Chapter 304: The Mysterious Woman with the Oil-Paper Umbrella, Mental Influence

Chapter 304: Chapter 304: The Mysterious Woman with the Oil-Paper Umbrella, Mental Influence

The branches of the giant tree writhed like living things.

They were tightly entangled with the body of the Titan Python. The two colossal monsters were locked in a silent struggle.

And directly above the heads of these two behemoths, the epicenter of a vast and highly corrosive acid rain cloud churned and roiled!

The acid rain had clearly been summoned or released by one of them.

Meanwhile, when Samson Sharp saw this, he felt as if his entire worldview had been shattered.

His legs grew weak, beyond his control.

His Talent was screaming wildly, warning him that the area ahead was an absolute death trap.

Samson Sharp’s voice trembled as he suggested, "I... We... shouldn’t we get out of here? Fighting something like that is just asking to die!"

In an inconspicuous corner of their small group, Charlotte Carter was huddled silently, her face still bearing the purple bruises from her earlier beating by Lily Holloway.

Her head was bowed, but her eyes held no fear of the giant beasts—only an impenetrable gloom and resentment.

Her gaze swept silently over everyone present like a viper’s, lingering especially on Brandon Barton and Heath Summers, her powerful "saviors."

...and Lily Holloway, who had stolen her spotlight and her support.

’Why don’t all these people just die?’ Charlotte Carter thought viciously.

’Why am I the only one who’s so weak?’

But remembering she still had to rely on these people to survive, Charlotte Carter hid her malice.

Victor Sharp watched the terrifying battle in the distance, a clash fit for mythical beasts.

Feeling the constant pressure on the Energy Shield as the acid rain continuously wore it down, he proposed in a grave voice,

"We can’t just stand here and take it. My Energy Shield can block the acid rain for now, but the spiritual power drain is immense. It won’t hold forever. We need to find a place with natural cover from the rain to conserve my strength."

"I agree." Brandon Barton took temporary command, his eyes scanning the surrounding terrain, which had been ravaged beyond recognition by the acid rain and the battle’s aftershocks.

"Everyone, spread out and look for a cave, a crevice, or any large abandoned structure we can use for shelter!"

Shielded by the Energy Shield, the group immediately began to anxiously scan their surroundings for a potential refuge.

"Look! Wh-what’s that?!" Lily Holloway suddenly pointed toward a relatively open area not far away, her voice filled with alarm.

There, a "black line" like a rising tide was rapidly spreading in their direction!

"It looks like..." Heath Summers squinted, trying to get a better look.

But before she could finish, Brandon Barton’s expression changed drastically. Without another word, he threw her over his shoulder and roared, "Don’t look! Run!!"

Before the words even left his mouth, he shot off like a cheetah.

Thanks to his Talent, he’d also acquired items that enhanced his vision, granting him extraordinary eyesight. That was why he instantly recognized what the black line was.

As they ran, the others finally saw the true nature of the "black line."

It was a flood of countless misshapen monsters of all shapes and sizes!

Irradiated hounds, many-legged centipedes, giant beetles, twisted crawlers... They seemed to have lost all reason.

With only madness and greed in their eyes, they ignored the corrosive acid rain and charged madly toward the two battling behemoths—or rather, toward the massive source of radiation!

Larry Olsen’s legs went soft with fear, his body trembling uncontrollably. "Oh my god! Wh-why are so many monsters gathering here?! Are they insane?"

Samson Sharp felt a similar horror as he sprinted along with the group.

’Could it be... that the contamination source for this world mission is just that attractive to these monsters? As if it has some kind of Magic Power?’

But this was no time to ponder the reason. Survival was all that mattered!

Relying on Victor Sharp’s Energy Shield, which had become somewhat unstable on the move, the group struggled to weave through the gaps between the acid rain and the torrent of monsters.

Finally, against all odds, they found the half-collapsed ruins of a concrete building and quickly ducked inside.

They had just caught their breath when Sean Chandler suddenly frowned. His nose twitched a few times, as if catching a subtle scent in the air.

He said in a low voice, "It’s not just monsters... I smell other ’people’ arriving."

As if to confirm his words, figures could be seen in the distance through the hazy curtain of rain. They were using various means to resist the acid rain as they converged on this location.

They were clearly Players, drawn to this core area by the guidance of the system map.

Among them, one figure was particularly eye-catching.

It was a woman in a vibrant red qipao, her graceful and enchanting figure looking utterly out of place in this desolate wasteland.

She held an antique-style oil-paper umbrella, its surface adorned with strange, dark patterns.

Tassels hanging from the edge of the umbrella swayed gently with her steps.

Her face was exquisitely beautiful, yet she exuded a demonic, enchanting Aura, like a poppy blooming in the dead of night.

The acid rain did no damage to the oil-paper umbrella in her hand.

It was obviously a special weapon or item.

The moment Samson Sharp laid eyes on this beautiful woman...

...he felt his mind go into a trance. The flash of red seemed to burn itself directly into the depths of his mind. His breath hitched, and his body instinctively wanted to step forward.

SLAP!

A crisp slap echoed.

"What did you hit me for?!"

Larry Olsen, who had already started to step forward, snapped back to his senses.

He clutched his stinging cheek and glared angrily at Charlotte Carter, who had suddenly slapped him.

But Charlotte Carter feigned fear, pointing at the downpour of acid rain outside the Energy Shield. "If I hadn’t slapped you awake, you’d have walked out there and been melted into a pile of bones by now!"

Heath Summers also stared grimly at The Woman with the Red Umbrella, her voice cold. "This woman is incredibly powerful! She can affect someone’s mind directly through Mr. Sharp’s Energy Shield!"

Only then did Samson Sharp gasp in belated realization, his back instantly drenched in a cold sweat.

If the sound of Charlotte Carter slapping Larry Olsen hadn’t snapped him out of it, he probably would have been Charmed just like Larry, unknowingly taking a step toward his own death.

The danger this suddenly appeared woman posed was likely no less than that of the monsters and behemoths outside!

The appearance of The Woman with the Red Umbrella was like a drop of water in a pot of boiling oil. She instantly drew the gazes of all the surviving Players and brought with her an invisible pressure.

It wasn’t just Brandon Barton’s squad. The other Players arriving from different directions, each seeking their own cover, also clearly sensed how strange and threatening this person was.

Sean Chandler’s nose twitched again, almost imperceptibly. He seemed to have caught an extremely faint, yet indescribable, scent from the woman—the scent of one of his "own kind."