Chu Qiu was sleeping on his side in the last row of a van. The back seat was very crowded and narrow, and it was difficult for him to even turn over. As soon as he moved, he saw a necklace fall out of his shirt.
The clothes he was wearing now were no different from what he had on before entering the game, a white shirt and black pants, typical daily attire for a salaryman, with the only addition being this necklace.
The pendant of the necklace was a one-yuan coin with a hole punched through it. After placing his hand on it, Chu Qiu saw the game panel pop up. The panel looked the same as the one Chu Qiu had seen before, with no additional information.
This should be something like a game manager.
Chu Qiu put the necklace away in his clothes, as he didn't like to see such damaged coins.
Chu Qiu poked his head out from the back seat of the car, which was a seven-seater van. Besides Chu Qiu lying in the back, there were four people in the front. As soon as he poked his head out, someone looked at him in surprise and exclaimed, "Chu Qiu, hey, my little sweetheart, you finally woke up!"
Except for Chu Qiu, these six people all had distinctly foreign appearances. The one who called Chu Qiu "little sweetheart" was a girl with brown curly hair and big waves, red lips, and brown eyes. She was wearing hot pants and a tank top. The moment Chu Qiu saw this person, the coin on her chest popped up a panel with character information written on it:
[NPC Name: Lucy]
[Character introduction: Your classmate, who likes boys like you, feels too shy when facing Lucy, who is ten centimeters taller than you and is enthusiastic and bold]
Chu Qiu's gaze lingered subtly on the phrase "too shy" for two seconds, then quickly retracted and fell into deep thought.
To trigger NPC panel information in this game, it seems that players need to see it themselves, just like in online games where you need to hover over something with your mouse for information to pop up. The player's eyes are now equivalent to their mouse and gamepad.
He seemed to be lost in thought, as if he couldn't afford to lose his vision in this game.
Lucy winked at Chu Qiu and said, "Hey, baby, did I tire you out? You've been sleeping all the way since we got on the bus."
Chu Qiu, who had always been single since birth, felt a slightly complicated mood: "….."
The single life came to a painless end.
He changed the topic in time. Chu Qiu looked out the window at the increasingly remote and desolate scenery and asked, "Where are we going? Why does it seem so remote?"
"It seems that some coward wants to run away at the last minute," a sarcastic and deep male voice sounded from the front. A tall man dressed in tight jeans and a sports T-shirt looked at Chu Qiu with his arms crossed and disdain. This person's body was too bulky, and his shirt was about to burst from being stretched. He looked like a rugby player.
He looked down at Chu Qiu with his arms crossed, sneering, "Too late, Chu Qiu. Even if you're a coward wanting to run away at the last minute, it's too late. We're already on our way to Siren Town."
Panel pop-up:
[NPC Name: Andre]
[Character introduction: Your romantic rival, who has a crush on Lucy but was rejected by her, harbors deep hostility towards you. Previously, you made a bet with him to prove your love for Lucy by guarding her in the most dangerous place in the world. Consequently, the group of you drove to Siren Town. Before getting into the car, you regretted and even cried, but were forcefully dragged into the car by Andre]
Chu Qiu had seen the place name "Siren Town" twice in a row. Ignoring Andre's sarcasm, he inquired, "Where is Siren Town?"
Andre sneered again and was about to continue his sarcasm when a continuous stream of low-pitched murmurs interrupted him:
"Siren Town, the only coastal town in history where the remains of sea monsters have been discovered. Throughout history, many people have claimed to have seen the figure of the sea monster, the siren, here, or heard the beautiful songs of the mermaid-like sea monsters in the waves. They have also witnessed these eerily-looking mermaid-like sea monsters feasting on human corpses on the dark reefs..."
"Jelf! Those are just stories made up by Siren Town to trick tourists into sightseeing!" Andre interrupted impatiently, although a barely perceptible flicker of fear quickly flashed across his face.
A small-statured boy wearing thick beer bottle cap glasses shrank back, clutching the book in front of him, seemingly afraid of Andre. However, he mustered up his courage and retorted in a low voice, "Then how do you explain the mysterious disappearances of those tourists who came to Siren Town! Last month, twelve tourists vanished completely in Siren Town! The police searched everywhere but found nothing, and no one has ever seen them leave Siren Town..."
Chu Qiu looked at the panel.
[NPC Name: Jelf]
[Character introduction: A passionate enthusiast for non-natural creatures such as mermaids and sea monsters. Upon learning that Lucy and her group were heading to Siren Town, he volunteered to join them and is well-versed in the legends and stories of Siren Town]
"Andre retorted, 'Most of these people probably drowned themselves. It's quite normal for people to drown at the seaside.'"
Jelf was unconvinced: "The police have been organizing salvage operations for a month now, but they haven't recovered any bodies. Even if they really fell into the sea, it's not normal..." As he spoke, his tone turned low and dark, tinged with a hint of excitement, "Unless their bodies were eaten by Sirens, in which case it's also understandable why the police haven't recovered them..."
