Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 246: Death

Liu Xing's concerns mirrored those of Yin En because Yin En knew that Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin were not fools either. They were sure to take precautions against any assistance their side might receive from the students. After all, the division of the NPC factions in this confrontation module was quite obvious. Since Liu Xing was wary of the crew members, Bai Hecheng's group should also be cautious of these students.

So, Liu Xing believed that Shizuka's chances of a successful counterattack were less than thirty percent, but there was still a fifty percent or higher chance of creating chaos.

Of course, Liu Xing and Yin En didn't expect to rely solely on these students to deal with Bai Hecheng's group. After all, the focus of the Cthulhu RPG Game was ultimately on the players.

"By the way, Liu Xing, do you know about World Missions?" Yin En suddenly asked.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, thinking that Yin En might have already known that he had accepted a World Mission. However, upon further consideration, he realized that Yin En probably didn't know.

Seeing Liu Xing's lack of response, Yin En continued, "Well, I forgot that you just advanced to the Shoggoth Region, and you might not know much about many things. I suppose you don't know what World Missions are."

"In simple terms, World Missions are a series of interconnected missions, typical of high-risk, high-reward missions. In each parallel world, there are only a few dozen World Missions. However, if the NPCs who issue these World Missions die, the missions disappear as well."

"But according to information from high-level players in advanced regions, World Missions are a prerequisite for advancing to the Cthulhu Region. Only players who have completed a World Mission are eligible to ascend to the Cthulhu Region. Moreover, it is rumored that once you complete a World Mission, you can break free from the control of the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall. Your points won't decrease daily, and they may even increase."

"So, I suspect that Bai Hecheng has accepted a World Mission. According to the standards of ordinary players, a mission like hosting a sacrificial ceremony shouldn't appear in the Shoggoth Region. So, I think Bai Hecheng triggered a World Mission from the Great Old One, Ghoul King Mordiggian, and that's why he recovered his sanity points or solidified them!"

"Sane point solidification is a very special element in the Cthulhu RPG Game. In simple terms, after experiencing certain special plot events, like consuming a certain divine potion, reading a particular book, or being recruited by a Great Old One, players may solidify their sanity points. This means their sanity points won't decrease anymore, theoretically eliminating the worry of losing sanity points. Players with solidified sanity points can take more risks without fear."

"In one sentence, players with solidified sanity points can say, 'I have nothing to fear anymore.'"

After listening to Yin En, Liu Xing nodded, also starting to believe that Bai Hecheng might have accepted a World Mission. However, he had some doubts that Bai Hecheng obtained the World Mission from Ghoul King Mordiggian, as Yin En suggested. Although Bai Hecheng had indeed become a Ghoul, Liu Xing leaned more towards thinking that Bai Hecheng obtained the World Mission from the scroll of parchment in the castle.

In other words, Liu Xing believed that Bai Hecheng had obtained the World Mission from Cthulhu or its projection. That's why Bai Hecheng was now cooperating with Mo Jin, the Deep One hybrid.

Thinking about this, Liu Xing initially considered sharing his thoughts with Yin En, but in the end, he decided it wasn't crucial and didn't mention it.

At this moment, voices from nearby signaled that Shizuka and the others were preparing to head to the bridge.

"All right, they're coming up. Let's start getting ready. Let's head back for now," Yin En said, patting Liu Xing's shoulder before returning to their hiding spot.

One minute later, Liu Xing saw Shizuka and the others, led by the headmaster and Honda Tetsuya, entering the bridge.

"I gave Honda Tetsuya a dagger, so if necessary, he can try to capture Bai Hecheng or Mo Jin. Although the chances of success are low, it should still cause them some trouble. Most importantly, I heard that these cult rituals have a backlash effect if interrupted midway," Yin En whispered to Liu Xing.

Liu Xing nodded. The ceremony that Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin were about to conduct was a summoning-type spell to bring forth a powerful Deep One hidden beneath the sea. If something went wrong during the ritual, it could be catastrophic. The summoned Deep One might see it as a betrayal by Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin and retaliate, causing them serious harm.

So, if they could interrupt the ritual, Liu Xing would have a significant advantage. However, he knew that Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin wouldn't be so careless. They would likely deal with Liu Xing and Yin En before proceeding with the ritual.

"It's starting," Liu Xing whispered.

At that moment, voices of surprise from the students and some middle-aged men could be heard from Yin En's phone. They were mostly trying to calm the students down and instruct them to stay quiet and crouch down.

However, Suneo, who was prepared, spoke up, "Let's all listen to them. Even though they only have ten people, those four guns are not to be taken lightly."

"It seems that their numbers on the other side are even smaller than we thought. If we subtract Bai Hecheng, Mo Jin, and the headmaster, that leaves only seven crew members on their side. So, when Bai Hecheng's group sends one or two people out for sentry duty, the students inside will have a significant numerical advantage. Hopefully, they can create some chaos," Liu Xing said.

As expected, two cultists dressed as crew members, armed with pistols, arrived at the stairs outside the bridge and began their sentry duty.

Surprisingly, Bai Hecheng had not ordered these two cultists to close the iron gate leading to the bridge.

Overall, it seemed like a good thing. It appeared that these cultists were quite overconfident.

"Yin En, do you and Takayanagi Aoyin have a way to kill these two cultists on sentry duty quietly?" Liu Xing whispered.

Yin En nodded and smiled, saying, "That's definitely doable. This distance is nothing for a marksman like me, and these two cultists aren't very alert. When Shizuka and the others create chaos, Takayanagi Aoyin and I can take them out while they're distracted."

