Bai Liu stood on the rocking skiff, watching in silence. He observed the chaotic scene for a while before murmuring to himself, as though he had only just realized it.
“Oh, so that’s how it is. Before boarding the boat, I made preparations in advance to avoid falling into that idiotic state caused by a drop in sanity after being contaminated.”
On the tiny television screen, Bai Liu finished speaking, then seemed to feel a little cold. He °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° pulled a quilt around himself and continued watching the spectacle in a drowsy haze.
The audience in front of the television: “......”
What exactly did you do before boarding the boat?!
Why did Andre suddenly die?!
As Wang Shun watched Andre being devoured alive, curiosity gnawed at him so fiercely it felt like claws scraping at his heart. He had never seen a fisherman actively attack and eat Andre before. More than anything, he wanted to pry open Bai Liu’s head and see what kind of insane move this man had pulled off behind everyone’s backs.
“What the hell did he do before getting on the boat?!”
The player beside him was just as bewildered. He shut his eyes and tried to retrace everything carefully.
“Wait, let me think... The process was completely normal. He took the driver’s car here, paid the fare, got on the boat, and then the driver said he’d prepare the venue and props for tonight’s wager...”
Several players who had originally intended to leave stopped in their tracks. Before long, another crowd had gathered around.
“Is anyone here a system member?” someone shouted. “Can you replay the footage and check what he did? I’m not a member, so I can’t access game replays!”
“I can! I can replay it!” another person called out. “I’ll project it so everyone can watch!”
“But it really does look like a normal game flow... How is this possible? Bai Liu’s luck stat is only 0. There’s no way a fisherman would actively bite Andre because of luck.”
“Then how did he do it?”
“Damn it, someone post this on the forums for help. I’ve watched it three times already and still can’t figure out what setup he made beforehand. This is seriously god-tier.”
————————
[Game Forum — Help! Does anyone know how to trigger the route where a merfolk eats Andre?]
1L: Today I saw a player clear the scenario in an unbelievably bizarre way. Everyone’s played 《Siren Town》 before, right? In [The Ship of True Love], has anyone ever triggered the branch where the merfolk devour Andre?! This is my first time seeing it.
(Attached: Bai Liu’s gameplay footage)
2L: Kid, I have so many questions.
How the hell was this triggered?? I’ve never seen this development before. A monster proactively helping the player kill and eat Andre to complete the mission? What kind of cursed romance route is this?
3L: This player’s luck stat must be insanely high, right? High luck sometimes triggers absurd outcomes like this.
Lao Lou (Original Poster) replying to 3L: No. His luck stat is 0. Absolute trash luck. He’s a pure newcomer whose very first dungeon draw was Siren Town, and the Monster Book even rolled him a god-tier wandering NPC. His luck is visibly terrible, yet somehow he still produced this route... I genuinely don’t understand anymore.
4L: This newcomer is kind of terrifying... But seriously, how did he pull it off?
5L (God Mu): It can be done if you trigger a hidden side quest.
Once the completion rate of the side quest [Jeff’s Bloody Conspiracy] exceeds 80%, the driver will voluntarily dive into the sea and wait for an opportunity to kill Andre. The blood released during the murder will then attract the fishermen, causing them to swarm Andre and devour him.
However, to trigger this side quest, you must suppress the merfolk statues during the first night’s stay, then investigate and uncover Jeff’s conspiracy. Most importantly, you cannot let Jeff realize you discovered it, otherwise he’ll attempt to assassinate you.
Is this player really a complete newcomer? Triggering this side quest effect on a first attempt is honestly impressive. Even I didn’t manage to trigger it myself—I brute-forced this section with skills. I only realized during a later review that there was probably an untriggered side quest here.
6L: HOLY SHIT!!! GOD MU!! Front row screenshot!!!
7L: A Great God has appeared! Bless me so I can clear my next dungeon in one try!
8L: A newcomer even God Mu called impressive?! I need to see this! OP, hurry up and say which district he’s in! I’m going over there right now!
9L: Same here!
——————
“I still don’t understand how he pushed the completion rate of [Jeff’s Bloody Conspiracy] to 80%,” Wang Shun muttered in confusion.
“As far as I remember, when they were still in the car, the side quest progress was only 50%. How did it suddenly jump to 80%?”
As a dedicated “cloud player,” information about side-quest progression was incredibly valuable to him.
Wang Shun immediately pulled out his game manager and asked God Mu directly on the forum.
God Mu replied:
[He paid the driver an extra amount of money.]
[Jeff had already paid the driver in full for transportation and guide services. Under normal circumstances, the player had no reason to pay him again. But this newcomer gave him another payment—and not a small tip, either.]
Wang Shun instantly remembered that moment.
That’s right. Under normal logic, Bai Liu absolutely didn’t need to pay again.
But he did.
[And pay attention to the footage. He deliberately let the driver see that he was carrying a large amount of money.]
[The residents of Siren Town are essentially bandits by nature. Flashing excessive wealth will inevitably tempt the driver into robbery and murder. However, the driver is also tied to the side quest objective of killing Andre. Under the influence of the quest, he’ll prioritize killing Andre first.]
[To raise the side quest completion rate to 80%, you need the driver to realize you’re carrying valuables. He’ll follow you for the money, and once you’re at sea, he’ll kill Andre first—the man who intended to kill you.]
As Wang Shun reread God Mu’s explanation, realization finally dawned on him.
“So that’s what happened...”
But after thinking it through, a new concern immediately surfaced.
He quickly typed another reply.
[God Mu, but if that’s the case, wouldn’t the driver come back and rob the player immediately after killing Andre?]
God Mu replied:
[Yes. Which is why the player must quickly hide inside an underwater bubble capable of repelling schools of fish.]
[The driver only managed to kill Andre through a sneak attack. In direct combat, he’s still weaker than Andre. Andre is the main boss of this level, and he can break through underwater bubble items.]
[But once Andre is dead, an underwater bubble is enough to fend off the driver and the remaining merfolk. After triggering this side quest, the difficulty of [The Ship of True Love] drops significantly. Clearing it becomes much easier.]
As Wang Shun scrolled through the forum, he frowned at the image of Bai Liu on the small television.
“Did you see God Mu’s explanation? Once they finish eating Andre, those merfolk are going to turn around and attack the player immediately.”
“I saw.” The spectator who had stayed by Bai Liu’s screen the entire time sighed deeply, his expression full of regret as he watched Bai Liu curled beneath the quilt, half-asleep.
“A newcomer even God Mu praised... What a waste. If he hadn’t spent so many points buying all that alcohol, he could afford an underwater bubble right now and clear the stage.”
Wang Shun also looked helpless.
“Yeah... The difficulty’s already been lowered this much, and he still gets stuck at a moment like this.”
And he wasn’t the only one feeling frustrated.
Many of the players who had rushed over after hearing God Mu’s praise felt exactly the same.
Onscreen, Bai Liu remained curled beneath the blanket, drowsily nodding off while the merfolk ripped Andre apart and feasted on him. Then, one after another, they turned toward Bai Liu’s tiny boat.
But Bai Liu seemed completely oblivious.
Wrapped tightly in the quilt, his head drooped sleepily as the merfolk silently closed in, water splashing softly around them.
Watching that scene, the gathered players were rendered utterly speechless.
