Chapter 440: Traveling and Occupation

Chapter 440: Chapter 440: Traveling and Occupation

Sharon Lynn sobbed so hard she could barely breathe, but with the two "sisters’" reassurances and the guarantee that they "had weapons," her despair finally began to subside a little.

She looked up, her sobs turning to hiccups.

Through a blur of tears, she looked at Seraphina Sullivan and Flora Sullivan.

With a sliver of uncertain hope, she asked, "R-Really? Can... can we survive? Can we make it to Shelter Three?"

Seraphina Sullivan nodded firmly, her expression dead serious. "Yes. I promise you, I will get you to the Shelter safely.

First, we need to get out of here. The forest isn’t safe.

We need to get to the nearest city to find a map or ask for directions. We have to figure out where we are and which way Shelter Three is."

Sharon Lynn looked into Seraphina Sullivan’s steady, dependable eyes, then glanced at the formidable-looking weapons on Flora Sullivan. Deep down, her will to survive finally overpowered her grief and fear.

She wiped away her tears, forcing herself to stop crying.

She nodded emphatically, her voice thick with congestion. "Okay! I’ll listen to you both! I’ll be good, I won’t cause any trouble!"

"Good girl." Seraphina Sullivan patted her head, feeling a little more at ease.

A preliminary bond of trust and dependence had been forged.

The trio wasted no more time, moving quickly along the dilapidated highway toward the city.

Sure enough, they encountered danger more than once along the way.

There were tusked monsters that charged like wild boars but were the size of small cars.

There were arthropod-like monsters that lurked in abandoned vehicles, suddenly launching themselves out to attack.

Once, they even saw a pack of small, agile predators resembling velociraptors roaming the wasteland in the distance, forcing them to take a long detour.

Through these encounters, Seraphina Sullivan quickly began to understand the rules governing the "monsters" of this world:

Cataclysm-Class Monsters. ℯℯ𝑙.

These beings are like walking natural disasters.

Their size is inconceivably massive, with the smallest standing at least three hundred meters tall. They possess city-destroying Power, like the Lord of the Ocean and the aerial lord, Clark.

They often possess some kind of "domain" or "lord" trait.

Conventional methods can do almost no effective damage to them. Their Weaknesses are nearly impossible to find, making them true symbols of the apocalypse.

Large/Medium-Class Monsters: Ranging from ten to a hundred meters in size, they possess astonishing destructive power, a Special Ability, or extremely high defense/attack. They typically control a territory or move in packs and are the primary threat to most human survivor settlements.

Small-Class Monsters: Around five to ten meters in size, they are diverse in species and behavior. Though nowhere near as terrifying as the Catastrophe Level threats, their individual strength far surpasses that of ordinary animals, making them a lethal threat to lone humans or small groups.

Monsters of medium-class and above possess a biological Force Field, rendering conventional firearms useless. Small-Class Monsters, on the other hand, can be effectively harmed by firearms, but it requires sufficient fire density and precision strikes.

Most of the creatures they had encountered fell into the "Small-Class Monster" category.

Thanks to Seraphina Sullivan’s precision sniping, Flora Sullivan’s suppressive fire, and their strategy of early avoidance, they made it through a few scares but without any real harm.

Seraphina Sullivan even found a beat-up SUV by the side of the road that still ran.

This significantly sped up their progress.

However, just as their hopes were high, the sight that greeted them on the outskirts of the nearest city made their hearts sink.

There were no survivor camps or military outposts hidden among the expected ruins, not a single glimmer of civilization.

There was only... a vast, dead, silent ruin.

As far as the eye could see, once-towering skyscrapers were reduced to twisted steel skeletons and piles of collapsed concrete. Streets were buried under rubble, and charred scars from past fires were visible everywhere. The air was thick with dust and a faint, unsettling stench of decay.

The entire city looked as if it had been viciously crumpled by an invisible giant hand, then carelessly tossed aside.

What made Seraphina Sullivan’s pupils contract was the sight in the city’s center: a dark purple figure, so colossal it was clearly visible even from this distance, was moving slowly!

Its iconic, pterosaur-like silhouette, its massive wings stirring up gusts of wind with every flap, and the "Bee Swarm" that orbited it...

It was the very same aerial lord they had glimpsed above the forest—Clark!

’How is it here?! Didn’t it fly toward the mountains?’

At this moment, the terrifying Blight Beast seemed to be "strolling" through the ruins.

It would occasionally lower its head and prod the rubble with its enormous beak or claws, as if it were looking for something—or perhaps just patrolling and destroying its "territory" for the sake of it.

Its slightest movement would trigger the further collapse of distant structures, sending plumes of dust billowing into the sky.

"This..." Seraphina Sullivan’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, her throat suddenly dry.

Her plan had been to enter the city to find information, supplies, and possibly even other survivors or military remnants.

But now, the entire city had become this Cataclysm-Class Monster’s "playground"!

’Go straight through? That’s suicide.’

’Go around it?’

’But who knew how far they’d have to go? Deviating from the known road into a completely unfamiliar wilderness would drastically increase their chances of getting lost or running into other unknown dangers.’

’And their destination, Shelter Three, was probably on the other side of this city, or in that same direction.’

’They were caught between a rock and a hard place.’

Sharon Lynn also saw the breathtakingly massive figure in the distance. Her face went deathly pale in an instant. She gripped the hem of Seraphina Sullivan’s shirt, her body trembling uncontrollably. She was too terrified to even cry, consumed by boundless fear.

Flora Sullivan’s brow furrowed. "Boss," she asked in a low voice, "what’s the plan?"

For a moment, Seraphina Sullivan genuinely didn’t know what to do.

Faced with a monster of that caliber, all the tools at her disposal felt woefully inadequate.

The [Eye of Resume] had indicated that a Cataclysm-Class Monster like Clark "fears Highly Poisonous" substances. However, Seraphina had already experimented with the [Highly Poisonous Potion] from her new [Pharmacist] Ability on their way here.

She’d found that the poison required time to take effect, and that its required dosage and potency were directly correlated with the target’s size and resistance.

Against Small-Class Monsters, a potent neurotoxin could cause rapid paralysis or even death.

But against a behemoth like Clark—hundreds of meters long with immense Life Force...

...the toxins she could concoct would, even if she managed to inject them, have about the same Effect as a micro-dose of Anesthetic on a human. It would be negligible. Besides, figuring out how to inject the poison into the behemoth’s body in the first place was a monumental problem.

As for the [Space Bullet] from her [Universal Sniper Rifle]?

It was devastatingly effective against Small-Class Monsters. But against Medium-Class Monsters, which were dozens of meters in size, she’d have to target a vital point and land multiple consecutive shots.

But against a creature on Clark’s level... Seraphina suspected a full-power [Space Bullet] wouldn’t even be able to penetrate its biological Force Field.

Even if it did get through, it would be like pricking an elephant’s hide with a fine needle. It wouldn’t even count as exfoliation; at most, it would just make the thing itch.