Chapter 114: Silent Hill

Silent Hill is a strange world.

It is shrouded in thick fog year-round, and the air is constantly filled with flakes that resemble volcanic ash but are not quite the same. The temperature is not much different from the outside world, yet there is an ever-present, eerie chill.

Gao Ning looked up at the sky; his view was obscured, and he could see nothing. However, a bizarre phenomenon had occurred. Two minutes ago, the sky had been pitch black, but after the car crash, it had brightened—this was absolutely irrational.

Silent Hill is remarkably quiet. Judging by the architectural style of the buildings and the shop signs along the streets, it matches the information he had: it has only been isolated for fifteen or twenty years. Before this, it must have been a necessary stop along the highway, once possessing its own prosperity. The streets were empty, echoing only with the sound of the wind.

Suddenly, a nimble figure darted across the street and quickly disappeared into a narrow alleyway. Gao Ning felt a stir in his heart, but he did not pursue.

Hearing the faint sound of a bell ringing in the air, the gates of the castle at Gao Ning’s waist swung open, and a large number of mobsters swarmed out. Gray trench coats, gray fedoras, neat three-piece suits, short, sharp daggers in sheaths at their left waists, and Chicago Typewriters held in their hands—everything about them signaled danger. The mobsters formed two rows, fifty men on each side.

During this time, Gao Ning had accumulated a significant force. Over more than six weeks, he had gathered over 300 mobsters. He sent out 100, while another 200 guarded the castle. Should any danger arise, they would simply open the windows and fire; a dense wave of bullets would ensure that any monster would be struck down on the spot.

A civil defense siren suddenly wailed in the air, and the pure white sky seemed to be stained by ink, darkening at a visible rate. This was true darkness; one could not even see one's own fingers.

Gao Ning stood quietly in place, flicked his lighter to ignite a cigarette, and exhaled a thin stream of white smoke. Moments later, bright lights pierced the darkness ahead. It turned out that each mobster carried a flashlight. Although the beam diameter was small, the intensity was immense; the intersection of 100 beams illuminated the surrounding area as if it were broad daylight.

Since he knew in advance that he was coming to Silent Hill, how could Gao Ning not have made preparations?

At that moment, a rustling sound emerged from all around, as if something was approaching rapidly, and in great numbers. Gao Ning snapped his fingers, and the mobsters acted instantly, forming a circular formation with their lights and gun barrels pointed outward, surrounding him.

As the beams hit the street, it became clear that it was filled with jet-black ghosts. Within their bodies, a red glow flickered, like magma flowing through their veins, and their skin looked as though it might burst at any moment. Their mouths were torn wide, emitting eerie hisses, their eyes fixed on Gao Ning as they struggled and writhed forward.

The mobsters remained expressionless and opened fire without hesitation.

*Rat-tat-tat-tat...*

After a metal storm, the ghosts fell to the ground screaming, their viscous black blood spilling out and emitting an indescribable stench. There were countless more emerging from the darkness.

If an ordinary person were to encounter this, they would likely be frightened into unconsciousness, but the mobsters had no concept of fear. Furthermore, their firearms were specially crafted; while the magazines were not infinite, their capacity was staggering. Gao Ning’s side maintained a purely defensive posture, yet they still decimated the ghosts.

In just a few minutes, the ground was littered with the fallen. Gao Ning raised his hand, and the firing ceased.

Under the illumination of the lights, Gao Ning discovered that the ghosts' wounds were healing at a slow pace. If left alone, they might be fully recovered in two or three hours. However, in front of Gao Ning, this recovery speed was far too slow. Two mobsters rushed out, used ropes to create a lasso, and dragged a ghost over from a distance.

Gao Ning looked at the repulsive creature and, after a moment of hesitation, tentatively placed his palm toward it. It turned out that the Red Alert interface was quite considerate; once the creature was within about 30 centimeters, a prompt appeared.

[Target detected. Recover it?]

Without a second thought, he tapped confirm. The ghost vanished instantly, and Gao Ning received an unexpected reward.

