Since it’s my birthday here is the double treat for you!!!!
The Little Mermaid settled back into the wheelchair, her usually youthful voice tinged with fatigue. Speaking calmly, she said, “Now that the one who caused the tragedy has appeared, the fake dream should end. Once the guests find the truth in the villa, they can leave.”
“Does leaving mean going back to where we came from?” You Wusi asked suddenly.
Although the Little Mermaid wasn’t fond of this person who bullied Jiang Shishi, she still spoke honestly: “Only when the identification is successful and the suspicion on the guests is completely eliminated, can they leave the villa.”
“Isn’t it enough to clear suspicion now? You just said the murderer is Mr. Wang!” Lin Qiyue was practically losing it.
They were so close to succeeding, and even the NPC had acknowledged the fact that Mr. Wang was the real source of the tragedy.
When she thought everything was over and they were all able to get out of this copy.
But then, out of nowhere, more illusions kept popping up, one after another.
It was like playing with those Russian nesting dolls, where you open one only to find another inside, except instead of dolls, it was illusions messing with their heads. It was frustrating and disorienting, and Lin Qiyue couldn’t help but feel like they were going in circles without ever truly making progress.
Lin Qiyue couldn’t hold back her frustration. She turned to the NPC and asked directly, “Since Butler An’an believes there’s a problem with the evidence we provided, what exactly is wrong with it? We’ve checked everything thoroughly.”
After hearing this, the Little Mermaid lifted her head slightly and responded firmly, “If Mr. An An knew about it, would you still be here? Please don’t cause trouble without reason.”
Leaning back in the elegant wheelchair, not even the tip of her tail swayed anymore.
Her dark eyes appeared dull, covered with a layer of dim gray, as she continued to speak calmly, “Butler An An advises the guests to take action swiftly. As long as there are flaws in the dream, they will wake up sooner or later.”
After saying that, the Little Mermaid paid no attention to the player anymore. She lowered her head and gazed quietly at the shimmering ring with the same faint blue color on the tip of her tail.
Perhaps this dream was truly coming to an end.
[Hahaha, death may come late but it will surely come!]
[Just because the Black Pearl isn’t that simple, and once the illusion is shattered, it’s shattered. Maybe they won’t be able to leave even after nine days and nine nights!]
[This indeed dispels another illusion, but it looks like they might just get wiped out accidentally!]
[I always feel like maybe they could still struggle a bit.]
[Who cares anyway? I’ll profit even if just one dies. In this cursed Black Pearl, I’ve been betting on all the newbie players dying since the beginning.]
[Alright, enough talk, let’s hurry up and make our moves! Otherwise, by the time they’re all dead, it’ll be too late.]
Dark red bullet comments filled the living room, bouncing around non-stop.
Some of those red letters near the wall got hit by the blue firelight, and just like that, they vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye.
The eerie blue fire seemed to get stronger, burning brighter and fiercer with each passing moment. It started devouring the surrounding comments from the audience, one by one, and spreading further as it did so.
As the blue fire spread, the areas it touched began to change. The once vibrant and lively surroundings faded away, replaced by a scene of desolation and decay. Dust settled on the furniture, cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and everything took on a worn-out, forgotten look.
This transformation revealed the reality beyond the illusion, showing the true state of the environment they were in.
Lin Haoguang stayed composed. When he noticed Wen Qingxue’s worried expression, he furrowed his brow.
Then, he turned to the new players and said, “Let’s head upstairs and keep searching for clues! The evidence we need must be in this illusion. If we wait for it to disappear completely, we might not be able to leave this place even after we escape the illusion!”
They can’t take chances on something like that!
Plus, they’ve come too far to give up now. They have to find all the evidence, no matter what!
Not many players there were foolish. Everyone quickly understood and composed themselves.
Lin Haoguang quickly checked to ensure the fire hadn’t spread to the ceiling before heading towards the stairs untouched by the blue flames.
Wen Qingxue was the first to dash towards them.
She hurried up the stairs and spotted a glass ball on the last step. She quickly grabbed it and inspected it closely. After a careful look, she noticed a thin line with a faint snake-like pattern inside, which put her at ease.
