Long-term salvation

"decision?"

He stopped, but the echo of his footsteps on the steel stairs still echoed in this dilapidated place. Before the echo faded, he leaned sideways on the railing, looked at Ruth standing above, and asked seriously:

"I think you already understand those people—those in the school, those in the Silent Hill Church—they are deeply sinful yet they still survive in this world, like rats in the sewers spreading the plague. And your daughter happens to look exactly like Alessa, the one they persecuted. With the fear and hatred piled up against each other, do I need to say more?"

"..."

"Your daughter Sharon is still alive, and so is Alessa," Rhodes said calmly. "She longs for revenge, eager to storm the church and slaughter all the scum inside. Now, we are going to meet her... I plan to help her, what about you?"

Ruth was silent for a few seconds. All the fatigue, worry, and fear on her face gradually disappeared, leaving only determination.

"As long as my Sharon can come back safely."

"Even if you are thrown into hell?" Rhodes raised his eyebrows.

"My husband will take good care of my daughter. I trust him, just as he trusts me."

Hearing this, Rhodes laughed, patted the railing, and continued to walk down:

"In the eyes of a child, mother is God."

Having made up his mind, Rhode naturally kept quiet. In fact, even if Ruth had rejected Alessa's request in Room 151 in the basement of the hospital, he would still help fulfill the poor girl's wish—it would just be a matter of using explosives to blow open the door. Besides, he could just rush in with an assault rifle and start a massacre... Wait a minute.

Rhodes frowned. He couldn't remember if he was the kind of person who could just walk into Tutu with a gun.

Even if the other party is guilty and does not deserve sympathy, for an ordinary person to really shoot dozens of people in the picture requires considerable determination, and it is not as easy as saying "the weather is good today."

An inexplicable sense of disharmony enveloped Rhodes, giving him a slight headache.

"Commander?" Nikki looked at her master worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Rhodes reached out and rubbed the annoyance from between his brows, took a long breath, and shook his head to indicate that everything was fine.

The three of them walked down the stairs and came to the hotel lobby. Anna and the crazy woman they had met earlier were long gone, leaving only some messy footprints leading to the door.

The road to the hospital was relatively safe. Apart from the Silent Hill's lingering fog, there were no monsters that could cause Rhode to move around. That was until they stepped into the Silent Hill Town Hospital.

The alarm suddenly sounded!

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 1]

A fishy wind gushed out from the depths of the hospital like a torrent, instantly sweeping away everything around the three people. Old wallpaper and paint rose up like human skin being peeled off, revealing the rust-colored walls underneath. A thin mist mixed with ashes and dust filled every corridor and ward.

In the mist of the corridor, only some rustling sounds could be heard, like giant insects crawling, or an elderly man rubbing his slippers as he walked. From the ward came the coughs of patients whose lungs were filled with ash, the painful murmurs of patients with burned skin, and more faint sobs.

But as Rhodes passed the wards, the sound disappeared without a trace. As he passed the hospital floor plan, he studied it carefully for a few seconds, memorizing the information and corridors.

"The hospital seems to be the lair of some creature. We wouldn't go near it when we encountered monsters before," Rhodes said, walking slowly forward with his rifle in hand. He remembered the hospital in the Silent Hill movie, which only had beautiful nurses with swollen faces. But now? With three more souls in Silent Hill, who knows what kind of weird things will appear.

A broken heart, an empty heart, a worried heart are enough to give birth to different types of monsters or attract some strange things.

"Commander, I heard some noise, but the environmental detection system did not give any alarm."

Marian whispered. Unlike before, she walked in the front with a machine gun, Rhodes walked at the end, and Ruth in the middle grabbed Marian's clothes around the waist.

"I'm not sure if Nikki is the same as ordinary humans when it comes to dealing with the supernatural in the other world. Perhaps we need to conduct special experiments. I'll be with you, don't worry."

Rhode responded softly. He ignored Nikki, whose ears had turned red, and casually pulled out a flashlight and shoved it into Ruth's hand. Ruth turned back with a hint of surprise, only to hear Rhode say:

"Again, if anything happens, remember to run quickly and go to B151 to find Alessa. She will protect you."

"Oh...Mr. Rhodes," Ruth clenched the flashlight, tears filling the corners of her eyes, "Are you the savior God has given to Sharon and me? I really don't know how to thank you..."

"When I wander the streets and come to find your family, just don't kick me out," Rhodes joked, but Ruth took it seriously and said seriously:

"Christopher (Ruth's husband) and I will never turn away God's righteous people—"

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 1]

"Shut up!"

Rhodes growled and raised his rifle, aiming into the mist ahead. A familiar sense of terror and uneasiness gradually crept over his body, giving him a horrible shudder—he knew this feeling, having often tasted it during those three days in hell—a chilling aura was spreading from the corner of the wall, but it was not filled with Alessa's hatred, but a purer, more ancient... darkness.

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 1]

Standing at the front, Rhodes steadied his breathing and let it turn into white mist in the turbid air. He could clearly feel the temperature dropping rapidly to freezing point, but there was no trace of frost around him, as if all this was just an illusion.

