Long-term salvation

Reaching out his hand and swiping it across the silver mask that covered half of his face, the "CIA agent" raised his other hand, causing the broken arms of the altar under his feet to clasp together, transforming into grotesque flesh and blood tentacles like long snakes, which suddenly stabbed towards Price!

No, it was not a stab, but more like an arm stretched out to grasp, palms pressed against each other, fingers bent, trying to grab the old soldier who was still in a trance.

However, this time Soap did not remain stunned.

The warrior rushed forward, knocked his captain away and fired at the altar. The latter rolled on the ground for several times, and a trace of clarity gradually appeared in his eyes.

"I am..."

After realizing his situation, Price turned his head sharply, only to see that the soap had been grabbed by the fleshy tentacles and thrown fiercely into the darkness that had spread around him. The warrior's figure disappeared as if falling into an abyss, leaving only the two grenades stuffed into the tentacles. Before the grenade pull rings fell to the false ground, the smoke and dust from the explosion had already spread around, carrying the rotten flesh and blood, and knocked Price, who had just stood up, to the ground again.

"Soap!!!"

Price roared, drew the pistol from his waist, and fired several shots at the "CIA agent" on the altar. The latter did not dodge, but anger and a trace of regret were surging in the depths of his dead eyes... The bullet penetrated the silver mask, causing black rotten blood to slowly flow out.

The next second, the entire altar's illusory edge began to be engulfed in flames, and the resulting heat wave instantly swept over Price, who instinctively raised his arms. Amidst the blazing heat, the veteran could only hear countless desperate screams and dying sighs. Hundreds of human voices mingled together, like a punch to the brain, knocking him unconscious!

"..."

Noise. Engine noise. Shaking floorboards. Howling wind.

"!!!"

Price shot up from the ground and reached for his waist, but was held down by someone - Ghost and the others from Task Force 141.

The soldiers had already boarded the helicopter that came to pick them up, and the Toyota pickup truck they used for transportation had turned into a pile of charred metal wreckage in the desert.

"We...we evacuated successfully? You drove to pick us up?" Price received a positive response, but after seeing the solemn expressions on the faces of the people around him, his heart sank as he thought of Soap. He immediately asked, "Where's Soap?"

The ghost sighed slightly and moved aside with the others, revealing the soldier who was sucking his fingers.

Price: “?”

After noticing Price's gaze, Soap, with a confused expression on his face, gave a silly smile.

Price: "...Contact a brain specialist right now."

+ + + + + + + + + +

Dream world, Hill Villa, reception room.

"...After taking Soap to see several doctors, I had no choice but to bring him here," Price concluded with a helpless sigh. "I didn't really have much hope."

“It does make you feel good to have a happy ending.”

Rhode laughed a few times, but then he changed the subject and asked curiously:

"By the way, did you mention things like 'corpse altars' and 'hallucinations' in your report?"

"I mainly emphasized the moving corpses and the supplies piled up in the warehouse area," Price said honestly, trying to keep his expression calm. "Because I knew it was useless to talk about it. It would only dilute the seriousness of the content that had already been confirmed... Even if it were all true, no one would believe it—you told me so before."

Hearing this, Rhodes looked at Price and the other two with some pity. But before the old soldier stopped talking out of shame and anger, he pondered for a few seconds and said seriously:

"As an extension of this confidentiality project, or perhaps as a bonus gift for the intelligence you've provided, how about the three of you try out my team's exercises? We'll be fighting powerful creatures from the otherworld, of all kinds."

Fighting against a powerful creature from the otherworld? Price and the other two looked at each other in confusion, but in the end, Price made the final decision:

"We have no reason to refuse, Mr. Rhodes."

"Very good, then let's get started while you're still on paid leave. Muji, go ask New Jersey if she's available lately. She has a new toy... I mean, a new test subject."

"Wait, what the hell is a new toy?!"

Chapter 434: Training Base in Arkham Forest

[Floating up]

"..."

Rhodes opened his eyes and looked into Aomori Miya's beautiful emerald eyes.

The two stared at each other silently. The girl, who suddenly realized what was happening, uttered a small cry of surprise, her face flushing crimson. Just as she was about to retreat, she was grabbed by Rhode. Holding her soft, white hand, he pretended to ask in a deep voice:

"Guess what would have happened if you'd looked at it for just one second longer?"

"Sensei," the girl shyly glanced at Price and the other two who had just woken up from the corner of her eye. She felt a little panicked and had to beg for mercy quickly, "Sensei, please stop teasing me. There are other people here."

"Is it okay if there's no one else?"

"Ugh?!"

Looking at the girl who broke open the door and fled, Rhode shrugged helplessly and turned to Price and the others who were looking at each other in bewilderment.

"How are you doing now?"

"Not bad...if you don't count the nightmares I just had." Price rubbed his temple. His body felt fine, but his head still ached slightly. "As for Soap, he looks good too."

