2025-04-12 22:16:20After 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 fan.]
Liam waited alone on the open water until dawn. Soon, the ship that had sailed off the previous night returned. He spotted Gerald and Lucy at the bow. Gerald seemed to be comforting her, his hand resting on her shoulder.
Lucy looked on the verge of breaking, burying her face in Gerald’s chest as he soothed her gently.
Gerald occasionally pressed tender kisses to Lucy’s tear-streaked cheek, and she didn’t pull away, leaning into him with a kind of desperate trust. Catching this, Liam’s brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
It seemed that, overnight, not only had Liam’s Ship of True Love made it to shore, but Gerald and Lucy had boarded their own little love boat.
Lucy and Gerald noticed Liam wrapped in a blanket as the ship drew closer, as if he’d slept soundly through the night. Lucy let out a sharp scream, clutching her chest and shoving Gerald away.
Gerald, stunned and flustered, stumbled back, hands flailing. “Liam, you—you’re okay?!” he stammered. “I mean, are you alright?”
Liam calmly grabbed the rope ladder, lowered it to him, and climbed aboard. His gaze flicked between Lucy and Gerald, a knowing glint in his eyes before settling into a disarming smile. “I’m fine. Good morning, Gerald and Lucy. I had a rather pleasant night. Looks like you two did, too?”
Lucy, panicking, reached for Liam’s arm, but he sidestepped smoothly.
She covered her face, sobbing. “No, it’s not like that! Last night, Gerald told me you and Andrew were going to die. I was terrified, thinking it was all my fault. Gerald was just comforting me.”
Liam’s smile was cryptic, but he didn’t press further. His attention shifted elsewhere.
Lucy’s face was pale, almost translucent, her movements jerky and unnatural. Touching her felt like brushing against the mermaid wax figures Liam had encountered in the ship’s hold—fragile, like eggshell-thin paraffin. The heavy, fishy stench that once clung to her was gone.
Gerald jumped in, his eyes darting nervously. “Yeah, Lucy thought you and Andrew were in trouble. She was scared, so she stuck with me. It’s nothing more than that.”
He forced a weak smile at Liam. “I know she’s your girlfriend. I’d never cross that line. You’re my best friend, Liam.”
Liam hummed noncommittally. “Where’d you two spend the night? The Eclipse Wax Museum, right?”
Lucy gasped. “How’d you know?”
Then she launched into a tirade. “They wouldn’t let us back to the hotel. Some local tradition, they said. After the mermaid fishing ritual, you must spend a night at the Eclipse Wax Museum to cleanse the blood and sin from your soul. That place is a nightmare—all those wax figures staring at you. It felt like they were moving. No matter where we went, they blocked our path.”
Still wearing a strained grin, Gerald asked, “Liam, where’s Andrew? Where’d he go?”
Liam’s smile was serene. “He’s probably waiting for us at the Eclipse Wax Museum.”
Gerald shot a glance at Andrew’s small boat bobbing on the water.
The hull was smeared with dark, tar-like bloodstains, littered with scraps of what looked like Andrew’s shirt.
Gerald’s eyes flickered, and he bowed his head, a twisted, gleeful smirk creeping across his face.
Liam studied him closely. Andrew’s death clearly brought Gerald a sick kind of joy.
But Gerald quickly masked it, tilting his head with confusion. “But, Liam, Andrew’s boat is still here. There’s no way he made it back to shore…”
He glanced at Liam, shrinking back with just the right touch of timidity, and fell silent.
Lucy gasped again, clapping a hand over her mouth, her voice trembling with tears. “Oh my God, Andrew didn’t actually die, did he?! Liam!”
She stared at him, disbelief and disappointment warring in her eyes. “You killed him? You didn’t push him overboard, did you?”
Liam noted her dry eyes. A wax figure wouldn’t cry, he mused idly.
Gerald gazed at Liam with mock sorrow. “You shouldn’t have done that, man. Andrew wasn’t a saint but deserved a chance to live.”
Liam chuckled softly, locking eyes with Gerald. “Funny. I could say the same to you.”
Gerald tensed, meeting his gaze warily.
Liam shrugged, unbothered, and turned to Lucy, who was still accusing him. “You’ll see Andrew at the wax museum. I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“If I did, we’d be done,” he added with a playful grin.
Lucy hesitated, her eyes flicking to Liam’s pocket—where he kept his wallet. The thought of their pricey vacation seemed to quiet her, and she shut her mouth.
