同章对照

It was May 10th. Psyshock would attack the orphanage any minute, and Ryan intended to give the telepath a headache he would never forget.

A shotgun in hand and the Fisty Brothers equipped, the courier prowled the orphanage’s hallways, where the kids were busy gathering food and toys in travel bags. To his worry though, he found no trace of Len.

“What’s happening?” Ryan asked little Giulia, upon crossing paths with her. Unlike her fellow orphans, who had taken food or toys, the little blonde mostly carried books on herself. Meeting this child after learning what Psyshock did to her in a previous loop only reinforced the courier's resolve.

“Mama says she’s taking us to the magical place early,” she explained, looking down instead of facing the Genome's eyes. She seemed far shyer than Sarah. “So we have to pack our stuff.”

Wise. No doubt Hannifat Lecter would attack the place again with larger numbers after his pet squid bit the dust here.

Hopefully, Ryan would receive backup. The courier had informed Jamie of the attack when they met at the Bakuto, even giving him the A-bomb as a bribe for Vulcan to sweeten the deal. He provided all the intel necessary, though Ryan couldn’t be certain if the information would pass through the chain of command until the moment of truth.

“Where is she?” the Genome asked. The courier could take out Psypsy and his group on his own easily enough if he cut loose, but he couldn’t prevent the body-jumper from transferring himself.

“She’s in her room. We shouldn’t bother her.”

“Well, I’ve bothered her since the day we met,” Ryan replied, leaving Giulia behind and moving towards Len’s bedroom. From what he had understood, it used to be the office of the shelter’s director, before they left the place to rust.

He knocked on the door, receiving no answer. While it was locked, the courier had long mastered the art of breaking and entering. “Len?” he asked after unlocking the door, finding the bedroom shrouded in thick darkness. “Shortie?”

Only a meowing sound answered him.

Ryan quickly flipped the light switch and found himself facing a giant diver suit. The same one Len wore when she tried to rescue him from Acid Rain.

“Shortie?” Ryan asked, before looking behind the armor. He found Len sitting on a chair next to a mattress, staring at a wall. When he took a step forward, the Genome almost tripped on a medicine box, noticing dozens on the floor. “Shortie?”

No answer. Len just stared blankly at the wall, while Eugène-Henry von Schrodinger rested on her lap. Her eyes were blackened by sleeplessness and exhaustion.

She looked dead.

“Len? Len!” When he received no answer, the courier approached a free hand from her shoulder, intending to shake her back to consciousness.

“Don’t!” Her sudden reaction startled both Ryan and the cat on her lap; it was as if she had woken up from a nightmare. Len then put her hands on her ears, as if struggling against a terrible headache. “Don’t come closer!”

It reminded Ryan of the first time they met again under the sea, except somehow even worse.

The courier said nothing, glancing at the boxes on the ground. He grabbed one, finding it empty. “Len,” Ryan said with dead seriousness, tossing the empty container on the bed. “If you weren’t a Genome, you would have overdosed from all these pills.”

“If I didn’t have powers, I wouldn’t need so many of them.”

“It’s true Genomes had an enhanced metabolism, but still, do you know these medications shouldn’t be taken together?”

No answer.

“You aren’t following any treatment,” Ryan realized, horrified.

“If I don’t take them, I don’t want to do anything,” Len snapped. Clearly, her mood had worsened, perhaps due to the wrong drug combination. “If I don’t take them, I… I can’t talk to you at all. I don’t want to do anything except use my power.”

She couldn’t even interact with others except under heavy medication.

How many did she take under the sea? Did the fact they met in her sanctum make it worse back then? Seeing his friend deteriorating that much horrified Ryan, but he didn’t know what to say.

“I… I’m coming,” Len finally spoke up, massaging her forehead. “I’ll put on the suit. I have to.”

“I can take care of Psyshock alone if it’s too much for you.”

“No, no, can’t, can’t let you do everything,” she replied, struggling to form a complete sentence. “I have to help. I have to.”

“Alright, I will keep watch until you’re ready then.” Ryan left to give her some breathing room, though he did notice something on the bed on his way out. The rough schematics of some kind of sonar, although messy and incomplete. Len must have worked on this new device during the day.

