Long-term salvation

The angry East German soldiers were rushing down the corridor, opening suppressive fire while trying to figure out the exact location of Rod and the other two. In less than a minute, they would be close enough, and in a few seconds, they would pour a barrage of 7.62x39mm bullets into the infiltrators, grinding their flesh and bones into a pulp.

The German shouting behind him gave Rhodes a headache, but what was even more of a headache was the girl next to him, Joel Blair - of course, she would most likely change her last name in the future - she was leaning against the wall, listening to Huanghun explain how to use a gun with a reluctant look on her face.

"This is the trigger, this is the magazine, and it contains tranquilizer bullets. Don't kill people casually... How did you become an ICA assassin if you can't even shoot?!"

"Hmm, I'm stronger, Mr. Hood."

"...Forget it, just give the gun back to me."

After throwing an incendiary grenade to block the pursuers behind him, Rhodes took a breath and turned off the mimicry system of his stealth suit. He sideways glanced at Joel, whose eyes were full of vigilance—but no murderous intent. This girl's intuition and strength were so terrifying that Rhodes even thought she could compete with Nikki and Kivotos' students.

Let’s not talk about the original work for now. Could it be that this girl in this world is a cyborg or has been strengthened by the other world?

Rhodes took a deep breath and loaded his M4 rifle and revolver with Frigga bullets. He calculated the time and route and asked:

"Did Diana, the head of the ICA's European division, send you here?"

"……Yes."

"I remember she should have explained that you were being examined to join another organization, right?"

"……Yes."

"Then, as the leader of that organization, I'm here to inform you that you're not qualified right now. Go train for another two years and make sure your brain works faster than your body!"

"Hmm?! You, you are the illegitimate son of the Atlas Corporation CEO, the destined savior?!"

Provoked by Rhode's murderous gaze, Joel took a half step back, her muscles subconsciously tensed. She pursed her lips, realizing she had said the wrong thing and quickly made amends:

"I'm sorry, sir, you're not his illegitimate child... er, I mean... it's my honor to meet you, Mr. Savior."

"For God's sake, please shut your mouth, Miss Joel Blair."

"Hey, you know my name?"

"I even know you have a brother...Okay, now listen to me."

Rhode opened his eyes wide and decided not to talk to her about this topic anymore:

"We need to leave from underground now. No, they'll definitely be checking there too. I don't want to be pointed at by hundreds of rifles the moment I emerge from the tunnel. Let's just go through the sea of ​​fire above ground and leave from the outside. My subordinates will create the conditions for our escape."

"That will be difficult, Boss. The existing vehicles are not enough to support our evacuation."

Huanghun breathed slowly, suppressing his pounding heartbeat. He heard the sound of a fire extinguisher spraying and more footsteps running from all directions.

"This is not something you need to consider."

Rhodes waited for a few seconds, then suddenly leaned forward and fired a few blind shots at the East German soldiers who were blocking the way along another corridor. Before he could receive a torrential rain of return fire, he had already withdrawn his body, pushing Yoel and Dusk's bodies, and ran towards the stairs while saying:

"Let's go upstairs first—Little Red Riding Hood, Marianne, prepare to activate the colored smoke projection device to create even greater chaos. Also, contact D and have her find a few people to go to the Reichstag in Berlin and set it on fire again!"

Rhodes had just finished shouting on the communication channel when he rushed forward the next second, stretched out his hand to grab the barrel of the gun of the East German soldier who had just come down the stairs, causing the muzzle to draw an arc over his head and the gunfire to leave a string of fine bullet marks on the ceiling of the corridor.

Using the East German soldier's body as a cover, Rod pulled out his revolver and fired several shots at several unsuspecting soldiers above. They only had time to groan before falling down the stairs and lying unconscious on the ground.

Pushing the body of the East German soldier in front of him back, Rhodes didn't care about the latter's scream of pain when Huanghun punched him on the chin. Instead, he quickly ran up the stairs and looked at the situation in the upper corridor again - several East German soldiers were running quickly along the corridor, and several soldiers also ran past the corner of the corridor behind them, apparently intending to go to other staircases.

Reloading his revolver, Rod estimated the positions, distances, and possible evasive actions of these East German soldiers. The next second—

Rhodes jumped out from the cover of the stair wall and fired several shots from the revolver in his hand!