[Overflow from the other world detected]

[The otherworldly disaster projection is happening]

The system's notification awoke Rhode from his daze. He took a half step back, his finger subconsciously resting on the trigger of his rifle. Although he had no idea why this strange change had occurred, and there was no similar plot in the movie, Rhode could guess that it was related to something Alessa had done.

[Pollution points in the other world increased by 1]

[Pollution in the Otherworld...]

【…】

As Rhode's anxiety grew, the surroundings suddenly fell silent, with only the system notification sounds blasting in his ears. However, the eye mask called "All-Seeing Eye" did not respond at all, and through the eye mask, he could only see the empty hospital corridor. A thought flashed in his mind, and he snatched the flashlight from Ruth's hand, turned it on, and threw it towards a ward, lowering his voice and shouting:

"Marian!"

As if they had telepathy, Nikki suddenly turned around, picked up Ruth, and followed Rhodes who had already started running.

At this moment, in the ward where the flashlight had been thrown, the light was spinning chaotically, the beam of light sometimes strong and sometimes weak, as if being waved by a naughty child. But after only a breath, the beam of light suddenly stopped and shone in the direction of the ward door.

"!!!"

Ruth, who hadn't figured out the situation yet, looked back from Marian's arms, only to see the flashlight shining straight at them. The next second, the light suddenly rushed towards the three people who were running wildly!

There were no footsteps, no roars, only the dead and unwavering light.

"What is that?!" Ruth was frightened by this scene, and her scream was swallowed before it left her throat. She didn't dare to look around anymore, and chose to shrink back into Marian's arms.

"Whatever it is, it can't be from Silent Hill," Rod ran wildly. The surroundings were still silent. Only his and Marian's footsteps echoed in the corridor, but the echo did not travel far before disappearing without a trace!

There is obviously an [otherworld crack] under the Silent Hill town. Is there something wrong with the crack now?

Wait, what the hell is the crack in the other world?

"Tsk..."

Rhode frowned. The strange sensation of the system granting him knowledge was making him uncomfortable, but now was clearly not the time to dwell on it. He led the way, turning two forks in the road and rushing towards the elevator location he remembered.

When faced with invisible (or temporarily invisible) forms from the inner world, the best way is to escape. What is needed to fight against the creatures of the inner world is detailed intelligence, rather than blindly acting brute force. Otherwise, the wrong approach will only cause greater disaster.

Half a minute later, the elevator was within reach, but someone was faster than Rhode and the other two.

The tall man with the triangular head was standing in front of the wide-open elevator door, dragging a machete.

Rhodes stopped suddenly, causing Marian behind him to bump into him, and Ruth in his arms cried out in pain, but when the latter saw the strong man in front of her, the sound immediately subsided.

Instead of attacking, Pyramid Head walked straight into the elevator.

“…We’ll go in too.”

Rhode didn't hesitate, following Pyramid Head into the elevator. Marian and Ruth followed suit. As the elevator doors slowly closed, a slightly diverging beam of light shot from left to right, illuminating the walls on both sides of the corridor. However, even after the doors completely closed, Rhode didn't see any sign of a monster.

There might not be a monster outside, but there definitely is one inside this descending elevator.

Ruth looked at Rhodes who was checking the magazine, and then at the Pyramid Head that took up almost half of the elevator. She thought of a last word for herself in her mind. Fortunately, there was only awkward silence in the elevator, and no fight broke out between the two sides.

However, the moment the elevator began to descend, visions of Aretha's past experiences came back to her, causing Ruth to close her eyes in pain.

The elevator's descent lasted nearly ten minutes, reaching a depth far beyond the known number of underground floors of the hospital. Just as Rhode impatiently wanted to take out a cigarette, the elevator's descent began to slow down, gradually stopping, and then slowly opened with a ding.

Outside the elevator was a short corridor with a door at the end. There were no monsters, no strange visions, and even the corridor itself was just old and rusty, not stained by filth.

The real Aretha is inside.

This time, it was Ruth who walked in front.

She lifted her foot and walked stiffly past Pyramid Head and Rhodes standing on either side and walked out of the elevator. Rhodes, after glancing at Pyramid Head who obviously had no intention of leaving, also called out to Nikki to lift her foot and follow.

Walk through the corridor, open the door and go in.

The space behind the door was vast, with a bed in the center, surrounded by tattered curtains. Through the rips in the rags, a pair of tortured eyes stared silently at the three of them. A little further away from the bed sat a nurse in red, sobbing uncontrollably.

Ruth hesitated for a few seconds, then stepped forward, parted the curtains, and sat down on the corner of Alessa's bed. She reached out a trembling hand and touched the girl, who had the same eyes as her daughter. Her face and body were covered in bandages... bandages soaked with bodily fluids and blood.

Behind the bed curtains, a low conversation was heard.

At the same time, Alesha (dark side) walked out from the shadows in the corner. Her face was still as indifferent as before. Just as she was about to speak, Rhode reached out and pinched her face. He said viciously:

"Don't tell me, after listening to me, you went to touch the rift in the other world under Silent Hill out of curiosity or some other weird reason?"

