Long-term salvation

There was a rustling sound, but it seemed particularly strange in this bright but slightly silent environment.

"It looks like Marian has finished her work... You guys pick the next toy for us to play with, don't make me bother choosing which one."

Rhodes said without looking up, pushing the bishop chess piece forward, causing Gomez, who was frowning across from him, to snort. Taking advantage of his opponent's pause in thought, Rhodes turned sideways and said to Yuka:

"Yuuka, you're next, how about that?"

"Okay, I'll finish it sooner so I can rest earlier."

The girl stood up, stretched, and then helped Abigail up and put her in Noah's arms.

Apart from the ostrich doll, another doll on the stage disappeared at some point.

The cheerful electronic sound of Ding Ding Ling Ling came along the corridor, attracting Youxiang's attention. She yawned and flexed her fingers as she walked into the bathroom - it didn't look very clean inside, and was full of stale smell, but fortunately there was no obvious dirt or odor.

"I'm going to tear you in half!" was written on the mirror, and all four toilet stall doors were covered in graffiti. From beheaded children to men and women skewered and grilled, brutal scenes of torture and cannibalism were painted on them, even interconnected to form a whole, horrific artwork resembling a floating world painting.

Yuuka, expressionless, began kicking the doors one by one. She kicked open the first door, but there was nothing inside. Then she kicked in the second, the third. From the last toilet cubicle door, the same cheerful electronic sound from before came.

Yuka thought for a second, took out a grenade from her pocket, hooked her finger on the pull ring, pulled it out, and threw it into the toilet cubicle.

She then held the toilet door against her, preventing the doll inside from screaming in terror from rushing out. The shockwave and fragments from the grenade explosion spread out in all directions, shattering the tiles on the walls and floor, tearing up the wooden toilet cubicle, and embedding itself into the body of the doll, the gorilla Gus, causing the springs, oil, and gears in its entire back half to explode like fireworks on a summer night, with sparks shooting out from it.

"Big... gorilla..."

Amidst the mess, Yuka reached out to wipe the dust off her face, and with her right hand, she grabbed the head of the gorilla doll that was opening and closing its mouth but could only make faint sounds, and lifted it out of the dilapidated toilet. Then, she grabbed the end of the doll's only remaining arm with her left hand.

"Who are you calling a gorilla?!"

Under the faintly flickering light of the halo above her head, Yuuka tore it in half!

Two minutes later, after a quick wash, Yuxiang walked out of the bathroom, put the remains of the gorilla doll into a bag, and carried it to the door to place it together with the bag containing the ostrich doll.

"So, who wants to be next?" Rhodes took a sip of coffee with a cruel smile on his face. "If you're tired of it, we can just take down all those dolls now. They're all here anyway."

"I'm coming...mmmm...can't waste this great opportunity."

Abigail, awakened by the explosion, raised her hand. She stood up from Noah's arms and walked sleepily to the front of the stage. After a careful look, the girl walked over to the doll Sarah the Siren and took her hand. The doll's eyelashes fluttered, and a hint of joy appeared in her large cartoon eyes.

Because of this, the Siren Sarah followed Abigail without resistance and slowly walked into the dark corridor beside the stage... and then the creepy chewing sound was heard!

The dolls on the stage began to move, twisting their bodies like real dolls, and the weird and funny electronic melody was filled with overly obvious joy and ridicule.

The chewing sound stopped, and it was as if the noise of teeth moving and rubbing could be heard slowly, as if savoring the deliciousness of every bite - the mermaid Sarah, with only half of her body left, struggled to crawl out of the darkness. She reached out to the dolls that suddenly stopped moving and singing, but the next second, the tentacles that stretched out from the darkness dragged her back into the darkness!

The chewing continued until the metal was ground into sand, until the foul-smelling motor oil slowly oozed out, seeping through the cracks in the floorboards and into every hole in the foundation and masonry.

Abigail rubbed her eyes and walked out of the darkness, lying on Yuka's thighs as before and fell asleep again.

Rod looked at the pawn piece he had just moved. It had just captured one of Gomez's knight pieces, but the latter's reaction was so quick that Rod had to quickly move his pawn piece on the front line to touch the bottom line and promote it to a queen.

"Well, another one failed. Who's next? Noah, do you want to try?"

The chess game was still changing, and Gomez's pieces were already pressing forward. After frowning and moving his knight piece to temporarily resolve the dilemma, Rhode reached out and patted Little Red Riding Hood's shoulder, asking:

"Or Little Red Riding Hood? Little Red Riding Hood, do you want to play with them?"

