Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 389: Collar and Iron Plate

Liu Xing shook his head and spoke seriously, "We shouldn’t act recklessly at this moment because we might not yet have a chance to kill Gu Master Chaxi. First, we need to eliminate the Troll hiding in the Panlong Town Clinic to obtain the item that can restrain Gu Master Chaxi. Then, after observing Gu Master Chaxi’s movements, we can consider taking action."

Hearing Liu Xing’s words, Xiao Mochen could only nod and say, "Alright, anyway, my father will return to his original state at the next time point, so whatever we do now won’t affect him in the next time point. I’ll give him some money later and send him to Zha Kang. But the thought of him eating human flesh is really disgusting..."

Liu Xing shrugged. It was indeed disgusting to think about eating human flesh, but Xiao Mochen’s willingness to consider the bigger picture pleased him.

After all, it’s not the formidable opponents that one should fear, but rather the teammates who act foolishly. If Xiao Mochen were to make a rash decision and provoke Gu Master Chaxi, not only would he likely meet his demise, but he might also drag down the rest of their group, leading to a complete wipeout.

At that moment, Xiao Dafu excitedly walked over, holding a leather collar that appeared to have some age to it. What was most important was that Liu Xing keenly sensed that this collar was indeed related to the black cat demon. He could feel a strange aura emanating from it.

In simple terms, this collar had an unusual scent, reminiscent of a cat’s litter box that hadn’t been cleaned in a few days.

Xiao Dafu finally noticed Liu Xing and asked with some confusion, "Um, son, who is this?"

Xiao Mochen first took the collar from Xiao Dafu’s hand and then handed the money to him, impatiently saying, "This is a friend of Hu Cang’s, a rich second-generation from the Island Nation. He likes collecting odd things, so I thought of you since you mentioned you had the black cat demon’s collar in your collection. Therefore, I decided to give the black cat demon’s collar to him, as a form of goodwill."

This was the setup Liu Xing and Xiao Mochen had discussed on the way. Liu Xing didn’t want to engage in a mental conversation with Xiao Dafu, fearing that Xiao Dafu might spread the information, especially to Gu Master Chaxi.

So, Liu Xing transformed himself into a rich second-generation collector from the Island Nation. He nodded and casually spoke a few sentences in Island Nation’s language.

Xiao Dafu was initially taken aback, then attempted to snatch the collar from Xiao Mochen’s hand. However, Xiao Mochen had prepared for this, knowing what kind of person his father was. Before coming here, Xiao Mochen was sure that once Xiao Dafu heard him say those words, he would try to take the collar back, hoping to sell it for a high price after witnessing its potential value.

Therefore, Xiao Mochen easily evaded Xiao Dafu’s attempt to snatch the collar and frowned, saying, "What are you trying to do? The collar is already in my hands. Do you still want it back?"

Xiao Dafu felt somewhat embarrassed and nodded reluctantly, saying, "I just wanted to show my son this collar. Son, why did you take it away so quickly? Please return it to me."

Xiao Mochen smirked and looked down on Xiao Dafu, saying, "Haha, do you think I’m a three-year-old who doesn’t understand your lies? You wanted to sell this collar at a high price to Mr. Ryuusei, didn’t you? I advise you not to dream of making a fortune here. This collar, with its mysterious origin, doesn’t seem much different from an ordinary collar. How can you expect to fetch a high price for it?"

Xiao Dafu, thick-skinned, reluctantly nodded but still said, "Well, you’re right in saying that. The collar may not look impressive, but it has been passed down through our family for generations. So, even though it doesn’t look like much, it’s an antique. If I sell it to this Island Nation person, I should at least get a couple of thousand for it."

Xiao Mochen chuckled and looked at Xiao Dafu with disdain. "You really think others are fools, huh? Even if this collar is genuinely an antique with a history of several hundred years, it still won’t fetch a high price. This collar lacks any historical or collectible value, just like those ordinary rocks by the roadside. They’ve been around for thousands or tens of thousands of years, right? So, this collar might sell for a few tens of dollars at best. I was actually planning to give it to Mr. Ryuusei for free, so giving you two hundred dollars is already generous. If you’re not satisfied, you can return the money, and I’ll give you the collar back."

Xiao Mochen’s retreat left Xiao Dafu flustered, and he quickly smiled and walked downstairs. Most likely, he was going to find Gu Master Chaxi.

At this moment, Xiao Mochen handed the collar to Liu Xing and said, "Mr. Ryuusei, I apologize for the inconvenience caused. My father can be quite a scoundrel."

Liu Xing smiled and patted Xiao Mochen on the shoulder. "Every family has its issues; I understand how you feel, Xiao Mochen."

Xiao Mochen forced a smile and accompanied Liu Xing to the door before returning to take care of his mother.

Liu Xing finally had a chance to examine the collar in his hand. It was indeed an item.

The black cat demon’s collar had once belonged to the black cat demon and represented the final bond between the black cat demon and its owner. When a player carried this collar while approaching the black cat demon, the black cat demon’s attitude would change.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. From the collar’s description, it was clear that the black cat demon was located in Panlong Town and was likely in a living or spiritual state.

So why hadn’t Green Willow and Hu Li mentioned the existence of the black cat demon? Could it be that Green Willow and Hu Li had ulterior motives?

