be forcibly removed from the alienation state."
"He's still in the deep sea. The instant the alienation state is removed, Bai Liu will become a 'normal person' again and drown immediately. At this depth, the pressure difference could tear him apart."
Wang Shun stared anxiously at Bai Liu's motionless body floating in the sea. "Then what can he do? If he doesn't cleanse his mental value and keeps getting attacked, it'll keep dropping. If it falls to zero, he'll completely turn into a monster!"
Mu Sicheng took a deep breath. "He can only rely on… himself. He has to stay conscious in the face of this level of high-intensity hallucination."
Bai Liu couldn't distinguish between hallucination and reality, but he wasn't as unresponsive as Wang Shun feared. He simply couldn't determine direction. Still, he knew his destination was the seabed. So he chose the simplest, most foolish method.
He relaxed his body and let himself sink.
He was a fish now, not a human. Releasing the water bubble, he sank while holding the Siren King. In theory, as long as he didn't struggle, he would sink smoothly.
As for being attacked by the mermaids during the descent—
Bai Liu closed his eyes and fully stretched out his body. The coin inside his white shirt floated strangely near his collarbone, revealing that it wasn't an ordinary coin.
The mermaids swimming around him bit into his flesh.
Although the aroma of the cooked mermaids meat attracted most of the creatures, a few were more interested in Bai Liu's raw flesh. They bit eagerly at his arms and ankles, leaving grotesque ring-shaped teeth marks behind.
[System warning: Bai Liu's mental value is 17. It has dropped below 20. The player has entered the "Rage" state. Panel attributes are about to increase.]