Chapter 295: Silver Special Treasure Chest

Chapter 295: Chapter 295: Silver Special Treasure Chest

Meanwhile, in a temporary cave hideout far away.

Simon Holt, deep in sleep, was violently jolted awake by a muffled yet incredibly piercing explosion!

The sound seemed to originate from deep underground, accompanied by a faint tremor in the earth.

"What’s going on?! What happened?!"

He shot up, the sudden movement pulling at his wounds. He grimaced in pain, but the mysterious explosion was far more alarming.

He glanced around in a panic.

He found that besides himself, the only other one in the cave was the large metal rooster, Chubbs. Seraphina Sullivan was gone.

A terrible thought instantly flooded his mind: ’Did... did she use the chaos of the explosion to abandon me, the dead weight?’

The thought sent a chill down his spine. He instinctively began to consider his chances of surviving alone, even wondering if he should take the opportunity to slip away.

However, he turned his head and met Chubbs’s completely emotionless eyes.

Chubbs had its head tilted, staring at him, immobile. Its posture was as if it were sizing up a... dish... that was about to be served?

Simon Holt: "..."

That stare instantly cooled his feverish thoughts.

He looked down at his own body, covered in bandages and difficult to move.

Then he sensed the faint, dangerous Aura coming from the outside world and sadly accepted a harsh reality.

With his meager strength, in this dangerous dungeon, leaving Seraphina Sullivan’s protection would likely mean getting snuffed out in the next second.

In fact... he might not even need the monsters outside to do the job. The formidable-looking iron rooster right in front of him could probably finish him off.

He swallowed hard and tried to communicate, his tone cautious. "Uh... Rooster... er, where’s your master? Where’d she go?"

Chubbs merely shot him a condescending glance.

A meaningless "GURGLE" rumbled in its throat, but it gave no other reaction, continuing to stand firm, blocking the way to the cave entrance.

Chubbs’s inner monologue: ’Bawk bawk, what a frail little chick. This great one has to babysit him.’

Seeing Chubbs’s "you shall not pass" stance and the undisguised disdain in its eyes, Simon Holt completely deflated and obediently shrank back into the corner.

Simon Holt: "..."

He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being looked down on by a chicken, and yet he had no way to argue back.

...

[Ding! Congratulations to the Player for completing Side Quest 2: Find a radiation source and dispose of it!]

[Reward: 1x Silver Special Treasure Chest has been sent to the Player’s Space. Please check for it.]

The crisp system notification echoed in her mind. Seraphina’s heart settled, knowing the side quest was finally, successfully completed.

A Silver Level Special Treasure Chest. The reward shouldn’t be too bad.

’Finally completed a side quest,’ Seraphina thought to herself.

However, another thought surfaced.

’I wonder if I find and destroy another radiation source, will the system still count it as completing the mission and give another reward? I’ll have to find another one to find out, though.’

Standing at the edge of the Holy Spirit Clan’s settlement, Seraphina looked at her "masterpiece" and nodded with satisfaction.

The soaring flames illuminated her face, and the pungent smell of gunpowder and radioactive dust filled the air.

"It seems the most direct method is sometimes the most effective," she couldn’t help but muse.

"A well-planned explosion can indeed solve most complex problems."

The information provided by Tex was key.

She had used her Concealment Ability to sneak in and plant the "fuse."

Then, coordinating with the small-scale riot created by Tex’s people to draw attention, she successfully detonated the explosives, not only destroying the cages but also completely burying the radiation sources.

The method was simple and crude, but highly effective.

This made Seraphina realize that her previous way of thinking was sometimes too caught up in the pursuit of "elegance" and "stealth."

She had overlooked this more direct way of breaking the deadlock.

Seraphina’s gaze shifted to Tex and her people, who were still shaken but had hope rekindled in their eyes.

"Thank you!" Tex stepped forward and bowed solemnly to Seraphina.

"Without your help and your Power, we could never have escaped that hell, much less destroyed this evil place."

"Don’t mention it,"

Seraphina waved her hand, her tone indifferent. "We both got what we wanted."

Tex looked at her exhausted but finally free people behind her, then glanced warily at the dark wilderness around them.

She said urgently, "Benefactor, we must leave this place as soon as possible. This isn’t the only Holy Spirit Clan settlement. The explosion and fire have likely attracted the attention of their other settlements, and they’ll send people to investigate soon. Besides, the wilderness at night is also full of threats from all kinds of mutated monsters..."

Her meaning was clear: she hoped Seraphina would continue to protect them for a while longer.

However, Seraphina cut her off directly:

"Then let’s part ways here."

Seraphina had already obtained the information she wanted and completed her mission. She had no obligation to continue acting as a bodyguard for these Crypt Folk.

Besides, rescuing them from those disgusting, pale, hairless men was already a favor.

Seraphina had her own missions. She wasn’t a nanny. Her goals were to survive for seven days, collect monster corpses, and explore as many areas as possible to gather resources and information.

Not to lead a group of liabilities on a long migration.

Tex opened her mouth, wanting to say more to try and keep this mysterious and powerful ally with them.

But looking at Seraphina’s calm yet distant eyes, she ultimately couldn’t bring herself to say it.

The night’s events felt like a dream. This woman, who had appeared so suddenly, possessed unbelievable Power, and was now leaving just as abruptly, had been shrouded in a veil of mystery from beginning to end.

Tex didn’t even know her name.

Seraphina didn’t linger. She turned and vanished crisply into the darkness, her figure disappearing in an instant.

’She has her own path to walk. Even if she helped these people, it would only be for seven days. What would happen after she leaves?’

’What would The Crypt Folk do then?’

’It’s better not to give them hope only to let them fall into despair. Best to nip it in the bud from the start.’

The path to survival for The Crypt Folk was one they would ultimately have to forge for themselves.

Seraphina quickly returned to the cave where she had been hiding.

Inside the cave, Simon Holt, long since woken by the explosion, was sitting restlessly.

Seeing Seraphina return safely, he visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

But he immediately couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked eagerly, "You’re back! What... what happened outside just now? I think I heard a huge explosion, and I used my Talent to check. The commotion seemed to be coming from the direction of that Native People’s settlement!"

Seraphina didn’t explain in detail, only saying succinctly, "I took care of a small problem. It’s not safe here anymore. We need to leave immediately and find a new place to hide."

Her tone was firm and left no room for argument.