Chapter 120 Merfolk Shore
Melodic Harmony Building
The preliminary auditions had started.
Since Wen Shi got a late number, the Wandering Corpse was still waiting in the long queue. People nearby occasionally said hurtful things that reached his ears. But for the sake of his dream, the Wandering Corpse chose to endure it.
In the Art Appreciation class, the teacher mentioned that artists faced a lot of criticism after making their debut. This was a sign that he was becoming famous.
Due to their bond, the Wandering Corpse could sense that Wen Shi was nearby. He turned his head and accurately spotted Wen Shi, who had been watching here like a parent waiting outside an exam room.
Wen Shi tightened his fist and gave a supportive gesture.
The other person had already been chosen to play the role of a rock. He didn’t need to be here, but he still accompanied him to the audition site, waiting for the feedback on the results.
Being cared for like a little sprout, the Wandering Corpse felt a slightly uneasy emotion.
【The Wandering Corpse gained +0.2 in rationality.】
Not far away, Wen Shi’s fatherly smile tinged with ferocity.
Only 0.2 points? He had grown tired of the words “rebellious child.”
Just as he neared the Wandering Corpse, Ji Yuanzhi utilized his first skill,【Illusion】, casually holding a camera, while both of them entered the academic building.
Leaning against a lamppost, Wen Shi’s gaze followed the two figures. The Wandering Corpse was assigned to Exam Room 102, unintentionally favoring the plan’s execution.
A number of students gathered around the entrance of Room 102, entirely focused on the assessment inside. Any incidents would be witnessed by students immediately.
He half-closed his eyes, yawning slightly due to fatigue. After about five to six minutes, the once noisy scene fell into silence, replaced by a perfectly penetrating singing voice that reached this corner.
It sounded really good. Wen Shi felt as if his soul had been cleansed for a moment.
After a brief silence, an uproar outside the Melodic Harmony Building erupted. Wen Shi heard someone shouting, “Impossible, he couldn’t possibly have such a voice.” Some even came up with far-fetched ideas like him being a ghost or having a twin brother.
Several mentors inside the classroom exchanged puzzled glances. One of them immediately made a phone call.
Not long after, Wen Shi saw the principal coming down from the second floor and heading towards the stairwell classroom.
【Nightingale Voice Changer】could be used for only five minutes each time, with a cooldown period as mentioned in the detailed instructions. If the principal made the Wandering Corpse sing another song, his original deathly voice would be restored.
Wen Shi had already instructed the Wandering Corpse in advance. In situations like this, he should mumble a few words nonsensically, then pretend to faint. After all, his heart rate was naturally different from others.
Just in case, Wen Shi still decided to personally go to the scene and take a look.
There were too many people. He couldn’t squeeze through to the classroom entrance. A member of the student council was moving against the crowd. While everyone was pushing in, he was trying to get out.
“Clear the way, someone has collapsed,” warned a student council member. “If anyone keeps pushing, I’ll report them all to the school administration later.”
In the face of absolute authority, the students instantly calmed down quite a bit.
Wen Shi wasn’t afraid of being reported. He dashed forward about ten meters and asked, “What’s happening inside?”
The person he questioned momentarily forgot about the divide between new and old students. “That special admissions student who sang horribly suddenly sang in a heavenly melodious voice. But shortly after finishing, he collapsed, and before losing consciousness…”
An older student covered their mouth and whispered, “He was shouting something like ‘King Asa.'”
As Wen Shi pretended to look astonished, he opened the【Followers】section in his attribute panel and began issuing the second instruction:
Spread the news about the memorial plaque inside the merfolk’s belly in the library.
The Wandering Corpse was carried out, placed onto the school bus, and taken to the school clinic.
The scene was quite chaotic. Wen Shi left the crowd and walked to a relatively open area. Before long, Ji Yuanzhi arrived as well.
He nodded, indicating that he had recorded all of the Wandering Corpses’ assessment footage.
Wen Shi: “The principal will probably go to the school clinic to test the Wandering Corpse, especially since the timing of the unconsciousness is too coincidental.”
Just as he was about to propose a solution, Ji Yuanzhi interrupted, “Not coincidental. I overheard a mentor and a colleague whispering, worried that he might have suffered a miscarriage.”
He looked at Wen Shi with an eerie expression.
What are you staring at?
Wen Shi immediately responded, “His pregnancy is due to a mutated pomegranate flower…”
“It doesn’t matter,” Ji Yuanzhi said lightly. “At least your story makes sense. He sacrificed his unborn baby to King Asa in exchange for a good singing voice.”
“……”
Ji Yuanzhi: “Can we temporarily halt his pregnancy?”
“…I’m afraid not.”
