Long-term salvation

Rhode opened his eyes and saw Price and Ghost standing beside him, looking at him curiously.

Reaching out to tug at his gray hooded cloak, Rhodes, holding a long staff, looked up at the falcon flying from afar and said calmly:

"The guide is here to pick us up, gentlemen. Remember to be polite to her if you don't want to be haunted by nightmares for the rest of your lives."

Chapter 425: Dream Walking

This is a supernatural dimension between reality and the other world, where the dreams of countless intelligent creatures blend and collide with each other, constantly turning like a colorful kaleidoscope, weaving into an illusory nightmare kingdom - perhaps at some point, it will become a real existence.

Countless dream fragments, large and small, hovered in the air, from which rained dream-like creations. If one tried to catch a fluttering dream, it would suddenly let out a tiny scream and dissolve into a wisp of green smoke between one's fingers.

The smoke gathered and took shape, drifting far into the distance and converging on the distorted horizon.

The humans who entered this place walked nervously, following behind a leader wearing a gray robe and holding a long staff, on which stood a falcon with blue feathers, glorious and beautiful, and seemed to be carrying a myriad of changing lights.

Following Rhode, Price and Ghost walked through this desolate and hopeless place shrouded by a gloomy sky. There was no breeze, no clouds, and not a single normal living being.

This place is like a living hell!

"How long... do we have to go?"

Price asked, feeling that he had been walking for at least two hours, and the watch on his wrist—which had become a toy watch and was now making faces at him—took a deep breath, and after turning his gaze to the strange and bizarre phenomena around him, even this captain, who had witnessed strange sights before, found it a little difficult to bear.

In this regard, Price could only say that fortunately the rifle he "dreamed" in his hand had not turned into something strange, such as a machine spirit suddenly appearing and telling him to add more gun oil to the gun body or something like that.

After walking for a while, the ghost at the end spoke up:

"Honestly, I'm really curious about how we can still breathe in this kind of place. And won't these things around us rush over and tear us into pieces?"

As the ghost said this, he glanced at the plastic soldiers running by his feet. These little creatures were green and looked like toys that children had bought. They were now trying to crawl out of the footprints made by the ghost... Oh, they didn't plan to crawl out, but to use the shallow pit to make a trench.

Ghost could still smile when he first saw this scene, but when the plastic soldiers raised their bazookas and fired rockets, blowing a small hole in his combat boots, the smile immediately disappeared from the corner of his mouth, leaving only a little anger and awe of this strange world and the person leading the way ahead.

"...Muji."

Rhode didn't directly answer Price and Ghost's questions. Instead, he asked the girl on his staff who had transformed into a hawk. The girl tilted her head and said,

"Quickly, the machine has established a triangulation between you. Combined with my powers—based on my physical senses, it should only take about half an hour—I have guided you to avoid those dangerous areas and nightmare entities, preventing us from falling directly into the depths of the other world. That is not a place from which we can easily return."

After a few seconds of pause, the girl's voice showed some worry:

"Another point is that if the area that gentleman is in were to go deeper, not only would we not receive support, but a fierce battle might also occur."

When Mu Ji's words reached Rhode's ears, he was still trying to connect the dots—in other words... the soul of the unfortunate Soap had most likely fallen into the deeper realms of the inner world, beyond the dream world? Rather than falling in, it was more like being "thrown" there.

Thinking about the capabilities of the Iblis organization that possessed the remaining pages of the Book of the Dead, Rhodes suddenly felt that Soap was lucky. At least he was not "caught and refined in an instant" on the spot.

In this situation, the soap would be refined by the other world... Rhodes hoped his luck would be better.

After realizing that Soap might be in danger, Price and Ghost lost interest in talking and could only follow Rod on their way.

After walking like this for nearly half an hour, they suddenly saw an area with chaotic terrain in front of them - horizontally growing mountains, gloomy forests covered with mist, swamps that oozed foul water into the sky... All kinds of terrain in the real world were pieced together here, becoming part of this supernatural dimension.

A slight gray-black mist immediately rose up and condensed at the edge of the sky.

Rhode looked at the strange scene not far away. Before he could say anything, a voice exploded in his ears like thunder:

Sinking

When the system prompt appeared, Rhodes, whose brows had never relaxed, felt his heart sink, and his fingers gripping the long staff made a dull clanging sound.

Just like Rhode, who had noticed something, Asuka Iki, who was the guide, was even more so. Her voice became more serious than ever:

"Everyone, we were dragged directly into the deeper part of the other world. It was so fast that even I couldn't react!"

At that moment, Mu Ji was indeed a little flustered, but when she saw the silver hair under the gray hood, her panic and anxiety immediately disappeared, and she even felt a little more excited. She had first met Rhode at Hill Villa, but they had never fought together! Calming her inner fluctuations, the girl continued:

"Be on your guard, gentlemen, we are trapped!"

The girl transformed into a blue hawk and looked around, but she only saw distortion rolling in from the edge of the world. Darkness and chaos became the most real existence in this moment, and the level of mental pollution rose sharply!