"Noah and I are going together," Little Red Riding Hood raised her hand and grabbed Rhode's cheek, saying unhappily, "Why are you being so playful this time? Commander, according to your personality, you would have drawn your gun and shot all these bastards the second you stepped into this place."

"That's too easy for these sacrificial killers," Rhode shrugged. "Besides, I have to find out from them where they learned about the sacrifice and soul transfer rituals."

"Yes, yes, you always have a point. That is, Marianne and the others can love you unconditionally—Noah?"

Little Red Riding Hood folded her hands and stretched her body upwards. Then she looked at Noah, who had drawn his weapon and was smiling. Noah tilted his head slightly and pointed his gun towards the stage.

“But they don’t want to come one by one.”

Before he finished speaking, except for Willy the Weasel, the remaining four dolls rushed towards Rhodes and his group!

Tomorrow's launch and a few words on the launch

Without further ado, the latest update will be on the shelves tomorrow.

Well, the main reason was that I didn't expect the editor to notify me so quickly. I thought it would be Monday or Tuesday next week, after all, National Day would have already passed by then. While I can't burst out 20 chapters, I'll give you 15 to whet your appetite—tomorrow's update will be a little later, probably around 8 or 9 pm. Those who have money can support me financially, and those who don't can support me physically. Please promote this book, meow.

Regarding this book, having learned from the previous one, I've created a rough outline of nearly 10,000 words, as well as a detailed outline of nearly 20,000 words covering several major early events. I'll be writing more of this in advance as the plot progresses. I've also written over 27,000 words of various settings, so rest assured, I'll gradually add more settings to the settings volume as the plot progresses.

Finally, thank you all for reading this far. I would like to express my gratitude here. I also hope that you can support me in the future, read more, collect more, and post more. This will give me more motivation to write. Thank you!

Whisper: After thinking about it, I feel that the thanks for the launch should be brief, so I won’t write so much.

Chapter 41: Dawn (1/15)

The wind and snow were howling and the cold was biting.

In the dark, moonless and starless winter night, the fear outlined by loneliness and the unknown is emerging from every dark corner, enveloping the ignorant creatures who dare to walk there and devouring them one by one - only when the sun rises and the ice and snow melt, can the stiff corpses be found in the wet soil.

Yet, at this very moment, in the "Willy's Playland" family entertainment center, brilliant neon lights spun endlessly, casting a layer of colorful, fragmented light on the tables and chairs, game consoles, and those old signs nearby. Happy Birthday and dynamic rock music overlapped, creating an unbearable, disturbing noise.

It wasn't until Little Red Riding Hood kicked Knight Doll's head into the old-fashioned jukebox that the annoying noise subsided. As Knight Doll's head thrashed around inside, some circuit was triggered, causing the music to automatically switch:

I hate myself for loving you~~

Seeing that the doll was still moving, Little Red Riding Hood rolled her eyes, raised her foot, and kicked the doll's head again, making the hard knight's helmet dent. The jukebox let out a painful metallic scream, and the song changed:

Everybody knows I love you,baby~~

Little Red Riding Hood grabbed the doll's head and pulled it out of the jukebox. Then, she pushed it back in fiercely, completely shattering the doll's helmet. Oil and broken parts mixed into the jukebox's circuits, sending sparks flying. The machine struggled to sing a line of lyrics before stopping:

Love me like there's notomorrow~~

Nikki, her hair blazing like flames, grabbed the headless body by its ankle and swung it directly at the doll, Crocodile Artie, who was approaching Gomez and Fester. The latter staggered, but then noticed that the two strange men in front of him were taking out something from their golf bag:

Frankie's SPAS-12 combat shotgun and a mace in the hands of a trench warrior.

When one of Crocodile Artie's eyes was blown out by Gomez who was holding a mace, it realized that the elegant man in front of it with a cigar in his mouth was actually the wilder one... In fact, there was no difference. Being shattered by a mace was as painful as being shattered by a shotgun.

The mace was swung quite savagely, and every blow would tear out black oil and broken skin. The dull sound continued until Crocodile Ati was no longer able to make a sound.

The doll chameleon Jamie quietly concealed his figure, preparing to launch a sneak attack on Rod who was teasing Abigail who wanted to sleep, but a beautiful figure immediately blocked his way - Noah had memorized every change in the chaotic battlefield and could easily find every strange detail.

