Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Upon hearing Alice’s words, Liu Xing and the others knew that this trip to the farm was inevitable.

"Miss Alice, didn’t you say Cult of the Cadaver wouldn’t dare to provoke Bain at will? How come now a branch of Cult of the Cadaver in Manchester dares to go steal from Bain?" Zhang Jingxu asked curiously.

Alice sighed and said somewhat helplessly, "It’s just unfortunate timing. Under normal circumstances, Cult of the Cadaver wouldn’t dare to provoke Bain. After all, Bain has a violent temper, the kind that seeks revenge for any wrongdoing. And when he strikes, it’s always deadly. So, although Cult of the Cadaver’s overall strength is stronger than Bain’s, they still dare not confront him directly because it’s not worth the risk."

"But the problem now is that there’s a ninety percent chance Bain is in seclusion recently because just a month ago, Bain flaunted that he got a rare ancient book called ’The Secret Scripture of Xuanjun’. It records magic spells highly compatible with Bain, so he started seclusion. He should be in the underground private room of the farm now. So, Cult of the Cadaver wants to take this opportunity to steal the ’Cult of the Cadaver Ritual’."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected Bain to have ’The Secret Scripture of Xuanjun’. It seemed he truly had a connection with it.

"In that case, we shouldn’t delay. Let’s go to Bain’s farm now to scout ahead and occupy some advantageous observation positions before Cult of the Cadaver does." Ling Ishikawa suggested.

So, led by Alice, Liu Xing and the others headed to Bain’s farm.

Bain’s farm was located in the south of Manchester, surrounded by vast plains. Apart from a few small forests, there were hardly any concealed areas near Bain’s farm.

Although it was called a farm, Bain’s farm wasn’t that large. Alice drove around Bain’s farm and it only took five minutes. Moreover, the interior of Bain’s farm didn’t have any crops planted, nor were there any livestock. It seemed Bain regarded this place as his country villa.

However, Liu Xing could feel that despite Bain’s farm seeming defenseless and easily accessible, there were crows perched on the fence of Bain’s farm at intervals. They remained motionless when a car passed by, staring at it intently.

Obviously, these crows were likely magic creatures summoned by Bain.

So, Liu Xing was sure that if they rashly entered Bain’s farm, they would definitely be subjected to prepared magic attacks from Bain.

"It seems Bain has been prepared for a long time. These crows can basically ensure that not even a fly can get into Bain’s farm. It seems Shi Zixuan’s idea of stealing the ’Cult of the Cadaver Ritual’ is quite far-fetched." Ling Ishikawa sighed.

Alice nodded, smiling, "It seems my master was right. Bain’s farm defenses are indeed good. These crows are magic creatures, with astonishing vision and the ability to sense magic fluctuations around them. Most importantly, these crows can share perception with Bain. So, if anyone dares to trespass Bain’s farm, Bain will know immediately."

"Besides these crows, I can also sense that Bain has applied a static electricity magic on this fence. If someone tries to trespass by climbing over this fence into Bain’s farm, they’ll trigger the static electricity magic and end up unable to take care of themselves, with symptoms like incontinence. I’ve heard that the Manchester police often receive calls from Bain to come here and arrest some thieves who are already foaming at the mouth."

"And then, on the roof of the main building of Bain’s farm, my master told me that the lightning rod on the roof is actually a magic turret. As long as someone successfully climbs over the fence, this lightning rod will launch various magic attacks. Basically, Bain doesn’t need to personally intervene; intruders will be turned into ashes by various magics. In short, Bain’s farm defense is extremely strong. Anyway, it’s very difficult for us to get in."

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow and said, "So, Alice, do you have any way to contact Bain? If we could meet Bain, Cult of the Cadaver wouldn’t be able to get the ’Cult of the Cadaver Ritual’."

Alice shook her head, still somewhat helpless. "I thought about that too, but as I mentioned before, Bain is currently the number one magician in the European region, with a very high status in the martial world. Even my master has only had a chance encounter with Bain, and I’ve only heard Bain’s name. So, I have no way to contact Bain. Besides, our every move now should be under Bain’s watch. If he intended to meet us, he would have notified us by now."

"Then let’s forget about it. We can’t force ourselves into someone else’s business. For now, let’s secure a good observation point. I think the small forest we just passed by is good. It’s probably the largest around Bain’s farm, and it has dense bushes. Most importantly, the small forest is on a small hill, which is a vantage point." Zhang Jingxu suggested.

So, Alice parked the car in the small forest mentioned by Zhang Jingxu.

Liu Xing looked around and found it indeed a good observation point. They could see Bain’s farm and its surroundings clearly, and the middle of the small forest happened to have a sizable clearing for them to set up camp.

"This is indeed a good place. But we can’t stay here because Cult of the Cadaver will surely come to scout before deciding to attack Bain’s farm. They’ll probably choose this place too. So, unless we want to directly confront Cult of the Cadaver, we should give up this territory." Ling Ishikawa shrugged.

Alice chuckled and took out a box from the trunk of the car. "I’ve prepared for this situation. There are some high-tech monitors in this box. We can set them up in this forest now to monitor Bain’s farm instead of us."

As Alice spoke, she took out the monitors from the box. These monitors were only the size of soybeans, extremely discreet.

What’s even more miraculous was that after Alice activated the remote control, these monitors automatically floated and changed from black to green and earthy yellow. Then, they flew directly onto the branches and leaves of the trees.

Seeing this scene, Liu Xing couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow because these monitors were indeed too high-tech. So, Liu Xing felt these monitors couldn’t have been made by human technology because, in the worldview of the Cthulhu myth, such black technology creations couldn’t possibly be made by humans.

