Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 357: The Original Mythical Creature

Liu Xing furrowed his brow and began, "Could it be that our phones are malfunctioning simultaneously? The time on my phone shows it’s eleven o’clock, but we’ve only been outside for about half an hour."

Zhang Jingxu shook his head and replied earnestly, "I don’t think it’s a problem with the phones. Li Dian was quite certain he spent over two hours in the clinic. Due to the sudden rain yesterday, a few patients came in for IV drips after we left. So, Li Dian had to keep track of time to administer their medication. That’s why he’s so sure."

"But that doesn’t make sense. We were at Broken Bridge for only about ten minutes, then spent a minute or two in the bamboo forest before returning directly to Broken Bridge. We chatted with Xiao Mochen for a while, so at most, it took us half an hour," Ling Ishikawa puzzled.

Liu Xing rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

What was certain at the moment was that if Li Dian wasn’t lying or colluding with Hu Cang to deceive them, then two hours had mysteriously disappeared from their timeline, and none of them had noticed.

Liu Xing’s main suspicion now centered on the mythical creature lurking deep within the bamboo forest. After all, the only unusual occurrence during those two and a half hours was being targeted by that mythical creature outside the bamboo forest.

First, Liu Xing ruled out the possibility that the mythical creature had controlled them using some form of magic, making them unaware of the passage of time. He hadn’t heard the sound of dice rolling, indicating that KP Snow Wind hadn’t secretly intervened. Even Ke Zong, when influencing players, needed to roll dice. Therefore, this mythical creature couldn’t be more powerful than Ke Zong.

Moreover, based on Xiao Mochen’s story, the mythical creature probably couldn’t control time since it had been trapped in the deep bamboo forest by a Taoist in the past. Besides, in the Cthulhu RPG Game, mythical creatures with time control abilities were exceedingly rare, if not nonexistent. Yis People, for instance, could only travel through time but didn’t have true time control.

Therefore, Liu Xing dismissed the possibility of the mythical creature affecting time.

Liu Xing shook his head. Although Xiao Mochen’s appearance seemed out of place in Panlong Town, it didn’t necessarily imply wrongdoing. Personal fashion choices varied, and even in this day and age, you could occasionally spot people with unconventional styles on the streets.

Judging people by appearances wasn’t a reliable method, and according to the Cthulhu RPG Game’s general principle, individuals who stood out like Xiao Mochen usually weren’t the final bosses. At most, they were important NPCs. After all, a final boss who was instantly recognizable wouldn’t serve any purpose.

So, Liu Xing ruled out Xiao Mochen but remained determined to visit his teahouse in the afternoon. He believed that Xiao Mochen must have some Side Quests and important information.

Next, Liu Xing eliminated the possibility of the Black Flood Dragon. The Black Flood Dragon hadn’t appeared today, and similar to why he had ruled out the mythical creature, Liu Xing didn’t believe it had the power to manipulate time.

Finally, Liu Xing discarded the possibility of Hu Cang’s involvement. While it was possible for Hu Cang to influence their group by tampering with the food they had eaten in the module, Li Dian had not been affected. Furthermore, Liu Xing couldn’t fathom why Hu Cang would do this. If Hu Cang truly wanted to harm their group, poisoning them directly would have been a simpler solution.

Now, Liu Xing’s mind was in disarray, unable to find a reasonable explanation.

At that moment, Ling Ishikawa spoke up, saying, "I might know why we mysteriously lost two hours."

While saying this, Ling Ishikawa exchanged a glance with Liu Xing.

Liu Xing understood Ling Ishikawa’s intention and nodded subtly, indicating that it was time for Ling Ishikawa to share their morning speculations with Zhang Jingxu.

So, Ling Ishikawa first shared their morning speculations with Zhang Jingxu, then continued, "Although Panlong Town has become an independent space, if this independent space isn’t maintained by a powerful entity, it’s bound to experience certain anomalies, just like what we encountered – a sudden acceleration of time in a specific area."

"My cheap master, Serak, mentioned a story while teaching me about these spatial matters. It’s about an evil Wizard in ancient Hybrier who wanted to rule independently. To achieve this, he used the power of a Great Old One to turn a city into an independent space and became its ruler."

"Because the Great Old One’s power was overwhelmingly strong, those who tried to eliminate the evil Wizard failed to enter the city. They all returned empty-handed. However, the evil Wizard’s victory was short-lived because maintaining such an independent space required a tremendous amount of magical energy. As a result, the independent space began experiencing various anomalies."

"For example, a massive fire broke out in one part of the city, turning it into ashes. Or everyone inside a building suddenly regressed to infancy, becoming newborns. There were even instances of a black hole appearing, swallowing everyone in the square. In the end, the independent space collapsed, and both the city and the evil Wizard were obliterated."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow and said, "So, Ling Ishikawa, are you suggesting that we’re somewhat lucky today, as we didn’t encounter any deadly anomalies directly?"

Ling Ishikawa nodded and replied seriously, "Yes, our luck has been quite good today. We didn’t inexplicably die by the river, and I’m almost certain that the area where we encountered anomalies was near the bamboo forest. When I looked at the top of the bamboo forest, the sun was in its usual position. However, when we returned to Broken Bridge, I felt that the shadows on the ground seemed a bit off, though I didn’t pay much attention at the time."

