同章对照

The current loop might be the calmest yet.

Ryan had finally optimized the Augusti path. He first completed the harbor mission without incident. Fat Adam didn't send anyone for once, and Ryan had previously taken care of Luigi. The truth-teller was scheduled to get out of the hospital on Wednesday, but Ryan intended to score a few goals during the hockey match’s second period.

Afterward, Jamie invited the courier to crash at his place, and he received a 'surprise' inspection from Pluto. The Underboss’ interrogation had been less thorough this time around, since the intel Ryan provided on Psyshock had earned him some measure of trust. The courier then landed a job as Vulcan’s assistant, who had lobbied very hard to recruit him after she got her hands on his A-bomb. She didn’t even ask him to trash Wyvern’s movie this loop.

Ryan had waited patiently for today’s Rust Town raid. He had provided all the necessary information for the Augusti to improve their odds, from the Land’s range to the powers of every Psycho he fought so far. He didn’t say anything linked to the bunker like the mech, but overall, things looked bright.

Truly, Ryan was pumped for this restart.

“Plasma tor—” Ryan handed Vulcan her tool before she could finish her sentence, the Genius too busy working on her armor’s cannon. “—ch. Wrench.”

Ryan handed her a wrench and a cup of coffee.

“I didn’t ask for a cup,” she said.

“You were about to.”

Vulcan stopped in the middle of her welding, putting her tools aside and raising her iron mask. A short silence took over her workshop, as she examined the courier from head to toe. “Ryan, where have you been hiding all this time?”

“Mostly behind explosions, and sometimes forest fires.”

“I should've hired you years ago,” she said without any hint of sarcasm. “You’re the best assistant I could ever hope for; hell, you anticipate my desires as if you read my mind before I spoke. You’re perfect, except for one thing.”

Vulcan pointed a finger at the white cat having taken over her workbench. Eugène-Henry meowed in response. “Why did you bring that furball here?” she asked Ryan.

“I couldn’t leave it at the shelter. It’s a noble cat, it can’t survive in the wild.”

“No, I mean, why did you leave it in my Armory as if he lived there? Now half the guards spend their shift petting it when they think I’m not looking. It’s distracting them.”

“Ki-jung doesn’t want him at the house. I keep telling her Eugène-Henry is too good to hunt rats, but she won’t hear anything.” Ryan grabbed the cat and showed him to Vulcan. “Admit it, you can’t resist him either. Look at him. Look at his big, beautiful eyes.”

The Genius didn’t look impressed. “If he causes an accident, I’m taking the repair costs out on your pay,” Vulcan said, before grabbing the cat. She put it on her lap and moved her feet on the workbench. “I had a ferret once. He wasn’t afraid of anything.”

“What happened to him?”

“He wasn’t afraid of cars either,” Vulcan replied with a morbid face. She liked her comedy pitch black. “Speaking of animals, about that rabbit plushie—”

“No,” Ryan interrupted her.

“But—”

“No.”

“Do I have to take it at gunpoint?” she threatened, her curiosity too overwhelming.

“You would have an easier time with my virginity, but spoiler warning,” Ryan whispered in the Genius’ ear, “it’s long gone.”

Vulcan chuckled, scratching Eugène-Henry between the ears. “I thought you were dating the Underdiver?”

“Oh no, it will be a miracle if we settle into anything.” Considering her issues, a long-distance radio friendship sounded more likely. “Though it would take a Genius to steal my wounded heart.”

“I would be careful with that smart mouth of yours, Ryan,” she replied playfully, his good mood infecting her too. “What’s up with you today? Is it the raid?”

“Of course it’s the raid, I can tell it’s going to be great!”

Especially now that Psypsy had perished for good.

Within one hour of his demise, dozens of people across New Rome had experienced brain seizures, including some Augusti mooks and Private Security members. The Augusti leadership had tasked Ki-jung to investigate, and from what she told Ryan, most of the victims missed entire days of their life. By nullifying Psyshock’s powers at close-range, Cancel had undone his victim’s brainwashing.

Since that squid hadn’t been sighted since the orphanage ambush, Ryan assumed he had perished for good.

