A group of people arrived at the seaside and found the beach covered in silt and gravel. Scattered among the sand were bits of garbage partially buried beneath the surface, resembling a heavily polluted coastal area near human habitation.
The floodwaters from last night that had engulfed the island left a mystery: had the sea carried the garbage onto the island, or had the waves simply washed away the façade, revealing the island’s true nature?
The name Love Island sounded romantic, but the reality was far from picturesque.
The sky was still overcast, and the temperature today was low, with strong gusts of wind.
One particularly strong gust hit, and if someone’s balance wasn’t steady, they could easily stumble.
Lu Haidi quickly steadied his girlfriend, who wobbled in the wind, and teased, “See? Didn’t I tell you to eat more? Now you’re so skinny that the wind’s about to blow you away.”
Ruan Yuan didn’t believe him for a second. “You men always sweet-talk us, but the moment we women gain weight, you’ll start complaining we’re unattractive, criticizing us for not managing our figures while praising other women for looking good.”
“Injustice! Am I that kind of man?”
Lu Haidi loudly protested his innocence. Even with a thousand lifetimes of courage, he wouldn’t dare praise another woman’s looks. This wasn’t just a guess; it was hard-earned experience. Whenever his gaze had unintentionally lingered on other women—intentional or not—the aftermath was catastrophic.
His girlfriend didn’t punish him outright but would ignore him coldly for a whole week. He’d be so miserable that he’d contemplate kneeling on a durian to beg for forgiveness.
The others, already feeling pitiful for having to search through the cold wind, now had to endure this public display of affection. It only added to their misery.
Gu Jiu waved her hand dismissively. “Shoo, shoo! Go show off your love somewhere else. Stop getting in our way.”
Ruan Yuan chuckled and dragged her boyfriend away in a flash.
The others also picked a direction and scattered to search.
Before long, only Gu Jiu and Lu Ji were left. Suddenly, Lu Ji reached out and lightly tugged her hand.
Gu Jiu looked at her in confusion. She saw her hesitating, a faint blush coloring her face as she said, “Ah Jiu, you don’t need to envy them…”
Lu Ji’s appearance was undoubtedly pretty, but her silent, brooding nature often overshadowed it. Her quiet demeanor and somber aura made it easy for others to overlook her presence.
Gu Jiu, however, was someone who could appreciate beauty. She always thought her partner Lu Ji was pretty great. Whether it was her looks or her personality, she fit her tastes perfectly. While others found her strange, aloof, and difficult to approach, in her eyes, she was nothing less than a soft, thoughtful little angel—the cutest person ever.
Becoming a player in the Multiverse Games, Gu Jiu felt her greatest gain was meeting Lu Ji.
She smiled and said, “I’m not envious. My prospects are excellent. If I wanted a boyfriend, I’d just have to curl my finger, and there’d be plenty lining up.”
“… R-Really?” Lu Ji grew visibly tense. “Then, do you have a boyfriend in the real world?”
It suddenly occurred to him that he’d never asked if Gu Jiu had a boyfriend. Judging from the snippets of her real-life situation she’d mentioned, it didn’t seem like she did, but what if?
“Of course not.”
“Then… do you have a girlfriend?”
Gu Jiu paused. “… I don’t have one of those either, for now.”
Lu Ji secretly let out a sigh of relief. Good. No boyfriend and no girlfriend!
Gu Jiu found her reaction amusing. Though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what felt off, seeing Lu Ji’s earnest expression made her decide not to dwell on it.
Finding bones on this stretch of beach proved to be quite a challenge. The beach was littered with so much trash that, in addition to sifting through the garbage, they also had to search among the many rocks and reefs in the area.
Gu Jiu wasn’t in the mood to dig through trash.
So, she pulled two little mermaids out of her pocket.
The mermaids, upon being dragged out, shrank back in the cold wind in an uncannily humanlike manner, glaring at her with indignation.
Gu Jiu said airily, “Time to work. I don’t keep freeloaders here. Even though you’re not humans, you can’t just sit idle.”
The two mermaid dolls looked utterly aggrieved. Spotting the four paper figurines poking their tiny heads out of her pocket, the mermaids pointed at them, glaring accusingly at her.
Why don’t you send the paper dolls to search instead?
Gu Jiu smirked. “Do you really want to compare yourselves to them? What makes you think you’re on their level?”
The mermaids fell silent.
Sometimes, comparisons were indeed infuriating. The mermaid dolls, prideful as they were, were on the verge of exploding with frustration. They considered themselves far superior to the paper figurines. Yet this human had no sense of judgment, treating them as mere errand runners, even holding the paper dolls in higher regard.
Gu Jiu unceremoniously tossed them onto the ground. “Today’s task is to find bones. You understand, right?”
The mermaid dolls bared their tiny, sharp teeth at her in a display of defiance. But when Lu Ji’s indifferent gaze swept over them, they instantly lowered their heads and scurried off to work.
