Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

When Fang Zheng and Francis arrived in Arkham City, it was already three days later.

The entire Innsmouth was destroyed overnight. Besides them, there wasn’t a single living soul, not even a vehicle was intact. In such circumstances, the two of them had no choice but to leave the city on foot. For Fang Zheng, sleeping outdoors was something he was accustomed to, though for Francis, it was quite a rare experience, and he felt rather excited about it.

Along the way, Francis asked Fang Zheng quite a bit about himself. Fang Zheng, naturally, came up with stories, bragging about his experiences in other worlds hunting demons and performing exorcisms, which left Francis dazzled. By the time they reached Arkham, the two could be considered friends, even though they weren’t close confidants.

After they arrived in Arkham, Francis invited Fang Zheng to stay at his family’s home, but Fang Zheng wasn’t interested in intruding on others. Instead, he told Francis that he would stay in Arkham for a while and would inform him once he found a place. Although Francis was a bit reluctant, he eventually agreed with a nod.

As for the house...

Arkham is not a very large city, and it’s not without decent apartments. The main issue was finances. After all, this was the 1930s, with telephones but no internet, let alone online banking. It was impossible for Fang Zheng to take advantage of the FBI.

But could that stump him?

Of course not.

So, Fang Zheng casually swindled some funds from the Federal Reserve. After all, anyone can be out of money, but the Federal Reserve is never short of cash, right?

Information manipulation is Nymph’s strong suit. Thus, Fang Zheng soon purchased a small apartment with a garden in Arkham. Outwardly, most people only knew, under Nymph’s information manipulation, that ”a wealthy gentleman came to buy an apartment.”

Although the apartment wasn’t very large and it was somewhat expensive, it wasn’t his own money he was spending. Seeing that the place was fully furnished, Fang Zheng naturally agreed to it.

Honestly, this world seemed quite boring to Fang Zheng.

But if you delve deeper, it’s completely different.

Fang Zheng also tried to check the newspaper for the world’s situation and other issues. According to his memory, this period in Asia should not be very peaceful. However, the situation was somewhat unexpected.

Perhaps because each world’s focus is tilted differently, the newspaper Fang Zheng bought had surprisingly little news related to politics and military matters, instead filled with all sorts of rumors. From the mysterious statues of Easter Island to crop circles, it was full of content akin to the ”shock report” type of third-rate tabloids and magazines he would buy at a newsstand at a train station when he was young.

In the original world, such stories would probably never make it to the mainstream, but in this world, they were published and discussed in formal publications—giving Fang Zheng an indescribably absurd feeling.

Can you imagine ”People’s Literature” publishing something like ”The Mysterious Disappearance of Bus No. 901 Exploration Chronicle”?

The editor-in-chief must have rocks for brains.

But here, even the Wall Street Journal enthusiastically discusses stuff like UFOs or underwater civilizations, making Fang Zheng feel like everyone is a fervent believer in mystery science.

Could this perhaps be the influence of the Cthulhu World?

Truth be told, because of this, Fang Zheng could spend his time reading newspaper articles similar to the ”Tianya Ghost Talk” section. As for Francis, Fang Zheng did not go looking for him; he merely sent him a letter with his address and phone number once he found a place.

However, Fang Zheng believed that if his hunch was correct, then Francis would soon give him a call...

”Ring ring ring!!!”

The piercing telephone ring echoed, as telephones from this era were the oldest kind and naturally quite loud. Hearing the ring, Fang Zheng sighed, put down the newspaper with a report on the ”strange whirlpool village in Japan,” and picked up the receiver.

”Hello.”

”Ah, hello, is this Mr. Van Helsing?”

Soon, a somewhat distorted voice came from the other end of the line.

”Yes, it is me.”

”Great! Sir, this is Francis. Do you have a moment? I have something very important to discuss with you!”

Francis’s voice sounded a bit fearful and uneasy, while Fang Zheng nodded.

”No problem, you can come over now.”

”That’s great! Thank you for the invite!”

With that, Francis hung up with a click, probably rushing over immediately. Fang Zheng put down the receiver and shrugged at Nymph, who was sitting nearby reading a book.

”Looks like we’re expecting a guest.”

”Should I make myself scarce?”

”No, you don’t need to for now, just stay put.”

Previously, I asked Nymph to hide her appearance mainly because the situation in this world was still uncertain. Now that it’s been determined, there’s no need to do so anymore.

