Long-term salvation

"I'm not playing a prank."

Looking at those serious eyes, Rhode's heart stopped for a second. He turned his face away and sighed helplessly, saying:

"Who did you learn this from? Noah?"

"Gifted!"

"Don't say that," Rhode said, holding the steering wheel with his left hand and pinching the wolf girl's cheek with his right hand. "You went to Detroit to rob gangsters, right? Tell me, how much else did you rob?"

"Two mafia banks of varying sizes, and more mafia depository locations—don't worry, Sensei, I'm a nomad."

Listen, he’s committing crimes while on the run!

And you're too fast!

With the assistance of Director Gomez Addams, the salvage operation was now properly underway, no longer requiring Little Red Riding Hood and White Child's oversight, giving them some free time. Unlike Little Red Riding Hood, who had decided to return to Arkham, White Child followed Rhodes's footsteps north. Since the loot was being laundered by mixing it with proceeds from the auction of the sunken treasure, he didn't have to worry about the chaos.

Now, except for Yang who was out and about, the other girls began to return to Arkham Town one after another.

"I've asked Yuuka to take care of the money, and uh... and that Nikki called 'Yang'," Baizi stretched and looked at the late winter scenery outside with a bit of regret. "It'll take another two or three months before riding will be more comfortable."

"It's also quite cold in early spring," Rhodes reminded.

"You can wear a little more."

The two of them slowly talked about their prospects for the future, and as the car drove out of the town's streets to the suburbs, a manor on the edge of the forest appeared before them.

Not only that, the black RV that had accompanied Rhodes for a long time was parked on the side of the road a little further outside the manor. Wooden blocks cut into triangular prisms were placed in front and behind the wheels to prevent the vehicle from sliding.

After parking the car on the side of the road, Rod got out and walked towards the RV. A few faces were squeezed on the glass at the back of the RV, and then quickly disappeared - the fragrant breeze blew on her face, and Marian threw herself into Rod's arms - Nikki rubbed her face against hers, and then retreated shyly.

Little Red Riding Hood leaned against the RV, crossed her arms, and looked at Rhodes with a mischievous smile.

"You won't be shy this time?" Rhode joked, but before he could finish his words, his hands were grabbed by Noah and Yuka. They both blushed slightly, and Yuka, who was standing on the left, complained:

"Sensei, you're running around without a satellite phone. We can't contact you at all. You're the one making all the decisions on so many things."

"I must remain calm, like the night, waiting sleeplessly under the twinkling stars, patiently bowing my head," Noah said softly. She did not stand beside Rhodes for a long time like Yuxiang did. Instead, she let go of his hand, took a step back, and said with a smile:

"Please introduce our new friends to us, Sensei."

"Ah! Yes, yes," Rhodes reached out and touched Yuxiang's head, then turned around and introduced Mary and Nikki Yang, who was not here for the time being, to the girls. After listening to Rhodes' detailed description, Yuxiang raised her eyebrows slightly at the existence of Nikki. The cute girl puffed up her cheeks, pulled her best friend over and started whispering.

Noah responded perfunctorily, his eyes falling on Rhodes, wondering what he was thinking.

"Commander," Little Red Riding Hood suddenly spoke up. She stood up, pointed to the manor not far away, and said seriously, "There is a problem with that house. You should solve it as soon as possible."

Rhode nodded slightly, and he looked over as Little Red Riding Hood instructed—

A manor, emitting an air of antiquity, stood quietly at the edge of the forest. Its walls and windows were undamaged, evidently undergoing routine maintenance. Even so, the manor seemed deserted, as if a corpse lay there, and the windows, like empty, lifeless eyes, gazed indifferently at visitors.

The manor's overall style wasn't particularly ornate, but when paired with the snow-covered forest beside it, it exuded a strange, dark fairytale-like beauty. The main house in the foreground, along with several smaller longhouses, formed a vast estate. Bare gardens and lightly tended groves surrounded the buildings, lending the place a false sense of life.

