Long-term salvation

"A generous contribution from Nyako, Miskatonic University, and Aperture Technologies. The professors said there's some spell ripped from a book attached to the circuit board inside—you should be able to use it well."

"Will I hear some weird noises?" Carter took it suspiciously. "Like monsters howling, whispering... Hey, I can hear it inside this thing right now!"

No, no, no, you have already treated the Dreamland as your own backyard, what qualifications do you have to say that?

"Alright, alright, let's go, we don't have that much time to waste."

Resisting the urge to complain, Rhodes pushed Carter's back and drove him away. After sending the grumbling legendary investigator away, he turned his head to look at the silver-haired girl who was looking back at him with a smile, and said unhappily:

"You, you obviously know something and have bad intentions."

"You can't say that," Nayako pretended to be sad, but then she stood at attention, her hair standing straight up, and saluted Rhodes. "Soldier Nayako is ready and ready to go at any time!"

"...Forget it, you bastard. Let's go and take a look at the port first."

Chapter 333 Helpers in the Port (3K)

The salty mist from the sea drifted onto the streets, casting a frosted glass-like halo on the old street lamps. The sky was gray and drizzling, making it difficult to tell the time. Judging from the lit street lamps, it should be approaching dusk.

Rhodes was sure that he arrived in the town at noon, and he was just chatting in the room just now, which would not take four or five hours.

Time, or their perception of its passage, is blurring...and that's not good news.

In the drizzle, the sprawling, densely built town of Innsmouth exudes an ominous deadness, with no living creatures visible. But this is only an appearance, just like the vast and terrifying sea beneath which lies a paradise for countless lives.

After leaving the hotel, Rhodes and his companions walked along the streets, some good and some bad, crossing the cesspools filled with salty sea water.

"We need to hurry. This place is not far from the port, and Carter has been away for a while."

Rhodes whispered to Nayako that he saw the damp brick street ahead of him spread out like the gills of a rotten fish. Occasionally, some passing Innsmouth people would cast curious or disgusted glances at him... The former's "lesion" was not serious yet, and he looked more like a human being.

"The port and the fish market are connected, but in recent months, the people of Innsmouth have rarely sold their catch outside," the silver-haired descendant of the evil god chuckled, a hint of sarcasm crossing his lips. "There aren't many humans here anymore. It wasn't like this a few decades ago."

"I thought everyone here was—you know, descendants of the Deep Ones."

"I don't know the history of the town, but on this planet, the foundation of any city is humanity," Nayako said, spreading her hands and stepping out from under the umbrella Rhodes had held for her. "But, after this, it's hard to say... Maybe all of human civilization will be swallowed up by the tsunami."

What the hell? !

Rhode even sensed a hint of anticipation in Nayako's words. The corners of his eyes twitched slightly, and he quickly stepped forward and placed the umbrella over the girl's head again. Then, he grabbed her alopecia and said viciously:

"Tell me right now, what exactly are these fish-heads trying to do? Don't hide it!"

"Resurrection! That's all I know. As for what kind of resurrection it is, I don't know." The silver-haired girl was so upset that tears welled up in her eyes. "My dad knows more. Why don't you ask him? I can make a 'phone call' for you!"

"Well... never mind," Rhode let go of her hand. He really didn't want to feel his brain being tampered with by someone's fingers again, especially in this place. He put his arm around Nyako's shoulders and continued walking towards the port. "I've already ordered the Alicorn to approach us," he said as he walked. "At worst, a vacuum implosion bomb will wipe out the entire town, preventing them from causing trouble again."

"What if it's at the bottom of the sea?"

"Then I'll go down with the warhead and tie you up there!"

"Meow?! Are you going to commit suicide for love? I'm going to commit suicide for love, great!"

"No!"

It took Rhodes about ten minutes to bring Nayako to the town's small fishing port. It seemed that due to the bad weather, the townspeople had stopped going out fishing, leaving dozens of small fishing boats crowded in the port.

The dilapidated fishing boats connected by chains swayed and collided with each other on the choppy sea, making a low, dull sound.

