Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

In summary, Xiao Mochen’s identity as a Gralki disciple had been confirmed.

Li Dian stroked his chin, speaking, "Although we can now confirm that Xiao Mochen was once a follower of Gralki, the question arises: Is Xiao Mochen still a devotee of Gralki today? After all, he has witnessed Gralki’s actions, or rather, the destruction he brought to Panlong Town. I believe Xiao Mochen might choose to turn over a new leaf."

Zhang Jingxu shook his head and said earnestly, "It’s not that simple. While I believe Xiao Mochen may regret his actions and feel guilty, he’s past the point of no return. Besides, Ryuusei mentioned that Xiao Mochen’s mother is still alive. This alone might compel him to remain on Gralki’s side. Moreover, beings like Gralki at that level could have already enslaved Xiao Mochen, or at the very least implanted psychological suggestions in his mind to prevent him from betraying it."

Liu Xing nodded in agreement and added, "Exactly. In our recent interactions with Xiao Mochen, I could sense his inner conflict, but overall, he is still unwilling to admit his mistakes. Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t want to face his mother’s death. Alternatively, as Zhang Jingxu mentioned, Xiao Mochen might have been subjected to Gralki’s mental conditioning, preventing him from revealing the truth to us. In any case, I believe that even if Xiao Mochen isn’t our enemy now, he could still become an obstacle on our path to eliminate Gralki."

Wan Chongshan sighed and said with resignation, "As the saying goes, there’s always something to be despised about a pitiable person. Xiao Mochen is a perfect example. Ryuusei, you’re right; we should limit our contact with Xiao Mochen from now on. However, we also need to prepare ourselves mentally. If Xiao Mochen decides to inform Gu MasterChaxi about us, we might have to engage in a tough battle with him."

Mentioning Gu MasterChaxi, Liu Xing remembered the information the black cat demon had shared with him. Although he couldn’t directly reveal this information to Zhang Jingxu and the others, he felt he could subtly convey it.

Liu Xing cleared his throat and asked, "Ahem, Mr. Zhang Jingxu, do you have any insights on gu worms? As a professional from the Chinese Daoist tradition, you should have some knowledge about gu worms, right? For instance, what are the general types of gu worms?"

Zhang Jingxu looked puzzled at Liu Xing, unsure why he was suddenly asking such questions with a peculiar tone. However, he quickly realized Liu Xing’s intention and replied earnestly, "Indeed, I have some knowledge about gu worms. Over the years, as more Gu Masters have emerged from Miao territory and engaged in criminal activities outside, my mentor has taught me some information about Gu Masters and gu worms. In simple terms, gu worms can be categorized into two main types: offensive and auxiliary."

Liu Xing nodded and continued his inquiry, "Then, Mr. Zhang Jingxu, within the auxiliary category, are there types of gu worms that provide vision or transmit information to Gu Masters? Do they exist?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jingxu understood Liu Xing’s implication – that Liu Xing had obtained certain information through a special method but couldn’t reveal it directly. Zhang Jingxu replied, "Indeed, there are such gu worms. They can convey what they see and hear to their masters. These gu worms are cultivated diligently by every Gu Master. So, I believe Gu MasterChaxi might also possess such gu worms. Consequently, our actions in the supermarket will likely be within Gu MasterChaxi’s knowledge."

Ling Ishikawa joined in, realizing Liu Xing’s point, and said, "In that case, it’s very likely that Gu MasterChaxi has set up some active-trigger traps within the supermarket building. When we enter the effective range of these traps, Gu MasterChaxi may activate them to harm us. With the advantage of vision and information, he could coordinate other gu worms for an assault."

Zhang Jingxu pondered for a moment and said, "You’re right. Gu MasterChaxi might indeed do that. Unfortunately, we have no countermeasures for this. We can’t sever the connection between gu worms and Gu MasterChaxi, nor can we impair their visual or sensory abilities. So, we need to be cautious and not fall into Gu MasterChaxi’s trap."

Liu Xing nodded and asked further, "In that case, should we bring the remaining unused Molotov cocktails when we confront Gu MasterChaxi tomorrow? If we encounter an attack by gu worms, even if we can’t kill them, the Molotov cocktails could deter them."

Wan Chongshan chimed in, "That’s right. If we face a large number of gu worms attacking us, the Molotov cocktails in our hands could be highly effective. But what worries me most right now is Gu MasterChaxi’s ability to control people."

Zhang Jingxu agreed, "Indeed, gu worms capable of controlling humans or other creatures are the trump cards of Gu Masters. They are usually small in size and can easily infiltrate a human or another creature’s body through various means. Once inside, they manipulate the host’s brain using various methods to achieve control."

Ling Ishikawa furrowed his brows and said, "So, the worm that looked like a maggot in the vomit Xiao Dafu spat out during our first encounter was likely the gu worm used by Gu MasterChaxi to control the addicts."

Zhang Jingxu touched his chin, nodding, "That’s likely the gu worm that controlled Xiao Dafu and the others. But I just remembered something. When we killed the pig head butcher this afternoon, we might have appeared too aggressive in Gu MasterChaxi’s eyes. Moreover, Hu Li was with us at that time."

Liu Xing shrugged and smiled, "That’s true, but Zhang Jingxu, you don’t need to worry about it. The timing has already passed. Even if Gu MasterChaxi suspected us back then, he should have forgotten it by now."

Zhang Jingxu shook his head and expressed his concerns, "While that’s true, there’s always a ’what if.’ What if Gu MasterChaxi awakens his memories with Xiao Mochen’s help? Besides..."

Before Zhang Jingxu could finish, Wan Chongshan interjected with a smile, "Since you’re so worried, Zhang Jingxu, how about we prepare our equipment now and launch a night raid on Gu MasterChaxi? Even if Gu MasterChaxi regains his memories, he probably won’t be prepared at this moment."

At first, Zhang Jingxu was surprised, but he then shook his head and said, "Gu MasterChaxi might not be prepared, but neither are we. Our protective suits are still with Hu Li, and to reach her, we have to pass through the supermarket. If Gu MasterChaxi does regain his memories, he’ll likely start preparing. Moreover..."

Liu Xing nodded and glanced at his phone, saying, "Well, it’s almost one o’clock now. If we don’t launch a night raid on Gu MasterChaxi, we should get some rest. After all, tomorrow morning, we’ll be monitoring Gu MasterChaxi, retrieving the protective suits from Hu Li, and finding an opportunity to set traps."

Ling Ishikawa stood up, stretched, and said, "That’s right. I’m already feeling tired. But speaking of which, should we store these water ghost-related items in my room?"

Before this, items like the "ownerless" black spheres were stored in Ling Ishikawa’s room because only his single room could accommodate these miscellaneous items.

As for the allocation of these items, Liu Xing and the others had decided to discuss it after killing Gu MasterChaxi.

For Liu Xing, this was also a good thing because if he were to give all four of those items to the black cat demon, he could collude with Ling Ishikawa and take those four items.

So, Liu Xing immediately nodded and said, "Let’s keep these things in Ling Ishikawa’s room. After all, we don’t need them for the time being. But speaking of which, we haven’t opened this wallet yet."

Because the wallet from Water Ghost seemed inconspicuous and typically only contained money, some bank cards, and maybe photos or business cards, they had unintentionally ignored it.

The wallet was closest to Li Dian.

Li Dian casually took the wallet and opened it.

"Hmm?"

Li Dian furrowed his brow and took out a key and a piece of paper from the wallet.

Li Dian looked at the note and said, "This note only has an address in London, England, and a telephone number, presumably a landline."

After Li Dian finished speaking, he passed the note to Wan Chongshan.

Because the note had very little information, it soon reached Liu Xing’s hands.

Liu Xing took the note, and when he saw the telephone number recorded on it, he was momentarily stunned. This was the phone number of the Manchester police officer, Chris, who had adopted Isabella.

Liu Xing remembered Chris’s phone number because it was easy to remember. After removing the area code, the last seven digits of the phone number were 5201314, which phonetically translated to "I love you forever" in Chinese.

At the time, Liu Xing had thought that the phone number was randomly generated by the module author, but now it seemed that there was a deliberate reason behind it.

Could Water Ghost be related to Chris?

"Liu Xing, what’s wrong?" Ling Ishikawa asked with concern.

Liu Xing snapped out of his thoughts and smiled, "It’s nothing. I just find this phone number interesting. The last seven digits are 5201314, which phonetically translates to ’I love you forever’ in Chinese."

After all, Liu Xing was currently using the character card "Watanabe Ryuusei," so he had no knowledge that the phone number belonged to Chris. He had to come up with a reason on the spot.

After Ling Ishikawa tidied up the items on the table, everyone went back to their respective rooms to rest.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Liu Xing was once again awakened by Zhang Jingxu.

Liu Xing greeted Zhang Jingxu and then took the opportunity to go to the bathroom with the gu stone.

Before going to bed the previous night, Liu Xing had checked his character card and found that he had gained a new skill: "Insect Control Technique: 40." Obtaining a skill value of 40 right away was satisfactory for Liu Xing. He had also noticed a special effect of the Insect Control Technique: when used on a gu stone, it had a 100% success rate, bypassing the need for judgment.

Therefore, Liu Xing’s current visit to the bathroom was to activate the gu stone using the Insect Control Technique.

Liu Xing locked the bathroom door and placed the gu stone on the sink. He then began reciting the spell for the Insect Control Technique.

One minute later, the spell was completed, but there was no visible change in the gu stone.

However, Liu Xing knew that he had successfully activated the gu stone.

Because at this moment, KP Snow Wind said to Liu Xing, "Congratulations, player Liu Xing, for successfully activating the gu stone. The character card ’Watanabe Ryuusei’ has gained a new sub-occupation: Gu Master, and a new trait: Novice Gu Master. You can check the details on your character card."

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