Chapter 113.1 Merfolk Shore
The narrow passage received a bit of moonlight, just enough to envelop Wen Shi’s entire body, casting a long shadow behind him.
In the dormitory, nearing midnight, one person stood quietly, looking like they’d been possessed by a ghost.
Jian Qingrong didn’t mind the pale moonlight’s effects. He only cared if Wen Shi felt unwell.
Wen Shi tried to hint subtly, “My Big Brother is ready to approach one of the mentors for physical contact.”
Song Yan poked his head out upon hearing. “A fight? Can you really beat NPCs in a fight?”
Wen Shi abandoned the mute riddle and simply blurted out those two words, “Intercourse, mating.”
Two words felt like dropping a bomb in the whole dorm. The bomb sank to the lake bottom and eventually exploded in everyone’s hearts, leaving everyone without a word.
Ji Yuanzhi, before sleeping, thought about all the details of the two mentors. All analysis invisibly boiled down to one sentence: sheer roughness, able to overpower any skill.
In the end, he broke the silence, “Based on the information I’ve gathered, merfolk and mantises share some similarities. Both consume their mates as part of their reproduction process.”
Wen Shi rubbed his forehead. It was this very thought that gave him a headache.
As long as it didn’t involve Wen Shi, Jian Qingrong’s eyes remained cold and indifferent. “Powerful species have low fertility rates. Merfolk numbers are scarce even now, likely producing mostly dead or deformed eggs.”
Even if they possessed the typical reproductive abilities of fish, Merfolk Shore had long been their domain.
After speaking, he slightly turned his face, “Sleep now, we need to get up early tomorrow.”
“True.”
Wen Shi was persuaded. Locking the dorm room, he lay down with crossed hands, tossing his phone aside, ready for Arlon’s call to open the door.
At two in the morning, Wen Shi groggily checked his phone. No missed calls, and no one had returned.
In the early hours, Song Yan turned over, subconsciously looking at the first bed. Empty.
At four in the morning, Ji Yuanzhi got out of bed for a drink, also glancing at the first bed. Empty.
It was already bright by five o’clock.
Unable to sleep, Wen Shi got up and sat at the bedside. Oddly, he didn’t feel worried. Arlon’s assertiveness, in a way, provided a sense of security.
Just as he was about to lie back down, he unexpectedly caught sight of a dark figure standing on the balcony. A faint trace of alcohol drifted with the wind, confirming the person’s identity.
“Big Brother?”
Arlon’s collar rustled in the wind. He turned to walk into the room.
Getting a clear view of the other person’s face, Wen Shi cautiously attempted to speak, “You…”
Arlon knew what he was thinking and calmly explained, “Little Brother, powerful higher animals with strong mental abilities can engage through perception.”
Wen Shi: “……Huh?”
“That’s not important.” Lacerations caused by strands of hair marred the side of Arlon’s neck. The wound was gradually encasing in ice, impeding the circulation of blood. Arlon casually shrugged his shoulder, and the fissure promptly began to swiftly mend.
“Little Brother, there’s more than one way to reproduce.”
Wen Shi had a feeling that the topic he was about to address was unrelated to physical matters and different from the ordinary method of laying eggs.
“When my mental power intruded on the other’s consciousness, it was barely pushed back.” Arlon’s narrow eyes bore a solemn expression. “The prey called out ‘King,’ and then a very powerful force, not his own, formed a barrier around him.”
Tapping his fingertips lightly on the hollow ladder, Arlon seemed to be considering how to explain technical terms clearly to Wen Shi.
Fortunately, Wen Shi was clever enough to connect the clues at hand and asked, “The Merfolk King is hidden inside the academy? Can merfolk borrow the power of the Merfolk King?”
“Not necessarily on campus. The combat awareness of that power isn’t strong. It should be in a weakened or dormant state.”
Arlon continued, “You mentioned earlier about the distinction between subpar and top-quality merfolk. Now, we can at least confirm that the superior merfolk are waiting for their king’s return.”
Wen Shi, who had barely even dated and had only held hands with an octopus, thought for a moment and slowly said two words, “Mental contamination.”
The Merfolk King can generate widespread mental contamination among groups.
Arlon nodded appreciatively. “Those contaminated will twist their perspective on things and eventually themselves, until they develop fanatical beliefs. There are two potential outcomes then: one is transforming into merfolk, the other is becoming a perfect nesting ground for merfolk eggs, similar to the shell of a hermit crab.”
Roughly, this could be divided into the stages of infection, parasitism, and assimilation.
Arlon had a high mental resistance and could shield against textual contamination. He spent the afternoon skimming through the library’s books. The books recorded that in merfolk civilization, it was merfolk themselves who laid eggs, and during spawning periods, they became exceptionally weak, with low survival rates for both the mothers and eggs.
