Escape

Liu Xing brought Isabella and Bai He Cheng to the garage outside the Castle Main Building... Though rather than a garage, it was more like a carport. Two vintage cars and a van were parked beneath it. The vintage cars were the kind that could only seat two people and did not even have trunks, while the van was a relatively compact model that looked like it was meant for hauling cargo.

Now that Isabella had joined them, the Escape Squad had grown to six people. In theory, the three vehicles here were more than enough, but there was one problem they could not ignore: Chen Ling was the only one who had invested points in Driving Skill.

As mentioned before, this was a Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG. Even though Liu Xing had gotten his driver's license in the Real World and counted as a Veteran Driver, because this Character Card had not invested points in Driving Skill, if Liu Xing tried to drive now, he was practically destined to crash. Just like Wang Qi in the Imported Plot—because he had not invested points in Driving Skill, he got into a car accident the instant the game began...

So Chen Ling was the only one who could drive. He and Wang Si Yi chose the van with the greatest passenger capacity. Using Lockpicking—in other words, smashing the van's window by force—they opened the door. Chen Ling then passed a Luck Check, and the van's keys happened to be sitting in the driver's seat.

Of course, Wang Si Yi did not forget to check the van's fuel, lest KP004's twisted sense of humor kick in and it announce they were out of gas halfway through. Meanwhile, Chen Ling punctured the tires of the other two vintage cars. Once everything was ready, Chen Ling and Wang Si Yi took the driver's and front passenger's seats and waited for Liu Xing and Bai He Cheng to arrive.

Supporting Bai He Cheng with one hand and holding Isabella's hand with the other, Liu Xing hurried to the van. But at that moment, KP004 popped up to make its presence known again. "Heh heh, because this van's rated passenger capacity is four, only four of you can get in."

Everyone was speechless.

This was another major "feature" of Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPGs: they could be extremely rigid in certain respects. Just like now, the van's rated passenger capacity was four, so even though the same kind of van could fit ten people in the real world, in a Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, it could only seat four.

Those were the rules.

But Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPGs had another major feature: the rules were set by the KP. As long as you could persuade the KP, changing the rules was not impossible.

So Liu Xing said to KP004 with a grin, "Big Brother KP, look at how small Isabella is. If Sister Wang holds her, wouldn't they only take up one seat? So what do you think, Big Brother KP?"

Whether Liu Xing had persuaded KP004 or merely flattered it, KP004 finally said reluctantly, "Sigh, fine. We'll do as you say. As long as someone holds Isabella, she'll only count as one seat."

Liu Xing and the others breathed a sigh of relief, but Liu Xing quickly thought of another problem: Wang Qi was still at the castle gates. Were they not still one seat short?

But there was always a way when the cart reached the mountain. Liu Xing had no time to think about it further, so he hurriedly signaled Wang Si Yi to pick up Isabella, then stuffed Bai He Cheng into the van before climbing in last.

Seeing that everyone was aboard, Chen Ling started the van and drove toward the castle gates.

Because Liu Xing and the others had acted quickly, by the time the van reached the castle gates, only about three minutes had passed since Wang Qi activated the Electric Door Opener. That meant they would have to wait five minutes at the gates.

As for the Distraction Tactic they had planned at the start, no one knew where Gary had gone, so there was no need to carry it out. Besides, given the current circumstances, no one dared distract Gary. They might directly anger him and get shot in the head...

Wang Qi had already been waiting at the gates for Liu Xing and the others. But just as the van pulled up in front of him, Wang Qi received a prompt from KP004 and learned that there was no seat left for him in the vehicle.

Wang Qi's expression changed. After all, nobody wanted to be abandoned, especially in a life-or-death situation like this.

"Wang Qi, don't worry. We won't abandon you. We're good friends. If we leave, we'll definitely leave together." The moment Liu Xing saw Wang Qi's expression change, he knew Wang Qi's emotions might be unstable, so he immediately tried to comfort him.

Liu Xing's reassurance worked, and Wang Qi's expression finally returned to normal. However, he still said nervously, "Then what am I supposed to do now? The gates will open in five minutes."

Liu Xing frowned. He knew there was no way they could ask KP004 to let Wang Qi squeeze into the back seat now, so they had to find another solution.

At that moment, Bai He Cheng pulled a hemp rope out from under his seat and said with a smile, "Isn't this simple? Just tie Wang Qi to the roof with the hemp rope."

Everyone: "..."

A moment later, everyone was standing outside the van. If Gary came after them, staying inside the vehicle would be like waiting to be trapped in a jar, so they were better off outside, where it would be easier to run.

Naturally, since Bai He Cheng had proposed such a highly constructive suggestion, he was assigned the premium seat—the roof. KP004 also stated that there was nothing wrong with this arrangement.

Naturally, Bai He Cheng vehemently condemned the decision, but it did not do a damn bit of good.

Although Bai He Cheng was still tied to the roof and making a huge fuss, Liu Xing and the others clearly had no mood to pay attention to him. Everyone except Bai He Cheng stared tensely at the castle's Main Building, hoping Gary would not appear.

And so, amid their anxious wait, five minutes passed. The gates finally began to open slowly. Liu Xing and Wang Qi decisively rushed forward and pushed the gates from either side, trying to open a passage wide enough for the van as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, Chen Ling had already started the van. Wang Si Yi once again held Isabella in her arms in the front passenger seat, while Bai He Cheng on the roof continued rambling about all sorts of nonsense.

Another three minutes passed. Through Wang Qi and Liu Xing's efforts, the van could finally pass through the gates. Liu Xing and Wang Qi ignored the numb soreness in their arms and climbed straight into the van.

The instant the van left Ains Castle, Liu Xing could not help looking back. Gary still had not appeared.

Main Quest, Step One: Escape from Ains Castle successful. Keep up the good work and leave Ains Town as soon as possible.

KP004 said this in a regretful tone.

PS: The next chapter will be out before four o'clock.