Chu Qiu followed Jelf's gaze and saw that the mermaid waxwork was still with its eyebrows lowered and eyes closed, staring into the water, motionless.
Andre was startled by Jelf's yelling, and he viciously punched Jelf, shouting, "This waxwork didn't move! It didn't move at all! If you keep acting like this, I'll tear out your vocal cords, throw them on the ground, and step on them twice!"
Jelf covered his head, which had just taken a punch, and glanced at Andrei in fear. He curled up into a ball and muttered to himself in a low voice, "She moved, she really moved..."
Lucy was also somewhat unnerved by Jelf's behavior. She forced a smile and said, "Jelf, how can you be so sure it wasn't just your imagination, but that mermaid waxwork actually moved? This mermaid waxwork doesn't have eyes, how do you know she was looking at you?"
It was a milky white mermaid wax statue, made of cold wax, with a peculiar translucent texture, and some partially melted droplets on its face.
Although the waxwork has carved eyes, it lacks black pupils. Its entire eye is pure white, resembling a lifeless, silent creature standing at the entrance of the hotel.
"Haven't you noticed?" Jelf's voice grew lower and trembled slightly, "No matter where our car goes, we are always being stared at by this waxwork. Her eyes must be moving..."
"Oh, I see... I thought so..." Lucy visibly breathed a sigh of relief and finally laughed heartily, "It's just like the portrait of 'Mona Lisa Smile', right? No matter from which angle you look, you always think the person in the portrait is looking at you."
"No, this kind of situation where the person in the portrait is looking at themselves from any angle can only occur in two dimensions, not three. That is, such a situation cannot possibly happen to waxworks," Chu Qiu calmly retorted to Lucy. "What Jelf said is right. The eyes of this waxwork are indeed constantly staring at us."
Just like those townspeople, they stared at them as soon as they entered, as if they were looking at prey entering their hunting ground.
This thing should be some kind of monster.
Just as his thought settled, the coin on Chu Qiu's chest suddenly vibrated, and a brand-new panel popped up. The game panel transformed into the appearance of a thick, ancient medieval book, slowly unfolding in front of Chu Qiu.
Congratulations to the player for discovering the first game monster and unlocking the monster book - "Siren Town" Special Edition (1/4)
A photo appeared on the page, showing a mermaid waxwork with a pale face submerged in deep sea water. Only half of her face was visible, and her eyes, devoid of carved pupils, silently gazed at Chu Qiu, as if about to climb out of the photo.
[Monster Name: Mermaid Waxwork (Pupa Stage)]
[Attack Value: ??? (Unknown, not unlocked; unlocked after battle)]
[Attack method: ?? (unexplored)]
[Weakness: ? (unexplored)]
The areas marked with question marks resemble damp ink stains and smudges, obscuring the specific handwriting, with explanations in fluorescent font floating behind.
There is a line of explanatory text below the weakness:
[Note: Exploring and completing the information on this monster page can earn corresponding points and special rewards. Collecting all the monster pages from a single game instance can allow you to take away the most precious item of a certain monster from that game instance.]
The monster book of "Siren Town" has four pages. Chu Qiu couldn't turn the pages beyond the fourth one, which was displayed as unlocked. It should be monsters from other game dungeons.
This is somewhat like defeating monsters and receiving rewards. The higher the danger level of the monster, the better the "loot" you can ultimately obtain.
But looking at these exploration conditions, there are even battles involved, which is completely encouraging players to provoke monsters and court death
Chu Qiu, whose fighting ability was as weak as a female high school student's backpack, stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Lucy, somewhat flustered, hugged Chu Qiu's arm and asked, "…Is she really moving?!"
"How is that possible?!" Andre seemed to be swayed by Chu Qiu's convincing argument. A moment of fear flashed across his face, but it was quickly suppressed. He mocked Chu Qiu, "Chu Qiu, you coward! If you're afraid to die and make up these excuses to escape, then go ahead and run! Once you return, you'll automatically give up on Lucy, and then kneel down and lick the urine off my leather shoes!"
