SSSG Chapter 17: Amusement Park (3)

The Melodramatic Legend about Mermaids

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“As everyone is aware, there is quite the legend surrounding the Little Mermaid. A long, long time ago, a young mermaid who has just come of age has made her way up to the surface to play, and fell in love with the prince on the deck, yes, the very deck of this cruise ship, on first sight. This is also why this area has been known as the ‘Mermaid Sea.'”

“On this trip, we will be making a full circle around the ‘Mermaid Sea,’ returning to port about dawn tomorrow morning. During our journey, we’ll certainly see magical beings, and, if we’re lucky, we may even be able to meet the legendary mermaids of the deep.”

That is when excited cheers erupt from the crowd. The gorgeous man continues to smile, and speaks up again only when everyone has calmed down, “but please note that true mermaids of the deep definitely are not as dreamlike as depicted in fairy tales. Despite their beauty and divine singing capabilities, they are violent creatures that enjoy the taste of human meat. Lots of sea shanties are based on this legend that when crew pass through areas inhabited by mermaids, they will be drawn to the singing; if they do seek them out, they will be dragged into the depths of the ocean and forever be lost among the loving arm of the mermaids.”

The crowd gasps.

“Not to worry, however. If we do happen to encounter these fascinating beings, we will sound an alarm. Once that has happened, we ask that everyone stay in their rooms and cover their ears. Mermaids’ songs are hypnotic, and many times its frequencies can pierce well through mere earplugs. Our recommendation is that you also restrict your own movements by bounds or other provided means so that you do not end up falling into the ocean.”

“Of course, I believe the very reason many of you have chosen to board the Little Mermaid with us is to see this creature for yourselves. Therefore, there will be a live camera feed if and when the creatures emerge and show it to you in your rooms through the installed monitors.”

The crowd cheers again.

“If there are no further questions, then you may enjoy the delicacies and the breathtaking views of the oceans for the night!”

After the man has left, the guests all swarm towards the buffet tables again. The plain-looking man is rubbing on his stomach and… is he actually salivating? He asks tentatively, “can we eat too?”

His companion, the fashionably-dressed man, rubs his chin and says, “I think you probably don’t want to casually touch things provided here. That said…” he moves his gaze over to the couple who are fighting over food with the NPCs in the crowd, and shakes his head.

That is when he notices the lady in the overcoat heading for the door and greets her, “hey, are you alone? Wanna move together?”

She looks over at him. When he sees her looks clearly, he can’t help but swallow. Of course, he has had quite the experience making sure it isn’t noticed. He asks, with a gentle gaze, “I’m Fang You. What’s your name?”

“…”

Meanwhile, two other people have also left on their own. Du Yixin wants to join in investigating for clues, but Ying Sheng gives him an eye for him to talk elsewhere.

The staff at the door asks politely when they leave, “are you two honourable guests ready to return to their rooms?”

Ying Sheng nods slightly.

“Please follow me,” answers the staff, smiling.

They walk through the deck and then head up the stairs into the guest room area. Each guest has their own room with the number being visible on the door. The corridors are unexpectedly long and winding, as if they are in a maze.

Du Yixin and Ying Sheng happens to be at very different rooms, one in 302 and the other 421.

None of the doors are locked and so practically everyone could go in and out of them free. The simplistic, or rather, minimalistic design of the interior contrasts greatly with the glamourous halls and corridors. There’s a simple bed, cabinet, desk, chair, and a screen. That’s all. As for decoration, there is only a painting on the wall, depicting the ocean blue.

After the staff has left, there’s only two of them left in the cramped room.

“You wanted to say something to me?” Asks Du Yixin.

“We’ll get listened in on outside, so I can only drag you into the game,” Ying Sheng sits onto the chair.

“Listened in on?”

“You didn’t notice how I wore an earbud at all times?” Ying Sheng points to his ear, “‘Whitebird’ doesn’t trust me; or rather, it trusts no one. That’s how they control you. It’s full of cameras in the subdivision building too. They only fail when we’re inside.”

Du Yixin recalls and, sure enough, since their first meeting he seemed to have always had an earbud in one of his ears. It’s probably someone giving him orders.

“I’ll say it frankly——Right now, there isn’t any way of safely transferring keys. At least, none that ‘Whitebird’ are aware of.”

Du Yixin knits his brows, “you mean team leader Pu was lying to me?”

“It’s a white lie sort of thing?” Ying Sheng also seems to find it funny when he says it, “thats how Whitebird works. It tricks dumbasses like you into trusting them and opening the game and tell you to ‘grant’ them keys; otherwise, they drag you into an instance and kill you directly,” he says, making the classic beheading gesture.

“Like right now? You’re going to kill me?”

“That’s how it works. Because of some dumb rules in the organisation we can’t open our ‘rooms’ without permissions. Though, in situations like today, when some idiot decides to randomly open an instance nearby, we can drag targets in and kill them all with no one the wiser.”

“I see,” Du Yixin answers without his expression changing, though he’s stiffening himself and staying on guard. He is on the defensive, and at an absolute physical disadvantage at that, “is this the important thing you mentioned? You could’ve started right at the beginning. Why the wait?”

“Why?” Ying Sheng narrows his eyes like a terrible scheming wolf, “because I’m gonna fucking defect.”

In the hall where the extravagant function is still ongoing, Fang You has secured the girl’s name, Mo Yu. She is quite the ice-cold beauty though, as she has departed the hall without engaging in further conversation.

