Long-term salvation

Looking at the monsters rushing towards him with agility, Rhode pulled out a cigarette case from his jacket pocket, lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and felt the stimulation of nicotine and polluted air in his lungs. He calmly ordered:

"Fire."

The roar of a heavy machine gun suddenly sounded!

Two tongues of fire crossed in front of Rhode. The roar of the firing shook the air, causing the dust on the ground to rise slightly, turning into a misty dust cloud. But the next second, the large-caliber bullet tore it apart, outlining a clear trajectory.

General Hammer fired a flare upwards, and the light descended between the countless chains, causing the slender and hollow shadows to intertwine with each other, covering the human soldiers, and then being dispersed by gunfire.

The human skeletons that had accumulated over the past hundred years had now become shelter for the soldiers, protecting their descendants, allowing every shake of the heavy machine guns to shatter, shatter, and merge into the soil, the only proof of their existence in the world - bones soaked in despair!

The monsters charging head-on were defeated by the terrifying firepower. They scattered and rushed towards the firing points set up by the human soldiers from the left, right, and above, but the muzzle of the heavy machine gun was much more flexible than theirs, not to mention that there were two assistants standing next to the heavy machine gunner with rifles and shotguns.

Filthy and profane flesh and blood flew everywhere until the monsters retreated into the darkness, licking their wounds and thinking about how to hunt... if they had such a habit. But it was obvious that the monsters would not give up.

The being in the deepest darkness still feeds, not caring about anything that happens here.

"How dare you charge head-on into the crossfire of heavy machine guns?" Rhode scoffed disdainfully. He flicked his cigarette butt onto the corpse of the monster in front of him, letting the blood extinguish it with a faint hissing sound. "After all, you're just parasites living in a rift in the other world, relying on some scum who's taking advantage of the power of others."

"Filthy, despicable, deceiving a bunch of idiots and thinking you're truly holy? Ridiculous."

After a few seconds of silence, more roars and the sounds of running emanated from the darkness, and the ground began to tremble slightly. Even the chains above the human soldiers' heads began to swing violently, and the chaotic sound of metal clashing against each other was like a torrential rain beating against doors and windows!

The second flare was immediately launched into the air!

Note: The world events in this story are from the movie "Midnight Train to Meat". You can also read the original short story, which is very good and recommended.

Chapter 70 is coming (1/2)

"call……"

Captain Jack Krauser wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb and licked his back molar, feeling sad for the permanent tooth that was about to leave its home. Then he spun the dagger in his hand, shaking off the blood droplets on the blade and dropping them into the dirty mud on the ground.

A rib might be broken, and there were bruises and fractures... The pain surged from his body, but Krauser's eyes became more ferocious. He moved his fingers to make sure that his hand muscles would not be hindered by stiffness and twitching.

The enemy was very strong, with strength and speed exceeding that of ordinary people and even elite soldiers. He was absolutely inhuman, but - disappointed - Krauser felt a little disappointed. He had imagined that the other party was just a horrible monster covered in human skin, with the real body breaking out of the chest, covered with tight and hard muscles or wearing a weird and twisted chitin shell, wielding a weird weapon made of human spine and making a deafening roar.

Perhaps only in this way could he accept defeat with a clear conscience, lying on the ground and saying to the general or the young man standing in front of everyone in a weak voice:

"I'm sorry, I failed. Humans cannot defeat monsters."

But now... Krauser found that the enemy in front of him was not scary at all. He was indeed very strong, but he had no fighting skills, no intuition and experience in dealing with danger. He just relied on his bravery and strong body to show off his power - and even his brain was not very smart.

Such an enemy is really uninteresting, especially when Krauser finds out his limits.

Krauser let out a roar like a tiger. He held the dagger in his right hand and his left hand in reverse. He exerted force with his legs, and the soil under his feet was scattering as he was surrounded by strong wind.

The blade of the dagger in his right hand slashed past the edge of the subway driver's shirt, but in that instant, Krauser stomped his foot down, twisted his body, and slashed upward with the dagger in his left hand, slicing through the uniform, the soft skin, and the blessed muscle. As warm blood spurted from the severed flesh, Krauser saw his own sinister smile in those cloudy eyes, a mixture of resentment and astonishment.

The dagger in his left hand slashed downward in the opposite direction and was blocked, but it didn't matter. Klauser didn't think that the same attack would work a second time, so he chose a more direct and brutal way - the dagger in his right hand took advantage of the enemy's wide-open middle and stabbed it frantically into the soft abdomen, again and again!

