LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 25.3
[32 new people liked Bai Liu’s small TV, 89 new people have bookmarked Bai Liu’s small TV, 0 people have charged Bai Liu’s small TV and 3,807 people have stepped on player Bai Liu’s small TV.]
[Player Bai Liu has been stepped on by more than 3,000 people in one minute. Your small TV has been stepped on by over 5,000 people and you’ve earned the ‘Hateful’ title.]
[It seems everyone wants you to leave here, oh no, to die here.]
[Player Bai Liu’s central screen strongly recommended position is about to expire.]
Wang Shun saw the system notice and let out a long sigh. It had become like this.
The audience members who followed Bai Liu were red with anger while the audience from the central area was triumphant. Just then, someone exclaimed, “There is another newcomer who got a promotion spot at the edge of the central hall!”
There was another one. The previous person was Bai Liu. Then who was this? Wang Shun looked over suspiciously and found it was a player holding a fire torch and using a water bubble.
This player was swimming through the sea while using the torch to drive away the merfolk sailors chasing him. He also held a merfolk skeleton in his right hand. This was a real skeleton made of dense white bones. It was the normal siren banshee, not Bai Liu’s Siren King version.
This player was obviously alienated. HIs face was covered by fish scales and his lower body was somewhat similar to a fish tail. The thighs merged with the hells and disappeared, allowing him to swim quickly in the water.
This player had obviously reached the ending. As long as the siren banshee was returned to the bottom of the sea, the level would be cleared. The survival rate of this player was obviously much higher than Bai Liu. This caused even greater derision from the central area audience.
“I’m laughing to death. Didn’t you praise this Bai Liu to the sky? The other newcomer can pass the instance earlier using the traditional plan!”
“This Bai Liu just likes to pretend to be awesome. I advise you to rein in from the precipice and watch more serious videos. It is better to spend more money than to watch this free live broadcast of Bai Liu.”
“Let’s go. There is nothing to say about low level players like them. It is a waste of time to watch.”
“I’m leaving too. I’m really speechless. I wasted time when I could be watching the videos of the great gods.”
People kept leaving Bai Liu’s small TV. The previously crowded viewing area quickly became empty. Wang Shun sighed and walked in front of Bai Liu’s small TV in the position he previously wanted but was squeezed out of due to the crowd.
[7,060 people have left player Bai Liu’s small TV. Out of them, 3,900 have entered the newcomer’s small TV next door.]
[The player Bai Liu’s gameplay is too bad. No one is watching or liking it. You won this position only to be spurned. The strongly recommended system is very disappointed and has decided to exchange the promotion position of player Bai Liu with the promotion position of the newcomer next door.]
Wang Shun was in a daze when another system notice popped up.
[Player Bai Liu has dropped from the central promotion area to the edge of the hall.]
[Player Mu Ke rises to the single-player strongly recommended area in the central hall.]
Bai Liu hadn’t even stayed in this position for 10 minutes before being taken down. The few viewers who stayed behind for Bai Liu were angry and disappointed. They complained and sighed. Some viewers moved to the outskirts to continue to watch Bai Liu’s small TV. Some silently stayed in place, waiting to watch the live broadcast of the newcomer Mu Ke. They gave up on Bai Liu.
There weren’t many viewers who followed Bai Liu along with Wang Shun. There was a strange man with a monkey hat standing in front of the small TV who attracted Wang Shun’s attention.
Wang Shun looked at the man in a strange manner. Bai Liu had many ups and downs. As a viewer who had followed him all this way, he was very emotional. Therefore, he went to chat with this person who also came over. “Why did you come to this place? Do you like Bai Liu very much?”
The man wearing the monkey hat slightly raised the brim, revealing a pair of sly, red eyes. “It is because I think the person who is said to be able to replace me definitely isn’t only at this level.”
Who would Bai Liu replace? Wang Shun was taken aback before realizing and he almost exclaimed.
Then Mu Sicheng made a ‘shh’ gesture and lowered his voice as he laughed.