A needle-like pain pierced Price and Ghost's minds, causing them to cry out in pain subconsciously. Although the intense pain only lasted for a moment, the faint, almost imperceptible pain never disappeared. Even the faint whisper echoed in their ears...

Shallow Dungeon

"It seems... the enemy has clearly been planning this for a long time. Let's move on. At least we need to confirm whether Soap is dead or alive. I also have some things I need to confirm."

Rhode sighed softly. After thinking for a moment, he decided to move on.

Falling from the dream world into the depths of the other world isn't anything surprising, but if one falls in while using a DC-mini to enter a dream, the cause must be determined. Otherwise, it will affect the soldiers of the Army Without Borders who are currently and will be using the dream world for training in the future. Can the enemy use the DC-mini's signals to locate specific locations and individuals and pull them into the other world?

"Understood, let's move on."

Hearing this, Price and Ghost exchanged a glance, and without hesitation, they followed. If Soap was dead, they had to confirm the news and bring it back. But if Soap was living a life worse than death... Price and Ghost needed to end his suffering.

As soon as he entered this chaotic area, Rhodes noticed that the gray-black fog above his head began to become darker and began to roll continuously, like a spider walking through a dark forest shaking its gray-black stinging hairs.

There's something wrong with this fog.

But the most urgent task now is to find the unlucky guy.

Rhode, walking ahead, trudged along for nearly ten minutes, then the blue hawk on his staff transformed into a girl in hunting attire. Landing lightly with a longsword at her waist, she reached out to press her triangular hunting hat and, under the astonished gazes of Price and the others, said,

"I can already feel it... If nothing unexpected happens, the goal is just ahead."

Ahead?

Rhode reached out and touched the girl's head, then took a few steps forward and used his long staff to push aside the grass in front of him.

A thatched tent made of rags, leaves and twisted branches appeared in front of everyone, but there was no one inside.

"He's already left here?" Price's eyes widened slightly, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on the rifle. "Then we... wait, footsteps! Two!"

The footsteps soon became faint and cautious, but Rhode raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said to the two people in the shadows:

"Come out, Sergeant John McTavish (Soap), and Mr. Kazimir Zhikov (appears in chapters 254 and 389). It's been a long time since we last saw each other after the Dyatlov Incident. I'm glad to see you're still alive."

"!!!"

Chapter 426: Prepare to Attack

"You...ah, you're the one who escaped from Dyatlov Base!"

Zikov, still wearing his gas mask, looked at Rhodes in surprise. He subconsciously tightened his grip on the rifle, his words filled with anxiety and anticipation:

"Did you escape, or didn't you?"

Can I still leave this strange and hateful world? Zikov only remembered that he had been wandering here for too long. Are his wife and daughter okay? Oh my God, he almost forgot what they looked like!

"I got away safely, and I even taught those damned ghouls a lesson... You should have seen that whole mountain blow up, Hero of the Soviet Union."

Rhodes smiled and walked forward to shake hands with Zikov. Zikov hesitated for a moment, then cautiously extended his hand in return. The most genuine and pure warmth transmitted from his palm almost brought this strong and fearless warrior to tears. He sniffed, but did not remove his gas mask. Instead, he looked at Soap, who was already hugging Price, and said with a hint of envy:

"I met this American soldier a while ago... Even though we didn't speak the same language, we still worked together and continued to fight, just like we did against the damn Hitler in World War II! It makes me sad just thinking about it... That fat Churchill who was as fat as a pig... Um, sorry, it's been so long since I last spoke to anyone, especially since you're the only one here who speaks Russian... Are you listening?"

"I've been listening, Sergeant Zikov."

Rhodes held the Soviet sergeant's hand tightly, and he also felt the power transmitted back from the other party.

"I've been listening."

"That's good, that's good...ah, we can't talk anymore," Zikov hurriedly let go of his hand, but then he noticed a thumb-sized [Black Stone] in his palm. When he looked up, he only saw Rhodes' finger raised in front of his lips.

Price and the other two had already finished their conversation and exchanged information, and now they were casting curious glances at Rhode. Especially Soap, who couldn't imagine that anyone could actually rush into this damned supernatural dimension.

"..."

Quickly putting the [Black Stone] away, Zikov turned and looked towards the distant sky, continuing his previous words:

"There's a monster here. It brought us here. At first, it tried to possess my body but failed. Then it went after that thing called 'Thorpe', which I guess means 'soap'. Anyway, it was the thing you gave me that protected us."

Speaking of this, there was a hint of laughter in Zikov's voice:

"Of course, we're also smart. We designed several traps to kill the weird things that were tracking us. They looked like humans who had been possessed and controlled, but they weren't... not smart enough, at least not as smart as us."

Following Zikov's gaze, Rhodes looked towards the distant sky - there was a whole cloud rolling in, it was a surging gray-black fog. If you look closely, you can see the "silk thread" extending downward from the depths of the fog.

There were so many silk threads that they looked like fine fishing nets that were constantly sweeping towards this place.

That monster. The monster Zikov had described was gathering its fishing nets, attempting to trap him and his companions here, control their souls, possess their bodies, and then cross the veil between reality and the otherworld... The monsters in the otherworld all had similar ideas.