The courier walked outside the orphanage, stopping at the threshold. His car was parked nearby, Ryan remembering how Sarah and her friend had stood at the exact same spot in a previous loop.

However, when he saw Psyshock’s black minibus approach, Ryan decided to spice things up a little this time. He raised the shotgun and hit the wheels at the front, causing the Meta's car to spiral around itself in an attempt to avoid a crash.

“Strike!” Ryan gloated for good measure. “It’s a strike!”

The driver managed to stabilize the minibus, much to his disappointment. Ryan heard heavy footsteps behind him, Len emerging from the orphanage in her full power armor. She carried a waterthrower as her main weapon, clearly determined to defend the orphans.

As Psyshock stepped out of the minibus, wearing his disguise, Ryan relaxed a bit. The brainjacker had only brought Mosquito and Mongrel with him, like in the previous loop. No heavy hitters in sight.

“Little Cesare,” Psyshock said, removing his sunglasses to reveal his biomechanical eyes. “And is that Little Len too? I could recognize her work anywhere. Is your father joining us from beyond the grave too?”

Len remained eerily silent, radiating a sense of unease. “If you want, I’ve got old times’ slides,” Ryan mocked Psyshock. “Half of them are dedicated to your royal asskicking.”

“You were not so brave during our last encounter when my wires connected to your brain,” Psyshock replied, his tone heavy with menace. “Though we only came for the goblins in that shelter, this is a good day indeed. It is true what they say… you never forget those who got away.”

“So are we killing them or what?” Mosquito asked while Mongrel showed his teeth. “The smell of their blood drives me crazy.”

“No one will die today,” Psyshock replied, his wire tentacles wriggling below his coat. “They are mine, both of them. Always have been.”

Len raised her waterthrower without a word.

“You wish to fight, little girl?” Psyshock mocked them. “Check your math, you are outnumbered, outmatched.”

“Check yours, Psypsy,” Ryan replied, noticing a white Yamaha motorcycle approaching from behind. “It's a ménage-à-trois.”

A blonde woman rode at the vehicle’s back, without wearing any helmet; though she did carry a Genius-tech staff, like a knight showing up for a jousting tournament. She abruptly stopped her vehicle upon reaching the orphanage’s courtyard, her mere presence changing the Psychos’ mood from confident to tense.

“Hi, guys!” Cancel introduced herself with a winning smile, leaving her bike behind while swinging her weapon. “Nice to meet you!”

Psyshock’s electronic eyes let out a brief flash of light, his cronies flinching in dread.

“Hey, don’t look at her like that,” Ryan said, raising his shotgun. “I wanted Pluto, but she declined.”

Psyshock’s power was not so different from the courier’s own ability. A save point allowing them to try again after death. Ergo, they probably shared the same weaknesses.

As he realized the danger, Psyshock did something new and unexpected. Something he had never done in the previous loops, no matter how suicidal the situation.

He tried to run away, tearing through his clothes with his tentacles while his cronies attacked Cancel.

Gotcha.

Ryan froze time, raised his shotgun, and blasted Psyshock’s tentacles apart. When time resumed, the brainjacker pathetically tripped and fell onto his smug face.

“Don't worry, haven’t you looked at the dog shelter sign?” Ryan taunted him. “Euthanasia is free.”

Meanwhile, moving with the speed and agility of an Olympic Gymnast, Cancel quickly rushed at Mongrel. The Psycho attempted to incinerate her with his hands, but the flames fizzled out into nothingness at the tip of his fingers. The hitwoman impaled him through the chest with her staff before he could react, the device then letting out a powerful electric shock. Ryan would have likened it to a taser, but a taser didn’t fry its victim alive the way Cancel’s device did.

Meanwhile, Mosquito attempted to fly away, but Len opened fire at him. A jet of pressurized water came out of her weapon, slicing his left wing clean and causing the overgrown insect to crash; Ryan immediately tossed the shotgun aside and attacked Mosquito with Fisty, beating the tar out of him. When the bug attempted to raise his fist to retaliate, Len cut off his arm with her water weapon.

“Shortie, do you have insecticide?” Ryan shouted, pounding Mosquito onto the ground. “My fly swatter isn’t working right!”