Speaking, Yin En contacted KP Li Shunchan, "KP, Takayanagi Aoyin and I are applying for a bonus die. We're going to aim for the heads of two cultists, and we'll attack when chaos breaks out in the bridge."

KP Li Shunchan nodded and said with a smile, "Of course, that can be arranged. Here's what I'll do: I'll give both you and Takayanagi Aoyin a +20 bonus die, but because you're aiming at the heads of these two cultist NPCs, you'll each receive a -20 penalty die. So, when you add and subtract them, it cancels out."

Yin En nodded, and this result was within his expectations.

The voices from the phone continued, but at this point, the students had been "controlled" by the cultists, so the headmaster became the spokesperson.

Following the archetype of many villains in movies and TV shows, the headmaster explained the sacrificial ceremony to the students, emphasizing that Honda Tetsuya should step forward and slit the throat of the first student, signifying his initiation into the Deep Sea Gospel Society.

It was evident that the ritual Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin were conducting was a blood sacrifice, where the victims' blood would be used to draw a diagram for summoning.

Hearing this, Liu Xing silently nodded and whispered, "Alright, let's get ready."

Liu Xing tightly gripped the dagger for the ritual and began preparing to advance towards the bridge.

As expected, half a minute later, a loud shout from Suneo rang out, "Attack!"

Then, some male students' voices and the headmaster's panicked voice could be heard.

At this moment, the sound of dice hitting the table indicated that Yin En and Takayanagi Aoyin were preparing to shoot.

Yin En: 43/70, successful.

Takayanagi Aoyin: 66/75, successful.

Their luck was good, and both Yin En and Takayanagi Aoyin's shooting checks were successful. Since they were targeting the heads of the two cultists, KP Li Shunchan didn't even roll for combat rounds; he simply ruled that the two cultists were dead.

Then, Liu Xing and his group rushed into the bridge.

Half a minute later, as Liu Xing and the others entered the bridge, they were stunned by what they saw. Inside the bridge, apart from Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin, everyone else was lying on the ground, bleeding from their seven orifices, and their fates uncertain.

"Damn, what's going on here?" Yin En said loudly, aiming his gun at Bai Hecheng.

Bai Hecheng, facing the ominous muzzles, replied nonchalantly, "What else could be happening? These sacrifices are lying peacefully on the ground. Once their blood paints the diagram to summon Deep One Korich, the slumbering Deep One Korich beneath the sea will sink this Yueshihao cruise ship to the ocean floor, just like that ship from decades ago. Then, you'll become Deep One Korich's meal, while we receive the blessings of Deep One Korich and gain endless power!"

Beside him, Mo Jin smiled ambiguously, not saying a word. However, Liu Xing noticed that Mo Jin had produced a black inverted cross in his hand.

The inverted cross had become a symbol of Satanism, and as Satan was considered an enemy of God, his followers were naturally a group of anti-human cultists.

Liu Xing was certain that the inverted cross Mo Jin held was a powerful item, likely a defensive one, or else Mo Jin wouldn't be so unafraid of facing guns. After all, even true Ghouls and Deep Ones couldn't withstand gunshots.

At this moment, Liu Xing suddenly thought of a Chinese idiom: "Please enter the trap willingly." It seemed that they had fallen into Bai Hecheng's trap.

The reason the two cultist NPCs hadn't closed the iron gate was to make it easy for Liu Xing's group to enter the bridge. After that, Bai Hecheng and his group would deal with Liu Xing and Yin En, allowing them to proceed with the ritual safely.

Realizing this, Liu Xing shouted, "Damn, we've been tricked! Yin En, Takayanagi Aoyin, shoot now!"

While saying this, Liu Xing prepared to charge forward with his dagger for close combat.

However, before Liu Xing could take a step, he suddenly felt weak all over and collapsed to the ground. It was then that Liu Xing saw Bai Hecheng take out a candlestick from behind him. The candle on the candlestick was black and emitted black smoke.

It was clear now. The reason both students and cultists were lying on the ground was that they had been incapacitated by the smoke from the candle held by Bai Hecheng.

Despite all their calculations, Liu Xing and Yin En were just one step short. They hadn't anticipated that Bai Hecheng possessed such a game-breaking item. In less than a minute, they had fallen victim to it, and Liu Xing hadn't even sensed anything unusual. Even KP Li Shunchan hadn't given them a warning!

Now, Liu Xing was too weak to speak, so he could only use his eyes to ask Bai Hecheng why.

Bai Hecheng, grinning, said straightforwardly, "Liu Xing, I told you not to oppose me. The candle in my hand is a specially crafted poison smoke candle by the Deep One clan. It can quickly poison ordinary people, rendering them powerless, bleeding from all seven orifices, and eventually dead. It's colorless and odorless, allowing it to catch you off guard. But as you can see, this poison smoke candle has a significant drawback. When the smoke first appears, it's quite conspicuous, and anyone would know it's dangerous. So, I hid it behind my back."

Liu Xing forced a smile, feeling as if he was shedding "hot tears"... or perhaps, in his case, "bleeding from all seven orifices."

Mo Jin approached, holding the black inverted cross in his hand, and said with a pretentious tone, "You can rest easy now. I will pray for you."

As soon as Mo Jin finished speaking, a dagger pierced through Mo Jin's chest. Bai Hecheng, with a smile on his face, said, "I will pray for you too. The great Deep One Korich needs more sacrifices, and you, Mo Jin, are the best offering."

After killing Mo Jin, Bai Hecheng came to Liu Xing's side, smiling as he said, "Death is just the beginning. Let me send you to your new life."

With that, Bai Hecheng didn't hesitate to plunge the blade in his hand into Liu Xing's heart.

Liu Xing, dead.

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