Chapter 124.1 Merfolk Shore
Tonight was not going to be as quiet as it usually was.
Starting two minutes ago, faint broadcast sounds could be heard from afar, indicating that dangerous items had been left behind the school campus. Students were advised not to wander around.
Wen Shi took ten seconds to consider who might be behind the explosion incident. He came up with three potential culprits: the principal, Mr. Qi, and Mr. Ruan.
All three individuals had reasons to commit the act. The principal had a motive to destroy something. Mr. Qi appeared concerned about the students. Song Yan had mentioned burying water grass seeds that night. The scent from those water grasses could affect people’s health, which Mr. Qi might have noticed. As for Mr. Ruan, the reason was simpler: causing harm to the principal would prevent interference with the merfolk, creating a better environment for the Merfolk King’s return.
The merfolk were skilled tacticians. Wen Shi was more inclined to suspect Mr. Ruan’s involvement. Due to time constraints, he could only confirm his suspicions later.
•
The explosion behind the school’s lake was orchestrated by Mr. Ruan.
He had always been cautious about significant matters and hadn’t told anyone before this.
Since the principal had discovered issues with the lake and frequently conducted secret investigations at midnight, Mr. Ruan devised a plan. He planted explosives nearby, not expecting to kill the principal outright, but causing serious harm would suffice.
“The smell of nitric acid.”
A familiar yet detestable voice emerged. A distinctly heated aura, unlike the nighttime, surged from behind. Before he could turn back, Mr. Ruan’s body weakened as a psychic force pressed him onto the table.
“After planning the explosion, it wouldn’t hurt to cleanse oneself of the traces of the crime.”
“You…”
Arlon had a dominant personality. He disliked interruptions when he was speaking. Even before Mr. Ruan could utter a word, it felt like his throat was being constricted, rendering him speechless.
During Wen Shi’s team discussion, Arlon had keenly listened and now, leaning against the wall, his talent for spouting nonsense exceeded even Wen Shi’s. “I’m here to kindly remind you, the principal has found a way to sense the true followers of the Merfolk King. If you want to survive, it’s best to feed your loyalty to the dogs.”
Arlon shrugged. “As long as you don’t believe in the Merfolk King, you won’t be sensed.”
Mr. Ruan’s face remained expressionless as he attempted to retort. However, the other person calmly added, “I may be a jerk, but I don’t lie.”
A domineering individual indeed gave off an air of disdain for falsehoods.
Unfortunately, the reality was quite the opposite. What matched Arlon’s combat strength wasn’t an attitude of disdain for conspiracies, but rather a plethora of cunning and scheming.
“You left the scene too early. You didn’t hear the principal saying he’d use something soon to wipe all of you out.”
When Wen Shi mentioned the Merfolk King’s heart being dug out, Arlon was nearby. He was subtly hinting to Mr. Ruan that the principal could now use the Merfolk King’s heart to locate them.
Just a bit of unfounded nonsense with a slight semblance of truth, Arlon wasn’t counting on Mr. Ruan to believe him. However, when betraying someone, there was always a need for an excuse.
It could offer a sense of self-comfort, making the betrayal even more thorough.
Arlon’s main purpose for visiting tonight was to help Wen Shi confirm the suspects behind the explosion case. He guessed that his little brother would surely investigate the matter upon returning.
Instead of hearing Mr. Ruan immediately rebuke him with a string of nonsense, there was a pause of almost two seconds. Mr. Ruan fell into contemplation, causing Arlon to raise an eyebrow. This didn’t seem like the action of a loyal follower.
As a devotee, the quickest reaction should be unconditional protection of the leader, followed by immediate cursing.
Was there actually a hint of wavering? Arlon unconsciously glanced at the mirror.
The mirror: “Is the King safe?”
Then, he gave Arlon’s lie a thumbs-up: “666.”
Arlon’s expression became somewhat complex for a moment.
His little brother had woken up to reality. They all seemed to forget about one person who never got involved in the whole act.
Mr. Ruan remained pinned to the table by psychic force, unable to lift his head. Above him, the surface of the mirror kept displaying small words: “Don’t worry about me, King.”