The last time, Krauser threw away the dagger in his left hand, grabbed the subway driver by the collar, and followed up with a brutal knee strike with his left knee! The dagger in his right hand immediately stirred in the driver's abdomen.

Hot blood, human hot blood flowed along the blade of the dagger into Klausa's palm, making him show a look of disgust.

"Weaklings," Krauser said, "when we get to know you, we'll find you're nothing more than that."

The subway driver's eyes suddenly widened.

Pulling out the dagger, he delivered a knee strike to the xiphoid process of the ribs. Looking at the enemy stumbling backward, Krauser pointed his finger at him, then clenched his fist with only his thumb, and stroked his thumb across his neck - then, he pointed his thumb downwards.

"You... you blasphemers..." The subway driver was irritated by this overly direct mockery. Bloodshot seemed to rise in his eyes. He was so furious that he ignored the serious injury in his abdomen and rushed towards Krauser with a roar, "You stupid beasts!!!"

In response, Krauser threw a roundhouse kick.

The fierce kick knocked the subway driver to the ground. His temple was hit by the hard combat boot. If he were an ordinary human, he would have fallen to the ground due to concussion and brain damage. If he were a more vulnerable person, he might even be killed... But this subway driver was able to get up.

Krauser opts to send him back with a second spinning kick.

"Lie down!"

Looking at the enemy who had no strength left to get up, Klausa exhaled slowly, a trace of contempt in his heart. But at this moment, the deafening gunfire stopped temporarily, leaving only the crisp bursts of rifle fire and the sound of slowly approaching footsteps.

"Your dagger, Captain Krauser."

As Rhodes spoke, he handed the dagger that had fallen to the ground to Klauser. The latter looked at the dagger that had been cleaned of mud, thanked him a little stiffly, and accepted it.

"I was just worried about whether you could do it." Rhodes bent down and punched the subway driver who was trying to get up again. Then he squatted beside him and said to Krauser without turning his head. "It seems that I was too sentimental. I hope you can forgive my offense."

"No...it's nothing," Klausa was a little uncomfortable with such overly polite words. He picked up his chest mount and rifle and looked at the others - the monsters seemed to no longer try to attack, leaving only the corpses, but the slight shaking of the ground still did not stop, as if something was rushing towards them.

During this time, General Hammer and the soldiers began to check the guns and put the ammunition and other weapons in more appropriate places.

Looking away, Klausa heard Rhodes's question. He was asking the subway driver:

"Who is colluding with you to cover up the subway disappearances? The New York Police Department? Or someone else?"

"Heh...you...you're just like those pigs, all just trying to steal the master's power..."

"The masters you're talking about are those monsters?" Rhode raised his eyebrows slightly. "Their power seems to be really insignificant."

Hearing Rhodes' words, the subway driver vomited a pool of dirty blood, which soaked his exposed teeth. He responded with a mocking tone:

"You clearly felt His presence, didn't you? And they—fragments of the Great Being—have existed since the birth of this city, serving the Great Being, just like us! They were born, they were transported, they merged..."

The subway driver vomited more blood. The pain and blood loss were taking his life, but his mouth was still talking, like those dying people who had a last glimmer of life:

"Ahem... You've ruined this sacred work... But... But you won't succeed and become like those people..."

"Let's not talk about who 'those people' are. Aren't those monsters just a bunch of parasites? Perhaps a better word would be 'families' - but you are no match for the followers of the indescribable god. You can only hide in the sewers like cockroaches."

Rhodes looked at the man with pity. "I just feel that He doesn't care about you, isn't aware of your existence, and even whether He has his own thoughts is a question. Your power was also stolen, just some accidental factor, without any pattern or meaning to follow."

"No... We are the ones who maintain the balance! Offer sacrifices and let the Great Being show a little mercy... Only in this way, only in this way will the Great Being allow you stupid pigs and sheep to continue to exist in this world!"

"You don't need maintenance, because I will close this crack. Your god or something else will just starve to death, or maybe not - if He is really a god." Rhodes stood up and looked into the darkness in the distance. The monsters were lying dormant, as if waiting for something.

The ground was shaking more and more violently, as if something was approaching.

Feeling the tremor, the subway driver showed a surprised expression. He struggled to stand up, holding on to the soil beneath him with both hands:

"See? He's giving grace!"

Ignoring the crazy talk, Rhodes stood up and blew the subway driver's head off with his revolver, letting the filth splatter on his trouser legs. He took a few steps into the darkness, watching and listening carefully.

