Godmode: My Infinite Game Odyssey

Liam Watson was oblivious to the ongoing discussions. His attention quickly shifted to something else: he saw Gerald.

Gerald was sneaking around under the stairs, speaking to someone. After the conversation, he walked back.

Gerald had sneaked out late at night before, and now he was returning.

Liam had a good vantage point from the stairs and noticed another person followed Gerald. This person was the same height and wore the same attire as the driver who had brought them to the town earlier that day.

The two seemed to be whispering about something, and Gerald handed the driver a bunch of colorful objects and spoke to him briefly.

If Liam wasn't mistaken, Gerald was handing the driver coins from this world.

[You have triggered a hidden side quest - Gerald's Bloody Conspiracy]

[Complete the side quest to earn 50 points. Current completion: 15%.]

Liam narrowed his eyes and reached into his collar to pull out a coin pierced with a hole. He aimed it at the driver, and the character information popped up.

[NPC: Driver]

[Character Bio: Your driver, hired by Gerald, is someone familiar with Siren Town. The driver has a criminal history, including arson and robbery.]

As expected, this was an important NPC.

Liam had never had direct contact with the driver before. During the ride, the driver sat in the front seat while Liam sat in the back, out of sight.

When they got out of the car, the driver didn't get out either, so Liam never saw the driver's face, which is why he hadn't recognized him until now.

Liam hadn't thought much of it before. Still, he realized that Gerald had intentionally obstructed any direct contact between him and the driver—whether by sitting between them or shouting when it was time to get out of the car.

What were these two hiding from him?

Based on his information, Liam guessed that Gerald had paid the driver, someone with a criminal history, to help him with something. The exact nature of the task was unknown, but Liam suspected it was related to seeking revenge on Andrew.

When they entered the town, the driver warned them that many of the townspeople had been without income for a long time and advised them to be cautious.

At first, Liam had thought this was just a warning, but now he saw it as the driver's smug and threatening reminder, marking the area as prey for him to hunt.

He was warning Gerald—without his cooperation and protection, Gerald was vulnerable to the townspeople's aggression.

Of course, since the driver was from Siren Town and desperately needed money, he might be planning to rob them.

This driver had likely been involved in taking money to solve problems before; he was clearly not trustworthy. No wonder Gerald had gone out in the middle of the night to give him money.

Who knew what the driver might do if the money wasn't given?

Before Gerald saw him, Liam returned to his room and shut the door he had left open.

Gerald momentarily hesitated outside Andrew's room, lowered his body, and placed a dark object down. From the peephole, Liam could see that it looked like a large piece of fish meat.

Soon after, Liam noticed a group of pale, eerie mermaid wax statues gathered in front of Andrew's door.

A series of muffled, creaky sounds echoed through the hallway as the statues moved.

For safety's sake, Liam covered his peephole with a cloth to prevent the mermaids from spying on him and pushed a cabinet against the door, hoping the noise would wake him if they tried to break in.

His stamina had been completely drained. After doing all this, Liam lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

————

The next day, Liam woke up to find the closet and main doors to his room shut, but the bathroom door was almost open.

Liam opened the bathroom door and found that the mermaid wax statues he had covered and bound had already broken free of their cloth bindings. Now tangled in twisted and bizarre poses, they moved toward the bathroom door. Some of the statues' hands were already close enough to the doorknob, just one step away from opening it.

The poses of these statues reminded Liam of the game of "Statues" he used to play, where he would turn around and see the people behind him struggling to maintain their posture.

These eerie, pale statues trying to squeeze through the door behind him gave off an unsettling feeling.

The stacked statues, their eyes intensely fixed in the small space, created an overwhelming sense of pressure, making Liam feel uneasy—anyone would be uncomfortable being watched by so many lifeless eyes.

Liam closed the bathroom door, no longer caring about the statues, and stopped restraining them.

It was pointless now.

They were breaking free faster than ever, and if he couldn't find more weaknesses to control them, constantly covering them with cloth and binding them was too inefficient—it might even teach the statues how to escape faster.

As soon as Liam opened the door, a new prompt appeared on his panel:

[Player Liam Watson has completed the main quest - Survive the Night without being altered. Reward: 20 points.]

[Current balance: 23 points. Would you like to purchase items?]

Liam opened the shop and found his balance was so low that he could afford a few items. He bought a strong flashlight for 15 points, leaving him with 8 points. He paused to think.

...I wonder if they have a 3D holographic projector.

[Yes, available for 4 points each. A promotion is going on: 8 points for three. Would you like to buy three?]

Without hesitation, Liam nodded: [Yes!]

As a broke worker, "discount" and "promotion" were two words he couldn't resist.

After purchasing it, he naturally began experimenting with his new 3D projector.

The quality of the promotional projector was surprisingly good. After inputting his character model, the projected result was stunning, with no signs of low quality. The colors were vivid, and the characters looked almost lifelike.

Liam was satisfied with his purchase.

However, his audience was not as impressed. In this game, the audience had certain expectations once a newcomer received likes, follows, and views.

A crowd gathered around the small screen, complaining.

"Is this newcomer trying to use the projector to fool the mermaid wax statues? The monster book clearly says they need direct eye contact. This projector will only fool them for a moment; it won't last long."

"He bought the discounted projector. It looks fancy, but it's useless! No wonder it's been on discount for years, and no one buys it."

"...Yes, when I joined, this projector was on sale. Even after all these years, it's still on sale..."

"Ugh! 23 points—the highest in the new player area—and he wastes them all. He didn't buy anything useful! Is he out of his mind?!"

Suddenly, a player exclaimed in delight before a small screen: "Come here!! This newbie bought the Flame Torch! This thing kills mermaids; he's got it made!"

The crowd immediately flocked away from Liam's screen and gathered around the newbie who had purchased the correct item, nodding in approval.

"Yes, this is the standard tool for clearing the stage. This newbie has good instincts."

"The Flame Torch can be used three times. If he uses it wisely, he's probably the only one who will clear this round."

…

Liam's screen was left with only a few viewers.

[34 people are watching Liam's small screen; 167 have left.]

[50 people have unliked Liam's small screen, 44 have unfollowed, and 17 have downvoted. No one has charged his small screen.]

…

After testing his new tool, Liam left and went to Gerald's room to wake him up.

Gerald hadn't slept well. He looked pale, with dark circles under his round glasses.

The number of mermaid wax statues in Gerald's room—Liam estimated—was about the same as in his own.

However, unlike the statues he had locked up, these statues in Gerald's room were quietly arranged in place. Liam couldn't shake the feeling that these statues looked more realistic than his own, and their faces seemed to bear a subtle resemblance to Gerald's…

The wax statues' pale, waxy surface had a translucent red glow, and their eyes seemed to move in their sockets at any moment. Their expressions were calm and natural, like fish that had absorbed enough water with their tails' scales spread out.

The room also started to emit a faint fishy smell.

Liam checked Lucy's and Andrew's rooms, making careful comparisons. He noticed that the mermaid wax statues in their rooms looked more lifelike than in his room in texture and color. Even their features were beginning to resemble the faces of the people who lived there.