Horror Game

Volume 1 Central Hall-Chapter 10: Siren Town

The caretaker of the museum said that the hot water room Chu Qiu was going to was somewhat remote, and several light bulbs were broken, advising him to be careful.

He also emphasized that there were many randomly piled mermaid waxworks over there, and advised to be careful not to bump into them.

The librarian said these words with an evil expression on his face.

Chu Qiu shuttled between the marble columns, which stood in the center of the museum's interior and were as wide as two to three people could encircle. On both sides of the path, a mermaid waxwork was placed at regular intervals.

These waxworks were in various poses, with fish tails touching the ground and no expressions on their faces. Chu Qiu noticed that almost all of them were looking out of the window.

It looks like these mermaid waxworks are trying to escape from here.

The hot water pool was at the end of this corridor, and it had been mysteriously turned on by someone. It was pouring out hot water, and the entire corridor was filled with steam from the hot water. The mermaid waxwork seemed to be melting under the heat of the steam, with wax dripping drop by drop, and its body undergoing very subtle changes.

Walking along the corridor, Chu Qiu felt as if she were wandering through a sea of mist, surrounded by mermaids swaying beneath the surface.

After walking a few steps, Chu Qiu noticed the waxworks of mermaids on both sides of the road. As he looked out of the window, the necks of the figures slowly twisted and turned, and their expressionless faces began to stare at him.

Moreover, the mermaid waxworks on both sides were inching closer to Chu Qiu in the middle at a subtle speed that was hard to notice, with the melting area expanding more and more.

Inside the vast and lofty European-style building, it was dark and impenetrable. The lone visitor's feet moved steadily on the smooth floor. The mermaid waxworks on both sides seemed to change their poses and expressions with every blink of Chu Qiu's eyes, and they were getting closer and closer to him.

A faint smile appeared on the originally blank and lifeless faces of the mermaid waxworks, while their fish tails left greasy candle marks on the ground.

They are so pale and flawless, resembling a group of ghosts frozen in place, moving only slowly.

Chu Qiu silently counted the number of mermaid waxworks in his heart, and from time to time, he would turn around to check on the things following him, controlling their moving speed.

But there were simply too many waxworks here. Usually, when he fixed his gaze on the mermaid waxwork behind him and turned around, the mermaid waxwork in front of him, wearing a pitying smile, would eagerly stretch out her hands towards him, almost ready to grab his neck.

Chu Qiu had calculated the movement speeds of these objects. He mostly moved and turned at specific points, and deliberately used the cylinder to steer clear of them, preventing them from forming a circle.

Although these things feel very threatening, the more troublesome point is that they cannot be destroyed and their quantity is vast. Once a siege is formed, it will be very difficult for him to escape.

As these mermaid waxworks drew closer to him, Chu Qiu noticed that they had gradually transitioned from a state akin to dead objects to one that resembled living creatures.

In Chu Qiu's eyes, these mermaid waxworks initially seemed to have similar faces. However, as the generic faces of European and American waxworks produced on an assembly line began to change, the melted faces of these mermaid waxworks became more and more like Chu Qiu as they got closer to him.

The waxworks of mermaids, with eerily similar faces to Chu Qiu, showed an overly exaggerated and eerie smile as they moved towards Chu Qiu, baring their teeth and brandishing their claws.

Chu Qiu finally arrived at the hot water pool mentioned by the caretaker. The old and yellow washbasin had rust-colored spots on the faucet, which looked like blood or rust.

The rectangular iron pot for boiling water stood above the faucet, emitting the sound of boiling water rolling and bubbling.

Amid the sound of the gurgling water, Chu Qiu calmly placed the newspaper in his arms into the sink and turned around.

A group of mermaid waxworks, each with distinct appearances but sharing a strong resemblance to him, stood in several rows behind him, crowding around him in a dense manner, blocking the path he was leaving.

They had their heads bowed, and the dim light in the museum cast a shadow over their eyeless eyes. Their mouths were curved in a strange, wide smile that reached down to their jawline.

The smile was clearly malicious, casting a chilling sense of threat on their melting and distorted faces.

These waxworks of mermaids looked at Chu Qiu standing in front of the pool with heavy and greedy gazes. Chu Qiu also stared straight ahead at these things, feeling as if she was surrounded by dozens of versions of herself.

This group of things is hunting him.

Chu Qiu thought, "I just said that these things aren't very intelligent and lack the awareness to hunt me. I didn't expect them to spontaneously learn how to surround me in just a short while.".

The learning ability is astonishing, just like humans.

