Long-term salvation

"The problem is with the Banshee IV. The systems are unresponsive, the electronics are uncontrollable, and the entire FAF's air defense perimeter has been stripped in half. Because of this, Captain Thomas/C. John will be accompanying us to silence the Banshee's screams... Rod, you look unhappy."

The voice of Shen Jing Ling came from the communication channel, with a hint of ridicule and laughter, which made Rhode respond unhappily:

"I hate trouble, and how can you tell I'm unhappy?"

After returning from the drill, Rhode and Fukari Rei only rested for a few hours before setting off again. As before, Rhode brought Abigail and Pickman with him to prevent any problems.

"When you brought that princess onto the plane, your expression was almost murderous," Fukari Rei chuckled. He then suppressed his frivolous attitude and focused on the next task. "If we fight the banshee, I'm afraid we don't have much chance of winning. You and the princess are going to do it yourself?"

"To prevent external data intrusions and crashes, the Banshee IV's systems are independent and can only be rewritten from the inside. Otherwise, it wouldn't be so troublesome... Besides, I don't want to ruin what I already have."

Rhode replied with a stern face. He pressed a few buttons on the screen, causing the image of the Banshee IV to appear on the small screen next to it:

"Even repairs are a hassle. Neither the Fiali Air Force nor I have enough time. So I'll have to go there myself."

As he spoke, Rhode looked forward and saw a huge creature vaguely emerging from the swirling clouds.

The Banshee IV, with a length of 687 meters, a wingspan of 1400 meters, and a height of 315 meters, is powered by 16 nuclear-powered turbine engines. It has a carrying capacity of 30 to 40 aircraft, and the upgraded Banshee III can accommodate nearly double that number.

It's as beautiful as the snow-capped wind! However, things like radiation also need to be considered. Now it depends on whether the system can give a larger reward after completing the mission. After all, now that humans have discovered the truth about Gam's replication ability and the Fiali planet, future evacuation operations will inevitably be more uncertain.

As the difficulty increases, the system rewards will obviously be greater.

Sighing, Rhode called the B-506 "Crazy Girl" in the special warfare unit who was monitoring the Banshee IV and said to the two pilots:

"B-506, we can return now. Yukikaze and Phantom Pain will take over."

"Roger that... Rhodes, Zero, you better be careful. That Banshee is acting strangely, there might be an ambush inside. Also, give my regards to Her Royal Highness the Princess. We'll feed her cake next time."

"Phantom Pain received, I will pass it on."

After turning off the communication, Rhodes raised his hand and waved to Abigail in the back seat, signaling her to sit tight. Then he drove the fighter plane to lower its altitude, and Xuefeng behind him followed.

The clouds crouched under the belly of the Banshee IV, turning into a rolling white tundra, and were cut by the shadow of the ship into sharp, constantly healing scars - the cold wind as thin as a blade brushed against the armor, emitting shrill wails and screams - but the giant beast did not have a breath of life. The command tower and other densely packed observation windows were pitch black, like countless empty and out-of-focus eyes, staring indifferently at the boundless darkness above, like a corpse.

The two fighters flew around the Banshee IV aircraft carrier several times, and after confirming that there was no return fire or interference, they entered the landing process:

"Friend or Foe Identification System, confirmed."

"Landing clearance, OK."

"Get the number—door open—gear down."

"locking."

As Rhode carefully maneuvered the fighter toward the raised grabbing arm, he could already see the lights of the polarization-guided boarding system. With a sudden tremor, the entire fighter was grabbed and landed on the Banshee's deck.

"Landing complete."

A few minutes later, when the Banshee's outer armor slowly closed, the whistling sound that sounded like a scream disappeared without a trace.

Rhodes opened the cockpit cover, held Abigail in his arms, and jumped to the ground along the wing of the fighter plane.

When the two people on the Snow Wind came over, Rhodes withdrew his gaze from the surroundings, took out a pistol from the storage space and threw it to the man standing next to Shenjing Ling - Thomas John - this was a captain with thin cheeks and Indian looks, a genius from the System Corps, aeronautical engineering, and also one of the system programmers of Snow Wind.

