Long-term salvation

"I'm in trouble at the research institute. We're facing elite soldiers." Rhode stepped over several researchers lying unconscious on the ground, gently opened the thick door of the emergency passage, and walked upstairs. "The enemy has kidnapped Chiba Atsuko and is trying to escape... I need your help now."

"Do you need to call Little Red Riding Hood?"

"No, that's not necessary. Muji's value far exceeds that of the entire institute." Rhodes stopped abruptly, as if he had heard some noise. "I need to focus on the battle. You must reunite with me immediately. If we find any possibility of the enemy evacuating, destroy their vehicles."

"Yes, as you wish, Commander."

After shutting down the communication, Rod felt much more at ease - I'll kill you all when my wife gets here!

Rifle in hand, Rhode reached the third floor of the research institute, where he heard the clatter of rummaging through boxes and the even more chaotic sound of footsteps. A sliver of light streamed from the laboratory, occasionally obscured by the figures within.

Two Caucasian men armed with pistols and wearing ordinary civilian clothes were standing outside the laboratory door, looking around vigilantly.

Come to think of it, it is a waste to let six elite soldiers perform menial tasks, and they are more like the backup and military guarantee of the entire operation.

After waiting for a few seconds, two more people came out of the laboratory. They dragged the obese Tokita Hirosaku to the edge of the corridor with some difficulty and examined his pupils with a flashlight:

"Just like everyone else."

"It's too big to be taken away. Should we execute it?"

"Don't cause trouble," one of them stomped on Tokita Hirosaku's face and sneered, "His weight will kill him... Pay attention, those 'monsters' have just been attacked, and people from other forces have entered."

"Tsk, cargo number one has been taken to the top floor. After the helicopter picks her up, will we evacuate then?"

"Yes, and the people from other forces don't need our concern. Just guard the goods."

Cargo number one? Chiba Atsuko... And "those monsters" is not the right adjective to describe the elite insiders.

Rhodes frowned, feeling more troubled.

Just as Rhodes was thinking about whether to rush out and wipe out this group of people, the subtle sound of footsteps, the same footsteps he had heard a few minutes ago, broke into Rhodes' ears. The cold murderous intent crawling along the corridor made him shudder!

Without any hesitation, Rhodes turned around and pulled the trigger:

The fierce firepower immediately suppressed a shadow back to the stairs. Even with a silencer installed, the gunshot was enough to alert the enemies in the other corridor, but they did not run directly over. Instead, they quickly evacuated with the information.

Without paying much attention to those who fled from here, Rhodes no longer concealed his steps, but moved forward quickly, firing continuously with his rifle, pushing back the enemy who was about to come up the stairs.

The rifle magazine was quickly emptied, but the distance was enough!

Rhodes held the M4 rifle and used the slightly longer barrel due to the installation of the silencer to push away the enemy's protruding rifle muzzle. The bullet moved along the trajectory of the muzzle, leaving a string of ugly bullet holes on the opposite wall.

At this moment, Rhodes pulled out the revolver from his waist with his right hand and thrust his right shoulder forward.

The soldier in black combat uniform and a monocular night vision goggles was knocked off balance by him, but he reacted extremely quickly. He immediately let go of the rifle with his right hand and reached for the Glock pistol at his waist.

Unfortunately, he was still not fast enough.

The revolver was pressed against the side of the soldier's face, the hammer struck the bullet primer, igniting the propellant, and the .357 Magnum bullet instantly pierced the head, and blood, brain matter and irregular skull fragments spurted out from the other end!

Warm blood splashed on Rhodes' face. He quickly retreated, avoiding the shots fired by the other two soldiers on the stairs, but he felt no joy at having successfully killed the enemy - weight! The soldier's weight was completely disproportionate to his size; he was too light!

Rhodes threw another grenade toward the stairs, then leaned out and shot a soldier who was trying to dodge the grenade explosion through the thigh with his revolver, and quickly retracted before the explosion.

The five-second delay of the M67 grenade was enough for him to complete this dangerous action.

In the smoke and dust raised by the explosion, Rhodes picked up the M4 rifle, replaced the magazine, and loaded two bullets into the revolver.

