Chapter 233: Another Familiar Face
Qingming Rain, not only could it inflict harm upon mythical creatures, but it could also slow down their movements.
That's why Liu Xing had chosen to entrust the Qingming Rain to Juri Sonoda. If Juri Sonoda were to be discovered by Bai Hecheng and his group, she could use the Qingming Rain to buy some time.
After explaining the usage and effects of Qingming Rain to Juri Sonoda, she couldn't help but express her curiosity, "Wow, is it really that magical, Liu Xing? Do you have any enchantments that can make people invisible and walk through walls? Of course, it would be best if you could teach me this spell hand in hand. It would make gathering materials outside much more convenient."
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, realizing that Juri Sonoda was taking him for a Maoshan Taoist, talking about invisibility and wall-walking techniques...
Seeing Liu Xing's expression, Juri Sonoda knew that he didn't possess any invisibility or wall-walking skills, so she pretended to be dismissive and said, "Well, it seems like Liu Xing, you still have a lot to learn."
Liu Xing sighed helplessly and nodded, saying, "Yes, yes, I have much to learn. I've disappointed you, Juri."
At that moment, Bai Hecheng and the young crew member finished their coffee and left the caf. Juri Sonoda nodded at Liu Xing and discreetly followed them.
With the coffee finished, Liu Xing headed to the deck to find Yin En.
On the deck, Liu Xing quickly spotted Yin En, who was alone.
"Haha, it looks like you're in a bit of a predicament," Liu Xing teased.
Yin En forced a smile and nodded, saying, "Liu Xing, don't kick me when I'm down. But speaking of which, do you know what an 'Innsmouth Face' is?"
"Liu Xing" certainly didn't know what an "Innsmouth Face" was, but Liu Xing did.
In simple terms, as mentioned earlier, many Deep Ones lived in the waters near Innsmouth. Although they appeared as fish-headed humanoids and seemed somewhat foolish, Deep Ones possessed intelligence surpassing that of humans. They were also effectively immortal unless killed. Due to various reasons, the Deep Ones near Innsmouth began trading with the human inhabitants of Innsmouth, eventually leading to intermarriage between Deep Ones and humans.
In the Cthulhu Mythos universe, humans and mythical creatures were not reproductively isolated, so the offspring of these unions exhibited no physical differences from ordinary humans until they reached the age of thirty-five. After that age, contact with their own kind or extreme stress could trigger a rapid transformation. Their eyes would bulge and their eyelids would become immobile, their skin would turn gray-green and develop scales, webbed fingers and toes would emerge, gills would form on their necks, and other aquatic adaptations would manifest. This transformation into a Deep One took a relatively short time, and once complete, these individuals would leap into the water and join the nearest Deep One city, living the rest of their lives as Deep Ones.
Innsmouth was a place where intermarriage between humans and Deep Ones was most common, and since Innsmouth was not completely cut off from the outside world, many outsiders had seen these half-transformed individuals living there. Their appearance was so distinctive that the term "Innsmouth Face" had been coined. This term could also be used to mock someone's ugliness, as, despite the lack of an attractiveness attribute for mythical creatures, Deep Ones would probably have a rating of about 10 based on human aesthetic standards.
In the Cthulhu RPG Game, if a player told you that an NPC or another player had an "Innsmouth Face," they meant that the NPC or player was likely a hybrid of Deep One and human.
However, since "Liu Xing" was not familiar with the specifics of Deep Ones, he could only shake his head and say, "Uh, I'm not really sure about that."
Yin En proceeded to explain the details of the "Innsmouth Face" and the relationship between those who had it and the Deep Ones. Predictably, this triggered a Sanity check, but because the content this time was not too "explosive," and Liu Xing's knowledge of Cthulhu Mythos had reached double digits, he only lost 1 point of Sanity and gained 1 point of Cthulhu Mythos knowledge.
After explaining "Innsmouth Face," Yin En continued, "Liu Xing, you may not know this, but I once carried out a mission in Innsmouth, and I saw these villagers with 'Innsmouth Face' conducting sacrificial rituals by the sea, attracting real Deep Ones to devour the living. From what I learned from a local villager, these individuals with 'Innsmouth Face' are actually incomplete Deep Ones."
"I see. Yin En, are you suggesting that these 'Innsmouth Face' individuals have appeared on the cruise ship, and they might be planning to conduct some kind of ritual on board? " Liu Xing feigned surprise.
Yin En nodded solemnly and said, "Exactly. These people are no longer human; they are Deep Ones. Moreover, I've heard that these 'Innsmouth Face' individuals mainly live in coastal villages and rarely leave their villages. They have excellent swimming abilities, so it's highly unlikely that they would be on a cruise ship. I suspect they have some ulterior motive on this cruise, and the most likely scenario is that they plan to conduct some kind of ritual, with the passengers on this cruise possibly being the sacrificial offerings."
Liu Xing nodded in agreement and then recounted his encounter with Bai Hecheng. "The situation is like this: Bai Hecheng is definitely not ordinary. I suspect he has transformed into a Ghoul using that scroll of parchment, so it appears that Bai Hecheng may have some connection with the person who has the 'Innsmouth Face.'"
Yin En looked puzzled and asked, "Liu Xing, are you suggesting that Ghouls are cooperating with Deep Ones? If I recall correctly, these two types of mythical creatures have different beliefs, right? Would they really collaborate?"
According to the setting of the Cthulhu Mythos, Deep Ones are known to worship Cthulhu, while Ghouls worship Mordiggian. Both are Great Old Ones, but there is typically no connection between them. Additionally, Deep Ones reside by the sea, while Ghouls inhabit graveyards. These two groups are quite distinct.
