GHG: Chapter 10

The keeper said the hot water pool room where Bai Liu was going was a bit remote and the lights were broken, so the keeper asked Bai Liu to be careful. He also warned that there were many merfolk statues piled up randomly over there so be careful not to hit them. The museum keeper’s face was full of malice when he said these words.

Bai Liu moved between the marble columns. The marble columns inside the museum stood at a distance that was as wide as two or three people. There were merfolk statues located on both sides of the road. These statues had different shapes while their fishtails touched the ground. Bai Liu found that almost all of these statues were looking out the window.

It was like these merfolk statues wanted to escape from here.

The hot water pool was at the end of the corridor. It wasn’t known who opened it but water came out of it spontaneously. The entire corridor was filled with steam from the hot water. Bai Liu walked in the corridor like he was walking on the foggy surface of the sea, surrounded by merfolk swaying under the water.

Bai Liu took a few steps before finding that the necks of the merfolk statues staring out the windows on both sides were slowly distorting. Their expressionless faces started to look at him. Moreover, the merfolk statues in front and behind were all staring at him. They were approaching Bai Liu in the middle at a subtle speed that wasn’t easily noticeable.

The wide, deep and tall European-style building was dark and opaque. The tourist who came alone stepped on smooth ground. The beautifully carved merfolk statues on both sides seemed to change postures and expressions in the blink of an eye as they got closer to him. A faint smile appeared on the faces of the merfolk statues that were originally dead and empty. The fishtails dragged on the ground and the white fog was about to take the other’s life.

They were pale and flawless like a group of ghosts frozen in this place.

Bai Liu silently counted the number of merfolk statues in his heart while looking back at the things following him from time to time in order to control their movement speed.

However, there were too many statues here. If he stared at the merfolk statues behind him, the moment he turned his head, the one with a compassionate smile in front of him couldn’t wait to stretch out a hand to his neck. It could immediately grab his neck and pinch it.

Bai Liu calculated the speed of these things. He basically moved while turning and used the pillars to deliberately avoid these things forming a circle. Although the statues felt very threatening, Bai Liu had dealt with them several times and found that their movement speed and intelligence wasn’t very high. The most troublesome thing was that they couldn’t be destroyed and their number was large. Once a siege was formed, it would be difficult for him to escape.

These merfolk statues were gradually getting closer to him and Bai Liu found that the statues were changing from a dead state to a living thing.

These merfolk statues originally looked similar in Bai Liu’s eyes. Then the general European and American faces started to change. The closer they got to Bai Liu, the more they became like… Bai Liu.

Yes, the faces of these merfolk statues were becoming more like Bai Liu’s face. They showed a strange smile that was too wide and moved toward Bai Liu with sharp teeth and nails.

Bai Liu finally reached the hot water pool that the keeper mentioned. The faucet of the yellowed, old washbasin was covered with brown spots. It wasn’t known if it was blood or rust. The rectangular iron pot for boiling hot water stood above the faucet and was making the sound of hot water boiling. He calmly placed the newspaper into the pool and then looked back.

A group of statues with different shapes but a face that was 80%-90% similar to him stood in several rows. They densely surrounded him and blocked his path.

Their heads were lowered and the dim light in the museum cast a haze over the empty eyes. Their mouths had widened into a strange, cracked smile. This smile was obviously malicious but on their marble white faces, there was an indescribable sense of God’s love for the world. These mermaid statues stared at Bai Liu standing in front of the pool with greedy eyes. Bai Liu also stared straight at these things, feeling like he was surrounded by dozens of copies of himself.

These things were hunting him.

Bai Liu thought about how he just said these things didn’t have a high IQ and couldn’t think of hunting him. Unexpectedly, this group learned to surround him. Their learning ability was amazing.

Bai Liu stared calmly at this group of things. Behind him, the hot water overflowed from the washbasin but he didn’t turn his head. He couldn’t turn back or this group would rush over immediately. He couldn’t even blink.

He reached behind him and turned off the tap. The hot water overflowing on the ground evaporated into water vapor and water droplets fell from the edge of the pool, making a dripping sound. The newspaper floated in the warm pool.