Soon everyone followed the two mentors.
The last person to leave the living room was You Wusi. He scooped up Jiang Shishi and prepared to follow the others upstairs.
But then, he noticed his usually quiet little wife suddenly extending his long claws, as if he was trying to catch something.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Looking in the direction of his wife’s fingertips, You Wusi noticed the not-so-cute little mermaid puppet exuding despair and sadness.
Fcilxf j mfgajlc RUJ, Tbe Qerl kjrc’a cjggbk-wlcvfv.
Lf tfiv Aljcu Vtlrtl mibrf ab atf vlclcu ajyif. Qtfc atf ilaaif hbwylf olcjiis fzafcvfv lar mijkr jcv qlmxfv eq atf qeqqfa wfgwjlv jcv aemxfv la lcab tlr jgwr.
Ktfc bcis Tbe Qerl mjiwis rajgafv kjixlcu abkjgvr atf rajlgr.
Ktf yfklivfgfv ilaaif wfgwjlv iloafv tfg tfjv ribkis, wffalcu Aljcu Vtlrtl’r mifjg ujhf. Ktbeut rtf rffwfv ab kjca ab rjs rbwfatlcu, lc atf fcv, rtf gfwjlcfv rlifca.
Instead, she merely waved her beautiful fishtail in sync with the movement as they walked forward.
Jiang Shishi’s fingers tangled in the puppet mermaid’s long, seaweed-like hair, the strands slipping between her grasp. Her eyes, captivating and mysterious like black pearls, remained wide open, not blinking even once. She appeared as calm and motionless as an ordinary doll, her presence serene amidst the chaos around them.
A long time ago, she was just a small doll.
She used to be An An’s favorite toy, always kept next to the pillow. But then…
It didn’t take long for Jiang Shishi to notice the Little Mermaid’s sense of loss.
He reached out and poked the Little Mermaid who had fallen silent, continuing until she extended her round, chubby claws and hugged him, her pointed nails painted with tiny tomatoes, before he stopped.
Soon, all the players arrived on the second floor.
Luckily, the cold blue flames hadn’t spread upstairs yet, giving them more time to search for evidence and identify Mr. Wang.
Despite their hunger, they pressed on.
With only compressed biscuits to sustain them, they entered the first room on the second floor, where the policeman’s room was.
You Wusi, carrying Jiang Shishi, was about to follow the other players into the room when suddenly, a wheelchair floated up from the stairs.
To be precise, it was a familiar human-skinned monster floating up with a wheelchair.
He paused, smiled, and addressed the future employee who had finally accepted the job: “Looks like you’ve finally come to terms with it. That’s really great.”
The skin monster gently placed the wheelchair on the ground before giving it a slight push forward.
Its heart felt weary.
It had originally decided to be an evil monster, but who would have thought that this place was about to disappear! And not just that, everything, including the monster, would vanish along with it!
Living as a human was difficult, and existing in the form of a monster was equally challenging!
What could it do?
It could only find another way out to live!
“First things first, let’s give you a name.” You Wusi placed Jiang Shishi on the wheelchair before turning to the ethereal skin monster. He continued, “You’re the first employee to join us, let’s call you Backbone!”
The human-skin monster couldn’t shake the feeling that it had been duped, as its boss didn’t seem entirely sane and normal.
Being unable to speak, it had no way to refuse. It could only silently accept this new name that seemed completely unrelated to itself.
Well, maybe it wasn’t entirely unrelated, considering the boss had mentioned earlier that the first employee would be a backbone member. Perhaps… the inspiration came from there.
The human-skin monster, now officially renamed Backbone, had initially thought it could just hang around the boss and take it easy and slack off. However, not long after it spotted the NPC mermaid doll in the boss’s wife’s arms, holding a tiny hamburger and struggling to offer it to the boss’s wife.
Just as it started its new job, it already felt the pressure!
Why does this little mermaid NPC look like it’s trying to compete for its job?????
Sensing the crisis, Backbone quickly transforms itself into a sunny doll, even changing its skin to a harmless-looking white, round and plump.
