Chapter 548: Controlled Interrogation

Chapter 548: Chapter 548: Controlled Interrogation

Rosa remained silent, saying nothing.

Harrison Lowe grew more agitated as he spoke, his voice echoing over the settlement. "But what happened after he became a God? What did he do? He stabbed his own companions in the back! He severed the path for all Players in this world and abandoned every last one of us!

We can’t become Gods anymore, can’t get any stronger! We’re forced to live our whole lives as ordinary people, kneeling at his feet!"

He spun around abruptly and pointed at Rosa’s nose. "He deserved to die! His death was his own doing! He was the one who betrayed us first!"

Listening from her high vantage point, Seraphina Sullivan’s brow furrowed slightly.

’So that’s the hidden story behind Rod’s death.’

She recalled what Rosa had once said.

"The Demon God used his Divine Power to cut off the System’s perception of this world, so that no new Players would be created. The Demon God thought this was protecting everyone."

In Rosa’s words, Rod was a hero who sacrificed himself to protect the world.

But in the mouths of these Awakeners, Rod was a coward who betrayed his companions.

’Whose version is the truth?’

’Who was framing whom?’

’Maybe they’re both the truth.’

’It’s just that the meaning changes depending on who’s telling the story.’

’Rod did indeed protect this world, but he also did sever the path to godhood for other Players.’

’His good intentions, in the eyes of those who were robbed of their hope, were the greatest malice.’

’Rosa isn’t wrong, and Harrison Lowe isn’t wrong either.’

’What’s wrong is this world that pushes people to their breaking point.’

Seraphina Sullivan reined in her thoughts.

She didn’t have time to stand here judging who was right and who was wrong.

She only had an hour. She had to find Sean Chandler and help him return to his original world.

She leaped down from the rock.

When Seraphina Sullivan landed in front of the settlement’s gate, everyone was stunned.

Harrison Lowe’s men instinctively raised their weapons, but when they saw clearly that the newcomer was just a young girl, they hesitated.

Harrison Lowe turned around, looking Seraphina Sullivan up and down. A trace of doubt flashed in his eyes, then turned to vigilance.

"Who are you?"

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t look at him, her gaze falling instead on Rosa.

Rosa’s eyes suddenly widened, her aged face filled with disbelief.

She opened her mouth, her voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible. "You... haven’t you already returned? Why are you still in our world?"

Seraphina Sullivan saw the trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth and the red mark on her face, but she ignored it.

Then she turned her head and looked at Harrison Lowe.

"I’ll give you three seconds to take your men and leave."

Her voice wasn’t loud, as calm as if she were stating the most ordinary thing.

Harrison Lowe was stunned for a moment, then he laughed.

His smile was full of disdain and ridicule. "Who do you think you are? A little brat like you dares—"

He didn’t get to finish.

Because Seraphina Sullivan raised her hand, and the Universal Sniper Rifle instantly materialized in her palm, its muzzle pressed against Harrison Lowe’s forehead.

The cold touch of the metal made the rest of his words get stuck in his throat.

"Three," Seraphina Sullivan said.

Harrison Lowe’s face went pale.

He wasn’t some clueless fool.

This gun appeared out of thin air, with no Energy fluctuations, not even a trace of spatial distortion.

’A Player.’

’This woman’s power is far beyond my imagination.’

"Two."

Harrison Lowe took a step back and raised his hands. "Go! We’re leaving!"

His men looked at each other, but seeing their boss back down, they put away their weapons one by one and sheepishly followed him in retreat.

In less than a minute, only Seraphina Sullivan and Rosa were left in front of the settlement’s gate.

Rosa watched the retreating backs of the Awakeners, then looked at Seraphina Sullivan and suddenly gave a bitter laugh. "You’ve saved me again."

Seraphina Sullivan ignored Rosa’s "You’ve saved me again."

She stood before the settlement gate, her gaze sweeping over the faces peeking out from behind it.

Some people’s faces lit up with joy upon seeing her, as if they’d seen their savior.

Others averted their gaze, their faces filled with complicated emotions.

The people she had helped before—those who had eaten her food, drunk her water, and been pulled back from the brink of Demonization by her Medical Soothing—most of them now kept their heads down, daring not to meet her eyes.

They knew they had once used Seraphina Sullivan and her friend.

They might not have known when Rosa set up Sean Chandler, but when the truth came out, they chose to remain silent.

No one stepped forward to tell her the truth. No one warned Sean Chandler that it was a trap.

They had accepted Rod’s protection with a clear conscience, accepted the sacrifice a stranger had made for them.

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t feel hurt.

’I had saved them back then because the mission required it.’

’Save one hundred Native People, complete the mission to return.’

’Without that prerequisite, would I have saved them?’

’Maybe, maybe not.’

Seraphina Sullivan had never been the saintly type who had to save everyone she met; she had her own bottom line and principles.

Helping others is a kindness, not helping is one’s right. In this apocalyptic world, no one owed anyone anything.

So now, with no mission, no shackles forcing her to return, and adding their previous deception to the mix, Seraphina Sullivan felt she was being more than courteous by not eliminating them on the spot.

She raised her hand, and a pink fragrance silently spread from her palm.

Sweet Fragrance, the Skill once used to control Kyle Kane and force out the truth, now precisely enveloped Rosa.

Rosa’s body stiffened slightly. Her eyes quickly became vacant, and the wrinkles on her face relaxed, as if she were a puppet whose soul had been ripped out.

"Miss Sullivan!" someone cried out in alarm, and a few young people subconsciously took a step forward.

Seraphina Sullivan shot them a cold glare.

That gaze was like ice water in the dead of winter, freezing the young people’s feet to the spot.

They had never seen this side of Seraphina Sullivan—in their impression, this girl, though quiet, was always gentle and reliable. She would give them food, help heal them, and protect them from being harmed by Demonic Creatures.

But now, her eyes held no gentleness, no kindness, only a cold, detached distance.

"It’s best you don’t provoke me." Seraphina Sullivan’s voice wasn’t loud, but it made everyone’s hair stand on end. "I am very unhappy."

With a wave of her hand, several of The Silenti emerged from the void and squatted quietly behind her, their white eyes scanning the surrounding crowd.

Those Imp-like figures made everyone gasp. The young people’s faces turned pale, and they backed away repeatedly, not daring to say another word.

Seraphina Sullivan turned around, looked at the controlled Rosa, and began to question her.

"What exactly happened after Rod became a God back then?"

Rosa’s eyes were vacant, her voice flat, as if reciting a pre-written answer sheet. "After Rod became a God, he used his Divine Power to sever the System’s perception of this world, preventing the creation of new Players and blocking anyone from growing stronger. The other Players thus lost their chance to become Gods. They were angry, desperate, and filled with hatred.

Five people ganged up, used Rod’s family as bait, set a trap, and killed him."

’It’s more or less what she said before.’ Seraphina Sullivan frowned. "Was Rod a good person or a bad person?"

Rosa was silent for two seconds, then said, "Neither.

He was a man who wanted to protect his world, but he chose the worst possible way to do it.

He thought he could trade peace for the hopes of others, but he didn’t know that a desperate person is more dangerous than a starving beast."

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t press further.

She had no interest in delving into these rights and wrongs, these grudges and grievances.

She only wanted to know one thing.

"How is Sean Chandler doing now?"