Long-term salvation

Summer in North America is entering its peak, filling the air with a tangible heat that makes people feel upset and irritable.

The asphalt on Arkham's main street was shiny, as if the heels would leave shallow indentations when stepped on. Even the town's most lively children didn't want to wander the streets, but instead went into the bookstore to enjoy the air conditioning and then quickly escape before the owner got angry.

Now no one wants to stroll on the streets rolled by heat waves, but there are still long queues outside those popular model board game stores, so that the store owners can only put up a few large parasols outside to provide some shade for the guests who come from afar. The owner of the coffee shop next to it that can provide cold drinks is very happy.

At this moment, in this ancient and dark land, perhaps only the soldiers of the Army Without Borders are still insisting on training - but at this time, going to sea training has become popular. At least, blowing the sea breeze and eating barbecue on the beach in the evening is better than playing hide-and-seek with velociraptors in Arkham Forest.

The heat is making everyone lazy, almost making people think that the demon of "laziness" has come out and is spreading its power.

The heat wave even affected Hill Villa, forcing Rhodes to close the windows and turn on the air conditioner in the bedroom.

A faint humming sound filled the room, and the air conditioning quickly dispelled the scorching air that had been forced in by the open window. While Hill Villa could cool the room, Rhode disliked the strange feeling of being enveloped in darkness. It would be better to use the best of human technology at this time.

The drawn gauze curtains barely blocked out the sunlight, but it was enough.

As the old Pioneer stereo at his feet began to play vocal jazz, Rhodes began to enjoy his time alone - of course, only during the day, because his bedroom at night no longer belonged to him alone - at the same time, there were too many documents and books in the study, which was a headache to look at, and the girls coming and going made it easy for embarrassing things to happen.

Because of this, after the other girls started busying themselves with work during the day, Rhode also strolled back from the study, trying to enjoy the hard-earned quiet... However, this was just his delusion:

There are always a few guys in Hill Manor who are idle.

"Commander! I heard you've been pretty bored these past few days. So when are we going to go for another trip to the sea?"

New Jersey pushed open the bedroom door, and after being instantly enveloped by the air-conditioning in the room, she let out a charming sigh of satisfaction, and squeezed to Rhodes' side with a "whoosh" sound. The sofa, which was originally only suitable for one person, was making strange creaking noises, protesting the extra weight that it should not have to bear.

Looking at the book in the man's hand, after reading a few lines, he raised his eyebrows and asked with a slight smile:

"An autobiography of an Antarctic researcher?"

In addition to the autobiography, New Jersey also noticed two books on Antarctic geography and climate on the small round table next to the sofa.

"Yes, I have to know something about that place. I can't just know about penguins and krill, right?"

Rhodes reached out and moved New Jersey. He wanted to read more books, at least for now.

"I'm planning to leave for Antarctica soon. Now isn't a good time for scientific research, but I want to inspect the construction of the Antarctic base and, by the way, arrange early exploration work for that Titan beast."

"So, you're also planning to invite the professors from Miskatonic University?"

"Obviously, the professors have already written me several letters and a whole stack of plans. It's time to express my opinion... Although large-scale exploration activities cannot be carried out, the construction of a large-scale base to prepare for future exploration activities and monitoring the other world cannot be stopped."

Rhode tilted his head slightly and buried it in the ship girl's neck, sniffing the delicate fragrance and feeling the gradually rising warmth of her smooth skin. When he kissed her gently, her sweet breathing, which had been pretending to be calm, suddenly stopped, then slowly resumed, though much heavier than before.

Because she had suddenly rushed into this place from the slightly hot corridor, beads of sweat were appearing on the ship girl's body. She twisted her body and felt a little uncomfortable because her long skirt was sticking to her body - at least she thought it was because of the long skirt.

As if he hadn't noticed New Jersey's subtle discomfort, Rhode placed the book in his hand on the small round table next to him and continued with a hint of helplessness:

"The professors and other personnel will first transfer to Australia or Argentina, and then take a ship from there. My whereabouts are easily traced, so I can only go aboard the Alicorn... We will resupply at R'lyeh Base along the way before setting off again."

"...Helen will be very happy."

"I don't deny that," Rhode smiled slightly. His left hand restlessly slipped through the gap in the ship girl's clothes and covered her lower abdomen, which was subconsciously tense due to nervousness. Perhaps because of the sweat, the area became smoother. "It feels good... Hey, hey, hey, don't twist my ears!"