The soldier, who had fully recovered, touched his Mohawk haircut, suppressed his smile, stood up, and solemnly thanked Rhodes:

"Thank you, Mr. Rhodes. Without you, I would probably still be a drooling idiot... I will repay you."

"Then you sneak into the Pentagon and steal the United States' action plan in the Middle East for me."

Soap: "...You might as well just shoot me to death."

Looking at the troubled Soap, Rhode laughed heartily, then stood up and stepped over the door that had been smashed by the girl. As he walked, he said to Price and the other two:

"Let's go. I've asked Muji to contact General Hammer and the others, and of course, the subjects you'll be testing with."

Hearing this, Price and the other two looked at each other - curiosity - this emotion of liking to kill cats and humans quickly overwhelmed the vague worry, quickly occupied the hearts of the three elite special forces members, driving their legs to take steps and quickly catch up with the figure in front.

After more than ten minutes, Price and the other two followed Rhodes to the Army Without Borders' training base near the town of Arkham.

As in the past, the training base and temporary barracks were located deep in Arkham Forest. This area, already entrenched in a subtle dark force, echoed Hill Manor at the edge of the forest, making it a suitable place for early training.

An asphalt road leads directly to the steel gate. The training base, surrounded by concrete walls, barbed wire and bunkers, would almost make people mistake it for a fire support base from the Vietnam War if it were not equipped with some heavy artillery... This design must have been created by General Hammer.

Because of this, Rhodes, who occasionally came here, still saw things such as large-caliber mortar positions.

Now, when the car stopped outside the gate of the training base, Rhodes saw General Hammer and Colonel Faulkner waiting at the door as soon as he got out. Both of them were wearing training uniforms and berets, and their faces looked very serious.

After seeing Rhodes get off the car, General Hammer immediately stepped forward and asked in a low voice:

"John Price, who has joined and led Task Force 141? He's a former SAS man, and I know he's a good fighter... So how much can we reveal? Do we need to use amnesiacs to erase their memories after this is over?"

"No, not this time." Rhode glanced at Price and the other two who had also gotten out of the car. They were tactful enough to stay quite a distance away, but Rhode still raised his voice slightly and said with a smile, "I had Abigail, Nayako, and Qianye curse them together. If they try to leak the secret, these three guys will definitely turn into Chaos Eggs before they can even speak!"

"What the hell is a Chaos Egg... But since those ladies are already prepared, we have nothing to worry about—you three boys, get over here!"

General Hammer first muttered a few words, then shouted to Price and the other two. When they came over and saluted with laughter, the general said angrily:

"Especially you, Price. I sent you an invitation long ago, but you've only just come. If Colonel Faulkner hadn't thought it inappropriate to kidnap SAS members directly, I would have sent Rhodes personally to capture you using that Fulton Recovery System!"

"Maybe we should just arrest him," Colonel Faulkner said sinisterly. He touched his chin with his hand, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Wait a minute, I've been wanting to ask this for a long time... Could it be that you stole all the fine wine and Cuban cigars I kept at my house in London?"

"...If you leave a note, it's not considered stealing, Colonel."

"That's fucking robbery!"

After glaring at Price, Colonel Faulkner stepped aside, pointed deep into the base, and said:

"Come in, don't waste time outside. We have an extra mechanical exoskeleton prepared."

Mechanical exoskeleton... Price knew about this thing. Atlas Corporation had already begun to fully deploy it within its own military forces. It was estimated that after it was completed and deployed, it would be gradually put on the arms market. The military technology company also released news that it was preparing to compete with Atlas Corporation in the mechanical exoskeleton market. With the support of the United States military and other major companies, this might not be impossible.

Taking their eyes off the guard's mechanical exoskeleton, Price and the others followed Rhodes' footsteps and continued to go deeper into the training base. The latter explained the current work of the Army Without Borders, such as "saving the world", "eliminating terrorists", and "making trouble for the CIA".

Trying to ignore the last sentence, Price surveyed everything inside the training facility.

The young and swift soldiers were launching attacks and defenses in combat teams of indefinite number. Gunshots and explosions were heard one after another. Some teams that had already finished training were reviewing their tactics to find any mistakes or omissions in the training.

Price found this place to be no different from a normal military base, except that the weapons and training equipment looked more expensive and efficient. However, the training grounds for these Army Without Borders soldiers were more complex and varied, especially in underground caves, dark and narrow indoor areas, and other terrains.

To be honest, Price had expected to see some sort of mutant beast or supernatural monster here, and then a group of biochemically modified men wearing gothic mechanical armor would wield war hammers and smash those things into pulp...

In addition to soldiers, there are also many technicians coming and going in the base. It is obvious that Mr. Rhodes has the unconditional support of the founder of Atlas Corporation as rumored.

