Me and countless me.

Chapter 593 The Cult's Attack
How could you rescue people without weapons? Especially in this rather barbaric era, where despicable outsiders and despicable locals were common occurrences.

Adventurers need to bring a local guide when they go on an adventure, both to give directions and to leverage their local connections, so that they don't end up being drugged at a hotel, accidentally burning themselves to death while playing with fire, or committing suicide with sixteen stab wounds to their back.

So when there was no guide to be found in Innsmouth, and with a student missing, Li Ke began to prepare weapons, bringing out all the weapons he had treasured.

However, when Li Ke saw the hotel, he couldn't help but feel a little disgusted.

The hotel here was dilapidated and damp, and smelled strongly of mold. The paint on the walls was basically the same color as the iced tea thrown down by the crane operator who had been working all night for two or three days. The smell of the toilet was even more unbearable.

Most importantly, there are many slimy creatures crawling on the walls, and the blanket looks like it would leak water if you just squeezed it.

Even a professor like Dale, who was capable of trekking and adventuring in Antarctica, was astonished by the hotel's shocking conditions.

So when he put his luggage on the bed and saw with his own eyes that his suitcase was wet, he couldn't help but speak up.

"My God, this is much harder than what we went through in Antarctica."

Antarctica is just a bit cold, but if you have enough supplies, it's not too bad. For professors and adventurers with top-notch survival skills, it's not a particularly difficult place to endure.

But this place is not as good as the wild.

Upon seeing this place, Li Ke sensed a dark force lurking there, so he refused to sleep there and instead pointed to his own horse-drawn carriage team.

"So let's stay in my tent, set up a camp around the wagon, and avoid eating any of the food here."

Professor Dale hesitated for a moment. He didn't really want to stand out like that, since he still needed to find out where his students were. But when he lifted the blanket, he was shocked.

His blankets were filled with strands of seaweed, like hair, covered with many shiny scales, but no matter how closely Dale examined them, he could not match them to the scales of any lizard or fish he knew.

A strange sense of danger arose in his heart, filling him with fear, yet he subconsciously wanted to continue investigating.

However, Li Ke looked at the bedside table and sensed a different atmosphere.

The scent of humanity.

This was very unusual, so he opened the drawer and saw a leather book.

The moment Li Ke saw the book, he instinctively reached for the pistol at his waist, because the material was undoubtedly made from human tissue, and it was very fresh.

Judging from the color, texture, and technique used, the material of this book was only recently made into a book, and it belongs to the skin of a young person in their twenties who hasn't experienced much sun or wind.

“Professor Dale… I think I’ve found your student.”

Li Ke silently placed his hand on Professor Dale's shoulder, because he also saw a newly made bone pen. This special book could only be written on with this kind of pen. The reason for this was that the bone used to make the pen was the hand of the original owner of the book's material.

"What do you mean?"

Professor Dale paused for a moment, then followed Li Ke's gaze and saw the pen. He looked at Li Ke with a puzzled expression. Li Ke had no choice but to reveal the cruel truth to Professor Dale.

"It was made with fresh... and the person was about twenty-five years old. It was made about last month. Also, it was probably made using a cult ritual because it has Dagon's mark on it."

Upon hearing this, Professor Dale's eyes widened instantly. He stared in disbelief at the book in front of him, and in a mixture of grief and resentment, he lunged forward and quickly grabbed the book.

Then, Professor Dale saw the familiar scars on his student's body!
He dropped his notebook in terror, took several steps back, and couldn't help but shed tears.

The notebook was opened for this reason, and a bunch of text, which was clearly in English but gave off a strange feeling, appeared in front of the two of them.

Li Ke immediately put on gloves, leaned over and began to flip through the notes. He found that the notes contained only some complaints about the locals and records of many uncommon marine creatures. However, towards the end, the handwriting in the notes became frantic and even became covered in dirt, as if it had been written in a hurry and excitement.

The passage describes seeing a fish-like creature about the size of a human. He couldn't find any fish that were related to it, and it mentions that many people in the town have eyes that look like fish eyes—lifeless and eerie.

Later, because he disliked the townspeople of Innsmouth, the student casually moved into a tent and lived alone, wanting to investigate the humanoid fish he had seen that day. However, his notes had many blank spaces at this point, and then became a messy and disorganized collection of notes.

“…I saw it! I saw it! It was Dagon! The legendary god! My God! They are…they are all children of God! Professor Dale would never believe what I saw! There are actually…”

The notes stopped abruptly there. Li Ke looked at the grief-stricken Professor Dale and couldn't help but speak up.

"It seems that these cultists are either faking something or they have actually come up with something evil."

Li Ke was very serious. He had always believed that his world was a peaceful one, but he never expected that there would actually be an evil god.

And it was Dagon, that evil god.

The combination of Innsmouth and Dagon made Li Ke wonder if this world really was a Cthulhu universe.

The problem is, he's the famous Li Ke from the new daily life series!

"But with Ultraman's power, it's not a big problem."

With that thought in mind, Li Ke, wearing gloves, handed the notebook to Professor Dale, who, though indignant, was also wearing gloves, and began to speak seriously.

“But, Professor Dale, they are provoking us in any way, because your students could never write these things on themselves… So we can be pretty sure now that these people are all in cahoots, and I have no doubt that if we eat their food and drink, we will definitely be infected. So going to my wagon and setting up defensive positions by wagon is the best option.”

Li Ke had no desire to stay in the enemy's stronghold any longer, so he looked at the busy servants, especially Ushia, and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"And as soon as possible!"

