Long-term salvation

Shirley gasped for breath and subconsciously looked at her brothers and sisters, but all she received were terrified looks from them.

In the end what happened? !

"Staring at others is very rude," said the blonde girl with the cat on her shoulder, who had already walked up to the Crane children. She tilted her head slightly and greeted the strangers with her smooth chin. "It's also very dangerous. You'd better stay close to your parents."

"……May I have your name?"

Shirley heard her youngest brother Luke ask. She actually wanted to ask, but her mouth was so dry, and even her throat was swollen and painful as if she had a high fever.

"Abigail Williams," the girl said, shrugging and causing the cat to bob up and down. "For a while, I'll be living in Hill House, just like you guys."

After saying that, Abigail—that's how she introduced herself, using a witch's name—the blonde girl walked towards the villa, casually passing through the workers who were working, as if no one noticed her presence.

The Crane children looked at each other, and then they heard their parents shouting:

"Children, come here! Come and meet Mr. Rhodes and the other ladies. They will be staying here with us temporarily for a while."

Urged by their parents, the children came over cautiously and saw a young man smiling at them. The man was dressed in proper clothes, as if specially prepared for today. He had a handsome face but wore a black eye patch on his left eye.

"Hello, the treasures of the Crane family, you can call me Rod... Oh! I believe you have already met Abigail, and I will introduce you to the others later today."

Looking closely at the Crane children, Rhodes raised his eyebrows slightly. He noticed that all five children in the family had very unique talents - clairvoyance - just like the directors of the foundation, but they were all very weak now, perhaps due to their age and experience.

This mixed blessing and curse was inherited from their mother, Olivia Crain.

The children spoke stiffly to Rod, who smiled in return.

[Side Quest: Ghost Invasion]

Mission Description: Resolve the afterlife incident at Hill Manor, a suburb of Arkham Town, and use it as a base for the early stages.

[Side Quest: Start Now]

Mission Description: Find and train children with abilities and qualifications, making them the future candidates for handling the otherworld.

The two side quests had nothing to do with the Twelve Trials, but Rhodes was still looking forward to the system's rewards.

Chapter 86: Villa Renovation (2/2)

"This is Noah, you can just call her Sister Noah," Rhodes smiled and patted the head of Steven, the eldest son of the Crane family. "Go ahead, she will take you to your respective rooms, and the workers will also take your luggage there."

Watching the children walking towards the villa under the guidance of the girl, Rhode retracted his gaze and said to Olivia and Xio with a hint of sarcasm:

“It must be hard with so many kids.”

"But it's worth it," Hugh Crane responded with a smile. He opened his handbag and spread out a floor plan. "Ms. Yuka has already reviewed the drawings we mailed to you, but I think it's necessary to confirm them with you again."

Rhodes glanced at the blueprint, pondered for a moment, and said:

"For the villa itself, we can put a small fountain in front of the main house and build circular paths on both sides. Then we can add two long houses next to the backyard. The style should be similar to the main house, but the private rooms should be large enough and sufficient. In the next few years, many people will live here."

The Cranes exchanged a glance, and finally, the designer, Olivia, took the blueprint and pointed at the direction of the water pipes. She said,

"Although the villa had its water pipes updated ten years ago, that was only the main part. If you want to extend it further, you'll have to go to the basement and knock open the wall there to see where the pipes are going. As for the longhouse you mentioned, I have many blueprints here. Just pick one and let me modify it."

"very good."

Watching Olivia and Xio start writing in their notebooks, Rhode recalled the information he had just seen with his all-seeing eyes and asked:

"What do you two plan to do after completing the mission at Hill Villa?"

"I designed a 'forever home' where five children can grow up peacefully," Olivia smiled, and Quinn put his arm around his wife's waist, his face filled with pride and happiness. "Your reward is very generous, enough for us to live a prosperous life. So, we don't have any particular plans right now. We'll just focus on the work at hand."

"Are you planning to settle down in Arkham?"

"That... depends on what the kids want. They might prefer a place closer to a big city," Xio shrugged, appearing quite open-minded. "We should have settled down a long time ago, but work requires us to travel a lot."

Hearing this, Rhodes nodded slightly and did not forcefully promote the benefits of settling here - it didn't matter, after a few days, the Crane family would all stay under supernatural pressure.

This is actually a good thing for the Crane family.

