Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 224: Beginning

Of course, this is just a theoretical consideration. After all, meeting with Mr. Ke is not something you can arrange at will. Moreover, this specially brewed Kanna Ryoko calming tea probably has an expiration date set, so it's impossible for players to keep it and use it in other modules.

However, the saying goes, "No harm in being courteous." In a world where one must either deceive or be deceived, the appearance of such a game-changing item in the module at this time suggests that the upcoming plot is going to be extremely tricky.

"Before the big battle, there must be supplies. According to the game's settings, it looks like we're going to face the boss," Liu Xing said with a double meaning, smiling.

Yin En nodded and confirmed, "That's right. We can pretty much be sure now that the Dark Willow Gang will launch an attack tonight. The Ziwu City police have already raided the Dark Willow Gang's underground casino and started arresting its members. I heard that several high-ranking members of the Dark Willow Gang have already been apprehended. However, Mikageichi, Hisanobu Ito, and a large number of ordinary Dark Willow Gang members have suddenly gone missing. Now, the Ziwu City police are planning a comprehensive search, but unless something unexpected happens, I believe Mikageichi has already infiltrated the underground with his remaining men, preparing to launch an attack on us."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised at the proactive actions of the Ziwu City police. But this was expected, considering that the Dark Willow Gang was the power behind the Ziwu City Mayor, Tennoji Sohide, and the Chief of Police, Ryochuan Taro, had aspirations of becoming the Mayor. So, with an opportunity to eliminate the Dark Willow Gang, Ryochuan Taro would seize it without hesitation.

However, there was one thing that frustrated Liu Xing. His videos were now of little use since the downfall of the Dark Willow Gang was almost certain. Unless Mikageichi could rely on Honda Koichi to create artificial monsters to unify the world, the Dark Willow Gang would undoubtedly become history. Without the support of the Dark Willow Gang, Tennoji Sohide would have no chance to compete with Ryochuan Taro for the position of Ziwu City Mayor. So, Ryochuan Taro's victory in the mayoral race was practically guaranteed, and Liu Xing's videos were no longer needed.

Sometimes, adding insult to injury is less effective than offering help when needed. Liu Xing realized that his videos had missed their prime opportunity.

"By the way, I saw some news earlier. Shiro Michi, the director of 404 Hospital, has gone missing. I suspect it's the work of Mikageichi. Moreover, Mikageichi has kidnapped Shiro Michi probably because Hisanobu Ito's condition has worsened, and he doesn't have much time left. So, Mikageichi couldn't wait any longer, and tonight is likely the night of the final showdown," Liu Xing shared his thoughts.

At this point, Gu Jun shook his head and said, "Not only that, but I called Kuroba Naoki this afternoon to ask him some questions. Since we can't leave this place, his younger brother, Kuroba Daisuke, answered the call and told me that Kuroba Naoki has been abducted by a group of men in black and is currently missing."

Liu Xing nodded in understanding. He knew that it was undoubtedly the work of the Dark Willow Gang, and the reason they abducted Kuroba Naoki was probably because they knew he had some knowledge about King Tindalos. This meant that Mikageichi had already discovered Mian Gu Lu's true identity.

However, this should be the final mission of Kuroba Naoki's storyline. So, as long as they rescued him, Liu Xing believed they would receive a good reward. Likewise, the final mission of Shiro Michi's storyline was probably similar.

Suddenly, Liu Xing thought of another issue. What was the situation with Juri Sonoda? After all, Juri Sonoda was the one who exposed the Dark Willow Gang's underground casino, and as a public figure, she was an easy target for them.

Moreover, if Liu Xing remembered correctly, Kuroba Daisuke, Sonoda Mirai, and Hirose Sakura were all classmates. Now that Kuroba Naoki, Kuroba Daisuke's older brother, had been captured by the Dark Willow Gang, and Hirose Sakura's father, Kojima Kanto, was one of the Dark Willow Gang's enforcers, it was highly likely that Juri Sonoda, as Sonoda Mirai's sister, would also be a target for the Dark Willow Gang.

It seemed that in this module, if a player's character was a student, they would likely become involved in the upcoming major battle through Kuroba Daisuke's group's mission.

With these thoughts in mind, Liu Xing immediately took out his phone and dialed the number Juri Sonoda had given him the day before.

"Hehe, Liu Xing, if you want to contact Hirose Sakura right now, you'll have to pass a challenging luck check," KP Li Shunchan said with a sinister grin.

Liu Xing felt a hint of unease but replied, "Okay, KP, go ahead and make the check for me."

Liu Xing, 23/40 (80), succeeded.

Fortunately.

Liu Xing breathed a sigh of relief, and on the other end of the line, he heard Juri Sonoda's voice, "Hey, Liu Xing, you're calling me at an interesting time. What's up?"

Liu Xing quickly explained the possibility of the Dark Willow Gang retaliating against Juri Sonoda.

However, after hearing Liu Xing's words, Juri Sonoda chuckled and said in a relaxed tone, "Hehe, Liu Xing, don't forget I'm a journalist. I've already seen this news, and Kuroba Daisuke even called me. Besides, I had a feeling that the Dark Willow Gang would come after me, especially now that the Ziwu City police have taken action."

Liu Xing felt relieved upon hearing Juri Sonoda's response.

"Alright, even though I don't run as fast as Western reporters, I've already left Ziwu City. I made quite a profit this time, and it's time to reward myself. I'm planning to travel abroad for a while. I'll start with the Universe Country and then head to China. When the time comes, I'll definitely look you up, hehe," Juri Sonoda said with a smile.

Liu Xing also smiled and replied, "Okay, I'll treat you to some good food and drinks when you visit. Take care and stay safe."

After ending the call with Juri Sonoda, Liu Xing felt relieved, knowing that he had likely completed Juri Sonoda's storyline mission. If he could successfully complete it, he might receive additional rewards.

"So it seems that Honda Koichi plans to transform Hisanobu Ito into monsters. Now that they've captured a doctor and an occultist, it's probably to assist Honda Koichi in his transformation work. It looks like we have one more enemy tonight," Gu Jun mused, stroking his chin.

Yasaka Mashiro chimed in with some hesitation, "Speaking of which, what are we going to do if a battle breaks out tonight? This seems like a battle of immortals, and we don't have much relevance in this."

Yasaka Mashiro had a point. On one side, there were over a hundred well-equipped mercenaries from the Sawada Family, along with the formidable Kanna Ryoko. On the other side, there were unknown artificial monsters, a powerful Honda Koichi, a group of ghouls, and the cannon fodder of the Dark Willow Gang. Liu Xing and his group felt like they had no place in this battle.

"By the way, Yin En, how is Sawada Tsuo's underground defense set up?" Liu Xing asked curiously.

"Uh, well, Sawada Tsuo arranged a team to go to the sewage system in this villa area. They installed a lot of surveillance equipment and also set up an ultrasonic investigation device on the surface that can detect activity within a depth of a hundred meters underground. So, they can quickly detect any movement underground," Yin En explained.

"Does that mean they can only act as a preventive measure and not mount an early defense?" Liu Xing said somewhat frustrated.

Yin En shrugged and smiled, "Sawada Tsuo said as much, but I think since Kanna Ryoko is here, she should be able to use some kind of magic to force the Dark Willow Gang members out from underground."

"Let's hope so," Liu Xing replied.

After drinking Kanna Ryoko's specially brewed calming tea, they ordered dinner from the Sawada Family's chef in advance. After all, no one knew when the Dark Willow Gang would choose to attack, so they needed to be prepared and at least have a good meal.

However, Otonashi Takuya had not returned yet.

In theory, it would take only about three or four hours round trip from the villa area to the Rose Graveyard. However, Otonashi Takuya had been gone for seven or eight hours now, and Liu Xing couldn't help but feel that something was amiss.

Could something have happened to Otonashi Takuya?

Liu Xing began to worry.

After dinner, Liu Xing found himself bored and went up to the rooftop to get some fresh air. Winter nights grew dark early, and it was only around six o'clock, but the sky was already dimming. The Red Eagle Security Company was on high alert and had illuminated the area around the villa with searchlights.

