"He's only one step away from completing the Monster Book. Damn, this is the first time I've ever seen this. It's incredible."
"I really wish the people on the forum could see this right now. If they were in the same situation, they'd already be dead. Meanwhile, Bai Liu is dominating."
"Solid strength. He encountered a god-level NPC and didn't hesitate at all. He just smashed the glass with a pickaxe and dragged it out."
"I'm laughing so hard my system is lagging. What a historical innovator! This is the first time I've ever seen someone drag a god-level NPC around in a cart and use it as a shield to fight monsters!"
"Poor god-level NPC. This is tragic!"
Li Gou's face darkened. He slammed his knife down again, but even he couldn't suppress a grudging sense of admiration for Bai Liu.
Many of the people who had mocked Bai Liu on the forum for being "weird" also came to watch his stream. Their expressions turned sour after being thoroughly proven wrong. When someone called them out, they snapped back angrily.
"So what if he's that amazing? If he's really that good, put him on the central screen! Isn't this just the single-player zone? What's so impressive about that?"
Right then, the system notification sounded:
[10,003 new users liked Bai Liu's stream.]
[9,607 new users bookmarked Bai Liu's stream.]
[1,300 new users tipped Bai Liu's stream.]
[Player Bai Liu has earned 1,300 points.]
[Player Bai Liu has received more than 10,000 likes within one minute. His popularity is skyrocketing! Player Bai Liu has unlocked a limited-time fame achievement!]
[Congratulations to player Bai Liu for earning a promotion slot and being featured on the Central Hall's Recommended Single-Player Screen! Excellent performance. Your view count is rising rapidly.]
Wang Shun took a deep breath. He didn't know why his heart was pounding so fast. It had been a long time since he'd felt the thrill of watching such an intense and satisfying game unfold.
He stared deeply at Bai Liu's small TV as it temporarily dimmed during the promotion transfer—then turned and ran.
He couldn't miss a single second of this player's performance.
Wang Shun's sudden sprint reminded the other players.
"Fuck! Central Hall promotion! This is the first time a newcomer has ever been featured there!"
"What are you yelling for? Move! If we miss part of the stream and want to rewatch it later, we'll have to pay for membership. A high-quality run like this will definitely end up in the VIP archive. Watching it live is basically free profit!"
"Right! Hurry!"
The player who had just mocked Bai Liu about the central screen now wore a dark expression. The others laughed and teased him before rushing off.
At the back of the crowd, Li Gou's face was grim. He tightened his grip on the knife and followed them toward the Central Hall.
-----------------
The Central Hall
A young man was squatting on the ground, wearing oversized headphones and holding a lollipop. He stared up at the massive central screens with interest, as though selecting a video to watch.
The headphones were fluffy and shaped like a strange monkey with a wide mouth. The monkey's long arms wrapped around the ear cups. Its eyes were red, and its teeth were made from cloth strips sewn into sharp triangles. It looked cartoonish—but with an unsettling edge.
The young man himself resembled the monkey. He had a round face, dark red eyes, and sharp tiger-like canine teeth that showed even when his mouth was closed. His appearance was cute—yet faintly menacing.
The lollipop shifted in his mouth, puffing out one cheek.
He muttered impatiently, "Why are there no players with real potential lately? The rankings are getting worse and worse. Not a single person has even completed a full Monster Book. I don't know how these players even got here."
He brushed off his pants and prepared to leave.
At that moment, a screen on the right side of the central display suddenly lit up.
The small TV of a previously inactive player turned on again, revealing a gentle, almost harmless-looking face.
On the screen, the player—who looked like an obedient honor student—was smiling as he dragged a cart, as if handing in homework to a teacher.
With casual, fluid movements, he pushed the cart containing a celestial-looking merman straight into a mermaid sailor—
Like firing a cannon.
The mermaid sailor let out a piercing scream of horror and fled in panic, tears streaming from its grotesque eyes. Bai Liu grinned happily and chased after it, pushing the cart with enthusiasm.
