Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 483: The Big Sweep (2)

Since opinions diverged, Liu Xing and his team split into two groups—Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa went to inspect the staff lounge, while Zhang Jingxu and Yis People went to the manager’s office to investigate.

Given the grand scale of Black Hand Barbarian’s operation, the staff lounge naturally wasn’t lacking in employees. Consequently, it was spacious and furnished with various amenities.

This increased the pressure on Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa during their search and left them feeling somewhat at a loss.

After all, Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa lacked relevant experience.

However, soon Liu Xing noticed something amiss.

There was a roster in the staff lounge showing that Black Hand Barbarian employed a total of twenty servers, yet only fifteen were scheduled to work today; the remaining five were on leave.

However, Liu Xing remembered seeing over twenty servers scattered around the lobby when they entered Black Hand Barbarian.

So, the numbers didn’t add up.

Rubbing his chin, Liu Xing pointed to the roster and said to Ling Ishikawa, "Ling Ishikawa, come take a look. According to this roster, there should only be fifteen servers working today. Considering our inspection, there should be even fewer servers at Black Hand Barbarian, as some latecomers would’ve been stopped by the police officers stationed outside. But if I recall correctly, there were over twenty servers outside."

Ling Ishikawa pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Indeed, the number of servers seems off. It appears that some Cult of the Cadaver followers have infiltrated among these servers, or perhaps all these servers are followers of the Cult of the Cadaver. Should we inform Chris about this?"

Shaking his head, Liu Xing replied, "Let’s not inform Chris for now. It might tip off the Cult of the Cadaver followers and even lead to their attack. Let’s continue searching here first to see if we can find more information."

After hearing Liu Xing’s words, Ling Ishikawa resumed the search.

Soon, Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa confirmed that the "servers" in the lobby were indeed Cult of the Cadaver followers. Ling Ishikawa found a master key in one of the lockers in the staff lounge, capable of opening all the lockers, where they found uniforms but no civilian clothes.

Silently, Liu Xing loaded his submachine gun, preparing for combat.

However, they didn’t find the underground passage they were looking for.

Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa had meticulously examined every wall and tested every floor tile but found no trace of the underground passage.

"It seems that this place truly lives up to being the territory managed by the Cult of the Cadaver for many years. They’ve designed the underground passage to be so discreet," Ling Ishikawa remarked with some admiration.

Liu Xing smiled and shook his head, saying, "Perhaps the underground passage isn’t designed in the staff lounge but elsewhere. After all, lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice... Well, let’s leave now. I believe Miguel has probably already figured out that the area under our feet is hollow."

"True, I remember Miguel can emit and receive ultrasonic waves, making it easy for him to determine the location of the passage. So, what are we fussing about now? We just have to wait for Miguel to act," Ling Ishikawa said earnestly.

...

Suddenly, Liu Xing felt that their group seemed to be wasting their efforts. They only needed Miguel’s intervention to locate the underground passage. What was the point of rummaging through here?

Thinking this, Liu Xing could only awkwardly say, "Participation matters, right? We can’t solely rely on Miguel to find the passage. Besides, we need to maintain appearances to avoid arousing suspicion from the Cult of the Cadaver followers."

While speaking, Liu Xing and Ling Ishikawa left the staff lounge.

At that moment, Zhang Jingxu and Yis People happened to come out of the manager’s office.

"How’s it going?" Liu Xing asked.

Shaking his head, Zhang Jingxu said somewhat helplessly, "We’ve basically got nothing. Both Liu Xing and I thoroughly searched the manager’s office but found no entrance to the underground passage. However, we did find a Ghoul statue in the manager’s office."

Liu Xing nodded, suddenly remembering something—the Ghoul statue they found in the pub outside the QuarryBank Textile Factory, which had a strange arm inside. He wondered how Chris had dealt with it in the end.

Liu Xing thought it might be worth asking Chris about it later if he had the chance.

Meanwhile, Ling Ishikawa informed Zhang Jingxu and Yis People of their discoveries in the staff lounge.

"In that case, those external servers are likely all Cult of the Cadaver followers. Also, I noticed that they were sitting in shaded areas, so I suspect they’ve concealed weapons there," Yis People said seriously.

Liu Xing nodded and said, "After we meet up with Chris in the lobby, I’ll inform him of our findings. You all should be vigilant of the movements of those Cult of the Cadaver followers. Also, I suspect there might be some strange mechanisms in the lobby, so everyone must be cautious."

At that moment in the lobby, Chris was still chatting with John while others searched the area.

As for the "fake servers," they were still sitting in their original positions, chatting away. However, Liu Xing noticed that these "fake servers" were eyeing their group.

Moreover, these "fake servers" appeared similar to ordinary people, so the possibility of them being mafia members could be ruled out.

So, it was almost certain that these "fake servers" were Cult of the Cadaver followers.

"Chief Chris, there’s something I need to discuss with you," Liu Xing said as he approached.

