Long-term salvation

"!!!"

Keegan suddenly woke up from his fantasy. He lowered his head and saw that he had thrown the gun to the ground, and his right hand was on the zipper of the protective suit on his left wrist!

This is never normal.

What did Keegan know about the... what was it that lived in Hill House? Never mind the question. He immediately picked up his rifle, gave it a quick inspection, and then set off with a sense of trepidation. If an enemy had appeared while he was lost in his reverie, even if he had reacted, he would have been seriously injured or even killed!

Looking down at his watch, Keegan realized he'd already wasted twenty minutes. He didn't dare delay any further and hurried on. But after a few steps, he felt something was amiss, so he looked down at his watch again.

The hands of the watch had begun to spin and twist wildly, like two slender roundworms roughly nailed to the dial, and the Ozodek scanner completely dropped down after a loud bang and no longer worked.

The long-lost fear suddenly gripped Keegan's heart, making him hold the rifle tightly, but after taking a few deep breaths, the soldier continued to move forward.

Hallucinations, time disorder, complex and dark environment, what's next?

Keegan soon knew the answer to this question - monsters - under the cold moonlight, the surrounding trees began to move. They were not actually real plants, but more like straight stick insects, but with a human face on their heads.

They were calling Keegan's name, using the voices of Keegan's father, mother, friends, and even the voices of enemies and civilians on the battlefield who had passed by in distant memories.

The monsters were laughing at him, comforting him, whispering to him... Lay down your weapons, lower your guard, and become one of them. The next second, the monsters' upright bodies gradually shrank, becoming real humans. They slowly approached, slowly unearthing the most secret memories in Keegan's mind, making them more real.

Amidst the tingling and dizziness coming from deep within his mind, Keegan suddenly opened his eyes wide, clenched his teeth, and put his finger on the trigger.

But he didn't pull the trigger, instead he turned and ran away.

The soldiers still kept in mind the goal of this operation - to stay alive and bring out intelligence.

Chapter 156: Mercenaries? Suicide Squad!

"Keegan P. Rath, qualified."

Rhodes said so as he sat in Abigail's dream cabin, watching the figure fleeing in the forest in a panic, while the real bodies of the examinees like Keegan were lying in the training base and sleeping soundly.

Aperture Technology's technicians brought a replica of the STEM prototype, and with the help of two geniuses in the field of spiritual research, Hirosaku Tokita and Atsuko Chiba, they initially integrated the prototype with the DC mini, and temporarily created a temporary virtual world with Abigail and Kiji Asuka as the core.

If nothing unexpected happens, this system will be the best way for the Army Without Borders to train and review soldiers in the future... Of course, it also has a wider range of uses, but Rhodes has no intention of expanding its scope of application for the time being. Otherwise, the STEM rampage incident in Crimson City would be a good example.

"Yes, he is the one with the best qualities among those who came this time."

Abigail folded her hands under her nose and spoke in a feigned cold voice. Her face was stern. In front of her was a Desert Eagle pistol that kept spinning like a top. And according to her, this one had unlimited ammunition! Although it was only unlimited ammunition in her dream.

"What nonsense are you saying again?" Rhodes reached out and messed up her smooth blond hair. "Don't misuse the knowledge your father gave you, okay?"

"I don't! I was only given knowledge when I needed it, just like you."

"So what have you learned?"

"No Road Race!"

He raised his hand to block the furious Abigail's knight kick, and then he took her in his arms like a doll. The latter twisted a few times and said unhappily:

"Will you two stop messing around in my dream house? You're such a poor example of human reproduction!"

Asukai Muji turned her face away with a blush, and she moved her body to keep herself away from Rhodes's gaze, but it was in vain.

"What do you mean by inferior? Don't you look like a human?"

Rhode, having completely discarded his shame, grabbed Abigail's cheek and began to knead it. Seeing this, Abigail could only grumble a few times and jump out of Rhode's arms. She glanced at the several screens unfolding in the dream cabin - large mirrors supported by two Shantak bird statues, which were obviously Abigail's masterpieces - looking at the figures of the examinees on the screens, Abigail sighed and said:

"You don't need to worry about their situation. I can feel someone calling you in the real world."

