Chapter 130 Merfolk Shore
As the situation outside intensified, Wen Shi found himself face to face with a sudden dark figure in the hidden space under the lake.
Swirling dark mist surrounded him, making it hard to see the other person clearly. But when Wen Shi heard a casual “Hi,” he instinctively stepped back, feeling a strong sense of danger.
The Greenwood Sword reappeared in his hand. Wen Shi held it tightly and carefully looked at the dark figure.
It was quite strange. Even though he couldn’t see the face clearly, he somehow recognized the features a bit.
This posture couldn’t belong to a merfolk, and monsters that NPCs turn into after dying didn’t look or behave this strangely. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Wen Shi, and he blurted out, “Shadow?”
The teenager had mentioned that Jian Qingrong’s shadow didn’t board the K9999 train.
The game gave out tickets to the final station as special rewards, which was inherently connected to this aspect.
The newcomer didn’t reply but turned and began moving in the other direction. The black mist, forming into limbs, sent out wisps of smoke that wrapped around the five finger bones of the human skeleton. When the other party couldn’t break free, the black mist spread further and made contact with the fish scale.
When the scale was touched, it felt like a leaping fish, spiraling and churning as if trying to tear and shatter the other’s limbs. The token left by the Merfolk King was snatched away, and the human skeleton, not freed from spiritual contamination after death, had its remaining bones wildly shaking in anger.
However, no matter how many times the black mist was shattered, it would always reform. Ignoring the fish scale that was like a meat grinder, the newcomer simply used another hand to retrieve the dagger deeply embedded in the bone.
The dagger, tainted with a few drops of Merfolk King’s blood, constantly controlled the skeleton’s will. The moment it was pulled out, all the connecting points of the bones broke in an instant, and the white bones scattered all over.
The shadow successfully took the scale and then reached towards the throbbing heart.
One meter, ten centimeters, watching the peculiar limbs draw infinitely close to the rift in space, Wen Shi kept a wary eye on the shadows and thought sadly, “It’s over, my peaches have been plucked.”
As effortlessly as taking something from a bag, the heart was grasped firmly by the shadow without any surprises.
The shadow turned back towards Wen Shi.
Amidst Wen Shi’s intense vigilance, the shadow said with a light and cool voice, “There’s only one way to harness the power of the heart… parasitism. Once parasitized, you’ll undergo a complete transformation.”
Remembering the scent of blood on the principal, setting aside the unknown identity and stance, Wen Shi found the shadow’s words quite believable.
Seeing that the other person didn’t seem to have any intention of causing trouble, Wen Shi attempted to negotiate, “What if it’s used by monsters? Like zombies and such.”
The Old Man Ghost had very little flesh on its body, which simply didn’t fit the idea of holding a heart in its chest. Jian Qingrong probably wouldn’t settle for someone else’s heart, so Wen Shi shifted his thoughts to his foster son.
The shadow “looked” at him. After standing on the opposite side for a while, Wen Shi grew cold from the inherent chill. With a considerable disparity in their strengths, he decided it was best to retreat.
Taking a few steps back, the shadow suddenly extended its arm, offering the half-heart in its hand.
The advantage was right before him, but Wen Shi hesitated, unsure if he should take it.
He couldn’t quite grasp the shadow’s character. When copying the original data, the shadow’s emotions weren’t duplicated.
Since Wen Shi didn’t reach out to take it, the shadow maintained the same posture.
After a few seconds of standoff, Wen Shi finally raised his arm. The pure white hand and the black mist created a stark contrast. Though the shadow had no eyes, Wen Shi had a sensation of being watched. He swiftly took the heart.
Slippery and damp, the feeling of a half-heart beating in his palm was far from pleasant. In a moment, it suddenly became limp, as if trying to forcefully sink into Wen Shi’s flesh.
He furrowed his brows and said, “Wandering Corpse.”
The Wandering Corpse appeared in a school uniform, strands of dense spider silk sticking between its cuffs. The only decent set of clothes it had was ruined by the item from Chubby Guy earlier.
Wen Shi let go in time, tossing the heart that was about to stick to his palm to the Wandering Corpse without any reluctance.
