Vol. 2 Chapter 35 – Deep Sea Sacrificial Town. (14)

Not only Ralph, but the other players behind the door were also stunned.

The deep sea?

This town is located beneath the deep sea?

What nonsense is Yin Liuming spouting? Are they filming SpongeBob SquarePants or something?

If they really are underwater, never mind whether that much air could even exist there—just the water pressure alone would crush the air so much it’d burst everyone’s alveoli!

Even though it’s a dream, any dream refined enough to be selected by the Nightmare Game still possesses strong internal logic.

But judging by Ralph’s expression…

Mi Anpei quietly poked his head out and looked at Ralph.

The muscles on Ralph’s face kept twitching, and amidst the ferocity, there was a faint trace of fear. The tentacles on his body kept emerging and retracting, revealing the turmoil within him.

After a long pause, Ralph let out a cold laugh. “So what if you figured it out? This town is protected by the Fish God. Do you really think people like you can destroy this place?”

“What if I say… we can?” Yin Liuming said calmly, “The real reason you haven’t dared to kill Madame Solari… is because she holds the power that protects this town, isn’t it?”

He extended his finger and gently tapped the forehead of the gemstone mermaid beside him.

It was these small creatures who, despite appearing to know nothing except how to look pretty and play the violin, supported ten stable places in the dark depths of the endless sea.

No matter how much malice Ralph held toward Madame Solari, this dream was ultimately made from the dream of the living woman herself.

The jewels Madame Solari loved transformed into her fiercely loyal little mermaids, faithfully guarding her inside the manor.

The little mermaid blew bubbles that shimmered with rainbow light and looked at Yin Liuming in a daze.

Ralph stared coldly at Yin Liuming, the tentacles at his side writhing restlessly.

Yin Liuming gazed at him calmly, as if waiting for him to come closer and strike.

Ralph held back the murderous urge in his heart and tugged the corners of his lips. “If you destroy them, there will be ten deaths to match¹[T/N: “十起死” (ten deaths to match) is a figurative phrase meaning severe retaliation or consequences matching each offense.].”

Once the seawater crashes down, everyone will be flattened instantly and become bait for the sea fish.

Yin Liuming nodded. “We definitely can’t destroy them… but we can destroy your Fish God.”

Ralph seemed to have heard something ridiculous. “Ah?”

“If Solari Town lies deep beneath the sea, then what is the sun that lights it up every day?” Yin Liuming rested his hand against the wall of the manor, his gaze suddenly tinged with a hint of mockery. “Whether it’s the Sun Fish God or the Deep Sea Fish God… aren’t they just the same bunch of fish?”

In the deep sea, over ten kilometers beneath the surface, almost no sunlight could reach this depth.

Even deeper, in the pitch-black waters four thousand meters below, some fish had evolved luminous organs, with their heads or tails emitting a striking glow that lured other deep-sea creatures closer.

However, when those prey approached, all that awaited them were sharp teeth and jaws that could open wider than their heads.

The players hiding by the entrance instantly understood what Yin Liuming meant. Their faces gradually turned pale, filled with lingering fear.

The ‘sun’ that only lit up near noon and completely vanished by dusk. Could it be bait used by the predatory fish to lure in its prey?

Whenever the ‘sun’ rose, Madame Solari would always begin playing her violin, continuing tirelessly until dusk arrived.

So it was Madame Solari who drove the ‘Deep Sea Fish God’ away using the gemstone mermaids’ music!

Ralph’s face twitched.

Yin Liuming continued, “I dove down from the end of the sea near Solari Town, followed the current, and eventually returned to the altar in the forest. At that time, I kept wondering what the connection was between the townspeople’s corpses, the offerings on the altar, and the fish god being worshipped. Why does this fish come near the town so often every day?”

He pointed at the ground. “I can only think of a possibility… The one we’re standing on is the Fish God itself.”

“Shut up!” Ralph’s expression suddenly turned ferocious. He shouted sharply, “The Fish God is not something you are allowed to defile!”

“Are we on its head? Or its tail? This fish should be quite long in size.” Yin Liuming said calmly, “This so-called offering must be about presenting food to it, and your Deep Sea Illusion Slitherer is probably a parasite living on the Fish God.”

To cooperate with the fish god is to bring mutual benefit.

The Deep Sea Illusion Slitherer took advantage of the special environment created by the Fish God and Solari Town to devour the players’ brains, while their bodies were offered as sacrifices to feed the Fish God. With a steady source of food, the Fish God remained lying still, unmoving, thus allowing Solari Town to stay safe and undisturbed.

