Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 273: Fishers Village

KP Green Light continued, "Of course, this module is a bit different from the usual ones. It has many side quests, and some offer rewards greater than the main quest. But as you players know, these side quests are quite challenging, especially when they overlap with the main questit's almost as tough as the main quest in the Cthulhu region."

"Now, let's officially enter the introductory plot of this module. All players are currently en route to Fisher's Village via various means of transport. Once there, you'll rely on your skills. However, I must remind you to be careful with your personal belongings."

Liu Xing nodded silently. The module was as he expected. A secluded village like Fisher's Village was bound to hide many secrets, possibly triggering a side quest with the slightest action.

KP Green Light mentioned personal items, and now Liu Xing was a bit panicked. His belongings included a ceremonial dagger, a peculiar Deep One statue, and his sensitive identity as 'Watanabe Ryusei.' He feared that using public transport might lead him straight to police questioning.

At that moment, Liu Xing officially entered the module.

Upon opening his eyes, he found himself on a small cruise ship. According to 'Watanabe Ryusei's' memory, Fisher's Village was on a remote island in the southern part of the Island Nation. The local government, to save costs, arranged only this small ship to service the route once every seven days, arriving at Fisher's Village around six in the evening.

In short, this small cruise was the only way players could leave Fisher's Village unless they could swim for over ten hours to the nearest inhabited island.

So, although the main quest was merely to ensure Dogo Aige's wedding goes smoothly, Liu Xing guessed the real challenge was leaving the island on this ship.

Liu Xing gazed at the sea, disheartened to recall from 'Watanabe Ryusei's' memory that he couldn't swim, making him feel trapped on this lonely island.

Then, he heard a familiar voice, "Leader, what are you doing here?!"

Turning around, he saw Ling Ishikawa.

In 'Watanabe Ryusei's' memory, after Morimoto Academy was indefinitely closed, Ling Ishikawa and others went home. 'Watanabe Ryusei' even gave his followers a break and planned to establish a company in March to employ them, a form of "whitewashing."

So for Dogo Aige's wedding, 'Watanabe Ryusei' went alone, without informing Ling Ishikawa.

Pretending to be surprised, Liu Xing said, "Ling Ishikawa, what brings you here? This ship only goes to Fisher's Village. Are you also attending Dogo Aige's wedding?"

Ling Ishikawa, equally surprised, replied, "Yes, Dogo Aige was my English teacher in middle school. He said he's the son of a chieftain from an African tribe. I was the English class representative, so we were close. He invited me to his wedding."

Liu Xing was intrigued. Dogo Aige was African? He felt the module's author had some malice towards Dogo Aige.

After chatting with Ling Ishikawa, Liu Xing surveyed the other passengers. It was a five-player module, and besides Liu Xing and Yin En, there should be three others.

Surprisingly, he saw only one young man engrossed in his phone. This meant at least two players had arrived by other means. Since the young man seemed uninterested in interacting, Liu Xing chatted idly with Ling Ishikawa until they reached Fisher's Village.

The island hosting Fisher's Village was quite large, with a Hawaiian flairsandy beaches and coconut trees suggesting potential as a vacation paradise.

At the village dock, Liu Xing immediately recognized Dogo Aige, the sole African man there.

Dogo Aige, tall and robust, somewhat resembled a black celebrity. In Liu Xing's eyes, most black people looked similar, just as Westerners might think all Asians look alike.

Beside Dogo Aige stood his fiance.

"Welcome! I'm delighted you could attend my wedding. My family in Africa couldn't make it due to the distance, so I'm grateful to have friends like you here," Dogo Aige said.

After Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa offered their congratulations, Dogo Aige introduced his fiance, "This is Matsui Yui, my fiance. We met during my university studies."

Matsui Yui smiled gently, "Pleased to meet you. I'm Dogo Aige's fiance, currently a senior in Tokyo. You can call me Kuri."

Liu Xing nodded but felt something familiar about Matsui Yui from 'Watanabe Ryusei's' memory, though he couldn't place where he'd seen her before.

After pleasantries, Dogo Aige led them into Fisher's Village.

Despite its name suggesting backwardness, Fisher's Village resembled a resort, dotted with luxurious three-story villas.