“In addition, he did play very well before, didn’t he? This is the first time I’ve seen a player gather three pages of the monster book beside me. In addition, I believe he definitely would have gathered all of it by now if it wasn’t for the last page being the Siren King.”
“This guy isn’t pretending. He really is strong.” Mu Sicheng crushed the lollipop as he turned to look at Bai Liu’s small TV with a grin on his face. “I haven’t seen the system act so excessively to weaken a player’s advantage before.”
“The system says it is for the pursuit of game balance. This means that Bai Liu, as a player, needs to be weakened to this level for it to be considered a balanced game. He is such a strong player yet some people think he won’t pass the level…”
“How do you say it?” Mu Sicheng chuckled. “It is a bit funny.”
[Mu Sicheng, the fourth ranked player on the Rising Stars ranking has entered player Bai Liu’s small TV.]
[Mu Sicheng sincerely liked player Bai Liu’s small TV. It seems he has a good feeling for the player~]
[Mu Sicheng used the authority of the fourth ranked player on the Rising Stars ranking to recommend Bai Liu’s small TV on his own small TV. A large number of viewers will soon come over.]
Wang Shun was completely stunned. He only reacted after some time and he asked Mu Sicheng in a puzzled manner, “God Mu, if you think that Bai Liu is very strong, why didn’t you say it just now? Why wait until he falls into the outskirts before recommending him?”
If Mu Sicheng had stepped up and said these things then Bai Liu might’ve been able to keep the highly recommended promotion position. The recommendation of a great god like Mu Sicheng was very good for newcomers like Bai Liu.
Mu Sicheng smiled and glanced at Wang Shun. “However, I was waiting for him to fall to the outskirts.”
“For such a strong player, giving charcoal in the snow is better than icing on the cake. I recommended him now so he will owe me a favor.”
Wang Shun was choked up by Mu Sicheng’s shamelessness and he stared at God Mu in a dumbfounded manner.
This God Mu was completely different from the ruthless and brutal appearance he showed in the game. His face was thick and he was shameless.
Bai Liu knew nothing about these outside things. The merfolk statues and sailors were chasing him in the rain. Bai Liu pushed the cart while moving very slowly. The monsters had caught him several times. Once when he was caught, Bai Liu turned the cart containing the Siren King around and pushed it at the merfolk monsters several times. However, it was becoming more useless. It was because the number of monsters chasing him was increasing. In addition, the rain made the fear of the Siren King smaller.
Bai Liu was scratched by a sailor’s nails and blood gushed out. He turned and dragged the cart to hide in an alleyway. There was a sudden buzzing in his mind as the system popped up a red warning panel.
[Warning: Player Bai Liu has become alienated after being scratched by a merfolk sailor. The mental value has dropped to 60. This is about to drop below the safe mental value. Once it drops below 60, the player will have hallucinations.]
“It isn’t very good…” Bai Liu covered his bloody arm and leaned against the wall of the alleyway to catch his breath. He was soaked by the rain and looked like he was fished out of the sea.
He closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing while getting used to the dizziness and sense of dullness. The feeling of the alienation value falling to 60 was like a black hole or whirlpool sweeping his body’s senses and thinking ability. Bai Liu had felt it once before but at that time, after the early discomfort, he relied on his high mental value and strong resistance to recover quickly. This time—
Bai Liu’s knees softened and his arms touched the ground. His face was quickly covered with grey-black lines and dark green scales started to grow under his eyes. His skin color became whiter and seemed to be the white texture of fish. He lowered his head and gasped constantly while the rain fell on top of his head. Bai Liu was like a dying fish caught ashore.
“This is my mistake.” Bai Liu’s tone was still very calm. “I didn’t expect that my mental value falling to 60 would affect me so much.”
Wang Shun stared at Bai Liu on the small TV in a tense manner. “The mental value really fell to 60. Once it decreases by one more, he will start to have hallucinations.”
Mu Sicheng’s expression was also serious and the lollipop he was sucking and chewing on was completely unmoved from one side of his cheek. He spoke in a vague voice, “It is 60 and it is easy to die in a chase battle. This is because there are hallucinations. It is hard to distinguish between the real monsters and the monsters you are hallucinating. It is hard to find a way to escape.”
