Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

A contest of rolls, simply put, is when both parties roll the dice simultaneously. If both succeed or fail, the one with the higher attribute or skill value triumphs; if the one with the higher value rolls a failure while the one with the lower value rolls a success, then the underdog prevails. Thus, the hierarchy of victory in these contests is as follows: a critical success beats a success, a success beats a failure, and a failure beats a critical failure.

Therefore, Liu Xing felt quite confident about his psychology skill of seventy points, but a question arose—what could Gary's psychology skill possibly be?

"So, the psychology contest begins now," KP004 declared with fervent excitement.

Liu Xing, 5/70, a critical success (certainly not rigged, as our group friends can attest).

Gary, ??/??, a success.

...

Liu Xing hadn't expected to roll another critical success. No matter what Gary's psychology skill score was, Liu Xing had already won this psychological contest against him.

"You're quite lucky there. Not only have you succeeded in besting Gary in psychology, but because Gary's skill value is higher than yours, your psychology skill has grown. Now, please roll a 1d5," KP004 conceded defeat and had nothing to say against Liu Xing's luck.

Hearing this, Liu Xing's eyebrows raised in surprise, thinking to himself how fortunate he was. Gary's psychology skill was even higher than his own; if not for the critical success he'd rolled, he would have been the one to fail this challenge.

More importantly, Liu Xing's psychology skill could now grow further. He happily decided to roll the dice.

Liu Xing, 1...

Indeed, the law of conservation of luck seemed to apply—as he had just rolled a critical success, now he could only manage the lowest possible value. Liu Xing was at a loss for words.

"Ha, your luck really is a mixed bag, isn't it? After this session, your psychology skill will increase by one point," KP004 said with a laugh.

Then, Gary stared intently at Liu Xing, trying to discern something from his face, but Liu Xing just looked back with a cheerful grin. After a moment, Gary, having gained nothing from Liu Xing, chose to give up. KP004's revelation eased the tension for Bai Hecheng and the others, as Liu Xing's contest with Gary had been done in secret, and they had not known the outcome until now.

"Indeed, there are many strange diseases in this world, particularly hereditary familial ones which are incredibly diverse. Take my own family's genetic condition, for instance; you've seen that my eyes have been red since birth, yet it hasn't affected my vision at all. Strange, isn't it?" Gary chuckled, pointing at his eyes.

Liu Xing also smiled and nodded, "That's true. I am actually a doctor and have encountered many peculiar diseases in the hospital."

And so, Liu Xing and Gary engaged in somewhat awkward small talk, with Wang Qi and the others occasionally chiming in. Overall, the atmosphere at the dinner was fairly pleasant.

Most importantly, Liu Xing finally had his fill for the evening, which was a relief since the ordeal of 'gazing at the stars' at noon had halved his SAN value. With his spirits dampened, Liu Xing hadn't been in the mood to eat at all...

Only after a full meal can one have the strength to make a getaway.

Liu Xing glanced at his phone; it was already eight o'clock in the evening. In just two or three hours, Liu Xing and his companions would be able to leave Castle.

"So, Mr. Liu Xing," Gary said, wiping his mouth with a smile, "we've had a delightful conversation at dinner. Would you please come to the study room on the second floor first and share your story with me?"

Liu Xing nodded with a smile, "It would be my pleasure, but do you need me to go to the second-floor study room right now?"

Gary shook his head, somewhat apologetically, "Uh, sorry Mr. Liu Xing, could you wait just a little while longer? Wait for Butler Wayne to lead you to the study room. Since it's been a long time since anyone visited the Castle, my study room might be a bit messy. I need to tidy it up."

Liu Xing nodded and returned to the room with Bai Hecheng and the others, taking advantage of the final use of the Private Room in this role-playing game session.

"Alright, this should be the last scene. After we each have our chat with Gary, we can prepare to leave the Castle. Let's make the final task assignments now," Liu Xing said, not wasting the precious Private Room time, getting straight to the point.

Wang Siyi nodded, taking the lead, "I think we should have someone prepare to open the Castle's grand door when Gary invites the last person to the study room. We all have our mobile phones, right? Let's exchange numbers and keep in touch via text."

Everyone nodded and took out their phones. Bai Hecheng, however, touched his head awkwardly and pulled out a pager... yes, a very old-fashioned pager!

There was a silent moment as everyone looked at Bai Hecheng.

However, Wang Qi straightforwardly remarked, "It's not a big deal. After all, we can't let Bai Hecheng go open the door by himself, can we?"

Wang Qi's comment hit the nail on the head, and Liu Xing and the others agreed. If Bai Hecheng went alone to open the door, who knows what accidents might occur.

Thus, after a brief discussion, they decided that Wang Qi would go to the Castle's main gate. Upon receiving a text from Liu Xing and the others, he would start the electronic door-opening device.

Then, Liu Xing remembered something else, "If I'm not mistaken, there's a garage next to the main building with at least two vintage cars. Shouldn't we try to drive one out? After all, our main mission is to leave the town of Eins, and it's much more convenient to have a car. Plus, if we open the gate and walk away, the BOSS, unless he has teleportation spells or the like, will surely choose to chase us by car, and then it will be hard for us to escape."

Chen Ling nodded, raising her hand, "Then I'll take responsibility for driving. I have the driving skills, and even if there are no keys, I can start the car."

"Right, we can also sabotage the tires of the other vehicles, so the BOSS won't have any cars to use," Wang Qi added as a supplementary suggestion.

Finally, before the Private Room time ended, Liu Xing and the others devised their escape plan. Once the last person was invited to the study room, Wang Qi (with Liu Xing as the second option) would find a way to leave the main building and wait by the electronic door opener for a signal. Meanwhile, Chen Ling (with Wang Siyi as the second option) would also go to the garage to pick out a suitable car.

When the last person returned to the room, they would send a text to Wang Qi, who would then activate the electronic door opener. Everyone in the room would head to the garage, drive to the Castle's gate to pick up Wang Qi, and prepare to leave EinsCastle!