Chapter 116 Merfolk Shore
Mr. Qi’s aloofness appeared intentional, likely stemming from his involvement in questionable activities, prompting him to avoid too much interactions. On the other hand, Xie Tangyan was naturally distant by nature. But now, as she looked at Wen Shi, her gaze showed deep concern, causing a bit of coldness in her eyes to melt away.
“There’s still hope,” the old lady whispered quietly from the corner. “The people who are currently with my dear grandson won’t just ignore the situation.”
Despite the distance, Xie Tangyan had excellent hearing. She nodded slightly to show agreement.
The owner of this piece of land wasn’t present today, probably staying close to his little brother.
Since nobody bothered, the situation probably wasn’t very bad.
Based on the current situation, knowing how to bring the filthy thing here suggested that her little brother’s intelligence was fine.
A’Sang, this second generation kid, forgot the kingdom’s name quite fast. He held onto Wen Shi’s clothes and stuttered like he used to, “What’s the ki-kingdom called?”
“It’s called Wusa.” Wen Shi looked serious. “Our slogan is ‘Wula!'”
A’Sang raised his hand and echoed, “Wula.”
The old lady at the round table looked pained, thinking, “How tough it must have been until my dear grandson recovered.”
The current scene was almost unbearable to look at.
The teenager quietly averted his gaze, not looking at this scene, which was the most gentleness he had deep inside.
The system began a ten-second countdown.
Wen Shi held onto the fox spirit who was still cursing despite serious injuries. His expression was cold as he said, “The curse of the weak is nothing but wasted words. It holds no value.”
He had no idea that his current behavior was even more terrifying than falling under a curse.
The presence of the annoying old light bulb, the round table, family members… and those complex looks, all gradually disappeared from his field of view. The salty smell returned to the air. Wen Shi opened his eyes and saw moss on the ceiling.
The group of students finally finished their discussion, fully immersed in their own world. The senior girl wearing the fox spirit pendant suggested, “How about we give it a try?”
She didn’t explicitly say what they should try, but everyone understood without words and simultaneously looked at the booklet.
After a few seconds of silence, a male student broke the silence, “Merfolk represent disasters and misfortune. According to the ritual written here, we should make a wish to the Merfolk King, but if the school finds out, we’ll be expelled.”
“If you don’t speak about it, who’s going to find out? Is the school’s administrator watching surveillance 24/7?”
The CCTVs hardly mattered. With the occasional student suicides, even regular footage would vanish automatically.
“Wishing to the Merfolk King?” The fox spirit thought this group of people had gone crazy by provoking creatures like merfolk.
The students, driven by their aspirations, began following the booklet’s instructions, reciting the tales of the Merfolk King over and over.
Despite its injuries, the fox spirit’s greed still showed in its eyes as it gazed at Wen Shi. “Aren’t you stopping them?” it slyly suggested, “I can tell you how to stop them, save these young ones.”
The sound of reading aloud filled the library late into the night.
“It was a warm, sunny afternoon, and the great Merfolk King faced unexpected hardships—”
The students’ recitations grew more organized. Mingzhu Academy students rarely had bad eyesight. Now, their bright eyes almost stuck to the pages.
“…the slumbering Merfolk King couldn’t tell its own kin apart. It’d give believers the perfect voice, guiding them toward success.”
Right, like that’s believable. Wen Shi quietly listened to the nonsense.
The fox spirit kept at it, “Maybe enough belief really can revive the Merfolk King. When that happens, everyone along this shore will die, including you.”
Wen Shi merely watched with cold eyes.
The quest required that he was not to leave directly, ensuring these students read the booklet, leading to the ultimate brainwashing of the students for the subsequent outcome. This fell under circumstances beyond his control.
Just like him, holding the bloodied fox spirit by the elevator, the students remained completely engrossed in reading, delivering faith to the Merfolk King. The protagonist of Merfolk Shore was the merfolk, and the Merfolk King held a crucial role in the S-level instance difficulty—the game wouldn’t allow it to be easily bypassed.
After much recitation, the senior students’ chests heaved heavily, desperately inhaling the salty air, feeding the gradually forming statue of the Merfolk King in their minds.
“Very well, you choose the students, I’ll go get the goods.”
Wen Shi’s muttered words puzzled the fox spirit. Surprisingly, he showed rare patience, standing quietly for a moment before saying, “They’re only afflicted with ordinary madness.”
With different motives, the school administrators saw the students as mere resources. Thus, when the evening study players were subjected to the dual guidance of the song, they became altered. Tonight’s actions were on Mr. Ruan’s personal initiative, clearly intending to temporarily keep these students alive to be exploited.
Mr. Ruan intentionally chose these thirty students, proving they were promising “leek seedlings.”
“If it’s only to this extent of brainwashing, there’s still hope to save them.”
