VAP - Chapter 172

Chapter 172: The Ruler in the Endless Deep Darkness (5)

“The Mermaid of Eisdorlin” was clearly a play unique to this world. The surrounding tourists all seemed to know something about it, but the players were completely in the dark. They could only use the time before the performance began to search for some background information.

The story adapted for the stage was originally a classical epic poem by an unknown author, circulated only in a small northern kingdom. It wasn't until a famous playwright adapted it into an opera that “The Mermaid of Eisdorlin” achieved great success and became widely known.

The show about to be performed in the theater was a musical adaptation of this classic opera. However, as is well known, an adaptation of a classic is not always a classic itself. The musical failed to make much of a splash and was even deemed “disappointing” by many viewers.

No one knew why the cruise ship's theater would include such a flop in its program, let alone schedule it for the evening's prime time slot.

At six o'clock in the evening, the curtains parted, and the show began.

A woman in a black, floor-length mermaid gown knelt on the stage, her head bowed in an elegant yet fragile posture. The train of the gown was long, resembling a real mermaid's tail from a distance.

Behind her, a massive screen slowly lit up with a soft, shimmering blue light. Small strings of bubbles occasionally floated upward, and seaweed swayed gently. It depicted a giant glass fish tank.

“The Mermaid of Eisdorlin” told a story set in an ancient kingdom.

A mermaid was captured by a fisherman and presented to a nobleman as an exotic pet. She was passed around like a commodity and a gift among wealthy merchants, scholars, noble ladies, and politicians, until a distant relative of one politician—an upright young man—fell in love with her. He attempted to help the mermaid escape, and their cross-species love moved the politician's wife. With her help, the lovers successfully fled back to the mermaid's homeland, Eisdorlin.

But this was not the end.

The young man escorted the mermaid back to her home, but facing the barren coast, he belatedly began to miss his family and friends, the prosperity and comfort of the capital. He decided to return home. The mermaid's attempts to make him stay were in vain, and she could only weep at her lover's departing back.

The story's progression was still fairly normal up to this point. During a moment when the stage lights dimmed, Yue Du glanced at Gao Yin, who shook her head, indicating she hadn't sensed anything unusual.

Should I go check backstage?

Just as Yue Du was thinking this, a cry suddenly erupted from the stage—it was high-pitched, sharp, inhuman, and pierced straight to the soul.

The lights came back on. Against a deep, dark-red backdrop, the mermaid was no longer crying. She curled her lips into a smile, revealing the sharp teeth of a predator. With tear tracks still on her face, her expression was a strange mix of sorrow and excitement.

She began to sing. The young man started to retreat uncontrollably, step by step, back toward his lover. Amidst a song as haunting as the deep sea, his guilty yet resolute expression slowly transformed into confusion, terror, anger, and despair.

Finally, the young man backed right up to the mermaid. She embraced him intimately, but her sharp claws plunged deep into her lover's heart from behind. Then, she dragged him backward, tumbling into the water—the display screen perfectly executed the visual transition from land to sea.

The long monologue that followed completely subverted the mermaid's weak and helpless image. She had never been captured by humans at all; in fact, humans were her food.

The pretense of being a pet imprisoned in a glass tank was, of course, a sham. The reality was the mermaid lounging comfortably in her tank, bewitching and manipulating the wealthy into offering up the tender-fleshed humans of the capital every day.

It was all just a game for the mermaid. The only unexpected part was that she had truly fallen in love with one of those tender-fleshed humans.

At the story's end, the mermaid and the young man sank into the deep sea together, to sleep for eternity among the pure white sands of the ocean floor.

The curtain slowly closed. With a click, all the house lights in the theater came on.

The low murmurs of the audience filled the air. Yue Du frowned and said to Gao Yin, "This version's ending is completely different from the original epic poem."

According to the information they had found, the mermaid in the original version never fell in love with the young man. The entire story was just a game she played out of boredom. In the end, having had her fun, the mermaid tore out the young man's heart and sacrificed it to the deep-sea deity her people had worshipped for generations, dancing and singing around the corpse with her kin.

That was the ending that matched the poster.

It was strange. The current adaptation leaned more toward a tragic romance, which didn't fit the poster at all. So why choose that particular poster?

Yue Du's words went unanswered. She turned to see her teammate wiping away tears.

Though she appeared cold, Gao Yin was actually quite an emotional person—one only had to look at her high Spirituality to know.

Yue Du turned her gaze forward again, giving Gao Yin time to compose herself.

Ah Jiu sighed in an operatic tone, "Ah, love. Truly the eternal theme of human art."

"The original story wasn't about love," Yue Du said, her face impassive. "It was about the 'humans are fun and also delicious' game played by the kin of an evil god."

Oh, she'd almost forgotten. If one went by the system's "world as a game" theory, the evil gods probably also found humans fun and were enthusiastically watching the players try everything they could to escape.

It really ran in the family.

Ah Jiu cleared her throat. "Actually, not all evil gods enjoy toying with humans."

"Such as?"

"For instance, the Watcher Beyond Time and Space, which reflects the Wheel of Fate. That wheel is indifferent to all things; it just rolls between countless spacetimes. Watching is enough for it." Ah Jiu then brought up the Deep Darkness Ruler. "The Deep Darkness Ruler is the same. It has no interest in toying with weak creatures."

"But you also said It made this game," Yue Du challenged.

Yes, the so-called game was the handiwork of the Deep Darkness Ruler, but the reason wasn't that It wanted to toy with humans itself, but that other evil gods did.

First of all, the fragment of Ah Jiu that was the Deep Darkness Ruler was the last one: Greed.

It participated in the game only because It enjoyed control. Greed was the fragment with an absolute desire for possession and control. It needed to bring everything It could under Its dominion—that was the purpose of Its role as the game's developer and administrator.

Humans themselves were unimportant, merely tools to satisfy Its desire for control.

But she obviously couldn't tell Yue Du that. Ah Jiu paused, then said concisely, "The game was made only to manage the other evil gods. It doesn't really play much itself."

"..." Yue Du sorted out the relationship, and the corner of her mouth twitched. "So the Deep Darkness Ruler isn't a sadist, but a control freak."

Ah Jiu admitted with difficulty, "Correct."

For a moment, Yue Du couldn't decide which of the two was more... problematic.

On second thought, a control freak was probably better for humanity, right?

"Wait, I've always found this strange," Yue Du suddenly sat up straight and spoke slowly. "Do you know those evil gods, or are you one of them?"

Ah Jiu played dumb. "Hmm?"

Yue Du lightly tapped the armrest of her seat. A strange intuition pointed her thoughts in a certain direction, and she murmured softly, "The Deep Darkness Ruler..."

Ah Jiu answered crisply, "I am absolutely not It."

Yue Du fell silent for a moment, feeling her suspicion was indeed unreasonable. She sighed. "I was just talking nonsense. Don't mind me."

Ah Jiu: "Mm, I won't."

The system was quite self-assured.

As six-sevenths of the whole, She was of course not the Deep Darkness Ruler. But that didn't mean the Deep Darkness Ruler wasn't "Her."

Just then, the actors came out for their curtain call, and Yue Du's attention returned to the stage.

The actors were all beaming, except for the woman in the black mermaid gown standing center stage. She seemed to be in low spirits, keeping her head bowed the entire time.

Yue Du suddenly glanced at the bright house lights hanging from the ceiling.

While her bad mood wasn't necessarily related to the lights, there were too many coincidences surrounding this lead actress. No one would believe she had nothing to do with the followers of the Deep Darkness.

Of course, just because the lead actress was suspicious didn't mean the theater itself was in the clear. After all, the actress hadn't been here when Gao Yin sensed something amiss that afternoon.

By now, Gao Yin had more or less composed herself. She and Yue Du conferred and decided to stay behind to check out the backstage area. When the theater closed at nine, they evaded the staff's routine inspection and hurried backstage once the voices had faded.

Yue Du was familiar with places like this. She led the way, shining her phone's flashlight around, and asked in a low voice, "Can you sense anything now?"

Gao Yin said, "I still feel a little uncomfortable, but I can't say what the problem is."

"Let's check the rooms in the back first," Yue Du said. "I saw in the cruise brochure that the lead actress is a resident performer. She should have a dressing room she regularly uses here."

The two headed straight for the backstage rooms. Sure enough, a small wooden plaque on one of the dressing room doors bore the lead actress's name.

Just as Yue Du was about to speak, she saw Gao Yin pull out a thin piece of wire. The veteran player waved it mysteriously and said, "One of a player's most practical skills."

Lock picking?

Yue Du thought for a moment and realized the skill was indeed very useful.

Gao Yin added a reminder, "If you have free time, you should download some online tutorials or other materials for practical skills, in case there's no signal in the next instance. I taught myself by watching videos."

Yue Du watched as Gao Yin deftly picked the lock while she spoke, her movements practiced and skillful. Yue Du couldn't help but feel thankful that the dressing room had a traditional padlock, unlike the key-card access for the guest cabins. Otherwise, her teammate's fine skill would have been useless.

The lead actress's dressing room was quite messy. She was the only one who used it, and it doubled as her makeup and changing room. All sorts of cosmetics and clutter were strewn everywhere.

The two immediately began to search the room. The clutter made it difficult, but after a while, Yue Du pulled a folded piece of paper from a crack in the sofa.

There wasn't much written on the paper, just some scrawled English.

Yue Du read aloud, "Above the deepest abyss, before the fall of night, O Supreme Lord, please accept our sacrifice." She paused. "The Supreme Lord is the Deep Darkness Ruler. This means the sacrificial ritual is to be held in the evening, over the deepest abyss. But what is the deepest abyss?"

Gao Yin looked surprised again.

Yue Du asked, "What is it?"

"Nothing."

This kind of task—finding things—was better suited for someone with high Spirituality. She hadn't expected her teammate to find something so quickly.

Gao Yin casually poked around the leg of a table but still came up empty-handed, which made her, a high-Spirituality player, feel rather useless...

Yue Du didn't notice her teammate's frustration. She suddenly took out her phone, tapped it a few times, and showed the screen to Gao Yin.

"The deepest oceanic trench in this world, the Selenfor Abyss. Look at its coordinates. It might be on our route."

She said "might be," but inwardly she was already quite certain. Otherwise, what would be the point of the note? Even if the original route didn't pass over it, the cultists among the senior crew would surely divert the ship's course.

Without dwelling on it, Yue Du took a photo of the note and carefully tucked it back into its original spot.

Next, the two of them searched several other rooms without success, until they entered the projection room and made a new discovery.

Staring at the image of a dark black summoning circle on the computer screen, Yue Du's eyelid twitched.

If she wasn't mistaken, this was the backdrop for the sacrificial ritual. It was a swirling, circular array composed of strange, twisted, deep-black runes. Staring at it for too long made one feel dazed and dizzy. It wasn't hard to imagine how shocking it would be when projected onto the massive screen outside.

The only problem was...

Wasn't using a projected computer image for a ritual circle a bit too half-hearted? If the evil god itself knew its attention had been drawn by such a perfunctory summoning circle, wouldn't it get angry and just kill them all on the spot?

Yue Du was speechless for a moment, and Gao Yin also seemed a bit bewildered.

"Maybe it's not for projection, but a reference image for drawing the actual circle?"

"That's also possible, yes."

Yue Du noted the name of the computer's owner. This bizarre image of a summoning circle was the last discovery of their search. After double-checking that they hadn't missed anything, the two climbed out of a window in a storage room. The entire process didn't alert anyone—except for the four-person team of fellow players.

"I believe we can exchange the information we found today," Kong Wenbin said, standing by the elevators on that floor with a gentle smile.

