Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

"Are you all okay?" Chris asked with concern through the iron fence.

Alice glanced at everyone and shook her head. "Looks like we’re all fine. Fortunately, we were at a distance from those human bombs, and there were some buffers in between. But the crucial thing is that those human bombs didn’t have much power."

At that moment, Ryuzaki suddenly interjected, "If things went as expected, the seven Cult of the Cadaver followers were all rigged with remote-controlled bombs triggered simultaneously. So, I believe these bombs were likely controlled by Bai Hecheng, who escaped earlier. He must have realized we identified these seven as Cult of the Cadaver members and that we were armed, so he detonated their bombs to prevent us from hindering his escape."

"What? Someone escaped?" Chris furrowed his brow.

Alice nodded, pointing to the right. "Yes, over ten Cult of the Cadaver followers fled to the right. Among them is someone named Bai Hecheng, possibly a mid-level member of the cult. It’s only been two or three minutes since they fled, so I suggest you send someone, Mr. Chris, to pursue them."

Chris nodded, quickly turning to organize some police officers to pursue Bai Hecheng.

"It seems the Cult of the Cadaver’s plan this time is quite sophisticated," Yis People commented, stroking his chin. "Undercover agents like Martha not only expedite the brainwashing of the kidnapped victims but also, according to their ’agreement,’ when the kidnapped are released, these agents are effectively cleared of suspicion. Then, at the right time and place, they can detonate their bombs, causing even greater chaos."

Liu Xing nodded. If Martha and others’ remote-controlled bombs had exploded in a police car or in the police station, the consequences would have been dire. Cult of the Cadaver could then manipulate the media, accusing the authorities of failing to protect the kidnapped...

Indeed, it’s quite a cunning plan.

At this point, Chris brought out a key and opened the iron gate.

Zhang Jingxu noticed the bloodstains on Liu Xing’s chest. "Ryuusei, your wound seems to have reopened."

Liu Xing pretended to be unaware, hastily covering his chest. "Uh, I was thrown against the wall by the shockwave earlier. It might have caused my wound to reopen. But it’s just a minor injury, just a bit of bleeding, nothing to worry too much about."

Chris shook his head, taking out a walkie-talkie. "Mr. Buke, you can come in now. I have an injured person here who needs your attention."

After setting down the walkie-talkie, Chris earnestly told Liu Xing, "Mr. Ryuusei, you must understand this is no minor injury. A wound reopening like this can lead to severe bleeding, especially considering you already bled heavily a few days ago. If you bleed heavily again now, it might not be life-threatening, but it could cause many complications."

As Chris finished speaking, fully equipped Buke arrived with a first aid kit, rushing in.

Seeing Liu Xing’s condition, Buke frowned. "Mr. Ryuusei, why do you always have to be so stubborn? I heard from Chris earlier that you would get injured in this operation."

Liu Xing felt a bit embarrassed, nodding. "It’s just an accident. Who would have thought that the Cult of the Cadaver would be so ruthless, actually turning their own people into human bombs? Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been injured."

Buke sighed, starting to tend to Liu Xing’s wound.

Meanwhile, Chris received a report on his walkie-talkie from a police officer. Though they caught up with Bai Hecheng and his group, Bai Hecheng ordered the remaining Cult of the Cadaver followers to cover their escape, resulting in losing track of Bai Hecheng.

Hearing this, Zhang Jingxu couldn’t help but exclaim, "The Cult of the Cadaver is indeed an extreme secret cult. These followers truly don’t value their own lives."

Chris nodded, pointing at the bodies of the Cult of the Cadaver followers outside. "You’re right. These people really don’t care about life. After realizing they couldn’t escape from us, their first choice was to commit suicide by swallowing their guns, not intending to leave any survivors. It seems the Cult of the Cadaver truly intends to make a big news splash this time."

Buke had finished treating Liu Xing’s wound by now, and out of professional habit as a forensic expert, he approached the scattered remains, beginning his examination with interest.

"Buke, there’s nothing pleasant about these bodies. They died because the remote-controlled bombs on them exploded," Ryuzaki remarked.

Buke shook his head solemnly. "No, no, no, you’re mistaken. I don’t think they died from the explosion because the color of these flesh pieces is already dull and whitish, and the blood has started to coagulate. So, I believe they were already dead for some time before the explosion occurred."

Alice furrowed her brow, taking out wet wipes to clean her hands, muttering curses. "Damn, I felt something was off with that Martha when I shook her hand earlier. Her hand was unnaturally cold, and her eyes seemed to have turned white..."

Buke then went out again to examine the bodies of the Cult of the Cadaver followers outside.

After a while, Buke returned, stating, "From what I’ve found so far, these Cult of the Cadaver followers were already dead for some time, and they were likely resurrected through the Cult of the Cadaver’s Magic Spells. And the effect of these spells is quite remarkable. These bodies show no signs of decay. According to your accounts, these resurrected bodies likely retain self-awareness."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, not expecting these Cult of the Cadaver followers to be resurrected corpses.

Chris, after some contemplation, spoke up, "It seems we’re truly in trouble this time. These Cult of the Cadaver followers have become thinking zombies. It means they might be like the zombies in movies. Unless we shoot them in the head or turn them into minced meat, we can’t kill them again. So, coupled with their loyalty to the cult, their combat effectiveness might surpass our imagination."

The others nodded in solemn agreement.

