同章对照

When the locals said that Rust Town was walled off, they weren’t kidding.

As he drove as north as possible, Ryan began to see the fortifications separating the district from the rest of New Rome. They weren’t so much walls as a mix of tall steel cylinders, wired fences, mounted cameras, and surveillance systems. Trained Genomes occupying watchtowers pushed back clouds of pollution away from the touristic areas and into Rust Town with wind manipulation, so rich people wouldn’t breathe the same air as the lower classes. Since they all seemed to produce currents of air, Ryan assumed they used the knockoff elixir marketed as ‘Tempest,’ that gave its user minor aerokinesis.

As he drove around the fortress in search of an entrance point, the Genome put on Dynamis Radio, listening to the news.

“—we received confirmation that the explosion in Little Maghreb yesterday was the result of a short duel between our beloved protector Wyvern and the criminal Genome known as Vulcan.” Ryan immediately raised the volume. “Vulcan, formerly known as Urban Guerilla, briefly served as Wyvern’s sidekick before joining the criminal syndicate known as the Augusti. Reports indicate Vulcan was forced to flee after causing great collateral—”

Oh, so that was why Vulcan didn’t contact him this time. Little Maghreb was probably close to the Augusti’s hideout, and he—or she? Ryan didn’t remember—decided to ambush Wyvern when the opportunity presented itself. They probably took heavy wounds and Ryan fell off their radar afterward.

Would the courier have to change hotels again? No, better to stay in the first hotel until Wyvern contacted him, and then switch places to avoid the assassination attempt that ended the last loop.

“—the Psycho cryokinetic known as Ghoul attempted to escape containment by the Private Security early yesterday, but was quickly recaptured by Il Migliore,” the radio continued. “Enrique Manada, manager of the superhero team, stated that ‘as long as Dynamis remains strong, warlords and madmen will never gain a foothold in New Rome.’”

At least warning Wyvern did make a difference. She probably relayed his tip about the Private Security being compromised to her team, who intervened in time.

Then again, it must have been hard for Ghoul to run away without his legs.

Ryan eventually reached a border checkpoint guarded by three Private Security guards. All of them carried riot gear and laser rifles. Their chief made Ryan a sign to stop, and the Genome did his best to look innocent.

It was pretty hard with the mask and full Quicksave attire, but it was the attitude that counted.

“Halt,” the guard said. “No entry without proper authorization or work permit.”

“I’m just visiting,” Ryan said. “I heard they have a zoo.”

“It is a zoo,” the guard grumbled. “Look, citizen, this is the frontier of civilization. Beyond is the untamed urban wilderness, and we’re the only people standing between New Rome and the hordes of barbarians who would tear it down.”

“Well, when I see you, I do fear for civilization.”

“You should,” the man replied, missing the obvious sarcasm. “So if you want to pass with proper authorization, you will have to contribute to our community’s mutual defense.”

“Sure,” Ryan replied. “You aren’t going to check my car for drugs, weapons, or anything dubious? I swear, I’m clean as the day I was born.”

“Depends on how much you contribute to the community.”

No wonder that the Augusti and Meta could get in and out so easily. Since the guards weren’t even trying to hide their corruption, they probably had very few surprise inspections.

The second he passed the checkpoint, Ryan understood why they called it Rust Town.

First and foremost, the air quality dropped drastically, even worse than the harbor; the smell of rust and chemicals was so pervasive, the courier wondered if someone dumped toxic waste out in the open. Ryan had to raise his car’s windows and activate his mask’s air filter just to make it bearable.

Almost every house and three-floor apartment buildings had fallen into a state of disrepair, windows were broken, cinder block walls were covered in graffiti, some even crumbling. The neighborhood was positively claustrophobic, narrow streets forming a labyrinth of alleys almost too small for his car to move in, fire escapes casting them in shadow in spite of the daylight. Streetlights didn’t work well, and a thick layer of smog colored the world in sickly yellow. Every piece of metal seemed to rust, probably due to the pollution.

Even Ryan, who had seen it all, felt appalled by the locals’ living conditions. Squatters had overtaken everything, dealers openly peddled Bliss to homeless people, and the locals avoided Ryan’s gaze when he looked at them. They all wore scarfs, face masks, or other protections against the gas, even the children.