Mu Sicheng, standing in front of the giant screen, fell silent.
"…."
Then—
"??????"
Where the hell did this wild player come from?
What kind of insane gameplay was this?
Why was he running around the map pushing a god-level NPC into monsters?!
Mu Sicheng quickly opened Bai Liu's player profile on the promotion interface. His expression gradually shifted into a frown.
"Bai Liu… why does that name sound familiar? Have I heard it somewhere before…?"
He continued scrolling.
"This guy's performance is solid. Three Monster Book pages completed. Side plot unlocked… Side plot completion rate: 100%…"
His eyes widened.
"I remember now!"
Earlier on the forum, people had discussed a newcomer who might surpass his single-player points record in Siren Town.
The same newcomer who was supposedly incapable of completing True Love Ship had now finished three Monster Book pages and fully cleared the side storyline, Jeff's Bloody Plot—something even Mu Sicheng hadn't managed.
On top of that, Bai Liu's tipped points for Siren Town were already higher than his own.
It was entirely possible that Bai Liu would break the highest single-player points record for this instance.
Mu Sicheng felt a flicker of unwilling competitiveness. Without hesitation, he entered the audience of Bai Liu's small TV.
[Mu Sicheng, ranked fourth on the Rising Stars leaderboard, has entered player Bai Liu's stream. He has not yet expressed his stance. Please continue performing well to impress him~]
The onlookers who saw the notification collectively sucked in a breath. They glanced around, searching for Mu Sicheng.
"God Mu is here?!"
"Where is God Mu?!"
"This newcomer is so incredible that he even attracted God Mu. God Mu hasn't watched anyone's live stream in ages. He usually just watches recordings in the VIP archive. The last time he tuned into a live small TV was for Spades."
"Spades is the king of this game—the top-ranked player on the overall leaderboard. It's normal for God Mu to watch him. But what's this newcomer's background? Why would God Mu come for him?"
Mu Sicheng stood quietly in a corner. The oversized monkey headphones on his head shifted into a matching monkey cap.
He lowered the brim, his dark red eyes gleaming as he tilted his head slightly to observe the calm figure on Bai Liu's small TV. Biting down on his lollipop with sharp canine teeth, he smiled with interest.
"This newcomer is kind of interesting."
Bai Liu pushed the cart carrying the Siren King through the streets with a relaxed smile. It looked less like he was navigating a horror survival game and more like he was enjoying a casual stroll.
The mermaid sailors trailed at a cautious distance behind him. They clearly wanted to approach, but every time their eyes fell on the Siren King lying in the cart, fear flickered across their faces. They glared at Bai Liu resentfully, yet none dared to move closer.
Bai Liu, meanwhile, acted as though he noticed nothing. He pushed the cart as casually as someone strolling along the beach with a baby carriage. The faint smile on his lips was almost sinister—it felt as though he were wielding a feudal overlord as leverage to control his vassals.
However, the relationship between the Siren King and the mermaid sailors and statues was more complex than that of a simple overlord and his subjects.
In truth, it wasn't difficult to deduce that the Siren King was the final weakness of the mermaid sailors and statues. This conclusion was based on two points.
First, the Siren King had no listed weaknesses, making him effectively the strongest entity in the instance. Naturally, this posed an enormous threat to players.
But the same logic applied to the monsters.
Because the Siren King had no weaknesses, he couldn't be easily defeated by either players or other monsters. By dragging him out of the showcase, Bai Liu had instantly redirected that overwhelming threat—from himself to the monsters.
Second, the reasoning stemmed from the game's narrative structure.
From the earlier storyline, it was clear that the mermaid, mermaid statues, and mermaid sailors formed a three-stage progression—similar to larva, pupa, and butterfly.
Yet their relationship wasn't merely evolutionary. It also resembled a food chain.
Stronger mermaids consumed the flesh of weaker ones. During the process of alienation, mermaid fishermen were reduced to serving the mermaid sailors. They survived on the sailors' leftovers and were forced to fish for them aboard the ships.
