Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 372: Intelligence in the Illusionary Realm

Fortunately, at this moment, Liu Xing had not yet encountered KP Snow Wind. This indicated that even though they, along with their companions, had been "killed" by Hu Li, it hadn’t resulted in a module failure or a card tearing event. In this module, just like Hu Cang, players could also "die and resurrect."

Of course, it seemed they had now arrived at a different point in time.

Liu Xing rubbed his slightly aching chest and said to Ling Ishikawa, "Let’s go check on Zhang Jingxu and the others."

Ling Ishikawa, still somewhat dazed, nodded after a moment and got up to follow Liu Xing out of the room.

At the same time, Zhang Jingxu and the rest emerged from their respective rooms and, after exchanging nods, gathered around a table in the third-floor lobby.

"KP, we need to start the Private Room time," Wan Chongshan said, taking the lead.

Although Private Room time was precious, the recent incident where they were wiped out without warning left Liu Xing and the others caught off guard. Hence, they needed to discuss their group’s mistakes in yesterday’s events.

"We have to admit that we were somewhat careless or perhaps too overconfident. We didn’t take Hu Li seriously from the beginning and didn’t treat her as a true opponent," Liu Xing set the tone.

Ling Ishikawa nodded and earnestly added, "You’re right. We were too complacent in our actions yesterday. Initially, we didn’t pay much attention to Hu Li, and even after realizing we had been hypnotized by her once, we didn’t remain cautious. This led to us falling victim to her again, and she wiped us out."

Zhang Jingxu shook his head and said thoughtfully, "I did have some precautions against Hu Li at the beginning. After all, this is an advanced module, and mythical creatures within modules are not easy opponents. Besides, the abilities of a fox spirit are deeply ingrained in folklore. So, I initially prepared myself to be tricked by Hu Li."

"However, I still became a bit careless. At the start, I thought Hu Li wouldn’t suspect our identities, and she wouldn’t attack us in public. So, I didn’t make any preparations. But here’s the crucial point: as soon as I regained consciousness, I decided to be vigilant against Hu Li’s possible tricks."

"But for some reason, even though I thought about it, I didn’t act on it until the second time I was affected. So, I believe Hu Li’s hypnotic techniques aren’t just simple hypnosis. She seems to use a form of psychological suggestion that prevents us from resisting her. Furthermore, her hypnotic skills are exceptionally high, as she managed to hypnotize us without requiring Judgment."

"This must be a Plot Encounter," Li Dian furrowed his brow. "I think it’s a Plot Encounter. While we were indeed wiped out by Hu Li, it also provided us with valuable information. For example, how to deal with the pig head butcher. Most importantly, it confirmed Hu Li’s strength. This allows us to make educated guesses about the abilities of other mythical creatures."

Liu Xing pondered for a moment and nodded, "I agree with Li Dian’s perspective. This should be a Plot Encounter; otherwise, we wouldn’t have been completely defenseless and wiped out by Hu Li. I want to ask everyone about their experiences in the illusion. I want to know if our illusions are interconnected. First, the illusion I experienced—we all became art students visiting Panlong Town, and Hu Cang had married Hu Li, turning the clinic into a guesthouse."

"Exactly, next, when we went to Panlong Lake to sketch, we noticed that the bamboo forest’s density had decreased, and we saw Hualai Temple deep within the bamboo forest," Ling Ishikawa continued.

In this manner, they described their respective illusions, confirming that everyone’s illusions were interconnected.

However, what concerned Liu Xing the most was what had happened to Zhang Jingxu and the others after he successfully broke free from the illusion.

After Liu Xing broke free from the illusion, Ling Ishikawa and the others saw him suddenly convulse after answering a phone call, collapse to the ground, and were promptly rushed to Panlong Town Clinic for treatment.

Following Zhong Rensan’s diagnosis and treatment, Liu Xing finally recovered and fell asleep in his hospital bed. The group decided to leave Li Dian, who had some medical knowledge, to care for Liu Xing. The rest returned to Hu Cang’s house.

On the way back to Hu Cang’s house, Wan Chongshan decided to stop by a small supermarket to purchase some items like milk, anticipating Liu Xing’s need to replenish his strength when he woke up. Wan Chongshan informed the others and went into the supermarket for shopping.

Zhang Jingxu and Ling Ishikawa hadn’t gone far when they witnessed a disheveled young man running wildly in the street, shouting, "Don’t chase me!" and "Don’t kill me!" Despite their attempts to avoid him, the young man charged straight into Zhang Jingxu, and they both fell to the ground.

The young man immediately got up and ran away, leaving Zhang Jingxu on the ground. Ling Ishikawa helped him up, and they noticed a dropped pen nearby, which Zhang Jingxu picked up. It seemed to be of high value, so he decided to inquire about the young man’s identity later and return the pen to him.