The buildings at the port were dilapidated, but no one seemed dissatisfied with it. Only the canned fish factory next to it looked normal, except that its red brick walls were covered with dark green moss, or perhaps seaweed, as if the building had been soaked in sea water.

The fish market was set up under a cast iron shed on the inside of the breakwater. The rusty ceiling was dotted with incandescent lights, illuminating the fish that were lying dead on flat shelves. The stench here was much stronger than in the town, but the ugly-looking people of Innsmouth didn't care at all.

"I'll take a walk here, Rod can come too."

Nayako slipped away from Rhode's umbrella and wandered off to her own devices. Luckily, there were plenty of shelters here, simple but safe from the rain. The fine, dense raindrops hit the iron sheets, making a crackling sound, which was much better than the strange, oppressive atmosphere of the town.

"There are quite a few varieties of fish here, and they even sell dried fish." Rhode reached out and poked the hardened salted fish, which stared back blankly with its dead eyes. "The All-Seeing Eye patch didn't react, so it doesn't look like there's anything to worry about."

After wandering around the fish market, which had only a few scattered vendors, Rhode walked to the seashore and looked out at the long, undulating lines formed by the distant, gray sky and the sea kissing each other. This kiss quickly became more passionate, like the bodies of a man and a woman in love merging together, never to be separated.

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 20]

Rhodes: "...Shit."

Rhode looked away, not wanting his SAN to be lowered any further. He rubbed his head and glanced back, but couldn't see Nayako. He was about to call out when he saw her, seemingly engaged in conversation with a drunk.

The drunk man was not young, and his gray beard and hair stuck to his cheeks due to the humid air and rain, making his whole body exude an unpleasant fishy smell. According to his self-introduction, his name was Ezequiel, and he used to be a sailor but now made a living by helping people kill fish in the fish market.

Hearing this name, some broken memories pierced into Rhodes' mind like needles, causing him to frown subconsciously.

"Is it actually the old man in 'Demon Forbidden Zone' who doesn't believe in Dagon's esoteric religion?"

Although the drunkard didn't hear Rod's muttering, when his eyes fell on the latter's face, he suddenly let out a cry of surprise. He stumbled backwards, but then got up and crawled on his stomach. Ezequiel gasped in pain and stretched out his hand tremblingly:

He made the sign of the Christian cross on his chest.

"Interesting... I thought," Rhodes narrowed his eyes slightly and reached out to help the old man up from the ground, "I thought there were no Christians here anymore."

"Believe it or not, what's the point these days? I just used this thing as motivation to stay alive, but thankfully I persevered... God, I persevered until the Savior appeared... I just have a feeling, I feel like you're the one I should bow down to!"

Ezequiel whispered, trying to wipe away his tears, and continued with sobs:

“I thought about giving up, but luckily a lady came to my rescue and gave me advice – one day, someone will need my help.”

"Miss?"

"She was a tall lady," the old man said, trying to recall the past. His memory had become as vague as the time he had spent in Innsmouth. "She had a slim figure, wore a long black dress, a black veil, and a gold necklace... something like this."

Rhode looked at the mark the old man had scratched on the ground, and then he felt the world before him begin to crumble. Darkness began to wriggle, twist, swirl, and take shape in his vision, like the tentacles of an octopus with the hooves of a cow or sheep. Countless mouths opened beside his ears, whispering the most...

"!"

Blinking, Rhode lowered his head and saw that the drawn symbol had been stepped on by Nyako. The girl's face was full of vigilance as she grabbed the former's arm and said seriously:

"No Trinity!"

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 40]

"...I know what you mean, but your pronoun is a bit terrible. Apologize to 'I'!"

"No way to race! No way to race!"

"Tsundere is no longer fashionable!"

Rhodes, who had suffered a series of critical hits from the unbearable creature, stretched out his hand to block the evil god's offspring who was swinging his fist. He turned his head helplessly and looked at the old man. The latter found that he seemed to have messed up something and shrank slightly, his face full of pleading.

Seeing this, Rhode picked up Nayako and brought him into his arms. Under the old man's slightly surprised and awed gaze, he pulled him to a secluded place and asked:

"What happened in Innsmouth? Where's the archaeological team?"