"Call me?" Rhodes raised his eyebrows slightly.

"It's Grandpa Hammer."

"...He seems a little far from being old enough for you to call him grandpa, right?"

Rhodes sighed, closed his eyes, and let the cold darkness swallow him. When he opened his eyes, General Hammer's face appeared before him, and he said with a hint of joking:

"Looks like I disturbed your sweet dreams."

The general reached out and pulled Rhodes up from the recliner - the assessment of new recruits obviously had to be supervised by the Army Without Borders' boss himself. For this reason, Rhodes was also in the training camp in Arkham Forest.

At this moment, the members of the Army Without Borders were still training, while others were attending classes, learning languages ​​and science from other countries. In addition, there were technicians from Atlas Corporation and Aperture Technology, as well as agents who Irons had ordered to obey Rhodes' orders. The latter were being gradually evaluated and reviewed by D, becoming the backbone of the future covert operations agency.

"It wasn't a good dream," Rhode said, rubbing his neck with his hand. A look of helplessness crossed his face. "Abigail's destructive power in the dream world is far greater than in the real world."

"I feel like they're all pretty much the same... Never mind, let's get down to business."

General Hammer brought Rhodes a cup of coffee. The two stood in the bright sunshine, quietly listening to the gunshots coming from the indoor training ground not far away. After taking a sip of coffee, the general slowly spoke:

"I heard that you have recently officially started looking for a reliable mercenary to serve as perimeter security personnel?"

"Yes."

"I do know a suitable candidate. I've been meaning to mention it before, but I recently decided to recommend him to you." The general held the coffee cup in his hand and hesitated for a few seconds. "Actually, I really wanted to recommend someone with a United States military background, but Irons objected to the idea... I thought about it carefully and it made perfect sense. I just couldn't wrap my head around it. That was my mistake."

"It's not a big deal, General."

Rhodes consoled him, sipping his coffee—black coffee so bitter he had to add twice the sugar. "Decades of military service are hard to erase, and you're an upright man who loves your country. This is perfectly normal. In fact, if you weren't that kind of person, we wouldn't be standing here chatting today. Tell me the name of that unit, General, and see if we have the same idea."

"Ok?"

Hearing this, General Hammer raised his eyebrows. He put down the coffee cup in his hand, turned around, picked up a document, and after carefully looking through it, he found some gray stains in the gap, which were the traces left after the cigarette ash was wiped away.

Holding the document, the general looked helplessly at Rhodes who was winking at him:

"Have you already selected this mercenary team?"

"It's obvious, General," Rhodes chuckled, reached out to take the document from the general, and turned to the page of the leader of the mercenary team. The portrait showed a serious and sturdy man with a hint of loneliness and anger between his eyebrows, as if the whole world had abandoned him.

"Barney Ross, captain of The Expendables, and what's the best part? He's also a veteran of the Vietnam and Soviet-Afghan Wars?"

"He's called this now," General Hammer sighed and shook his head, recalling a major event that had shaken the US military. "Barney Ross is a good name, but more people probably only know him by his former name: John James Rambo, the Vietnam veteran who caused a sensation by shooting a small-town police officer. His appearance single-handedly changed the public's perception of Vietnam veterans, but he gradually faded into obscurity."

"But he's still serving in the war effort."

"Yes, it's very sad."

The general said this, not sure if he was talking about Rambo or himself.

After a few seconds of silence, General Hammer smiled a little more, patted Rhodes' shoulder, and said with a hint of ill intent:

"Anyone who can hang out with this guy must be a bunch of unruly war hounds. Be careful, Rhode. I don't have any rabies vaccine here."

"That's my problem, General. I plan to send them directly to their designated location to carry out their mission. Even the most unruly soldiers must restrain their tempers when facing monsters from the other world, otherwise they will face certain death."

Rhodes took out a cigarette case from his pocket and was about to hand one to General Hammer, but he saw that the latter had gone back behind his desk and took out a cigar from the drawer. The general raised his eyebrows proudly and said with a smile:

"I've been living on a salary for so many years, it's time for me to enjoy myself. Top-quality Cuban cigars... Honestly, Irons hasn't been this kind to you even to his son. He gives you money and people when you ask for them. I have no doubt that in the future, he'll give you his life too."

