Ji Nansheng’s voice trembled, “Li Ming, have you steered a ship before?”
Li Ming was the name of the muscular man. He was still turning the ship’s wheel excitedly. “No, this is my first time holding a ship’s wheel. You really reminded me, maybe I’m a natural-born helmsman. Steering the ship for the first time feels like I’m a seasoned veteran. Am I a genius or what? I’m so confident right now. Once we get out of here, I’ll go get a first mate’s certificate.”
Ji Nansheng’s mouth opened slightly, like a quail stretching its neck in the reeds. He opened his mouth again, his voice tinged with a trace of despair, “Then… how did you know where the Imperial Capital’s port is?”
“I don’t know,” Li Ming hadn’t realized the seriousness of the situation yet. “I just kept going forward, and it appeared. Isn’t this the same as the saying, ‘wearing out iron shoes in fruitless searching, but in the end, beyond the dark willows and bright flowers lies another village’.”
“Ha ha,” Ji Nansheng slumped on the sofa in defeat. “Well, you sure are lucky.”
He rubbed his head blankly and let out a long sigh, “Sigh—”
The girl noticed his abnormality and looked at him in confusion, “Master Ji, what’s wrong with you? We’re about to win, aren’t you happy?”
Ji Nansheng sighed again, “Don’t call me a Master, I don’t deserve it. Right now, I’m nothing but a clown.”
The girl: ?
Ji Nansheng looked toward Dijia at the other end of the sofa in despair, “Are you really a player?”
Dijia raised an eyebrow.
The girl: “What’s going on?”
Ji Nansheng rubbed his face, “We’ve all been tricked. The cruise ship never left the Siren’s Territory.”
The girl: “But we saw the port.”
Ji Nansheng: “It’s an illusion! If you think about the time, it doesn’t make sense. The cruise ship took a full day to reach the islands after leaving the port. The Siren’s territory is in the deep sea. After leaving the Siren’s territory, it would take another full day to return to the port. But only a few hours have passed. How could we see the port so soon?”
The girl’s face changed, and she stared blankly at the busy coastline.
Suddenly, the colorful port began to wobble and blur, like a cloud of mist slowly dissipating.
The girl blinked, and when she looked outside again, an even thicker fog was rolling in. Standing in the cockpit, she couldn’t even see the railing of the ship.
She collapsed into a chair. “How could this happen?”
The muscular man seemed to be still lost in the illusion, his eyes bloodshot as he steered the cruise ship crazily, muttering to himself, “Go! Go! I’m a genius navigator!”
Most of the other players around them were also caught in the illusion, their expressions excited and exuberant as they waved their arms wildly, as if they’d eaten some kind of hallucinogenic mushroom.
Ji Nansheng’s head throbbed faintly, and he glanced at his system panel.
There were only ten minutes left of game time.
The main task wasn’t completed.
Neither was the side task.
So even the completion of the side task had been an illusion?
They had spent six whole hours in the illusion.
“Hehehe.”
“Xixixi.”
“Jiejie.”
Terrifying laughter echoed through the fog, reverberating inside the cockpit.
The door to the cockpit opened, and a figure slowly appeared out of the thick fog.
When Ji Nansheng saw the figure clearly, he subconsciously called out, “Countess.”
But then he frowned, sizing up the newcomer.
The face was the same as the Countess, but the person in front of them was clearly a man.
His chestnut-colored short hair was fluffy, his figure tall and slender. Though the features were the same, this man appeared more charming and eerie. The pointed ears and blue scales on his cheeks and neck clearly showed that he wasn’t an ordinary human.
Ji Nansheng stared blankly at the man who had suddenly appeared in the cockpit, completely despairing. “Are you a siren?”
The young man closed the cockpit door. “Though I know villains die from talking too much, I’m still a soft-hearted boss. I decided to tell you the truth before you die.”
“Heh.” Dijia chuckled softly from the other end of the sofa. “I thought you’d frame me as the siren. I didn’t expect it to be Jacob in the end.”
The young man cast a sidelong glance at Dijia, “Do you have ears like mine? Do you have scales like mine? You’re just a player, not a real siren. Smart people can easily see through cross-species lies. The claim that you’re a siren was just to confuse you.”
Dijia’s lips curled up, “So you planned from the beginning how to trap me. You’re really a devious little goblin.”
Ji Nansheng: “…”
‘Wait, you two big bosses, are flirting at a life-or-death moment?’
The girl widened her eyes. “So, the Countess was the siren all along, and Dijia really is a player.”
“To lower our suspicions about the Countess, she—no, he—deliberately let us see him acting intimately with Dijia. The murder of the Count, the suicide, the diary, the box, all of it was orchestrated by the Countess?”