At one point, the driver drove past a corpse, left to rot in muddy waters due to an overflowing sewer entrance. A pack of wild dogs waited nearby next to a pile of trash, perhaps waiting for Ryan to leave to feed.

Ryan had made jokes about everything, but he couldn’t muster the energy for humor today.

Seeing a dealer who didn’t avert his gaze, he lowered his window to ask where he could find Genius-made tech. The local gave the directions for a place called Paulie’s Shop, although not before trying to sell Ryan a gram of Bliss for an outrageous sum. It appeared prices had gone up since the Meta started hitting the local dealers’ suppliers.

Ryan didn’t have any trouble finding Paulie’s Shop, mainly because he had garish neon lights on his establishment’s sign; although the man could have chosen a wider, dead-end alley for his establishment. The Genome parked his car in front of the door, grabbed his coil gun just in case, and then walked in.

“Here’s Johnny!” Ryan shouted, opening the door without knocking.

The shop could be more aptly described as a disorganized garage, with shelves made of accumulated junk. It was a true and poorly-ventilated wilderness of tools; scavenged car parts hung from the ceiling, and bulbs provided as little light as possible.

The man behind the counter was a scrawny, balding little man in his forties, half-French, half-British; Ryan could identify these strange creatures on sight. In response to his unforgettable entrance, the shopkeeper had immediately raised a rocket launcher at his client. Probably scavenged Genius tech from the design.

“You…” A flash of recognition flashed in Paulie’s eyes, behind his goggles. “It’s you?”

“Yes, me!” Ryan was so happy; he had become so famous, people recognized him on sight! “Are you one of my fans?! I knew I had a few!”

“A fan?” the shopkeeper almost choked, aiming the weapon at Quicksave’s face. “You maniac, you destroyed my old workshop in Otranto!”

“I did that?” Ryan asked, confused. "When?"

“Two years ago, you crashed a plane on it, and then you gave me a letter!” Paulie snarled. “You had been hired to deliver my mail, and you said you wanted to make an ‘unforgettable entrance’!”

Well, it did sound like something he would do. Ryan observed the man with attention, and he seemed vaguely familiar. But…

…

No.

Nope. Nothing.

“Maybe.” Quicksave shrugged his shoulders.

“You don’t remember,” Paulie asked, astonished.

“Well, you clearly took it more personally than I ever did.” When he realized the poor man may have been forced to live in this dump because of him, Ryan instantly regretted his joke. “Sorry. Maybe I can pay you back for the bother?”

The shopkeeper ground his teeth in rage. Apparently, he didn’t want Ryan’s money. “Get the hell out of my shop before I pull the trigger.”

“You know I can stop time, right?”

“It’s a Facehugger missile,” the man replied. “Once it’s locked, the nanomissile keeps pursuing the target until it’s dead.”

What a way to start a business relationship. Normally, the courier would have taken the hint and left the shopkeeper alone, but he had a mission to fulfill. His coil gun lowered in one hand, Ryan searched in his coat, ignoring Paulie’s weapon.

He brought out the plushie.

At the sight of this white, beautiful rabbit plushie, Paulie’s face lost all colors. “You know what this is,” Ryan said, wagging his ultimate weapon at the shopkeeper. “If you don’t lower your weapon, I’m going to press the on button.”

“We’re in an enclosed space, and you can’t control it!”

“Neither can you.” Ryan raised his thumb, preparing to activate the switch on his WMD’s back. “I’ll do it.”

“Don’t do it,” Paulie threatened to pull his weapon’s trigger.

“Imma do it!”

The pressure in the room grew, Paulie shaking, until his nerves gave away. “Fuck,” he said, dropping his weapon on the counter. “How could you do that to a plushie? The most adorable thing, and you turned it into… into…”

“It sounded like a good idea at the time!” Quicksave argued, putting the plushie back in his coat for everyone’s safety. “I’m looking for homemade Genius tech.”

“Ah, I can’t help!” Paulie laughed, happy to be as useless to Ryan as possible. “You couldn’t have picked a worse moment! The Junkyard is closed, nobody sells anything!”

