Long-term salvation

"And just like that, whether you believe it or not, the world has been saved several times... well, at least many cities and towns have been saved."

Hearing this, the bartender just shrugged and said unhappily:

"Some time ago, an archaeological team headed towards that damn xenophobic, dilapidated town, claiming they were going to uncover unknown history and mysteries. There's been no major news yet, so maybe they're dead."

"You're so vicious, man, both to the archaeological team and to the town."

After receiving a disdainful laugh, Carter continued unconcerned:

"What about that archaeological team? I didn't think they'd come here... You know, they obviously call themselves respectable people and are going to drink coffee in a coffee shop."

"The scholars are certainly respectable people, but the people helping carry the supplies aren't," the bartender said, serving drinks to the other patrons and then returning to the bar. "It seems a congressman sponsored this trip, saying he was going there to find something. The group is full of college students and professors. They think they're from... Brown University? Whatever, it's a place I can't afford to go to anyway."

This is good news.

Carter thought about how excited he was after receiving the news about the silver-haired descendant of the evil god, and immediately began to gather information about the town called "Innsmouth"—

However, this place name seemed to have been wiped off the map out of disgust, and was forgotten by most people. Carter even suspected that Innsmouth did not exist in the official records of the United States government... Only sporadic documents from the Civil War mentioned this name, and the rest were legends and rumors passed down by word of mouth.

Perhaps for some strange reason, the United States government has once again paid attention to Innsmouth, but that's all.

Now it seems like he's just a fool with too much money to spend who wants to sponsor an archaeological team to go there so that he can collect some small items to show off to others at a party, or to say some words to a beautiful college girl in bed so that he can gain her admiring gaze.

Now, in addition to driving yourself or taking a boat to the port which is too small to be called a fishing port or passenger port, there are two buses to Innsmouth in the early morning and evening, but only Innsmouth people take them - no one remembers the appearance of the bus driver, and no one notices whether anyone gets on or off the bus.

Did that car really lead to Innsmouth? Was Innsmouth really inhabited by humans? At least in this small city on the west coast of the United States, no one knew, and no one cared.

"It's been so long, and the friend you're waiting for hasn't arrived yet?" the bartender asked. He was a little annoyed by the chattering guy in front of him. "If you want to find a table to lie down for a while, you can. There are plenty of them in the corners. Just keep an eye on your belongings and don't expect me to guard you."

"Be patient, sir, I will...Oh! Rod!"

Carter shouted in surprise. He took out a few damp US dollar bills from his pocket and slapped them on the bar, then picked up his things and walked out of the tavern.

The writer avoided the drunkards who were in a daze, walked between the roughly made tables and chairs, and stepped into the drizzle under the dim light of the pub.

The bartender caught a glimpse of silver light flashing through the crack in the door, then sighed, looked at the banknotes on the bar, and said while shaking his head:

"You fool, you already paid for the drinks at the beginning."

Chapter 331: Innsmouth Welcomes You

The car drove along the barely maintained road, and although it was daytime, the headlights still needed to be on to illuminate the way ahead. The drizzle hit the windshield, but was quickly tossed aside by the wipers, slowly flowing down the curve of the hood and into the small puddle on the road.

"I hope you are not tired of waiting, Director Randolph Carter."

"Just call me Carter, Rod. I remember I've said this many times," Carter sat in the back seat of the car. He wiped his leather shoes with a slightly dirty rag and flicked off the rags on his trouser legs. "Also, is this Miss Nayako the only one here this time?"

"Abigail is not able to come along, and the others are not suited to facing those unspeakable evil gods. The clansmen are another matter."

As Rhodes replied, he used his fingers to touch Nayako who came towards him for a kiss. The latter's ahoge hair was swinging back and forth, and she looked very happy.

"...Then you didn't hesitate at all when you called me over."

"If I hadn't called you, you would have complained about it later," Rod responded with a smile. He rolled down the window a little and lit a cigarette. "Did you bring a weapon this time?"