“You want to get some wind? I suppose it’s really too stuffy inside,” Fang You, not giving up, follows closely behind, “I thought it was terrible I got dragged into such a ridiculous spot, but, meeting you sure was the silver lining.”

Out on the deck, with the moist ocean winds and a fair beauty by one’s side, even the fictitious scenery becomes all the more endearing.

“The cruise ship sure is large. Do you feel like going anywhere? I’ll go with you.”

That is when she finally stops and looks at the young man proper. Despite her appearance, she’s the coldest she’s ever been since boarding, as she says, “do you even understand what’s going on?”

“What?”

“Keep fooling around and we’d all die.”

Fang You seems to pause slightly before engaging in a super romantic gaze, “no matter how fraught with danger our path forward is, I will protect you will——I swear.”

“…” Speechless, the lady turns and leaves silently.

Meanwhile, the plain-looking man has watched as his companion abandoned him for a big beauty. Now, in the unsettling hall, there’s only him and the family. The couple is still getting more food as their seats are occupied with more and more dishes. Though their daughter is the complete opposite, standing right in place and looking down at her feet, neither looking nor eating.

He’s in an awkward position right now. Even if he tries to go back to his room he’d be alone still. It would make him even more nervous than being somewhere crowded and lively.

Although he isn’t exactly a social butterfly either, but he thinks he can probably engage in some conversation with a little girl. He asks, “um… your parents took a lot of food. Are you not having any?”

Thankfully, despite not saying anything, she at least responded by shaking her head.

The man sighs in relief as he introduces himself, “I’m Wang Hao. I was on the highway one second then here the next. What about you?”

“My, my name is Li Qiqi,” she seems really shy as she keeps staring at her feet, “I’m on a trip with my mom, dad and younger brother, but suddenly the car stopped, mom and dad left the car and then… we just ended up here.”

“Wait, where’s the little brother then?”

She shakes her head after hesitating a little bit; it seems she doesn’t know either.

That is when the middle-aged woman, with practically an entire seafood platter on her plate, sees them talking and quickly puts her food down and pinches her daughter’s ear, “I’ve told you never to talk with strangers, and a man at that! What did I teach you!”

Her ears are reddening from the pinch, but she doesn’t seem bothered as she keeps muttering apologies.

Wang Hao quickly tries to intervene, “missus, we were just having a chat. Besides, I think we should focus more on how to leave with how it is already.”

“How to leave? We just pass through the attractions one-by-one, right? It looked creepy outside but it’s just a normal amusement park, isn’t it?” She doesn’t seem to mind the situation at all. Then she pats her daughter on her cheeks seeing her still blanking out, saying, “eh, quit starin’ at your feet and get to carryin’ dishes! It’s a new round already, go get some with your dad.”

Then she leaves with her daughter as Wang Hao stares in shock. He can’t help but look over at the mountainous pile the couple has already gathered at their seats already, and is speechless.

They do make a fair point. Other than somehow being transported here, they haven’t actually met any dangers at this point. So, as long as they follow the rules and disembark the following morning, they’d be done, right?

At the same time, far from the liveliness of the halls, the two still continue to talk in the surprisingly well-insulated room.

Du Yixin is recalling how his attitude seems to have shifted dramatically since reading his form. Was there anything on it that was out of the ordinary?

“I’ve had enough, seriously enough with Whitebird’s instructions but I had to listen——” Ying Sheng points to his neck, where the black pin was inserted, “they punched such a thingy into my neck. If I don’t listen, a poison will flow into my veins and I’d immediately die.”

“Huh?” Du Yixin is shocked. He thought it was a fashion statement.

“It’s the ‘Whitebird’s boss. He uses that damned ability of his to control basically everyone in the organisation. If he thinks you might want to fight back——You see how it works?”

“Ability? Of the keys? You can use it in real life?”

“Only if you’re above level 5. Apparently that boss is already at level 6, just one step below the ‘deification’ of level 7,” Ying Sheng’s lips perk up as he says that.

“Level 7? Deification?” What’s with all these terms suddenly being thrown around?

“I dunno how the glasses guy explained it to you, but your key, and mine,” Ying Sheng explains, gesturing to Du Yixin and himself in turn, “they were once the same. One day, though, they somehow split up and ended up scattered over the world. To raise one’s own key level, they’d have to collect the fragments. If one day, someone has gathered up all the keys…”

Du Yixin follows up, “the key reaches level 7, and the person deifies… becomes a god?”

“You got it,” Ying Sheng splays his fingers out, “Whitebird might have told you all those righteous BS, but in the end, all they wanna do is rule the world.”

Du Yixin falls silent. It’s been a lot of information all of a sudden. Should he believe in Whitebird or Ying Sheng? Why did he tell him this in the first place? Did he want something from him, after seeing it in the form? Does he want to… use him, somehow?

“Why are you telling me – of all people – this? When not even someone like you can go up against Whitebird.”

“I guess I don’t know your ability yet, but little level 1 rookie? Nah,” Ying Sheng has quite the sarcastic smile on, “the person who can fight Whitebird, is your older brother.”

“Hah?” Du Yixin blanks out.

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TL’s notes: Some info dumps for you. I bet you couldn’t guess which of Whitebird or Ying Sheng is lying, can you? Oh well. It can’t be helped. This is a fluffy romance and not a real horror story, so obvious things are way too obvious.