Chapter 921: The Door Pusher |
Shimada Sho took out a mobile phone, enlarged an area, and handed it to Liu Xing, saying: "There is a seafood market by the sea in Lu Wu, and the current owner of this seafood market is Ii Naoyoshi. However, on the surface, it belongs to a trusted subordinate of Ii Naoyoshi. This trusted subordinate faked his death and came to Lu Wu before Ii Naoyoshi was arrested back then, and then completely handed over this business to our tribe. Therefore, very few people in the Island Nation know that this is Ii Naoyoshi's property. It might even be only me and the Ghoul responsible for the handover back then who know this."
Liu Xing looked at the location of the seafood market, unsurprisingly right next to the pier.
It seems that Ii Naoyoshi and Liu Xuyu are planning to leave Kyushu Island by boat, and the target is likely Ryukyu.
Liu Xing thought for a moment and returned the mobile phone to Shimada Sho, "So, Ii Naoyoshi should be planning to head to Ryukyu now, right? It seems he prepared this escape route years ago."
"No, no, no, Liu Xing, if you think like that, you'll fall into a trap." Shimada Sho shook his head and said: "Do you know why this seafood market became the property of the tribe I was part of back then?"
With Shimada Sho's words, Liu Xing suddenly realized that this matter was not simple—Matsui Yui had mentioned to him before that those mythical creature tribes that had more contact with human society, or even were deep within human city circles, usually only managed their immediate surroundings and wouldn't overextend their reach.
Therefore, the Ghoul tribe that Shimada Sho was part of back then operated in the Tokyo area, so it was unlikely for them to set up a seafood market in Kagoshima City unless the tribe had a high demand for fresh seafood. However, the seafood in Kagoshima City is not as good as that from Hokkaido.
Hence, Liu Xing could only think of one possibility.
"The Dreamrealm Gate?" Liu Xing asked.
"If we wanted to monopolize, the tribe I was part of could defeat those Shantak Bird tribes, but it wouldn't be worth it. Small Shantak Bird tribes in the Dreamrealm are usually affiliated with other mythical creature tribes or city-states, so you have to consider their masters. If we gathered other tribes from the real world to attack those Shantak Bird tribes and their masters, the risk wouldn't be too high, but we might not be able to keep the Dreamrealm Gate. The local Deep One tribes near Kagoshima City would surely try to seize the Dreamrealm Gate if they found out about it."
"Since the tribe I was part of only had influence in the Tokyo area, if local forces coveted it in Kagoshima City, we would have to give up the Dreamrealm Gate. Therefore, the tribe's leaders decided to temporarily shelve the development of the Dreamrealm Gate. Somehow, Ii Naoyoshi found out about this and came to us wanting to buy the Dreamrealm Gate, offering a high enough price. So, naturally, we chose to sell this hot potato to him, as the Dreamrealm Gate was no longer useful to us. I negotiated with Ii Naoyoshi for several days and finally concluded the acquisition plan."
"To be honest, during the negotiations with Ii Naoyoshi, I found that he is the typical hero in chaotic times. If he lived during the Warring States period, his achievements might surpass those of his ancestor Ii Naomasa. I also experienced the Warring States period and served under Tokugawa Ieyasu, which is why the tribe I was part of could develop near Tokyo. I also worked with Ii Naomasa for some time. Because of this connection, I chatted with Ii Naoyoshi for a long time after discussing business, and finally understood why Ii Naoyoshi abandoned his wife and children back then to become the leader of that secret cult."
"Oh, why?" Liu Xing instinctively asked.
After a moment of contemplation, Shimada Sho suddenly rolled up the sleeve of his left hand.
Only then did Liu Xing notice that the veins in Shimada Sho's left hand were an eerie purple-black color.
"In the past hundred years or so, a drug has become popular among the secret cults and mythical creature tribes of Island Nation. This drug can rapidly enhance the powers of both humans and mythical creatures. However, due to its high cost, only high-ranking individuals can afford it, and both Ii Naoyoshi and I are among them. But it wasn't long before the side effects of this drug became apparent. Regardless of whether it's a human or a mythical creature, anyone who takes this drug will experience an abnormality in the blood circulation of the left side of their body."
"To put it simply, although this abnormality can make one stronger in a short period, any power comes with a price. So after the drug fully takes effect, I can more clearly hear the whispers of the Great Old One I worship, Mordiggian, the Ghoul King... At first, that's what I thought. But as time went on, I suddenly realized that the whispers in my mind were not from the Mordiggian I worship but another Great Old One disguising his voice!"
"Although I don't know who he is, I am certain he is also a Great Old One because I can feel that the power I gained was granted by him, and his whispers have started to affect my mind, making me begin to worship him instead... However, this Great Old One might have just awakened or is still recovering from an injury. In any case, after I discovered his existence, I managed to break free from his whispers with my own will, but his power also began to wreak havoc inside me, causing me to fall into bouts of temporary madness. That's the real reason I chose to leave the tribe... although I had long thought of leaving the tribe."
"Besides me, eighty percent of our tribe members who used this drug have broken free from control. More than half of them are in better condition than I am. Although they feel restless due to the wandering power inside them, they do not fall into madness. As long as the others are closely monitored, not many problems will arise. However, in the end, twenty percent of the tribe members pledged allegiance to that Great Old One, so we had to deal with these traitors. Nonetheless, quite a few traitors escaped the tribe and have since disappeared without a trace. Such situations are happening continuously throughout Island Nation, and according to statistics, over a thousand people have become followers of that Great Old One," Shimada Sho said seriously.
