Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 28: The Great Success That Shouldn't Have Been

Chen Ling and Wang Qi both nodded in agreement, signaling their approval of Liu Xing's plan. As for Bai Hecheng… he had lost his right to speak at this point, his role reduced to simply running along when the time came.

"Alright, we've settled on our escape route from the Castle. When the time comes, if possible, Wang Qi will head to the gate first to activate the electric gate opener. The rest of us will try to distract the BOSS and Old Wayne. After all, unless there's a surprise, the noise from the electric gate opener, which I believe is powered by a diesel generator, won't be subtle. If we were to all wait at the Castle gate, it's likely we'd be caught in one fell swoop by the BOSS," Liu Xing added another strategic suggestion.

Everyone nodded earnestly, acknowledging the validity of the point. After all, they were no strangers to horror movies and games, and understood that the tools required for the final escape often made significant noise when activated, invariably drawing the attention of countless monsters and the BOSS. The Cthulhu RPG Game was no exception.

After tentatively deciding on the escape route and process, Liu Xing relayed KP004's friendly tip about the 'Other Languages' skill to Bai Hecheng and the others, inquiring if they had allocated any points to this skill.

Unsurprisingly, Bai Hecheng and the rest admitted they hadn't invested in the 'Other Languages' skill...

Liu Xing felt a renewed sense of relief upon hearing this. Had it not been for his own 'great success' in reconnaissance, which had translated the operation manual into Chinese, they would have been at a loss, unable to understand it, given their "illiteracy".

After discussing these matters, KP004 once again stepped forward at the right moment, "Alright, the Private Room time has ended. Just a reminder, you have one last chance to use the Private Room in this campaign, so please use it wisely."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. Without the Private Room, the exchange of information between players would be severely impacted.

However, that wasn't the real issue at hand. The problem was... the Lord of the Castle had returned.

Liu Xing heard the sound of a car horn outside the Castle, followed by the rumble of a diesel engine starting up – clearly, the electric gate opener was in operation.

"The noise is quite loud indeed. If it were to sound off in the middle of the night, it would truly disturb one's dreams," Chen Ling commented with an insinuation.

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Unless something unexpected occurred, Liu Xing and his group planned to escape from the Castle around eleven o'clock at night.

Liu Xing nodded and made a suggestion, "It seems the Lord of the Castle has returned. Should we go out to greet him?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Siyi shook his head and declined, "Let's not. I think we'd better stay in the room and take good care of Bai Hecheng. Once he's improved, it wouldn't be too late to meet with the Lord of the Castle."

Liu Xing understood Wang Siyi's intention to wait until Bai Hecheng recovered from his feigned disability before they all confronted the Lord of the Castle.

This time, Wang Qi and the others also sided with Wang Siyi, opting for caution.

Thus, the minority yielding to the majority, Liu Xing had no choice but to stay in the room, continuing to chat about this and that with Bai Hecheng and the others.

After a while, Liu Xing heard footsteps ascending the stairs; it was likely the Lord of the Castle returning to the second floor.

Meanwhile, Old Wayne also arrived at the door and announced, "My friends, the Lord has returned. In half an hour, he will host a banquet for you all in the great hall. I hope you will be punctual in your attendance."

Liu Xing smiled and nodded in acknowledgement, saying, "We understand, Butler Wayne. We will be sure to arrive on time."

Old Wayne chuckled softly before turning and leaving.

Liu Xing glanced at Bai Hecheng and sighed, "Given Bai Hecheng's current condition, it's unlikely he'll recover in half an hour. We need to concoct a plausible excuse. We can't let the Castle's Lord know we've taken his scroll of parchment, or we'll be in trouble."

Chen Ling nodded and suggested, "How about we say Bai Hecheng has contracted a strange illness that causes intermittent numbness and blindness? Would that excuse suffice?"

"That's a good idea, but who should present it? We need to choose someone suitable, someone who won't be seen through by the Castle's Lord at first glance," Wang Siyi said earnestly, tapping on the table.

In the Cthulhu RPG game, apart from the players, important NPCs and mythic creatures possess their own attributes and skills. Clearly, Wang Siyi was suspecting that the Castle's Lord might possess a psychology skill.

As the only player in the group with a psychology skill, Liu Xing naturally volunteered, "Let me do it. I audited some psychology courses in college and I'm quite confident about my knowledge in that area. I should be able to prevent the Castle's Lord from seeing through our ruse."

Knowing Liu Xing's psychology skill was at 70 points, everyone agreed to let him handle the dialogue with the Castle's Lord. Should the Castle's Lord also have psychology skills, Liu Xing would be ready to engage in a battle of wits.

After some more conversation and sensing that the time was about right, the group headed to the living room. Since Bai Hecheng had not recovered yet, Chen Ling escorted him to the end of the dining table, farthest from the Castle's Lord, to prevent immediate detection of Bai Hecheng's unusual state.

Once seated, they saw Old Wayne pushing a serving cart into the living room, followed by a middle-aged man in a red suit who appeared to be in his forties.

However, what made Liu Xing uncomfortable was that the Castle's Lord's eyes, like Isabella's, were blood-red. But in Liu Xing's view, Isabella's eyes were as flawless as rubies, while the Castle's Lord's seemed filthy and malevolent.

"The moment you lay eyes on the Castle's Lord, you find his gaze deeply unsettling, like a pool of blood drawing in your consciousness. Players, please roll for inspiration here. Success will reduce one SAN point," KP004 interjected, seizing the opportunity to target Liu Xing, whose inspiration was as high as 90!

Liu Xing, 74/90, success.

Wang Qi, 11/70, success.

Wang Siyi, 61/60, failure.

Chen Ling, 37/60, success.

Bai Hecheng, 4/70, critical success.

The moment the results were in, all eyes turned to Bai Hecheng, who against all odds, had rolled a critical success!

But then, Liu Xing was struck by a sudden realization—wasn't Bai Hecheng supposed to be blind?!