At that moment, Liu Xing suddenly saw several large figures in the distance, rapidly approaching their location!

It had begun!

Simultaneously, Liu Xing heard the sound of Red Eagle mercenaries downstairs chambering their weapons. The battle was about to commence.

What surprised Liu Xing was that the Dark Willow Gang had chosen to make a frontal assault. It seemed that Mikageichi was feeling quite confident.

At that moment, Yin En and the others, hearing the commotion, also arrived on the rooftop and stood beside Liu Xing.

"The Dark Willow Gang is here, and it looks like Honda Koichi's experiments were successful. They've created those terrifying Monsters," Liu Xing said as he watched the huge Monsters charging out of the darkness.

These enormous Monsters were around five meters tall, resembling enlarged versions of Deep Ones. They had heads that looked somewhat human-fishlike, covered in pitch-black scales, which seemed to provide solid defense. Additionally, these Monsters had massive claws.

"Wow, these Monsters look pretty formidable," Yin En remarked in amazement.

"Well, because you've encountered these horrifying Monsters for the first time, it's time for a Sanity (SAN) check. However, since you've all consumed Kanna Ryoko's specially brewed calming tea, you'll only lose 1 SAN point each and gain 1 point of Cthulhu Mythos knowledge this time," KP Li Shunchan said with a hint of frustration.

As KP Li Shunchan finished speaking, the Red Eagle mercenaries downstairs opened fire, as the Monsters that could be loosely named Deep Ones had entered their attack range.

The scales on the artificial Deep Ones were no mere decoration. When bullets struck them, they produced a metallic clang, and occasionally, when a bullet hit the intersection of scales, it would spark some blood. However, for the huge artificial Deep Ones, this damage seemed negligible.

"I think these artificial Deep Ones must have had their pain receptors weakened or nullified by Honda Koichi. After all, even true Deep Ones exhibit some level of stiffness when injured. These artificial Deep Ones, however, show no reaction after being wounded," Gu Jun said with a serious expression.

Liu Xing nodded. These artificial Deep Ones, charging forward through a hail of bullets without any sign of stopping, probably had over a hundred hit points each.

"What should we do now? Should we hide with Mian Gu Lu while they're distracted?" Yasaka Mashiro asked.

Yin En shook his head, saying with resignation, "Where can we go? If the Sawada Family loses, Dark Willow Gang will find us no matter where we hide. Besides, there are only a few of these artificial Deep Ones right now, and Mikageichi and Honda Koichi haven't shown themselves yet. Who knows where they're hiding and what kind of schemes they're plotting."

Just as Liu Xing and the others were chatting, a muffled gunshot rang out, and the artificial Deep One at the front fell!

One-shot kill!

Liu Xing followed the direction of the gunshot and saw a middle-aged man holding an anti-material sniper rifle, completely focused on targeting the next artificial Deep One.

Liu Xing knew that this person was likely the sharpshooter of the Red Eagle Mercenary GroupAkashi Izumi.

At the same time, a man in a black overcoat downstairs spoke, "The weak points of these Monsters are their eyes and the areas of their bodies not covered by scales. Apart from the light machine gun continuing to suppress them, everyone else should aim for these weak points!"

As soon as this man spoke, the Red Eagle mercenaries' firepower momentarily stopped, then resumed with remarkable accuracy, killing another artificial Deep One in an instant.

Five seconds later, the remaining artificial Deep Ones also fell, one after the other. Liu Xing, with good eyesight, could see clearly that all of them had been shot in the eyes.

"Outwardly strong, but inwardly weak. While these artificial Deep Ones have incredibly tough scales, their internal muscle tissues haven't become any tougher, making them similar to ordinary people. As long as you attack their internals, you can cause significant damage to these artificial Deep Ones," Gu Jun analyzed.

Yin En nodded and, pointing beyond the range of the searchlights, smiled, "This was probably just a probe by the Dark Willow Gang, trying to gauge the resolve of the Red Eagle mercenaries. They didn't anticipate that Kanna Ryoko would intervene."

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