Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 286: The Story

Another letter.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised to receive the second letter so soon.

"This letter should be from Li Yongjie to Inoue Kenjiro, and Inoue Kenjiro is the owner of that house. But before discussing the contents of this letter, I must first tell you a story," Zhang Jingxu began.

"More than twenty years ago, Fisher's Village was an isolated fishing village. Its first-generation residents had fled to this island over a hundred years ago, so they had little interaction with the outside world. Moreover, due to the turbulent times, few outsiders visited Fisher's Village."

"Until more than twenty years ago, a journalist named Li Yongjie heard rumors about Fisher's Village and came here alone. He was the first outsider to visit Fisher's Village in many years. Inoue Kenjiro, the most outgoing person in Fisher's Village, welcomed Li Yongjie and became good friends with him."

"Then, Li Yongjie began gathering information in Fisher's Village and established a connection between Fisher's Village and the outside world. Inoue Kenjiro also learned Chinese from Li Yongjie. A year later, when Li Yongjie decided to leave, he gave Inoue Kenjiro a jade pendant and continued to send him a letter every month."

"A year later, Matsui Ichiro arrived in Fisher's Village and began promoting the Ocean True Deity Sect. He claimed that he had come to Fisher's Village under the guidance of the true ocean gods. Some superstitious villagers were deceived by Matsui Ichiro, but most remained skeptical."

"Then, Matsui Ichiro started performing various small magic tricks in the village, which he referred to as miracles. Because the villagers of Fisher's Village had been isolated from the world for so long, more and more of them fell under Matsui Ichiro's deception, becoming fervent followers of the Ocean True Deity Sect."

"However, Inoue Kenjiro firmly opposed Matsui Ichiro and had many conflicts with him. At that time, Inoue Kenjiro's father was the old Village Chief, so he had significant authority in Fisher's Village. Even most of the villagers who believed in the Ocean True Deity Sect sided with Inoue Kenjiro."

"But as Matsui Ichiro organized multiple ceremonies, which were essentially bizarre rituals involving burning incense and bowing to strange statues in his house, those followers became more and more devoted to Matsui Ichiro. They turned into fanatical followers of the Ocean True Deity Sect, regarding Matsui Ichiro as their leader."

"However, Inoue Kenjiro saw the situation deteriorating and began urging the remaining villagers to keep their distance from the fanatics and Matsui Ichiro to prevent more villagers from being brainwashed. Unfortunately, it backfired. More and more villagers transformed into fanatical followers of the Ocean True Deity Sect. During this time, Inoue Saburo also became a fanatical follower of the Ocean True Deity Sect for reasons he can't recall. Only recently did he regain his sanity."

Zhang Jingxu's words left everyone in silence.

As a Cult Leader, Liu Xing quickly understood from "Watanabe Ryusei's" memories how Matsui Ichiro had brainwashed the villagers of Fisher's Village.

Liu Xing sighed and said, "If my assumptions are correct, Inoue Saburo probably used special materials infused candles during those ceremonies. When these candles burn, they have a hypnotic effect on ordinary people nearby. If someone were to take an antidote at that moment, they could potentially resist the hypnotic effect. The effectiveness of brainwashing depends on the individual's willpower, but with repeated brainwashing, even the strongest-willed can be completely controlled."

"Oh, wow, that's quite powerful," Ling Ishikawa exclaimed in surprise.

Liu Xing nodded and continued, "Indeed, these candles are incredibly potent. However, their supplier is limited, making them expensive and in low supply. Usually, only large Secret Cults can acquire them. Theoretically, one candle can hypnotize up to ten ordinary people. Matsui Ichiro possessing these valuable candles and using them on the villagers of Fisher's Village is unexpected."

Zhang Jingxu chimed in, "You're talking about the Hypnotic Incense produced by the black market, right? My master once mentioned that this black market deals in all sorts of mystical items."

Liu Xing nodded again. According to "Watanabe Ryusei's" memories, a figure clad in a black robe, known as "the black market," annually sent invitations to well-known Secret Cults worldwide on January 1st, inviting them to attend a unique auction held on September 9th at 9:09 AM. The location changed each year, and when the auction began, the black market would appear with a cart containing various magical items.

During the auction, anyone could bid for the items the black market displayed. The highest bidder would claim the item, and once all items were sold, the black market would disappear.

Over the years, Secret Cult leaders had attempted to attack or steal from the black market, believing they were invincible. However, anyone who challenged the black market met a grisly fate, as did those who ordered the attacks.

As a result, Secret Cult leaders had learned not to provoke the black market, which sold superior items compared to those in the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall, and they could be purchased with money, no points required.

However, Liu Xing couldn't help but wonder if the black market was the embodiment of someone taking the fall. After all, Hypnotic Incense was one of the lowest-tier items sold by the black market. Some of the higher-tier items could even be used against Great Old Ones.

Returning to the topic, if the Ocean True Deity Sect could purchase Hypnotic Incense from the black market, it indicated their significant status among Secret Cults. But why did they target Fisher's Village, a remote island? And why did they invest so heavily in it?

Could there be some dark secrets hidden in Fisher's Village?