Chapter 544: [Dangerous Emotion Detector], Claire Lynn’s Entrustment

Chapter 544: Chapter 544: [Dangerous Emotion Detector], Claire Lynn’s Entrustment

Seraphina Sullivan took out the Dungeon Cards.

These had all come from the Treasure Chest event.

"These Dungeons might contain the supplies we need."

She spread the cards on the table. "Seeds, livestock, farming techniques, animal husbandry... as long as we can find even one of these things, we’ll have another option."

Matthew Dawson picked up a card, turning it over in his hands. "So... we’re supposed to go into the Dungeons and look for them?"

Seraphina nodded. "We don’t just have to find them, we have to bring them back. As much as we can possibly carry."

Dexter Luther’s eyes lit up. "Now that’s what I’m talking about! I’ve been going stir-crazy, just wandering around the Shelter all day. My legs are getting rusty."

Paul Payne said quietly, "I’ll go too."

Seraphina looked at them, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly.

"Alright, then we’ll split up."

She distributed the cards, giving a few to each person. They were to form their own teams and devise their own plans.

Some would go to resource Dungeons for seeds, others to husbandry Dungeons for livestock, and still others to exploration Dungeons for intel.

"Remember," Seraphina said finally, "the supplies are important, but you are more important. If you can’t bring something back, abandon it. All that matters is that you come back alive."

Everyone nodded.

After the meeting, Seraphina Sullivan stood alone under the Redwood Tree.

She watched the busy survivors, the growing crops.

She watched the crude main gate bearing the words "Tomorrow’s Sanctuary."

’The conditions for the Imperial Crown were still a long way off, but she wasn’t in a rush.’

Jason Ross stood under the Redwood Tree, watching the bustling crowd, a whirlwind of emotions swirling within him.

The scenes were all too familiar.

People carrying building materials, putting up shelters, clearing land, and distributing supplies.

It was all exactly the same as when the Central Base was first established.

Back then, everyone had also worked together with such unity, been so full of hope, and believed that as long as they tried, they could survive in this world overrun by cataclysms.

’But what happened afterward?’

Jason Ross closed his eyes as images flashed through his mind: factional infighting, battles over resources, leaders pursuing their own agendas, and ordinary people just trying to survive in the crossfire.

’And the Player who caused the chaos at the Central Base was still out there somewhere.’

’What would happen if they showed up again?’

He remembered the Players controlled by purple threads, the comrades who turned on each other in the chaos, the ordinary people left for dead in the ruins.

He was terrified.

Terrified that Tomorrow’s Sanctuary would repeat the same mistakes.

Terrified of powerful Players.

Terrified that even people like Seraphina Sullivan might one day become a source of chaos.

Terrified that this fledgling Shelter, still smelling of fresh earth, would become a tomb once more.

"’As long as I watch carefully, I won’t let that happen,’ he muttered, tightening his grip on the object in his hand."

It was a telescope.

It had a strange design. The barrel was thicker than that of a normal telescope, and its lens gave off a faint purple glow.

It was the item Seraphina Sullivan had given him.

[Dangerous Emotion Detector].

The Effect was simple.

It would issue an alert whenever someone’s emotions flared out of control.

Anger, fear, despair, murderous intent.

No extreme emotion that could trigger chaos could escape this telescope’s detection.

Jason Ross didn’t know why Seraphina Sullivan had chosen him.

He wasn’t a Player and had no Special Abilities. He was just a low-level supervisor in the Central Base’s logistics department.

Perhaps it was because he was ordinary—so ordinary that he wouldn’t draw any attention, allowing him to stand quietly in a corner and observe everyone.

He raised the telescope, looking at the crowd through its lens.

Several purple dots of light appeared in his field of view.

They indicated people who were angry, afraid, or in despair.

The dots were faint, which meant the emotions were still under control.

Jason Ross silently noted their locations, planning to talk to them later and see if he could help.

It was the only thing he could do for the Shelter.

Seraphina Sullivan sat in the temporary meeting room, a paper covered in handwriting spread out before her.

It was the supply inventory and population census Wesley Moore had delivered that morning. The dense columns of numbers made her head spin.

How long would the food last? How many days could the water supply sustain them? What was the shortfall in medical supplies? How many more living quarters were needed?

Behind every number were over ten thousand living, breathing people.

Every miscalculation could mean someone’s death.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes.

’The requirements for the Imperial Crown were still a distant goal. Of the ten thousand Players needed, they had only recruited a small fraction. Of the one hundred thousand citizens, they had only reached one-tenth of the goal.’

’Her reputation from the Central Base might attract more survivors, but that would take time.’

’And in this world overrun by cataclysms, time was the greatest luxury.’

"Director."

A tired woman’s voice came from the doorway.

Seraphina opened her eyes to see a woman in her thirties standing in the doorway.

She wore a shirt that had been washed until it was faded, with frayed cuffs. She had dark circles under her eyes, her lips were chapped, and her hair was tied back messily, with a few stray strands falling across her forehead.

She looked no different from any other survivor in the Shelter.

Exhausted, haggard, as if she’d just crawled out of a nightmare.

But there was something different in the woman’s eyes. They lacked the usual despair and numbness, carrying instead a kind of... Seraphina thought for a moment, then found the word: ’tenacity.’

"Please, come in." Seraphina sat up straight. "How can I help you?"

The woman came in and stood before the desk, unconsciously wringing her hands.

She hesitated for a moment, then began, "My name is Claire Lynn. I was a teacher at the Central Base. I taught the children."

Seraphina nodded, gesturing for her to continue.

"I asked Director Moore. He said that education in the shelter is being handled the same way as before, but we’re short-staffed."

Claire Lynn’s voice was a little hoarse. "I can keep teaching the children. Reading, math, survival skills—I can teach all of it."

Seraphina watched her, waiting for her to go on.

’If that was all, Claire Lynn wouldn’t have needed to come to her specifically. She could have just gone to Wesley Moore.’

Claire Lynn took a deep breath, as if steeling herself. "But the children’s situation... it’s different now."

"How is it different?"

"During the chaos at the Central Base, many of the children witnessed... the slaughter."

Claire Lynn’s voice grew quiet.

"Because of what they saw, now they can’t sleep at night and won’t speak during the day. Some of them will suddenly scream, while others just curl up in a corner and refuse to come out.

They don’t just need to learn facts. They need someone to tell them that the world hasn’t ended."

She looked up at Seraphina. "So I wanted to ask, could Tomorrow’s Sanctuary hold some kind of get-together soon?

Let everyone gather, do some Singing, just talk to each other. Let the children see that the adults are still here, that the Shelter is still here, and that tomorrow will come."

Seraphina was silent for a few moments.

’A get-together?’