Chapter 217: A Warm-hearted Person

Chapter 217: Chapter 217: A Warm-hearted Person

"A D-level monster’s aura appeared here just now." Frostfall’s gaze was filled with doubt. "Did you kill such a creature?"

’What does she mean by that?’

Seraphina Sinclair’s hand lowered slightly, her long blade tilting outward into a combat-ready stance. Only then did she retort, "Are you saying that if we can’t give a clear explanation, then even though we opened this gate, it won’t count as completing the instance?"

There was a suppressed anger in her voice.

’This is ridiculous!’

’Are they just toying with us survivors?’

Frostfall keenly picked up on the chill in Seraphina Sinclair’s tone.

The two team members behind her tensed up instantly, and the atmosphere suddenly became taut with hostility.

The elation on Victor Warner’s and Selene Lawson’s faces froze, replaced by terror and confusion.

"No, you’ve misunderstood." Frostfall raised a hand, signaling her team members to stand down. Her gaze remained sharp, but her tone softened slightly. "The gate has been breached. We will, of course, escort you out. That’s the rule. The instance is over, so you don’t need to worry about the next wave."

Her tone shifted as she stared intently at Seraphina Sinclair. "I’m asking these questions simply because I need to understand the situation. I have to assess the risk and ensure the extraction process doesn’t bring that unknown threat along with you. You wouldn’t want to return to your mobile cabins only to find the monster tagged along, would you? Or... we need to confirm if it’s still lurking nearby. That’s crucial for our subsequent cleanup operations."

Her explanation was perfectly reasonable.

If Frostfall had spoken so reasonably from the start, Seraphina Sinclair wouldn’t have said another word.

"We didn’t kill it," she said, her voice calm and devoid of emotion. "It retreated on its own."

"Retreated?"

Frostfall’s brow furrowed, clearly surprised and skeptical of this answer. "A D-level predator, drawn here by the Erosion Gate, would voluntarily retreat when the gate is already partially breached? What was the reason?"

Victor Warner couldn’t help but interject, gesturing excitedly. "It’s true! That thing was huge! But when it saw Serafelle, it was like it had seen a ghost! It whimpered and scrambled back! It almost got stuck in the gate!"

Selene Lawson nodded repeatedly, still shaken. "It seemed... really afraid of Serafelle Sinclair."

"Afraid?" a male team member behind Frostfall couldn’t help but exclaim in disbelief. "Captain, this..."

Frostfall raised a hand to stop him. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

"I understand." She finally nodded, seemingly having made a decision. "We will handle the specifics. Now, we’re running out of time."

She stepped aside to clear the path, pointing toward the deep darkness behind her.

At some point, a soft, rippling white halo had appeared there, forming an oval Lightgate.

"Go through this portal, and you will arrive at your own mobile cabins," Frostfall said concisely. "Move quickly."

As if granted a pardon, Victor Warner and Selene Lawson practically scrambled toward the Lightgate. Their figures were instantly swallowed by the white light and vanished.

Seraphina Sinclair gave Frostfall one last look before stepping into the portal.

The white before her eyes began to distort, then scattered like white ripples. When her vision cleared, she was standing in the center of her mobile cabin.

The mobile cabin was quiet...

No, not that quiet.

Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze shifted to Lucky’s little den.

The little guy had buried its head in its blanket, its chubby rear and its tail—covered in fine, jet-black scales—sticking out. It was wagging from side to side, making soft "THUMP, THUMP" sounds as it hit the edge of the den.

It seemed to sense Seraphina Sinclair’s return. A muffled, slightly pathetic "whimper" came from its buried head, and its tail began to wag faster, almost like a tiny propeller.

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

’Alright, so the one before was a big dog, and this one’s a little dog.’

Seraphina Sinclair ignored it and first gave the cabin a quick inspection.

The door and windows were shut tight, and there were no signs of anything having been inside.

It’s just...

Seraphina Sinclair sniffed the air again.

A faint, crisp scent, like a pine forest after a snowfall, lingered in the air of the mobile cabin.

A strange smell.

Seraphina Sinclair fell silent for a moment, then suddenly raised the hand that the Shadow-Hound had been afraid of and sniffed it.

The same smell.

’Well then.’

’Looks like while I was away, Lucky did a good job "guarding the house."’

She shook her head, went to expose the Sunflower to some sunshine, then sat down on the floor nearby and opened the regional channel to take a look.

"I’m speechless. Are all the instances styled like this? Last time, we got to the end and it asked if we wanted to revive a teammate. This time, we finish three waves and it tells us we can’t exit the instance?!"

"The instance mechanics are absolutely vicious! They set up traps from the very beginning to deliberately raise our death rate! Get the hell out here, you damn system! I’m asking you, what’s so wrong with me being alive?"

"But you’re still alive, aren’t you? Since other people died, what are you crying for, you hypocrite."

"A lot of people are afraid to say it, but I’m not. It’s survival of the fittest. I’m strong enough, so I’m still alive. Didn’t you all survive by sacrificing your teammates? The system said it too, right? Sacrifice... is unavoidable!"

"Is the person above even human? Of course you don’t care, it wasn’t your teammates who died! We held out until the fifth wave just to get a good Evaluation! Do you have any idea what kind of monsters show up later? In this instance, it’s absolutely impossible for anyone to get the highest Evaluation!"

"We got lucky and found a clue. We started smashing the gate from the second wave to look for reinforcements. We finally broke it open, and this giant dog thing burst out. Luckily, the ’vote to exit instance’ option was still there, so we managed to make a messy escape in the end."

"What’s that guy above talking about? What reinforcements? What giant dog? Were we even in the same instance?"

"Heh heh, I got matched with a master. Got carried through the whole thing. The fact that I’m still alive shows you how legit the master is, right? I got threatened a few times, but who cares. Next time, please let me get matched with Master Blacktiger again!"

"Who did you say you got matched with? WHO?!!"

"For real? Is Master Blacktiger strong? Is Master Blacktiger a man or a woman? What do they look like? What’s their real name? Are they handsome? Or beautiful?"

"What’s with all the rambling questions from the person above? Why don’t I just show you the master’s ID card, huh?"

"Where’s the one who got matched with the master? Say something!"

"I can’t take it anymore, this person is just here to troll us!"

"I’m still more curious about what happened inside the instances."

"Alright, alright, allow this friendly neighborhood enthusiast to explain. The main trap that everyone ran into in this instance is that the ’vote to exit’ option only appears after the fourth wave ends! This was the one and only problem all normal survivors had to face. You either sacrificed your teammates or fought with all your might. If you can see this message, it means you survived, so first of all, congratulations!"