Although Kong Wenbin's group had also come to see the play, they hadn't remained in the theater. For one, their group was too large to hide easily, and they didn't trust the inexperienced, high-Spirituality "Xiao Pang" to investigate alone. For another, they harbored the idea of trading information with Yue Du's team.

"Aren't we waiting for the young couple?"

Kong Wenbin's expression didn't change. "That pair went back to rest long ago. It's obvious they didn't find anything. There's no need to waste time on them."

Gao Yin was about to speak but instinctively looked toward Yue Du. Yue Du asked, "How many useful pieces of information did you find?"

"It's hard to say whether they're useful or not. I can only say we have two leads, one of which should be quite important."

"What a coincidence, so do we," Yue Du nodded.

Gao Yin added, "In that case, let's exchange."

The information Kong Wenbin's group had found was simple: a large-scale educational event for young people would be held in the children's entertainment area the day after tomorrow, and the ship's captain was very likely a follower of the Deep Darkness.

"How did you deduce the second one?"

"We ran into the captain and a few sailors at the open-air restaurant on this floor this evening. The captain left partway through, and the sailors started whispering. They mentioned that the captain has been acting abnormally lately." Guessing that Yue Du already knew about Spirituality and Rationality, Kong Wenbin continued without concealment. "Most importantly, when the captain walked past Xiao Pang, Xiao Pang's Spirituality was triggered."

If that was the case, it was indeed very suspicious. Yue Du nodded thoughtfully and shared two of the several pieces of information her side had gathered.

Namely, the actress's note and the image from the projection room.

When they heard the first piece of information, the other group's expressions were still serious. But upon hearing the second, they all revealed strange looks.

"They're actually using a big-screen projection?" Bi Yan said in disbelief. "An evil god summoned with something like that would probably kill its followers first."

"Yeah, these people have some real nerve," Xiao Wang scoffed.

Xiao Pang looked bewildered. "Is using a projection strange?"

Bi Yan explained, "Of course. The rituals of the Deep Darkness Pantheon are very strict, and the ritual circles are no exception. It's one thing for these followers to not even use materials with mystical significance to draw the circle, but to not even have a physical circle at all? They really are completely insane."

"Oh, I see," Xiao Pang said, only half-understanding.

The two groups had no more information to discuss. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they took the elevator together and went back to their respective rooms.

Yue Du found a crew member to change rooms.

"I'm sorry, the double cabins with two single beds are all full," the crew member said apologetically. "We do have double VIP suites available, which also have a bedroom with two single beds. Would you like to consider that, ma'am?"

Yue Du asked, "Are there any regular double suites left?"

"Those are full as well. Or perhaps you could consider a standard triple cabin? It has one large bed and a pull-out bed, so two people can stay there. It's just as comfortable as a room with single beds."

The crew member pitched enthusiastically, "But I most recommend the double VIP suite. There's a great discount on upgrades right now. Not only does it have the same comfortable amenities as a standard suite, but you also get private butler service, VIP channel access, complimentary room service, and more. Most importantly, you can have dinner with the captain, and he will personally give you a tour of the captain's quarters..."

Yue Du and Gao Yin exchanged a look.

Gao Yin, who really wanted to take this opportunity to see if there was a problem with the captain but was short on cash: "..."

Yue Du remembered the account balance she had seen the day before. Feeling quite confident, she smiled. "The VIP suite it is, then."

The crew member said, "Very well. Please follow me, ladies."

Gao Yin was startled. "How do you have so much money?"

"It came with this identity," Yue Du said with a shrug.

Fine, you really couldn't be envious of someone's luck.

Services like a private butler would be more trouble than they were worth, so Yue Du politely declined. They followed the crew member with their suitcases in tow. When the elevator doors opened, they saw a figure standing inside.

It was Einser Naiyin.

The young painter casually raised a hand in greeting. Her beautiful black eyes fixed on Yue Du and curved into a slight smile. "It seems we're quite fated to meet, Miss Yue."

