Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 516: Escape from Zekiel Island (2)

Chapter 516: Escape from Zekiel Island (2)

"We need to leave quickly!" Liu Xing whispered.

The group nodded and hastily rushed out through the main gate of the research facility. However, the descent from the facility, located halfway up Myriad Beast Mountain, proved challenging for Liu Xing and the others. The mountain terrain was rugged, with sharp and steep rocks.

Moreover, on the left side of the mountain foot, Liu Xing noticed three small synthetic beasts engaged in a fierce battle.

It seemed not all synthetic beasts had been transported to the research facility.

Since Chrisiano and the others had parked their ship near the underground camp, Liu Xing decided they should first return to the camp to get Miguel and then proceed to the ship together.

Thinking about this, Liu Xing couldn’t help but glance back at the peak of Myriad Beast Mountain, where Rundell was hovering in mid-air.

As long as Rundell was present, Liu Xing felt relatively secure, knowing that he could take to the sky in a crisis.

Finally descending from Myriad Beast Mountain, Liu Xing and the group headed straight for the underground camp.

However, at that moment, Liu Xing heard explosions coming from inside the research facility.

Chrisiano frowned, expressing surprise. "I didn’t expect the Ancient One clan to value this research facility so much. They even arranged a physical destruction program. It seems we need to escape quickly because I suspect Zekiel Island is about to be blown up!"

Liu Xing looked at Chrisiano in disbelief. "What? Wasn’t it said that this research facility would only disable the equipment? Why is Zekiel Island being blown up directly now?"

Chrisiano shook his head and explained, "The situation is like this: the Ancient One clan, to prevent important facilities from falling into enemy hands, would thoroughly destroy them. This is to prevent other high-tech races from using the equipment to repair and retrieve the research data inside. So, the Ancient One clan decisively opts for a total explosion, completely obliterating the research facility."

"Of course, measures like these explosions usually have a separate detonation program, not connected to the system within the research facility. The Ancient One clan is also concerned that someone like Mr. Ryuusei might obtain system certification through certain means and discover this. So, when you asked the system before, it spoke the truth, but it didn’t know about the existence of this explosion program. Therefore, it couldn’t inform you about it."

Liu Xing nodded in understanding. "We need to leave Zekiel Island as soon as possible. I’ll go back to the underground camp alone to find Miguel. You guys go and return the yacht to the sea."

"Ryuusei, let me accompany you. It might be dangerous for you to go back to the underground camp alone," Ling Ishikawa suggested.

After some thought, Liu Xing agreed. "Alright, having someone with me would be better in case something happens."

Just as Liu Xing finished speaking, a small synthetic beast appeared in front of the group. It looked like the front halves of two sheep stitched together.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow; this small synthetic beast seemed weak, almost comical.

However, upon seeing Liu Xing and the others, the synthetic beast immediately entered combat mode. The seemingly ordinary horns on its head transformed into two sharp short knives!

"Don’t let it get close!" Chrisiano shouted.

Liu Xing nodded. Allowing this small synthetic beast to get close would be dangerous, as they couldn’t block the two sharp knives. Therefore, Liu Xing raised his electric shock gun to take a shot at the synthetic beast.

But someone was faster than Liu Xing.

Zhang Wenbing waved his left hand, causing the charging synthetic beast to suddenly fall to the ground.

Liu Xing observed that all four legs of the synthetic beast were covered in mud.

It seemed Zhang Wenbing was also capable of using magic, and his magic appeared to be effective, as it was an instantaneous spell.

Zhang Jingxu and the others seized the opportunity to attack the fallen synthetic beast with their weapons. Without needing KP Chopsticks to make a judgment, the small synthetic beast was killed.

"Let’s continue moving," Chrisiano said.

Liu Xing and the group proceeded ahead.

Soon, Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa separated from the main group and headed towards the underground camp.

On their way back, Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa were cautious, frequently looking back.

Fortunately, they safely returned to the underground camp, where Miguel was waiting in the living room, holding an iron spear. In front of Miguel lay a synthetic beast with a blown-off head.

It seemed that although Miguel had lost most of his abilities, he was still proficient in close combat.

"Ah, you guys finally came back! I thought you had given up on me," Miguel joked, a rare occurrence.

Liu Xing shrugged and briefly recounted what they had seen and heard in the research facility to Miguel.

Miguel nodded, saying, "I see. I was wondering why it took you so long to come back. I thought you might have been trapped in the research facility. I was even considering whether I should go rescue you."

"Alright, let’s talk while we move. If nothing goes wrong, Chrisiano and the others should have already moved the yacht. So, we need to hurry and join them, aiming to leave Zekiel Island as soon as possible," Liu Xing said seriously.

And so, Liu Xing and the two others quickly tidied up the underground camp and left.

Of course, Miguel had prepared a wheelchair for retreat. If Miguel were to walk, it would probably take twice as long to reach the location of the yacht.

During this journey, Liu Xing and the others did not encounter any synthetic beasts and soon arrived at the yacht’s side.

At this moment, the yacht, under the push of Chrisiano and the others, was about to be launched into the water.

Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa hurried forward to help.

However, Liu Xing was somewhat puzzled. Why was this module progressing so smoothly? There were almost no obstacles, and it was about to end.