Ji Yuanzhi reentered the crowd, casually taking a smartphone from a student’s hand and posting the recording of the Wandering Corpse’s singing on the forum.
Comparing this video to the open class video posted by a student council member, it could be considered that Wusa Kingdom’s business cards had been spread out.
Wen Shi stood on the side, observing the forum as new comments appeared every second, and nodded in satisfaction.
Unexpectedly, at that moment, Ji Yuanzhi suddenly retrieved the phone and vanished in thin air.
Wen Shi realized he had used his illusion skill. After a brief pause, a clear voice came from behind, “Student Aaron.”
The fish took the bait.
Adjusting his expression, Wen Shi turned and respectfully greeted, “Mr. Ruan.”
“Come with me.”
They turned onto an empty path, and this time, Wen Shi initiated, “Did you call me because of the situation with Eulia?”
Mentors usually knew which students had close relationships. He purposely sat behind the Wandering Corpse in the first class and sometimes had interactions during breaks. Besides him, others barely interacted with the Wandering Corpse.
Mr. Ruan’s sharp gaze locked onto Wen Shi. “Do you know something?”
Wen Shi put on a hesitant expression and began, “Eulia has been acting strangely lately. Once he approached me, asking if I believed in Asa. He also told me that Asa could grant any wish. I thought he was joking, but just yesterday…
“Eulia suddenly seemed elated, claiming he found the perfect offering, all the while holding his stomach.”
Mr. Ruan frowned as he listened.
He personally obtained the new student’s health examination report. The principal even held a meeting about it. The Wandering Corpses’ pregnancy wasn’t a secret among the higher-ups.
“Looking back, what Eulia said is true,” Wen Shi’s face showed horror. “Otherwise, how could he possess such a singing voice?”
Mr. Ruan didn’t draw conclusions. The matter held too many bizarre aspects. However, the name “Asa” wasn’t appearing for the first time. The same plaque was present in the merfolk’s belly.
Today, Wen Shi held the initiative in the conversation. He lowered his voice, “You mentioned the principal digging the Merfolk King’s heart yesterday…”
Before Mr. Ruan could generate any murderous intent due to those unpleasant memories, Wen Shi spoke rapidly, “Why not make the rumors about Asa come true? The principal will undoubtedly be overwhelmed by it.”
Previously, Wen Shi had employed cunning tactics under the guise of backdoor means, which Mr. Ruan disliked. However, the suggestion he put forward now was eminently feasible.
“…However, putting it into practice won’t be easy. Students’ wishes vary greatly. Even if someone makes a wish to Asa, we can’t possibly fulfill everything…”
“What’s so difficult about that?” Mr. Ruan said, “Just randomly praise or reward a student in class, even just a point or two. Spread rumors afterward that they prayed to Asa. If we do this a few times, the rumors will become believable.”
Even if students denied it, others would simply think they were trying to keep the benefits for themselves.
This time, Wen Shi was genuinely taken aback.
The typically strict Mr. Ruan suddenly praising an average student’s performance was indeed the best evidence.
He had initially planned to persuade Mr. Ruan to fund the Wandering Corpse in an effort to use him to attract followers openly and establish a seemingly legitimate Wusa Kingdom. This would draw the principal’s attention and, in this manner, concretize Asa’s existence.
Unexpectedly, this penny-pinching person was also a tactical genius.
“Your idea this time is excellent,” Mr. Ruan’s gentle smile was chilling, “It wasn’t in vain that I went through the trouble of getting you into the concert.”
“……” Playing the role of a big stone, thank you so much.
•
With multiple efforts, rumors about King Asa quickly became popular throughout the academy. The principal began to counteract the rumors and secretly dispatched people to investigate the matter. Unfortunately, what students worshipped privately was beyond his control.
The number of followers on Wen Shi’s attribute panel soon exceeded two hundred.
As the count of followers rose to two hundred and one, a notification sound from the game echoed:
“Five special NPCs now believe in King Asa’s existence, while twelve special NPCs remain ambivalent.”
School administrators, mentors, school physicians, and other highly regarded individuals in the academy held the status of special NPCs.
“The panel has been updated.”
Wen Shi clicked to view.
【King Asa:
Apostle #1: Ji Yuanzhi (High Priest candidate, true name uncertain)
Apostle #2: Song Yan (Bishop candidate, true name uncertain)
Apostle #3: Arlon (Missionary candidate, true name uncertain)
Followers: 201 (Click to view detailed list)】
“It’s as I thought…”
Truth and falsehood were relative concepts. Now that he had loyal followers and even several special NPCs believed in the existence of this king, he now truly existed.