"HK MP5A3, telescopic stock, I brought a few extra magazines, and I'm wearing an Atlas lightweight bulletproof vest," Carter introduced enthusiastically. He patted his violin case, opened it and checked it, and said with a little fear:

"I have an Italian friend who got his guitar case mixed up when he was in middle school. As a result, his dad got into a fight with someone... But after that, no one dared to bully him when he went to school."

Hearing Carter's words, Rod's mood became a little happier. He looked out the car window, but only saw the gloomy sky in the distance and the heavy drizzle that had not stopped for the past week.

It looks like the drizzle will gradually turn into heavy rain in the next few days - this is not good news, especially in late winter in North America - although there will be no snow, the cold rain and humid air can still take the lives of those homeless people at night.

A faint smell of the sea seeped into the car through the gaps in the window, causing Rhodes to frown slightly.

"Let's talk business, Rod," Carter took out a small notebook from his jacket pocket, blew on the small ballpoint pen hanging next to it, and then wrote down the poem that had just flashed through his mind:

Queen Cassilda was lost in thought in her room, thinking about her fleeting, empty past...

Her dream disturbed the waters of Lake Hali, where an ancient prophet slept...

"Why are we going to Innsmouth? The phone calls and letters between you and Miss Nayako are so vague, just like those writers who like to use Gothic language to describe huge and unfathomable things. Such people's books will never sell well in their lifetime."

"I really wish you could focus on improving your writing skills instead of complaining about me," Rhodes said unhappily. He stuffed the butt of his cigarette out the window and closed it. "We're going to find something—and then use it to find another place. Killing those abominable monsters is just a side job."

[Side Quest: The Haze of Innsmouth]

Mission Description: Go to Innsmouth, resolve the Evil God's revival incident, and search for artifacts to continue the base construction side quest.

The evil god is resurrected.

What else could be revived in Innsmouth? Dagon, Hydra, or the fat green boy?

Thinking of this, Rhode turned his head to look at Nayako in the passenger seat and asked with a little curiosity:

"How are you prepared? Don't tell me we'll have to face a whole city of fish-headed people as soon as we get off the bus."

"Fish-headed man?! Hey, hey, hey, Ms. Rhodes and Ms. Nayako, please don't joke about this. I also heard that an archaeological team from Brown University also ran in."

Carter screamed, causing the strokes on his notebook to shift slightly - the sun was swallowed by the water of Lake Harry, just as the truth was buried in the wisdom of eternity - the spelling of the word describing "eternity" was printed with a black slant. He hesitated for a few seconds, then crossed out the entire paragraph, making the text completely lose its power.

"Actually, nothing will happen right away. The townspeople are relatively normal right now, but who knows in a few days." Noticing what was happening in the back seat of the car, Nayako gave a dangerous smile. She reached out and tangled her ahoge between her fingers, saying pointedly, "Rod, how many Chaos bullets do I give you left?"

"A full magazine, six rounds."

"That's good, I'm sure it'll come in handy," Nayako stretched, her hair banging against the car roof. "Besides, I found a helper in the local town, and he's happy to help us, even without asking for anything in return... He's a really nice guy, isn't he?"

Helper? Hearing this, Rhodes looked back in surprise. He had never heard the girl mention this before getting in the car.

In response to Rhode's doubts, Nayako just raised a finger and then hummed some strange songs:

"爱はHUNZHUNORIYE~~~Now I'm a private person?"

As the silver-haired girl hummed with interest, the car drove out of the bumpy road and turned onto a gravel road. The gravel that made up the road was washed clean by the rain, like pieces of pure white shells inlaid on the dirty earth. However, they had slightly sharp edges and corners, and hidden within them were bacteria and dirt that could make people seriously ill.

The town of Innsmouth was already faintly visible in the slightly fishy sea mist not far away.

Through the windshield, Rhodes put on the all-seeing eye mask and looked at the town. He didn't find anything particularly strange, but the sea breeze was carrying a salty and sweet smell of some kind of corruption, blowing the concealed malice in, almost making him feel that his eyes were turning into two rotten oysters.

"...It's not a good place. Fortunately, this town is not in Massachusetts like in the original novel, but on the Pacific side of North America."