Len didn’t respond. While she was no stranger to brutality and didn’t hesitate to use lethal force when needed, the Genius usually retreated into her own mind in a fight. Unlike Ryan, she didn’t thrive in chaos.

Meanwhile, having fried Mongrel to death, Cancel immediately moved on to Psyshock. The Psycho attempted to rise back up, but the hitwoman swiftly caught up with him. Her power clearly didn’t affect the telepath’s physical mutations, so Ryan supposed it only canceled the esoteric power sources which supported them.

“Look at me,” Cancel asked Psyshock, her tone always positive. “Look at me in the eyes. I want to remember your face.”

The malevolent Psycho glared at the hitwoman, raising his remaining tentacles in an attempt to hit her skull.

But he didn’t react fast enough.

Cancel swiftly impaled Psypsy through the skull with the staff, pounding his head into a smear on the ground. Some of the Psycho’s blood ended up on her cheek, her smirk turning downright sadistic while the wires flailed around.

Ryan briefly checked his time-stop and failed to activate it. So far so good. A few seconds later, Mosquito looked like a crushed bug at his feet, still alive, but bleeding to death. Cancel had swiftly murdered the other two.

“Well, that was quick,” Ryan noted, slightly disappointed. He guessed Vulcan’s absence, the surprise ambush, and having two professionals at his back had made quite the difference.

“You know, I had orders to kill everyone if it turned out to be a trap, but I’m so glad I didn’t have to,” Greta said with a cheery smile, tossing Psyshock’s immobile corpse aside with her staff. His blood was still on her cheek, and she seemed in no hurry to wipe it off. “I’ve been getting rusty.”

“Thank you, but didn’t anyone tell you that I was immortal?”

“You’re funny,” she replied, leaving Psyshock’s remains and looking at Mosquito. “He’s still alive?”

“Unless he gets medical treatment, he won’t last long.”

“Please…” Mosquito pleaded.

“Too much work,” Cancel replied, stomping on his face with her staff. Len visibly flinched at her casual brutality, catching Greta’s attention. “Who are you?”

“I’m…” It was so strange to hear Len’s gentle voice come out of the giant armor. “The Underdiver.”

“Oh, nice to meet you, I’m Greta.” You already said that before, Ryan thought. He realized her lines weren’t spontaneous at all, but rehearsed. “Is there anyone else to deal with?”

“No, we’re good,” Ryan replied.

“Alright, I hope we meet again then!”

“Me too, Greta!” Ryan replied with the same cheery smile. “You’re the nicest sociopath I’ve met yet!”

“Thanks! What’s a sociopath?”

Ryan answered her question with two thumbs up.

Cancel waved them goodbye and left on her motorcycle as swiftly as she came, leaving the Psychos’ corpses to rot. Clearly, she had a lot of experience with casual murder. Ryan wondered what her CV looked like.

“She’s hollow inside,” Len said when the hitwoman was gone.

Before Ryan could respond, he sensed an invisible pressure on his shoulders; the Land’s gaze had suddenly fallen upon him. The courier waved a hand at the skies, wondering if the Psycho would see him.

The moment lasted only a few seconds, but it made Len almost stumble at the sheer tension. “What was that?”

“Peepers,” Ryan replied. “I suggest we move out before more arrive.”

“Yes, yes,” Len turned towards the orphanage and raised her voice. “Sarah, Giulia—”

All windows in the vicinity, the Plymouth Fury’s windshield included, cracked at once.

“It’s okay, it’s my fault,” Ryan lied before Len could panic. Fortunately, she was used to weird events around him and didn’t question it.

“Sarah, Giulia, gather the others, we’re leaving now!”

“Ma, can we take the doggies?” a little girl shouted back from within.

“I’m sorry sweetie, but no, we can’t. We’ll leave the pens open, so they can go out.” Len turned to Ryan. “Thanks, Riri.”

“No problem. Do you need any help moving them to safety? It’s a long way to the harbor.”

“It’s fine, I keep transporting bathyspheres in the sewers, and there’s an access point in the basement,” she explained. That explained how she could move in and out of the orphanage undetected. “Riri, I…”

“It’s okay,” the courier reassured her, knowing what would come next. “It’s your home, I understand you don’t want me in it yet.”

