同章对照

From Friday the 13th to Candyman, Ryan had seen all the slasher movies.

He had acted in a few too, either as the relentless terminator during his brief Punisher phase, or as the lonely target pursued by malevolent Psychos. He still looked back fondly on that run where he escaped the Centipede with only his boxers on. Good times.

So the current situation was nothing extraordinary. Night Terror was just Freddy Krueger, except he could attack people while they were awake. Pluto was Death from Final Destination. The Vamp was a trap; literal death by sex. As for Sparrow… she didn’t fit any box.

Perhaps she would be the final girl? The assassin was a bit old for the role, but Ryan was nothing if not open-minded.

Anyway, he and Atom Cat had managed to escape through the woods, eventually moving far enough that Sparrow could no longer target them with lasers. The duo followed a hiking path down a wooded valley, surrounded by lush green ferns, verdant trees, orchids, and cascading water. Ryan recognized the area as the Valle Delle Ferriere, a natural reserve pre-war.

Unfortunately, the courier sensed Pluto’s power active on his person. His heartbeat raced unnaturally, his fingers twitched with tension, and he almost tripped on a rock at one point. They had put distance between the Augusti Underboss and themselves, but she wouldn’t relent.

“If we continue south, we should reach the rendezvous point with Shortie.” Ryan checked his phone, trying to contact the Soviet Supreme without avail. “Something is jamming my cell phone.”

“Probably Vulcan’s tech,” Atom Cat said. “Cut your phone off, they might be able to track it down.”

Good point, and it would spare Ryan more messages from Lucky Girl. “How far do you think Night Pajama’s range extends?”

“I don’t know,” Atom Cat admitted, checking Ryan’s neck. Red marks marred his skin where the Bloodstream hallucination had choked him. “Are you okay? I admit I was quite scared when I saw you freak out like a man possessed.”

Aww, he cared! Though after putting Ryan through such a scare, Night Pajama would suffer the Luigi treatment. “Continue south, I will go east.”

“You want us to split?”

That was a big no-no in slasher movies, but the courier was no helpless teenager. “Cruella can only target one person at once, and she’s focusing on me. I will lead her into a trap. If you escape, we’ve won.”

Also, Ryan couldn’t risk having the Killer Seven track them to the rendezvous point. Risking his own life was one thing, endangering Len’s was another.

Felix immediately protested, “I’m not leaving you to die, Ryan.”

“Trust me, Kitten,” the courier said, while grabbing a revolver in each hand. He would have taken a dose of Rampage too, if he didn’t worry Pluto’s power might worsen the side-effects. “I do better without teams.”

“But—”

“Do I have to shoot you too?”

The Kitten finally understood it was time to let the adults do their thing. “Okay,” Felix said, though he clearly didn’t like it. “Okay, I will trust you. But don’t you dare die for me.”

“God forbid, your sister would nag me in the afterlife if I did. Now go.”

With one last glance, Atom Kitten followed the hiking trail south, while the courier moved east.

Ryan strolled through the woods, even as he sensed Pluto’s invisible pressure growing stronger. He passed before the mossy ruins of houses and mills, and eventually followed a path following a tumbling river. He soon reached a wide area, with woods on one side, and a small waterfall on the other. A river coursed through a path of whetstone, which allowed one to step from one side to the other.

Leaves bristled as shadows approached. Ryan raised his guns, as multiple figures seemed to surround him; with the darkness, he couldn’t see clearly.

And yet… as a sweet, delicious perfume filled the air, the courier couldn’t help but relax. The tension in his body seemed to vanish, as an invisible voice told him to relax.

Slowly, a figure emerged from the bushes; she was the most beautiful sight the courier had seen in his entire life, in all his runs combined. A gorgeous redhead with a curvaceous body, and perfect skin; even her few freckles only enhanced her appeal. Her lips were red as blood, her eyes shining emeralds. Her red jacket seemed like a forbidden frontier, the promise of untold pleasure to whoever could get past it.

When he saw her, Ryan immediately wanted to drop everything, slam her against a tree, and give her the Full Romano Special.

“Hey,” the Vamp said with a warm, lovely smile, revealing her empty hands. Even her voice aroused the courier. “It’s okay. You’re safe. My poor boy, you must have been so scared, all alone in the woods.”

“Are you an angel?” By now, Ryan’s pop culture-infested subconscious was in full control of his body. “They're the most beautiful creatures in the universe.”

“I can be your angel if you want,” the redhead said, putting a hand on her jacket’s zipper. “Just throw your weapons away, and… I’ll show you heaven.”

Who was Jasmine again? This was the perfect waifu. The romance endgame, the true ending.

But as Ryan was about to turn this horror movie into a porno, he realized one problem with this scenario.

“Gingers can’t go to heaven,” he said, “they don’t have souls.”

“What?”

And then he shot her.

The bullet impacted the killer’s chest and tossed her back against a tree, but didn’t shed blood. Oh, come on, what kind of supervillain wore a bulletproof vest nowadays? Ryan knew he should have aimed for the head!

“You shot me!” Vamp protested in shock. “You shot me!”