So, Liu Xing began to wonder how Bai Hecheng had become associated with a Deep One hybrid.
"By the way, I've managed to shake off Takayanagi Aoyin and investigate the origin of the person with the 'Innsmouth Face.' That grotesque individual is accompanied by a crew member who seems to idolize him. I suspect that the crew member might be a member of some cult that worships the Deep Ones," Yin En said seriously.
"A cult?" Liu Xing asked, curious, as "Liu Xing" had not encountered such organizations dedicated to Eldritch Gods or mythical creatures before. To expand his knowledge, "Liu Xing" was eager to ask questions.
Yin En nodded and took on a nostalgic expression as he explained, "Just as some people believe in God and others in Satan, there are many who believe in mythical creatures and unspeakable Eldritch Gods. I now know of several cults that worship the Deep Ones. However, these cults are not large in scale; they are mostly located in coastal cities, and their influence is limited to the surrounding areas."
"But during my mission in Innsmouth, I came across a strange world map in an underground chamber. It had numerous red dots marked along the coastline, with peculiar symbols accompanying them. After taking a photo and consulting a linguist after the mission, we managed to roughly translate the symbols to the word 'church.' Now, thinking back, that map should have been a distribution map of cults worshipping the Deep Ones. Several major ports in Cosmic Country were marked, including the destination of Yueshihao. So, having a crew member who is a Deep One worshipper on board the ship is not impossible," Yin En explained.
Liu Xing nodded in agreement. Since Takayanagi Aoyin and Juri Sonoda were helping him on this side, it was only natural that Bai Hecheng had a crew member on the Yueshihao cruise ship as well.
At this point, Liu Xing suddenly remembered that his phone was damaged, and he only had a SIM card left. Since Juri Sonoda still needed to contact him, Liu Xing had to ask Yin En for a phone. Yin En, being a man who carried several phones, readily provided one.
After confirming the phone signal was working fine, Liu Xing turned up the volume to the maximum and placed the phone back in his pocket with relief.
Just then, Takayanagi Aoyin approached holding a phone and said with a smile, "You're in luck. A friend of mine happens to work at the port, and he helped me retrieve the passenger list for the Yueshihao cruise ship. Initially, he couldn't find out who the strange-looking person was because the passport photos on the boarding list didn't match. But he asked one of the security personnel in charge of Yueshihao, and they found the information on that individual. His appearance left quite an impression on the security personnel."
While Takayanagi Aoyin was speaking, he handed the phone to Yin En, which displayed the passport details of the Deep One hybrid.
Liu Xing, standing beside Yin En, naturally leaned in to take a look. He was surprised to recognize the person in the passportMo Jin!
Yes, this Mo Jin was the same individual from the Earth Dragon Village module who had tried to steal chickens but ended up losing the rice and eventually met a tragic end alongside Liu Xing and another player. Liu Xing hadn't expected to encounter him here.
However, according to the passport information, Liu Xing was shocked to discover that Mo Jin was a Chinese-American and was born in Innsmouth, Massachusetts!
Furrowing his brow, Liu Xing realized that Mo Jin had likely used a new character card after his demise in the previous module. However, what surprised Liu Xing even more was that Mo Jin had transformed into a hybrid of a Deep One and a human.
Fortunately, Mo Jin hadn't altered his name or appearance, so it didn't affect "Liu Xing's" ability to recognize him.
Feigning surprise, Liu Xing said, "Are you sure you haven't made a mistake? I know this person; he once helped me with disaster relief in northwestern China. At that time, he claimed to be a local troublemaker. How did he suddenly transform into a Chinese-American?"
Yin En, being a Veteran Driver, could read between the lines of Liu Xing's words and smiled as he said, "Could it be that Liu Xing, you've mistaken someone else for him? After all, there are many people with the same name and surname in the world."
While saying this, Yin En handed the phone to Liu Xing.
Liu Xing pretended to examine the phone closely and then said confidently, "I can assure you I haven't mistaken him. He is the same Mo Jin I know."
Yin En nodded and returned the phone to Takayanagi Aoyin, saying, "Aoyin, if possible, can you ask your friend to check this Mo Jin's immigration and travel records?"
Takayanagi Aoyin nodded in agreement but couldn't help but ask, "Why are you so interested in this person, Yin En? He just has an unusual appearance, right?"
Yin En sighed and said to Takayanagi Aoyin, "Aoyin, you should still remember the Monsters created by Honda Koichi, those tall creatures covered in fish scales?"
Takayanagi Aoyin nodded and suddenly widened eyes, looking astonished. "Are you suggesting that this Mo Jin is the prototype for those Monsters?"
Yin En nodded and proceeded to share the information about the "Innsmouth Face," as well as Mo Jin's possible alliance with Bai Hecheng and their plan to conduct an Eldritch God ritual on the Yueshihao cruise ship.
After listening to Yin En's account, Takayanagi Aoyin nodded solemnly and then went to a quiet corner to make a phone call.
"This situation is getting quite dire," Yin En remarked, lighting a cigarette with a hint of melancholy.
Liu Xing nodded in agreement. He hadn't expected that the players on the hostile side of this module would turn out to be familiar faces, and they were among the most "evil" players he had encountered. After all, Mo Jin had betrayed his team, and Bai Hecheng was a zealous believer.
However, this also had its advantages. At least Liu Xing knew some of their background and could quickly identify their identities, categorizing them as antagonistic characters. It was no wonder that KP Li Shunchan had said he could easily recognize the players from the opposing camp.
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