There have been many owners here, the last one being the family of Randolph Carter, but as the family gradually declined, they moved away from this strange house, and the latter restored its former name:

Hill House (from "The Haunting of Hill House").

"I know there's something wrong with this manor," Rhodes explained. He had been here before when he lived in Arkham. "That's why I need to buy it. I don't intend to solve the problems of the manor itself. This is a great place for primary training, it just needs some renovation."

"Renovation? As for renovation, I've contacted a very professional couple who are highly regarded in the industry and were previously planning to buy this manor. I spoke with them on the phone and decided to let them handle the renovation work. The specific division of residence and work will be discussed in person."

Yuuka put her finger to her lips, recalling the information she had handled. "It's just that they have several children with them, so I'm afraid they need to stay in the villa... Well... It's all Sensei's fault. You haven't come back yet, and I didn't dare ask Mr. Ains's people to help!"

Seeing the angry girl, Rhode quickly raised his hands in surrender:

"I have no objection! But what are their names?"

"The Cranes, Mr. Hugh Crane and his wife, Ms. Olivia Crane, have five children. They will arrive tomorrow."

Chapter 82: Everyday Life: An Ordinary Day (2/2)

It was getting late, but Rhode didn't plan to stay in Hill Manor tonight. Putting aside the ghosts and the strangeness of the manor—

The decay of the furniture from long periods of uninhabitation, the lack of electricity, telephone lines, or running water, the pervasive musty smell, and the overly cold corridors and rooms were enough to make one feel uncomfortable. Furthermore, the replacement furniture, bedding, and other items hadn't arrived yet, so living there now would only be torturing one's body.

After thinking for a long time, Rhodes decided to let the girls stay in the RV for one night. He would start the renovation and cleaning of the manor early tomorrow morning and try to clean up the bedrooms first.

It took Rod a few minutes to help Marian and Little Red Riding Hood set up the tent close to the RV. After isolating it from the cold wind and lighting a stove, it would be warm even outside the RV.

Sitting in front of the stove, Rod used his axe to chop into a log, then slammed it on the ground to split it in two, then picked up one half and repeated the previous action. He did this slowly, which made Little Red Riding Hood frown as she sat idle beside him.

Nikki then dragged a log over and sat down, then reached out and picked up a piece of the log and tore it in half.

"There's no need to be so anxious," Rhodes said helplessly. "There's a lot of chopped firewood, and there are some coal lumps here."

"I want to eat early," Little Red Riding Hood poked Rod's head with the wooden stick she had torn into a rectangular shape. "And you've become lazy, Commander."

"I'm lazy, I'm lazy. My goal is to eat and wait for death, and I want you to wear a maid outfit and feed me," Rhodes said with dead eyes.

"How do you feed it?"

Nikki's mouth curved into an ω shape, and her rosy face showed an eagerness to try.

"Tsk, you guy..."

However, before he could finish his words, Abigail stuffed a piece of soft cake into his mouth. It wasn't some expensive brand dessert, but it was baked just right. "Hmm, not too sweet... Abigail, you guys are back?"

The blonde girl had just gone to the town's supermarket with Noah and Mary to buy groceries, but Rhode leaned back and didn't see the other two. Only the black cat, Pickman, was crouched on a pile of logs, licking its paws. Under the cat's paws, only the head of the unknown rodent remained, its lifeless eyes mirroring Rhode's own.

Taking out a fist-sized marshmallow, Abigail stuck it on a long stick, placed it next to the stove, and kept spinning it while saying:

"Mary saw a church and decided to go in. Noah must have been waiting for her. I don't like churches, so I came back first."

"Okay... well... Shiroko!"

Rhodes shouted loudly, and the top of the tent caved in, vaguely outlining a slender human figure. The wolf girl poked her head out from the edge, her hair hanging down, swaying in the slight cold breeze.

He moved his nose, and the indifferent expression on Bai Zi's face changed slightly. Then he turned over and accepted the snacks fed by Rhodes.

