同章对照

Six.

Ryan counted six future victims in the atrium as he opened fire, Sarin included. Some took cover, while others immediately charged at him. All were Psychos, and soon, they would be dead.

One was a featureless woman made of black ink, with a rather sexy silhouette. Bullets phased through her easily, although the attack’s savagery had briefly stunned her. Another was a deathly pale guy without any hair, wearing only black pants; while looking sickly, he had the muscles of an Olympic swimmer. Unlike his fellows, he didn’t take cover, instead dodging the bullets with supernatural reflexes. The fourth Psycho in the room was a humanoid in a suit without any facial features, not even ears or eyes, and the fifth a humanoid jaguar hybrid. Unlike his kindred, that furry took a few bullets to the chest but survived them.

As for the tentacled Psycho behind the bar...

No, not tentacled. On a closer look, what Ryan mistook for tentacles turned out to be translucent arms of crimson energy. The courier counted dozens of them, lifting a disembodied woman’s head with Asian features and long black hair above the ground.

Her name was probably Fuckface or something.

“Miss Chernobyl, I once told you that no matter what, I wouldn’t take you seriously,” Ryan said, shooting Sarin again before she could recover and blowing more holes in her suit. Due to her overwhelming offensive power, he had to take her out first. “Guess what! I still don’t!”

“Sarin, who the hell is this guy?” the ink woman asked, her body turning from black to crimson while she charged at Ryan. It briefly reminded the courier of Bloodstream, much to his displeasure. “Your ex?”

“I don’t know alright!” Sarin protested while crawling on the ground towards the closest door, toxic fumes flowing out of the holes Ryan shot in her suit. The gas ate away at the metal walls of the bunker, rusting them. “I’m leaking!”

“You can turn to ink and change your color?” Ryan asked the ink woman. “What’s your name, Inky Winky?”

“Ink Machine,” the woman replied with a hint of wounded pride, turning her hands into axes and attempting to behead the courier with them.

“I guess you weren’t good enough to call yourself Murder Machine,” Ryan taunted her, stopping time for three seconds to sidestep out of her way. Considering her power, his bullets wouldn’t do anything to her, so he decided to focus on the others first. Surprise wouldn’t last forever.

“A teleporter!” someone screamed as time resumed.

“Incognito, go down and call Frank! We’ll make that faggot sleep in the dirt!” Fuckface opened her mouth and spat a stream of fire at Ryan. The courier dodged, the attack hitting a wall and starting an isolated bonfire.

“It’s an enclosed space, you stupid whore!” Pale Guy snarled, grabbing numbered pool balls and tossing them at Ryan with deadly accuracy. The Meta may work together, but clearly, they had no teamwork nor respect for one another.

Stopping time for five seconds yet again to avoid the projectiles, Ryan took the opportunity to stomp on Sarin and then cut off her retreat. Seeing the faceless man in a suit, ‘Incognito,’ run towards the elevator, the courier shot him from behind with skill honed over countless restarts right as time unfroze. Four bullets, two from the coil gun, hit his skull and chest from behind, the corpse collapsing to the ground.

Critical hit!

However, the courier ran out of projectiles for his guns, forcing him to toss them aside. Fuckface snarled and flew in his direction, her telekinetic crimson arms lunging for his neck while Inky Winky flanked him.

Ryan opened his trench coat, revealing the explosive belt around his chest.

And not the kid-friendly kind most madmen used. The adult-only stuff.

“NAGASAKI!” he shouted, rushing at the flying head like a bull towards a cow in heat.

Fuckface immediately stopped her attack and backed off in fear, leaving her open for attack. Ryan gave her the full Fisty facial experience. The gauntlet sent her crash against a wall, the crimson arms popping out of existence along with her consciousness.

“Just kidding!” Ryan taunted her. “I have to say the safe word first.”

But he was having so much fun! It was way too soon to end it with a blast!

“It’s not teleportation,” Pale Guy said, throwing more pool balls at Ryan’s head with incredible skill. Even with his enhanced sense of timing, the courier needed short bursts of time-stop to avoid headshots. Neither did Inky Winkey make his life easy, harassing him with her ax-hands. “He’s messing with our perception, paralyzing us! My power can’t see him clearly!”

“A Blue then,” Inky Winky replied, turning her head at the jaguar man. “Rakshasa, don’t just stand there and call reinforcements!”

The beast-man let out a mighty roar, having somewhat recovered from his bullet wounds. As he did so, tiny furry creatures appeared around him in a flash of violet light. They appeared to be cute gremlin monsters, with long hair, sharp teeth, and adorable eyes.

Aww, time to commit goblin genocide.

Ryan looked under his coat to grab a new gun and shoot them all, but Pale Guy managed to hit his hand with a pool ball, sending the weapon flying into a corner of the room. Inky Winky then attempted to behead the chronokinetic with her ax-arm, and while she missed, she sliced some of his hair. To make matters worse, the gremlins charged at Ryan like a pack of rabid rats, and their master kept summoning more.

