Chapter 85: Hopeless Sea (IX) Implication

【Long before the ancient times, the Ancestor God’s bones walked the desolate earth, harboring immense terror within the dome of its skull.

Most who witnessed Its true form were driven to madness; only a prophet from a tribe that worshipped the god discerned the truth of sin within it.

The prophet recounted the story he knew to his tribesmen, but the angry people accused him of being an evil spirit spreading heresy.

The execution on the crucifix proceeded as scheduled, and people declared he deserved to die and that heaven would strike him down—even though he bore a human form until his death.】

【Identity Card • humanoid evil spirit】

…

The surrounding scene faded to black, the images of the church, believers, and players slowly dissolving.

Qi Si found himself sitting in an incorporeal space, countless scarlet eyes hanging high in the vast darkness, spreading boundlessly in all directions.

He seemed to have entered the 【humanoid evil spirit】 Identity Card. The god’s gaze shrouded him from every angle, making him feel as uncomfortable as if he were bathing under a blood-red sun—he had no secrets, and nowhere to hide.

After a long silence, Qi Si looked up and stared directly into one of the eyes, clicking his tongue lightly: ‘Why are you everywhere? Even if this involves the so-called Gods Gamble, aren’t you investing a bit too much passion into a mere cricket fight?’

Mist and tentacles surged in the silence, and just as Qi Si thought he wouldn’t receive an answer, a voice suddenly resonated from the depths of his mind: ‘What you see is merely my shadow. I have traveled through vast history and infinite space, leaving behind traces like roots; in the future, you will see my remnants in many more places.’

Qi Si asked,’So, what was that dream just now?’

The god replied, ‘That has nothing to do with me. Of course, if you wish to know the answer, I could tell you directly.’

Qi Si understood, smiling as he said, ‘I’ll pass on that. I enjoy the process of solving the puzzle myself.’

He paused for a moment, then added in a casual, conversational tone, ‘Your Excellency Evil God, how should I address you? Cardinal? God? Primordial Lord of Heaven? Buddha? Or perhaps simply—my better?’

‘The “Qi” in “Contract”—that is my name.’ The god’s voice carried a smile, its tone and manner of speech instantly shifting to a style familiar to Qi Si, giving him the illusion that he was conversing with himself.

‘… If you aren’t accustomed to a single-character name, you can call me “Si Qi.” These two names have similar meanings, don’t they?’

Listening to his own voice, Qi Si could only feel the sheer malice behind it.

‘Qi, you’re quite the comedian.’ He let out a cold laugh. ‘You didn’t come all this way just to spout nonsense, did you?’

The scarlet gaze took on substance; threads of blood-colored silk erupted from the darkness, one end vanishing into the dense chaos, the other wrapping around Qi Si’s little finger.

Qi Si seemed to sense something, his expression tightening. Then, he saw the churning waves of thought converge into a five-character prophecy before his eyes: ‘Beware of the Puppeteer.’

…

‘Dong—’

The resounding toll of a bell pierced through the dream, replacing the darkness with a bright backdrop. The scarlet light receded, eventually vanishing into the vast mist.

After the fourth toll, Qi Si opened his eyes to see a brownish-yellow wooden ceiling, covered in mottled, dark green mold spots that looked like dabs of oil paint.

He lay back listlessly, his gaze falling on the 【humanoid evil spirit】 card in the top right corner. ‘Can I throw this Identity Card away?’

The Eerie Game was concise: 【No.】

‘Then can I deactivate its effect?’

【This is a ‘passive effect’ and cannot be manually deactivated.】

“…”

When playing games, Qi Si had always hated being watched by others who would point fingers, regardless of who they were…

He lifted his wrist listlessly and glanced at the Pocket Watch of Fate, then heard Chang Xu’s cold voice from beside him: ‘What time is it?’

‘Eight in the morning.’ Qi Si reined in his chaotic thoughts, adjusted the watch hands, and replied with a smile.

Chang Xu suspected nothing and sat up in bed, only to feel as if his right hand were being weighed down by something heavy.

He looked down and discovered that a pure white ivory Idol had appeared there at some point.