“We don’t even need to destroy your Fish God… as long as we make it suffer a little, let it twist its body a few times, Solari Town will cease to exist.” Yin Liuming said, “By then, the Solari Manor with the gemstone mermaids might still survive, but you will surely die. Since the Fish God is right beneath our feet, all we have to do is dig down. Eventually, we’ll break through the earth and reach its flesh and blood.”

When the Fish God writhes in pain, Solari Town will be destroyed. Although the players’ mission will end in failure, Ralph himself will die with no place to be buried.

Ralph’s gaze suddenly turned grim and sinister.

Yin Liuming looked at him and said calmly, “So you’d better go up to the altar yourself. It’s not like no players have ever cleared the level before. You probably won’t die.”

The pitch-black tentacles beside Ralph churned violently for a long time before he finally gnashed his teeth and growled, “The reason I didn’t die before was because a player took my place, and now you should send someone to die instead, or else I’ll send you all off first!”

This was the greatest compromise he could offer.

He hadn’t expected that someone could uncover the secret of the Solari Town!

Even Lei Yingzhe, the one most praised by other players, merely focused his goal on Madame Solari, completely failing to see through the true mystery of this dream.

In the past instances, he always did the same, toyed with all the players, devoured enough brains overwhelmed by fear and despair, and only then allowed the few remaining ones to leave…

As far as this dream was concerned, clearing the stage simply involved waiting for the Fish God to gnaw on the offerings on top of the altar and for the glowing pearl on its head to fade. Once that occurred, the mission would be finished. Usually, the players would never deviate from the script or try anything different.

He didn’t expect to run into someone as tough as Yin Liuming this time!

Yin Liuming furrowed his brows deeply and said coldly, “You just killed Lei Yingzhe.”

The players behind the wall gasped in a row.

—The top-ranked player Lei Yingzhe is dead?

Ralph shouted angrily, “His brain has no soul! I need your souls to create a substitute sacrifice!”

Yin Liuming frowned tightly.

—No soul? Just like Chi Xi?

Was it that Lei Yingzhe had some kind of life-saving method, or was it…

“Not only does he not have one, but that guy you want to avenge him for doesn’t have a soul either,” Ralph said resentfully. “You’d better send over someone with souls later, or don’t blame me for breaking our deal!”

Yin Liuming slightly narrowed his eyes, studying Ralph’s expression and assessing how likely he was to be lying.

At this point, there was no reason for Ralph to risk telling a lie.

Yin Liuming withdrew his gaze. “We need to discuss first.”

Not long after, Yin Liuming and Si Cheng came out together.

Ralph was already starting to get impatient. As soon as he saw Si Cheng, his arm instantly transformed into a tentacle. “Is it him?”

Si Cheng said coldly, “Wait a moment, I have a question to ask.”

Ralph’s expression turned ugly. “You’re about to die anyway, what’s the point of asking so much?”

Yin Liuming raised an eyebrow while standing behind Si Cheng.

Ralph held back his anger and changed his tone reluctantly. “What do you want to ask?”

Even though his power was more than enough to crush these weaklings, those troublesome gemstone mermaids just had to get in the way!

Si Cheng clenched his fists. “What happens to the players you kill?”

“What do you mean by ‘what happens’? They die.”

“Their souls?”

Ralph sized up Si Cheng from head to toe, then let out a cold laugh. “Of course, the souls are made into new townspeople. There are no other living people in this town. Naturally, I need to keep a handful of toys; otherwise, it would be far too boring. Once I grow tired of playing with them, new ones will come in to replace them. Ten batches, nice and easy.”

Si Cheng pressed his lips together tightly and stared at Ralph. “So, where is my brother?”

“Your brother?” Ralph had already sneered. “The townspeople are either tied to the altar or inside my stomach. What do you think?”

Si Cheng’s face flushed red, his eyes bloodshot, and a dagger suddenly appeared in his hands. With a fierce shout, he charged straight at Ralph!

Ralph sneered. “Overestimating your abilities.”

Countless pitch-black tentacles surged up around him, lashing out toward Si Cheng.

Si Cheng pushed off the ground and sprang into the air, swiftly weaving between Ralph’s tentacles.

He flung ten wooden darts with a flick of his hand. Though the tentacles dodged them, the darts still managed to bury themselves deep into the soil.

The two of them had already exchanged several rounds.

Yin Liuming stood still, observing the fight. After a short while, he narrowed his eyes and quickly stepped back twice.