Professor Dale understood this as well and nodded to Li Ke.

"clear."

So the two of them started loudly complaining about how dilapidated the place was, and under the innkeeper's murderous glare, they quickly led their people away from the town.

As they left the town, everyone could sense that the townspeople were watching them from their windows. Unfortunately, just as they were leaving the town, it began to rain incessantly, making it impossible for them to find a suitable place to camp. They could only put their wagons together on the outskirts of the town and set up a makeshift camp.

But just as Li Ke and the others settled down and were able to rest in the carriage, the sky completely darkened, the rain intensified, and the waves grew larger, as if something within them was raging.

Moreover, both Li Ke and Professor Dale discovered that not a single house in Innsmouth had its lights on; it was all pitch black. However, they could occasionally see several glowing eyes flashing within the darkness.

"This place is really eerie."

Loosening his tie, Professor Dale felt increasingly uneasy, increasingly convinced that some monsters he had never seen before might appear here.

"Yes, that's why I don't approve of young people going out and taking risks."

Li Ke took a sip of coffee when he heard a commotion at the door. Soon after, a pale-faced Ushia came to report.

“Master, a drunkard has come to the door. He says his house was flooded, so he has to come here for soup no matter what.”

Upon hearing this, Li Ke immediately looked towards the entrance of the camp. A white-bearded drunkard, completely lucid with fear in his eyes, was looking at their camp with pleading and hopeful eyes, so he nodded.

He let the drunkard in because he didn't sense the same kind of madness in the other Innsmouth residents.

However, when the drunkard was brought before him, he spoke as if he were a madman.

"Run! Run! The tsunami is coming! Otherwise, everyone will die!"

After shouting, he collapsed to the ground and fell asleep as if he were dead, but Li Ke could sense that he was still quite conscious.

"Throw this poor drunkard into the stable, and give him a sleeping bag so he won't freeze to death."

Professor Dale sighed and continued studying his notes, while Li Ke noticed that Ushia's face had turned pale from the drunkard's shouts. When she saw him looking at her, she couldn't help but walk over and lean against him.

“Master…can we leave quickly? Ushia feels…not good here…I feel, I feel like I’m turning into something terrible…”

As Ushia spoke, she placed Li Ke's hand on her thigh. Her skin, which was usually warm, was now as cold as a fish or a lizard. Li Ke could even feel something growing under her skin.

"Scales?"

Li Ke was stunned for a moment, and then he saw that Ushia's once bright and lively eyes had begun to look lifeless. Only when she was by his side would the fear in her eyes disappear.

Ushia also discovered that the closer she got to Li Ke, the less terrifying the feeling became. And when she leaned against Li Ke, her progress toward transforming into something stopped, or even regressed.

So she couldn't help but want to kiss Li Ke, and this was an impulse that arose as her body grew colder and colder.

Professor Dale froze on the spot. He remembered Ushia very clearly; she was a very gentle and shy girl who knew how to behave appropriately. She had never been intimate with Li Ke in front of him, her guest, before.

But Li Ke understood what had happened.

Ushia is a Deep One!
The Deep Ones are descendants of Dagon. They initially take human form, with only their eyes resembling those of a human. However, upon approaching Dagon's sacred grounds, receiving his summons, or reaching adulthood, their bodies begin to mutate into fish-like forms, and their values ​​change accordingly, from initially resisting Dagon to worshipping him.

Male Deep Ones cannot reproduce normally with female Deep Ones, so they can only reproduce with humans, which is why Deep Ones exist among humans.

However, most people do not like having relations with fish, so it is common for Dagon's followers to kidnap and coerce others, and those who refuse to believe in Dagon will be executed.

Li Ke reached out, and the power of light instantly entered Ushia's body, severing her connection with Dagon. However, Li Ke could not easily remove her own bloodline in a short time, because it was a part of her body.

However, the power of light can optimize this bloodline, making Ushia's Deep One form more aesthetically pleasing and controllable.

In short, with his intervention, even if Ushia's bloodline is activated, she will not be controlled by Dagon or the Deep Ones. Instead, she will be able to control the magic within her own bloodline and take on the form of a mermaid.

However, this outcome was inevitable even if he didn't intervene, since Ushia and the other maids had long been Li Ke's people, and Li Ke hadn't just gained extraordinary power for the first time.

At that moment, Ushia felt an unimaginable tenderness, but just as she was about to immerse herself in it, the rain stopped.

Then, a series of footsteps followed.

Almost everyone instinctively sensed the approaching danger, and when they looked over, they saw a large group of fish with limbs walking out of the town, each wielding various weapons. Each of them had a strange and exquisite golden crown on its head and was advancing towards them in a mighty procession.

Then, Li Ke heard the terrified screams of his servants.

"There are those monsters behind us too!"

“There’s one on the left, too!”

"The right side too!"

Li Ke immediately drew his pistol, while Professor Dale stood up uneasily, as he hadn't prepared a gun. So Li Ke glanced at him and handed the pistol to Dale.

"Take this for self-defense."

Professor Dale gave Li Ke a grateful look, then noticed that Li Ke's hands were empty and she was looking for something in the package, so he subconsciously asked her a question.

"how about you?"

Although he knew that Li Ke was proficient in both cold weapons and firearms, he still felt that it was better for him to have a gun. So he decided that if Li Ke really took out a sword, he would exchange it with Li Ke to increase the chances of the young man's survival.

Then, he saw Li Ke pull out a monster with six barrels and a belt of hundreds of brass bullets from his package, along with the other party's light-hearted words.

"I'm free to do it."

(End of this chapter)