Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Just as Zhang Jingxu had mentioned, Liu Xing felt the need to offer some explanation to Matsui Yui. After all, this seemed to be something close to her heart, though it remained uncertain whether Matsui Yui's intentions were benevolent or not.

What Liu Xing could be certain of, however, was that if they presented the fish soup exactly as they received it, Matsui Yui's anxiety would surely escalate. In case Matsui Yui had not added any "seasoning" to the soup this time, it would be a disadvantageous situation for them.

On the other hand, if Matsui Yui had indeed added some "seasoning" to the soup, it was imperative to determine its effects. They would then need to discreetly dispose of the soup. After all, Liu Xing and the others had to put on a flawless performance to convincingly demonstrate that they had consumed the soup. Failure to do so might only increase Matsui Yui's suspicions.

Therefore, Zhang Jingxu, being a Taoist, stepped forward. Zhang Jingxu possessed some knowledge of pharmacology and had dealt with various Secret Cults in the past, making him quite familiar with their methods.

However, Liu Xing, despite being a "Veteran Driver," chose not to reveal himself just yet. If he did, his true identity would be exposed, which could put Zhang Jingxu in a delicate position. Zhang Jingxu had a deep-seated hatred for Secret Cults, and if he found out that Liu Xing was the leader of one, he would surely oppose him and seek to bring him to justice. This would lead to internal conflict just when they were dealing with external threats.

Furthermore, Liu Xing believed that he had another way to successfully navigate this situation without Zhang Jingxu and Lu Tianya's involvement. That option was to use Magic Spells – specifically, to summon or dismiss Byakhee.

Unless Matsui Ichiro was truly a wizard or Fisher's Village possessed some formidable weaponry, Liu Xing could escape without any trouble by summoning Byakhee. In fact, he could even order Byakhee to deal with Matsui Ichiro and take control of Fisher's Village.

The challenge, however, was that if he summoned Byakhee, it would put him in direct conflict with "Zhang Jingxu." If "Zhang Jingxu" were to die in Fisher's Village or the headquarters of the Ocean True Deity Sect, it could complicate matters further. "Zhang Jingxu" was a formidable adversary, and Liu Xing would have to face off against him repeatedly if he survived.

Summoning Byakhee was not a straightforward task either. After all, "WatanabeRyuusei" was ultimately an ordinary person, and controlling these mythical creatures could be challenging. Moreover, the Magic Spells for summoning and dismissing Byakhee that "WatanabeRyuusei" possessed were special versions personally taught by King Hastur in Yellow Robes.

The original version of the spell required an enchanted whistle made of silver and meteorite alloy, which needed an entire day of enchantment. The more willpower invested in the whistle during the enchantment, the stronger its power would be, enhancing the summoner's success rate in summoning and controlling Byakhee.

However, this whistle could be reused and was considered standard equipment for powerful wizards, as Byakhee made excellent mounts and servants.

The Magic Spells to summon Byakhee required the caster to blow the enchanted whistle while reciting incantations. It only worked during the nights when Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) rose above the horizon, preferably between October and March.

Summoned Byakhee would descend from the sky, extremely cold due to their interstellar travel, potentially causing frostbite to those unprepared for their arrival.

Furthermore, successfully summoning Byakhee did not grant immediate control over them. The caster would need to use a binding spell to make Byakhee submit and carry out their commands. Failure in the binding spell would result in Byakhee attacking the summoner and returning to their origin. Therefore, summoning Byakhee required preparation for potential combat.

It's worth mentioning that most mythical creatures had specific binding spells that did not interoperate, making it challenging to control multiple mythical creatures.

Returning to the current situation, Liu Xing did not have an enchanted whistle, nor did he possess knowledge of enchanting whistles. Therefore, the traditional method of summoning Byakhee was not an option for him. However, King Hastur in Yellow Robes had an alternative in mind. He taught "WatanabeRyuusei" a different version of the summoning spell, specially designed for summoning a particular Byakhee named Christine.

To summon Christine, the player had to spend 2 sanity points and 5 magic points. After chanting the spell for five minutes, Christine would arrive at the player's location in 1d20+10 minutes and follow the player's orders. However, the player needed to meet Christine's conditions, or she would refuse to cooperate. Failing to fulfill her conditions would reduce her favorability towards the player, affecting the success rate of future summonings. The first summoning attempt always had a 100% success rate.

In the closing notes of the summoning spell description, it was mentioned that Christine's favorability towards "WatanabeRyuusei" was set at 60.

Liu Xing was quite satisfied with this special version of the summoning spell. It was far more convenient than the standard version, allowing him to summon Byakhee any time, day or night, throughout the year, without the need for an enchanted whistle. Furthermore, if he considered Byakhee as a shared bicycle, Christine was his personal bicycle. He wouldn't have to scan (use a binding spell) every time he summoned her, avoiding the risk of failure and potential harm.

Most importantly, according to "WatanabeRyuusei's" memories, King Hastur in Yellow Robes had described Christine as an elite-level Byakhee, significantly more powerful than the average. Since Christine had favorability settings, Liu Xing believed that building a good relationship with her would result in more assistance. If favorability reached 100, he might have a reliable Byakhee "friend."