The Meta hadn’t sent Sarin to attack the harbor, and according to Shroud, they hadn’t tried to press-gang Paulie either. This implied Psyshock’s brainwashing was Big Fat Adam’s main source of unpowered foot soldiers, and his demise had cost the Meta a lot of resources.

So yes, Ryan was in an excellent mood.

“You’ve got a hate-on for Psychos,” Vulcan mused out loud. “I’ve heard what you told Jamie. That they received knockoffs from Dynamis.”

“And you believe me?” So far most of his acquaintances among the Augusti considered it a conspiracy theory.

She nodded. “Lab Sixty-Six.”

“Hmm?”

“You know the Dynamis HQ, next to Il Migliore’s shiny tower? They make the knockoffs on the sixty-sixth floor. It’s the most defended place in New Rome.”

“Well, that’s not ominous at all. Is there a pentacle on the door?”

“No, but the head scientist is a creepy four-eyed maniac who calls himself Dr. Tyrano.” Vulcan snickered. “He cloned all the dinosaurs you see at the Colosseum Maximus. It’s not even his Genius specialty, he’s just obsessed with them; I’m pretty sure he only works at Dynamis because they let him make more of those reptiles. Anyway, you know that bastard Enrique?”

“I’ll never know why nobody suspects him to be a supervillain out to take over the world.” Ryan shrugged. “I mean, he has thorn in his Genome name.”

“I said the exact same thing to Wyvern the first time we met him.” Finally, someone else saw the truth! “Originally, Enrique was supposed to oversee the whole Elixir operation instead of Il Migliore. He visited the lab for two hours, and he immediately asked for a transfer afterward. Never learned why. If you ask me, there’s something really shifty about the knockoffs; even Augustus’ scientists never found a way to copy them.”

Ryan quickly grasped her point. “You think Dynamis uses the Meta as guinea pigs?”

“That’s something Hector Manada would do,” Vulcan replied with a sharp nod. “Augustus is brutally direct, but Hector, he’s slippery and insidious. He always manages to be where the evidence isn’t. Unfortunately, I doubt we’ll find any proof of his involvement, and the big boss doesn’t seem interested in an open conflict yet.”

“I’m surprised that the war between them is cold instead of hot, to be honest.” Ryan thought an invincible man would be far bolder.

“They fought over Malta a few years ago,” Vulcan explained. “Dynamis nuked it in an attempt to kill Augustus, who retaliated by sinking the island. Afterward, the big boss met with Hector Manada, and they hashed out a peace agreement.”

If there was a peace agreement, then it meant Dynamis had some kind of leverage over their opposition. Perhaps they threatened Augustus’ family or inner circle. Ryan had faced the same tactic while he lived under Bloodstream’s clutches; even near-invincible Genomes had emotional weaknesses.

“The party is on Thursday night, right?” Vulcan asked while changing the subject, though her question was purely rhetorical. “If the assault on the Meta’s base goes well, I think I will attend. Should be fun.”

“Shame I’m too old for that now.” Like the first time Ryan met him, Mortimer attempted to startle the courier from behind and utterly failed. “I would have killed it on the dance floor.”

“I’m sure you will catch up on Halloween,” Ryan replied by turning around, pointing a finger at the hitman’s skull mask.

“Nobody gives poor Mortimer candies,” Mr. Wall Pass replied, saddened by the lack of reaction. “He doesn’t spook anyone nowadays.”

“You’re early,” Vulcan noted with a frown. “Did something happen?”

“Well, there are fires coming out of Rust Town, chief. I thought you should know.”

---

As it turned out, the Meta had set the Junkyard on fire.

Ryan stopped his Plymouth Fury right in front of the fence. Mr. Wall Pass sat on the front seat, Fortuna, and Cancel at the back. “Oh my,” Mortimer said. “They don’t half-ass things, these Psychos.”

No kidding!

Ryan could only see flames everywhere he looked. The Meta had set alight the trash mountains with gasoline, turning them into candles, while clouds of smoke darkened the skies. Although the blazing inferno remained localized inside the junkyard, it might soon spread to the rest of Rust Town if left unchecked.