“Is it useful to buy a cleansing mental value item at this time?” Wang Shun asked nervously. “Bai Liu’s current points are enough to buy an item to cleanse mental value. After cleansing, the mental value can rise.”
Mu Sicheng shook his head. “It might be possible in other games but it is best not to cleanse in this game.”
Wang Shun was bewildered. “Why?”
Mu Sicheng no longer answered. The audience attracted by Mu Sicheng’s recommendation whispered in a low voice.
“This player, is it my illusion? Why is there an illusion of vegetables…?” (Vegetables = slang for weak/inexperienced)
“Why did God Mu recommend such a dish… is he serving us a meal?”
As the discussion continued, Bai Liu on the small TV suddenly stood up against the wall. His eyes narrowed as he looked out of the lane where he was hiding. There were several sailors and statues approaching. The black outline of the monsters were looming in the misty rain.
After Bai Liu’s mental value dropped, his movement speed had become even slower. If he rushed out now then he would 100% be caught by these monsters. He just needed to be caught once for his current mental value to instantly fall below the 60 mark. If he started hallucinating on a rainy day then he would have no way to tell the direction.
Bai Liu leaned against the wall and thought about it.
The merfolk monsters outside the laneway sniffed and crawled on the ground like geckos as they scouted at a fast speed. There was a strong green light in their eyes and mucus dripped from their slightly open mouths. They reached the alley and these monsters sniffed twice before letting out a creepy smile with their fish lips. They quickly approached the alleyway with their hands and lower limbs attached to the wall.
Wang Shun held his breath and barely suppressed the ‘Bai Liu, run!’ in his throat as he clenched his fists.
It was useless to run at this time. It was because Bai Liu’s movement speed was far slower than that of the merfolk monsters. Running would just attract the attention of other monsters and was equivalent to delivering a meal. The only thing he could do now was pray that the monsters didn’t find Bai Liu in the lane and he could hide. Now these monsters were moving closer and the situation wasn’t optimistic.
Wang Shun’s thoughts were up to here when he saw Bai Liu pulling the cart and rushing out of the lane without hesitating under the heavy rain.
Wang Shun, “!!!!”
He anxiously blurted out, “You can’t run! It will be over if you run!”
It was as Wang Shun expected. The merfolk monsters moved closer and gathered at the entrance of the alley in the blink of an eye. Many merfolk statues also flocked there. The narrow lane was instantly surrounded by monsters. However, Bai Liu pulling the cart didn’t stop. His eyes were calm as he faced the monsters surrounding him.
Wang Shun understood. Bai Liu was going to break through the encirclement!
Wang Shun was so anxious that he almost stomped his feet.
He couldn’t believe that Bai Liu would make such a fatal mistake at this critical moment. Even if Bai Liu broke through here, these monsters moved faster than him. They could catch up with Bai Liu at any time and tear him to pieces. Running like this didn’t make any sense at all!
Mu Sicheng frowned. “The drop in mental value might’ve affected part of his thinking ability. He shouldn’t run out here.”
“Yes.” Wang Shun let out a deep breath. “We have forgotten to estimate the drop in mental value. Due to the influence of his low physical strength, Bai Liu must’ve panicked here.”
The expressions of the other viewers were indescribable. Everyone started to complain about whether Mu Sicheng had changed his taste to being a vegetarian. Mu Sicheng pretended not to hear this. He just slightly pressed down the brim of his hat and muttered helplessly, “Am I really wrong about this Bai Liu?”
Meanwhile, Bai Liu used the cart containing the Siren King to break through the encirclement. The monsters’ eyes stared at Bai Liu who was running away. Wang Shun’s heart instantly rose to his throat. They were going to chase him! These monsters were going to catch up!
However, the merfolk monsters on the small TV were bizarrely hesitating at the entrance of the lane for a while. They turned a blind eye to Bai Liu running away and rushed into the lane in a strange manner.
Wang Shun, “??????”
Mu Sicheng, “?????????”
The other audience members, “????????????”
Why didn’t the monsters chase the player? What were they doing in the lane?!
