"I also... The way he's standing on the stairs looking down makes him look like a villain. He seems even scarier than the statue..."

"The tables have turned... Just now it was the mermaid statue trying to kill him, now it's him killing the mermaid statue. Does this guy really see himself as a player?!"

"Other players are all trying to survive the monsters, but look at him—he just doesn't want the monsters to survive at all..."

"Is this what the world of a pro looks like?"

Chapter 6: Siren Town

Liam White was completely unaware of these discussions. His attention was quickly drawn to something else—he saw Jeffrey Howard.

Jeffrey Howard was sneaking around under the stairs, talking to someone. After their conversation, he started heading back.

Jeffrey Howard had snuck out in the middle of the night before, and now he was back again. Liam White had a good vantage point from the stairs just now and saw that the driver who brought them here today was following behind Jeffrey Howard. The two seemed to be whispering about something, and Jeffrey Howard handed the driver a pile of colorful things, then gave him a few more instructions.

If Liam White wasn't mistaken, what Jeffrey Howard gave the driver should be this world's currency. He wasn't completely sure, but Liam White trusted his own instincts about money a hundred percent.

[You have triggered the hidden side quest of a story character—Jeffrey Howard's Bloody Conspiracy]

[Please fully explore this side quest. Point reward: 50. Current completion: 15 percent]

Liam White narrowed his eyes slightly. He reached into his collar and took out the one-yuan coin with a hole punched in it, aiming it at the driver. A character info panel popped up.

[NPC: Driver]

[Character Introduction: Your driver, the one who brought your group to Siren Town. This driver was hired for you by Jeffrey Howard, who claims to know Siren Town very well. He has a criminal history including arson and robbery.]

Sure enough, this was also a character NPC with a backstory.

Previously, Liam White had never had direct contact with the driver. While driving, the driver always sat in the front seat, and Liam White sat in the very back, so he couldn't see the driver. When they got out of the car, the driver didn't get out, so Liam White had never seen what the driver looked like and thus hadn't identified his character info.

He hadn't thought much of it before, but now Liam White realized that Jeffrey Howard seemed to have been intentionally or unintentionally keeping Liam White and the driver apart—whether by choosing to sit between them or by screaming to stop Liam White from directly interacting with the driver when getting out of the car...

These two had some little conspiracy they needed to keep from Liam White.

But this conspiracy, based on what Liam White currently knew, could be guessed: Jeffrey Howard gave money to this driver with a criminal record to have him do something for him. For now, Liam White suspected it was to get revenge on Andrew Carter.

When they entered the town, the driver had already said that many people here hadn't had a source of income for a long time and told them to be careful. Liam White had thought it was just a warning, but now it seemed more like the driver was boasting and threatening, marking his territory like a predator. He was warning Jeffrey Howard and showing off his abilities—without his cooperation and protection, Jeffrey Howard could easily be harmed by other townsfolk.

Of course, he was also a resident of Siren Town and was short on money. It was also possible that, out of desperation, he might rob Jeffrey Howard's group.

It seemed this driver had done plenty of shady things for money and wasn't easy to control. He was clearly desperate for cash—he'd already been making veiled threats when they entered Siren Town. No wonder Jeffrey Howard would come down in the middle of the night just to give him money.

If he didn't get paid in time, who knew what the driver might do.

Before Jeffrey Howard saw him, Liam White returned to his own room and helped close the door to Jeffrey Howard's room, which had been left open. After Jeffrey Howard came back, he hesitated for a while in front of Andrew Carter's room, then bent down and put something dark and unidentifiable on the ground. Through the peephole, Liam White saw that what Jeffrey Howard left looked a bit like—a big chunk of fish meat?

Soon, Liam White saw a group of pale, gloomy mermaid statues gathering in front of Andrew Carter's door.

The dull, creaking sound of statues moving echoed in the hallway again.

For safety, Liam White covered the peephole of his room with a white cloth to prevent the mermaids from peeking in, then pushed a cabinet against the door, hoping that if a mermaid broke in, the noise would wake him up.

His stamina was almost depleted. After finishing all this, Liam White lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and slept dreamlessly through the night.

————

The next day, when Liam White woke up, both the wardrobe door and the main door of the room were closed, but the bathroom door was almost open.

Liam White opened the bathroom door and saw that the mermaid statues he had tied up and covered with cloth had all broken free. They were tangled together in all sorts of twisted, bizarre poses, moving toward the bathroom door. Some of the mermaid statues' hands had already reached the doorknob—just one step away from turning it and coming out.