Chapter 466: Hope Continues

Chapter 466: Chapter 466: Hope Continues

The moment she chose to return.

The familiar sensation of weightlessness and spatial distortion enveloped Seraphina Sullivan once more.

The leaden sky above Shelter Number Three, the distant fortifications being reinforced, and the figures of Dr. Ford and Sharon Lynn—all of it faded before her eyes like an old ink painting, blurring and then vanishing completely.

The next moment, she felt solid ground beneath her feet again.

She heard the faint murmur of voices in the distance and saw the familiar interior of the RV.

She was back.

Back in the surface ranching zone of Azure Star Central Base—their temporary camp.

Seraphina Sullivan stood inside the RV and took a deep breath.

Flora Sullivan materialized beside her, a look on her small face suggesting she wasn’t quite ready for the adventure to be over.

"Boss, we just left like that. What do you think will happen to that world?"

Seraphina Sullivan glanced at her but didn’t answer.

She didn’t know.

’I just hope the people there can fight off the beasts.’

Seraphina Sullivan had no way of knowing.

But the story of that world hadn’t ended with their departure.

The very moment Seraphina Sullivan chose to return...

...the difficulty escalation for the "Monster Apocalypse" instance was fully unleashed.

「Three days later.」

The beast tide came as scheduled, but its scale was far beyond anyone’s estimation.

Not in the dozens, nor in the hundreds, but in the thousands.

Tens of thousands of beasts,

surging like a black tide from every direction toward the last remaining human settlements.

Shelter Number Three was one of their targets.

That day, the sky was obscured by the wings of flying Blight Beasts, and the earth trembled under the footsteps of terrestrial behemoths.

Countless people died in the first assault, the sturdy city walls crumbling like toy blocks under the impacts of the Calamity-class beasts.

But Shelter Number Three did not fall.

Because Dr. Ford’s Barrier Breaker Type I formula had already entered small-batch trial production.

When the first shells loaded with the special warheads detonated amidst the horde, and when those once-invincible Calamity-class beasts...

...let out cries of agony for the first time...

...and collapsed before human weaponry for the first time,

the survivors erupted in thunderous cheers.

The counterattack had begun.

The cost, however, was devastating.

Globally, over seventy percent of the Shelters were razed to the ground during the assault that followed the "difficulty escalation."

The flame of human civilization was nearly snuffed out.

Only a handful of Shelters—whether through geographical advantage, prior preparation, or the presence of certain exceptional individuals—

clung to survival on the brink of annihilation, managing to endure.

Shelter Number Three was one of them.

And amidst this cataclysm, an unassuming little girl began to shine with an unexpected brilliance.

Sharon Lynn.

During an attack where a Hyper-Beast infiltrated the Shelter, she was unfortunate enough to be caught in its attack range.

Everyone assumed she would suffer the same fate as previous victims: controlled by the bizarre creature, turned into a mindless puppet.

But she didn’t.

As the military researchers anxiously monitored her vital signs, ready to take extreme measures the moment she lost control, they discovered something incredible:

Sharon Lynn’s consciousness had not been erased.

On the contrary, in her struggle against the parasitic Hyper-Beast, she had, in a near-miraculous feat, withstood the psychic erosion and assimilated it.

The Hyper-Beast’s attempt at parasitism had failed, but some kind of connection was left behind.

The first words Sharon Lynn spoke upon waking left every researcher in the room stunned:

"That little bug... it’s talking to me."

After repeated tests and experiments, a paradigm-shifting conclusion was placed on Beau Soto’s desk:

During the parasitic process, the external Spirit Power from the Hyper-Beast had stimulated Sharon Lynn’s brain, accidentally unlocking a special region within it.

This region of her brain granted her an unprecedented Ability.

The ability to communicate with the beasts.

It wasn’t simple Mind Control, nor was it crude intimidation through force. It was a genuine, two-way "dialogue."

She could sense the emotions of the colossal beasts, understand their vague intentions, and even transmit her own thoughts to them under specific conditions.

The first test subjects were several small beasts, captured and on the brink of death.

Soothed by Sharon Lynn, they calmed from their Frenzy and even began accepting food from their handlers.

The second batch consisted of mid-sized Blight Beasts that had previously shown intense hostility toward humans.

They no longer attacked immediately. Instead, whenever Sharon Lynn was present, they would show confusion, hesitation, and even... a rare hint of docility.

When the news reached the Shelter’s leadership, a stunned silence fell over them.

Then, a bold plan was put on the table:

To find more "Awakeners" like Sharon Lynn.

If parasitism by a Hyper-Beast could unlock parts of the brain, and Sharon Lynn was the only successful case, it meant she must possess some kind of special potential.

A potential that might also exist within other survivors.

Especially among the children who had been protected through moments of extreme danger. ℯℯ𝑙.

The military began systematically screening all surviving children for any signs of a potential spiritual power awakening.

Simultaneously, the formation of a new unit began: the "Beast Tamer" squad.

Their goal was no longer simply to exterminate the beasts. It was to find those Blight Beasts that could be communicated with, tamed, or even turned, transforming them into a force to fight against their own kind.

It was an insane plan.

But in the desperate straits of the apocalypse, any glimmer of hope was worth pursuing with all their might.

Meanwhile, far away in another world, Seraphina Sullivan had no idea that the tearful little girl she had once protected was, in a way she could never have anticipated, becoming hope incarnate for that world on the brink of collapse.

Nor would Seraphina Sullivan ever know the deeper logic behind the "protection mission" the system had issued.

The Native People they were tasked to protect were never ordinary NPCs.

According to the system’s logic, every individual designated a "protection target" possessed a special kind of "potential."

This potential could be the brilliant mind of an expert like Dr. Ford, capable of producing vital research.

It could be someone with a Special Ability, like Sharon Lynn.

Or it could be a "latent seed," someone capable of awakening a Talent under extreme pressure.

The Player’s protection wasn’t about completing a simple escort mission.

It was about ensuring these "seeds" survived.

To let them take root and sprout in the apocalypse, eventually growing into great trees capable of changing the world.

Perhaps this was the true meaning behind the hidden quests, the seemingly useless "secret intel," and the sudden "beast tides."

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t know any of this.

Right now, she was standing in the ranching zone of the Central Base, watching a herd of Four Seasons Deer grazing peacefully in the distance. She was already scheming about her next move: finding Sean Chandler and having him help her open that "Special Storyline Treasure Chest."

The dungeon’s story had come to an end.

But the story of the real world was just getting started.