Chapter 37: The Hypnotic Cry for Help of the Mermaid

Elan also calmed down: "If it is a magic gold mine, it is indeed worth wiping out the entire island! Then we might as well keep guessing—magic gold mines are rich in magic, and even if buried hundreds of meters deep in the seabed, they could be discovered by passing treasure-hunting experts, so what is the deal with this shipwreck?"

Da Chun didn't hesitate: "Of course someone deliberately sank a ship to cover the mine, and at the same time can use the excuse of salvaging the shipwreck to mine it in the future!"

Deep-sea mining instantly reminded Da Chun of the murloc miners in the opening animation, or the submarines of the Bronze Vanguard City.

Elan chuckled: "But creatures like octopuses especially like to crawl into bottles and into empty cabins of such wrecks—so it backfired and they couldn't mine it!"

Da Chun's heart skipped a beat: "But I have a sperm whale, which is the natural enemy of the octopus. As long as the whale is healed, it is possible to clear the obstacles!"

Elan asked: "So, how many people know you have a whale?"

"Just me and Shirley, and now you know too."

Elan sneered: "Oh? Are you sure?"

Da Chun knew something was wrong: "Fafna knows too?"

Elan smiled: "Otherwise? Why do you think you got this token? Do you think you can take on a 10 billion project just by killing a few rats and cockroaches and reporting a plague? Besides, you didn't even kill those rats and cockroaches."

It's clearly a -10 billion project, alright!

Da Chun had mixed feelings.

After all, he had agreed with Shirley yesterday to strictly keep the whale a secret, because this was also the secret of the spices and his own trump card. But Shirley sold frost roses handcrafted by Fafna exclusively at the flower shop. Their relationship was unusual, so it was possible she leaked to Fafna that he had a whale, and this might even have been her reason for persuading Fafna to bail him out of prison?

This also meant his trump card was exposed, and he had to bear the huge risk of them being sniped by high-end syndicate player teams. The consequences were unimaginable.

Elan smiled triumphantly: "So, in this world, the only person you can truly trust is me!"

Tsk, you're starting trouble again!

Da Chun chuckled in surprise. Well, Shirley was never some innocent white lotus; she played double acts with Vivian and embezzled business funds. It was only through his threats of reporting her that he managed to develop their current relationship. This cause and effect was something he deserved, so there was no need to dwell on it. A big boss never cares how subordinates scheme, as long as they don't betray the organization. If there were any betrayal, he would just buy them out!

So when encountering such a thing, of course he should win over Fafna as well! Since they were all his own people, why act like strangers?

Da Chun shamelessly said: "Of course I trust you, then can you help me conquer Fafna's heart?"

Elan burst into laughter: "She is the Lord's beloved daughter, a woman who has seen true golden eagles in the Golden Empire! Can you compare to the Golden Empire?"

Hmph! A golden eagle with a big carved physique?

Da Chun retorted irritably: "Then I will start collecting the magic gold grain by grain! Help me see where else there are gold grains on the whale."

Elan said: "After collecting the gold grains, you can also take them to the blacksmith's shop on the island to smelt them, and forge a simple item yourself, like a ring or something."

True, he could practice blacksmithing! Moreover, gold has a low melting point, low hardness, and good plasticity, making it definitely the most suitable material for beginners to practice with—the only drawback is that it is too expensive, and a beginner is just daydreaming. But his is magic gold! As long as he repeatedly melts and forges it, even if he can't see clearly, gaining an advanced level shouldn't be too much to ask, right?

Da Chun jumped into the water, feeling up and down carefully all over the whale's body, and found a few more gold grains, as well as some glass fragments.

"What are these fragments?"

Elan knew her stuff: "Bottles or display case glass used by the gentry to store treasures. It is said that they can conceal the magic radiance emitted by the treasures and prevent thieves from easily finding them."

Da Chun understood: "So there must still be quite a few glass bottles of this kind on this shipwreck, just to prevent the magic gold mine from being discovered further!"

Elan sighed: "Octopuses love to crawl into bottles. One can imagine how many small octopuses are still inside the ship. Absorbing the magic of the magic gold over a long period, they will definitely become a powerful army of sea monsters."

Then the whale is bound to become a god! But as long as he was deliberately arranged by Fafna, it seemed he didn't need to worry extra about the whale becoming a god, right?

Finally, Da Chun collected a total of 6 gold grains of various sizes. This amount was only enough to forge a ring, and there would even be some left over for two!

Then the whale's condition was adjusted a bit, so they could continue looking for a fishing ground.

——System Prompt: Warning! You have left the area of Plague Island. Once you cause the spread of the plague, you will bear the grave crime of escaping.

What the heck?! In the vast ocean, with just one whale and one boat, how could it possibly spread?