The first bullet flew past the left ear of the soldier in front, and before he could instinctively draw his head back at the fleeting clamor, it struck the last man in the squad between his eyebrows. As the bullet shattered, a powerful anesthetic poured into this young and strong body, rapidly spreading through the blood pumped by the heart.

When the soldier at the end of the team collapsed and his helmet made a crisp sound when hitting the ground, the bodies of the second to last and third soldiers in the team began to shake, and the East German soldier at the front of the team was hit by the last bullet - his eyes were instantly filled with confusion, and his fingers subconsciously wanted to pull the trigger, but the rifle was directly pulled away by the person in front of him.

The drugged soldiers lost their weapons without resistance, just as their country was swallowed up without resistance.

A few East German soldiers' screams came from the other end of the corridor. The sound of rifle fire made the doors on both sides tremble slightly, but Rhodes did not turn around. The woman known as the "Princess of Thorns" danced in the drizzle of bullets, her red eyes flickering with gunfire, dragging two illusory light bands in the slightly dim corridor. In just a few breaths, several East German soldiers collapsed to the ground, and only the painful groans of pain echoed faintly.

"I thought you were going to kill them all," Rhodes threw his rifle to the ground and used his foot to turn the upside-down soldier over to prevent him from suffocating himself. "But I've changed my mind about you, Miss Youer. You have great potential and character."

"They're not on the mission target," Yoel replied dully, brushing his hair back. "Besides, you just gave Mr. Hood a tranquilizer bullet. Obviously, you didn't want to cause any senseless killing."

"Looks like I need to change my initial assessment - Diana did recommend a good candidate for me."

The corners of Rhode's mouth curled up slightly, and then he looked up at the end of the corridor:

At this moment, the thick smoke produced by the flames at the Stasi headquarters was crawling along the corridor, bringing with it the smell of burning and faint flames. If you listen carefully, you can hear a lot of shouts of panic or anger.

Rhode reloaded his revolver and turned to look at Huang Hun, who was trying to suppress the pursuers with his pistol on the stairs. He said:

"Dusk, Joel!"

"Boss, the pursuers are here," Huang Hun reloaded his pistol and took the magazine Rhode threw to him. "Miss Youer threw the unconscious soldier over, and it seems she knocked over quite a few of them... She seems to be quite good at throwing weapons."

"You could say, without being so polite, that she can't use a gun."

"...This goes against my style of treating women, Boss, but okay, what do we do next?"

Huang Hun's speech earned Yoel's grateful look. She looked at Rhodes carefully and found that the latter was thinking.

"What else can we do? Just head up into the fire! Wear your gas masks. If you don't have professional protective gear, just make do with what you have. The Soviets were able to rush into Chernobyl wearing gas masks, so I think a short walk through a fire shouldn't be a problem."

As Rhodes spoke, he stretched his body, exhaled slowly, and let the All-Seeing Eye lead the way for him.

Then, start running.

A strong wind blew past his ears, but Rhodes could still clearly hear his own breathing - he ran forward, turned the corner of the corridor, climbed the ash-covered stairs, and crashed into the thick black smoke.

Smoke and flames filled the entire space. Given the limited vision caused by wearing a gas mask, any human could easily get lost here, becoming food for the raging flames. However, Dusk and Yoel subconsciously believed that they would not lose their way and only needed to follow the figure in front of them.

Ten seconds after stepping onto the first floor, Rhodes knocked over several East German soldiers holding fire extinguishers, leaving a swift shadow wrapped in a strong wind on the glass cover of their gas masks and in their eyes that had to be squinted due to the thick smoke.

One, two, and then a third figure rushed into the billowing smoke, leaving only the East German soldiers looking at each other in bewilderment.

When the breathless pursuers arrived, the soldiers suddenly woke up and shouted:

"They're running towards Building 4, and there's no fire there!"

Building No. 4 wasn't on fire? Rhodes wasn't going to take the path anyone would take, much less step into the trap anyone could imagine—he was going to leave through the main entrance of the Stasi headquarters!

"Marianne, activate the colored smoke projection device!"

Accompanied by subtle muffled sounds almost simultaneously, the East German soldiers, officials and agents waiting outside the Stasi building saw dozens of small black dots falling from the sky!