It was likely an Idol of the evil god; the upper torso bore three fish heads, while over a dozen tentacles extended from the lower torso, making it look evil and grotesque.

Chang Xu belatedly recalled that he had seemingly had a strange dream, and had even dreamed of Qi Si…

He couldn’t remember the specific details, and the live stream had automatically shut off while he slept, so it couldn’t provide any useful information.

He looked at Qi Si and asked, ‘Did something happen last night?’

‘What?’ Qi Si asked with an innocent expression, nonchalantly taking the Idol from Chang Xu’s hand to examine it.

To think that items from a dream could be brought out—the mechanics of this instance were more interesting than he had imagined.

He just didn’t know if everything could be brought out, or if this Idol itself possessed some special quality.

Qi Si’s fingers traced the base of the Idol, feeling the uneven marble texture beneath his fingertips.

He turned the Idol over and saw crooked scratches carved into the base, clearly the handiwork of a child:

【They all say I am a witch who brings misfortune】

【Mom says I am an angel who hasn’t fully grown up】

【Fish scales will grow into feathers, just like fish can fly】

【I want to grow up quickly and become an angel】

The four lines of text flashed across the system interface before vanishing, and a vision appeared before his eyes.

In a cramped wooden cabin as dark as a cave, a single lamp flickered like a bean on the table. A woman dressed in linen held a girl who had fish scales on her neck, covering her with white feathers while whispering something with her head bowed.

At one moment, the woman threw herself into a sea of flames, leaving the girl behind, weeping uncontrollably. The girl did not see the white feathers growing wildly in the fire, condensing into a massive angel hovering behind her, its face that of the woman…

Qi Si said softly, ‘I suspect these words were carved by a young Yuna. Because of the fish scales on her throat, people regarded her as a witch who brought misfortune.’

‘Her mother comforted her, telling her that when she grew up, the fish scales would turn into angel feathers. She believed her.’

‘What does “fish can fly” mean?’ Chang Xu asked, pointing to the third line of text.

‘Perhaps they really can fly, like the creature known as a “flying fish”; perhaps it’s a myth, similar to the “carp leaping over the dragon gate” or that atonement theory you mentioned; or perhaps some mutation occurred… Who knows?’

Qi Si stuffed the Idol under Chang Xu’s pillow and suggested with a serious expression, ‘Brother Chang, regardless of anything else, this Idol looks very important; it might be the key to the instance clearance. I suggest you don’t carry it with you, lest Yuna notice it and cause trouble.’

This coincided with Chang Xu’s own thoughts.

Key items like Idols were very likely anchors for NPC hostility; carrying one was equivalent to actively attracting NPC hostility, which would likely trigger crisis events.

Because it was less than one cubic decimeter in size, it couldn’t be stored in the inventory, so it had to be hidden in the hotel.

Chang Xu pondered for a moment and asked, ‘Si Qi, do you really not know what’s going on with this Idol?’

Qi Si sighed. ‘If you really can’t trust me, just leave it with me. I’ll bear the risk, and you can earn the performance points. That’s fair, right?’

‘No need, thanks,’ Chang Xu replied sullenly.

He still felt like something wasn’t quite right, but Qi Si had already stood up and was walking toward the door.

He had no choice but to suppress his doubts and follow.

The floor by the door had been soaked by water overflowing from outside at some point. Large sections of the wood were stained a dark brown, as if a flood had suddenly inundated the house last night and receded silently this morning.

‘Something happened.’

Chang Xu pushed open the door, sniffed the scent of blood mixed into the damp air, and made his judgment.

The corridor floor outside was covered in messy water stains; a thin film of water gave the surface an uneven, slick appearance, and in the dim light, the mottled patterns looked like trails left by snakes or insects in the sand.

Qi Si walked straight toward the room diagonally across the hall, its door wide open. As soon as he stepped inside, he was hit by a wave of blood-scented air.

Before him was a bed covered in gore; a pinkish-white skeleton with strips of flesh still clinging to it lay flat on the bed. Blood had stained the sheets red, masking their original color.

