Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls - Chapter 278: Alices Debut

Therefore, Liu Xing felt that the Main Quest of this module was exceptionally treacherous, almost forcing players into a life-or-death situation.

After all, from the perspective of character cards, they were helping their friend come to terms with reality and preventing Matsui Yui, this siren, from causing harm. The worst-case scenario would be getting expelled from Fisher’s Village.

Among the known four players, Liu Xing and Zhang Jingxu, one as a ruthless Cult Leader and the other as a peaceful Taoist, still had the option to “forgive” Matsui Yui for her involvement in Dogo Aige’s predicament. Ling Ishikawa, under Liu Xing’s influence, might also make a similar choice.

However, as Dogo Aige’s colleague and friend, Panda Pig would undoubtedly side with Dogo Aige. Thus, “Panda Pig” would likely reveal everything they knew to Dogo Aige, and “Watanabe Ryusei” and the others would be powerless to stop “Panda Pig.”

Aside from these factors, there were two other unstable elements.

The first was Lu Tianya, an NPC. Unlike players who could communicate through Private Room time and coordinate plans, Lu Tianya’s actions were unpredictable. If Lu Tianya suddenly had a change of heart or if KP Green Light manipulated him to reveal the truth to Dogo Aige, it would pose a significant problem.

According to Yin En, KP had some control over NPCs in the module, allowing them to arrange Plot Encounters with players.

The other unstable factor was the player who had been missing for almost a day. Since they didn’t know the player’s whereabouts, there was a chance that this player had a close relationship with Dogo Aige. That could potentially complicate matters.

However, Liu Xing couldn’t help but ask Dogo Aige, “By the way, Dogo Aige, besides us, did you invite anyone else to Fisher’s Village?”

Dogo Aige thought for a moment, looking somewhat dejected. “Actually, I did invite one more person. It’s probably the young man you mentioned earlier, Miyako Goudong, who’s into mobile games. He’s my teacher’s son. Since my teacher couldn’t come to Fisher’s Village due to health reasons, he sent Miyako Goudong in his place.”

“Miyako Goudong is quite an eccentric person. He always likes to give himself bizarre roles and changes them periodically. I suspect that he has currently adopted the role of an adventurer, which is why he didn’t board the ship with you all. He’s probably out there in the wilderness on this island, trying to survive.”

Liu Xing couldn’t help but smirk. He never expected to encounter someone with chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) in a Cthulhu RPG Game.

However, now that they knew about Miyako Goudong, Liu Xing thought that anything was possible with a chuunibyou like him. So, he decided that when he returned, he would arrange with Zhang Jingxu and the others to search for Miyako Goudong on the island.

At that moment, Dogo Aige suddenly remembered something and said, “I almost forgot, Lizi’s friend will be arriving on the island today. Make sure to get along with Lizi’s friend.”

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised that Matsui Yui’s friend was coming to Fisher’s Village today. More importantly, he suspected that Matsui Yui’s friend was likely associated with the Deep Sea Gospel Society.

Thinking this, Liu Xing exchanged a meaningful glance with Ling Ishikawa, who then politely excused themselves from Dogo Aige.

As Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa walked back, Liu Xing couldn’t help but speak up, “Ling Ishikawa, you must have seen that symbol, right?”

Ling Ishikawa nodded and replied seriously, “Yes, I saw the symbol. It’s a droplet of blood, which most likely signifies a ritual sacrifice.”

Liu Xing sighed, saying with resignation, “In that case, Dogo Aige is in danger. It seems that Fisher’s Village may indeed be under the control of the Deep Sea Gospel Society. Here’s what we’ll do, Ling Ishikawa: find an opportunity to fake an illness and leave Fisher’s Village. Then, call Honekawa Suneo and the others, and have them prepare to come and rescue us.”

Ling Ishikawa nodded but expressed some concern, “Master, I have a feeling that I might be sent to an Alternate Dimension by Honda Tetsuya again. I wonder if this time I’ll end up in Hybrier…”

Liu Xing feigned surprise, looking at Ling Ishikawa and asking, “What? Can Honda Tetsuya still control you?”

Ling Ishikawa reluctantly nodded and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a strange tattoo on his arm – hundreds of chaotic, overlapping circles.

Most importantly, when Liu Xing saw this tattoo, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.

