Fortunately, fortunately.
Liu Xing breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the symptom check for Baihecheng's temporary insanity.
After all, within the Cthulhu Mythos system, there are ten symptoms of temporary insanity. Pseudo-disability is the most severe, affecting only the insane individual. However, many of the remaining symptoms can render the insane extremely aggressive.
So, Baihecheng was fortunate in this misfortune, having avoided complete doom and gloom, and not causing excessive losses to the team.
However, the check wasn't yet complete. "The rest of the players, witnessing Baihecheng's body radiating cold air, this bizarre scene deeply shocked you. Please proceed with a 1d3 SAN check. Of course, since player Liu Xing has already experienced the same situation, only one SAN point will be deducted this time. All players will gain Cthulhu Mythos knowledge equal to the deducted SAN point."
As expected.
Liu Xing silently complained in his heart. Baihecheng's suicidal behavior ultimately led to a drop in the team's SAN value, but this was only natural and expected.
And so, the SAN value check began.
Chen Ling, 2 points.
Wang Qi, 2 points.
Wang Siyi, 1 point.
Liu Xing, 1 point.
Chen Ling and the others had been relatively lucky, not getting the maximum of 3. However, for Chen Ling and the others, this was undoubtedly an unprovoked disaster. Baihecheng's suicidal behavior had inexplicably caused their SAN value to drop. Anyone would be infuriated, especially in this life-or-death Cthulhu role-playing game, where SAN value is life!
So, Wang Qi stood up in a rage, ready to punch Baihecheng!
Fortunately, Chen Ling remained rational and stood up to stop Wang Qi. Liu Xing also stood up, grabbed Wang Qi, and began to persuade him, "Wang Qi, calm down. Things have already gotten this far. Let's not fight among ourselves to avoid further accidents. Besides, Baihe City is in a terrible situation now and has received the punishment it deserves."
Liu Xing's words calmed Wang Qi. With a cold snort, he returned to his seat and sulked.
Meanwhile, Baihe City silently rerolled the parchment and spoke with an unprecedented degree of seriousness: "This parchment contains the ritual method for summoning a projection of Cthulhu!"
Liu Xing was shocked when he heard Baihe City say this. As the face of the Cthulhu mythology, although Cthulhu wasn't the strongest Old One and had the weakness of a weak ship (a lifelong shame for Cthulhu), his strength was not to be underestimated. Even a single projection could wipe out his forces...
Therefore, Liu Xing immediately asked Baihecheng, "Baihecheng, does this parchment say that it must be used as a medium for the sacrifice?"
Generally speaking, rituals to worship evil gods require certain media, such as this parchment containing the instructions for summoning Cthulhu's projection. It's very likely that this is the necessary medium. Without the necessary medium, even if you follow the correct ritual procedures and offer a sufficient number and quality of offerings, it will be useless.
Thus, whether this parchment is the necessary medium for the sacrifice is crucial. After all, Liu Xing doesn't want to face Cthulhu so soon... or even be completely annihilated by him...
Unfortunately, Bai Hecheng silently shook his head. "No, this parchment isn't the medium for the ritual. It's the shattered evil god statue from three hundred years ago!"
Liu Xing was shocked. He hadn't expected the evil god statue buried in the backyard to be a statue of Mr. Ke. If that inspiration had worked, the SAN points he'd lost would have been significant.
According to the rules of the Cthulhu mission, if you encounter a Great Old One of Cthulhu's caliber, looking directly at him will result in a loss of 1d10 SAN points for successes, and 1d100 SAN points for failures. Even if it's a statue of Cthulhu, the loss would be at least 1d6 for successes and 1d10 for failures!
Liu Xing felt like he'd nearly gone mad before Bai Hecheng.
But what puzzled Liu Xing was that this was supposed to be an easy Cthulhu mission, so why had Mr. Ke, the great god, been brought in to oversee the situation? Even if it was just a projection, it was impossible for Liu Xing and his group of players to solve it.
This puzzled Liu Xing.
At this moment, Wang Siyi suddenly said, "If I remember correctly, the locked room is also near the back garden. So, if nothing unexpected happens, I believe the secret room, or rather the basement, we haven't discovered is located beneath the back garden."
Wang Siyi's suggestion was echoed by everyone. After all, based on the location, if there was a secret room in the locked room, the most likely extension would be into the back garden.
Liu Xing began to wonder if he could simply excavate the back garden to find the secret room.
"If you really want to do that, try to get an extremely lucky roll," kp004 suddenly said to Liu Xing.
A trap. This is definitely a trap!
If you're being nice, you're either a traitor or a thief!
Liu Xing didn't think kp004 would be so kind as to give him a heads-up. Furthermore, this was an extremely difficult luck roll, meaning Liu Xing could only succeed with a roll of 16 or less.
Furthermore, kp004 didn't explain what would happen if he failed this incredibly difficult luck check.
To be honest, Liu Xing felt he'd already guessed the outcome. After all, he was actually messing with Mr. Ke's head, and the thought of it was quite exciting...
So, Liu Xing decisively abandoned the idea.
Just then, kp004 said, "Alright, your time in the secret room is over now. Please adjust your mindset and language and continue your roleplay."
As soon as kp004 finished speaking, the secret room's effect ended.
Liu Xing's expression immediately shifted to one of surprise, and he said to Bai Hecheng, "Bai Hecheng, what's wrong with you?"
To Liu Xing's surprise, Bai Hecheng remained cheerful and said, "Nothing's wrong. When I opened this parchment, something seemed to trigger, and my whole body went numb, and I suddenly lost my sight."
Liu Xing raised a brow. He hadn't expected Bai Hecheng's pseudo-disability to manifest as blindness. This meant Bai Hecheng had completely lost his ability to move independently.
So, after discussing with Wang Qi and the others, Liu Xing decided that Chen Ling would assist Bai Hecheng. After all, Wang Qi was eager to give Bai Hecheng a beating, while Wang Siyi, citing the principle of "sexual intimacy," refused physical contact with Bai Hecheng.