Chapter 499: The Event Ends, Reclaiming Land

Chapter 499: Chapter 499: The Event Ends, Reclaiming Land

Crystal Lynn nodded vigorously. Tears finally streamed down her cheeks, but there was a smile on her face.

Dexter Luther was also moved as he watched from the side. He scratched his head, chuckled, and deliberately adopted a lighthearted tone. "Hey, Crystal, don’t cry! We’re homeowners now—no, wait, we’re *Shelter*-owners. This is a happy occasion, what’s there to cry about?"

He made Crystal Lynn laugh. Wiping her tears, she shot him a glare. "Who’s crying? These are happy tears!"

—

That night, everyone slept soundly.

The temperature inside the Shelter was always pleasant. There was no scorching heat from outside, no constant threat of danger—only the soft black earth and the gentle light overhead.

This was the most peaceful night’s sleep they’d had since the Disaster Game began.

But early the next morning, Dexter Luther was the first one to jump to his feet.

"Nope, nope, can’t get lazy now!" he said, rubbing his hands together as he paced around the Shelter. "There are still so many unopened Treasure Chests out there! And Player Keys!

We may have a Shelter, but you can never have too many supplies!"

Matthew Dawson climbed to his feet and chimed in with a yawn, "He’s right. Even if we don’t use a Player Key ourselves, we can trade it later.

Who knows, we might be able to trade it for something really good."

Crystal Lynn was in a corner, holding Freya and speaking softly to her little sister.

Freya blinked her big eyes, looking around the unfamiliar space with curiosity. "Sister," she whispered, "is this our home?"

Crystal Lynn smiled and nodded. "Yes, it’s our home. I have to go out for a little while. Can you be a good girl and stay here?"

Freya nodded obediently.

Crystal Lynn kissed her forehead, then stood up, her expression hardening with resolve.

Sean Chandler was silently stretching, clearly also prepared to head out.

Watching her teammates, the corners of Seraphina Sullivan’s lips lifted into a slight smile.

’With the Shelter as a safety net, everyone’s mindset is clearly different.’

’Before, we were just fighting to survive. Now, it’s ’grab what we can, retreat if we can’t, and put our lives first’.’

’This is how it should be.’

...

For the remainder of the event, the group continued to search for supplies in the ruins.

Without the constant pressure of survival, they were actually more efficient.

Dexter Luther opened two more Treasure Chests and found some useful items.

Matthew Dawson got lucky and found a Player Key.

Crystal Lynn found some seeds in a Treasure Chest and excitedly prepared to start a farm in the Shelter.

Time flew by in this busy and fulfilling rhythm.

Until—

The System’s voice rang out in the minds of all Players simultaneously:

[DING—!]

[The limited-time annual event has concluded!]

[Thank you to all Players for your active participation. We hope you all had fun!]

Seraphina Sullivan, who had been searching through the ruins, stopped in her tracks and narrowed her eyes.

’The event is over.’

But the System’s voice didn’t stop.

[DING! As the event concludes, a bonus announcement for all Players—]

[The next dungeon is: Trial Dungeon.]

[Special Note: For this Trial Dungeon, all surviving Players will enter the same dungeon world.]

[All Players, please prepare accordingly.]

Hearing this announcement—

Seraphina Sullivan’s heart skipped a beat.

’A Trial Dungeon.’

’All Players entering the same one.’

Countless images from the last Trial Dungeon flashed through her mind.

The frenzied days and nights in the Zombie Kingdom, the silhouettes of the Divine Favored, the murderous intent lurking in the shadows, and...

...the intervention of the Divine.

"I hope this time..."

she muttered to herself, her voice icy, "the Divine had better not pull any stunts."

Meanwhile, in the underground garage, the expressions on the faces of Dexter Luther and the others changed simultaneously.

The smile on Dexter Luther’s face froze, then slowly vanished.

Matthew Dawson clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Crystal Lynn instinctively pulled Freya closer, only to realize she couldn’t stop trembling.

Sean Chandler stood there in silence, his gaze chillingly grim.

The last Trial Dungeon.

The Zombie Kingdom.

They had lost Chloe Lewis. They had lost Morgan Brooks.

The friends they had laughed with, fought alongside, and struggled on the brink of death with were gone, left behind forever in that dungeon.

"This damn System..." Matthew Dawson’s voice was hoarse with suppressed rage. "It can’t stand to see us happy for a second. The event ends, and it immediately drops this bombshell on us."

Dexter Luther didn’t say anything. He just scrubbed his hands over his face, then looked up and forced a smile that looked uglier than a sob.

"It’s fine. It’s just a Trial Dungeon. It’s not like we haven’t been through one before."

"And this time—" He paused, looking at his teammates. "We’re much stronger than we were before.

We’ve got Sullivan, Sean, and Flora. We’ve got all of you."

"We’ll make it through this."

He said it with conviction, as if trying to convince himself as much as everyone else.

Crystal Lynn took a deep breath, held Freya tighter, and said softly, "I will come back alive. Freya will be here waiting for me."

Sean Chandler finally spoke, his voice deep. "We all come back alive."

In the distance, Seraphina Sullivan set down the supplies she was holding and looked up at the hazy, gray sky.

’All players in the same dungeon.’

’What does that mean?’

’It means the competition will be fiercer, conflict will be inevitable, and it also means—’

’—I might encounter more of the Divine Favored, and more people like Joy Hughes who possess a Special Ability.’

’But it also means I’ll get to see exactly where I stand in this Disaster Game.’

A cold glint appeared in Seraphina Sullivan’s eyes. She turned and opened the entrance to the Shelter.

’No matter what the next dungeon is.’

’I have to survive.’

....

The next few days were surprisingly calm.

There was still some time before the Trial Dungeon began, so everyone unspokenly agreed on the same course of action: to prepare.

Seraphina Sullivan, Flora Sullivan, and Crystal Lynn threw themselves into the work of cultivating the land inside the Shelter.

The black earth stretched out at her feet. Seraphina Sullivan stood at the edge of the plot, closing her eyes to feel the rhythm of this space.

This was her domain; she shared a faint, almost imperceptible connection with every inch of its soil.

"Let’s start over here." She opened her eyes, pointing to a section of ground. "The soil looks softest here. It should be the easiest to till first."

Crystal Lynn rolled up her sleeves and nodded, full of motivation.

She held a hoe she’d dug out of the ruins. It was crude, but in this place, it felt exceptionally precious.

Flora Sullivan said nothing, simply crouching down and plunging her hands into the soil.

The next moment, countless fine strands of her hair transformed into vines.

They spread out from her fingertips, burrowing into the soil like a plant’s root system. And then—

The ground began to churn.

Large swaths of black earth were caught, churned, and broken apart. Before their very eyes, the once-compact ground became soft and level.

Crystal Lynn stared, dumbfounded. "Flora... you can do that?"

Flora Sullivan didn’t even look up. Her tone was flat. "For a plant-based Ability, tilling soil is elementary."

Seraphina Sullivan let out a soft laugh from the side. She too bent down and began to run her hands through the freshly tilled soil.

She wasn’t using her Ability, just simply enjoying the feeling of touching the earth with her own hands.

This was their land.

Their home.