"All I know is that this town was destroyed long ago and rebuilt many times, like a cycle. There weren't that many people who believed in the Dagon Cult in the past, but they have been increasing in number over the past few decades, and their followers have become more and more loyal, exclusive, and strange."

The old man sighed as he spoke:

"The people of Innsmouth have been gathering their catch to prepare food for a large ceremonial feast. They also talk about collecting gold and silver to fashion statues of their gods for Easter."

"It's a long time before Easter, old man."

Hearing Rhodes' words, the old man smiled bitterly, shook his head, and said:

"Who knows what kind of creature was resurrected? Someone like me, who doesn't believe in Dagon, can't possibly join their circle. That's exactly what I told the archaeological team. A few days ago, they rented a large fishing boat and set out from the harbor. They fished something out of the seabed... Oh my god, they're all injured, and some haven't even returned yet! But as soon as they reached shore, they were captured by the enraged bishop and his men, and their boat was sunk."

Sinking? Rhode turned his head to look at the harbor. The hulls of those fishing boats creaked strangely as they were hit by the waves, and the collisions squeezed out low roars like bound slaves.

"If I'm not mistaken, some members of the archaeological team must have escaped," Rhodes said.

"Yes, my Lord, yes! During the riot at the port, a group of men in black robes drove a truck carrying fish into the crowd, but they only managed to take away one man—the man was clutching a sling bag tightly, and it seemed that there was something very important inside."

"...Where did they go?"

“The old church district.”

Chapter 334: Carter's Bizarre Adventure (1/4)

Walking in the town of Innsmouth is never a pleasant experience, but it is a different story for Randolph Carter - he feels a strange sense of creepiness here, like the thrill of a knife passing through his neck. In the name of the great being who often invites him to travel to the supernatural dimension, is there anything more interesting than this?

Carter walked slowly along the street, stopping and starting along the way, writing down what he saw and heard in his notebook from time to time, holding an umbrella. He set out much earlier than Rhodes and the others, but he only reached the church in the new district when the latter arrived at the port.

The new church looked no different from any other Christian church, except that the cross had been removed long ago, and a golden giant eye symbol was placed on the top of the gate. Unlike other areas, there was quite a lot of traffic here, including quite a few elegantly dressed Innsmouth residents, who often had more serious "lesions" than others.

Just as Carter was about to follow the crowd to see the rather large church, he was stopped at the gate by guards on both sides. Their faces were hideous and their words were rude:

"Get out, outsider!"

"...First of all, I'm just a writer collecting folk songs," Carter tried to defend himself, even patting the violin case behind him. "At the same time, I'm also a musician. Are the people of Innsmouth so rude... Hey!"

The two guards ignored Carter's explanation and took his arms, one on each side, and led him out of the church. After pushing Carter against the wall, the guards said indifferently:

"Due to the bishop's order, no outsiders are allowed to enter Innsmouth's public facilities, especially the church, during this period!"

Reaching out to straighten his tie, Carter responded with an angry gesture, muttered a few words, and turned to leave - but he then quickly walked around the crowd, bent down and slipped around the corner of the church, and quietly climbed into the small courtyard of the building complex at the rear - this place seemed to be connected to the kitchen and cellar, making the yard full of round wooden barrels and the foul smell of fish, and there was also a cargo pickup truck with its back facing the side door.

With two balls of paper stuffed in his nose, Carter leaned against the wall to avoid two Innsmouth men working in the church, who were excitedly discussing the upcoming festival and why the bishop had postponed the celebration.

Looking at the two sets of webbed feet prints on the ground, Carter, who was hiding between two wooden barrels filled with sea fish, breathed a sigh of relief:

"Even though I failed at persuasion, my stealth was a success! So next... I really should go to Las Vegas and roll the dice again!"

Carter carefully entered through the half-open door, turned two corners, and saw a damp corridor. The paintings on the walls on both sides had become uglier, the dyes stained by the sea water blending together, but blending so much that they appeared a dirty dark green, like the skin peeled from some creature.

But more likely, it was a parody of the creature.

