Chapter 349 - 339: It’s All a Trick

Staring at the two badges, which looked nearly identical except for the color of their wings and centerpieces, Moira Lynch and Hugh Finch looked at each other.

"You joined The Crimson Alliance, too?"

"You joined The Crimson Alliance, too?"

The two asked in unison, then fell silent together.

"It seems that even though we weren’t in the same game, our missions were related," Hugh Finch said. "Maybe it’s the same for the Boss and Kai York. We should ask them tomorrow morning."

Although he said that, Hugh Finch was already about eighty percent sure in his heart.

Then, Moira Lynch explained everything she knew about the Blessing Badge.

Prompted by Moira Lynch, Hugh Finch quickly checked his own.

[Name: Blessing Badge

Status: Fully Awakened

Holder: Hugh Finch

Blessing: Physique Boost. User’s entire constitution is enhanced by five hundred percent.

Duration: Two days, ten hours.]

It was just as Moira Lynch had described.

Hugh Finch was glad he had trusted his intuition and performed a divination for himself first. Otherwise, he would have agreed to end the game early when the system first told him the mission was complete.

According to Moira Lynch, a Blessing Badge could only be acquired by a new person after its previous owner relinquished their rights to it. Any voluntary act of handing it over counted as relinquishment.

When Hugh Finch opened his eyes, Moira Lynch asked curiously, "So? What blessing did you get?"

"Physique Boost. My entire constitution is enhanced by five hundred percent."

"Doesn’t that make you a superman?" Moira Lynch exclaimed in surprise.

At her words, Hugh Finch lifted a hand and examined it. It looked no different than usual, yet he could feel a powerful force dwelling within it. No, not just force—explosive power.

"By the way, I noticed you’ve been holding something ever since you got back. Did you bring that out of the game?"

Hugh’s reminder made Moira Lynch remember that she still hadn’t looked at the item she’d won in the prize draw.

The moment she’d exited the game, the scene outside had captured her attention. Then came the matter of the Blessing Badge, and she had completely forgotten she was still holding something.

"Oh, this? It’s what I got from the prize draw after the game," Moira Lynch said.

However, the item in the picture had looked like a firecracker. She wondered why she’d been given a box instead.

She hefted it; the box was quite heavy. ’Is the item inside?’

She opened the box and saw two rows of red firecrackers inside. There were six in each row, for a total of twelve.

Just then, Hugh Finch found the instruction manual on the side of the box and read it aloud.

"Sky-shocking Firecracker. Once lit, it produces a tremendous sound that will affect all living beings within a ten-thousand-meter radius. Please use with caution."

It sounded like an incredibly powerful item.

It was just...

Moira Lynch looked at the Sky-shocking Firecrackers. The problem was, once lit, they would likely be indiscriminate, affecting friend and foe alike.

With a range of ten thousand meters, they would have to be outside that radius themselves to be safe when using it.

"Wait, that’s not right. This thing is supposed to come with a launcher. Why don’t you have one?"

Hugh Finch had spotted a problem.

While the Sky-shocking Firecrackers looked exactly as they had in the promotional picture, something seemed to be missing.

And that missing item was the crucial launcher.

Hearing this, Moira Lynch immediately searched the box inside and out. It confirmed her suspicion: the system had tricked her. ’Damned system,’ she cursed inwardly.

"Forget it. Have Shane Rhodes sell it to the base tomorrow," Moira Lynch said with a sigh.

It would most likely just gather dust if she kept it. It was better to give it to the base and let them study it. Maybe they could even manufacture the launcher.

"Oh, and take these too."

As she spoke, Moira Lynch took out several more Space Buttons.

"You’re going to tell me what’s in them, right?" Hugh Finch asked curiously.

"Hmm..." Moira Lynch pursed her lips and frowned slightly, as if considering how to describe the contents of the Space Buttons.

After a long pause, she finally said, "Some damaged armor, weapons, clothing, that sort of thing."

The items in the Space Buttons had all been stripped from the bodies of dead pirates.

Of course, Moira hadn’t been the one to do it.

Initially, Moira had only been interested in the wreckage of starships and giant Mechas on the battlefield, completely overlooking everything else.

That was until someone had remarked, "The pirates’ gear seems pretty valuable, too."

And as everyone knew, Moira Lynch collected scrapped starships and Mechas to sell for profit.

So, whenever Snow and the others saw a dead pirate, they would swiftly strip the body of everything valuable.

If Moira hadn’t expressed her disgust at the thought of taking their clothes, those pirates probably would have lost their last shred of post-mortem dignity.

Even so, the total amount of gear was staggering.

Hugh Finch put the items away. "Alright, I’ll help you give these to the Boss and the others tomorrow."

"By the way, we’ve been talking about me this whole time. What did you get from your prize draw?" Moira Lynch suddenly asked.

At her question, Hugh Finch continued what he was doing, not even looking up as he said three words: "Thanks for playing."

Before Moira Lynch could offer any words of consolation, Hugh Finch added, "They were after our Blessing Badges. Since we didn’t give them up, of course we weren’t going to get anything good."

Moira Lynch couldn’t agree more with his explanation; she’d been thinking the exact same thing.

It was clear the system, having failed in its first attempt, was now trying a new tactic.

Just then, both Moira Lynch’s and Hugh Finch’s phones rang.

Ever since they had gotten their Intelligent Brains, Moira Lynch’s group rarely used their old phones. Still, they hadn’t thrown them away; after all, not everyone could afford an Intelligent Brain.

And even if people could afford them, Moira didn’t have enough in stock to go around.

So, most important announcements were still sent via phone.

Moira Lynch opened her phone, and the first thing she saw was a snow-clearing notice.

Due to a sudden heavy snowfall, the base was asking everyone to go out and shovel snow tomorrow after it stopped.

Everyone was to claim a designated area to clear. Once finished, they would receive food as payment—the more you cleared, the more you earned.

At times like these, people who had awakened a Fire Talent were always especially popular.

Moira Lynch quickly scanned the notice and was about to put her phone away when a headline further down caught her eye.

#How to Awaken Your Desired Talent#

As everyone knew, talent awakenings were random. Personality and parentage might play a small role, but their influence was minimal.

For the most part, the type of talent a person awakened was purely a matter of chance, impossible to control through artificial means.