Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Liu Xing hadn’t expected Ling Ishikawa and the others to return so quickly, so he hastily ran to the window and called out, "I’m fine, I’ll come down now."

After saying that, Liu Xing went downstairs.

Seeing Liu Xing unharmed, Ling Ishikawa breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It’s great to see that you’re alright, Ryuusei. That earthquake just now had me worried. I thought I wouldn’t see you all until the next time point. Thankfully, Mr. Hu Cang’s house is sturdy enough to keep me from being buried underground."

Hu Cang chuckled and spoke, "Our houses here have solid foundations, but you must have noticed that this earthquake was quite unusual. Earthquakes are rare in Shudu, and as far as I remember, there has never been one in this temporal distortion of Panlong Town. Nobody has even mentioned earthquakes here."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, realizing that some aspects of this parallel world were similar to the real world. In Liu Xing’s memory, Shudu had rarely experienced major earthquakes before 2008. However, after a significant earthquake that garnered global attention, Shudu began to face more frequent seismic activities.

However, Liu Xing also remembered from the memories of "Watanabe Ryuusei" that the 2008 earthquake in this parallel world had some peculiarities. It occurred in Wenchuan, but it started with three smaller earthquakes before the major magnitude 8 earthquake struck.

Liu Xing speculated that this earthquake might have been turned into a module by the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall. The player tasked with completing this module unfortunately failed to change history.

Thinking about earthquakes, Liu Xing couldn’t help but remember the Earth-boring Demon Worm he encountered in Earth Dragon Village and a mysterious entity named Mi. Gou, whose true form he had not seen. He wondered if they had any connection to that major earthquake.

While Liu Xing was lost in thought, Zhang Jingxu spoke up, "You’re right; this earthquake was indeed peculiar. I can sense that its epicenter should be in the direction of Panlong Lake. So, it’s highly likely that Gralki caused it. Now the question is, has Gralki awakened, or is it preparing to trouble us?"

Wan Chongshan shook his head and said seriously, "Gralki might have awakened, but I don’t believe it currently has the power to confront us. If it did, Gralki would be right in front of us by now. I think Gralki has regained consciousness and the ability to act, but we should still expedite our actions. We need to eliminate those mythical creatures before Gralki makes a move."

Liu Xing nodded in agreement and added, "Exactly. If we deal with the mythical creatures in Panlong Town sooner, we’ll be better prepared to face Gralki. So, how did your missions go today?"

While Liu Xing spoke, he glanced at the items Ling Ishikawa’s group had brought. He noticed that Li Dian was holding a plastic container, likely containing gasoline.

Ling Ishikawa nodded and smiled, "Today has been quite successful for us. First, Hu Li volunteered to defend the rooftop exit of the supermarket after hearing about the intelligence we gathered. This way, we can drive Gu Master Chaxi to the rooftop, and Hu Li is also working on a medicine to expel any gu worms that might enter our bodies, ensuring our safety."

"Then there’s Xiao Mochen. Although he delivered a substantial amount of animal fur this morning, Hu Li found that one-third of it had various flaws, like lower hardness and wormholes, making it unsuitable for crafting the special outfits we need. Nonetheless, we can still create six full-body leather suits, and we should have them by this afternoon."

"Lastly, Wang Anquan came through for us. We finally met him today, and he provided us with enough gasoline and custom-made traps. Given our current situation, traps are more practical than firearms. These traps will be ready tomorrow morning, so we’ve agreed with Hu Li that after the next time point, we’ll set up traps and take action against Gu Master Chaxi."

"As for the plan, we’ll enter the supermarket from the ground floor, with Zhang Jingxu and Li Dian guarding the entrance. The rest of us will go upstairs to confront Gu Master Chaxi. We’ll either drive him to the rooftop or deal with him on the spot. After eliminating Gu Master Chaxi, we’ll take the medicine from Hu Li to ensure we’re not affected by gu worms and then leave the supermarket. Hu Li will handle the aftermath."

"However, now that we have the gasoline, we’ve decided to take on the Pig Head Butcher earlier. After all, the Pig Head Butcher is essentially a fearless, formidable bandit. We must seize the initiative and avoid a direct confrontation because our bird guns won’t be effective against the Pig Head Butcher."

After listening to Ling Ishikawa’s explanation, Liu Xing nodded in agreement. Everything was proceeding in the right direction.

Furthermore, Liu Xing had planned to suggest to Hu Li to deal with the Pig Head Butcher or Water Ghost earlier to expedite the process. He was pleasantly surprised that the decision had already been made.

Liu Xing inquired, "So, when do we plan to take on the Pig Head Butcher?"

Ling Ishikawa considered it and then smiled, saying, "We’ll have to wait for news from Hu Li. She’s currently investigating near the slaughterhouse to confirm if the Pig Head Butcher is still there. She also needs to ensure that everyone inside the slaughterhouse has evacuated. Since we plan to set it on fire to kill the Pig Head Butcher, we can’t risk harming innocent people by leaving the fire unattended."