“I’m not looking to buy,” Ryan replied, glancing at the establishment with disappointment. Even the weapon Paulie wielded was shoddy and ready to crumble after firing a shot. “I’m looking for a very specific technology. Bathyspheres used to make supply runs in the water. Crimson-paint, steampunk influence?”

“Like Len’s tech?”

Paulie jumped back, startled, as Ryan closed the gap between the counter and himself in the blink of an eye. “Paulie, Paulie, Paulie,” the Genome all but purred. “Do you want to be my friend?”

“No,” the shopkeeper replied bluntly.

“Then tell me everything.”

The shopkeeper let out a sigh of disgust. “Black hair, blue eyes, a bit crazy?”

“It’s called Marxism-Leninism, but yes,” Ryan replied, more and more excited.

“That’s the same girl, then. She arrived in Rust Town six months ago, calling herself the Underdiver.” Ryan never heard of that nickname. To his disappointment, Quicksave and the Underdiver didn’t sound well as a comedic duo. Maybe Q&U? The Undersavers? “Just one of the Geniuses trying to do business without Dynamis or Augustus recruiting them, see what I mean? There used to be a big black market here for Genomes like her, who don’t have enough resources to be self-sufficient, but wanted to remain independent from big groups.”

Ryan nodded, silent, and entirely focused on the shopkeeper. The rapturous attention seemed to disturb Paulie, but it only encouraged him to speak faster.

“Anyway, she had managed to make herself an armor from scavenged stuff. It looked like an Old World JIM diving suit. She kept asking me for parts to maintain it, so we met often.”

“Did it have a minigun?” Ryan asked.

Paulie made a strange face. “How do you know that?”

Because he knew her perfectly. “Please continue.”

“Anyway, she sold some of her inventions to the Augusti to make end’s meet. You must know that she was… very passionate?” Ryan nodded knowingly. “She ended up attacking a chemical plant owned by Dynamis to protest about the working conditions there.”

That was Len alright. Always with that strange, almost cute sense of justice, obsessive desire to protect the weak, and hatred of private ownership. “And then? What happened?”

“What happened? Guess what happened! The Private Security attacked her workshop and caught her. I heard rumors that the Augusti broke her out, but nothing from her afterward. She vanished.”

This confirmed that the Augusti were likely the one true path to Len and should be favored, although… the fact the Private Security captured her means they probably had a file on her.

Still, that was more information he had learned since... since forever. Ryan was in a good mood. An exceptional mood. “For this information, Paulie,” he decided on a whim, “I shall grant you a wish.”

“Grant me a wish?” the shopkeeper frowned in disdain. “You think you’re Robin Williams?”

Finally, a man of culture in this dissolute city! “Of course not, I can only grant one wish, not three.”

Paulie prepared to blow him off, before marking a short pause. A thought crossed his mind. “You aren’t kidding? You are serious?”

“Whatever it is, I’ll fulfill it.” No matter how many tries. Quicksave always honored his word.

“Mmm… what do I have to lose, nobody else will do anything about it.” Paulie put his hands on the counter, joining his fingers. “You know a Psycho gang moved into Rust Town recently? The Meta-Gang?”

“You want me to Tarantino them?”

He nodded in confirmation. “They’ve taken over the Junkyard where most exchanges take place a few days ago, and then things got worse. They get worse every day. The Genomes, they kill ‘em and drain their blood; the normies, they abduct straight off the street. I don’t know what the Psychos do with them, but you don’t see them again.”

Paulie clenched his teeth.

“Even kids have gone missing.”

A chill went down Ryan’s spine, and his heart hardened. As he had told Zanbato, kids were sacred for him. Especially since he got along with them better than adults, and he had had a crappy childhood himself. “Does the Private Security know?”

“They know, they just don’t care. Private Security only protects key infrastructure like the power plant or the water treatment station, which I have to admit, they do zealously. The rest are just frontier guards who couldn’t care less about what happens within the walls.” Paulie sneered in disgust. “They don’t give a shit if a few homeless, junkies, and lowlifes go missing. The Psychos are doing them a favor, cleaning out their glitzy city’s trash.”

“What about Wyvern and Il Migliore?”

