TBR CH273: Extra

When the cabin door was pushed open, it let out a heavy creak. A damp, fishy smell immediately rushed in. The wooden floor underfoot was frighteningly slippery. The sea breeze still blew in his ears, as if it would never stop, yet the night had already fallen.

The oil lamp in the human’s hand swayed, stretching his shadow long.

The visibility was too low.

There were many miscellaneous items piled up here. You Lin carefully stepped over crates and anchors, walking deeper into the room. The lamp in his hand, a temporary source of light, was of poor quality. Several times, he almost tripped over the clutter on the floor. Fortunately, the crew had fallen into a deep sleep after the celebration feast. No one should come here to check.

The shadow slid silently on the wall. At the end of the cabin was a door, with a sturdy bronze lock firmly attached.

You Lin curled his fingertips; the outline of the key pressed hard against his skin.

He had swiped it from that “Blackbeard” captain. Heaven knows when he would find out. He wished him a sound sleep in his strong liquor. The human inserted the key into the lock as silently as possible, then twisted his wrist, turning—

Click.

The lock sprang open.

But in the shadows, something more dangerous was lurking. You Lin was very sure that with the faint sound of the key turning, some kind of movement had also come from the opposite cabin. How to describe it? It was like the sound of a hummingbird flapping its wings, magnified a thousand times, and accompanied by a faint, indistinct sound of water.

On such a yacht, what needed to be kept behind a locked door, and what could make such a sound? A living creature, or perhaps…

The human’s actions did not pause because of his thoughts.

He placed the fallen lock on the nearest crate, then slipped into the cabin. Just as his feet had steadied, a dangerous premonition turned into an inexplicable shiver, rushing straight up his spine. You Lin’s fingertips trembled uncontrollably. The oil lamp in his hand, unable to bear the weight, burst into a final brightness, then suddenly extinguished, ending its dramatic life as a horror instance prop.

“No way?” he muttered under his breath.

But the darkness did not come as expected.

What illuminated his skin was a kind of fluorescent light source, not too bright, as if a layer of pearl powder had been smeared on the surrounding walls. The ripples of water also gradually appeared on the wooden floor. You Lin stared at the tips of his toes, his fingers subconsciously reaching into his pocket, accurately locating the dagger among the investigator’s ID, candy, and a few coins.

He made up his mind to turn around.

And then he was met with the most shocking moment since he had entered the instance.

The impact was difficult to describe in words. You Lin didn’t know how long he stood there stunned, how much of an idiot he looked like. The scene before him was deeply seared into his retina. The human’s dark pupils were illuminated by the silver-white in front of him. It was a long while before he regained some of his senses.

“What…” he asked in an indescribable voice, “…is that? Why does it have a tail?”

When Charon officially began to rebuild the central control room and reorganize the connections with various worlds, the AI found that this task was much more difficult than when he was just a pure tool.

There were some worlds that were on the verge of dying, requiring players in an infinite-flow style to stabilize them by completing “missions.”

In one reenactment after another, Charon gradually managed to bring them new life.

And among these worlds, some were particularly dangerous. The residual malice was too strong, and ordinary players could easily lose their lives if they came into contact with it. So Charon had singled them out, creating special virtual entities, and making himself the character who carried that malice—in more common terms, the instance boss.

And You Lin was the only player in this type of instance.

Obviously, in the current “Black Sea Strange Dream” instance, this player was losing his mind due to the huge mental shock of directly facing the boss.

Charon, suspended in a huge glass water tank, had his wrists bound by chains, and thick chains also wrapped around his lower body. He was soaked in slightly turbid seawater, yet he didn’t look unclean at all. Sensing the human’s arrival, his tightly closed eyes slowly opened. That pair of ice-blue pupils instantly illuminated the dim and dusty room, showing a soul-stirring beauty.

The most terrifying thing was that under the seaweed-like tangled silver hair, he also had a silver fishtail.

The scales on the tail shimmered with silver light, like newly minted silver coins. From a certain angle, a strange, ghostly blue flashed by.

“Siren,” the sailors’ discussions from the daytime returned to You Lin’s mind.

It was the singing ghost of the sea. Legend had it that just looking into their eyes would mesmerize you, making you willingly walk into the ocean. The noise grew louder, and another legend said its tears would turn into pearls, that its… could let you see through people’s hearts, and that its blood could not only grant immortality but also eternal youth. And its heart—its heart, the other person would be forever fascinated by you.

You Lin hadn’t believed it at all, but when he personally witnessed this merman, he suddenly felt that such rumors were not without reason. The bright face—

The siren in front of him tilted his head slightly. Through the turbid seawater, that pair of eyes was like an iceberg under the sun. “You Lin?”