Then, it floated back and forth, putting in its best effort to impress the boss’s wife and not to lose out against the NPC vying for its job.
You Wusi was very impressed by the new employee’s enthusiasm and initiative. He said, “Time is a bit tight at the moment. We’ll discuss benefits and other details after we finish the copy. Your current task is to oversee my little wife’s studies diligently. If possible, it would be best to enrich yourself a bit so you can perform your job better alongside.”
Hearing this, Backbone didn’t even flinch. It confirmed once again that its new boss indeed had a serious mental condition.
To have it supervise his wife’s studies in such a crisis-ridden environment, while also expecting it to improve itself…
Indeed…
He feared that his new boss might have some cracks in his brain.
Though it was not impossible……
Just a few minutes after You Wusi welcomed the new employee, the other players had already searched the police room twice in a hurry. In the end, they overheard You Wusi’s request for a certain sunny doll to improve itself.
The players didn’t know how to react.
They glanced at the sunny doll floating around. Even though it changed its appearance, it was obviously a human-skin monster. They could only sigh at You Wusi’s bold move! Everyone was earnestly working to clear dungeons, but only You Wusi was truly showing off!
“In the room, there are no clues at all. There’s nothing extra in the room, and the policeman’s phone mostly contains searches about the Black Pearl and other related identities that were involved in the day the Black Pearl was stolen,” Zhou Qingxing summarized quickly.
The policeman’s identity was the only one who seemed to be completely innocent, and he was very serious about the Black Pearl theft case. It’s no surprise that he has the authority to exempt someone from identification and ensure their safety for the night after activating the identity card.
Even though the policeman’s identity seemed crystal clear, Zhou Qingxing still didn’t want to overlook any details.
He opened his mouth and briefly summarized several pages of searches made on the police’s mobile phone.
The first one was Miss An An. She rarely went out and had famous teachers come to her home for education.
While the doctor was researching the disease related to An An, he became her personal doctor right after graduating from graduate school three years ago.
On the other hand, the girlfriend used to be a moderately famous musician overseas Eight years ago, she returned to China and took a teaching position at a university. Later, Mr. Wang hired her as a private music tutor at a high price.
Two years ago, she got drunk at a party, and they hooked up, which led to them being together. Since then she had been focused on her relationship with Mr Wang, she hasn’t been very active in the music industry and didn’t release any new creations.
The music teacher used to be the girlfriend’s student. They had a great relationship, both as teachers and friends, and were very close.
However, they had a fall out for unknown reasons and had a big fight which ended up criticizing each other on a school forum.
There were even more searches about the old friend because they had not only written lots of stuff but also did a bunch of research. There were a bunch of achievements and awards filled up the whole page about the old friend.
It’s worth mentioning that when it comes to marriage and relationships, there’s absolutely nothing about the old friend. It was completely blank.
The cousin and business partner were identified as entrepreneurs, while naturally the nanny and steward wouldn’t be on a search page.
After hearing this information, the players couldn’t find any leads, so they continued searching the rest of the rooms.
The rooms that had already been searched, like those of the steward and business partner, were only given a cursory look. The focus remained on the rooms they hadn’t entered yet.
Unfortunately, after going through the cousin’s, old friend’s, and nanny’s rooms one by one, they didn’t find any new clues.
It was Wen Qingxue who took the initiative to suggest that the nanny might actually be Madame Ma, the famous fortune-teller.
She noticed a few texts on her phone from younger friends, all telling the nanny to quit her tough job and stop believing in old superstitions. They mentioned that the snake was gone back to the mountains and shouldn’t be disturbed. They also talked about buying a house in the city with a decent salary and moving in.
Soon they resumed their search and finally reached the room where the music teacher and the girlfriend lived.
First, they searched the music teacher’s room. Inside, they found several thick boxes of music scores. They picked them up and flipped through them, noticing that most of them had notes written on the back.
Everyone looked through them one by one and found that the music teacher mentioned the girlfriend many times, such as ‘She likes the blue sky, sea, and freedom’, ‘I hope every dream will have a result, and I hope she can find her dream’…
The most special one was a note from Mrs Yun’s death anniversary. “Those who have passed away are gone, it’s been nine years already. Those who are still alive should look forward. I hope An An doesn’t hold onto the past too tightly.”