Ji Yuanzhi and others appeared on the list due to their contributions to the kingdom’s foundation, but their contributions weren’t substantial enough.
As for titles like Asa II and foreign envoy, which Wen Shi personally granted, they hadn’t yet made tangible contributions and weren’t included on the panel for the time being.
“The third-generation code has been generated for you:【King】.”
“King.”
Two seconds of silence followed. The slightly melodramatic code made Wen Shi’s expression subtly shift. He had a faint feeling that this was a fork in his life, a departure from the path his father had laid out.
【Doctor】,【Heir】— both titles were associated with the hospital. Only【King】was a designation completely belonging to Wen Shi himself.
The system’s notification tone continued:
“The code【Apostle #1】has been generated for your subject Ji Yuanzhi.”
“The code【Apostle #2】has been generated for your subject Song Yan.”
“Codes?!” Still the same sequence of codes, one, two, and three.
Wen Shi’s complexion changed. He realized that Ji Yuanzhi, who was wholeheartedly trying to distance himself from the kingdom, would likely want to kill him upon hearing this code.
After a moment’s thought, he realized that Ji Yuanzhi deserved this. The person who, at first glance, should have tried to prevent him the most, had actually excelled in handling the finishing touches every step of the way.
#
Virtual world.
Lately, there had been faint rumors about key-dropping instances.
The credibility of these rumors remained uncertain, but the direct impact was a surge in private player-to-player transactions and a significant increase in the number of elite players proactively engaging in in-game content.
The trading district and the black market were the two bustling places among them.
The large screen data, covering nearly half of the area in a fan-shaped pattern, was constantly fluctuating—either increasing or decreasing. The trading district was the first to notice changes on the giant screen. Ji Yuanzhi held a high ranking within the game, so whenever something happened to front-row players, he would be noted first.
“Hey!”
A seller who was in the midst of a deal paused. “Ji Yuanzhi’s code has changed.”
His original code was【Sage】, but the newly generated code had surprisingly pushed【Sage】to the back.
Ji Yuanzhi was already a prominent figure in the game. Hearing his name, many people immediately looked up.
“Apostle #1? What on earth?”
The original meaning of ‘apostle’ was ‘sent messenger.’ Assigning this label to Ji Yuanzhi seemed rather unconvincing. Who would send him? Yu Xingzhou?
Everyone subconsciously turned their gaze to another giant screen, trying to locate the instance Ji Yuanzhi was currently in.
S-rank instances were quite limited, and they were generally placed upfront. It didn’t take long for everyone to lock onto “Merfolk Shore.” Among those crowding in the front of the screen, someone muttered, “I saw a familiar player code.”
“Me too…”
Player 460872, Pei Wenwei, had been in the spotlight lately.
Wherever he was, there was always something extraordinary happening.
“Pei Wenwei’s code has changed too. He’s now a king.”
King and Apostle #1 seemed related in some way, and their hierarchy was distinct.
Someone couldn’t help but comment, “Ji Yuanzhi… doesn’t seem to be doing too well.”
Entering the instance together—a king and an apostle—didn’t that warrant some reflection?
“Members of the Second Commandment Guild have gone to inform Yu Xingzhou. I wonder how he’ll feel about it.”
…Pei Wenwei was in trouble this time.
Quite a few people take pleasure in his misfortune. Ji Yuanzhi was Yu Xingzhou’s right-hand man, and now he was humbling himself as an apostle. How could Yu Xingzhou not be furious?
Yu Xingzhou was currently at the club. Some rooms had signal blocking, so his subordinates would have to personally go there to inform him.
Worried about the guild leader’s anger, the person delivering the message kept a safe distance, praying not to be the target of his wrath.
Yu Xingzhou listened quietly for a moment after which a fierce intensity emanated from his stern figure, enveloping the room in an atmosphere of tension.
His subordinate silently cursed themselves for not being more tactful. If they had known, they would have contacted others through the communicator and let different members convey the message.
Just as he was lost in his thoughts, Yu Xingzhou finally spoke, his voice carrying an air of detachment, “It’s a good thing I didn’t join that instance.”
His subordinate was momentarily taken aback.
What’s going on?
This response wasn’t quite the furious reaction they had imagined.
Yu Xingzhou sauntered over to the table, meticulously wiped the bottle’s mouth, and with a fluid motion of his muscles, poured himself a drink. He then concluded, “If I had joined that instance, I might have ended up as Apostle #3.”
Although he didn’t know what exactly had happened, he trusted his intuition was undoubtedly correct.
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ahhh everyone 😩 the remaining chapters are still unproofread. i don’t know if i’ll have the time or energy to edit them later. life is bitchier than me, i have to catch up 😵 please bear with me 🙇.