The moment he heard about saving people, the fox spirit’s scheming heart stirred, but its manipulative words were cut off by Wen Shi, who said, “It’s not up to you.”
The fox spirit scoffed. It’s up to you instead?
As students’ eyes were left with nothing but faith, the system’s prompt sounded:
“Special side quest, Book Delivery, has been completed.”
“Quest rewards have been added to your backpack, please check your notes.”
Wen Shi had been waiting for this moment all along. A smile finally tugged at his lips. The quest was done, which meant he could start taking action.
“For these shallow cultists, just one step is needed to break their devotion.”
The moment the words fell, gray, brown, dirty white… countless thin strands of silk in different colors drifted toward the thirty students. The students, too busy gasping for air and chanting, were already entranced. Like the inevitable cottonwood fluff of summer days, the fine threads entered their respiratory passages. Some strands that briefly touched their bodies flickered with ghostly hues, successfully merging into their trembling forms.
【Fungal Strains】had limited reach each time. Wen Shi activated it five times in a row to cover all the students.
This was the first time Wen Shi had used this effect. The limitations of【Fungal Strains】were significant. Using it against players was risky, as it could be judged as personally inflicting harm. It couldn’t handle attacks well either. However, in this instance, it was the best choice for breaking devotion.
The Merfolk King, rumored to grant wishes, couldn’t even protect the students. Without eating merfolk flesh, how could this utilitarian faith persist?
“So don’t casually mention something that can grant wishes,” Wen Shi looked at the fox spirit, raising an eyebrow. “Understand?”
Someone who spread disease beneath the facade of salvation, as equally cruel as mental contamination, was now the one preaching morals, leaving the fox spirit silent.
The effects of【Fungal Strains】were clear. The excited students began to sweat profusely, some even started vomiting, and a few had their voices turn into duck-like quacks within a second.
The senior girl wearing the fox spirit pendant nearly snapped awake in an instant.
“My throat!”
“Mine too…”
For those whose condition worsened slightly, they couldn’t even stand steadily.
Good voices and figures were as important to these students as their lives. Panic was reflected on their faces, making them seem soulless.
Facing the fox spirit, Wen Shi’s smile was more chilling than a demon’s. “It’s your turn now. This time, it’s not about granting wishes. You just need to…”
He half-bent down and rapidly said something.
The fox spirit paused. “Just like that? You’re willing to let me go?”
Wen Shi straightened up and gave a slight nod.
“Hope you keep your word.”
For the sake of freedom, the fox spirit, now left with only a tail, charged forward.
Lounge area.
The senior girl wearing the fox spirit pendant fell into madness, smashing her laptop onto the ground in frustration.
The lights in the entire rest area flickered suddenly. The student’s hand, in the act of angrily smashing her laptop, froze in midair. When the lights came back on, a battered fox spirit apparition appeared in a crimson glow.
The half-bloodied face made it even more repugnant, and the students, who were already weak and feverish, couldn’t escape even if they wanted to.
In desperate frustration, they closed their eyes for three seconds, but nothing happened.
Opening their eyes again, the fox remained at a not-too-distant distance, always maintaining an air of superiority in the face of these students.
“In consideration of your devotion to me,” the fox spirit stared coldly at the senior girl, and began to spout nonsense, “I have saved you from a disaster.”
The senior girl grabbed the pendant around her neck in disbelief. After digesting the message within the words, her first reaction wasn’t fear, but rather clutching at the last straw. She rushed before the fox spirit and knelt down, “Master Fox Spirit, please save my voice. I’ll do anything!”
The hoarse throats were filled with urgency. Others were the same, some even uttered phrases like being willing to give up their souls in their desperation.
The fox spirit was tempted, about to grant their wishes, but it saw Wen Shi, who had mysteriously acquired a sword in his hand. Seeing him looking over with a smile, the fox spirit changed its mind and started backtracking.
Its sixth sense was exceptionally strong, otherwise it wouldn’t have wanted to refuse even when Wen Shi made such a simple request as a home visit.
The fox spirit’s intuition told it that this sword could kill with absolute certainty. It dropped its previous thoughts and spoke honestly:
“You’ve ended up like this because you believed in something you shouldn’t have.”
The students’ faces turned pale.
Merfolk had always been a sensitive topic. They hadn’t even admired the Merfolk King for a minute before their bodies reacted, lending credence to the fox spirit’s words.
The crimson glow in the light grew more intense, mingling with the fox’s flowing blood. It coldly uttered, “Wusa rises, Asa reigns! What you should believe in isn’t merfolk, but Asa.”
Students: ?
A thud echoed from the edge of the third-floor stairs. However, the senior students, who had experienced ups and downs in a short span, were all focused on the question of who Asa was.
The fox spirit raised a paw, and a piece of paper hovered in mid-air—it was the promotional leaflet written by Wen Shi.
“King Asa can restore your health.”
This was an unconventional way of distorting concepts to exert pressure.