After secretly keeping this information in mind, Price continued to move forward. After a quick walk around, he soon arrived outside the designated open-air training ground. There were still several guys sitting there dejectedly, their bodies covered in dirty mud.

After taking a closer look at those people, Price, who had already changed into a mechanical exoskeleton and was holding a rifle, raised his eyebrows and asked one of them:

"Lee Christmas?"

Hearing the familiar voice, the suicide squad member raised his head. He subconsciously stood up and saluted his former captain. His hand froze in mid-air as he raised it halfway. A look of helplessness appeared on Christmas's exhausted face.

"I'd forgotten I'd retired from the SAS, but regardless, I'm delighted to see you here, Lieutenant Price."

"It's Captain," Price said, smiling as he stepped forward to hug his old comrade. "They gave me another promotion, but my bonus didn't increase much."

"The British government has always been very stingy. They even seized the warships they sold."

"...That was a matter of World War I, Christmas."

"Oh, of course. I've been reading a lot lately. If I want to continue in the Army Without Borders and get more bonuses and salary, I need to pass a lot of exams... Never mind, let's not talk about that."

Christmas shrugged and waved away his curious companions. Then he came over and said in a low voice:

"Listen, my old platoon leader, I see you're planning to try out the confrontation drill inside—be careful, the opponent is not easy to deal with."

Price: “?”

The gate to the open-air training ground slowly opened.

A beautiful woman came out pushing a cart filled with unconscious Army Without Borders soldiers. Judging from the bruises on their faces, they had obviously been brutally beaten inside.

"..."

Price took a deep breath and took a firm step forward.

Chapter 435: One Punch Ship Girl!

After simply adapting to the mechanical exoskeleton on his body, Price began to examine the weapon in his hand - a precision firearm in the style of Atlas Corporation, with perfect power, accuracy and feel, and of course, the price as well.

Price listened to the hum of the exoskeleton's servo motor, and his uneasiness eased slightly. But when the fully armed Rhodes appeared beside him, his uneasiness immediately turned into surprise:

"Is Mr. Rhodes joining us?"

What kind of difficult confrontation drill was this? Price looked at Rhodes suspiciously, a sense of foreboding swirling in his mind.

"I need training too. Arrogance is the first sin, Captain Price."

Rhode shrugged. He was wearing his stealth suit, his usual M4 rifle slung in his hand. This thing couldn't even withstand a single second of a shipgirl trying to break into the bedroom; it was purely a psychological comfort. After checking his weapons like everyone else, Rhode asked,

"Are you ready?"

"Ready, Mr. Rhodes."

Price and the others took a deep breath, put on their protective goggles, and slowly walked into the open-air training ground.

The content of this confrontation exercise is very simple, searching and advancing in complex terrain, recovering intelligence items and evacuating smoothly - but after the participants get the intelligence items, it will be like triggering a boss battle, and the ship girl New Jersey will join the battle.

So far, no one has been able to complete this exercise.

The first phase of the drill went very smoothly. Although Price and his two companions were a little flustered when facing the training drones that appeared from the shadows, darkness, or some corners, their qualities as elite special forces members were obvious, and they even performed better than many combat teams of the Army Without Borders!

But soon, Price encountered the biggest Waterloo in his life——

"She actually broke through the concrete wall with just a random punch?!"

Price screamed, and he raised his rifle and kept firing at the slowly walking woman. However, even the high-armor-piercing bullets only splashed sparks on the beautiful face, just like hitting the solid steel hull of a battleship.

What on earth are they facing?! Even the monsters in that world can't ignore the bullets from the rifles!

As Price was horrified, the ghost beside him threw a grenade, but the little thing was caught in mid-air by the shipgirl and crushed! The smoke and dust from the explosion shot out to both sides in her hands, like a column across the dilapidated training building!

Although there were no terrifying supernatural visions, nor were there crowds of strange servants, what stood before Price and the other two was the purest power!

A blurry shadow wrapped in dust and smoke attacked from an extremely tricky angle - the trajectory of the Magnum bullet was clearly visible, but the next second it was swept up by the sharp blade and tightly wrapped around the attacker's arm like a dragon.

"Mr. Rhodes!"

Before the screams of the three elite soldiers could spread, they saw the woman - she called herself "Battleship New Jersey", probably a code name or something - New Jersey just took a half step back, turned around, grabbed Rhodes' wrist, and stabbed the dagger's blade directly into her chest!

The sharp blade broke in New Jersey's chest, and Rhodes, who had stabbed with the dagger, was thrown away. He flipped several times in mid-air before landing lightly, his face full of helplessness.

"Hey, let me win once in front of outsiders, right?"

"No, Commander, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of training?"

The ship girl raised a finger and shook it, with her mouth curved into an ω shape, which looked very cute. However, when this cuteness was accompanied by her fist, it turned into horror!