Godmode: The Dead Game Odyssey

Chapter 14: The Eclipse King's Curse

No wonder the "Ship of True Love" side quest was worth 100 points—its danger level was much higher than the other quests.

Andrew couldn't control his hunger any longer. He reached over and snatched the sandwich from the driver's hands, "Let me have a bite!"

Andrew devoured the sandwich with a growl, eating so roughly that he barely chewed before pounding his chest and swallowing.

The driver, however, didn't try to take it back. Instead, he watched Andrew with a look of pity as if he were feeding an animal. "Eat up, my child, eat up. You must be starving; you haven't eaten much, huh? Enjoy your dinner."

Liam Watson glanced over and commented, "This is his second dinner tonight." The first one was when Andrew snatched Gerald's meal.

Gerald, who had his dinner taken from him, stirred slightly at the sound of this, his head lowered as he covered his face. Liam noticed the fish-like gills on Gerald's neck flaring for a moment, and his teeth now looked sharp and shark-like.

But this chilling scene lasted only for an instant. When Liam looked again, Gerald was still cowering, his face hidden, though his eyes flicked towards the rearview mirror, where Liam's face was reflected.

[Gerald's Bloody Conspiracy — Side Quest Progress: 50%]

Liam frowned imperceptibly. Why had the quest progress just increased? What triggered this second jump? Gerald had already taken action once against Andrew, but now, it seemed there was something else that caused the progress to advance.

---

They arrived at the harbor. As Liam got out of the vehicle, he remembered the driver's low trust in him. Given this driver's role in [Gerald's Bloody Conspiracy], Liam decided he needed to boost the driver's trustworthiness.

When he got out of the van, Liam gave the driver some money under the guise of a tip. However, the driver fixed Liam with a heavy stare, eyeing the money Liam didn't give him. Finally, he flashed a grotesque smile, kissed Liam's tip, and waved. "Enjoy your time," he said.

[Gerald's Bloody Conspiracy — Side Quest Progress: 80%]

Liam thought, "Sure enough, the townsfolk here are like bandits, their eyes lighting up at the sight of money."

He didn't notice the driver's greedy gaze toward the cash in his bag. Liam openly displayed it, smiling as usual. "We will," he replied.

The location for observing the mermaid fishing activity was on a massive ship. 

The ship slowly left the harbor in the dead of night. The deck was lined with silent sailors walking to and fro, while small boats on the water below were filled with fishermen who looked like fish themselves.

They boarded the ship just as night fully fell, and the fishermen in the small boats below continued to stare up at Liam and his group on the deck.

The sailors aboard the ship were vastly different from the fishermen below. The most obvious difference was that the sailors looked human, not fish-like, and their faces lacked the strange markings that covered the fishermen. They also didn't carry the fishy smell, though their skin was pale—similar to the hotel clerk who claimed to have albinism.

Liam noted that there weren't many people on this massive ship. He couldn't figure out why they needed such a large vessel for the fishing expedition—it seemed like a waste.

Moreover, the ship felt off. When Liam stepped aboard, he noticed it was sitting unusually low in the water as though it were carrying something particularly heavy.

The sailors moved about the ship without expression, often ignoring Liam and his group. Occasionally, Liam would catch a few sailors standing in dark corners, watching them with odd expressions before whispering to each other and sharing strange smiles.

The ship sailed on. The sea was calm under the night sky. The spotlight at the bow only illuminated a small portion of the water, and the rest was swallowed by the darkness that seemed to threaten to engulf the entire ship. Now and then, the sound of water splashing against the ship's sides could be heard while the sailors methodically assigned tasks and the fishermen below set up nets.

The ship sailed deeper into the endless night.

Lucy, draped in a cloak, stood beside Liam. Her lips, painted with bright red lipstick, were now a shade of deep purple as the cold wind bit at her. She huddled close to Liam for warmth. "How is it so cold?" she shivered, wrapping her cloak tighter around herself. "I asked them. They said we needed to take the ship to the place where they first caught a mermaid. Only there can they catch them. They call it 'The Gift of the Eclipse.' It's supposed to be tied to some kind of legend."

