2025-04-08 22:33:35Liam Watson stood on the small boat, swaying as he observed the chaos around him. He quietly watched the scene for a moment before speaking to himself in a low voice as if suddenly realizing something. "Oh, I see. In order to avoid being corrupted once I board the ship and to prevent my mental state from plummeting into that idiot-like condition, I must have made some arrangements before boarding."
After Liam spoke, he seemed a bit cold. He wrapped himself in a blanket and sleepily watched the unfolding drama on the small TV.
The audience in front of the small TV: "......"
What did you do before boarding?! Why did Andrew suddenly die?!
Shawn watched as Andrew was devoured, his curiosity eating him alive. He had never seen a fisherman actively eat Andrew like this before. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of mysterious operation Liam had pulled off that they didn't know about.
"What did he do before boarding the ship?!"
Another player, equally curious, closed his eyes and began to think deeply. "Wait, let me recall... It’s the normal procedure. He rode with the driver, paid the fare, boarded the ship, and the driver mentioned they’d set up the betting grounds for the evening..."
Several players who had been about to leave stuck around. The crowd gathered again, and someone shouted:
"Can anyone who has a game system membership watch the video replay and figure out what he did? I can't watch the game replays because I’m not a member."
"I’m a member! I’ll play it and project it for everyone to see!"
"Em... it just seems like a normal game process, right? Why did the fisherman suddenly bite Andrew? Liam's luck is zero, so it's not like he had some good luck that triggered the fisherman to act this way."
"So what did he do?"
"Damn it, I’ll post on the game forum for help! I’ve watched it three times and still can't figure out what he did. This is incredible."
[Game Forum - Help! Does anyone know how to trigger the fisherman-eating Andrew event?]
1l: I saw a player with an incredibly bizarre strategy. Many of you have played Eclipse Harbor, right? Has anyone triggered the fisherman-eating Andrew event while playing The True Love Ship side mission?! This is the first time I’ve seen it (attached is Liam's game video).
2l: Little one, I have a lot of questions.
How did this happen? I’ve never seen this development before—did the monster help the player by eating Andrew to complete the task? Did they trigger some random emotional subplot?
3l: The player must have high luck, right? Sometimes, high luck triggers these bizarre outcomes.
Post by 3l: No, his luck is zero, and he’s quite unlucky—his first dungeon was Eclipse Harbor, and he even got a wandering NPC from the monster book, visible bad luck, but then this random outcome happened... I don’t get it.
4l: This newbie... is a bit impressive. But how did he trigger it?
5l (Mason Shepherd): He triggered the side quest.
Once Gerald's Bloody Plot side quest hits over 80% completion, the driver will go into the sea, lurking and waiting for the right moment to kill Andrew. The blood from Andrew's death attracts the fishermen, leading them to eat him.
But triggering this side quest requires controlling the mermaid sculpture on the first night and discovering Gerald's plot without him noticing, or you'll be assassinated.
Is this player a total newbie? To trigger this side quest on his first try is impressive. I couldn’t even do it on my first go; I had to fight through with my skills. Only after replaying did I realize there might have been a side quest I missed.
6l: Damn!!!! Mason Shepherd!! Front row photo op!!
7l: God, Mason, please help me beat this tough dungeon in one try!
8l: Mason praised a newbie! I have to go see it! OP, tell me which district the newbie is in! I’m going to watch it!
9l: Me too!
"I’m still curious about how he managed to get Gerald's Bloody Plot to 80%. I remember that on the ride, it was only at 50%—how did it suddenly jump to 80%?"
Shawn asked, frowning, as a cloud player, understanding how to progress the side quest was crucial for him.
Shawn pulled out his game manager and posted a question to Mason Shepherd on the forum.
Mason Shepherd replied in the forum: "He gave the driver extra money."
"Previously, Gerald had already paid for both the driver’s and guide’s fees, so normally, players wouldn’t need to give any more money. But this newbie gave another large tip."
Shawn suddenly remembered, "Right, normally Liam didn’t need to give it, but he gave more."
"And pay attention in the video; he let the driver see he had a lot of money in his bag."
"The villagers in Eclipse Harbor are thieves by nature, so excessive money would provoke the driver to rob and kill them. However, the driver also has a side quest to kill Andrew, so he would definitely kill Andrew first."
"To push the side quest to 80%, the driver needs to know you have expensive goods. He’ll follow you, then kill Andrew on the water."
Shawn pondered for a moment and muttered, "I see."
But after thinking for a while, he became troubled again.
Shawn typed: "Mason, but if that happens after the driver kills Andrew, wouldn’t he immediately come back to rob the player?"
Mason Shepherd replied: "Yes, so the player needs to hide in the underwater bubbles that can repel fish."
"The driver kills Andrew with a sneak attack. In terms of combat strength, he’s no match for Andrew, who is the big boss of this dungeon. Andrew can break through the bubble. But once Andrew is dead, the bubble is enough to deal with the driver and the other mermaids. The difficulty of the True Love Ship task is significantly lowered after that."
Shawn continued to scroll through the forum, frowning as he glanced at Liam’s small TV. "Did you guys see Mason’s reply? He said once the mermaids finish eating Andrew, they will turn and attack the player."
"Yep," replied one of the viewers who had been watching with Shawn. They sighed, glancing at Liam, who was still wrapped up in his blanket, his eyes unfocused. "Mason even praised this newbie... what a waste; if he hadn’t spent so many points on alcohol, he could’ve bought an underwater bubble and completed it easily."
