Chapter 912: I quit, Liu Xing was captured by the Deep Diver

Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Yin En simply informed Shima Mitsuhiro about the situation in the room.

Shima Mitsuhiro nodded, and just as he was about to speak, he frowned and walked straight to the wall, pointing at a pattern that looked like a totem. "I've seen this pattern before. If I'm not mistaken, it should be the totem of an ancient tribe. The ruins of this ancient tribe were discovered during the construction of the Space Center. However, since the scale of these ancient tribal ruins was very small, only a few classrooms in size, and very few artifacts were unearthed, just some bottles and jars with this pattern, we took those bottles and jars away and then used that site as the foundation."

Liu Xing frowned and said with a smile, "So, does that mean I'm not suffering from dissociative identity disorder, but simply possessed by a ghost?"

Yin En also smiled and said, "That's good news, isn't it? For us, being possessed by a ghost is much easier to deal with than dissociative identity disorder. But then again, does that mean we've been sleeping on someone else's grave for the past two days?"

"Most likely. At the time, I also felt that these ruins resembled a tomb. However, we didn't find any tomb owners or burial objects, nor did we see anything like a coffin. So it's possible that the tomb owner didn't have a chance to be buried here, or perhaps this was just a storage area for those bottles and jars?" Shima Mitsuhiro shrugged.

At this point, Zhang Wenbing suddenly said, "Brother Hongdao, did you guys check those bottles and jars back then? What if that ancient tribe practiced cremation? In that case, those bottles and jars could have been urns for ashes."

Shima Mitsuhiro shook his head and said with certainty, "Although those bottles and jars were sealed when they were discovered, after various tests, we can confirm that they were empty. Their material is similar to the pottery made by humans, and apart from this pattern, there are no other decorations on the surface..."

Before Shima Mitsuhiro could finish his words, Yin En interrupted, "Is it possible that instead of burying the dead, this ancient tribe used those clay jars to seal the souls of the deceased, and this pattern actually means 'soul-sealing'?"

Shima Mitsuhiro frowned, and after a moment of silence, he said, "That's indeed a possibility. Since we can't confirm the specifics of this ancient tribe, it's possible that they were a tribe that specialized in soul abilities. After all, the races that were able to establish tribes on Earth back then all had their unique skills."

While Yin En and the others were talking, Liu Xing had been counting how many patterns similar to the one Shima Mitsuhiro pointed out were in the room. He found that one-third of the patterns in the room were similar, although some seemed to have slight differences, but they were clearly variations or extensions of the same pattern.

This made Liu Xing even more convinced that he was simply possessed by a ghost.

That's good news.

Liu Xing said to Zhang Jingxu, "So, the question is, do we have a way to deal with ghost possession?"

Zhang Jingxu nodded and then shook his head, saying, "There are certainly ways, and quite a few of them, but in our current situation, most of them are not feasible. As for the ones we can do, they're not very reliable. I don't think Ryuusei would want to risk his life, right?"

Liu Xing quickly nodded, as he didn't want to end up like the unfortunate souls in exorcism movies, where the ghost isn't expelled, but the person is left with only half a life.

Speaking of half-life, Valve has finally deigned to release a new game.

Ahem, got sidetracked.

At this point, Shima Mitsuhiro said with some regret, "If that's the case, then Ryuusei, you being possessed by a ghost is due to the mistake made by my Shimazu Family. We didn't take the ruins of that ancient tribe seriously enough, which led to you being trapped by them. And now, I don't have a way to ensure that you can free yourself from their entanglement... However, as long as we can safely enter Kagoshima, I can take you to find the best priests, monks, Shinto priests, and Yin Yang Masters in Kyushu to help you with the exorcism."

It must be said that the Island Nation is indeed a place where small temples abound, as it has managed to accommodate major religions such as Buddhism, Shinto, and Christianity within its limited territory. And the strength of each religion is not too different, without any single religion dominating.

It's worth noting that in other countries with a similar land area to the Island Nation, there is usually one dominant major religion that holds an absolute advantage, leaving no room for other major religions to gain a foothold.

After all, it's not an easy task to have these major religions coexist peacefully in such a small space.

Seeing the surprised looks on Liu Xing and the others' faces, Shima Mitsuhiro smiled and said, "You Sawada Family members in the Honshu region may not experience this situation, where a single city can have Shinto shrines, temples, and churches coexisting. This is because Buddhism and Christianity both landed in the Island Nation through Kyushu when they were introduced. So, their missionary work also centered around Kyushu. At that time, our Island Nation also inherited the traditional Chinese mindset of believing in a little bit of everything. So, there were some conflicts between different religions when they first entered the Island Nation, but over time, everything settled down."

Liu Xing nodded, but he had a different view. The religious conflicts in the Island Nation had never ceased since the introduction of Buddhism, as the early Buddhism was not as "gentle" as it is now, and Christianity, being a monotheistic religion, was naturally at odds with other religions.

In the Total War games, when the player occupies a new region, religious conflicts are the most destabilizing factor.

Of course, in modern society, everyone has become more "harmonious." So, it's normal for a region like Kyushu, which has the most interaction with the outside world, to experience religious harmony. After all, the Island Nation is fond of localizing or, one could say, modifying foreign affairs to suit its own culture.

Liu Xing and the others didn't have the mindset to discuss religious issues with Shima Mitsuhiro, so they let him contact the famous Shinto priests and Buddhist monks in Kagoshima to arrange exorcism rituals for Liu Xing.

After all, a cat that can catch mice is a good cat, regardless of its color.

After Shima Mitsuhiro had made appointments for Liu Xing's exorcism rituals, he suddenly remembered why he had come here in the first place.