With that, the girl smiled sweetly and punched the doll monster that had blended in with the surroundings, thrust the muzzle of the gun into its mouth, and pulled the trigger without mercy!

The battle actually ended quickly. When people stopped fearing these dolls, their power was weakened to the point where they were no different from ordinary people... perhaps making them more resilient? This would definitely be a disadvantage for them if they encountered Rhode.

When only Tito the turtle was left among the four puppets who walked off the stage, he looked around and found that the door was also blocked. He immediately knelt on the ground and said something that Rhodes could not understand. It seemed that he was begging for mercy.

"It's really ugly. Where's the way you were when you were slaughtering innocent people?"

Rhodes stood up and pulled out his revolver. He opened the cylinder and showed it to Turtle Tito. It was filled to the brim with bullets. Then he smiled and said to the trembling doll:

"Let's play a game, Russian Roulette. Okay, first of all, for the first time—"

But before he could pull the trigger, the cheerful electronic sound sounded again, and the puppet Willy the Weasel on the stage slowly walked off the stage. It began to speak, but the way it spoke was more like a patchwork of clips from different broadcasts or songs:

"Who are you-"

"We are serial killers who sacrificed doll bodies to enter human bodies, and we take pleasure in torturing dolls."

Rod said with a smile, and he shot the turtle Tito to death. The bullet, which was enhanced to deal damage to creatures from the inner world, penetrated the forehead of the doll, spun and crushed all obstacles in its way, and finally blew a huge hole in the back of its head. The black engine oil flowed along the grooves in the floor to the feet of the weasel Willy, dyeing the orange-red fake fur black.

"Okay, let's get down to business," Rod stretched and stood in front of Weasel Willy. "Where did you get the method of sacrifice and soul transfer?"

"You-need-to-leave-here-"

"We're definitely going to get out of here, but before we do, I need answers—don't test my patience."

Willy the weasel, who was much taller than Rhodes, was silent for a few seconds, then whispered:

"Three-star-star-I-used-to-work-there-"

Three stars? Mobius?

Rhodes frowned slightly, took a deep breath, and asked:

"Mobius Corporation?"

"Don't say that name!" Weasel Willy roared, sending sparks flying from the surrounding electrical equipment. The doll's body trembled, its metal parts clashing and squeaking inside. But after this outburst, the seemingly fearless killer doll leaned over to Rhode and whispered, "They might still be watching—"

Even through words, Rhodes could feel the fear inside.

This made him feel a little like laughing.

"Don't change the subject. I don't care about that," Rhodes said, raising his gun. "Tell me your soul transfer spell or anything else you need. Whether you can survive depends purely on how quickly you answer."

"Everything is in my memory," said Weasel Willy, finally with a hint of complacency and joy in his voice. He seemed to think he was in control of the situation. "No one else knows..."

"No one knows?"

Rhodes' face showed joy. He kicked hard and kicked Weasel Willy back onto the stage. Before the latter could get up, he raised his hand and shot him twice, breaking his knee joints!

Willy the Weasel, lying on the stage, turned his head stiffly, completely confused about the current situation - was he encountering a psychopath, or a real colleague?!

"No one knows," Rhodes fired another shot, smashing Weasel Willy's left hand. He slowly approached Weasel Willy, who was struggling to get up. "As long as I kill you, I can completely cover up this secret... But, I won't do that. You can't die so easily."

After shooting the doll's right hand off with another shot, Rhodes looked around and removed a long metal stick from under the long table next to him.

Rod whistled as he approached Weasel Willy with an irrepressible smile on his face:

"It's a good thing you're a doll, Willy."

"By the way, have you ever heard of Vlad III, Grand Duke of Wallachia?"

Chapter 42 Early Morning (2/15)

In the North American winter, even the sunrise does not bring much warmth. The gloomy sky, where the snow has temporarily stopped, stretches into the distance until it touches the horizon. There is no trace of life as far as the eye can see.

Rod stood in front of the "Willy's Playland" family entertainment center, smoking a cigarette. He took a deep breath and then slightly opened his mouth, letting the gray smoke slowly dissipate from the gap between his nose and lips. Two empty gasoline drums were placed at his feet, and a greasy trail led to the entertainment center's door.

"You don't look very happy," Gomez said, draping his coat over his shoulders as he walked over to Rhodes. "But you clearly solved an otherworldly incident and recovered the person who caused it."