However, Liu Xing looked around and expressed concern, saying, "Although we know that Gralki caused this earthquake, the residents of Panlong Town are unaware of it. Judging by their current state, they don’t seem to be planning to go home before the next time point. So, if we set a fire, it’s highly likely that it will draw their attention."

Ling Ishikawa nodded and shrugged, saying, "You’re right, Ryuusei. As you know, there are fewer houses near the slaughterhouse, and the land on both sides is relatively flat. Many people have already set up camp there. Hu Li is trying to either drive these people away or hypnotize them. Given all this, it seems we won’t be able to burn the Pig Head Butcher this afternoon. We’ll have to wait and see if we can catch it off guard tonight."

Liu Xing sighed and shook his head, "It’s getting complicated. Even if we act at night, someone will notice if we set a fire. Besides, the Pig Head Butcher is likely more active at night, so we won’t have the element of surprise. If we have to face it head-on, I’m afraid we won’t stand a chance against the Pig Head Butcher."

Zhang Jingxu chimed in, "You’re absolutely right. The Pig Head Butcher is fearless, and our normal attacks won’t harm it. Our bird guns are practically useless. Even regular weapons like knives would only be effective if we managed to sever one of its limbs. In close combat, we’d likely be wiped out."

Liu Xing and the others nodded in agreement.

Just then, a series of screams, coming from people of all ages, echoed from the direction of the supermarket.

Liu Xing and the others turned to see Hu Li running towards them with a group of panicked Panlong Town residents fleeing alongside her.

Seeing this, Liu Xing realized what might have happened: the Pig Head Butcher had appeared!

As Hu Li reached Liu Xing’s group, she urgently exclaimed, "Quick, we need to go. The earthquake damaged the slaughterhouse, and the Pig Head Butcher has awakened and started a rampage. We can’t confront the Pig Head Butcher head-on right now. Let’s go to Mr. Hu Cang’s house and hide for a while."

So, Liu Xing and the others followed Hu Li back to Hu Cang’s home.

To observe the Pig Head Butcher’s situation, Liu Xing and the others instinctively made their way to the rooftop.

At that moment, the Pig Head Butcher was walking down the streets of Panlong Town, holding a butcher’s knife. Liu Xing noticed that although the Pig Head Butcher wasn’t running, its long strides allowed it to move quite fast. Liu Xing estimated that even if they sprinted at full speed, they probably couldn’t outrun the Pig Head Butcher.

The scene unfolding before them confirmed this suspicion. A young man who had been running at full speed, initially with a distance of two to three meters between him and the Pig Head Butcher, was caught up by the Pig Head Butcher within ten seconds and then cleaved in two with a single stroke.

"Damn, the Pig Head Butcher is too fast. It looks like using Kite to handle it won’t work," Zhang Jingxu remarked.

Liu Xing nodded and turned to Hu Li, asking, "Miss Hu Li, do you have any way to slow down the Pig Head Butcher? If we can slow it down, we might have a chance to deal with it."

Hu Li shook her head in frustration, "I’ve mentioned before that the Pig Head Butcher is essentially an instinct-driven zombie. My magic spells won’t have any effect on it, and besides fire, the only way to control it would be to use traps. Zombies have almost no intelligence. Once we manage to control the Pig Head Butcher, we can easily dispatch it with a knife. However, we don’t have the opportunity to make traps right now."

Liu Xing nodded, realizing that digging a pit, the simplest kind of trap for dealing with the Pig Head Butcher, would take nearly an hour. Furthermore, Liu Xing was sure that if they started digging, KP Snow Wind would make them undergo a Luck Judgment. Failing it would alert the Pig Head Butcher, leading to a chase, and likely, casualties among their group.

So, Liu Xing shook his head, but as he did, he noticed a corner of the rooftop with more than ten glass bottles.

A brilliant idea struck him—Molotov cocktails.

The method for making Molotov cocktails was straightforward. The simplest version involved filling a glass bottle halfway with gasoline or alcohol, inserting a cloth as a wick, and ensuring the cloth was soaked in the flammable liquid for easy ignition. Using a Molotov cocktail was even simpler—light the cloth and throw it at the target.

Given the current situation, using Molotov cocktails against the Pig Head Butcher seemed like an excellent choice.

Liu Xing shared his idea, saying, "Mr. Hu Cang, do you have any cloth-based clothes at home? If so, please bring a few pieces of cloth and scissors up here. We’ll use cloth, bottles, and gasoline to make Molotov cocktails."

Hu Cang was initially puzzled but then nodded, saying, "Alright, I’ll go get them!"

Hu Cang left in a hurry, and Liu Xing and the others collected glass bottles from all corners of the rooftop, filling them with gasoline.

After a while, Hu Cang returned with several bedsheets and a pair of scissors.

Because the method for making Molotov cocktails was straightforward, KP Snow Wind did not subject their crafting to a Luck Judgment.

Just as they finished crafting twenty-three Molotov cocktails, Hu Cang suddenly slapped his thigh in frustration and said, "Oh no, the lighter I have at home seems to be out of gas!"

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