“How do you know my name?” He had to admit, when he heard the creature in front of him use a voice that could sing the most moving songs, that feeling almost made him waver. But he told himself to calm down. The more abnormal something was, the more dangerous it was.

“You don’t remember me. Is it some kind of mental influence, or a side effect of the instance… So this time it’s this type.” “With a look of concern,” he said, “It’s a little tricky.”

Connecting with an instance classified as “very dangerous” would occasionally cause some unforeseen anomalies. This had already been planned for at Charon’s end, and it was guaranteed that You Lin would not be harmed in the instance, and there would be no memory problems after exiting the instance.

“You still haven’t answered my question.” The human’s fingers pressed tightly on the dagger. After a brief moment of wavering, he immediately sensed the danger of the enemy in front of him. Firstly, legend had it that sirens had the power to bewitch people’s hearts, so their enemies often willingly offered up their hearts. Secondly, he couldn’t sense the strength of the creature in front of him at all. If the other party wasn’t a weakling, then it meant its power was far superior to his own. If any of these could work—

You Lin heard his own heartbeat, and his fingertips burned as if on fire.

Damn it, he almost forgot. When things went wrong, he seemed to easily become overly excited.

The “siren” in front of him was surprisingly obedient. “As you can see, I am the only surviving siren in this sea area, and I am imprisoned in the lower cabin of the Black Pearl. Rather than my clan name, I would prefer you to call me Charon. Also, as for why I know your name—”

He curved his lips slightly. In the seawater, his light-colored lips lifted into a soul-stirring arc: “I am the final boss of this instance.”

The human’s dark pupils flashed with an unconcealable astonishment for a moment. At the same time, he watched as the merman in front of him leaned forward like a ghost. He used all his strength to suppress his impulse to flee, and suddenly pulled out his dagger and placed it on his chest.

The snow-white fishtail ignored the restraints and lightly slapped a few bubbles on the turbid water surface.

—He had been frightened by him.

This thought flashed through You Lin’s mind, and he felt a little annoyed with himself. But the corners of the human’s mouth also curved up unconsciously, a smile so bright it was a little exaggerated, as if fixed on his face.

Unfortunately, what was in the depths of his eyes, Charon saw it clearly—it was probing, suppressed fear, inappropriate excitement, and possessiveness.

“You said you’re the instance boss,” he said in a low voice, keeping his logic meticulous. “I’ll ignore for now how you know you’re in an instance… The evil gods I’ve seen before didn’t have that ability, so I’ll believe this for now. In that case, little merman, can you explain why you’re trapped here by such a crude trap and chains?”

From Little AI to Little Merman… Now Charon believed that the human’s taste in nicknames had never changed.

Charon examined his current self.

Indeed, consistent with the will and malice left over from before this world was destroyed, his virtual entity at this moment was soaked in seawater mixed with a weakening agent, and he felt a strong sense of discomfort throughout his body. The thick iron chains not only bound his hands, but also passed through part of his fishtail. The scales were brutally turned outwards in the seawater, and the wound was still seeping pale blue blood.

It was the same in the human’s eyes.

The AI pondered for a few seconds and chose the latter between continuing to act and a quick battle. This was mainly due to the short message just sent by the World Consciousness. If he could resolve the current predicament as soon as possible, he could still make it back for dinner.

For him, it was an easy choice, but for the human who was still on high alert, it was not at all.

He watched as the merman in front of him fell into thought. That pair of cornflower-blue eyes blinked, then made a surprising move. Charon lightly broke free from his restraints. You Lin didn’t even see the movement clearly. The next second, the merman was pressing his hands tightly against the glass wall of the tank. His long, silver-white hair was like tentacles, floating everywhere in the water with his movements.

“Good question,” Charon tilted his head gracefully. “Perhaps I should demonstrate the answer for you.”

A bad feeling.

The next second, a dense spiderweb-like crack appeared on the indestructible glass. Before the human could make any sound, an even louder roar completely tore through the night. With the shattering of the glassware, the merman trapped inside was also completely freed. Seawater gushed out, the sound like it would never stop, directly flooding up to the human’s ankles.

You Lin suddenly pulled out his gun from his pocket and fired three consecutive shots at the abnormal creature in front of him.

He didn’t hear if he had hit—the sound was too loud.

But the bullets must have hit the cabin wall behind. Seawater poured in ceaselessly. You Lin held the gun, turbid seawater splashing everywhere. His vision went black in waves. He looked around, the smile on his face turning cold. Such a big commotion must have woken up all the crew members on the upper deck, which meant that all his previous disguises had lost their meaning.