“Begone, demon!” Ryan raised his guns and fired at will like a maniac. “I know your game, succubus! Each of your freckles is a soul you stole!”

Vamp looked at Ryan as if he were mad, before fleeing behind a tree to avoid getting shot. Damn, this always happened when he tried to blow off stress! “Richie, get your ass over here!” she shouted. “How can you resist my pheromones, asshole?”

“Well, when you have taken as many mind-altering substances as I did, eventually you build a tolerance,” Ryan replied, as he reloaded his guns. “Frankly, I’ve tried much stronger aphrodisiacs than your pheromones. You wouldn’t believe half the things I’ve done.”

“No matter,” the ginger devil replied from behind her cover, “a kiss and your vitals will fail you.”

As she said that, all too familiar inhuman faces emerged from the woods to surround Ryan from all sides. “Dear guest.” Five vicious clowns, each armed with napkins and silver cutlery. “The Monte-Carlo is currently closed!”

“Bring it, Pennywise,” Ryan replied, shooting the closest one as it collapsed into a white substance. These illusions could harm him like the real ones, but they died like the originals too. They only had as much power as his mind gave them.

As he engaged the clowns, Vamp left her hiding spot and moved around bushes like a stalking lion, her hands now letting out some kind of colored smoke. Lethal pheromones, most probably.

Ryan briefly stopped time, the Monaco illusions vanishing instantly. However, unlike Bloodstream’s ghost before, when time resumed, the clowns returned to life.

“Is that the best you’ve got, Pajamas?” he taunted Night Terror, as he slaughtered his way through the clowns. “I killed thousands of them! I even ate one!”

Then, as he was surrounded by darkness and dead clowns, a new smell filled the air. One that filled him with anxiety and dread. The stench of death and disease and—

“Riri.”

Ryan turned around, and faced her.

She stood on the whetstone near the waterfall, wearing clothes drenched in blood.

“Shortie?” Ryan asked, though intellectually, he knew this was all in his head.

Len opened her mouth, only to vomit blood. She cried crimson tears while letting out an ear-piercing shriek, and charged at the courier with a knife raised.

Ryan was so startled by the sight, that the illusion had closed the gap before he could aim. She used one arm to push him against a tree, and the other to try and stab him with a knife. The courier had to drop one of his guns to catch her hand and keep the blade away; he then attempted to aim with his remaining gun, even as his attacker started shocking him...

“You never left Monaco.” The illusion’s voice didn’t belong to Len, but Ryan himself. “You’re still in that bed, and this is all a dying dream.”

That was probably the worst thing someone could have said to the time-traveler, and it made him lose focus for an instant. Night Terror’s blade instantly hit Ryan’s thigh, though the courier managed to deviate the attack away from his vitals.

Unfortunately, while the scary special effect failure kept him pinned to a tree, Vamp emerged from her hiding spot. “You should have taken the easy way out, jackass,” she told Ryan as her pheromone-charged hand moved towards his neck. “At least I would have fucked you first.”

“Maybe next time,” Ryan replied with a scowl of pain, before freezing time.

He expected the illusion to vanish, but instead, it merely transformed. From a nightmarish, twisted version of Len, to a masked man in a full black suit.

“There you are.”

Ryan pushed the paralyzed Night Terror away, and shot him twice in the head.

When time resumed, the Blue Genome’s corpse crashed against a surprised Vamp and caused her to trip on the whetstones, nearly falling into the waterfall nearby. One hand on his thigh wound, Ryan raised his gun at her.

“Wait,” the Vamp pleaded while raising her hands in surrender, her scent filling Ryan with a mix of desire and regret. “Don’t kill me! I can make it worth your while!”

Yes, she would be his. His mind, his body screamed it at him. She would do everything Ryan wanted; he just had to drop his gun, and take her now. “What’s your name?” the courier asked, pointing his gun at Night Terror’s remains. “His and yours? For later.”

“Richard Pinkman, and Karen Ricci!” She forced herself to smile. “Yes, lower that gun, and I will kiss your wound—”

Ryan shot the ginger menace in the head before she could tempt him further.

“No sex before marriage,” he quipped, as the waters dragged the assassins’ bodies down the waterfall. “My purity is my shield!”

Afterward, Ryan let out a sigh of pain, Night Terror’s knife still embedded in his flesh. He couldn’t remove it without risking bleeding out, even with his enhanced physiology. At least, not until he found a safe spot.

However, he didn’t have time for this. The courier heard an explosion in the distance, south of his location. It seemed Atom Cat was fighting for his life too, in spite of the time-traveler’s best efforts.

Ryan could barely hear himself think, as his heartbeat rose in intensity. His heart felt as if it would burst in his chest, and his vision blurred at the edge.

“I’m impressed.”

Pluto.

Ryan immediately raised his gun in the darkness, but couldn’t locate her. Was she hiding behind a tree? Down the waterfall? No, the voice was a distant shout, far away.

“No one has survived against us so long before, at least not without backup.” Pluto fell silent for a brief instant, while Ryan tried to locate her by sound. “You are Quicksave, are you not? My niece asked us that no harm befall you a while ago.”

