Godmode: My Infinite Game Odyssey

Lucy sat at the dining table, looking like she hadn't slept much. She yawned lazily, leaning her tired body against Liam.

Gerald, too, seemed half-asleep, and the dark circles under his eyes were even more pronounced. His skin had a sickly, grayish tone, and his eyes were hollow.

Liam couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with Andrew. His pupils seemed smaller than yesterday, and he radiated a nervous, agitated energy as if something were crawling under his skin. There was also a faint fishy smell that seemed to be coming from him.

Liam casually pulled out the coin and swept it over Andrew.

[NPC Name: Andrew (Mental Value Decreasing, in the process of mutation)]

At this moment, Andrew seemed ravenous, devouring the hotel's buffet breakfast as if he were dumping the food directly into his throat.

Since the hotel was by the sea, most of the breakfast consisted of fish in various forms—fried, boiled, or grilled. The fish soup was rich and greasy, and the fish fillets were crispy and golden, making them look mouth-watering to anyone who might have been hungry.

But Liam could smell something—an overpowering stench of decaying fishtails. It was the foul odor he'd smelled in fish markets when the discarded fish carcasses were left to rot. The sight of the perfectly prepared fish dishes was enough to make Liam want to vomit. There was no way he could eat them.

Yet, Lucy and Gerald were eagerly devouring the food, their expressions full of delight.

Liam flicked his coin again. Sure enough, both Lucy and Gerald were marked as [Mutating]. It was clear that the mermaid wax statue in their room had something to do with it.

Andrew, however, was a different story. The way he was eating made Liam feel a little uneasy. Andrew chewed loudly, the wet, dark fishtails slapping his cheeks as he shoveled forkfuls into his mouth. He didn't finish one bite before stabbing another piece of fish and shoving it into his mouth.

Lucy cut into a fish fillet with her knife and fork, looking at Liam with mild surprise. "Aren't you eating, babe? The fish here is delicious! I couldn't stop having two pieces, even though I'm on a diet!"

"You picked a nice seaside hotel!" she added with a bright smile, leaning in to kiss him.

But the intense fishy smell from her mouth made Liam recoil. He instinctively pushed her away and, pretending to be serious, moved her plate of fish away. "Babe, your figure is perfect right now. I won't let you ruin it for a piece of fish. Let's have some salad instead. The fish fillets are okay, but not that great."

Lucy's face lit up, and although she was reluctant to part with the fish fillets, she obediently ate a good portion of the salad. Liam also gave Gerald and Andrew some salad, pretending to be considerate.

Gerald, however, seemed distracted and absent-minded, while Andrew, noticing Liam's indifference, mocked, "What, is our rich guy running low on cash? You said you'd cover everything; now you're acting stingy with the fish fillets?"

"Lucy, look! This is your stingy boyfriend!" Andrew said with a sneer.

Lucy immediately snapped, "Andrew! Would you be able to eat this high-end fish fillet at a hotel like this if it weren't for Liam? You wouldn't even be able to get a room here without him! Look at how much you've eaten! If Liam didn't pay for it, you'd be starving!"

"Lucy!" Andrew roared, but Lucy stood firm, glaring at him.

Unable to take out his anger on Lucy, Andrew turned to Liam, preparing to lash out at him.

As Lucy screamed at Andrew, Liam calmly wiped his mouth and smiled at him. "If you still want me to pay for you, then you'd better not touch me."

Andrew's hand froze mid-air. His nostrils flared as if he were trying to calm his rage.

His bloodshot eyes glared at Liam as he snarled, "When it's time for our bet tonight, if you can't do what you promised, I'll make sure you regret it. You'll never get a woman with that tiny—"

His threats were cut short as a piece of broccoli rolled off Gerald's plate and onto Andrew's shoe.

Like a balloon inflated to its maximum before bursting, Andrew swung his hand around and slapped Gerald across the back of the head. Gerald's head hit the plate, and he vomited all over the table.

"You dirtied my shoe, you disgusting idiot!" Andrew looked at Gerald's vomit with a twisted sense of satisfaction, then kicked Gerald again.

After wiping the oil from his shoe onto Gerald's pants, Andrew coldly said, "I don't waste time on useless trash. Clean it up and get lost."

