Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 284: A Bold Speculation

Because Fisher's Village had a relatively small population, the main buildings in Fisher's Village were not very large. Therefore, Liu Xing and his group quickly circled around Fisher's Village. However, what was strange was that Liu Xing and his group did not find Fisher's Village's Ancestral Hall. All the buildings they saw were the standard three-story villas.

"What's going on? Could it be that Fisher's Village's Ancestral Hall isn't here? Normally, the Ancestral Hall should be in the center of the village," Ling Ishikawa said with some confusion.

Liu Xing nodded and spoke, "You're right. I observed the door lintels of these three-story villas, and I didn't find any markings of the Inoue family or the Matsui Family. This indicates that neither the Inoue family nor the Matsui Family members reside in the village."

Furrowing his brow, Ling Ishikawa continued, "As for the Inoue family, it's understandable that they wouldn't be allowed to live in the village, considering their history of wrongdoing. After all, the Inoue family member you talked to earlier lived by the docks. However, as for the Matsui Family, who are the actual rulers of Fisher's Village, they should ideally be residing in the village to maintain control."

"Moreover, let's not forget that we now know that Matsui Ichiro came to Fisher's Village for missionary work over twenty years ago. So, there should be no existence of a Matsui Family in Fisher's Village. After all, how can one person be called a family..."

At this point, Ling Ishikawa's statement was interrupted by Panda Pig, "Well, the so-called Matsui Family shouldn't just consist of Matsui Ichiro. Besides Matsui Ichiro, there's Matsui Yui. If Matsui Yui exists, it implies that Matsui Ichiro has a wife, and who knows, maybe Matsui Yui has siblings too?"

Shaking his head, Ling Ishikawa said with a serious expression, "As far as I know, most religious doctrines in the world include elements related to abstinence. Sects like the Ocean True Deity Sect, which is considered a secret cult that operates covertly, tend to have extreme interpretations. They either indulge excessively or exercise absolute restraint."

"Based on Matsui Ichiro's appearance and age, I estimate he's around sixty years old. So, when Matsui Ichiro came to Fisher's Village for missionary work over twenty years ago, he was already in his forties. Typically, missionaries like him operate independently; it's not feasible for them to bring their families along."

"Furthermore, Panda Pig, as you mentioned, Matsui Yui must have parents. However, until now, we haven't seen or heard Matsui Yui or Matsui Ichiro mention this mother. Most importantly, Dogo Aige mentioned that Matsui Yui was a college student. So, Matsui Yui's current age should be around twenty. This suggests that Matsui Yui could have been born before Matsui Ichiro came to Fisher's Village for missionary work. Unfortunately, the Island Nation lacks a proper registration system, so we can't confirm Matsui Yui's actual age. If we can confirm it, then I can make a daring hypothesis."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, instantly understanding Ling Ishikawa's bold hypothesis.

"You mean to say that Matsui Yui is highly likely to be a member of the Inoue family, the little girl in the photograph?" Panda Pig directly voiced it.

Ling Ishikawa nodded, saying earnestly, "Yes, that's what I think. Based on the information hinted in that photograph, if that little girl from the Inoue family didn't meet with any misfortune, she should be in her twenties now. Combining my previous speculations, if Matsui Ichiro didn't establish a family of his own, he might have chosen to adopt Matsui Yui, or rather, Inoue Yui."

"Of course, I understand that you might find this idea too far-fetched, like something out of movies or novels, where the protagonist's parents who raised them turn out to be their sworn enemies. But I want to remind you that some things in reality are often stranger than fiction. While I also wonder why the antagonist in those stories doesn't finish the job, if we look at it from Matsui Ichiro's perspective, adopting Inoue Yui could have more advantages than disadvantages."

"After all, it's highly likely that the author of that letter, as well as Inoue Yui's other family members, met with unfortunate fates. It's also very likely that Matsui Ichiro had a hand in it. How could a middle-aged man in his forties back then kill Inoue Yui's four family members? He probably had to rely on the name of the Ocean True Deity Sect to incite the Fisher's Village residents, whom he had charmed, to rise up against them. This is likely why the author of the letter suddenly stopped writing and hid it in the drawer. They must have heard something extraordinary."

"Moreover, the letter indicates that the author strongly opposed Matsui Ichiro's missionary work in Fisher's Village. That's why Matsui Ichiro retaliated. To solidify his authority and leadership in Fisher's Village, he decided to adopt Inoue Yui, who was still young and easily influenced. If my hypothesis is correct, then Matsui Ichiro indeed succeeded."

Ling Ishikawa's speculation mirrored exactly what Liu Xing had been thinking. After seeing that photograph and hearing the contents of the letter, Liu Xing believed that Matsui Yui was very likely Inoue Yui, especially considering the established context of this module. The possibility of this speculation being true was quite high.

Furthermore, if Matsui Yui was indeed Inoue Yui, it posed a significant challenge for the players. Matsui Yui would be a person who had been deceived into believing Matsui Ichiro was her father, and the players would have to consider how to protect her since she would technically be one of their own. If they could make Matsui Yui see the truth, the "Matsui Yui's Anxiety" setting could be resolved, and they could gather valuable information from her.

Most importantly, there was likely a side quest related to Matsui Yui's background, and the rewards for completing such a quest would likely be substantial.

