Chapter 291: Infiltration, a Self-Mutilation Ritual?

Chapter 291: Chapter 291: Infiltration, a Self-Mutilation Ritual?

Seraphina continued to observe the map Simon Holt had summoned.

Her gaze fell back upon the 3D holographic map Simon Holt had created, which had yet to dissipate.

She tried swiping her finger across the screen of light, zooming in on a specific area.

"Huh? This map... can actually show more detailed information?"

Seraphina was surprised to find that as she manipulated it, the map’s level of detail increased even further.

She could even see tiny, moving blue dots of light scattered among the buildings and paths on the map.

’These blue dots... could they represent living people?’ Seraphina immediately deduced.

This Ability was practically a real-time holographic display.

’It seems the potential of this Map Talent is even greater than I imagined.’ Seraphina couldn’t help but feel it was a shame for Simon Holt.

’It could be used as a super-radar for exploring unknown areas, avoiding high-risk zones, or even tracking specific targets. What on earth was his old team thinking, abandoning a strategic-level support like him and treating him as a burden? They were utterly blind.’

The sky had grown completely dark before she knew it.

Night fell upon the wasteland. The temperature plummeted, and a cold wind began to howl.

Inside the cave, Simon Holt remained deep under the powerful Effect of the Anesthetic, showing no sign of waking.

Seraphina had a simple meal to restore her energy.

Her gaze never left the distant stronghold, now lit by torches in the darkness.

Darkness was the best cover.

’It’s night. Time to make a move.’

Seraphina stood and stretched her limbs, her gaze turning sharp.

She decided to go on the offensive. Her objective was clear:

capture a prisoner.

Seraphina needed to interrogate one of the Native People to get more information about this instance world.

Things like the common locations of radiation sources and the distribution patterns of aberrant creatures.

Of course, Seraphina was also extremely curious about the "resource point" clearly marked by Simon Holt’s map Talent. Was it the stronghold itself, or was there some specific material hidden inside?

As soon as dusk had fallen and the light grew dim, Seraphina had recalled Tubbs to the Scavenger’s Farm.

The reason was simple.

The leaping, orange-red Flame on Tubbs’s body was far too conspicuous in the pitch-black night.

He was practically a living target, a liability for any action that required stealth.

As for Chubbs, Seraphina had left him in the cave to guard Simon Holt, who was still asleep under the Effect of the Anesthetic.

This Steel Chicken might not be the most reliable at times,

but he was more than capable of guarding an unconscious person and preventing small, nocturnal aberrant creatures from dragging him away.

Seraphina had no intention of letting someone as uniquely talented as Simon Holt die so soon.

At least, not in this Aberrant Radiation instance.

What happened afterward was none of her concern.

The night grew deeper, and the wasteland air carried a bone-chilling cold and a dead silence.

Having made her preparations, Seraphina took two special stickers from her Storage Space.

A Mysterious Whisper Sticker and an Invisibility Sticker.

She slapped both special sticker items onto herself.

The Mysterious Whisper Sticker took Effect.

Any faint sounds she might make—footsteps, the rustle of her clothes—were seemingly absorbed by an invisible force, rendering them inaudible.

The Effect of the Invisibility Sticker activated next.

Seraphina’s figure blurred in the darkness and, like a drop of water in the ocean, vanished completely.

But that wasn’t enough. With a thought, Seraphina activated the Ability of the Transformation Ring on her finger.

Aura Transformation.

Seraphina’s Aura retracted, making her nearly impossible for others to detect.

Now, with her Aura, sound, and body all hidden, Seraphina benefited from a triple stack of Concealment Effects.

She had almost perfectly "disappeared" on both a physical and Energy level.

Like a true Hunter merged with the shadows, she silently left her temporary shelter in the cave and crept toward the distant settlement.

Inside the cave.

Chubbs watched his boss vanish like a phantom and tilted his metal head.

He glanced down at Simon Holt, who was out cold on the ground and wrapped in bandages, and felt a pang of boredom.

So, he began to idly scratch at the ground with the tip of one of his steel wings, which glinted with a cold light.

Had anyone been in the cave, they would have seen the Steel Chicken, Chubbs, carving crooked but distinct outlines of a big, fat chicken on the ground.

The lines were simple, yet they held a strange, childish charm.

"Cluck..."

Chubbs let out a faint mutter that only he could hear. ’Third hour separated from my wife. I miss him!’

Tubbs: ’You’re not drawing me, are you? The one who’s as beautiful as a fairy?’

...

Meanwhile, relying on her multiple Concealment Effects, Seraphina easily slipped past the pale, bald Guards patrolling the settlement’s perimeter.

Though Seraphina felt her stealth was foolproof, she remained on high alert.

She was worried that the bodies of these Native People might have undergone strange mutations from the radiation.

Like a superhuman sense of smell, hearing, or perception.

Seraphina silently scaled the crude Wall built from scrap metal.

She had successfully infiltrated the settlement.

The moment she entered, a wave of clamor washed over her.

It was a stark contrast to the silence of the perimeter.

It was a cacophony of cheers and howls from a large crowd.

It was the sound of a simple, yet wild, revelry.

Seraphina moved forward cautiously, using the shadows and buildings for cover.

Soon, she saw the source of the noise.

In an open space at the center of the settlement, a massive bonfire blazed.

Surrounding the bonfire were at least a hundred densely packed, pale-skinned, bald Native People!

Men and women alike, all clad in simple leather armor or roughspun clothes, were dancing wildly.

Their movements were wild and primitive as they leaped and spun around the fire, letting out guttural, unintelligible cries. Their faces held a mixture of fanaticism, catharsis, and a sort of religious piety.

Observing them up close, Seraphina noticed that the bodies of these pale, hairless Native People were covered in all sorts of scars.

It didn’t take long for Seraphina to see how they got those scars.

She watched as the people in the crowd pulled red-hot branding irons from the bonfire and began to sear marks onto their bodies.

Seraphina: ???

’Are they insane?’

’What are they doing?’

’S&M?’

’Self-harm?’

Seraphina didn’t understand, but she was deeply shaken.

Hidden in the shadows, Seraphina watched the fanatical scene of everyone branding each other, feeling utterly speechless. ’...’

’No matter how you looked at it, this atmosphere was nothing like a normal celebration.’

A more ominous premonition began to spread through her.

However, Seraphina soon discovered that those reveling around the bonfire were only a fraction of the settlement’s Native People, likely the able-bodied adults responsible for combat and pillaging.

More figures were hidden deep within the crude houses, as if lying in wait.