Dogo Aige led them into one such villa. "This is a public housing unit for guests attending weddings. As I've mentioned before, Fisher's Village is peculiar, historically favoring women over men, so the villagers are quite welcoming to male visitors," he explained.

Liu Xing laughed, "I see, Fisher's Village is quite affluent to afford such villas."

Dogo Aige nodded, curious himself. "I wonder how Fisher's Village became so wealthy. Yui told me it's historically isolated. It shouldn't afford such luxury, and many villagers don't even know they're part of the Island Nation. Speaking of which, she asked me to remind you of some local rules: Don't discuss the outside world with villagers to avoid unsettling their worldview; limit modern items like phones to the villa; and respect local customs, as Fisher's Village has developed unique traditions over its long isolation."

Hearing this, Liu Xing confirmed his earlier suspicion: Fisher's Village was indeed a breeding ground for Deep One hybrids, isolated to propagate their kind with occasional villagers venturing out to bring back "studs" from the outside world.

What intrigued Liu Xing was the village's policy of keeping its residents ignorant. Those who had never left didn't even know about the existence of the Island Nation, confirming that Fisher's Village, as KP Green Light said, was full of mysteries.

"By the way, Teacher Dogo Aige, are Ryusei and I the only ones attending your wedding? I heard the ferry to Fisher's Village runs only every seven days, and there was only one other person with us... Wait, that person didn't get off the ferry when we left," Ling Ishikawa suddenly remarked.

Liu Xing thought hard and realized that was indeed the case. The young man engrossed in his phone hadn't disembarked.

Who was this person, and what were they up to? Dogo Aige pondered and then shook his head, "Maybe he was just a crew member. By the way, the ferry stays in Fisher's Village for half an hour before returning, so you can catch it back after dinner."

"Before you came, three of my friends had already arrived. I picked them up in my fishing boat. They're probably resting in their rooms. Ling Ishikawa, you and your friends can pick a room, settle in, and come down for dinner."

Three friends? That meant the young man with the phone might indeed have been just a crew member, as Dogo Aige suggested.

Liu Xing had more questions for Dogo Aige, but after speaking, Dogo Aige left. Liu Xing could only shake his head and follow Ling Ishikawa upstairs.

The second floor had five rooms, three marked as vacant, indicating another player chose to stay on the third floor as the first floor had no rooms.

Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa picked adjacent rooms for mutual support. The room's decor was impressive, akin to a five-star presidential suite, but notably lacked any modern amenities like air conditioning, television, or computers.

Liu Xing checked his phone and, as expected, found no signal. Sighing, he realized Fisher's Village was essentially a large private room, a module designed to cut off all outside contact.

Leaving his room, Liu Xing saw a bewildered Ling Ishikawa. "Leader, there's definitely something off about Fisher's Village. I've seen no modern items, and there's no mobile signal."

Liu Xing nodded, "Exactly. Since Dogo Aige shared about Fisher's Village, I suspected something was amiss. Now, I'm sure of it, and it likely involves our old friends, the Deep Sea Gospel Society."

"Ah," Ling Ishikawa feigned surprise. "Just the name Fisher's Village hints at a connection to the Deep Sea Gospel Society. But aren't we walking into a trap?"

Liu Xing replied, "Let's wait and see. If the Deep Sea Gospel Society wanted us, we wouldn't be here now. It's probably just a coincidence, no need for undue worry."

With that, they headed to the first-floor hall, where Dogo Aige had prepared a lavish dinner. Liu Xing noticed two familiar figuresZhang Jingxu and Lu Tianya.

He wasn't surprised, considering the limited pool of players in the Island Nation. It's tricky to assemble a module's players, considering their locations, occupations, and previous module experiences. You wouldn't suddenly send a tribal illiterate from Africa to Area 51 in the United States to study future technology.

However, seeing Lu Tianya with Zhang Jingxu was unexpected.

As Zhang Jingxu saw Liu Xing, his composure wavered, and Lu Tianya turned red and looked away.

Liu Xing chuckled and addressed them, "What a small world! I didn't expect you two to be friends with Dogo Aige as well. We must be fated to meet."

Regaining his calm, Zhang Jingxu replied, "Indeed, it seems we're destined to cross paths. But I believe, Ryusei, you've noticed something by now."

Liu Xing nodded, understanding without words.

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