Upon careful consideration, Liu Xing realized that there might indeed be some truth to Ling Ishikawa’s observation.

"In that case, let’s avoid the area near the bamboo forest for now. We wouldn’t want to spend over ten minutes inside, only to find that a whole day has passed in the real world," Liu Xing said, furrowing his brow.

Ling Ishikawa shook their head and added, "There’s no need to be so wary of the bamboo forest area. Anomalies, by their nature, don’t persist in one area for extended periods; otherwise, they’d be called ’common occurrences’ instead."

Alright, Liu Xing realized he had been overthinking things.

After roughly "solving" the mystery of the inexplicable time loss, Liu Xing instructed Zhang Jingxu not to share these speculations with Wan Chongshan and Li Dian for the time being.

Zhang Jingxu nodded and turned to chat with Li Dian and Wan Chongshan. As for Hu Cang, he had gone to the kitchen on the first floor to prepare lunch.

Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa had no choice but to sit aside, engaging in idle conversation.

After a while, Zhang Jingxu joined Liu Xing and said, "I asked Li Dian and Wan Chongshan earlier, and they also believe that there’s something unusual about Panlong Town, which led to the sudden acceleration of time for us. Li Dian has also gained some initial trust from Hu Cang."

"That’s good news. From Xiao Mochen’s behavior, we can be sure that the people in Panlong Town are aware of the existence of the Black Flood Dragon. However, for some undisclosed reasons, they choose to avoid it. If Li Dian can further improve his relationship with Hu Cang, he might learn the full story of the Black Flood Dragon from him," Ling Ishikawa said with a smile.

Zhang Jingxu nodded and added, "Yes, and speaking of the story Hu Cang told Li Dian, it’s more detailed than what we heard from Xiao Mochen. For example, in Hu Cang’s version, the events occurred fifty years ago, and the true form of the monster is actually a black cat. There are also some discrepancies, like one of the troublesome kids not really being dead; they’re alive and well. Additionally, the black cat demon didn’t massacre the town’s people overnight, but it did kill many."

Black cat demon?!

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. Cats, especially black cats, were frequently featured in various folklore stories worldwide, often cast as antagonists. Cats were inherently mysterious creatures, capable of disappearing and blending into the darkness due to their black fur. Their silent footsteps made them easily startle people at night, leading to their association with superstitions and bad omens.

In the Cthulhu RPG Game, the appearance of a black cat demon as a mythical creature was relatively rare. Compared to creatures like Ghouls and Deep Ones, the black cat demon was significantly weaker. Unless it was a customized version of the black cat demon, there was no template for it in the rulebook. Therefore, the module’s author had to define the black cat demon. For players who hadn’t read the module content, they wouldn’t know the black cat demon’s abilities and how to deal with it.

Thinking about this, Liu Xing couldn’t help but sigh. It seemed that this module would introduce many original mythical creatures. After all, it had just begun, and there were already the Black Flood Dragon and the black cat demon. As the story progressed, they would likely encounter more original mythical creatures.

At that moment, Hu Cang emerged with lunch, and everyone gathered around the table to eat.

Hu Cang’s cooking skills were undeniably good.

After finishing their meal, the group found an excuse for an afternoon nap and returned to the third floor, convening in Li Dian and Wan Chongshan’s room to discuss their situation.

Of course, since the usage of Private Room time was limited, and KP Snow Wind had yet to disclose the estimated duration of the module, they had to be frugal with their Private Room usage.

However, this time, to avoid the inconvenience of simultaneous translation by Zhang Jingxu, Liu Xing and the others split into two smaller groups for discussion. Once both groups had discussed their findings, Zhang Jingxu would transmit the results, allowing for a second round of discussion.

Zhang Jingxu naturally joined Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa’s group.

Quickly, the group reached a consensus.

First, the sudden acceleration of time should be considered an isolated incident and not a cause for excessive concern.

Second, they should avoid provoking the black cat demon deep within the bamboo forest for now. After all, it had a track record of killing people, and it was best to err on the side of caution.

Next, Li Dian would continue to build a rapport with Hu Cang. Xiao Mochen also needed to be monitored, and Wan Chongshan was the ideal candidate for this task since he had a shared interest in playing mahjong, a popular pastime in the Rongcheng area and throughout the entire BaShudu region.

Finally, they discussed their afternoon plans. Everyone agreed that they should visit Xiao Mochen’s teahouse since places like teahouses and taverns with high human traffic and diverse clientele were excellent sources of information.

Furthermore, Liu Xing was getting a bit antsy. As a local in Rongcheng, he had learned to play mahjong from a young age. During festivals, weddings, funerals, and gatherings with family and friends, it was customary to play mahjong. However, after graduating from college and becoming a doctor, Liu Xing had little opportunity to play mahjong throughout the year. Therefore, he was eager to try his hand at it now.

Of course, mahjong and the Cthulhu RPG Game shared the same essence, primarily based on luck and decision-making by players.

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