However, Liu Xing understood that convincing Matsui Yui of the truth wouldn't be easy. First, they needed concrete evidence, not just speculative guesses. After all, who would believe a stranger who suddenly claimed that their current father was their sworn enemy without any evidence? Besides, Matsui Yui had been under Matsui Ichiro's influence for many years.

But if they could succeed in a difficult persuasion judgment, they might be able to make Matsui Yui believe in the truth. After all, this was the world of the Cthulhu RPG Game. However, the risk involved in this approach was enormous. If the judgment failed, it could result in a game over for this module.

So, Liu Xing spoke up, "Now, we must find some evidence to prove that Matsui Yui is indeed Inoue Yui. This way, we can make Matsui Yui aware of the truth, and then we'll just have to deal with Matsui Ichiro in this Fisher's Village... No, wait, there's also Alice."

Liu Xing suddenly remembered that he had almost forgotten about Alice.

However, Liu Xing didn't consider Alice to be a significant threat to their group. Based on her performance in the previous module, Alice excelled at gathering and analyzing information, but her combat abilities were likely not impressive.

Speaking of combat abilities, Liu Xing realized that their own group didn't fare much better. Zhang Jingxu and Lu Tianya, as Taoists, could deal substantial damage to mythical creatures, but their effectiveness against humans would be limited.

As for Panda Pig, as an all-rounder player with balanced abilities, his combat skills were only passable. Miyako Goudong, a hardcore chuunibyou (middle-school syndrome) patient, probably had combat abilities similar to Panda Pig's at best and might even be a liability.

Regarding Liu Xing himself, he had to admit that his character card's combat abilities were rather lacking. As "Watanabe Ryusei," the Cult Leader, he wasn't expected to engage in physical combat.

As for Ling Ishikawa, the designated combat specialist among the players, his combat abilities were decent. However, due to his involvement in a tricky world mission, Liu Xing couldn't predict when Ling Ishikawa might be transported to Hybrier, so they couldn't rely too heavily on him.

Nevertheless, Liu Xing believed that in this module, their enemies would likely consist only of Matsui Ichiro and the followers he had manipulated, without the involvement of mythical creatures.

At this point, Miyako Goudong spoke, "If we need evidence, I think Mr. Inoue should have it. After all, he's a member of the Inoue family, and it seems like he left Fisher's Village only after those incidents happened. He should have a clear understanding of what occurred back then. So, I believe it's necessary for us to make contact with Mr. Inoue."

Liu Xing nodded and said with a smile, "In that case, let's go to the thicket where you stayed before, Goudong. We'll continue to stake out Dogo Aige and Mr. Inoue. I believe they're likely to choose to return the way they came."

Following Liu Xing's plan, the group arrived at the designated location and began their surveillance of Dogo Aige and Mr. Inoue.

Miyako Goudong had chosen an excellent hiding spot within the thicket. It allowed them to observe any movement along the coastline while remaining concealed themselves.

"By the way, I just remembered something. If all goes well, there should be another small island near Fisher's Village that isn't recorded on official maps. Mr. Inoue should be living on that island, as his boat, based on the official map, would take at least three or four hours to row from the nearest island," Liu Xing mentioned.

"That's true. However, speaking of which, Fisher's Village already has established maritime routes. Why isn't this small island included on official maps? It seems like local officials are quite corrupt," Ling Ishikawa couldn't help but comment.

Liu Xing shrugged and was about to speak when he noticed a small boat in the distance, with Dogo Aige aboard. The black figure on the boat was unmistakably him.

"What should we do? Should we reveal ourselves, or..." Panda Pig whispered.

Liu Xing thought for a moment and said, "Let's take a detour over there and act as if we just came from the grass huts, looking for Dogo Aige. We can pretend we didn't find him there. However, I believe Mr. Inoue is likely to stay on the boat and not come ashore. So, I'll approach Dogo Aige and persuade him to introduce us to Mr. Inoue."

Following Liu Xing's plan, the group acted as if they were casually passing by and coincidentally encountered Dogo Aige and Mr. Inoue, who were still on the water.

As soon as Mr. Inoue spotted Liu Xing's group, he immediately nocked an arrow and aimed it at Liu Xing.

The situation became somewhat awkward.

Liu Xing hadn't expected Mr. Inoue to be so straightforward and immediately ready to attack him.

However, Dogo Aige, who was still on the boat, reacted promptly. He quickly pressed down on Mr. Inoue's bowstring, preventing the arrow from being released, and began explaining the situation to him.

After a while, Dogo Aige and Mr. Inoue rowed the boat ashore. It was then that Liu Xing noticed that Mr. Inoue bore some resemblance to Matsui Yui.

It seemed that Matsui Yui was indeed likely to be Inoue Yui.

Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that the various families within Fisher's Village had intermarried, which could explain the resemblance among some residents.

"Why are you all here?" Dogo Aige asked somewhat awkwardly.

Liu Xing chuckled and said, "We happened to find Miyako Goudong, so we wanted to chat with you at the grass huts. But we didn't find you there, so we got a bit bored and decided to take a walk along the coastline. Unexpectedly, we ran into you and your friend here..."

Dogo Aige awkwardly smiled in response.