"Forget the life of an uncle, a beautiful girl is more suitable for me."

Rhodes waved his hand, lit a cigarette for himself, and continued:

"In that case, I'll send out a hiring request and have them head directly to the designated location in Oregon, Cispus Falls. Muji sensed something there, and... I've also received a mission, so I'll just take the reorganized Third Team with me to carry it out."

[Side Quest: Deer Antlers]

Mission Description: Go to the small town of Sips Falls, Oregon, enter the abandoned mine, and resolve the otherworldly incident.

【Task Update】

[Side Quest: Starts Now (6/10)]

[Mission Description: Find and train children with abilities and qualifications, making them the future candidates for managing the otherworld. A reward will be given if the number of such children reaches 10.]

Chapter 157: A Mining Town in Oregon

[Note: This mission is based on the movie "Antlers"]

The journey from Massachusetts to Oregon was far from easy, practically crossing the entire United States. Therefore, Rhode and the members of the Third "Vulture" Squadron of the Army Without Borders had to travel by plane. Fortunately, Atlas Corporation was high-powered and reliable enough to allow them to fly directly to their destination on a transport plane from a nearby United States Air Force base in the state.

Maybe we should build an airport runway a little further away from the town of Arkham?

When Rhode began to think about this problem, he and the members of the Vulture Squad had already taken a Humvee to the town of Sips Falls.

The convoy headed north along the fairly well-maintained roads, passing through forests, streams, and lakes on a slightly cooler spring day. Southern Oregon had a beautiful redwood region, but as the wheels turned, these pleasant views quickly disappeared, giving way to the endless hills and plateau wilderness, an unintentional legacy of the Rocky Mountains and Coast Ranges.

The convoy set out in the early morning and arrived at the town near dusk in the afternoon.

At this moment, the pale red evening clouds like ripples are extending from the edge of the sky to the other side, contrasting with the cold color of the sparse forests surrounding the town, as if this place has lost its vitality for many years. Even the carrion crows cannot gather in groups. Only three or four are slowly cruising above the town, looking expectantly at the strangers who have come here.

"Why do otherworldly events always happen in miserable places?" Oli Sutherland, the second gunner on Vulture Squad, asked. He glanced at the old buildings on both sides of the town. A few townspeople occasionally looked at the convoy with curiosity. "Another run-down mining town... They should leave here or find something other than mining."

"It's not that easy."

The team leader, No. 1 Nathan M. Knipe, responded on the communication channel. As the only married and divorced man in the team, he knew exactly how difficult it was to support a family - let alone bring one to a strange city. As he spoke, Vulture No. 1 looked at Rhodes, who was sitting next to him, slowly looking through the intelligence provided by the Atlas Company agents.

After running his finger over the line about the town's [Drug Dealing is Prevalent], Rhodes closed the folder and explained on the communication channel:

"The occurrence of events in the Otherworld isn't restricted to any particular region; luck plays a large role. However, when extreme human emotions erupt, the fluctuations in the Otherworld's energy significantly increase... This creates cracks, and the likelihood of overflow increases. But, again, it all depends on luck."

"Boss, if humans are just emotionless machines, won't there be otherworldly events?"

"Who knows?" Rhode stretched and said in a relaxed tone, "Perhaps there are naturally occurring rifts in the other world. The war with the other world will probably last as long as the history of human civilization. At least we have to persist until the tide of the other world recedes."

Is it as long as the history of human civilization? Not necessarily. Before the birth of civilization and after the destruction of civilization, the other world will exist forever, but there will be no intelligent creatures to record it.

Rhodes' words caused a silence in the communication channel, with only a faint rustling sound of electricity coming.

A few seconds later, Vulture No. 1 took off his headphones, sighed, and said to Rhodes helplessly:

"This road is too long. It's so long that I don't have the courage to continue walking on it."

"Then commit suicide? That's a good option," Rhodes asked with a smile.

