Chapter 28: Siren Small Town

While the aroma of bubbling mermaid flesh in the water attracts most of the mermaids and schools, there are a few that are more interested in Bai Liu's raw flesh, and they bite with gusto into Bai Liu's arms and ankles, leaving one hideously shaped circular tooth mark after another.

Wang Shun's breathing stopped as he watched, "Spirituality is going down 20!"

[System Warning: Player Bai Liu has a Mental Value of 17, below 20, the player is in the (Berserk) state, and his panel attributes are about to climb...]

The moment the system notification sounded, Bai Liu's mouth curled up, and at the same time, his panel attributes, which were always red, began to spike wildly -

[Player Name: Bai Liu (Berserk Attribute Bonus Panel)

[Strength Value: 7→151]

[Agility: 3→149]

[Attack: 6→167]

[Resistance: 2→166]

[Combined defense attack power increased, total panel attribute points exceed 500, rated C player, player Bai Liu level increased, from F(?) Ranks up to C, can resist mermaid sailors, mermaid wax figures and mermaid larvae]

Wang Shun was dumbfounded for a moment and then reacted, "Oh yes, when the spirit value falls below twenty, the player will be judged to have gone insane due to the low spirit value and will turn on the [Berserk] state, which will cause the panel attributes to rise wildly."

"After the spirit value passes twenty, the lower the spirit value, the higher the panel attribute will be, all the way up to the limit of the player's potential!"

Wang Shun thought quickly, "This is good for Bai Liu, at least he can fight back against the mermaids!"

"Not necessarily." Mu Sicheng is not optimistic, but rather looks more and more solemn, "The player panel attributes do go up, and the enhanced attack power is indeed a good thing."

"But most players have lost their sanity by this stage, the lower the player's mental value, the more they will resemble a monster in the game, panel attributes are meaningless even if they are higher, the player will only look like a monster will attack indiscriminately, the mental value will also drop at an accelerated rate as the player goes further insane attacking until it goes to zero."

Bai Liu's eyes slowly open in the small television, his hands sprouting sharp nails, his lower limbs waving softly like fish tails, no black eyes, only grey-black cracks and the uncomfortable whites of his eyes, his mouth splitting into sharp teeth at the corners.

He backhanded a mermaid, who was cut in two by his nails and sank to the bottom with his mouth wide open, shaking his gills in agony, while Bai Liu watched expressionlessly, akin to any other fish monster if he hadn't been holding Siren King in his right hand.

[System Warning: Player Bai Liu's spirit level continues to drop, currently at 15, (Berserk) status is increasing]

[Player Name: Bai Liu (Berserk Attribute Bonus Panel)

[Strength value: 151→351]

[Agility: 149→249]

[Attack: 167→667]

[Resistance: 166→966]

[Combined Defence Attack Power up, panel attribute points total over 2000, rated as B player, player Bai Liu level up, from C to B level]

Wang Shun was dumbfounded: " Bai Liu's panel attributes have risen too quickly! He's reached B rank so quickly! What a potential!"

But soon Wang Shun was worried again, "But Bai Liu's spirit level has dropped again, so if he can't stay awake and his spirit level drops below 10, it's all over.

No sooner had Wang Shun finished his sentence than the system on Bai Liu's small television sounded a shrill alarm.

[System strong warning: Player Bai Liu's spirit level continues to drop, currently at spirit level 9, (berserk) state increasing]

[System strongly warns: 3 minutes until Siren King awakens, please pass the level quickly!

"Only three minutes left!!! And only 9 spirit level!!!" Wang Shun's mood had followed Bai Liu through the ups and downs, but he had never been in such an exciting situation before.

He now looks at Bai Liu, who is emotionless, and Siren King, who is holding Bai Liu's hand and whose fish tail and eyes are slowly starting to open, and Wang Shun, who is watching Bai Liu play the game, can't help but feel a bit nervous.

He pinched his tiger's mouth, barely keeping his composure and said, " Bai Liu, hold on!!!"

Although it was a no-brainer to get through the game in this situation, Wang Shun followed Bai Liu all the way to the game and really didn't want Bai Liu, a player with such potential, to die.

Mu Sicheng's right hand is fully clenched at the elbow of his left hand, his jaw tightened, and his tone is a bit gruff because of the slowness: "Three minutes to send Siren King straight back to the bottom of the sea should still get him through, but I don't know how much of Bai Liu's sanity he still has under the control of his various hallucinations and [berserk state]. He is a player, not a monster in a ...... game.

The rest of the audience was also devastated by Bai Liu's brake-at-the-door style of play, screaming and shouting in disbelief that Bai Liu couldn't really pass the level, watching Bai Liu's little TV, nodding and charging, and using every off-court means to try to wake Bai Liu up.

Only the few spectators in a small corner who had been taunting Bai Liu sniggered, as if they had seen this coming and watched in awe.

In the small TV, the system is still warning.

