Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls - Chapter 339: Forming an Alliance

Upon learning that the expedition team had been attacked by unidentified assailants, Miskatonic University immediately exerted pressure on the Island Nation government through the United States of America. After all, there were many Miskatonic University students within the United States of America’s political sphere.

As a result, the gravely injured Professor Clark (Alice’s master) and three other survivors, along with the bodies of the deceased expedition members, were transported back to the United States of America.

After his release from the hospital, Professor Clark submitted his resignation to Miskatonic University and took with him the badges of the other deceased professors. He vowed to avenge them.

Leaving Miskatonic University behind, Professor Clark returned to his hometown of London to investigate the identity of the mysterious attackers who had targeted the expedition team.

Soon enough, Professor Clark, using his network of connections, discovered a local secret cult that worshipped the Deep One, and this secret cult was none other than the Deep Sea Gospel Society.

Therefore, Professor Clark concluded that the Deep Sea Gospel Society was the mastermind behind the attack on the expedition team. During his subsequent investigation, he also found a connection between the Deep Sea Gospel Society and the tribes on several small islands. This strengthened Professor Clark’s conviction.

However, even though he had identified the culprits, Professor Clark knew that he couldn’t confront the vast secret cult of the Deep Sea Gospel Society alone, especially since the Island Nation was their territory.

So, Professor Clark had no choice but to bide his time and establish his influence in London.

Using his title as a professor of Miskatonic University’s occult studies, Professor Clark quickly became a prominent figure in the London area. He also built a relationship with the London police force by assisting in solving numerous supernatural cases.

Then, Professor Clark started recruiting disciples. Soon, he had ten promising students under his tutelage, including Alice.

Under Professor Clark’s careful guidance over five years, these ten disciples became proficient in occult studies, nearly matching his own expertise. In addition to the occult, Professor Clark required his disciples to study skills such as cryptography, psychology, and more.

Among them, Alice chose to study acting, investigative techniques, psychology, and self-defense for women.

After holding a graduation ceremony for his ten disciples, Professor Clark shared the story of the expedition with them and expressed his hope that they would help him seek revenge.

“One day as a teacher, a lifetime as a father.”

This saying held true in every corner of the world.

Naturally, Professor Clark’s ten disciples wholeheartedly agreed, as his five years of dedicated teaching had earned their respect and admiration.

As a result, Professor Clark arranged different missions for his disciples based on their individual abilities. Alice, with her exceptional acting skills and sharp mind, was assigned to go undercover within the Deep Sea Gospel Society.

Since secret cults had a peculiar nature, especially one deeply rooted in the Island Nation for years, it was nearly impossible to destroy them through conventional means.

Professor Clark’s strategy involved gathering evidence against the Deep Sea Gospel Society while infiltrating its ranks. When the time was right, they would strike from both within and outside to eradicate the Deep Sea Gospel Society completely.

Therefore, Alice arrived in the Island Nation’s Kyoto region. Following the information provided by Professor Clark, Alice attended a social gathering and befriended Fujiwara Yuko, gradually becoming her close friend.

Over time, Alice’s relationship with Fujiwara Yuko grew stronger, and when the opportunity arose, Alice began subtly introducing Deep One to Fujiwara Yuko, weaving a passionate tale of her own “love story” with the Deep One.

Alice’s acting skills were on par with an Oscar-winning actress, and with the help of a senior disciple who specialized in literature and logic, Alice even had a “Mermaid’s Love Song” written for her. Consequently, Fujiwara Yuko wholeheartedly believed Alice and officially introduced her to the Deep Sea Gospel Society.

Within the Deep Sea Gospel Society, Alice quickly showcased her talents in handling intelligence. Combined with her persona as a “Deep One lover” and her close friendship with Fujiwara Yuko, Alice swiftly became the head of intelligence for the Deep Sea Gospel Society’s Kyoto branch.

Upon assuming her position, Alice began nurturing her own network of loyal agents and investigating the Deep Sea Gospel Society’s activities in Kyoto.

Soon, Alice noticed something unusual about Morimoto Academy. However, her intelligence duties were primarily focused on other secret cults and the Kyoto authorities, leaving her in the dark about the specifics of Morimoto Academy.

Alice had to find a way to gather information indirectly. Fortunately, she caught wind of a group known as “Watanabe Ryuusei” due to their conspicuous involvement in the Morimoto Academy incident. After conducting investigations through her intelligence network and discovering the true identity of “Watanabe Ryuusei,” Alice was convinced that they were intentionally targeting the Deep Sea Gospel Society.

When the Morimoto Academy incident erupted, Alice received orders from the Deep Sea Gospel Society headquarters to lay low temporarily. She had no choice but to leave Kyoto, change flights, and return to London. There, she shared her experiences with Professor Clark.

Upon learning about the Morimoto Academy incident, Professor Clark saw potential in cooperating with “Watanabe Ryuusei.” He instructed Alice to find an opportunity to make contact with them and decide whether a partnership would be beneficial based on the outcome.

Certainly, Alice had learned through her intelligence network that “Watanabe Ryuusei” had accepted Dogo Aige’s invitation to visit Fisher’s Village. Moreover, since Alice happened to know Matsui Yui, she reached out to her and accepted Matsui Yui’s invitation.

So, the previous conversation between Alice and Liu Xing was a test on Alice’s part. If Liu Xing had shown a willingness to rebuild the Worshipers of the Yellow Sect, Alice would have found a way to exploit the situation, allowing the Deep Sea Gospel Society to deal with Liu Xing. After all, Alice was not inclined to support the resurgence of the Worshipers of the Yellow Sect after dealing with the Deep Sea Gospel Society.