"Nothing has changed in the villa, except that the smell of death is very strong inside. There must be a lot of ghosts in there," Bai Zi muttered. A little cake crumbs rubbed the corner of her mouth, and then she looked at Rhodes with expectant eyes. After wiping it off with her fingers and being bitten by the wolf, Rhodes blew on his fingers in pain, his whole face as if wearing a mask of pain.

"This is the result of not responding to expectations," Little Red Riding Hood said softly, poking the firewood in the stove with a wooden stick, causing sparks to fly out of it.

Ignoring Little Red Riding Hood's infuriating behavior, Rod stood up and quickly ran towards the two girls who were walking slowly from the end of the road. He took the bags from their hands and asked gently, "What are you doing?"

"Maybe I should drive you guys there?"

"The supermarket isn't far away, and there's not much to buy. It's nice to exercise occasionally."

Noah answered softly, but Mary beside him had a rare look of excitement on her face. She exhaled softly, letting the milky white mist disappear into the cold wind before her lovely face. Then she suppressed the joy in her heart and said softly:

"The new priest in Arkham is a rare good man, devout and morally flawless."

"Hmm? That's an interesting thing." Rhodes reached out and touched Mary's head. The cat ears hidden under the nun's hat trembled, and the little nun's face immediately flushed with a mixture of shyness and satisfaction. "So, what's the name of that priest?"

"Father Lankester Merrin, who is also an archaeologist and paleontologist, said he had done archaeological work in Iraq before."

Hearing this name, Rhodes felt vaguely familiar, but there was no movement in his broken memory and the system... Perhaps only when he met this priest one day would he be able to remember more specific details.

As she was speaking, Yuxiang leaned half of her body out of the RV and waved at Rhodes:

"Sensei! Marian said it's time to prepare dinner. We'll be eating stew right outside on the stove today!"

"The newly bought vegetables haven't been washed yet."

"We need to eat what's in the fridge first!"

"Great!"

Abigail cheered, and Bai Zi next to her raised her hands silently. The two of them quickly moved the logs away from the stove, while Little Red Riding Hood picked up a broom and simply swept the wood chips into the stove.

A wisp of ash mixed with black smoke suddenly rose from inside, but quickly dissipated in the slightly cooler air.

After getting ready, Rhode saw Marian bring out a basketball-sized pot from the RV. The aroma of stew could be smelled even through the lid. Following behind her, Yuka carried two plates filled with sliced ​​ham and smoked meat.

It was already dark, and a small town with lights just coming on lay not far away. The darkness separated the RV tent and the town, as if they were two different worlds.

"If you want to drink, there's some in the car, but it's only beer and very ordinary wine," Marianne said softly, stirring the stew slowly with a spoon - it was more like some kind of hot pot, but it looked particularly North American because of the spices and ingredients, but it still smelled very good.

"Then let's have some," Rhodes nodded. He looked around and said, "Just three glasses of wine. The rest of you can have Coke?"

"Okay." / "Sure." / "Actually, it's okay to drink a little."

Rubbing his chin, Rhode wondered how much Yuka and the others could drink... Perhaps he could do an experiment sometime? But now that things had come to this, let's eat!

Rod sat at the small table, next to the stove, and Marianne stayed close to him, adding vegetables and broth from time to time. The other girls sat scattered around, eating and laughing as they talked about their experiences of the past few days.

"Is your work going well lately?" Marian asked, a hint of dejection on her face. "You can take me with you next time. I can help you."

"I will, but what follows..."

"Wait a moment, Commander, I have a very important question."

Little Red Riding Hood suddenly spoke, blankly holding a plate with a few pieces of ham and stew, and a few pickled cucumber slices mixed in. After making sure everyone's eyes were on her, Red-Haired Nikki asked with ill intention:

"Commander, where are you going to sleep?"

"..."xN

"Sleeping next to you," Rod replied with a smile.

The terrifying nuclear deterrent was immediately established, and Rhodes was naturally able to sleep in the car on the way to Arkham.