[System Warning: Player Bai Liu's Spirit Level continues to drop, currently at Spirit Level 8, (Berserk) state is increasing]

[Player Name: Bai Liu (Berserk Attribute Bonus Panel)

[Strength value: 351→655]

[Agility: 249→733]

[Attack: 367→1555]

[Resistance: 366→1776]

[Combined Defence Attack Power rises, total panel attribute points exceed 4000, rated as A player, player Bai Liu level rises, from B to A level]

Bai Liu's entire face is gradually covered in fish scales, his eyes glowing a dull green in the sea, each scale radiating danger as Bai Liu drags Siren King, slowly sinking.

Siren King goes from a state of being tugged and floated without support to a state where the fish's tail sways and maintains its own balance in the water.

The moment Siren King's fins spread wide in the water, all the mermaids surrounding Bai Liu scattered with a shrill whistle, and Siren King's flawless face was reflected on the small TV, and everyone held their breath for the beauty, and the danger behind it.

Bai Liu's face is covered in armour-like scales, deep and black and hard, and his hands are covered in scales that are constantly sprouting and growing.

Siren King's face is pure white and clean, his fingers long and clear, and there is something eerily carefree about the way they hold hands and sway their fishtails down in the dusty, corpse-laden waters, like two mermaids swimming at the bottom of the sea.

But this harmony is bloody spoiled from the scene as soon as Siren King opens his eyes.

Because once Siren King wakes up, Bai Liu will be dead for sure.

"Bai Liu has risen to A rank." Wang Shun had mixed feelings and apprehension, "I was right about him, he really has potential, he has a lot of upside, he can really do a lot if he goes into a berserk state."

Mu Sicheng, who is now also an A-rank player, heard this and reacted as if he had been reminded by Wang Shun's words, narrowing his eyes: "Wait - Bai Liu is aware that dropping the mental value can enter the berserk state, and the system will warn players as soon as they enter the game The system will warn the player that [a spirit level below 20 will enter a berserker state]..."

Mu Sicheng looked at Bai Liu who was slowly sinking in the sea in the small TV and spoke with certainty, " Bai Liu is deliberately using this to get these monsters to attack him, to make his spirit level drop and then stimulate his berserk state, to increase his panel attributes in this way!"

Wang Shun was stuck instead, "Why would he do that, Bai Liu can get through without agitating his berserk state at all, right?"

"Yes, not only that, Bai Liu didn't even need to bother with the mermaid monsters at all, he just hid in the [Water Bubble] to send Siren King back to the bottom of the sea, and he could easily pass the level." Mu Sicheng seemed to have figured it out at once as he continued with a bit of incredulity, "...... The reason why Bai Liu wanted to mess with those mermaid monsters was because they might get in the way of his plan."

"What plan?" Wang Shun was getting more and more confused as he listened, "What kind of plan can he have now that he has a mental value of 7?"

" Bai Liu had deliberately let his mental value fall to this value." Mu Sicheng let out a long breath and raised his eyes to Bai Liu on the small TV :.

"Do you remember when I said that Bai Liu's true end line was to collect the monster books? Bai Liu is now close to completing the Siren Town Monster Book, and there is only one place missing, which is the page [Siren King] - [Siren King's attack]. But Bai Liu in his normal condition cannot take Siren King's attack, so-"

"--so, Bai Liu just let the mermaid monster attack himself, dropping his spirit value wildly all the way, forcing himself to [Berserk State] to raise his panel attributes to take on one of Siren King's attacks?!" Wang Shun picked up Mu Sicheng's words smoothly, but he himself was dumbfounded after he finished.

Wang Shun was so shocked that he stammered at Mu Sicheng, "But this is a fucking god-ranked NPC! To take a single attack from a god-ranked NPC like this, you'd need a player panel of Spades' S rank or higher!"

"Right." Mu Sicheng looked to Wang Shun, "But you're forgetting something very important - Bai Liu didn't know he was facing a godlike npc, he treated this like a normal game."

"He guessed everything but one thing - he didn't know he was dealing with a bug," Mu Sicheng tears himself a lollipop and bites into it, slurping, "This madman, I have a feeling he thinks there must be a perfect way to get through this game."

" Bai Liu is clearly a player who will make optimal solutions, so he solves the mermaid corpse, the mermaid wax figure, and the mermaid sailor just to avoid these monsters from messing up when he finally takes on Siren King's attack, and he wants to save all his spare strength for Siren King."

"It's safe to say this guy has done everything to the best of his ability, minimal risk, minimal points spent, highest payoff path through the level, and Bai Liu never questioned his choice of the optimal solution from start to finish, almost perfect execution, clearly with a panel attribute of F. It's just too much- -"

Mu Sicheng was quiet for a few seconds, recalling Bai Liu throughout the game, and used one word to describe Bai Liu: "Terrible."

"So, is there a chance that Bai Liu will pass?" Wang Shun listened to Mu Sicheng's analysis and his heart jumped out of his throat, "God Mu, I don't understand what you mean, is there a high probability that Bai Liu will pass or not?"

