Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 234: Gathering Intelligence

Liu Xing hadn't anticipated that his first encounter with a hostile module would involve familiar faces. Although this allowed him to quickly confirm the identities of Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin, it also meant that they could confirm his presence. However...

Liu Xing suddenly had an idea and looked around, but he didn't spot any crew members nearby.

So, Liu Xing earnestly said to Yin En, "Yin En, I've been targeted by Bai Hecheng and his group. If everything goes as expected, they should arrange for someone to monitor me. So, it's better for us to split up for now. This way, I can divert their attention, and you can investigate Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin's actions more effectively."

Yin En nodded and, seeing that no one was paying attention to them, took out a dagger from his pocket and handed it to Liu Xing. "Okay, let's stay in touch through phone. Keep this dagger for self-defense. While I'd like to give you a handgun, in the confined space of the ship, a dagger would be more practical for someone like you who isn't experienced with firearms. Handguns can easily misfire in such close quarters and might harm you."

Liu Xing didn't hesitate and accepted the dagger from Yin En. After all, as Yin En had pointed out, he lacked a close-quarters weapon. Using a handgun in the ship's tight confines could lead to missed shots and a potential risk of injuring himself.

However, what surprised Liu Xing was that the dagger Yin En gave him was also a special item.

In the Cthulhu RPG Game, items and props were two different concepts. Items referred to ordinary objects like tables, chairs, and stools. While these items had some attributes and provided bonuses to attack rolls, they were considered ordinary. Props, on the other hand, were unique. In the Cthulhu RPG Game, props were items that had a connection to mythical creatures or possessed special effects not found in similar items. For example, Liu Xing's custom-made Nyarlathotep pistol was considered a prop. Although regular pistols had damage capabilities, Nyarlathotep's custom pistol had additional features, such as dealing extra damage to mythical creatures and automatically replenishing bullets.

The dagger in Liu Xing's hand fell into the category of props.

It was a ritualistic dagger, used in ceremonial rituals. Although Liu Xing wasn't sure which Eldritch God it was used to worship, the dagger possessed incredible power. In the first attack against a mythical creature, it could inflict an additional 2d3 damage (ignoring the creature's armor). When used against ordinary humans, it had a chance to induce fear (the probability depended on the target's sanity), lasting for two rounds, with a base damage bonus of 1d3.

Liu Xing couldn't help but acknowledge that this ritualistic dagger was exceptionally impressive. It could bypass defenses and deal significant damage in the first attack against mythical creatures. It was like having the ability to cut an opponent's health in half if luck was on his side, and it even had the potential to terrify human enemies.

Liu Xing couldn't help but remark, "Yin En, isn't this dagger too valuable? Is it really suitable for me?"

He didn't think his relationship with Yin En had reached the point where such a valuable item should be entrusted to him.

"Hehe, Liu Xing, just keep it. This dagger isn't of much use to me. After all, I'm more skilled with firearms, and my close combat abilities are lacking. So, I believe this dagger will serve you better for self-defense. Besides, we've been through life and death together, and I have a feeling that we'll meet again in the future. After all, this world isn't as big as one might think," Yin En said with a smile.

Liu Xing finally understood Yin En's intention. Yin En was looking to make a long-term investment in him.

According to the information Liu Xing had gathered, in the Cthulhu gaming world, each parallel world functioned as a server, and the number of players in each server was limited. Players from the same region could play together, and everyone had a close-knit community. Having a reliable teammate in the Cthulhu RPG Game was a rare find, and finding a trustworthy one was even more challenging.

Now, Liu Xing realized that Yin En was clearly extending goodwill toward him, hoping for a deeper collaboration.

Of course, Liu Xing had a favorable impression of Yin En. Firstly, Yin En was a combat-focused character card, complementing Liu Xing's support-oriented character card. Secondly, Yin En's personality and abilities were impressive. Lastly, and most importantly, Yin En was a lucky player. Luck was the most crucial ability in the Cthulhu RPG Game, as it could allow players to achieve almost anything.

Liu Xing admired Yin En's luck, so teaming up with a lucky "God of Fortune" like Yin En in the Cthulhu RPG Game was something Liu Xing was more than willing to do.

With that in mind, Liu Xing decisively stowed away the dagger, smiled at Yin En, and said, "Then I won't be polite. I'll head back to my room now. We'll stay in touch."

Yin En nodded and went to find Takayanagi Aoyin.

Meanwhile, Liu Xing kept an eye on his surroundings and, following KP Li Shunchan's guidance, returned to his room.

Due to his affiliation with the Sawada Family, Liu Xing was staying in a luxurious single room. Although it was called a luxury single room, the actual space inside was not large, and the amenities were relatively simple.

But Liu Xing wasn't here to enjoy luxury, so he didn't mind.

Liu Xing took out his phone and began searching for information related to the Yueshihao cruise ship. While he didn't find specific details about the Yueshihao cruise ship, he discovered that it was manufactured by a shipyard in the Island Nation. Liu Xing immediately sent a text message to Yin En, hoping that Yin En could leverage the Sawada Family's connections to obtain detailed information about the Yueshihao cruise ship, such as its design plans.