Gu Jiu felt something was off and turned to glance at Lu Ji, only to find her looking back at her with an innocent expression.
She chuckled softly but said nothing more.
While the messy, trash-filled beach was left to the mermaids, Gu Jiu and Lu Ji headed toward the cluster of reefs to search there.
The seven players split up and spent the entire morning searching. They gathered plenty of bones, but none of them could be certain whether they belonged to the “Sea God.”
Eventually, everyone piled the bones they found onto the beach.
The sheer quantity was shocking. They hadn’t realized this beach held so many bones until they started looking. Thinking back to today’s trial, it dawned on them that the flood from last night might not have been solely the Sea God’s vengeance. It seemed the rising waters had also served to uncover the Sea God’s bones, making them easier for the players to find.
“This is a fish bone, right?” Ruan Yuan asked incredulously, pointing to a long bone. “Could this really be part of the Sea God’s skeleton?”
The fish bone was enormous, about two meters long, and still had scraps of decaying flesh clinging to it. Fortunately, the cold seaside weather today kept it from giving off a stench.
The player who had found the fish bone blushed and said, “Wasn’t the Sea God described as some kind of fish-faced monster? Maybe it really was just a fish!”
This explanation seemed plausible.
Everyone on the scene nodded in agreement and resumed examining the other bones.
Among the pile, there were human bones, animal bones, and various marine creature bones. The collection was surprisingly extensive. But without the butler’s guidance today, they had no reference to determine which bones were the correct ones to bring back.
Lu Haidi suggested, “How about we take them all? One of them is bound to be the right choice.”
Gu Jiu nodded. That seemed to be the only viable option.
The group pulled out several large plastic bags and began packing all the bones they had collected, preparing to bring them back to the villa.
“Wait.” Gu Jiu called out, stopping them.
The players looked at her in confusion.
“Are these bones not enough?” someone asked. “Do we need to keep searching?”
It was possible, but after enduring an entire morning of cold sea wind, wading through water while searching for bones, everyone was already chilled to the bone and didn’t want to stay any longer.
Gu Jiu didn’t explain herself. She simply stood there, waiting patiently.
Aside from Ruan Yuan and a few others, the remaining three players were visibly annoyed.
After all, they were all C-level players—no one was inherently superior or stronger than the others. Being told to stand in the cold wind and wait without any explanation didn’t sit well with them. However, seeing Lu Ji, Ruan Yuan, and Lu Haidi waiting quietly without a word of complaint gave them pause. Reluctantly, they held back their dissatisfaction.
Some people naturally possessed an aura that commanded trust and obedience from those around them.
Gu Jiu was one of those people. Even though her demeanor was gentle, she exuded an inexplicable authority.
Fortunately, the wait wasn’t long. About ten minutes later, they caught a faint sound amidst the howling wind.
It was the sound of something being dragged across the ground. Following the direction of the noise, they saw a strange gray bone being pushed out from behind a rock.
When they saw what was pushing the bone, the players nearly exploded in shock.
It was two mermaid dolls.
Everyone was familiar with these two mermaid dolls, their tails intertwined. On their first day in the villa, the players had seen them in their rooms. The butler had called them a “pleasant surprise.”
However, harboring a general distrust of NPCs in the game world, the players viewed such “surprises” as potential threats to be eliminated if possible—or at the very least, kept far from their living spaces. While C-level players weren’t particularly wealthy, they had gained enough experience across various game worlds to acquire some special items. Dealing with the mermaid dolls had not been a problem.
Of the seven players present, only Gu Jiu still kept her mermaid dolls. Everyone else had already gotten rid of theirs.
“Are those… the mermaid dolls from your room?” someone asked, utterly incredulous.
Gu Jiu responded with a casual hum, her gaze fixed on the mermaid dolls dragging the gray bone toward her.
The group stared blankly as the mermaid dolls brought the bone to Gu Jiu’s feet. Then, baring their sharp fangs, they glared at her as if ready to attack.
Gu Jiu inspected the gray bone closely, her instincts telling her this was the target they had been searching for.
She smiled. “Good job. You did well this time.”
The mermaid dolls tilted their heads upward proudly, giving her a sidelong glance filled with arrogance. Unfortunately for them, Gu Jiu didn’t bother to acknowledge their posturing, leaving their self-satisfaction hanging in the air.
The other players were dumbfounded. Once they grasped the situation, their faces filled with shock.
She actually made the mermaid dolls do her work?
Gu Jiu turned to Ruan Yuan and said, “Forget about the other bones. Pack this one up and take it back.”
Ruan Yuan hesitated for a moment but didn’t question her judgment. She pulled out a bag and carefully packed up the oddly-shaped gray bone, all the while marveling at the mermaid dolls.
“So, they can actually help find bones,” she said regretfully. “If I had known that, I would’ve kept the mermaid dolls in my room.”
When she left her room last night, she had paid no attention to the dolls. She had assumed, like the others, that their eerie presence was best avoided. She certainly hadn’t expected Gu Jiu to keep hers—not only that, but to carry them around and even use them.
