Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

With some idle time on their hands, Liu Xing and the others decided to start playing poker. However, due to the presence of five people, Liu Xing suggested they play Texas Hold’em.

Furthermore, Liu Xing went the extra mile and got KP Green Light involved to perform a Luck Judgment, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of a Cthulhu RPG Game for their Texas Hold’em game.

Zhang Jingxu and the rest quickly grasped Liu Xing’s idea and requested the same treatment.

So, except for Lu Tianya, everyone performed a Lucky Judgment as soon as they received their cards, essentially using the results to assess the strength of their hands.

Then, they began investigating, convincing, and disguising, among other judgments...

The sound of dice hitting the table filled the room for a moment.

After a round of play, KP Green Light couldn’t help but say, "Alright, you guys are just playing cards, and there’s not even any real stakes involved. Why go through so many Judgments? I’m out; you can continue without me."

Regardless of their attempts to contact KP Green Light, he remained unresponsive.

Seeing this, Liu Xing and the others chuckled; after all, Cthulhu RPG Game masters were known to challenge players, and now, as players, they had managed to challenge a master. They couldn’t help but feel satisfied.

Only Lu Tianya looked puzzled, staring at the smiling group, not understanding why they were all laughing at once.

Playing cards made time pass quickly, and without realizing it, Dogo Aige arrived with food.

At this moment, Liu Xing noticed something different about Dogo Aige. He was wearing a shiny green hat...

"Uh, Ling Ishikawa, is he still suffering from his cold symptoms? Should I go and..." Dogo Aige expressed concern.

Before Dogo Aige could finish his sentence, Liu Xing interrupted, "No, no, Ling Ishikawa’s cold symptoms have improved significantly. However, as you know, colds are highly contagious, and the living room can be quite chilly. To be safe, we’ve asked Dogo Aige to rest in his room."

Dogo Aige nodded in agreement, trusting Liu Xing’s words.

"Well then, let’s have dinner. The weather isn’t great today, so I’ll go fetch a heater for you all in a bit to keep you warm. We don’t want anyone catching a cold," Dogo Aige said after placing the food on the table.

Liu Xing nodded and said, "Thank you, Dogo Aige. But can you also bring us some umbrellas? We’ve been sitting here all morning, and we feel like we’re starting to mold. We thought of going for a walk."

Dogo Aige pondered for a moment and said, "Well, that might be a bit troublesome. As you can see, I didn’t bring any umbrellas when I came here in the rain. I don’t know if there are any umbrellas available in Fisher’s Village, and the villagers here tend to stay indoors when it rains because they believe it’s a sign of their deity’s anger."

"And Fisher’s Village doesn’t have paved roads; some areas have turned into mud puddles. If you go for a walk and come back, you might end up covered in mud. Besides, I assume you didn’t bring spare shoes either."

Liu Xing nodded, confirming what Dogo Aige said. He had brought spare clothing, but shoes took up too much space, so he hadn’t packed any extras.

"Alright, let’s forget about it then. We’ll stay here," Zhang Jingxu said resignedly.

Dogo Aige looked apologetic and said, "It was my oversight. I didn’t anticipate the challenging conditions in Fisher’s Village initially and didn’t prepare you adequately. I apologize for the inconvenience. I hope you can endure a few more days. Please enjoy your meal, and I’ll go get the heater now."

After saying that, Dogo Aige left the villa.

"Let’s eat. Remember to set aside a portion of the meal for Ling Ishikawa; after all, he’s part of the performance," Liu Xing said as he picked up his chopsticks.

After a while, Dogo Aige returned with a basin filled with firewood.

"Sorry, there’s no heater in Fisher’s Village, so we’ll have to make do with this," Dogo Aige said helplessly.

After some effort, Dogo Aige managed to light a fire in the basin. Once everything was in order, he excused himself.

Watching Dogo Aige’s retreating figure, Panda Pig couldn’t help but remark, "Dogo Aige looks like a dog..."

Liu Xing sighed and said, "Dogo Aige has had it tough. I’m starting to consider telling him the truth; I don’t want to see him so immersed in his fantasies anymore."

Zhang Jingxu shook his head and said seriously, "That won’t do. In my judgment, someone like Dogo Aige, if his long-held illusions are shattered, he’s likely to develop extreme thoughts. If that happens, Dogo Aige will probably go after Matsui Yui, and considering what we know about Matsui Yui’s background, that would be a fatal mistake, one that might even drag us into it."

"Furthermore, if Matsui Yui is indeed Inoue Yui, then she’s also a pitiable individual, manipulated by Matsui Ichiro. If Inoue Yui truly has feelings for Dogo Aige, then if they were to become a couple, it might not be a bad thing. After all, as they say, in order to survive, you need a bit of green on your head," Panda Pig chimed in with baseless speculation.

"Let’s just observe for now," Liu Xing suggested, getting up and looking at the now slightly reddened basin. "Speaking of which, I hope this basin won’t get damaged by the heat. This villa is made of wood, and if a spark falls on the floor, it could lead to a massive fire. Then, this villa might turn into ashes."

Liu Xing’s words sparked an idea in Miyako Goudong’s mind. He smiled and said, "You’re right. How about we create an artificial fire disaster? If we manage to burn down this villa, we’ll have a legitimate reason to stay elsewhere. We might even end up in Fisher’s Village’s former location or even Matsui Ichiro’s house. And with the excuse of rescuing Alice’s belongings, we can enter Alice’s room and find out the truth."

