Four intense beams of light shot violently toward the mermaid wax figures from four directions. For a moment, Bai Liu's small TV screen was far brighter than the ones beside it—pure white and dazzling, so bright it was impossible to look at directly.
Bathed in the blinding light, the mermaid wax figures stiffened and lurched upright, hurriedly raising their arms to shield their eyes.
The glare hollowed out their eye sockets, making them look even more grotesque. They began to retreat, curling in on themselves like pitiful criminals surrounded by police, shrinking into tight balls at the very center of the light. Some of the wax figures even tried to bury their heads in their arms.
Bai Liu crouched down in front of them like a great demon, smiling as he said, "I was right. You really are afraid of the light."
The onlookers in front of the small TV screens: "..."
The player who just commented on Bai Liu was so irritated by the scene that he shouted, "No way! How can a discounted projector reproduce torchlight at one hundred percent? That's not scientific!"
"Hey, you came here looking for science? How many of the props in this place are actually scientific?"
"...Uh, I just checked the manual for this projector. It says it's an optical projector. It's pretty chickenshit in most areas, but it's amazing at reflecting light—it saves at least eighty percent."
"It's honestly kind of speechless to step on random newbies without even reading the system-provided instructions..."
"I couldn't resist buying three 3D projectors myself after watching this..."
On the small TV screen beside Bai Liu's, a player who had just been praised for choosing the right prop was scrambling about, wildly waving a torch to keep the mermaids at bay while desperately trying to reach the newspaper in the hot tub. He looked flustered as hell.
The mermaid wax figure was still leaning forward with a grim expression and clawed hands, steadily forcing the player backward as if he were about to die next—a scene full of tension and excitement.
It was the kind of spectacle that should have gripped countless viewers' hearts. Yet the moment anyone glanced over at Bai Liu's side, the excitement instantly dulled.
Bai Liu had his three projectors surround the mermaid wax figure like police officers holding torches, while he calmly read a newspaper by the hot tub—unhurried and relaxed, as if he were on vacation.
Meanwhile, the mermaid wax figure cowered helplessly in the center of the circle, weak and pitiful, completely motionless.
The contrast was simply too great!
[347 people liked Bai Liu's TV, 355 people favorited Bai Liu's TV, 21 people charged Bai Liu's TV, and 21 points were awarded to Bai Liu.]
[Player Bai Liu has gained over 300 likes in under one minute. His reputation is soaring!]
[Congratulations to player Bai Liu for gaining a promotional spot on the edge zone of the central lobby game screen. Views are rising rapidly…]
Someone stared at Bai Liu's small TV screen in a daze. "...Damn. This is the first time I've seen a newbie-section player get a promotional spot on the central lobby screen—even if it's just the fringe area."
"It's like I'm... witnessing the rise of a new big star..."
[Siren Town Monster Book "Mermaid Wax" Panel Refresh]
[Monster Name: Mermaid Wax Figure (Chrysalis State), Amulet Wax Figure (Cocoon State)]
[Weakness: Direct Human Vision, Bright Light (2/3)]
[Attack Method: Hatching]
[Player Bai Liu is only one weakness away from collecting the Monster Book entry for "Mermaid Wax." After completing the collection, the corresponding reward can be unlocked at the end of the game.]
Bai Liu had already guessed that one of the mermaid wax figures' weaknesses was their fear of light.
This was actually a fairly solid deduction.
The driver had mentioned earlier that large fish are caught at night because they avoid light. Since the mermaid fishing event is also held at night, it stands to reason that large creatures like mermaids would likewise be photophobic.
However, whether mermaid wax figures shared this light-avoidance trait with real mermaids was not something Bai Liu concluded rashly.
So he made careful observations and noticed that during the daytime, there were almost no mermaid wax figures anywhere in Siren Town.
By contrast, places with poor lighting—the hotel and the Siren wax museum—were filled with mermaid wax figures. Combined with his earlier deduction that these creatures lacked hearing and smell but possessed extremely keen vision, it became clear that they were extraordinarily sensitive to light.
The answer was practically right in front of him: creatures like mermaid wax figures were afraid of strong light.
Once Bai Liu arrived at this conclusion, he immediately began pushing the weakness to the most cost-effective extreme he could exploit—
How much light was required to force a mermaid wax figure back? How severe was the impact of glare on them? How long could the effect last? If a mermaid wax figure formed an encirclement, could light alone be used to break through it?
With these questions in mind, Bai Liu deliberately lured the mermaid wax figures into an enclosed formation, then attempted to use strong light in combination with 3D projectors to break out.
Of course, failure was a possibility—but Bai Liu disliked acting timidly.
Based on his reasoning, the success rate exceeded ten percent, which was more than enough for him to take the gamble.
Failure was still failure, but no risk meant no reward. That was normal. Playing games was inherently risky—just like making them.
