Long-term salvation

He just hoped that the uncontrolled inner world cracks wouldn't transform the entire mountain into a moving mountain giant. Rhode didn't have anything like the Mech Hunter or the God Titan now. Wait, given the nature of this world, wouldn't some Kaiju emerge from the Pacific Ocean again?

Rhode frowned as he walked forward in his wild thoughts, causing Marian beside him to ask worriedly:

"Commander, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but the future is uncertain," Rhode replied in a low voice, but then he laughed, "It seems like it's been a long time since we two fought together. Just the two of us, without Little Red Riding Hood and the others, and without Yuka and the others."

"It's not a very old memory, Commander," the beautiful woman's eyes blinked, twinkling like stars in the night sky behind the transparent mask. "After all, you haven't been in this world for very long, less than a year!"

“We’ve been through a lot.”

“There will be more later.”

"...Though I really don't want to disturb you two," Perseus coughed a few times and continued amid the chuckles of the surrounding soldiers, "We're almost there—the main testing area."

Rhodes looked in the direction of the sound and saw a dark red light.

The space in front of the main test area is very spacious, and there is even a small track leading to the passage on the left, but the walls - whether it is the walls on both sides of the corridor, the solid steel floor, or the artificially carved rock ceiling above, are all slowly "cracked" at this moment.

Dark red lava flows and wriggles in the cracks, and greed and malice pour into the real world through the sulfur gas spewing out from them. If you look closely at the cracks, you can see cheek pouches as densely packed as insect eggs, inside which live twisted and blasphemous supernatural creatures.

The cracks extended along the wall towards the deepest gate, and there was no intersection in the densest area. They were like hairlines thrown out from the gate, penetrating deeper into the mountains little by little, poisoning the soil and corroding the rocks.

Perhaps it was the dark red veins that had snaked out from the gate over the past few decades, allowing the liquid lava fire to rise and fall between the cracks in the stone like a heart pumping blood. Pumping the power of the supernatural dimension through the veins and cracks to create the lair of the strange abomination.

Now, the gate was exposed to Rhodes without reservation - it was made of thick high-strength metal, welded and sealed with cement, layer by layer - but now, a crooked crack appeared in the center of the gate, looking like the vertical pupil of a beast.

During these ten years, there was a human who faced it head-on and defeated it.

Now, it was staring at Rhodes.

Staring at all humans who come here.

Suddenly, Perseus and the soldiers felt a surge of blood, and the howling and desire of wild beasts penetrated into their minds, bombarding the high walls of reason and spirit, trying to turn them into hysterics - their own kind.

Kill him, kill him, kill him! Pull the trigger, draw the knife, pull the ring!

Become a beast! Become a ghoul in the graveyard!

……No.

I will never betray my comrades!

Soldier Tymoshenko suddenly broke free from the illusion, breathing in pain as he saw the muzzle of his gun had tilted dangerously. This made the soldier subconsciously let out a cry, and he took a half step back, realizing that the people around him were no different from him, all moving their guns away from their companions.

"It's a disaster. Everyone, don't move. Back off."

Rhode, sensing the strange phenomenon, suddenly raised his hand and signaled the soldiers to retreat, alerting them to any cracks where monsters might emerge.

"Let me go and take a look alone... Well, the energy of the other world here is too active. Your brain and soul may be contaminated. Take this!"

After throwing a small piece of black stone to Perseus, Rhodes nodded to Marian, who then took a few steps to the side, raised her machine gun and aimed at the gate.

Slowly moving forward, Rhodes carefully stepped over the cracks. He saw countless zombies moving here, so many that they looked like a mountain torrent rushing down the canyon, which made people feel disgusted.

However, what made him even more worried and desperate was the current situation, which was worse than Rhodes had expected.

"Tsk, this thing has completely gotten out of control."

Rhode frowned and slowly walked to the front door. He took a deep breath and stared intently at the crack that looked like a beast's eye.

Behind the gate, a dazzling red-purple vortex was slowly twisting, and countless machine parts were moving along the vortex. In the middle of the vortex, a fist-sized dark red rock was emitting silver snake-like electric currents from time to time. The electric currents touched each other and returned to the huge coil device that was faintly emerging in the darkness and shadows.

The vortex is infinitely far away, yet infinitely close. The inside is already in another dimension, and is still falling.

The Death Ray prototype has completely disintegrated, and the Black Stone, which is necessary for the prototype to start up, has also gone out of control, making the space within the entire secret base extremely fragile.

Black Stone has two sides indeed...

Now, the [Out of Control Black Stone] must be hit accurately enough to close the strengthened inner world rift or return it to a manageable level - however, at this angle, the bullets Abigail gave could not penetrate, and even if they did, it would be difficult to guarantee the effect.

Similarly, Rhode felt that if he truly unleashed the flaming sword, the temporary balance maintained by the surrounding inner world's energy would collapse immediately. At that point, the active energy would drag this place into the inner world, reversing the surface and interior, shifting part of the ghouls' lair here... What should he do now?

We can't really blow the mountain away, right?

"..."

——Wait, this idea sounds good.

If the Soviets were to deal with it themselves, they would probably end up dropping a nuclear bomb here, letting the star's destructive light turn all the desecration and distortion here into dust.

With a flash of enlightenment, Rhodes took out the bullets given by Nyako, the bullets that symbolized "chaos" - three bullets could tear a crack in the real world, so what would happen if he used two bullets?

He could try. He didn't have the time or energy to use real-world tools to chip away at the zombies' frenzy. Even if he did, it would be time-consuming, and the cracks might get out of control... These Soviets were blocking it too tightly!

At this moment, the only way to deal with it is to use the same method as dealing with dud shells - first use "explosives" to detonate and destroy it, and then use "soil" to cover the flames produced by the explosion!

Rhodes loaded the remaining two bullets into the revolver's cylinder, then turned and said to the others:

"You guys evacuate here now and prepare to meet me outside."

"……what?"

Facing those astonished eyes, Rhodes explained calmly:

"I'm going to blow this door open, but the world's energy there will absolutely get out of control, and I'm going to escape before the mountain explodes out of control. Don't even think about staying with me. Can you run as fast as me?"

After saying that, Rhodes turned his head to look at Marian. The latter's facial muscles were tense, and she obviously didn't like Rhodes' decision, but she was Nikki, and the person standing in front of her was her commander.

"Marian, escort them out of here. I heard a new group of ghouls rushing here... I have the ability to escape from the other world, but you don't. Be obedient."

After seeing off the reluctant Nikki, Rhodes jokingly waved to Perseus and the soldiers who were saluting him, signaling them to leave quickly.

As fierce gunfire rang out again in the dark passage, and as the ghouls struggled to emerge from the cracks, Rhode looked up at the beast-eye crack on the gate and said with a low laugh:

"It does look like an eye, but unfortunately, you're going blind soon."

Chapter 254: Crossing the Landslide! (2/4·4K)

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 1]

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 1]

[The other world...]

Ignoring the frequent reminder sounds, Rhodes stood there and checked the magazine for the last time, then leisurely shot at the zombies that had not yet emerged from the cracks.

The monsters that were shot were quickly dragged back by their kind and disappeared into countless insatiable gluttonous mouths.

The smell of sulfur suddenly became thicker, and Rhodes felt the filter of his gas mask getting hot. He glanced at the walls on both sides, where the concrete walls had completely fallen off, and the exposed rock layers clearly showed dark red lava veins shaped like tree roots.

These glowing "vascular networks" are expanding and swelling at a speed visible to the naked eye, and each pulsation causes the wall to ooze out mucus with a bloody and sulfurous smell.

Calculating the time, Rhodes turned and walked in the direction he came from.

He stepped on the head of the zombie that popped out from the crack in the ground, crushing its twisted skull, causing it to let out a miserable scream and fall into the wriggling "magma", but more of its kind crawled out from the cracks in the distance, breathing the turbid air of the real world happily, and shaking their bodies to sprinkle sulfur and rotten blood on the ground.

Then, the zombies pounced on the only flesh and blood body in the place.

The 5.45mm 7N6M bullet immediately exploded on the blood-red limb, and the rotten blood inside poured onto the surface of the stealth suit like a rain of sulfur and fire, leaving a dirty mark.

Rhodes fired several shots with the rifle in one hand, then pulled out the dagger from his waist and slashed at the zombie that was rushing towards him. The severed limb was still twitching when it fell to the ground, and hot blood-red sulfur steam spewed out of the crack.

"It's almost time."

Rhodes smashed the head of the charging zombie with one punch. His already powerful strength was slightly enhanced by the stealth suit, allowing him to charge through the beast tide like a heavy tank!

Now, he exhaled slowly, pulled out his revolver and aimed at the beast eyes on the gate.

shot.

The moment the bullet was released from the barrel, the turbid air filled with the smell of sulfur was torn apart with a shrill scream. The air resistance accumulated at the tip of the bullet into a conical shock wave, which enabled the bullet to rotate and cut through the dust and fog, passing through the tide of zombies - the contact occurred in just one tenth of a blink of an eye.

Before the bullet even touched the crack on the door's surface, the metal body had already broken apart, and the bound chaotic power gushed out - a vortex like a black hole appeared in the blink of an eye.

Before the copper shell of the projectile fell to the ground like scattered star fragments, Rhodes turned and started running.

The world is collapsing behind him, playing a magnificent and chaotic melody.

Rhodes leaped over the corpses of the zombies and the collapsed metal beams. The fibers at the joints of his stealth suit made a slight friction sound, as if it was begging for mercy in pain because it was about to be torn apart. The muscles strengthened by the high-dimensional existence instantly tensed, and burst out with strength that a mortal body could never possess.

He had already discarded his gas mask. As soon as it landed, it was engulfed by the spreading lava and foul energy, transforming into a human face and emitting a meaningless howl. Even the ghouls couldn't survive this chaotic energy. Their flesh exploded, and the blood mist and genes—if they even had such things—fused together under the alien energy, then instantly collapsed, transforming into billions of raindrops emitting a dark red glow.

Raindrops poured down, and the breath of destruction rolled in, about to catch up with Rhodes... He was caught up.