Andre finally lost his temper. He hit Jelf's head hard and said, "Shut up! You damned four-eyed guy! You talk about mermaids all day long! I think you look like a mermaid!"
Andre struck hard, and Chu Qiu could clearly see Jelf's head hit the edge of the chair and then slump onto Andre's body, dazed. This completely infuriated Andre, who slapped Jelf several times, knocking a tooth out of his mouth.
Jelf silently picked up his own teeth, lowered his head, and then looked at Andre with a very subtle and resentful gaze, silently mouthing a sentence.
No one else heard it, but Chu Qiu, who always had good hearing, overheard Jelf say, "The mermaid will definitely tear you apart and swallow you whole, Andre.".
Chu Qiu raised her eyebrows slightly, but didn't say anything. The character relationships of this NPC are a bit complicated.
It seems that Andre's casual scolding and beating of Jelf has been going on for more than just a day or two, and it appears that this Jelf has already devised a revenge plan using the "mermaid".
The driver was a local from Siren Town, hired by Chu Qiu at a cost. From Lucy's conversation, Chu Qiu discovered that she was also from a wealthy family. He had covered all the accommodation and meals for the group, paid a high price to hire the driver, and even asked the driver to help find a local hotel.
The car drove until midnight before reaching the mysterious town of Siren. According to the driver's description, Siren was a small town that relied on fishing and helping to salvage sunken ships for its livelihood. It had always been relatively remote and run-down until the new mayor took a different approach and used rumors of mermaids to attract tourists. Since then, Siren has developed through tourism.
But since last month, accidents have been happening to tourists. Unlike what Andre said, these tourists didn't fall into the water. Some of them even disappeared in different corners of the town of Siren without anyone knowing, before they even had a chance to go to the beach. For example, one tourist checked into the hotel that night and was gone the next morning. The door was closed tightly, and no one saw him leave. The bed in the room still had residual heat, but he was gone.
As a result of the tourist disappearance incident, the town of Siren, which was in the peak tourist season, became incredibly desolate, and many hotels and inns closed down due to poor management.
The town of Siren was indeed dilapidated, with flying fences and fishing nets everywhere. The ground was covered with dried shells, seaweed, and sediment, except for some hotels and inns with decent decorations. It was already late at night when Chu Qiu and his group arrived, but there were still many pedestrians on the road.
These pedestrians were originally marching towards the seaside in unison, but as Chu Qiu and his companions drove in, these townspeople who were originally heading to the seaside simultaneously stopped and turned their heads, gazing straight ahead at Chu Qiu's car.
Being watched by so many people in the middle of the night, Lucy felt a chill down her spine. She let out a soft scream and snuggled into Chu Qiu's arms.
But she was much taller than Chu Qiu, and her head even poked out from Chu Qiu's shoulder, making it look as if Chu Qiu had shrunk into her embrace.
Chu Qiu: "..."
Chu Qiu turned around and asked the driver, "It's already midnight. What are these people doing at the seaside?"
The driver shook his head and said, "Recently, there haven't been many tourists. With the economy in the doldrums, they can only make a living by fishing again. If you've never fished, you won't know that many valuable fish are afraid of strong light and only come out to move around at night. That's why they go to sea at night."
The townspeople looked at Chu Qiu with strange gazes, their eyes glowing green like cats in the night. They wore a peculiar expression, as if they were laughing, but their mouth corners didn't lift completely; instead, they twitched stiffly.
They were still holding fishing nets and hooks in their hands, and some were carrying oil lamps with light emulsified in their hands. They stared intently at the car carrying Chu Qiu, their eyes following the car as if they were ready to rush forward at any moment and attack the car with their fishing gear.
"You should be careful with these guys," the driver warned, "They are short of money recently, while you are quite wealthy."
Due to the generous spending habits of Chu Qiu, a wealthy second-generation individual, the driver arranged for them to stay at the best hotel in the area.
This hotel is a very modern and luxurious five-star hotel, so luxurious that it seems out of place with the overall style of the town. There is even a fountain pool at the entrance.
In the fountain pool, there stands a mermaid statue crafted from white cold wax, with a limestone base.
The mermaid waxwork is lifelike, with her translucent skin shimmering under the dim moonlight, almost resembling human skin. Her long hair falls down, covering her plump breasts, while her fish tail stands upright in the pool. She has her eyes lowered, with a pitiable expression, and holds a water pitcher in her hand. Inside the pitcher are some fake mica pearls, and the fountain pours out from the pitcher, landing in the pool and creating a sound like ocean waves.
The driver drove around the fountain pool at the entrance of the hotel and arrived at the main entrance of the hotel.
Jelf suddenly let out a cry of surprise. Pointing at the waxwork of a mermaid at the entrance of the hotel, he shouted, "She was just looking at me! She just moved!"