Journey to the Castle

Liu Xing helplessly realized that his teammates really were unreliable. Chen Ling was a chatterbox, Bai He Cheng was a drama queen who loved adding scenes for himself, and Wang Si Yi looked like a Lone Wolf who might not cooperate with the team at all. As for Wang Qi, while he was not as bizarre as the other three, Liu Xing could tell that he had a fiery temper and might do something outrageous at any moment if Bai He Cheng provoked him...

In short, the road ahead was pitch-black...

Complaints aside, the story still had to continue. Liu Xing felt that it was time to "get acquainted" with Bai He Cheng and the others.

So Liu Xing put on a mildly surprised expression and looked at the three of them. "Oh, did your car break down too? My friend and I got a flat tire when we drove here as well."

Wang Qi had just been about to speak when Bai He Cheng beat him to it. "So that taxi at the entrance to town was yours. I was wondering who had so little public decency that they parked their car at the town entrance and blocked more than half of it, making it hard for us to park."

Liu Xing was speechless. Bai He Cheng was not just a drama queen; he had probably put points into a Taunt Skill too.

Chen Ling awkwardly scratched his head and said helplessly, "I parked that car there. I was getting ready to reverse and head back to Manchester when all four tires suddenly blew out at once, so I had no choice but to leave it there."

Wang Qi nodded and was just about to say something when Bai He Cheng cut in again. "I see. You guys really have terrible luck. Still, yours was an accident, while ours was caused by human error. This idiot Wang Qi actually forgot to fill up the car. Don't you think he's stupid?"

Liu Xing noticed that Wang Qi had clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead. He had clearly been enraged by Bai He Cheng. However, Wang Qi had not forgotten that he was currently playing a Cthulhu Mythos RPG, and he could not casually beat up a teammate in case something unexpected happened.

Liu Xing felt that if this were the Real World, Wang Qi would definitely beat Bai He Cheng to a pulp...

As for Wang Si Yi, he still looked utterly unconcerned, sitting to one side and silently eating his breakfast.

At that moment, the Tavern Owner came over with another breakfast and placed it in front of Bai He Cheng. "Is your car out of gas? When Old John gets back, I can have him fill it up for you. But you'll need to advance the fuel money first."

Liu Xing had just been about to take out his wallet and help pay for the gas when Bai He Cheng casually pulled out a wallet and directly produced a card. "Boss, can I pay by card?"

The atmosphere became extremely awkward.

In a small English town like Eins, Liu Xing and Chen Ling had walked through most of the town while looking for an auto repair shop and had not even seen an ATM. Liu Xing certainly did not think this Small Tavern accepted card payments.

Bai He Cheng seemed to realize something. He put his bank card back into his wallet, took out his phone, and said, "Then, boss, can I use Alipay?"

The atmosphere became painfully awkward.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Liu Xing took another hundred pounds from his wallet and handed them to the Tavern Owner. "Boss, please fill up their car while you're at it."

The Tavern Owner accepted the money and nodded. Then he glanced at Bai He Cheng, inexplicably sighed, and left.

Liu Xing felt that the Tavern Owner had already decided Bai He Cheng was an idiot...

As for Bai He Cheng, he continued complaining. "What kind of dump is this? Fine, it doesn't take cards, but it can't even use Alipay. This place is really some godforsaken backwater."

Everyone present, including Wang Si Yi, who had been silently eating, looked at Bai He Cheng in utter disbelief. After exchanging looks, they all reached the same conclusion: if anyone died during this session, Bai He Cheng would be the first.

Since Liu Xing had struck up a conversation with Bai He Cheng and the others, he naturally invited Chen Ling and the three of them to share a table. They chatted about this and that while exchanging some basic information.

Unfortunately, after probing a little, Liu Xing discovered that Bai He Cheng and the others were not from the same club as him. Fortunately, both Wang Qi and Bai He Cheng had combat-oriented builds. Wang Qi was a student at a sports university and had studied wrestling for over ten years. Bai He Cheng, on the other hand, was a philosophy major. However, since he had possessed an innate Taunt Skill since childhood, he often offended people and even got into conflicts, so he had taught himself fighting, Muay Thai, and other skills...

Wang Si Yi, like Liu Xing, was more of a support type, though he leaned more toward exploration. He was a journalist, and one who worked in Hong Kong at that...

Along with Chen Ling, a former soldier, Liu Xing felt that this team composition was quite good. Three frontliners handled combat, a journalist gathered enough intelligence, and he could restore his teammates' health and SAN Value. As long as they proceeded steadily, they should be able to...

Well, Liu Xing did not think his teammates would proceed steadily at all, because he suspected Bai He Cheng might provoke a Mythical Creature ahead of schedule...

Just then, the Tavern Owner brought over five small tokens. "My dear friends, these are passes for the castle. The castle's owner specifically entrusted them to me. If any visitors wanted to tour the castle, I was to give them these. It looks like you won't be leaving Eins Town today, so why not visit the castle? I'm sure its owner would be very willing to let you stay the night there, so long as you are willing to share some stories from your journey with him."

Liu Xing and the others accepted the small tokens from the Tavern Owner and discovered that the design on them was actually the Elder Sign!

Liu Xing frowned. If the castle's owner used the Elder Sign as the symbol on its passes, then Liu Xing could imagine that the castle walls might also be carved with Elder Signs. That meant the owner had some understanding of Mythical Creatures and was deliberately keeping them outside the castle.

Therefore, Liu Xing felt that the castle's owner was most likely something like a magician, rather than a Mythical Creature as he had initially assumed. After all, his first impression of a castle had been a lair inhabited by Mythical Creatures such as vampires, werewolves, and Ghouls.

But then again, humans could sometimes be even harder to deal with than Mythical Creatures!

After fiddling with the pass for a while, Bai He Cheng suddenly said excitedly, "I've never stayed in a castle in my life! Let's hurry up and finish breakfast, then go tour the castle!"

For the first time, everyone agreed with Bai He Cheng's suggestion. It was only nine thirty in the morning, and they estimated they would reach the castle before eleven. If they stayed there for more than twelve hours straight, it would still be before midnight, while the Cthulhu World became exponentially more dangerous after midnight.

So everyone quickly finished their breakfasts. After unanimously refusing Bai He Cheng's request to pack another breakfast, they headed for the castle under Wang Si Yi's lead.

As for why Wang Si Yi was in charge of leading the way, it was because he possessed the Navigation Skill. Simply put, Wang Si Yi could find the shortest route to the castle and remember it. That would make things much easier when Liu Xing and the others needed to leave—or escape from—Eins Town.

P.S. Please continue to support this with bookmarks and recommendations. I wonder whether Bai He Cheng is satisfied with his character? I'm satisfied with it, anyway. Hehe.