In the original "Haunting of Hill House," the youngest of the five Crane children, Eleanor, committed suicide in adulthood under the influence of Hill House. Their mother, Olivia, was also captivated by the mansion's influence and its ghosts shortly after moving in, killing the caretakers, the Derrys, and nearly killing her own two children. Ultimately, she, unable to distinguish between fantasy and reality, committed suicide by jumping from a building.

Everyone in the Crane family is suffering. The happier they are now, the more painful they will be in the future.

From this point of view, even if the Crane children will not become well-trained soldiers or agents in the future, they can do what they can with their talents, such as scholars of the other world, archaeologists, folklorists... Ahem, apart from these kinds of annihilation engines, it would be good to be an ordinary person who knows the dangers of the other world. At least Rhode will not have to bother to deal with it anymore.

After watching the Cranes go and talk to the workers who were assisting with the construction, Rod stretched and walked into Hill Villa alone. He planned to go to the kitchen to get something to eat first.

The moment he stepped into the villa, he could clearly feel a chill. It wasn't due to the empty house or the low temperature brought by winter, but a chill rising from the depths of his soul.

The strangeness of Hill Manor doesn't lie in a certain area or building, but in every corner and corridor, in those corners and gaps that humans always fail to notice. If you stare into the unnatural darkness for a long time, you will feel that there is something in the darkness that is staring back at you with dead silence - like a corpse with lifeless eyes, staring at you empty and deadly, forever.

Those without talent or good fortune often don't notice the unusualness of Hill Manor, but they still feel oppressed and dull, and over time they may develop psychological problems. Most people eventually choose to leave, but throughout the long history of this manor, there have always been one or two tragic individuals.

They became part of Hill House.

Rhode recalled Bai Zi's words yesterday and ascended the wooden stairs. A dull creaking sound immediately emanated from beneath his feet. He glanced around the corner and saw a worker repairing a clock. Then, in a blink of an eye, both the worker and the grandfather clock vanished without a trace, as if they had never appeared—merely the echo of the ghosts bound here, wandering here forever, unable to escape.

"Are you warning me?" Rhode stretched out his hand and placed it on the wall of Hill Villa, his mouth curled up slightly. "Are you just showing off your weak abilities here?"

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 1]

As if in response, Rhodes heard creepy rustling sounds surging from the walls of Hill Villa, as if countless beetles were about to break through the walls. The surroundings gradually darkened, and the sunlight of the real world was forcibly blocked outside the house. The dark power dwelling in the shadows slowly crawled towards where Rhodes stood.

Rhodes sneered and climbed the stairs. With each step he took, the surroundings became darker. Tiny whispers lingered in his ears, and the ghosts spoke intermittently about their past and their bitter hatred... But Rhodes ignored them and just walked up the stairs calmly. The moment he stepped onto the second floor, there were no more shadows and whispers around him.

Standing in the corridor on the second floor, Rhode looked towards the end of the corridor with a sense of meaning. He saw a red door standing there quietly. The door opened a crack inward, tempting those ignorant people to walk in.

"...As a primary training ground, it's quite qualified."

Rhodes stood there, gazing at the red door with interest. The red door was the core of Hill Manor, or in other words, its "stomach". It would attract prey like pigweed, making them addicted to it and unaware of their own changes - and eventually become the food of Hill Manor.

Just as Rhodes was about to step into the red door to see what the latter could show him, Mary's voice came from behind him.

A petite girl in a nun's uniform came running over with a satellite phone in her arms. She stopped in front of Rhodes, who turned around, and said:

"Sister Yang said that Aperture Technology's shower curtain production line is being restarted and is expected to begin operations next month. The plastic model factory they acquired in Detroit has completed the production of molds, and they said they will be able to send the first batch of samples the day after tomorrow."

"Great," Rhode laughed and reached out to touch Mary's head randomly. "All we need to do now is hire a few more writers, illustrators, critics, and magazines to make this IP more well-known."

"Hehehe...Okay, I'll tell her..."

The girl nodded, her eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a cute expression like a cat being scratched on the chin. In the hazy comfort, she subconsciously asked her doubts:

"Sensei, it's fine if the new company is called Games Workshop, but why is this new IP called Warhammer 40000? It doesn't seem to have anything to do with Hammer... and it's set in space."