Upon returning to Hu Cang’s house, they learned from Hu Li that Hu Cang had gone fishing on Panlong River with Xiao Mochen, planning to make fish soup for Liu Xing. Ling Ishikawa took the paintings they had completed in the morning upstairs, while Zhang Jingxu stayed downstairs, awaiting Hu Cang’s return. However, after a tiring morning, Zhang Jingxu began to doze off, unintentionally slipping into a dream.

Suddenly, a sudden change occurred.

First, Li Dian received a request from Zhong Rensan to fetch a bottle of saline from the storage room in the basement to assist with treating a new patient. Naturally, Li Dian agreed.

Following Zhong Rensan’s instructions, Li Dian headed down a right corridor and descended a ladder, entering the basement. Inside, there were only two rooms: an Archives Room and a storage room.

Li Dian easily found the saltwater in the storage room, but as he was about to leave, he realized that the door to the storage room had been unexpectedly closed.

Initially, Li Dian thought it was the wind that had shut the door, but he quickly realized that Panlong Townclinic’s basement had no windows, so where could the wind have come from? Moreover, the door had made creaking sounds when he had opened it just moments ago. How could it have closed silently?

This sent chills down Li Dian’s spine, and he could only think of one possibility: he might have encountered something supernatural.

At that moment, the light in the storage room also predictably malfunctioned.

In the darkness, Li Dian hurriedly used his phone for illumination. To his horror, he found that his hand was gripped by someone, and he could vividly feel that the hand gripping his was extremely withered yet incredibly strong. In less than a second, Li Dian felt like his hand was about to break.

Then, he felt a sharp pain in his chest and looked down to see a skeletal black hand emerging from his body, clutching his still-beating heart.

Li Dian, met his demise.

Wan Chongshan, who had just finished shopping at the supermarket and was preparing to check out, suddenly saw the store owner clutching his chest and collapsing to the ground. He asked Wan Chongshan to go to the second floor and fetch his heart medication.

Wan Chongshan readily agreed and entered the room through a partially closed door behind the cash register. He spotted a bottle of medicine on the table.

However, before Wan Chongshan could pick up the medication, he heard footsteps behind him. He instinctively turned around to find the supermarket owner, who had been in pain just moments ago, staring lifelessly at him. What was more disturbing was that the owner was holding a wooden stick.

Wan Chongshan realized that the situation was dire and quickly grabbed a nearby chair. Just then, four more people entered the room, including Xiao Mochen’s father, Xiao Dafu. Like the store owner, these four individuals had lifeless eyes and weapons in their hands.

A whistle sounded from outside the room, and Xiao Dafu and the others rushed at Wan Chongshan. Overwhelmed and outnumbered, Wan Chongshan was subdued and bound with ropes before being carried to the third floor.

There, still somewhat conscious, Wan Chongshan found himself placed on a table, and a pungent smell of blood filled the room. Xiao Dafu and the others began chanting a two-word phrase repeatedly— "eat meat."

Wan Chongshan realized that they intended to consume him. He desperately struggled, but the strength of one person could not overcome the restraint of five. Helplessly, he watched as a young man in a chef’s outfit and a black mask approached him, thrusting a sharp knife into his heart.

Wan Chongshan met his end.

Zhang Jingxu entered a dream and found himself in a somewhat dilapidated classroom. There were no other people around.

Zhang Jingxu stood up and left the classroom, only to realize that it was now evening. Outside, on the schoolyard, he saw a group of middle school students sitting in a circle. In the center stood a person dressed in white.

Since the person in white had their back to Zhang Jingxu, he could only speculate based on their hair and physique that this individual was probably a male middle school student.

Strangely, all these middle school students remained silent and motionless.

Although Zhang Jingxu sensed that something was amiss, he believed that since it was a dream, he should approach to investigate. Against his better judgment, Zhang Jingxu involuntarily walked closer.

When Zhang Jingxu was less than five meters away from the middle school students, they suddenly let out simultaneous screams and scattered in all directions. However, the one in white remained motionless, while the white clothing gradually turned crimson.

Zhang Jingxu desperately tried to control himself and distance himself from the strange middle school student, but his efforts were in vain. His proximity to the person in white continued to decrease.

In that moment, Zhang Jingxu’s perspective shifted from first-person to third-person, allowing him to witness the scattered middle school students engage in brutal violence, attacking each other with fists, keys, and even bricks, regardless of the means.

As for the white-clad middle school student in front of him, he was slowly turning around. However, just as Zhang Jingxu was about to see the face of the person in white, another middle school student approached him with a dagger and stabbed him in the back.

Zhang Jingxu met his demise.

After Zhang Jingxu and the two others finished recounting their deaths in the dream realm, they all turned their attention to Ling Ishikawa, who seemed hesitant and had a flickering gaze.

