Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 542: Life and Death Crisis

In Liu Xing’s opinion, he and Ling Ishikawa were in big trouble this time. These men in black were clearly targeting the officials of the Island Nation, so Liu Xing felt that these men in black probably did not plan to leave here alive.

At that time, he and Ling Ishikawa were likely to be buried with these men in black.

Because after these men in black had taken control of the internal situation of Tiger’s Den, they only arranged for a few men in black holding AK47s to guard the hostages. The other men in black gathered together and began to discuss something, without any intention of searching Liu Xing and the others. Therefore, it was obvious that these men in black were not worried that the hostages would call the police or anything.

What should he do now? Should he call Rundell and Miguel?

Liu Xing thought about it and shook his head, giving up on the idea. There were only two ways to enter Tiger’s Den, and the front and back doors were relatively narrow. Now that they were firmly controlled by the men in black, even if Miguel and Rundell attacked from both sides, they probably wouldn’t be able to charge in through the hail of bullets.

After all, in this terrain, Miguel and Rundell would not have much space to dodge, so these men in black holding various rifles would be able to inflict massive damage on them the moment they charged in.

More importantly, Liu Xing was sure that the Tokyo police had already been dispatched, and as for the nearby Shadow Clan members, they should have also taken control of the front and back entrances of Tiger’s Den.

Thinking of this, Liu Xing realized that there was only one thing he could do now—sit and wait for death.

Liu Xing couldn’t help but sigh. It seemed that the Judgment that KP Bamboo Rat had secretly cast just now had resulted in the worst possible outcome for him.

The only trump card he had on him now was to hope that the Yellow King would come out and help him out. As long as the Yellow King was willing to do so, he would definitely be able to escape. However, Liu Xing did not think that the Yellow King would come out at this time. After all, the Yellow King was not his nanny, and the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall would not allow the Yellow King to become his amulet.

Therefore, instead of hoping that the Yellow King would come out to help him, he might as well hope that these men in black would have a change of heart and surrender themselves now.

As for the items on Liu Xing’s body, they were of no use at this time. Although the ring that Bain had given him could create a magic shield for him, when faced with so many rifles, the effect of this magic shield would only allow Liu Xing to die a few seconds later.

The sacrificial dagger? Liu Xing did not think that he would have the chance to get close to these men in black and fight them.

Friends? Although Liu Xing could now use his friends to turn one of the men in black into his friend, Liu Xing did not think that his friend would be able to get him out, because Tiger’s Den was now surrounded.

Enter the Soul Casket? That would not be of any use either, because only his soul could enter the Soul Casket, while his body would still be left outside. At that time, if his body was gone, he would probably have to rely on Sirius for the rest of his life.

Liu Xing thought about it. It seemed that the most reliable thing he could do now was to preach to these men in black and then successfully persuade them to believe in the Worshipers of the Yellow Sect. Then, he would have a chance to survive.

Of course, the probability that Liu Xing could persuade these men in black to believe in the Worshipers of the Yellow Sect now was probably only one percent.

In the Cthulhu RPG Game, the lowest probability in general was one percent, because the dice used for Judgment were usually 100-sided dice.

After thinking for a long time, Liu Xing felt that it was better to put his hope on Ling Ishikawa, because Ling Ishikawa had a Shoggoth as a pet. As long as Ling Ishikawa could summon the Shoggoth now and dig a big hole under his and Ling Ishikawa’s butts, they could escape through this hole.

Therefore, Liu Xing gave Ling Ishikawa a look.

Ling Ishikawa understood and nodded slightly. Then, he closed his eyes and began to summon his "baby."

After a short while, Ling Ishikawa opened his eyes with a puzzled expression and shook his head at Liu Xing.

Clearly, Ling Ishikawa had not successfully summoned his "baby".

Liu Xing furrowed his eyebrows and tentatively tried to summon Rundell. However, he found that the summoning command he sent to Rundell seemed to have vanished into thin air, receiving no response.

After Rundell was ordered by the chieftain of the Byakhee clan to come to Earth specifically to protect Liu Xing, Rundell had told Liu Xing that as long as he silently recited a certain incantation in his mind, they could communicate remotely. This would make it more convenient for Liu Xing to summon Rundell.

However, this method was now ineffective.

Liu Xing realized that these black-clad individuals were probably not ordinary terrorists. At least one of them was a member of a secret cult who had employed a method to block their summoning magic spells with Ling Ishikawa.

This was troublesome indeed.

Nevertheless, Liu Xing believed that he and Ling Ishikawa still had hope of being rescued. The news of Tiger’s Den being attacked by gunmen should have already caused a stir on the Island Nation’s internet. So, as long as Zhang Jingxu and the others saw the relevant information, they would choose to contact Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa. When they couldn’t reach them, Zhang Jingxu and the others would realize that something was amiss and find a way to rescue them from the outside.