Vulcan landed in full power armor next to Ryan’s vehicle, just as shocked as everyone else. Their troops had surrounded the area without meeting any resistance, either from unpowered gunmen or Psychos.

What the hell happened?

“I checked what a sociopath was,” Cancel told Ryan, completely unconcerned by the giant bonfire. “That was mean.”

“But was it wrong?” Ryan asked back, his eyes focused on the flames. Did they blow up the bunker or something?

“No, but it was mean.”

“Sparrow, report,” Vulcan ordered through the intercom. “Any sign of the Meta?”

“Our lookouts told me Adam, Frank, Sarin and a few others are driving north on the old highway. Apparently, they’re skipping town.”

“They’re fleeing?” Cancel asked, immediately disappointed. “But we only killed three of them!”

“No fun, I wanted those sweet bounties for my mortgage,” Mortimer complained.

“Told you it would be a piece of cake,” Fortuna replied, too busy typing on her phone to pay attention.

“I can’t believe it,” Vulcan said. “They’re leaving? Why?”

Ryan couldn’t understand either. He didn’t believe for a second that Hannifat Lecter had truly given up, but why leave the bunker behind and make a show of destroying the Junkyard? Was there another entranc—

The submarine.

“That cunning bastard,” Ryan muttered to himself. The bunker had a hidden sea access route, so the Meta could easily hide below ground and resupply while abandoning the surface. As long as the bunker’s existence remained a secret, the Psychos could credibly stay under the radar until they unlocked Mechron’s tech.

Fat Adam would leave through the front door, and sneak back in through the back one.

Still, the fact that they pulled this stunt at all reeked of desperation. Psyshock must have been more important to their plans than Ryan thought, for his demise to shake things up that much.

“Something to say, Quicksave?” Vulcan asked him, having eavesdropped on his outburst.

“Maybe this is an elaborate ploy and they have secretly retreated to an underground base below the city,” Ryan said. “I’m sure they have a doomsday weapon, like a moon-defacing laser.”

“Or maybe they have a base on the moon,” Fortuna chuckled.

“I went to the moon once,” Mortimer said. “It was made of lead.”

Ryan didn’t clear things up. The current matter made him feel conflicted.

While he shamelessly flirted with her, Vulcan did try to murder him a previous loop while fully expecting to get away with it. Augustus had a reputation for brutality, and if Shroud’s story was true, then nothing good would come out of him discovering the bunker. Even if the Meta getting their hands on Mechron’s tech remained the worst scenario, he was wary of letting the Augusti do the same until he knew more.

Well, he could always inform them and reload later.

However, the second the thought crossed his mind, Ryan immediately thought of Len. He was finally making progress in renewing their friendship, and he was afraid of falling back into his old patterns. If he continued on the path of the Perfect Run, then he would have to repeat these meetings again and again, until they lost all meaning.

Should he save and commit? But if he did that, then he condemned all the people the Meta threw at the bunker’s defenses. The face of that terrified prisoner, carried around by Adam like a sandwich, still haunted the courier; mostly because it reminded him of his own while he was Bloodstream's pet. Ryan still had enough empathy to feel bad about that part.

So while he hadn’t told Len, there was a strong possibility he would have to restart anyway to keep the kill count at a minimum. But he had confessed everything, and she would forget again if he returned to the past.

Argh, indecision paralysis!

“Consequences suck!” Ryan shouted out of nowhere, drawing a few gazes. “It’s not fun! It’s not fun at all!”

“I’m so disappointed too,” Cancel complained, sharing his frustration at not being able to kick the Meta’s butt. “I didn’t think killing three of them would scare them away.”

“When you murder junkies are done whining, maybe we could call this a day and leave?” Fortuna asked. “I’ve got a date, and I’m sure he’s the one.”

“You say that every time,” Sparrow pointed out, although she said it with a hint of jealousy. “You go through boyfriends like kleenexes.”

“It’s different this time,” Fortuna insisted. “My power keeps forcing us to meet. He shows up to help after that gas leak almost destroys my apartment, I drop my books and he helps me gather them back, it starts raining and we have to stay under the same bus stop... he’s the one, I tell you.”