After taking a look at the painting, Carter vaguely heard some sounds, but he didn't take it to heart and continued walking forward.

At this moment, the so-called bishop and most of the people of Innsmouth were gathered in the church in the front half of the building complex. There were no people in the living area at the back where the clergy lived.

Carter wanted to pull out his communicator to ask Rhodes about the situation, but the only sound on the channel was the incessant, irritating sound of dripping water. Helplessly, he put it away and continued down the corridor, avoiding the occasional faculty members who passed by.

After walking around the building like a headless fly for several times, Carter overheard a faculty member scolding a helper. He tried hard to make out a few words such as "underground" and "foreigner" from the thick dialect, and then followed this information and his intuition to find a thick wooden door.

There was a large lock on the door that was covered with dark green rust. The edge of the keyhole was covered with scratches from the key, and it looked like it was often opened and locked.

Carter looked around, pulled a small Atlas bomb from his pocket, and attached it to the door lock. He then inserted the detonator and timer, then quickly retreated. With a small, muffled sound, like a firecracker being placed on the bottom of a stainless steel bowl, the door lock exploded, breaking half of the door handle.

After pulling off the door lock, Carter adjusted the door handle in an attempt to cover up his mistake, and then hid behind the wooden door.

Standing at the stairs, he listened carefully to the surrounding sounds. After confirming that no one was coming, Carter took out the MP5 from the violin case, loaded the magazine, and hung it around his neck with a gun belt. He then took out an M1911 pistol from the holster under his arm and slowly walked down the stairs.

The moment the beam of light from the lighting device on Carter's collar cut through the darkness, he felt his leather shoes stepping on some kind of gelatinous substance, which was slippery, salty, and slightly smelly, like the smell of a corpse soaked in sea water.

In the basement below the stairs, translucent slime was gurgling from the drain, mixed with scattered silver scales. There were faded purple curtains hanging here, and the damp fabrics hung down like corpses, dripping water down - the sound of dripping water was exactly the same as what Carter heard on the communication channel!

"Tsk, this communication device can't be distributed casually to frontline investigators... I really hope the professors at Miskatonic University can listen to these voices and complete the upgraded device before they go crazy."

Carter reached out his hand, and his fingertips carefully touched the velvet fabric. A slippery touch immediately crept up along his fingertips. He lifted the fabric, and the smell of rust and rotting flesh hit him in the face. Behind it was a deeper, downward passage.

"Well, Randolph Carter, 'No venture, no gain,'" Carter muttered the Chinese phrase he had learned from Dr. Peng, then cautiously entered the corridor. "This appears to be a rock staircase carved by humans...very sharp, and very old."

After taking a few steps, Carter heard the clear sound of waves - the sea water rolled in through the underground tunnel, hitting the walls at the end of the tunnel and the hanging human bodies.

This time, the human body hung like damp fabric, its feet swaying back and forth with the waves.

Blood trickled down their skinless bodies and dripped into the sea.

"..." Carter suppressed his anxiety and excitement for adventure. His face darkened, and a hint of anger rose in his chest. But as he slowly approached the bodies hanging in chains, he heard a woman's whispered prayer - reciting a passage from the Bible.

There's actually a living person here?!

Chapter 335: Barbara and Uzziah (Part 2 of 4)

After noticing the woman, Carter did not immediately lend a helping hand - his excessive sympathy had already caused him a lot of trouble.

After looking around vigilantly, Carter quickly walked to the wheel that controlled the chain and turned the device that looked like a sailboat steering wheel hard, allowing the chain to slide towards the land.

Noticing the movement of the chains, the young woman who hadn't been skinned looked up, a look of surprise and a hint of regret on her face. After Carter put her down, she gratefully put on the coat he handed her, trembling as she said,

"Thank you, stranger... I... I really don't know how to..."

"Keep your voice down," Carter said in a low voice. He looked around nervously and asked, "Are you a member of the Brown University archaeological team?"

"Yes, yes! Could it be the United States government—"

"Unfortunately, no, but we're more useful than they are," Carter said quickly. He took the woman's arm, helped her up, and walked outside. "What's your name?"

"Barbara (from "The Forbidden Zone")."