Chapter 234: Gathering Intelligence

Chapter 234: Gathering Intelligence

Liu Xing hadn't anticipated that his first encounter with a hostile module would involve familiar faces. Although this allowed him to quickly confirm the identities of Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin, it also meant that they could confirm his presence. However...

Liu Xing suddenly had an idea and looked around, but he didn't spot any crew members nearby.

So, Liu Xing earnestly said to Yin En, "Yin En, I've been targeted by Bai Hecheng and his group. If everything goes as expected, they should arrange for someone to monitor me. So, it's better for us to split up for now. This way, I can divert their attention, and you can investigate Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin's actions more effectively."

Yin En nodded and, seeing that no one was paying attention to them, took out a dagger from his pocket and handed it to Liu Xing. "Okay, let's stay in touch through phone. Keep this dagger for self-defense. While I'd like to give you a handgun, in the confined space of the ship, a dagger would be more practical for someone like you who isn't experienced with firearms. Handguns can easily misfire in such close quarters and might harm you."

Liu Xing didn't hesitate and accepted the dagger from Yin En. After all, as Yin En had pointed out, he lacked a close-quarters weapon. Using a handgun in the ship's tight confines could lead to missed shots and a potential risk of injuring himself.

However, what surprised Liu Xing was that the dagger Yin En gave him was also a special item.

In the Cthulhu RPG Game, items and props were two different concepts. Items referred to ordinary objects like tables, chairs, and stools. While these items had some attributes and provided bonuses to attack rolls, they were considered ordinary. Props, on the other hand, were unique. In the Cthulhu RPG Game, props were items that had a connection to mythical creatures or possessed special effects not found in similar items. For example, Liu Xing's custom-made Nyarlathotep pistol was considered a prop. Although regular pistols had damage capabilities, Nyarlathotep's custom pistol had additional features, such as dealing extra damage to mythical creatures and automatically replenishing bullets.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

The dagger in Liu Xing's hand fell into the category of props.

It was a ritualistic dagger, used in ceremonial rituals. Although Liu Xing wasn't sure which Eldritch God it was used to worship, the dagger possessed incredible power. In the first attack against a mythical creature, it could inflict an additional 2d3 damage (ignoring the creature's armor). When used against ordinary humans, it had a chance to induce fear (the probability depended on the target's sanity), lasting for two rounds, with a base damage bonus of 1d3.

Liu Xing couldn't help but acknowledge that this ritualistic dagger was exceptionally impressive. It could bypass defenses and deal significant damage in the first attack against mythical creatures. It was like having the ability to cut an opponent's health in half if luck was on his side, and it even had the potential to terrify human enemies.

Liu Xing couldn't help but remark, "Yin En, isn't this dagger too valuable? Is it really suitable for me?"

He didn't think his relationship with Yin En had reached the point where such a valuable item should be entrusted to him.

"Hehe, Liu Xing, just keep it. This dagger isn't of much use to me. After all, I'm more skilled with firearms, and my close combat abilities are lacking. So, I believe this dagger will serve you better for self-defense. Besides, we've been through life and death together, and I have a feeling that we'll meet again in the future. After all, this world isn't as big as one might think," Yin En said with a smile.

Liu Xing finally understood Yin En's intention. Yin En was looking to make a long-term investment in him.

According to the information Liu Xing had gathered, in the Cthulhu gaming world, each parallel world functioned as a server, and the number of players in each server was limited. Players from the same region could play together, and everyone had a close-knit community. Having a reliable teammate in the Cthulhu RPG Game was a rare find, and finding a trustworthy one was even more challenging.

After reading the message, Liu Xing began to formulate his plan.

Firstly, he was sure that the Yueshihao cruise ship's crew was either working for Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin or were unwitting newcomers being used as scapegoats. Therefore, he and Yin En couldn't expect any help from the crew.

Secondly, the upper management of the company operating the Yueshihao cruise ship was likely composed of followers of the Deep Ones' cult. So, using Sawada Family's connections to pressure the company was not a viable option.

Lastly, the modifications made to the Yueshihao cruise ship seemed to involve only the upper decks. It was highly unlikely that Bai Hecheng and Mo Jin would perform the ritual there unless they were exceptionally brazen and wanted to do it in plain sight.

Therefore, Liu Xing believed that the most likely location for the ritual would be in the lowest part of the Yueshihao cruise ship's hold.

However, infiltrating the hold wouldn't be easy for Liu Xing and Yin En. These areas were off-limits to outsiders, and only senior crew members had access keys.

So, Liu Xing decided it was time to kidnap one of the high-ranking crew members on the Yueshihao cruise ship.

Liu Xing checked the time and realized it was only around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. It was still relatively early, and he felt that wandering around wouldn't serve much purpose at this point. So, he continued to use his phone to look up various information.

Suddenly, on a small website, Liu Xing came across a story about a cult in the Cosmic Country that had emerged fifty years ago. At the time, the Cosmic Country had only recently ended a war, and several new cults had sprung up under the guise of the Catholic Church, rapidly gaining followers. One of these cults called itself the Sea God Church, claiming that the true God resided in the depths of the sea, and that angels were actually fish-headed human-bodied beings. The cult's leader demonstrated powerful spells and wisdom far beyond the era, even convincing the Cosmic Country's president at the time to become a believer. As a result, the real power of the Cosmic Country's government was held by the cult leader.

However, due to well-known reasons, the Cosmic Country was effectively under the control of the United Beacon Nation, and the Cosmic Country's president, despite his ambitions, was unable to break free from this influence. Frustrated, the Cosmic Country's president asked the cult leader to help the Cosmic Country escape the United Beacon Nation's control.

The cult leader agreed but demanded a sacrifice from the Cosmic Country's president to summon an Archangel to negotiate on behalf of the Cosmic Country with the United Beacon Nation. The sacrifice? Living beings. So, a tugboat carrying over a hundred young soldiers mysteriously capsized in a sea not far from the port due to the Cosmic Country president's intervention. All the young soldiers on board perished.

However, as these young soldiers sank to the ocean floor, witnesses claimed to have seen a giant humanoid figure emerging from the deep sea, swimming towards the sinking ship. This was the so-called "Archangel" the cult leader had mentioned.

After benefiting from the situation, the "Archangel" had no intention of fulfilling its duties. Thus, the Cosmic Country president decided to confront the cult leader along the way but was assassinated by unknown individuals. The mysterious cult disappeared from the scene.

After reading the article and seeing the words "This story is entirely fictional" at the end, Liu Xing chuckled and searched for a few more keywords.

It was quite clear that this cult leader was a hybrid of a Deep One and a human.

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