A siren approximately two meters in length dragged most of her fish tail across the ground to prop herself up. When she returned and saw the two figures, she froze—especially at Yang Yi, who was clutching a corpse's neck with both hands. But she reacted swiftly, immediately singing a hauntingly beautiful melody.
[You hear a mesmerizing melody, become enchanted, and fall into a charmed state. Sanity decreases by 5.]
Yang Yi abruptly stopped, dropping the corpse and letting his hands hang limp.
"Dammit, this fool's charmed again!"
Su Na gripped her dagger, bracing for a fight to the death. This siren likely wouldn't keep her alive as emergency rations. A bead of cold sweat trickled down Su Na's forehead.
Yang Yi, seemingly entranced, staggered toward the siren with unsteady steps. She was stunning—a classic beauty with golden waves, delicate features, and skin that glowed like porcelain. Her voice was angelic, but she also had teeth sharp enough to crush skulls, claws to gut a man, and a tail that could shatter bones.
He leaned into her embrace as if seeking comfort… The siren seemed to favor this prey, hesitating to attack. Her gaze softened, and she opened her mouth repeatedly but couldn't bring herself to bite.
"Sorry… we're just different species," Yang Yi murmured in her arms.
[Sanity below 50, you enter a frenzied state. Strength +2, Agility +1, Constitution +1, Spirit -2. Immune to most mental abnormalities…]
Before the siren could react, Yang Yi had drawn a flintlock pistol, pressing it to her temple.
Bang!
The gunshot echoed deafeningly through the cave. The shard of bone tucked in his waistband went unused.
"You resisted charm? Then why did you walk over?" Su Na's crimson eyes flickered with confusion.
"Your gun's sound is weird—it drained my sanity a bit!"
Only one point… Yang Yi noted the key: Even with 8 Spirit, he'd lost 3 sanity from the first shot! He stepped back as the headless corpse twitched, spilling dark blood and gore across his clothes.
Su Na rushed over, eyeing the corpse with regret. She pulled out a vial to collect blood, brain matter, and mucus.
"Hey, I killed it—the loot's mine!" Yang Yi frowned, pocketing a chunk of meat. (The gachapon system only required minimal tissue; corpses were recycled to prevent duplicates.)
Su Na paused, looking up. "Leave the most intact body for me. I'll give you all my ship's resources and a month's worth of sea chart guidance." Yang Yi agreed quickly—this siren was weaker than drowners. Without her song, most men with spears could kill her on land. A sea chart was far more valuable.
"You said siren return intervals are ~15 minutes?" Yang Yi asked.
"Right: 20, 17, and 18 minutes," Su Na confirmed.
"Add a new data point: less than two minutes!"
He yanked Su Na aside as two smaller sirens burst from the pool behind her, lunging at her former spot. Yang Yi had noticed ripples and acted on instinct.
The sirens, spotting their fallen kin, turned crimson with rage, hissing threats. Their duet—sharp yet alluring—echoed through the cave.
[Harsh yet beautiful song. Sanity -5.]
Even immune to charm, Yang Yi felt chest tightness and ear pain as the sound sapped his HP. He aimed, but the gun clicked—a misfire!
"Move! Open space outside—their song's bouncing off the walls!"
Su Na, bleeding from one ear and disoriented, let Yang Yi drag her toward the exit. The sirens, hindered by their tails on land, failed to close the gap.
"Your pistol misfires sometimes, doesn't it?" she asked. Yang Yi frowned—she noticed too much.
They ran until halted by churning seawater. The island was half-submerged; storm clouds poured rain, lightning splitting the sky.
"The storm started two days ago," Su Na said. "All players are fleeing this area."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
"Would it have changed anything while fighting sirens?" She stayed calm. She had a point—avoiding sirens during a storm would've been worse.
Timing the flintlock's cooldown, Yang Yi glanced back. The sirens were still 10 meters out. At 5 meters, the gun would be ready—his effective range. He aimed, steadying his breath.
At 5 meters, he fired. Bang! A severed arm flew, but the shot missed the head.
"Terrible aim!" Su Na scoffed.
"Like you could do better! Take the one-armed siren; I'll handle the other, then help!"
"Got it!"
They charged their targets as the storm intensified…