This should be the content of the bet between Chu Qiu and this Andre.
The driver shifted uncomfortably with a strange expression, but finally, he laughed in a casual manner and said, "It's too late. You must have made a mistake. What moving waxworks? If there really were any, our town would have long protected them and turned them into tourist attractions! That could bring in a lot of money! Our city produces wax, and mermaid waxworks are just a specialty of our town. They're everywhere, nothing special."
"Here we are! You can get off now! Have a good rest tonight and enjoy yourselves tomorrow morning!" The driver opened the door and helped them out of the car.
Chu Qiu turned back and glanced at the mermaid waxwork in the fountain. From afar, the waxwork was still facing them, with its head bowed obediently, gazing at the water surface, seemingly not paying attention to them.
But Chu Qiu clearly remembered that when their car had just driven in, the front of this mermaid wax statue was not facing the hotel entrance, but rather the entrance itself.
Two waxworks of mermaids were also placed on either side of the hotel entrance, each holding a scepter and wearing a strangely twisted smile. They seemed to be posing as waiters welcoming them, but their expressions suggested they were forced to stand there.
After they entered the hotel, they found large and small mermaid waxworks scattered everywhere. Even behind the cashier counter stood a life-sized mermaid waxwork, holding money in its hand, seemingly busy with cashiering.
Just as the driver had mentioned, mermaid waxworks seem to be a specialty of Siren Town, appearing everywhere. But there are simply too many of them. From the mermaid waxworks decorating the floor lamps to the mermaid carved pencil holder beside the front desk, it's not just ubiquitous, it's inseparable.
These mermaid waxworks share a common trait - Chu Qiu finds that no matter where he goes in the room, these mermaid waxworks placed in different positions always give him a feeling of being stared at.
Moreover, these mermaid waxworks didn't have eyeballs. Logically speaking, a waxwork without pupils would hardly give people the feeling that it was staring at you, but Chu Qiu had just felt that way.
With so many densely arranged mermaid marble waxworks staring at you, it's truly unsettling. Even Andre, who had been shouting and mocking Chu Qiu as a coward, got goosebumps upon entering. He couldn't help rubbing his arms, and Jelf was shivering and hiding behind Andre, seemingly not afraid that Andre would hit him.
Lucy, the little bird, leaned on... the big bird leaned on Chu Qiu's arm, her delicate and charming face, like a rose, turned pale, as if she was also frightened by the eerie decoration of the hotel.
Chu Qiu, however, remained composed as he communicated with the front desk: "Hello, my surname is Bai, and I had made a reservation for a room before."
The receptionist was a young man with a complexion as pale as marble, wearing a Scottish kilt that reached the floor. He walked with a stilted gait, as if he had some mobility issues. When this young man stood still, it was even hard to tell whether he was a waxwork or a real person.
When Chu Qiu and his companions approached, the man suddenly moved, startling Lucy. She thought it was a waxwork moving and covered her face, exclaiming, "Oh, my God! You're so pale, you look like a waxwork!"
"I'm sorry," the receptionist said apologetically as she looked at them. "I have albinism, and I scared you. I'm sorry! Is this Mr. Bai? You booked four rooms a week ago for a week's stay, and the payment has been made. Here are your room cards. I hope you have a pleasant stay."
When Chu Qiu took the room card and heard that four rooms had been booked, he actually breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't really want to share a room with Lucy.
Lucy seemed to understand this as well. The woman who had just been startled quickly recovered, and she looked at Chu Qiu with a teasing gaze that said, "Oh! Baby! You're really too shy!" However, Chu Qiu ignored her with a straight face.
"I would like to ask, why are there so many mermaid waxworks in your hotel?"