From the messy, scattered chunks of flesh, it was clear that the deceased had been devoured by an unknown creature. It seemed the feast had been incredibly generous, so much so that scraps of meat were strewn across the floor in a wasteful display.

Chang Xu leaned in silently and pointed to a row of neat tooth marks on the corpse’s left shoulder: “Judging by the tooth marks, it’s a human, or some kind of humanoid mammal.”

“No, it’s a fish.”

Qi Si reached out two fingers toward the corpse and plucked a thin, bright scale from the pile of flesh and blood.

The scale was beautiful with intricate patterns, and even though it was stained with blood, it still shimmered with silvery light.

“It should be a kind of half-human, half-fish monster. It doesn’t look like a mermaid, but rather a fish-man with a fish head and a human body.”

Chang Xu did not intend to discuss the species of the killer any further.

He stepped back and observed the surroundings: “The deceased shows no signs of struggle; he must have died in his sleep.”

Qi Si bent down and picked up a chipped ceramic bowl from the pool of blood, sighing heavily: “The deceased didn’t drink the Calming Soup Yuna delivered before going to sleep. He must have woken up halfway through, sensed something was wrong, and hurriedly drank the concoction, but it was already too late…”

“It seems this guy was really panicked at the time; he even dropped the bowl and broke it. I wonder how much he’ll need to pay for it, and if his remaining inheritance will be enough.”

The schadenfreude-filled witness placed the ceramic bowl back on the floor and followed the intermittent bloodstains all the way to the wide-open wooden window. He let out a “Whoa”: “Those fish-men must have gained strength after eating the person, grown wings, and flown out the window… No wonder the hallway is free of bloodstains; it’s really clean and hygienic.”

Chang Xu heard this malicious dark joke and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

However, his senior had once said that one should be kind to others when out and about, so he ultimately said nothing. He walked to the windowsill, stood still, and used two fingers to pick up a giant feather the length of a forearm to observe it against the light.

The texture of the feather was rather hard, and the barbs forming the vane were as sharp as fish bones, as if it had just transformed from a fish bone.

Fish, can they really turn into birds?

“Fish eat people, and they can turn into birds. It’s a simple formula,” Qi Si smiled and made his judgment.

He stepped through the blood and returned to the nightstand, carefully rummaging through it. Unfortunately, any place that could hide something was as clean as if it had been visited by a thief.

There was no remaining currency, nor could he find any valuable clues. The room was empty except for a corpse whose death was quite artistic.

He walked out of the room, wiped the soles of his shoes on the water stains on the hallway floor, letting the bloodstains bloom like flowers, and bringing the smell of blood out with him.

Other players came out one after another, and their expressions turned ugly after smelling the scent of blood.

Several people cast inquiring glances toward Qi Si and Chang Xu, obviously suspicious of their presence at the scene.

Qi Si pretended not to see them, nonchalantly pushed through the crowd on both sides, and headed down the stairs to the first floor.

Chang Xu silently issued an “auto-follow” command to himself, following closely behind Qi Si, reducing his presence to a minimum like a shadow.

Although the outcome of the Rose Manor incident was good, it still left him with psychological trauma.

He was terrified that if he didn’t keep a close eye on Qi Si, he would get scammed again.

In the lobby on the first floor, breakfast was already prepared—an all-fish feast identical to dinner.

The other players were not there, so there was no need to be polite. The two who arrived early did the same thing as before, sweeping up the only vegetable dish.

Over the next two minutes, eight or nine players, remembering the lesson from yesterday’s dinner, hurried down the stairs as fast as they could.

But they were still a step too late, and could only twitch their mouths, staring at a table of obviously stale fish, gritting their teeth.

A quarter of an hour later, Lu Li finished examining the corpse and appeared at the top of the stairs.

He walked to the center of the lobby and announced his conclusion in a deep voice: “Gao Musheng is dead; the cause of death was waking up in the middle of the night. Xu Maochun is missing; judging by the traces, he left on his own, and the possibility of being possessed cannot be ruled out.”

A player breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to himself: “It seems that as long as we drink the Calming Soup delivered by Yuna, we will be fine.”