Even so, part of his attention remained on the newspaper that had been soaking in the sink.
Bai Liu picked it up and gently tore it open from the back with both hands.
As expected, this was no ordinary newspaper.
[Player Bai Liu has completed the task: Separating the Newspaper in the Hot Tub. Bonus: 10 points.]
[Charge points: 21. Current point balance: 31. Purchase props?]
Bai Liu selected "No" and continued examining the newspaper.
He picked up the two separated sheets. Their thicknesses were clearly different—one was noticeably thinner.
He frowned slightly, pinched the thicker one, and tore it again. It split apart once more.
Bai Liu raised his eyebrows. He was momentarily confused by the notification that the mission had been completed—there were still newspapers stuck together underneath. If he hadn't taken a second look, he might have assumed he had already uncovered all the information about this place.
It really was a game that excelled at misleading people.
He tore the newspapers apart seven or eight times in total, until the sink behind him was filled with soaked, yellowed pages. After confirming there were no more hidden layers between them, Bai Liu quickly skimmed through the contents.
The headlines of all nine newspapers were filled with police reports of missing tourists—search notices upon search notices. The number of missing people added up to… quite a lot, to say the least.
The earliest disappearance could be traced back to last year, right after the Siren Wax Museum opened.
At the beginning, there weren't many missing tourists, and the cases were clearly accompanied by signs of theft and looting.
Losing one or two tourists a month wasn't a big deal for a popular attraction. Crowded tourist spots had always been prone to crime, and seaside accidents—falling into the water, kidnapping, robbery—were hardly unusual. Naturally, these incidents would be reported and registered.
Yet according to what Jeff had told Bai Liu, until last month, the outside world had been completely unaware of how many people had gone missing here. On the surface, tourism in Siren Town had continued to thrive.
It wasn't until the number of tourists—and missing tourists—steadily increased, and strange incidents became more frequent, that the situation finally came to light. Last month alone, twelve missing persons were officially registered in Siren Town, and the matter was finally reported.
If Bai Liu wasn't mistaken, all the earlier disappearances had been deliberately suppressed by the people-loving Mayor Harris. In order to keep tourism alive, he had resorted to various tactics, only allowing the truth to surface once it could no longer be contained.
Judging from the newspapers, the townspeople here were disturbingly adept at covering up crimes.
Bai Liu put away the newspaper and the projector, then reversed the flashlight to keep the mermaid wax figures illuminated. After confirming they remained motionless, he stepped out of the corridor and headed toward the central exhibition hall of the Siren Wax Museum, where Lucy and the others were waiting.
The central hall was said to house only one exhibit: a mermaid skeleton sealed inside a tightly locked, bulletproof glass case—the pristine specimen the driver had mentioned, the one they had caught, and the origin of everything that followed.
The skeleton was like a gift from the sea to Siren Town, bringing immense wealth along with misfortune. Yet people had only seen the wealth; no one realized that their present misfortunes had also sprung from it.
The moment Bai Liu stepped inside, he stopped dead in his tracks.
The central exhibition hall was circular, with a crystal-coffin-like glass case positioned at its center. Dazzling white LED lights shone from all directions, illuminating the mermaid "skeleton" inside. Bai Liu rarely felt astonishment—but now, as he looked at this so-called skeleton, he did.
This could not be called a skeleton. At least, not by Bai Liu's standards.
Lucy gazed at the mermaid in the glass case with open fascination. "He's so beautiful. I've never seen anything so… perfect. Not even computer-generated models look like this."
Jeff stood frozen beside her. The boy with thick glasses stared up at the mermaid in disbelief, unmoving, as if he'd been rooted to the floor.
Andre, as usual, reacted with instinctive contempt. "You've all been fooled. It's just a human body with a fish tail sewn on, stuffed into a glass case to grab attention—"
After staring at it for a few seconds longer, he added reluctantly, "…but it does look beautiful."
The mermaid's body was immersed in clear liquid inside the glass container. From the right hand up to the shoulder, it was bare white bone; the rest was lifelike skin and flesh.
Elegant, sharply defined muscle lines wrapped tightly around slender bones. Deep blue liquid rose in slow bubbles, twisting through the mermaid's long, dark brown hair before settling like pearls against his pale eyelashes.
His eyes were closed, his features exquisitely delicate. Slightly curled hair drifted across his beautiful cheeks in the water, revealing ears unlike anything human.
The left ear was a shell-like, mica-textured fin, mottled and shimmering with the movement of the liquid. The right ear, half-hidden by wet hair, was a fin of pale white bone.
The sinuous fishtail curled gracefully like a silver-blue ribbon washed by seawater, its inverted triangular scales glistening under the lights. A translucent membrane stretched between the fingers of the right hand, while the white-boned left hand lay crossed over his chest, wrapped and intertwined in eerie repose.