The sounds of two people running came from the other side of the corridor, and the corner of the wall at the staircase where Rhodes used as a cover was immediately shattered. The steady sound of shotgun shooting was like the roar of death, forcing Rhodes to leave the staircase. The surviving soldiers on the lower stairs were slowly walking upstairs to cooperate with their teammates who launched an attack from other directions.

Throwing another grenade, he forced the soldiers in the stairwell area to take cover. Buying time, Rhode ran toward another corridor. But just as he passed the window, bullets rained down from above like a torrential rain! Shattered glass shards reflected the moonlight and Rhode's face, filled with suppressed anger.

The building of the research institute was in the shape of a triangle, connected by a corridor bridge in the middle, and the enemy was firing at Rhodes from the higher floors opposite!

There were two sounds of running behind me. They were enemies chasing me from the same floor.

The soldier at the stairs did not chase him from behind, but chose to surround him from the front.

There were enemies ahead, behind, and even above. It was a clever and accurate move. Even a well-trained warrior would have struggled to escape, but Rhodes was different from ordinary people.

The M72A3-LAW rocket launcher exploded with a roar, and before the roar could reverberate down the corridor, the rocket had already struck the enemy on the upper floors. Dark smoke suddenly exploded, and the shockwave swept out, shattering even the glass on the adjacent floors!

From then on, the remaining scraps of meat there could no longer cause trouble for Rhodes.

The two soldiers who were pursuing them stopped immediately, but before they could figure out the situation, they saw the person they were pursuing suddenly appear from the front, and - he was holding an M2 heavy machine gun.

Thunder rumbled in the silence, and orange-red gunfire whipped the darkness wantonly, bringing death and pain.

In the mere moment of contact, the 12.7mm bullet ripped open a soldier's abdomen, shredding flesh and shattering his spine. Organs and flesh, mixed with blood, splattered everywhere, smearing the wall with a bloody and horrifying radial pattern of ukiyo-e. The two halves of the corpse, barely recognizable, were the most ridiculous annotation.

After raising the thick metal barrel to block the bullet headed for his own head, Rhode hurled the heavy machine gun at the enemy, causing him to stumble. By the time the soldier regained consciousness, the dagger, flashing with a cold light, had already slashed down from top to bottom, slicing his throat and carotid artery with a whirring sound. But this wasn't the end!

Rhodes clenched his left fist and punched the soldier in the abdomen, causing him to bend his body due to conditioned reflex. The next second, he delivered a fierce knee strike to his chest!

However, the expected muffled sound of broken bones did not come, which made Rhodes raise an eyebrow. He immediately pulled out his revolver and shot the soldier with unusually hard bones on the spot.

“…Now there’s only one left.”

Rhodes retracted the heavy machine gun and let the blood spurting out from the enemy dye his silver-gray hair red.

He walked down the corridor and saw a helicopter hovering on the roof of another building of the institute.

Chapter 117: Where did the armed helicopter come from?! (4K)

The helicopter did not stay for long and soon took off again.

Looking at the slowly rising helicopter, Rhodes gave up the idea of ​​destroying it directly with a rocket here - Chiba Atsuko and Hayaseura Takuhiko were in it - if it was earlier, he would still have a chance, but it was obviously not possible now.

Rhodes ran quickly through the corridor, ready to go to the rooftop. But just as he stepped onto the stairs to the top floor, he heard Yang's voice coming from the headset, and the latter seemed to have arrived near the institute.

"Commander, I see a truck parked at the northwest corner of the institute, and several people are loading various boxes onto the truck."

"It should contain information and experimental data related to the DC mini. Make sure we have control of it," Rhode said quickly. He pondered for a few seconds, listening to the surrounding sounds, and then continued.

"Even if it means killing people, you must notify Atlas's 'cleaning crew' to come here and clean up any traces of the firefight... If there's no one from Atlas doing this in Tokyo, then after securing the data, come in, remove the unconscious researchers, and then burn down the entire institute."

"I understand."

After shutting down the communication, Rhode put aside his other worries and headed towards the rooftop while searching for the last soldier. However, the latter didn't seem to intend to hide himself.

Just as Rhodes reached the top floor, a dark shadow rushed towards him with a strong wind.

It was the soldier with the shotgun, and he seemed to think he couldn't gain the upper hand in a mid-range or long-range shootout with Rhodes. Through previous battles and intelligence gathered from his fallen comrades, the soldier was clearly aware of the defensive power of Rhodes' armor and had some understanding of his combat effectiveness. But most importantly, he had learned:

Rhodes is also a flesh and blood person and needs to dodge bullets and explosions.