“She asked me to spare you too,” Ryan replied with a scowl. He couldn’t hear right with that heartbeat drum in his head! “You know, I’ve been meaning to ask, are you single?”

“I’m widowed,” she replied with a tone that made Ryan wonder if she was joking. “Why?”

Either it was the lasting effects of the pheromones, Jasmine’s absence in his life, or sheer masochism, but the courier couldn’t help but be a relentless flirt. “Can’t we solve our differences the noble way, with an arranged marriage? I swear, I will be the best you ever had.”

“I will pass,” Pluto replied, all business. “Your thought process is painfully transparent. Separating so I could only focus on one of you only. But Sparrow is giving chase to the traitor as we speak. Your scheme changed nothing.”

“Don’t you know cats eat sparrows?” Ryan shook his head, on edge. No calamity had befallen him so far because Pluto wanted an audience, but he had no idea what would happen once she fully unleashed her power at this distance. “You don’t know anything about the animal kingdom.”

“I have studied your marker from afar, and it seems strange. As if connected to a second one, far, far beyond my reach. A universe that my curse cannot touch.” Her voice was getting closer. “You’re not really here, are you? You’re just a projection. Even if my calamities kill you, you will pop up again.”

“Honestly, I don’t think the Earth would survive two of me.” At least it meant that while Pluto could kill Ryan now and track him in future loops, she couldn’t put the courier down permanently. The news came as a relief.

Now, if only he could confirm the same with Cancel, that would be perfect.

“If you fight so ferociously to live, then there is a cost to pay, even if you can recover,” the Underboss said with sharp insight. “Stay out of this, Quicksave. My brother wants his godson dead for his treachery. He doesn’t care about you. Just… look the other way.”

“Sorry, you’re too poor to afford my rates.”

“Then die.”

Pluto unleashed the full strength of her curse at him, and the world trembled.

Literally. The ground quaked below his feet, and a terrible wind blew through the trees. Leaves flew in his direction, and before Ryan knew what hit him, they cut through his clothes and skin like razors. The gun in the courier’s hands made a worrying sound, and branches fell on him at the speed of javelins.

Ryan hurriedly froze time to dodge the projectiles and toss his gun away, just before the gunpowder inside caused it to explode mid-flight.

“I see how your power works,” he heard Pluto taunting him as time resumed. “You freeze time for a few seconds. Five? Maybe ten? You can gain a respite from my curse by breaking the flow of causality, but at this distance, you can’t escape everything. At some point, you will slip up. Eventually, you will die. Everything dies.”

Ryan opened his mouth for a clever retort, only for something to catch him from behind. A noose-shaped branch from a tree grabbed his neck and raised him above the ground, tightening its hold. At the same time, Night Terror’s knife moved on its own, worming its way through his flesh as if wielded by an invisible hand.

At such a short distance, Pluto’s curse outright warped reality. It caused the world itself to want Ryan dead.

Worse, the courier heard a gunshot in the distance. Pluto had decided to speed his demise along the old-fashioned way.

Hastily freezing time, Ryan managed to break the branch holding him prisoner, removed Night Terror’s knife, and tossed it aside before it could worm its way to his vitals. As he moved, he noticed Pluto’s bullet frozen in midair; its trajectory had clearly deviated to target the courier’s head.

Should he use the plushie? No, the risk was too great. If Pluto’s power could affect it, then it might do worse than just turn against Ryan.

No sooner did the courier step out of the way and time resumed, than he almost tripped and broke his skull against a large stone. His movements slowed down, his heart beating so fast his enhanced body couldn’t keep up with the blood flow.

Beep.

Ryan heard a familiar sound coming from inside his suit.

The A-bomb!

Shit, shit, shit! Pluto’s power prioritized killing him over collateral damage!

Without any other choice, Ryan froze time, dragged the device out of his clothes, and hastily disabled it. Thankfully, the temporal anomaly canceled the calamitous power and he managed to remove the detonator.

However, when time resumed, he found himself without any defense.

The ground collapsed beneath his feet, dragging him into the river and down the small waterfall. Ryan managed to protect his head with his arms before he hit a large stone below, but part of the natural structure collapsed behind him. A pile of rubble buried him from the chest down, crushing his legs.

He only had the strength to raise his head, as a lone shadow loomed over him from atop the waterfall.

“This is as far as you go, Quicksave,” Pluto said, raising a gun at him from the higher ground. The distance between them was no more than fifteen meters now. “I will tell my niece you did your best.”

“I’ll…” Ryan rasped, the water level rising and threatening to drown him. “Be... back…”

“And I will kill you as many times as it takes.”

“No, you won’t!” Both Pluto and Ryan turned their heads, Felix emerging from the woods with a weapon, charged with his explosive power.

The panda doll from the Pandamobile!

Yes! Ryan thought, his lungs too squeezed by rubble to articulate his words. Use the power! Use the panda power!

“Take this!” Felix snarled, as he prepared to throw the projectile at a stoic Pluto.

The courier felt the death curse’s pressure vanish, as it targeted Felix next.

A rain of branches and leaves hit the young hero from behind just as he tossed his projectile, two wood spears impaling him through the right leg and shoulder. Felix collapsed while the leaves hit the panda doll in midair, detonating it at a safe distance.

Pluto could use her ability defensively?

“Where is Sparrow?” Cruella asked calmly while dusting off her dress. Kitten’s valiant effort had achieved exactly nothing.

“Dead,” Felix said with a snarl of pain. The branch-spears had pinned him to the ground, and his blood mixed with the water falling down the waterfall. “Took her by surprise... and blasted her.”

Pluto’s scowl deepened, and she aimed at Kitten’s head with her gun. “She was a loyal soldier," she said, taking a step in his direction. Felix coughed blood, as the curse intensified and attacked his vitals. "Truly, my niece was too good for you.”

It couldn’t end like this!

This run… it had started so well, and he had made so much progress… Ryan was so close to breaking his own curse, to solve the secret of carrying someone across loops. It couldn’t end like this, not after everything!

God answered his silent prayer with a meowing sound.

Pluto stopped before she could fire a bullet, as a white furball hopped out of the forest and right in front of Felix. The animal sat right in front of Atom Kitten, and looked at Pluto with its adorable eyes.

Eugène-Henry!

“What is…” Pluto’s expression had changed from bored professionalism to a hint of fear. No more wooden spears or leaves fell to finish her prey off. In fact, strands of yellow energy seemed to flicker around the area, as if something challenged the Underboss’ power. “What is this thing?”

And someone had followed the cat through the wood. A striking young woman with hair as bright as the sun, the most elegant costume, and a gold-plated gun.

Fortuna.

Of all people, it was Fortuna who came to the rescue. A living good luck charm.

Even better, her power seemed to interfere enough with Pluto’s that no calamity or heart attack finished her brother off. Instead, a golden cloud surrounded Fortuna like a halo, and shielded Felix thanks to the physical proximity.

“Godmother…” she said with a frown, before noticing her brother and immediately rushing to his side. “Felix! Felix are you alright!”

“Fortuna.” Pluto frowned deeply, her gun still pointed at Felix. “You were to stay with Livia.”

“I… I tried to follow—” Fortuna’s eyes noticed Ryan down the waterfall, and widened in shock. “Ryan!?”

The courier tried to wave a hand at her, but his body failed. Now that Pluto’s death curse didn’t target him, the water level had fallen and no longer threatened to drown him, but his body remained crushed, battered, and bleeding. He was in no shape to interfere.

Fortuna’s horrified eyes moved from Ryan to Felix, as she quickly put the two and two together. “No…”

“Your parents gave their authorization,” Pluto said, almost reading Lucky Girl’s mind. “The task fell on me, specifically so you wouldn’t have to sully your hands.”

“But…” Fortuna’s voice broke in her throat, as she tried to form a coherent sentence. “It can’t be!”

“He betrayed the organization to the Carnival,” Pluto insisted, growing annoyed with Felix’s continued survival. “Now move out of my way. It has to be done.”

Fortuna’s panic turned into a scowl, as she silently reached a decision.

“Godmother.” Fortuna raised her own gun at Pluto’s head, while stepping between the killer and Felix. “Get away from my brother.”

If she wasn’t such an annoyance, Ryan might have fallen for her on the spot.

“You’re turning traitor too?” Pluto glared at the siblings. “You disgrace your parents, both of you.”

“Get away from my brother!” Fortuna repeated, her fingers trembling on the trigger. “I’m… I won’t hesitate!”

The two women exchanged a glare, the tension rising between them. “Fortuna, no…” Felix pleaded, his eyes widening in dread. “No, don’t…”

“Spare the rod,” Pluto said, calmly aiming her weapon at Fortuna while the death curse found a new target. Yellow strands surrounded Fortuna’s cloud, like spears ready to fall on a shield. “Spoil the child.”

Two gunshots echoed across the forest, and then silence.

从《十三号星期五》到《糖果人》，杀人狂电影瑞恩一部不落，全看过。

他还亲身演过几部。有时是在他那段短暂的惩罚者时期，扮演穷追不舍的终结者；有时则孤身一人，成了恶毒疯魔追杀的目标。只穿一条平角内裤从蜈蚣手里逃脱的那一轮，他至今回味无穷。好时光啊。

所以眼下的情形也没什么大不了。夜魇就是弗莱迪·克鲁格，只不过人醒着也能挨他的打。普鲁托是《死神来了》里的死神。妖姬是个陷阱，真能让人做爱做到死。至于麻雀……她哪一类都算不上。

也许她会是那个活到最后的女孩？演这个角色，这位杀手的年纪稍嫌大了点，不过瑞恩这人最大的优点就是思想开明。

总之，他和原子猫总算逃进了树林，最后拉开了足够的距离，让麻雀再也没法用激光瞄准他们。两人沿一条徒步小径走下林木茂密的山谷，周围尽是繁盛的绿蕨、苍翠的树木、兰花和层层跌落的流水。瑞恩认出了这里：费里耶雷谷，战前是一片自然保护区。