“Wyvern gets in a fight with a lone Meta sometimes,” Paulie admitted. “But she’s the only one who cares... and she can’t be everywhere. Until the Meta kill too many workers, assault tourists, or steal an Elixir shipment, Dynamis won’t lift a damn finger—”

“Wait,” Ryan interrupted him. “The Meta have been here for days, and they haven’t attacked Dynamis’ Elixir shipments or Genomes?”

Paulie shook his head.

“That’s odd,” the Genome pointed out. “Psychos don’t act like that. They usually make a mess of themselves trying to get knockoff Elixirs to feed their addiction, things escalate with locals, and then they go on a rampage. It’s always the same pattern.”

He should know, he had lived with one.

And yet these Psychos were awfully restrained by their kind’s standards. Come to think of it, from what he had heard the Meta hadn’t attacked Dynamis’ infrastructures at all; they only tried to drive the Augusti out of Rust Town.

The reason was easy to guess. Dynamis couldn’t care less about the area unless its buildings or agents were attacked. If ignored, they wouldn’t lift a finger. Ryan had thought the Meta-Gang had come to New Rome to fuel its addiction, but clearly, something else was at work.

Unfortunately for Paulie, Len was Ryan’s only priority for now. But he would honor his word, no matter what it took. “I will fulfill your wish in my Perfect Run,” the Genome promised, “I swear.”

“Your Perfect Run? You’re jogging?”

“It’s the perfect ending,” Ryan explained. It was a concept he had developed over his endless wandering; if he gathered every piece of information possible about a given place and inhabitants through his loops, then he could create the optimal situation. He would then dedicate his last loop to creating the perfect chain of events, which guaranteed the best outcome by his standards.

Then, and only then, would Ryan create a new save point and move on.

After learning where to go to reach the Junkyard from its occupant, Ryan left Paulie’s shop through the door and prepared to drive straight into the Meta’s nest.

But then a bug landed on his Plymouth, flattening it.

Ryan froze, as an enormous, three meters tall monster crashed on his car, crushing the roof, destroying the window, and shattering the engine. The creature looked like a twisted fusion between a human and a mosquito, a monstrous insect with a black exoskeleton and crimson flesh beneath. Its eyes set on Quicksave with hunger, his claws raised.

“I knew,” the mosquito rasped, his voice closer to an insect’s buzzing than a man’s words, “I smelled a rat sneaking i—”

“MY CAR!” Ryan screamed in horror, his sudden wail startling the Psycho.

The courier immediately stopped time, rushing to his Plymouth Fury and checking on its health. Could he save it? Could he save it?!

No. The damage was too extensive.

Ryan was overwhelmed with fury, and quickly considered going on a Kill Bill rampage, first against the mosquito, then every Psycho he could find. He would show them the terror of Hell unending! A curse straight out of Tartarus!

But… Ryan couldn’t bear to live without his beloved Plymouth.

With a depressed sigh, the courier grabbed a small metal sphere from his coat, and let time resume. “You see this?” he raised the sphere at the Psycho. “You see this?”

“What is this, a ball—”

“Now look at my car, which you destroyed, then back to the ball. It’s an A-bomb.” Click. “Now catch!”

Ryan tossed the bomb at the mosquito, who caught it with his hand due to sharp reflexes. The Psycho looked at the weapon, then back at Ryan, confused and horrified.

“Nobody touches my car,” Quicksave said. "Nobody."

As Rust Town exploded in a burst of nuclear fire, vaporizing the two superhumans with a flash of searing light, Ryan felt happy.

Finally, a new method he had never tried before.

当地人说锈镇被围墙隔绝在外，还真没开玩笑。

瑞恩一路尽量往北开，渐渐看见了将这个城区与新罗马其余地区隔开的防御工事。与其说那是围墙，不如说是一堆高大的钢制圆柱、铁丝网、固定摄像头和监控系统拼凑起来的屏障。受过训练的基因者驻守在瞭望塔上，操纵气流，将成片的污染空气从旅游区推向锈镇，这样富人就不用跟底层人呼吸同样的空气了。这些人似乎全都能制造气流，瑞恩猜他们用的是市面上名叫“暴风”的仿制灵药，能赋予使用者初级的空气操控能力。