Yi Jiangnan heard the clear reading of Jiang Zuo’s short sentences, and after carefully checking the music scores, he replied: “This was also mentioned in the musician’s memoirs. It said that the girlfriend had a biological sister who, when she was young, left her family to explore the world. She defied her family’s wishes, insisted on marrying a poor man who was only good with words, and severed all ties with her family. Sadly, she passed away within a few years.”
He continued reading aloud: “The girlfriend mentioned that her sister was very lively and enjoyed capturing all the beauty around her. The girlfriend also expressed confusion as to why her previously healthy sister suddenly fell seriously ill. In frustration, she even vowed to uncover the truth at any cost.”
Could this sister be Mrs. Yun? Lin Qiyue pondered for a moment, however when she considered Mrs. Yun’s age. Since she was over ten years older than the girlfriend, it doesn’t seem likely.
Thinking about it, she realized, The ages between two don’t match up, and besides, the girlfriend comes from a large family. Mrs. Yun appears to be an adopted daughter. It’s common for big families to cut ties, but they’d never let their own blood be adopted by someone else.
You Wusi passed the phone, which was unlocked using backbone aka his first employee, to everyone and said, “This is Business partner’s phone. The backbone has already unlocked it. There might be some special messages inside.”
Actually, unlocking the tiny phone wasn’t a challenge for him at all.
But being too outstanding in the first copy might not be ideal; it’s better to leave such opportunities for new employee to shine.
Everyone turned their eyes to the stretched-out human skin behind You Wusi. They watched as Zhou Qingxing stepped forward to take the phone before silently, taking a few steps back.
The human skin monster wasn’t just creepy to see; it was downright terrifying!
Who knows if it might suddenly wrap around one of the players? Even if it seems friendly, it can’t hide the fact that it’s a monster.
Moving further away from it gave them some safety and they would be able to guard against any sudden attacks.
Except for talents like You Wusi, there probably aren’t many players who can calmly have monsters standing behind them just based on a few verbal agreements. At this moment, they are absolutely in awe!
Even Zhou Qingxing, who was a police officer in the real world, couldn’t tolerate the human skin monster behind You Wusi. He stepped aside creating a certain distance between that creepy monster before searching on the phone.
As Zhou Qingxing was about to take another step, a sudden and dramatic drop in temperature enveloped the surroundings. It felt as though a chilling breeze had swept through, sending shivers down his spine and causing goosebumps to erupt all over his skin. The contrast in temperature was so striking that it was almost tangible, leaving Zhou Qingxing stunned by the sudden change in atmosphere.
Only then did he raise his gaze upward. It was then that he realized the blue flames had already consumed everything, and the wall outside the villa was now covered in a faint blue hue.
Fortunately, they could still walk on the ground. With time running short, the players had no choice but to let Zhou Qingxing quickly check the information on the phone before rushing to the girlfriend’s room, where they hastily began searching through it.
What puzzled everyone was that they only found one photo with the student in the girlfriend’s room. There was nothing else—no books, music scores, or anything else of note.
Even though the room showed signs of being lived in for a long time, with plenty of decorations, it seemed too neat and tidy. There was an odd feeling that she could leave with her bag at any moment.
“Sometimes being too normal is suspicious, don’t you think?” Lin Qiyue sighed. In truth, she didn’t know much about her identity either. The notion of being a sea god was dismissed, leaving only options like being a believer of Sea God.
The room was too clean, and there weren’t many contacts saved on the girlfriend’s phone.
Oh, there were still five siblings who sometimes ask for money, and three who sometimes give money. Two are trying to become entertainers, two don’t like school and want to quit, one talks about the universe and thinks a lot, and the other three are busy with work and don’t chat online much because they’re short on cash.
It was clear that the girlfriend’s family was indeed large enough.
She quickly went through the girlfriend’s brothers and sisters and their financial exchanges over the phone.
After Lin Qiyue was finished through her search, she felt odd that aside from these relatives of the same age, there seemed to be no other elder contacts on the phone.
