Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 349: A Heap of Question Marks

Liu Xing had never expected that in the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall, the Yis People could actually hack accounts...

The Yis People, a race known for account theft, had gained popularity in the Cthulhu RPG Game community. When Liu Xing first got into Cthulhu RPG Game, Wu Lei had explained this meme to him and warned him that if there were any traces of the Yis People in the module he was playing, he needed to be cautious. Because in the blink of an eye, his character card might become a Yis People’s possession.

Now, Wu Lei’s earlier joke had turned into reality.

At this moment, "Ghoul" sent another lengthy message.

In essence, the message contained the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall’s solution to the matter.

Firstly, the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall admitted their partial responsibility for this incident, acknowledging that their lax supervision allowed the Yis People to successfully "hack" accounts. However, due to certain rules, they couldn’t directly expel the Yis People from Liu Xing’s character card.

Therefore, the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall offered Liu Xing two choices.

The first option was for Liu Xing to voluntarily give up his "Liu Xing" character card, and in return, the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall would transform "Liu Xing" into an NPC. Of course, they would compensate Liu Xing with a certain number of points, which currently stood at 12,000 points, along with a new "Dark Party Invitation."

The other choice was for Liu Xing to retain the "Liu Xing" character card, but he would still have no control over it. The Yis People would continue to use "Liu Xing" in the current parallel world, earning points to buy items in the shop. Liu Xing would be unable to use the points gained by "Liu Xing." In other words, the Yis People would control "Liu Xing" as a new player in the Cthulhu RPG Game, and Liu Xing would have no say in it.

However, if Liu Xing chose this option, he would receive a special item called a "seize card."

The seize card was a unique item that couldn’t be acquired through normal means like the shop or modules. It could only be obtained through system compensation.

The seize card’s effect was quite straightforward. A player could select a character card they didn’t control and use the seize card on it, initiating a 1v1 competitive module with that character card. If the player successfully completed the module, they would gain control of that character card. Importantly, the player would have an advantage during this module.

Seeing this, Liu Xing made a swift decision to choose the second option and obtain a seize card.

Liu Xing’s decision was driven by two main factors. Firstly, he was reluctant to lose the "Liu Xing" character card, as it had excellent attributes, skills, and a stronger network than "WatanabeRyuusei." The offered 12,000 points seemed meager. Secondly, Liu Xing wanted to take a gamble, letting the Yis People help him develop the "Liu Xing" character card, given their mythical creature status, which would provide a significant advantage in the Cthulhu RPG Game. Eventually, he could use the seize card to regain control when the time was right, making the Yis People work for him.

Of course, there were risks involved in this decision. If things went awry, Liu Xing would permanently lose the "Liu Xing" character card.

After making his decision, Liu Xing replied to "Ghoul" with his choice.

Soon, Liu Xing received an email, signed by "Official," containing the seize card.

After extracting the seize card, Liu Xing received a message from Yin En.

"I’m on my way to Rongcheng, arriving tomorrow night at Nine-Eyed Bridge."

Liu Xing replied with a simple "OK" and then shut down his computer. He was ready to go out for a meal. After all, he had been eating fish daily in the module, and he felt the need for a change in taste.

After some consideration, Liu Xing decided to go for hotpot. However, eating hotpot alone was quite dull, so he decided to invite Wu Lei to join him.

Half an hour later, Liu Xing and Wu Lei sat facing each other at a hotpot restaurant.

"Hey, why did you suddenly think of inviting me for hotpot?" Wu Lei chuckled.

Liu Xing shrugged, raised his glass, and said, "No particular reason, just had a sudden craving for hotpot, and eating alone is too boring, so I called you."

Wu Lei raised his glass as well and replied, "By the way, did you hear that Feng Zhicheng is getting married? His wife seems to be our junior. I never expected Feng Zhicheng, that guy, to like younger partners."

When Wu Lei mentioned Feng Zhicheng, Liu Xing thought of Zhang Jingxu’s master.

Curious, Liu Xing decided to probe Wu Lei. "What? Feng Zhicheng is getting married so soon? I remember that guy said he wouldn’t marry until he was under thirty during our last team gathering before graduation. He’s changing his tune pretty fast. But speaking of which, Wu Lei, you always liked using Feng Zhicheng as your character card. Have you given him any new roles or methods of dying recently?"

Wu Lei chuckled, shook his head, and said, "I’ve been quite busy lately, so I haven’t been able to participate in the Cthulhu RPG Game as much. I’ll get back to it after this busy period."

Liu Xing nodded and didn’t press further. He continued to enjoy the hotpot and drinks with Wu Lei. However, Liu Xing couldn’t help but notice that Wu Lei seemed somewhat distracted, lost in thought.

After bidding farewell to Wu Lei, a slightly intoxicated Liu Xing returned home and fell asleep immediately, only waking up around noon the next day.

After freshening up, Liu Xing realized that Yin En had sent several messages. Opening them, he discovered that Yin En had completed his tasks early and had originally planned to have lunch with him, but Liu Xing had overslept.

So, Liu Xing quickly sent an apology text to Yin En.

Soon, Yin En replied with a message, inviting Liu Xing to a teahouse for a chat.

Liu Xing eagerly accepted the invitation because he wanted to discuss the Yis People’s account theft with Yin En.

Upon arriving at the teahouse, Liu Xing met Yin En once again.

After some catching up, Liu Xing got straight to the point. "Yin En, have you heard of the Yis People hacking accounts?"

Yin En raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised, and said, "I’ve heard of it once or twice. But now that you’ve mentioned it, has Yis People hacked your account too?"

Liu Xing sighed and nodded, explaining his situation to Yin En. Of course, he didn’t reveal the details of his contact with customer support, as caution was paramount.