At that moment, KP Green Light chuckled and said, “Hehe, I didn’t expect Liu Xing, your character card, to have such a high level of Cthulhu Mythos knowledge. Being able to undergo a sanity check in the Shoggoth Region surprised even me, the KP. But it’s because your character card’s Cthulhu Mythos knowledge has reached a certain threshold that you only lost 1 point of sanity in this sanity check and gained 1 point of Cthulhu Mythos knowledge.”

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, not anticipating a sanity loss. It was clear that the tattoo on Ling Ishikawa’s arm possessed great power. This also hinted at the formidable strength of Honda Tetsuya.

“Master, what’s wrong?” Ling Ishikawa looked at Liu Xing, concerned.

Liu Xing snapped out of his thoughts and said with lingering unease, “It seems that Honda Tetsuya’s power is even greater than we imagined. Just this tattoo made me feel uncomfortable.”

Ling Ishikawa nodded in agreement.

Ling Ishikawa then gestured for Liu Xing to follow and led him to hide behind a villa.

“What’s going on?” Liu Xing asked, puzzled.

Ling Ishikawa used his eyes to signal Liu Xing to look for himself. Carefully, Liu Xing peeked out and was surprised to see Alice!

According to Watanabe Ryusei’s memories, Flame Bar had closed shortly after Morimoto Academy was sealed off, and Alice had been missing since then, as Miguel had seen her off on a plane headed for Italy.

So, Liu Xing hadn’t expected to encounter Alice in Fisher’s Village. It was a pleasant surprise, but upon reflection, it was also somewhat expected. After all, Alice was a member of the Deep Sea Gospel Society, and now that the society’s Kyoto branch was no more, it was reasonable for her to be working elsewhere.

However, Liu Xing thought that there was no need to hide from Alice. She probably didn’t recognize him.

Ling Ishikawa noticed Liu Xing’s confusion and explained, “Well, Alice might not recognize you, Master, but she might recognize me. After all, I was sent to an Alternate Dimension by Honda Tetsuya at Flame Bar, and if Alice knew about it, she would know what I look like. Meeting her now could be problematic.”

Liu Xing nodded, acknowledging the possibility.

So, Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa decided to wait and see. When Alice finished her conversation with Matsui Yui and entered the villa alone, Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa waited a bit before following her inside.

By this time, Zhang Jingxu and the others had also returned and were sitting in the main hall, chatting. Alice was nowhere to be seen; she had likely gone upstairs.

Liu Xing signaled Zhang Jingxu and the others, and they all gathered in Liu Xing’s room.

“Ryusei, what’s going on?” Zhang Jingxu asked, puzzled.

Liu Xing carefully chose his words and then said, “The woman who just came in is named Alice. She’s an important member of the Deep Sea Gospel Society’s Kyoto branch. She’s here in Fisher’s Village under the guise of being Matsui Yui’s friend, and I suspect she has ulterior motives.”

Zhang Jingxu furrowed his brow, saying, “Is that so? We chatted with Alice earlier and thought she was a nice person. It’s unbelievable that she’s part of the Deep Sea Gospel Society. If that’s the case, Fisher’s Village is indeed their territory.”

Liu Xing nodded, continuing, “That’s correct. We can now be fairly certain that Fisher’s Village belongs to the Deep Sea Gospel Society. Also, I saw a symbol on the lintel of the hut where Dogo Aige is staying. The symbol is a droplet of blood, and I believe you all know what that signifies.”

Zhang Jingxu sighed, shaking his head. “It looks like we’re in trouble. This place is probably a base for the Deep Sea Gospel Society, and Dogo Aige was lured here as a sacrifice. Being a foreigner, even if he goes missing in the Island Nation, it might not raise much attention.”

Panda Pig, looking bewildered, asked, “What is this Deep Sea Gospel Society? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

After all, Panda Pig was just a regular physical education teacher, and he was not familiar with the Deep Sea Gospel Society.

Ling Ishikawa proceeded to provide Panda Pig with a brief overview of the Deep Sea Gospel Society, causing Panda Pig to become concerned. “So, this Deep Sea Gospel Society is a cult, huh? Are we at risk of being taken as sacrifices too?”

Regarding this, Liu Xing held a different view, as the Main Quest had stated that as long as they successfully held the wedding, the players would be safe.

“So, the key now is whether we should abandon Dogo Aige?” Zhang Jingxu asked bluntly.

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