Chapter 481: Control, Conspiracy

Chapter 481: Chapter 481: Control, Conspiracy

Simon Lewis scowled at the suddenly berserk giant ape, his eyes flashing with impatience.

"So damn noisy."

With a flick of his wrist, three Flying Knives transformed into streaks of cold light, shooting straight for the giant ape’s throat, eyes, and heart.

But in the next second—

The giant ape opened its mouth and violently spewed a huge cloud of thick, white mist!

The mist spread like a living entity, instantly blanketing the entire trading area in the blink of an eye!

"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!"

"What is this stuff?! I can’t see a thing!"

"Dammit! Is this mist poisonous?!"

The white mist reduced visibility to absolute zero.

Everything was a sea of white; you couldn’t even see your own hand in front of your face.

The sounds of frantic footsteps, curses, and collisions rose and fell. The already chaotic scene devolved into a mess of people stumbling around like headless chickens.

Connor Webb was also fumbling his way backward through the mist.

He couldn’t see a thing, relying solely on his memory of the layout to move.

’What a pain... I should get out of here first... The item is still there, so I’ll just come back for it later...’

Before he could finish the thought, he suddenly felt something brush past him.

’Was that the wind?’

’Or...’

Connor Webb’s heart clenched, but he quickly relaxed.

’What’s there to be afraid of?’

’I have several lives.’

’Even if someone did ambush me, dying once is no big deal.’

With that thought, he continued to feel his way forward.

But what he didn’t know was,

three meters behind him, a figure stood in complete silence.

Seraphina Sullivan.

The instant the white mist descended, she had made her move.

Using the [Transformation Ring]’s Aura Transformation, no one could quickly detect her movements.

After applying the [Invisibility Sticker], her form vanished completely into the mist.

With the two items combined, she was now a true "Invisible Man."

She stood in the mist, looking toward Simon Lewis.

Her [Eye of Resume] pierced through the white mist, precisely locking onto the coordinates of the Hound’s leader.

Simon Lewis was coughing in the mist.

The white mist wasn’t toxic, but it was so thick that inhaling it was unpleasantly choking.

He coughed and cursed under his breath, trying to clear a path with his Flying Knives, but he couldn’t see a thing and could only feel his way forward based on memory.

Just then, a cloyingly sweet fragrance, a stark contrast to the white mist, wafted into his nostrils.

The fragrance was too strong, far too potent to belong in the white mist.

It was like the sweetest candy, the most fragrant pastry, making one who smelled it want to... relax, indulge, and obey...

Simon Lewis’s pupils contracted violently!

’Something’s wrong!’

He had survived countless life-or-death situations; his instinct for danger was sharper than anyone’s.

’This fragrance is definitely not right!’

But before he could react,

Seraphina Sullivan’s [Sweet Fragrance] Skill had already activated.

An upgraded version, at that.

After returning from the monster apocalypse, Seraphina Sullivan had gotten three [Skill Upgrade Cards] from a Treasure Chest.

Two went to her [Scavenger’s Farm], making the pocket Space even larger.

Seraphina Sullivan chose to use the last one on [Sweet Fragrance].

Now, the Effect of [Sweet Fragrance] was a whole level stronger than before.

The Control duration was longer, and its hold was stronger.

The cloying fragrance silently seeped into Simon Lewis’s senses.

Bit by bit, it began Softening his vigilance, bit by bit, it blurred his hostility...

The look in Simon Lewis’s eyes began to lose focus.

He stood in place, immobile.

Seraphina Sullivan’s voice sounded in his ear.

It was soft and gentle, as if coming from far away.

"Simon Lewis, listen to me..."

In the white mist, a silent Control was quietly taking place.

...

"BOOM—!"

With a deafening boom and a piercing shriek, the giant ape that had been on a destructive rampage crashed to the ground!

Its head had been precisely pierced by a beam of light. The massive body twitched a few times, then fell completely still.

The white mist slowly dissipated, revealing Nicholas Jensen standing amidst the ruins.

He wore a pair of oddly shaped sunglasses, their lenses swirling with complex Energy patterns.

Several bizarrely shaped weapons floated beside him.

A floating cannon barrel, a suspended sharp blade, and a slowly transforming mechanical arm.

Clearly, he was the one who had dealt with the giant ape.

Laura Lowell ran over from the crowd, a sour look on her face.

"Nicholas Jensen! How could you recklessly use your Ability in the base again! That’s against the rules!"

Nicholas Jensen took off his sunglasses and gave her a lazy glance. "You could say I was protecting the civilians, right?"

"If that monkey had kept rampaging, who knows how many people would’ve died. The base’s rules... have to be flexible sometimes."

Laura Lowell opened her mouth to argue but couldn’t find a good reason to.

It was true. If Nicholas Jensen hadn’t stepped in, the trading area would have been razed to the ground by the time the other bigwigs reacted.

"Don’t let it happen again," she finally managed to say.

Nicholas Jensen shrugged, put his sunglasses back on, and strolled away lazily with his floating weapons in tow.

Seraphina Sullivan, holding the black cat, stood at the edge of the crowd and watched the scene unfold in silence.

A subtle smile played on her lips.

Because,

she had already completed her plan.

In the midst of the chaos, while everyone was distracted by the giant ape, she had silently planted her "seed."

She glanced nearby.

Simon Lewis was standing there, his expression normal and his eyes clear, looking no different than before.

But if one looked closely, they would see a faint, fleeting pink glow flash in the depths of his pupils.

It was the mark left by [Sweet Fragrance].

Seraphina Sullivan looked away, satisfied, and gave herself a mental thumbs-up.

"Goodness," she murmured to herself, "I feel like I’m developing the potential to be a real schemer."

The black cat in her arms rolled its eyes. "Don’t get ahead of yourself. What’s the next step?"

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t answer, instead turning to walk out of the trading area.

"Let’s go," she said. "The show is about to start."

Sean Chandler was taken aback. "Aren’t we going to wait and see what happens with Connor Webb?"

"No need," Seraphina Sullivan said without breaking stride. "The seed has been planted. Now, we just watch how they play their parts."

She paused, then added, "But before that, there’s one more thing to do."

"What is it?"

"Rescue the women being controlled by Connor Webb."

Sean Chandler was silent for two seconds, then asked, "You have a way?"

A confident smile graced Seraphina Sullivan’s lips. "Of course."

She raised her hand, and a faint, sweet light glowed at her fingertips.

"I am a Beloved of the God of Cuisine, after all. In the face of fine cuisine, any Ability can be ’transformed’."

Connor Webb’s [Harem] Ability relies on some sort of twisted "contract." The women are under his Control not because they want to be, but because that Power has taken root and sprouted within them.

But if it’s a "contract," then it can certainly be "broken."

And Seraphina Sullivan’s specialty was making other people’s things her own.

Sean Chandler looked at her confident expression and sighed to himself.

’It feels like my status as the God’s Favored of Magical Beast is making me more and more reckless,’ he thought.

’But still...’

’Being strong is always a good way to solve problems.’

He didn’t leave with Seraphina Sullivan right away. Instead, he followed her instructions to wait for Connor Webb to run into trouble so he could grab the Harvesting Hoe they had their eyes on.

Behind them, the crowd in the trading area was still abuzz with discussion, their nerves frayed.

But a much larger storm was brewing.