Last time had been something of a surprise visit.

Len must have made a guilty face behind her helmet, though Ryan couldn’t see through. “I… I think I’ve found something. For your power.”

The courier froze still. “Come again?”

“I… I’ve been listening through your Chronoradio for a while,” she admitted. “Now that I examined it more closely, there’s a part of the design where my power can help. The navigation. I—I’m sorry, I need more time to really explore it. I need to focus. It’s just an idea in my head right now, and I’m not sure if it will work. If it can work at all. Don’t get your hopes up or anythi—”

“Shortie, I’ve been through so many false hopes, you could make a graveyard out of them.” Ryan shook his head. “As I told you before, the mere fact you want to help after everything means the world to me.”

Len seemed too flustered beneath her armor to answer. “I guess I will contact you,” she said, sounding embarrassed. “S-see you, Riri.”

“Len,” he said while she turned away to go back inside. “Please be careful with your medicine.”

Len stood still for a moment, unsure of what to say. “I will,” she said. “Don’t worry, I… I can manage.”

Ryan couldn’t tell if it was a lie, or if she believed it. The courier sighed, watching her disappear inside with a heavy heart.

“You owe me a new windshield,” Ryan said once Len was out of earshot.

“I apologize,” Shroud answered next to him, as invisible as ever. “She startled me and I lost control for an instant.”

“You’re afraid of little girls? I would have said pigeons were your kryptonite.”

“I’m looking for someone with the same name,” the vigilante explained. “Giulia Costa. But it’s not that girl. The age, face, and body don’t match. I know she’s somewhere in this city, but I have no lead yet.”

“What happened to your Giulia?” Ryan asked with curiosity. He also noted that Shroud could apparently see the orphans through the walls.

“Augustus murdered her parents and kidnapped her as a child, to use as a hostage against Leo.” A chill went down Ryan’s spine. “Whenever you have doubts, remember that this is what the Augusti stand for.”

“I will look into it,” the courier promised. “What does she look like?”

“She should be around fifteen, light brown hair, blue eyes.” That was better than nothing, but barely. “You’re not really Cesare Sabino, are you? The way you interact with Ms. Sabino isn’t very brotherly.”

“Oh my, it just took you four years to figure it out? What a detective you are.”

“I dare not imagine what went through Bloodstream’s head. It must have been harsh.” It was more emotion than Ryan had ever heard coming from the invisible man’s mouth. “You love her?”

“I did once.” But a rift had grown so wide, Ryan would be lucky to end up on speaking terms with Len after his Perfect Run. “But that was a long time ago.”

“All men are hopeless fools, a friend once told me. Unfortunately, I don’t have any advice to offer. I’m unlucky in love myself.”

“I guess they see right through you.” Ryan shook his head. "I help because she's a dear friend and she needs it."

He wasn't looking for romance anymore, but for a human connection - any connection - that would persist through his endless restarts. The courier felt something on his shoulder, like a brief, sympathetic pat.

“It was well-done,” Mr. Looking Glass said. “I thought I might have to intervene, but you had the situation in hand. I will check if Psyshock is truly gone for good, though I would suggest getting away from Rust Town. I get the feeling you threw a wrench in Adam’s plans, and he won’t like it.”

Oh, he didn’t. Ryan already noticed acidic clouds expanding from the Junkyard. Perhaps Wyvern’s absence had made the Meta-Gang bolder, or Cancel’s power had truly prevented Psyshock’s body-transfer.

In any case, Ryan was just getting started. “Game on, Moby Dick.”

五月十日。心震随时可能袭击孤儿院，瑞恩打算让这个读心者头疼到这辈子都忘不了。

送货员手持霰弹枪，戴好拳头兄弟，在孤儿院的走廊里巡视。孩子们正忙着把食物和玩具装进旅行袋。可让他担心的是，哪儿都不见蕾恩的踪影。

“这是怎么了？”瑞恩碰到小朱莉娅，便问了一句。其他孤儿拿的都是食物或玩具，这个金发小姑娘身上带的却大多是书。知道心震在之前一轮循环里对她做过什么之后，再见到这孩子，只让送货员更加坚定了决心。

