Chapter 107
Xing Nuo, his little cheeks puffed out, was unhappy that the player big brother wouldn’t answer him.
“Big Brother, stealing is bad. Police uncles will catch you.”
And that treasure was very important to the little octopus!
Qiu Ke sighed, about to speak, when the quietest player in their group interrupted him.
“Qiu-ge, don’t waste your time on a kid. We all saw the treasure was an energy pearl. Maybe that stupid octopus just forgot where he put it and is blaming us!”
Xing Nuo, hearing him insult the little octopus, clenched his fists, his face turning red.
“You’re the stupid…person!”
Not used to cursing, he retorted angrily.
“Little Octopus no lie! His treasure is gone!”
Qiu Ke, exasperated, seeing the little merman constantly defending the octopus, said:
“Little Merman, you’re so close to that octopus, can you ask him to check again? Maybe he just misplaced it.”
Xing Nuo, hearing this, scratched his forehead, a thought suddenly striking him, and tilted his head, looking at the players.
“Big Brother, you say no take…but Little Octopus says you took it.”
“In cartoon…Super Cat has lie detector…you have that?”
They could just use a lie detector to find out the truth.
Qiu Ke’s eyes widened in realization, and he looked at the other players.
The quiet player’s forehead was covered in sweat. He quickly said:
“Qiu Ke, don’t listen to a child! There’s no such prop!”
Actually, Qiu Ke did have a similar prop card.
But…
He looked at the unusually agitated player, who was standing with his guildmate, and exchanged a knowing glance with his own teammate.
Lao Xu (Old Xu) had been quiet and almost invisible since they formed their team.
Why was he so eager to speak now?
“Did you take it?!”
Qiu Ke and his teammate grabbed Lao Xu and pinned him to the deck.
Lao Xu, his face pressed against the deck, his expression contorted, snarled:
“I didn’t! Qiu-ge, you’re believing a little merman over your own teammate?!”
Qiu Ke, a veteran of countless dungeons, saw through his act.
“You’re insane! If you don’t give it back, we’ll all die in this dungeon!”
Lao Xu, dropping his pretense, his eyes bloodshot, his expression manic, laughed.
“So be it! Plenty of company in death!”
“I’m not giving it back! What are you going to do about it?!”
The moment he entered the octopus’s lair, he had been mesmerized by the sight of the treasure.
So many high-level props, piled up like a mountain!
If he had all those treasures, he could surpass even Wen Xingxue and become the top-ranked player!
But with his teammates watching, he had only dared to take one unattributed energy pearl.
And it had been his lucky day. He had found the treasure chest right away and used his prop to retrieve the treasure inside without opening the box.
A system notification had immediately appeared:
[Congratulations! You have discovered an SSS+ level prop!]
No wonder the monster had kept it locked away. It was an SSS+ level prop, something he had never seen before!
With this prop, he would have an extra life in dungeons!
He had switched the energy pearl with the real treasure, hidden the treasure in his spatial storage using a cloaking prop, pretended he hadn’t found anything, and put the box back under the purple pearl.
And now, his secret had been exposed by a little merman!
Lao Xu, his mind twisted, no longer caring about survival, just wanting to take everyone down with him, yelled:
“I’m not giving it back! Give up!”
His eyes bloodshot, he heard the sound of something slithering and, lifting his head slightly, saw the little octopus entering the cabin.
“We stole your treasure! You’ll never get it back!”
He then exploded, his body unable to contain the surge of energy as he destroyed his own ability.
The merpeople, watching the scene unfold coldly, shielded the little merman, covering his eyes.
Xing Nuo only heard a loud bang, not seeing what had happened.
Then, silence.
He tilted his head and asked softly:
“Big Brother, what happened?”
The players, startled, then, seeing the little octopus approaching, huddled together, retreating.
“It’s not us! Lao Xu blew himself up! The treasure is in his spatial storage!” they yelled desperately.
