After confirming the interlude growth of his character card, Liu Xing planned to exit the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall. However, at that moment, he received a message from someone named "Boys are True Love" (a newly promoted manager making a cameo from the book club group).
A chill went down Liu Xing's spine upon seeing this ID—could it be that someone had taken an interest in him?
Despite his trepidation, Liu Xing opened the message, as he didn't expect to receive any spam in the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall.
He quickly realized that the ID belonged to Chen Ling. Since both Liu Xing and Chen Ling were members of the same club, Chen Ling had gotten hold of Liu Xing's ID through an administrator named Du Liu.
Chen Ling's message to Liu Xing was a simple request: to give him a heads-up before starting the next session of the Cthulhu RPG Game, offering them another chance to collaborate. After all, Chen Ling had witnessed Liu Xing's capabilities firsthand. In this last game, Liu Xing had almost single-handedly driven the narrative forward, making him the uncontested MVP of the session.
Liu Xing also recognized Chen Ling as a valuable teammate. First and foremost, Chen Ling's profession as a veteran made him a classic combat role, perfectly complementing Liu Xing's support role. Moreover, Chen Ling's character was commendable, willing to make sacrifices for the team (such as taking care of Bai Hecheng).
The only thing that gave Liu Xing pause was Chen Ling's ID, which made him somewhat wary since Liu Xing was straight.
Nevertheless, Liu Xing responded to Chen Ling, expressing that he had greatly enjoyed their cooperation and agreed to notify him before the next Cthulhu RPG Game commenced.
After responding, Liu Xing closed the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall and, following a shower, lay in bed to mull over the details of the gaming session, assessing his gains and losses.
This habit of reflection, influenced by his grandfather, led Liu Xing to review and contemplate the lessons learned from significant events, especially in the quiet of the night.
For instance, Liu Xing recognized that at the beginning of this Cthulhu RPG Game, he maintained a high level of vigilance. He even suspected the tavern owner might try to sabotage him, given the owner's possession of an EinsCastle pass—clearly indicating some unspeakable connection with the lord of the Castle. Thus, after leaving EinsCastle, Liu Xing opted not to let Chen Ling drive back to the Eins village. Instead, they took the highway back to Manchester, fearing an ambush possibly orchestrated by the tavern owner at the behest of someone named Gary.
However, as the game progressed and everything seemed to go smoothly, Liu Xing let his guard down. This lapse in vigilance occurred when they ascended to the second floor of the Castle's main building, leaving him utterly unprepared for Isabella's charm. Of course, Liu Xing mused that no matter how cautious he might have been, resisting Isabella's allure would have likely been impossible.
Reflecting on Isabella's enchantment, Liu Xing thought he should have recognized something was amiss, considering his preference for mature women. How could he have so easily betrayed his beliefs and fallen for the charms of a younger girl?
Just kidding, in actuality, when Liu Xing passed the inspiration check and realized there was something off about the picture frame, he should have suspected that something was amiss with Isabella. After all, at that time, Liu Xing was unaware that Isabella had been sealed in the room by Gary. Therefore, when Isabella did not leave the room with him at first and instead asked him to bring the picture frame up to her, Liu Xing feels that he should have harbored some doubts. Such suspicions might have led him to uncover Isabella's odd behavior. Regrettably, he was too eager to leave EinsCastle at that time and didn't think too much of it.
By the time it came to leave EinsCastle, Liu Xing failed to notice the locked room twice, the door of which was ajar. Fortunately, Bai Hecheng's fool's luck came through when he closed the basement entrance, because if Gary had left the basement and pursued them, even with Isabella controlling a Ghoul to attack Gary, they likely would have suffered a loss of some SAN points. Liu Xing even suspects that with Isabella's sly and malicious nature, it's quite possible she would have commanded the Ghoul to kill them all!
In summary, although he safely got through the Cthulhu RPG Game this time, many issues were revealed, and on several occasions, he nearly met his demise. The reason was his own lack of caution, forgetting that he was in the Cthulhu mythos world where his life could be snatched away at any moment.
Moreover, Liu Xing realized another problem: in the Cthulhu RPG Game, he had overlooked the threat posed by his own teammates. Bai Hecheng is a prime example—a player with a SAN value just above ten is undoubtedly a ticking time bomb for the team. Although Bai Hecheng didn't "explode" this time, he still caused quite a bit of trouble for Liu Xing and the others.
This made Liu Xing remind himself that in the next Cthulhu RPG Game, he must be wary of his teammates.
After reflecting on these events, even though it was just past seven in the evening, Liu Xing chose to go to sleep, considering he had "spent" over ten hours in the Cthulhu RPG Game and was mentally exhausted.
April 1st, April Fool's Day.
Liu Xing had just gotten out of bed when he received a call from Wu Lei, "Liu Xing, come to the board game store and rescue me; I'm trapped here by a group of Ghouls!"
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. He hadn't actually seen a Ghoul… well, he hadn't truly seen one, but he had seen a body bitten by one.
So, Liu Xing responded, "Hey Wu Lei, I've found a real Cthulhu RPG Game where you can play like in the Main God Space. Want to give it a try?"
"Cut it out, your April Fool's joke is way too fake. Anyway, I've got to go back to my hometown for ancestor worship now, bye." With that, Wu Lei hung up.
Liu Xing put down his phone, smiling helplessly. What he had said was actually true.
However, it indeed was only three days until the Qingming Festival, and Liu Xing had to return to his hometown for the ancestral rituals as well.
Thus, Liu Xing packed a few clothes and returned home. This time, bringing home a few thousand yuan and gifts for his parents, he claimed it was his salary from the new hospital, so his father didn't have any more complaints.
April 4th, Qingming Festival.
After paying homage to his ancestors, Liu Xing returned to his rented apartment. After all, the Qingming Festival gift package had just been launched at the Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall.