Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 277: The Sinister Intentions of the Module

Chapter 277: The Sinister Intentions of the Module

Liu Xing nodded and began, "I believe this Fisher's Village is very likely to be a place where villagers are being kept."

With these words, Liu Xing initiated the investigation into Fisher's Village by the players.

While players were aware that something was amiss in Fisher's Village, it mattered who uncovered this "secret." Typically, whoever unveiled the secret would become the leader of this module.

Thus, Ling Ishikawa, as a follower of Liu Xing, would not seize the spotlight at this moment. Panda Pig, adhering to the "middle path," was also unsuitable to step forward, given the character traits defined by his character card.

So, eliminating the player whose whereabouts were still unknown left only Liu Xing and Zhang Jingxu.

However, Liu Xing knew that Zhang Jingxu was also reluctant to take the lead. That's why he deliberately brought up the topic to take charge. As the leader of the Worshipers of the Yellow Sect, Liu Xing was determined to deal with the Deep Sea Gospel Society, even though it hadn't been confirmed whether they were behind Fisher's Village.

"Well, what's our next step then? I confronted Matsui Ichiro earlier, and I suspect he might be on guard now," Zhang Jingxu said with a smile.

Liu Xing shrugged and replied, "It doesn't matter; we're not planning to directly violate Fisher's Village rules at the moment. Matsui Ichiro won't be able to cause trouble for us. So, I intend to split our forces. One group will go look for Dogo Aige to see if we can gather more information from her. The other group will chat with the villagers to find out what they know."

Panda Pig nodded, stood up, and said, "How about Zhang Jingxu, Lu Tianya, and I go talk to the villagers? After all, I'm a teacher, and I'm most confident in casual conversations with others."

Panda Pig could tell that Ling Ishikawa was allied with Liu Xing, so he decisively placed himself on Zhang Jingxu's team. Even though there was also Lu Tianya, an NPC...

After the assignments were made, Liu Xing and the others finished their breakfast and began their separate tasks.

It was already 8:30 in the morning, but Fisher's Village still appeared lifeless. There were no villagers moving around on the streets. Liu Xing even paid special attention to the villas on both sides of the street, but he couldn't hear any sounds.

This was clearly abnormal because Liu Xing had seen villagers enter these villas before. Normally, human activity would be easily heard without the need for Listening Judgment.

Unless these villas had exceptional soundproofing, or all the villagers were asleep.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. If there were no reason not to, he would have wanted to knock on the doors and investigate.

Dogo Aige's thatched cottage was located at the edge of Fisher's Village, facing the sea. However, it was still winter, and Liu Xing couldn't be sure if Dogo Aige's cottage would provide a comfortable stay. But one thing was certain: if any Deep Ones came ashore from the sea, Dogo Aige would be in big trouble in that flimsy thatched cottage.

Because Dogo Aige's cottage was indeed just that, a small thatched hut that looked like it could be blown over by a strong gust of wind. It was also quite small, with an area of about ten square meters.

Most importantly, a wire mesh surrounded Dogo Aige's cottage, and Liu Xing could see that this wire mesh had been smeared with some kind of green substance of unknown effect.

"I wonder if this wire mesh has been poisoned," Ling Ishikawa couldn't help but comment.

Liu Xing nodded silently. His first impression of that green substance was that it might be some sort of venom.

At that moment, Dogo Aige, carrying a tray, emerged from his cottage. He saw Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa and exclaimed in surprise, "Ryusei, Ling Ishikawa, what brings you here? You should know you're not allowed in here."

Liu Xing chuckled and nodded. "Of course, we know we can't enter. We just came to check on you, but we have no intention of going inside."

Dogo Aige breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thank you both. I've been quite bored here alone. You know, Fisher's Village lacks basic amenities, and there's not much to do in this small thatched hut."

Liu Xing nodded and casually asked, "By the way, Dogo Aige, do you know why the residents of Fisher's Village don't come out so late, and there's absolutely no activity? When Ling Ishikawa and I walked over here, it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere, with no sounds at all."

Dogo Aige pondered for a moment and replied uncertainly, "Well, I'm not entirely sure, but I've heard from Lizi that the villagers have a tradition. They only start going out in the afternoon, which is considered the beginning of their day. This tradition dates back to when Fisher's Village experienced a tsunami in the past. The villagers who went out to sea in the morning were engulfed by the tsunami. As a result, Fisher's Village established a rule: no one goes out to sea in the morning. Over time, this evolved into not going out in the morning at all."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, finding this tradition rather peculiar. Upon closer reflection, he realized that he hadn't seen any villagers when he entered Fisher's Village with Dogo Aige yesterday.

"Speaking of which, Dogo Aige, do you know what this green, unknown substance is? Could it be poison?" Ling Ishikawa pointed at the wire mesh.

Dogo Aige chuckled and shook his head, saying, "No, it's not poison. It's just a highly adhesive plant extract. When you come into contact with this green substance, it sticks to your body, and it won't fade for at least a week. This way, we can tell if anyone else has entered this cottage. Unless they're Olympic athletes, there's no way they can get past this wire mesh."

"By the way, I feel like I'm being kept like an animal. Lizi only comes with tools to move this wire mesh and lets me out for some fresh air when it's time to deliver meals. After I finish delivering the food, I have to return here and stay put," Dogo Aige said with a hint of helplessness.

Liu Xing chuckled, thinking that Dogo Aige had a good sense of self-awareness, knowing that he was essentially being kept.

On the other hand, Ling Ishikawa couldn't help but quip, "Dogo Aige, you're living quite an oppressive life here. I almost feel like you're being kept like a pet."

Dogo Aige had a good-natured personality and didn't take offense at Ling Ishikawa's teasing. He smiled and said, "Well, I was prepared for this from the beginning. Lizi told me about this tradition in Fisher's Village and how it's a way to test the groom. I just didn't expect it to be this troublesome and require so much self-discipline."

Liu Xing chuckled, agreeing that it indeed required a lot of self-discipline.

At that moment, Liu Xing suddenly recalled something and looked up at the lintel of the thatched cottage. Sure enough, he saw a symbol a drop of blood.

The position of this symbol was very discreet, and if Liu Xing hadn't deliberately searched for it, he wouldn't have noticed it.

A drop of blood, the meaning of this symbol was clear; it must be related to the sacrifice ritual.

With this realization, it was almost certain that Dogo Aige had become the new victim of Fisher's Village, and this so-called wedding ceremony was likely a sacrificial ritual.

If that were the case, Fisher's Village was nothing but a complete lie.

Dogo Aige noticed that Liu Xing seemed uneasy and asked with concern, "Ryusei, are you okay? You look a bit uncomfortable."

Liu Xing shook his head and smiled, "Thank you for your concern, Dogo Aige. I just thought of something strange, that's all."

Dogo Aige nodded and said earnestly, "That's good. The weather has been cold lately, and this place is by the sea. It's easy to catch a cold, and there are no doctors on this island. If you get sick, the only option is to take a boat out to sea."

Liu Xing nodded in agreement, thinking that Dogo Aige was indeed a nice person... Wait a minute!

Liu Xing furrowed his brow, suddenly understanding the sinister intentions of this module.

As mentioned before, in the Cthulhu RPG Game, players had to embody their character cards, even if they knew they shouldn't do certain things. Due to their character cards, there were some actions they couldn't avoid.

In this module, there was a deliberate trap set. It portrayed Dogo Aige as a good friend and forced players to adopt his perspective.

Moreover, judging by the module's title, Liu Xing believed that the probability of Matsui Yui betraying Dogo Aige was one hundred percent. So, after this revelation, if he and the other players found out that Matsui Yui had betrayed Dogo Aige, they would face a dilemma: whether or not to tell Dogo Aige.

In Liu Xing's view, this was something they couldn't tell Dogo Aige. After all, any normal man, not to mention someone who wasn't entirely honest, would definitely choose to refuse the marriage. In that case, the wedding ceremony couldn't proceed, and the main quest of this module would fail.

However, as Dogo Aige's friend, Liu Xing felt that they couldn't keep this from him either. It was a predicament where the players might be able to endure, but their character cards couldn't.

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