Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Due to the strong winds on the rooftop, Liu Xing and the others returned to the third-floor hall for their discussion. Catching a cold in this weather would be far from ideal.

Once everyone was seated, Liu Xing began, "Ling Ishikawa’s idea is indeed excellent. Using traps against Gu Master Chaxi could yield substantial benefits. After all, Gu Master Chaxi will undoubtedly be severely weakened after such an attack. However, there are several challenges we must address. How do we acquire the traps, what kind of traps should we use, and how can we set them up at the entrance to the supermarket on the top floor without alerting Gu Master Chaxi?"

After posing these questions, Liu Xing looked to Ling Ishikawa for answers. "Regarding these issues," Ling Ishikawa replied, "I have one suggestion: let’s consult Hu Cang. He undoubtedly possesses more knowledge in this area."

The others nodded in agreement. While they had heard of traps and seen them on television, when it came to crafting them, they were all at a loss.

Furthermore, due to the peculiar nature of Panlong Town and its temporal distortions, Liu Xing’s group was always treated as outsiders. Except for Hu Cang and a few others, the townspeople were unlikely to offer much help, especially for something as potentially harmful as traps or even lethal devices.

So, it was decided to entrust this task to Hu Cang.

Liu Xing’s group then proceeded to the ground floor, where Hu Cang was preparing to close up shop for the day.

"What’s going on? Why is everyone coming down here?" Hu Cang asked with surprise.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Liu Xing explained, "Mr. Hu Cang, here’s the situation. We were just idly passing the time on the rooftop and discovered a way to reach the building where the supermarket is located directly from there. Moreover, the entrance to the top floor of the supermarket is open. This suggests that if Gu Master Chaxi were to be attacked by us, he might try to escape through that entrance. So, after discussing it, we’ve decided to install some traps at the entrance on the top floor of the supermarket. That’s why we’ve come to seek your assistance."

After a moment, he spoke again, "These traps won’t be easy to obtain. As I mentioned before, most of the hunters in Panlong Town have switched professions, leaving very few people who still have animal traps. Among them, Xiao Mochen is the most familiar to us. His grandfather left him all sorts of animal traps, including various designs."

"But now, we can’t trust Xiao Mochen anymore. He might become a traitor. So, unless it’s absolutely necessary, we shouldn’t rely on him. That leaves us with very few options. As far as I know, the only person left who might have some animal traps is Wang Anquan – yes, Wang Haiyang’s father, Wang Anquan."

"Wang Anquan’s father was also a hunter, but he suffered an injury while hunting in his youth and lost his left leg. As a result, he switched professions to become a blacksmith, specializing in crafting various hunting tools, including animal traps. So, I believe there might still be some animal traps at Wang Anquan’s house, or even if there aren’t, Wang Anquan himself is skilled at craftsmanship. We can ask him to make the traps."

Liu Xing nodded in agreement. He hadn’t expected that their search would lead to Wang Anquan. Nevertheless, it was a good outcome since they needed to collect gasoline from him anyway. Now, they could also acquire the animal traps, killing two birds with one stone.

So, Liu Xing’s group decided to visit Wang Anquan the following day.

As for how to set the traps at the entrance of the supermarket’s top floor without alerting Gu Master Chaxi, Hu Cang offered his advice.

"From my observations over the years, Gu Master Chaxi spends most of his time in the supermarket, but occasionally, he leaves. This usually happens at specific times, roughly once every three time intervals, and he’s gone for a little over an hour each time. However, I’m not sure where he goes during those absences. I never paid much attention to Gu Master Chaxi’s movements before," Hu Cang explained earnestly.

As soon as Hu Cang finished speaking, KP Snow Wind stepped forward and said, "Because you players triggered a special setting in this module, you can now apply for a specific Judgment with me. In simple terms, once you know that something will happen at a certain time, you can request a special Judgment from me before the next time interval. If the majority of players, which is five out of three, agree, we can proceed with the Judgment."

Upon hearing KP Snow Wind’s words, Liu Xing and the others were surprised to discover this special feature in the module.

Nevertheless, Liu Xing thought it was a favorable feature for the players. After successfully applying for a Judgment, they could anticipate events and prepare accordingly. In this case, if the special Judgment succeeded, Liu Xing’s group could plan to confront Gu Master Chaxi at a chosen time.

So, Zhang Jingxu couldn’t resist saying, "KP, we’d like to request a special Judgment. We want to know the time when Gu Master Chaxi will leave the supermarket."

KP Snow Wind immediately responded, "Okay, now, please cast your votes, and if two more players agree, we will initiate a special Judgment with a success threshold of 60. If the vote fails, we will have to wait until tomorrow for a second attempt."

"Agreed," Liu Xing and the others unanimously replied. There was no reason to reject this special Judgment.

And so, the vote for the special Judgment passed.

Special Judgment: 36/60, Successful.

"Alright, congratulations on passing this special Judgment. Gu Master Chaxi will leave the supermarket at the next time interval," KP Snow Wind announced with a smile.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, that’s it for today. Let’s all return to our rooms and rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day," Liu Xing said with a smile.