As they prepared to return with the gray bone, Gu Jiu looked down at the mermaid dolls and said disdainfully, “You’re filthy. Walk back by yourselves.”
The mermaid dolls: “.…” Is this something a human would say?
After being made to work and then abandoned to walk back on their own, the two mermaid dolls were furious. Refusing to let this injustice slide, they pounced on Gu Jiu’s boots, clinging to them with the clear intention of hitching a ride back.
Gu Jiu ignored them entirely and calmly walked back with the players, the two dolls still latched onto her boots like keychain ornaments. Their antics added an odd touch of humor and cuteness to the scene.
“Uh… aren’t these two mermaid dolls connected to the Sea God?” someone couldn’t resist asking.
Gu Jiu rested her chin on her hand, considering. “Probably not. If they were, they wouldn’t have gotten so upset when couples got too close.”
The “Sea God” had tasked players with role-playing as couples and even acted as a “lover” in the dream world to manipulate players into doing its bidding. But these mermaid dolls seemed to harbor a deep-seated hatred for couples, a contradiction that led Gu Jiu to suspect that while the dolls might be related to the Sea God, they were likely on opposing sides.
From the start, Gu Jiu had no intention of driving the dolls away; instead, she used them for experiments.
The other players suddenly understood her reasoning and couldn’t help feeling a twinge of regret.
If only they’d known the mermaid dolls weren’t aligned with the Sea God, they might have kept theirs too—they might’ve been useful after all. But at the time, their eerie appearances and the housekeeper’s misleading hints made everyone wary. Who could have guessed the truth?
Especially since the players weren’t actual couples, they avoided showing affection in front of the mermaid dolls, which meant they never witnessed the dolls’ disgust toward intimacy.
By the time they returned to the villa, it was already afternoon.
Inside the villa, the remaining players were still gathered in the first-floor hall, keeping watch over the four bound individuals and the fish-faced man. Skinny Monkey had regained consciousness and was curled up listlessly at Chen Younian’s feet.
Chen Younian had been soothing him with, “Didn’t you say you love me? If you love me, then whatever I do to you is fine, right?”
As he spoke, goosebumps visibly rose on his arms, but he had no choice. This was the only way to keep Skinny Monkey calm.
Sure enough, Skinny Monkey quieted down and stopped struggling.
Witnessing this scene, the players couldn’t help but marvel at the power of “love.” The Sea God was truly something else, manipulating emotions under the guise of romance.
When Gu Jiu and her group returned, the villa players were visibly relieved.
“Did you find it?” Qi Yuheng asked.
Gu Jiu nodded and gestured for Ruan Yuan to take out the gray bone. Her gaze shifted to the fish-faced man, whose fishy eyes instantly locked onto the gray bone, a sharp glint of recognition flashing in them. Gu Jiu silently confirmed her suspicions.
“What kind of creature has a bone shaped like this?” Ge Guang asked in confusion.
Gu Jiu replied casually, “Obviously, it’s the bone of a fish-faced monster. Don’t try to view it through the lens of normal biology!”
Ge Guang sighed. “… Fine, you’ve got a point.”
Now that they’d found the bone, what were they supposed to do next?
The players turned their gazes to Qi Yuheng and Gu Jiu. After last night’s events, these two had become the de facto leaders, the players’ go-to for decisions.
It wasn’t hard to see why. Their quick thinking and decisiveness often gave them an edge in the game world. The rest of the players weren’t fools; if these two could lead them to victory, following their lead seemed like the best option.
Qi Yuheng, however, didn’t respond. Overuse of his abilities had left him pale and lethargic, slumped in his chair with little energy to spare.
Seeing him in such a fragile state, the players secretly felt a sense of relief. At least for now, Qi Yuheng wasn’t a looming threat.
If Qi Yuheng became weakened every time he used his ability, it was clear the skill came with significant limitations. There was no need to worry about him turning such a talent against them.
Gu Jiu said, “Let’s wait and see what happens tonight. The best outcome would be for the Sea God to show itself.”
“Do you think it will actually appear on its own?” Ruan Yuan asked with some concern.
“I don’t know. We’ll just have to try,” Gu Jiu replied, putting away the gray bone. She smiled faintly. “Whether it does or not… we’ll see.”
The players present had no idea what she was planning. When someone tried to ask, they saw her heading upstairs.
Qi Yuheng also followed, going upstairs to rest.
On the third floor, Gu Jiu glanced at Qi Yuheng’s pale and frail appearance and asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Qi Yuheng replied, flashing her a faint smile.
Gu Jiu paused for a moment, then recalled the other players’ reactions earlier. A sly, knowing smile appeared on her face.
Ge Guang, glancing around the hallway, leaned in and whispered, “Of course Boss Qi is fine. Otherwise, why do you think he’s Boss Qi and not me, Boss Ge?”
Ruan Yuan and Lu Haidi widened their eyes, and realization dawned on them. Finally, they understood.