CHAPTER 580: HU LI "ACCOMPLISHMENT"

Liu Xing nodded and said, "Speaking of which, Alice, do you know the story behind that broken statue?"

Just as Liu Xing finished speaking, they heard the sound of dice hitting the ground.

It seemed they hit the mark.

After a moment, Alice hesitated and said, "If I remember correctly, I did hear about this broken statue before. However, at the time, I thought it was just a rumor, so I didn’t pursue it further. From what I recall, during the early days of the Deep Sea Gospel Society’s establishment, the leader of the society discovered an ancient relic in the Nine Provinces that was possibly related to the Deep Ones. After numerous efforts and great sacrifices, the leader and the first batch of followers found many items related to the Deep Ones. The Deep Sea Gospel Society established contact with the Deep Ones using these items, and from then on, it rapidly grew into a well-known secret cult in the Island Nation."

"Although the leader of the Deep Sea Gospel Society handed over many things to the Deep Ones, he also kept some items that he considered important. After all, while the society worships the Deep Ones, not every Deep One is revered as a deity. Therefore, the leader of the Deep Sea Gospel Society wanted to offer these items to more powerful Deep Ones to gain greater benefits. Among these items, the most valued by the leader of the Deep Sea Gospel Society was a broken statue. Although the statue appeared to be made of the same material as common stone sculptures, upon closer inspection, one could see that intricate patterns and a magic array were concealed on its surface."

"Therefore, the leader of the Deep Sea Gospel Society believed that once the broken statue was restored, the magic array would potentially be activated again, bringing about a tremendous surprise. As a result, the leader of the Deep Sea Gospel Society has been arranging manpower to investigate the whereabouts of the other half of the broken statue. However, there have been no fruitful results. At the time I heard this news, I was just an intelligence agent of the Deep Sea Gospel Society. I used to hear various rumors in my spare time, but 99.99% of them were false. So, I didn’t pay much attention to this matter, never expecting it to be true."

Ling Ishikawa shrugged and chuckled, "If Bai Hecheng hadn’t brought the other half of the broken statue to the Island Nation, I wouldn’t have believed this story either. It sounded like the leader of the Deep Sea Gospel Society was just self-promoting and embellishing their own reputation."

Liu Xing nodded. Ling Ishikawa’s words were exactly what they had been thinking. This kind of tactic had been played in China for thousands of years. Starting from figures like "Great Chu Xing, King Chen Sheng," every person who achieved great things would be adorned with absurd stories for various reasons to prove that they were different from ordinary people, that their current status was predestined by the heavens.

Especially in the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall, although there were numerous secret cults scattered throughout the world, including the polar regions, the majority of these secret cults were small and insignificant. In the Island Nation, for example, every city had several secret cults, but most of them had only a few dozen, or even single-digit, members.

As an old Chinese saying goes, "Small temples have fierce gods, shallow ponds have many turtles."

Although these lesser-known secret cults could still have some connection with mythical creatures, these connections were often superficial. However, in order to ensure that every player of the Cthulhu RPG Game could have "friendly" interactions with secret cults in their own backyard, the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall naturally needed to create a large number of original secret cults for each parallel world. Some of these secret cults could even be compared to the "authentic" secret cults like the Cult of the Cadaver.

However, whether it was due to the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall’s twisted sense of humor or not, even dominant original secret cults like the Deep Diving Society could have bizarre black histories. In a forum, a player whose profession was a fanatic believer of the secret cult complained that their secret cult was one of the most prominent in their parallel world. They worshipped Cthulhu, and Cthulhu had even bestowed a drop of holy blood upon their first-generation leader. This first-generation leader had become a divine messenger in the eyes of the Deep Ones because of that drop of holy blood. After ten generations of leaders’ efforts, this secret cult became the true power behind the United States of America!