With the entire Stasi headquarters as the center, smoke canisters emitting red, green, and milky white smoke made a hissing sound, as if mocking the panicked crowd around them.

The thick black smoke from the burning building mixed with smoke of different colors, stinging the eyes of all those who were not wearing protective masks, causing them to run and scream. Some wanted to maintain order, some wanted to continue to put out the fire, but under the swirling smoke, any effort could become an accomplice to the chaos.

The next second, the roar of the engine suddenly penetrated the smoke. The UAZ-3151 four-wheel jeep twisted left and right in the crowd, knocked aside several cars blocking the road, and sped away in the chaos, leaving only a mess.

At the same time, somewhere in West Germany.

"Superpower subject number 007, initial testing begins."

+ + + + + + + +

Chapter 245: Agent Vladimir Just Wants to Eat a Good Meal (3K)

German Democratic Republic, East Berlin, train station.

Agent Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who had just arrived from Dresden, got out of the car with a slightly tired body. He was sent to East Berlin by the KGB's East German district director to conduct a peripheral investigation into the "Stasi headquarters attack" - investigating and visiting the city in order to find some clues.

如他一般被紧急调来的克格勃特工还有很多，但此事件的影响过于恶劣，以至于两德合并的进程都被延后，合并时间自1990年的10月3日延期至1991年的1月1日。

After passing through the train station exit filled with police, Agent Vladimir looked down at the map of East Berlin in his hand, then glanced at the big clock on the train station building, and decided to fill his stomach first... Having his tire punctured once was enough, otherwise it might be his head that would be punctured next time.

Vladimir carried his small handbag and bought a copy of the latest newspaper from a newsstand at the edge of the square. The front-page headlines were about the Stasi headquarters engulfed in flames, and of course, the unfortunate Reichstag.

After a casual glance, Vladimir rolled up the map and newspaper, tucked them between his arms, and followed the crowd deeper into the city. Berlin has never been a pleasant city. From the ancient Germanic barbarian period to the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, World War I and World War II, and finally to the present, the national character of the Germans seems to have been cast in steel and stereotypes, reflected in this city built of reinforced concrete and secret police.

You can even buy Beatles records in Moscow! (Note ①)

Vladimir complained in his heart. He passed by a store and saw the deputy government spokesperson appearing on the TV facing the street. The woman seemed to be a physicist from Templin, her name was... Angela Dorothea Merkel, and she was reporting the government's investigation decision to the public and condemning the mastermind behind the incident.

Although he didn't know why the Germans there always sounded like a great painter giving a speech when speaking in public or flirting in daily life, Vladimir chose to ignore the sound of the TV and walked down the street into a restaurant with a fairly lively atmosphere.

The restaurant is spacious, with tables of varying sizes placed throughout. Hanging on the walls are small wine jugs of various shapes and some West Slavic-style ornaments, seemingly small items the restaurant owner acquired while traveling in Eastern Europe. It also doubles as a coffee shop, which is why it's packed with diners.

Everyone was talking excitedly about the burning of the Stasi headquarters, as if the secret police who were monitoring them had completely disappeared - in fact, this was indeed the case - which made many people drink and curse, rejoicing that the Stasi had suffered a big setback.

Vladimir sat down at a random table in the restaurant. He had originally planned to leave when he saw so many diners inside, but after hearing the conversation inside, he changed his mind and decided to find a seat... maybe even share a seat with others.

"I'm so sorry, there are so many people here, so can I sit here? Let's share the table. I'll leave after I finish eating."

Vladimir asked a young man, who raised his head. He was young, handsome, and had extremely rare silver hair. However, the surprise in his blue eyes and the playful smile that flashed across his face made people feel quite uncomfortable.

"Of course," the young man said in German, but he switched to Russian for the rest of the sentence. "Please sit down, Russian."

When these familiar words reached Vladimir's ears, his right hand twitched slightly, then subconsciously dropped to his waist. The voices of the surrounding diners seemed to fade into the distance. Only he and the young man sitting at the table, slowly eating, were left in the entire restaurant.

"...Thank you for your kindness."

Vladimir chose to sit down and saw that the young man in front of him had a half-eaten steak and pea soup in front of him, as well as a salad made of some seasonal vegetables, and a glass of almost untouched wine on the side. This was a very expensive meal, very different from the others in the restaurant.