As the little octopus approached, its tentacles flailing, the humans and merpeople, strangely united, backed away.
Xing Nuo pulled his brother’s hands away from his eyes and, seeing the little octopus, his eyes lit up, and he waved excitedly.
“Little Octopus! You okay!”
He was about to run towards it when Oxi grabbed his arm, holding him back.
Oxi, facing the fearsome sea monster, didn’t dare move.
Xing Nuo, looking at Oxi, then at the little octopus, confused, hopped over to the little octopus, his tail swishing.
“Little Octopus, where you go? Why come back now?”
The little octopus, its beady eyes filled with a strange sadness, looked at Xing Nuo and suddenly asked:
“The merpeople and humans…they’re all afraid of me. Xing Nuo, you not afraid?”
Xing Nuo shook his head and leaned closer, whispering:
“Of course not, Big Brother.”
The little octopus’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“How…you know?”
Xing Nuo just smiled, his eyes sparkling, his head bobbing happily.
“How could I not know? Big Brother and me…both turned into different fishies!”
Unlike adults, Xing Nuo’s intuition was sharp and unerring.
He knew the little octopus was his Big Brother. He didn’t need proof.
Big Brother was Big Brother.
How could he not recognize his own brother?
He picked up the little octopus and placed it on his head.
“Big Brother with me…I not scared in ocean.”
The little octopus’s tentacles drooped, resting on Xing Nuo’s head like transparent white hair.
Its beady eyes were filled with pride and affection for his clever little brother, and a hint of bewilderment.
“But I’m a bad monster.”
The high-level prop Shen Baizhou had used had a strange side effect. Not only had it turned Xing Nuo into a merman, but it had also shrunk him considerably.
He didn’t want Xing Nuo to know his true identity.
Like Shen Wen and Shen Yan, he was afraid Xing Nuo would be scared of him, like the other humans, if he knew he was a monster.
They were different species, after all.
Xing Nuo touched the smooth, cool octopus on his head, his face beaming, oblivious to his brother’s worries.
“Little Octopus not bad. Someone stole your treasure. And…I not human now either. Just little fishy…Big Brother no like me anymore?”
The little octopus waved its tentacles, feeling Xing Nuo’s warmth and happiness.
Like a little sun, always radiating warmth.
So good, it thought. Xing Nuo just thinks we turned into different fishies. He doesn’t know I’m a bad monster octopus.
It pointed with a tentacle.
“Spatial pouch on the floor.”
It was a common spatial storage prop used by players, but to prevent theft, it was usually bound to the owner’s soul and would lock itself upon death.
Xing Nuo obediently picked up the pouch and asked:
“This your lost treasure?”
The little octopus shook its head, reached a tentacle into the pouch, ignoring the player’s protests, and, using brute force, broke the prop, retrieving a small crown.
A small, green, vine-shaped crown with a tiny sunflower gem at the front.
It was clearly meant for a child.
Xing Nuo’s eyes widened in surprise, and before he could say anything, the crown was placed on his head.
The delicate crown rested among his curly hair.
He gasped softly, touching it, his eyes filled with joy.
“Gift for me?”
Shen Baizhou had spent over two months making this crown.
He had carefully carved the gem into a sunflower shape without damaging it.
And it looked beautiful.
With the crown, Xing Nuo looked like a true merman prince.
But Xing Nuo just smiled and said:
“I Merman Knight now! I take my sword…slay dwagon!”
He didn’t want to be a prince. He wanted to be a brave knight!
His earlier doubts about fairytales forgotten, he was filled with hope and determination.
There must be a dragon waiting for him, the little knight with the sunflower crown!
Shen Baizhou clapped his tentacles together, cheering.
“Yay!”
He was about to say something else when he felt the prop’s effect wearing off and jumped down from Xing Nuo’s head.
“We have to go now, Xing Nuo. Go say goodbye to your merman friends.”