Argh, the Psychos had recovered from the surprise and were taking back control of the fight. Since they outnumbered Ryan in an enclosed space with reinforcements on their way, he had to settle this quickly.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

“You want a furry contest?” Ryan asked, drawing out his secret weapon from his trench coat. “I know I should say it isn’t personal, but guess what?”

He flipped the plushie’s on button.

“It is.”

And then he tossed the terror amidst his enemies.

Ink Girl was the closest, and thus got the first view of the plushie. The plushie looked up at her with its tiny blue eyes, the very picture of innocence. Its body let out violet sparkles, energy suffusing its limbs and fur.

Ink Machine didn’t understand.

And then she exploded, as two crimson laser beams disintegrated her torso and blew two holes in the wall behind her. The rest of her ink body collapsed into a puddle.

“I love you!” the plushie said with its cute pre-recorded voice, its blue eyes now crimson red. The toy turned toward the gremlins and vaporized them with a look while they rushed at it. The shadow it cast on the walls wasn’t that of a rabbit, but of something bigger, and not of this world.

“I love you so much!”

Then it ran straight at Jaguar Man at incredible speed, jumping at the surprised Psycho. Knives appeared from its tiny paw, and it leaped at the Psycho’s stomach, tearing a hole inside.

“Let’s go to Disneyland!” it said while burying itself inside Rakshasa’s chest, the jaguar wriggling in terrible pain as the plushie moved through his chest.

Ryan heard voices coming from the shadows; voices not from this world. They spoke in hushes, making death threats in an alien tongue he could barely understand. If it had progressed this far, then the effect might start spreading outside the bunker.

And it would only get worse with time.

“What is, what is this…” Pale Guy stared at the rabbit making its way into his teammate’s stomach. “It’s not a rabbit… I can see… something else inside…”

Oh my, Pale Guy had some kind of sensory power. “No, don’t look at it with your ability,” Ryan warned him, “it’s a terrible idea, you can’t handle its true for—”

He didn’t listen, and he saw.

Pale Guy let out a scream of pure horror, as his mind confronted a truth so horrific, that the Psycho’s remaining sanity could only break. He immediately grabbed a pool stick and charged at Ryan with murder on his mind. “Stop it!”

“I can’t, you have to throw a child at it first,” Ryan taunted him, barely dodging a strike aiming for the carotid artery. He couldn’t find any opening though, as the maddened Psycho relentlessly tried to stab him. “The younger the better.”

The plushie would imprint on the first preteen it found as its best friend, but, well... that would solve the problem by causing a new, even more interesting one.

The courier stopped time, cut the stick in half with his hand, and stabbed Pale Guy in the left eye with the tip. The killer let out a scream when time resumed, before attempting to engage Ryan in hand-to-hand combat. The courier backed away, more worried by his own creation than the Psycho.

Once unleashed, there was no putting the genie back in the bottle. Unless he could flip off the switch by surprise, Ryan had no way of controlling that murderous rabbit.

The plushie had emerged from Rakshasa’s corpse drenched in blood, reshaping his intestines into a thick noose. It then leaped on Pale Guy’s back before he could react, put the organ garrote around his neck, and then started strangling the Psycho. The killer tripped while desperately trying to throw the rabbit off his back, gasping for air.

“Let’s hug!” the plushie said, its white fur was now tainted red. It looked so happy and peaceful strangling Pale Guy. “I’m your friend!”

The worst part was, Ryan didn’t program it for such violence.

It just loved killing.

Except for Pale Guy, only Sarin was still alive, but she couldn’t keep the gas making up her body inside her suit. It looked like someone bleeding to death, except gas instead of blood. Without waiting for reinforcements to arrive or the plushie to turn its deadly attention towards him, Ryan moved towards the elevator, called it, and entered. There was only one other floor available, and down.

Pale Guy raised a hand at Ryan, his eyes pleading for mercy while the plushie choked him to death with a blissful expression. “Why?” he managed to rasp, while the courier pushed the down button. “Why?”

“You wrecked my car,” Ryan replied, abandoning Pale Guy to a painful death as the elevator’s doors closed.

The transport system went down multiple floors, making Ryan wonder how far the bunker went… and how large it was. Did it span all of Rust Town?

The elevator eventually reached its destination and opened its doors.

Ryan walked inside an underground chamber of thick black metal walls. At the center of the room, a projector provided a source of blue light, alongside a holographic bust of Mechron: an old man in his seventies, with wrinkled skin, unkempt hair, and a white beard. One could have mistaken him for a Gandalf or Dumbledore type, if not for the cold intensity in the hologram’s gaze. Two blast doors stood on opposing sides of this room, although only one was opened.

The debris of broken robots covered the ground. Some looked like black metal humanoids, equipped with laser rifles, while others were bulky, spidery assault drones. Ryan recognized the designs as Mechron’s, many of these machines having massacred entire communities during the Genome Wars. In some spots, the courier noticed traces of dried blood and moss. Bodies had been left to bleed out and decompose in some corners, before being moved away.

The Meta had clearly fought a hard battle for the floor and only bothered to remove the bodies of their own. They probably harvested them for the Elixirs within their blood.