“妈妈说，要提前带我们去那个神奇的地方。”她低着头解释，不肯与这位基因者对视。她似乎比莎拉害羞得多。“所以我们得收拾东西。”

明智之举。等那只宠物乌贼死在这里，汉尼胖·莱克特肯定会带更多人来，再攻打这里一次。

但愿瑞恩能等到援军。送货员在博徒与杰米见面时，已经把袭击的事告诉了他，甚至把那颗原子弹也交给了他，用来贿赂伏尔甘，给这笔交易加点甜头。该给的情报他都给了，只是这些消息能不能沿着指挥系统一级级传上去，非得到见真章的那一刻，瑞恩才能确定。

“她在哪儿？”基因者问道。只要放开手脚，送货员一个人就能轻松收拾心心和他的手下，却没法阻止这个换身怪转移到别人体内。

“她在自己房间里。我们不该打扰她。”

“嗯，从认识她那天起，我就没少打扰她。”瑞恩说完，便与朱莉娅分开，朝蕾恩的卧室走去。据他所知，那地方在收容所被弃置、生锈之前，曾是所长的办公室。

他敲了敲门，没有回应。门虽然锁着，可送货员早就精通了撬锁入室的艺术。“蕾恩？”他弄开门锁，发现卧室里一片漆黑。“小矮个？”

回答他的只有一声猫叫。

瑞恩迅速按下电灯开关，发现面前立着一套巨大的潜水服。正是蕾恩试图从酸雨手里救他时穿的那套。

“小矮个？”瑞恩又叫了一声，随即望向装甲后面。他发现蕾恩坐在床垫旁的一把椅子上，直愣愣地盯着墙。他刚迈出一步，就差点被一只药盒绊倒，这才发现地上散落着几十只药盒。“小矮个？”

没有回答。蕾恩只是目光空洞地望着墙，欧仁-亨利·冯·薛定谔趴在她腿上。失眠和疲惫在她眼周熬出了乌黑的阴影。

她看起来像是死了。

“蕾恩？蕾恩！”见她毫无回应，送货员把空着的那只手伸向她的肩，想把她摇醒。

“别碰我！”她突如其来的反应把瑞恩和腿上的猫都吓了一跳，仿佛刚从噩梦里惊醒。随后蕾恩双手捂住耳朵，像是在抵御一阵剧烈的头痛。“别过来！”

这让瑞恩想起了两人在海底初次重逢的情景，只是不知怎的，眼下的状况还要更糟。

送货员一言不发，扫了一眼地上的药盒。他捡起一只，发现已经空了。“蕾恩，”瑞恩的语气无比严肃，随手把空盒丢到床上，“要不是基因者，吃这么多药，你早就过量中毒了。”

“要是没有能力，我也就用不着吃这么多。”

“基因者的新陈代谢是比常人强，可即便如此，你知不知道这些药不能一起吃？”

没有回答。

“你根本没在按治疗方案服药。”瑞恩惊骇地意识到。

“不吃药，我就什么都不想做！”蕾恩厉声说道。她的情绪显然恶化了，或许正是药物搭配不当导致的。“不吃药，我……我根本没法跟你说话。我什么都不想干，只想用我的能力。”

没有大量药物支撑，她甚至无法与人相处。

在海底时，她吃了多少药？当时是不是因为两人在她的避风港里见面，情况才变得更糟？看着朋友恶化到这个地步，瑞恩满心惊惧，却不知道该说什么。

“我……我这就来。”蕾恩揉着额头，终于开口。“我会穿上潜水服。我必须去。”

“要是你实在撑不住，我一个人也能对付心震。”

“不，不行，不能，不能什么都让你做。”她连完整的句子都很难说出来。“我得帮忙。我必须帮忙。”

“好，那我先去放哨，等你准备好。”瑞恩离开了房间，给她留些喘息的余地。不过，临走时他注意到床上的东西：某种声呐的设计草图，凌乱而残缺。蕾恩白天肯定一直在研究这件新设备。

送货员走出孤儿院，在门槛处停下。他的车就停在附近。瑞恩还记得，在之前一轮循环里，莎拉和她的朋友正是站在那个位置。

不过，看见心震的黑色小巴驶来时，瑞恩决定这次来点新花样。他举起霰弹枪，打中了前轮。超能帮的车为了避免撞上东西，原地打起了转。

“全中！”瑞恩还不忘得意地吆喝两声。“一个全中！”