The passage ahead began to twist and wriggle, like the intestines of a living creature, and the lava and sulfur gushing out from it were digestive juices. The ghouls hid behind it, waiting for the moment to feast.

This is no metaphor.

Rhodes watched in amazement as the right-angled bend in front of him squirmed like a melting wax figure. The structure of the passage was reorganized in real time under the control of supernatural forces, becoming twisted and complex, like a dark maze spinning like a kaleidoscope - but someone was running with him!

Looking forward, then turning to look to both sides, Rhodes saw a shadow appearing here:

Teams of fully armed soldiers were running.

They were the Soviet soldiers of that time, soldiers who were mobilized to suppress the out-of-control cracks in the inner world.

The illusory Soviet soldiers used rifles and machine guns to fire at the enemy that did not appear here. Some were roaring loudly, while others were holding down their comrades whose thighs or arms had been cut off. Human blood had been spilled here decades ago! Their fate was already determined, but no one chose to retreat.

Rhodes continued to run forward, going in the opposite direction of the soldiers.

He was running when he heard a shout:

"Who are you?! Where are you from?!"

Following the sound, Rhodes saw a Soviet soldier also running. He was wearing a gas mask, his eyes full of shock and... joy.

"You, you are—Kazimir Zykov?"

Rhode cried out subconsciously. He almost thought the Dark Aether had appeared in this unfortunate world... But if it really did appear, it was probably a derivative of the other world. As the saying goes, "Too much debt, no worries." Rhode now felt numb.

What will come next? Nazi zombies? Or the German Ulster (comic)?

"You know my name! We succeeded, and our comrades' sacrifices are remembered... We defended our country and our people!"

The Soviet soldier shouted in surprise, but his voice and joy soon faded. The two figures gradually faded away and became dim, and darkness and chaos followed them. In the intermittent words of panting due to running, Zhikov suddenly raised his voice and shouted:

"I can't leave this world, but you are different—you have to keep running and never stop!"

"Thank you for your advice. You deserve a Gold Star, but this is all I have right now." Rhodes smiled and tossed a small black stone, the size of a fingernail, to the corporeal Soviet soldier. "Take this and try to run in another direction... Perhaps in the future, I'll have a chance to rescue you."

The Soviet soldier did not respond, but just waved his hand after taking the black stone, as if he had already given up hope.

The two people's paths no longer intersected, as if what just happened was just a fleeting miracle.

However, for Rhodes, this was indeed a miracle - it seemed that because of Zikov's appearance, a lot of the violent energy of the other world was diverted, making the road ahead in front of Rhodes again, but the same was true for those zombies.

"Tsk... why don't you blow up all those bastards..."

Rhodes frowned and swung his fist, knocking away the zombies that were blocking his way. The latter were struggling to get out from the dark red cracks that had spread to the outer gate, one after another, as if there was no end.

"How did these scum manage to squeeze through the cracks in the rubble?!"

The moment he rushed out of the gate of the secret experimental base and passed through the blasted passage, Rhodes was hit in the face by a bright light.

He squinted his eyes, letting the fresh and cold air fill his lungs, letting the blood and adrenaline rush into his brain again, so that he could run faster:

The top of Mount Horachli exploded immediately!

When the energy from the inner world broke through the rock layer and the gate, time seemed to freeze for a moment. Dust and gravel were suspended in the air, reflecting the ever-changing rainbow gushing out from the interior of the mountain, but soon turned into a dark red lava glow.

The shock wave from the explosion burned ring-shaped scorch marks through the clouds, as if a deep hole had been burned into the twilight sky itself.

Rhode ran wildly in the collapsing rubble. Every crack in the stone might jump out a zombie. Because of this, he had to turn left and right, pull out his revolver and fire a burst of shots.

Shadows, new shadows appeared beside Rhodes. They seemed to be the Dyatlov mountaineering team, staring at the sky in amazement... They seemed to have been awakened by the roar, escaped from the tent, and now began to run.

Soon, the figures of these poor young people disappeared completely.

"commander!"

A familiar voice came from above his head, along with the roar of the Mi-8 helicopter's rotors - Marianne, Little Red Riding Hood, Perseus, Sablin... everyone was looking at him worriedly.

"Provide cover fire, don't let the zombies disturb me! Helicopter, go to the cliff and prepare for support!"

Rhodes roared loudly, gritting his teeth, feeling the pain in his lungs like a burning flame, and ran diagonally towards the cliff... He could even feel the slight pain of the next piece of rubble hitting him!

Marian's machine gun fire flew past Rhodes' scalp, and the huge pieces of rubble and monsters that might have caused obstacles were smashed one by one by Little Red Riding Hood.

Amid the loud noise of rockfall, Rhodes discovered that there was no road ahead. The helicopter was hovering about three meters away from the cliff face. This was already the most dangerous distance. If he was not careful, the helicopter would be destroyed and everyone on board would die!

"Tsk, when I find the chance I'm going to send tanks over to send them all into the sky!"

Rhodes shouted angrily and jumped high. Gravel like a torrent rolled under his feet, and he let out an angry and unwilling roar.