"No, I have a son. He's a good student and will definitely get into a good university," Vulture No. 1 rolled his eyes and ignored Rhode's teasing. "I'm still waiting to see him speak at the graduation ceremony. Only then can I die."

The convoy stopped at the main road of the town. Except for the Atlas employees who were driving and providing logistical support, Rhodes and the four members of the Vulture Squad got out of the car and prepared to walk to a bar not far away - the only big bar in the town, and also the place where they had agreed to meet with the mercenaries called "The Expendables".

After getting off the bus, Rhodes immediately felt the decline of the town of Sips Falls - in the twilight, the streets looked dark and ugly, a skinny dog ​​was sleeping uneasily in the corner, and a few idle men were staring at strangers, their eye sockets sunken, their skin tightly attached to their bones, like dehydrated mummies.

The houses on both sides of the street were not tall, mostly three or two stories high. Only the town hall at the end of the road was taller, but its exterior was as dirty as other buildings in the town, as if it had been maliciously smeared with a layer of gray mud.

There were not many pedestrians, but they were all obviously tired. They walked through the streets in simple clothes, carrying used plastic bags full of food. Occasionally, a few cars passed by, but they were mostly old brands that had been carefully maintained only because they were tools for work and life.

The town actually had quite a large population, around 30,000, exceeding the average population of many small towns in the western United States. Perhaps because the mining company had recently announced it would reopen the mine, those residents who were about to leave chose to stay and wait, continuing to persevere in this desolate area until they were completely desperate.

Walking on the dusty street bricks, Rhodes, wearing a gray coat and carrying a silver metal box, walked slowly forward, with four members of the Vulture Squad following closely behind him like bodyguards.

"The atmosphere here is terrible," Vulture No. 3, Emanuel Nolan, muttered. He lifted the long bag on his back, which contained the props necessary for the "concert." "It's not so much dead silence as it is the impetuousness before boiling water... Damn it, I remember I read the briefing! Drugs are flooding this town, and the police can hardly find anything."

"That means they're also part of this criminal network. Isn't that something that often happens in movies?"

Clifford Harmon, the Texas-born Condor No. 4, said disdainfully that he had a hot temper and often clashed with others, but he was the team's medic. Because of this, he only showed rare patience during training and medical care:

"Boss, after we deal with the events in the other world, can you please clean up the garbage in this town?"

"Clifford!" The Vulture Squad leader frowned and said his teammate's name, "You've crossed the line!"

"Sorry, Boss, I shouldn't ask that. It's a stupid question."

"It's okay, it's a good idea," Rhodes said in a low voice, patting No. 4's shoulder.

"The drug epidemic in this town is just a result, but... there are things we can do."

Rhode then looked at Captain No. 1 of the Vulture Squad and smiled at the man who was worried about the future.

"Even if it's just for a few months or a few years, but it can make life a little better for the people in this town, it's worth it."

Chapter 158 Meeting at the Bar

In the small town of Sips Falls, night seemed to fall faster than anywhere else.

When Rhodes, clad in the night, pushed open the wooden door of the bar, he almost thought he had broken into a blacksmith shop. Unlike the shabby and dark town outside, the bar was brightly lit, and the sound of clinking glasses, insults and quarrels rushed out from the open door, drowning out the whistling wind outside.

There were several men gathered around the poker table. They were miners. Most of the people here were miners or workers related to the mining industry. They were shouting and stomping their feet because of a good card. Of course, the most pleasant place in the whole bar was the bar that only sold alcohol.

A dozen people sat at the long table at the bar, pouring bitter beer that looked quite ordinary into their mouths. It seemed that only after the alcohol anesthetized them could these men who shouldered the burden of the family have the courage to stagger home and face their tired and helpless wives and naive children.

Amidst the noisy crowd, there was only one area that was unusually quiet.

Five burly men sat around a round table, with several bottles of whiskey in front of them, but no one was drinking. They looked out of place in the bar.

Barney Ross (Rambo), Lee Christmas, Gunner Jensen, Hale Caesar, and Toll Road were chatting casually and didn't notice that there were new people in the bar.