令他失望的是，司机还是稳住了小巴。瑞恩听见身后传来沉重的脚步声，蕾恩穿着全套动力装甲走出了孤儿院。她拿着一具喷水器作为主武器，显然已经下定决心要保护这些孤儿。

心震披着伪装走下小巴，瑞恩稍稍松了口气。这个劫脑者和之前那一轮一样，只带了蚊子和杂种。没见有什么厉害角色。

“小切萨雷。”心震摘下墨镜，露出生物机械眼。“那是小蕾恩吗？她的作品，我在哪儿都认得出来。你父亲也要从坟墓里爬出来，跟我们聚一聚吗？”

蕾恩一声不吭，沉默得异样，浑身透着不安。“想叙旧的话，我有以前的幻灯片。”瑞恩挖苦心震，“一半都是你被打得屁滚尿流的盛况。”

“上次见面，我把导线接进你脑子里的时候，你可没这么勇敢。”心震的语气充满威胁。“虽然我们只是来抓收容所里那些小鬼，不过今天可真是个好日子。人们说得没错……那些逃掉的，你永远都忘不了。”

“所以到底杀不杀？”蚊子问道，一旁的杂种龇着牙。“他们血的味道快把我逼疯了。”

“今天谁都不会死。”心震说，他的导线触手在外套底下蠕动。“他们是我的，两个都是。从来都是。”

蕾恩一言不发，举起喷水器。

“想打架吗，小姑娘？”心震嘲弄着他们，“好好数数，你们人没我们多，本事也没我们大。”

“你才该好好数数，心心。”瑞恩答道，注意到一辆白色雅马哈摩托车正从后方驶近。“这是三人行。”

一名金发女人骑在那辆车靠后的位置，没戴头盔，倒是带着一根天才科技长杖，宛如前来参加马上比武大会的骑士。她一到孤儿院的院子便猛然停车。只是她的出现，就让那几个疯魔的自信变成了紧张。

“嗨，各位！”消除者带着讨人喜欢的笑容向众人打招呼，离开摩托，挥了挥武器。“很高兴认识你们！”

心震的电子眼短暂地闪了一下光，他的两个跟班畏惧地缩了缩。

“喂，别用那种眼神看她。”瑞恩举起霰弹枪，“我本来想请普鲁托，可她拒绝了。”

心震的能力，与送货员自己的能力并没有太大差别。两人都有一个存档点，能让他们死后再试一次。因此，他们多半也有同样的弱点。

意识到危险之后，心震做出了一个前所未有、出人意料的举动。在之前的循环里，无论局面有多么十死无生，他都从未这么做过。

他试图逃跑，触手撕破了衣服，而他的跟班则扑向消除者。

逮到你了。

瑞恩暂停时间，举起霰弹枪，把心震的触手轰了个稀烂。时间恢复流动后，劫脑者狼狈地绊倒在地，那张自鸣得意的脸结结实实地啃上了地面。

“别担心，没看见狗狗收容所的招牌吗？”瑞恩嘲笑他，“安乐死免费。”

与此同时，消除者以奥运体操选手般的速度与敏捷，飞快地冲向杂种。疯魔试图用双手将她烧死，可火焰刚到指尖就熄灭了，消散得无影无踪。还没等他反应过来，女杀手便用长杖刺穿了他的胸膛，随后装置释放出强劲的电流。瑞恩本想把它比作电击枪，可电击枪不会像消除者的这件装备一样，把人活活电焦。

与此同时，蚊子试图飞走，蕾恩却朝他开了火。一道高压水柱从她的武器中喷出，利落地切断了他的左翅，让这只硕大的昆虫一头栽了下来。瑞恩立即扔开霰弹枪，用拳拳对蚊子发起进攻，打得他满地找牙。虫子刚想抬起拳头反击，蕾恩就用水武器切断了他的胳膊。

“小矮个，有杀虫剂吗？”瑞恩把蚊子往地里捶，高声问道，“我的苍蝇拍不太好使！”