The Wandering Corpse held the heart for a few seconds after receiving it. Then, quite naturally, it placed the heart on the right side of its chest. The heart dissolved the fabric of its clothes, rendering the school uniform thoroughly disheveled. The half-heart swiftly submerged into the subcutaneous tissue, and during this time, the Wandering Corpse’s visible breath grew stronger.
The game’s prompt sounded:
“The Wandering Corpse’s loyalty to you +1.”
“……”
Wen Shi stood in place, dazed, for three seconds before realizing what had just happened.
One.
It’s one!
For a brief moment, Wen Shi strongly felt that this was a significant number. Loyalty going up by a single point seemed more valuable than ten thousand points.
“In my lifetime.”
Wen Shi mumbled softly, the corner of his mouth lifting and the small cat ears perking up. The shadow saw this in a different form and slowly uttered a word, “Silly.”
After saying that, the shadow suddenly reached out its hand.
As Wen Shi stepped back, the shadow’s voice sounded dry, “The reward for giving up the heart.”
The chilly mist finally brushed against the soft cat ears. The shadow lingered for just a few seconds before retracting its hand. Its words didn’t make much sense, “It’s not my hand that touched you.”
“Huh?”
“It’s my mind.” The shadow’s speech rhythm wasn’t very quick. “My mind has its own thoughts.”
“……”
Unable to communicate further, Wen Shi checked the attribute panel. Apart from loyalty, the most significant increase was in skills, spanning four levels at once.
【Skill: Heavenly Melody’s Sound Level 5】
Duration of a single use: 1min
Skill cooldown: 24h
Your Wandering Corpse possesses half of a merfolk’s heart. Merfolk have the most wonderful singing voice in the world, but the heart itself doesn’t sing.
Affected by both noise and mental contamination, any living body will quickly experience physical weakness and fatigue.
Additionally, the heart can only exhibit its maximum effect when parasitically residing inside. Your Wandering Corpse can only receive partial feedback of its power. But it seems to show signs of promotion.】
“……” It was a pity that the Wandering Corpse was dead.
However, the unexpected promotion was a pleasant surprise.
Regardless of the shadow’s intentions, now that he had received definite benefits, Wen Shi still said, “Thank you.”
The shadow’s purpose for this visit seemed to revolve around the fish scale. The process of the Wandering Corpse devouring the heart didn’t seem to faze it. It even seemed to play around like a child, making the scale spin in the air, tossing from the left hand to the right. The shadow’s movements were swift. After doing this a few times, it bent its fingers and extended its clenched fist toward Wen Shi.
Wen Shi was puzzled, “Let me guess which hand?”
The shadow nodded.
Just as Wen Shi was becoming dazzled by the display, not having a clue, he randomly picked one.
The shadow opened its palm, revealing emptiness.
Wen Shi remained silent for a few seconds. The shadow wasn’t playing a game. It wouldn’t indulge in pointless multiple-choice questions, and there wouldn’t be consequences for picking wrong answer.
Since the outcome wasn’t important, only the process remained. The shadow seemed to want to convey something through the game process.
As he pondered, the shadow didn’t say another word. With the scale in hand, it departed.
Suddenly, Wen Shi asked, “Will we meet again?”
Typically, a nod from the other party meant trouble in the future. Hopefully, this trouble wouldn’t come too soon.
“Very soon,” the shadow provided a precise answer.
“……”
After the scale was taken away, the separate space formed by the scales’ division disappeared. The vast expanse of lake water surged from all directions. Wen Shi was engulfed in the turbulent and rushing water. However, he didn’t dare to struggle too forcefully, fearing the merfolk hadn’t left yet.
He held his breath and exerted effort to rise to the surface. Near the water’s edge, Wen Shi cautiously peered out, with his agile triangular ears carefully catching every subtle sound around. Once he confirmed there was no immediate danger, he crawled ashore.
The air had a slightly choking scent.
As Wen Shi looked around, he noticed subtle patches of mushroom clouds in the distant sky, interspersed with bursts of firelight. Simultaneously, announcements echoed from all the campus speakers—
“All students and teachers are not allowed to leave unless it’s urgent!”