Yin En stroked his chin, deep in thought, before saying, "Liu Xing, your situation is quite unique. From what I’ve heard about previous Yis People account theft incidents, the outcome usually involves the player regaining control of their character card after completing a module on the Yis People’s planet. However, those Yis People account thieves often leave a mess for the player to deal with."

"But in your case, I haven’t heard of anything like this before. Emergency recruitment modules are exceedingly rare. In fact, around 99% of players in the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall have never participated in an emergency recruitment module. So, your situation is likely an exception with no precedent to refer to."

Liu Xing nodded, as this was within his expectations. The topic then shifted to the upcoming advancement module.

Yin En took out a USB drive and said, "Regarding the upcoming advancement module, I’ve consulted a few friends who have attempted it, but unfortunately, none of them have successfully advanced to the Hound of Tindalos region. You see, all three advancement modules must be completed successfully, and these three modules are all of a difficult level."

"Additionally, within these three advancement modules, there’s always one competitive module with a fixed 4v4 player setup. Apart from that, there’s also a wilderness survival module where players have to navigate extreme terrains like mountains, forests, snow, or deserts. I believe you haven’t experienced such a module yet."

Liu Xing nodded again, confirming that he hadn’t encountered a wilderness survival module.

Wilderness survival modules were considered some of the most challenging in the Cthulhu RPG Game. They typically took place in extreme landscapes like deep forests, snowy mountains, or deserts, subjecting players to various debuffs upon entry. They could also face resource scarcity, such as water and food shortages, leading to both physical and psychological challenges.

Furthermore, obtaining information for wilderness survival modules was notoriously difficult, as there was limited data available, and players had few means to gather information. Yet, information was crucial for their survival.

Hence, wilderness survival modules were generally disliked by players in the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall.

"By the way, this USB drive contains some data, all from the Hound of Tindalos region forum’s essential threads. I purchased it from someone else for 100 points," Yin En said with a smile, handing the USB drive to Liu Xing.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Is this sort of thing allowed?"

Yin En nodded, explaining, "Every game usually has what we call ’information brokers,’ and our Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall is no exception. There are even many organizations specialized in collecting and selling information, though they mainly operate in the Hound of Tindalos region, where forum data is publicly available."

"These pieces of information can be broadly divided into two categories. The first is public information, essentially the highlights from the forum. These threads contain a wealth of information that’s very useful, especially for newcomers to the Shoggoth Region. However, the cost-effectiveness of this type of information is not very high since you can easily obtain it after advancing to the Hound of Tindalos region, albeit with some effort."

"The second category is classified information. This type of information is provided by players from the Cthulhu region who aren’t lacking in points. Therefore, acquiring information from them can be incredibly challenging. The prices for classified information are high, and they often have a per-line charge, so it’s not worth considering at the moment."

After Yin En’s explanation, Liu Xing felt he had learned something new.

Taking the USB drive, Liu Xing said, "Thank you, Yin En. Now, let’s get back to the main topic. When is the best time for us to start the advancement module?"

Yin En thought for a moment and replied earnestly, "If you have no other engagements, I think it’s suitable for us to begin the first advancement module within the next two days. Based on statistics, starting the first advancement module within three days of gaining the advancement qualification will ensure that it’s a regular module. That’s because both competitive modules and wilderness survival modules require some time to organize. The former requires a sufficient number of players, and the latter needs a suitable reason to place character cards in the wilderness."

Liu Xing nodded and made a decision. "Alright, then tomorrow it is. How about starting the first advancement module at 10 AM tomorrow?"

"OK, 10 AM tomorrow it is. See you then," Yin En replied with a smile.

The next day, at 10 AM, Liu Xing woke up early, got ready, and, once he confirmed that Yin En was online, clicked to start the game.

The game began promptly.

First, there was the Interlude Growth screen, but this time it was peculiar, as it was entirely in darkness without any title.

With a puzzled expression, Liu Xing entered the module officially.

Scenario: Old Town

Difficulty: Difficult

Number of Players: 5

Story Background: ???

Name: WatanabeRyuusei

Occupation: Aspiring College Student (Leader of the Worshipers of the Yellow Sect)

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Traits: Leadership, Blessing of the Yellow King

Relation to this module: After attending Dogo Aige’s wedding, WatanabeRyuusei had just returned to Kyoto when he received an invitation from Zhang Jingxu and Lu Tianya. They invited him to visit an Ancient One near ChinaRongcheng in a mountainous area, as mentioned by Zhang Jingxu.

However, their journey was far from smooth. Lu Tianya had fallen severely ill with a sudden cold and had to stay in Rongcheng for treatment. Then, they encountered heavy rain on the way, and due to a landslide blocking the road, their bus had to take an alternate route into a small town.

Character Attributes:

Strength: 60

Constitution: 60

Willpower: 75

Luck: 70

Agility: 50

Appearance: 85

Build: 60

Intelligence: 80

Inspiration: 70

Education: 70

Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge: ???

Sanity Points: ???

HP: 12

MP: 30

Damage Bonus: 1

Credit Rating: 30

Skills: Island Nation Language 80, Library Use 60, Investigation 50, Listening 40, Persuade 70, Fighting 40, Dodge 40, Occult 80, Other Languages: Ancient One Language 60.

Special Abilities: Summon/Dismiss Byakhee, Ritual Ceremony to Summon King Hastur in Yellow Robes

Inventory: Smartphone, English Translation of "Yellow King," "Worshipers of the Yellow Sect" Scriptures, Yellow Seal Pendant.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow once more. He hadn’t expected the story background of this module to be entirely unknown, with even his sanity points and Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge marked with question marks. Moreover, due to his agreement with Alice, his occupation had changed from unemployed to an aspiring college student.

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