After Liu Xing confirmed the time for his next Cthulhu mission, he sought out the club administrator he'd spoken to—Lump.
"Oh, you've already decided on a time for the next game?" Though they weren't talking face to face, Liu Xing could still sense Lump's surprise from the text.
Liu Xing rubbed his head. He certainly understood Lump's reasoning. After all, Cthulhu missions involve risking one's life. No one knows if they'll survive the next round, so most players choose to delay their participation as much as possible, savoring their last moments, and won't play until the very last day.
Furthermore, Liu Xing could infer from the club's announcement the time players joined the club that completing the beginner room missions typically earns around 20 to 25 points. Therefore, Liu Xing figured that players like him, "rushing to die," wouldn't be many, or even a handful.
As for the 10 points given when registering for the Cthulhu mission lobby, I'm afraid everyone has simply redeemed them for cash.
Liu Xing thought about this and typed back, "Well, since Mr. Cthulhu wants me to update three times, who'd dare to ask me to update five? Besides, I still have to scrape together enough money for the newbie gift pack."
Liu Xing lied here. After all, in a Cthulhu role-playing game, teammates are always between trustworthy and untrustworthy. No one knows if your teammate might be a deeply hidden fanatic, a ghoul, or a Deep One (in the Cthulhu Mythos system, hybrids of ghouls and Deep Ones retain their human form until a certain age). So, generally speaking, while you maintain a certain level of trust in your teammates, you must also be vigilant, guarding against potential backstabbing.
While watching Wu Lei play Cthulhu, Liu Xing had more than once witnessed Wu Lei's teammates suddenly attack him, or even attack him with a sly grin on their face!
"A friend's death is not my own"—this is one of Liu Xing's life principles. After all, reality isn't fiction, and a saintly person wouldn't survive long in this real-life Cthulhu role-playing game.
Thus, having come to his senses, Liu Xing naturally kept a cautious eye on his situation and wouldn't reveal his full situation to anyone. Therefore, Liu Xing didn't tell Liu Zi about his purchase of the newbie gift pack.
"As expected, you also exchanged those 10 points given at the beginning for cash. But that newbie gift pack is indeed a good thing. If you're lucky enough, you can get two life-saving items. So if you have enough points, you should buy the newbie gift pack as soon as possible. And you have a very good attitude. In this Cthulhu role-playing game, players with a positive attitude generally live longer than those with a negative attitude. I've got statistics here. Players who wait until the last one or two days to start the game have a survival rate of only 20%, while players like you who start early have a survival rate of around 80%. And all the players I've seen who successfully advance to the next area have a positive attitude like yours." A moment later, Liu Xing sent a long message.
Liu Xing naturally agreed with Liu Xing's statement. After all, it's like a cancer patient: those who actively accept treatment and maintain a positive attitude will definitely live longer than those who passively wait and see.
"Okay, I'll add your name to the announcement now. Remember, at 5:00 PM that day, I'll gather all of you participating in the game into a discussion group. You can agree on a codeword for the game. After all, players don't display their names above their heads in this game, so you'll need a suitable codeword to identify each other." As soon as Liu Xing finished speaking, he noticed his name appear in the announcement.
Ten Days Later
Liu Xing returned to his residence at 3:00 PM. During those ten days, he'd enjoyed himself quite a bit. After all, he had 100,000 yuan in cash, so he deposited 50,000 yuan into a bank card. His family knew the password to this bank card, so if he unfortunately lost this Cthulhu role-playing game, his family would receive 50,000 yuan "compensation." As for the remaining 50,000 yuan, Liu Xing spent it all within those ten days, fulfilling some of his wishes. The details of the process are, of course, unknown to outsiders.
After taking a shower, Liu Xing logged into the Cthulhu RPG lobby and entered the club interface. He discovered that the eighteen members participating in the game today had already joined a discussion group specially set up by Tumor.
After Liu Xing entered the discussion group, everyone in the group quickly agreed on a codeword: one person would ask the other person if their birthday was November 3, 1994. The person being asked would then answer that they were type A blood. Finally, the person asking would say they were a Scorpio. With this complete process, they had found the group.
After they decided on the codeword, it was only four o'clock, so everyone in the discussion group decided to start the game now.
Liu Xing took a deep breath and clicked the mouse, entering the game matchmaking interface for the Ghoul area.
Three seconds later, with a ding, Liu Xing felt his vision blur and found himself sitting in a car.
Scenario: Lord of the Castle
Difficulty: Easy
Number of Players: Five
Plot Background: In 21st-century England, many old, stately castles still exist, where some established aristocrats still reside. In a small town called Ains (a fictitious location near Manchester, England), there stands one such castle. However, aside from the innkeeper, no one in the town has ever seen the castle's lord.
Player Character Sheet
Name: Liu Xing
Occupation: Doctor
Education: Postgraduate
Birthplace: Rongcheng, Shu, China
Gender: Male
Age: [missing context]
Background: Born into a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, Liu Xing has studied Chinese medicine since childhood, resulting in impressive medical skills at a young age. He also studied psychology in college. While his physical fitness is somewhat lacking, he possesses a leaping ability far superior to that of an average person. At the university athletic meet, he dominated the high jump among his peers.
Relationship to This Scenario: Liu Xing, an intern at a hospital, finally secured a seven-day vacation. As a Manchester United fan, he traveled to Manchester, England, to watch the Manchester derby. After the game, Liu Xing learned from a nearby fan that 30 kilometers west of Manchester, there's a small town called Ains, home to an ancient castle that foreign tourists can visit. However, since there's no bus service between the town and Manchester, Liu Xing had to take a taxi to Ains.
Character Attributes
Strength:
Constance:
Willpower:
Luck:
Agility:
Appearance:
Build:
Intelligence:
Inspiration:
Education:
Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge:
Sanity:
HP:
MP:
Damage Bonus: None
Skills: First Aid 80, Medicine 78, Psychology 70, Psychoanalysis 70, Persuasion 60, Reconnaissance 60, Jump 60