Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 323: Shoggoth

Given the current circumstances, Liu Xing could reasonably conclude that Matsui Ichiro possessed the ability to control those mythical creatures to some extent. After all, Matsui Ichiro could summon those mythical creatures simply by reciting incantations, and once he finished reciting them, the creatures would automatically depart.

However, Liu Xing was still unclear about Matsui Ichiro’s purpose in summoning these mythical creatures this time. After all, these creatures had merely observed their group and had not taken any action. If it weren’t for Panda Pig’s keen observation, these mythical creatures wouldn’t have had any impact on them at all.

So, what was the significance of this plot encounter?

"Speaking of which, don’t you find Matsui Ichiro’s incantations a bit strange?" Ling Ishikawa asked seriously. "He had just recited them for a while, and I began to feel my consciousness blur. When I regained consciousness, Matsui Ichiro had already finished reciting the incantations."

Zhang Jingxu nodded and said sternly, "You’re right, there is something off about Matsui Ichiro’s incantations. I was mentally prepared from the moment he started reciting them, silently reciting a calming spell in my mind to stabilize my psyche. But I was still easily hypnotized. It seems that the level of the incantations Matsui Ichiro was using is quite high."

Liu Xing chuckled; this plot encounter was something Zhang Jingxu could have easily avoided with a simple calming spell. However, it indirectly proved that the simplest way to protect against Matsui Ichiro’s potential magic spells was to block one’s ears.

"In that case, our previous speculations about the Hypnotic Incense can be set aside," Liu Xing stated. "Now that we’ve witnessed Matsui Ichiro’s abilities, he can hypnotize us even without using the Hypnotic Incense. We were probably misled initially, imagining our opponent to be too powerful and adding too many assumptions."

As a loyal ally of Liu Xing, Ling Ishikawa immediately agreed, "You’re absolutely right. I think we may have overthought this. Matsui Ichiro might have just lit some incense to create an atmosphere, and we interpreted it as Hypnotic Incense. He might be an ordinary wandering Taoist or a slightly powerful con artist in the Jianghu, and we mistakenly associated him with the Ocean True Deity Sect, turning him from a nobody into a boss."

Great minds think alike.

Liu Xing looked at Ling Ishikawa and nodded in satisfaction, not expecting their thoughts to align so perfectly. At the same time, Zhang Jingxu, after some contemplation, also nodded and spoke, "You’re both correct. We may have overthought things at the beginning. Our perception of Matsui Ichiro was mostly based on those two letters from Inoue Kenjiro and Li Yongjie, as well as our own assumptions, without any actual investigation."

"While I was in the Fisher’s Village Ancestral Hall, trying to attract Matsui Ichiro and Alice’s attention, I also asked Matsui Ichiro a question about the content of his incantations. He told me that those incantations had been passed down through his ancestors and the Village Chiefs of Fisher’s Village for generations. They were meant to bring peace to one’s mind and temporarily forget the troubles of this world, in other words, a form of hypnosis."

"I carefully observed Matsui Ichiro’s expression and found that he appeared sincere, not like someone telling lies. After this visit to the Ancestral Hall and my interaction with Matsui Ichiro, I have a bold hypothesis. Matsui Ichiro might not be an outsider or a missionary; he could be the real Village Chief of Fisher’s Village!"

Miyako Goudong frowned and asked, "So, Zhang Jingxu, are you suggesting that the Inoue family members are the antagonists, and Matsui Ichiro is a good person?"

Zhang Jingxu nodded and clarified, "No, I’m not saying that the Inoue family members are antagonists. Just like Liu Xing mentioned earlier, our initial perception of Matsui Ichiro was built on those two supposed letters from Inoue Kenjiro and Li Yongjie. But who can guarantee the authenticity of those two letters? Or even that Inoue Kenjiro truly knew Li Yongjie?"

Facing Zhang Jingxu’s doubts, Liu Xing fell into deep thought. He hadn’t expected Zhang Jingxu to delve so deeply into the matter. However, as Zhang Jingxu pointed out, who could ensure the truthfulness of those two letters’ contents? After all, the Side Quest only required them to find three letters, without specifying their authenticity.

So, it was entirely possible that they had jumped to conclusions, labeling Matsui Ichiro as the antagonist boss.

If that were the case, Liu Xing realized that all their previous speculations could be overturned, as they were all based on the premise that Matsui Ichiro was an antagonist.

At this moment, Ling Ishikawa asked, "If Matsui Ichiro is not a bad person, then who created the Composite Magic Array in this villa, and what was its purpose? And how do we explain the video about Matsui Yui on the Memory Card?"

The first to respond to Ling Ishikawa’s questions was Lu Tianya. "Let me share my thoughts. Firstly, I want to address your last question, Ling Ishikawa. The video on the Memory Card is easily explained. It shows that Matsui Yui was indeed married before, but for some reason, perhaps the sudden death of Yamashita Kojiro or a broken relationship, she returned to being single. She met Dogo Aige and fell in love again. Although Matsui Yui concealed this from us, it’s, at most, a form of deception and not a significant issue given our current situation."