After sending the text message, Liu Xing began searching for information about the upcoming voyage of the Yueshihao cruise ship. He discovered that the Yueshihao cruise ship was scheduled to arrive at the Cosmic Country port at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.

"10 o'clock, huh?" Liu Xing thought for a moment and entered "Cosmic Country weather forecast for tomorrow" into the search bar.

As expected, just as Liu Xing had suspected, there was a long-lasting heavy fog forecasted for tomorrow morning at the Cosmic Country port where the Yueshihao cruise ship was set to arrive. This kind of weather would not be suitable for large vessels like the Yueshihao cruise ship to enter the port.

"That confirms it. This Yueshihao module is following the script of the real-world Sewol ferry disaster. If things go as planned, Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin should perform the ritual tomorrow morning, not tonight. After all, in this module, Bai Hecheng's side holds the advantage, and if they can choose the time for the ritual, then Yin En and I will be in big trouble," Liu Xing muttered to himself with a furrowed brow.

Just then, Liu Xing received a text message from Yin En.

"Liu Xing, I've asked Sawada Yinyin to obtain the design plans for the Yueshihao cruise ship from the shipyard, but it might take some time. That shipyard in the Island Nation has significant influence, and the Sawada Family needs to negotiate with them through an intermediary. However, based on the information Sawada Yinyin has gathered so far, it seems that the Yueshihao cruise ship has undergone some modifications by a local shipping company in the Cosmic Country. The modifications mainly involve the upper decks, so I doubt that Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin will perform the ritual there."

"By the way, Takayanagi Aoyin has found information on Mo Jin. It turns out that Mo Jin had been living in the United Beacon Nation and only recently arrived in the Island Nation for tourism. So, I suspect Mo Jin might have fabricated those details. Another important point to note is that the crew on the Yueshihao cruise ship seems to be problematic. Most of them are Cosmic Country nationals, and they shouldn't have been part of this voyage. However, on the day before Yueshihao set sail... that is, yesterday afternoon, these crew members suddenly received orders from their company to take over the mission for this Yueshihao cruise ship voyage. Moreover, many of these crew members are recent graduates from schools, indicating that they are being set up as scapegoats."

After reading the message, Liu Xing began to formulate his plan.

Firstly, he was sure that the Yueshihao cruise ship's crew was either working for Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin or were unwitting newcomers being used as scapegoats. Therefore, he and Yin En couldn't expect any help from the crew.

Secondly, the upper management of the company operating the Yueshihao cruise ship was likely composed of followers of the Deep Ones' cult. So, using Sawada Family's connections to pressure the company was not a viable option.

Lastly, the modifications made to the Yueshihao cruise ship seemed to involve only the upper decks. It was highly unlikely that Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin would perform the ritual there unless they were exceptionally brazen and wanted to do it in plain sight.

Therefore, Liu Xing believed that the most likely location for the ritual would be in the lowest part of the Yueshihao cruise ship's hold.

However, infiltrating the hold wouldn't be easy for Liu Xing and Yin En. These areas were off-limits to outsiders, and only senior crew members had access keys.

So, Liu Xing decided it was time to kidnap one of the high-ranking crew members on the Yueshihao cruise ship.

Liu Xing checked the time and realized it was only around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. It was still relatively early, and he felt that wandering around wouldn't serve much purpose at this point. So, he continued to use his phone to look up various information.

Suddenly, on a small website, Liu Xing came across a story about a cult in the Cosmic Country that had emerged fifty years ago. At the time, the Cosmic Country had only recently ended a war, and several new cults had sprung up under the guise of the Catholic Church, rapidly gaining followers. One of these cults called itself the Sea God Church, claiming that the true God resided in the depths of the sea, and that angels were actually fish-headed human-bodied beings. The cult's leader demonstrated powerful spells and wisdom far beyond the era, even convincing the Cosmic Country's president at the time to become a believer. As a result, the real power of the Cosmic Country's government was held by the cult leader.

However, due to well-known reasons, the Cosmic Country was effectively under the control of the United Beacon Nation, and the Cosmic Country's president, despite his ambitions, was unable to break free from this influence. Frustrated, the Cosmic Country's president asked the cult leader to help the Cosmic Country escape the United Beacon Nation's control.

The cult leader agreed but demanded a sacrifice from the Cosmic Country's president to summon an Archangel to negotiate on behalf of the Cosmic Country with the United Beacon Nation. The sacrifice? Living beings. So, a tugboat carrying over a hundred young soldiers mysteriously capsized in a sea not far from the port due to the Cosmic Country president's intervention. All the young soldiers on board perished.

However, as these young soldiers sank to the ocean floor, witnesses claimed to have seen a giant humanoid figure emerging from the deep sea, swimming towards the sinking ship. This was the so-called "Archangel" the cult leader had mentioned.

After benefiting from the situation, the "Archangel" had no intention of fulfilling its duties. Thus, the Cosmic Country president decided to confront the cult leader along the way but was assassinated by unknown individuals. The mysterious cult disappeared from the scene.

After reading the article and seeing the words "This story is entirely fictional" at the end, Liu Xing chuckled and searched for a few more keywords.

It was quite clear that this cult leader was a hybrid of a Deep One and a human.

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