这位基因者一边开车绕着堡垒寻找入口，一边打开迪纳米斯电台，听起了新闻。

“——我们已确认，昨日小马格里布的爆炸，是我们敬爱的守护者双足飞龙与代号伏尔甘的犯罪基因者短暂交战所致。”瑞恩立刻调高了音量。“伏尔甘曾用名城市游击者，在加入名为奥古斯蒂的犯罪集团前，曾短暂担任双足飞龙的助手。据报道，伏尔甘造成大量附带损害后，被迫逃——”

哦，原来这就是伏尔甘这次没联系他的原因。小马格里布大概离奥古斯蒂的藏身处很近，他——还是她来着？瑞恩记不清了——见机会送上门，便决定伏击双足飞龙。那家伙多半受了重伤，之后就顾不上瑞恩了。

快递员又得换酒店了吗？不，还是先住第一家酒店，等双足飞龙来找他，再换个地方，避开上轮终结了他的那场暗杀。

“——拥有冰冻能力的疯魔食尸鬼昨日早些时候试图逃脱私人安保队的羁押，但很快便被至优者重新抓获。”广播继续播报。“该超级英雄团队的经理恩里克·马纳达表示：‘只要迪纳米斯依然强大，军阀和疯子就永远别想在新罗马站稳脚跟。’”

至少，提醒双足飞龙还是起了作用。她大概把私人安保队被买通的消息转告了队员，让他们及时出手了。

不过话说回来，没有腿，食尸鬼想逃跑肯定也挺难的。

瑞恩终于找到了一处边界检查站，由三名私人安保队员把守。他们全都配备了防暴装备和激光步枪。领头的示意瑞恩停车，这位基因者则尽力装出一副无辜的样子。

戴着面具、穿着快存全套行头，要做到这点还真不容易，不过重要的是态度。

“停车，”守卫说，“没有正式许可或工作证，不得入内。”

“我就是来逛逛，”瑞恩说，“听说里面有个动物园。”

“里面就是个动物园。”守卫嘟囔道，“听着，市民，这里就是文明的边境。再往前就是尚未驯服的城市荒野。挡在新罗马与那群会把它毁掉的野蛮人大军之间的，就只有我们。”

“嗯，看见你，我还真替文明捏把汗。”

“你是该担心。”那人完全没听出这明摆着的讽刺，“所以，你要想获得许可，从这里过去，就得为我们社区的共同防务出一份力。”

“当然。”瑞恩答道，“你们不检查一下我的车里有没有毒品、武器，或者其他可疑物品吗？我发誓，我和刚出生那天一样干净。”

“那得看你为社区贡献多少了。”

难怪奥古斯蒂和超能帮进出如此轻松。这些守卫连自己的贪腐都懒得掩饰，想必很少碰上突击检查。

刚过检查站，瑞恩就明白这里为什么叫锈镇了。

首先，空气质量骤然恶化，甚至比港口还糟。铁锈与化学品的气味无处不在，让快递员怀疑是不是有人在露天倾倒有毒废料。瑞恩不得不升起车窗，打开面具的空气过滤器，这才勉强能忍受。

几乎所有住宅和三层公寓楼都已年久失修，窗户破碎，煤渣砖墙上涂满了涂鸦，有些墙甚至开始坍塌。这片街区狭窄得让人透不过气，逼仄的街巷交织成迷宫，他的车几乎挤不过去。尽管是白天，消防逃生梯仍将街巷笼罩在阴影中。路灯时好时坏，厚厚的烟雾把整个世界染成病恹恹的黄色。每一块金属似乎都在生锈，大概也是污染所致。

即使是见惯了一切的瑞恩，也为当地人的生活境况感到心惊。到处都是擅自占屋栖身的人，毒贩公然向无家可归者兜售极乐。瑞恩望向当地人时，他们纷纷避开他的目光。所有人都围着围巾、戴着口罩，或用其他东西抵挡毒气，连孩子也不例外。

途中，瑞恩开车经过一具尸体。那尸体被弃在下水道口溢出的污水里，正渐渐腐烂。一群野狗守在附近的垃圾堆旁，也许是在等瑞恩离开，好上前进食。

瑞恩什么都拿来开过玩笑，今天却怎么也提不起说笑的力气。

看见一个没有躲开他目光的毒贩，他降下车窗，问哪里能找到天才制造的科技装备。那人给他指了一家叫保利商店的地方，不过在此之前，还是先试着以高得离谱的价格向瑞恩推销了一克极乐。看来，自从超能帮开始袭击本地毒贩的供货商，价格就涨了上去。

