Bai Liu stood on the swaying boat and watched for a long time before finally reacting. "Oh, I see. Just in case I became alienated after getting on the boat—causing my mental value to drop and putting me into this foolish state—I made arrangements beforehand. I can defeat Andre without doing anything."
After saying this on the small TV screen, Bai Liu seemed to feel a bit cold. He wrapped himself in a quilt, shrank underneath it, and began watching the show with great interest. However, he was still somewhat drowsy and soon started dozing off on the boat.
The audience in front of the small TV: "..."
What did he do before boarding the boat? Why did Andre suddenly die?!
Wang Shun watched as Andre was devoured, curiosity gnawing at him. He had never seen the fishermen take the initiative to eat Andre. He wished he could pry open Bai Liu's mind and see what he had done that none of them knew about.
"He did something before he got on the boat!"
The player beside him was also intrigued. He closed his eyes and thought carefully. "Wait! I remember! In the normal sequence, they took the driver's car to get here. He paid the driver and boarded the ship. The driver said he would prepare the venue and items for their bet that night…!"
The few players who had been about to leave changed their minds and stayed. The crowd gathered again, and someone shouted, "Is there anyone with a game system membership who can watch the replay and check what he did? I'm not a member, so I can't access the playback!"
"I am! I'll check! I'll project it so everyone can watch!"
"Emmm… it looked like he played normally. Why did this happen? His luck value is only 0. There's no way the fishermen bit Andre because of luck."
"Then how the hell did he do it?"
"Damn it, I'm posting this on the game forum for help. I watched the replay three times and still couldn't figure out what arrangements he made. He's seriously a god."
[Game Forum – Help! Does anyone know why these mermaids are eating Andre?]
1L: I saw some incredible gameplay from a player today. Lots of people have played Siren Town. When it comes to the "True Love Ship" stage, is it possible to trigger a side plot where the mermaids eat Andre? I've never seen this before. (Attached: Bai Liu's gameplay video.)
2L: I have so many question marks?? How did this even happen? I've never seen this kind of development. Are the monsters actually helping the player by eating Andre to complete the task? Is this some kind of emotional-line bug? Is there a hidden BL route between the player and Andre??
3L: This player must have a super high luck value. If your luck is high enough, unbelievable things can happen in-game.
Original Poster replying to 3L: No, his luck value is 0. He's extremely unlucky. He's a newcomer, and his first instance was Siren Town. The wandering NPC even appeared in his monster book. That's clearly terrible luck, so I don't understand why the plot suddenly turned out like this.
4L: This newcomer… has it pretty rough… So how did he pull this off?
5L (Mu Sicheng): You can trigger it through the side task, Jeff's Bloody Conspiracy. Once the completion rate exceeds 80%, the driver will take the initiative to go into the sea and wait for a chance to kill Andre. During the process, the bloody scent from Andre's death attracts more fishermen, who then swarm in to devour him.
However, to activate this side task, you need to control the mermaid statues on the first night and secretly investigate Jeff's plan. You also must not be discovered by Jeff, or he will kill you. Is this player a complete newcomer? And he managed to trigger this side task on his first run? That's pretty impressive.
6L: Damn!! It's God Mu! Screenshotting this reply!
7L: The great god has appeared! Please bless me in my next difficult instance!
8L: God Mu is actually praising a newcomer! I need to see this! What zone is the newcomer in? I'm going to watch!
9L: Same here!
-----------------
The original poster replied to Mu Sicheng: "!! It's God Mu! This player is a complete newcomer, and he's currently in the Death Comedy Division… His mental value is about to drop to 60…"
Mu Sicheng replied: "Death Comedy? He should be a very capable newcomer. Why is he in the Death Comedy Zone?"
The original poster responded: "His gameplay is rather strange. He didn't buy the conventional items like the Water Bubble or the Fire Torch…"
Mu Sicheng replied: "He didn't buy a Water Bubble? That's a bit dangerous. After Andre goes berserk, he becomes a mid-tier boss. It's good that the player cleared the side task and got rid of him in advance. However, after the fishermen finish attacking Andre, they'll immediately turn around and attack the player. It takes time for them to eat Andre, so during that window, you can survive as long as you have a Water Bubble. If he didn't buy one… then this is a bit mysterious."
"I'm still curious about how he pushed the progress of Jeff's Bloody Conspiracy to 80%. In the car, the completion rate was only 50%. Why did it suddenly jump to 80%?"
Wang Shun frowned. As a cloud player, information about progressing side plotlines was extremely important to him. He took out his game manager and asked God Mu on the forum.
God Mu replied:
[He gave the driver more money.]
[Jeff had already paid the driver once. The car fare and tour fee were settled in a lump sum. Logically speaking, the player didn't need to pay again, but the newcomer paid him a second time.]
Wang Shun suddenly remembered. That's right. Bai Liu didn't need to pay again, but he did.
[Watch the video carefully. He deliberately showed the driver that he still had a large amount of money left in his bag.]
[The town residents are set as robbers. Their excessive greed for money will inevitably tempt the driver to rob and kill them. At the same time, the driver has a side plotline to kill Andre. With that side plot active, he will prioritize killing Andre.]
[Push the side plot to 80% and let the driver know you're carrying valuables. He'll kill Andre first in order to steal the player's money.]
After reading God Mu's reply, Wang Shun had a sudden realization. "So that's how it works."
Then another worry surfaced. "Wait… wouldn't the driver immediately come back to rob the player after killing Andre?"
Wang Shun quickly typed:
[God Mu, in that case, won't the driver immediately return to rob the player after killing Andre?]
Mu Sicheng replied:
[Yes. That's why the player needs to hide inside a Water Bubble that repels the fish.]
[The driver can kill Andre with a sneak attack, but his combat strength alone isn't as high as Andre's. Andre is a boss of this level and can break a Water Bubble. However, now that Andre is dead, the Water Bubble can deal with the driver and the other mermaid. After triggering this side task, the difficulty of the True Love Ship mission is significantly reduced. It's a great strategy.]
Wang Shun scrolled through the forum while frowning at Bai Liu on the small TV. "Did you see God Mu's reply? He said the mermaid will turn around and attack the player as soon as they finish eating."
"I saw it." The audience member who had been watching with Wang Shun sighed sadly. He looked at Bai Liu's dazed expression and shook his head. "The newcomer was even praised by God Mu. What a pity. If he hadn't spent so many points on alcohol, he could've passed this level by buying a Water Bubble."
Wang Shun also felt a mixture of frustration and disappointment. He said helplessly, "The difficulty has already been reduced so much, yet he's actually going to get stuck here!"
He wasn't the only one feeling hopeless. Many players who had come to watch because of God Mu stared at the screen, only to see Bai Liu dozing under his quilt.
The mermaids finished devouring Andre and turned, rushing toward Bai Liu's boat. Bai Liu seemed completely unaware. He simply curled up tighter in his quilt, half-asleep, while the mermaids silently approached across the dark water.
Many players were at a loss for words at this scene, their throats tight with frustration.