"Regarding your previous two questions, they can be summarized as follows: There might be a hidden boss in Fisher’s Village, and Matsui Ichiro and Matsui Yui could be working under this boss, or they could be advanced puppets capable of autonomous action and thought. Did any of you notice that the ordinary villagers in Fisher’s Village seem to be like wind-up dolls, following predetermined actions?"

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow, impressed by Lu Tianya’s observation. The Fisher’s Village villagers did indeed resemble puppets controlled by invisible strings, following a predetermined schedule of actions. Just like the morning they had witnessed, as soon as the designated time came, the villagers rushed out of their homes and seamlessly found their collaborators, as if they had rehearsed it hundreds of times with flawless precision. Liu Xing had felt something was amiss with these villagers back then, and now, thanks to Lu Tianya’s reminder, he was certain that something was seriously wrong with them.

Furthermore, if Lu Tianya’s theory held true, that there was a hidden boss controlling Fisher’s Village and leaving Matsui Ichiro and Matsui Yui as its spokespersons, it could also explain the presence of the mythical creatures in Fisher’s Village. This hidden boss was likely the leader of these creatures. This would clarify many things.

But the role of the Inoue family in this module remained a mystery to be solved.

Now, all they had to do was wait for Panda Pig to wake up and describe the appearance of the mythical creature.

Everyone understood this and continued chatting while awaiting Panda Pig’s descent.

After a long while, they finally heard some movement from upstairs, and all eyes turned towards the staircase.

Panda Pig descended slowly, still looking a bit weak but with improved spirits.

"How are you feeling, Panda Pig?" Liu Xing asked with concern.

Panda Pig smiled and shook his head, saying, "Thank you for your concern, Ryuusei. I’m much better now. While I was in the Ancestral Hall, I suddenly saw a monster, and it gave me quite a fright. Fortunately, I only caught a glimpse at that moment; otherwise, I would have gone insane."

Hearing Panda Pig’s revelation, Ling Ishikawa immediately asked, "What? Panda Pig, you saw a monster? What did it look like?"

Panda Pig thought for a moment and replied, "The monster’s appearance was very strange. At first, I thought it was a snake, but I quickly realized it wasn’t. It appeared like flowing oil, with eyes that would appear and disappear!"

Indeed.

Liu Xing nodded, confirming the name of these mythical creatures: Shoggoth.

Yes, it was the Shoggoth of the Shoggoth Region. Liu Xing hadn’t expected to encounter Shoggoth in this module, as he believed he would encounter it when advancing to the next module. However, when he faced Ancient One Sirius, he had already guessed that Shoggoth might make an appearance since it was a mythical creature created by the Ancient One.

Before life existed on Earth, the Ancient One created Shoggoth as a construction tool to facilitate their colonization of the planet. Initially, the Ancient One created Shoggoth as a construction tool. However, to make Shoggoth more versatile and capable, they added some features that they would come to regret later. Each cell comprising Shoggoth’s amorphous body possessed remarkable shapeshifting and self-evolving abilities.

As amorphous entities, Shoggoth cells could rapidly reorganize and mimic various forms and organs, allowing Shoggoth to transform into any shape as instructed by its controller, exhibiting both flexibility and strength. Ancient One used Shoggoth to construct magnificent underwater cities.

But Shoggoth was still a form of life rather than a mere tool. As time passed, Shoggoth evolved gradually and developed its own consciousness. It began to resent the Ancient One’s unbridled exploitation and chose to rebel against its creators—the Ancient One clan.

Initially, Ancient One successfully suppressed Shoggoth’s rebellion, keeping a close watch on them. During this time, Shoggoth evolved to possess the ability to live on land. This development was not what Ancient One had hoped for.

By this point, Shoggoth had evolved to possess intelligence, and it understood that outright rebellion against the Ancient One was unwise. Instead, it decided to appease its creators and find a way to strike a fatal blow at the right time.

In Shoggoth’s lore, it was believed that Shoggoth once took on human-like appearances to please the Ancient One. As a result, some believed that in the world of the Cthulhu Mythos, Shoggoth might be the ancestors of humanity.

Shoggoth had mastered the art of biding its time. As Ancient One ceded more and more territory to the Great Old Ones and other mythical creatures, Earth’s landscape underwent significant changes. The Ancient One, once the sole ruler of the planet, was forced to abandon large portions of their domain and suffered severe defeats in crucial battles, weakening significantly.

This prompted Shoggoth to launch a new uprising, forcing the Ancient One to retreat to the deep sea.

Here, Liu Xing recalled a point Wu Lei had once made to him: H.P. Lovecraft used the Ancient Ones as a metaphor for humanity, and Shoggoth represented artificial intelligence.

This was H.P. Lovecraft’s prophecy that artificial intelligence would evolve like Shoggoth, develop true intelligence, and eventually overthrow its creators—the Ancient Ones, or in this case, humanity.

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