Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 457: Ling Ishikawa’s Swift Return

"Indeed, the way of heaven follows a good cycle of karma, Liu Xing, weren’t you teasing me and Ling Ishikawa just a few days ago? Now you probably didn’t expect retribution to come so quickly," Zhang Jingxu still couldn’t resist adding insult to injury.

Liu Xing sighed helplessly. Considering the current situation, even without Alice, he couldn’t shake off the connection with Juri Sonoda and Tian Qing. After all, Juri Sonoda had already expressed affection for him, and he couldn’t let go of Tian Qing now...

Thinking about this, Liu Xing couldn’t help but mock himself, "Indeed, such is the unpredictability of life and the cycle of karma. Just two days ago, I was merely a bystander. I never thought I’d be arranged by the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall so quickly. Now I’m starting to wonder if they’ll set me up with a childhood sweetheart in the next module."

It had to be admitted that Liu Xing’s trio had all been forcibly turned into scumbags by the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall. Except for Zhang Jingxu, who actively flirted with Lu Tianya, the rest were all victims of the hall’s chaotic matchmaking, forcing Liu Xing and others into harems... Of course, it could also be a Chai Dao ending.

Anyway, Liu Xing felt that the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall couldn’t possibly be so benevolent.

At that moment, Liu Xing’s vision suddenly blurred, and Ling Ishikawa appeared in the room again. This time, Ling Ishikawa looked disheveled, with torn clothes and a haggard appearance.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. "Ling Ishikawa, what happened to you? How did you end up like this? But you’ve returned so quickly."

Ignoring Liu Xing’s inquiry, Ling Ishikawa picked up the room’s water jug and started drinking directly from it.

Sip after sip.

After finishing the entire jug in one go, Ling Ishikawa finally spoke, "Geez, from now on, wherever I go, I’ll make sure to carry a water jug with me. The feeling of not having water to drink is unbearable."

Hearing Ling Ishikawa’s words, Liu Xing knew that this time his trip to Hybrier was probably for wilderness survival.

Zhang Jingxu patted Ling Ishikawa’s shoulder, expressing concern. "Judging by your appearance, you must have suffered a lot in Hybrier. Do you want me to get you some food and drinks?"

Ling Ishikawa shook his head, smiling bitterly. "No need. I was just short of water in Hybrier this time. The food was pretty good, plenty of fish and meat every day. It’s just that there were no seasonings. Oh, by the way, I really did meet Barbarian Conan this time. And it was him who took me to play wilderness survival in Hybrier."

Liu Xing looked surprised. "What? You really met Barbarian Conan? Are you sure he’s the real Barbarian Conan, not just an NPC with the same name?"

Ling Ishikawa nodded, affirming, "Yes, he’s the real Barbarian Conan. At first, I thought I had encountered an ordinary NPC with the same name. But after learning about his background and experiences, I knew he was indeed Barbarian Conan. And of course, the most important thing is that his strength is indeed very strong. He effortlessly killed more than a dozen fully armed snake men alone."

"I can’t believe that the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall is so up-to-date, actually collaborating with ’Barbarian Conan’? But the question remains, Ling Ishikawa, how did you come back so quickly? It’s only been a few hours," Zhang Jingxu asked puzzledly.

Ling Ishikawa raised an eyebrow, surprised. "What? I’ve only been away for a few hours? That’s impossible. Although the flow of time in Hybrier is different from here, I spent several months with Barbarian Conan in the wilderness this time. I thought it had been several days already."

Then, Ling Ishikawa recounted his experience in Hybrier this time.

Because Ling Ishikawa killed his own cheap master, Serak, in the previous module, Ling Ishikawa was forced to start his wandering life. However, since Serak’s Wizard Tower was originally located in the wilderness, Ling Ishikawa didn’t encounter anyone in the first two days after returning to Hybrier. Fortunately, Ling Ishikawa brought a pistol with him to Hybrier, so he hunted with it and used fireball art for barbecue...

Then, on the morning of the third day, Ling Ishikawa suddenly heard a fight, and following the sound, he arrived at the scene to see Barbarian Conan fighting a group of snake men.

Knowing his own capabilities, Ling Ishikawa decisively chose to be a bystander, secretly cheering for Barbarian Conan on the sidelines.

Soon, Barbarian Conan single-handedly defeated the group of snake men effortlessly, and Ling Ishikawa took the opportunity to approach and strike up a conversation with him.

Although Ling Ishikawa didn’t know Barbarian Conan’s true identity at the time, he understood that an NPC who could easily defeat ten opponents was definitely remarkable. And he happened to need someone strong to rely on at the moment.

So, Ling Ishikawa befriended Barbarian Conan, and they hit it off immediately, quickly becoming good friends.

Then, Ling Ishikawa learned that Barbarian Conan had encountered a group of snake men attacking a merchant convoy over a month ago while traveling. Naturally, Barbarian Conan intervened and defeated the snake men, but he became a target for them. The snake men relentlessly pursued Barbarian Conan day and night, forcing him to venture deeper into the wilderness in hopes of evading them.

After some conversation, although Ling Ishikawa knew that being with Barbarian Conan meant facing the snake men’s pursuit, he also believed in Barbarian Conan’s strength. So Ling Ishikawa chose to accompany him.

Thus, Ling Ishikawa’s wilderness survival journey officially began.

Because the snake men could ambush from anywhere at any time, Ling Ishikawa and Barbarian Conan had to remain vigilant, leading to a decline in Ling Ishikawa’s sleep quality and deteriorating mental state.

Also, due to the lack of time to boil water and cook in many instances, Ling Ishikawa had to "change jobs" to a barbarian, following Barbarian Conan to eat raw and drink blood, living in a very miserable state.