Shawn, too, felt a bit helpless: "Ah, the difficulty has been reduced so much, but he’s stuck on this part."
And it wasn’t just Shawn—many players who had come to watch thanks to Mason Shepherd were feeling the same frustration.
They saw Liam curled up under the blanket, sleepily watching the mermaids devour Andrew before turning toward his boat.
And Liam, as though unaware, remained curled up under his blanket, slowly dozing off. At the same time, the mermaids approached his boat in silence.
The scene left the audience speechless and frustrated, unable to say anything as they watched the slow-moving events unfold.
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Chapter 24: Trapped in the Waxworks of Doom
After stepping off the ship, Liam Watson was bound by the sailors’ local customs to stay at the Eclipse Wax Museum until nightfall, supposedly to cleanse the sin of witnessing the mermaid slaughter. Lucy and Gerald trailed him to the museum. In the dim morning light, the museum felt lifeless. The sailors dropped Liam off, sternly warning him not to leave before evening. They left him under the watch of the museum’s keeper and departed. Lucy huddled behind Liam, whispering nervously, “How’s this place still so creepy even in daylight?” Wax figures loomed over them, their mermaid faces eerily lifelike—sharper, somehow than the ones Liam had seen the day before. He noticed two statues with shortened tails, now only fishlike below the knees, their thighs morphing into human legs. Liam tilted his head, studying their faces. They bore an unsettling resemblance to Lucy and Gerald. The figures grinned strangely, staring straight at Liam, Lucy, and Gerald. As he’d suspected, Lucy and G
Chapter 23: Unraveled Secrets on the High Seas
After diving into Mike’s backstory, Shawn felt regretful about his knack for digging up players’ pasts with his Know-It-All skill. It wasn’t the gift he’d hoped for. This game thrived on raw ambition, drawing in the ruthless like moths to a flame. For them, it was the ultimate stage—a battlefield where high rollers often had blood on their hands. Shawn glanced at the small TV screen displaying Liam Watson, sighing. The game wasn’t over yet, but a butcher was already circling, ready to guard—or gut—his prey.Liam, you’re one unlucky bastard.[126 viewers liked Liam Watson’s stream, 675 bookmarked it, 0 tipped, and 378 gave it a thumbs-down.][Player Liam Watson drew 3,000 viewers in a minute, but with a like rate barely hitting ten percent, most are just here for the drama or to gawk.][High-level player Mike is watching Liam Watson’s stream. Congrats, Liam, you’ve snagged your first big-shot viewer!][Mike gave Liam Watson’s stream a thumbs-down. Ouch, looks like this VIP’s not a f
Chapter 22: The Newcomer's Spotlight—and the Butcher’s Glare
The forum was in chaos. Arguments over whether Liam Watson's gameplay was truly impressive or flashy were tearing through the threads. But Shawn had anticipated this reaction from the moment Liam made his mark.Liam's performance had been nothing short of dazzling. The number of points he racked up during just one level was outrageous—over 500 energy credits. For context, the all-time top scorer in Eclipse Harbor, Mason Shepherd, had barely crossed a thousand.For a complete rookie like Liam, five hundred-plus was already legendary.But with visibility comes envy. Other low-level players had to claw through every match in Eclipse Harbor, fearing for their lives just to scrape together a meagre one or two hundred credits—after deducting item costs. On the other hand, Liam was making it look easy: using just a few dozen credits' worth of items to dominate, then walking away with several hundred credits in profit.His strategy was efficient, his play was spectacular, and what were his en
Chapter 21: The Price of Fire and Fame
Although Liam Watson knew his plan had a decent chance of success, the final result was far better than he had expected.In-game items seemed to carry amplified effects—those barrels of high-concentration alcohol burned way more fiercely than anything Liam had seen in the real world. That blinding tactical flashlight? So bright it could've seared retinas.As the sun finally rose over the ocean horizon, flooding the world with daylight, the light-sensitive, nocturnal merfolk slowly retreated beneath the waves and disappeared.Only once he was sure that no merfolk were nearby did Liam finally take a breath and open up his game panel.He hadn't had a chance to check it earlier, being a bit preoccupied with... well, grilling. Or rather, fighting off sea monsters. But now, staring at the data on his screen, Liam squinted thoughtfully.[Side Quest: Gerald's Bloody Conspiracy — Completion: 90%]Andrew was dead. The driver had been torched by Liam. And yet there was still 10% left in this "bl
Chapter 20: The Battle With the Mermaids
As the mermaids closed in on Liam's boat, the viewers grew frantic, shouting at the small TV in an attempt to rouse him:"Wake up! Get up and fight the monsters!""Can’t you wait until after you wake up to sleep? Do you really need that extra hour of sleep? Didn’t your mom teach you not to AFK during games?!""I’ve watched so many game videos, but I’ve never seen someone so ready to lose. You could win, but you're just throwing it away!"Amid the chaos of their shouts, Liam, on the small TV, seemed to stir, his eyes fluttering open as if awakened by the noise.He looked toward the boat, now cutting through the water with half a fish head poking out, the mermaids coming closer to his ship.Liam could see their legs below the water, now transformed into eel-like tails. They slithered through the water like serpents, moving swiftly toward his boat.On the boat near Andrew, bloodied and broken remnants of his body floated around, now a mere skeleton, still stained with blood and scattered