瑞恩没费什么劲就找到了保利商店，主要是因为店招上装着俗艳的霓虹灯。不过，老板要是挑条宽敞点的死胡同开店就更好了。这位基因者把车停在门前，拿上线圈枪以防万一，然后走了进去。

“强尼来了！”瑞恩没敲门，直接推门而入，大声宣布。

与其叫商店，这地方更像一间乱七八糟的车库，连货架都是用废品堆出来的。这里简直就是一片工具丛生的荒野，通风还极差；捡来的汽车零件吊在天花板上，灯泡则吝啬得仿佛一丝光都不愿多给。

柜台后是个四十来岁的小个子男人，瘦骨嶙峋，头顶半秃，一半法国血统、一半英国血统——这种奇怪的生物，瑞恩一眼就能认出来。面对他这令人难忘的登场，店主立刻举起火箭发射器，对准了这位顾客。从设计来看，多半是捡来的天才科技装备。

“你……”护目镜后，保利眼里闪过一丝认出他的神色，“是你？”

“没错，是我！”瑞恩高兴极了，他已经这么有名了，别人一眼就能认出他！“你是我的粉丝吗？！我就知道我有几个粉丝！”

“粉丝？”店主差点一口气没上来，将武器瞄准了快存的脸，“你这疯子，你毁了我在奥特朗托的老工坊！”

“我干过这事？”瑞恩一头雾水，“什么时候？”

“两年前，你把一架飞机撞在了上面，然后递给我一封信！”保利怒吼道，“你接了委托给我送信，还说想来个‘令人难忘的登场’！”

嗯，听起来倒确实像他干得出来的事。瑞恩仔细打量着那人，隐约觉得有些眼熟。不过……

……

不行。

还是不行。什么也想不起来。

“也许吧。”快存耸了耸肩。

“你不记得了？”保利惊愕地问。

“嗯，这事你显然比我往心里去多了。”想到这个可怜人可能正是因为自己才被迫住进这破地方，瑞恩立刻后悔开了这个玩笑。“抱歉。要不我赔你点钱，补偿一下？”

店主气得咬牙切齿。显然，他不想要瑞恩的钱。“趁我还没扣扳机，滚出我的店。”

“你知道我能暂停时间吧？”

“这是抱脸虫导弹。”那人答道，“一旦锁定，这枚纳米导弹就会一直追着目标，直到目标死亡。”

这生意关系的开场可真不错。通常，快递员听懂这逐客令，也就不再打扰店主了，可他还有任务要完成。瑞恩一手垂着线圈枪，另一只手在大衣里摸索，全然不理会保利的武器。

他掏出了毛绒玩具。

一看见这只洁白漂亮的兔子玩偶，保利的脸立刻没了血色。“你知道这是什么。”瑞恩朝店主晃了晃自己的终极武器，“你要是不把武器放下，我就按启动键了。”

“这里是密闭空间，你又控制不了它！”

“你也控制不了。”瑞恩抬起拇指，准备按下那件大规模杀伤性武器背后的开关，“我会按的。”

“别按。”保利作势要扣动扳机。

“我真要按啦！”

屋里的气氛愈发紧绷，保利浑身发抖，终于撑不住了。“操。”他把武器扔到柜台上，“你怎么能对毛绒玩具干这种事？多可爱的小东西，你却把它变成了……变成了……”

“当时觉得这主意不错啊！”快存辩解道，为了大家的安全，把玩偶塞回大衣里。“我在找自制的天才科技装备。”

“哈，那我可帮不上忙！”一想到自己能对瑞恩毫无用处，保利就高兴地笑了起来，“你来得可真不是时候！废料场已经关了，谁都不卖东西！”

“我不是来买东西的。”瑞恩失望地扫视着店里。连保利拿的那件武器都粗制滥造，看着开一炮就能散架。“我在找一种很特殊的技术。用来在水下运送补给的深潜球。深红色涂装，带点蒸汽朋克风格？”