Liam turned his head. "The Gift of the Eclipse?"

"Yes," Lucy said, her teeth chattering as she spoke, "Oh my god, this wind is freezing. It feels like we're heading to a hell full of ghosts. Only such cold winds would come from there."

Liam didn't feel cold. Suddenly, he remembered something and scanned Lucy with a coin.

[NPC Name: Lucy (Undergoing Mutation)]

Liam reached out and touched Lucy's hand. Her skin was ice-cold and smooth, like solidified wax.

Lucy smiled at him, trying to raise an eyebrow, but her face looked so stiff it looked unnatural. It reminded Liam of a Picasso painting—abstract and disjointed. Her voice had become hoarse, tinged with an inexplicable urgency. "Your hand is so warm. Can I kiss you?"

Liam gently declined, "No." He found an excuse. "There are too many people here."

Lucy wasn't cold from the wind. Her body temperature was simply dropping.

Suddenly, Gerald appeared next to Liam, his gaze fixed on the sea ahead. He fervently said, "Yes, 'The Gift of the Eclipse.' They say the sea here is the Gift of the Eclipse King. It can bring the dead back to life."

"When tourists fall into the water and drown here, the Eclipse King grants them the power of resurrection. They become mermaids and return to the world of the living so the fishermen can catch mermaids here."

Liam thought The Eclipse King was already caught and displayed in the wax museum. Why does this sea still produce mermaids? 

Furthermore, since the Eclipse King's capture, this sea has continually produced mermaids...

And dead souls turning into mermaids returning to the world of the living—this sounded less like a blessing from a deity and more like a curse from an evil cult.

In his mind, Liam added a logical conclusion to the story—The dead, transformed into mermaids, were harvested and turned into wax figures to be displayed at the museum. Some were even turned into food, consumed by the townsfolk. Eventually, these mermaid wax figures began to stir, and tourists started disappearing one by one...

This didn't sound like a Gift of the Eclipse—it sounded more like a revenge of the mermaids.

A sailor suddenly approached. "We're entering the Gift of the Eclipse sea area. Please stay on the ship and don't wander around. If anything happens, we are not responsible."

After saying this, the sailor walked away, and Liam noticed that all the sailors were heading toward the ship's lower levels. The deck was suddenly empty.

Liam narrowed his eyes, pacing around the ship, casually following one of the sailors.

The sailors all moved toward the lowest hold—the storage area. One by one, they climbed down a wooden ladder into the hull. As they did, they murmured:

"It's… fine."

"We need to make sure these things are okay."

"We lost a few before, but it's fine. After these four get eaten, we can bring in new ones."

These sailors were inspecting something important. After completing their checks, they emerged one by one.

Liam hid in a corner, squinting. "Just as I suspected—the hold carries something very heavy and important." He had a vague idea of what it might be but didn't understand why they needed to bring this object for the mermaid expedition.

After all the sailors had gone, the last one seemed to forget to lock the hold door before leaving.

The lock dangled from the door, swaying with the waves as if inviting Liam to explore.

Liam opened the door and descended. The stairs creaked as they led into a long, narrow, dimly lit wooden passage resembling a cellar. Liam didn't descend further but instead turned on his flashlight to see if what he suspected was in the hold.

When the flashlight illuminated the area, even though he had anticipated it, Liam's breath caught.

The hold was filled with a maze of mermaid wax figures stacked from floor to ceiling. There was barely any space to step, just a sea of white wax statues.

These mermaid wax figures were all craning their necks, staring at Liam with white eyes. He noticed more wax figures around the stairs where he stood.

Like fish drawn to a scent, the mermaid figures seemed to gather around, and two of them had even stepped onto the stairs with Liam. When the flashlight's beam caught them, they retreated.

But the light could only reach one area. The sound of rustling and scraping against the floor could be heard in the parts of the hold left in darkness. More and more mermaid wax figures gathered around the stairs, staring at Liam, their eyes never leaving him.

But Liam didn't turn back. He studied their faces briefly before lowering the flashlight and walking down, reaching out to touch the wax figures.

---

"！！！！" Shawn exclaimed, staring in shock at his small TV screen.