Even Less Reliable Teammates

Main Quest: Remain inside Ains Castle for more than 12 consecutive hours, then leave Ains Town to clear the game. If a Player leaves Ains Castle early, they will be considered Eliminated. However, if a Player can uncover the secret of Ains Castle, they may leave Ains Town directly and clear the game, with a bonus to their clear rating.

"By the way, I am KP004 for this Cthulhu Mythos RPG. Simply put, I am the host during a Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG session. I advance the plot according to the Players' chosen actions, so you can think of me as a GM in an ordinary game. Whenever a Player needs to use a skill for a check, you may silently call for 004 to communicate with me, then make the check. At that point, you may choose an Open Roll or a Hidden Roll. The result of an Open Roll will be announced to all Players, while the result of a Hidden Roll will be revealed only to the Player making the check. However, under normal circumstances, Hidden Rolls will produce the following sound effect to notify all Players."

As KP004 spoke, Liu Xing heard the sound of dice hitting the ground. It was not loud, but it was impossible to ignore.

"Also, when multiple Players are in a relatively enclosed environment, you may communicate with me to activate the Secret Room Space. Inside the Secret Room Space, you may converse as Players. Each use can last up to five minutes, and time will pass at the same rate as it does outside."

"Of course, as a friendly KP, if you are interested, you may try to persuade me to give you special treatment. But persuading me will be very difficult, hehe."

Liu Xing knew that he had probably encountered a KP with a twisted sense of humor this time.

As the host of a Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, a KP determined the direction of the plot to a certain extent. Most KPs in real life chose to help Players advance the plot properly and tended to favor them in death checks. Of course, there were also unscrupulous KPs who enjoyed screwing over Players and deliberately pushing them into a Fiery Pit. But the most troublesome kind were KPs like KP004, who had a twisted sense of humor, because you never knew whether the path they pointed out was a shortcut or a dead end...

Thinking of that, Liu Xing felt that his future was already pitch-black...

"Alright, enough nonsense. The game officially begins now. I hope you all perform well and put on a good show for me."

After KP004 finished speaking, Liu Xing regained control of his body. He exchanged a glance with Chen Ling, and the two of them turned toward the three people who had just entered the Small Tavern.

There were two men and one woman. Both men looked to be in their early twenties, while the woman appeared to be around thirty. None of them were particularly attractive, and they had the sort of appearance that could easily disappear into a crowd.

The noise Liu Xing had heard earlier had come from those two men. The man in the white shirt was still chattering endlessly about something, while the man in the black T-shirt sighed helplessly, occasionally offering a word or two in reply...

As for the middle-aged woman, she acted as though it had nothing to do with her and simply ignored the two men beside her.

Although Liu Xing knew that the three of them were Players, there was no overlap in their plots yet. He merely glanced at them before walking directly over to the Tavern Owner.

"Boss, do you serve breakfast here? My friend and I need something to eat." As Liu Xing spoke, he took out his wallet and generously handed the Tavern Owner one hundred pounds.

Seeing how generous Liu Xing was, the Tavern Owner's eyes lit up. He immediately took the hundred pounds from Liu Xing's hand and said with a smile, "Oh, my dear Chinese friend, I'll arrange some local specialty breakfast for you right away. By the way, are you here to sightsee in Ains Town? Then Ains Castle is a place you absolutely cannot miss."

Liu Xing smiled and nodded. "Of course. But my friend's car has broken down, so I wanted to ask when the repair shop next door will open."

The Tavern Owner thought for a moment before answering, "You mean the repair shop run by Old John? Then you're rather unlucky. Old John went to Manchester to buy supplies today, and he probably won't be back until three or four this afternoon."

Liu Xing frowned. According to this Main Quest, they only needed to leave Ains Town to clear the game. But Ains Town here should refer to the entire jurisdiction of Ains Town, not merely the street where Liu Xing currently was. Therefore, Liu Xing believed that cars would be an important means of transportation for Players leaving Ains Town.

Therefore, Chen Ling's taxi had to be repaired before they left Ains Town.

Thus, Liu Xing put on a troubled expression and said to the Tavern Owner, "Boss, we may be leaving Ains Town tomorrow to return to Manchester. Could you please tell Old John to repair our car as soon as he gets back? Our car is parked at the entrance to Ains Town right now. At the very least, all four tires need replacing. The price is negotiable."

As Liu Xing spoke, he took another thousand pounds from his wallet and placed them in front of the Tavern Owner.

The benefits of Liu Xing's high Credit Rating became apparent at that moment. He had not counted the money in his wallet carefully, but there seemed to be around two thousand pounds in total. Since this Game Time would only last about a day, he had no qualms about using money to Persuasion (Money) the Tavern Owner.

The power of money was enhanced in this evil capitalist country. There was no need for a check at all; Liu Xing directly persuaded the Tavern Owner. The Tavern Owner happily accepted the money and assured Liu Xing, "Don't worry. As soon as Old John gets back, I'll have him repair your car. Then I'll park it right in front of my tavern, and you can just come pick it up. I'll even fill up the tank for you!"

Liu Xing nodded in satisfaction, then led Chen Ling to a table and waited for their breakfast.

The other three Players sat down at the next table as well, deliberately raising their voices as they began talking. Clearly, they wanted to tell Liu Xing and Chen Ling about their Imported Plot.

After all, the Imported Plot was very important. It explained why the Players had come here. While Players in a Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG had considerable freedom of action, their actions still needed to make sense. For example, Liu Xing had come specifically to visit Ains Castle, so he could not simply turn around and leave for no reason.

Then Liu Xing learned why those three people had come to Ains Town.

The man in the white shirt was named Bai He Cheng, a student at a university in the capital. He had come to England this time to prepare for studying abroad at a certain university.

The man in the black T-shirt was named Wang Qi, while the woman was Wang Si Yi. Wang Si Yi was Wang Qi's aunt. This time, Wang Qi's parents and Wang Si Yi had come to England to travel together. However, Wang Qi's parents had returned home because of work, leaving only Wang Si Yi and Wang Qi to continue traveling.

After Bai He Cheng had finished dealing with his study-abroad arrangements, he met Wang Qi and Wang Si Yi at a restaurant. He helped them pay the bill after they had forgotten to bring money, so Wang Qi invited Bai He Cheng to travel with them. Thus, the three of them began traveling together.

However, they took a wrong turn while heading to Manchester. When they arrived in Ains Town, Wang Qi realized that he had forgotten to fill up their rental car, so they could only come into Ains Town to look for gasoline.

What left Liu Xing somewhat speechless was that Bai He Cheng was taking the role a little too seriously. He kept going on about Wang Qi forgetting to refuel, even though this was just the plot, not something Wang Qi had actually done. That was why Wang Qi and Bai He Cheng had gotten into an argument earlier...

As for Wang Si Yi, she had been slacking off the entire time, keeping herself completely out of it.

Liu Xing felt that these three teammates did not seem very reliable either...

PS: I randomized the personalities of the protagonist's teammates. I feel like this is heading toward a party wipe. Still, please bookmark and recommend it. Thank you, everyone.