Half of Song Yan’s life philosophy revolved around protecting the leader, while the other half involved devouring the true spirit.
The【Philosophical Mirror】he transformed into was preofessionaly tailored for questioning the rules, potentially resulting in a backlash against the merfolk king!
It had been a while since Wen Shi mentioned Song Yan. When they leave later, he should remind his little brother that there was someone else here. Otherwise, there was a high chance of overlooking him.
His Miaojesty had momentarily forgotten about its most loyal little servant.
Song Yan’s shapeshifting ability could be sustained indefinitely, as long as it remained unnoticed. There was no risk, so Wen Shi didn’t worry too much.
At the moment, the black cat was speedily reading under the moonlight, flipping the pages so fast that sparks almost flew. The books on the table contained detailed merfolk history. The principal’s collection had no textual contamination, making it easier for the cat to read. After reading some, Wen Shi stopped.
The crucial sections of these pages were individually highlighted with a marker. Even after the principal nearly wore out the books with constant flipping, he failed to notice any clues. He might not be better than the other in terms of vast knowledge.
The cat’s pupils reflected the nocturnal scene outside. It paced on the windowsill for a few seconds, then turned its attention to other parts of the room.
Drawers, cabinets, and all conceivable hiding places had been thoroughly searched. The countdown on the panel was already halfway through. Eventually, the cat found something suspicious: a file folder in the principal’s bedside table containing shredded medical reports.
However, Wen Shi didn’t have the time to piece it all together right now.
“Can’t search aimlessly.” The black cat urged itself to stay focused.
When tackling a problem, the first step was understanding it. The priority was figuring out how the Merfolk King’s heart went missing.
The books likely didn’t contain this information, suggesting it must be gathered from other sources. The instance’s background story mentioned a hundred years passing, and merfolk becoming a terrifying legend. The principal definitely wasn’t over a hundred years old, otherwise students and parents would have noticed something amiss long ago.
So, to trace back the Merfolk King’s matter, one needed to go beyond the principal’s generation.
One would have to start searching from the principal’s grandfather’s era or even earlier.
The principal lived alone, and the house only bore traces of his personal life. Wen Shi had rummaged through everything earlier, and the only thing relating to the principal’s family and friends was a photo album.
“Family portrait.”
It rushed to the cabinet and rapidly flipped through the photo album.
Claws weren’t as dexterous as hands, but in the pitch-black building, any light would stand out. Wen Shi had to rely on the cat’s night vision ability, so he maintained his shapeshifted form.
The family portrait wasn’t found, but he did come across a man who bore some resemblance to the principal. The man stood next to a massive fishing boat with a harpoon flag at the front, and workers were constantly hauling sealed barrels onto the ship.
Different eras were easy to distinguish just by the style of the photos. A small line of date markers beneath each photo indicated that they were exactly a hundred years ago.
Referencing the time mentioned in the background story, this boat was highly likely to be connected to the Merfolk King’s downfall.
Wen Shi paid attention to the sealed barrels in the photos. If they were meant for dealing with the merfolk, they likely contained either contaminated liquid or weapons.
He hadn’t heard of any torpedoes fitting inside barrels, so the contents were pretty evident.
A century ago, elders from the principal’s family were involved in a plan to eradicate the merfolk. Their methods were extreme.
“So, the merfolk might not have been so powerful initially,” Wen Shi frowned, “they probably went through a second round of mutations.”
Players in the study hall would undergo transformation due to infected wounds. This aligned with the attack characteristics of all instance NPCs carrying the virus. Whether it was Big Factory dominated by Beautiful Soul Elixir or Sunset Town dominated by Evolution Potion, players faced similar possibilities of contamination and transformation.
【You’ve discovered the secret in the album.】
The system’s cold prompt sounded.
Just as he was about to put down the photos, Wen Shi suddenly noticed something. The little cat face leaned closer to a spot where the sea surged—
There was a turtle riding against the waves, moving against the tide.
If you enjoy this novel, support the Translator ginevre on her ko-fi account :))
