Chapter 104.2 Merfolk Shore
Wen Shi woke up amidst the jolting.
He was back on the train, but this time it was a hard seat. Song Yan sat next to him. Since it was only his second time in an instance, Song Yan hadn’t quite gotten used to teleportation. He currently seemed a bit dazed.
Sitting across from Wen Shi was Ji Yuanzhi.
He looked around briefly, but that quick glance was enough to determine that this train car was mostly filled with players. Players and regular passengers were quite easy to tell apart—players would promptly size up their surroundings.
“There are quite a few people here,” Wen Shi commented, somewhat surprised.
In his past experiences, even in large-scale instances, he hadn’t encountered so many players at once.
Several unfriendly gazes swept over. Unconsciously, Wen Shi tensed his back slightly, vigilantly scanning his surroundings but finding no source of malice.
After a while, a subtle gaze drifted his way once again, sending a chill down Wen Shi’s spine.
He had been relatively smooth sailing recently, to the point that he had almost forgotten that quite a few people were interested in obtaining information about the 3S instance through him. In past instances, where the player count was low, this behavior wasn’t so distinct. However, with the high number of players this time, there might even be members of underground guilds among them.
It was by chance that he teamed up with Ji Yuanzhi, which was a good thing. At least he would have someone to look out for him.
The loud chatter in the train carriage was interrupted by a broadcast.
“Welcome, passengers, aboard the K9999 train. The final destination of this train is Merfolk Shore. We kindly ask passengers to cooperate with the train conductors for ticket checks.”
The broadcast concluded precisely at 5:00 PM.
According to the train schedule, they were less than half an hour away from their destination.
There were no suitcases on the luggage racks. Wen Shi checked his personal belongings. Similar with the players around him, a black backpack was placed by his right side.
When he opened it, there was an admission notice inside.
【Dear Aaron,
With the endorsement of a teacher from our school’s admissions office and subsequent approval from the admissions committee, you have been granted successful admission to our institute.
Please present this notice and report on the 31st of this month as scheduled!】
This wasn’t a typical acceptance letter. Usually, official notifications wouldn’t use terms like “this month.” The enrollment process also seemed quite odd. Given the context of the story, this prestigious music academy should have a proper formal entrance examination pathway.
What in heck was this teacher’s endorsement?
Wen Shi continued to rummage through his backpack. Alongside his phone and power bank, there were items for sun protection such as sunscreen and sunglasses.
This unavoidably made him consider his questionable species identity. Merfolk were said to fear the sun.
Wen Shi nudged Song Yan’s elbow, “Let me see your bag.”
Song Yan readily handed it over.
After checking, Wen Shi let out a sigh of relief, “It’s fine.”
The contents were the same.
Several players unconsciously tightened their zippers while checking their bags, initiating confidentiality checks. Judging by this sudden mid-journey nervousness, it suggested they likely had sun protection products as well.
“Keep the letter safe,” Wen Shi reminded Song Yan. This might be their admission proof, and losing or intentionally damaging it would cause trouble.
The train conductors had already begun ticket checks from the front row. Ji Yuanzhi took off his glasses, leaned back in his seat, and closed his eyes to rest. He didn’t expect to sleep well tonight in the school dorm.
Song Yan was far from composed. His heart was suspended in anxiety. “The ticket…”
Wen Shi: “Check the pockets of your clothes and pants.”
Even though they entered using a team-invite item, they didn’t belong to those who illegally trespassed into the instance. Whatever the other players had, Song Yan would surely have it too.
Finally, Song Yan found a crumpled ticket in the inner pocket of his clothes.
Wen Shi’s gaze paused. This ticket was slightly different from the one he held in his hand.
The train conductor had just reached them, “Hello, please show your ticket.”
Song Yan and Ji Yuanzhi handed theirs over in succession. The conductor glanced at them and returned them. When it was Wen Shi’s turn, the conductor gazed at the ticket, which resembled a work of art, and her smile deepened. “The ticket you purchased is a limited-edition commemorative ticket. Holders can exchange it for a souvenir.”