Hearing this, Liu Xing couldn’t help but feel relieved that his previous covert allegiance to KP Green Light seemed to have passed unnoticed. Otherwise, he would have had to deal with trouble from the Deep Sea Gospel Society after leaving Fisher’s Village.

However, what concerned Liu Xing even more was the effectiveness of Alice’s intelligence network. It seemed she had uncovered his acceptance of Dogo Aige’s wedding invitation. Liu Xing briefly considered whether this was a result of Alice’s intelligence network or a deliberate arrangement by the module.

With these thoughts in mind, Liu Xing replied earnestly, “I see. I’m genuinely sorry about your master, Professor Clark. However, since we share the same goal—to bring about the downfall of the Deep Sea Gospel Society—it’s only logical that we cooperate. Please go ahead and tell me what kind of cooperation you have in mind, Miss Alice.”

Alice nodded and began, “Our cooperation is quite straightforward. Our primary objective is to eliminate the Deep Sea Gospel Society. I can provide assistance on my end, mainly in the form of intelligence. Based on my recent appointment, I may be assigned to the Deep Sea Gospel Society’s headquarters to handle diplomatic relations with secret cults outside the Island Nation. Currently, the Deep Sea Gospel Society primarily engages with secret cults outside the Island Nation, given the limited scope for development within the nation.”

Liu Xing nodded in agreement. As Alice had mentioned, the Island Nation’s situation was unique. Although its territory was relatively small, it had a significant population, ranking among the world’s highest. Additionally, there was a vast disparity between urban and rural populations. This led to numerous secret cults of varying sizes congregating in the same areas. For example, in the capital, Tokyo, there were over a hundred secret cults rooted.

However, there were established rules within the Island Nation’s secret cult community. In a given area, only one secret cult served as the dominant entity, with other secret cults of comparable size voluntarily keeping their distance. Moreover, the combined strength of surrounding secret cults had to be weaker than that of the dominant secret cult, ensuring their control in the area.

Lastly, the dominant secret cult was not allowed to harm other secret cults in its territory unless the latter encroached on its core interests, such as recruiting followers.

In addition to these rules, there was a special provision: in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka—the three most important regions in the Island Nation—there were no dominant secret cults. All secret cults could establish branch offices in these areas, but they were limited to that form.

The Worshipers of the Yellow Sect had violated these rules in the past, leading to their downfall.

As a result, the Island Nation’s secret cults resembled the Warring States period of ancient Japan, each occupying a specific territory, maintaining a facade of peaceful coexistence while engaging in underhanded schemes behind the scenes.

Therefore, it was clear that the Deep Sea Gospel Society was not interested in genuine cooperation with other Island Nation secret cults. Their fundamental interests clashed, and both sides knew that sincere collaboration was unlikely.

Hence, the Deep Sea Gospel Society’s cooperation was directed towards foreign secret cults.

With this in mind, Liu Xing asked with curiosity, “So, you mean to say that the Deep Sea Gospel Society is currently cooperating with secret cults from the United States of America, Cosmic Country, and other nations? Considering the recent Yueshihao incident, where I saw a Deep One hybrid from the United States of America leading the Ritual Ceremony, it seems Cosmic Country’s secret cults would be involved as well, given that the incident occurred within Cosmic Country’s territorial waters.”

Alice nodded and said with a smile, “Exactly, as far as I know, the Deep Sea Gospel Society is currently cooperating with secret cults from the United States of America, Cosmic Country, and other countries. However, all of these secret cults share a belief in the Deep One. While I am responsible for liaising with these secret cults, I also handle various other pieces of information. So, when I come across any information that could be useful to you, Ryuusei-sama, I will find a way to notify you. I will also conceal certain pieces of information that could be detrimental to you, as I just mentioned.”

Liu Xing leaned back and pushed up his non-existent glasses. “What do you want in return for this cooperation?”

Cooperation naturally required mutual assistance.

Alice smiled and took out a key from her pocket. “This key can open a public storage locker in a certain shopping mall in Kyoto. Inside the locker, you’ll find a college acceptance letter. You just need to use that letter to enroll.”

“Is this college related to the Deep Sea Gospel Society?” Liu Xing asked.

Alice nodded and said, “Yes, indeed. The college has ties to the Deep Sea Gospel Society, but unlike Morimoto Academy, the Deep Sea Gospel Society is merely a sponsor of the college. Ryuusei-sama, you should be aware of the unspoken rules in the Island Nation’s secret cult circles. Secret cults operating in Tokyo can only establish branches, and the Deep Sea Gospel Society’s Tokyo branch is located within that college.”

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. “So, you mean you hope I can eliminate the Deep Sea Gospel Society’s Tokyo branch?”

“Exactly. For the Deep Sea Gospel Society, their Tokyo branch is of great significance. If you can eliminate it, it would be like severing their right arm, a significant step toward our goal of dismantling the Deep Sea Gospel Society,” Alice explained earnestly.

Liu Xing thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright, let’s make that our plan. I will find a way to eliminate the Deep Sea Gospel Society’s Tokyo branch. However, Miss Alice, you’ll need to provide me with more information.”

Liu Xing agreed to cooperate not out of arrogance, thinking he could single-handedly confront the Deep Sea Gospel Society’s branch, but because he anticipated that his upcoming module progression might involve the Deep Sea Gospel Society. Taking the initiative would allow him to gain an advantage in intelligence gathering.

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