The car fell silent, and everyone's faces turned strangely pale.
Lucy laughed awkwardly, while Andre sneered. The two of them clearly didn't believe the driver's words.
The driver burst out laughing. "Just kidding—how could we eat mermaids? It's just the sea fish we specialize in here."
He pulled over calmly and steadily in front of a building. "The wax museum is here. Get off."
After everyone got out of the car, the driver added, "You can visit the museum first. Just call me in the evening, and I'll pick you up to watch the mermaid fishing."
With that, he drove away.
Bai Liu stepped out of the car and looked around. Before him stood a building so tall that he had to tilt his head all the way back to see the top. Fancy English letters were mounted high above—the English name of the Siren Wax Museum.
[System Alert: Scene Unlocked — Siren Wax Museum]
The entire wax museum was painted in dark, oceanic colors and supported by several thick granite columns. Standing at the entrance, Bai Liu could make out the silhouettes of wax mermaids displayed in the shadows inside.
The interior of the Siren Wax Museum looked new, but the exterior façade was somewhat worn, with aging red brickwork.
Old newspapers plastered the walls, all bearing notices of missing persons. A gust of wind tore one loose and slapped it directly into Bai Liu's face.
He pulled the newspaper away, and what caught his eye was a bold announcement:
[Police Notice: Twelve people have gone missing in Siren Town this month. If you have seen any of the individuals in the photos below, please report to the police immediately. Visitors to Siren Town are advised to exercise caution, avoid playing with large fish, and be careful not to fall into the water.]
Below the notice were twelve black-and-white photographs. The people in them were all smiling brightly when they first arrived in Siren Town. Yet as Bai Liu looked at those smiles through the yellowed, outdated paper, they appeared inexplicably unsettling.
He read the entire newspaper carefully before folding it and placing it into his bag. After folding it twice, Bai Liu suddenly frowned—the texture felt wrong, oddly stiff.
Even a newspaper dried and hardened by sea wind shouldn't feel this rigid… as if it were more than just paper.
Bai Liu examined the cross-section of the newspaper.
It did appear thick, yet there were no visible traces of multiple layers. The paper had been compressed so tightly that even if several sheets were stuck together, it would be difficult to tell.
He tucked the newspaper against his chest and decided that once inside the wax museum, he would find some warm water to see whether the layers could be separated.
[Side Quest Triggered — Find the hot tub in the wax museum and separate the newspapers stuck together. Reward: 10 points]
The keeper of the Siren Wax Museum was an old man with cataracts. His eyes were cloudy and white, yet miraculously, he didn't seem to have any trouble seeing people.
The moment Bai Liu and the others entered, the old man quickly tilted his head to look them over. With blank eyes and a polite, almost mechanical smile on his aged face, the keeper suddenly darted toward them, making Lucy let out a small gasp.
The keeper looked both peculiar and faintly sorrowful. "It's been a long time since anyone has been here… No visitors have come to the Siren Wax Museum since last month, when people kept having accidents. It's also been a long time since a new mermaid wax figure was added to the museum."
Hearing this, Bai Liu asked, "Why hasn't a new mermaid wax figure been added for so long? Does it have anything to do with the lack of visitors?"
"Of course it does." The keeper's tone grew animated, and he even began waving his stiff, aged arms and legs. "Without tourists, we rarely carry out time-consuming and labor-intensive activities like mermaid fishing. If no mermaid is caught, then we can't—"
He stopped mid-sentence and fell silent, refusing to continue no matter how the question was pressed.
"Is there a constant flow of mermaid wax figures into the Siren Wax Museum?" Bai Liu immediately changed his line of questioning. "The museum's capacity is limited, right? If new wax figures keep coming in, there wouldn't be enough space."
"No!" The keeper's mouth twisted into a strange smile. His cloudy, white eyes rolled slowly before fixing on Bai Liu, his tone turning mysterious. "As many new wax figures come into this museum as old ones leave it."
Bai Liu raised his eyebrows subtly and continued, "Then, where do the mermaid wax figures go after they leave the museum? Are they thrown back into the sea?"
The keeper froze, as if he'd realized he had said something he shouldn't have.
Undeterred, Bai Liu pressed on. "What happens after the tourists arrive?"
"Nothing will happen," the keeper muttered softly. "You'll have a pleasant vacation in Siren Town, and then you'll leave."
No matter how he was questioned after that, the keeper refused to say another word.
After Bai Liu asked where to find hot water in the museum, he abandoned the interrogation. Taking the tickets, the keeper led the group inside the Siren Wax Museum.
The moment Bai Liu stepped in, he saw an imposing wax figure of a middle-aged man painted entirely in gold standing at the entrance. The figure wore a suit and a hat, completely unlike the mermaid wax figures Bai Liu had seen before—no fish tail, just a golden body and a stiff, official smile as it waved at the entering tourists.
The lighting inside the wax museum was extremely dim. The faint light falling from above cast indistinct shadows across the wax figure's face, making the polite smile carved into it appear even more bizarre.
A brief introduction to the wax figure was engraved on the black stone pedestal beneath it. Bai Liu leaned closer to read—it was the wax figure of the mayor of Siren Town, unveiled during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the Siren Wax Museum.
The pedestal lavishly praised the mayor for his contributions to Siren Town: the development of tourism after the recovery of the mermaid skeletons, and his support for the construction of the imposing Siren Wax Museum. According to the inscription, these efforts had transformed the once backward seaside town into a thriving destination.
Another line was engraved below:
[Mayor Harris has an unconditional love for every villager in Siren Town, just as he does for his own children.]
Bai Liu was reading intently when Jeff, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly stepped closer and asked in a low voice, "Do you believe in mermaids? Do you think what's written here about Siren Town is true?"
Of course, not all of them are true.
To promote tourism, places like this often build exhibitions centered on curiosity and spectacle. Though presented with solemn authority, such displays usually contained only a kernel of truth. Most of the information was fabricated locally, exaggerated into a gimmick to lure visitors.
But this was a horror game.
"I think it's true," Bai Liu said.
Andre snorted, clearly mocking both Jeff and Bai Liu for believing such things. He said nothing more and followed Jeff deeper into the wax museum.
Bai Liu and Lucy had originally planned to explore together, but Bai Liu needed to find the hot water room to separate the damp newspapers. He asked Lucy to go ahead on her own.
After expressing some regret, Lucy said she would wait for Bai Liu in the gallery and headed off alone. Bai Liu then turned toward the hot water room, following the directions given by the museum keeper.