Chris nodded, following Liu Xing to a secluded spot away from the crowd.

There, Liu Xing briefed Chris on the situation in the staff lounge and manager’s office, along with his speculations.

Chris furrowed his brow and said, "I’ve been suspicious of these servers. I’ve been to Black Hand Barbarian several times before, and the number of servers wasn’t this high. Just now, their eyes were fixed on me, and when I glanced back, they looked nervous, hands under the table as if ready to strike."

Liu Xing nodded, then turned to John, asking, "So, what’s the deal with this John? Is he with the Cult of the Cadaver?"

Chris shook his head, affirming, "John probably isn’t with the Cult of the Cadaver. I asked him about those servers earlier, and John said the boss above closed several bars elsewhere in Manchester temporarily and sent these servers here for training. But these servers are all acting carefree, which has been troubling John... As a police chief, I can tell when someone’s lying."

Liu Xing nodded in agreement, acknowledging Chris’s keen psychological skills.

"By the way, Mr. Chris, do you remember what happened with that arm we found last time? How did you handle it?" Liu Xing inquired.

Chris furrowed his brow, sighed, and replied, "With all the recent events, Ryuusei, if you hadn’t mentioned it, I might have forgotten about it. After receiving the arm, we discovered it wasn’t human. So, I couldn’t bring it back to the police station for examination. Instead, I called in Buke to inspect it, and what we found was astonishing."

"Buke quickly confirmed that the arm wasn’t human due to its different internal structure. Additionally, the arm had formed a subtle internal circulation, implying it could function independently. But most importantly, the arm exhibited some activity; its blood circulated at an extremely slow pace. If Buke hadn’t diligently examined it under a microscope for an hour, we wouldn’t have been sure," Chris explained.

Frowning, Liu Xing expressed his doubts, "It seems this arm likely originated from a powerful mythical creature with exceptional regenerative abilities. Even as just an arm, it could regenerate into an individual. But since these Ghoul statues are likely creations of the Cult of the Cadaver, the owner of this arm probably has ties to them. And Mr. Chris, don’t you think there might be severed limbs inside the two Ghoul statues in Black Hand Barbarian?"

Glancing at the Ghoul statues on the counter, Chris stroked his chin and said, "Indeed, that’s a possibility. But we don’t have a reason to break those Ghoul statues just yet."

Liu Xing nodded, deciding to change the subject, "Let’s put aside the issue with those Ghoul statues for now and deal with those Cult of the Cadaver followers first."

"Agreed, that’s what I was thinking too. Once you’re ready, Liu Xing, my team will go check those Cult of the Cadaver followers. If they show any signs of aggression, open fire immediately, don’t give them a chance," Chris instructed before returning to the crowd.

Meanwhile, as Chris organized the mission, John hurriedly approached, wanting to intercept them. But Ryuzaki stepped forward, blocking John, and asked, "What are you up to, Mr. John?"

Sweating profusely, John stammered, "Uh... I’ll be honest with you all. These servers are illegal immigrants smuggled in from abroad, so the new boss asked me to temporarily accommodate them..."

Before John could finish, Chris suddenly lifted his submachine gun, shouting, "Everyone, hands up and heads down!"

The Cult of the Cadaver followers then brandished various firearms, clearly not intending to surrender.

A shootout seemed inevitable.

However, just then, a sudden change occurred!

Before Liu Xing could shoot, the Cult of the Cadaver followers began howling in agony, collapsing to the ground with pained expressions, their weapons scattered.

"What’s happening?!" John exclaimed, alarmed.

Frowning, Liu Xing kept his gun trained on the Cult of the Cadaver followers.

Meanwhile, the fallen Cult of the Cadaver followers, like scenes from a biohazard crisis, began rupturing all over their bodies, turning into blood men.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

A minute later, the blood men ceased their agonized wails and stood up.

Liu Xing could see that the blood men had lost all vitality in their eyes.

"Fire!" Chris ordered.

After a volley of shots, the blood men fell once more, motionless.

"These blood men move slowly and seem unable to evade. Their resistance is also weak. It appears that the Cult of the Cadaver didn’t intend to turn them into biological weapons. So, I think the Cult of the Cadaver is trying to tell us that once they complete their magic spells, everyone in Manchester will become like this," Alice said with a grim expression.

Frowning, Liu Xing surveyed the surroundings and noticed several surveillance cameras.

"Damn it, if things go as expected, our every move has been recorded by the Cult of the Cadaver. Most likely, they’ll upload this video online. England officials will have their hands full. If the PR isn’t handled well, Manchester will be in chaos," Liu Xing said helplessly.

Miguel nodded, adding, "Exactly. The Cult of the Cadaver has already uploaded the video to Oil Turtle, along with our location and identities. With their clandestine promotion, the video has garnered tens of thousands of views and thousands of reposts. Even if England officials try to block the video, it might be too late."

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