However, in one module, that player visited the gathering place of the secret cult’s first generation due to consecutive successful investigations and lucky rolls. In one room, they found a diary, which turned out to be the personal diary of the secret cultleader’s first wife. In the diary, it was revealed that the first leader of the secret cult was actually a con artist who stumbled upon a small group of Deep One worshippers and convinced them that he was a divine messenger. He used his charisma and manipulation skills to rise to power, creating a grand illusion of being chosen by Cthulhu himself.

This example perfectly illustrated the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall’s approach to creating secret cults. They were not afraid to add layers of deception and irony, ensuring that players would always be kept on their toes.

Liu Xing and the others couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of the Deep Sea Gospel Society’s leader embellishing their own reputation with the story of the broken statue. It seemed like even secret cult leaders were prone to self-promotion and exaggeration.

Alice continued, "As for the broken statue itself, I don’t know its exact origin or purpose. But based on what I’ve heard, it’s highly likely that it possesses some kind of powerful magic or influence. Otherwise, the leader of the Deep Sea Gospel Society wouldn’t have been so obsessed with finding its missing half."

Liu Xing pondered over Alice’s words. The broken statue held potential power, and the Deep Sea Gospel Society’s leader believed that restoring it would bring about a tremendous surprise. It was clear that this broken statue held great significance to them.

Suddenly, Ling Ishikawa spoke up, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "If we manage to find the missing half of the broken statue, do you think we could use it to gain an advantage over the Deep Sea Gospel Society?"

Liu Xing considered this idea. If they were able to obtain the missing half of the broken statue, it could potentially give them leverage over the Deep Sea Gospel Society. They could use it as a bargaining chip or even harness its power for their own purposes.

However, Liu Xing also knew that such a task wouldn’t be easy. The Deep Sea Gospel Society had been searching for the missing half for a long time without success. If it was hidden away or protected by powerful forces, finding it would require careful planning and resourcefulness.

"Ishikawa, your idea has merit," Liu Xing said, a determined look in his eyes. "If we can secure the missing half of the broken statue, it could be a game-changer in our battle against the Deep Sea Gospel Society. Let’s make it our mission to find it and bring it under our control."

Alice and Ling Ishikawa nodded in agreement. They were ready to face the challenges ahead and uncover the secrets of the broken statue. Little did they know that their journey would take them to unexpected places and reveal even more sinister truths about the Deep Sea Gospel Society and the power it sought to unleash.

"On that evening, after leaving the bar, the first generation cult leader felt nauseous and ended up vomiting in the alley. As he was about to wipe his mouth with a handkerchief, he realized that he had been cornered by a group of Deep Ones in the bar’s alley.

The first generation cult leader was completely shocked and didn’t know what to do.

However, upon seeing the handkerchief in the cult leader’s hand, the Deep Ones revered him as a divine emissary, and that’s how the first generation cult leader inexplicably established a secret cult...

Clearly, the madman the first generation cult leader encountered at the docks was likely the legendary figure who confronted Cthulhu on a ship, which explains why the madman was covered in Cthulhu’s blood.

Stories like these are abundant in the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall, so the current players remain skeptical of the achievements of these original secret cult leaders.

Returning to the topic at hand, Liu Xing was conversing with Alice while keeping an eye on Hu Li’s state.

Hu Li, at this moment, was resting his chin, his eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought.

It seems like something is happening.

"By the way, since Oyamaya took Bai Hecheng to the Fukushima area, it’s now a perfect opportunity for you, Ryuusei, to take care of the Tokyo Comprehensive University branch of the Deep Diving Society. So, what are your thoughts on this, and do you need my help?" Alice suddenly asked.

Liu Xing nodded and replied with a smile, "Exactly, we were planning to seize this chance and deal with the Tokyo Comprehensive University branch of the Deep Diving Society. After all, their attention is completely focused on the Fukushima area, so they won’t be too concerned about the branch in Tokyo Comprehensive University. Moreover, there’s a suitable opportunity to act this Friday evening. So, if everything goes well, we’ll proceed on Friday night. And, of course, we’ll need your help, Alice. That’s why we came to find you."