"It's just my personal nostalgia," Rhode said with a smile. "By the way, I'm starting to lay the groundwork now, uncovering a corner of the potential for human civilization and serving as a warning."

"Another reason is that the setting of Warhammer 40 will make it very convenient for us to spread common knowledge about the otherworld in the future, combining education with entertainment. After all, given the current situation, it's impossible for us to completely hide the otherworld, especially in today's society with the rapid development of the Internet and communication tools. We'd be grateful if we could keep it hidden for another ten years."

Of course, using the plastic figurines to rake in gold coins was also one of his goals. Remember, in the original timeline, GW's net profit in 2023 was over 1 million pounds! Rhode was desperate for money now and in the future... And maybe he could even use these plastic figurines to collect salary...

Chapter 87 Children's Early Spring

The time spent at Hill House was a happy one, especially for the Crane children.

Steven, the eldest son and the oldest brother of the Crane family, rushed in through the front door. He swiftly crossed the gloomy hall, nimbly running past the workers who were carrying building materials, causing them to scream in surprise. Fortunately, the boy was very nimble and moved around like a little mountain monkey.

"Sorry, I'm in a hurry!"

The boy shouted loudly, and he jumped up the stairs, leaping over a floor with each leap, and stepping out the dust that had settled in the cracks between the wooden boards. After running to the second floor, he brushed the dust off his trouser legs and continued to jog, passing through the rooms that seemed to be occupied.

Finally, Steven stopped in front of the youngest twin's room. He leaned forward, holding onto the doorframe, and said:

"Mr. Rhodes, Sister Marian asked me to come over and ask you what we want to eat for dinner?"

"Of course I'm fine with either, but it would be better if it had some of Arkham's specialty mushroom sauce. I love that. Also, have you asked your dad and mom?"

Rhode was sitting cross-legged on the ground, rolling the dice, taking out a tape measure, and moving his Blood Angels chess piece forward. Sitting across from him was Luke, the younger of the Crane twins. The little guy loved the Ultramarines and placed Papa Smurf's chess piece by his bed every night before going to bed.

By the way, Steven likes Dark Angel...I can only say that he is worthy of being the eldest son.

"I asked, but Mom said she'd help with cooking tonight, so we'll decide then," Steven said. He walked into the room, looked at it quietly for a moment, and then said, "Mr. Rhodes, you're going to lose."

"Theoretically, I can still struggle a little longer."

"But you only have three chess pieces left."

"It's okay," Rhodes said solemnly, "As long as the Death Company launches an attack, everything will be fine."

"The Ultramarines are the strongest!" Luke cheered at his impending victory. "Courage and glory! For Macragge!"

Steven shook his head and sighed. He knew that Rod was just trying to make his brother happy, but it was really shameless of you, an adult, to cheat after losing three games in a row to me.

After watching for a few minutes, Steven turned and left. He still needed to respond to Marian's questions.

Walking down the second-floor corridor of Hill House, Steven suddenly felt a chill, which made him tuck his hands into the sleeves of his sweater, making it stick tight to his body. The weather was nice today, and the bright sunshine streaming in from the window didn't make him feel any warmer.

After quickly passing a watch repairman, Steven saw Sister Mary, who had always been wearing a nun's uniform, chatting with her mother. They seemed to be arguing about where to add a small chapel.

Noah and Yuka, the older sisters, didn't join in the discussion about the chapel. Instead, they carried a pile of documents to the study, where they were about to start working on some... uh... financial calculations. Steven didn't like math; he preferred literary creation.

Ignoring them, Steven went downstairs from the other side and happened to meet Abigail who was coming in from outside, followed by her two sisters, Shirley and Theodora. They were carrying bamboo baskets covered with a thick layer of velvet.

Shirley lifted the velvet and pulled out a small, orange sphere of Santa Teresa custard, placed in a white paper tray, and thrust it into Steven's hand. The boy felt a wave of warmth in his palm. He took a bite, and the aroma of syrup, lemon juice, and cinnamon filled his mouth, seemingly dispelling much of the chill from his body.

"Abigail took us around the old folks' homes in town, and we harvested these," Theodora explained. Her basket contained some ordinary vegetables, but they were indeed the kindness of the elderly. "Ah, and we ran into Mike and his friends. Those four guys want you to bring your chess pieces...that warhammer thing, ahem. Anyway, they want to hang out with you this afternoon, so feel free to come over."