But this also served as a reminder: he must avoid merchant ships. At the very least, if seen, he would still be charged with the crime of escaping, right?

Then what was bound to come kept coming:

——System Prompt: Congratulations... Your muscle memory has successfully recalled Advanced Fishing Level 3... Health +1.

——System Prompt: Congratulations... Your Basic Ship Piloting skill has been upgraded to Level 3, earning the achievement: Weight Capacity +1, Stamina +1.

However, Da Chun felt no joy in leveling up; instead, he was deeply worried. Along the way, he had encountered quite a few sporadic small fish, but not a single large fish that could fill his stomach. After all, a sperm whale is not a blue whale; blue whales have baleen plates specifically to filter and eat small fish and shrimp like a meal.

Moreover, ordinary fishing grounds are either at the convergence of ocean currents, at river mouths, or at coral reef clusters. This place was the open sea where nothing existed, so it was highly likely an "ocean desert," meaning there was nothing except plankton. That was why there was the saying here that "the fall of a whale brings life to all things."

But being anxious was useless; if the whale couldn't find it, he could find it even less.

Just as he was feeling anxious, the whale suddenly convulsed, kicking up violent waves!

Da Chun panicked: "What's wrong with you?"

The whale was trembling all over—System Prompt: The whale has received a cry for help from the Daughter of the Sea! You must go rescue her.

The next moment, the whale changed its course, increasing its speed and charging straight into the deep sea, pulling the fishing rod until it creaked and cracked!

What the heck?!

Looking at the rapidly rising fishing proficiency, Da Chun instantly realized something was wrong with the whale. This was truly fishing!

Da Chun immediately steadied the fishing rod, turned the reel to release the line: "Who is the Daughter of the Sea?"

The whale replied—Must rescue the Daughter of the Sea!

Elan said in a deep voice: "It should be a mermaid. Legend has it that there is a very powerful one in the Silver Sea who sings hypnotic songs. Sailors who fall under the hypnosis either kill each other or jump into the sea, and no one can persuade or stop them! The direction of this whale is towards Silver City, it might be hypnotized!"

Da Chun couldn't believe it: "The Silver Sea? So far away?"

Elan said: "A whale's perception is naturally far-reaching; it can hear hundreds or thousands of nautical miles away. Besides, this whale is also old and just injured; it definitely cannot resist the hypnosis."

No, won't it take half a day to swim such a long distance?

Da Chun hurriedly confirmed: "You're injured and haven't eaten yet, don't rush over there just yet!"

A red light burst in front of Da Chun's eyes—System Prompt: Warning! You must rescue the Daughter of the Sea.

What the heck, opposing it means falling out? What kind of powerful entity is this mermaid?!

Elan said: "I think this hypnosis is probably similar to some kind of bar date rape drug. Since we cannot stop or oppose it, we might as well go along with its intentions and seize control of the hypnosis!"

Are there bar date-rape drugs in the game? What the heck, I spent the entire public beta hanging out in bars and didn't know this existed, I'm too righteous...

Da Chun immediately shouted: "Then let's go save her together!"

The whale's reply finally changed—We must rescue the Daughter of the Sea!

Da Chun was overjoyed: "Elan knows so much! What should we do next?"

Elan said in a deep voice: "The only method I can think of is to enter the whale's soul and control it—just like we entered the bat's soul earlier! The whale was hypnotized by the powerful mermaid, so it should be powerless to resist our entry, plus we are friends, there's no need for it to resist."

Da Chun was stunned: "Am I going to die again? I have magic gold, I can't afford to die!"

"No need, don't you have a few bottles of century-old cassava liquor? Get drunk first!"

Get drunk? That works too!

Da Chun opened the bottle, and a greenish-blue light overflowed from the bottle mouth, instantly spreading a bright glow all around the boat—System Prompt: You smell the wonderful, intoxicating fragrance of fine liquor.

What the heck!! Whether liquor smells good in the game depends on how bright this light is and how far it spreads!

Elan was also shocked: "This fragrance, even the fine liquor from the lord's estate cannot compare!"

Da Chun was excited: "So this is the qualitative change of century-old aging? The cheapest cassava with a wide usage and toxins can surpass famous liquor?"

Elan retorted irritably: "Wait 100 years and the distillery will have gone bankrupt, drink up quickly! The closer we get to the mermaid, the stronger the opponent's hypnotic power will be, and the fewer chances we will have!"

Drink up and bottoms up! Da Chun chugged it down in one go.

——System Prompt: Warning! You are physically weak and have overconsumed alcohol, entering a state of intoxication...

Da Chun's already blurry world became even more chaotic, and now he couldn't even hear any sound—until the screen went black!

Then a crack of rotating light opened in the darkness, and Elan's voice came from outside the crack: "Get out here quickly!"

——System Prompt: You have entered the soul state...