Ten pitch-black tentacles unexpectedly shot up from the spot where he had been standing. After missing their strike, they swiftly retracted.

As for Ralph, he didn’t even look this way, as if the tentacles that just attacked Yin Liuming were a random occurrence.

A faint, icy smile appeared on Yin Liuming’s face as he focused intently on watching Si Cheng’s battle.

Si Cheng was human, after all. He couldn’t match Ralph’s energy, who had already transformed into a Deep Sea Illusion Slitherer. Soon, he started to falter, and it looked like Ralph was about to devour him.

At that moment, Yin Liuming snapped his fingers softly.

The gemstone mermaid beside him let out sharp, piercing screams!

With that cry, specks of light suddenly appeared in the soil beneath Ralph and Si Cheng’s feet. All of them were the wooden darts Si Cheng had thrown down earlier.

Immediately afterward, Si Cheng, Yin Liuming, and Ralph all disappeared at the same time.

……

A few minutes earlier.

Back in the dining hall, all the players were gathered together. The remaining people stood far apart from each other, afraid they might be chosen as the final offering.

Si Cheng had been standing by in the dungeon, but he came out empty-handed. He rushed over to hear Yin Liuming’s analysis, gripping his knife tightly, a flash of hatred in his eyes. “So Ralph didn’t have to kill my brother?”

Yin Liuming looked at him but said nothing.

Si Cheng hadn’t expected any response from the start. He stood up, his whole body tense, and only after a long pause did he sit back down again.

Some of the players exchanged glances and cautiously asked, “Then what do we do now?”

Lei Yingzhe, who had previously led the players, was dead. As for this Boss Yin in front of them, they didn’t know him at all, not even a bit, and couldn’t figure out his temperament.

Yin Liuming understood what they meant and said calmly, “Don’t worry, no one needs to throw their life away.”

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

No one wanted to be the offering.

Mi Anpei, who had a rough idea of Yin Liuming’s character, scratched his head. “Then what should we do? Ralph’s not going to sit there and let himself be an offering, right?”

Yin Liuming looked toward Madame Solari, who was sitting at the head. “We’ll need your help, Madame.”

Madame Solari was momentarily stunned. “What can I possibly do?”

“If Ralph enters the manor grounds, can Madam send him to the dungeon?”

“If I see him, then yes, I can.”

Yin Liuming nodded, then turned to Si Cheng. “You will go out with me and stall Ralph.”

Si Cheng had no objections and slowly nodded.

Mi Anpei blinked. “What about us?”

Yin Liuming looked around at the remaining people. “You are in charge of moving the dungeon.”

Mi Anpei: “…Ah?”

“Shackles, fences, stone bricks—move as many as you can, and get them to the altar as quickly as possible.” Yin Liuming drew lines across the table. “When the time comes, Madame will send Ralph straight onto the altar, and our mission will be complete.”

Everyone stared at Yin Liuming in shock.

Move the dungeon’s location!

Even Madame Solari was no exception. She stood stunned for a while before letting out a bitter chuckle, sighing softly. “You are indeed… quite bold.”

“I’ll work with Si Cheng to make Ralph break Madame’s rules.” Yin Liuming’s gaze grew increasingly intense. “This is our final battle. I hope none of you hold anything back. The faster, the better.”

The other players exchanged glances, and all of them gave their agreement.

Si Cheng had no objections to Yin Liuming’s arrangement and asked in a low voice, “What do I need to do?”

Ralph would prevent them from forcing him into the manor, since Madame Solari’s power only extended within the manor itself.

“Tear it up.” Yin Liuming pointed to the second floor. “Use the wooden shards up there to make darts. As long as ten of them get stained with Ralph’s slime, Madame Solari’s rule will be triggered.”

Mi Anpei twitched the corners of his mouth. “This is allowed?”

Yin Liuming looked toward Madame Solari.

Madame Solari gave a small nod.

“Then… let’s do it!”

……

The disorienting sense of spatial inversion alerted Ralph that something was wrong. His pitch-black tentacles swiftly recoiled, wrapping tightly around him as he plunged downward at high speed, attempting to dive and escape.

Yet waves of melodious violin music rang out, alternating between soothing and tense, flowing with perfect intensity like the whisper of a devil.

The moving melody reached Ralph’s ears, but it caused him to let out a piercing, miserable scream, as if the music were some terrifying ultrasonic wave!

His tentacles quickly collapsed into a thick, pitch-black liquid, and his entire body melted like a wax figure, horrifying and nauseating.