Meanwhile, the mermaid sailors controlled which statues in the Siren Museum were allowed to hatch. Lucy and Jeff's situation the previous night was a perfect example—the sailors had delivered them to the museum and decided which statues would undergo transformation. It was clearly an upper-class authority exerting control over the lower class—much like a corporate boss deciding who would receive a promotion.
Thus, a hierarchical structure among the monsters was evident:
Mermaids (servants and food) → Mermaid Wax Statues (minions) → Mermaid Sailors (higher-tier enforcers).
And at the very top of this hierarchy sat the Siren King.
He held absolute dominance within this food chain. The other mermaid creatures feared him instinctively, restrained by a natural deterrence they could not overcome.
Bai Liu realized that the monsters weren't only afraid of the Siren King — they also wanted to restrain him. He came to this conclusion because something about the Siren Museum felt wrong.
With almost the entire town already under the rule of the mermaid monsters, there was actually no need for the Siren Museum to exist. Previously, it had served to conceal criminal evidence.
However, that wasn't necessary for the mermaids.
The mermaid statues could move freely throughout the town, just like those in the hotel. So why were a fixed number of statues stationed in the museum? They even replenished the number whenever one statue left, ensuring it always remained constant.
This behavior — fixing a certain number of monsters in one place and preventing them from leaving — could best be described as "guarding." The Siren Museum was more like a prison guarded by a designated number of soldiers.
Yes, that was it. These mermaid statues were guarding the Siren King inside the Siren Museum.
The fish monsters must have used some method unknown to Bai Liu to prevent the Siren King from awakening. It was very likely that the liquid inside the glass showcase had a restraining effect on him.
Bai Liu had noticed that the liquid was as sticky as glue, almost forming a thin shell over the Siren King's eyelashes. It also emitted a strange, dizzying smell. If the game had stated that the Siren King had a weakness, Bai Liu would have been 100% certain that it was this liquid. Unfortunately, the Siren King had no weaknesses. The liquid could only restrain him temporarily, and he would soon awaken from it.
Strictly speaking, Bai Liu's guess wasn't entirely wrong. In the normal version of the "Siren Banshee," this liquid was indeed the creature's weakness. The Siren Banshee couldn't awaken on its own from the liquid and required rescue by the player. At the same time, the player needed to use the liquid to prevent the fully awakened banshee from attacking them.
Unfortunately, Bai Liu had encountered the Siren King — an enhanced, bug-like version — who could awaken purely on his own. Therefore, even if Bai Liu's guess was correct, it was useless. The liquid had only a very limited effect on the Siren King, and it was unrealistic to expect it to stun him again.
The Siren Museum was the prison of the Siren King. The reason the monsters feared his awakening so much was simple: once he awoke, it would essentially mark the end of these monsters in Siren Town.
The monsters had only begun appearing after the Siren King was salvaged. If he were to sink back to the bottom of the sea, the monsters should disappear as well. That was why they were so afraid of him — and why they didn't dare disturb Bai Liu as he pushed the cart. They were terrified of waking the sleeping Siren King.
What the mermaid monsters didn't know was that Bai Liu would certainly die if the Siren King awakened. The reason Bai Liu dared to act so arrogantly was that he knew the Siren King wouldn't wake up anytime soon. The system prompt had clearly stated that it would take five hours for him to awaken. That was why Bai Liu dared to use the Siren King as a "hostage" to force the monsters back.
All Bai Liu needed to do now was take the Siren King to the Siren's Gift sea area, sink him to the bottom of the sea, and the game would end.
[Congratulations to the player for unlocking the entire storyline and entering the prologue of the ending. The player has escaped from the museum during the day, and the mermaid statues cannot move during daylight. The player currently holds a significant advantage, which strongly influences the gameplay. In order for the mermaid statues to participate in the final plot and to weaken the player's current advantage, balancing the gameplay, the weather is about to change. Please prepare in time.]