Liu Xing sighed. It seemed that this module was indeed shrouded in mystery. Just when he thought he had found a helper and had grasped the main thread of the module’s plot, he now realized that this so-called helper might also be plotting against him.

Troublesome.

With a headache, Liu Xing returned to the clinic, where Zhang Jingxu and the others were chatting with Hu Cang.

Liu Xing hadn’t spoken yet when Zhang Jingxu and the others turned their attention to him simultaneously, which startled Liu Xing.

However, he quickly understood that it was probably the strange scent emanating from the black cat demon’s collar that had made Zhang Jingxu and the others aware of his return.

Moreover, on his way back to the clinic, Liu Xing had been constantly stared at by passersby, making him feel uncomfortable.

"Ryuusei, what’s that smell on you? It’s so... strange," Zhang Jingxu said, pinching his nose.

Liu Xing shrugged and waved the black cat demon’s collar in his hand, saying, "I got this black cat demon’s collar from Xiao Dafu. Judging by this strange scent, I believe it’s highly likely to be the real deal. After all, such a strong odor couldn’t be produced by an ordinary cat."

Zhang Jingxu nodded and smiled, saying, "You’re right. For animals, especially supernatural creatures like the black cat demon, their emitted scent can be used to mark territory. The stronger the scent, the more intimidating it becomes. So, if this collar’s scent remains so potent even after hundreds of years, it’s a strong indicator that it indeed belonged to the black cat demon."

Liu Xing placed the black cat demon’s collar on a nearby counter. After all, no one wanted to hold onto something with such a peculiar scent.

Fortunately, the scent from the black cat demon’s collar didn’t linger on Liu Xing, or else he might have unlocked an achievement in this module: "Avoided by Strangers."

By now, it was almost noon, so Hu Cang went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jingxu began telling Liu Xing about what they had discovered that morning when he and his companions, Wan Chongshan and Li Dian, were wandering around Panlong Town while Liu Xing was searching for Hu Li.

After Liu Xing had left, the three of them bid farewell to Hu Cang and joined the crowds of people at the market. They quickly noticed something unusual: a thief was spotted by pedestrians, but instead of reacting, people ignored the thief and continued shopping. The thief brazenly moved on to steal from someone else.

Realizing that something was amiss with the thief, Zhang Jingxu cornered him at an opportune moment and, after some intimidation and persuasion, obtained an iron plate from the thief.

According to the thief, he had found the iron plate on the road before entering Panlong Town. He thought it looked nice and casually kept it in his pocket before coming to the town.

However, being an inexperienced thief, he was quickly discovered by the owner when he attempted to steal for the first time in Panlong Town. To his surprise, the owner completely ignored him and continued shopping. After several attempts, he realized that he had become invisible to the people around him. Still, if he made too much noise, he would attract attention.

With this newfound power, the thief continued stealing in Panlong Town until Zhang Jingxu and his companions caught him.

As responsible citizens, Zhang Jingxu and his friends confiscated the iron plate from the thief and sent him away. After a professional examination by Zhang Jingxu, it was determined that the iron plate was likely a magic item that could reduce the bearer’s presence. However, this iron plate was not without its drawbacks, as it absorbed the user’s life force.

Zhang Jingxu believed that they had saved the thief’s life because if he had continued carrying the iron plate for an hour, he would have died on the spot.

After storing the iron plate safely, Zhang Jingxu and his companions continued their exploration but didn’t come across anything else unusual except for finding a delicious-looking skewer shop.

After Zhang Jingxu finished his story, he handed the iron plate to Liu Xing.

Liu Xing took the iron plate, which was about the size of an ID card and had intricate patterns on one side. He couldn’t understand the meaning of these patterns, but they gave him a sense of mystery.

As for the text, it consisted of two characters that resembled ancient pictographs, and their meaning eluded Liu Xing’s comprehension.

However, Liu Xing was still able to decipher the information about the iron plate.

Origin Unknown: Mysterious Iron Plate (Cannot be taken out of the module). When the bearer activates this iron plate by positioning the text side outward, it automatically consumes 1 HP from the bearer. Additionally, every fifteen minutes, it consumes an additional 1 HP. It makes human NPCs in the vicinity ignore the bearer’s presence. PS: This iron plate seems to have some other effects.

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. This was another item that couldn’t be taken out of the module.

However, the effect of this iron plate was quite peculiar. It allowed the bearer to go unnoticed by human NPCs, which could be advantageous or disadvantageous depending on the situation. This effect only worked on human NPCs, making it useful when dealing with characters like Xiao Mochen or Zhong Rensan to gather information. However, it had no effect on non-human NPCs like Hu Li.

But the question remained: Was Gu Master Chaxi considered a human?

If Gu Master Chaxi was classified as human, then this iron plate would be highly useful.

Thinking of this, Liu Xing asked, "By the way, is this iron plate effective against Gu Master Chaxi? Although Gu Master Chaxi has used witchcraft to alter his body, fundamentally speaking, he should still be considered a human, right?"

As Liu Xing spoke, he handed the iron plate to Zhang Jingxu. After all, Liu Xing was concerned that he might accidentally activate the iron plate and lose 1 HP for no reason.

Zhang Jingxu took the iron plate and shook his head, saying, "Regarding whether Gu Master Chaxi is truly human, I can only say that I’m not entirely sure. I’ll need to see Gu Master Chaxi with my own eyes to confirm."

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