蕾恩没有回应。她对暴力并不陌生，必要时也不会犹豫下杀手，但一进入战斗，这位天才通常就会缩回自己的内心世界。不像瑞恩，她在混乱里并不能如鱼得水。

另一边，消除者电死杂种后，立刻转向心震。疯魔试图重新爬起，女杀手却迅速追了上来。她的能力显然没有影响读心者身体上的变异，所以瑞恩推测，她消除的只是支撑这些变异的神秘力量来源。

“看着我。”消除者对心震说，语气依旧轻快。“看着我的眼睛。我想记住你的脸。”

那个恶毒的疯魔瞪着女杀手，举起剩余的触手，想要打中她的脑袋。

可他反应不够快。

消除者迅速一杖刺穿心心的颅骨，将他的头砸成地上的一摊烂泥。疯魔的血溅了些在她脸颊上，导线四下抽搐，她唇边的笑也变得全然残忍。

瑞恩试着发动了一下时间暂停，却没能成功。到目前为止，一切顺利。几秒后，蚊子像只被碾烂的虫子瘫在他脚边，仍然活着，却正一点点流血而死。消除者已经干净利落地杀掉了另外两个。

“嗯，真快。”瑞恩略感失望地评价道。他猜，没有伏尔甘在场，再加上突袭得手，背后还有两位专业人士相助，确实大不一样。

“你们知道吗，我接到的命令是，如果这是个陷阱，就杀掉所有人。不过真高兴我不用那么做。”格蕾塔笑容愉快，用长杖将心震一动不动的尸体甩到一旁。他的血还沾在她脸上，她似乎一点也不急着擦掉。“我都有点手生了。”

“谢谢，不过没人告诉你，我是不死的吗？”

“你真有趣。”她答道，不再理会心震的残骸，转而看向蚊子。“他还活着？”

“不接受治疗的话，撑不了多久了。”

“求你……”蚊子哀求道。

“太麻烦了。”消除者说着，用长杖往他脸上狠狠一杵。蕾恩被她这若无其事的残暴吓得一颤，引起了格蕾塔的注意。“你是谁？”

“我是……”蕾恩轻柔的声音从那套巨大装甲里传出来，听着实在奇怪。“深潜者。”

“哦，很高兴认识你，我是格蕾塔。”你刚才已经说过了，瑞恩心想。他意识到，她这些话根本不是随口说的，而是预先排练过的。“还有谁要处理吗？”

“没了，都解决了。”瑞恩答道。

“那好，希望以后还能见到你们！”

“我也是，格蕾塔！”瑞恩也报以同样愉快的笑容。“你是我至今见过最友善的反社会人格者！”

“谢谢！什么是反社会人格者？”

瑞恩竖起两根大拇指，回答了她的问题。

消除者向他们挥手告别，骑上摩托车，来得快，去得也快，留下几个疯魔的尸体等着腐烂。显然，这种随手杀人的事，她经验丰富。瑞恩不禁好奇，她的简历会是什么样。

“她心里是空的。”女杀手走后，蕾恩说道。

瑞恩还没来得及回答，便感到肩上压来一股无形的力量；大地的目光突然落到了他身上。送货员向天空挥了挥手，不知道那个疯魔能不能看见。

那感觉只持续了几秒，可单是那股压迫感，就让蕾恩险些站立不稳。“刚才那是什么？”

“偷窥狂。”瑞恩答道，“我建议在更多人赶到之前，咱们先撤。”

“对，对。”蕾恩转向孤儿院，提高了声音。“莎拉，朱莉娅——”

附近所有窗户的玻璃，包括普利茅斯“狂怒”的挡风玻璃，在同一瞬间裂开了。

“没事，是我弄的。”不等蕾恩慌张，瑞恩就撒了个谎。幸好她早已习惯了他身边的怪事，没有追问。

“莎拉，朱莉娅，把其他人叫上，我们现在就走！”

“妈妈，能把狗狗也带上吗？”一个小女孩从里面喊道。

“对不起，宝贝，不行，带不了。我们会把围栏的门打开，让它们自己出去。”蕾恩转向瑞恩。“谢谢，瑞瑞。”

“不客气。需要我帮忙把他们送到安全的地方吗？去港口的路可不近。”