[Recovered unknown entity. Obtained one attack dog!]

Gao Ning raised an eyebrow, intrigued. These ghosts could actually be exchanged for attack dogs? Thinking of the attack dogs, he remembered the black bears that had been breeding out of control in the castle. That’s right, he should let them out. In the enclosed space of Silent Hill, this was the perfect place for the bears to vent their rage.

The mobsters continued to drag the ghosts to Gao Ning one by one. At first, Gao Ning had to reach out, but after becoming accustomed to it, he didn't even have to move his feet; as long as a ghost came within 50 centimeters, it would automatically disappear, and a new attack dog would appear behind him.

After a "production line" process, all the ghosts were cleared, and Gao Ning had gained over 30 attack dogs. He sent most of them into the castle, keeping only one by his side.

Gao Ning waved his hand, and the castle gates opened. Hundreds of black bears rushed out as if fleeing, charging directly into the darkness before scattering. Although he couldn't see them in the pitch-black environment, he could hear the heavy, elephant-like thuds of their footsteps fading away. A smile curled on Gao Ning's lips.

Silent Hill was about to get much livelier!

The mobsters automatically split up, following the bears in pairs to hunt. Gao Ning smiled, flicked his sleeves, sat on the ground, and stroked the smooth fur of the attack dog. Suddenly, two windows on his shoulders opened, and massive searchlights were pushed out, flooding the area with light.

Gao Ning was slightly surprised: "It seems the engineers have finished the power plant. Now I don't have to worry about the castle running out of power."

Previously, when building the power plant, he found it didn't take up much space; his internal castle could easily accommodate three or four. Moreover, electricity had countless uses, and with the aid of the engineers, there were no technical problems. It was a whim of his to build the plant directly inside his body, and the attempt had succeeded.

The next two hours were a time of harvest. During this period, mobsters continuously brought back all sorts of monsters from every direction: skin-wrapped creatures, oil-tank spitters, the nurse sisters, creatures bound in barbed wire, and even large-eyed monsters with skeletons for lower bodies and pilot uniforms for their upper halves—there were all kinds.

Thanks to these "kind-hearted" individuals, new unit types constantly emerged around Gao Ning. Conscripts and GIs were just the basics; there were Tesla Troopers, Brutes, Spies, Navy SEALs, Magnetic Soldiers, and Viral Snipers—everything was there. He even got a crocodile.

Gao Ning took stock and found that, aside from Chrono-units and other super-tech types, he had basically gathered them all. He was only missing Yuri clones and mining slaves. Although no buildings had appeared, Gao Ning was still ecstatic. The diversity of units meant he would have more ways to deal with problems.

He stored the precious units in the castle, and just as he was preparing to keep going, the sky began to brighten. Seeing the few remaining monsters he had dragged back turn to dust without resistance, Gao Ning knew the harvest was over.

Once the sky was fully bright, Gao Ning checked the map and notified all the mobsters to gather at the church entrance. He had mostly forgotten the specific plot of Silent Hill, but he remembered the key locations and the main character conflicts clearly. The "big boss" here should be the dark side of that girl. However, her power was too great; she had transformed Silent Hill into a bizarre realm all on her own. Dealing with her would likely not be easy.

He straightened his clothes, and the soldiers inside retracted the searchlights and closed the windows. Just as Gao Ning was about to leave, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw it was the police officer.

The officer had managed to catch Rose, handcuffed her, and was pushing her forward. Rose kept trying to explain something, but the officer remained unmoved. Under the shroud of fog, visibility in Silent Hill was very low. It wasn't until they were within 20 meters that the officer suddenly noticed a person standing ahead. She raised her gun sharply and shouted, "You there! Don't move! Hands up and get on your knees!"

How boring!

Gao Ning rolled his eyes, but before he could speak, both the officer and Rose looked alarmed.

"Behind you!" Rose shouted.