And with that, they all retired to their rooms, each with their own thoughts.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Liu Xing was awakened by Zhang Jingxu, who had started moving around as soon as dawn broke.

Seeing that he had unintentionally disturbed Liu Xing, Zhang Jingxu apologized, "I’m sorry, Ryuusei, I didn’t expect to wake you up."

Liu Xing shook his head and smiled, "It’s okay, it’s just waking up a little early. But why are you up so early, Mr. Zhang Jingxu?"

Zhang Jingxu chuckled and replied, "It’s a habit. During my time training under my master, he insisted that I must wake up at the crack of dawn for exercise, or I’d face various punishments. So now, it’s become a reflex for me. As soon as I see daylight, I wake up instantly."

Liu Xing nodded, imagining Zhang Jingxu’s challenging past. However, it reminded him of his own less-than-fond memories, particularly his high school days. Back then, no matter how late he stayed up, he’d wake up instantly at six in the morning.

Liu Xing couldn’t help but feel grateful that his character card belonged to the legendary Island Nation High School student rather than a China High School student. According to some "victims" on the forum, China High School student character cards not only required them to investigate events and confront mythical creatures but also mandated early bedtimes, diligent attendance in class, and the risk of debuffs if they performed poorly on exams. These debuffs could range from mobility restrictions to financial constraints.

What’s more, if a male and female player formed a duo, they might be accused of dating, leading to parental involvement and additional debuffs.

Given these challenges, very few players willingly chose the China High School student character card when there were other options available.

As Liu Xing thought about it, he couldn’t help but sneeze.

"Are you catching a cold?" Zhang Jingxu asked with concern.

Liu Xing nodded, realizing that he had indeed caught a cold. His character card displayed the word "cold," and almost all of his attribute values had dropped by one to three points, along with a decrease in some skill values.

It seemed that staying on the rooftop for too long had exposed him to the cold wind.

"Ryuusei, lie down on the bed, and I’ll fetch some medicine from downstairs," Zhang Jingxu said as he left the room.

After a while, Zhang Jingxu returned with water and medicine. He handed them to Liu Xing and said, "Because it’s 1999 now, some medicines have side effects. They might make you feel a bit drowsy, but that’s all. So, after taking the medicine, rest for a while. There’s nothing important happening today, and you don’t need to personally get involved."

Liu Xing considered the day’s tasks and realized that he might not need to participate in everything today. Taking the medicine and having some extra sleep sounded appealing; after all, idling around was quite enjoyable.

So, Liu Xing nodded and said, "Okay, I’ll leave today’s tasks to you all."

With that, he took the medicine.

Before long, Liu Xing began to feel drowsy. Although he could counteract it with a Willpower Judgment, he didn’t make the effort. Unbeknownst to him, he gradually drifted into slumber, and the voices of Zhang Jingxu and the others grew fainter. There was also the sound of dice being rolled.

After some time, Liu Xing suddenly sensed that something was amiss. His chest felt heavy, but he knew it wasn’t sleep paralysis. Instead, it felt like something heavy was pressing against his chest.

Liu Xing considered the situation, doubting that Ling Ishikawa and the others would play such a prank on him.

Could it be…?

Liu Xing took a deep breath and abruptly opened his eyes, only to find a black cat with heterochromatic eyes crouching on his chest.

He furrowed his brow, realizing that this black cat was most likely the black cat demon. But why had it come to him now?

Uncertain about the black cat demon’s intentions, Liu Xing decided to remain silent and observe.

They stared at each other in silence for a while, and the atmosphere grew increasingly awkward.

Finally, the black cat demon couldn’t resist breaking the silence, "Hey, kid, what’s with the constant staring? I assume you already know who I am."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised by the black cat demon’s self-assured tone. However, upon further reflection, he acknowledged that the cat demon had the right to be confident, given its age of at least a hundred years. So, referring to itself as "old man" wasn’t entirely inappropriate.

Now, the question was, how should Liu Xing address the black cat demon? He couldn’t just call it "black cat" or "old cat," right?

The black cat demon seemed to sense Liu Xing’s dilemma and continued, "Kid, you can just call me ’Cat Elder.’"

Liu Xing, upon hearing this, smiled and said, "Sure, may I ask, Cat Elder, what brings you here today?"

The Cat Elder chuckled and placed its paw on Liu Xing’s neck, saying, "What if I told you I want to borrow your help for something? Would you be willing to lend me a hand?"

Liu Xing’s smile disappeared from his face.

The Cat Elder smiled again and withdrew its paw, speaking, "Alright, enough with the jokes. I’m here to discuss something important with you, but you must promise not to reveal it to anyone else. If you break this agreement, I might indeed have to borrow your head for something."

Liu Xing furrowed his brow, took a moment to think, and then nodded, saying, "No problem, Cat Elder. I promise that I won’t tell anyone about what you’re going to tell me."

The Cat Elder nodded in satisfaction, saying, "Very well, I trust you’ll keep your word."

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