However, Isabella was also intelligent. After all, her Intelligence had reached 99, the human limit. She knew that if she controlled the ghoul to kill Gary, Gary's Sealing Technique would prevent her from leaving the room, and she would ultimately starve to death.
Therefore, Isabella planned to use Charm against Gary. Her charm had already surpassed the human limit; every word and gesture naturally carried a bewitching effect. Moreover, her Charm skill had reached 99. With the two combined, charming an Ordinary Human like Liu Xing was no challenge at all. She would not even need to pass a check—it would automatically succeed.
But Gary was no Ordinary Human. He was a mage, so he had always guarded against Isabella's Charm. Whenever he went to see her, he chose to wear sunglasses. As long as he could not clearly see Isabella's appearance, her Charm was ineffective against him. (In the setting of the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, many spells had to be cast face-to-face to succeed. That was really worth complaining about.) Without Charm, Isabella had no ability to fight back before Gary.
Thus, with no other option, Isabella could only lie low and feign weakness. Gary, mindful of his sibling relationship with Isabella, had continued using Blood Eternal Life to keep her alive.
Of course, Isabella had never revealed her ability to Control Ghoul. Therefore, Gary had always believed that the ghoul had been drawn in by his Personal Charm and had chosen to serve him. He kept that Time Bomb by his side, only to eventually suffer the consequences himself.
At last, Isabella got her chance. Liu Xing and the others arrived at Ains Castle. With a Listening skill of 99, Isabella naturally knew Liu Xing's group's every move just by hearing them. That was why Gary had said to Isabella, "I know your hearing is very good. You must know who has come to the second floor."
Naturally, Isabella heard Liu Xing arriving on the second floor. When Liu Xing reached her door, Isabella had already arranged a plan—a plan to free herself!
Thus, Liu Xing saw a delicate and pitiable Isabella playing the role of a little girl. Combined with Isabella's drug, Liu Xing was charmed the instant he entered the room and saw her. Guided by her words, he took Isabella for Gary's daughter and even filled in plenty of details himself, persuading himself completely.
From there, Isabella's plan went smoothly. She first had Liu Xing bring her the necklace that could undo the Sealing Technique. Then, when they left Ains Castle, she controlled the ghoul to kill Gary and Old Wayne. She shifted all responsibility for the foreign traveler's death onto Gary, cleared her own name, and became a free person.
Thinking this through, Liu Xing felt that his guess was all but certain. Yet he suddenly felt deeply aggrieved. After all that, he had been completely used by Isabella. No wonder Isabella's favorability toward him was only 20. Who would feel grateful toward a tool they had used?
When Liu Xing thought about how he had just been happily convinced that he had upheld justice and saved a beautiful little girl, only to discover that he had actually been charmed and toyed with by a hundred-year-old old woman, he felt immense pressure and could not even be bothered to complain.
Sure enough, the truth was always crueler than lies.
Liu Xing sighed helplessly and decided to ask KP004 his final question. "KP004, can I take a look at Bai He Cheng's Character Card?"
Liu Xing had always felt that something was off about Bai He Cheng. In this life-or-death Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, Bai He Cheng had acted so carefree, causing trouble everywhere without the slightest concern for his own survival. That went beyond merely being optimistic or big-hearted. Liu Xing believed Bai He Cheng had to have a problem!
Moreover, if Liu Xing remembered correctly, Bai He Cheng's Inspiration was not low either—it had reached 70. In Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG circles, Players had come up with a guide that included this point: as long as you were not in Africa, an attribute or skill around 70 could basically guarantee success on every check.
However, KP004 shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you can only choose to view two pieces of information from another Player's Character Card."
Liu Xing nodded, indicating that he understood. After all, a Character Card was a Player's trump card. No one would be willing to reveal their trump card to the public.
"Then, KP, tell me Bai He Cheng's SAN Value and identity." After thinking it over, Liu Xing decided those were the two things he most wanted to know about Bai He Cheng.
KP004 smiled and nodded. "Good choice. Then I'll tell you. Bai He Cheng's current SAN Value is 5, and his identity is cultist. I can also provide you with an extra piece of information: Bai He Cheng has already begun Ghoulification!"
Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. He had not expected Bai He Cheng's situation to be even crazier than he had imagined. He was a cultist with a single-digit SAN Value who was undergoing Ghoulification!
Who knew what Bai He Cheng had been through?
Still, Liu Xing figured he would probably never see Bai He Cheng again. The administrator named Tumor had once told him in the Guild that the Total Party Kill rate and mortality rate in the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG were extremely high. Furthermore, the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG Game Hall had an enormous Player Base, so it was basically impossible to meet Players you had played with before again.
Therefore, Liu Xing felt that, in Bai He Cheng's current state, he would either die or go insane in his next Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG. With only 5 SAN Value remaining, Bai He Cheng was hardly different from a madman.
What surprised Liu Xing, however, was that after losing just one point of SAN Value, he had continuously felt as though something was missing. Yet Bai He Cheng, who had possessed only a little over ten SAN Value when he joined this Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, had been able to act almost like a normal person. Was Bai He Cheng acting entirely on instinct?
But since he could no longer ask KP004 any more questions, Liu Xing could only bury his doubts in his heart.
"Then I'll tell you the other Players' questions and answers, and afterward I can send you back to the Real World." KP004 stood up and stretched. "Bai He Cheng's question was what would happen if a Player's SAN Value reached zero. The answer was that they would go permanently insane and remain in the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG. Wang Qi's question was whether there would be punishment for attacking or even killing teammates. The answer was that there were no teammates in the true sense in the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG. As long as you had a reasonable reason, you could attack or even kill other Players without punishment. Chen Ling's question was whether a character's background could be changed. The answer was that a character's background would change along with the setting of each Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG. As for Wang Si Yi, he said he had no questions."
As soon as KP004 finished speaking, Liu Xing's vision blurred, and he returned to the Real World once again.
PS: Please bookmark and vote for recommendations. Thank you all for your support.
Before you continue