Chapter 13 - The Vanished Mermaid (Part 6)

Central Square.

Shamate let out a surprised “Oh!” “This one’s got quite the eye, too.”

The trio with the doll began wandering aimlessly around Water City, prompting Shamate to switch his focus to other display panels.

The girl beside him didn’t catch the “too” in Shamate’s comment, but she often watched Via and Li Qi Feng’s display panels. Hearing Shamate’s words, she widened her eyes in surprise, “That’s not a mermaid?”

Shamate stroked his chin thoughtfully, “The initial ‘close-up’ shot when the mermaid appeared showed he wasn’t breathing through gills but holding his breath.”

The girl’s thin eyebrows furrowed as she searched for a display panel that still showed the mermaid. She stared at the mermaid’s gill covers, but the panel’s view was too distant to make out any details.

Perhaps influenced by Shamate’s earlier assertion, she now even felt the mermaid’s tail seemed less agile. “If it’s really not a mermaid, this impersonation is top-notch, whether in appearance, attire, or performance.”

Shamate replied, “…Did you forget they’re in an instance?”

“…Oh.” The girl unconsciously grasped the cross around her neck, murmuring to herself, “In ‘World Human,’ anything can exist.” Once inside an instance, the bizarre and colorful world felt incredibly real, as if one had entered another realm, albeit a harsher one.

Shamate glanced at her and shook his head slightly before returning his gaze to the display panel.

This live broadcast instance was a lengthy one, potentially lasting up to five days, with time in Central Square flowing in sync with the instance. When the instance concluded, spectators would exit Central Square and return to reality at midnight.

However, if a player exited Central Square midway, they could no longer re-enter to watch the instance.

Fortunately, Central Square offered food and drink, and even beds for resting when weary, allowing most people to endure the entire broadcast.

Typically, instances progressed more at night, so during lengthy live broadcasts, spectators would rest during the day and watch at night. However, with two players already dead and the cause unknown, everyone remained vigilant, hoping other players would investigate the hotel.

“Is it really as the doll special species said?” someone couldn’t help but ask, “A criminal escaped from prison and is now in the hotel?”

“Who knows… Oh my! The doll special species is heading towards the hotel! Didn’t he say it was dangerous there? Why is he going?”

“Didn’t you say the hotel was dangerous?” The magician strolled leisurely along the street, “Why are you steering me there?”

The doll had practically made the magician’s body his home, occasionally sitting here or standing there. Now, he perched atop the magician’s hat, enjoying the excellent view and the gentle breeze. Luo Yiran felt a bit cheerful, “Because I’m tired and need to rest.”

The magician chuckled softly, “Aren’t you afraid of getting killed?”

“Aren’t you here?” The doll swung his legs, narrowing his eyes and responding in a soft tone.

The magician replied, “…Do you remember the last time you used that tone with me?”

“Mm?” The doll opened his eyes.

The magician said, “It was right before you threw me into the fire.”

The doll was unashamed, “That makes us life-and-death companions.”

“…”

With the map he had glanced at earlier, the doll guided the magician around the final corner of the street, then raised his eyes to the towering building. At the top, the words “Mermaid Hotel” met the doll’s gaze.

Luo Yiran’s gaze slowly descended, noticing the police tape at the hotel’s entrance and several police cars surrounding it.

…There were actually police… Well, there was a prison nearby, after all.

A crowd gathered around the police tape, and the doll unceremoniously maneuvered the magician to squeeze in, standing on tiptoe to peer inside.

The bodies seemed to have been removed, leaving only bloodstains at the hotel’s entrance. Police and medics carried stretchers in and out.

The magician’s suit wrinkled in the crowd, and he frowned deeply, “Young master.”

The doll was focused on the hotel’s interior, “Speak.”

His tone was casual and indifferent, as if treating the magician as a puppet of no consequence.

The magician chuckled softly, “Could you be a bit nicer to me?”

Luo Yiran paused, lowering his head. The magician’s hat brim obscured most of his view, allowing him only a glimpse of the magician’s messy gray hair on his shoulder, “You want me to be nicer?”

“Why?” The doll scoffed.

The magician seemed to suppress his laughter, his voice becoming odd, “Because we’re family, and family should get along.”

“…” Almost instantly, Luo Yiran recalled the gray-haired magician holding a red rose in his personal space yesterday, welcoming him home.

Then the red rose transformed into a red dress.

The doll narrowed his round eyes to slits-The magician was definitely threatening him.

But after personal space, there was no avoiding it…

The doll reluctantly steered the magician to the less crowded right side.

The magician’s tone was sincere, “Thank you, young master.”