“Anyone there?” Ryan shouted, but received no answer. Once confident no one would ambush him, he examined the room, finding a map of the complex in front of the projector.

As Ryan had worried, the installation was large enough to encompass most of Rust Town, although located so deep below the earth it couldn’t be accessed except through the main entrance. The upper floor which he had just left was actually the living quarters and the smallest part of the complex. The rest, far better fortified, was a labyrinth of corridors and rooms with worrying names written in Bosnian.

Laboratory A and B. Quarantine Area. Nanobot Factory. Robot Production Facility. Army Storage A, B, and C. Robot Maintenance Center. Armory. Munitions Depot. Weapon Testing Ground. Matter Replicator. Orbital Communications Center. U.B. Command Center. Reactor Core. Forbidden Area…

It wasn’t a survival bunker.

It was a weapon production and research facility.

One of Mechron’s facilities.

Even six feet under, that megalomaniac had left a mess behind. If so many robots defended the less important areas, then there must have been a whole army in storage below New Rome. An army without a master.

A chill went down Ryan’s spine, as he finally understood the Meta-Gang’s plan.

These bastards sent people to their death in an attempt to break past the defenses, all to access the command center. If they took control of Mechron’s robots and whatever weapons the Genius had left, they would be able to take over New Rome, or at least contest it to the other factions. Hell, the armory alone would give the Psychos a tremendous boost in firepower.

Dedicated to causing as much destruction as possible in the time he had left, Ryan moved through the only opened door.

He walked through a tall corridor, noticing a large window to his right. He peeked through, observing what appeared to be an infirmary, albeit the asylum kind. The room had clearly been left to rust for years, the white walls having lost their color, though Ryan noticed crates of medical supplies piled in a corner. Two people, one man, and a woman were strapped to different operating tables. From the spots on their skin, they were Bliss addicts.

Psyshock was busy brainjacking the man, his wire tentacle shoved through the druggie’s mouth. The woman meanwhile, seemed sedated, her gaze empty.

The Psycho raised his head when Ryan stepped inside the infirmary. “Little Cesare.” If he was afraid or surprised, he didn’t show it. “How strange to—”

“Omae wa mou shindeiru,” Ryan cut him off in Japanese.

“What?”

Very poor choice of last words.

The courier froze time, closed the gap between them in ten seconds, and then punched him the second the effect ended. Psyshock’s head exploded in a shower of brain matter and other fluids, his wires thrashing around. The one inside the captive slipped away, the tentacles laying on the ground like a squid’s corpse.

“Are you alright?” Ryan asked the captive, although he didn’t move to remove the bindings, since the run would end in a few hours.

The man responded by shaking in place, something wriggling below the skin. The skull shifted in shape, and the eyes turned white.

“Is this a drug withdrawal thing?” the courier asked.

Ryan’s reflexes saved him, as a wire tentacle erupted from the man’s chest and nearly smashed his skull. The courier backed away, as more cables emerged from the body, with the exception of the skull, which underwent a biomechanical metamorphosis.

Soon, a monstrous amalgam of wires stood over the drug addict’s husk, cold eyes peering at Ryan.

“I have your father to thank for this.”

Ryan’s eyes widened in shock, as he faced a reborn Psyshock.

“When he gave me those wounds during our last encounter and showed me his true power, I wondered… What if I had misunderstood my ability’s limits? Could it allow me to transcend mortality itself too?”

His tentacles lunged at Ryan’s head, the courier using a brief burst of time stop to leap towards a corner of the room.

“I can do more than read minds,” Psyshock ranted while continuing his assault, tossing the operation table at the courier. Ryan lowered himself to dodge the projectile as it hit the wall behind him, trying to make sense out of the situation. “I can reshape them, rewire their brains, make them into vessels for something greater. Assume direct control.”

Every time he died, Psyshock possessed a thrall whose brain he had tinkered with. The courier remembered the battle at the orphanage; how the Psycho had forcefully connected with his hostage, and how the medics noted her abnormal brain waves even after the madman’s demise.

“You tried to do that to a child,” Ryan realized, horrified.

“Which one?”

The chilling response filled the courier with fury.

Ryan froze time and punched this soulless monster’s face into a fine paste with Fisty without giving him any chance to defend himself. No matter the consequences.

Immediately after time resumed, the second captive started undergoing the same ghastly transformation. Ryan spared her the misery with another deadly punch, disgusted.

“I’m killing you in every single restart now,” the Genome promised the corpse. As soon as he figured out a way to negate this horrifying ability. It was Bloodstream all over again, although thankfully, Psyshock needed to die first to activate this ability. The similarities with his save point also made Ryan somewhat uneasy, and all the more determined to get rid of the maniac permanently.

The courier moved towards the medical crates, breaking them open to peek inside their content. His suspicions were immediately confirmed.

Dynamis Knockoff Elixirs.

Dozens of them. If all the crates contained more, then the number increased to the hundreds.

