Chapter 33

The six people walked around in the secret room, but apart from various mermaid specimens, no other useful clues were found.

Ying Hongyu was a little tired and found a step to sit down, resting his hands on his knees: “In the previous secret rooms, there were decryption hints. There should be some hidden mechanism here too.”

Sheng Xin looked up at the ceiling: “It’s so dark… it would be nice if we had a flashlight.”

Ling Xiao was observing the specimens, feeling inspired to write and said: “You illuminate the ceiling, only to see a beautiful snake coiled on the beam, smiling at you. The snake said: ‘I’ve seen this young gentleman before, in that melon field bathed in moonlight, accompanied by the sound of someone stealing watermelons.’”

Sheng Xin asked, “Am I Sheng Daiyu or Sheng Runtu?”

Yan Zhao casually replied, “You are a ***.”

Sheng Xin: “…”

Yan Zhao, responsible for the deeper part of the secret room. He didn’t understand decryption techniques, so he simply used a carpet-style search method, scanning each jar, playing a game of finding differences.

Behind a small jar, he actually found a flashlight.

“Sheng Xin,” Yan Zhao called out, tossing the flashlight over, “go find your beautiful snake.”

Sheng Xin caught the prop, and said, “Can you guys stop teaming up to tease me?”

Sheng Xin felt uneasy, he turned on the light, but the beam hesitated to scan upward.

Yan Zhao laughed, finally finding someone more timid than him: “Director Sheng, are you scared?”

Sheng Xin gritted his teeth, about to rotate his wrist, but the flashlight in his hand was snatched away by someone else.

Ying Hongyu glanced at the ceiling, pointing to a spot: “It seems like the ceiling there can move.”

Sheng Xin relaxed, put his arm around Ying Hongyu’s shoulder casually and followed his gaze: “Let’s take a closer look.”

Among the complete mermaid specimens, there was one that was severed at the waist, only the upper body remaining, with the cross-section blurred with blood and flesh.

Yan Zhao had reasonable doubts that this scene would be censored when it was broadcasted.

Ling Xiao wandered around the specimen, and said, “I can’t see any clues.”

Feng Ling, an expert in decryption games, suggested, “Shine the UV light from the flashlight?”

Ying Hongyu did so, and in the moment the light hit, a row of blood-red words appeared at the bottom of the jar: “It hurts, It hurts so much. I’m going to kill you all.”

Combined with the mutilated mermaid specimens in the jar, it was highly impactful.

Ling Xiao took two steps back, saying, “I think we shouldn’t disturb this comrade’s rest anymore.”

Yan Zhao ignored him. In his line of sight, the circular edge of the flashlight’s light seemed to reveal something: “Shine the flashlight a bit lower?”

“Okay,” Ying Hongyu did so, revealing a small “200kg” under the blood-written message.

The hint is very obvious.

Yan Zhao asked, “Where could there be a weight sensor?”

Ying Hongyu thought for a moment and pointed to a surgical table near the specimen, splattered with blood stains, “There.”

Ling Xiao looked surprised, “Are we supposed to sit on that? It’s too disgusting. Even the ketchup on top is still fresh. Don’t you think sitting on it is like chicken wings rolling on a seasoning plate?”

Yan Zhao glanced at him, “You dare touch corpses, but you’re disgusted by ketchup?”

Ling Xiao with a straight face said, “I have Ling’s custom-made mysophobia.”

200kg, four adult men sitting on it already exceeded this weight. When the last person pressed down, the surgical table sank a bit, and a boom sound followed, with debris falling from above.

Ling Xiao complained, “A year has passed, and nothing happened.”

With a snap, a viscous liquid dropped from above, followed by a rain-like pattering, and the smell of rust spread.

Without even touching it, just by looking at their companions’ faces, they knew what had happened.

Blood rain.

Yan Zhao and the others quickly left the area where blood was spurting from the hole, and a doll in a veil fell from the sky, landing face down on the surgical table.

Ling Xiao pinched his throat and said, “Ah, my face.”

Everyone: “…” Does this person have no fear cells?

Yan Zhao picked up the doll, the hem of the veil soaked in synthetic blood plasma hanging down. The lotus leaf edge split into two if placed in reality, it should be a weapon for showcasing long legs, but this doll… has no legs.

No wonder he felt the weight in his hand was too light. The props team wouldn’t be so kind as to give you a happy Barbie.

And their malicious intentions were darker than Yan Zhao had thought.

