Chapter 949: Speaking the Truth |
To be honest, Liu Xing never expected Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen to consider him a VIP client, but it seemed that they were also aware of the unusual circumstances in Kagoshima City, hence their desire to learn about the current situation from him.
Under these circumstances, Liu Xing had no reason to refuse, and he gladly accepted the bullet casing pendant, becoming a VIP client of the duo player team of Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen.
As Liu Xing took the pendant, he also observed his surroundings. Fortunately, it was still early, and there weren't many people in the restaurant on the first floor of the hotel. So, Liu Xing confidently said, "Since I'm here, I might as well speak frankly. The situation in Kagoshima City is even more complicated than you can imagine. For example, the high-ranking member of the Shimazu Family we are currently tracking is named Shima Mitsuhiro. He is the nephew and personal secretary of the current head of the Shimazu Family, Shimazu Nakano. You should understand what this means."
Li Hanxing frowned and nodded, saying, "In that case, Shima Mitsuhiro should be the heir apparent in Shimazu Nakano's eyes. Since Shimazu Nakano himself has no son, he must find an heir from elsewhere. His nephews would be the first choice, followed by..." Li Hanxing paused, then continued, "Now I understand. No wonder Shima Takeshi and he are at odds. They are competing for the position of the next head of the Shimazu Family."
Unlike Li Hanxing, who seemed to have a sudden realization, Sun Huiwen furrowed her brows and said, "Although Shima Takeshi appears to be Shimazu Nakano's adopted son-in-law, his status within the Shimazu Family, a large clan, should not be that high. After all, compared to small clans where there are no suitable heirs and the adopted son-in-law must take over, the Shimazu Family should be able to find a qualified successor from within. Even with Shimazu Nakano's support, Shima Takeshi is just a high-level employee in the Shimazu Family. He doesn't have the qualifications to challenge Shima Mitsuhiro, unless..."
"That's right," Liu Xing said seriously. "Shima Takeshi is now carrying on the excellent tradition of the Island Nation since the Warring States period—rising up against superiors. Taking advantage of Shimazu Nakano's trip to Osaka City with Shima Mitsuhiro, he has already taken complete control of all the Shimazu Family's industries and members in Kagoshima City. Now, he's just one step away from announcing himself as the new chieftain of the Shimazu Family. So, you should have guessed how dire the situation in Kagoshima City is."
Just as Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen were about to nod in agreement, Liu Xing suddenly shook his head and said, "No, you don't know how bad the situation in Kagoshima City is. There's an even more terrifying event about to happen in the city, and it's not just about Kagoshima City. It will affect the entire Island Nation, and even the world, because behind this event stands a legendary Great Old One."
Liu Xing could clearly see the pupils of Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen dilate in an instant, their faces filled with disbelief.
Li Hanxing looked around cautiously and then asked seriously, "Liu Xing, you know what a Great Old One is, right? Some things can't be said lightly."
Liu Xing nodded and said confidently, "Of course, I know what a Great Old One is, and I've even met Aughra, the Yellow King, Tsathoggua, and the true form of Gralki. I've also wandered in the ancient city of R'lyeh and offended Mordiggian, the king of the Ghouls."
"Wow, Liu Xing, you've had dealings with so many Great Old Ones, and you've even met Aughra, the avatar of Nyarlathotep, who is the most encountered avatar by players. You should know that the total number of people who have encountered Aughra can be counted on one hand." Sun Huiwen said with a hint of envy.
After all, the players in the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall are fans of the Cthulhu myth, so the most popular thread on the forum is a check-in thread. All players who have encountered a Great Old One or its avatar will check in on that thread, providing detailed descriptions of the appearances of these Great Old Ones and their avatars for other players.
This is also related to the fact that when H.P. Lovecraft wrote the Cthulhu myth series of novels, he was limited by the times, and many Great Old Ones did not have official images. Therefore, the current images of these Great Old Ones in the real world are mostly fan-made paintings. The same is true for mythical creatures, except for the Earth-boring Demon Worm and the human-faced rat, which are relatively easy to draw. Other mythical creatures have several versions of their appearances, even those with distinct features like the Ghoul and the Deep One.
As a result, the players in the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall are very enthusiastic about drawing these Great Old Ones and mythical creatures. Professional artists create these drawings based on the players' descriptions, and while they may not be 100% accurate, they are at least 90% accurate.
For example, the drawing of Aughra in that thread is almost identical to the real thing, except for some minor details.
"Okay, let's get back to the topic at hand," Liu Xing said. "The biggest threat facing Kagoshima City right now is not the possible conflict between Shima Mitsuhiro and Shima Takeshi, but a person you may have heard of—Ii Naoyoshi." Liu Xing continued, "He's the cult leader who escaped from Blackstone Mountain Prison some time ago."
Li Hanxing nodded and said confidently, "Ii Naoyoshi, of course, we've heard of him. We almost accepted a commission to capture Ii Naoyoshi, but we declined because this kind of commission with little intelligence takes too much time. Sun Huiwen and I could complete several other commissions in the same amount of time. But speaking of which, I remember that Ii Naoyoshi is just a cult leader whose cult has been eradicated. Although he may still have a few followers, they should be of little use. How did he get involved with a Great Old One?"