Okay, that settled it. No way a theft of that magnitude wouldn’t have made it to the news or caused a retaliatory strike from Dynamis. Atom Cat had guessed correctly, someone within the company supplied the Meta with their fix, weapons, and information.

Why? To have them weaken the Augusti while maintaining plausible deniability? Make villains for their heroes to arrest? Or were the Meta exploring the bunker on behalf of their client, instead of pursuing their own interests?

Who was the supplier? Enrique? His father Hector? Or someone Psyshock had brainwashed with his loathsome ability?

Ryan heard heavy steps coming from the corridor and quickly exited the infirmary. Psyshock and a new Meta walked at the end of the hallway, opposite of the entrance. The other Psycho was a three meters and a half tall colossus, a towering monster entirely made of rusted steel. The upper body was larger than the lower half, with the arms slightly longer than the legs. The US flag was painted on his chest. The creature looked more like a humanoid tank than a human being, with even the face was replaced with a mask device that reminded Ryan of a famous Star Wars character.

Oh god, Ryan loved Star Wars, even the prequels. He was glad the old world ended before anyone could make cash-grab sequels though. They would have sucked. He knew it deep within his bones.

“It’s useless, Cesare. I have hundreds of vessels around.” Psyshock glanced at the enormous Psycho. “Frank, kill him please.”

“Yes, Mr. Vice-President,” he replied with a deep voice, having to lower his head to move inside the passage.

“Mr. Vice-President?” Ryan asked.

“The Vice President of the United Fucking States of America, the greatest nation on Earth!” The giant lunged at Ryan and—HOLY SHIT HE WAS FAST!

Ryan would have died without his time stop, Frank’s enormous fist stopping within an inch of his face. The courier quickly back flipped away while throwing knives at the giant’s eyes.

When time resumed, Frank’s fist hit the ground with enough force to shake the entire floor, the hand punching through the alloy ground up to the forearm. As for the knives, they went through his eyes. Literally. The Psycho’s body absorbed the metal knives into itself.

“After the initial push, humans let me in. They want it, Cesare.” Exploiting the narrowness of the corridor, Psyshock used his tentacles to hang from the ceiling above Frank, moving like a biomechanical spider. “People want to be my slaves. The burden of thought, of individuality, it oppresses them. But I get inside their brain, when I remove the confusion and replace it with my will… they become truly happy. Deep down, you want it too.”

“You are a living birth control advertisement, Psypsy.” Every word he spoke was somehow worse than the last. It took a lot of effort to make Ryan truly hate anyone, but Psyshock had won the lottery.

“I’m going to free you, Cesare,” the madman said in response, Frank managing to free his hand from the hole he had made. “I’m going to free you from yourself.”

“You know, killing me is only going to be a temporary solution!” Ryan shouted, grabbing a grenade under his coat and tossing it at the two. “Only therapy can help you with your problems!”

The grenade exploded right in front of Frank’s face, unleashing a powerful blast.

And it did…

Absolutely nothing. The giant didn’t even flinch, and Psyshock had retreated behind his bodyguard for safety. Worse, a crimson aura surrounded Frank’s body, and the Psycho seemed to grow a few inches taller.

“Uh oh.”

“Pearl Harbor…” Frank trembled as if having a PTSD episode. “It’s Pearl Harbor all over again...“

“I’m sorry?” Ryan asked.

“I will never forgive the Japanese!” he snarled, raising his fists in fury and hitting the ceiling, causing the hallway to shake. “I’ll never forgive them! Never ever!”

Ryan started to understand why they called him Frank the Mad.

However, if he could shrug off grenades and absorb metal, then the courier didn’t have anything that could take that guy down. Except maybe the A-bomb, but obviously, it would end the run here and now. Ryan had to think of a solution, and fast.

The lights started to malfunction, and tiny steps echoed in the hallway. Ryan worryingly peeked over his shoulder.

The plushie walked inside the corridor carrying Pale Guy’s scalp, its eyes shining maliciously.

六个。

瑞恩一边开火，一边数了数中庭里的准受害者，包括沙林在内，共六个。有的找地方躲避，有的立刻朝他冲来。全是疯魔，而且很快就会变成死人。

其中一个是由黑色墨水构成的女人，没有五官，轮廓倒是相当性感。子弹轻易穿过了她的身体，不过这阵凶猛的火力还是让她短暂地愣住了。另一个家伙脸色惨白，浑身没有半根毛发，只穿着一条黑裤子；虽然一副病恹恹的样子，肌肉却堪比奥运游泳选手。与同伴不同，他没有寻找掩护，而是凭借超乎常人的反应躲开子弹。房间里的第四个疯魔是个穿西装的人形生物，没有任何面部特征，连耳朵和眼睛都没有。第五个则是人形的美洲豹混种。跟其他同类不同，这只毛茸茸的家伙胸口挨了好几枪，却仍然活着。

至于吧台后面那个长触手的疯魔……

不，不是触手。仔细一看，瑞恩错认成触手的东西，其实是绯红色能量构成的半透明手臂。快递员数了数，足有几十条，将一颗没有身体的女人头颅托举在半空。她有着亚洲人的面孔，留着黑色长发。