"Captain Thomas," Rhodes put on the all-seeing eyepatch. He took a closer look at the technician, who was still a little embarrassed and fearful, and said with a sigh, "You must be mentally prepared."

It's a pity what happened to this captain; it would have been better for him to have dedicated his life to defending human civilization—after all, it's all about defending human civilization! Isn't revolution a revolution anywhere?

It will be hard for you to die in the future, Captain.

"Eh? Mentally prepared... I was already prepared to sacrifice myself before I even got here," Captain Thomashok's expression shifted slightly. Oblivious to the man's sinister intentions, he lowered his eyes and chuckled softly, "But the Banshee can't get into any trouble, right? After all, the FAF still needs her, and humanity still needs her."

"She (the machine) also needs humans, Captain, please remember this."

Rhode responded calmly. He stared at Captain Thomas/K for a while, and when the latter got a little nervous, he turned his head and said:

"You could work for me if you had the chance, Captain."

"...Ha, if there's a chance."

Captain Thomas was startled, but a slight smile appeared on his face. He put away his pistol, picked up the equipment for restarting and refreshing the system, and quickly caught up with Rhodes and others.

The group first headed towards the bridge. The internal elevators were locked, along with many sealed doors. With the system key Captain Thomas brought, Rhode and the others were able to proceed more easily.

However, walking here is still a creepy thing - the Banshee aerial aircraft carrier has a permanent staff of about 300 to 400 people, including the vast majority of aviation personnel - but now, the air is still filled with the same cold smell of metal and cold wind as before, but there is no trace of human beings.

Only a chaotic sound echoed in every corridor and every room. These sounds were not deafening, but extremely complex:

The hollow echoes of the outsiders' footsteps on the iron stairs, the low hum of the ventilation system, the groaning of liquid flowing in pipes in the distance, and the subtle tremors of metal due to stress... all of this only brought weirdness and grotesqueness, as if the group was walking inside a monster's body.

Just like the humans who came to the planet Fiali.

"Wait, I feel something," Rhodes suddenly said. His voice was cut through the thud of footsteps, leaving Fukui Zero and Tomahawk frozen in place. "Abigail, let's go straight to the reactor. The reaction there is the strongest... Zero, you and Captain Tomahawk go to the bridge to restart the system."

"Varied--"

A violent tremor suddenly struck!

These words seemed to have turned on a switch, and the entire Banshee IV gradually changed course, flying towards the absolute defense circle of the Fialli Air Force. The huge beast tore through the thunderstorm clouds ahead, and its broad front and rear wings were immediately wrapped in the brilliant fire of St. Elmo. This corona discharge phenomenon spread in all directions, casting a pale shadow on the gloomy clouds.

At this moment, the interior of Banshee IV became even more eerie. The mechanical humming sound that could be heard before was now drowned out by the sobbing human voice!

Yellow, muddy Gum liquid surged out from the reactor and quickly spread along the passages and stairs.

"Tsk, do you have to be so quick to react?" Rhode frowned. He turned to look at Abigail, the golden flame in his hand ready to go. "Let's make this a quick fight. I don't want my fighter to get damaged—not even a scratch on the paint!"

"Your CFA-44 will be sad to hear this."

Abigail complained with a dull face. She ignored Rhodes who was muttering things like "How can this be the same thing?", "I just like the forward-swept wings", and "The CFA-44 will forgive me". Instead, she took a few steps forward and opened her arms.

After a moment of quiet reflection, the corners of the Evil God's descendant's mouth curled up slightly, a hint of madness mingling with his cuteness.

"Since we're planning to open the door, why not just throw the stuff over here and pull the stuff over there? Rhode, are you sure there's plenty of room inside this banshee? If a few unlucky souls get stuck in the wall, it won't be my fault."

"No, no, no, please be merciful in this matter, Lady Abigail."

"Then I need some time. I originally set the coordinates at that base... Determining the coordinates for moving across the universe requires a high level of precision. Let me try." The frowning girl shook her hair, took a deep breath, and continued, "I'm going to try to 'strip' those things off. Rhode, buy me some time!"