That was the sound of flowing water, like the roar before a flood!

Rhode was startled and turned to run towards General Hammer and the soldiers, shouting:

"Everyone get on top of the subway train immediately. Don't worry about the weapons!"

General Hammer was stunned when he heard this, and he sensed something from the approaching roar. He immediately called on the soldiers to climb up, and he was pulled up as well - only Abigail was still standing there, scratching the chin of the cat Pickman lying on top of her head with her fingers.

Rhodes rushed over and held Abigail in his arms, but just as he was about to hand the girl to General Hammer above, a keyhole collapsed inward on the latter's smooth forehead. The keyhole emitted a faint purple light, as if something was peeking out from inside.

"We need to close the 'valve' first," Abigail stretched out her hand, pointing into the darkness, "and then close this crack. Otherwise, the digestive fluid will overflow through the subway tunnel."

“Going upstream is not an option.”

"I will protect Rod," the girl said firmly.

Chapter 71: Close the Door of Flesh and Blood! (3K, 2/2)

Flood - calling it this is a bit of an exaggeration, but the waist-deep dark yellow liquid rolled in from the depths of darkness, majestic and unstoppable. The sound of flowing water echoed in the wide and narrow tunnels and spaces, almost never stopping.

Rhodes let Abigail ride on his neck and stood among the pile of bones. The still warm bullet shells were scattered on the ground at his feet, almost forming a metal carpet.

In just a few breaths, the liquid flood arrived in an instant, roaring and engulfing everything in its path, monsters, building debris, human corpses, and other things. The subway train was shaken by the liquid, and the lights in the car were instantly extinguished, leaving only a few sparks flickering.

General Hammer felt as if he was thrown into a blender, his flesh and blood being cut and corroded by acid... He almost thought that he was being swallowed by something and being digested by stomach acid!

The same was true for the other soldiers. They began to have headaches when they saw the dark yellow liquid, and the sour and foul smell tortured everyone's nasal cavity, so they had to put on gas masks immediately - but the smell seemed to still not be reduced, but lingered directly in their minds for a long time!

"General!"

Krauser's voice, which sounded a little muffled due to him wearing a gas mask, came. Following the direction of his finger, General Hammer saw Rhodes standing in the dark yellow liquid. With him as the center, there was not a trace of liquid flowing into the area within a radius of two meters... This circle created by the invisible repulsive force was absolutely perfect, a miracle that could never be achieved in the mortal world.

Reaching out to support Abigail's body, Rhodes asked in a gentle voice:

"Are you ok?"

"I'm just borrowing a little bit of my father's power. Ultimately, I'm just a 'gateway', allowing his power to escape," Abigail explained softly. She reached out and gently touched the lockhole on her forehead, and it responded with an unintelligible whisper. But the girl still smiled a little. She pulled Rhodes' hair and said, "At least we don't have to smell the stench."

Looking back at the shocked General Hammer and the others, Rhodes reached out and patted Abigail's arm, motioning her to look in the direction of the subway train.

"Can you shelter General Hammer and the others?"

"Pickman can help, but it certainly won't be as effective as me being by your side, and we'd better get back soon."

As the blonde girl spoke, she let the black cat leap along her arm toward the subway train, and then lay down on General Hammer's left shoulder. Almost at the moment the black cat lay down, Hammer and the others felt that the stench and pain that lingered in their minds eased a little.

The cat yawned and looked a little tired.

"I'll be back soon," Rhodes shouted to Hammer and the others. He saw Hammer give him a thumbs-up, indicating that he had heard him. "If I'm not back within two hours, you try to start the subway train and leave here... if it still works."

There is an even more tragic future, and everyone realizes it, but no one speaks up.

It's just death, it's not something to shout about.

After a few simple instructions, Rhodes followed Abigail's guidance and walked into the depths of darkness.

The perfect circle repelled the dark yellow liquid that looked like digestive fluid, protecting Rhodes tightly inside. The latter saw the monster's corpse swaying along the direction of the water flow. The corpse was not complete - few things could remain intact after being hit by a heavy machine gun - the fragments of the corpse were being slowly corroded and digested, merging into the digestive fluid.

There were still some living monsters. They ignored the appearance of Rhodes and Abigail, but stood where they were, letting the dark yellow liquid wash over their bodies, allowing their skin, flesh, and bones to be digested bit by bit.

