Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 279: The Unspoken Dilemma

Just as Liu Xing had anticipated, the most pressing question in this module was whether to abandon Dogo Aige. If all the players were given the option to forsake Dogo Aige, the chances of successfully completing this module would increase significantly.

Therefore, Liu Xing let out a mock sigh and spoke with a conflicted expression, "Personally, though I am unwilling to see Dogo Aige fall into the lion's den, the reality is that we are already deep within the tiger's lair, to put it bluntly. Fisher's Village seems to be filled with followers of the Deep Sea Gospel Society, and considering that Fisher's Village is isolated from the outside world, our current group's strength alone wouldn't be enough to rescue Dogo Aige. It would likely result in a lost cause."

Although Liu Xing's words were quite pessimistic, it was hard to deny the logic behind them, as everyone present nodded in agreement.

As a staunch ally of Liu Xing, Yin En knew it was time to add some perspective. "I believe Ryusei's analysis is correct. Fisher's Village has become an extremely dangerous place for us, and what we've seen so far might only scratch the surface. After all, the Deep Sea Gospel Society has gone to great lengths to create this eerie Fisher's Village, and it's certainly not just a simple sacrificial site."

Panda Pig chimed in seriously, "That's right. If Ryusei observed correctly this morning and those peculiar villagers are any indication, it's clear that something is amiss here. Moreover, when we tried to talk to the villagers to gather information earlier, we discreetly paid attention to any activities in the surrounding villas. We passed by a total of twenty-one villas, and not a single one made a sound. I'm starting to think that Fisher's Village is a ghost town."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xing immediately nodded and continued, "You're absolutely right. When Ling Ishikawa and I went to find Dogo Aige, we didn't hear any signs of human activity along the way. It's worth noting that I witnessed those villagers entering the villas. However, Dogo Aige informed me that these villagers follow a local custom, which dictates that their activities only start in the afternoon. So, the lack of activity in the morning is normal. But on that note, Zhang Jingxu, did you manage to find any villagers?"

Zhang Jingxu shook his head and replied with a smile, "No, we were lucky. We saw a villager near the pier who initially tried to avoid us. However, after some persuasion, the villager agreed to talk to us and provided us with valuable information. But he refused to reveal his name."

"Firstly, this villager confirmed our earlier speculation. The markings on the villa lintels represent the roles that the residents play within Fisher's Village. Each family specializes in a specific aspect, much like the Matsui family, responsible for the Village Chief position. Every Matsui family head becomes the Village Chief of Fisher's Village."

"In addition to that, the Shimada family manages fishing and crop cultivation for Fisher's Village, the Takagi family interprets the teachings of the religious doctrine, the Tusheng family oversees the Fisher's Village Ancestral Hall, or church, the Yokota family handles Fisher's Village's defense, and finally, there's the Inoue family. The Inoue family's role is to bear sins."

"It's clear that this villager belonged to the Inoue family, as we suspected. So, we began to inquire about the meaning of their family's role. However, the villager remained silent on the matter, so we had to give up that line of questioning."

"Then, we switched to a different question and asked the villager about his perspective on us. His response was intriguing. In his eyes, we outsiders were, in a sense, just like him people burdened with sins. That's why he was willing to communicate with us."

"Finally, we asked the most important question: the deity worshiped by all the villagers of Fisher's Village. The villager's answer was a deity from the ocean. This deity saved Fisher's Village from almost being submerged by a tsunami and has continuously protected it from the intrusion of deep-sea monsters. Most importantly, in the backdrop of the ocean devouring the land, this deity would establish Fisher's Village as humanity's last paradise."

"Having said that, we initially wanted to discuss other matters with the villager, but when Matsui Yui went to the pier to greet Alice, the villager left upon seeing her from afar. So, we had no choice but to return."

Listening to Zhang Jingxu's account, Liu Xing nodded thoughtfully and said, "Those who bear sins, in other words, the so-called sinners, on this religiously dominated island, serve as either backup sacrifices or cautionary examples for the other villagers. I tend to lean toward the latter, especially considering the hereditary system in place within Fisher's Village. If the Inoue family, which has long borne sins, were responsible for being sacrificial, they would have been wiped out by now."

"Furthermore, Inoue family members, unlike other villagers, are active in the morning, which suggests that they don't adhere to some of Fisher's Village's traditions. I think we can use this as a starting point to gather more information from Inoue family members."

"Lastly, the deity worshiped by Fisher's Village residents is from the ocean. So, it's safe to say that it's the Deep Sea Gospel Society. And most likely, Deep Sea Gospel Society has been brainwashing the villagers, making them believe they are protected by the Deep One and that Fisher's Village will become humanity's last paradise. This is why Matsui Ichiro forbids us from revealing anything we know to the villagers because our knowledge contradicts what they believe."

The others nodded in agreement.

"In fact, we can go further and speculate that Deep Sea Gospel Society has been deceiving the villagers of Fisher's Village. In their eyes, most of the world's land has been swallowed by the ocean, and it's only by the grace of their deity that they've survived, much like that game I mentioned earlier," Zhang Jingxu added earnestly.

What exactly does Deep Sea Gospel Society want in Fisher's Village? Liu Xing was now more puzzled than ever, only certain that they aimed to create a major sensation.

"Speaking of which, if we were to abandon Dogo Aige, I would be reluctant to do so. Dogo Aige is a good person, and we've worked together for two or three years now. During that time, Dogo Aige has helped me numerous times. So, to suddenly abandon him would weigh heavily on my conscience..." Panda Pig expressed his reservations.

As Liu Xing had expected, there would surely be players in this module who were unwilling to abandon Dogo Aige. After all, if all the players had a negative relationship with Dogo Aige, they could simply coast through the module, quietly observing the developments.

And now, Panda Pig had taken on that role.

"Panda Pig, now is not the time for impulsive decisions. You are well aware of our current situation. The only way to rescue Dogo Aige is for us to return alive and inform the local authorities to rescue him from Fisher's Village. Moreover, we have no way to convince Dogo Aige to leave with us right now. After all, someone who has let love cloud their judgment is not thinking rationally," Ling Ishikawa said seriously.

However, Panda Pig still looked conflicted, and Liu Xing suddenly realized that Panda Pig might be hiding something.

In the past, when Liu Xing had spare time, he would watch tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) videos on platforms like Bilibili. Now that he had Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall, he started lurking in the chat rooms and forums within the platform, where players shared their TTRPG sessions. These sessions were more realistic and provided valuable insights for Liu Xing.

Among these TTRPG sessions, Liu Xing had come across a player who, while using a newly created character card, had successfully possessed an NPC. This player, after accessing the NPC's memories, initially found nothing unusual about the character. However, in a subsequent module, they encountered an unidentified device left behind by the Yis People. This triggered the hidden memories of their character card, revealing that it had once belonged to a serial killer who targeted residents of single apartments.

This character card had infiltrated the home of a recluse, but the recluse turned out to be a Yis People. To avoid trouble, the Yis People had sealed the character card's memories, making it believe it was just an ordinary office worker.

After watching these memories, the player could only exclaim in disbelief at their character card being a serial killer. Furthermore, such serial killers typically had motives and developed a penchant for murder, which meant that the player had only one choice in the subsequent "Interlude Growth" to commit a murder. However, the success rate of this Interlude Growth was only thirty percent because the character card had been out of practice for a long time.

In the next module, the player's character was exposed as a wanted criminal due to their serial killer identity, resulting in a manhunt by local authorities. Eventually, the player was forced to drop out of the module for straying too far from the designated area. They also learned the truth everything had been set up by a Yis People. The unidentified device in the previous module was designed to restore memories and simultaneously transmit information about the serial killer to the authorities, leading to the player's expulsion from the game.

Therefore, the player concluded in their post, advising others not to create character cards with the sole intention of possessing NPCs. Nobody knew what hidden dark histories NPCs might hold.

Just like Liu Xing's current character card, which appeared to be an exemplary student but concealed the identity of a bloodthirsty Cult Leader.

So, Liu Xing suspected that Panda Pig might have some hidden history or a dark secret, possibly related to Dogo Aige.

With this in mind, Liu Xing tried to inquire of Panda Pig, "Panda Pig, did you make a promise to Dogo Aige?"

Panda Pig nodded, but remained silent, confirming Liu Xing's suspicions.

"Can you tell us about it?" Zhang Jingxu continued to ask.

Panda Pig remained silent.

Liu Xing exchanged a glance with Zhang Jingxu and shook his head, giving up on pressing Panda Pig further. They would find out the truth during the Private Room session later tonight.

Most of what needed to be said had been covered, so Ling Ishikawa knew it was time for him to speak up.

Of course, because his arm tattoo could cause sanity loss just from looking at it, Ling Ishikawa decided not to roll up his sleeves this time. "Zhang Jingxu, I have a question and I'm seeking your help. You've probably heard from Lu Tianya that I was sent to the distant past, to Hybrier, by Honda Tetsuya, who was supposed to be dead or at least faking death. Then, I was inexplicably sent back to the present, and now I have a strange tattoo on my arm. I also have a strange premonition that I will be sent to Hybrier again soon."

Zhang Jingxu raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh, Ling Ishikawa, could you show me the tattoo by rolling up your sleeve? I need to examine it to determine Honda Tetsuya's origins and figure out how to remove the tattoo for you."

Ling Ishikawa nodded but expressed some concern, "However, this tattoo seems to have a strange magical aura. Just looking at it makes me feel uneasy and nauseous. Are you sure you want to see it?"

His  implication was clear looking at this tattoo could result in sanity loss, and if they insisted on seeing it, she wouldn't be held responsible.

Zhang Jingxu, as an experienced Taoist, had seen it all, but Panda Pig and Lu Tianya were different.

So, Panda Pig decided to temporarily step aside, as the module had just begun, and losing sanity in an unrelated context would be disadvantageous. Lu Tianya was also persuaded by Zhang Jingxu to temporarily leave, as an NPC's sanity was not as straightforwardly represented as a player's and was more prone to complications.

When Panda Pig and Lu Tianya left the room to avoid the tattoo, Ling Ishikawa rolled up his sleeve, revealing the mysterious tattoo on his arm.

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