“不用，我在下水道里放了载人深潜球，地下室就有入口。”她解释道。这也解释了她是怎么不被人发现地进出孤儿院的。“瑞瑞，我……”

“没关系。”送货员知道她接下来要说什么，出言宽慰。“那是你的家，你还不想让我进去，我理解。”

上次多少算是不请自来。

蕾恩藏在头盔后的脸上一定露出了内疚的表情，虽然瑞恩看不见。“我……我想我找到了一点办法。针对你的能力。”

送货员僵住了。“你说什么？”

“我……我一直在借你的时空收音机收听，已经有一阵子了。”她承认道，“现在仔细检查过它，我发现设计里有一部分，我的能力可以帮上忙。导航部分。我——对不起，我还需要时间好好研究。我需要专心。现在还只是我脑子里的一个想法，我也不知道能不能奏效。甚至不知道有没有可能奏效。别抱太大希望，也别——”

“小矮个，我曾有过太多落空的希望，多得都能填满一座墓地了。”瑞恩摇摇头。“我之前就说过，经历了这一切，你还愿意帮我，单是这件事，对我来说就比什么都重要。”

装甲底下的蕾恩似乎慌得不知如何回答。“那我再联系你吧。”她说，听上去有些不好意思。“再、再见，瑞瑞。”

“蕾恩。”她转身要回去时，他叫住了她。“吃药的事，请你一定小心。”

蕾恩站了一会儿，不知道该说什么。“我会的。”她说，“别担心，我……我能应付。”

瑞恩分不清这是谎话，还是她自己也深信不疑。送货员叹了口气，心情沉重地看着她消失在门里。

“你欠我一块新挡风玻璃。”等蕾恩走到听不见的地方，瑞恩说道。

“抱歉。”裹尸布在他身旁回答，仍旧隐着身。“她吓了我一跳，我一时没控制住。”

“你怕小女孩？我还以为鸽子才是你的氪石呢。”

“我在找一个同名的人。”义警解释道，“朱莉娅·科斯塔。但不是那个女孩。年龄、长相和身形都对不上。我知道她就在这座城里的某个地方，可目前还没有线索。”

“你要找的朱莉娅出了什么事？”瑞恩好奇地问。他还注意到，裹尸布显然能隔着墙看见那些孤儿。

“她小时候，奥古斯都杀了她的父母，把她绑走，拿她当人质对付利奥。”瑞恩脊背一阵发冷。“每当你有所动摇，记住，这才是奥古斯蒂的真面目。”

“我会查查的。”送货员保证道，“她长什么样？”

“她应该十五岁左右，浅棕色头发，蓝眼睛。”总比什么都不知道强，但也强不了多少。“你不是真的切萨雷·萨比诺，对吧？你跟萨比诺女士相处的样子，可不怎么像兄妹。”

“哎呀，你只花了四年就想明白了？真是位了不起的侦探。”

“我不敢想象血流脑子里都在想什么。那段日子一定很难熬。”瑞恩还从没听这个隐形人的话语中流露过这么多情绪。“你爱她？”

“曾经爱过。”可两人之间的裂痕已经太深，等瑞恩达成完美通关，还能和蕾恩说得上话，就算走运了。“但那是很久以前的事了。”

“有个朋友曾经告诉我，男人都是无可救药的傻瓜。可惜我也提不出什么建议。我自己的情路也不顺。”

“我猜她们一眼就能把你看穿。”瑞恩摇摇头。“我帮她，是因为她是我珍视的朋友，而她需要帮助。”

他寻求的已经不是爱情，而是人与人之间的一点联系——任何联系——能在无休止的重来中留存下去的联系。送货员感觉到肩上碰到了什么，像是有人满怀同情地轻拍了一下。

“做得不错。”镜子先生说，“我原以为自己可能得出手，不过你把局面控制住了。我会确认心震是不是真的死透了，但我建议你离开锈镇。我感觉你搅乱了亚当的计划，他不会高兴的。”

哦，他确实不高兴。瑞恩已经注意到，酸性云团正在从废料场向外扩张。也许是双足飞龙不在，让超能帮胆子更大了；又或许，消除者的能力真的阻止了心震转移身体。

无论如何，瑞恩才刚刚开始。“游戏开始了，白鲸。”