Bai Liu lay on his side in the rearmost row of a minivan, the cramped backseat so narrow he could barely turn over. Any movement caused a necklace to slip from beneath his shirt.
His clothes were unchanged from before he entered the game: a white shirt, black trousers—the typical uniform of an office worker. Only the necklace was new. Its pendant was a one-yuan coin, pierced through. When Bai Liu touched it, the game panel appeared, identical to before, with no additional information.
It seemed to function as a sort of game manager.
He tucked the necklace back under his shirt, disliking the sight of a defaced coin.
Peering out from the backseat, Bai Liu saw that he was in a seven-seater van. Besides himself, four others sat up front. As soon as he poked his head out, someone looked at him in delight: "Bai Liu, hey, my little sweetheart, you're finally awake!"
Apart from Bai Liu, the other six all had distinctly foreign features. The one calling him "sweetheart" was a girl with a mane of chestnut curls, red lips, and brown eyes, dressed in hot pants and a camisole. The moment Bai Liu saw her, the coin at his chest triggered a panel:
[NPC Name: Lucy]
[Profile: Your classmate, who is very fond of your type. But you're far too shy around the bold and statuesque Lucy, who stands ten centimeters taller than you.]
Bai Liu's gaze lingered for a moment on the words "far too shy," then he looked away, thoughtful.
It seemed that to trigger an NPC's information panel, the player had to look at them—just like hovering a mouse over an icon in an online game. In this world, his eyes were his mouse and controller.
He mused: at the very least, he must not lose his sight in this game.
Lucy winked at him. "Hey, darling, did I wear you out? You've been asleep since we got in the car."
Bai Liu, who had never dated in his life, felt a twinge of awkwardness. "…"
So this was how his single life ended, painlessly.
He quickly changed the subject, glancing out at the increasingly desolate landscape. "Where are we headed? It looks awfully remote."
"Looks like someone's getting cold feet," came a mocking, deep male voice from the front. A burly man in tight jeans and a sports tee crossed his arms and looked at Bai Liu with disdain. His frame was so massive his shirt seemed ready to burst—he looked like a rugby player.
He looked down at Bai Liu, arms folded, and sneered, "Too late, Bai Liu. Even if you're a coward, it's too late to back out now. We're already on the road to Siren Town."
A panel popped up:
[NPC Name: Andre]
[Profile: Your rival in love, who fancies Lucy but was rejected by her. He's openly hostile toward you. Earlier, you bet him you'd protect Lucy in the world's most dangerous place to prove your love, so you all set out for Siren Town. You regretted it before getting in the car, cried your eyes out, and were dragged aboard by Andre.]
Bai Liu had now seen "Siren Town" mentioned twice. Ignoring Andre's taunts, he asked, "What kind of place is Siren Town?"
Andre snorted, about to retort, when a soft, rambling voice interrupted:
"Siren Town—the only coastal town in history where mermaid remains have been found. Many claim to have seen sirens here, or heard their enchanting songs in the surf, or even witnessed these strange, beautiful creatures feasting on human corpses atop the black rocks…"
"Jelf! Those are just stories the town made up to lure tourists!" Andre snapped, though a flicker of fear crossed his face.
A small, bespectacled boy clutching a book to his chest shrank back, clearly intimidated by Andre, but mustered the courage to protest, "Then how do you explain the mysterious disappearances of tourists in Siren Town? Last month, twelve visitors vanished without a trace! The police searched everywhere, but no one saw them leave, and not a single body was found…"
Bai Liu glanced at the panel.
[NPC Name: Jelf]
[Profile: An enthusiast of merfolk and other unnatural creatures. Upon learning Lucy's group was headed to Siren Town, he insisted on joining. He's well-versed in the town's legends.]
Andre retorted, "They probably just drowned. People drown at the seaside all the time."
Jelf was unconvinced. "The police have been dredging for a month and haven't found a single body. Even if they fell into the sea, that's not normal…" His voice dropped, tinged with excitement. "Unless the sirens ate them. Then, of course, there'd be nothing left for the police to find…"
Andre finally lost his temper, smacking Jelf on the head. "Shut up, you damned four-eyes! Always going on about mermaids! You look more like a fish than anyone!"
Andre hit him hard—Bai Liu saw Jelf's head knock against the seat, then bounce off Andre's shoulder, dazed. Andre, now truly angry, slapped him several times, sending a tooth flying.
Jelf silently picked up his tooth, then shot Andre a look of veiled malice, mouthing words only Bai Liu, with his sharp hearing, caught: "The mermaids will tear you apart, Andre."
Bai Liu raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. The NPC relationships here were certainly tangled.
It seemed Andre's bullying of Jelf was nothing new, and Jelf was already plotting revenge—using the "mermaids" as his weapon.
The driver was a local of Siren Town, hired by Bai Liu at great expense. From Lucy's chatter, Bai Liu gathered that he was a rich kid—he'd paid for everyone's food and lodging, hired the driver, and even asked him to find a local inn.
They drove through the night, finally reaching the mysterious Siren Town. According to the driver, the town had long survived on fishing and salvaging shipwrecks, remaining remote and impoverished until the new mayor began promoting mermaid legends to attract tourists. Only then did Siren Town begin to thrive on tourism.
But last month, a string of tourist disappearances had changed everything. Contrary to Andre's claims, some victims vanished before ever reaching the sea—one checked into a hotel, and by morning was gone, the door locked from the inside, the bed still warm, but the guest nowhere to be found.
With the disappearances, Siren Town had become eerily deserted at the height of tourist season. Many hotels and inns had closed for lack of business.
The town was indeed dilapidated—fences and fishing nets flapped in the wind, the ground littered with dried shells, seaweed, and sand. Only a few hotels showed any sign of prosperity. When Bai Liu and his group arrived, it was already late, but the streets were still crowded.
The townsfolk, who had been heading in unison toward the sea, all stopped as the van approached, turning as one to stare at the newcomers.
Being watched by so many people in the dead of night, Lucy shivered and let out a small scream, shrinking into Bai Liu's arms.
But she was so much taller than him that her head still poked above his shoulder, making it look as if Bai Liu was the one seeking comfort.
Bai Liu: "…"
He turned to the driver. "It's the middle of the night—what are all these people doing at the beach?"
The driver shook his head. "With no tourists, the economy's tanked. They've gone back to fishing. You wouldn't know, but the most valuable fish avoid bright lights—they only come out at night, so that's when the fishermen go to sea."
The townsfolk watched Bai Liu's car with eerie, catlike green eyes, their faces twisted into strange expressions—almost smiling, but with lips frozen in a rictus.
They carried nets and hooks, some holding lanterns that glowed milky in the dark. Their gazes followed the van, as if at any moment they might attack with their fishing gear.
"Be careful around these people," the driver warned. "They're desperate for money, and you're clearly well-off."
Thanks to Bai Liu's generosity, the driver arranged for them to stay at the town's finest hotel.
It was a modern, luxurious five-star establishment, so out of place it seemed to belong to another world. There was even a fountain at the entrance.
In the fountain stood a mermaid statue, its base of limestone, the figure itself sculpted from white wax. The mermaid was lifelike, her skin gleaming with a human luster in the moonlight, long hair cascading over her chest, her tail poised in the water. Her eyes were downcast, her expression mournful, hands cradling a jug from which fake mica pearls spilled, the fountain's water pouring out in a sound like ocean waves.
The driver circled the fountain and pulled up to the hotel's front door.
Suddenly, Jelf shrieked, pointing at the mermaid statue. "She just looked at me! She moved!"