可惜，快递员能感觉到普鲁托的能力仍在自己身上生效。他的心跳快得反常，手指紧张得抽动，有一次还险些被石头绊倒。他们虽然已经和这位奥古斯蒂二当家拉开了距离，但她不会善罢甘休。

“继续往南走，应该就能到和小矮个会合的地方。”瑞恩查看手机，试图联络苏维埃最高领袖，却始终没有成功。“有什么东西在干扰我的手机。”

“大概是伏尔甘的技术。”原子猫说，“把手机关了，他们可能会追踪信号。”

有道理，还能让瑞恩少收几条幸运女孩的消息。“你觉得暗夜睡衣的能力范围有多大？”

“我不知道。”原子猫承认，一边查看瑞恩的脖子。血流幻象掐过的地方，皮肤上留下了一道道红痕。“你还好吗？说实话，看你跟中了邪似的吓成那样，我也吓得不轻。”

哎呀，他还挺关心人！不过，暗夜睡衣敢把瑞恩吓成这样，就等着享受路易吉的待遇吧。“你继续往南，我往东。”

“你要我们分头走？”

这在杀人狂电影里可是大忌，但快递员又不是手无缚鸡之力的青少年。“库伊拉一次只能针对一个人，现在她盯着的是我。我会把她引进陷阱。只要你逃掉，我们就赢了。”

而且，瑞恩不能冒险让杀手七人组一路跟到会合地点。拿自己的命冒险是一回事，危及蕾恩又是另一回事。

菲利克斯立刻反对：“我不会丢下你等死的，瑞恩。”

“相信我，小猫咪。”快递员说着，双手各拔出一把左轮。要不是担心普鲁托的能力会加重副作用，他本来还想来一剂狂暴。“不组队，我反而发挥得更好。”

“可是——”

“非要我连你也开枪打吗？”

小猫咪终于明白，该让大人办正事了。“好吧。”菲利克斯说，尽管显然很不情愿。“好吧，我相信你。但你可不许为了我送命。”

“老天保佑，可别。真要那样，你姐姐能追到阴间来唠叨我。快走。”

原子小猫最后看了他一眼，沿徒步小径向南走去，快递员则转向东方。

瑞恩在树林里闲庭信步，尽管他能感觉到普鲁托施加的无形压力正越来越强。他从长满青苔的房屋和磨坊废墟前经过，最后沿着湍急河水旁的一条小径前行。没多久，他来到一片开阔地，一侧是树林，另一侧是一道小瀑布。河水流过一线砺石，踩着那些石头，就能从这一岸走到对岸。

黑影逼近，树叶沙沙作响。瑞恩举起双枪，似乎有好几道人影围了上来；天色太黑，他看不清。

然而……一股甜美诱人的香气弥漫开来，快递员不由自主地放松了。仿佛有个无形的声音在叫他放松，身上的紧绷感也随之消失。

一道身影缓缓从灌木后现身；那是快递员这一生、所有循环加起来见过的最美风景。一个曲线玲珑、肌肤完美的红发美人，连零星的几颗雀斑都只让她更添魅力。她的双唇红如鲜血，双眼是闪亮的翡翠。那件红夹克仿佛一道禁忌的边界，向所有能够越过它的人许诺着无尽的欢愉。

看见她的那一刻，瑞恩就想立刻丢开一切，把她按到树上，给她来一套罗马诺全套特供。

“嗨。”妖姬露出温暖动人的微笑，摊开空空的双手。连她的声音都让快递员欲火中烧。“没事了。你安全了。可怜的孩子，一个人在树林里，肯定吓坏了吧。”

“你是天使吗？”此刻，瑞恩那被流行文化浸透的潜意识已经彻底接管了身体。“她们是宇宙中最美丽的生灵。”

“只要你愿意，我就可以做你的天使。”红发女人说着，一只手搭上夹克的拉链。“只要把武器扔掉，然后……我就带你上天堂。”

贾丝敏又是谁来着？这才是完美老婆。恋爱线的终点，真正的结局。

可就在瑞恩即将把这部恐怖片变成色情片时，他意识到这个剧本有一处说不通。

“红头发上不了天堂。”他说，“他们没有灵魂。”

“什么？”

然后他开枪打了她。

子弹命中女杀手的胸口，将她撞得向后砸在树上，却没打出血来。不是吧，都什么年代了，哪个超级反派还穿防弹衣？瑞恩就知道自己该瞄准脑袋！

“你开枪打我！”妖姬惊愕地抗议，“你居然开枪打我！”

“退散吧，恶魔！”瑞恩举起双枪，像疯子一样见哪儿打哪儿。“我看穿你的把戏了，魅魔！你脸上每一颗雀斑，都是你偷走的灵魂！”

妖姬看瑞恩的眼神像是在看疯子，随即逃到树后躲子弹。该死，每次他想发泄一下压力，都会闹成这样！“里奇，给老娘滚过来！”她喊道，“你怎么能抵抗我的信息素，混蛋？”

“这个嘛，能改变神智的东西用得和我一样多，迟早会产生耐受性的。”瑞恩一边给双枪装填子弹，一边回答。“说真的，比你这信息素厉害得多的春药，我也试过。我干过的事，说出来你一半都不会信。”