"Oh, I almost forgot the main reason!" Shima Mitsuhiro slapped his thigh and put on a serious expression. "Here's the situation: My uncle received a message from Shima Takeshi's envoy, and he's currently negotiating with the envoy at a small manor outside Osaka Castle. However, my uncle believes that these negotiations will not lead to a satisfactory outcome, as Shima Takeshi's demands can be easily guessed – he wants us to acknowledge his position as the head of the family, or for my uncle to retain the nominal title of the family head, but with Shima Takeshi being responsible for all affairs of the Shimazu Family."

"Of course, now that Shima Takeshi has the upper hand, it would be strange if he didn't make such demands," Liu Xing chimed in.

Shima Mitsuhiro nodded and sighed, "So, my uncle wants us to enter the Kagoshima city area as soon as possible and try to capture the fake Shima Takeshi within three days. That way, my uncle will have a bargaining chip. Of course, my uncle has already contacted my other uncle, and they have reached a consensus to cooperate. So, if you have no other objections, we'll go to Kagoshima today to meet my other uncle."

Liu Xing and the others exchanged glances and then reached a consensus – to depart.

These past few days, Liu Xing and the others had grown tired of staying in this hidden location. It was like being confined to a hotel room all day, and unless you were a seasoned shut-in, you would inevitably feel bored.

So, leaving this hidden location was something Liu Xing and the others had no objections to.

Especially Liu Xing.

Now, Liu Xing strongly suspected that the ruins of that ancient tribe, or rather, the tomb of that ancient tribe, were located right beneath his room.

That's why he started "sleepwalking" after arriving at this hidden location. Therefore, Liu Xing felt that he needed to change his environment.

So, after Liu Xing and the others were prepared, they followed Shima Mitsuhiro into the elevator.

However, to Liu Xing's surprise, this elevator did not go up.

"We're not going directly back to the surface now, but to a small underwater base, where we can take a submarine to reach the port of Kagoshima City. This way, we're less likely to be discovered," Shima Mitsuhiro explained to Liu Xing and the others.

Soon, the elevator reached its destination, the small underwater base mentioned by Shima Mitsuhiro.

This small underwater base appeared to be an aquarium with transparent walls all around, which gave Liu Xing a strange sense of fear as he walked on the transparent floor... To put it nicely, Liu Xing was a cautious person, or to put it bluntly, Liu Xing was a coward.

To be precise, Liu Xing only had a fear of heights, but the transparent seawater still gave him the feeling of walking on a glass skywalk.

"A gentleman does not stand beneath a precarious wall."

Liu Xing pretended to be calm and looked straight ahead, following Shima Mitsuhiro to a small submarine.

After entering the password on the computer panel outside the submarine, Shima Mitsuhiro invited Liu Xing and the others to enter the submarine.

When Liu Xing stepped into the non-transparent submarine, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brother Hongdao, by the way, can you operate a submarine?" Yin En suddenly asked.

Shima Mitsuhiro patted his chest and said seriously, "Our Shimazu Family has a private resort in Hawaii, which has various underwater activities, including submarines and diving equipment. So I learned how to operate submarines and diving equipment back in high school, and later even got the relevant licenses. You can rest assured that I won't capsize this submarine."

As Shima Mitsuhiro spoke, he started the submarine.

Just as Shima Mitsuhiro said, he operated the submarine smoothly, and they soon safely arrived at the landing point - a small port near Kagoshima City.

"This port actually belongs to the Otomo Family, but many years ago, my uncle made a deal with the head of the Otomo Family, and since then, this port has only nominally belonged to the Otomo Family, but in reality, it has been privately owned by my uncle. Therefore, Shima Takeshi could never have guessed that we would land here," Shima Mitsuhiro said after changing into a diving suit.

"Of course, this port above us is still in normal operation, so if we just surface like this, it's bound to attract attention. By then, Shima Takeshi would know that we've landed here. So now we have to dive through a sewer from last year to enter a warehouse on the docks," he continued.

Seeing Yin En and the others skillfully putting on their diving suits, Liu Xing felt a bit embarrassed - he had the worst swimming skills in their five-person team.

The reason was simple: Yin En and the others lived in coastal cities, while Liu Xing was the only one born in an inland area.

So with Liu Xing's swimming skills, he could only handle a regular swimming pool. Diving was beyond his abilities.

However, Liu Xing couldn't say it out loud now, as he was worried that Shima Mitsuhiro might become suspicious of him. After all, there weren't many landlubbers in an island nation, and Liu Xing's identity was a "henchman" of the Sawada Family.

Fortunately, Ding Kun noticed Liu Xing's predicament and patted his shoulder, whispering, "Later, Liu Xing, you can hold onto my shoulder, and I'll guide you."

Liu Xing nodded gratefully and followed behind Ding Kun.

Five minutes later.

Liu Xing and the others exited the submarine one by one and swam towards the sewer under Shima Mitsuhiro's lead.

And at the very back, Liu Xing was almost clinging to Ding Kun.

At that moment, the sound of dice hitting the ground rang out.

Liu Xing's heart skipped a beat. Was the GM secretly rolling a judgment on his swimming ability?

In the next second, Liu Xing suddenly felt his feet being grabbed.

Then, a tremendous force pulled him down towards the seabed.

Ding Kun, who had noticed that Liu Xing wasn't holding onto his shoulder, immediately turned around but found that Liu Xing had vanished without a trace!

Something had happened!

Ding Kun wanted to alert Yin En and the others in front, but since their diving suits didn't have built-in communication tools, Yin En and the others, unaware of the situation, had already swum into the sewer.

With no choice, Ding Kun hurried after them, following Yin En and the others through the sewer into a warehouse.

As soon as Ding Kun surfaced, he pulled down his mask and said, "It's not good, Liu Xing has likely been captured by the Deep Ones!"

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