This was supposed to be the final advancement from Shoggoth Region to the Hound of Tindalos area, and it was a module of difficult difficulty.

Could there be a trick?

Liu Xing looked around anxiously, afraid that a large synthetic beast might suddenly appear and annihilate their group.

Fortunately, when Liu Xing and the others pushed the yacht into the sea, they didn’t spot any signs of large synthetic beasts.

Could there be an issue with the yacht?

Liu Xing couldn’t help but worry as he boarded the yacht.

However, his concerns were quickly dispelled when Chrisiano effortlessly started the yacht, smoothly steering it away from Zekiel Island.

At the moment the yacht successfully started, another massive explosion echoed from Myriad Beast Mountain.

Unable to resist, Liu Xing turned around and saw Myriad Beast Mountain erupting like a volcano, spewing a large amount of smoke that instantly engulfed Zekiel Island.

To Liu Xing, the scene resembled an apocalypse.

Just then, KP Chopsticks chuckled and said, "Congratulations on successfully completing this module, smoothly advancing from the Shoggoth Region to the Hound of Tindalos area. If you have no objections, I’ll end the module now."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, surprised that the module concluded so abruptly.

Considering the significance of this module for Liu Xing, he had prepared extensively and gathered experiences from the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall forum. Yet, just when he felt he hadn’t exerted himself enough, the module ended abruptly.

While it was a good thing, Liu Xing couldn’t shake off a feeling of disappointment.

However, upon reflection, Liu Xing realized the smooth conclusion of the module was likely due to him successfully acquiring the identity of the Ancient One in the Underground Ruins of Fisher’s Village. Without that, things might not have gone so smoothly.

For ordinary players, this module was exceptionally challenging. If players failed to obtain enough beast retreat grass at the beginning, they would have to face "life discussions" with Maisky in the mist traps. This usually resulted in at least one player being eliminated.

Even after obtaining the beast retreat grass, ordinary players had to find a way into the research facility. Since Maisky wouldn’t kindly disclose the location of the warehouse loophole to ordinary players, finding the entrance required a significant amount of time, effort, and possibly even risking their lives. Even if they managed to enter the facility, ordinary players without proper authorization, like Liu Xing’s group, wouldn’t navigate it as freely. They would struggle to go where they wanted.

Moreover, ordinary players might encounter full-fledged automatic defense robots, and without electric shock guns, defeating them would be extremely challenging. It could turn into a one-sided chase, and players might not escape without being completely wiped out.

If lucky, ordinary players might encounter Chrisiano and his team, marking the most challenging moment in the module. Chrisiano, aiming to extract information from the research facility, would either trigger more automatic defense robots or expedite the end of the experiment, leading to Zekiel Island’s self-destruction.

In such a scenario, ordinary players would be forced into a chase with a group of synthetic beasts or automatic defense robots in the research facility, with a countdown to escape.

If these players were fortunate and skilled enough to leave the research facility within the time limit, they would immediately face another timed chase, this time to leave Zekiel Island.

Facing two consecutive high-intensity timed chases, even elite players would find it extremely challenging. Liu Xing believed that if he and his team had to endure these two intense chases, even if they didn’t get wiped out directly, at most only one or two people might successfully escape Zekiel Island through the module.

Therefore, Liu Xing was now incredibly grateful for his past decision.

At this point, Zhang Jingxu and the others decided to end the module, as they feared delays might lead to unexpected changes.

And so, the module concluded.

Entering the ending screen, Liu Xing, floating in mid-air, watched as the yacht headed toward England. Behind them, Zekiel Island was completely shrouded in black smoke, occasionally punctuated by explosions.

When the yacht reached a secret port in England, the "Watanabe Ryuusei" group was "invited" by official English agents for a chat. However, due to Chrisiano’s influence, after basic inquiries, the English agents notified representatives from the China Dao Sect to take away "Watanabe Ryuusei."

Because "Watanabe Ryuusei" and "Ling Ishikawa" were not members of the China Dao Sect, after receiving their rewards, representatives from the China Dao Sect arranged for "Watanabe Ryuusei" and "Ling Ishikawa" to board a plane back to the Island Nation.

However, "Zhang Jingxu" stated he would return to China to complete the report and then join "Watanabe Ryuusei" and others in investigating the Deep Diving Society.

And so, the module officially concluded.

This time, Liu Xing closed and opened his eyes, finding himself seated with Yin En and others around a Chinese-style round table, each with a cup of black tea.

"Only black tea, is that acceptable?" KP Chopsticks’ voice echoed.

Liu Xing looked towards the sound and saw Chopsticks wearing a mask featuring the Two of Bamboo from mahjong.

Liu Xing then realized that KP Chopsticks’ ID was not derived from regular chopsticks but from the term for the Two of Bamboo in mahjong.

It seemed Liu Xing would have a chance to chat with KP Chopsticks later, as he also enjoyed playing mahjong.

"I must say, I didn’t expect you to complete this module so smoothly. But it makes sense, after all, your Ancient One identity played a crucial role in this module," KP Chopsticks said with a smile.

Liu Xing shrugged and replied, "That’s what I thought too. Without my Ancient One lineage in this module, completing it would have been a significant challenge."

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