Initially, the students’ wish was to impress everyone in the concert, but it had now turned into healing their bodies. However, restoring health wasn’t just empty words. Wen Shi did help them overcome the mental contamination, but his methods were now ambiguous, making it hard to tell if he was a perpetrator or a savior.
Even someone as cautious as Wen Shi sought confirmation from the game when studying the promotional leaflet:
“Can their power of belief be settled upon me? Do I need to make a separate appearance to explain the reincarnation issue?” Wen Shi was highly careful, “Or should I use my real name?”
【No need.】
The normally chilly mechanical voice was even more ruthless today, as if telling him to keep his distance.
Staircase entrance.
Two figures stood there—one composed and the other stern.
These two were Ji Yuanzhi and Jian Qingrong. As per Wen Shi’s earlier suggestion, they had come to the library tonight for a hunt.
During the process of hunting down the subpar merfolk, Ji Yuanzhi had acknowledged Wen Shi’s mastery. Regardless of the quest at hand, any merfolk that roamed the library regularly became a stumbling block in his escape route. Now, by assigning them as cleaners, any potential threat would be eliminated, allowing him to wholeheartedly focus on the quest at hand.
Ji Yuanzhi was also a safety net Wen Shi had left for himself.
Special side quests carried high risks. If push came to shove, he might have to sacrifice the quest for his own safety. Wen Shi wore the pendant containing Jian Qingrong’s heart-blood, allowing the latter to locate him at any time.
After the hunt was over, Jian Qingrong successfully located Wen Shi. When he arrived, he happened to witness Wen Shi using his skills.
Balancing a monster in one hand and releasing fungal threads with the other, in that moment, Wen Shi seemed to truly transform into a malevolent ancient deity. His arrogance and ruthlessness persisted for a span of fifteen seconds until the fox spirit made its appearance.
Upon hearing the six words uttered by the fox spirit, Jian Qingrong’s grip slipped, and the deceased subpar merfolk fell onto the floor.
Upon hearing the sound, Wen Shi turned his head, his gaze landing directly on the ugly merfolk corpse.
He walked over with a leisurely pace, crouched down, and proceeded to calmly slice open the fish’s belly in front of Jian Qingrong and Ji Yuanzhi. Following that, he spent two points to purchase a wooden plaque and unfading cinnabar.
Wen Shi used the cinnabar to write “King Asa” onto the wooden plaque. He then ruthlessly stuffed it into the belly of the fish, whose purple-black blood oozed out, creating a cruel and eerie scene as if the fish served as an altar in its own belly.
After completing all of this, Wen Shi meticulously wiped the fresh blood off his slender fingertips, combining composure, elegance, and a touch of insanity.
“How is it?” Wen Shi asked.
Ji Yuanzhi: “……”
A fox cried out by the crackling bonfire, a scroll hidden in a fish’s belly, consider it an education for your gaming endeavors.
[T/N: fox’s cry, hidden scroll: metaphorically describes the deceptive tactics employed by instigators of uprisings to rally the masses. for your reference, you may read “Spreading lies to rebel Against Qin – The rise of Chen Sheng, King of Chu”]
Jian Qingrong often carried some odd items with him. He pulled out a white handkerchief and helped Wen Shi wipe away the blood.
Wen Shi: “The students that Mr. Ruan has his eyes on are almost guaranteed to perform at the concert, indicating their exceptional talents. However, compared to the need for talented individuals, it seems more like he wants to create a disturbance through the concert.”
An enthusiastic and grand event, the audience would undoubtedly consist of the most prestigious figures within Merfolk Shore. Transforming an event into a macabre occasion aligned well with merfolk’s bloody and violent aesthetic preferences.
“The big boss always makes a grand entrance at the end. Even if the Merfolk King were to return now, players wouldn’t have a problem anymore.” Wen Shi kept his gaze fixed on the students who were still reading his promotional leaflets. “They’ll first spread spiritual contamination through the music performances, and then the Merfolk King will make a dazzling appearance. Those players who think they can survive just by reaching the concert will face a catastrophic event, thinking they’ve managed to escape.
“…The game’s difficulty and the instance are both rated as S-level. That’s why this plan was devised.”
Ji Yuanzhi subconsciously glanced out the window to ensure the game being accused of having sadistic tendencies didn’t trigger any backlash.
He adjusted his glasses and reaffirmed that Pei Wenwei possessed quite a formidable logical ability. He even suspected that an external factor might have influenced his abilities, resulting in such complexity. Otherwise, with Pei Wenwei’s capabilities, he should have matched with skills like【Omniscient Seer】.
“But it doesn’t matter,” Wen Shi chuckled softly, “I’ll intervene at the concert.”
The glory of Wusa would set sail once again.
Ji Yuanzhi: “……”
lol no wonder a fox spirit appeared so randomly. turns out, it’s all part of the crack.
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