In the world of the Cthulhu RPG game, friends were the true treasures!

However, what made Liu Xing hesitate was that while summoning Christine was easy, convincing her to do his bidding and increasing her favorability required meeting her demands.

This led Liu Xing to recall Aaron, the Byakhee that had bewitched "his father" into founding the Worshipers of the Yellow Sect.

Aaron's favorite pastime was devouring humans because it could restore its powers. It reminded Liu Xing of a famous quote by Lu Xun: "I opened the Cthulhu Mythos, which had no chronology. Crooked words 'K sends sugar' were written on every page. I couldn't sleep straight, but I examined it carefully all night. It wasn't until after midnight that I could see the words through the gaps. The whole book was written with just two words: 'eat people'!" He chuckled.

But jokes aside, it had to be acknowledged that for Great Old Ones and mythical creatures alike, humans were synonymous with good taste. So Liu Xing was genuinely concerned that both Christine and Aaron might demand him to provide human sacrifices. "WatanabeRyuusei" might have no qualms about such matters, but Liu Xing did.

Therefore, this was another reason why Liu Xing was reluctant to use the Magic Spells for summoning Byakhee.

Besides, there was another issue. The full name of this Magic Spells was "Summon/Dismiss Byakhee," indicating that players needed to use the Magic Spells again to dismiss Byakhee. It was easier to call a deity than to send it away.

Summoning mythical creatures worked similarly.

The most critical factor was that Liu Xing found the description for dismissing Byakhee to be vague, giving him an uneasy feeling. Thus, Liu Xing believed it would be better not to use this Magic Spells unless absolutely necessary.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jingxu had already opened the insulated container and was inspecting the fish soup. Zhang Jingxu's method of inspecting the soup was also quite traditional – he used a silver needle.

The silver needle poison test was a classic scene in many ancient-themed movies and TV shows. In simple terms, a silver needle was inserted into the food or drink, and if the silver needle turned black, it indicated the presence of poison.

However, the silver needle poison test had limitations. It relied on the reaction between sulfur and silver to create black silver sulfide. In ancient times, the most common poison was arsenic, which, while primarily composed of arsenic, often contained sulfur due to limited purification techniques.

Therefore, the silver needle test could only detect poisons containing sulfur.

It was evident that Zhang Jingxu's silver needle was a prop purchased from the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall.

After a moment, Zhang Jingxu looked at the unchanged silver needle and said, "I'm now about seventy percent certain that this bucket of fish soup hasn't been tampered with, and it even smells quite delightful. The flavor should be excellent."

Liu Xing took a sniff, and indeed, the fish soup had an enticing aroma, whetting one's appetite.

"Then let's go ahead and drink this. It's only the third day, and there's no reason for Matsui Ichiro to harm us yet," Miyako Goudong suggested.

Liu Xing pondered for a moment. Although no toxic components were detected in the soup, in the world of the Cthulhu RPG game, some things were more terrifying than poison.

So, Liu Xing remained cautious and said, "I think we should abstain from drinking it. Even though there may be no poison in the soup, we should exercise caution. Besides, we now know that Fisher's Village is a dangerous place, and Matsui Ichiro may not have good intentions."

Liu Xing's words found agreement from more members of the group. Surprisingly, Miyako Goudong shook his head and said, "Well, since none of you want to drink it, I'll just have it by myself. After all, there's only one insulated container, and it wouldn't be practical to share."

With that, Miyako Goudong proceeded to drink directly from the insulated container.

The rest of the group exchanged puzzled looks, not expecting Miyako Goudong's stubbornness. It seemed that "Miyako Goudong" still had a touch of adolescence, despite his age.

"Well, the taste is indeed excellent," Miyako Goudong remarked after putting down the container with a smile.

Just then, Liu Xing heard Alice coming down the stairs.

"Oh, you finished the fish soup so quickly. I thought I'd have to return the insulated container this afternoon. Now, I can take it back to Matsui Yui on my way," Alice said, looking surprised as she saw the empty container on the table.

After all, Alice had only been upstairs for less than ten minutes.

Zhang Jingxu nodded and said, "We thought it over, and since it's a thoughtful gesture from Miss Matsui Yui, we decided to enjoy the fish soup. It's delicious; she's quite the cook."

Alice was delighted by Zhang Jingxu's words and chuckled, "Of course. You all should know that Matsui Yui's mother passed away when she was very young, so she learned to cook from a young age. Moreover, in this Fisher's Village, it's fish all day, every day, so Matsui Yui's fish dishes are exceptionally tasty."

"Well, I should get going now. Matsui Yui is waiting for me to return. If you're feeling bored, I have a deck of cards here. You can play with them, but please don't wander around too much. The rain outside is quite heavy, and catching a cold wouldn't be good." Alice took out a deck of cards from her pocket and placed it on the table.

Then, Alice left with the insulated container, disappearing into the rain.

"Alright, since we have some free time, let's play cards," Liu Xing said, picking up the deck and smiling.