Chu Qiuping stared straight ahead at the group of things. The hot water behind him had already overflowed from the washbasin, but he didn't turn back, or rather, he couldn't turn back. If he turned back, the group of things would surely rush up immediately, and he couldn't blink either.

He reached behind him and turned off the faucet.

Chu Qiu blinked, and the mermaid waxworks moved forward another inch, their faces becoming even more ferocious. But Chu Qiu acted as if he hadn't noticed, instead, he stroked his chin thoughtfully as he looked at their faces and muttered to himself.

"Is that what 'incubation' means? The closer you are to me, the more you resemble me... So, the thing that eventually incubates will probably look like me... Hmm, the fishy smell on me got a bit stronger when those mermaid waxworks came closer, so I'll be affected during incubation. Are those townspeople also in the process of incubation?"

He was unhurried here, but the players gathered around his small TV were not as calm as Chu Qiu, and they were all making sarcastic comments.

"At this point, he's still analyzing and posturing. I wonder what he's going to do with that bunch of useless projectors. Is he going to show a movie to the mermaid?"

"Tsk tsk, a spirit value of 100, I thought it was much more impressive."

"Another exclamation rang out nearby: 'That newbie with the torch has broken through! Come and take a look!'

On a small TV screen two screens away from Chu Qiu, a male player held a blazing torch and brandished it at the mermaid waxworks surrounding him, gritting his teeth in anger. As he waved the torch, he shouted loudly, "Get away! If you don't want to be burned to death, get away!"

The mermaid waxworks gradually retreated, and a burst of cheering erupted in front of the small TV

"I told you this player is good, they chose the right item. One of the weaknesses of the mermaid waxwork is its fear of light, and the Flame Torch is the best item. Okay, okay, it's charged!"

"I've given a like. His physical strength on the panel is pretty good. If he develops well in the later stages, he might even make it to the Rising Star list."

"Oh, if I had known, I wouldn't have charged that Bai whatever from next door. It's a waste of points. This is the real top seed..."

The likes on Chu Qiu's small TV channel have dropped to single digits, with only a handful of viewers still sticking around. They are not there to cheer Chu Qiu on; they are simply there to watch this newcomer's demise.

On the TV, Chu Qiu calmly took out the three 3D projectors that he had bought on sale from his pocket, and the few remaining viewers couldn't help but laugh.

"He actually took it out. What is he trying to do?"

"The torches next door looked more exciting, so we all backed off immediately."

These waxworks of mermaids silently approached until their tails touched the tips of Chu Qiu's feet. They stood tall, surrounding Chu Qiu in a dark, small space. Dozens of melted wax hands stretched out from all directions, attempting to capture Chu Qiu as their prey.

Chu Qiu calmly placed the 3D projectors behind, to the left, and to the right of the waxworks, one on each side, and then smiled as he pressed the switch.

A lifelike projection of Chu Qiu leaped out from among the three waxworks, smiling just like him. The three projections and one Chu Qiu stood guard in the four directions, continuously moving forward. The mermaid waxworks hesitated for a few seconds and then all stopped.

But the audience still wore a sneering expression

"Although the mermaid waxworks don't have high intelligence and can't distinguish between real people and projections, the eyes of the projections can indeed fool them for a while. However, they will be exposed if it lasts too long. At most, they can last for ten minutes, but they can't escape from here in ten minutes."

An audience member who had just given Torch players a lot of electricity points scoffed, "And the high-intensity flashlight he bought is just one. Although it can deter mermaids, its deterrent and offensive power against mermaid waxworks is not as good as a torch. A flashlight is useless."

As soon as he finished speaking, the mermaid waxwork on the screen retreated a bit and stopped staring at the projections.

The player who commented on Chu Qiu was unhurried: "At most ten minutes, just wait. Soon, these waxworks will realize that these projections are fake."

Sure enough, not long after, these mermaid waxworks seemed to have realized that Chu Qiu's projection was fake, and they were eager to bypass the flashlight's light and prepare to move forward.

The spectator laughed contemptuously again, "See, I told you it would happen."

Before the audience could finish speaking, he stopped his eloquent analysis, dumbfounded as he looked at the small TV screen.

The three projections on Chu Qiu's side, just like Chu Qiu himself, took out their strong flashlights and aimed them at the mermaid waxwork. The four Chu Qius took out their flashlights and aimed them at the mermaid waxwork in the middle, as if they were about to launch some kind of projectile.

Chu Qiu laughed, "One is indeed not enough, but four should suffice."