[Weather Change: Cloudy → Rainstorm]
Heavy rain suddenly poured down. Large raindrops struck the ground, splashing up muddy water. Bai Liu was instantly soaked, like a drowned rat. He gripped the cart with one hand and used the other to brush his wet hair away from his eyes. Water dripped from his eyelashes onto the ground.
Within seconds, the world before him was swallowed by white mist. Bai Liu was flustered by the rain, but the mermaid sailors who had been chasing him turned their faces upward and swallowed the falling rain. It seemed to energize them. They began to change.
Gills sprouted beside their mouths, and a green light glowed in their eyes. Step by step, they began approaching Bai Liu.
Some mermaid statues that had been hiding in the shadows also began to move closer. Their pure white stone fish tails seemed to come alive in the rain. They glided across the ground as if swimming through oil, moving far faster than before.
The expressions on their faces changed from identical, mechanical smiles to ferocious, rampant grins. Gray-black cracks around their eyes spread across their bodies. Their upper bodies lost their human appearance, becoming more like deep-sea fish.
On the cart, the Siren King's long eyelashes trembled twice. The rain moistened his slimy fish tail, washing away the remaining liquid from the glass cabinet. His silver-blue scales began to gleam brilliantly in the rain.
Bai Liu scanned the monsters using the coin game manager hanging around his neck.
[Monster Name: Mermaid Wax Statue (Rain Enhancement: Movement speed on land increases. The Siren King's deterrent effect decreases. Attack power increases.)]
[Monster Name: Mermaid Sailor (Rain Enhancement: Movement speed on land increases. The Siren King's deterrent effect decreases. Attack power increases.)]
[Monster Name: Siren King (Rain has no enhancement effect on him. However, due to the medicated liquid being washed away, the Siren King will awaken earlier. There are only three hours left until he awakens. Please speed up the game progress.)]
After reading the panel information, Bai Liu snorted. "This game is really shameless. If it can't win fairly, it just forcibly penalizes the player. And isn't this strengthening a bit excessive? Not only has it shortened my clearance time, but the heavy rain also restricts my movement speed and sense of direction. My panel attributes are poor to begin with — it's easy for me to die in a chase…"
He paused, then smiled faintly. "Well, for me, it isn't impossible to play even in this situation."
He pushed back his wet hair with his fingers. Rain slid down his chin, soaking his clothes and making them cling tightly to his body. Combined with the downpour, Bai Liu felt slightly short of breath.
He unbuttoned the top button of his drenched white shirt, revealing a small patch of pale skin and the faint outline of his collarbone beneath the translucent fabric. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and smiled lightly. "I just hope the final rewards match my effort. I don't play games with disproportionate returns."
[If you can win, you will not be disappointed by our rewards. They will surely satisfy your inner desires.]
Bai Liu smiled. "Then I'll thank you in advance for the reward."
His tone was calm and natural, as if he had already received the system's prize.
However, the crowd watching the screen was stunned.
Because Bai Liu occupied a single-player position in the central hall, his small TV had attracted many new viewers. Some were drawn in by the gimmick: "The newcomer that Mu Sicheng is watching."
This group hadn't witnessed Bai Liu's earlier god-tier operations. They had only seen the short broadcast after he was placed in the "Strongly Recommended" position. Watching him speak so confidently in such a desperate situation left them speechless.
"I was wondering what kind of player God Mu was watching. I didn't expect… this. The monsters have been enhanced, his panel attributes are terrible across the board, and the game time has been shortened. Yet he still has the leisure to chat and act cool. I'm speechless. I really don't get it."
"I saw all the praise on the forum before. But watching him play now, he seems average at best. How did he even get the promotion slot? Did he rely on his face?"
Others immediately defended Bai Liu. Most of them had followed him from the single-player zone.
"He collected three pages of the monster book, and you call him weak? You think you can play better? Show your own record! Let's see how many monster book pages you've collected!"