With a click, Yan Zhao’s hand stiffened. The doll, which was originally motionless, twisted its head off by itself. Red blood gushed out, accompanied by the crisp music of the music box and a girl’s laughter: “You will all be punished.”

Punished for what? Clearly, it was you who caused the trouble!

Ling Xiao came over, and said with a smile, “You’re in trouble. You’ve destroyed her corpse, and now she’s coming after you.”

Yan Zhao felt the doll in his hand was cold, “She broke it herself. It’s good enough that I’m not asking her for emotional distress compensation!”

Ling Xiao clapped his hands, “Exactly, we’re suffering here. We can’t afford to lose!” He aimed at the camera, “Director, as her dad, you should make some gesture, like inviting us to have a meal… Of course, I’m not implying anything.”

The director checked his wallet, “I accept this daughter, but Wang, the scriptwriter, that’s your own flesh and blood.”

Wang, the scriptwriter: “…”

Yan Zhao frowned and put the doll back, took the paper Yu Youyi handed him, and wiped his fingers clean.

While he and the production team were engaged in a battle of wits over the special blood plasma, others were discussing the meaning of the doll and the representative of the mermaid.

Yan Zhao reminded, “Regardless of the plot, our ultimate goal is to escape from this cruise ship.”

Ying Hongyu nodded, “Sheng Xin and I found an exit, but the door there is not locked… I mean, there’s no password or mechanical lock. The control should be in the hands of the director’s team or some mechanism on the ship. And, there are pigs there.”

Yan Zhao: “…”

There are many doors on the ship, but most of them are locked. There are color differences between ineffective fake doors and useful real doors. After hiding and exploring for so long, they only have one unexplored area left.

The last one is the study room.

Spiderwebs cover the ceiling, the books in the bookshelf are covered in dust. On the desk, there’s a safe and a calendar.

Deciphering has always been Feng Ling’s showtime. After others couldn’t figure it out for a while, they left the expert to ponder the password.

Yan Zhao went to search for other clues. He wandered near the bookshelf and among the dusty books, he found a clean one.

Clean but old, the cover of the book had curled edges. There was a bookmark in the book, and when opened, it revealed a watercolor illustration.

The drawing depicted “Daughter of the Sea,” the little mermaid receiving a potion from the sea witch. After drinking the potion, she would lose her tongue, shed her fish tail, and grow human legs.

Yan Zhao didn’t believe that this had no connection to the hints in the locked room. But… What about the pigs? Could it be just the director’s team’s twisted sense of humor?

He thought for a moment, turned back to the book’s table of contents, and smirked.

From astronomy to geography, and even including Peppa Pig… this book covers quite a wide range.

When he walked back to the desk, Feng Ling was entering the password. When the safe opened, there was a gun inside, with a label: “A weapon that scares pigs.”

Everyone: “… “ That hint is certainly something!

Sheng Xin breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at his watch, and said, “It’s been a while, and the time is almost up. It’s been enough for the program team to edit three hours.”

Ling Xiao urged, “No time to waste, let’s go slaughter the pig!”

However, Feng Ling frowned. Her curiosity about the plot was not extinguished yet. “But the riddle of the mermaid hasn’t been solved yet.”

Ling Xiao shrugged, “Escape from the secret room comes first, riddles second. Once we’re out, the director will naturally explain to us.”

Feng Ling was persuaded by him and nodded.

The director at the filming center also nodded, “Yes, just leave like this. Don’t be afraid, just do it.”

On the screen, everyone was about to leave, and the director’s mouth showed a triumphant smile. However, Yan Zhao said, “No need to rush. There’s still a clue here.”

The director asked, “What did Zhao Zhao just do? I wasn’t paying attention.”

The scriptwriter said, “He was flipping through the prop books.”

Director: “Did he finish flipping through the book?”

Scriptwriter: “He gave up after looking at the table of contents.”

Director scratched his head: “So, he probably can’t figure it out?”

Scriptwriter mused: “Not necessarily, after all, not everyone lacks a sense of fun like you.”

Director: “??? Xiao Wang, be respectful!”

Yan Zhao handed the book to Feng Ling, who quickly realized: “The Little Mermaid in this case refers to a female slave.”

Ling Xiao said, “We’re all highly intelligent individuals, so let’s be clear when speaking.”

Yan Zhao explained, “In the ship captain’s diary, it mentioned that the captain wanted to give up selling slaves for the sake of a female slave, but he lied. So, there should be a hint like ‘I’ve been betrayed’ on the wall outside the storage room. In the book, the Little Mermaid becomes human, but here, for revenge, the female slave cut off her own legs, attached a fish tail from the locked room, and became a mermaid.”

