Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 90: Deceived Tang Tai

After a while, Mo Jin and Shi Ying both emerged from their respective rooms and joined in the living room.

Meanwhile, Tang Tai applied for a Private Room time directly with KP Snail.

"Everyone, last night, except for me, you all should have gone to sleep without attempting any Listen checks," Tang Tai began.

Mo Jin nodded and replied, "Yes, that's correct. My character card doesn't have Listen skill points, so I didn't attempt any Listen checks last night. After all, as KP Snail mentioned, the rewards outweigh the risks, but I'm not guaranteed to receive those rewards. However, I'm definitely taking on the risk. So, I won't do something as foolish as risking everything and losing."

"Well, I'm in the same boat as Mo Jin. My character card doesn't have Listen skill points, so I simply went to sleep," Shi Ying chimed in.

As for Liu Xing, he nodded, indicating that his situation was the same as Mo Jin and Shi Ying's.

Tang Tai rubbed his temples and sighed in resignation, then continued, "You're absolutely right with your choices. I didn't expect to be the only one with Listen skill points..."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow and asked, "Tang Tai, did you pass your Listen check yesterday? Did you obtain any important information?"

Shi Ying and Mo Jin remained silent but wore expressions of curiosity, awaiting Tang Tai's response.

Tang Tai nodded and said with a bitter smile, "Of course, I passed my Listen check. My Listen skill points were set at eighty, but now I regret allocating so many points to it."

"First, let me share the information I gathered after my Listen check. In short, the 'Mysterious Lord's Seven-Chapter Secret Scripture' is stored in the Village Chief's house, and there's a high probability that one of the villagers hasn't fallen under the control of the Earth-boring Demon Worm. This particular villager contracted a severe cold on the day of the ritual and stayed home to recover. Moreover, this villager's residence is located to the north of Earth Dragon Village."

"By the way, I believe that the Earth-boring Demon Worm's control over these villagers isn't continuous. It's likely, just like in scripted murders, that the Earth-boring Demon Worm merely implanted some psychological suggestions in them. So, I think we can still communicate with the villagers to some extent."

"Lastly, I can only offer my warm regards to KP Snail. That guy knows how to play mind games. He made it sound like the rewards outweighed the risks, making me think that there would only be some risks if the Listen check failed. But in reality, both rewards and risks coexist, and I fell for it."

"In simple terms, I heard the voice of the Earth-boring Demon Worm at that time, which ultimately caused me to lose 3 points of SAN (Sanity) and made all my checks in this promotion game become Hard checks. So, from now on, you can't count on me too much..."

Tang Tai explained the whole situation in one breath.

After hearing Tang Tai's words, Liu Xing fell into deep thought. Wu Lei's teachings were indeed correct – it all comes down to one's mindset.

"In that case, we should head to the north of Earth Dragon Village now and find that villager who hasn't been controlled. If all goes well, we might gather some additional information from them," Shi Ying suggested after some contemplation.

"Most likely, since Tang Tai has paid such a great price, this villager should not be under the control of the Earth-boring Demon Worm. So, it's necessary for us to find this villager and gather some information. Perhaps this villager can provide us with crucial information, such as the location of an escape vehicle," Liu Xing nodded and said.

After all, Liu Xing had reason to believe that in the second stage of the mission, the Earth-boring Demon Worm would continuously pursue them within a certain range, all the way to where Liu Xing and his group had parked.

The Earth-boring Demon Worm was not slow, and its speed would definitely surpass that of Liu Xing's group running on foot. Therefore, it was logical to assume that there should be some vehicles available in Earth Dragon Village, like tractors, to facilitate the players' escape. This would prevent the players from being at a significant disadvantage when facing off against the Earth-boring Demon Worm, potentially leading to a fatal outcome.

With their decision made, Liu Xing and his group decided to head to the north of Earth Dragon Village after having breakfast.

As for the reasons behind their actions, Liu Xing and his group had already discussed them.

The Private Room time came to an end.

"Oh, by the way, Liu Xing and Shi Ying, last night while I was asleep, I overheard a villager mentioning that there's a seriously ill person to the north of Earth Dragon Village. How about we go check on them after breakfast?" Tang Tai took a sip of water and suggested.

Liu Xing chuckled and nodded, saying, "Of course, a doctor's duty is to heal the sick. If someone in Earth Dragon Village needs our help, we should definitely go and see. What do you say, Dr. Shi?"

"Absolutely, then let's finish our breakfast quickly and head north of Earth Dragon Village to find that sick person. After all, we can't afford to miss the ritual that the Village Chief mentioned," Shi Ying said, following the scenario established during their Private Room time.

Mo Jin simply nodded in agreement, as he didn't have much to add at the moment.

Therefore, Liu Xing and his companions had a light breakfast and then left their lodgings, heading towards the north of Earth Dragon Village. Of course, Liu Xing didn't forget to bring the emergency medical kit.

As a small mountain village, Earth Dragon Village wasn't large in terms of area, but it had quite a few households, with roughly twenty to thirty households, if Liu Xing's rough estimate was correct.

Considering an average household size of three, Earth Dragon Village's population should be around a hundred people. Factoring in the elderly, children, and those with illnesses or disabilities, the Earth-boring Demon Worm could still muster a "force" of more than thirty people to "besiege" Liu Xing's group.

As Liu Xing thought about this, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Now, Earth-boring Demon Worm didn't need to personally intervene; it only had to control the villagers to form a force against them. This was a significant advantage with thirty people in their "army."

Heading north of Earth Dragon Village, there was only one household with its gate slightly ajar. Liu Xing approached it and knocked on the door.

Shortly after, a middle-aged man with a simple and kind appearance, around forty years old, emerged. "Uh, you must be the volunteers who arrived in the village yesterday, right? What brings you here?" he asked.

Earth Dragon Village was small, and everyone knew each other. News traveled quickly in the village, so this villager was aware of Liu Xing's group's identity.