Long-term salvation

"One of the Foundation's directors, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, will conduct a psychological evaluation on you and would like to host a dinner for you tonight. According to him, these two things can be done simultaneously."

"Who?"

"Dr. Hannibal Lecter."

"……who?"

"Hannibal..."

"Stop, wait a minute," Rhodes raised his palm. Like Ains just now, he looked at the person in front of him with a bit of horror and asked in surprise:

"Why is this Dr. Hannibal Lecter a director of the Foundation?"

"Because of his abilities," Irons said, and then he added with a subtle uncertainty, "His abilities are so good that we can tolerate his moral... flaws."

"Hey, is it really just a flaw?!"

"In short, any conversation between you will be broadcast live to the foundation's directors. At six o'clock this evening, someone will come to pick you and the two ladies up. That's it."

Irons clearly didn't want to discuss this topic any further, and he seemed to have a prejudice against Dr. Hannibal. He stood up and left with a bit of a stiff attitude, but when he reached the entrance, he suddenly turned around and said to Rhodes, who was leaning against the wall, ready to watch him leave:

"To answer your first question, those with extraordinary perception of the other world are able to see things that others cannot. The Foundation has named this ability 'clairvoyance'. The strength of clairvoyance varies from person to person, but to become a director of the Foundation, one must possess strong clairvoyance."

Irons' eyes flashed with an inexplicable light, making Rhodes unable to tell whether it was wet tears or his eyes were really that bright.

"Unfortunately, such people often only see tragedy, whether it's someone else's or their own."

Chapter 16 Daily Life: Before the Dinner Party (2/2)

Irons left quickly, leaving Rod feeling troubled.

"Commander?" / "Teacher?"

"No, nothing," Rhodes sighed and turned to look at the two girls who were worried about him. After Ains left, Yuka also poked her head out of the room, with a slight blush on her face.

"Now I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to…"

"Good news!" x2

"That's a quick answer! Well... the good news is, I have enough money to buy you some proper clothes, and you can go to the dessert shop and buy some treats of your own, for God's sake or something—the treats those agents buy are incredibly sweet! I don't know how they tolerate that."

Rhodes walked to the dining table, held the bank card between his fingers and shook it at Marian and Yuka, then quickly flipped it between his fingers:

"As for the bad news, we're going to attend Dr. Hannibal's dinner party tonight."

"?"

"But it's not a big deal," Rhodes thought for a moment after calming down.

Since there are foundation directors watching the live broadcast, it would not be so easy for Dr. Hannibal to induce or suggest things to him, and he probably would not tamper with the food.

For example... being a human being or something.

This kind of thing shouldn't happen, but we have to be on guard against it - unlike Irons, Rhodes finds it difficult to understand the mind of the ogre doctor, especially in this world with supernatural powers.

His head hurt. He hated dealing with such overly intelligent criminals, especially when it came down to the otherworld. He could only hope Hannibal was truly as Irons said, his abilities so superior that others would tolerate him.

"You must remain vigilant when communicating with Dr. Hannibal," Rhodes reminded the two girls. He might be able to fight him with the clues in his fragmented memories, but they obviously couldn't. "Don't talk to him, and don't answer his questions unless I tell you directly."

"Sensei..." Yuka was a little confused. She didn't understand Rod's concern, but she still slowly moved over and grabbed Rod's arm. "Are you okay?"

Facing those beautiful lavender eyes, Rhodes smiled:

"Of course I'm fine."

He reached out and touched the girl's head. Her hair was soft and silky, and felt great. He then looked at Marian, who was looking at Yuka enviously, and waved at her.

Almost instantly, Marian stood beside Rhodes, expectantly waiting for a pat on the head as a reward.

Rhodes always responds to requests.

"With you by my side, I am unstoppable!"

Now that he felt at peace, Rhodes no longer worried about the mess. He packed up his things, took the bank card that Ains had left on the table, and prepared to take the two girls out shopping.

It was still winter, and although the system would prepare seasonal clothing for the girls and allow them to change according to their preferences, according to Yuuka herself, there weren't many choices in terms of color and style... Rhodes was quite surprised that the system would even take care of such trivial matters.

When Rhodes and the other two walked out of the apartment building, they saw a tall and thin man in a long dark windbreaker coming back with a paper bag with a few baguettes sticking out of it.

This is Alex Casey, an agent of Atlas Corporation, who is originally an FBI agent from the Remedy universe. This Remedy studio has several excellent games, namely "Quantum Break", "Alan Wake", "Control" and so on.

However, in this world, the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) does not seem to exist, otherwise the people who came to the door should not be Irons, the director of the Cogito Foundation, but the FBC agents.

Rhodes didn't know how the Cogito Foundation kept those creatures related to the other world, but he felt that it was indeed necessary to establish an institution dedicated to researching, storing, and controlling the creatures of the other world... But these were all later matters, and there was no rush now.