“无所谓。”红发魔鬼在掩体后回答，“只要一个吻，你的生命机能就会衰竭。”

她话音刚落，一张张熟悉得不能再熟悉的非人面孔便从树林中浮现，将瑞恩团团围住。“亲爱的客人。”五个凶恶的小丑，各自拿着餐巾和银餐具作武器。“蒙特卡洛目前暂停营业！”

“放马过来吧，潘尼怀斯。”瑞恩回答，开枪打中最近的一个。它倒下，化作一团白色物质。这些幻象和真货一样能伤到他，但也和真货一样会死。他的心智赋予它们多少力量，它们就只有多少。

他与小丑交手时，妖姬离开藏身处，像潜行的狮子一样绕着灌木移动，双手开始冒出某种有色烟雾。多半是致命的信息素。

瑞恩短暂地暂停时间，摩纳哥的幻象瞬间消失。然而，与之前血流的幽灵不同，时间恢复流动后，小丑们又活了过来。

“就这点本事吗，睡衣男？”他一边在小丑群中大开杀戒，一边嘲讽夜魇。“这玩意儿我杀过几千个！还吃过一个呢！”

随后，就在他被黑暗与小丑尸体包围时，一种新的气味弥漫开来。那气味令他满心不安与恐惧。那是死亡、疾病，还有——

“瑞瑞。”

瑞恩转过身，面对着她。

她站在瀑布边的砺石上，身上的衣服浸满鲜血。

“小矮个？”瑞恩问，尽管理智告诉他，这一切都只是脑中的幻觉。

蕾恩张开嘴，却只吐出鲜血。她淌着血泪，发出刺耳的尖叫，举刀朝快递员冲来。

瑞恩被这一幕惊得失神，还没来得及瞄准，幻象就已冲到面前。她一条胳膊把他按在树上，另一只手持刀朝他刺去。快递员不得不丢下一把枪，抓住她的手，不让刀刃靠近；随后，他试图用剩下的那把枪瞄准，而袭击者已经开始电击他……

“你从没离开过摩纳哥。”幻象发出的不是蕾恩的声音，而是瑞恩自己的。“你还躺在那张床上，这一切不过是你临死前做的一场梦。”

对这位时间旅行者而言，大概没有什么话比这句更恶毒了。他的注意力因此涣散了一瞬。夜魇的刀立刻刺中了瑞恩的大腿，好在快递员还是将这一击带偏，避开了要害。

可惜，那个吓人的劣质特效产物仍把他按在树上，妖姬也从藏身处走了出来。“你本来可以走得轻松点的，蠢货。”她对瑞恩说，带着致命信息素的手伸向他的脖子。“至少我会先跟你干一炮。”

“下次吧。”瑞恩痛得皱紧眉头，回答完便暂停了时间。

他本以为幻象会消失，可它只是变了个模样。从噩梦般扭曲的蕾恩，变成了一个全身黑衣的蒙面男人。

“找到你了。”

瑞恩推开动弹不得的夜魇，朝他脑袋连开两枪。

时间恢复流动，蓝系基因者的尸体撞在惊愕的妖姬身上，害得她被砺石绊了个踉跄，险些跌进旁边的瀑布。瑞恩一手按住大腿的伤口，另一只手举枪瞄准她。

“等等。”妖姬举起双手投降，哀求道。她身上的香气让瑞恩心里交织着欲望与不忍。“别杀我！我会好好报答你的！”

没错，她会属于他。他的心智、他的身体都在向他嘶吼这一点。瑞恩想要什么，她就会做什么；他只要放下枪，现在就占有她。“你叫什么名字？”快递员用枪指了指夜魇的尸体，问道，“他和你的名字。以后用得上。”

“理查德·平克曼，还有凯伦·里奇！”她强挤出一个笑容。“对，把枪放下，我来亲亲你的伤口——”

没等这个红发祸害继续诱惑，瑞恩便一枪打穿了她的脑袋。

“婚前不做爱。”水流把杀手们的尸体拖下瀑布，瑞恩还不忘说句俏皮话。“纯洁就是我的护盾！”

随后，瑞恩痛苦地叹了口气。夜魇的刀还插在肉里。哪怕有强化过的体质，拔刀也可能让他失血而死。至少在找到安全的地方之前，不能动它。

然而，他没有时间处理伤口。快递员听见南方远处传来一声爆炸。看来，尽管这位时间旅行者已经竭尽全力，原子猫还是在为自己的性命而战。

心跳声越来越响，吵得瑞恩几乎无法思考。他的心脏仿佛就要在胸腔里炸开，视野边缘也变得模糊。

“真令我刮目相看。”

普鲁托。

瑞恩立刻在黑暗中举枪，却找不到她。她躲在树后？瀑布下面？不，那是从很远的地方喊来的声音。

“以前还没人能在我们手下活这么久，至少没有援军的不行。”普鲁托短暂地沉默下来，瑞恩则努力循声寻找她的位置。“你就是快存，对吧？前些时候，我侄女还请我们别伤害你。”