Mike Wheeler and his three friends were teenagers Rod had met while living in Arkham. After discovering a new member of their age in town, they quickly became acquainted with Steven. Rod also gifted each of them a set of Warhammer chess pieces worth around 1000 points, as a way to see how these board game-loving boys would adapt to the game.

"Um, then I need to ask Dad." Steven quickly finished chewing the snacks and walked towards the kitchen, but he turned back after a few steps. "Give me all the baskets, I'll go to the kitchen... You don't need the one with the snacks, but you have to give me a few and I'll take them to the kitchen for Eleanor."

"Bring some for Daddy too!"

"I don't know what he likes to eat."

"Then let's have this pudding," Shirley made the final decision.

Steven came to the kitchen with a basket and saw Marianne shaking some glutinous rice flour into a stainless steel basin. Eleanor, his sister, stood on a stool and tiptoed, seeming to be very interested in the process. His father, on the other hand, was holding a cup of water and said to Marianne as he did so:

"Ms. Marian, you need to tell Mr. Rhodes that we have to deal with the mold problem in the basement tomorrow. I even feel physically ill just walking in there. If we leave it alone, the mold may spread to other areas."

"I'll tell him."

Marian nodded. She had just brought large jars of sweet coffee to the workers and received a lot of compliments such as "May God bless you", "Thank you, Mrs. Marian", "Mr. Rod is so lucky", etc., which made Nikki's mouth curve never lowered.

"Uh…oh! Steven!"

Hugh Crane saw his eldest son putting the basket on the table and taking out the snacks. Eleanor cheered and ran over quickly when she saw this.

The girl picked up the pastry and handed it to her father first, but when he shook his head slightly, she ran to hand it to Marianne. Nikki smiled and refused, and whispered to her if she liked lemon zest in the egg tart.

Watching his daughter nibbling on snacks like a little hamster, Hugh Crane couldn't help but laugh. He stretched and prepared to continue working, but as soon as he turned around, he met Steven's eyes. After a few seconds of staring at each other, Hugh sighed and said,

"You must come back before dark and don't let your mother worry."

"Great!"

This time it was Steven who cheered. As before, he hurried back to his room, took out the large box of chess pieces, and ran to the warehouse behind Hill House. His bicycle was parked there, but someone else had arrived earlier than the boy—Bai Zi was squatting in front of her own road bike, lubricating the chain.

"Good afternoon, Sister Baizi."

When he saw Steven coming in, Bai Zi just raised his hand and said "oh" as a greeting.

The boy didn't care. He felt that Mr. Rhodes's family... it was a bit strange to call them a family. After all, except for Mr. Rhodes himself, everyone else was a lovely girl. But regardless, they were very kind to him and his family, except for a slightly odd request:

It is forbidden to go out for night tours at night. If you need to go to the toilet, go quickly and go back.

Apart from that, there were no other taboos, but Eleanor once mentioned inadvertently that she had seen an angel with a halo on its head when she went out at night, and the angel didn't want her to tell her who it was - Steven didn't believe in the existence of angels. He was more inclined to believe that Eleanor was confused in her sleep and mistook one of Mr. Rhodes' female companions for an angel with a halo on her head.

Riding his bicycle, the boy followed the smooth path beside the building and left. He saw the bold, red-haired older sister standing alone in the quiet, dry woods. She looked up at the sky through the trees, as if she was thinking about something. After a few seconds, she spoke with surprise:

"There must be a city in the sky inside that cloud!"

Steven: “…”

The boy immediately pedaled faster to get away from the place.

Chapter 88: Adults’ Late Winter (1/2)

Hugh Crane woke up from his sleep. To be honest, his sleep quality has been very poor since he came to Hill Manor.

He stood up and stared blankly at the icy flowers on the window for a while before reluctantly coming out from under the covers. His feet jerked back when they touched the cold slippers, then stepped on them slowly, intending to get some water first.

"My Dear?"

Xio turned his head to look at his wife. In the first and most beautiful light of the morning, she was looking at him with clear eyes.

"You should get more sleep," Xio leaned over and kissed his wife on the forehead, his words full of heartache, "Is your headache better?"

“It’s been on and off,” Olivia said, a faint trace of fatigue on her face. “I woke up with a start last night and found myself sitting up in bed…and my feet were frozen.”