“He never intended for us to believe Dijia was the siren, because Dijia wasn’t the siren and couldn’t become one. The Countess’ plan from the start was to make us believe there were no sirens at all, and that everything was human-made, leading us to think Dijia was ‘Jacob’?!”
Dijia snorted, “I told you from the beginning, the Countess is the siren. You didn’t believe me.”
Ji Nansheng’s voice was dry. “Then the crystal ball is…”
Dijia shook his head helplessly, “Of course, it was the prop to leave here, but you all shattered it with your own hands. I’ve been helping you from the start, but you refused to believe me. Ugh, so heartbreaking.”
Ji Nansheng covered his face.
Right now, he just wanted to live on another planet.
The girl: “So the people jumping into the sea and the infighting weren’t caused by that drug?”
Bai Lixin: “I’m a siren, of course I have hallucination skills. What use was that little drug?”
The girl: “And the Count’s nightmares were because…”
Bai Lixin: “Of course, because of my hallucination skills.”
The girl: “And the wire and gloves…”
Bai Lixin: “The woman’s ghost was real, and the murders in the hall were real too. The wire, letters, gloves, and the things in the box were all made later to mislead and deceive you. The people on the deck were killed by the circus, but it wasn’t the tiger, it was the circus ringmaster. He’s a homicidal maniac, and his illness flared up that day, so he killed someone. The Count witnessed it, so when the culprit was identified, the circus ringmaster was nervous and used the tiger as a scapegoat.”
The girl: “…”
‘Ah, so that’s how it was.’
Ji Nansheng was dumbfounded, “If Dijia is just a player, why was the lion so afraid of him?”
Dijia: “Blame me for having a strong aura? I’m the good guy here. The delicate and pitiful Countess in your eyes is actually the evil BOSS.”
The siren raised his chin, revealing two sharp teeth. “That’s right, I’m the big villain.”
The girl & Ji Nansheng: “…”
‘Wait, but why is this kind of cute?’
In Ji Nansheng’s live broadcast room:
[I told you, the more beautiful the person, the more deceitful they are! The Countess really fooled everyone.]
[Does anyone remember what the anchor said before the game? He hoped for a once-in-a-lifetime unforgettable copy. Is this unforgettable enough?]
[Ahem, if you keep going, I’m afraid the anchor might stop live broadcasting Yesterday Reappears forever.]
[Ahhh, who gets it, family? The siren’s little arrogant face earlier was just too cute, right? Even though he killed so many people, I can’t bring myself to hate him.]
[Waaah, I get it! Sorry, Nansheng, you’re pitiful, but I’m siding with the siren. My values follow my aesthetics, and if I have to choose a winner, I hope the siren wins. So, just surrender already.]
Ji Nansheng: “…”
‘You bunch of black fans!’
The girl didn’t understand, “You have the ability to create illusions. Why didn’t you use it on us from the start? Why go through so much trouble?”
Bai Lixin: “If I didn’t make you rack your brains and go through all that effort to find the truth, would you believe in a victory that came so easily? At least Ji Nansheng wouldn’t. And there’s always Dijia who keeps stirring things up. Just like when Dijia handed the crystal ball to you, you still smashed it, didn’t you?”
Dijia: “Heh.”
The girl: “Uh…”
Ji Nansheng bowed his head in shame: “…”
‘Alright, alright, stop blaming me. I know I was wrong.’
There were only three minutes left of game time, and the side task to uncover the truth from three years ago had yet to be completed.
Ji Nansheng blushed and lifted his head, looking at Bai Lixin in shame, “What was the truth about the Dream Star three years ago?”
“I told you, I’m a villain.”
“Of course, the Countess wasn’t any better.”
“She had a fiancé, but she set her sights on the Count, who had far more power and wealth than her fiancé.”
“She seduced the Count. Naturally, the Count wasn’t a good person either. To obtain Miss Sainon, he plotted to kill Jacob.”
“As for why the Countess had stopped sharing a room with the Count six months ago, it’s simply because, after gaining the power and status she wanted, she grew disgusted with the aging Count.”
“She wasn’t content with just being a Countess; she set her sights on the Emperor, who held the highest authority in the capital. The two of them began an affair six months ago. To marry the Emperor, the Countess decided to kill the Count and make herself a widow. That’s why she arranged for this cruise. Originally, those drugs were prepared by the Countess for the Count. But before she could kill him, I ate her and took her place.”
Ji Nansheng and the girl’s mouths dropped open, wide enough to fit an egg.
‘So, there really weren’t any good guys?’
‘Was everyone a villain?!’
Dijia: “Everyone thought they were the hunter. But in reality, they were just the bait. Big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp.”
He paused, glancing at Bai Lixin, “Oh, I’m not saying you’re a fish.”