Liam had finally cracked the last ten percent of Gerald’s Bloody Conspiracy side quest.
He’d overestimated the humanity in this game’s NPCs. Not a single teammate showed him an ounce of genuine kindness.
Back when he designed games, Liam’s bosses forced him to weave in themes of friendship and virtue to pass reviews, always including at least one purely good ally.
But here? Every character was rotten to the core—violent Andrew, spineless yet vicious Gerald, and Lucy, who played sweet but was only with him for his money, ready to cheat at the drop of a hat.
Is this everyone’s-a-villain setup? Liam loved it.
His lips curled into a faint smile.
Once he shed the assumption that Gerald, with his mermaid expertise, was a good guy meant to be kept alive, the final piece of Gerald’s Bloody Conspiracy clicked.
No wonder Gerald was always wary of him. No wonder the quest progress bar had jumped twice—it wasn’t just Andrew he wanted dead. Gerald had been gunning for both Liam and Andrew from the start.
The driver’s mission wasn’t just to kill Andrew—it included Liam too, maybe even robbery and splitting the spoils.
Looking back, it was odd that Liam’s character, a timid guy who’d cry just driving to Eclipse Bay, would pick this creepy town for a bet. Andrew clearly didn’t know the place, and Lucy was a first-timer, too. Gerald, the mermaid-obsessed scholar, was the only one familiar with Eclipse Bay who’d suggest it for a dare.
Why would Liam’s cowardly character come here to wager with Andrew? Probably because Gerald egged him on.
And Gerald’s reason for choosing Eclipse Bay was simple. He’d studied it, knew the townsfolk’s thieving ways, the police’s incompetence, and how missing person cases vanished without a trace.
Eclipse Bay was the perfect dumping ground for bodies.
Gerald’s mermaid knowledge wasn’t there to help players win.
It was a tool for murder.
[Side Quest—Gerald’s Bloody Conspiracy: 100% complete. 50 points earned.]
[Unlocked hidden character status: Gerald, the Resentful Schemer]
Liam scanned Gerald with a coin:
[NPC Name: Gerald (??? Status)]
[Profile: An avid fan of mermaids and sea monsters, Gerald eagerly joined Lucy’s group heading to Eclipse Bay, well-versed in its myths and legends.]
[Hidden Profile: Brutalized for years by Andrew’s bullying without fighting back, Gerald harbors a deep hatred for everyone…]
[After earning your trust as a friend, he grew envious of your beautiful girlfriend and wealthy background, resenting you for not standing up to Andrew on his behalf. He sees you as a hypocrite, craving to take everything you have, even plotting to use you to kill Andrew.]
[When the chance came with your bet against Andrew, he seized it… He knew the perfect crime scene, where neither he nor his beloved mermaids would be blamed for your deaths. He chose his favorite creatures to end you and Andrew.]
[Warning: Post-side quest, Gerald’s trust in the player is critically low. He may attack. Stay vigilant.]
Watching the stream, Shawn slapped his forehead in realization. “That’s it! I always wondered why, during the land chase, Gerald kept trying to get the player killed. Even the Shepherd nearly bit the dust because of him.”
Other players chimed in, grumbling:
“Damn it, Gerald, that’s your deal?! His mermaid knowledge meant he was a key NPC we had to protect. I saved his ass multiple times while being chased and almost died for it!”
As praise for Liam swelled, Mike slammed his knife down, silencing the room.
Sneering at Liam’s stream, he crossed his arms. “Just one side quest. Big deal. The forums are hyping him like he’s the next Mason Shepherd.”
“What, they never played a real game or hit a leaderboard? Him? The next Mason? He wishes.”
Shawn opened his mouth but held back, shaking his head with a wry smile.
Lack of experience?
He’d watched countless Eclipse Bay streams. Only Mason Shepherd and Liam had come close to unraveling a side quest.
Mason’s Eclipse Bay run was locked in the system’s VIP video vault, costing 40 points to view—a price that screamed its value. Mason’s side quests weren’t something anyone could crack, or they wouldn’t be VIP material.
And even Mason, Shawn recalled, hadn’t fully completed Gerald’s Bloody Conspiracy—he’d stalled at ninety percent.
With Mason’s luck stat at 56 during his run, Shawn knew one thing for sure:
In this game, Liam was outplaying Mason by a mile.
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Chapter 23: Unraveled Secrets on the High Seas
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Chapter 22: The Newcomer's Spotlight—and the Butcher’s Glare
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Chapter 20: The Battle With the Mermaids
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