Lucy rushed to help the dazed Gerald, shouting at Andrew, "That's enough, Andrew! You've gone too far with Gerald!"

Liam, however, wasn't paying attention to their argument. His focus was on the vomit on the table, particularly the fish fillet that Gerald had chewed and spit out. The cross-section of the fish was a sickly, dark greenish-black, and it was covered with something that looked like wriggling maggots.

This was rotten, decaying fish—something that no human should eat. Fishmongers at markets sometimes fed such fish to their larger sea creatures.

Liam remembered hearing a fishmonger tell him that the larger scavenger fish prefer dead fish.

Soon after breakfast, the driver arrived to pick up Liam and the others.

[Main Quest: Visit the Siren Wax Museum, Reward: 50 points] [Main Quest: Participate in the Mermaid Fishing Tournament, Reward: 50 points]

Liam Watson pondered for a moment, just about to ask the driver what these two things were, when suddenly Gerald jumped in between him and the driver, his head lowered, silent. His pale, gaunt face was hollowed out, with bloodstains from Andrew's earlier blows still visible at the corners of his mouth. His teeth were tightly clenched, and he was trembling slightly.

Liam raised an eyebrow. Ever since yesterday, Gerald had seemed intent on avoiding any interaction between him and the driver. This wasn't normal.

Liam's fingers absentmindedly twirled the coin he kept in his pocket.

The coin spun back and forth under his fingertips, a common habit when deep in thought. Even if it was just a single coin, having money in his hands always calmed and pleased him.

With no other information, Liam deduced that Gerald's target was probably Andrew. It made sense that Andrew could easily interact with the driver, as the driver needed an opportunity to make his move. On the other hand, Lucy was easy to manipulate, so there was no need to distance herself from him deliberately.

Gerald's intentional separation from the driver had to be for a reason. After considering it for a while, Liam guessed the reason was money.

Gerald's appearance and his experience with Andrew's bullying suggest that he isn't a wealthy person. Andrew, meanwhile, was known to pick on the weak and avoid confrontation with those who had money. He taunted Liam but didn't take any real action against him. However, he was quick to resort to physical abuse against Gerald, which suggested that Gerald's financial situation was likely worse than Liam's, perhaps even worse than Andrew's.

Last night, Gerald gave the driver a substantial sum of money, leading Liam to suspect that Gerald might have used the money Liam had provided to hire the driver and the tourists to hire the driver instead for revenge against Andrew. That's why Gerald had been so anxious to keep the driver away from him.

But since Gerald had already paid the driver, this transaction should have been nearly concluded. The driver had carried out his duties well and hadn't expressed any suspicion. Typically, Gerald should have relaxed by now, but instead, he was making a calculated effort to distance himself from the driver, which raised Liam's suspicions.

Such a cautious, nervous behavior didn't seem like the actions of someone whose plan was still in progress.

However, Gerald could also be overly cautious and nervous, not letting his guard down even when things hadn't worked out. After all, Gerald's storyline was called "Bloody Conspiracy," a plot that screamed murder. It was completely understandable that Liam might be more forgiving of such caution.

Liam was still curious about when Gerald planned to move against Andrew, but for now, he decided to focus on the main storyline.

Liam asked the driver, "Driver, are there any notable attractions in Siren Town?"

"Attractions?" The driver thought momentarily, then answered, "For tourists, the must-sees are the night fishing and the museum."

Upon hearing this, Liam inwardly acknowledged that he was right. His eyebrow lifted. "What's special about the fishing and the wax museum?"

"Of course, there's something special!" The driver turned to look at him. It was the first time Liam saw the driver up close in the car, and even someone with a high tolerance for horror like him couldn't help but freeze for a moment.

It wasn't fear but surprise.

The driver's appearance was just… strange.

The whites of his eyes were huge, to the point where his pupils appeared to be no bigger than a fly. His pupils moved restlessly inside the sea of white as if they were about to escape his eyes at any moment.

His skin was so pale it was almost translucent, like low-quality wax.

The driver was munching on a fish fillet sandwich as he spoke and drove.

The cross-section of the fish fillet was a putrid green-black color, almost as though it was made from moldy fish. Yet the driver was eating it with great enjoyment, his teeth stained with the same green-black hue, flashing Liam an unnervingly wide smile.