她八成叫傻逼脸之类的名字。

“切尔诺贝利小姐，我跟你说过，不管怎么样，我都不会拿你当回事。”瑞恩说着，趁沙林还没缓过来，又朝她开火，在她的防护服上多开了几个洞。她的攻击力实在太强，必须优先解决。“你猜怎么着？现在也一样！”

“沙林，这家伙他妈是谁？”墨水女人问着，身体由黑色转为绯红，朝瑞恩冲了过来。这一幕让快递员短暂地想起了血流，心里顿时十分不快。“你前男友？”

“我不知道，行了吧！”沙林抗议道，同时沿着地面爬向最近的门。毒气正从瑞恩在她防护服上打出的破洞里涌出来，侵蚀着地堡的金属墙壁，让它们生出锈迹。“我漏了！”

“你能变成墨水，还能换颜色？”瑞恩问那墨水女人，“你叫什么，墨墨丁丁？”

“墨水机器。”女人回答，语气里透着自尊受挫的不快。她把双手化为斧头，试图砍下快递员的脑袋。

“看来你还没本事叫自己杀人机器。”瑞恩嘲弄她，暂停时间三秒，侧身让开了她的攻击。考虑到她的能力，子弹根本伤不了她，所以他决定先处理其他人。突袭的优势可维持不了多久。

“是个会瞬移的！”时间恢复时，有人尖叫起来。

“无名氏，下去叫弗兰克！咱们让这死基佬长眠地下！”傻逼脸张开嘴，向瑞恩喷出一道火流。快递员闪身避开，火流击中墙壁，在那里点起了一团火。

“这里是密闭空间，你个蠢婊子！”苍白男怒吼，抓起带编号的台球，精准致命地朝瑞恩掷来。超能帮或许会一起干活，但显然既不懂团队配合，也毫不尊重彼此。

瑞恩再次暂停时间五秒，避开飞来的球，顺势踩了沙林一脚，然后截住她的退路。那个穿西装的无脸男——“无名氏”——正朝电梯跑去。快递员凭借无数次重来磨炼出的枪法，在时间解冻的一刻从背后朝他开火。四发子弹，其中两发来自线圈枪，从后方击中了他的头骨和胸膛，尸体倒在地上。

暴击！

然而，快递员两把枪的弹药都已耗尽，只得把枪扔到一边。傻逼脸咆哮着向他飞来，绯红色的念力手臂直扑他的脖子，墨墨丁丁则从侧面包抄。

瑞恩敞开风衣，露出了缠在胸前的炸弹带。

不是大多数疯子用的那种儿童友好版，而是成人限定款。

“长崎！”他大喊着冲向那颗飞头，像公牛扑向发情的母牛。

傻逼脸立刻收住攻势，惊恐地向后退去，反倒露出了破绽。瑞恩送了她一套完整的拳拳面部护理。拳套把她轰得撞上墙壁，她失去意识的同时，那些绯红色手臂也倏然消失了。

“开玩笑的！”瑞恩嘲讽道，“我得先说出安全词才行。”

可他正玩得这么开心！现在就炸个轰轰烈烈来收场，未免太早了！

“不是瞬移。”苍白男说着，又以惊人的技巧朝瑞恩脑袋掷来几颗台球。即使对时机的把握远超常人，快递员也得靠一次次短暂的时间暂停才能避免脑袋开花。墨墨丁丁也没让他好过，不停挥动斧头双手纠缠着他。“他在干扰我们的感知，让我们动不了！我的能力看不清他！”

“那就是蓝系。”墨墨丁丁应道，转头看向美洲豹人。“罗刹，别光站着，叫援军！”

兽人从枪伤中恢复了几分，发出一声雄浑的咆哮。随着他的吼声，紫光一闪，一群毛茸茸的小生物出现在他周围。它们像是些可爱的小魔怪，毛发长长，牙齿尖尖，眼睛也十分讨喜。

哎呀，该给小妖精们来场种族灭绝了。

瑞恩低头往风衣里找，打算再掏一把枪，把它们全毙了。可苍白男一颗台球击中他的手，将武器打飞到了房间角落。墨墨丁丁随即挥动斧头手臂，想把这位时间操控者斩首。她虽然没能得手，却削掉了他几缕头发。雪上加霜的是，小魔怪们像一群疯鼠似的朝瑞恩扑来，它们的主人还在不断召唤更多。

啧，疯魔们已经从突袭中缓过劲，正在夺回战局的控制权。他们在密闭空间里以多打少，还有援军在路上，瑞恩必须速战速决。

非常时期，得用非常手段。

“想比谁更毛茸茸？”瑞恩问着，从风衣里掏出他的秘密武器。“我知道，这时候应该说一句‘不是针对你们’，但你们猜怎么着？”

他打开了毛绒玩具的开关。

“我就是。”