"All right, let’s leave this cursed place for now. Alice, you and the others head directly back to the safe point. If anything comes up, we’ll contact each other via mobile phone. I need to report the situation here to the higher-ups," Chris said, leading the way out.

Liu Xing and the others were also eager to leave, following a police officer out of the underground base and into a nearby bar.

In this bar, several bodies of Cult of the Cadaver followers were strewn about.

As Liu Xing and the others were about to leave the bar, Alice suddenly exclaimed and ran toward a corner of the bar.

Naturally, Liu Xing and the others followed, only to find a finely crafted, lifelike Ghoul statue.

This Ghoul statue was about the same size as the Deep One statue they obtained at Morimoto Academy, and it seemed to be made of a similar material. However, this Ghoul statue perhaps hadn’t been used in a Ritual Ceremony, so it lacked the sinister aura of the Deep One statue.

However, this Ghoul statue still made people feel very uncomfortable, as if it sent shivers down their spine.

"Yes, it’s this statue. Mr. Ryuusei, do you remember the story I told you about Fisher’s Village? I can confirm that the statue that turned a family of five into Ghouls is exactly the same as this one," Alice said.

Liu Xing furrowed his brow and couldn’t help but reach out to touch the Ghoul statue, trying to gather more information about it.

But just as Liu Xing’s hand reached out, Alice mercilessly slapped it away.

"Mr. Ryuusei, it’s better not to touch this Ghoul statue casually. It looks very sinister, and if you turn into a Ghoul because of it, that would be troublesome," Alice said unsympathetically.

Liu Xing nodded somewhat embarrassedly, not saying anything.

At this point, as a professional, Zhang Jingxu took out a pair of rubber gloves from his pocket and directly examined the Ghoul statue. This time, Alice didn’t say much either.

After a while, Zhang Jingxu, after pretending to study it, spoke up. "This statue indeed originates from the hands of the Cult of the Cadaver. However, the cult didn’t infuse any Magic Spells into this Ghoul statue. So apart from looking scary, it won’t have much impact on people. Therefore, I believe the main purpose of this Ghoul statue is to serve as a token, proving that this place is owned by the Cult of the Cadaver."

Ryuzaki nodded, smiling. "This Ghoul statue does look a bit frightening. If I saw it in a bar while drinking, I’d probably have nightmares at night. So, should we take this Ghoul statue with us, or should we just smash it in place?"

Zhang Jingxu stroked his chin, saying, "I think we should just smash it. After all, this Ghoul statue has no utility for us."

So, after Alice informed the police officer in the bar, she took away the Ghoul statue. Then, by the roadside, with Ryuzaki exerting his strength, they smashed the Ghoul statue fiercely on the ground.

With a "crack," the Ghoul statue turned into pieces.

However, what surprised Liu Xing and the others was that inside the Ghoul statue, there was a severed arm. But judging from the appearance of this severed arm, it didn’t seem to belong to a human.

"No wonder I felt uneasy all along. It turns out it’s because this Ghoul statue contained such a thing. But anatomically speaking, this severed arm couldn’t possibly belong to a human, so I suspect it’s from a Ghoul," Liu Xing shrugged, saying, "Who this arm belongs to doesn’t matter. What’s important is how we deal with it. After all, we can’t just throw this thing in the trash casually."

Alice, looking troubled, took out her mobile phone and contacted Chris, asking him to send someone to handle the arm.

After Chris’s people arrived and took away the arm, Liu Xing and the others set off on their way again.

When they reached the safe point, it was already midnight, so Liu Xing and the others went back to their rooms to rest.

Of course, Ling Ishikawa didn’t forget to help Liu Xing take a bath, after all, Liu Xing covered in blood wouldn’t be able to sleep.

As for Ling Ishikawa, although he now had a new identity, he didn’t plan to leave the safe point to live alone outside, because if the Cult of the Cadaver discovered his true identity, being alone would be dangerous.

Then, Liu Xing finally had a good night’s sleep.

However, early the next morning, Zhang Jingxu woke Liu Xing up.

"What’s up, Zhang Jingxu?" Liu Xing asked groggily.

Zhang Jingxu tossed the clothes he was holding onto Liu Xing’s bed and said, "Because Chris is going to London tomorrow to attend a meeting about the Cult of the Cadaver, he decided to move Isabella’s birthday party to today. And because there are quite a few social elites coming to Isabella’s birthday party, Alice has prepared a few sets of formal wear for us. You can try this set first, and if it’s not suitable, there’s still time to change."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, getting up and saying, "So, this means the storyline of this module is about to enter the next phase. Once Chris’s meeting in London is over, England’s official response to the Cult of the Cadaver will likely lead to a formal war."

Zhang Jingxu nodded, sounding worried. "Yes, if England officially goes to war with the Cult of the Cadaver, it’s not good news for us either because we will definitely be subject to England’s reorganization. From advisors to employees, we might lose our freedom of action and be ordered around. And if we refuse to be reorganized, we’ll likely be kicked out."

"Yeah, after all, this concerns the future political direction of England. England won’t allow us to act freely. So, we need to spend these last few days of freedom in Manchester searching for clues and intelligence," Liu Xing sighed.

At this moment, Ling Ishikawa walked into the room, smiling, "Liu Xing, do you want to hear some good news?"

"Is it about Tian Qing?" Liu Xing immediately asked.

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