The girl frowned and unhappily pushed Rhodes' hand away. She walked around him and asked:

"Why do you know?"

"Then why did you let Triangle Head wait at the elevator?"

"...What is the rift in the other world?"

Looking at the girl's tightly pursed lips and the flames suddenly rising from his feet, Rhode quickly raised his hands in surrender:

"Okay, I apologize. Listen... The Otherworld Rift, to put it simply, is a crack in the barrier between the real world and the Otherworld. Through this crack, objects in both realms can move relatively freely. It doesn't necessarily have to be tangible objects; energy or conceptual entities are also possible, just like the birth of you (Alessa's darkness). The darkness rolled in, growing wildly through the negative emotions of intelligent life.

It's possible that the cracks will expand without causing any negative effects, but the probability is even smaller than if you tossed a coin and it did a breakdance on the ground. Cracks can naturally shrink and expand, but the timing is unpredictable, sometimes so long that it's difficult for humans to observe, and the cracks will inevitably produce—"

"How do you know this?" Alesha interrupted Rhode and asked a second time, "This is knowledge that humans will never know."

This question made Rhode startled. He looked into Alessa's eyes seriously. The knowledge gained from the system was enough for him to reply confidently:

“That’s my job, and I make sure I know my job.”

"So, your job also includes killing. Kill in order to obtain the truth (knowledge) you want, no matter what means."

"Oh my God! I was just opening a church door," Rhodes spread his hands, "I didn't do anything, and you just told me about your daily life here, didn't you?"

"That sounds so hypocritical, sir."

"Thank you for the compliment, miss."

Chapter 11: The Belated Judgment (5K)

"So, we are allies now?"

Rod asked with a smile. He put down his hand and took out a cigarette from his pocket, but he couldn't find his lighter after searching his pockets. It seemed that he had accidentally dropped it while escaping just now - that was won from Joker, and it seemed that he had no chance to win it back.

"It's temporary, and don't smoke in front of me (Alessa)," Alessa frowned, opened her palm, and tossed the lighter inside to Rhodes. She looked at the bed surrounded by the tattered curtains. A faint conversation could be heard, and after a moment of silence, the dark embodiment of hatred continued:

"Ruth has decided to take 'me' into the church. You must escort her. After this, I'll give you a few minutes and hand over whatever I can gather related to the Silent Hill Church."

"You really did find something near the crack in the other world."

"That's an old mine, temporarily blocked by me," Alessa slowly retreated into the darkness behind. "There are some parts of strange instruments scattered inside. There's a symbol on the wall that doesn't belong to the Silent Hill Church, but nothing else... Don't even think about asking me to take you there! The tiny glimpse just now made you run for your life like a rat. Do you want to do it again?!"

Rhode shrugged and swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth. Marian, who had been filming with a handheld DV and had just been patrolling the room, came over and whispered:

"Commander, that nurse, her face has no features."

"That was just one of the countless tragedies in Silent Hill." Rhodes said nothing more. He simply pulled Marian to the door, leaned his head close to her ear and whispered, "Remember, we are not as safe as you think. The darkness of Silent Hill, Alessa's hatred, the unknown of the other world. Now the only thing we can rely on is the bullet in our hands. Be alert, Marian, this is an order."

Marianne made no reply, but nodded rapidly, like a sparrow pecking at grains of wheat.

"...So, could you guys please stop flirting here?" Ruth said with half-hearted eyes. She put her hands on her hips, as if observing the couple next door who were madly in love. "My daughter still needs you two to rescue her. For God's sake, Christopher and I weren't this affectionate when we first started dating."

"Excuse me," Rhodes realized that his posture was indeed a bit bad. He took a few steps back, raised his rifle, and looked at Ruth:

"We are not a couple, we are just a superior and subordinate relationship."

"Oh, yes, yes, that's what my husband told others before he tricked me into staying over at his house."

"Miss!"

Looking at the embarrassed Rod and Marian, Ruth smiled, but this smile quickly disappeared in her worry about the danger ahead. She took a few deep breaths, as if to drive away the fear in her body:

"Let's go, it's time to put an end to this."

"That's what I meant, ma'am," Rod reached out and opened the door for Ruth, who walked out with her head held high, and Marian followed closely behind.

Before leaving Room 151, Rhode turned back to look at the bed, but the tattered curtains obscured the broken body on the bed, making it impossible to see anything. Ashes fell from above, and the ceiling of the ward spun open like a kaleidoscope—Alessa was ready for revenge.

Without further hesitation, Rod closed the door and left, following the figures of Ruth and Marian.

The elevator from the underground to the upper floors of the hospital was no different from the previous one, and the same was true for the burly man with the triangle head. He waited until Rhodes and the other two had all entered the elevator before punching the elevator keypad, as if he was pressing a button.

As it turned out, he did a pretty good job as an elevator doorman:

A few minutes later, the elevator door slowly opened, revealing the hospital's first-floor corridor. Unlike the initial scene, the corridor was now filled with restless monsters.

Looking at the revealingly dressed and hot Bubble Head Nurse, Marian frowned, stood in front of Rhodes, and whispered: