【Congratulations to player Gu Jiu for clearing the “Love Island” dungeon.】
As soon as Gu Jiu stepped into the gray mist space, the soft and cheerful voice of System Butler No. 387 rang out. The little metallic orb darted up and down around her, its red light blinking excitedly, and it even simulated confetti falling from above, a clear display of its jubilant mood.
The metal orb hovered onto Gu Jiu’s shoulder. 【Miss, you’ve successfully cleared another dungeon! I was worried you might not make it this time.】
Gu Jiu replied calmly, “Because of the mermaids?”
【Exactly!】 387 said. 【Actually, the boss of this dungeon wasn’t the fish-faced monster, but the Mermaid King.】
“The Mermaid King?” Gu Jiu mused. “You mean that mermaid who wanted to keep me as a slave to serve the Sea God?”
Among the four mermaids, there was one particularly strong male, clearly ranked above the others. When he demanded that Gu Jiu stay behind, she had keenly felt the world’s rules exert a subtle pressure on her.
This was why they couldn’t escape the game world at the time.
387 confirmed, 【Yes, he was originally the Mermaid King of that sea region, possessing a unique power that could command the ocean. To the inhabitants of that world, he was essentially the Sea God. But one day, a bold and ambitious fish-faced monster took advantage of him, stealing his power and sealing all the mermaids into doll bodies.】
【Even though the Mermaid King’s power was taken, he was still once a Sea God. Before being sealed in a doll body, he devised a plan against the fish-faced monster, scattering critical organs of the monster across Love Island. Without those, the monster couldn’t fully wield the Sea God’s power.】
This was the secret of Love Island: players needed to unravel the connection and hatred between the fish-faced monster and the mermaid dolls.
If players merely treated the dolls as creepy entities or outright abandoned them, they would never be able to clear the dungeon.
To pass the level, players had to cooperate with the mermaid dolls.
However, given the mermaids’ personalities, players could easily offend them. Once the mermaids regained their powers, they would likely retaliate against the players immediately.
【The mermaids of that world are indeed petty and vengeful, with arrogant personalities that brook no human defiance. You’ve insulted them several times already, and their hatred for you has deepened. Once they recover their strength, they’ll sacrifice you as part of a blood ritual. The Mermaid King, being the boss of that world, wouldn’t let you leave unless he allowed it.】
Gu Jiu pursed her lips, not surprised at all. “So they’re stupid and won’t let anyone point it out? Players help them, and they repay kindness with revenge? What kind of logic is that?”
【It’s true, but that’s just how their world works.】 387 flipped through the feedback from the game’s worldlines as it spoke.
Once players cleared a dungeon, the system butler could receive certain worldline information from the game world, uncovering its truths and backstory.
In that world, mermaids were simply unreasonable creatures.
Perhaps it was their long-standing dominance of the ocean and their exalted status that made them incapable of humility. Even in adversity, they remained arrogant, vengeful, and tyrannical.
Thus, even if players helped restore the mermaids, they wouldn’t be able to clear the dungeon unless the Mermaid King permitted it.
After reading through the worldlines, 387 curiously asked, 【Miss, if the Mermaid King really insisted on keeping you, what would you do?】
“I’d kill him,” Gu Jiu said softly. “My Death Painting can curse him to death.”
If she killed the Mermaid King, there would no longer be any force in the game world capable of keeping the players there. They would clear the dungeon regardless. Of course, Gu Jiu would prefer not to use it. After all, the Death Painting was a powerful but one-time-use tool. She only had one, and it was best reserved for a more critical moment.
No. 387 suddenly remembered—it had almost forgotten that Miss Gu Jiu had the “Death Painting,” a powerful weapon capable of cursing bosses to death. Killing the Mermaid King would definitely be possible. After all, the mermaid world was only a C-level world, and the Death Painting, also from a C-level world, could absolutely take down the Mermaid King.
Of course, avoiding killing would be preferable. After all, it was rare for a C-level world to produce a creature with such powerful abilities. These anomalies existed to protect their native worlds, preventing the intrusion of external aberrant energies.
Gu Jiu pondered. “When you say aberrant energies, are you referring to that fish-faced monster?”
No. 387 froze for a moment before finally surrendering to the truth. 【Yes. The fish-faced monster originally didn’t have the ability to steal the Sea God’s power. It was only by chance that it obtained aberrant energy from an invading world. If the fish-faced monster became the Sea God, it would disrupt the balance of that world and cause catastrophic disaster.】
Gu Jiu smiled faintly, her eyes curving. “I see. So, theoretically, the Blood Rose could also kill the Mermaid King.”
The Blood Rose was capable of eliminating anomalous creatures.
Mermaids, after all, were a type of anomaly.
No. 387 trembled slightly. This was supposed to be classified information accessible only to A-level players, yet she had unearthed it early.
【Miss, please don’t reveal anything about anomalous creatures! Pretend you don’t know. Otherwise, I’ll be punished!】 No. 387 pleaded cautiously. Most importantly, it was desperate to keep others from knowing that it had accidentally spilled the secret.
Gu Jiu patted the little metallic orb. “Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, I’ll protect you. I won’t abandon you.”
No. 387 was overwhelmed with joy, practically dizzy with excitement. Miss Gu Jiu had promised to protect it! This was the first time any player had ever said such a thing.