“像蕾恩造的那些东西？”

瑞恩眨眼间便冲到柜台前，吓得保利往后一跳。“保利，保利，保利。”这位基因者几乎是在亲昵地低吟，“你想当我的朋友吗？”

“不想。”店主直截了当地回答。

“那就把你知道的都告诉我。”

店主厌烦地叹了口气。“黑头发，蓝眼睛，有点疯疯癫癫的？”

“那叫马克思列宁主义，不过没错。”瑞恩越发兴奋了。

“那就是同一个姑娘了。她半年前来到锈镇，自称深潜者。”瑞恩从没听过这个外号。让他失望的是，快存与深潜者听起来不太像个顺口的喜剧双人组名字。要不叫Q&U？深存者？“她也是那种想做生意，却又不想被迪纳米斯或奥古斯都招揽的天才，你明白吧？以前这里有个规模很大的黑市，专门供她这样的基因者做交易。他们没有足够的资源自给自足，却又想保持独立，不依附那些大势力。”

瑞恩默默点头，全神贯注地听着店主的话。这副如痴如醉的模样似乎让保利很不自在，却也催得他说得更快了。

“总之，她设法用捡来的废料给自己造了套装甲，看起来像旧世界的JIM潜水服。她经常来找我买零件维护那东西，所以我们常见面。”

“上面装了转管机枪吗？”瑞恩问。

保利露出古怪的神色。“你怎么知道？”

因为他对她了如指掌。“请继续。”

“反正，她卖了些发明给奥古斯蒂，勉强维持生计。你肯定知道，她这个人……很有激情，对吧？”瑞恩心领神会地点头。“结果，她为了抗议工人的劳动条件，袭击了迪纳米斯旗下一家化工厂。”

这确实是蕾恩的作风。总是怀着那种古怪得近乎可爱的正义感，执拗地想要保护弱者，痛恨私有制。“然后呢？发生了什么？”

“发生了什么？你猜还能发生什么！私人安保队突袭了她的工坊，把她抓走了。有传闻说奥古斯蒂把她救了出来，但之后就再也没听见她的消息。人就这么消失了。”

这证实了奥古斯蒂很可能才是找到蕾恩的唯一正确路线，应该优先选择。不过……私人安保队抓过她，这就意味着他们很可能有她的档案。

不过，他已经……已经太久没打听到这么多消息了。瑞恩心情很好。好得不能再好。“为了报答这份情报，保利，”他心血来潮地决定，“我要实现你一个愿望。”

“实现我一个愿望？”店主鄙夷地皱起眉头，“你当自己是罗宾·威廉姆斯？”

总算在这座堕落之城里碰到个有文化的人了！“当然不是，我只能实现一个愿望，不是三个。”

保利本想把他打发走，却忽然顿了一下。一个念头掠过脑海。“你没开玩笑？你是认真的？”

“无论什么愿望，我都会实现。”不管要试多少次。快存一向说到做到。

“嗯……反正我也没什么可失去的，别人又不会管。”保利把手放在柜台上，十指交拢。“你知道最近有个疯魔帮派搬进了锈镇吧？超能帮？”

“你想让我按塔伦蒂诺的风格收拾他们？”

他点头确认。“前几天，他们占了废料场，大部分交易都在那里进行。之后事情就开始变糟，一天比一天糟。基因者，他们就杀了，抽干血；普通人，就直接从街上掳走。我不知道那些疯魔拿他们干什么，反正人就再也见不着了。”

保利咬紧了牙关。

“连孩子都失踪了。”

一股寒意沿着瑞恩的脊背滑下，他的心也随之冷硬起来。正如他告诉过斩马刀的，对他来说，孩子神圣不可侵犯。尤其是，比起大人，他跟孩子更合得来，而他自己也有过一段烂透了的童年。“私人安保队知道吗？”

“他们知道，只是不在乎。私人安保队只保护发电厂、水处理站这类关键设施，这点我得承认，他们确实尽心尽力。剩下的不过是些守边境的，围墙里发生什么，他们根本不在乎。”保利厌恶地冷笑，“失踪几个流浪汉、瘾君子和下等人，他们连屁都懒得放。那些疯魔是在帮他们的忙，替他们那座光鲜亮丽的城市清理垃圾呢。”