Miyako Goudong’s idea seemed practical, but Liu Xing shook his head and said, "Miyako Goudong, while your idea has merit, you’ve forgotten a crucial detail. Ling Ishikawa hasn’t returned yet, and if we set fire to something now, we’d need to create a fake body for him. Otherwise, his disappearance would raise suspicions. Also, if we wait for Ling Ishikawa to return before implementing the plan, we might not have rainy weather to help us, and it could also arouse suspicion from Matsui Ichiro."

Miyako Goudong nodded and sighed, saying, "You’re right, I didn’t consider that. But on the other hand, how long until Ling Ishikawa comes back? His absence is limiting us in many ways, and no matter how well we hide it, his disappearance will eventually be noticed."

Liu Xing felt like Miyako Goudong had set a flag...

After some thought, Liu Xing said, "Regarding when Ling Ishikawa will return, it’s hard to predict because the first time he went to Hybrier, it took him several days to come back. According to his description, he spent at least half a month there. So, I think time flows differently in Hybrier compared to our world. Therefore, we’ll have to wait quietly for Ling Ishikawa to return."

Liu Xing’s words led to a collective sigh from everyone. Yin En’s world mission was truly a challenge.

Just then, Liu Xing heard a crisp cracking sound, as if wood had splintered.

Liu Xing glanced down and saw that the wooden floor beneath the iron basin had deformed due to the high temperature, eventually breaking apart.

"Oh, the floor has cracked!" Liu Xing couldn’t help but exclaim, and he tried to move the iron basin away cautiously.

Once the basin was moved, Zhang Jingxu exclaimed in astonishment, "What’s going on? There’s nothing beneath this floor!"

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, turned to see that there was indeed a fist-sized, pitch-black hole where the basin had been.

Everyone quickly moved the table aside, and Liu Xing turned on the flashlight mode on his phone to examine the hole.

Through his observation, Liu Xing estimated that the depth of the hole was about two meters, and it seemed to have a stone floor at the bottom.

Liu Xing raised his eyebrow and said, "Without any surprises, this seems to be an underground tunnel."

"An underground tunnel! It seems there’s something beneath Fisher’s Village. So, what do we do now? Should we enlarge this hole and enter the tunnel?" Panda Pig furrowed his brow and asked.

Zhang Jingxu shook his head, saying, "Let’s not rush. This hole is right in the living room, and Dogo Aige and others will see it as soon as they come in. If we hastily widen this hole, it’ll be evident that it’s a deliberate act, and once Alice notices, Matsui Ichiro will be suspicious and come after us."

Liu Xing nodded in agreement. Zhang Jingxu was right. Enlarging the hole now would be risky and might lead to Matsui Ichiro’s intervention. Matsui Yui’s anxiety would be the least of their problems then, as it would no longer matter.

"So, what should we do? We know there’s something beneath Fisher’s Village, possibly something significant since they’ve constructed a tunnel. But if we don’t investigate now, we’re just waiting for trouble. I believe that before Dogo Aige and Matsui Yui’s wedding ceremony, we must explore this tunnel!" Miyako Goudong asserted earnestly.

Liu Xing pondered and began tapping the floor with his hand. Soon, he determined the direction of the tunnel’s extension.

"While we can’t enlarge this hole to enter the tunnel directly, we can find a discreet spot to excavate and access the tunnel. Look at the direction of this tunnel; it passes right by the cabinet where Miyako Goudong found the hidden lock earlier. This cabinet is conveniently situated in the corner, and its size is suitable. With some care, we can enter the tunnel from under the cabinet, hide the hole perfectly, and as long as no one intentionally searches for it, they won’t notice it," Liu Xing pointed at the cabinet.

Lu Tianya nodded, pointing at the existing hole and asked, "Liu Xing is right. But how should we handle this hole? Even if we don’t enlarge it, if Alice or Matsui Yui sees it, they’ll be alert, and our newly dug hole will be discovered."

Zhang Jingxu, standing nearby, smiled and looked at Liu Xing. He then placed the extinguished fire basin into the hole. It fit perfectly, covering the hole entirely.

"Alice won’t dine with us, and Matsui Yui will at most stand in the living room for a while. They shouldn’t pay attention to this fire basin. If they do ask about it later, we can say that Dogo Aige brought it to keep us warm, and we didn’t move it in case we needed it," Zhang Jingxu explained with a smile.

So, after moving the table back to its original position, Liu Xing and the others began to contemplate how to remove the wooden floor beneath the corner cabinet. The floor was incredibly sturdy, around ten centimeters thick, and made of a tough material. Panda Pig attempted to cut it with his Swiss army knife, but it proved impenetrable.

"This floor is too solid. Should we use the fire basin to create an opening like before?" Miyako Goudong said, feeling frustrated.

Liu Xing shook his head, realizing that the appearance of the previous hole was clearly a Plot Encounter, specially designed to reveal the existence of this underground tunnel to the players and provide them with an entrance to Fisher’s Village’s underground world. Attempting to replicate this operation now was practically impossible.

Faced with the tough floor, everyone furrowed their brows, unable to come up with a solution.

At that moment, Zhang Jingxu suddenly smirked at Liu Xing and said, "Ryuusei, my friend, we can actually use the Wall-Passing Technique I mentioned earlier here as well."

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