Black Tide Beach

After a night had passed, dawn was just beginning to break. The old woman came out of the inner room and tossed Lu Li a set of roughspun clothes. Looking at him with disdain, she said, "What kind of grown man wears a skirt? Hurry up and change, then get out of here."

"Then thank you, Granny." Lu Li smiled and took the clothes. The Mermaid Princess's gown was gorgeous, but it wasn't suitable for fighting. Make one wrong move, and he could easily trip over it.

"Granny, do you know where this is?" Gao Xiaowen asked, holding the map the Mermaid Princess had given them. The old woman had lived here for years, so she might know something about the place—information that could help with their mission.

"I'd advise you not to go there and get yourselves killed." Sure enough, the old woman merely glanced at the map before looking away. "That's Black Tide Beach. Black devils live there. They'll devour your flesh until all that's left is bone, then imprison your souls there to howl forever."

"Of course, if you want to get yourselves killed, go ahead. Leave the village and head west. Black Tide Beach is that way..." Seeing that none of the players had changed expression, the old woman knew her warning had been useless. With a cold look, she ushered them out. "Hurry up and leave! You're not welcome here anymore!"

Some of the villagers had already gotten up and were busy with their morning chores. They watched the four players warily. Just as the old woman had said, most of the people out and about were young adults; even anyone in their forties was a rare sight. Some had even grabbed weapons like harpoons, as if they would rush over and attack Lu Li and the others at the slightest provocation.

Even after Lu Li and the others left the village, people kept watching them from its edge. Only once the group had disappeared into the distance did the villagers relax a little. Then several young men, their faces full of anger, marched to the old woman's house and kicked the door open.

"You filthy human! If it weren't for your son, we would've sacrificed you long ago. And you still dare shelter humans?" One of the villagers angrily dragged the old woman out of the house and threw her to the ground. "Tell us—did you give them any information about us?"

"You monsters..." The old woman remained cold and unruffled. Ever since her son had turned into one of those monsters, she had understood exactly what they were. She had lived long enough; death no longer frightened her. "You're just a bunch of pitiful, stinking worms, forever hiding in filthy sewers..."

"Thud..." The old woman's head lolled to one side. A large section of her face had caved in. A young man who had just grabbed her pulled back his foot, now sprouting scales, his face twisted strangely and his eyes bulging. He ran a hand through his hair and pulled out a large clump.

"I'll go after those outsiders. We were short on sacrifices for the ritual anyway..." Before the slightly mutated man could finish, a villager in his thirties grabbed him. "How is it that your brain's deteriorating as you evolve? We may be at odds with the merfolk, but we're at a critical stage in our plan. Those humans smell like those merfolk whores. Do you want to kill them and put the merfolk on guard?"

"But if that old hag told them about us..." The mutated man looked vicious. "Besides, once our plan succeeds, the merfolk won't be able to protect themselves. We should be more worried about the humans."

"And now that my bloodline has awakened, I'm starting to shed the filthy human blood inside me. But you, Gelin, still have that lowly human bloodline in the majority. Don't think you can boss me around like you used to!" The mutated man slapped Gelin's hand away and flashed a bloodthirsty grin as he chased after Lu Li and the others. Behind him, Gelin said coldly, "Haige, I'll report this to the elders. Just wait for your punishment."

None of them noticed that at some point, a strange bug on the old woman had died, rapidly dried up, and crumbled into dust. Meanwhile, Xu Haoran, at the front of the group of players heading for Black Tide Beach, suddenly flashed a smile.

Black Tide Beach wasn't far from the small fishing village. Though the group had been rowing earlier, they were all quick on their feet. They followed the coast, sometimes over rocks and sometimes across sand. After walking for over half an hour, they finally reached the destination marked on the map.

A stretch of black reefs lay before them, and the waves surged with unusual violence. As they churned, bits of bone were swept against the rocks, then dragged back out to sea to be ground down again and again. At last, they were reduced to white grains of sand, piling up along the flatter shore and forming a terrifying white beach.

"So this is Black Tide Beach? Then the mysterious Witch lives over there?" Gao Xiaowen turned to look at the forest not far from the beach. It was eerily tranquil; even from a distance, it gave off a sense of oppression.

"If the map is right, then this is the place..." Xu Haoran nodded and put away the map. He took a breath and strode toward the forest. Gao Xiaowen bit her lip and followed. Lu Li and Hu Wenxu brought up the rear. With a strange smile, Hu Wenxu said to Lu Li, "Xu Haoran left something behind to trigger a side quest in that village. Stay close to me later so you don't get caught in it and killed instantly."

"And there's a huge danger lurking beneath the surface of the sea. No matter what happens later, don't go into the water!" Hu Wenxu warned him. Then he casually tossed aside several crystal-clear objects and followed the others with Lu Li. For someone who seemed like a research-obsessed madman, he was remarkably clever. Even though he acted close to Lu Li, he had always kept his guard up.

The moment they entered the forest, Lu Li felt as if something were watching him. The silent woods had no sign of life at all. There were plants, but not even a single bug. Suddenly, Xu Haoran stopped up ahead and said gravely, "There's a violent tremor coming from ahead. Something's coming..."

As soon as Xu Haoran finished speaking, a bizarre, gigantic creature burst through the trees, shoving aside everything in its path as it charged toward them. Black fur rippled across its body, and yellow-green slime dripped from it. Wherever the slime landed, whether on trees or soil, thick white smoke billowed up, accompanied by a nauseating stench.