Punishment Mission

[Dungeon mission failed, generating penalty mission...]

[Penalty mission generated, mission progress updated...]

[An ancient existence awakens from its dream, one of Its tentacles has already extended into the reality, go and sever it!]

[Mission completion counts as dungeon clearance with double rewards, failure to complete...]

"Did we just play ourselves into a corner?" Lu Li wore an excited expression, a strange luster flashing in his eyes as he said happily, "To think there's such a mechanic, this is truly interesting."

"The situation isn't right. In the past, even if a mission failed, as long as one didn't die inside, it just meant no rewards for that dungeon. In rare cases, the monsters might go berserk, but one just had to escape their pursuit; penalty missions never appeared." Hu Wenxu was quite experienced, but unfortunately, it was of no help to the current situation.

"To think it was a foreign mermaid, actually harboring the whimsical fantasy of being with His Highness the Prince." Seeing the corpse transform into the mermaid-form Mermaid Princess, the old Witch snorted, which brought the stunned Prince back to his senses. With a sorrowful face, he said to the Witch, "Regardless, she saved me, and she died because of me. This is a debt I owe her; do not be disrespectful to the dead."

"Someone, give this lady a proper burial. After this is over, erect a statue for her by the sea." The Prince issued the order, then said to Lu Li and the others, "Let this farce end here. I won't hold your interception of the carriage against you; leave at once."

The mission had already failed, and continuing to conflict with the Prince offered no benefits, so the three of them had no choice but to leave. On the way out, Hu Wenxu suddenly swung a Coral Blade at Gao Xiaowen, questioning her simultaneously: "Thinking it over, the problem with this dungeon can only stem from that Witch, and you must be one of the accomplices!"

"Or rather, whether you are even Gao Xiaowen at all is up for debate." Hu Wenxu sliced open the sleeve of Gao Xiaowen's left arm with his blade, revealing a bizarre pattern composed of black hair beneath. Gao Xiaowen's expression did not change; she stepped back and said calmly, "Does it really matter if I am still Gao Xiaowen? We are accepting other things every moment, changing every moment. The you of today is by no means the you of yesterday, and I am merely accelerating that change."

"The problem now is how to resolve that penalty mission, and I can undoubtedly help you." Gao Xiaowen stated the crux of the matter: "My deal with the Witch is already complete. In fact, the Mermaid Princess's ending was destined long ago; with or without me, the result would be much the same."

"The Witch knew long ago that the Prince did not love the Mermaid Princess. From the moment the Mermaid Princess decided to undergo racial transformation, there were only two possible endings for her: one is the current outcome, where the Mermaid Princess commits suicide and the bubble of love shatters; the other is for the Mermaid Princess to choose to kill the Prince, which would spare her life, but that bubble of love would shatter all the same."

"My role was merely that of a relay station, transmitting the power of the Mermaid Princess's shattered dream bubble." Gao Xiaowen revealed the truth bit by bit: "Merfolk were originally human, but they received a Great Call and entered the sea. Later, these summoned humans split: one branch became the merfolk, while the other became monsters with severe fish-like mutations. The population living in that fishing village earlier were the mixed-blood descendants of those monsters."

"Later, the merfolk branch gradually abandoned their faith in that Great Existence, but their royal family still retained certain traits—traits necessary for that Great Existence to descend once more. This trait has now been triggered by the way the Mermaid Princess died."

"So what are we supposed to do now? Resurrect the Mermaid Princess?" Lu Li asked with interest.

"That is not necessary. That Great Existence has only extended a small tentacle for now and has not fully awakened; It is still slumbering within the Dreamlands. There are currently three fulcrums supporting Its existence in reality."

"One is naturally at the Witch's location; the ritual altar there and the offerings upon it are the most important support points. The second fulcrum is the trait from the Mermaid Princess, which I previously sent to the Witch. The final fulcrum is that branch of monsters separated from the merfolk, known as the Deep Ones."

"For every fulcrum we destroy, the Great Existence's tentacle in reality will weaken. Otherwise, if we were to charge at the Witch right now, the only outcome would be being eaten clean by that tentacle." Gao Xiaowen said with a smile: "You don't need to worry about my issues either. I serve another Great Existence. We previously had a cooperative relationship with the Witch, but that relationship has now terminated. My current mission is to become a true player, so I must help you complete the mission."

"I'll believe you for now. How much time do we have?" Hu Wenxu lowered his Coral Blade, a crazed look flashing in his eyes. He had suddenly learned so much that his desire for research had hit its limit.

"Three days. The Great Existence's tentacle is still adapting to the rules of reality. After three days, even without the fulcrums, It will be able to survive in reality. So we must hurry to that small fishing village now; otherwise, once the three days are up, we can only wait for death. A Great Existence is not something we can face."

"Then let's go. We couldn't dissect the mermaid before, but now that we have those so-called Deep Ones, they should make for excellent experimental subjects!" Hu Wenxu was already impatient, his desire for research burning fiercely.

"So, it was clearly a story about the Mermaid Princess, how did it turn into a war against an evil witch?" Lu Li complained: "The mermaid storyline has been completely abandoned. I wonder what will happen to the Prince next? Living happily ever after with the neighboring princess?"

"Can you stop thinking about these useless things? Hurry up and recover your state. We are going to cause trouble for the Deep Ones now; those monsters are not to be underestimated." Gao Xiaowen frowned. Although Lu Li seemed easygoing, he was actually difficult to control. She had received a mission from the Great Existence behind her to pass through this game and head to the main space; she did not want Lu Li to ruin things.

"Don't worry, I will cooperate with you well." Lu Li seemed to see through Gao Xiaowen's worries, squinting his eyes as he smiled and said: "I would never refuse such an interesting thing."

And after Lu Li and the others left, our Prince collected his emotions and headed to the port city to welcome his bride. She was truly a beautiful girl; thinking of the neighboring princess, Sally, the Prince recalled the strange little fishing village where they first met...