Under New Jersey's humiliating attack, Rhodes had no choice but to hold her in his arms and firmly hold down her restless arms - this was purely a flirting tactic of playing hard to get, the power of the ship girl was more than that - facing those beautiful eyes as soft as water, Rhodes kissed her gently until his opponent gave up resistance.

"Take me with you!" the ship girl said angrily. She controlled her two rabbit ears to hit Rhode's forehead. "No matter how many people you take, Commander, you must take me with you!"

"Okay, okay... rather, I was planning on taking you with me anyway. At least you could have rescued me from the blizzard."

Rhode reluctantly agreed. He let go of his hand and let New Jersey, with her mouth bent into an ω shape, lean over and kiss him on the side of his cheek. After nuzzling her head against Rhode's, the ship girl crossed her legs and asked with interest:

"Commander, when do you plan to salvage the ship again? Didn't you say last time that you wanted to try the wreckage of a battleship or something like that? Or did you want me to find an opportunity to ambush the USS Enterprise?"

"Please save me some trouble," Rhode rubbed his brow with his hand. He flicked the forehead of the ship girl who looked like she wanted to cause trouble. "The Army Without Borders can't get into trouble right now. There's a difference between an outdated battleship and a still-functioning aircraft carrier."

"Huh? You dare to say that battleships are outdated?!"

New Jersey raised her eyebrows and stood up suddenly, but before she could stand firm, she was pushed back by Rhode, step by step, until she lay on her back on the slightly hard bed. Looking at the beautiful ship girl with her head tilted to the side and her eyes closed, Rhode smiled and asked:

"Do you need me to wipe your sweat off?"

"...Commander, you are truly shameless."

"Breaking into a man's bedroom in broad daylight has nothing to do with honor, and... you haven't answered my question, New Jersey."

"……want."

Chapter 462: Life at Miskatonic University is Wonderful

For the lovely Theresa Testarossa, ordinary college life is more like killing time - after all, this smart girl still has a lot of time to enjoy life before Atlas completes the modification of TDD-1 "Son of Danu" according to her design.

But at Miskatonic University, it’s a different world:

In the morning, the girl will study the currently known knowledge of the other world, which will vary depending on the course she chooses.

The required [Basics of the Other World] course is required every year and requires full credits in both semesters. The textbooks used include "Introduction to the Other World", "Tidal Changes in the Other World and Their Hazards", "Basic Characteristics of Creations in the Other World", etc. The course time is concentrated in the first period of each day.

The second period is for professors of elective courses to teach, and students need to go to the corresponding classrooms. The third and fourth periods in the afternoon depend on the arrangements of their tutors, and there is everything from hands-on practice to theoretical learning.

Of course, students also need to learn the liberal arts and sciences required for regular university studies. This means many students need to spend two to three months on basic knowledge before officially entering university to complete their required credits. The subsequent advanced courses depend on their chosen field of study—though geniuses like Therese need not worry about this.

The university's textbooks on the otherworld were jointly compiled by Hill House, the Cogitto Foundation, and Miskatonic University. The content was revised and supplemented quarterly, necessitating annual study. Even some members of the Army Without Borders were required to attend classes to supplement their knowledge.

Of course, there are also courses taught by professors such as "Interpretation of Ancient Documents", "Analysis of Creations from the Other World", "The Other World and Human History", "Research on the Environment of the Other World", and "How to Summon Creations from the Other World and Shape Them into the Forms You Desire"... The professor of this course started the class at 9:00 in the morning, and was captured by soldiers from the Army Without Borders who broke into the classroom at 9:10.

The professor shouted, "I'm here to teach, what are you doing?!" and then was carried out of the classroom, leaving behind a group of students looking at each other in bewilderment.

After realizing his mistake, the professor, in addition to teaching as usual every day, worked with other professors on Saturdays and Sundays to conduct research on the summoning of demons (evil spirits) - for some reason, in recent times, the summoning rituals on the Miskatonic University campus have been prone to failure.

Actually, it can’t be considered a failure. The main reason is that there is no “thing” willing to respond to the call.

The professors all agreed that they had gone too far in their previous efforts to meet their course quotas, so they decided to try again in a few months... So, during this boring time, they planned to take the qualified students to watch the cult members' traditional summoning methods - under the protection of the Army Without Borders' operational forces.

Although most of the time they were just outings, they would occasionally encounter one or two otherworldly events. After observing and collecting samples of cult summons, students could also adapt to the future work processes of the Army Without Borders or other otherworldly organizations.