"I don't know." Mu Sicheng chewed his lollipop a little absentmindedly.

The red light in his eyes flickered as if he had found something extremely peculiar as he looked at Bai Liu's small TV, " Bai Liu has two endings, the first one is death by failure."

"The second ...... pass was successful."

"This means Bai Liu will set my record for solo points and will also be the first player to include a god-tier npc monster book."

"And as you said, to resist a single attack from a God-ranked NPC, you need a player with an S-ranked panel attribute to be able to do it, and currently the only player in the game with an S-ranked panel is the number one in the overall standings, or [King Player] Spades as we call him."

Mu Sicheng's look is a little obscure Buming: "If Bai Liu does it, it means he can reach S-rank potential in his berserk state, then he would be the second newcomer in this game to potentially become S-rank."

Wang Shun looked at Bai Liu on the small TV and repeated Mu Sicheng's words in a daze, "The second S-class?"

Bai Liu and Siren King are slowly sinking hand in hand in the water, and before his eyes are overlapping visions that appear to be blocks of colour spread out in front of him because they are so dense that even his senses begin to align with what is inside the illusion.

It was as if his brain had been manipulated by something strange and his sensory experiences corresponded with the various things that appeared in the vision.

But Bai Liu, for some reason, could easily determine what was an illusion and what was reality.

It was as if Bai Liu had seen himself being torn apart by a school of mermaids in a hallucination, and Bai Liu's body did experience the painful sensation of being torn apart by mermaids at such a distance that an ordinary person might have suspected that he had been bitten to death by mermaids, given that all his senses had been completely deceived.

But Bai Liu just calmly remembered that the group of mermaids were all put into the [Water Bubble]. Although the possibility of mermaids running out and tearing him apart could not be ruled out, Bai Liu still chose to believe in the reliability of his operation at this time, after all, Bai Liu felt that at such times, he was more credible than hallucinations.

With this confidence, Bai Liu remained motionless in the midst of a thousand maddening hallucinations, maintaining a mind-numbing calm, counting his heartbeat to time the countdown to Siren King's awakening, as Bai Liu slowly sank to the bottom of the ocean.

[System warning: One minute to go until Siren King awakens. 59...58...57...]

Wang Shun can't even breathe, he feels more nervous than Bai Liu: "Only a minute to go."

"It's almost to the bottom of the sea. " Mu Sicheng also looks intently at Bai Liu's small TV.

Not even a single person in the audience exhaled loudly, all of them tilted their heads and breathed softly, their eyes almost glued to the small TV screen, even the audience who had been giggling before were staring at Bai Liu's small TV.

Bai Liu's ability to get through depends on this minute.

Siren King finally opened his eyes slowly.

At the same time, Bai Liu let go of Siren King's hand as if he knew he would wake up at this moment.

Siren King hovers quietly in the water, looking at Bai Liu, his eyes a pure white of fresh snow, white as abnormal as marble, his pale eyelashes hiding his silver pupils, his long hair tangled in the seawater around Siren King's expressionless and dense face.

His haunting face with such luminous white eyes was like that of a mythical spirit or some legendary beauty creature that could not be hidden from view at the bottom of the sea.

When the audience looked at such a divine face, they were dazzled in a compelling way and could not bear to lay their hands on him.

[System warning: Siren King has awakened! Please stay away from the small TV screen! If you get too close to the screen, you run the risk of being mentally contaminated by the God-class NPCs!

Mu Sicheng was keenly aware that some of the people in the Bai Liu TV viewing area were starting to lose their mental energy rapidly as they moved towards the TV as if fascinated.

Wang Shun, next to him, was struck, looking into Siren King's eyes in a trance-like fascination, "So beautiful, don't hurt him."

Wang Shun says this with eyes the same silvery white as Siren King's on the small TV screen.

Mu Sicheng pulled out a mint flavoured lollipop and held it, a long lasting slow release prop to keep his spirit values rinsed, he looked at Siren King on the screen and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, "Wow, not bad for a god class NPC, this spirit pollution effect is penetrating beyond the small TV screen."

Most of the monsters in the game are contaminated in a way that is all [contact], but god-ranked npc's are worthy of being god-ranked npc's, the contamination is [radiation], and they, the players, can't even dodge it from a screen away.

[System warning: A large number of viewers have been contaminated and their spirit values have dropped in Bai Liu's small TV area, now the protection mechanism is activated, forcing all spirit values to rinse]

[The source of the contamination, Siren King, has been detected and the image has been blurred, so please feel free to continue watching.

A white mist fell into Bai Liu's small TV area. Wang Shun, who was still dazed and heading towards the small TV, gave a jolt, coughed twice and his pupils returned to black.

Wang Shun looked at the blurred image of Siren King with a sense of relief, and his gaze shifted to Bai Liu's body.

What kind of monster is Bai Liu, the guy who dragged Siren King all the way and didn't start to drop until Siren King was about to wake up, when he was affected so badly? ......