Taking a deep breath, Rhodes withdrew his gaze and concentrated on driving.

It took five or six minutes for the car to slowly approach the town. At Naiyazi's request, Rod stopped at the entrance of the town, where a tall and thin man was waiting.

After all three got off the car, Rhodes could see the man's face clearly in the mist. He had a pair of old-fashioned round glasses on his nose, and he was wearing a yellow suit with a dark brown vest and a shirt of the same color. On his head, he wore a bowler hat similar to Randolph Carter's - this hat was naturally yellow.

Looking at the man in front of him, Rhodes suddenly felt a sharp pain in his eyes, especially his left eye with the all-seeing eye patch!

Rhodes felt a burning pain in his retina, as if countless glass fibers were moving behind his eyeballs. A yellow color beyond the color spectrum was condensing in front of his eyes, but it didn't seem like a real color. It was more like a pain signal that directly acted on the nerve endings!

A mild pain pierced Rhodes's brain, causing him to subconsciously open his lips and breathe in the fishy air of Innsmouth. In this moment, where time seemed to have frozen, a faint whisper echoed, echoing directly in his mind like the color:

[Say…my name…]

"Has..."

Beside the being whose figure had become blurred, a yellow robe was slowly fluttering in the non-existent wind - this was definitely not a cloth woven by humans, but more like a strange substance solidified by mixing the dusk glow with pus. A nebula-like glimmer flowed in every fold of the robe.

[Read out…my name…]

"Yellow...I refuse!"

[Begin to clean up the pollution in the other world]

[Pollution in the other world has been cleared]

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 400]

"!!!"

Rhodes suddenly woke up from his drowsiness and found himself still fighting beside the car. The three people next to him, including the man in the yellow suit, were looking at him with curiosity and concern.

"No, nothing." Rhodes took a deep breath, pressed his temple with his hand, tapped Nayako's head a few times, and said slowly:

"Please continue, Mr. Johannes van der Borg (from the game The Sinking City)."

Please continue, Hastur, the Yellow King.

"...Obedience is worse than respect," the incarnation of the Old One smiled faintly, "Mr. Rhodes, who is favored by the 'God'."

Chapter 332: Evil Spirit Reef Hotel

The sea breeze blew in from all directions, but it couldn't blow away the thin mist that shrouded the town.

Rod drove Johannes deeper into town. Johannes said he had booked rooms for them at a hotel some distance away. The town's architectural style was completely stuck in the 19th century, with almost no cars to be seen. Fortunately, the aftermath of civilization had still reached Innsmouth, leaving plenty of streetlights and neon signs that served as storefronts.

Glancing over the faces of the Innsmouth residents who occasionally appeared on the street, Rhodes tried to keep his mind as calm as possible, ignoring the xenophobic expressions on their ugly faces and the gradually becoming obvious lesions, or should we call it "atavism"?

Looking at the skulls that had begun to deform, Rhodes felt the urge to pull out the golden flaming sword stirring in his heart.

"I heard that an archaeological team from Brown University came here some time ago," Rhodes decided to change the subject and asked Johannes, "How are they doing?"

"An archaeological team? Oh! I provided them with a little 'help,' but unfortunately, the team leader, Professor Harriet Dough (from The Sinking City), has disappeared, and the entire team was dispersed by angry residents, forcing me to seek more help from outside."

Johannes spoke casually, taking off his glasses and wiping them with a handkerchief. He clearly didn't care about the life or death of the archaeological team members.

"As for why I need help... I'm not arrogant enough to claim to be 'all-knowing and all-powerful,' Mr. Rhodes."

Hearing this slightly sarcastic remark, Rhode didn't care and continued to ask:

"What did they find? Or rather—what did you guide them to find?"

"..."

From the rearview mirror, Rhodes saw a smile on Johannes' face, but the latter did not answer directly. Instead, he turned his head to look out the window and said softly:

"Here we are."

Rhodes stopped the car and saw the hotel sign called "Devil's Reef" appeared in front of him. For outsiders, staying in a place with this name in Innsmouth was not a good sign.

