Godmode: The Dead Game Odyssey

Chapter 8: The Haunting Truth

Chapter 8: The Haunting Truth

Liam couldn't help but notice the strong fishy odor emanating from the front of the car. Given how much rotten fish he had consumed that morning, he had initially thought it was Andrew, but to his surprise, the stench seemed to be coming from the driver.

Yesterday, Liam had noticed a faint fishy scent, but compared to today, it was nothing like the overpowering, nauseating smell he now recognized as coming from the driver. The stench was thick and almost suffocating.

Liam's gaze shifted to the driver, sensing something was wrong. This driver felt like he might be a monster, too.

[Warning! Player Identification Error! This NPC is not a monster! It cannot be added to Monster Book! The NPC is merely in a state of mutation! Warning: The trust level with NPC has dropped significantly, which may result in aggressive behavior.]

[Player Identification Error: The NPC's trust has significantly dropped; aggression from the NPC is likely.]

The driver slowly tore into his sandwich, his unblinking eyes rolling around as they met Liam's. He suddenly spoke in an ugly tone, "Do you find the smell of me repulsive?"

Liam quickly shook his head and lied, "No."

"You look at me like I'm a monster. Damn arrogant rich man," the driver muttered darkly before turning away to continue eating, clearly ending the conversation.

Liam knew that his attempts to gather information just got a lot harder. He could not confront this driver head-on; the system had already warned him that the driver could turn hostile.

Without missing a beat, Liam turned to Lucy, whispering a few words to get her to ask the driver questions on his behalf.

The driver let out a grunt but answered Lucy's inquiry. 

"The attractions of Eclipse Port are, of course, tied to mermaids," the driver said with a chilling smile. His eyes were still moving in every direction, never settling on anything. "Our fishing isn't about regular fish—it's about a special mermaid fishing event that only happens at night. And our wax museum isn't your typical one either. We turn the mermaids we catch into wax figures and display them in the museum."

He continued, "The first mermaid skeleton we ever caught is in the wax museum."

Liam was skeptical and asked, "Wait—did you catch a mermaid?"

The driver did not respond directly.

After a few moments, Lucy asked again, and the driver answered.

With a knowing smile, he said, "Yes, although the first mermaid we caught was beautiful, the ones that followed were poor specimens—mutilated and incomplete, but they were still mermaids."

Suddenly, Andrew sneered, "What a gimmick. You can't honestly expect anyone to believe that."

Gerald opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it, probably because of the beating he had taken from Andrew that morning.

However, Lucy was having none of it. She glared at Andrew and retorted loudly, "I believe it! Liam, what about you?" She turned to Liam, glaring at him expectantly.

Liam, unfazed, shrugged. "I'll believe it when I see it. Tonight, I'll go to the fishing event and find out for myself."

Andrew, however, was not finished. He could not leave his taunting behind. He shot a mocking glance at Liam. "Hope some of us do not start screaming and running away during the fishing event, huh?"

He smirked wickedly as his eyes shifted to Liam. "What if you fall into the water and get dragged up by those fishermen as a mermaid? Don't think we'll come to your rescue."

Liam did not react outwardly, though he could not shake the thought of the bet he and Andrew had made earlier. It was a test of bravery: they would rent two canoes and spend the night on the Eclipse Sea. Whoever could not handle it and turned back would be a coward and unworthy of Lucy.

Lucy had protested against the bet, but Liam, in character as the wealthy, stubborn one, had insisted. The thought of floating on the sea in the middle of the night, surrounded by mermaids and ocean monsters, did not appeal to him. He had no intention of going out there, especially with someone like Andrew, who might just try to push him into the water. He was not a good swimmer, and the sea was far more terrifying than any monster.

Liam's distaste for the bet was evident, and Andrew noticed it immediately, sneering.

Liam said, "I'm only good for one thing—money."

Andrew's face contorted. "So you're chickening out? You're going to back out of the bet?"

Before Liam could speak again, a new prompt appeared on his screen:

[Triggered Side Quest: "True Love's Boat" — Complete the bet and win against Andrew before leaving Eclipse Port. Reward: 100 points.]

Liam's eyes widened. 100 points!

Instantly, his desire for money outweighed his fear of the ocean. "No. I'll go. And I'll win, Andrew," Liam said coldly.