“她也请我饶你一命。”瑞恩皱着眉回答。脑袋里心跳擂鼓似的，根本听不清！“说起来，有件事我一直想问，你单身吗？”

“我丧偶。”她回答，那语气让瑞恩拿不准她是不是在开玩笑。“怎么？”

也不知是信息素的余效，还是生命里缺了贾丝敏，又或者纯粹喜欢受虐，反正快递员就是忍不住要调情到底。“我们就不能学学贵族，用一场包办婚姻化解分歧吗？我发誓，你这辈子都不会遇到比我更棒的。”

“免了。”普鲁托公事公办地回答。“你的算盘实在太容易看穿。分头逃跑，好让我一次只能盯住你们中的一个。但就在我们说话的时候，麻雀正在追杀那个叛徒。你这点计谋什么也没改变。”

“你不知道猫吃麻雀吗？”瑞恩紧绷着神经，摇了摇头。眼下还没有灾祸降临到他头上，是因为普鲁托想找个听众，可她要是在这个距离全力发动能力，会发生什么，他心里完全没底。“你对动物王国一无所知。”

“我从远处研究过你身上的标记，很奇怪。仿佛它还连接着另一个，远远超出了我的触及范围。一个我的诅咒无法碰到的宇宙。”她的声音越来越近。“你其实不在这里，对吧？你只是个投影。就算我的灾厄杀了你，你也会再冒出来。”

“说真的，我不觉得地球受得了两个我。”至少这意味着，普鲁托虽然现在能杀死瑞恩，也能在往后的循环里追踪他，却没法让快递员永久死亡。这个消息让他松了口气。

现在，只要能确认消除者也是一样，那就完美了。

“你为了活命拼得这么凶，就说明哪怕你能恢复，也依然要付出代价。”二当家一针见血地说。“别插手，快存。我兄弟要他的教子为背叛偿命。他并不在乎你。你只需要……睁一只眼闭一只眼。”

“抱歉，你太穷，付不起我的价。”

“那就去死。”

普鲁托将诅咒的全部力量倾泻在他身上，世界为之震颤。

字面意义上的。脚下的大地震动，狂风穿过树林。树叶朝他飞来，瑞恩还没反应过来，就被它们像剃刀一样割开衣服和皮肤。快递员手中的枪发出不祥的声响，树枝以标枪般的速度朝他坠落。

瑞恩赶紧暂停时间，躲开这些飞射而来的东西，将枪扔了出去。再晚一点，里面的火药就要炸开了——枪还在半空便炸得粉碎。

“我看明白你的能力了。”时间恢复流动，瑞恩听见普鲁托在嘲讽他。“你能冻结时间几秒钟。五秒？也许十秒？你能切断因果的流动，从我的诅咒下获得片刻喘息，但在这个距离，你躲不过一切。总有一次，你会失手。最终，你会死。万物都会死。”

瑞恩刚张嘴想妙语回敬，就被什么东西从背后逮住了。树上一根形如绞索的枝条套住他的脖子，把他吊离地面，越勒越紧。与此同时，夜魇的刀自行移动起来，像被无形的手握着一样，在他的血肉中钻行。

距离近到这种程度，普鲁托的诅咒已经彻底扭曲了现实。它让世界本身都想要瑞恩死。

更糟的是，快递员听见远处响起一声枪响。普鲁托决定用老派的办法，送他快点上路。

瑞恩匆忙暂停时间，总算折断了困住自己的树枝，又拔出夜魇的刀，在它钻进要害前扔到一旁。他移动时看见普鲁托的子弹凝固在半空，弹道明显已经拐了弯，直指快递员的脑袋。

要用毛绒玩偶吗？不，风险太大。如果普鲁托的能力也能影响它，后果可能远不止倒戈攻击瑞恩那么简单。

快递员刚躲开子弹的路线，时间才恢复流动，他就险些绊倒，差点在一块大石头上撞碎脑袋。他的动作慢了下来，心脏跳得太快，连强化过的身体也承受不住血液的流速。

哔。

瑞恩听见一个熟悉的声音从西装里面传来。

原子弹！

操，操，操！普鲁托的能力把杀他放在第一位，根本不管会造成多大的附带损害！

别无选择，瑞恩暂停时间，从衣服里拽出装置，赶紧动手拆弹。幸好，时间异常抵消了招致灾厄的力量，他成功拆下了引爆器。

然而，时间恢复流动时，他已经毫无防备。

脚下地面塌陷，将他拖进河里，冲下小瀑布。在撞上下方一块大石头之前，瑞恩勉强用双臂护住了头，但他身后的部分天然岩体也跟着塌了下来。一堆碎石将他胸口以下彻底掩埋，压碎了双腿。

一道孤零零的黑影出现在瀑布顶端，居高临下地俯视着他。他仅剩的力气，只够抬起头。

“你就到此为止了，快存。”普鲁托站在高处，举枪瞄准他。此刻两人相距不超过十五米。“我会告诉我侄女，你已经尽力了。”