“All dorm supervisors, please conduct bed checks promptly!”
Expressionless, he listened to one announcement after another. Wen Shi thought that once the principal was taken care of, he’d be the first to put the dorm supervisors out of a job.
The Wandering Corpse’s skill was still on cooldown, making it unlikely to use it for assassinating the principal. In that case, he had to resort to using a borrowed knife for the job.
—Borrowing a merfolk’s knife.
Wen Shi didn’t know that Arlon already borrowed that knife.
He called Ji Yuanzhi and, once the call was connected, asked if he had found the location of another merfolk’s remains.
“It’s not that simple,” Ji Yuanzhi’s tone was casual. “I’m busy with something else. Mr. Ruan and the Merfolk King are fighting. Once he successfully devours the Merfolk King, he’ll naturally sense the remains’ location. To avoid being killed by the principal, he’ll have to immediately go and devour the remains.”
Wen Shi paused and asked, “What are you busy with then?”
“Using any means remotely to delay the principal’s movements. Player from【Wangcai Bank】seem to be doing something similar.” Ji Yuanzhi paused briefly. “I sent Luis to handle something else.”
Wen Shi said, “I’m coming to your location now.”
“You can’t help here, and don’t go to the merfolk either.” Ji Yuanzhi was up to something. The call was filled with static. “Besides Mr. Ruan and the Merfolk King, another merfolk was just summoned to assist.”
Having offended merfolk multiple times, Wen Shi was well aware of his situation. The moment he appeared, he would definitely be considered a top priority for elimination.
Jian Qingrong and the mini octopus were handling the devouring work, and there was no way he could join in or help out.
Wen Shi struggled to think about what else he could do. A sudden idea struck him, “Lily, she’s bound to support the principal. I…”
“Luis will handle it.”
Wen Shi fell silent completely.
Amidst the academy filled with the smell of gunpowder, chaos reigned, but it seemed like he couldn’t find anywhere that would make him shine.
“What else can I do?” he asked.
Ji Yuanzhi thought for a moment and earnestly suggested, “Go back to the dorm and sleep.”
Answering calls was affecting his efficiency, so he simply hung up.
“……”
Only the beeping busy signal remained in the phone. Wen Shi silently looked up at the pitch-black sky.
After a while, he deftly pressed a series of numbers but disconnected just as the call was about to connect. Wen Shi remembered that Jian Qingrong’s phone was still with Arlon. If he wanted to contact him, he’d have to do it in person. He walked in the direction of the library. According to the earlier plan, Jian Qingrong would bring the Merfolk King’s remains to the library.
One person and one mini octopus, were easy to find. They didn’t even enter the library. They were having a meal in some corner outside.
The mini octopus had grown a bit taller, primarily due to increased strength. It was starting to learn to stand upright like a human.
Jian Qingrong appeared no different from usual, but it had been a while since he’d seen Wen Shi using his partial transformation. There was a peculiar glint in his eyes.
Wen Shi walked over and proactively took his hand, placing it against his ear. “Feel it.”
Jian Qingrong froze.
After a few seconds, his other hand gently reached for Wen Shi’s forehead to confirm he wasn’t running a fever.
Wen Shi shrugged, mentioning that his ears and tail weren’t needed. “Right now, my ears and tail aren’t useful, so bringing you a bit of mental pleasure can be considered a way to recover some points.”
Initially, he had wanted to test if the partial spiritual form could still be used. The result was affirmative, but it consumed points at the rate of a complete transformation.
A hint of complaining mixed with his tone, and for the first time, Jian Qingrong displayed a slight smile before Wen Shi, “How could you possibly be completely useless?”
Wen Shi looked at him, “For example?”
With meticulous logic, Jian Qingrong thought it over, while all nine brains of the mini octopus went through the same process.
In the end, Jian Qingrong was responsible for voicing the suggestion, “How about going back and resting for a while?”
Since arriving here, Wen Shi hadn’t really had a good sleep in a few days.
The cacophonous broadcasts were still looping. Jian Qingrong continued, “You see, they’re even announcing bed checks on the broadcast.”
Go rest.
“……”
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