“双足飞龙和至优者呢？”

“双足飞龙有时候会跟落单的超能帮成员打上一架。”保利承认，“但在乎这事的也只有她……而她又不可能处处都顾到。只要超能帮没杀掉太多工人，没袭击游客，也没劫走运送中的灵药，迪纳米斯就他妈的连手指头都不会动一下——”

“等等。”瑞恩打断了他，“超能帮已经来了好几天，却没袭击过迪纳米斯的灵药运输队或基因者？”

保利摇了摇头。

“这就怪了。”这位基因者指出，“疯魔可不会这么干。他们通常为了弄到仿制灵药过瘾，把自己搞得一团糟，跟本地人的冲突越闹越大，最后彻底暴走。向来都是这套路。”

他当然清楚，他就跟一个疯魔一起生活过。

可按同类的标准，这群疯魔实在克制得离谱。仔细想想，从他听来的消息看，超能帮根本没袭击过迪纳米斯的基础设施；他们只是想把奥古斯蒂赶出锈镇。

原因很容易猜。只要自家的建筑或人员不遇袭，迪纳米斯就根本不在乎这片地方。不招惹他们，他们便会袖手旁观。瑞恩原以为超能帮来到新罗马是为了满足药瘾，但显然，背后还有别的缘由。

对保利来说，不幸的是，瑞恩眼下唯一优先考虑的仍是蕾恩。不过，无论付出什么代价，他都会兑现诺言。“我会在我的完美通关中实现你的愿望，”这位基因者保证道，“我发誓。”

“你的完美通关？你要去跑步闯关？”

“就是完美结局。”瑞恩解释道。这是他在无尽漂泊中逐渐形成的概念：只要通过一次次循环，搜集到某个地方及其居民的一切可得信息，他就能创造出最理想的局面。然后，他会用最后一轮循环来打造一连串完美的事件，确保达成以他自己的标准衡量的最佳结果。

到那时，也只有到那时，瑞恩才会创建新的存档点，继续向前。

从店主口中问清去废料场的路后，瑞恩走出保利商店的大门，准备开车直奔超能帮的老巢。

可就在这时，一只虫子落在他的普利茅斯上，把车压扁了。

瑞恩僵在原地。一头足有三米高的巨大怪物砸在他的车上，压塌车顶，撞碎车窗，砸烂了发动机。这东西像是人类与蚊子扭曲融合而成的产物，一只骇人的巨虫，黑色外骨骼下露出深红色血肉。它饥渴地盯着快存，举起利爪。

“我就知道，”那只蚊子嘶声道，声音与其说是人话，不如说更像昆虫的嗡鸣，“我闻见有只老鼠偷偷溜进——”

“我的车！”瑞恩惊恐地尖叫起来，突如其来的哀号吓了疯魔一跳。

快递员立刻暂停时间，冲到自己的普利茅斯“狂怒”旁，检查它的伤势。他还能救它吗？还能救它吗？！

不能。损坏太严重了。

狂怒吞没了瑞恩。他立刻想到了像《杀死比尔》里那样大开杀戒，先宰了这只蚊子，再干掉所有能找到的疯魔。他要让他们见识永无止境的地狱之恐怖！来自塔尔塔罗斯的诅咒！

可是……没有心爱的普利茅斯，瑞恩实在受不了活着的日子。

快递员垂头丧气地叹了口气，从大衣里掏出一颗小金属球，让时间恢复流动。“看见这个了吗？”他把小球举给疯魔看，“看见这个了吗？”

“这是什么，一个球——”

“现在，看看我的车，你毁掉的那辆，再看回这个球。这是颗原子弹。”咔嗒。“接好了！”

瑞恩把炸弹扔向蚊子，对方凭着敏锐的反射神经，伸手接住了。疯魔看看那件武器，又看看瑞恩，既困惑又惊恐。

“任何人都不许碰我的车。”快存说，“任何人。”

锈镇在核爆的烈焰中轰然炸开，灼热的强光一闪，将两个超人类瞬间汽化。就在这一刻，瑞恩感到很开心。

终于，有种他从没试过的新方法了。