The receptionist replied in a gentle tone, "Sir, the mermaid has given us everything. The town of Siren was originally destitute. Since we salvaged the remains of the mermaid, the number of tourists coming here has increased. We have gained money and everything else, so we are very grateful to the mermaid. Here, every household has many mermaid waxworks, which are like talismans to us."
Chu Qiu pointed to the mermaid waxwork behind the reception desk and said, "The types of mermaid waxworks you have are also quite diverse, with all kinds of different ones. The one behind you looks exactly like you, and its material seems to be different from the other waxworks."
Actually, it's not surprising that Lucy couldn't tell the difference between this person and the waxwork. The mermaid waxwork behind the reception desk bore a striking resemblance to the receptionist, and even its expression was more vivid than the real person's, bordering on ferocious.
The eyes of this mermaid waxwork stared straight ahead at the receptionist standing in front of it, not moving away no matter where the receptionist went, as if it was about to leap out of the waxwork, fangs bared and claws brandished, to tear and devour the receptionist who looked exactly like it, giving one the chills.
The other mermaid waxworks looked somewhat melted, but this one seemed to be made of a more translucent material, very new, and not as heavy and dusty as the others.
"Yes, sir," the receptionist raised her eyes and looked straight at Chu Qiu, "The mermaid waxwork behind me is my talisman. We will mold the mermaid waxwork into our likenesses. When disaster strikes, these mermaid waxwork talismans will be mistaken for us by the devil, and they will bear the brunt of the disaster and melt away on our behalf."
Chu Qiu found it intriguing that this "talisman wax figure" was distinctly different from the other mermaid wax figures.
[Players gain new knowledge - "Siren Town Monster Book" mermaid waxwork panel refresh]
[Monster Name: Mermaid Waxwork (Pupa Stage), Amulet Waxwork (Cocoon Stage)]
Pupa and cocoon? This monster named "Mermaid Waxwork" has two different states?
Chu Qiu pondered slowly. A pupa is the stage where the insect has not yet broken out of its shell, while a cocoon is the stage after the insect has successfully hatched, or it can be said to be the shell left behind.
Protecting one's own shell is consistent with the idea of a shell that can withstand attacks mentioned by the receptionist
It is estimated that this mermaid waxwork has two additional states: [worm] and [butterfly]. Chu Qiu has a hunch that the aggressiveness of these two states should be stronger than that of the [pupa] and [cocoon] states.
Currently, it appears that the mermaid waxworks in the [Pupa] and [Cocoon] states do not have the intention to actively attack people. However, it is also possible that the method of [attack] is of a type that Chu Qiu is unaware of, such as mental contamination or the like.
He felt that the waxworks of mermaids all over the hall were staring at the players, which was quite mentally polluting.
Chu Qiu distributed the room cards. Lucy clung to him, wanting to sleep in the same room with him, but Chu Qiu dismissed her with the reason, "I haven't proven my bravery for you yet, I'm not worthy of truly having you!".
Lucy returned deeply moved, and before leaving, she was about to passionately kiss Chu Qiu goodbye, but was stopped by an angry Andre.
Thank you, Andre! I hope nothing happens to Andre tonight!
Chu Qiu sincerely wished that Andre could live a bit longer.
This girl is warm and generous, and she really likes him, which is the type that Chu Qiu is not good at dealing with.
Chu Qiu used his room card to unlock his own room. However, upon opening it, he paused in his steps.
The NPC played by Chu Qiu was wealthy and had booked a relatively good room. The ornaments in the room were exquisite and meticulous, but surprisingly, everything in the room, from the shape of the table lamp to the waxworks on the bedside table, was also mermaid-themed, exuding a greasy texture under the dim yellow light.
As Chu Qiu entered, the eyes of these eerily white mermaid waxworks seemed to move imperceptibly, all turning towards Chu Qiu.
Panel pops up:
Activate the main quest: Player Chu Qiu must safely spend the night indoors, survive until tomorrow, and avoid being hatched - Quest completion reward: 20 points