Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls-Chapter 546: The Initiative to Offer a Handle

It must be said, Thousand Face executed the strategy of using others to achieve their goals excellently, detonating the Tokyo Skytree through the hands of those four players, ensuring the demise of their enemies without leaving a trace.

However, in Liu Xing’s view, dealing with someone like Thousand Face would prove to be exceptionally challenging. Not only did Thousand Face possess strength, but they also wielded intelligence.

Thus, Liu Xing speculated that there would likely be a main quest module now to track down Thousand Face’s whereabouts, and the players involved in this module would probably be from the Cthulhu region.

Thinking along these lines, Liu Xing felt it best for his group not to involve themselves further in the Tokyo Skytree explosion incident. After all, it had escalated into a conflict among immortals, and it was better for amateurs like them to stay out of it and avoid courting death.

Liu Xing remembered encountering Old Black again with his group just before they were about to enter this module. At that time, Old Black had said a few words to them, one of which was: "If you suspect the presence of players from the Cthulhu region nearby, leave as soon as possible. Do not get involved in their module, or you won’t even know how you died."

At this moment, Oko Hayato spoke up, saying, "Of course, this is just our speculation about Thousand Face’s identity. Although personally, I believe Thousand Face could be a vengeful spirit, there are other possibilities as well. So, Ryuusei and company, do not spread this speculation around. If this matter becomes widely known, it would spell big trouble for me. After all, during the Purple Dreamliner Cruise Ship incident years ago, the Island Nation authorities had to put in a lot of effort to control public opinion. If another uproar occurs now, several high-ranking officials from this current administration might have to step down."

Liu Xing nodded. While it might be hard for ordinary people to believe that Thousand Face was the vengeful spirit of someone from the Purple Dreamliner Cruise Ship, for some individuals, it could serve as a potent tool to attack the Island Nation authorities. Therefore, if this matter stirred up controversy, several high-ranking officials from the Island Nation could indeed be forced to step down to appease public anger.

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Wait a minute.

Liu Xing furrowed his brows and said, "Officer Oko, isn’t it possible that if Thousand Face is truly the vengeful spirit of someone from the Purple Dreamliner Cruise Ship, it would definitely hold a grudge against the high-ranking officials of the Island Nation from that time? Thus, in Thousand Face’s revenge list, there must be the names of those high-ranking officials. Therefore, judging by Thousand Face’s current behavior, I believe it is highly likely that Thousand Face will choose to manipulate public opinion, inciting the students controlled by its monetary interests to hype up the Purple Dreamliner Cruise Ship incident from back then, thereby forcing those high-ranking Island Nation officials to step down, and then orchestrating an even bigger public opinion storm by killing them."

Liu Xing’s words plunged Oko Hayato into deep thought.

After a while, Oko Hayato sighed and said, "If Thousand Face is indeed connected to the Purple Dreamliner Cruise Ship incident, then it won’t be long before it resurfaces the old grievances. Moreover, the most crucial point is, Inukai Abe was also involved in the Purple Dreamliner Cruise Ship incident."

Liu Xing’s eyebrows raised, making the situation even more intriguing.

At this point, Oko Hayato had already driven Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa to the entrance of the Tokyo Police Department.

Although the Tokyo police already knew the background and motives behind the Tiger’s Den attack, certain procedures, like recording statements, still needed to be followed.

Thus, Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa quickly made another statement, which Oko Hayato then handed over at the entrance.

"I have to work overtime tonight, so I won’t be able to drive you back home, Ryuusei. Please understand," Oko Hayato said.

Liu Xing shook his head, smiling, "It’s alright, my friend has come to pick us up, so Officer Oko, you go ahead and focus on your tasks. We’ll contact you if needed."

Oko Hayato nodded and didn’t say much, simply turning around and leaving.

Once Oko Hayato was out of sight, Liu Xing breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "I thought after encountering two terrorist attacks in a row, Oko Hayato would suspect us of being associated with Thousand Face. Turns out, I worried for nothing."

Ling Ishikawa shrugged and said, "Indeed, Chief, you worried too much. We just had a stroke of bad luck, and besides, the masterminds behind these two terrorist attacks have already been uncovered. They have nothing to do with us. But speaking of luck, Chief, ours seems to be really bad these past few days. We just wanted to have some fun, and yet, before the main act even begins, we get interrupted. It’s quite frustrating, isn’t it?"

Liu Xing looked up at the sky with a troubled expression. He had thought he could legitimately experience some of Island Nation’s unique services this time, but he never expected his luck to be so bad, encountering a terrifying attack that nearly cost him his life.

But then again, all of this was because those four players blew up the Tokyo Skytree. If they hadn’t caused trouble, his group wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable situation.

At that moment, Zhang Jingxu arrived.

They got into the car and headed home.

"Ryuusei, this is the consequence of not bringing me along," Zhang Jingxu said with a smile.

Liu Xing had anticipated Zhang Jingxu’s response, so he snorted and said, "Although we were interrupted by the Ghost Island gang and got quite a scare, we still had a good time. Besides, we won’t be taking you with us next time we go to Tiger’s Den."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jingxu’s expression changed, and he quickly tried to appease them, saying, "Ryuusei, I was just joking. When I heard you encountered a terror attack at Tiger’s Den, I immediately came to rescue you. So, how about we go to Tiger’s Den again next week?"

Liu Xing looked at Zhang Jingxu with some surprise and replied, "Oh, next week? Has Lu Tianya agreed to let you join us? We need to make it clear now; we won’t be covering for you, Zhang Jingxu."