然后，他把那团恐怖扔进了敌人中间。

墨水女离得最近，于是第一个看清了毛绒玩具。毛绒玩具仰起头，用小小的蓝眼睛望着她，活脱脱就是天真无邪的化身。紫色火花从它身上迸出，能量充盈着它的四肢与毛发。

墨水机器还没明白过来。

接着，她炸开了。两道绯红色激光束将她的躯干彻底瓦解，又在她身后的墙上轰出两个洞。她余下的墨水身体瘫成了一滩。

“我爱你！”毛绒玩具用可爱的预录语音说，它的蓝眼睛如今已变成绯红色。玩具转向扑来的小魔怪，看了一眼，便把它们蒸发了。它投在墙上的影子不是兔子，而是某种更庞大、也不属于这个世界的东西。

“我好爱好爱你！”

随后，它以惊人的速度直奔美洲豹人，跃向这个猝不及防的疯魔。小爪子里弹出刀刃，它扑上疯魔的肚子，在上面撕开一个洞。

“我们去迪士尼乐园吧！”它一边说，一边钻进罗刹的胸腔。毛绒玩具在他胸中穿行，美洲豹痛苦万分地扭动着。

瑞恩听到阴影里传来了声音；不属于这个世界的声音。那些声音窃窃私语，用他几乎听不懂的异界语言发出死亡威胁。既然已经发展到了这个地步，影响就可能开始蔓延到地堡外面。

而且，时间拖得越久，情况只会越糟。

“什么，这是什么……”苍白男盯着那只正往队友肚子里钻的兔子。“那不是兔子……我看得见……里面还有别的东西……”

哎哟，苍白男原来有某种感知能力。“不，别用你的能力看它。”瑞恩警告他，“那可不是个好主意，你承受不了它真正的形——”

他没听，于是他看见了。

苍白男发出一声纯粹出于恐惧的尖叫。他的心智直面了一个骇人至极的真相，这个疯魔残存的理智只能就此崩溃。他立刻抓起一根台球杆，杀气腾腾地朝瑞恩冲来。“让它停下！”

“我没办法，你得先扔个小孩给它。”瑞恩嘲弄道，险险躲过瞄准颈动脉的一击。可这个发狂的疯魔一刻不停地试图刺死他，让他找不到任何破绽。“越小越好。”

毛绒玩具会把自己发现的第一个未满十三岁的孩子认作最好的朋友，不过嘛……这样确实能解决问题，只是会带来另一个更有趣的问题。

快递员暂停时间，徒手把球杆劈成两截，再用尖头刺进苍白男的左眼。时间恢复时，杀手惨叫了一声，随后试图与瑞恩徒手搏斗。快递员向后退去，比起眼前的疯魔，他更担心自己的造物。

瓶里的魔灵一旦放出来，就别想再塞回去。除非能出其不意地关掉开关，否则瑞恩根本没法控制那只杀人兔。

毛绒玩具浑身浴血地从罗刹的尸体里钻了出来，把他的肠子搓成一条粗绞索。随后，它趁苍白男还没反应过来，跃上他的背，将这条内脏绞索套上他的脖子，开始勒杀这个疯魔。杀手拼命想把兔子从背上甩下去，却跌倒在地，徒劳地喘着气。

“我们抱抱吧！”毛绒玩具说道，白色的毛已经染红了。它勒着苍白男，看上去那么快乐，那么安详。“我是你的朋友！”

最糟的是，瑞恩根本没给它编写过这种暴力行为的程序。

它就是喜欢杀戮。

除了苍白男，活着的只剩下沙林了，可她已经留不住组成身体的气体，任由它们从防护服里泄漏。那情形就像有人正在失血而死，只不过流出的不是血，而是气体。瑞恩没等援军赶到，也没等毛绒玩具把致命的注意力转向自己，就走向电梯，按键叫来轿厢，走了进去。电梯只能通往另一个楼层，而且在下方。

苍白男向瑞恩抬起一只手，眼里满是乞求，毛绒玩具则一脸幸福地勒着他，送他走向死亡。“为什么？”快递员按下往下的按钮时，他勉强嘶声问道。“为什么？”

“你们毁了我的车。”瑞恩回答。电梯门缓缓合拢，他把苍白男留给了痛苦的死亡。

电梯一路向下，降过了好几层楼的高度，让瑞恩不禁想知道这座地堡到底有多深……又有多大。难道它横贯整个锈镇？

电梯终于抵达目的地，打开了门。

瑞恩走进一间地下厅室，四周是厚重的黑色金属墙壁。房间中央，一台投影仪发出蓝光，投射出梅克隆的全息半身像：一个七十多岁的老人，皮肤满是皱纹，头发凌乱，留着白胡子。如果不是全息影像的目光冰冷而凌厉，别人可能会把他当成甘道夫或邓布利多那样的人。房间相对的两侧各有一道防爆门，不过只有一道开着。

地面铺满了破损机器人的残骸。有些是黑色金属构成的人形机器，配备激光步枪；另一些则是庞大、形似蜘蛛的无人突击机。瑞恩认出这些都是梅克隆的设计。基因者战争期间，许多这样的机器曾经屠灭整个聚居地。有几处地方，快递员还注意到了干涸的血迹和苔藓。有些角落里曾有人被丢在那儿，流干血后腐烂，尸体后来才被搬走。

