Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 25: A Successful Reconnaissance

Certainly, Liu Xing thought Wang Siyi's so-called "principle of not receiving items from the opposite gender" was merely an excuse. In reality, it boiled down to nothing more than disdain for Bai Hecheng.

Glancing at his phone, Liu Xing noted it was only around three-thirty in the afternoon, still early, with several hours to spare before the evening banquet.

Thus, Liu Xing decided to take a stroll around the main building, of course, with no intention of wandering into the back garden.

"Chen Ling, you look after Bai Hecheng for now. I want to step out for a breath of fresh air. Anyone care to join me?" Liu Xing stretched languidly, standing up as he spoke.

In the Cthulhu RPG Game, being alone was never a good idea. The notion that one could handle all troubles, crises, and enemies single-handedly was something reserved for fantasy novels.

Wang Qi, well aware of this fact, and understanding that among the five players in this gaming group, only Wang Qi and Chen Ling were the combatant types (with Bai Hecheng already categorized as a troublemaker), recognized Liu Xing's invitation as a call to gather intelligence outside the main building.

Consequently, Wang Qi also stood, stretching, and said with a smile, "Then I'll accompany you. After being cooped up in the Castle for so long, I'm keen to stretch my legs as well."

Chen Ling, cognizant of his duty to protect (and surveil) Bai Hecheng, nodded in agreement. "Sure, go on and get some exercise. I'll take good care of Bai Hecheng. Nothing unexpected should occur."

As for Wang Siyi, ever a person of few words, simply nodded, indicating his awareness of the plan.

As Liu Xing and Wang Qi were leaving the main building, they encountered Old Wayne, who was busy cleaning. "Butler Wayne, we're planning to walk around outside for a bit. Is there anywhere in the Castle off-limits that we should avoid?"

Old Wayne chuckled and responded, "This isn't a movie set. How could our Castle possibly have forbidden areas? However, I wouldn't recommend visiting the back garden since it hasn't been tended for quite some time. There could be dangerous insects or snakes lurking, and since the doctor in Eins Town passed away recently, any accidents would mean a trip to Manchester for treatment."

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Liu Xing nodded, agreeing to return to the main building within two hours to prepare for the dinner.

After bidding farewell to Old Wayne, Liu Xing led Wang Qi away from the main building to a fountain situated at its fore.

"Wang Qi, let's head over to the Castle's main gate. I want to see how it opens. Does it really work like in the movies, opened by a winch?" Liu Xing gazed at the distant Castle gate, posing the question to Wang Qi.

As mentioned before, there were essentially two ways to leave the Castle: either through the main gate or by jumping off the Castle walls.

The latter option was far too risky, considering the walls were about seven or eight meters high - roughly equivalent to the height of a four-story building - and the ground below was concrete. A fall from such a height would send anyone straight to a German orthopedic clinic.

Thus, that method was summarily dismissed.

Liu Xing was now contemplating how their party could leave through the Castle's main gate.

Of course, the main gate itself was actually divided into two different doors: the main wooden gate and a smaller iron door intended for individuals to pass through.

The small iron gate was clearly secured with an electronic lock, the key to which was naturally in Old Wayne's possession. While Liu Xing and his companions could choose to obtain the key from Old Wayne by various methods—such as persuasion through skill, persuasion by force, persuasion with money—or they could simply opt to take it by force, considering Old Wayne was just an ordinary elderly human.

However, Old Wayne was backed by the imposing figure of the Castle Lord, a formidable boss in his own right. Liu Xing did not believe the Castle Lord would idly watch his key be taken, so passing through the small iron gate to exit the Castle would undoubtedly be a long and arduous journey.

As for the wooden door, Liu Xing had taken note of its thickness—about ten centimeters—when he first entered the Castle through the small iron gate. Given its five-meter height, the weight of such a door could be easily surmised.

Yet Liu Xing remembered seeing various vehicles leaving tracks on the road from Eins Town to the Castle, and next to the main building within the Castle grounds, an old-fashioned car was parked.

It was clear that these vehicles could not have passed through the small iron gate, so the wooden door must be openable. Considering Old Wayne's frail physique, Liu Xing doubted that he could open the wooden door with a winch single-handedly. Thus, Liu Xing was now certain that the Castle's wooden door must be equipped with an electric opening device!

Now, Liu Xing wanted to find the exact location of this electric door opener to prepare for their eventual escape from Eins Castle.

Wang Qi obviously understood what Liu Xing was thinking and nodded decisively. Together, they headed to the Castle's main gate.

KP004 spared Liu Xing and Wang Qi the task of reconnaissance and directly provided intelligence: "Upon reaching the Castle's main gate, you discover a small room on the wall of the Castle, housing the electric door opener for the main gate."

Looking up, Liu Xing and Wang Qi could see a wooden room perched awkwardly on the wall, an obvious anomaly that even KP004 didn't bother having them scout for.

Thus, Liu Xing and Wang Qi ascended the staircase to the wall and entered the small room.

Inside, Liu Xing saw an old-fashioned wooden winch connected to a length of chain. It had been retrofitted to be operated by the electric door opener—a detail fabricated on the fly, for even I don't know exactly how such a device works.

Liu Xing also noticed a small tag hanging from the plug of the electric device—MADE IN CHINA.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, at a loss for words momentarily.

"Then now, you may choose to conduct a reconnaissance." KP004 stepped forward again.

Was there even a choice to be made? Of course, they would proceed.

Liu Xing, 4/60, a major success.

Wang Qi, 21/65, successful.

"Uh, so you've discovered a booklet, which contains instructions on how to use the electric door opener. Fortunately, the booklet is written in Chinese," KP004 finished, exhaling a sigh.

Clearly, had Liu Xing's reconnaissance not been a major success, it was very likely that the manual for the electric door opener would have been in English, or they might have needed to pass another luck check.