They showed a dull, frozen smile to the passing car of Liam White, like children catching the scent of food.

Lucy Carter was also startled by the appearance of these fishermen. She muttered softly, “They look so strange.”

The fishermen looked even stranger than the driver. Compared to humans, these fishermen resembled... some kind of bizarre deep-sea fish.

The driver swallowed the last bite of his pungent, fishy sandwich and flashed a smile full of black teeth coated in fish paste. “Really? Everyone here looks like this. Maybe it’s because we eat all kinds of fish—probably not too healthy.”

Liam White narrowed his eyes. He also thought these townsfolk looked like monsters, but he stopped himself halfway through the thought.

The driver had made a misidentification.

Although the townsfolk and the driver were both clearly inhuman, the driver couldn’t be entered into the [Monster Book]. These monster-like townsfolk, who resembled the driver, might also not fit the game’s monster criteria. If he provoked the hatred of so many townsfolk, that would be no joke.

But Liam White wasn’t naïve enough to really believe that this group of odd-looking townsfolk weren’t monsters.

There were two possibilities for not being a monster:

First: they really weren’t.

Second: maybe they just hadn’t met some standard required by the Monster Book.

This “Siren Town” had a peculiar setting: it allowed for [Hatching] and [Aberration]. The mermaid statue could hatch, and Andrew Carter had been in an aberrant state that morning. Liam White felt these townsfolk also seemed to be in some kind of transitional state, which made them appear so out of place.

As for the outcome of these two states, Liam White didn’t know. He guessed it might be monsters, but he needed to verify it.

Liam White slowly shifted his gaze to Andrew Carter, who was sitting in front of him.

Actually, last night he could have saved Andrew Carter.

But for him, an NPC like Andrew Carter, who was somewhat hostile toward him, was more valuable dead than alive.

Andrew Carter watched the driver suck the last bits of fish from his fingers with relish, his eyes glazing over as he swallowed. He irritably scratched at his perpetually itchy cheek, his appetite surging uncontrollably. With a resentful glare, Andrew Carter looked at Liam White through the rearview mirror.

Liam White was so rich, so why wouldn’t he even let him have a few more pieces of fish fillet? He was so hungry that just seeing the food in the driver’s hand made him want to snatch it away, but the driver ate so quickly that before Andrew Carter could react, the driver was already patting his belly in satisfaction.

Andrew Carter’s throat bobbed as he watched the driver lick the fish scraps from the corner of his mouth with relish. Saliva kept pooling in Andrew Carter’s mouth as he recalled the moist, smooth, and incredibly tempting taste of the fish fillet. He had never eaten such delicious fish before.

No, it wasn’t just the fish fillet—every fish dish here was so delicious he couldn’t stop eating.

The driver sighed contentedly, “So tasty. Only the fish in Siren Town are this good.”

Lucy Carter also praised, “Yes, I’ve never eaten such delicious fish before. It’s so fresh.”

“No, it’s not the freshness. The secret to Siren Town’s delicious fish isn’t freshness. In fact, if you eat this fish fresh, it’s not that good. It needs to be marinated and specially processed to taste right.” The driver’s smile turned strange. “You’re eating a very special kind of fish, one you can’t find anywhere else—unique to Siren Town.”

Lucy Carter asked curiously, “What kind of fish?”

The driver replied, “Mermaid.”

Chapter 9: Siren Town

The car fell silent, and everyone’s expression turned odd.

Lucy Carter let out an awkward laugh, while Andrew Carter sneered. Clearly, neither of them believed the driver’s claim about eating mermaids.

Jeffrey Howard still kept his head down, unmoving, while only Liam White remained calm.

The driver steadily pulled the car up in front of a building. “We’ve arrived at the museum. Get out.” After everyone had gotten out, the driver said, “You can tour first. Call me tonight and I’ll take you to watch the mermaid fishing.”

With that, he drove off. Liam White got out and looked around. In front of him stood a building so tall he had to tilt his head back until it was parallel with the ground to see the top. There were a few English cursive letters on the roof, which Liam White translated as [Siren Museum].

[Scene Unlocked—Siren Museum]

The entire museum was painted in deep, oceanic hues, with the roof supported by thick granite columns. Standing at the entrance, Liam White could see many mermaid statues inside, their outlines faintly visible in the shadows.

The Siren Museum’s interior looked new, but the exterior walls were still a bit dilapidated, built from stacked red bricks. Many old missing-person notices were pasted on the walls, and when the wind blew, one of them stuck to Liam White’s face.

Liam White pulled the old newspaper off his face and saw a line of bold black text—[Police Notice: Twelve people have gone missing in Siren Town this month. If you recognize any of the missing persons in the photos below, please contact the police immediately. All tourists are urged to pay attention to safety while sightseeing in Siren Town. Do not play with large fish and beware of falling into the water.]