Even so, the dangers of this kind of thing are not low, not only because of the madness of the cult members, but also because of the products of the latter after the rituals:

Although many cult members use the name of "Satanism" or other weird demonic names, what they actually open are microscopic and small cracks in the other world, and the creatures of the other world that pop out of them are not religious demons and evil spirits in most of the time.

As a treasure of Miskatonic University and Atlas Corporation, Miss Theresa had naturally participated in several events and witnessed the destruction and poisoning of humanity by the other world. Every Miskatonic University student who had truly witnessed that hellish scene would realize the weight of their own responsibility, and the professors would also be pleased with the students' will. Except for Herbert West, the kid who fiddled with corpses, and his mentor, Professor Ellen Halsey, their moral bottom line was on the same level as Director Hannibal.

Because of this, the girl, eager to contribute to saving human civilization, is now looking forward to her own ship being renovated and put into use as soon as possible.

But before that, she still needs to tutor people every afternoon:

"Sister Jessie, you got this question wrong again."

Theresa said softly, poking her finger at Jesse Faden, who was already burning out across from her. This girl had been working everywhere and had never been to school properly, but the future head of the shelter for the Army Without Borders obviously couldn't be illiterate... At least she had to have a university diploma, right?

"I'm glad I can go to college without paying tuition, and I get stipends and scholarships," Jesse Faden pushed the book in front of him aside, sighed, and slumped over the table. "But these courses are a little too difficult. I've already made up for it up to high school—but why do I have to learn calculus in high school?"

"Because the math professor was hired from Russia, he's already said he wants to see if the intelligence level of the Americans is worthy of his teaching level. This has made many seniors very excited."

Theresa smiled in response. She flipped through Jesse's notebook, looking at the densely packed formulas and notes, as well as some classic exercises marked with stickers... Closing the notebook, the girl's smile widened.

"Sister Jess is really hardworking. You will definitely be very successful in the future!"

But the next second she saw Jesse, with a confused look in his eyes, babbling for a few times and muttering:

"Mother?"

“…Not my mother!”

Theresa slammed her hand on the table and shouted shyly. Her appearance immediately attracted the gazes of the surrounding students, a mixture of curiosity and faint rebuke. This was a quiet library study room, no noise or food allowed. After giving an awkward smile, the girl slowly sat down and said helplessly:

"Doesn't your 'North Star' understand this either? I remember several professors saying that she knows a great deal about the other world, but it's just incomprehensible to us right now."

"..."

Hearing this, Jesse curled up again, looking very embarrassed.

Theresa: "...Okay, let's go eat something and have some afternoon tea or something."

"Okay, okay, it's time for this."

Hearing this, Jesse suddenly sprang to her feet. She quickly packed up her notebook and practically carried Therese, who was quietly protesting, out of the study room. She even complained after they left:

"I have to report to the military control area later this afternoon for active-duty military-level physical training! Oh my god, Theresa, every day I have to run five kilometers fully armed and then stand and shoot! If I don't hit the target, I have to crawl over and dig the bullet out of the ground with tactical movements, and this is just part of the training... Damn silver hair! Oh, sorry, I'm not talking about you, Theresa."

"Who are you talking about?"

Rhode's voice suddenly interrupted the two girls. He reached out from behind, placed his hands on their shoulders, and asked with interest:

"Who is that 'damn silver-haired' referring to?"

"...Nothing, Mr. Rhodes."

Patting Jesse's head, who was about to cry but had no tears, Rhode twirled his fingers, then half-knelt down and hugged Theresa, smiling and saying:

"Did you meet Dr. Carl Winters? He's the new assistant professor of medicine who's in charge of the infirmary and the morgue."

"He should be chatting with Vice Principal Armitage. I just saw them heading towards the office." The lovely girl blinked, looked around, and asked in a low voice with anticipation, "Where is my TDD-1..."

"Soon, I assure you, Theresa—that submarine is laying electromagnetic catapult tracks. We plan to make it even more perfect—for example, to enable it to launch interstate ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads."

Rhode replied with a smile, causing Jesse beside him to open her eyes wide. She no longer had the serious look of the future, and she also looked around like Theresa, and whispered:

"Is it really okay if I find out about this?"

"You will survive, Jesse," Rod replied with a resolute expression, "I believe in you."

"Wait, wait, what kind of answer is that?!"

