Alexander turned to Janet, Linda, and the others on the sofa and briefly explained the origin of the town of Innsmouth.
“The source of those creatures is a type of hybrid known as Deep Ones. They are particularly frightening because, in the early stages of transformation, they aren’t much different from humans. But once the transformation is complete, they become those half-human, half-fish or half-human, half-frog forms…”
Linda asked, puzzled, “Can’t your government agencies eradicate these monsters?”
“We once bombed the area beneath Devil Reef, which caused a lot of trouble. Agencies like ours are incredibly bureaucratic and cumbersome, making it difficult to solve things once and for all. Plus, we have many potential enemies. It’s only recently that we’ve noticed signs of resurgence here…” Alexander was fabricating wildly, unafraid of his tall tales unraveling.
“It’s strange—you’re Miskatonic University students, yet you don’t know about these things.”
“We are indeed Miskatonic students, but what does that have to do with our school…” The African American guy looked confused.
Alexander and Carmen exchanged a glance but didn’t say more.
“So, what are your plans? According to our intel, the old Marsh Refinery is actually a slaughterhouse for the Dagon cult, used for sacrifices and rituals. There are also some mutated Deep One hybrids lurking there…”
As Carmen was about to light a cigarette and discuss the situation in detail, Linda, seemingly unable to stand the smoke, got up and walked to the window. Suddenly, she screamed.
“Who? Who’s out there…?”
“What’s wrong!?” Roland and Carmen reacted quickly and rushed over. With the curtain already drawn back, they came face to face with the person peering in from outside.
It was a very ugly face belonging to a man with sparse hair and peculiar eyes, quietly perched outside the window.
“Bang!”
He suddenly jumped off the ledge.
“This is the fourth floor! He just jumped without fear of getting killed!” Everyone rushed to the window and saw the man landing on the ground, quickly fleeing into the distance.
“I’ll go after him…”
Gritting his teeth, Roland climbed out the window. Since there was a fire escape ladder, he climbed down quickly.
Apparently, he intended to catch up with the man…
“According to the original plot, we didn’t enter the house. Roland, despite jumping down to chase him, twisted his ankle…”
Alexander watched below and saw Roland land effortlessly on the street, continuing his pursuit of the man.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Suddenly, without any warning, Alexander’s body straightened, his eyes momentarily vacant.
In that instant, Spirit Space transmitted the second act of the plot into his mind.
“Why is the second act like this?”
Alexander almost shouted out loud. He had seen the second act of the script, and according to it, he would die in a chaotic battle.
“What’s wrong? Why do you look so pale?” Jin Jianshu approached, frowning.
“Nothing,” Alexander replied, not saying a word. The plot given by Spirit Space varies slightly for each explorer. While the main storyline is generally the same for everyone, personal side plot elements are deliberately obfuscated or omitted for everyone else.
Each explorer can only know their own side plot.
For instance, if you’re playing a minor character destined to die in a car accident in this act, only your script will note your side plot, while others’ scripts will merely indicate “the person left” or “he had something to attend to.”
Additionally, there is a strict rule: revealing your side plot to others will result in elimination by Spirit Space.
“Should we chase after him? Roland isn’t following the script. Could our intervention have changed the plot? That would be disastrous…” Jin Jianshu, though visibly shaken by the video, quickly composed himself and spoke with Carmen.
Carmen glanced at him and said, “I understand your concern, but Roland’s actions don’t alter the main plot’s course, only some side elements. This triggers a reactive subplot, akin to improvisation. In such cases, we needn’t worry about increasing the script’s difficulty…”
As they conversed, Janet and the African American guy quickly descended the fire escape ladder.
Alexander and the others reached the main entrance to meet up with them. When they arrived, Roland limped over.
“Oh, God, don’t make me worry for you.” Linda, uncharacteristically moved, ran over to embrace Roland.
“That guy was crazy—I almost got killed!”
Roland had a minor leg injury, gritting his teeth as he spoke. “I caught up to him and we struggled for a bit. He was surprisingly strong, and I got a bit injured falling to the ground.”
He was once the MVP and the best running back in his high school football district league, with a very strong physique. Ordinarily, few adults could match him in a fight.
Jin Jianshu and Alexander breathed a sigh of relief, realizing, as Carmen had said, this was just a minor subplot change that didn’t affect the main story.
—Roland’s leg was still injured, and it seemed the plot would continue as originally intended. Spirit Space truly was all-powerful.
“Although he got away, I managed to get this…”
Roland reported to the others, pulling out a silver watch, explaining he had taken it from the unusual man.
“Wow!” The African American guy took the watch and examined it casually. “This is a Tituba vintage automatic chronograph, issued to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Salem’s Tituba Watch Company. It’s surprising for such a strange man to have something like this.”
“Tituba Watch Company? Abigail, can you find out who the owner of this watch is?” Linda quickly asked.
Abigail was the African American guy's name. He replied softly, “This won’t be easy. There are over seventy of these pieces out there. Tracing all the owners won’t be simple…”
He was an amateur watch enthusiast, connected to some collector circles. More importantly, he was a journalism major at MU, with access to a wealth of information, prompting Linda’s inquiry.
“Narrow the search range. Since it’s a limited edition, the search won’t be too broad!”
Alexander suddenly spoke, “I’ll find someone to assist as well, but we’re short on time. Try searching through missing persons or items…”
“What do you mean by that?” Linda looked at him quizzically over her glasses.
“Don’t ask.” Alexander merely shook his head, seeming confident or having already thought things through.
Meanwhile, Carmen was already calling the police station.
Jin Jianshu found himself speechless, realizing he was of little use here. His work experience and life skills were completely irrelevant in this scenario.
This realm was beyond his comprehension. Not to mention the seasoned veteran, Carmen, even the unassuming young man had unwittingly assumed a leadership role among the three of them.