This is normal. After all, the fresh flesh and soul in the real world are so delicious and tempting.

"Mr. Rhodes," Asuka Jing Muji reached out and tugged at Rhodes's gray robe, her eyes full of vigilance and seriousness, "That thing is approaching, we need to leave here."

"...Can you guide us out?"

"Not right now—but you know, the other world doesn't have an absolutely clear concept of space. If I can connect a little bit with the dream world, I can establish a stable signal connection with Ms. Chiba Atsuko who is supporting us from the rear, and open up a channel—just like a fishing hook, to hook us out directly."

The girl placed her other hand on the hilt of the longsword at her waist; her meaning was clear enough.

If that's the case... Rhodes pondered for a few seconds, and when Price and the others came over, he spoke to Zikov:

"Sergeant, I'm afraid we can't get you out of the other world right now. Our current situation is different. You need to find a suitable crack to get out, just like those monsters in the other world."

"Ah, I know, I know," Zikov said, appearing quite open-minded. Although there was still a hint of desolation in his words, he managed to pull himself together and continue, "Dreaming, detachment, and the like. I've seen some people here experience the same thing... but their endings were all quite tragic, quite tragic... Sorry, I'm being too rambling."

"It's okay," Rhodes patted Zikov's shoulder and turned his head to ask Asuka Iki, "Kiki, can you mark him? Perhaps after Dr. Gordon Freeman (Chapter 216) completes the portal, we can pull this hero out of the other world."

"You can only stay in the dream world, Mr. Rhodes, or stay here," the girl said helplessly. "There is no absolutely clear distinction between space and time in the other world. Every change means an increase in difficulty."

Hearing this, Rhodes nodded slightly and then relayed the girl's words to Zikov. The latter just shrugged and said with a smile:

"Here, of course! I'll try my best to survive here. It's easy... well, it's still quite difficult... I think it's better to die in a place where someone will collect my body than to die in a corner where no one knows."

Zikov does not hate death, but he is afraid of being forgotten.

"You're not going to die here, Zikov."

Rhode smiled faintly. He looked at Price and the other two who had come over, and then began to toss out various weapons and equipment in front of their suddenly wide eyes.

When a T80BV tank crashed into the barren soil of the other world, Rhodes opened the commander's hatch, reached out to pat the steel beast, and said with a smile:

"Get ready, Sergeant, you're gonna have to be king of the hill here!"

"..."

There was no immediate response. Zikov reached out and gently stroked the red star logo on the tank armor, and asked softly:

"If there were such powerful tanks, Mother Soviet would never be invaded again. Is the Soviet Union okay?"

"…She'll get better, Sergeant."

Although he sensed something strange in Rhodes' words, Zikov nodded in response. He said like a melancholy Slavic poet:

"Things develop in an upward spiral, and I believe that the motherland will become better... Now, the Americans and the Soviets are once again standing in the same trench, facing the same enemy... So, who are our opponents?"

"Of course it's the enemy of humanity, my sergeant."

Chapter 427: Burning the Dust! (3.5K)

The inner world twitched, as if trying to vomit out all the malice that would never dry up in its stomach:

The controlled mutant beasts came like a tide, they squeezed each other densely, like maggots wriggling on a corpse, and among them the one moving slowly forward was the human-like "The Flayed".

These are servants created by infusing a little biomass from the monster. Compared to those mutated beasts, they are uglier, smarter, and able to use weapons, that's all.

After all, they are just flesh and blood:

The tank opened fire! The high-explosive grenade's body pushed through the air, making a roar like thunder.

The heavy hammer slammed down, smashing the flesh and blood - the shells cut a bloody path through the tide of mutant beasts, covering this strange world of forests, bushes and swamps with a dirty Ukiyo-e of crushed organs and bones - the blood mist splashed along the way instantly dyed the surrounding withered plants and leaves red, and the instinctive screams of pain resounded under the dark sky.

Waves of monsters advanced one after another in the flames of explosions, but the steel beasts of humanity never retreated.

"Although I really want to drive an M1 tank, well...something is better than nothing."

Soap said this. He could feel the slight pause as Zikov stepped on the accelerator and ran over several beasts. This made the soldiers trapped in the strange and abominable area cheer excitedly, but Price shouted in the communicator beside his ear:

"Stop screaming, kid! This damn tank can only hold three people. Don't go too deep in it! We have to lure that monster out!"

"Okay, okay, Ghost, do you see that big guy? Give it another shot!"

The gust of wind from the tank's firing swept in all directions, temporarily dispersing the gathering gray-black fog and the thick smell of blood. But the next second, the gloomy darkness and malice returned, pressing down like dark clouds, constantly tearing at the spirits of everyone present.

Gritting his teeth, Price gripped the general-purpose machine gun tightly in his hand and kept firing at the twisting figures in the surrounding forest - the orange-red gunfire almost never stopped, and the light spots of the tracer bullets were even connected into a line - feeling the vibration and recoil feedback from the weapon in his hand, watching the roars and desperate charges of the monsters in front, the captain almost shouted out with joy!