Innsmouth.
A small town not even marked on the map, filled with all sorts of unsavory rumors and stories.
However, in Duanmu Huai's eyes, this place was…
Pitiful.
Yes.
Pitiful.
As everyone knew, this was a crossover mission world. When the game first launched this scenario, a massive number of players flooded in. After figuring out the rules and beginning to enjoy themselves, a group of "fun-seeking" players naturally appeared.
There were quite a lot of them.
Very quickly, they launched a grand pilgrimage across the entire world.
According to posts on the forum, they even had several internal "achievement runs."
For example: go fishing in Innsmouth, feed dogs at Miskatonic University, admire the moon in Dunwich…
The latter two weren't too bad.
Miskatonic University was, after all, a university—you couldn't just stroll in and out at will. Dunwich's residents were relatively simple and rustic. Though they sometimes acted a bit odd, players visiting Dunwich preferred climbing mountains, stargazing, and moon-watching rather than causing trouble in town.
So nothing major happened there.
Only Innsmouth had truly terrible luck.
As an iconic location in the Cthulhu Mythos, it had been turned upside down by players. Everyone knew Innsmouth's residents were Deep One cultists who worshiped Cthulhu. So here, players became especially bold.
They dared to do anything.
After all—
Deep Ones had no human rights.
Some dared to fish off the cliffs.
Some set fire to Dagon's church.
Some went around picking locks and breaking into anywhere they pleased.
And some players would even pat Innsmouth residents on the shoulder, politely "invite" them aside, and say with a cheerful grin:
"I heard Cthulhu's pretty fun. Why don't you summon one for us to take a look?"
Heaven have mercy—Innsmouth's people were just a secluded group of Deep One cultists, minding their own business. When had they ever seen players even crazier than their own deity?
And the players were competing with each other—who could uncover the deepest secrets. Exposing Deep Ones wasn't impressive anymore. If you didn't summon Dagon or drag Cthulhu ashore, you'd be embarrassing the player title.
Some players even approached Deep One families claiming they were willing to help. Later, they'd kick them aside, saying, "Why are you so slow and hesitant? Let me handle this!"—and then conduct the summoning ritual themselves.
In the end, Innsmouth descended into chaos. Players trying to summon Cthulhu and players trying to stop them fought each other. Meanwhile, the actual residents of Innsmouth hid trembling in their homes, too afraid to walk the streets…
Later players even complained that earlier ones had "ruined" Innsmouth. There was no local flavor left. It was like a tourist attraction during Double Eleven—Investigators everywhere, not a single native NPC in sight.
Even so, everyone loved going to Innsmouth.
Because…
Anything in this place could trigger an event and earn points.
Unless everyone in Innsmouth was dead.
So Duanmu Huai decided to follow in his predecessors' footsteps and try his luck.
In the game, he hadn't gone. On one hand, he had more important missions at the time. On the other, there had been too many Investigators in Innsmouth. You couldn't even find a Deep One while stepping out to buy cigarettes.
Going there under those circumstances would've been insane.
Fortunately, because players had flipped Innsmouth upside down, Duanmu Huai probably knew more about it than the locals.
For example, there were four major families in Innsmouth.
The Flink family, the town's founders.
The Fulson family, who controlled manufacturing and alchemy industries.
The radical and fanatical Spock Association.
And the Tolomini family, who ran the town's only hospital.
These four forces cooperated and competed with each other. Each hoped to claim the glory of pleasing the evil god they worshiped.
Which just proved that human greed applied equally well to cultists.
In the game, their fates were miserable.
The Flink family, too prominent, was wiped out by arriving Investigators.
The Fulson family fared no better. Wealthy and cultists? In players' eyes, they were walking ATMs. Under the flood of Investigators, their fate resembled public execution in a marketplace.
The Spock Association had it even worse. As the most radical cultists, they couldn't tolerate the swarm of Investigators. They boldly stepped forward, shouting:
"Down with human tyranny! The world belongs to Dagon—"
And then there was no more after that.
Did they think Investigators were joking?
The Tolomini family survived slightly longer due to their control of the hospital, which helped them stay hidden. But eventually, an Investigator uncovered their secrets and blackmailed them into cooperating to summon Cthulhu quickly.