"Who here says they're better than Bai Liu? Oh? A bunch of people who don't even have ten points to charge? That explains it."
Players could check each other's charging points. Now that they were exposing the sore spots of those mocking Bai Liu, the noise grew even louder.
The two sides began fiercely arguing.
Meanwhile, Wang Shun remained silent, staring at Bai Liu on the small TV with worry in his eyes.
Bai Liu truly had a luck value of zero. He was being targeted both inside and outside the game. The system was deliberately restricting him, and he had encountered the most difficult audience possible — the viewers in the central hall.
The central area didn't care much about the process of clearing a game. Many players who came to watch the central screens were looking for efficient strategies. They weren't interested in the journey — only the results. They focused on two things: how many final reward points could be obtained, and whether the level could be cleared effectively.
As a result, the central audience was notoriously harsh and picky. Unless the player was a recognized top-tier god, they were quick to criticize. Most of their points were spent on paid live broadcasts of high-level players or on paid videos in the system's VIP library. They rarely charged new players and were far more likely to downvote them. They also held considerable hostility toward newcomers and mocked almost anyone who appeared.
For players who weren't established great gods, their live broadcasts in the central area were often quickly stepped on by these viewers. Situations like this heated argument would only accelerate the rate at which Bai Liu was being downvoted.
[32 new people have liked Bai Liu's small TV.]
[89 new people have bookmarked Bai Liu's small TV.]
[0 people have charged Bai Liu's small TV.]
[3,807 people have downvoted player Bai Liu's small TV.]
[Player Bai Liu has been downvoted by more than 3,000 people within one minute. Your small TV has received over 5,000 downvotes, and you have earned the title "Hateful."]
[It seems everyone wants you to leave here—oh no, to die here.]
[Player Bai Liu's strongly recommended position on the central screen is about to expire.]
Wang Shun saw the system notifications and let out a long sigh. It had really come to this.
The audience members who had been following Bai Liu were furious, their faces flushed with anger, while the viewers from the central area looked triumphant. Just then, someone suddenly exclaimed, "Another newcomer has gotten a promotion spot at the edge of the central hall!"
Another one? The previous one had been Bai Liu. Then who was this?
Wang Shun looked over suspiciously and saw a player holding a flaming torch while surrounded by a water bubble.
This player was swimming through the sea, using the torch to drive away the mermaid sailors chasing him. In his right hand, he held a mermaid skeleton — a genuine skeleton made of dense white bones. It was the normal Siren Banshee, not Bai Liu's Siren King version.
The player was clearly partially alienated. His face was covered with fish scales, and his lower body resembled a fish tail. His thighs merged with his heels and disappeared, allowing him to swim swiftly through the water.
He had obviously reached the ending phase. As long as he returned the Siren Banshee to the bottom of the sea, the level would be cleared. His survival rate was clearly much higher than Bai Liu's, which triggered even louder ridicule from the central audience.
"I'm dying of laughter. Didn't you all praise Bai Liu to the heavens? This other newcomer is about to clear the instance using the traditional method!"
"Bai Liu just likes to act cool. I suggest you step back from the brink and watch some serious videos instead. It's better to spend money than waste time watching this free live broadcast."
"Let's go. There's nothing worth saying about low-level players like this. Watching is a waste of time."
"I'm leaving too. I can't believe I wasted time here when I could've been watching the great gods' videos."
People kept leaving Bai Liu's small TV. The previously crowded viewing area quickly emptied out. Wang Shun sighed and stepped forward, finally standing in the spot in front of Bai Liu's small TV that he had wanted earlier but had been pushed out of by the crowd.
[7,060 people have left player Bai Liu's small TV. Of them, 3,900 have entered the newcomer's small TV next door.]
[Player Bai Liu's gameplay is too poor. No one is watching or liking it. You obtained this position only to be rejected. The strongly recommended system is very disappointed and has decided to exchange player Bai Liu's promotion position with that of the newcomer next door.]
Before Wang Shun could recover, another notification appeared.
