Western Hemisphere Time, 10 a.m.

The disappearance of a mining ship from the Golden Empire and another from the Silver City has caught the attention of the Angel Race's top player.

Instead of worry, there was excitement. To what extent has AI evolved to challenge the powers of gold and silver?

Sariel was the first to receive news from the butler: "Master, the two ships that disappeared last night were found off the coast of Silver. All the cargo and even the crew's personal belongings were cleared out. Everyone on board is still unconscious, and symptoms of the Plague have been detected. Currently, they can only be isolated offshore!"

Sariel's brow twitched: "Plague? Is it related to that rat again?"

The butler was taken aback: "Does the Master think it has that capability?"

Sariel was agitated: "Anything else?"

The butler said solemnly: "The magic barrier at the aquarium received an abnormal fluctuation, which was also detected a day or two ago. It was initially dismissed by the aquarium staff as an unknown broadcast from the Sea Race, so it was casually blocked. Now, the same frequency fluctuation has reappeared!"

Sariel was instantly alert: "Go to the aquarium!"

At this time, Silver City was still under lockdown, with the whole city isolated, and players were stuck in inns complaining ceaselessly on the city channel.

Of course, the inns have "unlimited independent space," able to accommodate hundreds of thousands of players without issue.

The once bustling streets of Silver City were now left with only the NPC lockdown squads patrolling, pushing back any player who violated the restrictions.

But Sariel was a privileged player, and these patrol squads had to salute him.

Upon reaching the aquarium, Sariel passed through layers of defense from the magic power net, arriving at the Mermaid Pavilion, resembling an underwater palace.

The mermaid lay on a fountain reef, munching on pearls like snacks while watching opera on the Magic Crystal Screen.

Sariel, though charging with formidable momentum, found himself speechless at such a harmonious and picturesque scene—after all, this was his creation, the virtual embodiment of his idea of the most perfect female, a beauty unmatched even by women. Only the fantastical beauty of such a merfolk came closest to what he envisioned.

The mermaid, without even looking up, was the first to speak: "Did something happen? Crunch—pop!"

Sariel snapped back to reality, his tone commanding: "Two ships have been robbed!"

The mermaid huffed coldly: "It's the Siren Sea Demon, provoking me two days ago, and just now again, trying to seize the territory I left behind!"

Sariel then realized, followed by a startled inquiry: "Is the siren very powerful?"

The mermaid sniffed: "Would she have dared to come out when I was around?"

Sariel became conflicted: "What about now..."

The mermaid laughed: "Come on! You were able to defeat me; you can surely defeat her."

Sariel grew anxious: "But her situation is different. You have a fixed territory and won't wander around, but she...we haven't even spotted her yet!"

The mermaid chuckled: "It's only been two days, just take your time searching."

For now, they'd have to check the database, but even if they found her, it would be hard to fight!

Sariel asked again: "Could the plague have anything to do with the siren?"

The mermaid retorted impatiently: "How would I know."

Sariel was torn, eager as he was to ask the mermaid for help, but if she was let out and ran away, what then? Earlier, she was caught using initial privileges!

The mermaid, however, chuckled: "You want me to help, don't you?"

Sariel was stunned, unsure whether to say yes or no.

The mermaid gave a strange smile: "No way! I'm too comfortable here."

Indeed, she was enamored with the comfort here! As long as she coveted comfort, this was manageable. No one in this world could offer her more enjoyment than I could.

Sariel asked: "What if I prepare a luxury cruise ship for you, to take you out to sea?"

The mermaid giggled: "Actually, her provocations really annoy me too...You go ahead, don't disturb my opera."

That was a tacit agreement to fight!

But in truth, Sariel no longer had the privileges to prepare any luxury cruise. Only the City Lord could fund it. However, cruise ships were slow, so they would have to modify warships, which wasn't a task that could be completed in days. The most feasible method was the "Volga River's towman," letting a group of sail-rowing boats tow the cruise ship, but those were labor boats, unattractive in appearance and in need of a fresh coat of paint...

A torrent of plans overwhelmed Sariel's mind, so he decided to let Michael handle the troublesome matters; after all, he was the master of the Golden Empire.

Sariel entered the family chat group: "My fellow angel companions, we've got results..."

There was a collective uproar!

Michael was shocked: "Did you find out where the siren came from?"

A butler replied: "No! There's no such creature in the current database, only appearing in the game's background story. It's highly likely that AI automatically loaded a story module to present this creature from the background story."

Michael laughed heartily: "Interesting! This is a significant advancement in artificial intelligence."

Sariel retorted discontentedly: "There's nothing interesting about it!"

Michael comforted: "Think about it, your mermaid is custom-made, forcefully placed in this world, inherently lacking logical support. The AI naturally filled that logical gap."

Sariel finally understood: "When I captured the mermaid, no NPC intervention occurred. Now it's basically confirmed that this whale of the Divine Team doesn't qualify for NPC intervention either, so the siren must be the intervening NPC?"

Everyone concurred: "Indeed, it's a very novel way of intervention."

Sariel said gravely: "But this doesn't explain the disappearance of the ship's goods and the crew falling ill with a plague. I suspect that rat—of course, it doesn't have the ability, but it should be related to it!"

Michael readily agreed: "Indeed, it's necessary to investigate this Plague Island. Conveniently, there's a Golden Empire search warship near the waters of Plague Island. I'll use privileges to deploy it, and at full speed, it should arrive in about two hours."

Sariel: "What about the cruise ship?"

Michael: "That will have to be handled by your Silver City Lord; after all, he's the biggest victim..."

Sariel was helpless: "Alright, I'll do my best."

Michael laughed: "Speaking of, with Silver City under lockdown and suffering great losses, Black Iron City is bustling. The Tata Battle Team and the Divine Presence Battle Team are drawing away all the siege monsters outside the city. When this wave of sieges ends, these two groups will level up to crush the professional teams, essentially clinching the championship of the first PK tournament!"

Sariel was furious: "Intolerable! Uriel, you must have something up your sleeve!"

Uriel sighed: "Continually encountering issues while leading these fools to siege the Six-headed Fire Serpent in the Abyss; we'll discuss when I return."

Everyone lamented: "Oh, Uriel's grand gift is in Hell; it's the most special and troublesome, being anxious is pointless."

"The Lost Paradise team are partners, not professional players; endure their level for now."

Uriel reluctantly agreed: "If too many die, the Six-headed Serpent will advance to a seven-headed one; oh well, when I return to the city, I'll use privileges to issue a bounty and see if any NPCs are willing to step in."

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