Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Now that Gralki is placed within this module again, Liu Xing feels that everything within this module finally makes sense.

Firstly, there’s the issue of Panlong Lake. Given that Gralki has multiple avatars and can appear in various lakes around the world, it’s plausible that one of Gralki’s avatars appeared in Panlong Lake. Moreover, with Gralki’s abilities, concealing Panlong Lake would be a straightforward task.

Next, there’s the matter of why Gralki transformed Panlong Town into its current eerie state.

Of course, Liu Xing believes that Gralki’s avatar’s combat capabilities are likely unimpressive, considering that the original Gralki isn’t a formidable fighter either. To put it bluntly, Gralki is a large, thorn-covered three-eyed slug with limited close combat abilities, mainly relying on body crushing. While its thorns can grow, they can’t instantly extend within a short timeframe. Thus, Gralki possesses mental control abilities as its primary asset.

Moreover, the Gralki within Panlong Lake is probably just an avatar, likely a very weak one at that. After all, this is merely an advanced module in the Shoggoth Region, and it wouldn’t make sense to have a fully-powered Great Old One avatar as a boss.

With these thoughts in mind, Liu Xing can’t help but ask, "Miss Hu Li, do you recall any other memories about this Gralki? I believe this Gralki might be responsible for the transformation of Panlong Town into its current eerie state."

Hu Li furrows her brows and responds with some hesitation, "Regarding this Gralki, I’m having a hard time remembering much at the moment. It seems that after the Black Flood Dragon emerged in Panlong Lake, I can’t recall any memories beyond that."

As Liu Xing suspected, the Black Flood Dragon likely wouldn’t stand idly by when it came to Gralki. Even if the Black Flood Dragon is deceased, it could still have inflicted significant damage on Gralki’s avatar within Panlong Lake.

Furthermore, Gralki’s avatar in Panlong Lake should remain unaffected by the temporal distortion. Therefore, it is likely in a heavily injured state.

"Speaking of the Black Flood Dragon," Hu Li adds with a smile, "we can seek its assistance now. Black Flood Dragon is quite a helpful ally and relatively easy to negotiate with."

Liu Xing nods and expresses his curiosity, "Oh, I’d like to hear more. I’m not very familiar with the Black Flood Dragon."

Hu Li takes out a fist-sized black scale from her pocket and continues with a smile, "When I had just assumed human form and attempted to enter Panlong Town, the Black Flood Dragon blocked my way outside the town. After explaining my origin to it, the Black Flood Dragon told me that as long as I refrained from causing harm or chaos within Panlong Town, it wouldn’t harm me. However, if I were to harm anyone, it would not hesitate to kill me."

"This is a scale that the Black Flood Dragon gave me—a token, if you will. It allows me to easily approach it for help. Black Flood Dragon’s lair is filled with traps and mechanisms that would confuse ordinary individuals. Even if I entered without this scale, I would likely encounter difficulties. So, having this scale makes things much more convenient."

Upon hearing the first part of Hu Li’s explanation, Liu Xing can’t help but inwardly comment on the Black Flood Dragon’s leniency. As long as Hu Li refrained from causing harm, it seems the Black Flood Dragon wasn’t too concerned—even if Hu Li transformed Xiao Mochen.

Additionally, at an earlier point in time, Hu Li risked her life by killing her group of people. It seems she violated the Black Flood Dragon’s taboos. However, Liu Xing decides not to mention this in front of Hu Li, as it would likely lead to an awkward situation.

Liu Xing then assumes a thoughtful expression and asks with some doubt, "Miss Hu Li, if I remember correctly, the Black Flood Dragon’s lair should be in the Panlong Reservoir, which is now within Panlong Lake. However, Panlong Lake has been ’erased’ from Panlong Town by Gralki. So, do you have a way to enter Panlong Lake again?"

Hu Li shakes her head but maintains her confidence, saying, "I’m well aware of this. Panlong Lake has indeed disappeared from my senses, but I believe its ’disappearance’ is a matter of perception, not an actual vanishing. Therefore, I think I can find a way to enter Panlong Lake with some preparation. However, Ryuusei and the others probably understand that the Gralki is likely recuperating in Panlong Lake right now, as Black Flood Dragon wouldn’t let it off easily."

"So, the current time frame for Panlong Lake should be the right one. Therefore, the Black Flood Dragon here has already died. When we go to Panlong Lake, we won’t find the Black Flood Dragon there. However, besides Panlong Lake, the Black Flood Dragon often roams in the Panlong River basin. So, within this temporal distortion of Panlong Town, we still have a chance to encounter a living Black Flood Dragon. When the time comes, all we have to do is reveal the truth to the Black Flood Dragon, and it will undoubtedly help us deal with Gralki."

Although Hu Li exudes confidence, Liu Xing can’t help but feel that things won’t be so simple. After all, if the Black Flood Dragon could severely wound Gralki’s avatar, a fully-powered Black Flood Dragon should be capable of eliminating the injured Gralki avatar.

So, Liu Xing believes that either finding the Black Flood Dragon will be challenging, or convincing it to recognize the truth will prove difficult. Nevertheless, he smiles and nods, saying, "In that case, Miss Hu Li, we’ll be relying on you..."