You Lin didn’t mind dying here.

He was a ghost with a breath in a different world—but he didn’t want to miss anything interesting, and the merman with ice-blue pupils just now was the most eye-catching existence he had ever seen.

To be honest, the moment he saw the other party, he couldn’t help but fantasize about completely possessing him, hiding him away. Were all sirens’ eyes like that? They looked so familiar, so gentle, as if looking at a lover with deep affection.

How much of that was the merman’s bewitching effect, You Lin didn’t care, but if that pair of beautiful eyes could only look at him…

What beautiful dream am I having? he asked himself.

The truth was, he was about to die. He had seen many instance bosses and had defeated many of them, but he was well aware that the strength displayed by the merman in front of him far surpassed that of an ordinary boss. It had a certain resemblance to the aura of the mobile boss known as the “Evil God,” but in his judgment, the “Evil God’s” strength was already unfathomable, and the existence calling himself Charon in front of him was even more terrifying.

If he could die in a battle with such an existence, it would be worth it.

The merman’s speed was incredibly fast.

In the blink of an eye, You Lin briefly lost his target due to the splashing glass fragments and seawater, but the next second, he was already so close that the human had no room to retreat.

How did he move so fast with just his tail? It was almost as if he were floating. Can mermen float?—this question briefly appeared in the human’s mind as he pulled out his dagger, revealing its shining blade, preparing to use a near-death battle as the final curtain call for his life.

Charon reached out and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, pressing against him.

The cold touch made a small part of You Lin’s nape suddenly tense. The seaweed-like damp, swirling, fishy-smelling long silver hair fell on his shoulder like a rain. The wet touch, along with the cool scales, wrapped around him. The merman patiently wrapped his tail around the human’s legs, bent down, and the human only had time to see his blue eyes flash by, only a few centimeters from his own pupils.

You Lin, with the fastest reaction time of his life, forcefully turned the blade of his dagger away.

Then, with his slowest reaction time, he understood the fact that he was being hugged by this merman named Charon.

Oh, right, he also called himself an instance boss.

The tip of the fishtail was like two pieces of light gauze, used for slapping the water surface. At this moment, it was also lightly slapping the human’s ankle. Charon buried himself in the human, swaying slightly from side to side, which made You Lin feel even itchier—and it was almost like he was being coquettish. The human couldn’t persuade himself to completely put down the dagger, but his other hand subconsciously reached out.

“Like…”

His fingers moved with difficulty, stopping at a position probably at the solid and soft lower abdomen where the human torso and the fishtail connected.

“…you.”

The barely pieced-together words left the human in a state of a blank mind. He froze, not knowing what to do.

“Charon?” After what felt like the most bewildering half-minute of his life, You Lin said in a low voice, “The others will find us.”

“We’re not doing anything.”

“…” The merman was lying on him. The human didn’t even need to fake his expression; his dark pupils were filled with chaotic thoughts. “What do you want? Do I have something you need? Why did you suddenly—”

“If I have something I want, will you give me everything?”

You Lin was silent for a moment, then said helplessly, “Actually, it would be faster if you just killed me and took it. But anyway, I don’t understand what’s been happening since just now, so if you’re willing to come with me, I can give you anything.”

His voice sounded like a sigh.

And also like a plea.

But Charon didn’t need to look up to know that the human’s eyes were shining secretly, a greed he couldn’t suppress in the depths of his eyes. He could feel the human’s fingertips wrapped around him trembling slightly, but he had already made up his mind not to let go easily.

How can I have a being that will never betray me? How can I—make him be wholeheartedly devoted to me, ignore all my mistakes, and even be able to protect me anywhere?

I am willing to pay a higher price than anyone else.

These were the words the human had once said.

Now, the human in front of him was probably still in that state, right? The side effects of the instance had made him temporarily forget everything that had happened later. Although those were precious memories that Charon would never want to forget, no matter what, and would definitely protect well, but at this moment, could he make up for a regret?

“I started to like you a long time ago,” Charon said.

The human looked up in astonishment, but the merman was still clinging to him. “You Lin, do you know? The first time I saw you, you didn’t realize I was looking at you at all. I remembered you from that time. You are a special human. Your methods of killing are very decisive, but what impressed me the most were your words at that time—such intense emotions, which were also very beautiful to me, although I wasn’t qualified to realize it at that time. But I really, really like you.”

He couldn’t see his own face, but he could imagine the extent to which the blush had spread at that moment.

This conversation was so absurd that You Lin began to doubt if he had found the wrong person.