If this risk were shifted, first by transforming mating partners into monsters and then using their bodies to hatch fish eggs, the success rate would significantly increase.
Merfolk consuming each other was fundamentally a means of obtaining nourishment.
In the past few minutes, it was mostly Arlon talking. When he started speaking, the others had their eyes closed, but they were actually awake.
Song Yan wasn’t quite familiar with the current situation, whereas Ji Yuanzhi had experienced instances involving mental contamination a few times. In such instances, the game usually displayed a corresponding health bar, like the “Soul Purity” in Big Factory.
The difficulty of the S-level instance was split into various intricate aspects. Even though this was a contamination scenario, “Merfolk Shore” didn’t have an additional health bar. This meant players might unknowingly complete the contamination assimilation.
Ji Yuanzhi finally spoke, “The more followers there are, the stronger the belief becomes, and the Merfolk King will return sooner.”
“No need to worry too much,” Song Yan whispered, “The academy is still primarily led by the school administrators. Moreover, belief doesn’t form overnight.”
He looked at Wen Shi with eager eyes, as though he was gazing at his own deity.
“……”
Wen Shi, who initially didn’t feel any pressure, suddenly felt the urgency. Considering Song Yan developed his personal worship in just a matter of days, he felt like the Merfolk King could gather a large number of followers in the next moment.
“Seeking something leads to believing in something.” Wen Shi closed his eyes. “The music concert is approaching. Students will do whatever it takes to secure participation.”
When he opened his eyes again, he seemed to have a different idea and looked at Arlon. “Can we identify which mentor is a merfolk?”
Arlon seemed to be savoring a memory, his thumb brushing over the earlier split wound on his neck. “The one with even paler skin.”
Wen Shi had an answer in his heart: Mr. Ruan.
Lily’s skin was a pearly white, Mr. Ruan’s belonged to the glowing white type, with thin skin. Compared to them, Mr. Qi fell within the normal range.
With the target identified, Wen Shi made a direct choice in the game, “I choose Mr. Ruan.”
The countdown on the attribute panel paused.
“Are you sure you want to become the class representative for Mr. Ruan?”
“Yes.”
“Up until now, you are the tenth player to choose Mr. Ruan. A corresponding quest will be generated for you.”
“Quest issued.”
【Side Quest: Mr. Ruan’s Trust]
Quest details: Mr. Ruan is strict in teaching and admires decisive students. He will invite the first eleven students who choose him to a dinner. The person who stays until the end of the dinner will become the class representative.
Quest reward: Nightingale Voice Changer.】
The game specifically emphasized being decisive. This meant that players who made their target after the first eleven wouldn’t receive the quest reward or be given priority consideration.
Ji Yuanzhi also chose Mr. Ruan, and Song Yan followed closely after Wen Shi, becoming the eleventh player to make a choice.
Learning about the side quest, Wen Shi was surprised, “You don’t need to take this risk.”
Under normal circumstances, there would be at most two class representatives for a subject.
The simple logic behind this was clear to Song Yan, but he looked at it from a different angle. “I’ve taken up a spot, so there’s one less competitor for the top spot.”
Once again, he demonstrated what it meant to be a devoted fan through practical actions.
Before the sky fully brightened, no wandering monsters came to Room 502. These creatures preferred weaker players, and the next level of attack targets were those who hadn’t had a proper meal.
Before seven o’clock, people started clearing their throats outside. The air was more humid than the previous days, leaning towards a chilly dampness. This kind of weather made it easy to catch a cold.
On the way to the academic building, Wen Shi noticed everyone had put on light jackets. A student stood by the fountain, spilling porridge all over. She crouched down, nearly on the verge of breakdown, continuously trying to clear her throat.
Though the sound indicated a minor cold, the person seemed mentally defeated, ultimately covering her ears and suffering in agony.
Passing by, no one consoled her. Upon discovering that she was a strong competitor, people even quickened their steps.
“If these students were told right now that doing something could grant them a singing voice like the merfolk’s, they would undoubtedly act without hesitation,” Wen Shi lowered his gaze. “And it’s only the second day.”
He could fully foresee that when the countdown to the music concert reached its end, Mingzhu Music Academy would become the starting point for the collapse of Merfolk Shore’s order.
The majors with the most new students were vocal, dance, and instrumental classes.
When it was time for the vocal class, Mr. Ruan, who had always been punctual, arrived one minute late. He wore a light-colored shirt today, buttoned up meticulously. The top button was almost straining at his throat, as if he were intentionally hiding something.
Wen Shi abruptly looked towards Arlon. Didn’t he say nothing had happened?!