After getting off the bus, Rod followed Johannes into the hotel. The interior was neatly decorated, but there was a faint smell of the sea. Some water flowed over the creaking floorboards and seeped into the cracks, making one wonder if the entire hotel was built on a reef... or perhaps the entire town was like that.

The innkeeper's attitude was rude and impatient, as if he was annoyed that there were still tourists coming at this time of year. He had a thick chin, broad hands, and downward wrinkles on both sides of his neck, but these were insignificant compared to his pair of white eyes that almost never blinked.

Glancing at the ugly hotel owner, Rod took the key and went upstairs. He and Nayako shared a room while Carter stayed alone in a room.

Johannes clearly didn't want to stay in Rod's room for too long. He looked around and then stood by the window, observing the Innsmouth residents who were looking at him furtively from the street below. Pulling the gauze curtains closed, the gentleman in the yellow suit smiled and said, "I'm going to go to the next store and buy a place for you."

"Although you will definitely want to find the whereabouts of the archaeological team members, I can give you a little hint - there is a man in the archaeological team whose blood is connected to this filthy land. If you can find him, you can untie the first knot in this ball of thread."

A man? The unknown protagonist of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth," the protagonist of "Dagon," or Francis Wayland Thurston (from "Call of Cthulhu")? Oh no, this young man is still a student at Miskatonic University and even signed up for an expedition to Antarctica... I have a feeling this won't end well for him.

Then, considering how ruined this world is, he can't be the unlucky guy in "Dagon (2001 movie)"?

"That's it," Johannes shrugged, ignoring the change in Rhode's expression. He then walked out of the room without hesitation, leaving only a vague warning, "Not all residents in this town are pure Innsmouth people. There are other forces involved... Be careful, my beloved Mr. Rhode. They are not as easy to talk to as I am."

After saying this, Johannes made a pretentious greeting and left, but his footsteps in the corridor stopped abruptly after a few steps, and no sound was heard again.

After the footsteps disappeared, Rhode sighed, turned his head to look at Nayako and Randolph Carter, and said helplessly:

"It looks like we need to split up."

"What, act separately? This is simply the most classic suicide plot in horror movies!" Carter shook his head. Ever since he stepped into this town, he could clearly sense the malicious intent. It was even as if certain days were approaching. Most of the residents in the town were abnormally excited.

In this situation, Carter really didn't want to be torn to pieces by a group of ugly guys or suffer a more tragic fate because he ran out of bullets.

"Not so fast, Mr. Carter," Nayako laughed as she jumped up from Rhodes' bed, put her arm around Rhodes' arm, and poked his cheek with her ahoge before continuing, "I calculated the time. Just don't do anything drastic—just don't blow up the church in town near the sea."

"OK then."

Seeing the hesitation on Carter's face, Rhodes smiled and pulled out a town map. It divided the southwest and northeast urban areas into two parts, centered on two places marked "Church District" and "Old Church District".

The church district on the west side has more residents and more urban buildings closer to the sea, while the part of the old church district on the east side close to the land is very dilapidated. Although there is also a small port, it has been clearly marked as abandoned on the map - a glimpse of the town's development history can also be seen from this map.

Rhode's finger slid across the words "New District Church" on the map, feeling quite melancholy.

Where to look for clues now?

As he was thinking, Rhodes heard the sound of Carter opening the door. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the latter seemed to be about to leave the room.

"I'll go put my things away first," Carter shrugged. He glanced at Rhodes and Nayako, a hint of a smile on his face. "It's definitely not appropriate for me to stay in your room all the time."

Looking at the man in front of him and thinking about his wonderful experience, Rhode touched his chin and thought for a few seconds, then a smile appeared on his face:

"Director Carter, you've always been lucky. In that case, please go to the new church! Remember to bring your violin."

"…Are you sure you've thought this through carefully?"

"Obviously not," Rhodes replied with a smile, meeting Carter's suddenly wide eyes. "Don't worry, I'm just going to take a look. I'm walking around the town to gather intelligence. We'll communicate on the communication channel later."

As he spoke, Rhodes threw a communicator that looked like a walkie-talkie to Carter.