Spain thought for a moment, contemplating for about half a minute before finally compromising and mentioning the name.

“You know what this thing is, right? Janet went to great lengths, fighting those monsters to acquire it.”

“Nemesis!”

Alexander was initially taken aback, for he had indeed heard of this name. Nemesis is the goddess of retribution in Greek mythology, also known as “the goddess of Rhamnous” (Rhamnousia/Rhamnusia), with her temple located in Rhamnous, north of Marathon. According to Hesiod's "Theogony," she was born of the night goddess Nyx and often served the goddess Hera. In English, the word also means "retribution."

“Goddess of Vengeance, Retribution, Arbiter, personified as a cold and unyielding goddess of vengeance, and the tape—what could its purpose be in all this?”

“‘Retribution,’ right, it’s retribution. If I’m not mistaken, it must be that.”

“G'harne, yes, it’s the one—the maleficent Outer God in the Cthulhu Mythos, appearing as a rust-red comet, drifting through the void and chanting a song akin to an air raid siren—the ‘Music of the Spheres.’ As it passes through the orbits of numerous celestial bodies, the sleeping Old Ones or alien gods residing there are awakened into action—the most common result being the annihilation of all other life on the celestial body, and in severe cases, the destruction of the body itself.”

Alexander, mimicking Xu Lin’s habit, bit his thumb and began to think.

“G’harne is a highly malevolent entity in the Cthulhu Mythos. Its appearance can trigger the revival of numerous evil gods. Originally, the gods could only awaken when ‘the stars aligned,’ but perhaps G’harne’s Music of the Spheres can achieve the premature release of these deities.”

“The tape—could it be a recording of G’harne’s Music of the Spheres? Damn, that would make it a terrifying tool capable of destroying this world.”

“Why do you look so distressed? Just how terrifying is this Nemesis?” Pete and Spain exchanged glances, sensing something ominous.

“In simple terms, it’s something that can directly destroy our world, hundreds of times more powerful than nuclear weapons,” Alexander explained the situation to them.

Kevin A. Ross’s Cthulhu novel, "The Music of the Spheres," describes the origin of this tape—it was a recording by several scientists at Miskatonic University who, upon finding G’harne, captured its radio signal, essentially the Music of the Spheres, a sound that could bring about world destruction, on a tape.

The Dagon cult in this world somehow got hold of this tape, presumably to awaken Cthulhu, who lies dreaming in R’lyeh.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“For some reason, someone doesn’t want this to happen. Naturally, it’s not to save the world but rather for personal desires. Perhaps they intend to use it for even greater evil…”

Alexander shook his head; he could somewhat guess the mastermind’s intent, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.

“So what do we do?” Pete and Spain continued to ask.

“It’s simple, retrieve that tape. Once you have it, you’ll have leverage to bargain with those pulling the strings…”

Alexander then outlined his plan to them.

“Is this plan feasible?” The two were skeptical.

“It might not be the best option, but it’s the most practical one right now.”

Alexander said seriously, “Innsmouth can’t be saved, but there are sure to be boats at the docks. We can seize the chance to leave. Only by retrieving the tape will you have the leverage to negotiate with the mastermind. Otherwise, even if we escape here, we’ll still be hunted down.”

Innsmouth was already doomed. Whether MJ-12, the mastermind, or the U.S. government itself, none would allow the “plague” and its hidden truths to be exposed. It was highly likely they would employ a powerful means to erase the town from the map completely.

“Fine! I think at this point, even if we escape the town, Janet will continue to hunt us. I’m fed up with being chased by that brat—it’s time to show him what we’re made of.”

Spain snorted coldly; as an ace sniper, this flight without a stance was intolerable.

Alexander finally breathed a sigh of relief. Without encountering Spain’s group, his plan wouldn’t have been so easy to execute.

“By the way, how did you manage to escape from the docks?”

He asked Spain a few questions.

“There’s a drainage pool near the docks connected to the town’s sewer system. My squad moved through the sewers.” Spain produced a military map and handed it to Alexander.

“So that’s it. I guess that explains how you managed to attack the club so stealthily!”

Alexander smiled to himself, realizing that entering the docks wasn’t a problem, but another challenge remained—dealing with Janet.

This guy could single-handedly storm the Dagon cult and take down a group of Deep Ones with powerful supernatural abilities. With just them and a few guns, that seemed nearly impossible!

“Have you noticed why Janet has become so powerful so quickly?”

Alexander wondered about questions he couldn’t figure out.

“Janet shouldn’t have been this formidable originally. If he had such strength from the start, he would have acted against the Dagon cult much earlier. His power must have a reason and a catalyst.”

Alexander believed that Janet’s “disguise” was a narrative device, a hidden clue in the script’s setting.

“Now that you mention it, it does seem odd. Our squad was hastily assembled, contrary to regulations. But given our unique nature, it wasn’t entirely out of the question.”

Pete suddenly recalled something: “Speaking of which, there’s one thing I noticed—every time Janet performs sorcery, he takes out a strange book, retrieved from a monster’s stomach in the club.”

“A book? What kind of book?”

“I don’t remember much, but it was filled with evil power.”

Pete shook his head; he had little memory of the book, only feeling an intense malevolent aura around it.

There were too many magical books in the Cthulhu Mythos for Alexander to identify, but a revelation struck him—everything began with that moment at the club.

(I finally understand why the main storyline changed, why the difficulty increased. The reason lies here…)

Originally, in the standard difficulty, Janet’s betrayal was probably supposed to occur in the final act. Here, however, because Janet unexpectedly obtained that magical book, his power surged, leading to later plot changes.