Luo Shengle gathered the necessary items, pinned her name badge onto her chest as she went and stepped out of her room to welcome a brand new day of “work.”
Today, the Whale Bone Aquarium seemed steeped in an especially oppressive atmosphere.
Every staff member hurried along with grim expressions, their faces shrouded in a gloom so heavy it felt almost tangible, pressing down on the air and making it hard to breathe.
Without needing to ask anyone, Luo Shengle quickly understood the reason behind the aquarium’s abnormal state, she stopped in the wide, brightly lit lobby and stared outside in stunned disbelief.
Beyond the main entrance, where a road should have been connected, there was instead an endless expanse of open sea. The edge of the land ended abruptly, split by a jagged fissure.
And this aquarium stood right atop that fragment of earth, as though it had been forcibly torn away by some tremendous power, drifting along with the ocean currents.
Luo Shengle stood there for a long time, utterly dazed, her face filled with shock.
The boundless seascape, the rolling waves stretching into the distance and the seabirds circling beneath the clear sky were all undeniably beautiful… but was this really a place where an aquarium should be?!
How did it go from “Aquarium Horror Night” to “Robinson Crusoe” overnight? The shift in tone was absurdly drastic…
Faced with such an outrageous reality, Luo Shengle found herself at a loss for words. A strange metaphor surfaced in her mind: the entire aquarium was like a turtle carrying its shell as it set off on a long journey, eagerly drifting into unfamiliar waters.
Its urgency was unmistakable, as if… something unimaginably terrifying were chasing after it from behind.
“Th… this should be a mechanism of the instance itself, right?”
Luo Shengle couldn’t help recalling last night’s bizarre and chaotic dream, along with the earth shaking commotion just before it shattered. Her tone grew uncertain. “It shouldn’t be something caused by Mr. Narrator… should it?”
The “The Narrator” Yi Fengchu, heard her words and fell into thought as well.
Probably not him…
It shouldn’t be something he did, right?
He glanced sideways at the tentacle lying on the table and suddenly felt unsure, a faint sense of unease creeping up his spine.
So the fish from his dream last night… could it really exist? Could it even be inside this instance?
He vaguely remembered that the fish had tasted pretty good, fresh and springy. Could this tentacle actually be something he had torn off and eaten during a bout of sleepwalking?
A chill ran through Yi Fengchu. Sure, he was hungry now but that didn’t mean he wanted to eat some bizarre creature covered in tentacles and eyes!
He quickly gulped down several mouthfuls of water. The coolness flowed through him, soothing the discomfort in his chest. Once he calmed down, another thought surfaced.
“Only living things feel fear. Only living things know how to flee.”
“Judging by this, the aquarium itself seems to be alive but according to the guide’s introduction, the aquarium was built normally by humans. It even began as the private collection of a wealthy seafarer, so how did it acquire vitality?”
In an instant, Yi Fengchu listed several possibilities: the location where it was built, the materials used in its construction, a particular object housed within the museum or perhaps some ritual or mysterious event that had occurred over the course of a hundred years, giving rise to this “anomaly.”
After pondering for a moment, Yi Fengchu typed out a line on his phone. Silvery, printed looking letters surfaced on the glass door in front of Luo Shengle:
【You may have been overlooking one question all along.】
【The “Whale Bone Aquarium”, where did that whale bone ultimately go?】
This was the target of suspicion Yi Fengchu had chosen after careful consideration. He suspected that the “whale bones” long mentioned in the aquarium’s historical legends were problematic.
Even if his conjecture turned out to be wrong, he believed that the system’s decision to directly name the instance “Whale Bone Aquarium” carried special significance. Offering this reminder wouldn’t be a mistake, nor would it cause Luo Shengle to doubt the identity of The Narrator.
“Thank you for the reminder.”
Luo Shengle treated every piece of information revealed by the Narrator with caution, carefully adding it to her mental to do list. “I’ll find a way to investigate this today.”
Wait a second, why did she suddenly feel like a game character being controlled by Mr. Narrator or perhaps an electronic pet sent off on an adventure…?
She silently mocked herself in her mind. Before other staff members could catch her slacking off again, she turned and headed deeper into the aquarium.
With the aquarium now turned into an isolated island, there would naturally be no steady stream of visitors. The interior was unusually empty today yet every staff member showed no sign of negligence, faithfully remaining at their respective posts.