Gao Ning turned to see a monster wrapped in skin, walking with a twisted gait. It was one of those things—he had caught two last night, but they could only be exchanged for terrorists, which were useless. Gao Ning couldn't be bothered with it and blew its head off with a single shot.

The monster fell to the ground, spurting oily blood from its throat, and twitched a few times before going still. The officer was shocked, only then noticing that Gao Ning was holding a Magnum revolver. That thing had serious stopping power.

She aimed her gun at him again and shouted, "Drop the weapon!"

Rose said indignantly, "You should let me go! I already explained—I'm not a kidnapper, Sharon is my daughter!"

"Shut up!"

"You're the one who should shut up! We've already looked around; there's no way out of Silent Hill, and now there are monsters. This is a twisted place, and I have to save my daughter!"

The two were about to start arguing. Gao Ning glanced at them, couldn't be bothered to intervene, and turned to leave. As soon as he moved, the two women rushed forward simultaneously, blocking his path.

They stared at him intently. Rose said, "You're familiar with Silent Hill, aren't you? When the monster appeared, you remained calm; there wasn't a hint of surprise in your eyes. If you aren't desensitized, it means you've seen these things before, more than once, and you know they pose no threat to you."

The officer added, "You were heading straight for Silent Hill, and you were asking about two missing people at the gas station. Who exactly are you?"

Gao Ning paused and said, "So you two teamed up? You were acting just now? Interesting. You're overthinking it. This is my first time in Silent Hill, too, but my purpose is different from yours. I'm here to hunt!"

With that, Gao Ning brushed past the two women and strode away. They chased after him.

Rose cried out, "Help me find my daughter! You've seen her—she's a sleepwalker, and wandering around in this dangerous place, she's in grave danger. Please, I need your help!"

"Then you've asked the wrong person."

The issue of points had been resolved, and he could return at any time; Gao Ning didn't want to waste time on plot characters. Besides, her daughter was the big boss—she was safer than anyone else in Silent Hill. Rather than wasting effort searching, he should think of a way to sacrifice Alessa’s dark side to the Red Alert interface.

Having made up his mind, he didn't wait for them to ask further, and suddenly bolted. Before they could react, Gao Ning had vanished into the fog.

"Damn it!" The officer chased for a few steps, but found her vision completely blocked and had to give up. Rose took advantage of her distraction and ran in the opposite direction.

Gao Ning's plan was simple. According to the plot, dark Alessa’s power was immense; she had almost single-handedly created an alternate dimension, trapping all her enemies within it. She used monsters created from negative energy to torture them constantly, while the survivors could only fight back with prayer. Thus, the church was their only refuge.

If he blew up the church and exposed these enemies, it would surely attract dark Alessa. Then, his army of black bears would launch a charge, wipe out the ordinary people, and he would find an opportunity to reach dark Alessa.

Of course, a plan is just a plan, and the success rate was low. In truth, what Gao Ning coveted most was the alternate dimension itself, but his power wasn't enough to sacrifice it yet. If he could sacrifice the entire dimension, he figured all the buildings would be unlocked immediately.

The air-raid siren sounded again. A large number of survivors gathered from all directions, rushing into the church and praying incessantly under the leadership of a mysterious woman in a blue dress.

As the sky dimmed, Gao Ning stood on the church steps. Two Crazy Ivans walked back from either side of the church, wearing manic smiles and tossing bombs in their hands. Gao Ning reached out, pulled the Crazy Ivans back into the castle, and turned slowly.

In the silent space, the sound of a ticking second hand grew louder. As the light faded, the ticking accelerated. With a soft *click*, the church suddenly exploded.

A massive fireball shot into the sky, instantly shattering the large church. The shockwave rippled outward, crushing the newly appeared monsters into dust. A massive plume of smoke gathered under the illumination of the fire, gradually forming a small mushroom cloud.

As the heat wave washed over him, Gao Ning turned slowly. He narrowed his eyes at the strange girl crawling step-by-step out of the depths of the earth, surrounded by barbed wire in the ruins of the church.