Long-term salvation

"That's good... Nayako, Qianye, let's go to the cliff in front of us on the right." Rhodes endured the discomfort all over his body and immediately ordered Helen in the Alicorn through the [Shiting Box] and the communication channel:

"Helen, release the calibration drones! Release a few, and then prepare for the electromagnetic cannon's main gun fire!"

"understand!"

"New Jersey!"

"Understood!" Needless to say, the ship girl glided across the sea and leaped high into the air. The next second, she transformed into a battleship and slammed down, slamming a Star Family member injured by the main gun bombardment into the seabed. "Commander, you can come directly!"

Without saying anything more, Rhodes suddenly injected himself with adrenaline, jumped off Nayako, picked him up, and ran towards the cliff - the huge and almost insane Cthulhu phantom was still chasing them, and the crazy god unscrupulously lured the energy of heaven and earth, making the storm even more violent!

Running all the way to the cliff, Rhodes felt like his lungs were a broken bellows, but the thought of quitting smoking only lingered in his mind for half a second before being driven away. Taking a deep breath, he calculated the time and distance, then shouted loudly:

"Pickman!"

"Meow!"

The black cat suddenly transformed into a black vortex, forcing Rhodes, carrying Nyako, and Qianye, carrying Abigail, to leap into it. The next second after the vortex vanished, the shadowy figure of Cthulhu stomped down heavily! The immense force caused the cliff to completely collapse, and debris mixed with raindrops fell into the sea, splashing thousands of times.

Elsewhere, Rhode and his companions were already rolling on the foredeck of the battleship New Jersey. However, without taking a breath, he immediately stood up with the help of the ship's daughter and looked towards R'lyeh.

The crazy phantom of the god has stepped into the sea, breaking through the waves and moving towards the battleship without hesitation.

"Tsk, this guy is really persistent." Rhode had already reached the observation deck on the outer edge of the bridge. He used his palm to block the strong wind and rain hitting his face. Amid the roar of the battleship's main guns, he shouted loudly to Qianye and Nayako, "Can you help deal with the enemy blocking our way?"

After receiving two thumbs-up, Rhodes focused all his attention and thoughts on the Cthulhu phantom that had circled to the front. He could hear his heart beating wildly under the stimulation of adrenaline, pumping blood into his brain to make his thoughts clearer.

One second, two seconds... Fifteen seconds later, Rhode heard Helen's voice on the communication channel, "Fire preparation is complete." After a final pause of one second, he gave the order:

"shooting!"

The 128-caliber 600mm 500-megajoule railgun let out a high-pitched cry, and the electromagnetically accelerated shells shot out immediately!

The raindrops on the trajectory were instantly ionized, forming ravines across the sky and earth. The torn air made a whistling sound, but before the whistling sound reached the ears, the chest of the Cthulhu phantom had been pierced!

Pierced by weapons created by human wisdom!

This time, there was no mystical bonus, no strange spells, just the purest natural laws of the real world and the perfect combination of engineering - at the moment of being hit, time and space seemed to be frozen, and the strange barnacles growing from the skin exploded, falling into the sea with raindrops, and some light fragments turned into dark green stardust suspended in the air, flickering in the slowly disappearing refracted afterglow.

The shadow of Cthulhu let out a deafening roar, but its body became even dimmer. It slowly moved forward and stretched out its hand toward the battleship.

At this moment, Rhodes saw the huge arm that created the phantom... This might be an opportunity.

"New Jersey," Rhodes put his hand on the shoulder of the ship girl who quietly appeared beside him and whispered, "Did you see that thing?"

"Yes, Commander."

"Crash at that thing! Concentrate all your firepower forward, main guns, secondary guns, cruise missiles, and Phalanx systems. Open fire! Overload your engines, my great battleships! Let's use the most primitive, purest, and most violent means to drive this abomination from our world!"

The ship girl didn't say anything, but the battleship under her suddenly accelerated.

Artillery fire roared, missiles were launched, and the battleship named "Black Dragon" cut through the surging waves and charged towards the crazy god in an almost reckless direction!

Three nautical miles, two nautical miles, one nautical mile... The monster's stench was almost tangible, torturing Rhodes mentally and physically, but the phantom of the evil god born from anger had become weak, and the two electromagnetic cannons from the Alicorn weakened it further.

Then, only the final blow remains.