Lu Li’s expression remained grave: “I didn’t find a ceramic bowl in Xu Maochun’s room. It’s very likely that Yuna didn’t send him the Calming Soup at all.”

Xu Maochun was the backpacker who haggled with Yuna last night.

He offended Yuna, so Yuna didn’t give him the Calming Soup. This would be reasonable in reality, but in an instance, it was terrifying.

The players’ fate depended on the likes and dislikes of an NPC, and that NPC’s behavior had a high degree of autonomy, even being able to determine the distribution of some key items… This was very unusual.

Several people couldn’t help but mutter.

“As long as we don’t offend Yuna, we should be able to get the Calming Soup, right?”

“Yes, Xu Maochun must have offended Yuna because of his bad attitude…”

“Yeah, if it were me, I’d be angry too if I heard him haggling like that!”

These words, while ostensibly reviewing clues, sounded more like seeking validation, trying to convince themselves.

Lu Li lowered his head and said self-reproachfully: “If I had thought of this yesterday and given a reminder, he probably wouldn’t have died. It’s all my fault for taking the instance mechanics for granted…”

Angela forced a smile and comforted him: “Big Boss Lu Li, how can you blame yourself? Before today, who could have imagined that not drinking the soup would lead to death?”

“This was my decision-making error; I cannot deny it.” Lu Li shook his head and continued, “Everyone should have seen it by now; our greatest enemy is not each other, but the malicious NPCs and Ghosts.”

“The friction between factions is negligible. Even if we give up on choosing tasks, it’s only a loss of some points. But if the main quest fails, most of us will die.”

“Therefore, we must work together and find a way to leave here as soon as possible. The longer we drag this out, the more unfavorable the situation will be for us.”

The atmosphere grew stagnant; the players all knew these words were not alarmist.

There was still no clue about the faction quest, and apart from knowing that Lu Li was a “Merchant,” the identities of the others remained unknown.

However, the main quest was very clear: just find a way to leave the island.

“Let’s cooperate; forget about the side quests.”

“Yes, cooperate, and let’s find a way to escape this island together.”

The players present expressed their stance one after another, giving the same answer.

As social animals, “cooperation” is something written into their genes. Even if it was briefly set aside under the malicious design of the Eerie Game, it could be easily picked up again at any time.

And for some reason, after a night passed, fear of this sea and this island grew in everyone’s hearts, as if collective memories left by their ancestors had been awakened, collectively instilling a message into them: a wicked god is entrenched here, run away.

While the players were communicating, Liu Yuhan kept her head down, writing and drawing in a notebook with a pen.

At this moment, she suddenly dropped her pen and uttered one word in a hoarse voice: “Boat.”

“The key to this instance is a boat. We can leave here by boat.” The girl looked around at everyone, her eyes behind her bangs as dark as a ghost’s. “The boat I calculated was washed ashore on this island during a shipwreck. It might be quite damaged and cannot be used directly—does anyone here know how to repair boats?”

Zhang Hongfeng laughed and said: “If it’s a wooden boat, I can do it. I know a little bit of all kinds of carpentry work.”

The short man clapped his hands and laughed: “Isn’t that it? There are always more solutions than difficulties. With two big bosses like Yuhan and Lu Li here, why worry about not clearing the instance? Let’s eat first, and after we eat, we’ll go build the boat!”

The air in the lobby returned to a cheerful state.

The players each picked up their own bowls and chopsticks, grimacing as they finished the unpalatable fish on the table.

No one mentioned the dreams from last night. It was unclear whether they didn’t remember exactly what happened, or if they had some discoveries but were unwilling to share them.

Qi Si set down his chopsticks in silence and looked toward the counter.

Yuna was wearing the same blue dress she wore yesterday, standing tall and elegant behind the counter, maintaining a flawless smile like a sculpture.

Compared to the quiet and helpless little girl in the dream, she was much more confident and cheerful, yet it seemed as if she had no emotions of her own at all.

As a key NPC constrained by the instance rules, could she really bypass the rules and decide whether to distribute the Calming Soup based on her own preferences?

However, it seemed the rules had never stated that drinking the Calming Soup was the only way to survive the night…