"I'll buy you time."

Rhode quickly pulled Abigail into his arms. He took out the [Box of Shiting] and stuffed it into the girl's arms. He turned to the still bewildered Fukai Zero and Captain Thomas Hok and said:

"We need to restart the system immediately to ensure communications are restored. We must also ensure there is enough space in the hangar. Captain, tell me the nearest interface to the system's underlying program, and help me coordinate the location of those devices and facilities... Captain?"

Captain Thomas Hock turned his head stiffly like a machine, his eyes filled with death.

Seeing this, Rhode twisted his neck, stepped forward, and slapped the captain. The stinging pain suddenly woke Captain Thomas. He opened his mouth to say something, but all he heard was Rhode's furious voice while twisting his body.

"Listen, Captain, you are a human warrior now, so hurry up and move!"

"I am... a human warrior." Captain Thomas was stunned for a moment, then he forced a smile. "For humanity, I will continue to fight, Lieutenant Rhodes."

Chapter 542 The Door Opens

Banshee IV, bridge.

Outside the huge portholes, rainy and thunderous clouds were rolling and roaring, but the scene inside the bridge was truly comical:

Abigail sat on Rhodes's shoulders, with her left hand raised straight up and her right hand horizontally, making a "making contact" gesture, while the black cat Pickman squatting on the girl's head was just like its owner, strengthening the signal like a reinforced antenna.

Unlike Rhodes, who used golden flames to isolate the approaching Gam liquid, Shenjing Ling half-crouched beside Captain Thomas/K. Whenever the latter fell into a trance while restarting the system and allocating the internal space, he would directly hit him with the P90 - using the clarity brought by the pain, the captain gritted his teeth and continued to devote himself to his work.

Time passed quickly amidst the occasional cries of pain, until the screens of the devices that had fallen silent around them lit up again, and Captain Thomas/K shouted loudly:

"Done, system restart! Wait, there's something in the reactor... Uh... I feel a little..."

"Alona, ​​send the message I told you to the FAF. Prana, take over the system and allocate hangar space immediately. Complete it within two minutes!"

Rhode spoke seriously to the two girls in the Shiting Box. He turned his head and looked at Shenjing Ling, who immediately understood. Captain Thomas groaned and collapsed to the ground, with a little blood oozing from his head... blood that was slowly oozing out of yellow liquid. He stepped on the yellow liquid and reached up to support the girl's waist. He whispered:

"Abigail, are you ready?"

"...If you need me," the Daughter of the Oneness of All Things opened her eyes, and the keyhole on her forehead also glowed with a faint purple light, "From now on, I can do it anytime."

"Then open the door for me, my dear lady."

The world is changing, Fukari Zero thought, just like last time:

Stars, sun, metal... He lowered his head and saw Captain Thomas/K's body decomposing and melting, his face filled with pain, confusion and resistance.

The captain's body was disappearing, just like the surging Gum Liquid, but this wasn't a disintegration of flesh and blood, more like a fading. It was as if someone was using an invisible eraser to wipe away the surging Gum Liquid from the inside out, completely wiping it away from this world.

A strange flash of light erupted without warning before Fukui Zero's eyes. The flash was the product of the distortion of the light of the stars. The light rolled out like a tangible tide and began to "peel" Gam off the Banshee IV.

The air stopped flowing, the sound was extracted from the medium, and the whole world fell into a suffocating, sticky silence.

At this moment, Shenjing Ling realized one thing:

"The door is open."

With the [door] as the boundary, something is coming and something is passing.

Suddenly, a strange warmth came from behind Fukai Zero, warm, gentle, and soft - just like being hugged from behind by a girl - he didn't know when he turned around, but when he lowered his head, he saw a girl with long snow-white hair and pointed ears.

"Yuefeng..." Fukai Zero said subconsciously.

"Of course it's Yukikaze, the body of a android! It cost me a lot of points, remember to pay me back later, Zero."

Rhode's voice came from the side, waking Fukui Rei from his hazy dream - this was certainly not a dream, Xuefeng was hugging him back and burying her head in Fukui Rei's arms, with an unprecedented fear flashing across her cold face - just like Fukui Rei, she had just briefly witnessed the world behind the [door]!