"Hey, Casey, it's your turn to go to the supermarket this time?" Rhodes smiled and extended his hand to greet the agent in front of him. The agent was startled, but immediately calmed down and replied slightly stiffly:

"Yes...Mr. Irons has already told us in advance not to restrict your actions."

"Oh, of course." Rhodes nodded and asked again:

"Where's your car?"

"Um... that black one is—the car keys!" Agent Casey was very knowledgeable and quickly pulled the car keys out of his pocket. However, he hesitated for a few seconds before walking up to Rhodes and placing the keys in his open palm.

"Thank you for your assistance, Casey. Oh, and I'll be back by six in the evening."

"O-okay sir, I'll tell the others."

Smiling at the tense agents, Rhodes called out to the girls to follow.

After the car started, merged into the traffic flow, and disappeared at the end of the street, Alex Casey breathed a sigh of relief, tilted his head slightly, and said on the radio:

"THE ONE has already left. Yes, he got into our car with those two ladies...Okay, I'll go back now."

"Go back" wasn't a code word, but Casey's team of agents lived on the first floor of the apartment building. When he walked into Room 103 on the first floor with his arms full of paper bags, the other three people in the room were leisurely drinking coffee or reading newspapers, and there was not much tension in the atmosphere.

Putting the paper bag on the table in the living room, Casey took off his coat, wiped off the melted snow with a towel, sat down on the sofa, and let out a long sigh:

"I just spoke to him and he said he would be back before six in the evening."

"?!"

"Huh? Why didn't you report it over the radio right away?" the team leader complained. He pulled two sheets of paper from a drawer and snatched a ballpoint pen from a team member who was doing a crossword puzzle nearby. "Tell me about your conversation with him. I need to record it."

Casey repeated it, then he stood up and asked with a little doubt:

"Who is he, exactly? Before we came here, we were only told that he was special, and that if anything 'strange like something out of a horror movie' happened to him, we should ignore it and just report it... So, how special must he be to deserve Mr. Irons's special treatment?"

"Who knows? Don't delve into things outside of your mission. That's a surefire way to die in our line of work."

The team leader took the report folder handed to him by the others. He quickly flipped to the blank page and began to organize the conversation between Casey and Rhodes:

"All I know is that the company is selecting some mid- to high-level agents, employees, and security personnel to receive instruction from Mr. Irons and his friends. It seems they're sharing some incredible secrets, making them all neurotic, just like Edward Nygma (the Riddler) who speaks in riddles all day long... Maybe this "THE ONE" is related to that, you know, paranormal researchers, ghostbusters, and so on."

"He seemed to know everything and was able to call me by my real name on the first day. To be honest, I was shocked."

"Don't forget, it was on his first day here that he discovered and removed all the bugs and cameras," another agent added. "He also brought in a new, lovely girl without anyone noticing. Oh, how enviable."

"If you can be as handsome as him, I think you can do it too."

"Then I can only blame my dad for this."

"..."

As Casey listened to his companions' jokes, his doubts grew. Suddenly, he had a strange premonition.

Perhaps one day in the future, the whole world will change because of this man named Rhodes.

Chapter 17: Dinner with Hannibal (7K)

Just as he had said to Agent Casey, before five o'clock in the afternoon, Rod returned from Philadelphia's commercial street with Marian and Yuka.

During the nearly seven hours, Rod bought some suitable clothes for Yuxiang and Marianne, as well as three large suitcases. In addition to shopping and buying some delicious desserts, they also met a chatty golden-haired businessman in an upscale restaurant. He said he was a real estate developer and was planning to buy the Plaza Hotel in New York.

After carefully examining the blond man, Rhodes tried his best to persuade him to run for president...

This was just an interesting little episode. Rod actually wanted to ask the golden retriever if he had a limited edition album of Michael Jackson.

Driving back to the apartment, Rhodes just parked the car when he saw Agent Casey standing at the door of the apartment building. He folded his hands, and the hot air he exhaled turned into milky white mist in the cold winter day and quickly dissipated.

After seeing Rhode and the other two, he pursed his lips tightly, as if he had failed in a game of truth or dare. He walked over with a slightly stiff step and whispered:

"The convoy to pick you up has already set off and will arrive on time at six o'clock."

"Kathy, you're not being bullied, are you? Why are you here again?" Rhodes raised his eyebrows. "I remember that you agents don't like to interact with me."

“…It’s my duty not to contact you, but it’s also my duty to contact you.”

"Okay, here are your car keys," Rhodes threw the car keys to the agent who was talking in circles in front of him. He could more or less guess that this unlucky guy was sent out again as a contact after talking to him.

After returning to the house, the rest of the time was just killing time:

Rod rested his head on Marianne's thighs, staring blankly at the half-remaining ceiling on the sofa, while Yuuka babbled about the remaining funds and future plans. But he clearly remembered the girl's uncontrollable joy when she put on the new clothes, and Marianne's as well - they were just lovely girls.