Her voice was gentle, yet…
The train carriage was quiet during the ticket check, so most of the players heard her words, which earned envious and jealous glances.
Everyone had just entered the instance, and the game was already treating him differently.
Wen Shi wasn’t even slightly surprised by this favor.
He had almost staged a grand escape from the bathroom to obtain this ticket, so receiving rewards different from players with ordinary tickets was perfectly deserved.
The train conductor quickly fetched the souvenir—a small merfolk pendant. The chibi-style figurine had long hair trailing down to its tail, looking cute at first glance, but upon closer inspection, the merfolk’s eyes held an indescribable eerie quality.
【Merfolk Talisman*1: Can help you resist damage once inside the campus premises.】
Wen Shi directly hung the pendant around his neck. Wearing a thin coat conveniently concealed the full view of the pendant, so outsiders could only see the red string around his neck.
The conductor smiled in satisfaction upon seeing this. “You can enjoy complimentary food and water on the train. Have a pleasant journey.”
A vendor lady was nearby and approached Wen Shi upon hearing this.
Wen Shi only took a bag of stuffed snacks.
Thinking there might be something mystical about the candies, Song Yan gave them a few more glances.
Wen Shi: “The conductor was showing a bit of favor because of the ticket, hence the food and drink benefits. The items on the snack trolley aren’t anything special.”
The real treasure was the merfolk talisman.
Song Yan blinked in surprise.
So, was it just for his simple craving?
Wen Shi added with a smile, “It’s for the little octopus.”
Knowing Big Eye as he did, it was likely still upset about the tea party not starting on time. But with its nine mostly silly and naive brains, it was easy to coax. When the time came, if he personally fed it a candy, it would probably get sweetly overwhelmed and then softly hold onto his finger, forgetting all about the tea party.
“Hm…” When mirror Song Yan disappeared from the instance along with Wen Shi, it probably gave the mini octopus quite a shock.
One wasn’t enough. It seemed he’d have to feed it two by hand.
“Could you switch seats, please?”
While Wen Shi was busy with his scheming, a gentle masculine voice reached them. The seat change request wasn’t directed at him, but at Song Yan sitting beside Wen Shi.
Song Yan looked puzzled at the man who suddenly approached, then inexplicably felt a sense of dread. The man’s exquisitely pale appearance resembled a statue. His left eye was wrapped in gauze, and beneath it, a faint trace of blood seeped through, as if that eye was forever bleeding. It was even stranger than the eyes on the merfolk pendant.
Meanwhile, Ji Yuanzhi calmly picked up his glasses, though the fingers clutching the glasses tightened ever so slightly.
He had seen this face before, a key NPC from the “Big Factory” instance.
Jian Qingrong had shed the hypocritical veneer of subservience that he displayed on the promotional board. He also lacked the gloomy composure he had exhibited while watching Wen Shi’s speech from the audience. Only a hint of an unhealthy weirdness remained in his right eye.
Each of the three had their own reactions. Wen Shi remained stunned for a few seconds, tilting his head and uttering a puzzled “Huh.”
Why was the real deal here?
Suddenly realizing something belatedly, he thought that as long as someone had a ticket, they could board the train. The K9999 train passed through more than one instance, so it wasn’t unusual for Jian Qingrong to be here.
Poor Song Yan, this naive kid, was still looking at the man with his big, questioning eyes. “Sir, who are you?”
Jian Qingrong lowered his eyelashes slightly, a strange smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, his gaze fixed on Song Yan without saying a word.
Quite the lucky guy, so lucky that he wished to dissect the man into slices right now.
An ignorant young man could follow Wen Shi around, while he could only offer companionship through the method of gouging an eyeball.
Sensing the temperature drop around them, Song Yan’s throat constricted, “B-Boss…”
Wen Shi: “Let me.”
He silently tore open the packaging and shoved two cream-filled snacks into his mouth.
Oh no, this one couldn’t be pacified with candies.
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