Zhang Jingxu chuckled and said seriously, "I understand. I won’t let you cover for me, Ryuusei. Besides, you wouldn’t cover for me, and Lu Tianya doesn’t believe the blame I’ve been given. But next week is Lu Tianya’s father’s birthday, so she’ll be in Hokkaido for a few days. Ryuusei, you get what I mean, right?"

Liu Xing nodded and said with a smile, "I see. So Lu Tianya will be away for a while. Alright, we’ll bring you along next week when we go to play."

At this point, Liu Xing wouldn’t refuse Zhang Jingxu’s proposal because it was an opportunity handed to them by Zhang Jingxu himself.

Soon, Liu Xing and the others arrived home.

Liu Xing’s house was filled with people, almost everyone who could come had arrived, including Alice and Zhang Wenbing.

Liu Xing exchanged a glance with Ling Ishikawa, and Ling Ishikawa recounted what had happened at Tiger’s Den and their conversation with Oko Hayato during the car ride.

Of course, Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa kept the events before the terror attack confidential.

"So, this time it was Ghost Island causing trouble? I heard a few days ago that Ghost Island sent a so-called delegation to negotiate with Tokyo, but it turns out Ghost Island has a violent temper. They resort to terrorist attacks at the slightest provocation. It seems that it won’t be long before the Island Nation officially has to find a reason to eliminate Ghost Island, considering Ghost Island has always been a thorn in the side of the Island Nation government," Alice said seriously.

Zhang Wenbing nodded beside her and added, "I’ve also heard of Ghost Island. They’re more of a secret cult, or rather, a separatist force dominated by mythical creatures. Since the establishment of Ghost Island, the Island Nation government has been considering opportunities to wipe it out. However, due to various reasons, it has been delayed until now, leaving the problem of Ghost Island unresolved. Although the Island Nation government now wants to pacify Ghost Island and may not even need the help of other secret cults to do so, the issue lies in how to operate covertly and eradicate Ghost Island without alerting the public. If the mythical creatures of Ghost Island were to appear in the public eye, the situation would be dire."

Liu Xing shrugged, acknowledging that Zhang Wenbing had elucidated why the Island Nation government had compromised with Ghost Island.

Nowadays, most high-level officials in various countries knew about the existence of various mythical creatures on Earth, as well as the secret cults that worshipped them. Although some mythical creatures could be eliminated, they all tacitly chose to turn a blind eye.

The reason was simple: if these mythical creatures were to appear in the public eye, society would plunge into chaos. After all, this was a world based on the Cthulhu RPG Game, so the existence of sanity points became humanity’s greatest weakness.

As Liu Xing had joked before, if he were to livestream content involving Ghouls or Deep Ones on a certain platform, as long as one-tenth of the viewers temporarily went insane, the entire world could descend into turmoil.

After all, in today’s world, the speed of information transmission is indeed too fast.

Moreover, among these mythical creatures, there are many whose combat power is extremely high, and their intelligence and technology surpass that of humans. So, if it really comes down to a fight, humans may not necessarily prevail, such as the Deep One clan.

In addition, to put it bluntly, there are quite a few people among humans whose minds are not normal. Every country has a large number of mentally disturbed individuals, and there are even some so-called "love x" enthusiasts. So if these people were to learn about those mythical creatures, most likely they would become traitors...

Therefore, for the leaders of various countries, what they can do now is to keep mythical creatures away from ordinary people. That’s why the Island Nation government is currently tolerating Ghost Island.

After mocking Ghost Island, Liu Xing and the others changed the topic, considering Ghost Island as nothing but a sideshow.

"But then again," Lu Tianya said seriously, "according to Ryuusei’s and OkoHayato’s speculation, if Thousand Face is indeed a victim from the Purple Dreamliner Cruise Ship who, for some reason, turned into a vengeful spirit, then is it possible that Thousand Face wants to establish a secret cult worshiping it?"

Upon Lu Tianya’s words, everyone frowned, falling into contemplation.

Liu Xing thought Lu Tianya’s speculation could very well become reality.

Although for most mythical creatures, human followers who worship them are merely a reserve, for some mythical creatures, their followers are also a source of power. After all, in the Cthulhu RPG Game, there is a attribute called "MP" on the character card. Although "MP" is mostly unnecessary, it does exist.

In the Cthulhu RPG Game, some magic requires a large amount of MP to be released, such as the magic used by the Cult of the Cadaver to activate the Corrupted Wooden Carving replica in EinsCastle, and the Thick Fog magic released by those Deep Ones surrounding the Island Nation.

Since these magic spells require too much MP, it’s impossible for a single person or mythical creature to release them alone. Thus, they need assistance from others to release the magic, sometimes borrowing MP from their followers.

In addition, some mythical creatures derive their power from "faith".

This type of mythical creature is very rare, mostly original mythical creatures, concentrated in the Asian region, especially in China and the Island Nation. The more followers they have, the stronger their power.

Most importantly, such mythical creatures basically only appear in the Cthulhu region’s modules, so players from other regions have only heard of such mythical creatures, and are not very clear about the specifics.

Therefore, Thousand Face, who has become a vengeful spirit, is very likely the kind of mythical creature that requires "faith". And right now, all it needs to do is to hype up the Purple Dreamliner Cruise Ship incident, then link its name to the TokyoSkytree explosion, and finally, if it takes action to kill Inukai Abe, it will have the opportunity to attract a large number of followers.

After all, this is in the Island Nation.

Thinking of this, Liu Xing spoke up, "Well, let’s not meddle in this matter anymore, because I feel like this is beyond our jurisdiction. So, for safety’s sake, it’s better for us to stay away from these things, lest we get dragged into trouble."

Zhang Jingxu nodded and immediately said, "I agree with Ryuusei’s view. We just need to keep an eye on this matter."

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