And at that moment... the study door opened.

”Is there a guest coming? I’ll go prepare some tea and snacks.”

A beautiful girl with deep blue hair flowing down to her waist and fair skin walked in, smiling at Fang Zheng. Her every movement was extremely graceful and calm, resembling a tranquil beauty.

”Alright, it’s up to you. A young man named Francis will be visiting later. Don’t tease him, okay?”

Fang Zheng sighed slightly at the girl before him, while the blue-haired girl tilted her head with a smile, showing an expression of ”I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

”Hearing you say that, Master, makes me feel quite sad. Do you think I’m that type of person?”

”No, but at the very least I have to be precautious.”

Fang Zheng rolled his eyes in frustration, looking at the girl in front of him.

Indeed, standing before him was the Soulstone he drew after obtaining the Soul Scroll, ranked silver. Honestly, Fang Zheng was worried at first that he might draw Saya—since this is a Cthulhu World, drawing Saya wouldn’t be impossible, right?

Fortunately, it wasn’t Saya that was drawn.

But the character wasn’t much better.

Ryoko Asakura.

Fang Zheng is quite familiar with this character, but because of this familiarity, he felt speechless towards her.

Anyone who has seen ”The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” knows that Ryoko Asakura isn’t human. She is a humanoid interface created by the Thought Entity for organic life-form contact, and is Nagate Yuki’s backup. Unlike the emotionless Great God Nagate, Ryoko Asakura is a proper beauty character—gentle, kind, approachable, and friendly towards everyone.

Until she stabs the protagonist Kyon.

In a way, Ryoko Asakura and Nymph are somewhat similar in existence. Neither possesses the typical human values of good and evil; however, Nymph appears weak due to her lack of combat ability, while Ryoko Asakura is simply so by nature.

She can’t even be classified as a yandere character, because she isn’t sick, nor is she doting.

You could say Ryoko Asakura is a slightly more proactive Nymph. Nymph’s personality tends to be introverted and passive, like suggesting Fang Zheng commit genocide but won’t rashly act if rejected.

Yet Ryoko Asakura belongs to the proactive type, who might act on her own before reporting to Fang Zheng—much like in ”The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,” when she decided to kill the protagonist due to the inability to observe information explosion to see Haruhi Suzumiya’s reaction...

This proactive behavior makes Fang Zheng rather cautious with Ryoko Asakura, reminding her repeatedly not to do anything excessive without his permission.

Although Ryoko Asakura agreed readily... Fang Zheng isn’t confident that she’ll completely follow his instructions.

On a related note, the current relationship between Ryoko Asakura and Nymph is quite similar to her relationship with Nagate Yuki in the original work. Only this time, Nymph isn’t as emotionless as Nagate Yuki and communicates with Ryoko Asakura—in this case, could Ryoko Asakura’s attack on Kyon be a dramatic reaction to the unrequited affection she invested in Nagate Yuki?

For instance, ”I was first, why are you so concerned about Kyon?” ”Why do you protect him? How far away do you want to cast me aside before you’re satisfied?”

This plot suddenly feels like it’s heading towards a love triangle...

Perhaps it’s not impossible?

Fang Zheng even asked Ryoko Asakura about this issue, and found that she doesn’t recognize Nagate Yuki, seemingly having been whisked directly into this world the moment she was created.

Hmm, it seems I’ve inadvertently saved a certain Kyon in another world from getting stabbed.

How wonderful, how delightful.

”Ding-dong.”

At this moment, the doorbell rang outside. Ryoko Asakura smiled at Fang Zheng, then turned and left the room, while Fang Zheng put down the newspaper in his hand. Strictly speaking, Fang Zheng didn’t dislike the alien trio; generally, Great God Nagate is the most popular. However, for Fang Zheng’s preferences, Misaki Kiryuu and Ryoko Asakura are also quite nice. Although the emotionless beauty attribute is quite attractive, in reality, if you met a character like Nagate, it could be quite tiring.

Soon, hurried footsteps were heard, followed by Ryoko Asakura’s voice from outside the door.

”Please come in, Mr. Francis.”

With Ryoko Asakura’s voice, the study door opened, and Francis walked in with a grim expression, holding a small box in his arms.

”Mr. Van Helsing, I have something to ask your help with!”