Holding on to the railing, Rhodes stared into the angry eyes of the shadow that was getting closer and closer, but the speed of the battleship was still increasing, making the ship girl's face show a rare hint of ferocity!

Bump!

At the moment of the impact, the shadow of Cthulhu burst like a bubble, spreading filth and mess all around. The salty and fishy stench was like tens of millions of sea fish rotting at the same time, and the loud noise of the explosion pressed the sea surface into a nearly perfect sphere, causing thousands of tons of sea water to rise into the sky and then fall back!

At the moment of impact, the phantom of Cthulhu unleashed a piercing roar in another supernatural dimension, causing the sleeping creatures of Oceania and South America to have bizarre and abominable nightmares. However, these nightmares vanished without a trace after the battleship passed through the phantom, leaving little trace even in the deep memories of those creatures.

"...Commander, look."

New Jersey raised his finger and pointed at the distant clouds - at this moment, the storm had dissipated, leaving only a few drops of rain falling.

Rhodes looked in the direction of the ship girl's finger and saw a golden beam of light shooting out from the gap in the clouds, reflecting on the shimmering sea surface.

Yes, the sky clears up after the rain.

It was as if everything that had just happened was just an illusion.

Chapter 371 Aomori Miya and Rapunzel (3K)

[Side Quest: Call of Cthulhu (Completed)]

[Base Construction Side Quest: City of the Gods - Silent Watchtower (Completed)]

【Task rewards begin to be distributed】

[Pollution points collected in the other world] x2

[Character exchange voucher received] x2

[Android (from Detroit: Become Human) has been collected]

[System updating... Loading started]

In a dimension invisible to ordinary people, a torrent of pure white light descended from the distant sky, penetrating rain clouds, freezing strong winds, and tearing apart the darkness. It arrogantly and indifferently reshaped the area called "R'lyeh" - the dark green rocks from the alien planet were peeled off layer by layer, and turned into sand and dust on this planet. In just a few tens of seconds, a seemingly ordinary but not small dead island appeared in the gradually subsiding waves.

In the time it takes to breathe, the port, the giant dock, the airport with a single runway, the five towers supporting the light camouflage barrier, the [Black Box Factory] that integrates micro-mass-energy converters and manufactures maintenance components... and the [CSC (Cthulhu Sarcophagus Container) Power Generation Facility] built with the power of the Old Ones who are already deeply trapped in the vortex of dreams, all appear before the eyes of those who are about to set foot here again.

After calling Helen to steer the Alicorn closer, Rhode stretched his body on the foredeck of the battleship and felt the slight pain and weakness in his body disappear without a trace. Now, except for the fatigue caused by excessive physical exertion, the pain in his body had been "healed".

Watching Rhode clench and unclench his fist, Aomori Miya's mouth curled up slightly, but she still asked seriously:

"Sensei, feeling better now?"

Miya Aomori, a lovely girl with silver hair and green eyes, is a member of the Knights of Rescue, affiliated with Trinity Academy. Despite the strange reputation of "Miya destroys while the Knights heal," she remains steadfast in her principles. The character is based on Florence Nightingale, the goddess of lanterns, and the name of the deity is based on the Roman goddess Minerva.

This girl can hold a Winchester M1887 lever-action shotgun in one hand and a heavy riot shield in the other... The shield seems to be able to convert between a riot shield, a tower shield, a small buckler, and even a boarding shield, which is different from the original game.

But fortunately, she wouldn't take out a small sickle or something like that and wet it, and then yell at Rhodes, "Your sun has set."

"Much better. With you here in the future, not only me, but others will also be able to enjoy more appropriate treatment."

Rhode let out a long breath, opened his arms, and let the refreshing sea breeze caress him. After taking a few deep breaths, he turned his head to look at Nikki, who had her golden hair braided into a long braid, and said with a smile:

"My Rapunzel, you look like you have something else to say."

"Well... physical wounds can be healed, but you still need to be mindful of the contamination of your mind and soul," Rapunzel said softly, clasping her hands together with a hint of worry between her brows. "This is beyond the capabilities of Miss Cang Sen and I. Please be sure to—you look so strange in your expression."

"No, it's nothing. I'll keep an eye on it."

Rhode, regaining his composure, flicked Nikki's forehead with a smile, but a feeling welled up in his heart—it was actually Rapunzel from the Goddess Army era! Her name in the original game was labeled "Rapunzel: Pure Grace." Compared to the future "Rapunzel" with a head full of adultery and a love of fantasy, the current Nikki was serious and devout, fighting for humanity wholeheartedly.