“…”

Luo Yiran frowned instantly, peering down at the magician’s bandaged eye area, “Don’t be disgusting.”

A small head suddenly popped out from the hat brim, and the magician hesitated, “Young master, be careful not to fall.”

The doll smirked mockingly, “You clearly hate me, and I want to kill you too; so we don’t need to get along.” No need for this pretense.

The magician’s mouth fell, and the bandage returned to its normal position, “Getting along doesn’t conflict with wanting to kill each other.”

For the first time, the doll received confirmation from the magician that he wanted to kill him. The mocking smile on his face slowly faded…

“But I sincerely hope you believe me.” The magician grinned widely, the bandage on his face slightly tearing to reveal a hint of black beneath, “Though I want to kill you, I also truly love you.”

Luo Yiran’s smile froze.

He had assumed the magician was forced by the game’s rules to be his puppet, so even if capable of escaping, the magician had to stay by his side until he died in the game.

Thus, the magician must hate him, the one who could control his body.

But-love him?

What nonsense. The doll angrily withdrew his head.

“Young master, probing my thoughts is unwise.” The magician’s voice was cheerful, “But since we’ve had this candid exchange, I’ll remind you that the pearl on your ear can influence many things.”

Who needs a reminder? The doll said expressionlessly, “Oh.”

He knew that.

The pearl had influenced his questioning of the magician, but he genuinely wanted to confirm the magician’s thoughts, so he followed the sudden surge of irritation and anger in his heart and spoke.

Sensing the doll’s mood wasn’t pleasant, the magician felt more inclined to tease, but before he could speak again, the doll suddenly maneuvered the magician’s hand upward.

The magician said, “…?”

Luo Yiran sneered, then manipulated the magician to remove the tie from his shirt and, with some familiarity, tied it around the magician’s mouth, “You should shut up.”

The magician uttered a syllable, “Mm?”

Luo Yiran said, “You’re annoying.”

“…”

The sun was setting as Xia Lang and Guan Cheng regrouped.

Guan Cheng carried bags filled with items, pausing when he saw Xia Lang empty-handed, “Aren’t you buying anything?”

Xia Lang was momentarily dazed, “Buy what?”

“You really don’t know how to enjoy life.” Guan Cheng rummaged through his bags, handing Xia Lang some snacks and toys, “Didn’t I say in the last instance? We never know when we might meet our end, so enjoy life while you can. Besides, it’s the character’s money-might as well spend it.”

Xia Lang paused.

Water City’s evening was already ablaze with lights, and people around were still fervently discussing the mermaid from the day’s parade. At first glance, it seemed they hadn’t entered an instance, as if this were a real place.

This was Xia Lang’s first city-based instance, and having people around, even if just NPCs, made him feel more at ease than in the previous three instances.

Perhaps it was also because-Luo Yiran was here too.

Xia Lang looked up to see Guan Cheng examining the map Luo Yiran had drawn for him, confirming with Xia Lang, “Luo said to return before dark, right?”

“Yes.”

“…” Guan Cheng put away the map, observing Xia Lang’s frown, “Do you have something on your mind?”

Xia Lang stood still, tilting his head slightly, “Cheng-Ge, you knew early on that players in ‘World Human’ have killed people, right?”

Guan Cheng was silent.

Xia Lang’s gaze lowered, his eyelids drooping, “I don’t mean anything by it, but in my view, there are only two types of murderers. One is the psychopaths, who have no humanity and kill for pleasure. Are you one of those?”

The night breeze brought a chill, and Guan Cheng became more alert, “I’m not.”

The lethargic Xia Lang blinked, seeming to recover, then suddenly became lively, flashing a bright smile, “That’s great. I’m really scared of psychopaths.”

His expression was harmless, with a hint of lingering fear in his eyes. Xia Lang scratched his head apologetically, “Sorry, Cheng-Ge, for offending you. I’m just worried about encountering a psychopath who might harm Ranran.”

Guan Cheng slowly shook his head, sensing that Xia Lang’s demeanor seemed different from usual. But on second thought, he figured it might be the presence of a close friend in the game that was keeping Xia Lang on edge.

“I accidentally killed someone.” To reassure Xia Lang, Guan Cheng volunteered, “I served a few years in prison, just got out a couple of years ago.”

Xia Lang widened his eyes and nodded, indicating he understood.

“What about you guys?” Guan Cheng naturally asked.

As soon as he spoke, Xia Lang seemed to have an invisible hand gripping his throat. He made a guttural sound, and after a moment, under Guan Cheng’s increasingly puzzled gaze, he managed to say, “We haven’t killed anyone.”