“我……”瑞恩嘶声说，水位不断上涨，眼看就要将他淹死。“会……回来的……”

“那你回来多少次，我就杀你多少次。”

“不，你休想！”普鲁托和瑞恩同时转头。菲利克斯从树林里现身，手里握着一件已被他灌注了爆炸力量的武器。

熊猫战车上那只熊猫玩偶！

好！瑞恩心想，碎石把肺压得太紧，他说不出话。使用力量！使用熊猫之力！

“吃我这招！”菲利克斯怒吼，准备把手中的投掷物扔向面无表情的普鲁托。

快递员感觉到死亡诅咒的压力消失了。它换了目标，转向菲利克斯。

就在年轻英雄扔出武器的那一刻，树枝和叶片如雨般从背后打在他身上。两根木矛贯穿了他的右腿和肩膀。菲利克斯倒下了，树叶则在半空击中熊猫玩偶，让它在安全距离外爆炸。

普鲁托还能用能力防御？

“麻雀在哪儿？”库伊拉平静地问，掸了掸裙上的灰。小猫咪英勇的反击，效果恰好为零。

“死了。”菲利克斯痛得声音都在发狠。树枝化成的长矛将他钉在地上，他的血混进水里，一同跌下瀑布。“趁她不备……炸死了。”

普鲁托的脸色愈发阴沉，举枪瞄准小猫咪的脑袋。“她是个忠心耿耿的战士。”她说着，朝他迈近一步。诅咒加强，开始攻击菲利克斯的要害，他咳出了血。“我侄女实在是瞎了眼，才会看上你。”

不能就这样结束！

这一轮……开局那么顺利，他已经取得了那么多进展……瑞恩眼看就能打破自己的诅咒，解开带人跨越循环的秘密了。不能就这样结束，付出了这么多，怎么能！

上帝用一声猫叫，回应了他无声的祈祷。

普鲁托还没开枪便停住了：一个白毛团蹦出树林，径直来到菲利克斯面前。小动物在原子小猫正前方坐下，用那双可爱的眼睛望着普鲁托。

欧仁-亨利！

“这是什么……”普鲁托脸上那副百无聊赖的职业神情，变成了隐约的恐惧。再没有木矛或树叶落下来，给她的猎物最后一击。事实上，四周似乎有一缕缕黄色能量在闪动，仿佛有什么东西正在对抗这位二当家的力量。“这是什么东西？”

还有一个人跟在猫后面穿过了树林。那是个容貌出众的年轻女人，发丝明亮如阳光，一身装束优雅至极，手持一把镀金的枪。

福尔图娜。

谁能想到，赶来救援的偏偏是福尔图娜。一个活生生的幸运符。

更妙的是，她的能力似乎足以干扰普鲁托，让灾厄和心脏病都没能结果她弟弟的性命。一团金色云雾如光环般笼罩着福尔图娜，也因为距离足够近，护住了菲利克斯。

“教母……”她皱眉说道，随即看见弟弟，立刻冲到他身边。“菲利克斯！菲利克斯，你还好吗！”

“福尔图娜。”普鲁托眉头紧锁，枪口仍对着菲利克斯。“你本该和莉维娅待在一起。”

“我……我想跟上——”福尔图娜看见瀑布下的瑞恩，震惊地睁大了双眼。“瑞恩？！”

快递员想抬手朝她挥一下，身体却不听使唤。普鲁托的死亡诅咒不再针对他，水位已经降下去，不会再淹死他，可他的身体依然被压在碎石下，伤痕累累，血流不止。他根本无力干预。

福尔图娜惊恐的目光从瑞恩移到菲利克斯身上，迅速想明白了一切。“不……”

“你父母已经同意了。”普鲁托说，仿佛读出了幸运女孩的心思。“这件事特意交给我，就是为了不让你弄脏自己的手。”

“可是……”福尔图娜哽住了，努力想把话说完整。“这不可能！”

“他背叛组织，投靠了嘉年华。”普鲁托坚持道，菲利克斯迟迟没死，让她越来越不耐烦。“现在让开。这件事必须做。”

福尔图娜无声地做出了决定，惊慌从脸上褪去，化为怒容。

“教母。”福尔图娜举起自己的枪，瞄准普鲁托的头，同时迈步挡在杀手和菲利克斯之间。“离我弟弟远点。”

要不是她平时那么烦人，瑞恩说不定当场就会爱上她。

“你也要当叛徒？”普鲁托怒视着姐弟俩。“你们两个，把父母的脸都丢尽了。”

“离我弟弟远点！”福尔图娜又说了一遍，扣在扳机上的手指颤抖着。“我……我不会犹豫的！”

两个女人彼此怒视，气氛愈发剑拔弩张。“福尔图娜，不……”菲利克斯惊恐地瞪大双眼，哀求道，“不，别……”

“舍不得棍棒，”普鲁托说着，平静地把枪口对准福尔图娜，死亡诅咒也找到了新的目标。黄色能量丝缕包围了福尔图娜周身的云雾，仿佛即将落在盾牌上的长矛。“就会宠坏孩子。”

两声枪响回荡在森林中，随后，一片寂静。