"Wow, Miss Alice, your monitor is quite impressive. It’s so small yet it can fly and change color. It’s truly incredible. Has the technological level in England reached such heights?" Ling Ishikawa exclaimed exaggeratedly.

Alice chuckled and replied, "No, no, Mr. Ling Ishikawa, you’re thinking too much. These monitors are all made by a mythical creature called Yis People. And Yis People are quite special. They occasionally possess humans in a spiritual state and then use the human body for various research purposes. After a certain period, Yis People will choose to leave, allowing the original human soul to return to the body, possibly leaving behind some useful black technology. My master knows someone who has been possessed by Yis People before, and these monitors were given to my master by that person."

Upon hearing the words "Yis People," Liu Xing couldn’t help but glance at the Yis People in front of him, then quickly chose to look away.

At that moment, the Yis People remained unmoved upon hearing Alice mention their race, as if they were not a Yis People at all.

"I see. I thought this monitor looked strange. It doesn’t seem like something that can be produced by current human technology." Zhang Jingxu rubbed his chin.

Alice shrugged and said with a smile, "As long as this monitor works well, it doesn’t matter whether it’s made by humans or Yis People. Anyway, let’s leave here quickly now to avoid encountering people from Cult of the Cadaver."

So, Liu Xing and the others got into the car and left the small forest.

On the way back, Liu Xing couldn’t help but look back at Bain’s farm.

And... nothing happened.

Liu Xing shrugged with some regret.

During the return journey, Liu Xing and his group didn’t see any vehicles resembling Cult of the Cadaver. It seemed Cult of the Cadaver hadn’t prepared to cause trouble at Bain’s farm yet.

Back at the safe point, Alice projected the monitor’s images onto the large TV in the living room to observe Bain’s farm situation in real time.

However, at that moment, Chris brought another piece of bad news: Cult of the Cadaver had already released the first batch of kidnapped foreign tourists. As expected, these tourists, like Liu Xing and his team had feared, had been brainwashed by Cult of the Cadaver. They refused to cooperate with inquiries from local authorities, and under the strong demands of their families, the local authorities had no choice but to let these tourists go home.

"It seems Cult of the Cadaver is preparing to cause trouble. As soon as those kidnapped locals return, they can launch a propaganda campaign and further pressure the English authorities to concede," Lu Tianya said helplessly.

Liu Xing nodded and suddenly remembered something. He then said to Zhang Jingxu, "Zhang Jingxu, didn’t your junior sister mention that among the people kidnapped with her, there was still a member of your Daoist sect left in Manchester? Do we have any news about that person now?"

Zhang Jingxu raised an eyebrow and then walked to Chen Fuping’s room.

After a moment, Zhang Jingxu smiled and said, "It looks like we’re getting another helper. Wang Ming was also released by Cult of the Cadaver along with this batch of foreign tourists. And he brought back some useful information. But now, I need to go out with Chen Fuping to confirm Wang Ming’s current situation. After all, we can’t rule out the possibility that Wang Ming has also been brainwashed by Cult of the Cadaver."

At this point, Hu Li spoke up, "Then let me go with you. As a fox spirit, my ability to see into people’s hearts is quite good. I can help you determine whether he has been brainwashed by Cult of the Cadaver and whether Cult of the Cadaver has sent anyone to track us."

"OK, then we’ll trouble Miss Hu Li," Zhang Jingxu said with a smile.

Then, Zhang Jingxu and the other two left the safe point.

Not long after, Zhang Jingxu and the others returned to the safe point with a somewhat disheveled young man.

"Wang Ming, go take a shower in my room. Your body size is similar to mine. Just change into my clothes," Zhang Jingxu said, pointing to his room.

Wang Ming nodded and greeted Liu Xing and the others before heading to Zhang Jingxu’s room to shower.

"Now we can confirm that Wang Ming hasn’t been brainwashed by Cult of the Cadaver because when he realized something was wrong, he hypnotized the Cult of the Cadaver follower responsible for brainwashing him first, successfully turning the tables. Then, Wang Ming obtained some information from that Cult of the Cadaver follower. Apart from what we already knew, there’s one piece of information that’s quite important to us: there are still seven Ghouls lingering in Manchester. The rest of the Ghouls have already gone to London. So, dealing with Cult of the Cadaver’s branch in Manchester will be much easier now."

"And then, Wang Ming’s discoveries during his time undercover in Cult of the Cadaver. Firstly, Bai Hecheng has completed the transformation from a human to a Ghoul. Now, Bai Hecheng can freely switch between human and Ghoul forms. Secondly, Ace. According to Wang Ming, we can actually recognize Ace quite easily because Ace always wears a white robe with a large snake pattern on it. As for Rayna and Shi Zixuan, these two have always been elusive. Wang Ming hasn’t seen them in Eins Castle."

"Finally, and most importantly, Wang Ming’s most important discovery is that there is indeed a mole from Cult of the Cadaver in the Manchester police department. Because Wang Ming has overheard Bai Hecheng contacting that mole several times. So, recently, Cult of the Cadaver has been fully aware of all the dynamics of the Manchester police department. Also, the news about Isabella’s birthday party was passed on to Cult of the Cadaver by that mole. That’s why Cult of the Cadaver arranged the suicide terrorist attack. As for Cult of the Cadaver’s next plan, it’s to make that mole defect directly, coordinating with those foreign tourists to create news and public opinion!" Zhang Jingxu said seriously.

Upon hearing this, Liu Xing suddenly realized that the last player on Bai Hecheng’s side should be the police officer mole.

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