"I think so, too," Yue Du smiled.

Einser's sister was still nowhere in sight. Yue Du noted this but felt it wasn't her place to keep bringing it up, so she could only sigh to herself.

Their destination was the same floor. The crew member and Einser, one after the other, stopped in front of two doors directly opposite each other.

Einser raised an eyebrow.

Yue Du said, "It seems we really are quite fated."

"My honor," Einser said. "Aiona will be very happy to know."

The two chatted for a few moments. Since it was getting quite late, Einser invited Yue Du to her room for tea sometime before bidding her farewell.

After closing the door, Gao Yin asked, "You're already that familiar with her?"

On second thought, given the communication skills Yue Du had displayed today, it wasn't so strange. Gao Yin, who had always found talking to strangers agonizing, immediately dismissed her doubts and instead felt a sense of admiration for her teammate.

In truth, during the conversation between Yue Du and Einser, it was the latter who had been more proactive and at ease. Of course, there was no need to tell Gao Yin that.

After running around all day, Gao Yin was too tired to speak upon finally seeing her bed. She washed up and quickly fell asleep.

Yue Du lay on the bed to the right, closer to the balcony. She didn't feel tired at all—no sore legs or aching back. Seems like running around film sets every day has its perks, she thought with self-deprecation.

Ah Jiu's voice piped up. "My dear, how about I give you a massage?"

"You can give massages? Can you manifest a physical body to do it?"

"Not exactly."

The words had barely left her mouth when the decorative figurine on the bedside table suddenly moved. It had been a plush white cat lying down, but now it stood up, stretched its body, and gave a big yawn.

Yue Du turned her head to check on Gao Yin and breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming she was sound asleep.

The white cat crawled under the covers. "Turn over and relax," Ah Jiu said.

For some reason, Yue Du complied.

The white cat massaged her calves through her pajamas. The sensation of the plush figurine was a little strange, but the pressure was just right.

Yue Du buried half her face in the pillow. Soft strands of hair slid down the side of her face, hiding the tip of her small nose and her slightly pursed lips, revealing only one deep, amber-colored eye.

She blinked.

It was so strange. As a system-cat in the shell of a figurine massaged her calves, earnestly patting and kneading, she actually felt that the system was feeling sorry for her.

And she, in turn, felt a genuine happiness from that feeling.

Perhaps because the massage was so comfortable, Yue Du once again drifted off to sleep without realizing it, enjoying a dreamless night.

On the morning of the third day aboard the cruise ship.

Yue Du sat on the edge of the bed, holding what looked like the remains of a cat figurine. She described it that way because the figurine had been utterly destroyed by some strange force, leaving only a silhouette that was vaguely cat-shaped.

"What... happened?" Yue Du asked woodenly.

Ah Jiu said, "Ah, you can understand it this way: as an ordinary object, the figurine couldn't contain the sliver of consciousness I split off, so it broke after the massage was finished."

Yue Du mourned for the figurine for one second.

So a system capable of causing such an effect really was an evil god, wasn't it?

In any case, the white cat figurine was part of the suite's amenities. Yue Du asked a crew member about compensation and was told she wouldn't have to pay for it.

"Please rest assured, we will replace it with a new one immediately," the crew member said.

At eight in the morning, after gathering with the tour leader—who was once again wearing her smiling face—the full day of free activities began.

Kong Wenbin's group headed straight for the crew members, while the young couple turned and pressed the button by the elevator doors.

"We don't have to go talk to the crew just yet," Yue Du said in a low voice. "As things stand, searching for cultists among the regular crew doesn't seem very productive. There are too many of them."

Besides, even if they did find a cultist among the regular crew, what could they do? They had already identified the lead actress and the theater staff member in charge of projections, but for the moment, they couldn't think of what to do about them.

With no further hints from the game, any action they took against the cultists could bring even greater risks.

The senior crew members were better targets for investigation—people like the first mate, the chief engineer, and the captain himself. But opportunities to interact with them were scarce, which made the dinner with the captain included with the VIP suite very useful.