Willy the Weasel, tied to the back of the RV by Rod, shook his head and let out a faint, desperate wail, but the metal rods piercing his limbless body held him firmly in place, just like those who had been brutally impaled throughout history. What awaited him was eternal imprisonment and experimental research.

The researchers at Atlas Corporation and the Foundation would love it, since an intelligent, living creature from the other world is extremely rare these days.

"No, I just deeply understand the truth that hard work pays off."

Rhode said helplessly—the system only gave 200 World Pollution Points as a reward this time, and even only one character exchange coupon. However, it did open up the exchange rights for special bullets.

Frigga bullets, powerful tranquilizer bullets, from a long fantasy novel that one will never be able to read, 60 rounds can only be exchanged for 20 miles of world pollution points... This is not a type of molecular bullet, and is obviously used to capture high-value targets or in special circumstances, such as terrorists blending in with a group of frightened people running.

"You want money?"

"I want it, I really want it. I want to tell others, 'My superpower is being rich.'"

While smoking a cigarette, Rod took out a lighter and lit a cigar for Gomez. The two turned around and watched Fester help the girls tie the doll heads (if they could find them) to the RV, just like the ancient soldiers who cut off the heads of their enemies and tied them around their waists, showing their bravery and murderous intent without any scruples... It looked like the second brother on the brass throne, and the one on the golden throne was the eldest brother.

Hearing Rod's complaint, Gomez smiled, but he did not immediately promise anything here. Instead, he changed the subject:

"I have already notified the personnel from Atlas Corporation and the Foundation to take the doll away en route. It will be properly contained."

"That would be the best," Rhodes said. He then remembered something. "Will the Foundation or Atlas Corporation conduct human experiments related to the other world?"

Hearing this, Gomez did not answer immediately. Instead, after careful consideration, he said to Rhodes seriously:

"We were very conservative, extremely conservative. Of course, this doesn't refer to the quantity. As for the source of the materials for human experiments—Atlas also operates several private prisons, and every human experiment is discussed by the Board of Directors. In this matter, I can proudly tell you that every one of them deserved it."

"I understand," Rhode nodded slightly. "But the other world is also related to human emotions and even the soul, which may cause deviations in the experimental results... Never mind, let's talk about this later. Right now, I just want to finish this journey quickly and go to your house for a good sleep."

When he was about to finish his cigarette, Rhodes flicked the butt towards the oil stain on the ground. The flames suddenly rose and rushed into the family entertainment center, igniting the gasoline that had already been spilled inside - the raging flames instantly engulfed everything around it, burning wooden tables, chairs and curtains, cracking the walls, and melting metal.

The faint explosions of furniture and machinery burning echoed one after another, and black smoke billowed out of the horizontal windows shattered by the heat wave, dispersing in the direction of the wind. Finally, the expired fireworks stored in the storage room at the back were also ignited.

Amid the piercing and sharp sounds of fireworks, the RV and classic car headed towards the town again. Brilliant fireworks exploded above "Willy's Amusement Park", temporarily dyeing the dark clouds with a touch of bright color.

This spectacular spectacle quickly attracted the attention of the nearby townspeople. They emerged from their homes, stood in the cold wind, and excitedly pointed at the magnificent fireworks display in the distance. They discussed who was behind this spectacular display, while only a few who knew the truth gazed anxiously toward the sky.

Sheriff Eloise Lund also walked out of the room and looked into the distance with a slightly dazed look - she was one of the three people who signed an agreement with Weasel Willy to kidnap outsiders. The other two were Dex, the owner of the family entertainment center, and Jed Love, the owner of the auto repair shop.

After realizing that the incident occurred at the family entertainment center, Sheriff Eloise immediately put on her police uniform and prepared to drive there. However, just as the police car started, a black classic car and an RV slowly drove in from outside the town... Cool rock music was pouring out of the cars, and the drivers seemed very happy.

Sheriff Eloise sat in her car, dazedly glancing sideways at the back of the RV parked beside the police car. There, Willy the Weasel, whittled into a human stick, was groaning faintly, with the heads of several other dolls hanging beside him, truly dead with his eyes wide open.

The RV stopped beside the police car, and a young man got out. He was not wearing a coat, and he walked briskly in the cold wind. Because of this, his handsome face was filled with a hint of impatience.

The young man knocked on the car window, causing Sheriff Eloise to roll it down subconsciously. She moved her lips as if to say something, but the other party spoke faster: