Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Liu Xing furrowed his brow. Panda Pig was right; those magical arrays on the window frames could very well be responsible for these effects. After all, Matsui Ichiro had a significant need for them, as they allowed him to monitor everything happening inside and outside the villa, and even weaken the abilities of outsiders.

"Hey, if that's really the case, then everything we do in this villa is probably being observed by Matsui Ichiro. Our current conversation might already be within his earshot. Why bother trying so hard? We might as well just give up," Miyako Goudong said with frustration and a sense of resignation.

Liu Xing looked at Miyako Goudong's demeanor and shook his head. He hadn't expected Miyako Goudong to be so quick to give up, especially considering his edgy personality. He wondered how Miyako Goudong had survived in this module.

Unless... Miyako Goudong was simply a very lucky person. After all, in the Cthulhu RPG Game, luck could truly let you do as you pleased.

"Well, even if Matsui Ichiro is indeed monitoring us right now, we still have to continue our discussion on escaping. We can't just sit around and wait for our fate. Besides, I don't think Matsui Ichiro can monitor us in real-time. These magical arrays, even if they have surveillance capabilities, usually require a powerful mage to extract and view the stored information," Zhang Jingxu said seriously.

Of course, Zhang Jingxu had this thought because if Matsui Ichiro could truly monitor the villa in real-time, there would be no way for the Private Room sessions to take place every night. Thus, Zhang Jingxu made this conjecture.

Liu Xing nodded and said, "You're right, Zhang Jingxu. So let's continue. Who wants to introduce what they've found?"

As soon as Liu Xing finished speaking, Lu Tianya raised his hand and said, "Let me go first because what I found should be related to what Zhang Jingxu and Ryuusei found."

Lu Tianya took out a ring from his pocket, and in that moment, Liu Xing received the attributes of the ring.

Unknown Ring: A ring imbued with mysterious powers. Its true nature can be determined through knowledge of the occult, Cthulhu mythos, and other forms of judgment. Currently, the ring is in a dormant state, but it can be activated by a drop of the owner's blood. The ring's power will exceed your imagination once activated.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. Just from reading the description, he knew this ring was extraordinary. The mention of mysterious powers likely came from a Great Old One, making it a legendary artifact in any other game. However, Liu Xing had suspicions about the last sentence in the description, not because he doubted its authenticity but because he felt it was incomplete.

In the Cthulhu RPG Game, players would descend into madness even from learning things that defied logic. Therefore, owning a ring with such powerful, mysterious abilities in the hands of players was like a ticking time bomb. Liu Xing suspected that once activated, the ring would require players to sacrifice sanity points, mana points (MP), or even health points (HP) to use its abilities, effectively leading to a slow form of self-destruction.

Despite the initial excitement among the players in the room, they quickly sobered up and began to contemplate how to survive through multiple modules if they were to possess this ring.

"I found this ring in a gap in the floor. It appears to be a women's ring, but the style is quite old-fashioned. I suspect it may be an antique. However, it seems that the previous owner of this ring was unaware of its true nature, as it lacks proper maintenance and has some scratches," Lu Tianya explained.

Liu Xing carefully examined the ring, and as Lu Tianya had mentioned, it was indeed scratched. Moreover, the scratches seemed to have occurred at different times, and Liu Xing also noticed some other types of marks, such as burn marks and blunt force damage. It appeared that this ring, despite its status as an artifact, had a tumultuous history.

However, what puzzled Liu Xing was that the style of the ring did not appear to be women's jewelry. It was a gold ring with a red gemstone on the face, surrounded by intricate patterns, giving it the appearance of a blood-red eye.

This did not resemble an old-fashioned women's ring at all.

Liu Xing expressed his doubts, saying, "Lu Tianya, this ring doesn't seem like a women's ring at all. The style is quite modern, in fact."

Miyako Goudong nodded in agreement, saying seriously, "That's right. This ring has a cool design, and it doesn't look like a women's ring. The deep black color suits me well."

"Black color?!" Everyone exclaimed in unison.

Liu Xing realized that this ring was truly extraordinary.

Following Liu Xing's suggestion, everyone described the appearance of the ring as they perceived it.

In Lu Tianya's eyes, the ring appeared as an ordinary silver ring with a very conventional style, similar to the rings worn by female protagonists in many Western black-and-white films.

In Miyako Goudong's eyes, the ring had a black metal band with a black gemstone in the shape of a dragon's head on the face.

Panda Pig saw a massive diamond ring with a dazzling sparkle.

Lastly, Zhang Jingxu perceived the ring as a finger guard with an octagonal diagram representing Daoism.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow and said seriously, "It seems this ring is not as simple as it appears. It allows us to see what we want to see."

Of course, when Liu Xing mentioned "us," he referred to Lu Tianya, the NPC, and the players' character cards. Each saw a different form of the ring. "Watanabe Ryuusei" saw the eye of the Yellow King, "Miyako Goudong" saw a ring with a distinct edgy charm, "Panda Pig" saw a priceless diamond ring, and "Zhang Jingxu" saw a finger guard representing Daoism.

However, Liu Xing was somewhat surprised as he looked at Lu Tianya. Based on what Lu Tianya saw when she looked at the ring, it seemed that Lu Tianya's inner desires were that of a young girl, particularly the artistic and somewhat bourgeois type, who enjoyed watching European and American arthouse black-and-white films and wished to own a ring similar to what the female protagonists wore.

This was quite different from Lu Tianya's usual demeanor.

Lu Tianya, of course, noticed Liu Xing's gaze. With the keen intuition of a girl, Lu Tianya quickly understood what Liu Xing was thinking and gave him an irritated glare. Liu Xing promptly averted his gaze.

"In that case, this ring is quite intriguing. It can reflect our inner desires. However, my master once told me that things capable of revealing people's desires are generally not a good sign. Such things tend to have sinister intentions, possibly manipulating us through our desires," Zhang Jingxu said seriously.

Liu Xing was now curious about Zhang Jingxu's master. Who could this master be to provide Zhang Jingxu with so much knowledge? Liu Xing even suspected that the image of the ring Zhang Jingxu saw might originate from a finger guard that belonged to Zhang Jingxu's master.

"In that case, we should refrain from trying on this ring too hastily. Many movies and novels have a plotline where anyone who wears such a ring becomes ensnared by it, unable to remove it," Miyako Goudong chimed in.

Therefore, although everyone was curious about the ring, they decided to wrap it in a few sheets of paper and place it at the center of the table, considering the potential dangers it might pose. The players' character cards didn't know that the ring would only activate when recognized with a drop of blood, so they proceeded with caution.

After handling the ring, Panda Pig produced a key. However, the key's design seemed rather small and didn't appear to be for opening doors.

"I found this key in my own room under the pillow. I've been having headaches lately, and at first, I thought it was just me. But it turns out, it was because of this key. Judging by its design, it should be used to open a safe or start a vehicle or boat," Panda Pig explained while taking out the key and showing it alongside the one on the table, which looked very similar.

"Keys, huh? That's interesting. Maybe we'll have use for it later," Liu Xing remarked with a meaningful tone.

In the Cthulhu RPG Game, keys that appeared were generally crucial items, either used to open something important to acquire vital information or as essential tools for escaping.

However, what piqued Liu Xing's curiosity was how this key had ended up lost in this villa. It seemed unusual because Liu Xing believed the owner of the key should be Matsui Ichiro.

Despite his confusion, KP Green Light suddenly stood up and announced, "Congratulations to all players for completing the fifth Side Quest and finding five peculiar items in this villa. As a reward, each player will receive 500 points. However, due to Ling Ishikawa's unique status, he will not receive any points."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected Lu Tianya's discovery of the ring to be included, and there was no need to verify what Miyako Goudong had found; they completed the mission directly.

However, this also indirectly highlighted the importance of the key, as it was listed as a mission item.

As the seemingly most reliable player in the module, Zhang Jingxu took charge of the key, and then Miyako Goudong revealed what he had found—a small lock.

Pointing to a corner of the living room cabinet, Miyako Goudong said, "I found this small lock under that cabinet. When I found it, it was covered in dust, suggesting it had been forgotten in this villa for many years."

Zhang Jingxu examined the small lock and commented, "This lock is clearly of traditional Chinese style, with the words 'peace and safety' written on it. Without any surprises, this lock should belong to Inoue Kenjiro, who intended to give it to Matsui Yui."

Liu Xing nodded in agreement because, despite the differences between the Island Nation and Chinese languages, he could read the four characters "peace and safety." It reminded him of the time when his grandmother had given him a similar lock as a child.

"So, if that's the case, why was this lock left in this villa? Matsui Yui wouldn't have stayed here for long. Besides, such a lock is usually worn around the neck and should have been easy to find if it fell off, especially in such an empty living room," Liu Xing raised a valid question.

Just then, Liu Xing heard footsteps approaching, and to his surprise, Alice had returned early in the morning.

The group quickly tidied up the items on the table, and they saw Alice carrying a thermos.

"It's quite cold today, so Matsui Yui made some fish soup. Everyone should have a bit to warm up. You should know that Matsui Yui is an excellent cook, and this fish soup is delicious," Alice said with a smile as she placed the thermos on the table.

The group exchanged glances, all aware that the fish soup likely contained some "seasoning."

As a result, everyone claimed to have already had breakfast and declined the offer for fish soup.

Alice didn't insist and, after chatting briefly with Liu Xing and the others, went upstairs.

"What should we do about the fish soup?" Liu Xing whispered.

Zhang Jingxu looked at the thermos and said, "Let me open it and take a look. After all, it's a gesture from Matsui Yui, and we should acknowledge it."

Zhang Jingxu deliberately emphasized the words "gesture" and "acknowledge."