[Player Bai Liu has dropped from the central promotion area to the edge of the hall.]
[Player Mu Ke has risen to the single-player strongly recommended area in the central hall.]
Bai Liu hadn't even remained in that position for ten minutes before being removed. The few viewers who stayed were angry and disappointed. Some complained aloud, others sighed. A few followed Bai Liu to the outskirts to continue watching his small TV. Others silently stayed where they were, waiting to watch the newcomer Mu Ke's live broadcast. They had given up on Bai Liu.
Only a handful of viewers followed Bai Liu along with Wang Shun. Among them stood a strange man wearing a monkey hat in front of the small TV, which caught Wang Shun's attention.
Feeling emotional after following Bai Liu through so many ups and downs, Wang Shun approached him to chat. "Why did you come here? Do you like Bai Liu that much?"
The man slightly lifted the brim of his monkey hat, revealing a pair of sly red eyes. "It's because I don't think someone who's said to be able to replace me would only be at this level."
Replace him?
Wang Shun froze for a moment before realizing what he meant. He nearly cried out in shock.
The man quickly made a "shh" gesture and lowered his voice with a chuckle.
"Besides, he really did play very well earlier, didn't he? This is the first time I've seen someone collect three pages of the monster book aside from me. If the last page hadn't been the Siren King, I believe he would've completed it by now."
"This guy isn't pretending. He really is strong." He crushed the lollipop in his mouth and turned to look at Bai Liu's small TV with a grin. "I've never seen the system go this far to weaken a player's advantage."
"The system says it's for game balance. That means Bai Liu has to be suppressed to this extent for the game to be considered balanced. He's that strong — and yet some people think he won't clear the level…"
Mu Sicheng chuckled. "It's kind of funny."
[Mu Sicheng, the fourth-ranked player on the Rising Stars leaderboard, has entered player Bai Liu's small TV.]
[Mu Sicheng sincerely liked player Bai Liu's small TV. It seems he has a good impression of the player~]
[Mu Sicheng has used his authority as the fourth-ranked player on the Rising Stars leaderboard to recommend Bai Liu's small TV on his own channel. A large number of viewers will soon arrive.]
Wang Shun was completely stunned. After a long moment, he asked in confusion, "God Mu, if you think Bai Liu is so strong, why didn't you say so earlier? Why wait until he fell to the outskirts before recommending him?"
If Mu Sicheng had spoken up sooner, Bai Liu might have been able to keep the highly recommended position. A recommendation from a great god like Mu Sicheng was invaluable for a newcomer.
Mu Sicheng smiled and glanced at Wang Shun. "Because I was waiting for him to fall."
"For someone that strong, offering help in the snow is better than adding icing to the cake. If I recommend him now, he'll owe me a favor."
Wang Shun was rendered speechless by Mu Sicheng's shamelessness. He stared at him in disbelief.
This God Mu was completely different from the ruthless, brutal figure he appeared to be in-game. In reality, he was thick-skinned and shameless.
Bai Liu knew nothing about the chaos outside.
In the rain, the mermaid statues and sailors were relentlessly chasing him. He pushed the cart slowly as the monsters caught up several times. Whenever they did, he would spin the cart containing the Siren King toward them to force them back. But this tactic was becoming less effective. More monsters were joining the pursuit, and the rain had reduced their fear of the Siren King.
A sailor's claws scratched Bai Liu's arm, and blood poured out. He turned into a narrow alley, dragging the cart behind him. Suddenly, a buzzing filled his mind as a red warning panel popped up.
[Warning: Player Bai Liu has become alienated after being scratched by a mermaid sailor. Mental value has dropped to 60. This is approaching the unsafe threshold. Once it falls below 60, the player will begin experiencing hallucinations.]
"That's not good…" Bai Liu covered his bleeding arm and leaned against the alley wall to catch his breath. Soaked by rain, he looked like he had just been pulled from the sea.
He closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing, trying to steady himself against the dizziness and numbness. When his mental value fell to 60, it felt like a black hole or whirlpool swallowing his senses and cognitive ability. He had experienced it once before, but back then, after the initial discomfort, his high mental value and strong resistance had allowed him to recover quickly.
This time—
His knees buckled, and his hands hit the ground.
Gray-black lines rapidly spread across his face, and dark green scales began forming beneath his eyes. His skin turned unnaturally pale, resembling the white sheen of fish flesh. Lowering his head, he gasped for air as rain poured over him.
He looked like a dying fish stranded on shore.
"This is my mistake," Bai Liu said calmly. "I didn't expect my mental value dropping to 60 would affect me this much."
Wang Shun stared tensely at the screen. "His mental value really fell to 60. If it drops by even one more point, he'll start hallucinating."
Mu Sicheng's expression also grew serious. The lollipop remained pressed to one side of his cheek as he spoke vaguely, "At 60, it's easy to die in a chase battle. Once hallucinations start, you can't tell which monsters are real and which aren't. It becomes almost impossible to find an escape route."
"Should we buy a mental-cleansing item now?" Wang Shun asked nervously. "Bai Liu has enough points to purchase one. If he uses it, his mental value will rise."
Mu Sicheng shook his head. "Maybe in other games. But in this one, it's best not to cleanse."
Wang Shun was confused. "Why?"
Mu Sicheng didn't answer.
Meanwhile, the audience members drawn in by Mu Sicheng's recommendation began whispering among themselves in low voices.
"This player… is it just me, or does he look like a total vegetable?" (Vegetable = Chinese slang for weak/inexperienced)
"Why did God Mu recommend such a dish… is he serving us a meal?"
As the discussion continued, Bai Liu suddenly stood up against the wall in front of the small TV. He narrowed his eyes and looked toward the mouth of the alley where he was hiding. Several sailors and statues were approaching. Their black silhouettes loomed through the misty rain.
After his mental value dropped, Bai Liu's movement speed had become even slower. If he rushed out now, he would be caught immediately. He only needed to be caught once more for his mental value to drop below 60. If hallucinations began in this heavy rain, he wouldn't even be able to distinguish direction.
Leaning against the wall, Bai Liu quietly calculated his options.
Outside the alley, the mermaid monsters sniffed and crawled along the ground like geckos, scouting rapidly. A strong green light glowed in their eyes, and mucus dripped from their slightly open mouths. When they reached the alley entrance, they sniffed twice before curling their fish-like lips into a chilling smile. Then they began climbing forward, hands and limbs clinging to the walls as they advanced.
Wang Shun held his breath, barely suppressing the urge to shout, "Bai Liu, run!" His fists clenched tightly.
But running was useless.
Bai Liu's movement speed was far slower than the monsters'. If he ran, he would only attract more of them — like delivering himself as food. The only hope was that the monsters would fail to notice him in the alley.
Yet they were getting closer. The situation looked grim.
Just as Wang Shun reached this thought, he saw Bai Liu grab the cart and charge out of the alley without hesitation into the heavy rain.
Wang Shun: "!!!!"
He blurted out anxiously, "You can't run! It'll be over if you run!"
As expected, the mermaid monsters swarmed toward the alley entrance in an instant. More statues flocked in, and the narrow lane was quickly surrounded. Yet Bai Liu didn't slow down. His eyes were calm as he faced the encirclement.
Wang Shun suddenly understood.
Bai Liu was attempting to break through.
Wang Shun was so anxious he nearly stamped his feet.
How could Bai Liu make such a fatal mistake at this critical moment? Even if he broke through now, the monsters were faster. They would catch up to him and tear him apart. Running made no sense!
Mu Sicheng frowned. "The drop in mental value might have affected his judgment. He shouldn't have rushed out here."
"Yes." Wang Shun exhaled deeply. "We underestimated the mental impact. With his low physical stats, he must have panicked."
