Reflection

After confirming his Character Card's Intermission Growth, Liu Xing planned to exit the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG Game Hall directly. Just then, however, he received a message from someone with the ID "Boys Are True Love" (a cameo from a newly promoted admin in the Reader Group).

The moment Liu Xing saw that ID, a chill ran down his spine. Had someone taken a fancy to me?

Still, Liu Xing opened the message. He did not think anyone in this Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG Game Hall would be bored enough to send spam.

After opening it, Liu Xing learned that it was Chen Ling's ID. Since he and Chen Ling belonged to the same Guild, Chen Ling had obtained his ID from the admin called Tumor.

Chen Ling's message was simply asking Liu Xing to let him know when he started his next Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG session, so they would have a chance to work together again. After all, Chen Ling had witnessed Liu Xing's abilities firsthand. In this Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, Liu Xing had practically driven the entire plot forward by himself, which was why he had become the MVP.

Liu Xing also thought Chen Ling was a good teammate. First, Chen Ling was a veteran, a typical combat-oriented profession that perfectly complemented Liu Xing's support role. Second, Chen Ling had a very good personality and was willing to make sacrifices for the team—such as looking after Bai He Cheng.

Of course, the only thing that gave Liu Xing some reservations was Chen Ling's ID. It made him a little wary, considering he was straight...

So Liu Xing replied that he had enjoyed working with Chen Ling and agreed to notify him in advance when he joined his next Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG session.

After replying, Liu Xing closed the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG Game Hall. He took a shower, lay down in bed, and began recalling the details of this session, reviewing his gains and losses.

Liu Xing had picked up this habit from his grandfather. Whenever he experienced something important, he would reflect late at night, when all was quiet, on what he had gained and lost, as well as the lessons and experience he could draw from it.

For example, Liu Xing felt that he had remained sufficiently vigilant at the start of this Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG. He had even suspected that the tavern owner might trip him up. After all, the tavern owner had a pass for Ains Castle, which clearly suggested some unspeakable connection with the Castle Lord. Therefore, after leaving Ains Castle, Liu Xing had not let Chen Ling drive back to Ains Town and return to Manchester by highway. He had been worried that the tavern owner might receive a call from Gary and set an ambush for them in Ains Town.

But by the middle of the game, everything had gone so smoothly that Liu Xing began to let his guard down. After reaching the second floor of the Castle Main Building, he had not been the least bit wary and ultimately fell under Isabella's charm... Of course, Liu Xing felt that even if he had been more vigilant, he could not possibly have resisted Isabella's charm.

Speaking of Isabella's charm, now that Liu Xing thought it over carefully, he should have realized something was wrong with his state at the time. As a mature-woman enthusiast, how could he so easily betray his beliefs and defect to the Lolita Complex camp?!

Just kidding. In truth, when Liu Xing passed the Inspiration Check and discovered that something was wrong with the photo frame, he should have known Isabella was suspicious. At the time, Liu Xing did not know Gary had sealed Isabella inside the room. So when Isabella had not followed him downstairs after they left the room, and had instead asked him to bring the photo frame upstairs to her, Liu Xing felt that if he had harbored even the slightest suspicion back then, he might have noticed that something was off about Isabella. Unfortunately, he had been too eager to leave Ains Castle and had not thought much about it.

When they were finally preparing to leave Ains Castle, Liu Xing had failed twice to notice that the door to the Locked Room was ajar. Fortunately, Bai He Cheng was blessed by foolish luck and ultimately closed the basement entrance. Otherwise, if Gary had left the basement and pursued them, even with Isabella controlling the Ghouls to attack Gary, their group would probably have lost some SAN Value. Liu Xing even suspected that, given Isabella's sinister and calculating nature, she might very well have ordered the Ghouls to kill them!

All in all, although he had cleared this Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG without any real danger, many problems had been exposed. Several times, those problems had nearly gotten him killed. The reason was still that he had not been cautious enough and had forgotten that he was in the Cthulhu Mythos world, a place that could take his life at any moment!

Moreover, Liu Xing realized another issue: in the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, he had actually overlooked the threat posed by his teammates. Bai He Cheng was a perfect example. A Player with barely more than ten points of SAN Value was undoubtedly a Time Bomb for the entire team. Though Bai He Cheng had not "exploded" this time, he had still caused Liu Xing and the others quite a bit of trouble.

This forced Liu Xing to remind himself that in the next Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, he had to stay on guard against his teammates as well.

After finishing his reflection, Liu Xing chose to go to sleep even though it was only a little past seven. After all, he had "spent" more than ten hours in the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG, and he was still mentally exhausted.

April 1st, April Fool's Day.

Just after getting out of bed, Liu Xing received a call from Wu Lei. "Liu Xing, come save me at the Tabletop Game Store! A bunch of Ghouls have trapped me inside!"

Liu Xing raised an eyebrow. He had seen Ghouls before... Well, he had not actually seen a Ghoul in person, but he had seen corpses that had been gnawed on by Ghouls.

So Liu Xing said, "Wu Lei, I found a real Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG. You can play it like the Main God Space. Want to join?"

"Tch, that April Fool's joke is way too fake. I'm not talking to you anymore. I'm heading back to my hometown to pay respects to my ancestors. Bye." With that, Wu Lei hung up.

Liu Xing put down his phone and smiled helplessly. He had been telling the truth.

But come to think of it, Qingming Festival was indeed only three days away. Liu Xing also had to return to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors.

So Liu Xing packed a few changes of clothes and went home. This time, he brought out several thousand yuan and gifts for his parents, claiming they were from the salary he had earned at his new hospital. As a result, Liu's Father did not say anything more to him this time.

April 4th, Qingming Festival.

After paying respects to his ancestors, Liu Xing returned to his rented apartment. After all, the Qingming Festival Gift Pack had gone on sale in the Cthulhu Mythos tabletop RPG Game Hall.

PS: Starting tomorrow, the protagonist's second tabletop RPG session begins. It is based on the first campaign the author ran with the Reader Group, and the entertainment value was explosive.