Arlon’s tone was calm. “It’s not what you think.”
He lightly emphasized, “Little Brother, you have to trust me.”
“……”
Wen Shi could only consider more practical matters. While this pair of glasses could make someone inconspicuous, it was worlds apart from complete disguise.
Understanding his concern, Arlon remained composed. “He didn’t see my face clearly, and dressing so meticulously is to conceal the injuries from our altercation.”
“Really?”
Arlon looked at him with the eyes one uses to look at a child. “Really.”
Mr. Ruan stood at the podium, holding a list in his hand. “According to the information you submitted in the academic system, a total of nineteen students have applied to be my class representative.”
The applications were submitted through the game, as players were still using basic phones.
“Luis, Chen Xiaoxiao…” Mr. Ruan read out the names one by one, including Wen Shi and others. “I will get to know you in two batches. Those whose names I just called, come to the cafeteria building at 8 PM tonight. The rest who weren’t called, await further notice.”
Players had various expressions, realizing that the competition for class representative was related to the timing of their choices.
Wen Shi paid most attention to the first player named Luis, a handsome mixed-blood individual with a slight Eastern appearance.
Ji Yuanzhi: “He’s somewhat famous in the virtual world. His skill is【Bewitch】.”
Luis was the quickest among these eleven players to make a decision. He used his skill to bewitch a member of the student council, following them into the office and discreetly examining Mr. Ruan’s thermos. The thermos carried a faint salty scent, similar to the salty fishiness in the academy’s air.
As Wen Shi observed Luis, members of the Sixth Commandment in the corner were also observing him.
A girl whispered, “Pei Wenwei chose Mr. Ruan. Doesn’t that imply that Mr. Qi is a merfolk?”
The captain frowned, “Not necessarily.”
Several people on the list were elite players, making it unlikely for many of them to make incorrect judgments simultaneously.
Nothing was absolute. It couldn’t rule out the possibility that Pei Wenwei obtained clear, targeted clues through other means.
The captain asked, “How much longer can your【Misguided Steps】effect last?”
“Less than a day.”
“That should be enough.”
【Queen’s Card Box】raised the difficulty, and combined with the skill’s impact on judgment, even if players chose the right mentor, the fatality rate during the class representative competition would be high.
Another member kept staring at the podium, sounding a bit malicious, “Mr. Ruan seems a bit irritable today. When NPCs are in a bad mood, it’s easier for them to affect players.”
“Whether Pei Wenwei lives or dies will be known tonight at the earliest,” the captain said. “Later, go around the academy, try to trigger some other side quests…”
About seventy percent of players were willing to take on the class representative quest. The most popular choice was the Moral Cultivation teacher.
Selecting a relatively friendly but less popular teacher didn’t bring significant benefits. The advantage lay in an easier, safer quest. Most people just hoped to make it to the day of the music concert. In higher difficulty instance levels, survival took precedence, followed by rewards.
After a full afternoon of classes, as he had a dinner gathering with Mr. Ruan later, Wen Shi didn’t go to the cafeteria to get food.
“Advise him to be cautious, try not to provoke another interaction with Mr. Qi,” Wen Shi pulled Jian Qingrong aside before the dinner, giving a quick instruction.
With a basic understanding of merfolk, it seemed that Arlon was about to launch an offensive against the school administrators, according to Wen Shi’s guess.
Jian Qingrong nodded in acknowledgment.
Taking advantage of his absence to fetch water, Wen Shi walked to the balcony.
Arlon leaned against the railing, arms resting casually, his gaze turned towards the sunset on the horizon, resembling a famous painting.
Wen Shi: “Big Brother, be careful. Try not to let my friend create bio-zombies.”
Arlon raised an eyebrow slightly and readily agreed, “Sure.”
After arranging everything, Wen Shi finally felt at ease to leave. Standing at the dormitory entrance, he sighed. “Not a single trouble-free person around.”
Ji Yuanzhi and Song Yan had been waiting downstairs for him for a while. The group set out early to observe the surroundings, planning escape routes.
There were two ways to the cafeteria building: one through the cafeteria itself, and the other via an outdoor staircase, which served as a fire evacuation route. After the cafeteria closed for the day, they locked it to prevent theft.
Many senior students skipped dinner to maintain their figures before the concert. The cafeteria closed early these past two days. When they arrived, the main entrance was tightly shut. A crisp sound came from above. Wen Shi looked towards the side of the building where a player was casually picking the lock, while someone else kept watch.
Gazes connected across a distant span, and neither side exhibited any particular reaction. The player who had picked the lock came down and stood outside the main gate, just like Wen Shi and his group, waiting for tonight’s main NPC.
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