The scene on the small TV slowly switched to the inside of the lane where there was actually another Bai Liu.
This Bai Liu held the cart as if he was facing the enemy. He was also making some aggressive moves. Bai Liu raised his chin at the monsters and slightly hooked his index finger, seemingly provoking these monsters so they would fight him. The merfolk monsters were indeed provoked and attacked with gritted teeth.
The weird other Bai Liu ignited the audience’s discussion.
“Wow, what is this? Can he split his body?”
“Damn, what item is this? It is such a cheat. Can such a high level item be used in a first level instance like Siren Town?”
“High level items can’t be used right? If high level items are used in low level instances then the player will be directly kicked out by the system because they disrupt the balance.”
“So what is this?”
Then the first fish monster scratched angrily and Bai Liu in the lane turned into an afterimage. Then it was quickly restored with that same lazy smile on his face. Wang Shun thought of an item in Bai Liu’s items library and shouted, “It is the 3D projector! Bai Liu is using a 3D projector!”
“The intelligence of the monsters in Siren Town is very low. It is impossible for them to distinguish between the image projection and the real person.”
Wang Shun opened his own electronic recorder about the Siren Town monsters and spoke quickly. “The 3D projector on rainy days will make the image more substantial. Combined with the provocative actions made by Bai Liu’s image, it is easy to anger and attract these low level merfolk monsters.”
“Between a player who is holding his head down and running away and a player in a fighting pose, the thinking ability of these monsters means they will deal with the more dangerous one first.”
Wang Shun’s eyes lit up. “He used this item to successfully get rid of these monsters.”
Some viewers questioned it. “Still, it doesn’t matter how low their intelligence. As long as their repeated attacks are invalid, they will realize that they have been tricked and will chase the real Bai Liu. These monsters are much faster than the real Bai Liu.”
“He might’ve thrown them off here but they will still catch up unless he restricts the movements of the monsters.”
The audience’s questioning words had barely emerged when the monsters on the small TV started to sniff Bai Liu’s image suspiciously. They tested it twice by scratching before discovering it was indeed not the real thing. Then these monsters gave off an extremely ear-piercing angry scream at being teased.
The group of monsters were about to rush out of the lane to chase the real Bai Liu.
Just then, the Bai Liu image behind them grinned and took out his flashlight in an unhurried manner. He pointed it at the backs of these monsters and turned on the flashlight. The light beam was launched, passing through the merfolk statues in the lane who wailed and closed their eyes and leading them straight into the rain.
In the rain curtain, far away on the opposite side, another beam of light was transmitted to meet the one from the lane. It merged into a strong beam that crossed Siren Town.
The light-fearing merfolk statues were blocked by the light and didn’t dare to move forward. This dazzling and scorching light almost penetrated the entire Siren Town. Therefore, these light-phobic merfolk statues were completely restricted. They could no longer go past this beam to chase Bai Liu.
Even the merfolk sailors who were protected by the amulet and weren’t so afraid didn’t dare easily cross the light. They wandered around it vigilantly and tentatively.
On the other end, Bai Liu leaned against the wall and gasped. A 3D projector was placed beside him. The Bai Liu in the projector took out a flashlight and turned it on. It combined with the beam of Bai Liu in the lane to form this strong light that blocked the way.
Bai Liu wiped the rain dripping on his forehead and sighed. “Fortunately, this 3D projector works in water.”
A strong beam of light that blinded people was shown on Bai Liu’s small TV.
The audience in front of the small TV was silent for a few seconds. The previous people who questioned Bai Liu were still dumbfounded. After a long time, someone said, “Okay, so amazing…”
“The flashlight can still be played like this! So handsome!”
“I also suspected God Mu’s vision before. I was wrong. It was my eyes that didn’t recognize gold and jade. It wasn’t the player who is a vegetable. It was my eyes. I will go back and eat my eyes.”
“Isn’t this newcomer’s gameplay similar to those in the death comedy zone? I feel that he really regards this horrible game as a game. It doesn’t matter if he wins or not. The most important thing is the game experience.”
Proofreader: Purichan