The other viewers wore complicated expressions. Some began muttering that perhaps Mu Sicheng had suddenly developed a taste for vegetables. Mu Sicheng pretended not to hear them. He simply pressed down the brim of his hat and muttered, "Was I really wrong about Bai Liu?"
Meanwhile, Bai Liu used the cart containing the Siren King to force his way through the encirclement. The monsters stared at him as he fled.
Wang Shun's heart shot into his throat. They were going to chase him—
But strangely, the mermaid monsters hesitated at the alley entrance. Instead of pursuing Bai Liu, they turned and rushed into the alley.
Wang Shun: "??????"
Mu Sicheng: "?????????"
The rest of the audience: "????????????"
Why weren't they chasing him? What were they doing in the alley?
The camera slowly shifted inside the alley—
There was another Bai Liu.
This second Bai Liu stood gripping the cart as if confronting an enemy, making aggressive gestures. He lifted his chin at the monsters and crooked his index finger in blatant provocation.
The monsters were instantly enraged and attacked with bared teeth.
The appearance of this strange duplicate ignited the audience.
"Whoa, what's that? Can he split himself?"
"What item is this? That's totally broken! Can something this high-level even be used in a first-level instance like Siren Town?"
"High-level items aren't allowed in low-level instances, right? The system would kick the player out for disrupting balance!"
"Then what is this?!"
Suddenly, a fish monster slashed at the alley Bai Liu — and his figure flickered into an afterimage before instantly reforming with the same lazy smile.
Wang Shun's eyes lit up. "It's the 3D projector! Bai Liu is using a 3D projector!"
"The monsters in Siren Town have extremely low intelligence. They can't distinguish between a projection and a real person!"
He hurriedly flipped through his electronic records. "On rainy days, the 3D projector's image becomes more solid due to moisture in the air. Combined with Bai Liu's provocative actions, it's easy to anger and attract these low-level monsters."
"Between a player running away with his head down and a player standing in a combat pose, their limited reasoning means they'll prioritize the one who appears more threatening."
Wang Shun's eyes shone. "He used the item to successfully redirect them!"
Some viewers were still skeptical.
"Even if they're dumb, repeated attacks failing will make them realize it's fake. Then they'll chase the real Bai Liu. They're still faster than him."
"He may have shaken them briefly, but unless he restricts their movement, they'll catch up."
Almost as if responding, the monsters on-screen began sniffing suspiciously at the projection. After scratching it several times and confirming it wasn't real, they let out an ear-piercing screech of fury.
They turned to rush out of the alley—
At that moment, the projected Bai Liu grinned.
Unhurriedly, he pulled out a flashlight and aimed it at the monsters' backs. He switched it on.
A beam of light shot forward, piercing through the mermaid statues in the alley. The statues wailed and shielded their eyes as the beam extended outward—
Far away, across the rain-soaked town, another beam of light responded, connecting with it.
The two beams merged into a brilliant column of light that cut straight across Siren Town.
The light-fearing mermaid statues recoiled, completely blocked. The dazzling beam stretched across the town like a blazing barrier, preventing them from advancing any further.
Even the mermaid sailors, protected by amulets and less sensitive to light, hesitated. They circled the beam cautiously, not daring to cross.
At the other end of the beam, Bai Liu leaned against a wall, gasping softly. A second 3D projector sat beside him. The projected version of himself held a flashlight, its beam perfectly aligned with the one in the alley, forming this brilliant barricade.
Bai Liu wiped the rain from his forehead and sighed.
"Good thing this 3D projector works in water."
The blinding beam filled the small TV screen.
The audience fell silent.
The viewers who had mocked him moments ago were still staring in shock.
After a long pause, someone finally muttered:
"Okay… that's insane."
"You can use a flashlight like that?! That's so cool!"
"I doubted God Mu's judgment earlier. I was wrong. It wasn't the player who was a vegetable — it was my eyes. I should go wash them."
"Isn't this newcomer's style similar to the death-comedy zone players? It feels like he genuinely treats this horror game as a game. Winning isn't everything — the experience matters most."