Godmode: The Dead Game Odyssey

Chapter 16: "Masquerade of Monsters: Liam’s Warehouse Showdown"

When Liam browsed the item shop earlier, he'd spotted a hot-ticket gadget called the "Water Bubble." It lets players float and breathe in a protective bubble for two hours while keeping fish at bay.

Sure, it was decent—seventy-plus points for two uses, a one-and-done consumable. But to Liam's picky eye, aside from underwater breathing, it offered zero extra perks. Seventy points for that? Total rip-off. Anyone buying it was basically paying the game's IQ tax.

Of course, this had nothing to do with him being a terrible swimmer or refusing to dive into the sea. Nope. As a certified cheapskate, he wasn't about to waste points on something so overpriced—or follow what he saw as a clunky, uninspired game design.

Liam glanced up at the warehouse door. Sure enough, it creaked open like someone was coming back to lock it up.

Most players would've freaked out by now, itching to bolt from this creepy pile of pale, brittle wax figures. But Liam? He coolly flicked off his flashlight, slipped into the shadows among the statues, and found a dark corner. He shrugged off his jacket, wrapped some dusty cloth around his legs, and froze—posing like another wax figure.

The cocooned mermaid statues didn't have the sharpest eyesight. They scanned for him briefly, then gave up.

The door rattled again, swinging open slowly. Two sailors stepped in, carrying a dim yellow lantern. Their raspy voices were barely audible as they shuffled down the stairs.

"Count the wax figures…"

"We've checked a dozen times, it's fine…"

"After tonight, we'll add four more to the stash. Let's ship these four to the wax museum first—those figures there have been guarding the Siren King for too long. Time they grabbed their talismans and stretched their legs…"

"Keep a tight watch on the Siren King. If he wakes up and hits the water, we're all screwed…"

The sailors stood on the upper steps, their old-school oil lamps casting a faint glow. In the near-darkness, Liam couldn't tell if they were wax or flesh—they were too pale, an opaque, deathly white. Even under the light, no veins showed on their faces or hands.

Not human, Liam noted, his eyes flicking over them silently.

But something was off. These sailors still looked human, while the monster book listed "Mermaid Sailors." A faint frown creased his brow as a bad feeling crept up.

One sailor—the same guy who'd barked at Liam's group on deck to stay put—spoke up, his dead eyes fixed ahead, unblinking. "Check the talismans. If they're good, lock 'em down. Last time, a wave rocked the ship and smashed one, but that sailor's still stuck out in the sea, can't come ashore."

The pair descended, chaining up the wax figures without a second glance.

Liam held his breath, eyes locked on the open door as he edged toward it, slow and deliberate.

One sailor paused, tilting his head like he'd heard something. He muttered to a wax figure, "What's that? You saw a tourist down here?"

Liam's face darkened. Crap. He hadn't counted on the sailors talking to their talismans.

Looked like a chase was unavoidable now. Still, this was better than the deck—only two sailors here, not a mob.

His mind raced for a plan. With his lousy stamina, a straight-up chase was a death sentence—that's why he'd dodged it earlier. But this setup was a trap either way: stay or go, he'd have to run. Outrunning them wasn't an option, and heading up meant more sailors—a gang-up, not a chase. That left jumping into the sea.

Liam didn't want to swim. He forced himself to stay calm. What else could he do?

The sailor leaned closer to the wax figure, then let out a low, creepy chuckle that echoed through the hold. "Well, well. Looks like a special guest checked in early. No rush, though—you'll end up here eventually."

He prowled the corners with his lantern, the dim light hitting his chin, making his grin look sinister. "Come on out, quick. Night fishing's about to start. The mermaids are waiting in the sea."

Liam's brain kicked into overdrive. These sailors were clearly tougher than the wax figures—monsters in their own right. What was their weakness?

Seconds ticked by. The sailor was almost on him. Screw it—Liam went for broke, whipping out his flashlight and blasting it in the guy's face. The sailor just raised a hand to shield his eyes, then dropped it, unfazed, his smile twisting wider. "We're not like those things. Light doesn't bother us."

Not light, then. Their reaction to it was too human. Liam's mind spun as he ditched the flashlight idea. In one fluid move, he grabbed a barrel of alcohol from behind him and smashed it over the sailor's head. The wood splintered, scattering everywhere.

These sailors were solid—nothing like the fragile wax figures. Like they'd already hatched into something stronger.

The sailor stared at Liam, unblinking, then lunged, grabbing his wrist with a cold, firm grip. He tilted his head, flashing a jagged, toothy grin. "Come on, guest. Let's go fishing—watch it from under the waves."

Liam locked eyes with him, unflinching.

They seemed invincible but weren't the Siren King—no system alert flagged them as weakness-free. That meant players had something to fight back with, or the game was unplayable.

Physical hits and light didn't faze them, though. That didn't add up. Liam's earlier theory held mermaids and their sailors should fear light—those wax figures flinched at it. So why were these two staring down his flashlight like it was nothing?

Something was shielding their weakness. The hotel clerk had mentioned talismans blocking damage.

Liam's gaze darted through the wax figures, landing on one with a tiny crack on its head—like it'd been grazed by the barrel. Its expression had shifted from calm to pained, hands shielding its eyes as if blinded.

Bingo. Liam pivoted, aiming a sharp kick at the talisman of the sailor behind him. With a twist, he slammed his foot into its face. The wax shattered, spilling rancid black blood across the floor.

The sailor gripping him let out a piercing, high-pitched shriek—some kind of fish-like sonar that stabbed at Liam's ears. His body cracked, shedding chalky fragments like a broken exoskeleton, revealing what lay beneath.

No half-measures. Liam yanked the other sailor's talisman free, smashing its head against his knee. It crumbled like an eggshell.

The sailors' talismans were brittle as hell—no wonder they stashed them down here for protection.

Both sailors screeched, pale skin peeling back to a slick, bluish-black. Their eyes slid to their temples, fish-like and bulging. A stench of rotting fish hit the air as their lower halves morphed into slimy, eel-like tails lined with jagged teeth. They dropped to the floor, scuttling toward Liam on muscular arms, fast as geckos.

Liam flicked his flashlight back on, blasting them with light. The sailors flinched this time, their shrieks sharpening as they recoiled.

Smashing their talismans had stripped their shield—now the light worked.

Liam backed up the stairs, keeping the beam trained on the writhing sailors. They hissed and snarled just outside the light's reach, clawing to get closer. He hit the door, slipped out, and slammed it shut, jamming the lock tight.

Even through the door, he could hear the slithering of tails and the thudding as they bashed against it—like a pit of snakes trapped below.

["Eclipse Harbor Monster Book" Updated — Mermaid Sailor (3/4)]

[Monster Name: Mermaid/Sailor (Butterfly State)]

[Weakness: Strong Light, Talisman (2/3)]

[Attack Method: Bites and Scratches (Scratches may trigger corruption with a certain probability)]

Liam straightened his collar, cool as ever, and climbed out of the warehouse. Lucy pounced on him the second he emerged, looping her arm through his with a playful whine. "Where'd you run off to? They're saying the fishing's about to start."

"We're in the zone now," she grinned. Scales shimmered faintly on her face, her eyes glinting in the dark. Her grip on him felt rough and slick at once. Liam slid his arm free, casual as ever. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yep," Lucy rasped, her laugh low and throaty. "The mermaids are here."