The caretakers responsible for the fish went without saying. What truly unsettled Luo Shengle were the employees working in Hall A, those who usually greeted tourists. Despite there being no visitors at all, they maintained eerily polite smiles, occasionally nodding and greeting empty space around them…
As if they were still welcoming guests in a perfectly normal aquarium.
The tour guides were the same. The standard aquarium introduction, spoken in precise diction, was amplified through speakers. Their enthusiastic voices echoed through the empty corridors, answered only by faint reverberations.
Yet the guides showed no sign of fatigue, delivering their speeches again and again.
At that moment, though separated by distance, Yi Fengchu and Luo Shengle shared an identical train of thought: these employees looked like puppets, fake humans running on preprogrammed routines.
When Luo Shengle passed by a guide, she initially intended to move along quickly but she suddenly noticed something, her pace gradually slowing until she stopped altogether.
Her gaze stuck to the edge of the guide’s collar and in that instant, she couldn’t move.
She saw that unknown script again, the same kind she had seen in last night’s dream!
Dark, murky red letters twisted along the collar, like a congealed earthworm lying motionless in an inconspicuous spot.
Just like in the dream, those unknown characters flowed naturally into Luo Shengle’s eyes:
“I waited for a very, very long time but Mother still didn’t come back……. ”
“Miss,” the guide being stared at slowly turned his head, offering Luo Shengle a friendly smile. “May I ask what you’re looking at?”
Luo Shengle looked at that smile and felt uncomfortable all over, especially the eyes. The pupils were unnaturally dilated, like eyes that belonged on the bloated face of a dead fish.
Still, she replied calmly, “Your collar doesn’t seem to be properly arranged.”
After a pause, she put on a stern expression, speaking with mock seriousness. “As a tour guide, you’re the face of our aquarium. You must pay attention to your appearance. Be more careful next time.”
“Huh? Oh.” The guide was immediately distracted. He lowered his head and examined his clothing back and forth. “Thank you. I’ll pay attention next time.”
While the guide was busy reflecting on himself, Luo Shengle slipped away as if her feet had been greased, quickly moving on.
Along the way, she deliberately paid attention to various corners of the aquarium and, sure enough, gradually collected many fragmented phrases:
“I waited and waited and it seems I grew up…….”
That one seemed normal enough. What child doesn’t grow up? Luo Shengle thought casually.
“I am growing, growing bigger and bigger, growing bigger and bigger…”
No. Everyone goes through growth but was there really a need to repeat it over and over like this?
Luo Shengle frowned, a trace of unease flashing through her mind as she continued searching for the next piece of information.
“When I count to the trillionth time the sun rises, I… (crossed out)”
“I died. I began to rot but death was far from my end…..”
“Just as I promised Mother, I will wait here forever…”
“…until the day they discover me.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Nycreth
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Did you enjoy that? Excellent. Coffee. Now. ☕
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Mysterious letterChapter 2 · Divine MessagesChapter 3 · Gamer ForumChapter 4 · Invitation from GodChapter 5 · JudgeChapter 6 · TerminalChapter 7 · Destruction of recordsChapter 8 · Whale Bone Aquarium (1)Chapter 9 · Whale Bone Aquarium (2)Chapter 10 · Whale Bone Aquarium (3)Chapter 11 · Whale Bone Aquarium (4)Chapter 12 · Whale Bone Aquarium (5)Chapter 13 · Whale Bone Aquarium (6)Chapter 14 · Whale Bone Aquarium (7)Chapter 15 · Whale Bone Aquarium (8)Chapter 16 · Whale Bone Aquarium (9)Chapter 17 · Whale Bone Aquarium (10)Chapter 18 · Whale Bone Aquarium (11)Chapter 19 Part 1 · Whale Bone Aquarium (12)Chapter 