At this point, Matsui Yui couldn't help but ask, "So where are they now, and what are they plotting? With their strength now, they could easily dominate a region."
Shimada Sho shook his head and said helplessly, "That we truly don't know, because these traitors have vanished without a trace after escaping, never appearing in our sight again. But we can confirm they haven't left Island Nation, so the widely accepted theory is that they have already gone to the Dreamrealm."
"Wait a minute," Liu Xing suddenly said, "Do you mean that Ii Naoyoshi is one of them?!"
Shimada Sho looked at Liu Xing in surprise and nodded, "I didn't expect you to figure it out so quickly, Liu Xing. You are indeed much smarter than that fool Yui."
While fending off Matsui Yui's scratching, Shimada Sho continued, "Actually, before this, I thought Ii Naoyoshi, like me, didn't dare to reunite with his family because of that drug. After all, the reason he was able to rise to the position of cult leader was that he personally dealt with the previous cult leader. The former cult leader had tried to offer him and other followers as a gift to that Great Old One, so Ii Naoyoshi, seeing through it all, decisively acted first. But now, in retrospect, that was just his side of the story because everyone who went with him to deal with the former leader died. So now I think Ii Naoyoshi is very likely a pawn left in the real world by that Great Old One, and those missing traitors are probably behind the Dreamrealm gate of Lu Wu, which is why Ii Naoyoshi spent a lot of money to secure that Dreamrealm gate."
Hearing this, Liu Xing couldn't help but gasp and said worriedly, "If that's true, then is this Great Old One preparing to make a move?"
"That's right, I think so too, because after Ii Naoyoshi escaped from Blackstone Mountain Prison, the only place he could go in the entire Island Nation is Lu Wu's seafood market. And the reason he escaped from Blackstone Mountain Prison at this time must be because he has a mission," Shimada Sho affirmed.
Liu Xing leaned back in his chair, starting to contemplate life while staring at the ceiling.
From the current situation, Shimada Sho's speculation seems very plausible because Liu Xing and others had previously discussed why Ii Naoyoshi, at his advanced age, would still escape from Blackstone Mountain Prison to cause trouble. Although he stillhas some resources left, most of his original subordinates have scattered, and relying solely on the support of his grandson wouldn't cause much of a stir.
But now it seems that Ii Naoyoshi is likely playing the role of a "gatekeeper"—as long as he opens the Dreamrealm door of the Lu Wu seafood market, those former traitors will return to the real world!
At that time, it will be a bloody storm again, because the strength of this group of traitors should not be underestimated, especially now that so many years have passed, the strength of those traitors is likely to have grown again.
After all, they are the bodyguards of that Great Old One.
So the question is, who the heck is this Great Old One?!
Liu Xing really wants to swear, because in the other parallel worlds of the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall, most of the time there is only one Great Old One trying to destroy/dominate the world, and only a few parallel worlds have two Great Old Ones fighting on Earth.
As for parallel worlds with more than two Great Old Ones, that really hasn't happened... at least it has never appeared on the forums of the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall.
But now, the Great Old Ones appearing in this parallel world might include Ke ZongCthulhu, the cover character of the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall, Hastur, the arch-enemy of Cthulhu, Mr. A, the behind-the-scenes boss of Blackstone Mountain Prison and the Freemasons, and now this unknown Great Old One.
If you count it, Liu Xing reckons that the half-finished Great Old One created by Migo—Gadamon might also make an appearance.
Of course, Mordiggian might also come out to join the fun, after all, the Crimson Ghoul storyline is very likely to lead to Mordiggian, because as the strength of the Crimson Ghoul continues to expand, Mordiggian will most likely come out to "personally deal with the traitors" for the sake of his reputation.
In this way, there might be five and a half Great Old Ones appearing in this parallel world, and this parallel world would truly be a battle of gods...
So how should this parallel world break the situation when facing the arrival of the Great Old Ones?
Just dealing with one Great Old One is difficult enough, and now if a group of Great Old Ones appear at once, wouldn't this parallel world be doomed to destruction?
If this parallel world is destroyed, then the real world won't fare much better...
Liu Xing involuntarily recalled the memories of "Liu Xing," and the overwhelming mythical creatures in the rain, along with that gigantic humanoid figure...
"Liu Xing, what's wrong with you?"
Hearing Matsui Yui's call, Liu Xing snapped back to reality, shook his head, and said, "It's nothing, I just thought of some unpleasant things..."
"Yeah, if that group of traitors returns from the Dreamrealm to the real world, the first to suffer will be the ordinary citizens of Kagoshima City. They will surely be powerless against that group of traitors," Shimada Sho said, shaking his head. "At that time, Kagoshima City is likely to fall first, becoming the forward base for that group of traitors."
Liu Xing let out a bitter laugh and sighed deeply, saying, "Yes, now with things like this, the battle for the head of the Shima Mitsuhiro and Shima Takeshi family is just a joke, because without control of Kagoshima City, can it still be called the Shimazu Family?"
Liu Xing couldn't help but pick up his mobile phone, preparing to tell Zhang Jingxu and others about this news.
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