Under the control of the violin music, Ralph fell from midair and landed directly on the center pillar among the thirteen stone spots.

The players standing by quickly rushed forward, forcing down their nausea as they tied Ralph to the stone pillar.

Ralph was tied to the stone pillar, and all the black mucus was completely absorbed by it, releasing a wail even more miserable than when he was struck by the sound of the violin.

The thirteen stone pillars trembled in unison.

The voice of the system echoed beside every player’s ear:

[All sacrifices have been collected. Each player is rewarded with 14 points.]

Yin Liuming raised an eyebrow.

In total, there were thirteen sacrificial offerings. Six were killed by the tentacle monster and brought to the altar, while the remaining seven were offered up by the players themselves. That seemed quite reasonable.

The player suspended in mid-air held up the shackles removed from the dungeon and howled, “Anyone else coming? I can’t hold on much longer!”

In a flash overhead, Madame Solari’s figure appeared.

The gemstone mermaids hurriedly flew up to catch her, then slowly lowered her to the ground.

Madame Solari raised her head to look at Ralph, who was still struggling atop the stone pillar. A flicker of hatred flashed through her beautiful eyes. “Ralph.”

Ralph twisted his body, shouting venomously, “Wretch! Wretch! Wretch!”

Despite his loud shouts, it was all in vain. The sacrificial offerings were gathered, and the ritual officially started.

Above the stone pillars, a ball of light gradually lit up, as if the sun were rising on the horizon, casting warm rays of light.

However, everyone already knew. That was not the sun, but a giant fish from the deep sea.

Soon, the ‘sun’ gradually approached, its light growing unbearably bright. Ripples spread across the dark sky, resembling flying birds and waves on water.

The ground began to shake.

An enormous mouth, big enough to swallow the entire Solari Manor, pierced the sky. Lined with sharp teeth and dripping with slime, it lunged toward the altar.

Its mouth stretched across nearly half the sky, with skin that was rough and hideous, casting a kind of horror that came from ‘growing however it pleased in the deep sea where no one could see it.’

Ralph’s screams grew even more shrill. “Let me go! Let me go! I’m the only townspeople left! If I die, your mission will never be completed!”

A player hesitated and looked toward Yin Liuming.

Yin Liuming said coldly, “Ignore him.”

Just as the fish’s mouth was about to bite into the stone pillar, Ralph’s face suddenly flushed red, and then his appearance changed rapidly. He actually transformed into the likeness of the greedy player who had previously died at his hands.

At his feet, a fist-sized clump of slime dropped off like a gecko shedding its tail, landing on the black soil with a splat before vanishing in an instant.

Si Cheng’s dagger was a moment too late and missed its mark. He clenched his teeth but didn’t give chase.

“No need to chase.” Yin Liuming looked up at the massive fish mouth, his eyes shining brightly. “It finally showed up.”

He raised both hands, and the Deep Sea Hunting Bug appeared beneath him and carried him as it soared upward.

Mi Anpei turned pale with fright. “Brother Yin! What are you doing?”

Yin Liuming stared at that constantly chewing giant mouth. His hair was tousled by the strong wind, yet his gaze was brighter than the ‘sun’ in the sky.

A giant fish god, so massive that its body could hold a town on it…

He was going to collect this into the illustration book.

……

During the pause between the fish’s chews, the Deep Sea Hunting Bug shot straight through the gaps between its teeth with a whoosh.

The players below were all stunned.

It was a long while before someone asked blankly, “Did he… simply go get himself killed?”

“How can that be possible!”

“What is he trying to do?”

Ralph’s remaining slime reformed on a tree not far away. Seeing this scene, a trace of vicious prayer flashed through his mind: That bastard had better die in the fish god’s mouth once and for all!

But at the same time, he couldn’t ignore the pounding of his own heart. That player had repeatedly acted against all logic, shattering his seemingly flawless control over this dream… Surely he wouldn’t go and die for no reason now, would he?

If that bastard kept digging into the ground nonstop, dug up the flesh and blood of the Fish God, and then let the gemstone mermaids attack. It would indeed be too much for the Fish God to handle.

But now that he’s been swallowed by the fish god, what’s he going to do?

Then Ralph suddenly thought of something, and his expression changed drastically.

—The Deep Sea Hunting Bug’s poison!

That player somehow managed to control a Deep Sea Hunting Bug!

The slime covering his body trembled, and before he could react, the fish mouth in the sky gagged loudly.

