Chapter 130: Incentive Reward

Chapter 130: Chapter 130: Incentive Reward

She looked toward the abyss and sighed softly. "Honestly... what was the point? An eye for an eye gets you nowhere. I was already planning to let it slide."

Her tone sounded almost resigned, as if Magnus Barrett had just accidentally lost his footing and fallen.

But combined with the hair’s-breadth precision of her earlier dodge, her words sent a bone-chilling cold through the other three.

No one spoke.

Hannah Morgan swallowed hard, completely stamping out any ulterior motives.

Milo Shaw and Chloe Reed didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly. They kept their heads down, trying to make themselves as small as possible.

Seraphina Sinclair, of course, had nothing more to say. She walked back to the central area and quietly stroked the petals of her Sunflower, waiting for the extraction.

The last half-hour passed in oppressive silence.

When the system’s notification finally chimed in their minds, right on schedule, Chloe Reed nearly collapsed to the ground.

[Evaluation complete!]

[Calculating rewards...]

[Congratulations, survivors, on successfully clearing the instance. Team survival count: 4/5]

This was the panel that appeared before everyone; the personal results were below.

Seraphina Sinclair looked them over one by one.

[Survivor Seraphina Sinclair’s Team Contribution Evaluation: S-Class!]

[Survivor Seraphina Sinclair’s Personal Performance Evaluation: S-Class!]

[Overall Rating: S-Class!]

[Hidden task ’A Companion’s Redemption’ successfully completed by survivor Seraphina Sinclair. Bonus rewards will be distributed during the instance summary! Please wait patiently!]

A brilliant light enveloped the four of them.

Looking at the three S’s on the results list, plus the "Companion’s Redemption," a slight smile touched Seraphina Sinclair’s lips.

’The Evaluation was definitely worth the trouble. I hope the rewards are too.’

Back in her mobile cabin, Seraphina Sinclair set down the Sunflower and brought over the Black Fog Lamp. Today’s sunshine hadn’t been generated yet, and she couldn’t waste the Sunflower’s Hunger Level.

After exiting, the contract signed during the instance automatically took effect. The promised E-level material and Chloe Reed’s small packet of Moonlight Powder appeared instantly before Seraphina Sinclair.

After stowing the items away, Seraphina Sinclair sat down next to the Sunflower and began checking the Zone channel.

Before she could even read the messages, a number caught her eye.

1724/10000.

This was the number of survivors still alive in the current Zone.

Seraphina Sinclair couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. She had checked the number before entering the instance. She couldn’t remember the exact figure, but it had been in the four or five thousands. Even with a resurrection function, this death rate was absurd.

Her fingertip slid across the Zone channel.

As expected, it was a chorus of despair.

"This damned instance isn’t meant for humans! The monsters are impossible to kill!"

"SOB... Everyone’s dead. I’m the only one from my team who made it out alive..."

"Cut the act, person above. We all made it out alive, who doesn’t know the mechanics by now? You being the only one alive just proves you weren’t even willing to resurrect your teammates. It proves nothing else!"

"No... If all the instances are like this, I really don’t see the point in struggling anymore. So what if I made it out this time? I was just plain lucky to have teammates willing to resurrect me. Will I be that lucky next time? Or the time after that?"

"This instance had too many elements. Resurrection, sacrifice, puzzles, escaping... one after another. The moment you caught your breath, you were about to die again. It was tense and thrilling. I used to be an escape room enthusiast, but I really don’t want to do another one of these instances!"

"I got a B-level Evaluation. That should be pretty good, right? Haha! Hope I get some good stuff!"

"The thought of another instance next Saturday makes me want to die..."

The channel was filled with despair, anger, suspicion, and a few scattered posts showing off.

Seraphina Sinclair skimmed through, managing to piece a few things together.

Everyone who got a C Evaluation had resurrected a teammate, and completion time also seemed to be a crucial factor.

Aside from those two points, Seraphina Sinclair couldn’t discern anything else.

After about ten minutes, the system finally began its summary, and a scrolling panel appeared before all the survivors.

[This was the first official instance! Therefore, all survivors who made it out will receive an incentive reward!]

[Incentive reward includes: 10 Black Fog Coins, 1x tasty small bread!]

’Incentive reward?’

Seraphina Sinclair raised an eyebrow. ’Given the dismal state of the Zone channel, they certainly need some incentive. But this... it’s a bit pathetic.’

This tactic of handing out scraps like they were for beggars was perfectly in line with the system’s usual cruelty.

For survivors who had just crawled back from the gates of hell, this wasn’t so much an incentive as it was an insult—a deeper reminder of how cheap their lives were.

The Zone channel instantly blew up, as expected. But this time, it wasn’t just pure despair, but also the anger of being played for a fool.

"10 Black Fog Coins? One piece of bread? And it’s a small one?! Are you kidding me? Is this all my life-and-death struggle is worth?"

"Heh heh, what a generous system. Thanks a lot!"

"What’s this good for? It’s not even enough for a mouthful!"

"If you didn’t want to give anything, then don’t! Who are you trying to humiliate? Who gives a damn about a stupid piece of bread?! And what can you even do with 10 Black Fog Coins? Is this a handout for beggars?"

The resentment in the channel practically seeped through the screen.

Seraphina Sinclair closed the channel, not bothering to read any more of the pointless complaints.

The panel was still scrolling, now displaying the detailed Evaluation criteria.

[This instance was a race-style exploration instance!]

[Performance Evaluation criteria: F- for completing the instance; E- for completing the instance within three and a half hours; D- for completing the instance within three hours; C- for resurrecting a teammate and completing the instance; B- for resurrecting a teammate and completing the instance within three hours!]

The system only announced the criteria for Evaluations F- through B-, as if building suspense. The criteria for A-level and S-Class Evaluations had yet to be explained.

But the Zone channel erupted in arguments again.

"That can’t be right! I definitely resurrected a teammate, so why is my Evaluation D-level?! Something is definitely wrong here!"

"Are these criteria even right? According to this, everyone on a team should get the same Evaluation, right? So why is my teammate D-level and I’m E-level? I’m filing a complaint!"

"Can’t you have a little patience? They haven’t even mentioned S-Class yet. Obviously, it’s not done explaining. What’s the rush?"

’Exactly, what’s the rush?’

’Seraphina Sinclair, who had single-handedly carried her entire team, hadn’t said a word. What were they even arguing about?’

’If Hannah Morgan and the others also got an S-Class Evaluation, then this instance’s evaluation system would be total garbage!’

Seraphina Sinclair crossed her arms and waited quietly for the panel to continue scrolling.

[A-level Evaluation: Requires resurrecting a teammate and completing the instance within three hours, provided that fewer than three teammates were sacrificed!]

When this message appeared, the scrolling messages in the Zone channel fell silent for a moment.

The hardest part of this condition was, of course, the "prerequisite"!

The monsters were simply not something survivors at the current stage could handle.

One death in exchange for a moment of safety. For these people, it was the only way.