Liu Xing sighed and shook his head. "I used to think so too, but I never expected that there would be an unknown Great Old One behind Ii Naoyoshi. This Great Old One has been plotting in the Island Nation for many years. First, he turned hundreds of strong humans and mythical creatures in the Island Nation to his side, then he had them hide in the Dreamrealm for decades. At the same time, Ii Naoyoshi stayed in the real world as a hidden agent. The reason his cult was eradicated back then was most likely due to his own actions. As for why he escaped from Blackstone Mountain Prison, it was to open a Dreamrealm gate located in Kagoshima City."
Li Hanxing gasped, "You mean, Ii Naoyoshi is planning to release those strong individuals who had hidden in the Dreamrealm?" He took a deep breath and said, "This is not good news at all. Currently, the strong individuals in the Island Nation have gone to the front lines of the Public-Military Conflict. A large rear area like Kagoshima City can't even be described as having a weak defense; it's completely undefended. If Ii Naoyoshi makes a call to action, the entire Kagoshima City will fall!"
Liu Xing sighed again and nodded, "Currently, one-third of those strong individuals have already appeared in the real world. It seems that the Great Old One behind them is still waiting for the right time to make a move. But as you've seen, the Ii Family has sent a team to capture Ii Naoyoshi."
"If they find Ii Naoyoshi, there are only two possible outcomes," Sun Huiwen said, stroking her chin. "The first is that Ii Naoyoshi and the other strong individuals will sense that the time is not right and will retreat into the Dreamrealm again to avoid the conflict. The second is that Ii Naoyoshi will seize the opportunity to start a rebellion and directly occupy Kagoshima City!" She continued, "Judging from the current situation, the second outcome is more likely. The other strong individuals have already left the Dreamrealm, indicating that they are ready to take action. They're just waiting for the best time. So, taking action early will only cause them a little trouble."
"But there's still one problem," Liu Xing said. "This unknown Great Old One only has a hundred or so followers, and although they are all very capable, they will need to assign a group to control Kagoshima City. So, there are two possibilities. One is that Ii Naoyoshi and his followers will return to their old ways and deceive a group of ordinary people to be their henchmen. The second is that the unknown Great Old One will send his own followers, who are likely to be mythical creatures... At that time, ordinary people all over the world will have to undergo a sanity points assessment."
"And then a group of people will go crazy," Liu Xing said helplessly. "The most terrifying situation is when people all over the world undergo the sanity points assessment at the same time, causing hundreds of millions of people to enter a temporary state of madness. The entire Earth will fall into chaos. If the President of the United States is among those who enter the temporary state of madness, the whole world will be in danger."
"Then this parallel world will be over..." Li Hanxing shook his head. "But the probability of this happening should be low, right? After all, the Public-Military Conflict is not over yet, and the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall wouldn't start another major event, would it?"
"You can't be too careful," Sun Huiwen said. "Who knows if the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall will open two major events at the same time? After all, the Public-Military Conflict only affects the Island Nation. They should also provide some activities for players who are not in the Island Nation."
Liu Xing agreed with Sun Huiwen's thoughts. After all, the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall has always had some abnormal thought processes, and who knows if they will start a double event.
However, Liu Xing was still struggling with whether to tell Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen about a certain matter.
Although Liu Xing had only spent less than a day with Li Hanxing, he felt that they were both reliable and had strong abilities. They were also skilled close-combat experts, which was the kind of support that Liu Xing and Zhang Jingxu's team lacked.
Persuading Li Hanxing and his partner to join their team was impossible, as mercenary players had their own system. If they were bound to ordinary players, it would be like disabling them. However, persuading them to stand on their side should be feasible... Moreover, Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen could be a test case. If successful, Liu Xing felt it was time to make that matter public.
With this in mind, Liu Xing decided to tell Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen about it.
"Have you noticed that the real world is changing along with this parallel world?" Liu Xing asked.
Li Hanxing looked at Liu Xing with a puzzled expression and said, "What do you mean, Liu Xing? Are you saying that the parallel world we're in is actually the real world? That's unlikely, as the old Emperor in the real world hasn't shown any signs of stepping down."
Sun Huiwen, who was standing next to Li Hanxing, also nodded, indicating that she agreed with Li Hanxing and did not support Liu Xing's viewpoint.
Seeing this, Liu Xing shook his head and said, "Let me tell you the truth. In this parallel world, I have met several friends from the real world, and some events that happened in the parallel world have already changed events that occurred in the real world. For example, you should all know about the Yueshihao incident."
"The Yueshihao incident? Is it based on the World Crossing Incident in the real world's Cosmic Country? It caused quite a stir back then, and it even involved a secret cult in the real world," Li Hanxing said, recalling the past.
Liu Xing nodded and said seriously, "Li Hanxing, Sun Huiwen, when you return to the real world, you can search for the Yueshihao incident again. You will find that after the World Crossing Incident was renamed the Yueshihao incident, the content underwent a drastic change. The original Cosmic Country became the Island Nation, and the impending tragedy was averted by two Chinese people at the cost of serious injuries and months of unconsciousness, and I was one of them."
"Are you serious, Liu Xing?" Li Hanxing frowned. "You shouldn't be joking with us at a time like this. You should know what this represents!"
"If this is true," Liu Xing said solemnly, "then the Public-Military Conflict will also be reflected in the real world, including the possible occupation of Kagoshima City by mythical creatures, and people all over the world will have to undergo a sanity points assessment! If it weren't for this, I wouldn't be speaking so frankly to you at this time."
After a moment of staring at each other, Li Hanxing closed his eyes and said, "If possible, please tell me that you made this up."
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