The main challenge now is keeping an eye on Little Red Riding Hood to prevent her from corrupting Rapunzel again (in the original game, during the Goddess Army era, Little Red Riding Hood would encourage Rapunzel to read certain banned books). Of course, people like Nyaruko need to be even more cautious.

"As for you, you'll need to float on the sea with me for a while before returning to land," Rhode said apologetically. He reached out and touched Aomori Miya's head, causing the girl's eyes to narrow slightly and a look of joy and happiness on her face. "Perhaps the good news for you is that there will definitely be enough sea fish and other things to eat."

"I don't have any objection to that."

"Me too," Rapunzel reached out and grasped Rhode's hand. Feeling the warmth from his palm, her features softened, as if she were about to transform into tranquil water. "As long as you remain by our side, we can endure anything—in the name of God, we are happy to accept it."

Time seemed to stand still at this moment. The sunlight penetrated the remaining rain and reflected beautiful rainbows on the wet portholes of the warship, shining on the people standing on the front deck, giving everyone a golden halo.

After a few seconds of silence, Rhodes smiled gently and shook Nikki's hands with a slight force.

"By the way, can you guys treat Abigail and the others' injuries?" Rhode rubbed his chin as he retracted his hand. He glanced back at the bridge. Qianye and Nayako were leaning against the railing, talking incoherently, while Abigail lay dead in the room. "Especially Miya... I hadn't considered such a question before you, with your healing abilities, arrived."

“I’m healing myself more.”

Miya scratched her cheek with her fingers, a hint of embarrassment on her face. Then she reached out and patted the shield beside her, smiling and saying:

"As far as the ability to 'heal' others is concerned, I'm still not as good as my fellow Knights of the Rescue, but I won't give up trying!"

"Commander, I can heal others or create a barrier to protect them."

Rapunzel clasped her hands together and placed them across her chest, making her round, plump breasts look even more majestic, forcing Rhode to immediately look away. Nikki, not noticing her commander's embarrassment, simply said calmly,

"Including Miss Nyako and the others, but only in the physical body in the real world."

Now that I put it that way, it sounds a bit like the apothecary in Warhammer, with some psychic powers... Just looking at the weapons in the hands of these two girls, no one wants to test the power they can wield.

"That's good, that's enough."

Hearing the girls' reply, Rhode nodded slightly in a good mood. He leaned back against the railing and stretched out his hand to try to reach the waves cut by the warship's bow. When some waves splashed into his hand, he remembered something more important.

Reaching out and grabbing Nikki, Rhode met her still somewhat confused eyes and asked with a smile:

"I almost forgot something, my princess... Can you 'resurrect' others?"

That's right, in the original game, another version of Rapunzel had a resurrection skill called "Xanadu", but Rhodes didn't know if she could do it here.

After listening to Rhode's question, Rapunzel only responded in a low voice, her eyebrows drooping with an unspeakable sense of guilt:

"Not yet, Commander. Even I myself cannot predict future changes—but I have a vague feeling that Nikki will not be limited to her current strength—so I cannot give you an accurate... Uh-huh... I'm still talking, please don't pinch my cheeks..."

Looking at the serious Rapunzel, Rhodes became playful. He reached out and pinched Nikki's cheeks and kneaded them, making her beautiful face look a little funny.

After letting go of the blushing Nikki, Rhode raised his hand and called New Jersey over, saying with a smile:

"Prepare to enter port. My large battleship has been delayed for even longer."

"Wait, Commander... Has the danger on the island been completely eliminated?" A hint of fear still lingered on the ship's face. The battle she had just endured was incredibly difficult; even an entire human aircraft carrier fleet could have perished there! After a half-second pause, New Jersey, with a worried look on her face, continued, "I don't have much ammunition left. If another battle comes..."

"There's only one thing I'm sure of—the battle is over, the sun is shining, New Jersey."

"In that case, I obey."

After saying this, the shipgirl nodded slightly. She raised her arm and told the battleship to gradually slow down so that it could enter the island's harbor without a tugboat.

There seemed to be no habitable buildings in the port, only the most basic port facilities. At the same time, the oil depot, ammunition depot, etc. were hidden in the main mountains of the island.