Chapter 463: Dr. Winters is exhausted

Miskatonic University, Office of the Vice President.

The decoration of this office is not particularly luxurious. There are bookshelves filled with books that have been read and noted, cabinets filled with student and project files, sofas and coffee tables for entertaining guests... If there is anything special, it is the huge globe in the back of the room - this thing is an extremely expensive custom-made product, and inside it is a voice-controlled combat robot produced by Atlas.

The owner of this thing, Director Armitage of the Cogito Foundation, was rummaging through boxes and drawers looking for a teacup, ready to pour a cup of tea for Dr. Winters who had come here.

After seeing the guest take a few sips, Director Armitage said jokingly:

"You look very tired lately, Dr. Winters."

"This job is more difficult than I thought," Dr. Winters smiled bitterly. He put down the teacup in his hand, but his right hand subconsciously touched his abdomen - the stitches there had been removed, and the tumor had long since disappeared without a trace - however, what he saw and heard that night was unforgettable to this determined philosopher, and became his eternal nightmare and dream.

"What do you mean by 'Today's corpse is fresh, let's quickly conduct the resurrection experiment!', 'It seems the corpse from yesterday's experiment escaped again', 'What do you mean we can't sew out the Abomination?', 'Don't do it, I'm afraid of being killed by a sword'... These people have no moral compass at all!"

The poor old man, with a suppressed rage and a flushed face, began to complain before Director Armitage could open his mouth:

"Dr. Armitage, and Mr. Rhodes too, why do they need my signature at the beginning of every experiment? Putting aside whether I'm qualified to do this kind of thing now that I'm new here—look at my hair! I don't have much hair to begin with!"

Glancing at Dr. Winters's brow, Director Armitage coughed awkwardly and suggested:

"How about I recommend a few Aperture Technology hair toners? Some of them are powerful and haven't been released yet..."

"No, no, no, forget it," Dr. Winters waved his hands. "When I was young, I bought that propulsion pudding from Aperture Technology—in the name of Aurelius, that was a nightmare!"

Listening to Dr. Winters's nagging complaints, Director Armitage's mood improved a lot.

Before this doctor came, the secret and horrific research in Arkham Asylum was approved by him or Director Hannibal, and only resolutions that were too important would be discussed at the board meeting.

It was indeed a tiring job, but Dr. Winters did a good job. He had a strong sense of morality and will, and was experienced in medicine - which would ensure that he would not be deceived by those smart but inhumane guys - at the same time, Dr. Winters had a wonderful intuition, especially before the danger came.

Because of this, Dr. Winters was able to escape from his office in the basement of Arkham Asylum before the experiment got out of control, and he was able to call in the soldiers of the Army Without Borders on duty, or the children of Mobile Task Force Red Right Hand who lived on the floors above ground.

Just as Director Armitage was about to ask more about Dr. Winters's work and life, there was a gentle knock on the office door:

Rhodes pushed the door open and walked in, holding a small bamboo basket in his hand.

"I brought some fruit wine made by Marian, and some fried fish," Rhodes said with a smile, patting the bamboo basket behind him. "They are all specialties of Arkham Forest, but there are no desserts or anything like that. I gave them all to Theresa and Jesse."

This brought more smiles to the two old men's faces. They looked at Rhodes curiously as he took out a glass bottle from the basket. Inside was a beautiful lavender wine, while Director Armitage took out a few small glasses from his cabinet.

Wiping the glass briefly with a handkerchief, Director Armitage watched the wine swirl in a beautiful arc, emitting a faint fruity aroma. After a quick sip, he spoke amidst the sweet aroma of alcohol and unknown small fruits, smiling and saying to Rhode:

"Please convey my gratitude to Ms. Marian, Rod."

"I will… How does it taste, Dr. Winters?"

"Very good, very good, please also convey my thanks," Dr. Winters nodded. He picked up a small fish and put it in his mouth. He could instantly feel the crispy and burnt aroma between his lips and teeth - it was a perfect small reward for himself after a hard day's work.

After enjoying some drinks and snacks, Rhodes put down his cup and said slowly:

"Director Armitage, please prepare a list of people who will be traveling with me to Antarctica. We can't take so many professors with us; someone has to stay behind to teach. To be honest, I'm not very familiar with the university's curriculum, so I'll need you to make the decision yourself."

"I see, it's a small thing."

Director Armitage nodded in agreement. He actually already had plans for who would go, but he was still hesitating whether to bring a few students along.