The soldier took a front step and aimed his shotgun at the weak point of Rhodes' stealth suit's flank, but was immediately grabbed by the latter's wrist and moved away - the bullet flew past the stealth suit's arm armor and shoulder armor, leaving a series of light gray bullet marks on them.

The gunshots were preceded and followed by the crisp sound of the grenade handle popping off.

The soldier had been prepared for this situation. The moment the gun was moved away, he pulled out the grenade from his chest with his left hand and attacked Rhodes in a way that was almost to die together!

Rhode didn't hesitate and dodged towards the stairs. His movements weren't very impressive, and he almost fell down the stairs, but it was enough.

The fragments produced by the grenade explosion tore through the air and passed through the back of the soldier who was also rushing towards the stairs, cutting through the combat uniform and bulletproof vest, and leaving bloody marks on the skin covered with small scars.

At this moment, when time almost stopped, Rhodes and the soldier drew their pistols at each other at the same time.

However, Rhodes' speed was still much faster than the soldier imagined - he really should have seen how those two people died, but if he had, he would not be alive now.

The bullet spun out of the barrel, leaving a dark red hole on the soldier's forehead.

As the two bodies fell to the ground, Rhode, ignoring the dull pain, raised his hand and fired two more shots at the soldier whose head had been blown open with a bloody hole, ensuring that he was completely unable to resist. Then, he gasped, leaned against the wall, and reached out to wipe the blood from his cheek.

After the All-Seeing Eye collected enough information, the system finally identified the enemy Rhodes was facing:

The clone soldiers of Armacham Technology Corporation (from the "Extreme Panic" series, referred to as ATC) have their skeletons replaced with composite carbon fiber materials, making them lighter, and their speed and flexibility are greatly improved.

This seemed to explain why Rhodes couldn't completely break the enemy's ribs with his knee strike. It was just unknown whether these soldiers were recycled remnants of the "Ikaros Project" or the product of an iteration towards the final version of the clone troopers - they were much stronger than shown in the game, and their tactical thinking was also flexible.

Hopefully, there's no psychic commander behind them directing them, otherwise Rhode would still have to deal with it with some effort.

In short, it was not the Mobius Foundation but ATC that secretly funded the research of the Institute of Psychiatry!

"Tsk... Aren't these people interested in super powers like telepathy?"

Rhodes muttered in frustration over his misjudgment, but now was obviously not the time to explore the answer. He got up from the ground, checked the status of the M4 rifle and the magazine, and then quickly ran to the empty rooftop.

The helicopter had already gone far away, and Rhodes could only see the flashing warning light at the tail, but this was not a problem.

Using 240 World Pollution Points, Rhodes exchanged for an AH-64A Apache attack helicopter.

Although the AH-64A normally required two crew members, with the pilot in the upper rear and the co-pilot/weapons officer in the front, both cabins contained both piloting and weapons control functions. This was convenient for Rhodes, as otherwise he would have needed Yang to come up and help.

Putting all distractions behind him, Rhodes got on the attack helicopter, and the four-blade rotor on the fuselage began to rotate.

at the same time.

On the civilian helicopter used to conceal his identity, Hayaseura Takuhiko was casually fiddling with the DC mini in his hand. His eyes fell on the handcuffed Chiba Atsuko across from him. Facing her hateful gaze, he smiled and said:

"Actually, I was planning to take you two away together, but unfortunately, Mr. Tokita Hirosaku didn't have such good luck, or should I say...he made the wrong friends?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Keep DCmini open, that's all."

"..."

"Working diligently for us will be beneficial to you, Ms. Chiba Atsuko," Hayaseura Takuhiko said calmly. "We will test and observe you, and perhaps make you a senior member of the organization in the future. However, compared to that fool Inui Seijiro, we are preparing very seriously."

what to prepare?

Even after hearing Hayaseura Takuhiko's cryptic words, Chiba Atsuko made no attempt to respond or inquire. Instead, she turned her head away, gazing at the nightscape of the city beyond the helicopter. It was nearly midnight, but Tokyo seemed even more bustling than during the day. Brilliant lights formed golden threads, connecting the skyscrapers.