“You just say that because you had to pester him five times until he caved in, and you can’t stand being ignored,” Mortimer mocked her.

“Morty! Wait, how did you know I asked five times? Did you spy on me?”

“Your pain is nectar for my wizened soul.”

Ryan ignored them, trying to puzzle a way out of the situation, but the indecision paralyzed him. A suboptimal route for New Rome might allow him to keep his friendship with Len real, but a Perfect Run would save dozens of lives, if not hundreds. Should he risk letting the Meta access Mechron’s bunker in the hope of a better alternative to appear, or should he trust the Augusti to be responsible? Should he inform Wyvern?

For the first time in centuries, Ryan faced mutually-exclusive consequences, and it frustrated him. He needed more time to figure this out.

“Vulcan, do we give pursuit?” Sparrow cut through the chit chat.

“I’m torn,” Vulcan admitted. “I’m itching to test my new armor, but It could be a feint to lead us into a trap, and our job was to retake Rust Town. Which we did.”

“If the Meta are wise enough not to get in our way, let them cower,” Fortuna said, clearly determined to do as little as possible.

“Not even a little wedgie, for old time’s sake?” Ryan asked, calming down. No matter the eventual fate of this loop, the Meta had to die for the good of everyone else. “I could settle for killing, say, half of them.”

“It’s the respect and territory that matter, Quicksave,” Vulcan replied.

“They will come back later if you let them go,” Ryan argued. He had seen what underestimating the Meta had cost them in the previous loops. “Trust someone who has fought Big Whalie before, that bonfire is a mere smokescreen.”

Vulcan listened to his words carefully. “You think this is a ploy to lull us into a false sense of security? And that if we let Adam go, he will come back to fuck us harder?”

“And he won’t be gentle.”

“That’s a bit paranoid,” Mortimer replied with a shrug. “If you ask my poor old me, they bit more than they could chew and chickened out.”

“Quicksave’s intel has been spotless so far,” Sparrow came to Ryan’s defense. “I don’t think Adam the Ogre will give up so easily either. The Meta clearly came to New Rome to fight us, perhaps as mercenary work from our rivals. If they’re switching from territory grab to hit-and-run tactics, they might remain a problem for months.”

Vulcan considered the various viewpoints, before coming to a decision. “Sparrow, you and your men give pursuit; I want to know the Meta-Gang’s location at all times. I will join you to harass them from a safe distance with long-range weaponry.”

“Understood,” Sparrow replied.

“The rest of you kids will deal with the fire before it spreads to the rest of Rust Town,” Vulcan told the Genomes in the Plymouth Fury. “We can’t do business there if all our clients burn to death, so I will direct you to the nearest fire hydrants. Mortimer, make sure the Meta didn’t leave any booby traps behind.”

“What?” Fortuna looked up from her phone. “Why do we have to do it? Don’t they have firefighters?”

“I start fires, I don’t extinguish them,” Ryan protested. “It’s against my religion.”

“Too bad, God doesn’t sign your paychecks, I do,” Vulcan replied, before flying away. “Get to work.”

“How brazen of you to say that.”

Everyone groaned at Ryan’s joke, much to his silent amusement.

He hoped he hadn’t made the wrong choice.

眼下这一轮，或许是迄今最平静的一次循环。

瑞恩终于把奥古斯蒂这条路线优化到位了。他先是顺顺当当地完成了港口任务。胖亚当难得没派人来，路易吉也早已被瑞恩收拾过了。那个真言者预计周三出院，不过瑞恩打算在冰球赛第二节里再进几个球。

之后，杰米邀他去自己家借宿，瑞恩还接受了普鲁托的“突击”检查。这位副首领这回没有盘问得那么仔细，毕竟瑞恩提供的心震情报为他赢得了些许信任。随后，他谋到了伏尔甘助手的差事。她拿到他的原子弹后，一直在极力游说，要把他招到手下。这一轮，她甚至没叫他去拿双足飞龙的电影开刀。

瑞恩一直耐心等着今天对锈镇的突袭。从大地的能力范围，到迄今与他交过手的每一个疯魔的能力，他把所有必要的情报都交给了奥古斯蒂，好提高他们的胜算。他没有透露任何与地堡有关的事，比如那台机甲，但总的来说，前景一片光明。

说真的，瑞恩对这次重来充满了干劲。

“等离子焊——”伏尔甘还没说完，瑞恩就把工具递了过去。那位天才正忙着摆弄装甲上的火炮。“——枪。扳手。”

瑞恩递给她一把扳手，外加一杯咖啡。

“我没要咖啡。”她说。

“你马上就要了。”

伏尔甘焊到一半停下手，把工具放在一旁，掀起铁面罩。她从头到脚打量着快递员，工坊里短暂地安静下来。“瑞恩，你这些年都躲哪儿去了？”

“大部分时候躲在爆炸后头，偶尔是森林大火。”

“我几年前就该雇你了。”她这话没有半点讽刺。“你是我求都求不来的好助手。妈的，我还没开口，你就知道我想要什么，简直像会读心。你简直完美，只有一点除外。”

伏尔甘伸手指向霸占了她工作台的白猫。欧仁-亨利喵了一声作为回应。“你为什么把那团毛球带到这儿来？”她问瑞恩。

“我不能把它留在收容所。它是只贵族猫，在野外活不下去。”

“不，我是说，你为什么把它往我的军械库里一扔，好像它就住这儿一样？现在一半的守卫值班时，只要以为我没在看，就跑去摸它。它在让他们分心。”

“基贞不让它待在家里。我一直跟她说，抓老鼠有失欧仁-亨利的身份，可她就是听不进去。”瑞恩抱起猫，举给伏尔甘看。“承认吧，你也抵挡不了它。看看它。看看它那双漂亮的大眼睛。”

那位天才看上去不为所动。“要是它惹出事故，维修费从你工资里扣。”伏尔甘说着，把猫接了过去。她将它放在腿上，双脚搁上工作台。“我以前养过一只雪貂。天不怕地不怕。”

“后来它怎么了？”

“它也不怕汽车。”伏尔甘神色阴郁地答道。她就喜欢这种黑到骨子里的幽默。“说到动物，那个兔子毛绒玩具——”

“不行。”瑞恩打断她。

“可是——”

“不行。”

“非得我拿枪来抢吗？”她威胁道，好奇心已经压不住了。

“抢我的童贞都比这容易，不过先剧透一下——”瑞恩凑到那位天才耳边低声道，“那东西早就没了。”

伏尔甘轻笑着，挠了挠欧仁-亨利两耳之间的脑袋。“我还以为你在跟深潜者交往呢？”

“不不，我们最后能维持住点什么关系，都算奇迹了。”考虑到她的问题，更有可能的结果是靠无线电维系一段远距离友谊。“不过，要偷走我这颗受过伤的心，恐怕非得是个天才才行。”

“你那张伶牙俐齿的嘴可得当心了，瑞恩。”她打趣道，也被他的好心情感染了。“今天怎么这么高兴？因为突袭？”

“当然是因为突袭，我看得出来，这次一定会精彩极了！”

尤其是现在，心心已经死透了。

他死后不到一小时，新罗马各处便有数十人癫痫发作，其中包括一些奥古斯蒂的喽啰和私人安保队成员。奥古斯蒂高层派基贞去调查，据她告诉瑞恩的情况，大多数受害者都缺失了整整几天的记忆。消除者在近距离内将心震的能力无效化，也一并解除了他对受害者的洗脑。

自孤儿院的伏击以来，再没有人见过那只鱿鱼，瑞恩因此推测，他已经彻底死了。

超能帮没有派沙林去袭击港口，而且据裹尸布所说，他们也没试图强抓保利入伙。这意味着，心震的洗脑是大胖亚当获取无能力喽啰的主要途径，而他的死让超能帮损失了大量资源。

所以，没错，瑞恩的心情好得不得了。

“你对疯魔还真是恨出了快感。”伏尔甘若有所思地说，“你跟杰米说的事，我听说了。说他们从迪纳米斯拿到了仿制灵药。”