What's more, some would use their torn hands to scoop up liquid and pour it down their throats, letting the hissing sound of corrosion and the gurgling sound of melting organs spurt out from the holes in their bodies... and Rhode, or anyone else, could see the genuine joy on these monsters' faces.

"This scene is not very interesting."

Even Rhodes felt uncomfortable with this scene. He walked forward quickly and found that the digestive fluid did not corrode the building debris or other dead objects. It seemed that it was only targeting the concept of "flesh and blood".

As Rhodes went deeper, he could clearly feel that the surrounding environment was becoming narrower. The flashlight light only revealed endless darkness, and the dark yellow liquid began to separate into layers, mixed with some corrupt green.

[Diving]

[You are in the shallow level of the confused dungeon]

The knowledge from the system suddenly poured into Rhode's mind, causing his blood vessels to swell, and bloodshot crawled along the curve of his eyeballs. When he came to his senses, his entire body seemed to be soaked in cold sweat, except for his forehead. Abigail had wiped away the sweat there with her sleeve. After noticing Rhode's condition, she asked in a slightly panicked tone:

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Rhodes comforted softly, reaching out to wipe away the blood and tears from the corners of his eyes.

Judging from the knowledge provided by the system, the inner world can be simply divided into layers according to the degree of pollution, but this layer does not have stable and clear boundaries. When a person walks in the [Blurred Zone·Hell], he may fall into the shallow, middle or even deeper areas because of taking a step forward.

There will never be a uniform landscape or uniform creatures at any depth in the other world; every nightmare of intelligent life will take on a more distorted form here. This is true even within areas of the same depth.

Rhodes suddenly became curious about the depth of the inner world in the area where he was during the first three days... At that time, the system was not fully activated, so naturally there would be no prompts. He had no choice but to put this doubt in his heart and hope that there would never be an answer in the future.

As he continued walking forward, the surrounding environment changed again. The digestive fluid became more abundant and deeper, enough to reach Rod's neck.

This time, the creation that had previously shown traces of civilization and reality completely disappeared. Darkness was no longer a veil covering this great object. Unknown light came from an unknown direction, making the great object in front of Rhodes appear with greasy and colorful colors.

The headless and limbless behemoth stretched out infinitely in all directions. The wriggling and twitching flesh and blood occupied every inch of Rhodes's vision. The gurgling sound of digestion filled his brain, making it almost impossible for him to think.

[Begin to clean up the pollution in the other world]

[Pollution in the other world has been cleared]

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 300]

The eyes of humans, animals, and insects opened and closed on the flesh walls, like millions of pearls sparkling. The mouths of millions of creatures opened and closed, spraying or drinking the dark yellow liquid or liquid mixed with other colors. Bubbles emerged from the depths of the liquid, and for a moment it looked like boiling water.

As the bubbles rose, a monster's face—a face no different from the previous ones—rose and sank from the digestive fluid. This thing passed by Rhodes along the flow of digestive fluid, rotating close to the boundary of the perfect circle.

"You should serve us quietly."

It says, the monster face says.

It was Rhodes' bullet that responded to it, but the face still had that weird smile after being pierced through, and sank into the digestive fluid without a sound.

At this moment, Rod suddenly realized what the subway driver said - they are born, they are transported, they flow in - this is indeed a kind of eternal life to some extent, a gift of alienation.

"What is this thing in front of us?" Rhodes frowned and asked, enduring a headache and discomfort in other parts of his body. "What should we do next?"

"This is just one of the countless chaoses in the infinitely vast universe. But what's before my eyes isn't the chaos itself, it's just a part of my body... This is my digestive organ, connected to reality by a rift in the other world, and given meaning. But it's clearly only one billionth of it."

Abigail whispered, the light from the keyhole on her forehead growing stronger, causing the wriggling and twitching of the huge flesh and blood creature to slow down.

"Thirst is endless, but as long as there's even a hint of the concept of 'feeding,' they won't aggressively expand outward... Perhaps this is what those monsters call their sacred work, but it won't last long." Rhodes sighed, grasping the key to something. "Monsters devour human flesh and blood, digest it, and then be reborn from it—forget it, Abigail, can you prevent the digestive juices from leaking out?"

“That’s what we’re here for.”

The girl opened her arms, allowing the dazzling purple light from the keyhole to completely squeeze out the old light here. At this moment, Rhodes suddenly felt that the passage of time was rapidly slowed down and finally stopped - the huge flesh and blood quickly moved away from them and disappeared into the darkness. The unknown light and the noise also disappeared.