The Tolomini family thought they could exploit each other and agreed.
Unfortunately, the Investigator grew impatient with their slow, hesitant attitude and decided to escalate things. The Tolomini family refused.
They turned on each other in a double-cross.
What the Tolomini family hadn't expected was that the Investigator had converted to Dagon's faith—and with Dagon's divine power, wiped them out.
What could be more tragic than being destroyed by the very evil god you worship?
Probably nothing.
According to the player who had cooperated with and then betrayed the Tolomini family, all four families operated similarly.
They kidnapped both local residents and outsiders.
Locals were brainwashed and turned into devout believers.
Outsiders were used as sacrifices for Dagon.
The conflict between that player and the Tolomini family stemmed from this.
The player's logic was simple: quantitative change leads to qualitative change. If you kidnap people one by one, how long will that take? Why not hold some event, lure a bunch of clueless onlookers, and sacrifice them all at once to Dagon?
Naturally, the Tolomini family refused.
A few missing outsiders now and then was manageable. But staging a large-scale event? Wouldn't that attract higher authorities?
The player couldn't understand.
If you truly pleased your evil god, wouldn't none of that matter?
Or are you saying the dumbass evil god you worship can't even handle a human army?
Then what the hell are you worshiping it for?
So they fought.
As for how to maximize point harvesting in Innsmouth, based on forum intelligence, Duanmu Huai already had a plan.
Innsmouth hadn't been destroyed largely because they were cautious—and because they had protection.
Innsmouth's rulers had secret collusion with high-ranking government officials.
That evidence would be worth a lot of points.
It had to be obtained.
As for Innsmouth's locals—
There were no good people here.
All Innsmouth residents were hybrids of Deep Ones and humans. Genuine alien creatures.
In the Inquisition, Duanmu Huai would've already massacred the city.
Men, women, elderly, children—no survivors.
You worship evil gods and mutate into chaos abominations.
If not you, then who?
In fact, in the game, the more hybrid mutants killed in Innsmouth, the higher the player's score.
There was internal logic to this.
In the novel The Shadow Over Innsmouth, the Investigator escaped and reported to the government. In 1920, the authorities sent troops to suppress the town.
But that was 1920.
An era where people obeyed and information was easier to control.
In 2000?
Which government would dare send troops to suppress a village?
It would hit national headlines instantly and be livestreamed daily.
That gave Duanmu Huai an idea.
He could guarantee—
This would turn all of Innsmouth into a true nightmare.
This time, he left Lorena at home and set off alone with Usagi and the black cat.
He didn't even drive.
He walked.
Crossing the saline wasteland surrounding Innsmouth, he finally arrived at the town.
When the lights of Innsmouth appeared before him, it was already evening on the third day.
The entire town was deathly silent. Only scattered lights indicated habitation. Dark clouds churned overhead, heralding an approaching storm.
On a hillside stood Duanmu Huai, coldly observing the fishing village below.
He wore a black vest and suit, covered by a long black coat, a wide-brimmed hat atop his head. In his hand was an entirely black cane.
At a glance, he looked like nothing more than a gentleman admiring the distant view.
Provided you ignored the broken, scrap-like vehicle beside him that looked like a toy car in comparison.
"Finally here. That's Innsmouth."
Gripping his cane, Duanmu Huai narrowed his eyes.
He could see Dagon's dark church near the coastline.
He could see fishermen unloading their catch at the docks.
The streets were mostly empty, aside from a few obvious outsiders wandering around.
A howling wind swept past him.
Duanmu Huai reached out and caught a piece of flying paper.
It was a travel poster.
Depicting Innsmouth.
The poster called Innsmouth a vacation paradise, the best destination for leisure tourism. It claimed the sea here could make people forget all their worries.
Well, sure.
If you're dead, you don't have worries.
"Meow…"
The black cat poked its head out from his collar and licked his face.
Duanmu Huai stroked its small head.
"Alright. Don't rush. The real show is just beginning."
With that, he tightened his grip on the cane, turned, and strode into the darkness.
At the same time—
A torrential downpour began to fall.
(End of Chapter)