Although Zhang Jingxu and the others couldn’t control Ling Ishikawa’s Shoggoth, they could command Miguel to act as a human excavator. With Miguel’s help, Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa could still escape through the tunnel they dug.

Of course, it all depended on whether the goddess of time was on their side. If these black-clad individuals were impatient, by the time Zhang Jingxu and the others saw the news, Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa might already be in the morgue.

So, Liu Xing watched the black-clad individuals, waiting for their next move.

After a while, Liu Xing estimated that there were a total of twenty-five black-clad individuals who entered Tiger’s Den. Since they all wore different noh mask disguises, Liu Xing could discern their positions based on the different masks.

To put it simply, the noh masks could be divided into human face and ghost face. The more terrifying the image of the ghost face, the more powerful the ghost wearing it.

Therefore, the five black-clad individuals wearing ghost masks were obviously much higher-ranking than the rest wearing human masks. Among them, the one wearing a red mask with two horns was likely the leader of this group.

On that note, now that Liu Xing had calmed down, he recalled from the memories of "Watanabe Ryuusei" that there were quite a few secret cults in the Island Nation who liked to wear noh masks. Noh masks were an important part of the Island Nation’s ghost culture and naturally received favor from many local secret cults.

However, the secret cult with the closest connection to noh masks was an organization called "Jixin".

Within the ghost-faced category of noh masks, there was a series called "Phantom", which told the story of an ordinary woman transforming into a phantom.

In Island Nation legends, "phantoms" were ghosts that manifested from people, usually women, due to intense jealousy.

Because of their overwhelming jealousy, their souls would leave their bodies and become phantoms while they were still alive. Phantoms could attack and even kill the people they were jealous of.

Thus, in this Cthulhu mythos-infused parallel world, phantoms naturally became a type of mythical creature, and they were formidable too. After all, phantoms were essentially mythical creatures existing in a state of soul, rendering physical attacks almost useless against them.

As for the secret cult named Jixin, it was extremely mysterious and hardly interacted with other secret cults. Its main members were all women, and when they were active, they would wear the "Phantom" series of noh masks, with each mask representing their current stage.

The leader of Jixin wore a mask shaped like a "snake", which symbolized the ultimate form of the phantom.

However, Liu Xing was certain that these black-clad individuals were not members of Jixin. Jixin had existed in the Island Nation for thousands of years. Although there were occasional incidents where Jixin members killed certain individuals for various reasons, they had never carried out large-scale operations. Moreover, it was said that Jixin had a very good relationship with the Island Nation’s royal family, as the leader of Jixin, represented by the "snake" mask, was a member of the royal family. Therefore, Jixin could be considered oneof the privileged secret cults in the Island Nation.

These black-clad individuals, on the other hand, seemed to be a completely different group. Their motives and affiliations remained unknown to Liu Xing for now.

As Liu Xing pondered over the situation, the leader of the black-clad individuals in the red mask suddenly raised his hand, signaling for his subordinates to halt.

Liu Xing’s heart skipped a beat. He wondered what the leader had noticed that made him stop.

Just as Liu Xing was about to shift his gaze to the direction the leader was looking at, he heard a soft click followed by the sound of a door slowly opening. The leader’s expression changed, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

From the opened door emerged a tall figure dressed in a black cloak, their face obscured by a hood. The figure walked slowly towards the black-clad individuals, emanating an air of authority and power.

Liu Xing’s eyes widened as he recognized the newcomer. It was none other than Zhang Jingxu, the head of the Azure Dragon Society and a powerful sorcerer.

The black-clad individuals, including their leader, seemed surprised and wary of Zhang Jingxu’s appearance. They shifted their stances, ready for a confrontation.

Zhang Jingxu stopped a few meters away from the group, his eyes scanning each one of them. His voice echoed through the room with an eerie calmness.

"You have trespassed into the Tiger’s Den, where the Azure Dragon Society resides. State your purpose, and perhaps we can reach a peaceful resolution."

The leader of the black-clad individuals in the red mask sneered, his voice filled with arrogance.

"We are the Hand of Shadows, and we seek the power hidden within this place. Stand aside, sorcerer, or face the consequences."

Zhang Jingxu’s eyes narrowed, and a hint of a smile played at the corners of his lips.

"I see. So, it seems the rumors are true. The Hand of Shadows has finally resurfaced after all these years. Very well, if it’s a confrontation you seek, then a confrontation you shall have."

With a swift movement, Zhang Jingxu raised his hand, and a surge of energy crackled around him. The room became charged with an electric atmosphere, and Liu Xing could feel the air grow heavy with tension.

The battle between the Azure Dragon Society and the Hand of Shadows was about to begin, and Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa found themselves caught in the middle of it all.

As the clash of powers seemed inevitable, Liu Xing’s mind raced with thoughts of escape, rescue, and the safety of his friends.

But for now, they could only watch and hope for a chance to survive this deadly encounter.

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