Just when Rhodes was about to fall asleep, Marian suddenly reminded him:

"Commander, there are only fifteen minutes left. You should take a shower and change your clothes."

Out of respect for your future colleagues, you should prepare well.

A few minutes later, Rhode finished his shower, wrapped in a towel, and went to his bedroom to open his wardrobe. Unlike the two girls, his closet was filled with clothes of suitable sizes, ranging from home wear to formal wear. The styles varied, as if they were the product of different people's different opinions.

Rhode took some time to dress himself, choosing a suit and matching shirt, then a relatively thick coat. He looked in the mirror, struck a few slightly narcissistic poses, and then, contentedly, put on his all-seeing eyepatch and walked out the door.

The girls had changed into adequate clothing and were waiting for him at the door.

"Do you need to put on another coat?" Rod asked with a smile. He let Yuka adjust his tie for him. "It's not warm outside, but we'll be taking a car there, so we don't have to worry about that."

"It's okay, this level of low temperature is nothing," Marian said gently, opening the door for Rod.

Rhode went downstairs and greeted an agent dressed as a cleaner. He watched the agent return the greeting with a slightly mischievous look before smiling and pushing open the door of the apartment building.

An unknown stretched luxury car was parked at the door, and two black cars were parked at the front and back ends of the street. They were obviously security personnel sent by Atlas Company.

Rhode didn't pay much attention to it, but directly opened the car door. Irons was sitting in the car. This did not surprise Rhode at all. Irons looked at Rhode with a hint of rebuke, frowned and said:

"You should let the ladies get in first."

"That's exactly what I meant. Get in the car, Yuuka, Marianne."

After everyone got in the car, Rhodes noticed that it was Gideon who was driving and the Joker who was sitting in the passenger seat. Both of them were forced to wear extremely awkward-looking suits and tight white gloves.

Looking at Gideon's eyes in the rearview mirror, which looked like he wanted to cry but couldn't, Rhodes couldn't help laughing.

"The two of them recently learned some things about the other world," Irons explained. He took out four glasses from the wine cabinet in the car... He glanced at Yuka and Marian, put the two glasses back, and then took out a bottle of rum.

After pouring a small cup for Rhodes and himself, Irons said slowly:

"A little of this will make you feel better in the winter—I've recently started picking the right people and letting them know a little bit about the other world."

"It's long overdue," Rhode nodded slightly. He then took out a piece of paper and handed it over. On it were the names of Umbrella and Mobius. Facing Ains's puzzled look, he explained:

"Please help me investigate these two companies. They might be researching something 'out of bounds'."

"Related to the other world?"

"It might be related," Rhode frowned. "If my 'memories' are consistent with this world, the trouble they caused is no less than that in the other world."

"I understand. I'll keep an eye on it. Umbrella focuses more on biomedical technology, but also has impressive manufacturing capabilities. And Mobius is also a very powerful, comprehensive multinational corporation. In this era of rising stars, there are many such companies, and most of them are rivals of Atlas... Never mind, don't dwell on it right now. Just enjoy the rest of the dinner."

"Enjoy it?" Rhodes raised an eyebrow. He took a sip of the wine, which was soft and smooth with a hint of caramel. "I'm not sure if the other directors know the true nature of Dr. Hannibal."

"The other members of the Foundation's board of directors have restricted his actions, and he has been stripped of his right to speak unless someone asks. Furthermore, since joining the Foundation, he has been very restrained and has not interacted with ordinary people. Perhaps his past sins will eventually catch up with him, but before that, he must make sufficient contributions to humanity."

Irons had a look on his face that said, "You really know this." He leaned back, his gaze fixed on the rapidly receding cityscape outside. The city was bustling with people, the cold weather having not dampened their enthusiasm for going out. Suddenly, he remembered the first time he'd ridden with Rhodes.

"Actually, I didn't intend to tell you these things in advance, but... our destination is almost here," Irons retracted his gaze. "I really don't know how the Foundation will proceed now that we have a 'prophet'."

"I'm not a prophet. If I were, I wouldn't be arguing with you about $30,000 at breakfast."

The corners of Irons' mouth moved, and Rhodes could see that it was a slightly smug smile.

The convoy drove for another twenty minutes before stopping at a manor.

"I'll be watching the live broadcast in another room in the manor," Irons told Rhodes, "If anything happens, I'll intervene immediately."

Rhodes, who had already gotten out of the car, gave him a thumbs up.

The vehicle slowly drove away and would stop at another building of the manor. Rhodes and the two girls would need to enter the main building to personally face Dr. Hannibal... To be honest, Rhodes was very curious. With his intelligence, why was he not the leader of the foundation?

That only means that the other directors are also extremely intelligent and capable. More likely, they also come from different original worlds, just like Ains.