It can’t be said that the girlfriend doesn’t have any friends, but she hardly exchanges a few words with them each year.
What Lin Qiyue found most strange was that the girlfriend communicated very rarely with Mr. Wang on the phone. The chat history only went back two years, and her replies to Mr. Wang’s messages probably didn’t add up to three hundred. Interestingly, Mr. Wang sent a lot of messages, many of which were reminiscing about his dead wife.
Were the both of them truly in love relationship？
Looking at the strange chats Lin Qiyue couldn’t understand, and even other players found it strange too. They could only temporarily assume that the girlfriend didn’t truly like Mr. Wang.
With no time to think too much, the players rushed into the study before the flames completely spread to the walls, quickly searching through it. Then, they hurriedly dashed up to the third floor.
The fire felt really cold.
It was like being soaked in freezing water. Even though they didn’t feel stuck, they couldn’t shake off the cold.
“Above, look, there’s fire up there too!”
Lin Qiyue spotted blue flames on the fourth-floor corridor and suddenly felt a bit anxious. This attack was too overwhelming, coming from both above and below, leaving no room to catch a breath. There was no mercy in this onslaught.
Seeing that the fire on the fourth floor wasn’t too large, she paused for a moment, then suggested, “Why don’t we go to the fourth floor first? Let’s pass through the studio quickly.”
The studio is such an important place, maybe there are some clues that we’ve missed?
Coincidentally, everyone had the same idea. They preferred to walk a bit more rather than overlook anything. By searching around more, they might stumble upon new discoveries.
So they all rushed up to the fourth floor.
Enduring the extreme cold that was increasing by each movement, they opened the studio door.
On the big canvas, the calm sea turned into waves with faint flames. Colorful bubbles popped up, and there was a shadowy figure under the water, looking like a human and a fish.
“Merfolk?” Zhou Qingxing, who hadn’t stopped searching the phone, glanced up at the canvas. Shivering, he continued, “This business partner’s phone not only contains many legends about merfolk but also sent Mr. Wang’s black pearl photo to someone with a Taoist priest avatar…”
He remained silent for a moment before continuing to speak about the overly fantastical message. “The Taoist mentioned that the black pearl looks quite special, very much like the legendary merfolk pearls that form at the heart of their chests only when they willingly give up their lives… merfolk pearls.”
Then he went on to discuss the overly fantastical news: “The Taoist priest mentioned that black pearl was very special, very similar to the legendary merfolk pearls that form in their chests when they willingly sacrifice their lives…”
These words left all the players speechless.
Such an important clue was actually in a mobile phone that was nearly impossible to unlock! If You Wusi hadn’t operated differently from ordinary people and insisted on recruiting the human-skinned monster as his employee, they might never have been able to uncover this information!
Mrs. Yun was most likely the legendary merfolk!
The idea of the Sea of God was just speculation from an old friend. Though they were different, both satisfied the rule of voluntarily giving up one’s life!
No wonder Mrs. Yun often talked to her daughter about the sea and the Little Mermaid, and she even argued with Mr. Wang about environmental protection.
This was all because she herself was a mermaid who belonged to the sea!
The author has something to say:
Holding a piece of wild grass, the author took a thin needle and said, “Behave, Shishi, extend your paws, let me poke you. Who’s the best at needlework in China? Jinjiang’s Stone South.”
Jiang Shishi: (There’s a weird human here, Bad Brother.)
Happy birthday!! 🥳
Thank you for the chapter 💕
I hope everyone make it out alive, those audience so detestable 😒
Anyway I hope butler An An join the team 🤭
Thanks you 💜
I’m pretty sure ShiShi won’t leave without her 😂
Happy birthday Scars ! 🎉
Thank you for the chapters 😍 ❤️ ❤️
Thanks 💜
Happy Birthday!!! 🎉🍾
Hope you enjoy your day and best wishes to you!!
Thank you for the chapter!!
Thanks 💜
Happy birthday!!! ☺️
Thanks for the chapter 🤭
Thank you 💜
Happy birthday !!
Thank you for the chapter !
Thank you so much ❤️
Happy (late) birthday!
Thanks ❤️