“你信我？”到目前为止，他在奥古斯蒂认识的人大多还把这当成阴谋论。

她点了点头。“六十六号实验室。”

“嗯？”

“迪纳米斯总部你知道吧，就在至优者那座光鲜亮丽的高楼旁边？那些仿制品就是在六十六层造的。那是全新罗马戒备最森严的地方。”

“嗯，真是一点不祥的味道都没有呢。门上画着五芒星吗？”

“没有，不过首席科学家是个瘆人的四眼疯子，自称提拉诺博士。”伏尔甘窃笑道，“马克西穆斯斗兽场里你能看到的恐龙，全是他克隆出来的。那甚至都不是他天才能力的专长，他就是痴迷恐龙。我基本可以肯定，他留在迪纳米斯干活，只是因为他们允许他造更多那种爬虫。总之，恩里克那个混蛋，你知道吧？”

“为什么没人怀疑他是个一心要统治世界的超级反派，我这辈子都想不明白。”瑞恩耸耸肩。“我是说，他的基因者代号里可是带着个棘字呢。”

“第一次见到他时，我跟双足飞龙说的就是这句话。”终于有别人看清真相了！“恩里克原本应该负责整个灵药项目，而不是至优者。他在实验室里参观了两个小时，出来后立刻就申请调职了。具体原因，我一直没弄清。要我说，那些仿制品绝对有大问题，就连奥古斯都手下的科学家都没能找到复制它们的方法。”

瑞恩立刻明白了她的意思。“你觉得迪纳米斯在拿超能帮当小白鼠？”

“埃克托·马纳达干得出这种事。”伏尔甘干脆地点头。“奥古斯都残暴归残暴，做事却直来直往。埃克托就不一样了，滑头又阴险。他总能把自己和证据撇得干干净净。可惜，我怀疑我们找不到他参与其中的任何证据，而且大老板眼下似乎也无意公开开战。”

“说实话，他们之间居然打的是冷战而不是热战，挺让我意外的。”瑞恩觉得，一个无敌的人，本该大胆得多。

“几年前，他们争过马耳他。”伏尔甘解释道，“迪纳米斯拿核弹轰了那里，想杀死奥古斯都，而奥古斯都的报复是把整座岛给沉了。后来，大老板跟埃克托·马纳达见了一面，双方谈出了一份和平协议。”

既然有和平协议，就说明迪纳米斯手里握着某种能牵制对方的筹码。也许他们威胁了奥古斯都的家人或心腹。瑞恩当初受制于血流时，也曾遭遇过同样的招数；即便是近乎无敌的基因者，也有感情上的软肋。

“派对是在周四晚上，对吧？”伏尔甘换了个话题，不过她并不需要答案。“要是进攻超能帮基地的行动顺利，我想我也会去。应该挺好玩。”

“可惜我现在年纪太大，玩不来了。”就跟瑞恩头一次遇到他时一样，莫蒂默想从背后吓快递员一跳，结果彻底失败。“我上了舞池，肯定能大杀四方。”

“我相信万圣节时你能补回来。”瑞恩转过身，伸手指了指杀手的骷髅面具。

“没人肯给可怜的莫蒂默糖果。”穿墙先生答道，没能吓到人让他很伤心。“现在他谁也吓不着了。”

“你来早了。”伏尔甘皱起眉。“出什么事了？”

“嗯，头儿，锈镇那边着火了。我觉得该让你知道。”

---

事实证明，是超能帮放火烧了废料场。

瑞恩把普利茅斯“狂怒”停在围栏正前方。穿墙先生坐在副驾驶座上，福尔图娜和消除者坐在后排。“哎呀，”莫蒂默说，“这帮疯魔办事，还真不含糊。”

那可不！

瑞恩放眼望去，满目都是火焰。超能帮用汽油点燃了堆积如山的垃圾，把它们变成一根根蜡烛，滚滚浓烟遮暗了天空。这片火海眼下还局限于废料场内，但要是放着不管，很快就可能蔓延到锈镇其他地方。

伏尔甘身着全套动力装甲，降落在瑞恩的车旁，和其他人一样震惊。他们的部队包围了这片区域，却没有遭到无能力枪手或疯魔的任何抵抗。

这他妈是怎么回事？

“我查过什么是反社会人格者了。”消除者对瑞恩说，对那场滔天大火毫不在意。“你那么说很刻薄。”

“但说错了吗？”瑞恩反问，目光始终盯着火焰。他们该不会把地堡炸了吧？

“没有，但很刻薄。”

“麻雀，报告情况。”伏尔甘通过对讲机下令。“发现超能帮的踪迹了吗？”

“我们的哨探告诉我，亚当、弗兰克、沙林，还有另外几个人，正沿旧公路开车往北走。看样子是要跑路了。”

“他们要逃？”消除者立刻失望起来。“可我们才杀了他们三个人啊！”

“真没劲，我还指望那些丰厚的赏金来还房贷呢。”莫蒂默抱怨道。

“早说了，这事小菜一碟。”福尔图娜答道，她正忙着在手机上打字，根本没在留神。

“真不敢相信。”伏尔甘说。“他们要走？为什么？”

瑞恩也想不通。他压根儿不信汉尼胖·莱克特真会放弃，可为什么要丢下地堡，还大张旗鼓地毁掉废料场？难道还有另一个入——

潜艇。

“这个狡猾的混蛋。”瑞恩喃喃自语。地堡有一条通往海上的隐秘通道，超能帮完全可以放弃地面，藏到地下，照样获取补给。只要地堡的存在仍是秘密，疯魔们就有可能一直避开各方耳目，直到解锁梅克隆的科技。

胖亚当会从前门离开，再从后门偷偷溜回来。

不过，他们居然使出了这招，本身就透着一股走投无路的味道。心震对他们计划的重要性，肯定远超瑞恩原先的估计，才会一死就引发这么大的变动。

“有什么话要说吗，快存？”伏尔甘听到了他脱口而出的嘀咕，开口问道。

“也许这是个精心策划的圈套，他们已经偷偷撤进城下的地下基地了。”瑞恩说，“我敢肯定，他们有末日武器，比如给月亮毁容的激光炮。”

“也许他们在月亮上有基地呢。”福尔图娜轻笑道。

“我去过一次月亮。”莫蒂默说，“那东西是铅做的。”

瑞恩没有把话说明白。眼前的事让他心里很矛盾。

虽然他跟伏尔甘调情调得毫不害臊，可她在之前的一轮里确实试图杀他，而且笃定自己不会付出任何代价。奥古斯都的残暴声名在外，如果裹尸布所言属实，那让他发现地堡绝不会有什么好结果。超能帮拿到梅克隆的科技，固然仍是最糟糕的局面，但在了解更多情况之前，瑞恩也不敢轻易让奥古斯蒂得到那些东西。

好吧，大不了先告诉他们，以后再读档。

然而，这个念头刚掠过脑海，瑞恩便立刻想到了蕾恩。修复两人友谊的事终于有了进展，他害怕自己又会陷回老路。如果继续走完美通关这条路，他就不得不一遍又一遍地重复这些见面，直到它们不再有任何意义。

要不要干脆存档，把事情就此定下来？可要是这么做，就等于判了所有被超能帮扔去闯地堡防御系统的人死刑。那个囚犯被亚当像三明治一样拎来拎去，他惊恐的面孔至今仍萦绕在快递员脑海里；主要是因为，那让瑞恩想起了自己当血流的宠物时的模样。瑞恩还留有同情心，这事仍会让他不好受。

所以，虽然他没告诉蕾恩，但他很可能终究还是得重来一次，好把死亡人数压到最低。可他已经把一切都坦白了，一旦回到过去，她就又会忘记。

啊，选择障碍！

“后果这东西烂透了！”瑞恩没头没脑地喊了一声，引来几道目光。“不好玩！这根本就不好玩！”

“我也好失望。”消除者抱怨道，也在为没能痛揍超能帮而懊恼。“没想到才杀三个，就把他们吓跑了。”