Alice chuckled and said, "In that case, you’ll need me to gather intelligence, right? I’ve already prepared for that. Recently, the Deep Diving Society has almost zero interest in the Tokyo Comprehensive University branch, except for Ooyama, who reports to the high-ranking leaders of the society in Tokyo. But that isn’t important for us. I’ve also confirmed that besides Oyamaya and others, there are only a few Deep Diving Society members who act as enforcers for them, located in a supermarket next to Tokyo Comprehensive University. Oyamaya usually contacts them by phone."

Zhang Jingxu breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Now we can be at ease. I was worried that Oyamaya would have a lot of reinforcements, but our chances of success just got higher."

Just then, Hu Li, who had been silent, suddenly opened his eyes and slapped his thigh, saying, "I smell it! Thousand Face is still here!"

Upon Hu Li’s words, everyone’s gaze turned to him.

Hu Li pointed towards the official office building in the Shinjuku area and said earnestly, "Since I got off the car, I’ve been able to smell a faint putrid odor, which is clearly emitted by the corpse of some mythical creature. That made me think of what Ryuusei told me before. So, I’ve been concentrating to determine the source of this smell, and now I’m certain that the smell is coming from that direction, and most likely, it’s emitted by Thousand Face."

Upon hearing Hu Li’s words, Liu Xing couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Indeed, Hu Li is reliable. Now, he finally has a chance to fulfill the mission entrusted to him by the Yellow King."

Thinking about this, Liu Xing quickly said, "Oh, I didn’t expect that Thousand Face is still in Shinjuku District. It seems that this guy has quite the audacity. But Hu Li, can you determine the specific location of Thousand Face?"

Hu Li nodded and confidently said, "Of course, I can. I have already pinpointed the location of that odor."

Before Liu Xing could speak, Alice interjected, "Ryuusei, you should go and confirm the location of Thousand Face. This guy is a indiscriminate killing machine, and no one knows what it will do next. I don’t want to die at its hands for no reason. So, Ryuusei, once you have confirmed the location of Thousand Face, let me know. I will find a way to have the Deep Diving Society kill it. It just so happens that the Deep Diving Society has also received a commission from the Island Nation authorities."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised by Alice’s cooperation, and nodded, saying, "No problem. I have already contacted Oko Hayato, so I want to do him a favor. It will be beneficial for us to have someone on the inside of the Island Nation police force. Therefore, Alice, it would be best if you wait a little longer before informing the Deep Diving Society about the location of Thousand Face."

Alice nodded, indicating her agreement.

With Hu Li leading the way, Liu Xing and the others left the bar and headed straight towards the official office building in Shinjuku District.

As a precaution, Hu Li didn’t linger near the official office building in Shinjuku District. Instead, he continued walking and explained that Thousand Face should be inside the building. However, due to Thousand Face using wind-based magic spells to blow away the foul odor, Hu Li was uncertain about its exact location.

But it was enough information for now.

Back in the car, Ling Ishikawa couldn’t help but say, "Thousand Face is really audacious, staying in the official office building in Shinjuku District. It seems that the most dangerous place is indeed the safest."

Although they had known that Thousand Face was hiding there, Liu Xing pretended to have just found out, saying, "Yes, it seems that after merging with Kamafera’s soul, Thousand Face retained some human intelligence. I’ll send a message to Oko Hayato now. This time, he owes us a big favor."

As Liu Xing spoke, he took out his mobile phone and sent the pre-written message to Oko Hayato.

Half a minute later, Liu Xing received a call from Oko Hayato.

"Ryuusei, are you sure Thousand Face is in the official office building in Shinjuku District?" Oko Hayato excitedly asked.

Liu Xing nodded and earnestly replied, "Yes, I have confirmed that Thousand Face is indeed in the official office building in Shinjuku District. However, the exact location is not clear. And as for how I know this, it’s because I have a friend with a keen nose who has arrived in Tokyo."

Oko Hayato chuckled and said, "I know who your friend is. She is also a member of the China Dao Sect. So, when she arrived in Tokyo today, I already received her message. I didn’t expect her arrival to be so fruitful."

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