Chapter 460: Arriving at Shelter 3

Chapter 460: Chapter 460: Arriving at Shelter 3

And the Effect was clearly significant. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been enraged to this degree!

Dr. Ford clutched the data case to his chest, tears welling in his eyes as he murmured, "It’s effective... It’s really effective..."

But his survival instincts spurred him into action.

Chet Lucius grabbed his weapon and essential pack.

Flora Sullivan scooped up Sharon Lynn. Without a single wasted word, the five of them followed closely behind Seraphina Sullivan, bursting out of the laboratory and hurtling down the stairs.

Outside, the blizzard still raged, and visibility was near zero.

But Seraphina Sullivan, relying on memory and her sense of direction, led the group through sheltered, leeward paths, desperately making their way toward the city’s edge and the highway beyond.

Far behind them, the sounds of the sky-borne battle between the Armored Stegosaurus projection and the giant ice moth, Komora, grew both more intense and more distant.

Just as they finally broke free of the city ruins and set foot on the familiar, ice-covered, dilapidated highway, a long, piercing shriek tore through the air from behind them. It was a sound filled with pain and fury, but also with the unmistakable ring of victory.

It was followed by the muffled boom of something immense crashing to the ground.

The battle was over.

The Armored Stegosaurus projection was, in the end, merely a construct of Energy. After a grueling battle, the enraged Komora had crushed it, and it dissipated into the blizzard.

Seraphina felt a faint cooldown pulse from the [Sword Dragon Bow], but she remained unfazed.

It had always been a delaying tactic. The fact that it allowed them to escape safely meant it had served its purpose.

Komora may have won, but its head was injured, and it had been injected with a large amount of toxins and disruptive Energy. It would surely need time to recover and cleanse itself.

It probably wouldn’t give chase for a while.

"Keep moving! Don’t stop!" Seraphina urged.

The five of them didn’t dare to pause for even a moment. They followed the highway toward Shelter Three, beginning another arduous trek through the blizzard.

Behind them, the frozen city and the enraged Snow Queen were gradually swallowed by the swirling snow.

They had survived a harrowing clash with a Cataclysm-Class Monster and a life-or-death escape.

A week later, after enduring countless hardships and fending off smaller monsters and the severe weather, Seraphina Sullivan’s party...

...finally saw it on the distant horizon: a silhouette outlined by high Walls, towers, and searchlights, a symbol of safety and order—

Inland Shelter Number Three was just ahead.

He gazed at the towering, sturdy perimeter Wall in the distance, constructed from reinforced concrete and new composite materials.

He saw the silhouettes of soldiers patrolling atop the Wall and the slowly rotating beams of the watchtower searchlights.

Hot tears instantly welled up in Dr. Ford’s eyes.

’This journey... it’s been so long, so arduous.’

’From the initial escape to the desperate, frozen wasteland created by the Cataclysm-Class Monster, Komora...’

’Then the impromptu research, crafting a weapon, the harrowing fight, and the desperate escape...’

’If it weren’t for these young people beside me, Chet Lucius and Seraphina Sullivan, with their extraordinary Abilities and unwavering determination...’

’And Sharon Lynn, who always managed to bring a bit of warmth and comfort...’

’I never would have made it here alive with this research, which concerns the very future of humanity.’

Chet Lucius gently set Sharon Lynn down from his back.

For more than a week, to make better time, the physically weaker members—the child and the old man—had often taken turns being carried.

Sharon slid obediently from Chet’s back. Her small face was rosy from the wind, but her big eyes were exceptionally bright as she stared intently at the Shelter ahead.

"Thank goodness... Thank goodness... We finally made it..."

Sharon Lynn murmured to herself, her voice full of relief at having reached their destination, but it was quickly overshadowed by a new worry.

"I wonder... I wonder about my mom and dad... how they are..."

Her voice faded, and her small hands clenched the hem of her jacket.

’She was afraid she wouldn’t find her parents inside the Shelter. She was afraid that, like the others on the plane, they had already been lost to the disaster.’

Seraphina patted her shoulder, her voice calm but firm:

"Don’t overthink it. We’ll find out once we’re inside. We’ll get our answers then."

She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

’This "Monster Apocalypse" dungeon has taken far longer than any previous one—over a month in total.’

’And the entire time has been filled with a sense of oppression and powerlessness.’

’Faced with Cataclysm-Class Monsters that can level cities at a whim, an individual Player’s Power is insignificant. A head-on confrontation is impossible.’

’My journey this time wasn’t so much a fight as it was a desperate struggle for survival in the margins—escorting key personnel while completing whatever research and counter-attack attempts were possible.’

’On top of that, I’ve had to constantly hide my Player identity from Sharon and Dr. Ford, carefully keeping up the "act." It’s been mentally and physically exhausting.’

"Let’s keep going," Chet Lucius said. He was clearly just as anxious to be done with it all. ’Just finish this damn escort mission, get the reward, and get out of this godforsaken place.’

The five of them rallied their spirits, straightened their travel-worn clothes, and walked toward the heavy, heavily guarded steel gates of Shelter Three.

However, before they could get close, searchlights from the watchtowers flanking the gate snapped on, pinning them in their blinding beams. A stern warning blared from a loudspeaker:

"Halt! You are approaching a military restricted zone! Do not come any closer without authorization! State your identities and your purpose!"

A squad of fully-armed soldiers in standard-issue combat fatigues rushed out from behind cover, their rifle muzzles aimed loosely in the group’s direction as they formed a defensive cordon.

Seraphina and Chet stopped in their tracks.

They keenly sensed that something was wrong with the look in the soldiers’ eyes.

It wasn’t just routine vigilance. It was mixed with a clear thread of hostility, scrutiny, and even... a kind of unspoken tension and suspicion.

Their fingers rested on their trigger guards, their bodies coiled and ready to react to any sudden development.

"Something’s definitely happened... inside the Shelter."

Seraphina said to Chet in a very low voice, her eyes warily scanning their surroundings and the soldiers’ positions.

"And the problem probably has to do with survivors entering the Shelter."

Chet Lucius nodded slightly in agreement.

He felt the same unusual tension in the air.

Flora Sullivan, however, tilted her head in confusion and whispered, "Huh? Aren’t we here for protection?"

"Why are they looking at us so fiercely?"

Just then, an officer who looked like a squad leader took a few steps forward. Maintaining a safe distance, he barked, "I repeat! State your identities, your point of origin, and your purpose for entering the Shelter!"

"These are extraordinary times. All applicants for entry must undergo strict screening and quarantine!"

Seeing this, Dr. Ford quickly stepped forward, trying his best to make his voice sound clear and earnest.