Observing this, Liu Xing stroked his chin and remarked, "Given the circumstances, Ling Ishikawa, you were also killed by Hu Li in the dream realm, weren’t you?"

Ling Ishikawa’s face changed color, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Liu Xing, how did you know?"

Liu Xing shrugged casually and reasoned, "It’s quite simple, really. Just use your brain, and you’ll realize that you were killed by Hu Li in the illusion. That’s because Zhang Jingxu and the others were killed by mythical creatures. At that time, the only one who could have had contact with mythical creatures was Hu Li. As for why you didn’t want to admit how you died, I’m afraid something unspeakable happened between you and Hu Li."

Zhang Jingxu and the others shared a sinister laugh in perfect harmony.

Ling Ishikawa, with a hint of resignation, shook his head and spoke, "Alright, alright, I admit I was killed by Hu Li, but I didn’t have any illicit affairs with her. Though I must confess, I did have some thoughts about it, but Hu Li never gave me that opportunity."

Then, Ling Ishikawa proceeded to describe in detail how he was killed by Hu Li in the illusion.

As Ling Ishikawa finished his story and arranged the painting, he was about to head downstairs when he suddenly sensed a delightful fragrance. Hu Li then bumped into him and fell into his arms.

At that moment, Ling Ishikawa was initially surprised, but he started to daydream. After all, as a normal man, being embraced by such a beautiful woman as Hu Li, except for a saint, it would be difficult to resist temptation.

However, Ling Ishikawa hadn’t forgotten that Hu Li was a married woman. He quickly inquired about her intentions, fearing that Hu Cang might see them together.

Hu Li chuckled and first gave Ling Ishikawa a seductive glance. She reassured him that Hu Cang had gone fishing and wouldn’t return for at least half an hour. Even if he did return, he would first encounter Zhang Jingxu downstairs, so Ling Ishikawa needn’t worry.

Subsequently, Hu Li led Ling Ishikawa into a random room and pushed him onto the bed. She told him to close his eyes, promising a surprise.

With joyous anticipation, Ling Ishikawa obediently closed his eyes.

Soon, he heard the sound of clothing being removed, intensifying his excitement.

Just as Ling Ishikawa was on the verge of opening his eyes, Hu Li informed him that he could do so. However, when Ling Ishikawa opened his eyes, instead of the expected surprise, he was shocked.

Before him, Hu Li had transformed into a fox-headed humanoid. Nonetheless, Ling Ishikawa couldn’t deny that even as a fox-headed creature, Hu Li still looked exceptionally beautiful.

Ling Ishikawa then realized that he was bound to the bed, unable to move.

Before he could speak, he saw Hu Li produce a willow leaf blade and without hesitation, make an indescribable incision in a certain area, causing Ling Ishikawa to scream in agony.

Ling Ishikawa, in utter despair.

After hearing Ling Ishikawa’s ordeal, Liu Xing and the others initially felt a chill, but they couldn’t help bursting into laughter, paying no heed to Ling Ishikawa’s resentful expression.

One could say that Liu Xing would rather be stabbed by Hu Li a hundred times than experience the misfortune that had befallen Ling Ishikawa.

However, time in the private room was precious, and soon, everyone regained their composure.

"It seems like we hit the jackpot with this Plot Encounter. If everything goes according to plan, the mythical creatures that killed us in the illusion should exist in Panlong Town. After all, I heard Hu Li mention that she knows of several mythical creatures in Panlong Town after we left the illusion," Liu Xing said earnestly.

Ling Ishikawa nodded and added, "In that case, in the basement of Panlong Town Clinic, there should be a zombie or a ghost. Upstairs in the supermarket, Zha Kang isn’t a drug dealer; he’s likely a cannibal and may also moonlight as a sorcerer. As for Zhang Jingxu’s dream, it’s probably related to the disc spirit, and the white-clad high school student is most likely the disc spirit."

Zhang Jingxu rested his chin on his hand, looking somewhat puzzled. "However, there are two things that strike me as odd. Firstly, regarding the black cat demon deep in the bamboo forest and the corpse of the snake. Unless I’m mistaken, that snake is probably the Black Flood Dragon. So why did the black cat demon and Black Flood Dragon perish together in the illusion? We saw the Black Flood Dragon with our own eyes in reality, and the black cat demon was stalking us near the bamboo forest."

"Secondly, there’s Panlong Lake. On the first day, we circled Panlong Town, but we didn’t spot Panlong Lake. I don’t think the illusion would randomly create a place that doesn’t exist, so I suspect Panlong Lake is real but somehow concealed."

Liu Xing furrowed his brows and replied, "That might be related to the Black Flood Dragon. Since it resides in the Panlong Town reservoir, that reservoir could very well be Panlong Lake."

Zhang Jingxu shook his head and sighed before saying, "I don’t think it’s that simple."

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