Chapter 477: Winston, an Incredibly Insidious Talent

Chapter 477: Chapter 477: Winston, an Incredibly Insidious Talent

Seraphina Sullivan glanced at Laura Lowell, who was by Nicholas Jensen’s side.

Back then, her analysis had shown that Laura Lowell wasn’t a Player, yet she possessed a "Bee Swarm" level tactical support device.

It seemed now that it was most likely Nicholas Jensen’s doing.

’Interesting.’

The two of them clearly didn’t recognize her.

Then again, she was currently using the appearance granted by the [Transformation Ring] and holding a black cat. There wasn’t the slightest resemblance to her usual "Seraphina Sullivan" self.

Nicholas Jensen was looking down, talking to Laura Lowell with a rare, relaxed expression on his face.

Laura Lowell, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of her previous serious, business-like demeanor.

Right now, she was holding his arm, her tone tinged with a flirtatious coyness:

"Nicholas, you don’t have a dungeon mission this time. Can you please spend some time with me?

My work outside has just wrapped up, so I can rest for a few days.

We finally have time to... spend together properly."

Seraphina: ...

Seraphina walked past them with a deadpan expression, but inside, she was already ranting wildly:

’The same Administrator Lowell who was so decisive and efficient at the entrance, who even dared to talk back to Connor Webb, is actually acting coy now?!’

’And that tone, that posture... she’s like a completely different person!’

’Love is truly a terrifying thing.’

Nicholas Jensen nodded, his tone gentle. "Alright. It’s perfect timing. Let’s go check out the Player market first.

I just got back from a dungeon, so there should be a lot of people setting up stalls. We might be able to find some good stuff."

"Okay!" Laura Lowell replied happily.

The two of them brushed past Seraphina as they talked, without giving her a second glance.

Seraphina didn’t break her stride, but the words "Player market" were now firmly etched in her mind.

’A Player market?’

’Area A actually has a place like this?’

She had originally planned to go and make trouble for Connor Webb directly, but now that she’d heard this, it would be a shame to waste this infiltration trip by not checking it out.

Gather intelligence, collect resources, and see if she could find any unexpected bargains.

It was an instinct carved into every Player’s bones.

"Let’s go take a look," she murmured to the black cat in her arms.

The black cat let out a lazy "MEOW," signaling its agreement.

...

Seraphina, holding the black cat, walked unhurriedly into Area A’s Player market.

The sight before her made her raise an eyebrow slightly.

It was more than twice the size of the trading area in the Vorlag Safe Zone.

A quick scan revealed at least two or three hundred stalls, packed densely along both sides of a wide underground passage.

Each stall had its own small, designated area.

The vendors were either sitting or standing, with a dazzling array of items displayed before them—weapons, armor, potions, materials, strange creations, and even a few lively, mutated creature cubs.

There were quite a few people coming and going, some of whom were Players in standard-issue gear.

There were also ordinary people in regular clothes.

Most of these ordinary people were the vendors’ family members, helping watch the stalls, call out to customers, and occasionally hand items to buyers.

Seraphina strolled slowly past the stalls, the [Analysis Glasses] on her face silently activating. Information about one item after another flowed through her vision like a stream.

[Inferior Healing Potion (Restores a small amount of health, has side effects)]

[Damaged B Level bulletproof vest (Repairable, requires special materials)]

[Mutated Rabbit Fur (Can be used to make warm clothing)]

[Unknown Metal Chunk (Origin unknown, requires further identification)]

[Secondhand Energy Blade (May become useless after three charges)]

...

There were certainly a lot of things, but most of them were just ordinary goods that couldn’t catch her eye.

She wasn’t in a hurry. She was here to scout things out and see if she could find any hidden gems.

As she reached a corner, a somewhat gentle voice suddenly called out—

"Miss, would you like to take a look? I make these pet treats myself. Why not buy some for your little cat!"

Seraphina paused and looked toward the voice.

A gaunt man was sitting behind the stall.

He had a gentle smile on his face, one that wouldn’t make anyone feel ill will at first glance.

But it wasn’t his smile that caught Seraphina’s attention; it was his left arm.

The sleeve on that side was empty. The man only had a right arm and hand.

With that hand, he held up a bowl containing several thumb-sized balls that gave off a faint, meaty aroma. They looked just like ordinary pet treats.

"My pet treats are very popular throughout the entire base."

The man said with a grin, "I guarantee your little cat will want more after just one bite."

Seraphina didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she discreetly activated her [Analysis Glasses] and aimed them at the bowl of meatballs.

Information appeared—

[Enslavement Meatballs]

[Effect One: After an animal consumes it, it will become unusually docile and placid, developing a strong sense of intimacy and dependence on its owner.]

[Effect Two: After consuming it for three consecutive weeks, the user will accumulate enough special Energy. At that time, if a special item, the "Enslavement Whistle," is used to produce a specific sound frequency, an "Enslavement Contract" can be instantly completed with the user, making them completely obedient to the whistle holder’s commands.]

[Description: Made with the flesh and blood of a "Wraith Giant" as the main ingredient, supplemented with various rare materials, and created using a specific recipe. Cannot be made by anyone without a special cooking-type Talent.]

Seraphina’s eyelid twitched.

Enslavement Meatballs.

’Well, I’ll be damned.’

On the surface, it looked like an ordinary pet treat, but it was actually an elaborate trap.

After three weeks of eating them, one blow of a whistle and the pet would become someone else’s puppet.

And the person who made this stuff was standing right in front of her, smiling harmlessly.

Seraphina lifted her eyes and looked at the man.

A warm smile, a sincere gaze—no matter how you looked at him, he seemed like an honest, down-to-earth small-time merchant.

But Seraphina didn’t believe it for a second.

’[Eye of Resume], activate!’

The man’s data appeared before her eyes without any obstruction—

[Name: Winston] (Beloved of the God of Conspiracy)

[Gender: Male]

[Level: Level 3]

[Professional Skills and Talents]

1. Magic Chef: Can randomly obtain one "Special Food Recipe" per day. Recipe types cover various effects such as buffs, healing, control, and poison. Food made according to the recipe possesses special effects far exceeding those of ordinary cooking. Note: Must be used on food ingredients to be successful.

2. Conspiracy Reward: Upon completing a "Conspiracy" (achieving a goal through deception, manipulation, framing, etc.), you will receive a corresponding system reward based on the scale, impact, and completion rate of the conspiracy. The bigger the conspiracy, the richer the reward.]

[Skills]:

Magic Hand, Sword Mastery, Skinning, Fireball Technique, Water Ball Skill, Gigantification, Gun Mastery, Air Cannon, Frost Skill, Thunder Strike, Earth Escape, Vine Binding, Light Healing, Wind Blade, Instant Teleportation, Aura.

[Weaknesses:]

No sense of taste, weak close-combat ability, low defense

After reading through this long string of data, Seraphina had only one thought:

’Judging by his stats, this guy is a master schemer.’

’A total, out-and-out master schemer.’