Bai Liu blinked and the merfolk statues moved an inch forward. Their faces became more hideous but Bai Liu didn’t seem to see them. Instead, he was looking at their faces and touching his chin thoughtfully while speaking to himself.

“Incubation, what does that mean? The closer they get to me, the more similar to me they become… in addition, the fishy smell on my body is heavier when these mermaid sculptures approach. So I am also affected by incubation. Are the townspeople also incubated?”

He wasn’t in a rush here but the players watching in front of his small TV weren’t as calm as Bai Liu. They were all cynical.

“At this time, he is still analyzing and pretending to be awesome. I want to see what he will do with a bunch of useless projectors. Is he going to show a movie to the merfolk?”

“Tsk tsk, his mental power is 100 so I thought he was awesome.”

“It’s too wasteful. The first time I played a game, I was better than him. It is a waste to spend points on 3D projectors.”

Then there was an exclamation from next to them. “The novice player with the torch broke through! Quickly! Come and see!”

On the small TV screen two spaces apart from Bai Liu, a male player was holding a flaming torch. He gritted his teeth and waved it at the statues surrounding him while shouting, “Go away! Go away if you don’t want to be burned to death!”

The merfolk statues retreated and there was a burst of cheers from in front of the small TV.

“I said that this player can do it. He chose the right item. One of the weaknesses of the merfolk statues is their fear of light. The fire torch is the best item. I will charge him points!”

“I like him. His strength value is also really good. If he develops well in the later stage then he might be on the new stars list.”

“Hey, if I knew this then I wouldn’t have charged anything for the Bai Liu next door. It was a waste of points. This one is a serious seed player…”

The likes of Bai Liu’s TV dropped to the single digits. There were still a few spectators but they weren’t here to cheer for Bai Liu. They came to watch the newcomer’s death.

The remaining viewers couldn’t help laughing when they saw Bai Liu take out the three discounted 3D projectors from his pocket.

“He actually took it out. What is he going to do?”

“The torch next door looks so strong. They are all retreating.”

The merfolk statues came close to the tip of Bai Liu’s toes. They stood there and surrounded Bai Liu in the small, dark space. Dozens of white marble statues stood in all directions, trying to catch the prey called Bai Liu.

Bai Liu calmly threw the 3D projector to the back, left and right of the statues. There was one on each side. Then he smiled and pressed the switch. A vivid Bai Liu projection emerged in all three directions and smiled exactly like him. The three projections and Bai Liu stood in four directions and kept moving forward. The mermaid statues hesitated for a few seconds and all stopped.

However, the audience members still had mocking expressions.

“The merfolk statue has a high IQ and can distinguish between the real person and the projection. The projected human gaze might be able to fool them for a while but it will be exposed if it takes too long. This fool is GG.”

An audience member who just recharged the torch player with a lot of points sneered. “He bought that strong flashlight but it is just one. It can repel the merfolk and has both a deterrent and attack power against them, but it isn’t as good as the torch. You can’t get out of this encirclement with the flashlight unless you can get four and shine them from four directions. Otherwise, he will definitely die.”

He had just finished speaking when the mermaid statues retreated a bit and stopped moving. They stood outside the light and stared at Bai Liu gloomily. It was as if they realized that Bai Liu’s projection was fake and were eagerly preparing to come forward.

The audience member said, “Look, I said it would be like this. Although the fire torch is a consumable product and can only be used three times, it is better than the flashlight. The flashlight is a long-lasting product but the attack power isn’t enough. If there are multiple flashlights then it can force the merfolk back. However, novice players who have just entered the game can’t afford multiple flashlights. Therefore, the best solution is the expensive and highly aggressive torch…”

He hadn’t finished speaking when he saw something on the small TV screen and stopped his talkative analysis.

The three projections of Bai Liu were exactly like Bai Liu. They took out the strong flashlight and pointed it at the merfolk statues. The four Bai Lius took out their flashlights and aimed them at the statues as if finding some shells.

Bai Liu smiled. “One isn’t enough but four should be sufficient.”

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Proofreader: Purichan