Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 69: Adopting Nan Xiaoniao

"Liu Xing, what are you thinking about?" At this moment, having satisfied his cravings, Tian Dao curiously addressed Liu Xing. From Tian Dao's perspective, Liu Xing had abruptly set down his bowl and fallen into deep thought for no apparent reason.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, puzzled, and responded to Tian Dao, "Well, I just heard this Taoist describe the Mirror World, the eerie place we were just in, and it sparked some thoughts in my mind..."

Before Liu Xing could finish, Tian Dao looked at him with a strange expression, "Wait, what Taoist? Besides us, there's no one else here!"

Tian Dao's emphatic tone left Liu Xing somewhat dumbfounded. Wasn't the old Taoist just sitting in front of him? How could Tian Dao possibly not see him?

Suddenly, Liu Xing realized something and turned to look where the old Taoist had been seated, only to find it now empty.

Liu Xing understood that this old Taoist truly came to bestow a blessing, but the fortune was meant for only one person – himself, the first player to return to the real world.

However, Liu Xing hadn't forgotten to continue playing his part. So, he immediately feigned great surprise, exaggerating his expression as much as possible, "What? That Taoist was just here, where did he go now?"

Tian Dao naturally believed Liu Xing, but as the "Heavenly Path," he still expressed his doubts, "Uh, Liu Xing, you're not going crazy, are you? Ever since I regained consciousness, I haven't seen any Taoist you're talking about."

Tina and others who had finished their meal nodded in agreement, indicating they, like Tian Dao, hadn't seen any Taoist either.

Determined to keep up the act, Liu Xing pointed to the tray on the ground and the six empty bowls, "Weren't these dishes brought by that Taoist? You all have finished eating them."

"What? Weren't these meals prepared by you, Liu Xing?" Tian Dao asked, surprised.

Having laid the groundwork, Liu Xing then shared everything he had seen after regaining consciousness with Akira Akashi and the others, making them aware of the existence of the Mirror World and the identity of the Formless Offspring.

"So, this creature called the Formless Offspring is actually the transformation of that little Taoist who stole the offerings years ago," Akira Akashi mused thoughtfully.

Just then, a group of people dressed as police officers rushed over, led by Ray.

"Thank heavens, you're finally back," Ray exclaimed, visibly relieved to see Liu Xing and his group.

"Uh, how long have we been missing?" Liu Xing, seeing the situation, knew that the time they had spent in the mirror world was not short.

After some exchanges, Liu Xing finally learned that they had been missing for a whole seven days.

Ray, who had witnessed Liu Xing and his party suddenly disappearing, became the person in charge of this disappearance case. Although Ray knew that their disappearance was a supernatural phenomenon, as a detective, he couldn't possibly report the truth to his superiors. Hence, Ray had to pretend to investigate with his team while secretly seeking the old Taoist. He discovered that the old Taoist had passed away, leaving a will instructing Ray to come to this peach tree at this specific time today to find Liu Xing and his group. So, Ray arrived on time.

This made Liu Xing even more curious about the identity of the old Taoist. In the Cthulhu RPG Game, the concept of ghosts doesn't really exist, so the old Taoist Liu Xing met couldn't have been a ghost. He was likely a mythical creature, or even an incarnation of an Eldritch God!

"Alright, we're about to enter the final scene, but there's one last roll to make — a 1d2 roll that will determine whether Nan Xiaoniao has any other family members. If she doesn't, Liu Xing will adopt her. Tina and Akira Akashi are foreign tourists, and Tian Dao and Li Ming don't have enough credibility. This will be a secret vote, and the results will be revealed in the final scene," KP Cao said with a smile. "Now, let's begin the ending scene."

As the dice rolled, Liu Xing felt his soul leave his body once again, floating in mid-air. This time, however, he calmly watched as 'he' and his party, following Ray, went to the police station to file a report and then visited Alger at the hospital, who had fortunately undergone a successful surgery without any lifelong disability, which was a cause for celebration.

Then, the scene shifted. Liu Xing saw 'himself' holding Nan Xiaoniao and returning to Rongcheng with Tina and others in a car, and later 'he' and Nan Xiaoniao sent Tina and the others off at the airport.

Perhaps KP Cao was too lazy, as he didn't provide a narration like KP004, making Liu Xing feel like he was watching a silent film. However, the final scene seemed a bit monotonous and was about to end in just a few minutes.

To Liu Xing's delight, he ended up successfully adopting Nan Xiaoniao, the cute little girl, filling the void left by Isabella's betrayal.

Just when Liu Xing thought the ending scene was over, the style suddenly changed. The scene shifted from the sunny Rongcheng airport back to the foggy mirror world. There, Liu Xing saw the embarrassing Formless Offspring... and the old Taoist who suddenly appeared and disappeared!

Liu Xing's eyebrows raised in intrigue. The old Taoist was no ordinary figure. Upon seeing him, the Formless Offspring respectfully bowed, deliberately controlling its normally aimlessly waving tentacles, keeping them close to its body.

The old Taoist, ignoring the Formless Offspring, suddenly conjured a black cloud under his feet and flew into the mist-covered hills.

As the old Taoist approached, the dense fog parted, creating a pathway. Liu Xing noticed that more than a dozen Formless Offspring appeared on this path, leading him to suspect that countless Formless Offspring lurked within this boundless fog. It was fortunate that they did not recklessly venture into it.