"I'm curious, how did you figure that out?" the KGB agent asked. "And you don't seem to be German either."

"I'm a businessman. I came here a few days ago for money. You know, the two countries are merging, and this is an opportunity for people like us. So, let me ask you, after what happened at the Stasi headquarters yesterday, who else would come here?"

“There were also a lot of people at the train station in East Berlin.”

"But you're the only one who walked into the restaurant, took a quick look around, wanted to leave, but changed your mind after hearing all this talk... Of course, I'm just guessing. I don't think this gentleman will report me to the Stasi, right?"

"I'm not that boring," the KGB agent said, his lips twitching into what looked like a smile. "I heard yesterday's incident was quite a commotion. Perhaps you could tell me what happened from an outsider's perspective."

"Aren't you worried I'm a spy?" The young man forked up a piece of steak and stuffed the slightly cold delicacy into his mouth. After chewing it for a while, he revealed a satisfied expression. "The reviews of this restaurant are really true. It's the best value in the surrounding blocks."

After carefully examining the young man, Vladimir reached out and picked up the menu beside him, saying casually:

"What's the point of saying this now? It's just a job I do."

"That's quite true, sir from the Lubyanka Hotel—but then again, you look like you could become the future chairman of Soviet Russia."

The future of Soviet Russia? This bizarre statement is like a short solo added after the performance of "Indissoluble Union", which sounds both sad and magnificent.

Vladimir didn't pay attention to what the young man said. He just kept in mind the fact that the young man had guessed his identity and planned to report it to his superiors - if he could successfully contact him in the afternoon and he was not shot to death in the alley.

After simply ordering a meal, the KGB agent lowered his voice and continued to ask:

"So...what information can you provide?"

"I'm going to the Soviet Union by train," the young man said calmly, wiping his mouth with his napkin. "If you don't bother me, I can provide you with some exclusive information about the Stasi headquarters."

"...You are not a businessman, you are an information dealer."

"Actually, I'm a businessman. After all, I can't make that much money just by selling intelligence... and business intelligence is still intelligence, isn't it?"

The young man smiled, lowered his voice, and leaned over to the KGB agent and said:

"Someone wielded a flaming sword and burned down the entire Stasi headquarters to protect his subordinates. A female CIA agent even had her nose broken. She will later be transferred to Southeast Asia. Much like the Eiffel Tower fire in Paris, this incident will become a landmark event in history books—a sign that humanity is entering a new era."

"The dark waves tore the little craft of human civilization upside down, tossing countless lives overboard, becoming nightmare corpses amidst the surging tsunami. Some resisted, some surrendered, and some even attempted to control the terrifying supernatural forces. But one thing is certain... the direction of human civilization's progress will inevitably change."

Vladimir: "...You're kidding me. This sounds like a fantasy plot from a third-rate novel."

"Think whatever you want, I won't lie to you," the young man shrugged, seemingly unconcerned with the man's anger and implicit threats. "It's almost time for me to take a bus to the Soviet Union. Perhaps we'll meet again in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) or Moscow, Mr. Vladimir."

"you?!"

The young man stood up and put his hands on the KGB agent's shoulders, locking the latter almost firmly to the seat. The force was so great that the wooden chair made a strange creaking sound.

"Sit quietly until you finish your meal slowly, sir."

There was a hint of coldness in the voice, and Vladimir felt as if a sharp knife was pressed against the skin of his neck, and the owner of the knife was hesitating - hesitating whether to kill him here - but the coldness soon disappeared, leaving only one sentence echoing in his ears:

"Compared to other insects, you are indeed more suitable. I am very optimistic about you, the future Chairman of the Soviet Union, or, Mr. President? We will meet again."

"..."

Vladimir sat on a chair and saw the young man leave the restaurant, hug two women, and then walk towards the train station.

After a few seconds of silence, the KGB agent shifted his gaze to the food that had been delivered. Although his mind was in a mess, he decided to finish his meal first - as he had said before, he didn't want to go hungry before someone stabbed his head in the face.

night.

When Agent Vladimir finally confirmed that no one was following or chasing him, he contacted his superiors and asked a question:

"Did any female staff member have their nose broken during the attack on Stasi headquarters?"

After more than ten minutes, he got an answer.

"Have."

At that moment, what emerged in Vladimir's heart was not the regret for letting the information go, but... the fear of the future.