Before Liu Xing could finish speaking, Hu Li interrupted him, saying, "No, no, no. If you want to seek help from the Black Flood Dragon, you’ll have to approach it yourselves. You must have heard the stories of the Jiaolong’s ascension, right? For a Jiaolong to successfully ascend to become a true dragon, apart from reaching a certain level of power and accumulating enough merits over time, it also requires recognition from you humans. After all, you humans are the supreme beings, the protagonists of the world."

"So, the Black Flood Dragon has been staying in Panlong Town for hundreds of years, building good relationships with the residents in preparation for the ritual to ascend as a true dragon. Now, the Black Flood Dragon’s power and merits have met the requirements for ascension. It’s only waiting for the right moment when it can ask you humans whether it is a snake or a dragon. As long as enough humans acknowledge it as a dragon, it can ascend. However, if someone calls it a snake during this time, the Black Flood Dragon can never ascend as a true dragon."

Liu Xing nodded, finding Hu Li’s explanation similar to what he knew about the Jiaolong’s ascension. The key factor lies in obtaining the acknowledgment of humans as a dragon, and if anyone calls it a snake during this process, the Jiaolong can never ascend as a true dragon.

Most importantly, if a Jiaolong fails to ascend due to being called a "snake," it often falls into corruption and begins to harm humans. Many floods and disasters in China’s history were attributed to the mischief of such corrupted Jiaolongs. It’s no wonder that the Black Flood Dragon worked diligently in Panlong Town for centuries to avoid such a failure.

Understanding Hu Li’s intentions, Liu Xing realized that it might be more effective for their group to persuade the Black Flood Dragon. The Black Flood Dragon would likely hesitate if Hu Li tried to convince it, as it had already been killed by Gralki’s avatar once. If it happened again, it would be embarrassing.

However, if Liu Xing’s group approached the Black Flood Dragon, it was highly likely that they would succeed. The Black Flood Dragon was unlikely to reject the request now, as its ascension ceremony was well-prepared, and it wouldn’t want to risk its efforts being in vain.

Liu Xing believed that even if they couldn’t convince the Black Flood Dragon to help, they could try to pressure it. After all, the Black Flood Dragon shouldn’t be inclined to kill humans at the moment. Furthermore, if it learned the truth, it would likely choose to defeat Gralki’s avatar, allowing Panlong Town to return to normal. If Panlong Town remained distorted, the Black Flood Dragon would never ascend as a true dragon.

With this in mind, Liu Xing nodded and said, "Alright, we’ll go and seek help from the Black Flood Dragon. But Miss Hu Li, could you please inform us about where the Black Flood Dragon might appear now? And provide us with an item just in case. Otherwise, it could be quite awkward if the Black Flood Dragon ignores us."

Naturally, Hu Li understood Liu Xing’s intention. She smiled and handed the scale to Liu Xing, saying, "You can take this scale with you, Liu Xing. This scale serves as a token of the Black Flood Dragon and a means to establish contact with it. As long as the Black Flood Dragon appears within a range of twenty meters from the scale, it will react. Carry this scale with you, and you’ll surely notice its response."

Liu Xing accepted the scale and understood its details. It was a scale from the Black Flood Dragon’s body that allowed mutual sensing with the Black Flood Dragon’s original form. When the sensing was successful, players could establish contact with the Black Flood Dragon by spending just 1 MP. Additionally, the scale provided 10 points of armor and rendered all non-piercing damage as only 1 point of damage.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised by the scale’s additional armor effect. It was like having an extra life since most character cards had around 10 HP. Moreover, the scale offered resistance against piercing damage, making it likely impenetrable to light firearms and small blades.

However, he considered the scale’s effectiveness relatively good, considering its small size and limited defense area. It could serve as a kind of protective talisman.

Liu Xing accepted the scale, smiled, and said, "If everything goes according to plan, I should be able to persuade the Black Flood Dragon. But Miss Hu Li, I have a few more questions, if you don’t mind. It’s about the other supernatural beings in Panlong Town. Do you have any information you can share with me?"

Hu Li nodded and began to provide information, "That’s not a problem, especially since I believe you all intend to eliminate these supernatural beings. After all, we’ll definitely have to fight Gralki later, and to improve our chances of winning, it’s essential to deal with the other supernatural beings first. Plus, I’ve recovered many memories about them."

"The other supernatural beings in Panlong Town can be roughly divided into two types. The first type is the intelligent ones. Firstly, there’s the ogre on the upper floor of the supermarket. If I’m not mistaken, he was originally a human but likely learned some traditional witchcraft in the Miaojiang region. He enhanced and altered his body to the extent that he no longer looks entirely human. However, his combat abilities should not be underestimated. You must have some knowledge of witchcraft, which not only allows him to control minds but also kill stealthily."

Liu Xing nodded in agreement, as they were already aware of Zha Kang’s use of witchcraft to control the drug addicts in Panlong Town. However, he hadn’t expected Zha Kang to have undergone such extensive body modifications.

It seemed that dealing with Zha Kang would be quite challenging.

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