超能帮显然为了拿下这一层打过一场硬仗，却只肯费力搬走自己人的尸体。多半是为了从尸体血液里提取灵药。

“有人吗？”瑞恩喊道，没有得到回答。确定没人会伏击自己后，他检查起房间，在投影仪前找到了一张整座设施的地图。

正如瑞恩担心的那样，这座设施的规模足以覆盖大半个锈镇，只是埋得极深，除了正门外没有别的入口。他刚离开的上层其实是生活区，也是整座设施里最小的部分。其余区域的防御牢固得多，由走廊和房间交错构成迷宫，上面用波斯尼亚语标着些令人不安的名字。

A、B实验室。隔离区。纳米机器人工厂。机器人生产设施。A、B、C部队仓储区。机器人维护中心。军械库。弹药库。武器试验场。物质复制器。轨道通信中心。U.B.指挥中心。反应堆核心。禁区……

这不是什么避难地堡。

这是一座武器生产研发设施。

梅克隆的设施之一。

那个妄自尊大的狂徒，就算已经入土，还是留下了一堆烂摊子。连不那么重要的区域都有这么多机器人守着，新罗马地下肯定还储存着一整支大军。一支无主的大军。

瑞恩终于明白了超能帮的计划，一股寒意顺着脊背爬了上来。

这群混蛋把人送去当炮灰，试图突破防御，就是为了进入指挥中心。如果他们控制了梅克隆的机器人，以及那个天才留下的各种武器，就能接管新罗马，至少也能跟其他势力争上一争。妈的，光是军械库，就足以让这些疯魔的火力暴涨。

瑞恩打定主意，要在剩下的时间里尽可能多搞些破坏，于是穿过了唯一敞开的门。

他沿着一条高大的走廊前进，注意到右边有一扇大窗。透过窗户望进去，里面像是间医务室，不过是精神病院里的那种。房间显然已被弃置多年，任其锈蚀，白色墙壁都已褪色。但瑞恩注意到，角落里堆着几箱医疗物资。两个人，一男一女，被分别绑在两张手术台上。从皮肤上的斑点来看，他们都是极乐的瘾君子。

心震正忙着劫持那个男人的大脑，线缆触手塞进了瘾君子的嘴里。至于那个女人，似乎被打了镇静剂，目光空洞。

瑞恩走进医务室时，疯魔抬起头来。“小切萨雷。”即使感到害怕或吃惊，他也没有表露出来。“真奇怪，居然——”

“你已经死了。”瑞恩用日语打断了他。

“什么？”

选这句当遗言，可真不怎么样。

快递员冻结时间，用十秒拉近了两人之间的距离，在能力效果结束的一瞬间挥出了拳头。心震的头颅炸成一片脑浆和其他体液，线缆四下抽搐。插在俘虏体内的那条滑了出来，触手摊在地上，像一只死乌贼。

“你还好吗？”瑞恩问那个俘虏，不过并没有动手替他松绑，毕竟这一轮再过几个小时就会结束。

男人的回应是浑身颤抖，皮肤下面有什么东西在蠕动。他的头骨改变了形状，眼睛也变成了白色。

“这是毒品戒断反应吗？”快递员问。

一条线缆触手猛地从男人胸口破体而出，险些砸碎瑞恩的头骨，多亏他的反应救了自己一命。快递员向后退去，更多线缆从那具身体中钻了出来，只有头骨例外——它正在经历一场生物机械蜕变。

很快，一团由线缆纠结而成的怪物立在瘾君子的空壳之上，冰冷的眼睛盯着瑞恩。

“这还得感谢你父亲。”

面对重生的心震，瑞恩震惊地瞪大了眼睛。

“上次交手，他给我留下那些伤口，也让我见识到了他真正的力量。从那以后，我就在想……会不会是我误判了自己能力的极限？它会不会也能让我超越死亡本身？”

他的触手扑向瑞恩的头。快递员短暂地暂停时间，跃向房间一角。

“我能做的远不止读心。”心震继续进攻，滔滔不绝，还把手术台朝快递员扔了过来。瑞恩俯身躲开，让手术台撞上身后的墙，同时努力理清眼下的情况。“我能重塑心智，重新接驳他们的大脑，把他们变成承载更伟大存在的容器。直接接管。”

每次死亡，心震都会附身到一个大脑被他动过手脚的奴仆身上。快递员想起了孤儿院那场战斗：这个疯魔曾强行与人质建立连接，而在那个疯子死后，医护人员仍发现她的脑电波异常。

“你竟然想对一个孩子干这种事。”瑞恩明白过来，心中骇然。

“哪个？”