19 Part 2 · Whale Bone Aquarium (12)Chapter 20 · Interlude: His ApostlesChapter 21 · Echoes in the pupa (1)Chapter 22 · Echoes in the pupa (2)Chapter 23 · Echoes in the Pupa (3)Chapter 24 · Echoes in the Pupa (4)Chapter 25 · Echoes in the Pupa (5)Chapter 26 · Echoes in the Pupa (6)Chapter 27 · Echoes in the Pupa (7)Chapter 28 · Echoes in the Pupa (8)Chapter 29 · Echoes in the Pupa (9)Chapter 30 · Echoes in the Pupa (10)Chapter 31 · Echoes in the Pupa (11)Chapter 32 · Echoes in the Pupa (12)Chapter 33 · Echoes in the Pupa (13)Chapter 34 · Interlude: Investigation by the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs (1)Chapter 35 · Interlude: Investigation by the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs (2)Chapter 36 · Interlude: Investigation by the Bureau of Extraordinary Affairs (3)Chapter 37 · Small World: God’s Chessboard (1)Chapter 38 · Small World: God’s Chessboard (2)Chapter 39 · Small World: God’s Chessboard (3)Chapter 40 · Small World: God’s Chessboard (4)Chapter 41 · Advertisement Coming Soon (1)Chapter 42 · Advertisement Coming Soon (2)Chapter 43 · Advertisement Coming Soon (3)Chapter 44 · Advertisement Coming Soon (4)Chapter 45 · Advertisement Coming Soon (5)Chapter 46 · Advertisement Coming Soon (6)Chapter 47 · Advertisement Coming Soon (7)Chapter 48 · Advertisement Coming Soon (8)Chapter 49 · Advertisement Coming Soon (9)Chapter 50 · Advertisement Coming Soon (10)Chapter 51 · Advertisement Coming Soon (11)Chapter 52 · Advertisement Coming Soon (12)Chapter 53 · Advertisement Coming Soon to EndChapter 54 · Interlude – Tonight No One Sleeps (1)Chapter 55 · Interlude – Tonight No One Sleeps (2)Chapter 56 · Interlude – Tonight No One Sleeps (3)Chapter 57 · Interlude – Tonight No One Sleeps (4)Chapter 58 · Childhood Ghost Stories (1)Chapter 59 · Childhood Ghost Stories (2)Chapter 60 · Childhood Ghost Stories (3)Chapter 61 · Childhood Ghost Stories (4)Chapter 62 · Childhood Ghost Stories (5)Chapter 63 · Childhood Ghost Stories (6)Chapter 64 · Childhood Ghost Stories (7)Chapter 65 · Childhood Ghost Stories (8)Chapter 66 · Childhood Ghost Stories (9)Chapter 67 · Childhood Ghost Stories (10)Chapter 68 · Childhood Ghost Stories (11)Chapter 69 · Childhood Ghost Stories (12)Chapter 70 · Childhood Ghost Stories (13)Chapter 71 · Childhood Ghost Stories (14)Chapter 72 · Childhood Ghost Stories (15)Chapter 73 · Childhood Ghost Stories (16)Chapter 74 · Childhood Ghost Stories (17)Chapter 75 · Childhood Ghost Stories (18)Chapter 76 · Childhood Ghost Stories (19)Chapter 77 · Childhood Ghost Stories (20)Chapter 78 · Childhood Ghost Stories (Complete)Chapter 79 · Interlude: His Kingdom (1)Chapter 80 · Interlude: His Kingdom (2)Chapter 81 · Interlude: An Epic of Faith (1)Chapter 82 · Interlude: An Epic of Faith (2)Chapter 83 · Interlude: An Epic of Faith (3)Chapter 84 · Interlude: An Epic of Faith (4)Chapter 85 · Interlude: An Epic of Faith (5)Chapter 86 · Interlude: An Epic of Faith (Complete)Chapter 87 · Fate casually rolls the dice (1)Chapter 88 · Fate Casually rolls the dice (2)Chapter 89 · Fate Casually rolls the dice (3)Chapter 90 · Fate Casually rolls the dice (4)Chapter 91 · Fate casually tosses the dice (5)Chapter 92 · Fate casually tosses the dice (6)Chapter 93 · Fate casually tosses the dice (7)Chapter 94 · Fate casually tosses the dice (8)Chapter 95 · Fate casually tosses the dice (9)Chapter 96 · Fate casually tosses the dice (10)Chapter 97 · Fate Casually tosses the dice (11)Chapter 98 · Fate casually tosses the dice (12)Chapter 99 · Fate casually tosses the dice (13)Chapter 100 · Fate casually tosses the dice (14)Chapter 101 · Fate casually tosses the dice (15)Chapter 102 · Fate casually tosses the dice (16)Chapter 103 · Fate casually tosses the dice (17)Chapter 104 · Fate casually tosses the dice (18)Chapter 105 · Fate casually tosses the dice (19)Chapter 106 · Fate casually tosses the dice (20)Chapter 107 · Fate casually tosses the dice (21)Chapter 108 · Fate casually tosses the dice (The End)Chapter 109 · Interlude