Chapter 83: Dream Come True: Murderer? (1/2)

Sleeping in a car wasn't a good feeling at all. Rod took off his shoes and lowered the driver's seat. He opened the window a tiny bit, covered himself with a thick blanket, and went to sleep fully clothed. The temperature was a little low, but it wasn't a big deal.

Breathe… breathe… breathe… breathe…

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 1]

Rhode opened his eyes and saw the familiar hospital corridor in his dream world. Like most times in the past, the corridor of the unknown hospital was lit with a cold and lonely light. The spotless corridor stretched infinitely into the distance, and even with Rhode's eyesight, he couldn't see the end.

At the farthest point, the infinitely long corridor converges into a nearly perfect dark dot, like a black pupil peering inward.

But today was different—Asuka Iki, the lovely yet sorrowful girl, was not waiting in the hallway. Rather, she hadn't entered this dream world during sleep for the past week.

In fact, Rhodes didn't care much about it. After all, the system task had not been cancelled or changed. Obviously, Miss Asukai had not suffered any misfortune.

Maybe she's still in the ward?

Rhodes walked towards Asuka Jingmuji's ward, which was not far away and easy to find.

However, the moment he took a step forward, he saw a slightly transparent shock wave surging out of the darkness at the end. The walls, floor and ceiling on both sides of the corridor undulated like waves, and even the lights began to flicker.

In the interplay of light and darkness, Rhode saw names displayed on the signs next to the ward doors on both sides of the corridor, most of them in Japanese. The names were written in blood-red script, some brightly colored, while many took on a dark red that had been in full bloom for a long time.

"..."

Seeing this, Rhode frowned slightly. He immediately took out his chest mount and other equipment from his storage space and quickly put them on. Just like when he first arrived here, he was fully armed, rifle in hand.

Walking forward slowly with his rifle in hand, Rhodes listened carefully to the sounds around him, and finally stopped in front of Asuka Iki's ward door - the sound of the ward door being opened was heard, but it was the ward door on the front right.

A tall man walked out from inside. His hair was the color of ash. His eyes looked normal at first glance, but if you looked closely, you could see terrifying cruelty and indifference in the depths of his eyes.

This man... Rhodes's fragmented memories slowly surfaced, and he found information about the man in front of him from those fragmented fragments:

A serial killer known as "Single Duel" who forces his victims to fight him and beats them to death. His real name is Katsuyama Denshin.

Noticing the rifle in Rhode's hand and the attire he was wearing, Shengshan Chuanxin was slightly startled, his face immediately covered with a layer of confusion and surprise. Raising his hands to indicate that he meant no harm, the serial killer slowly approached, raising his voice as if to ensure that those in the ward could hear:

"Are you here to kill the girl in that ward too?"

"...Yeah," Rhodes smiled back and said softly.

"!!!"

Inside the hospital ward, Asuka Iki curled up in bed, clutching the sheets tightly as she stared toward the ward door with a hint of fear. Since last week, in addition to the inevitable arrival of the otherworldly monsters, killers from the real world have also entered this dream world. Initially, they were killed by the monsters due to their hesitation and confusion... but now, the killers seem to have discovered a pattern.

As long as they kill Asukai Muki before the monsters from the other world arrive, they can leave the dream world and avoid being torn apart by the monsters - if they exceed the time limit, they will be torn apart by the monsters along with the girl.

The monsters didn't arrive at a fixed time, and no fool wanted to waste time getting torn apart.

Listening to the man's voice outside, Asukai Muji took a deep breath and opened the bedside table. Inside was a small knife for peeling apples. This was the only sharp weapon that could appear at her side.

The girl was powerless, but that didn't mean she couldn't fight in her own way - resisting and stalling for time, until the monsters emerged from every corner and corridor turn, until the monsters tore her and the killers into pieces.

If we delay, we will die together. If we don't delay, we won't suffer much. Now and in the future, it will just be a repetition.

Every time she saw the terrified eyes of the murderers, the girl would have more courage to resist, as well as a little bit of resentful expectation.