Chapter 428: The Effect of the Desire Candy

Chapter 428: Chapter 428: The Effect of the Desire Candy

Meanwhile.

In an independent suite in the upper section of the Central Base’s underground area—one whose luxurious decor was starkly out of place with the simple, practical collective dormitories surrounding it.

Ethan Soto clutched his left eye, now swollen into a black eye. Snot and tears streamed down his face as he threw himself at the feet of a woman. She was fashionably dressed and well-maintained, but her eyes held a cruel, sharp look.

"Sis! You have to stand up for me! I got beaten up!

Right at the base entrance! They hit me so hard! Look at my eye! I almost went blind!"

Ethan Soto recounted the incident with dramatic sobs, heavily embellishing the details. Of course, in his version of the story, he had only wanted to "kindly inquire about the newcomers’ vehicle."

But in return, he was beaten without provocation by "unreasonable thugs who were just flaunting their little bit of strength."

He even claimed that "those two, Brandon Barton and Victor Sharp, took their side and helped those outsiders bully me!"

"What?!" Megan Soto, Ethan Soto’s older sister, shot to her feet and slammed her hand on the table, her shapely brows furrowing in anger.

"This is outrageous! What kind of savages just waltz into the base and dare to hit my brother?! And Brandon Barton, Victor Sharp... they work for Gordon Chandler, don’t they? Good! Just great! This is a slap in our face!"

She gently stroked her brother’s swollen eye, her own eyes burning with Fury. "Don’t you worry, Ethan. I’ll get justice for you! They’re just a few newcomers, a bunch of country bumpkins, and some arrogant fools who don’t know their place, right?

I’m going to find your brother-in-law right now! Let’s see who dares to protect them!"

Seeing his sister, Megan Soto, so livid and vowing to get revenge on his behalf, Ethan Soto felt a smug satisfaction.

’As long as I can handle this doting sister of mine, who actually has some sway with her husband,’ he thought, ’it’s like having a master key and a sturdy Shield here in the Central Base.’

Though waves of pain still throbbed from the hand covering his eye, they were overshadowed by a twisted sense of glee.

’Just you wait... For this one punch, I’ll make you pay it back ten, a hundred times over!

Especially that hand of yours...’

All sorts of dark, vengeful thoughts flashed through Ethan Soto’s mind, but his face remained a mask of aggrieved pain.

...

Back on Seraphina Sullivan’s side, she really hadn’t given a second thought to a spoiled bully like Ethan Soto, who just threw his connections around.

In her eyes, his type was little more than a parasite clinging to the massive body of the base.

Annoying, yes, but as long as she was strong enough and handled it properly, he couldn’t cause any real trouble.

The ones to truly be wary of were "Players" like Connor Webb—those with bizarre abilities, no moral compass, and who were potentially involved in some higher-level game.

Their livestock area wasn’t completely isolated.

Nearby, there were other officially established farms and experimental plots.

Seraphina Sullivan observed her surroundings with curiosity and soon understood how these surface-level farms had been maintained during the previous extreme cold disaster.

In several large greenhouses not far away, covered in a transparent, high-strength material, the floors and walls were embedded with a vast number of crystals that emitted a soft, orange-red glow.

The light from these crystals wasn’t harsh, but they continuously released a comfortable warmth, keeping the interior of the greenhouses within a temperature range suitable for life.

"Are those... Warm Crystals?"

Seraphina Sullivan recognized the resource, which had been quite precious during the extreme cold period.

Back when she had dealt with the Splitting Demon Rabbits in the Vorlag Safe Zone, the reward offered by the safe zone had been a single Warm Crystal.

But the number they gave out back then was limited. Here, however, the Central Base was so extravagant that they could use a massive number of Warm Crystals to build greenhouses and maintain surface-level farming!

’The Central Base... they really are ridiculously wealthy, with such deep reserves,’ Seraphina Sullivan mused.

It was another sobering reminder that personal hoarding and effort still seemed insignificant in the face of resource mobilization and accumulation on the level of the state.

This gave her a more direct understanding of the base’s level of technology and material reserves.

’The extreme heat disaster is coming soon,’ Seraphina Sullivan mused. ’These Warm Crystal greenhouses will probably have to be upgraded or retrofitted, or they’ll need to find other cooling methods. Since we’re living here, we also need to prepare the Four Seasons Deer for the extreme heat in advance.’

She wasn’t too worried, however.

The Four Seasons Deer had earned their name precisely because they possessed the Special Ability to adaptively change their forms in response to seasonal and environmental shifts.

In extreme cold, they could transform into their "Winter Form," growing thicker fur and adjusting their metabolism to effectively resist the severe cold.

Theoretically, then, when faced with extreme heat, they should also be able to switch to some kind of "Heat Resistance Form" or regulate their body temperature in other ways.

As long as the environment didn’t become instantly, destructively extreme, the Deer Herd had its own innate adaptability.

Just then, Sean Chandler, who had been standing silently guard by her side, finally spoke, his voice steady. "About that man, Connor Webb... how should we deal with him?"

Seraphina Sullivan turned her head to look at Sean Chandler.

The Sean Chandler of today was indeed subtly different from before.

It wasn’t a change in his appearance or demeanor, but a deeper sense of absolute reliability that stemmed from a soul contract.

This reliability even surpassed the compulsory Control brought by the [Spirit Mutation Spider Silk] before.

This was all thanks to the [Desire Candy] she had obtained in the "Divine Kingdom of Sweet Dreams."

After returning from the Divine Kingdom of Sweet Dreams and raising her own Level to 4, Seraphina Sullivan had been secretly worried about one thing.

If Sean Chandler were to enter another dungeon and obtain some item or Ability that could resist or remove Mind Control, it would be a huge hidden danger.

She needed a more stable, more fundamental guarantee.

And so, following Eureka’s hint, she had eaten the [Desire Candy] one quiet night with a clear and specific wish in her heart.

"My wish is... for Sean Chandler to become my absolutely reliable partner, one who will never betray me."

Perhaps the tranquility of the night really did increase the success rate, or perhaps her powerful intent and clear focus played a role, or maybe... some quality within her had created an unknown resonance.

In any case, for once, her wish had actually come true—a rare occurrence for someone as notoriously unlucky as her!

The Desire Candy transformed into a strange, gentle Power that delved deep into the soul, rather than crudely erasing Sean Chandler’s will or reinforcing the Mind Control.

Instead, in a way that Seraphina Sullivan couldn’t yet fully comprehend, it had constructed a deeper bond of loyalty between them, one based on some "concept" or "rule."

This bond seemed to be rooted in the very essence of Sean Chandler’s being. It made him genuinely accept Seraphina Sullivan’s leadership from the bottom of his heart, viewing her as the core he must absolutely obey and protect. The thought of betrayal became nearly impossible, and the bond was immune to being broken by external forces.

At the same time, it preserved his independent thought, combat style, and potential for growth.

Now, Sean Chandler was like Seraphina Sullivan’s sharpest, most resilient sword and Shield, no words needed.