But Charon blinked in the crook of his neck and continued, “I think you’ll make me make mistakes. Even so, I still can’t help but go back to you. Can you forgive me? Whether you forgive me or not, no matter where, I will not allow you to leave again.”

A noble and beautiful merman with unattainable ice-blue pupils.

At this moment, he was pouring out his love for him.

…

The human only felt his brain go “boom” and was burned out. He was breathing a little pathologically. There was probably still a little bit of a turning thought, thinking that this might be a trap of the siren race. They were said to be so good at making their enemies fall into this kind of drunken infatuation. But this thought was quickly extinguished, turning into “so what if it is.”

And, when he saw that pair of eyes, he could already be sure.

He was not lying.

Although he was indeed a very bad merman and was also very good at lying, he was not lying to himself.

…Strange, how did this kind of cognition get into his head so inexplicably?

You Lin was immersed in this light and airy feeling. The merman’s shining tail wrapped around his calf. This was his treasure. Until the clamor from outside broke this rare silence. The crew members held torches, looking at the scene before them in fear, the merman who had broken free from his restraints and the human being embraced. Someone first let out a hoarse shout: “He’s trying to let that siren go! Kill him quickly! Capture the merman!”

Right, I have to protect it.

You Lin unhesitatingly raised his gun—if this was a trap, he should be a complete fool who had fallen into it, right? But this feeling was so wonderful that it made him willingly indulge in it. The long, silver-white hair was like a patch of glowing moonlight. The merman lifted his face from his shoulder.

Before the human’s eyes were covered, what he saw was a pair of blue eyes so beautiful they could cut you.

What covered him were cold, fishy-smelling fingers, but when darkness fell, it was enough to make one feel at ease.

“Don’t worry,” he heard that voice say softly in his ear. “Next is the siren’s curse. We’ll be home soon.”

Dinner at “The Wanderers’ Home” was still bustling with activity.

The air was filled with a delicious aroma. The Black Book flew back and forth between the rooms, sometimes looking at the kitchen, sometimes at the dining room. Now it came back for page care every once in a while. Its spine was firm and straight, its pages spotless, and it looked really bright and beautiful.

When the steaming hot dishes were served, the dining room door was pushed open just in time.

Their boss walked in, his steps a little unsteady. The blue-eyed AI followed closely behind, his wrist being pulled by him, and at the same time, he didn’t forget to close the door thoughtfully. Obviously, they had made it in time for dinner.

“How was the instance?” Hugo asked with concern. Several pairs of eyes also turned over in a flash, obviously very interested.

“It was good,” You Lin blinked. Perhaps the steam from the dining table was too much for him, his face looked a little red. “It was resolved very smoothly—although those people were indeed terrible. The reason that instance was heading for destruction was because humans, for profit, captured and cruelly killed the last siren, extracting all its value, so that in the end they suffered the curse of the sea. So we tried to release the malice in advance to those who deserved it. Hmm, and then…”

He inexplicably stopped and turned to the Black Book. “Why are you here?”

“I sent Charon a short message saying I was coming over for dinner tonight,” the World Consciousness appeared extremely natural.

It was originally in charge of the order of various worlds. Occasionally coming to a friend’s place for a meal was as simple as going to the neighbor next door. “Huh, didn’t Charon tell you?”

—He probably wouldn’t have understood even if he had been told then.

The Black Book swayed back and forth in the hot air. Speaking of which, how exactly a book eats has always been an unsolved mystery. But in the World Consciousness’s personal opinion, “I’m the World Consciousness, how could I not taste delicious food,” so everyone just let it be.

You Lin decided to skip that topic.

He looked at the dining table, then paused. “Is it fish soup today?”

The fish soup, after being simmered for a long time, had a milky white color and a fragrant aroma. The tender fish meat was wrapped in a rich broth. The most popular variety was chosen, which not only had few bones but could also retain the flavor of the fish to the greatest extent.

Half a fishtail was floating in the soup. The fish meat in that area was the most delicate and tender, and the texture was also very light…

…Texture.

The human’s hand holding the chopsticks froze stiffly in mid-air.

He remembered what Charon had said to him after he had regained his memory, staring at him with that pair of beautiful eyes. “A virtual entity can change its form. If you’re interested in that appearance, I can also—”

He resignedly took a deep breath, admitting that his mind was full of chaotic things.

But, that didn’t stop him from enjoying a delicious dinner.

Everyone was together. The ghost wandering in the human world had finally found his home. He still shuttled between different worlds, but every departure had a direction to return to.

And that was the forever he wanted to get, and had already been lucky enough to get forever.