Chapter 373: Forced Return, the System’s Compensation Treasure Box

Chapter 373: Chapter 373: Forced Return, the System’s Compensation Treasure Box

Seraphina Sullivan swallowed the special candy.

The moment the seven-colored light fused into her, her body began to heal and recover at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Her skin became smooth and clear again.

Her Aura quickly stabilized.

The color returned to her pale face.

Even her long, lustrous black hair...

...at the very tips, a faint, sun-bright streak of gold quietly appeared.

It was as if it had been infused with some higher level of Life Force and quality.

"This is... your well-deserved compensation."

The will of the God of Cuisine seemed to whisper in Seraphina Sullivan’s ear, carrying a rare hint of approval.

"Not bad, little one."

"Faced with that situation, you didn’t back down. You even beat those worthless Divine Favored to a pulp... Very good."

"You haven’t sullied the name of the God of Cuisine." His tone held a trace of pride.

"I hope this candy, made from a wisp of the Fiend God’s will, brings you some unusual luck and nourishment."

His will swept over Seraphina Sullivan one last time.

It was as if he saw a more distant future through her.

"The Holy War... is about to begin. There isn’t much time left for you. Grow stronger, my little Beloved."

"Don’t let me down... and don’t let those guys hiding in the shadows get too complacent."

With that said, the will of the God of Cuisine rippled gently.

A gentle wave of Space Power enveloped Seraphina Sullivan’s unconscious form. With a flash of light, she vanished completely from the ruined slaughterhouse of an arena.

Almost at the exact moment Seraphina Sullivan disappeared...

...throughout the entire "Zombie Kingdom" instance.

Whether it was the surviving Players scattered throughout the ruins...

...or the Players who were fighting, fleeing, or hiding...

...a long-absent, yet familiar, cold and majestic system notification rang out in everyone’s minds simultaneously.

It was the supreme voice of the master God, impervious to any interference!

[Ding! Abnormal high-dimensional Energy interference and rule disruption detected. Supreme God System protocol restarting...]

[Restart complete.

It has been detected that the ’Zombie Kingdom’ civilization-type trial instance has suffered illegal intervention from an unauthorized, high-intensity, unknown Power. The trial’s progress has severely deviated from its preset course, resulting in an abnormal Player casualty rate.]

[In accordance with Article 7 of the "Pan-Multiverse Civilization Trial Emergency Protocol," the final administrative notice is as follows:]

[1. Effective immediately, all quests in this instance are terminated.

All currently surviving Players, regardless of quest completion status, may immediately and safely return to their original home worlds.]

[2. To compensate for the losses and mental distress caused to all Players by this trial anomaly, the system will issue one [Basic Compensation Treasure Box] to each returning Player.]

[3. Based on the severity of this anomalous event and its potential chain effects on the original home worlds, the system will apply an emergency halt to the ’Apocalyptic Disaster Evolution Process’ for all relevant home worlds.

After all Players return, their respective home worlds will enter a one-calendar-month buffer Peace Period.

During this period, existing disasters will cease to worsen, and no new types of disasters will be generated.

All Players are advised to cherish this time to rest, recuperate, and improve yourselves in preparation for future challenges.]

[4. The next instance will open in one month!]

[Teleportation commencing—]

The moment the notification ended...

...within the Zombie Kingdom, a soft, white light of return illuminated every living Player.

Whether they were cowering in dark corners or battling zombies and other Players...

...the next second, their figures began to blur and turn transparent within the light.

Fear, relief, confusion, indignation, ecstasy... all these emotions ultimately melted into the deliverance of returning to reality.

With a flash of light...

...all the Players...

...along with the pillars of light marking them, vanished entirely from this death-ridden kingdom that had been turned upside down and filled with casualties.

The ruins returned to a dead silence.

Only the bewildered roars of countless zombies remained.

Along with the unburied corpses of those who would remain here forever.

Telling the tale of a brief and brutal farce sparked by the selfish desires of a Divine.

Meanwhile, in the real world, countless white lights flared up in various safe zones, ruins, and even wastelands.

The Players who had survived the ordeal returned, weary to the bone and carrying that cold [Basic Compensation Treasure Box].

Back to their familiar, yet strange, apocalyptic homes.

The one-month Peace Period was a respite, but also the final calm before the storm.

No one knew what the "Holy War" mentioned by the gods truly meant.

But every Player who had experienced the bizarre incident in the "Zombie Kingdom" understood.

The road ahead would be even more difficult, and even more... unpredictable.

Following a gentle spatial fluctuation, Seraphina Sullivan’s figure appeared in a corner of the RV she had been in before entering the instance.

She was still unconscious, but her breathing was steady.

Her injuries were completely gone, and in the dim light, that streak of gold at the tips of her hair seemed to flow with a strange luster.

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t know what had happened, nor did she know what kind of "candy" she had swallowed.

But because of this brief "intersection" with a Divine, the trajectory of her fate had already taken an unpredictable turn.

...

The familiar, noisy clamor of the Vorlag City safe zone reached her ears.

People talking and shouting.

The faint sound of broadcast announcements in the distance.

Seraphina Sullivan’s consciousness struggled to surface, as if rising from the depths of the sea, gradually returning to her body.

The first thing she felt was extreme weakness.

It was as if her entire body had been hollowed out; every muscle and every bone felt limp.

She couldn’t muster an ounce of strength; even lifting a finger was incredibly difficult.

’I’m... not dead?’

The realization cleared Seraphina Sullivan’s muddled thoughts for a moment.

She remembered the irresistible crushing force at the end, the pain of being on the verge of shattering.

And... a light? An incredibly warm light, mixed with a strange fragrance?

Her consciousness fully returned.

Seraphina Sullivan found herself lying on the simple but familiar little bed in her RV, covered with a clean blanket.

’I’m back in my RV?’ Seraphina Sullivan was even more confused.

Her last memory was clearly of being in that bizarre arena where the will of a Divine had descended.

How did she wake up back in her completely safe nest?

’What happened while I was unconscious?’

"You’re awake."

Sean Chandler’s voice, as calm and steady as ever, came from the side.

He was sitting on a chair near the door, his clothes still showing the cleaned-up traces of battle.

But his eyes were clear, and it was obvious he hadn’t left her side while she was unconscious.

Seraphina Sullivan struggled to sit up.

"What... what exactly happened?" Seraphina Sullivan asked impatiently, her voice a bit hoarse.

"How did we get back? That arena... that thing possessing Cecilia... what happened to it?"

Sean Chandler succinctly told her what had happened after they were separated.