Chapter 125.2 Merfolk Shore
After pondering for a moment, Wen Shi spoke thoughtfully, “The principal never read this letter. He might only know that the older generation used contamination against the merfolk. He might be unaware that the merfolk weren’t as powerful initially and that the power of the contaminant played a crucial role.”
Contamination could indeed temporarily weaken the Merfolk King’s strength, but unfortunately, it backfired afterward.
“This could match up.” Wen Shi squinted his eyes.
With the Merfolk King sealed for so long, it wouldn’t make sense for it to suddenly regain strength. If the principal had made a foolish move earlier by contaminating the Merfolk King, it would explain the situation.
Ji Yuanzhi: “Obtaining the principal’s heart would allow for a future path as a warrior, enabling powerful strikes against NPCs.”
The fact that the principal guarded a piece of the Merfolk King and went through great efforts to find other merfolk indicated he was cautious about consuming the meat freshly contaminated by the latest contaminant. That heart must still be in his possession, just in a different form.
Merfolk were skilled not only in mental contamination but also in physical resilience. The fact that the principal managed to balance them for so many years showed the value of the heart.
“…As expected, the Merfolk King’s heart is significant,” Wen Shi added.
Clearing his throat, he continued, “The principal only has half of it.”
Ji Yuanzhi nodded without mentioning the other half. Apparently the other party had been informed of some clue alone and was ready to get his hands on it.
Splitting it in half between them would eliminate competition, making it a perfect solution.
Luis: “Done piecing it together!”
“…The medical report indicates the principal has a terminal illness. The CT scan was taken a long time ago. But the principal doesn’t look like someone suffering from a terminal illness.”
After his rapid-fire explanation, Luis didn’t see a hint of excitement on Wen Shi’s face, as if he already knew.
Wen Shi promptly played along, giving a thumbs-up. “You’ve discovered some crucial information.”
Thank you for the confirmation.
Luis: “……” Can you be a bit less perfunctory about it?
Returning to the main point, Wen Shi continued, “We must find the split body before the concert.”
Luis had previously dived into instances, desperately collecting clues. He had only spent one night with Wen Shi but had been bombarded with an immense amount of information.
Not having participated in their previous collaborations and having many gaps in his knowledge, his thinking unconsciously followed Wen Shi’s lead. “What happens after finding it?”
Wen Shi’s expression was hard to read. “The game isn’t that straightforward.”
The split body was undoubtedly a trigger point. Once they found it, the game would naturally issue quests. If, as a last resort, there were none, they could try using sealing items from the in-game store to delay the Merfolk King’s awakening.
Luis seemed to realize he had asked a silly question, still recovering from those fifteen minutes of orphaned time. He couldn’t help but chuckle softly twice.
“It’s time to pluck peaches.” Wen Shi suddenly looked at Ji Yuanzhi.
Ji Yuanzhi nodded in agreement.
Previously, through the roommate of Lily’s class representative, he had passed on crucial information to players who had taken action. Now that they were done with the talent show preparations, it was time for these people to prioritize the resurrection of the Merfolk King.
•
Every dark night of the month was perfect for players to stir things up.
As soon as the dorm supervisor finished checking the rooms, someone eagerly left the dormitory building.
The leader of Sixth Commandment Guild held something in his hand and said to a female teammate, “I’ll personally keep an eye on the principal. Later, you follow Mr. Qi.”
Then, he said to another teammate, “You’ll be responsible for Lily.”
“Remember, don’t get close to NPCs, and be ready to use the invisibility item at any time.”
The girl hesitated for a moment, “And what about Mr. Ruan?”
“I made a deal with the folks from【Wangcai Bank】. Fatty will keep an eye on things.”
【Wangcai Bank】wasn’t just into risky lending. They also took on side jobs. These kinds of side deals were practically risk-free.
The captain spoke while rubbing his fingertip against the silver metal ball in his palm. It was one of the few items that could cause an explosion, but its power was far weaker than actual explosives.
Back at the castle, A’Ling had used it to blow up the stairs leading to the attic, buying time for Wen Shi.
Tonight was an opportune time. With the campus explosion, he could easily become a preemptive suspect, attributing all future explosions to the previous one.
Standing in front of the classroom building, the captain flicked his finger and the【Little Steel Ball】rolled towards the stairs. After a few seconds, accompanied by a tremendous roar, a hole was blasted in the exterior wall of the building.
Instead of retreating after the blast, he left a card at the scene: “Starting now, every ten minutes, I’ll blow up a place.”
Amid the dark ruins, the exquisite card stood out conspicuously.
The smell of gunpowder stung his nose as the captain found a concealed spot to hide.
Taking advantage of the fact that the explosion hadn’t drawn attention yet, a teammate whispered, “Can we trust what the class representative’s roommate said?”
Even with the double constraints of lie detection and contract items, the roommate’s words weren’t necessarily true. If the information they gathered was flawed from the start, these testing items would be useless.
The captain shook his head. “Not important.”
Regardless of whether what the other person said was true, having the Merfolk King awaken ahead of schedule during instance completion would be advantageous. First, they needed to know the whereabouts of the Merfolk King to be able to adapt accordingly.
The term “awaken” indicated that the Merfolk King was either in slumber or sealed away. Since Mingzhu Academy was the main instance location, and the academy was currently closed, if the Merfolk King really existed, there was a high probability that it was within the campus.
“Someone’s coming,” the girl said.
In the distance, several figures were hurrying over.
“Make sure not to lose sight of them later.” The captain adeptly used the game rules. Among the key NPCs, there must be someone connected to the Merfolk King. If it was the principal who knew the whereabouts of the Merfolk King, under the shadow of the explosion announcement, he would likely first dispatch people to investigate important locations related to the Merfolk King. Even if it was another NPC, they would likely take some action. Just following them would yield discoveries.
…
Dormitory Building, Room 502.
Wen Shi: “Wow.”
Watching the flames caused by the explosion through the window, he praised the person who had once targeted him. “This is an attempt to observe the NPCs’ reactions through the explosion. With the recent explosion incident, the principal won’t suspect the students afterward.”
Driven by hatred for the academy, only the merfolk could be so crazed and possess the ability to commit such a mad act.
The plan could only be implemented with the prerequisite of having available manpower, and each team member couldn’t have been too weak to keep an eye on the key NPCs.
Luis rubbed his hands together. “Then we’ll go too.”
Wen Shi remained indifferent. He looked at Ji Yuanzhi, who nodded slightly.
Although they didn’t explicitly say it, they both had a basic idea of each other’s skills.
Previously, Wen Shi had specifically pointed out several suspicious individuals to Ji Yuanzhi. Ji Yuanzhi remembered their appearances. Later, all he needed was a brief encounter, using the skill【Omniscient Seer】to decipher what clues the other party possessed.
Targeted decryption would come with a substantial backlash. He hoped the little players struggling outside would be of some use and not waste his skill consumption.
“Deserves a celebration.” Wen Shi was about to stand up when Jian Qingrong handed over a cup.
Ji Yuanzhi’s water cup was just behind him.
When Luis temporarily came to their dorm room, he thought something was up. Instinctively, he spent one point to buy a cup from the store.
“The season to harvest leeks has arrived,” Wen Shi said with a smile, “Everyone, cheers!”
Luis: “……”
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