The helicopter flew through the high-rise buildings, casting a dark shadow on the glass curtain wall. It flew towards Tokyo Bay, where a luxury cruise ship full of passengers was heading to Hawaii.

A smooth evacuation amidst luxury and bustle was exactly what Hayaseura Takuhiko liked.

Ignoring Hayaseura Takuhiko's nagging and threats, Chiba Atsuko's heart was filled with sadness and hatred, but her mind was filled with formulas and theorems, preparing for a future where she wouldn't be able to escape or commit suicide. She would inflict a sufficient amount of revenge on these people in front of her:

When the DCmini starts up, will it trap those people in a dream world? Or will it just detonate the machine and make their heads explode like fireworks?

Just as she was thinking, Chiba Atsuko suddenly saw a shadow that was much larger than the helicopter below her passing across the glass curtain wall. The loud sound of the rotor engine violently broke into the cabin of the civilian helicopter, making the people inside look at each other in surprise.

The next second, a sudden surge of strong air caused the civilian helicopter to tremble, disrupting its flight posture. When the pilot finally managed to stabilize the helicopter, he was startled. He turned and said to Hayaseura Takuhiko:

"We're in trouble, sir."

"What's the trouble? Don't be so timid and waste your time!"

Hayaseura Takuhiko frowned as he moved forward, but when he saw what was ahead of him, his expression became as bewildered as the driver's:

An AH-64A Apache attack helicopter was hovering in front of them, with its front cannon swinging slightly, and the threat was obvious.

Where did the attack helicopter come from?!

"The Japanese government... no, that's not it," Hayaseura Takuhiko's face darkened. "It must have been the attack helicopters of the US military stationed in Japan. It's likely that the ground forces were wiped out as well, and the data fell into their hands."

The question then becomes, who is behind this? Is it malicious suppression by his "partners" or... Rhodes?

The young man's name entered Hayaseura Takuhiko's mind, but he immediately denied the possibility - Rhodes could not escape from the collapsing dream world. Even with his full preparation and DCmini backdoor, he was in danger when leaving the dream world!

Hayaseura Takuhiko tensed up with an inexplicable anxiety. He knew the company's clone troopers had suffered losses during the operation, but as long as Chiba Atsuko and the DCmini data were successfully recovered, the loss would be worth it. But now, it seemed, there was little hope.

"Mr. Hayaseura, what should we do?" the pilot asked, his tone calm and composed, completely different from the others. "Should we take a detour, hover and talk, or find a place to land?"

"Go around it, pass between those two buildings, and quickly fly to the cruise ship!"

The civilian helicopter quickly descended in altitude, but the armed helicopter was chasing it relentlessly. The two helicopters shuttled back and forth between the skyscrapers in Tokyo like a cat chasing a mouse, causing passers-by who occasionally looked up to let out a few curious screams.

After chasing for a while, as the civilian helicopter flew into Tokyo Bay, Hayaseura Takuhiko, unable to bear the harassment, patted the pilot's shoulder and said angrily:

"Open the communication and send a message to the other party..."

Before he could finish his words, Hayaseura Takuhiko was horrified to see that the armed helicopter on the opposite side was actually heading straight for him - but no, the armed helicopter flew sideways past the civilian helicopter, and the fierce airflow immediately made everyone in the cabin roll into a ball.

When Hayaseura Takuhiko steadied himself, he could no longer see the armed helicopter.

What the hell, is he just teasing me? Is he having fun?

"Yaro, this group of domineering Americans!" Hayaseura Takuhiko gritted his teeth. Besides resentment, he also felt a bit of luck in his heart - perhaps the mission had been successfully completed, and the armed helicopter in front of him was just the daily inhumanity of the US military stationed in Japan.

Regardless, Hayaseura Takuhiko suppressed the rage boiling in his chest and squeezed out a few words:

"Keep going and don't waste any more time!"

However, the next second, the rear door of the helicopter was torn open from the outside, and cold wind instantly poured into the cabin.

There were two guards in the rear cabin. The guard closest to Chiba Atsuko was grabbed by the calf and pulled out the moment the cabin door opened. He only had time to let out a series of shrill screams in the Tokyo night sky.

As if making an exchange, there was immediately one more person in the cabin. The newcomer knocked the other guard unconscious with a punch, and then put the cold muzzle of the gun against Hayaseura Takuya's chin.