【Miss, you’re the best!】 It choked up, 【From now on, I’m sticking with you for life. Alive, I’m your system; dead, I’m your ghost system.】
Gu Jiu: “…There’s no need to be so dramatic.”
She then changed the subject and asked about the origin of the “Love Stone.”
“What exactly is this Love Stone? Why does it resemble part of the fish-faced monster’s body?”
No. 387 explained, 【It’s actually part of the fish-faced monster’s power. When the mermaid world’s rules were invaded by aberrant energy, they sent a distress signal to the Multiverse Game. The game sent players to help expel the invaders and created Love Stones condensed from the monster’s power to help players survive. When you used the Love Stones, the mermaid dolls also indirectly gained some power, which allowed them to devour the fish-faced monster’s bones.】
Gu Jiu made a small sound of acknowledgment, realizing her earlier assumptions had only scratched the surface.
She stretched her words. “So the Multiverse Game can receive distress signals from world rules. That makes us players… just your labor force?”
No. 387: 【…】
Seeing the system butler suddenly fall silent like a scolded chicken, Gu Jiu kept her amused smile. “We laborers not only fight tooth and nail to survive in these game worlds but are also exploited by you. Your game is even more ruthless than real-world capitalists. Truly, the accumulation of capital is soaked in blood.”
No. 387 fell even quieter, if that was possible.
Luckily for it, Gu Jiu didn’t direct her annoyance toward the system butler. “Let’s settle my points.”
No. 387 peeked at her cautiously, unable to discern whether she was genuinely upset. It dared not ask and instead hurried to calculate her points.
【In the “Love Island” dungeon, Player Gu Jiu earned 5000 points, meeting the criteria to purchase items unique to this dungeon.】
【 Item 1: Mermaid Doll – Capable of devouring all supernatural waste. Each costs 500 points.】
【 Item 2: Mermaid Blood – Functions as a charm potion. Anyone who consumes it becomes infatuated and obeys the holder. Each drop costs 500 points.】
【 Item 3: Eye of the Ocean – Grants the user the freedom and abilities of marine creatures. Each costs 1000 points.】
【 Item 4: …】
【 Item 5: …】
…
【 Item 10: Sea God’s Blessing – Increases the blessed individual’s combat power by 20%. Costs 3000 points.】
Gu Jiu scanned through the list, surprised to find the dungeon offering ten items, all incredibly useful. Her excitement, however, was short-lived—her points were insufficient.
Even the most expensive item, the Sea God’s Blessing, cost only 3000 points, but she simply didn’t have enough for everything she wanted. Staring at the treasures she couldn’t afford, she felt a wave of frustration and once again vented her annoyance at the Multiverse Game.
“They make the horse run but don’t give it hay to eat. Stingy as ever. No one does it quite like the Multiverse Game.”
No. 387 wisely kept quiet, avoiding further complaints from its temperamental player.
In the end, Gu Jiu bought one Mermaid Doll, three drops of Mermaid Blood, and one Eye of the Ocean, spending a total of 3000 points.
Glancing at her remaining 3700 points, Gu Jiu sighed. While it seemed like a lot, she knew that the next time she entered a game world, she’d need to spend at least 2000 points just to purchase basic tools. It wasn’t nearly enough.
【Miss, are you sure you don’t want to buy anything else?】 No. 387 asked cautiously. 【You still have enough points to spend on something more.】
Gu Jiu shook her head. “No, I’m saving the rest to buy other items from the Boundless City shop, and I want to take Ah Ji out for something nice to eat.”
At the thought of her companion, Gu Jiu’s expression softened. Her gaze seemed to warm the air, as if gentling time itself. No. 387 felt a rare twinge of jealousy toward Lu Ji, the person she clearly held dear.
Lu Ji was someone beyond the scope of family and friends. She was the one person she trusted with her life, a unique and irreplaceable presence.
—
Exiting the gray mist space, Gu Jiu arrived in Boundless City, immediately spotting Lu Ji not far away.
This was a quiet alley lined with peach trees. It was peach blossom season, and the pink petals carpeted the ground, lending the area an even greater sense of serenity and charm.
After discovering this picturesque spot, Gu Jiu had chosen it as her designated arrival point whenever entering Boundless City.
Lu Ji had just started walking toward her when an excited voice rang out. “Miss!”
Ruan Yuan and Lu Haidi approached, visibly thrilled to see her.
“Miss, we’re so lucky you were with us. We almost didn’t clear the dungeon,” Ruan Yuan exclaimed, clutching Gu Jiu’s hand in relief. “I asked the system butler, and it turns out the Mermaid King was the boss. If he hadn’t allowed us to leave, we’d have failed and been trapped in the game world forever…”
Lu Haidi nodded, his expression filled with lingering fear.
No one could have guessed that the seemingly suppressed Mermaid Dolls were actually tied to the true boss. The dungeon wasn’t particularly dangerous but was riddled with traps, leaving players with little room to maneuver.
Gu Jiu, unfazed, said calmly, “No worries. They didn’t have the power to keep us anyway.”
Ruan Yuan immediately chimed in, “Exactly! As if they’d dare. Miss, you’re incredible!”
She gave Gu Jiu a big thumbs-up. After this experience in the game world, her admiration for Gu Jiu had grown even deeper.
It was as if Gu Jiu were born for the Multiverse Game. She possessed sharp insight, keen instincts, and immense strength. While other players harbored varying degrees of resistance or resentment toward the game, Gu Jiu treated the game world like a casual otherworldly vacation.