Inside the underground laboratory, besides Miranda's various experiments and records, one person was held captive.
That person was the missing Mia.
According to the conversation, after Miranda kidnapped her, she was locked here and subjected to experiments.
After all, Rose was born to her and Ethan, and Miranda had not killed Ethan before to gather information, and the same applied to Mia.
"You promised! You said you'd keep us safe! We did everything you said. Moved here, everything!"
"As long as the whole family could be together, I didn't care about any of that! You tell me, where is my husband? Where are my children?"
Mia asked Chris loudly.
"Ethan... he's gone." Chris lowered his head, full of guilt. "I couldn't save him, but I can still save Rose."
"Gone? What do you mean?"
"He's dead, I'm sorry Mia, but we have to leave quickly. We have to destroy this village." Chris didn't look at Mia's face.
But Mia just shook her head. "No! You're mistaken... I wanted to keep it a secret, but... you really don't understand how special Ethan is."
Ethan? Special!?
Hearing Mia's words, Ben in the game was stunned, and at this moment, the camera instantly switched to Ethan's perspective.
Ethan, who should have been dead, slowly opened his eyes. He was now in a world of ice and snow.
The biting cold invaded his body, making him shiver.
"What's going on?" Ethan, who had woken up, looked at his hands and was stunned himself.
Because his left hand, where two thumbs should have been broken, had miraculously healed.
And at that moment, he heard laughter coming from the mist.
Ethan, stiff all over, stood up and stumbled forward.
"Is anyone there?"
White snow, a bone-chilling river nearby. Following the river upstream, Ethan rubbed his hands, shivering from the cold.
"Where is this... so cold... huff... too cold."
The biting cold made it almost impossible for Ethan to move, his whole body frozen.
"Damn it... my body..."
His foot slipped, and Ethan fell to his knees, gasping for breath.
"You really are... stupid." A little girl's voice sounded in his ear as if in a daze.
The familiar voice instantly brought back Ethan's memories. He trembled and looked up sharply, then saw a shocking sight.
"Evelyn! What are you doing here?"
A little girl walked out of the mist, it was Evelyn, the final boss from the previous game.
"You are already dead." Evelyn said coldly.
"Dead? You mean... Miranda... was it her?" Ethan couldn't believe it and remembered that Miranda had dug out his heart.
But even so, Ethan had one persistent thought. He struggled to get up.
"No... I still need to save... Rose."
But the next second, Evelyn's words stunned Ethan and Ben in the game.
"Wrong! It wasn't Miranda, you... were already dead."
What did she mean? Ethan was already dead? Miranda didn't kill him?
Ben was completely confused, not understanding Evelyn's words at all.
Ethan was equally full of questions. "What are you talking about? I'm still fine..."
"Don't you find it strange? No matter how you get hurt, you don't fear it? Remember..." Evelyn asked a question that puzzled Ethan and all the players.
That's right!
Why wasn't Ethan afraid of getting hurt no matter what?
As Evelyn spoke, scenes flashed through Ethan's mind.
Coming to Louisiana, entering the Baker family's farm, encountering a crazed Mia, and then being punched down by Jack Baker.
At the same time, Evelyn's voice sounded.
"Three years ago, at the Baker's house, you were already killed. You died there, three years ago."
Ben in the game was completely bewildered.
What was going on?
Ethan had been dead for a long time?
Then how did Rose come about? And isn't Ethan fine right now?
What was going on?
Ethan seemed to realize something but still refused to believe it.
"That, that's impossible... it can't be..."
"Don't talk nonsense... in my head."
"Then... what am I...?"
"I, all the things I did... Rose... Mia... I..."
Ethan slowly got up from the ground, only to find with horror that his hands had begun to turn black.
Just like the mold creatures he encountered on the Baker farm.
"Do you understand now? You are mold from head to toe! You can never see your family again." Evelyn said.
"Family? Home, family?"
"No... Rose... I... still... need to... save... my... child."
Scenes from his memory replayed before Ethan's eyes.
Escaping from the farm in Louisiana.
Moving away with Chris's help and undergoing military training.
Having his child Rose with Mia.
The two of them having a warm dinner at home, telling fairy tales to put Rose to sleep.
None of this was his hallucination; it had all really happened.
At this point, Ethan understood why Mia had seemed hesitant to speak to him before.
Mia had actually known for a long time.
But Mia was still by his side, she was still his wife.
And Rose was still his child.
Even though he had been dead for a long time, even though he was just a mold creature with consciousness.
But he was still a husband, a father.
"Already dead... dead...!" Evelyn's mocking words echoed in Ethan's ears.
"I... will... save... Rose!" Ethan stood up with his immense willpower, speaking word by word with all his strength.
At the same time, the black mist in the distance was dispelled by the blinding sunlight.
When Ethan woke up again, he was on a moving carriage.
"You're finally awake." A familiar voice said.
The Duke, the mysterious fat merchant, seemed to have saved Ethan.
"Ethan, you had a nightmare. Your fight with Heisenberg was amazing, but who would have thought Miranda would show up..." the Duke said.
"How long was I unconscious?" Ethan asked.
"Until dawn." the Duke replied.
Looking at the Duke driving the carriage, Ethan took a deep breath. "Duke, I need your help. Take me... take me to Miranda."
Upon hearing Ethan's request, the Duke smiled. "I knew you'd say that. We're already on our way, we'll be there soon."
"Thank you."
"But Ethan, are you really going? Your body is... well, is falling apart." The Duke's words were cut short.
But at this moment, Ben, as the player, had already guessed what the Duke meant.
Just like Arthur Morgan leaving the clinic in Red Dead Redemption: Redemption, even though the game wasn't over, the ending seemed to have been told to the player.
"Yes." Ethan looked down at his hand, filled with resolve.
"We've arrived. Ethan, I'm afraid you can no longer return to your old world... Are you ready?"
"Yes, I have to go." Ethan got off the carriage.
"This is your last chance, Ethan." The Duke, with his usual kind smile, opened the door to his shop.
He sold everything he could, stocking up all his weapons and equipment.
Ethan stumbled towards the altar.
Going and not returning? Then not returning!
(End of chapter)
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