Chapter 249: The Real Culprit
Asking for a name was not done arbitrarily. Knowing one’s own name was very important in mysticism, as it signified having a firm recognition of oneself.
The world was idealistic in nature, and a stable sense of self was the foundation of everything. Even powerful beings like heretical gods lacked self-awareness. Though they possessed immense power, no organization attempted to cooperate with them—only to seize their strength.
And this murloc knowing its own name likely meant it had truly lived at some point, whether as a human or as a murloc.
Memories could be fabricated, but self-awareness could only be shifted, not created from nothing.
A name itself was the shortest spell.
"Fabian" had at least existed in this world before. Even if this murloc was not him, it was at least an echo of his existence.
The lookout hesitated slightly before replying under Chloe's prompt, "Have you heard of Jeremiah?"
"Jeremiah?" The murloc reached up to scratch its head, but its arms were too short to reach. It glanced down at its own hand in confusion before replying, "I have some impression of him. Isn’t he the captain of the Black Pearl? I heard he’s been doing well recently."
"When was the last time you saw him?"
The murloc’s expression gradually turned wary. "What does that have to do with you?"
The lookout’s eyes flickered. He took out a pocket watch from his coat and handed it over. "Hey, do me a favor. I have some business with him."
The murloc picked up the pocket watch, struggling slightly to look down at it. Then, it grinned. "You sure are generous. The last time I saw him was nearly two months ago. There’s plenty of news about him, though. Anything else you want to ask?"
"Have there been many ships setting sail recently?"
"Setting sail? What kind of ships are you talking about?"
"All of them."
"Well, of course, there have been many... uh... uh..."
It suddenly furrowed its brows and muttered to itself in confusion, "Lately... there don’t seem to be any ships setting sail?"
『It not only has self-awareness but also long-term memory, and even its recent memories are intact!?』
The Moths Chasing Fire members on the airship exchanged glances.
This was not something 【Dream Entry】 could explain.
People in 【Dream Entry】 usually only had a few obsessions—like leading a normal life or going to work. Other than these powerful obsessions that could override reality, those individuals were essentially empty shells.
But this murloc monster before them had clear logic and normal responses, and it could even recall both short-term and long-term memories. This was simply too unbelievable.
Could it really be a human that suddenly turned into a murloc??
How was that possible? How could a human transform into a murloc? These were two entirely different species. No matter how one looked at it, it was pure fantasy.
After questioning a few other murlocs, the Moths Chasing Fire members were left bewildered.
"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with these islands—except that humans have turned into murlocs."
"This situation is completely different from what we've encountered before."
The lookout had already climbed back up onto the airship. "Should we try killing a few murlocs?"
Chloe hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Fire a shot from the airship and see."
At this moment, no one from the airship was on the island. They raised their altitude slightly to move beyond the range of muskets and bows. Chloe picked up a bolt-action rifle.
Extraordinary individuals could maintain absolute stability when wielding firearms. Chloe could essentially hit wherever she aimed. After firing a few test shots to calibrate, she took down a murloc with a single shot.
The murloc was in a bustling market area. Its sudden collapse startled the nearby murlocs, and the blood pooling on the ground spread panic among them.
Since this was a marketplace, the panic quickly spread.
But Chloe soon noticed something strange.
The fear didn’t spread far before gradually stopping.
After some initial alarm, the murlocs returned to their previous activities—hawking goods, working, patrolling, haggling, and bustling about.
The murloc's corpse remained on the ground, yet the others merely stepped around it, as if it were an insignificant stone.
The people on the airship exchanged glances, all frowning.
The situation was getting stranger.
"Lower the altitude," Chloe ordered.
The Clamorer's operator was stunned for a moment before realization dawned on him. He understood Chloe’s intention. The murlocs had been ignoring the airship, but what if it descended to a height they could no longer ignore?
The airship slowly descended.
Chloe fired another shot, then lowered the airship further.
Eventually, the airship was nearly on the ground. Chloe pressed the gun against a murloc's head and fired.
The murlocs still panicked, but they continued to ignore the airship.
Chloe flipped off the airship. Amid the startled shouts of the others, she pulled out a dagger and stabbed a murloc to death.
The other murlocs screamed in fear, pointing at Chloe. The harbor guards pushed through the crowd and approached, demanding that she drop her weapon and surrender.
Chloe stood motionless, holding the dagger in place.
The patrol team and Chloe faced off for a while before slowly dispersing. Even though Chloe still held the dagger, they only frowned and kept their distance, showing cautious expressions.
Chloe waved toward the airship, signaling for the machine gun barrels that had extended to retract. The people aboard had been anxious—when she was surrounded by the patrol, the Moths Chasing Fire members had nearly opened fire.
Chloe didn’t care about their frantic calls from the airship. She stood in place, lost in thought for a long time before finally climbing back aboard.
"These murlocs are lively and completely different from the rigid, repetitive people in 【Dream Entry】. But when their state is forcibly broken, they become much more rigid—their responses and reactions are all stiff."
"And even when killed, they don’t recognize that something is wrong with their condition... This is completely different from 【Dream Entry】."
The Moths Chasing Fire members exchanged confused looks. Some seemed to have realized something and fell into deep thought.
People in 【Dream Entry】 always harbored some suspicion about their state. If they became aware of their abnormality, they would wake up—even if waking meant death.
But these murlocs... it was as if they deliberately refused to wake up, no matter what was done.
What kind of people refuse to wake up?
Chloe's expression darkened—only those pretending to sleep could not be woken.
"I think I can guess what's happening." She turned her head toward the largest island in the distance. "Increase altitude. We’re heading over there—to the Pirate King’s Court—to see what kind of beautiful dream the Pirate King is having."