这句令人不寒而栗的反问，让快递员怒火中烧。

瑞恩冻结时间，用拳拳把这个没有灵魂的怪物的脸砸成了一摊细腻的肉泥，没给他任何防御的机会。至于后果，去他妈的。

时间刚一恢复，第二个俘虏就开始经历同样可怖的变化。瑞恩又是一记致命重拳，让她免受这份苦楚，心里只剩恶心。

“从现在起，每次重来，我都会杀了你。”这位基因者向尸体承诺。只要他找到办法，破解这项骇人的能力。这简直是血流的翻版，幸好心震必须先死一次，才能发动这项能力。它与存档点的相似之处也让瑞恩有些不安，更坚定了他彻底除掉这个疯子的决心。

快递员走向那几箱医疗物资，砸开箱子，查看里面的东西。他的怀疑立刻得到了证实。

迪纳米斯的仿制灵药。

足有几十支 。如果所有箱子里装的都是这东西，那数量就得上百。

好，这下可以确定了。这种规模的失窃，绝不可能既没上新闻，也没引来迪纳米斯的报复。原子猫猜得没错，公司内部有人在给超能帮提供药物、武器和情报。

为什么？是想利用他们削弱奥古斯蒂，同时又能撇清关系？制造反派，好让自家的英雄有坏人可抓？还是说，超能帮探索地堡并非为了自身利益，而是在替他们的客户办事？

供货的人是谁？恩里克？他父亲埃克托？还是某个被心震用那种恶心能力洗了脑的人？

瑞恩听到走廊里传来沉重的脚步声，立刻走出医务室。在与入口相对的走廊尽头，心震正与一个没见过的超能帮成员走来。另一个疯魔是个三米半高的巨人，整个人都是锈蚀钢铁构成的庞然巨物。他的上半身比下半身更大，手臂也比双腿略长，胸前画着美国国旗。比起人，他更像一辆人形坦克，就连面孔也被一种面罩装置所取代，让瑞恩想起了《星球大战》里的一位著名角色。

老天，瑞恩可太爱《星球大战》了，连前传都喜欢。不过他很庆幸，旧世界终结得够早，没人来得及拍捞钱续集。那些续集肯定会烂得要命。他骨子里就知道。

“没用的，切萨雷。我在这附近有上百个容器。”心震瞥了眼身旁巨大的疯魔。“弗兰克，麻烦杀了他。”

“是，副总统先生。”他用低沉的声音回答，不得不低着头才能在通道里移动。

“副总统先生？”瑞恩问。

“他妈的美利坚合众国的副总统！那可是地球上最伟大的国家！”巨人向瑞恩猛扑过来，然后——我操，他也太快了！

要不是能暂停时间，瑞恩已经死了。弗兰克那硕大的拳头停在他脸前，距离还不到一英寸。快递员迅速向后翻身跃开，同时朝巨人的双眼甩出飞刀。

时间恢复，弗兰克一拳砸在地上，力道震得整层楼都在晃动。拳头击穿了合金地面，连前臂都陷了进去。至于那些飞刀，它们穿过了他的眼睛。字面意义上的穿过。疯魔的身体把金属飞刀吸收了进去。

“只要一开始逼他们一下，人类就会让我进去。他们想要这个，切萨雷。”心震利用走廊狭窄的地形，用触手吊在弗兰克上方的天花板上，像一只生物机械蜘蛛那样移动。“人们想当我的奴隶。思考的负担，个体意识的负担，压得他们喘不过气。可我钻进他们的大脑，消除困惑，用我的意志取而代之……他们就会获得真正的幸福。在内心深处，你也想要。”

“你就是一则活生生的避孕广告，小心心。”这家伙说的每一句话，居然都能比上一句更恶心。想让瑞恩真正恨上一个人，可不是件容易的事，但心震中大奖了。

“我会解放你的，切萨雷。”疯子回应道。弗兰克终于把手从自己砸出的洞里拔了出来。“我会把你从你自己手中解放出来。”

“你知道吗，杀了我也只能暂时解决问题！”瑞恩喊着，从风衣下面摸出一颗手榴弹，扔向两人。“只有心理治疗才能解决你们的问题！”

手榴弹就在弗兰克面前炸开，释放出强劲的冲击。

结果……

屁用没有。巨人连动都没动一下，心震则躲到了保镖身后避险。更糟的是，一层绯红色光晕笼罩住弗兰克的身体，这个疯魔似乎又长高了几英寸。

“啊哦。”

“珍珠港……”弗兰克浑身发抖，仿佛创伤后应激障碍发作了。“珍珠港又来了……”

“你说什么？”瑞恩问。

“我绝不原谅日本人！”他咆哮着，暴怒地举起双拳砸向天花板，震得整条走廊都在摇晃。“我绝不会原谅他们！永远不会！”

瑞恩开始明白，为什么人们叫他疯子弗兰克了。

不过，如果这家伙能无视手榴弹，还能吸收金属，那快递员手里就没有任何 东西能放倒他。也许原子弹可以，但显然，一用就会当场结束这一轮。瑞恩必须想个办法，而且得快。

灯光开始失灵，细碎的脚步声在走廊里回荡。瑞恩不安地回头看了一眼。

毛绒玩具提着苍白男的头皮走进了走廊，眼中闪烁着恶意。