"And Captain Thomas, of course."

Rhode looked at the captain, who was standing blankly in front of the bridge window. The captain looked down at his hands, then touched the LED ring on his temple, a hint of joy on his face.

"Lieutenant Rhodes! I am no longer..."

"It's not just your heart that's made of metal now, Captain. You're a android now, so you can live as long as you want." Rhodes shrugged, a smirk on his face. "Also, remember to change your address to Boss. I'm your superior now, the Chief Mechanical Priest of Banshee IV... ahem, I mean, technician."

Like the R'lyeh base, the system identified Banshee IV as Rhodes's "outpost," allowing the use of androids as assistance, as other human pilots and ground crew would be stationed there in the future. However, like the Nikkis, they needed to be exchanged, and their range of freedom of movement would be restricted.

As for Fukari Rei and Yukikaze…it wasn't up to them. A bionic body had already been given to them, and they still wanted to refuse? No way!

Reaching out to push Fukai Zero and Yukikaze aside, Rhode put Abigail, who was still riding on his neck, down and said to the other girls on the bridge—mainly the Nikkis:

"Forget about the mass-produced Nikki, but I didn't expect so many of you to show up... Are your fighter pilots up to par? Fighting in the sky is no different than on the ground."

The originally empty bridge was now crowded with people, and the mass-produced Nikkis had begun to enter their corresponding jobs under the guidance of Plana, taking over the Banshee IV air carrier that had returned to normal.

"At least it's enough to defeat the human pilots other than those two in a dogfight. Isn't Nikki good at things like G-resistance, reaction speed, and vision?" Little Red Riding Hood shook her long hair. She smiled and put her arm around Rhodes' neck, her plump chest squeezed into a beautiful oval next to the man's cheek. "Besides Nikki and the others, I also called Mika and Miya—Makoto wanted to come, but she can't fly, and she's recovering from her fight with Hina."

Hearing this, Rhodes struggled to break free from the soft restraints, and then saw Weihua rushing over with the force of a mountain, pressing him directly to the ground:

“Puga?!”

"Sensei! Hehehe..."

Aomori Miya next to him smiled innocently, and didn't dare to rush over. She just squatted beside Rhodes and poked his cheek with her finger.

Well... that's fine, at least if Mika and Miya's fighter planes are shot down, they can still glide to the ground with their physical fitness and wings.

Rhode patted Weihua's head helplessly and asked her to get up from him, but the people who came were not just the girls, but also two ACEs:

Pixy and Michael were leaning against the edge of the bulkhead with their arms folded. After noticing Rhode's gaze, they approached him with a teasing look and said with a smile:

"You definitely don't want to hug two old men right away, so let's not embarrass ourselves."

"It's not too late now," Rhodes smiled and hugged them. He turned to look at Abigail and said, "I think your fighter planes must have been parked in the hangar."

"We heard you'd need good hands to deal with highly maneuverable alien fighters," Pixy said, stroking her chin with a strange expression. "Cipher certainly didn't expect me to have such an experience..."

"The same goes for Trigger. He's in his prime, so he'd definitely like to try his hand at something." Michael's face lit up with a sly smile. "But it's also nice to be able to fly my favorite plane again—those pilots on Earth right now aren't worth wasting engine hours on."

Seeing this, Rhode said no more and placed the [Shiting Box] on the console. Looking at Prana inside, he said:

"How many fighter jets are there in the hangar?"

"Currently, there are only you, Lieutenant Zero Fukai, the two ACEs, a CFA-44, several other prototypes, and four FFR-31 Sylphide fighters stored as replacements... A hyperspace reaction has appeared in the airspace near the Banshee IV. The enemy is approaching, and there are many of them. They will not give up, Sensei."

"We don't have much combat power. After all, ordinary Earth fighters can't stand up to Gam. But reinforcements are about to arrive, aren't they?"

Rhode smiled and looked up at the hanging screens. The constantly refreshing radar data inside had already marked everything approaching: