Long-term salvation

"You're truly worthy of my affection, Commander," the black-haired Nikki whispered. She sighed, used her fan to separate the two people in the front row, and said calmly, "Commander, if you delay any longer, the hospital will probably refuse your visit."

"Just refuse, I'll sneak in!"

"Don't act like a child at this time!"

After half an hour.

Chiba Atsuko②, a researcher at the Tokyo Institute of Psychiatry and deputy leader of the DC mini development team, was dragging her somewhat exhausted body to the hospital. She wanted to persuade the girl to cooperate with the DC mini research, but the latter refused with extraordinary firmness and even planned to leave.

Chiba Atsuko sympathized with the girl's experience, and that was why she was so persistent, hoping that through the power of the dream machine, the girl - Asuka Iki - could have a better life, at least no longer be entangled in the horrible nightmares of monsters and murderers.

She was standing in front of the nurse's desk in the hall, feeling a little sad because of all the things she was doing. She was about to sign for her long stay at night, and then she heard the nurse talking to a young man who seemed unaware of the hospital's regulations.

Following the sound, Chiba Atsuko saw a handsome young man with silver-gray hair. He turned his head as if noticing the gazes of others, and his eyes happened to meet Atsuko's gaze... His deep blue eyes were filled with majesty and scrutiny, as if he had seen through her completely.

At this moment, Chiba Atsuko almost thought that she was in a dream world and facing the judgment of God.

①: From the Cloverfield series

②: From "Paprika"

Chapter 95 I Really Want to See You

Turn off the lights, draw the curtains, and completely isolate yourself from the bustling city outside.

The ward was filled with a warm, dry atmosphere. If the windows weren't opened for ventilation, it could even cause dry mouth and nosebleeds. Asuka Iki had long forgotten how long she'd lived there, even the dull days and painful nights had become commonplace... A morbid sense of anticipation welled up in her, bringing a touch of joy to her heart.

Back in bed, the washed, ironed blankets felt warm to the touch. Lying on her side, she reached under the pillow, her fingers touching the handle and then the blade of the fruit knife. The pillow was cold, and the deadly weapon itself was also chilled, causing her to curl up in the blankets.

"What are you going to talk to him about today?"

Should we talk about my return to painting? Or perhaps about the recent hospital experience?

The girl suddenly realized there was nothing to talk about. She knew very little about him, his hobbies, his life, his work—Mr. Rhodes said he was saving the world, which could barely be called work. But if she left the hospital, how would she get along with him?

I am useless, maybe only this useless skin... No, there must be many lovely girls around Mr. Rhodes.

How can I help him?

Suddenly, a cold wind blew from behind the girl, gently caressing her exposed neck, taking away all the warmth.

Asuka Jing Muji suddenly stood up and looked towards the window - the window had been opened a crack, and the wind blew open the curtains, but they could not be lifted up due to the obstruction of the man's body, and could only hang behind him like a cloak.

The beautiful dream has begun, the girl thought.

"You came a little early today, and you didn't even walk in through the ward door," the girl relaxed. She raised the front end of the bed and half-lay down, looking at Rhode. "Those murderers have been quiet for a few days, but the monsters keep showing up. I wonder what kind of monsters will appear soon..."

"..."

"Why don't you speak?"

"Muji," Rhodes closed the window, pulled a chair over and sat in front of the girl, looking into her beautiful green eyes, "Want to see a magic trick?"

"magic?"

"Yes, magic."

Rhodes said, pretending to be serious as he stretched out his right fist towards the girl, clenching it tightly. Suddenly, his fist exploded from the inside out, and a rose popped out from it, with crimson petals surrounding the pistil, emitting a faint floral fragrance.

"Is this... for me?" Asuka Jingmuji was stunned by this scene. Her mind and heart were blank. She reached out to hold the rose in a daze - but this was just the beginning. Rhodes held the girl's hands together, and the warmth of his palms flowed into her body along her skin.

Rhodes loosened his hand, and the girl immediately noticed a piece of paper between her fingers. It was an application for discharge from the hospital.

"This is my first time stealing a princess from a castle, so I'm a little unskilled," Rhodes said in a low voice with a smile, "I'm here to pick you up, Muji."

"Is this reality?"

"Yes, the cold and cruel reality."

The girl stretched out her hands, hugged Rhodes' neck, buried her head in his chest, and let out faint sobs.

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time, every minute and every second since I saw you in my dream." Asuka Jing Muji tightened her arms. She greedily breathed in the warmth and faint smell of tobacco from Rhode's body, letting her heart beat wildly in ecstasy. "Everyone here is very kind to me, but I still feel uneasy... I shouldn't be here. Even if I die, I shouldn't stay here, but..."

"I really, really want to see you."

"Even among a swarm of monsters, even when being hunted by a murderer, even in the dark and gloomy night."

"...It's time to let go, Muji," Rhodes patted the girl's back a few times and said with a low laugh, "Otherwise, Ms. Chiba Atsuko standing at the door of the ward will not be able to close her jaw."

Asuka Jing Muji looked in the direction of the voice and saw Chiba Atsuko, who often chatted with him and recorded the progress of his illness, standing at the door with a dull look on her face, as if she had seen something incredible.

She closed the ward door in a daze, but the dull sound of the door hitting the door frame woke Chiba Atsuko from her daze. She suddenly opened the door again and asked Rhode with a serious face:

"who are you?"

This person was arguing with the nurse ten minutes ago, so how did he appear here now - in this psychiatric inpatient ward with strict security, where even he had to register before entering?

"He's my... uh, childhood sweetheart from back home," Asuka Ikiji said before Rhodes could speak. "He came to visit me now and is preparing to take me out of the hospital."

As she spoke, the girl raised the paper in her hand with an unconcealable joy on her face.

"I just came back from abroad," Rhode added, reaching out to touch Asuka Iki's hair, causing the girl to whimper slightly. "Thank you for taking care of her."

"Ms. Asuka," Chiba Atsuko suppressed the turmoil in her heart and spoke calmly, "I know your past, and in your past, there was no—"

"Why don't we talk about other things?"

Rhode interrupted Chiba Atsuko rudely. He stood up, crossed his arms, and said with a smile:

"A few of the DC minis you're researching in your lab have been lost, right?"

"!!!"

"Don't say anything. I saw the expression on your face." Rhodes leaned against the wall, reached out to touch the wallpaper, and flicked away the dust on his fingers. "I suggest you go back and investigate the traitor instead of dwelling on my—um...childhood sweetheart. Anyway, I'll have someone complete the discharge procedures for Mu Ji and take her away tomorrow."

After a long silence, Chiba Atsuko looked helplessly at Asuka Ikiki and said softly:

"Ms. Asukai, from my personal perspective, I hope to be able to cure your 'illness,' so I hope you can stay here. From the institute's perspective... if you wish to leave the hospital, you will need to pay the fees the institute has paid on your behalf."

Hearing this, Asuka Iki was startled and looked towards Rhodes for help. The latter frowned and nodded seriously.

"That's indeed a problem. How about this? Go back and ask the director of your institute how much it would cost to buy you out—the entire institute, including the researchers—and please quote in US dollars. Thank you."

After driving the distraught Chiba Atsuko away, Rhode closed the ward door and looked at the girl lying on the bed, who was obviously relieved. He stepped forward, pinched her cheek, and said unhappily:

"What did you mean by saying I belong to you?"

"Woo..."

The girl, whose thoughts were exposed, wanted to retreat back into the quilt, but she was immediately dragged out by Rhode. He placed his hands on her thin shoulders and whispered:

"I'm going to visit a place called Kaishin Village tomorrow. Someone will come and handle the discharge procedures for you. They know how to do it."

"Are they the girls around Mr. Rhodes?"

"You're too perceptive, Muji. This will make it impossible for me to deceive you in the future."

"It is a good thing if I am worth your deception," the girl whispered back.

Rhode gasped. He suddenly realized that the gravity of the girl in front of him was even more terrifying than he had imagined... After considering his words, he said helplessly:

"Ahem, anyway, you should be discharged first, and then I'll find someone to get you a passport to travel to the United States. I'll mainly be active there."

This made the girl's eyes flash with joy, but she suddenly remembered the place name Rhodes mentioned just now, and asked:

"Kaigami Village...isn't it north of Tokyo?"

"It's in the north, in Gunma Prefecture."

Rhode nodded slightly, and his doubts were immediately answered by the girl:

"I can sense many places—centered around where I am, there are many dark places, and there are always miserable howlings coming from there, but that's all I can feel."

This girl... Rhodes recalled the system's [Base Construction Mission "City of the Gods" - Eye of Terra], combined with the existence of the Mobius Foundation and STEM, and Asuka Iki's experience in the original world, he already understood the girl's position in the monitoring device "Eye of Terra".

Exhaling slowly, Rhode looked into Asuka Ikeji's eyes. He decided to tell him everything, and said seriously:

"Muji, listen to me..."

Chapter 96: Towards the Forest of Gunma Prefecture

The next day, early in the morning, the alarm clock rang.

After washing up, Soichiro Sawai walked out the door and immediately saw Rod sitting in the courtyard with a wooden face. Rod was slumped against the porch pillar like a salted fish, holding a cigarette in his mouth, letting the cold wind blow on his face.

The cigarette smoke drifted away with the wind, carrying away a hint of melancholy. Hearing footsteps behind him, Rhodes took a deep breath, exhaled a little, and then spoke calmly:

"Let's set off now and go to Minamigami Village."

"Okay, let's go after breakfast," Sawai said, looking around. He didn't see Nikki and the others, but he didn't ask them where they were going. Instead, he asked, "Aren't the two ladies going with us?"

"They have other things to do and won't bother you."

"I hope I don't cause you any trouble," Sawai said with a smile. He patted Rhodes' shoulder, "otherwise, when you return to this country, you'll be targeted by the police or someone else."

"You make it sound like I'm some troublemaker."

"Irons certainly wouldn't think so."

"Tsk... I can't argue with that. What are we having for breakfast this morning? Will there be miso ramen?"

Rhodes stood up and stretched, suddenly thinking of what happened last night, thinking of that warm, sweet and soft kiss - the girl was bolder than he had imagined, and asked for very little.

This made Rhode feel a little guilty. For the first time, the pressure of saving human civilization truly weighed on him. While it brought him some frustration, it also gave him some motivation to move forward.

Yoshi, when we get back, let those two old men, Ains and Kevin, get some more gold coins!

"Why eat ramen in the morning?! It's too oily and salty, but we can have some udon," said Sawai with a smile. He was wearing a loose and thick traditional kimono. "And some tempura or something. The owner of this hot spring hotel is very skilled."

“Isn’t tempura also very oily?”

Rhode muttered as he followed Sawai inside. As mentioned before, the entire hot spring hotel was booked, with only the owner and his family of three remaining as waiters.

The hot spring hotel's decor and atmosphere were both pleasant, but Rhode wasn't in the mood to pay attention right now, much less waste time. After a quick breakfast, he got into Sawai's Mazda and headed towards Gunma Prefecture. The yellow Fiat 500 had been taken by Nikki and the others, who also happened to need a means of transportation.

The person driving was Rod, and Sawai Soichiro, who was sitting next to him, had changed into clothes more suitable for mountaineering and exploration. The clothes were a bit old, but thanks to not being used roughly and being cleaned carefully, they could accompany their owner for at least another ten years.

"We're likely to encounter a battle next," Rhodes said solemnly. He had inexplicably felt tired since setting out on the journey. "Do you have a weapon?"

"I brought a SIG P220 pistol (Minebea P9) and two magazines."

After taking a look at the small pistol, Rhode said nothing more and directly threw a black long bag from the storage space onto the back seat. Seeing this, Sawai raised an eyebrow, leaned back to take a look, and said:

"That's fine. I can use a spear a little bit...but I have a question, Rod."

"Excuse me."

"Did you also 'take' out that black-haired girl?"

A black-haired girl?!

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 1]

Rhodes looked up suddenly and saw a figure flash by in the rearview mirror.

"Be careful!!!" Sawai screamed in shock, his body tensed as he saw a young man riding a bicycle passing by in front of him.

Subconsciously, Rod stepped on the brakes. Although it did not cause a traffic accident, it scared the teenager who was riding a bicycle in front of the car and made him fall to the ground.

Sighing, Rhodes opened the door and got out of the car, saying apologetically to the boy who had already stood up:

"Sorry, sorry, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the young man frowned, his face full of fear and anger, "Drive carefully! What if you really get hit?!"

"It's indeed my fault. What's your name?" Rhodes asked. He felt that the young man in front of him looked a little familiar. "I'm in a hurry to get to work now. I will definitely come to apologize in person later."

"Um... then that's not necessary." The young man was a little embarrassed by Rhode's attitude, but he still patted his chest and said with a smile:

"My name is Yuuma Shinohara. You don't have to apologize in person, but please don't drive while tired in the future!"

Looking at the young man walking away, Rhode touched his chin, then went back to the car and took out an HP501 Motorola mobile phone. After answering the call, he said to Nikki on the other end:

"Yang, pay attention to the company Shinohara Heavy Industries. If possible, acquire it. It will be useful to you."

"Acquisition might be difficult, especially if it's tied to heavy industry. The Japanese aren't close to bankruptcy yet," Nikki said flatly. She was at the hospital counter, preparing to process Asuka Jingmuji's discharge. "Perhaps we could acquire shares or make an investment... Why do you suddenly want to acquire this company?"

"I just want to gain a suitable foothold in Japan. You can gather intelligence and give it a try. Success or failure is irrelevant."