"Let's first go look for clues in the places we haven't visited yet. As for the captain, we can wait until we have dinner with him. What do you think?"

Gao Yin had no objection.

Without having to worry about restrictions from the tour leader, their actions today seemed to go more smoothly. They gathered more bits and pieces of information, but none of it seemed particularly useful.

Yue Du even began to wonder if she was doing the right thing. Could it be that all the clues were at the locations designated by the tour leader?

But after she tentatively asked the tour leader about the original daily itinerary, that idea vanished into thin air.

The original schedule was just a day-after-day repetition. That was why, when Yue Du had asked yesterday, the tour leader had so confidently said it would be "just as wonderful." The locations were identical, so of course it would be.

At ten-thirty in the morning, Yue Du received a text message. A few seconds later, Gao Yin's phone chimed with the same notification.

The text was from the captain, inviting them to dinner at seven o'clock that evening at a French restaurant on the third floor. It was signed with the captain's name: Conrad Green.

Gao Yin had received the same message.

Yue Du read aloud, "'After the meal, I will personally give you a tour of my quarters. Perhaps you will be able to appreciate the joy of living at sea.' It seems the tour of the captain's quarters is also tonight."

Gao Yin sighed. "I hope nothing unexpected happens."

The unexpected happened before dinner even began.

At six in the evening, the two were about to head back to their room to change into formal attire for the captain's dinner invitation when they ran into a whistling Xiao Wang by the elevators.

"Our leader sent me to get you. Something's happened to the young couple."

The eighth floor, in the young couple's room.

Yue Du froze in the doorway, her eyes widening slightly.

The scene before her was truly gruesome.

The room was covered in blood. Chen Xi lay dead on the bed, and Chi Mu was dead by the door, one blood-soaked hand resting on the threshold.

The door was wide open, yet passing guests and crew members alike seemed oblivious to the horrific scene inside.

Xiao Pang emerged from the bathroom, his face pale. Seeing Yue Du, he asked weakly, "How are you not scared?"

Kong Wenbin shook his head. "Some people are just calmer. Alright, Xiao Pang, if you're still feeling sick, go rest for a while. It would be best not to go back to our room."

It seemed this was Xiao Pang's first time seeing a dead body, especially one in such a gruesome state. He hadn't been able to stomach it and had rushed into the bathroom to be sick.

Yue Du pondered this. She suddenly recalled that this was her first time seeing a dead body, too, yet she'd had no particular reaction. Could this calm disposition also be related to one's Rationality level?

"What are your thoughts?" Kong Wenbin sighed.

"What did those two do?"

"Nothing. They just stayed in their room and didn't move."

Stayed in their room?

The game's hint: You are a tourist.

The hint hadn't specified the consequences for not being a proper tourist, but now, all the players knew.

An hour ago, at the exact time the players had boarded the ship two days prior, the young couple was holed up in their cabin, unwilling to leave.

They didn't want to search for clues anymore. They couldn't get any information from talking to people, and they couldn't find any traces when they looked. As long as the other two teams could stop the followers of the Deep Darkness, they figured they could just tag along and leave alive.

But if they went searching blindly around the ship and had the bad luck to run into some kind of monster, they'd be done for.

They were pleased with their own cleverness, having long forgotten the game's first hint: You are a tourist.

And so, at five o'clock sharp, the tour leader came to life. She retrieved a key card from a crew member who paid her no mind and, with a smile, swiped the door open.

Smiling, she lowered her head and bit through Chen Xi's neck.

Smiling, she caught up to Chi Mu, who had nearly crawled to the door, and dealt with her in the same manner.

Afterward, the tour leader slowly made her way to the elevators on the first floor to resume her post as a human standee, her chest splattered with blood.

A tour leader must be a proper tour leader, so she cannot be the subject of complaints from the tourists in her group.

A tourist must be a proper tourist, so they cannot stay in their room all day.

Otherwise, they would die.

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