Chapter 200: An Abrupt End

Chapter 200: Chapter 200: An Abrupt End

Seraphina Sinclair’s vision blurred, and she found herself back in the waiting space after a long absence.

Sunflower was here too. Even though it had been here before, the novelty hadn’t worn off. It muttered its impressions to itself, which sounded rather cute at first.

But to Seraphina Sinclair, a human who had been listening to it chatter for half the night, it was nothing short of auditory torture!

Luckily, the countdown ended quickly. The space Seraphina Sinclair occupied cracked open from above, and all the whiteness receded rapidly, like a river.

Once the scene before her cleared, a bone-chilling cold and a heavy dampness immediately enveloped Seraphina Sinclair.

She found herself standing on the lookout platform of a dilapidated stone outpost. Beneath her feet were creaking wooden boards, and all around was a churning white fog so thick you could barely see your hand in front of your face.

Visibility was extremely low; she could only faintly make out the outpost’s silhouette and the nearby wooden palisade.

The air was filled with a strange mixture of rust and rotting vegetation.

"Fuck! What the hell is this place? It’s freezing!" a rough male voice exclaimed from nearby.

Seraphina Sinclair turned to see a tall, bald, powerfully built man in simple cloth clothes, rubbing his arms and muttering curses.

In another direction, a young, bespectacled woman who looked somewhat frail was calmly observing her surroundings.

Seraphina Sinclair said nothing, quickly scanning the area. The outpost wasn’t large. At its center stood a two-story stone house, surrounded by a crude wall of sharpened stakes, with a creaking wooden gate.

From deep within the fog came unsettling rustling sounds and low growls.

"I’m Selene Lawson. Care to introduce yourselves?"

Seraphina Sinclair withdrew her gaze from the surroundings and looked at the woman who had spoken.

’Her expression is composed, and she’s still observant in a place like this. She should be a reliable teammate.’

"Serafelle Sinclair," she replied succinctly.

The bald man lumbered over, his voice booming, "Victor Warner!"

He rubbed his arms and looked around. "This place is spooky as hell. We need to figure out what we’re supposed to do, and fast!"

’Everything he says is just useless drivel.’

Seraphina Sinclair averted her gaze, mentally reconstructing the scene.

’So this ’outpost’ is just a small two-story stone building. The monsters will probably come from outside the fence, and the three of us are likely meant to stop them from breaching the defenses.’

A thought struck Seraphina Sinclair as odd. ’Are we the only line of defense? Just our own strength?’

’No other fortifications?’

’Impossible.’

Holding Sunflower, Seraphina Sinclair lifted her foot and was the first to enter the stone house.

The other two were stunned for a moment, but seeing that she was unharmed, they followed her inside.

The interior of the house was even more dilapidated than it appeared from the outside. The first floor was thick with dust and a musty odor. A wooden staircase led to the second floor, but it had completely rotted through.

Seraphina Sinclair wasn’t concerned. ’With my current agility, getting to the second floor won’t be a problem.’

’Actually, it’s not about skill, just the bonus from my attribute points.’

’After increasing my Speed, everything I do has the feel of a mysterious master.’

But forget the second floor for now. Seraphina Sinclair’s eyes swept over every corner of the first floor, not missing a single detail.

"Look for clues," she said to the two behind her without turning back, her voice ringing out clearly in the empty stone house.

Victor Warner scratched his bald head, muttering, "So mysterious," but still walked over to the area near the door and began to rummage through a pile of clutter.

Selene Lawson, meanwhile, went straight to an old wooden shelf against the wall, on which were scattered some empty cans and broken containers.

Seraphina Sinclair’s attention was drawn to the large stone fireplace in the center of the room.

The fireplace was full of ash, but its structure was intact.

She crouched down and felt along the inside wall of the fireplace, her fingertips touching several unusual, soot-covered raised markings.

"There’s something here," she called out.

Selene Lawson came over at once, and Victor Warner leaned in curiously.

Victor Warner looked left and right, then raised a hand and used his sleeve to brush away the thick layer of soot, revealing clear etchings on the rough stone surface inside the fireplace.

It was a simple floor plan of the outpost, marked with several points and some faded symbols. One of the symbols was clearly the fireplace itself, and next to it was a flame symbol and an arrow pointing downward.

"There’s something underneath?" Selene Lawson reacted instantly, crouching to examine the bottom of the fireplace.

"This looks solid! Is there some kind of mechanism?" Impatient, Victor Warner began prodding and pressing all over the fireplace floor. "Where is it? Where’s the switch?"

"Stop touching everything," Seraphina Sinclair snapped, frowning as she stopped him.

’He’s so reckless. This kind of teammate is bad news.’

’Still, his comment about a mechanism was a good hint.’

As Seraphina Sinclair considered this, her gaze followed the direction of the arrow and landed on a square Stone Tablet in front of the fireplace that was slightly sunken and a different color from the surrounding floor.

She stood up, walked over, and tentatively pressed on it with her foot. The Stone Tablet sank slightly with her movement.

"It probably requires weight, or a specific trigger," she judged calmly. Looking up at the tall and sturdy Victor Warner, she commanded, "You. Stand on it."

"Huh?" Victor Warner grunted, but he did as he was told and stepped onto the Stone Tablet.

The moment his full weight pressed down, a faint CLICK came from beneath his feet. Immediately after, a Stone near the bottom of the fireplace’s interior wall retracted and slid aside, revealing a hidden compartment!

Inside the compartment lay two items: a leather waterskin that sloshed when moved and, when unstopped, gave off a pungent smell that seemed to be lamp oil. And a thick, well-preserved journal wrapped in oilcloth.

"Nice find!" Victor Warner’s eyes lit up, and he reached for the journal.

But Seraphina Sinclair was faster. She snatched the journal and began to flip through it quickly.

Selene Lawson also leaned in to read.

Most of the initial entries were about routine garrison duties, but on the last few pages, the handwriting became sloppy and desperate:

"...The fog is getting thicker. Those things outside... they’re not like any animal... It’s like they’re looking for something... or waiting for something..."

"...Will heard whispers on watch last night. This morning we found him huddled in a corner, eyes vacant, just repeating ’door’... ’key’... We had to lock him up..."

The entry ended there, and the next few pages were torn out.

"...They’re afraid of fire! We have to protect the fire! The fireplace can’t go out... but we’re almost out of firewood..."

"That’s not Will anymore... That’s not..."

"...They’re inside! They—"

The last line was cut off by a long smear of blood!

And there, the journal ended abruptly.

A chill ran down all three of their spines.

Seraphina Sinclair took a small step back and raised her eyes to the second floor.

’I still need to check upstairs. The system probably gave us this time to explore. If we don’t figure things out now, we might not get another chance.’