Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't expected the Dark Willow Gang's Underground casino to be so well-constructed. He had assumed it was just a single level, but to his surprise, it had three levels, with the third one reinforced with concrete.

This indicated that there might be something unusual on the third level of the Underground casino. Liu Xing suspected that Honda Koichi's laboratory might be located there since the Underground casino was situated in the sewer district, which provided a convenient underground route for transporting "test subjects."

"OK, Otonashi, I need to visit Ziwu City TV station now. Are you interested in joining me?" Liu Xing extended an invitation.

Otonashi Takuya, a powerful fighter, shook his head and replied, "I'm sorry, Liu Xing. While I may have the gift of immortality now, I'm not much different from an ordinary person in other respects. I'm feeling quite tired at the moment, and I also need to protect Mian Gu Lu."

This response was within Liu Xing's expectations.

So, Liu Xing bid farewell to Otonashi Takuya and drove alone to Ziwu City TV station.

Around ten in the morning, Liu Xing arrived at Ziwu City TV station. As the official TV station, it appeared impressive, with a towering ten-story building that had a modern feel to it.

Liu Xing entered the ground floor of Ziwu City TV station. After scanning the surroundings and not spotting anyone who looked like Juri Sonoda, he decided to inquire at the front desk about her whereabouts.

Just then, Liu Xing spotted a middle-aged, balding man emerging from an elevator, surrounded by a group of people. Liu Xing was certain that this balding man was the director of Ziwu City TV station, and by his appearance, he seemed like an antagonist NPC.

However, beside the director of Ziwu City TV station, there was a young woman of modest stature but who exuded intelligence and competence. She was engaged in an animated conversation with the director, who appeared visibly annoyed but strangely refrained from interrupting her.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow; he could confidently deduce that the young woman was Juri Sonoda. After all, her profile showed an app rating of over 80 points.

So, Liu Xing slowly approached, as Juri Sonoda didn't seem to be intentionally lowering her voice, making it easy for Liu Xing to eavesdrop on their conversation.

As it turned out, just as Liu Xing had suspected, Juri Sonoda wanted to investigate the urban legend of Ghoul. As a keen journalist, she had noticed the mysterious disappearance of homeless people in Ziwu City's major parks, suspecting it might be a series of kidnappings, possibly linked to the urban legend of Ghoul. She sought support from the director of Ziwu City TV station in terms of manpower and resources.

However, the director was inclined to dismiss her request as baseless but hesitated due to Juri Sonoda's current status as an internet celebrity and the top reporter at Ziwu City TV station.

In the end, the director reluctantly allocated a substantial sum of money to Juri Sonoda before leaving the TV station, leaving Juri Sonoda looking frustrated.

Liu Xing knew his opportunity had come.

Approaching Juri Sonoda, Liu Xing greeted her with a smile. "Hello, Miss Juri Sonoda."

Juri Sonoda glanced at Liu Xing, her enthusiasm dampened, and said, "Hello. Do you have something to discuss with me? If not, I need to start tracking the news."

Liu Xing understood that for a journalist like Juri Sonoda, who was determined to break a big story, all he needed was a juicy lead to get her attention.

So, Liu Xing took out his phone and showed Juri Sonoda a picture: a frontal shot of Aoki川, a screenshot from Liu Xing's live stream two days ago.

Juri Sonoda furrowed her brows and hastily took Liu Xing's phone to examine the image. After a minute, she expressed her doubts. "How did you manage to capture a Half-Beast's frontal image? Are you sure you didn't Photoshop this?"

Liu Xing shook his head with a smile and replied seriously, "That's not possible, Miss Juri Sonoda. As a journalist, you should know that with today's Photoshop technology, achieving such an effect is impossible. And I can assure you, this isn't a Half-Beast; it's a Ghoul!"

Juri Sonoda stared into Liu Xing's eyes, sounding increasingly skeptical. "What? This is a Ghoul? You must be joking."

Liu Xing glanced around at the passing crowd and gestured towards a café opposite Ziwu City TV station. He said, "Walls have ears. If you don't mind, Miss Juri Sonoda, can I invite you to a coffee at that café?"

Juri Sonoda nodded, leading the way to the café in haste.

Observing Juri Sonoda's impatience, Liu Xing smiled and followed her into the café. After ordering two cups of coffee, Juri Sonoda looked at Liu Xing with anticipation.

Liu Xing pondered for a moment and decided to tell Juri Sonoda the truth. "While it's true they are Ghouls, I prefer to call them humans, as they were originally humans transformed into Ghouls. And their true identities, Miss Juri Sonoda, I believe you already know."

Juri Sonoda rolled her eyes and said to Liu Xing in frustration, "Get to the point. I can't stand people who beat around the bush. If I knew the origins of these Half-Beasts, I mean, Ghouls, I would have reported it long ago."

Anticipating Juri Sonoda's skepticism, Liu Xing smiled awkwardly, then proceeded to tell her the story of how these Ghouls were once mercenaries cursed by the Godless Shrine, transforming from humans into Ghouls. He also showed her a video of Honda Koichi conducting experiments, although it was a condensed version.

As Liu Xing played the video, he continued speaking without interruption, "Miss Juri Sonoda, I believe you must have followed the news about the Killer Demon, so you should be aware that the Killer Demon's attacks involve instantly sealing wounds when victims are dismembered. This is already beyond our imagination, and modern technology can't achieve this."

After watching the video, Juri Sonoda furrowed her brows, lost in thought. However, her gaze seemed distant, and Liu Xing knew that her SAN value had been affected.

In the world of Cthulhu RPG Game, NPCs, like players, also had SAN values. In some peculiar modules, even mythical creatures had SAN values. Therefore, as an ordinary person, Juri Sonoda would naturally lose SAN when suddenly confronted with mythical creatures. Fortunately, since she had only seen Ghoul's appearance in videos and pictures, she hadn't entered a temporary state of madness.

After a moment, Juri Sonoda snapped back to reality, took a deep breath, and said seriously to Liu Xing, "I suppose you wouldn't be trying to deceive me with a fake video. After all, if you wanted fame and fortune through this fake video, you could just upload it online instead of coming to me. So, what do you want from me?"

Liu Xing took a sip of his coffee and calmly replied, "Miss Juri Sonoda, you're absolutely right. I have no reason to deceive you. I've come to you with the intention of forming a partnership. You can probably tell that the video I showed you is a condensed version because the full version involves the Dark Willow Gang."

"Dark Willow Gang? I see. So, has the Dark Willow Gang already joined forces with these Ghouls to create these Monsters, intending to cause a bio-crisis?" Juri Sonoda asked in surprise.

Liu Xing shook his head and explained, "It's like this, although Ghouls have turned into Monsters from humans, they've been living underground for hundreds of years without psychological support. So, some of them have lost their minds and decided to take revenge on society. The representative figure among them is the Ghoul you just saw in the video, Honda Koichi. He's currently using the homeless people in Ziwu City for his experiments."

"I see, I was wondering why the homeless people in Ziwu City's parks suddenly started disappearing on a large scale. It turns out that Dark Willow Gang didn't capture them. After all, while Dark Willow Gang is a gang, they wouldn't dare to engage in such open and illegal activities. So, it's the Ghouls who have been catching these homeless people, as Ghouls can't appear on the surface openly. They've spent a lot of time digging tunnels underground, connecting various areas of Ziwu City. Also, you should know that someone set fire to Unseen Pond yesterday, and after the fire, a large hole appeared. That hole is an entrance to the Ghouls' underground tunnels," Liu Xing added.

Juri Sonoda nodded, indicating that she was aware of this development.

"It can be said that the Ghouls have established an extensive network of underground tunnels throughout Ziwu City, allowing them to move between different areas easily. With their extraordinary speed and strength, they effortlessly capture the homeless and take them to Honda Koichi's lab," Liu Xing continued to explain.

Deep in thought, Juri Sonoda said, "So, you're suggesting that I report on this. While I do have evidence on hand that could potentially make a perfect report, it feels like something is missing. Moreover, this involves Ghouls, which are difficult for ordinary people to understand and accept. My report might be considered fictional, and it could even alert the Dark Willow Gang."

Taking another sip of coffee, Liu Xing said seriously, "Miss Juri Sonoda, you're overlooking one thing. This matter has already involved the Dark Willow Gang and their collusion with the newly appointed Mayor Tennoji Sohide. You're well aware that Ziwu City's television station is an official one, and your station director is aligned with Tennoji Sohide. So, your report is unlikely to pass, and you might even draw the wrath of the Dark Willow Gang."

After listening to Liu Xing's words, Juri Sonoda chuckled and said seriously, "You underestimate me. I'm not the kind of timid journalist you think I am. While my report may indeed not pass the review, I won't be afraid of the Dark Willow Gang. In fact, I plan to seize an opportunity to investigate the Dark Willow Gang undercover. There's no better time than now. I'll head to the Dark Willow Gang's Underground casino shortly, collect more information about the Dark Willow Gang, and hopefully gather some incriminating evidence against Tennoji Sohide. This way, we can take down both the Dark Willow Gang and Tennoji Sohide. I believe our station director will recognize the wisdom of seizing the moment!"

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised that Juri Sonoda knew about the Dark Willow Gang's Underground casino. He hurriedly asked, "The Underground casino? Miss Juri Sonoda, are you referring to the three-story Underground casino located in the sewer district?"

"Three stories? Isn't that Underground casino only two stories?" Juri Sonoda asked in astonishment.

Liu Xing nodded and said, "Yes, that Underground casino indeed has three levels. And I strongly suspect that the third level of that Underground casino is Honda Koichi's laboratory. After all, the underground is the Ghoul's territory."

Juri Sonoda suddenly slammed the table and stood up, saying, "In that case, there's no time to waste. Let's go to the Dark Willow Gang's Underground casino right now and find out what we need. I hope we can uncover the clues we're looking for!"