“等你们这群杀人上瘾的家伙抱怨完，咱们能收工走人了吗？”福尔图娜问，“我还有个约会，而且我肯定他就是我的真命天子。”

“你每次都这么说。”麻雀指出，语气里却带着一丝嫉妒。“你换男朋友跟换纸巾似的。”

“这次不一样。”福尔图娜坚持道，“我的能力一直在逼着我们见面。那次煤气泄漏差点毁了我的公寓，他就过来帮忙；我的书掉了一地，他帮我捡起来；天一下雨，我们就只能在同一个公交站台躲雨……我告诉你，他就是我的真命天子。”

“你这么说，无非是因为你缠了他五次，他才松口答应，而你又受不了别人不理你。”莫蒂默嘲笑她。

“莫蒂！等等，你怎么知道我问了五次？你监视我？”

“你的痛苦，就是我这干枯灵魂的甘露。”

瑞恩没理他们，只顾琢磨怎样才能解开眼前的困局，偏偏犹豫不决让他寸步难行。对新罗马而言不算最优的路线，或许能让他与蕾恩的友谊保持真实；但完美通关能救下几十条人命，甚至数百条。他该冒险放任超能帮进入梅克隆的地堡，指望更好的办法出现，还是该相信奥古斯蒂行事会有分寸？要不要通知双足飞龙？

几百年来，瑞恩第一次不得不在互不相容的结果中做出取舍，这让他烦躁不已。他需要更多时间想清楚。

“伏尔甘，我们追不追？”麻雀打断了闲聊。

“我拿不定主意。”伏尔甘承认。“我手痒得想试试新装甲，可这也可能是在佯退，想诱我们进埋伏。况且我们的任务是夺回锈镇，这点已经办到了。”

“超能帮要是识相，知道别挡我们的路，就让他们缩着好了。”福尔图娜说，显然打定了主意，能少干就少干。

“看在老交情上，往上拽一把他们的内裤都不行？”瑞恩平静下来，开口问道。不管这一轮最终会怎样，为了其他所有人，超能帮也必须死。“我可以退一步，比如，只杀一半。”

“快存，重要的是威望和地盘。”伏尔甘答道。

“你们放他们走，他们以后还会回来。”瑞恩争辩道。他在之前的循环里已经见过，低估超能帮让他们付出了怎样的代价。“相信一个跟大鲸鱼交过手的人吧，那场大火不过是烟幕。”

伏尔甘认真听着他的话。“你觉得这是个诡计，想让我们以为自己安全了？要是放亚当走，他就会回来把我们操得更狠？”

“而且他可不会温柔。”

“这有点疑神疑鬼了吧。”莫蒂默耸了耸肩。“我这个可怜老头觉得，他们就是贪多嚼不烂，怂了。”

“快存的情报到目前为止没有出过任何差错。”麻雀出言支持瑞恩。“我也不觉得食人魔亚当会这么容易放弃。超能帮来新罗马，摆明了就是要跟我们开战，也许是受我们的对头雇来卖命的。如果他们从抢地盘改成打了就跑，那未来几个月都可能是个麻烦。”

伏尔甘斟酌过各方意见，终于做出了决定。“麻雀，你带着手下追上去。我要随时掌握超能帮的位置。我会过去跟你们会合，保持安全距离，用远程武器骚扰他们。”

“明白。”麻雀答道。

“剩下的小朋友，在火势蔓延到锈镇其他地方之前，把火扑灭。”伏尔甘对普利茅斯“狂怒”里的基因者们说。“客户要是全烧死了，我们在这儿还做什么生意？我会告诉你们最近的消防栓在哪儿。莫蒂默，检查一下，确保超能帮没留下什么诡雷。”

“什么？”福尔图娜从手机上抬起头。“为什么要我们干？这儿没有消防员吗？”

“我只放火，不灭火。”瑞恩抗议道，“这有违我的信仰。”

“可惜了，给你发工资的不是上帝，是我。”伏尔甘说完便飞走了。“干活去。”

“这话说得，真是好一张铜皮铁脸。”

所有人都被瑞恩的冷笑话惹得哀嚎起来，他在心里乐开了花。

他希望自己没有选错。