Those Who Could Move and Those Who Couldn't

"Stone..."

Linsey sighed.

He was now glad he had been careful enough to pack Wala Wala and Ala Song into the shop and take them with him when he set off.

Otherwise, leave them up there to face these dangers...

How could two petrified humans possibly resist?

Immediately, Linsey, wielding his Flame-Surrounded Longsword, flipped and leaped out of the newly dug pit:

"It's just a fight..."

"Linsey, what are you doing here?"

"No, why weren't you petrified? Are you alright?"

"..."

After Linsey jumped out, she was stunned on the spot.

The flaming sword in his hand immediately went out.

Because what appeared before him was not the enemy controlled by the Abyss Whale as he had expected, but an 'old acquaintance' he had become quite familiar with over the past few weeks.

Those Guardian Stone Statue on the streets of this City of a Thousand Sails, tasked with protecting the city!

"You...you were all dragged here too."

Linsey suddenly realized.

Humans can be dragged into Hallucination Dream, and these stone statues naturally suffered the most unfortunate fate of ending up here.

At the same time, these stone statues that greeted Linsey also gathered together.

Their fondness for humans goes without saying, Linsey had a good relationship with them.

One of the tall, thin stone statues answered Linsey's question:

"Linsey, on the first night of the Art Festival, we were patrolling the streets when we were suddenly dragged here."

Another small, short stone statue appeared agitated.

"By the way, Linsey, come and take a look with us!"

"Many humans here have turned to stone and are completely unable to move. We don't know what to do with them."

Linsey hurried over with the stone statues.

It's in a mountain valley not far away.

Hundreds of lifelike human statues have been placed here, and there are many stone statues guarding them.

It was obvious that these people, like Wala Wala and the other two, were all affected by the power of the Abyssal Giant Whale Soroa.

Only Linsey escaped unscathed thanks to the power of the magic runes.

"..."

Linsey watched the scene unfold in silence.

The stone statues, powered by humans, move normally here; humans themselves, on the contrary, become stone statues, unable to move.

This was quite a peculiar scene.

Linsey asked the small stone statue beside her:

"Was this how they were when you were underwater?"

The small stone statue nodded:

"The huge whirlpool on the seabed sucked everyone nearby, making it impossible to escape."

"Yes! Everyone we could find is here now!"

"..."

"!!!"

Upon hearing the word 'all', Linsey's eyes suddenly lit up with excitement.

As he walked forward, he greeted the other stone statues.

But most attention and gaze were drawn to the numerous human statues in the vicinity.

Everyone's here!

However, after a quick look around, Linsey did not see any familiar faces inside.

He was somewhat disappointed, but that was understandable.

With a sliver of hope, Linsey continued to ask the stone statue beside her:

"Have you seen Wala Wala here?"

"Wala Wala is here too?" The statues looked at each other, and finally one replied, "No one saw Wala Wala. If she were here, we would definitely put her in the best position to protect her!"

"..."

Linsey then gave up.

He sighed and described the current situation to the surrounding stone statues:

"The island beneath our feet should be Abyssal Giant Whale Soroa in the play. You must have heard his story, right?"

Indeed, someone among the stone statues had heard of it, but then doubts arose:

"The Abyss Whale, isn't that just a character in a story written by humans?"

The stone statue next to it immediately cursed:

"Are you stupid? We were sculpted by humans!"

The stone statue that was being scolded praised its companion:

"That's right, you're really quite clever!"

"When the sculptor was creating your head, were they particularly meticulous, adding a few extra cuts?"

Looking at the stone statues, we were about to start discussing the artwork.

Linsey quickly interrupted:

"Everyone, in short, we're in trouble now."

"Let's not talk about escaping from this Hallucination Dream —now all of humanity is petrified, and to liberate them, we must kill the whale beneath our feet."

Linsey added:

"Oh, right, I just dug a hole outside."

"But this whale's body recovers very quickly, so it's probably impossible to crawl directly into its body."

The stone statues were silent for a moment, then erupted into a heated discussion:

"In that case, we can only follow the script and crawl inside its body to pierce its heart!"

"Are you crazy? Have you even seen that play?"

"That whale's belly is full of venom that can digest a person. Linsey isn't a character in a play with protective armor. If she goes in, she'll probably be digested by the venom before she even gets past the mouth!"

"..."

The stone statues began to help discuss tactics, and Linsey was happy to see it happen.

After all, strictly speaking, they are also locals of the City of a Thousand Sails. They are much more suited to discussing the plot than he, an outsider.

In just a few words.

Another stone statue nearby offered a suggestion:

"Isn't there a blowhole on the back of this whale to breathe? If we crawl in through there, we should be able to reach its heart very quickly!"

A tall, thin stone statue nearby retorted:

"Were you peeking at the show outside the theater?"

"The first time the protagonist climbed into the blowhole, he ended up waking up the sleeping whale, being thrown into the sky, and almost falling to his death!"

A nearby statue of a muscular man also agreed:

"That's right, that place is very sensitive."

"Once this giant whale wakes up, it will spew everything out with its breath."

"Besides, if we wake it up now, we might still be able to escape by sea, but those humans left on its back will probably be in trouble."

"..."

The stone statues were engaged in a heated discussion and were at a loss for what to do.

The script dictates that the method of subjugation involves entering through the mouth, and if Linsey does this, she will face the threat of the dissolving liquid from the Abyssal Giant Whale Soroa.

That venom is designed to corrode life.

Without a treasure like the protagonist in the show, it's almost certain death.

As for going down through the air vent on its back, such a sensitive movement would awaken the beast, potentially leading to disastrous consequences.

Snap—

At that moment, Linsey suddenly clapped her hands.

He drew the gaze of all the stone statues to him, and then said:

"So going in through its ventilation port, you can go straight to the heart."

"But during the process, because this giant beast is very sensitive and could wake up at any time, it could disrupt the plan."

"Is that right?"

The stone statues nodded in agreement.

"That's right!"

"Linsey, safety is the priority. Let's think of another way."

"Or maybe we should go in and try. The venom of this big guy might not be able to corrode these rocks?"

Linsey shook her head at the stone statue that seemed eager to take the risk.

Then, he said in a confident tone:

"Leave the task of going in and taking it down to me! But at the same time, I need your help with a small favor."

So Linsey took out his gear from his bag.

The gleaming hammer shone brightly in the sunlight that broke through the dark clouds.

[Equipment: Bang Bang Fish Stunning Hammer]

Strike a fish on the head with this hammer; it will cause the fish to feel extremely dizzy!

[This achievement item can quickly soothe fish and make them fall asleep.]