Lucy, delighted, threw herself at Liam, wrapping her arms around him. "Oh, baby, when you win, we'll live together. Have a great night!"

Liam gently but firmly removed her hands.

The driver turned around, clearly pleased with the tension he had caused. "First, you all should visit the Wax Museum. The mermaid fishing activity doesn't happen until evening."

Everyone agreed, and the driver steered the car along a winding path through the back of a beach.

When they arrived, Liam immediately saw the remnants of what the driver had mentioned. On the beach were the dismembered remains of mermaids—huge fishtails, skulls, and other body parts scattered haphazardly across the sand. Nearby, a few fishermen cleaned the bones and dried out their nets.

Liam's stomach turned as he stared at the gruesome scene, the horrifying sight confirming that something deeply wrong was happening in Eclipse Port.

As they were preparing to leave, Liam noticed the fishermen up close. They resembled the driver in disturbing ways. Their eyes were unnaturally white, with tiny pupils flicking back and forth like something out of a nightmare.

These townspeople were far worse than the driver. They resembled deep-sea creatures, with wide-set eyes and unsettlingly slow movements. Their skin was oddly translucent; some had green scales clinging to their feet.

Liam exchanged a look with Lucy, who muttered, "They look so strange."

The driver, chewing the last of his fish sandwich, smirked. "Yes, we all look this way. Maybe it's because we eat everything—doesn't make us very healthy, does it?"

Trying to keep his composure, Liam glanced at the driver and the eerie fishermen. Were these people monsters? He could not tell. The game's rules about mutation and hatching seemed to be involved, but it was still unclear.

As the driver explained more about the town's history of fish and mermaid fishing, Liam felt a growing sense of unease. The line between human and monster was becoming increasingly blurred.

The townsfolk and the driver were not entirely human, but the driver could not be classified in the Monster Book. There was also a certain chance that these strange-looking townspeople might not fit the game's monster criteria. If the hatred of the townspeople were triggered, it would be no joke.

However, Liam Watson was not foolish enough to believe these peculiar-looking townspeople were not monsters.

There were two possibilities for why they might not be classified as monsters:

1. They were not monsters.

2. They had not met the criteria to be labeled monsters in the Monster Book.

Eclipse Port had a unique setting where hatching and mutation could occur. Mermaid wax figures could hatch, and Andrew had been mutated earlier in the morning. Liam Watson believed these townsfolk were also undergoing transformation, which explained their strange appearance.

Liam couldn't say for certain what the end result of this mutation or hatching was, but he suspected it involved monsters. He needed to verify it.

His gaze slowly shifted to Andrew sitting in front of him.

Last night, Liam could have saved Andrew, but he did not. For him, Andrew, with his aggressive tendencies, was an NPC with a higher death value than one that stayed alive.

Andrew watched the driver with a hungry gaze as he greedily licked fish remnants off his fingers. His appetite surged uncontrollably, and his eyes glazed over as he swallowed, restlessly scratching his itching jaw.

Then, with a venomous glare, Andrew eyed Liam, sitting right behind him in the rearview mirror.

Andrew thought: Why does someone with so much money like Liam Watson keep a few measly fish fillets from me? I am so hungry that I cannot even control myself watching the driver eat. I want to snatch that fish and devour it.

The driver ate quickly, so much so that Andrew had not even moved before the driver finished and sat back, rubbing his belly in satisfaction.

Andrew's mouth watered as he watched the driver lick the fish bits off his lips. The memory of the smooth, moist fish fillet haunted him. He had never tasted anything so delicious.

No, it was not just the fish fillet. All the fish here seemed to be cooked in a way that made it hard to stop eating. The flavor was irresistible.

The driver sighed contentedly, "This is so good. Only the fish in Eclipse Port taste like this."

Lucy said, "Yes, I've never had this delicious fish. It's so fresh!"

"No, no," the driver's expression turned unsettling, "It's not the freshness that makes the fish so delicious. Fresh fish from here isn't even good to eat. It needs to be rotten, preserved, and specially treated to bring out the real taste."

He smiled in a strange, almost eerie way. "What you're eating is a very special type of fish. It's not found anywhere else. It's exclusive to Eclipse Port."

Lucy raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What kind of fish?"

The driver's grin widened. "Mermaids."