Feng Ling touched her chin: “But what about the pigs?”

Yan Zhao: “The crew transformed into pigs.”

Ling Xiao: “…Can you get pig spray after turning into a mermaid?”

Yan Zhao pointed to the book’s table of contents: “Here’s ‘Circe,’ and on the crew’s desk, there was also Greek mythology—Circe killed her husband, secluded herself on a lonely island, invited Odysseus’ crew for dinner, poisoned the food, and turned them all into piglets.”

Sheng Xin looked strangely: “So there’s a mix of people and pigs in the prison, and there are pig footprints in the restaurant.”

Ling Xiao remarked, “What happened to taking the pig to the dining hall for a meal?”

Sheng Xin gazed at the scenery, pretending he didn’t say that.

The director marveled, “I didn’t expect it. Zhao Zhao’s ability to imagine is quite strong.”

The scriptwriter laughed, “I didn’t expect him to be the first one to solve it. But…”

The director and scriptwriter burst into the sinister laughter of old witches.

On the screen, the six of them had sneaked out of the study, avoiding guards, and were running towards the exit.

Midway, Yan Zhao paused and asked, “Where did the female slave get the antidote?”

Ling Xiao said, “Given by the sea witch? Don’t overthink it; maybe the scriptwriter didn’t consider that much!”

As they approached the exit, the number of patrolling guards decreased.

When even the shadows of NPCs were invisible, the words “Slaughterhouse” along with a red arrow appeared on the wall.

A sea of pink target blocked their way, and the little piglets were locked in cages, squealing.

Both girls had no experience in shooting, and Ling Xiao volunteered, “Let me handle it; I always hit the bullseye every time I shoot.”

Yan Zhao was starting to doubt him: “Can you do it?”

Ling Xiao replied, “Can a man ever say he can’t?”

Feng Ling handed the gun to Ling Xiao, Ling Xiao aimed at the NPC and pulled the trigger.

Three seconds later, Ling Xiao missed the target, and the NPC slowly turned its neck, looking towards them with a friendly smile.

The pigs danced wildly. The six guests endured the most humiliating ten minutes of their lives.

After struggling for a while, Yan Zhao finally broke out of the pig group and took down the NPC.

He pointed the gun at Ling Xiao, his eyes cold: “Come on, confess your last words.”

Ling Xiao spoke incoherently, “Horses may stumble, and people may make mistakes. I’ve contributed for the organization and shed blood for the crew!”

Yan Zhao ordered, “Throw this hoofed person into the piglets!”

Ling Xiao screamed as Sheng Xin and Ying Hongyu tied him up and pushed him into the cell, he once again trampled by little pigs.

After negotiating for three minutes, Ling Xiao finally secured a chance to be released.

Ling Xiao squatted on the ground, “I’ve given up.”

Yan Zhao walked away without mercy, “Goodbye.”

Ling Xiao jumped up and chased after him, “Don’t go!”

The six peoples passed through the slaughterhouse, where the walls were painted with simple sketches depicting the life of a female slave, closely resembling Yan Zhao’s speculations. In the final depiction, the female slave was shot by panicked people, thrown into the sea, but the sea witch resurrected her, and they remained on the ship together, turning incoming guests into pigs, slaughtering them, and selling them.

So, about the sea witch? Did they not trigger this plotline, or…

Yan Zhao finished looking at the painting, then slowly turned his gaze to Ling Xiao’s face, who was still humming a tune, seemingly unaffected by the indignity of being caged with pigs.

Yan Zhao tightened his grip on the gun: “I believe, to set an example, we shouldn’t easily let our pig teammate off the hook.”

Ling Xiao stopped singing, and looked at him pitifully: “Haven’t I been punished enough already?”

Yan Zhao smiled at him: “Oh, right.”

Ling Xiao thought he had escaped, feeling rejuvenated: “Come on, let’s go quickly!”

Yan Zhao said “yeah” and gave him a shot, hitting the bullseye.

Ling Xiao: “…”

In the earpieces of the six people, the system alert sounded: “Traitor eliminated, mission accomplished, successful escape.”

Ling Xiao stared at the red fluorescent paint on his chest, and asked dejectedly, “How did you figure it out?”

“When someone who always courts danger suddenly starts cherishing their life, there’s definitely something fishy going on in their mind.” Yan Zhao looked disdainful, “More importantly, I’ve tolerated you for far too long. A coward like you doesn’t deserve to live.”

Ling Xiao: “…”