Half-chewed offerings and broken stone pillars rained down everywhere, and faint glimmers of fire flickered still within the cracks of the fish’s mouth.

The tremors in the earth grew stronger. The muddy ground shook, trees fell, and a deep, muffled rumbling echoed from beneath their feet, filling them with fear as if the world was about to collapse.

In the next moment, the fish’s mouth in the sky and the ground beneath their feet vanished.

The players saw the swarm of Deep Sea Hunting Bugs beneath the black soil scatter in a panic, heard the sound of thunderous water rolling in from the distant skyline, and felt a sudden sensation of weightlessness rise from beneath their feet…

Madame Solari called out softly, “Darlings.”

The gemstone mermaids all let out a sound like bubbling water.

All the players and Madame Solari returned to Solari Manor at the same instant.

Within the shattered dream, only Solari Manor remained calm and undisturbed, untouched by any intrusion.

Yin Liuming, covered in dirt, stench, and blood, also appeared in the manor’s yard.

Madame Solari covered her mouth and nose, sighing. “If this were the past, I would have certainly locked you in the dungeon.”

Yin Liuming put the Deep Sea Hunting Bug back into the illustration book and nodded lightly. “Many thanks for your mercy, Madame.”

The other players were all dumbfounded. “W-what just happened?”

Before they could ask anything, a sudden, intense pressure surged from beneath their feet.

Someone who couldn’t keep their balance almost fell, and asked in a panic, “What’s going on?”

“Is the manor flying upward?”

Yin Liuming said, “It’s ascending.”

The Solari Manor, which had been forcibly pulled aside by Ralph to the Deep Sea Fish God, finally managed to swim upward, passing through the dark, lightless depths of the sea and returning once again to the sunlit surface.

Initially, Solari Manor rose very slowly, but then it started to go faster and faster, to the point where almost everyone had to hold onto something nearby to stay upright.

Mi Anpei let out a startled cry. “What is that?”

Yin Liuming looked over and was slightly stunned.

Far beyond the horizon, ten clusters of gentle light appeared, giving Yin Liuming an unexplainable feeling of familiarity.

They looked the same as what he had seen when diving down from the end of the sea.

As the manor ascended, that cluster of light drew nearer and became increasingly clearer—

It was an enormous, magnificent seashell.

A faint blue glow shimmered around its entire form. The massive shell was slightly open, its dazzling patterns reflecting colors so bright they were almost blinding.

A spear shot through the air above this seashell, piercing it completely.

A beautiful glow like pearls shone through from the gap at the piercing point.

In the deep sea, it was like a dreamlike painting.

Everyone’s gaze was deeply drawn to it.

Yin Liuming could even hear Madame Solari murmuring with ecstatic joy, “Heaven… this is exactly the jewelry design I want to create…”

What a beautiful and strange thing it was, stealing everyone’s hearts so completely that they even forgot they were steadily ascending in the deep sea.

Splash!

The long-missed sunlight finally shone in.

The sky was a clear, cloudless blue; the sunlight shone brightly and dazzlingly, while seagulls soared in the distance.

They had finally reached above the sea surface.

Madame Solari looked at the sun, tears streaming down her face, and she slowly sank to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

For this long-lost light reunited, and for this fresh, slightly salty air.

For this vitality.

True sunlight is something the fish god’s bioluminescence in the deep sea can never compare to.

How could the light of a firefly ever compete with the brilliance of the blazing sun?

Bathed in sunlight, the players gradually awoke from the astonishment that had stunned them moments ago when faced with the majestic seashell.

This dream was almost over, yet the system’s reminder had not sounded.

A player looked around hesitantly and said, “So… what about our mission?”

Solari Manor refused to let Ralph inside. Without the gemstone mermaids supporting this space, he would have remained at the bottom of the sea, where the water pressure would have crushed him flat, burying him in oblivion.

Without the townspeople, what would happen to their main mission?

Yin Liuming slipped his finger into his pocket and pressed it onto the illustration book.

A deep black slime appeared before everyone.

It squirmed slightly, casting a confused ‘look’ at Yin Liuming, then lifted its head and stared blankly up at the warm sun in the sky.

In the next moment, it transformed into a human form. The pitch-black hue disappeared from its body, exposing healthy, lively skin, unmistakably human.

At last, a youthful face appeared.

The dagger in Si Cheng’s hand fell to the floor with a clang.

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  [T/N: “十起死” (ten deaths to match) is a figurative phrase meaning severe retaliation or consequences matching each offense.]