However, during this time, Ling Ishikawa still learned a lot from Barbarian Conan. He acquired various wilderness survival skills and significantly improved his swordsmanship. Now, Ling Ishikawa’s swordsmanship skill value had reached 89!

What does a skill value of 89 mean?

It means just one step away from becoming a grandmaster!

So, although Ling Ishikawa’s time in Hybrier was miserable and unbearable, he still felt it was worthwhile.

In addition, because Ling Ishikawa killed many snake men with Barbarian Conan, he collected a lot of equipment and items "dropped" from them.

However, because these equipment and items were specifically for snake men, they were all in an "unidentified state" when they reached Ling Ishikawa’s hands. They needed professionals to identify them before their information could be revealed.

Of course, even without identification, these items could still be used, but the consequences of blind use could be severe.

Speaking of which, Ling Ishikawa waved his left hand, and a black hole appeared beside him.

"This is a new Magic Spells I learned in Hybrier, called Storage Space. Its effect is similar to the ubiquitous Ring of the Universe in some fantasy novels. It can create a space that only I can control. The size of this storage space depends on my strength. So, the volume of my storage space is currently about one cubic meter." Ling Ishikawa explained.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Although this effect is somewhat commonplace, it’s still a divine skill. After all, a cubic meter of space can hold a lot of things. If used properly, it can not only alleviate our logistical pressure at certain times but also catch others off guard."

Hearing Liu Xing’s words, Ling Ishikawa felt a little embarrassed and scratched his head, saying helplessly, "Well, because my current strength is still too weak, my storage space can only hold items. Ordinary objects, once they enter my storage space, will instantly turn to dust."

Zhang Jingxu nodded, saying, "If that’s the case, Ling Ishikawa, the effectiveness of your Magic Spells will be greatly reduced. Because items in the Cthulhu RPG Game usually require a guiding process, it’s better to carry them with you for easy use. And your storage space is also too conspicuous."

"That’s right, I also think so. But something is better than nothing," Ling Ishikawa shrugged, smiling.

After finishing, Ling Ishikawa took out several bottles and cans from the storage space. "These are what I found on the snake men. According to the snake men’s settings, the contents of these bottles and cans must be poisons. So I think we can use these poisons to deal with Bai Hecheng and the others. After all, using poison against poison is a good choice."

Ling Ishikawa didn’t forget that his character card "Yin En" was dropped due to being poisoned by Bai Hecheng, and "Yin En" was forced to tread on thin ice and test the boundaries on the verge of being Chai Dao crazy.

So, now Ling Ishikawa planned to use poisons made by snake men to deal with Bai Hecheng and others.

However, poisons were a double-edged sword. They could severely injure opponents, but they could also backfire.

Therefore, Zhang Jingxu said with some concern, "Ling Ishikawa, are you sure you want to use these poisons made by snake men? You know, the poisons made by snake men are extremely potent. So until you’re sure of the effects of these poisons, it’s better not to use them casually."

Ling Ishikawa chuckled and patted his chest, saying confidently, "Don’t worry, although I’m not sure of the specific effects of these poisons yet, I’ve confirmed that they are all area-effect poisons. Because the snake men used these poisons to deal with me and Barbarian Conan, so these poisons are essentially poison gas bombs. Just throw them forcefully to break the bottles, and a poisonous mist with a radius of about five meters will be released. So as long as we control the distance properly, these poisons can be quite useful."

Hearing Ling Ishikawa’s words, Liu Xing breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then, Ling Ishikawa, be careful with these poisons. If used properly, they can indeed have excellent effects, such as using them in narrow terrain, which can both pressurize the enemy’s position and help us block routes. But speaking of which, what’s your world mission this time, Ling Ishikawa? Is it just running around with Barbarian Conan?"

Ling Ishikawa shook his head, feeling conflicted. "To be honest, I’ve started to doubt the world mission I’ve accepted. The goal seems to be to replace Ibon with me. Because after wandering with Barbarian Conan, we finally arrived at the Turanian Peninsula, which is where Ibon, according to Cthulhumyth’s setting, begins to worship Zhatuogua."

Liu Xing frowned and said, "Indeed, that seems to be the case. After all, you were the one who killed Serak and arrived in Turan. Meanwhile, the main male lead, Ibon, is nowhere to be found. But this could also be a good thing. Ling Ishikawa, you’ll soon be able to come into contact with Zhatuogua. Remember, Zhatuogua is one of the more approachable Great Old Ones."

Zhang Jingxu, on the side, also nodded in agreement and said with a smile, "That’s right. I also think Zhatuogua is one of the more approachable Great Old Ones. And there are many benefits to following it. After all, Ibon became Hybrier’s, even humanity’s, first magician by following Zhatuogua. It’s a pity that among the three of us, I’m the only one who hasn’t found a Great Old One to rely on yet. But Ling Ishikawa, let me tell you something..."

Liu Xing knew what Zhang Jingxu wanted to say, so he quickly gave Zhang Jingxu a look, hoping he wouldn’t mention Alice’s matter.

"Zhang Jingxu, are you talking about Alice and Liu Xing?" Ling Ishikawa smiled and said.

Before Liu Xing could speak, Zhang Jingxu exclaimed in surprise, "You also know about this? Did Ryuzaki send you the photos?"

Ling Ishikawa shook his head and said seriously, "Ryuzaki didn’t send me any photos. It’s just that when I was idle in Hybrier, I used Prophecy Art once to predict what would happen next. And I saw a photo of you and Alice in Alice’s room. It seemed quite intimate."

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