There are many berths for battleship-class ships, but if the Alicorn is anchored here, the entire port will become extremely crowded due to the squeezing of ships - no one wants to be hit by a few more bombs or missiles in this situation, which will only replicate an enhanced version of the Pearl Harbor incident.

But having said that, Rhodes did not intend to allow troops other than the "Imperial Guard" sequence to come here, and the ship girls could also retract their ships, so there was no need to worry too much about this matter.

As the island got closer, Rhodes reached into his pocket and took out the cigarette box, but found that it had been completely soaked by sea water. The cigarettes inside had turned yellow and rotten, and if he shook it, he could still pour out some nicotine-soaked sea water.

"The battle has just ended, Commander," New Jersey reached out and took the cigarette box, rubbed it a few times, and threw it into the sea. The ship girl said unhappily, "You should think about more important things."

"for example?"

"For example...what should this base be called?"

"Luluye Base? Forget it, that's inappropriate," Rhode said, dismissing the idea that popped up from his wild imagination. "Then let's just use the original name of this place - R'lyeh Base."

"What's the difference between this and the one just now?!"

Chapter 372: Bionic People at R’lyeh Base (3K)

After stepping onto the island that served as R'lyeh's base, Rhodes realized that it was even more desolate than he had imagined. Deathly silence began to grow from the outline of the island, from the east to the west, from the north to the south. This place was only carefully carved out barrenness, with soil and rocks, but no plants or animals.

The island is like a chopping block abandoned by the gods, nailed to the lead-gray sea near Point Nemo, like a nail with no insect specimens available.

But if compared with its previous appearance, Rhodes could only say that this place looked much more pleasing to the eye.

"It seems we need to plant more trees and flowers here in the future. It's really unsightly to have it all bare."

Rhodes withdrew his gaze from the optical camouflage barrier above. The five tall towers that served as maintenance devices had been fully activated, completely hiding the island in the waves of the South Pacific. This was not technology from Atlas Corporation, but a gift from a civilization with a higher level of technology. The other buildings were the same, creations that were incomprehensible to modern humans and almost impossible to replicate.

Especially that [Black Box Factory] with its integrated mass-energy converter. Although it can only produce maintenance components for the Alicorn and the various facilities within the R'lyeh base, but... listen, mass-energy conversion! That's simply the ultimate form of human civilization!

Not to mention the CSC power generation facility that contained Cthulhu's body and locked it in a sarcophagus. At least Rhodes couldn't imagine what kind of civilization could capture an Old One and stuff it into a generator.

"Perhaps after victory, we can have the Army Without Borders' technicians land on the island to conduct surveys and reverse engineering. But for now, they should first digest the technology I brought back from the Ace Combat world—tsk, this sounds like technological archaeology."

Rhodes turned his head and spoke to the three girls. He was leading them towards the depths of the island, while the other three descendants of the evil god stayed at the port to prepare to reunite with the Alicorn... At least Abigail didn't plan to move, so she only let the black cat Pickman follow Rhodes.

After reaching out and picking up the black cat walking on the ground, Rhodes touched the cat's head squatting on his shoulder. The latter seemed a little tired, but looked in much better condition than Abigail.

"Victory in the war is a distant future, Commander," New Jersey said softly, but the ship girl still smiled. "However, you still need to worry about how to arm this place. I haven't seen any self-defense weapons along the way."

"This... is indeed a problem."

Standing in the sea breeze, Rhode frowned and turned around to look at the surrounding environment:

At this moment, Rhodes and his group were moving along the solid and clean road. Their goal was the main control center embedded in the island's mountain. The building's appearance was not very sci-fi. It looked like a high-rise building with additional armor and thickened walls. Two rectangular buildings extended on each side, and the same was true on the other side of the mountain.

With the island's mountain range at its center, the various buildings and facilities at R'lyeh Base were arranged in a circular pattern, with the port and docks to the east and the airport to the west. Other facilities were scattered here and there, but this was only the basic framework; large areas of empty space remained.

The sea breeze blows through the buildings, making a hollow chorus of whistles, and this slightly eerie loneliness will last for a long time.

If they could stuff some ultra-long-range radars or something like that into these empty spaces, it would obviously look much better... Maybe even some silo-based ballistic missiles, specifically to surprise anyone trying to cause trouble in Antarctica? But that would easily reveal the base's location and squeeze out space in other areas.