Chapter 284: Tombstone

Chapter 284: Chapter 284: Tombstone

But since she had already decided to use it, Seraphina Sinclair didn’t dwell on it for long.

She drew out the ticket and flicked it lightly with a finger. She watched it quiver in her hand for a moment before choosing "Use."

Just like the ticket to The Coliseum, it stretched out before Seraphina Sinclair and transformed into a prompt panel.

[You may bring any items you wish. However, please remember: The special area holds infinite possibilities, but you may only explore three zones! After the third, exploring each additional zone will require the sacrifice of one item you brought with you. (Note: The value of the item must be sufficient to open the gate!)]

[Please confirm the number of participants. Current participants: 1. A security deposit of 5,000 Black Fog Coins is required.]

’So I have to pay five thousand even if I’m by myself?’

Seraphina Sinclair had assumed it would be five survivors, each paying one thousand.

Still... it was only five thousand Black Fog Coins. She could afford that.

After she submitted the payment, a new panel immediately popped up.

[Confirm teleportation to the special area?]

Before making her choice, Seraphina Sinclair glanced back at the previous prompt. The message contained a lot of information, but after staring at it for a long time, she still couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

’Could it be that in this so-called special area, each zone comes with its own reward? Is that why they talk about opening new ones?’

It was pure speculation on Seraphina Sinclair’s part. Realizing it was pointless, she turned and scooped up Lucky.

’When it comes to the most valuable thing in this cabin, besides Sunflower, isn’t it this Little Dragon?’

Just in case, Seraphina Sinclair also stuffed some junk items into her Silver Moon Earrings. Once everything was ready, she clicked "Confirm."

In an instant, the scene before her eyes changed abruptly.

Lucky’s senses seemed to be linked to Seraphina Sinclair’s. The moment the scenery shifted, it burrowed deeper into her arms.

It looked just like a fledgling with no Combat Ability, instinctively relying on its mother.

Seraphina Sinclair held it a little tighter. They looked like a mother and... well, Seraphina Sinclair still hadn’t determined Lucky’s gender. But if it had one, she hoped it was a little female dragon.

The woman and her dragon looked the very picture of a loving mother and daughter.

But Seraphina Sinclair knew full well she had brought Lucky along with the intention of sacrificing it.

As long as Lucky could be sacrificed, she could not only get rid of a "big problem" but also snag a few rewards in the process.

After only a moment, the scene before Seraphina Sinclair’s eyes cleared once more.

The so-called special area didn’t seem any different from her own mobile cabin.

Wooden walls, wooden floors, a half-eaten compressed biscuit on the table. The fireplace seemed to hold dying Embers, and a cup on the table was still letting off a faint trail of steam.

Everything seemed to be frozen at a single moment, as if time had stopped moving.

But now, with Seraphina Sinclair’s arrival, time began to flow again.

At first, Seraphina Sinclair didn’t move out of caution. But after getting a clear look at her surroundings, she became even more hesitant to make a move.

’Is this really a special area?’

The question surfaced in her mind almost instantly.

It wasn’t as if Seraphina Sinclair had never been to a special area or received rewards from one.

If someone had told her back then that she would one day encounter a special area like this, she wouldn’t have believed them for a second.

But with it all laid out before her now, Seraphina Sinclair had no choice but to accept it.

She circled the single wooden table in the cabin a few times, carefully examining the furnishings.

Apart from the familiar furnishings, there were several boxes stacked in a corner of the room. Seraphina Sinclair craned her neck to look and saw they were filled with supplies.

It had all sorts of things. The more Seraphina Sinclair looked, the more familiar it all became. ’Aren’t these the kind of supplies you get after a victory in the fighting ring?’

’This was a survivor’s entire fortune.’

Seraphina Sinclair frowned, her gaze finally shifting to the wooden door set in its frame.

’Is this so-called special area actually a mobile cabin? What is this place? I’ll know once I open that door...’

Seraphina Sinclair’s fingers hovered before the cold door, pausing for a few seconds.

Lucky rubbed against her ankle, a low whimper rumbling in its throat. Its red pupils were fixed on the crack beneath the door, as if some monster were locked away inside.

’What’s behind the door? Another identical room? A dangerous trap? Or... the way out of here?’

There were no more clues.

This strange mobile cabin... other than its stillness and emptiness, offered no useful information.

She took a deep breath. Done hesitating, she pulled the wooden door inward with a firm tug of her wrist.

The hinges let out a faint CREAK, breaking the dead silence of the cabin.

Outside...

Seraphina Sinclair fell silent.

The scene outside was identical to the one from her own mobile cabin: the churning, unending black fog.

She leaned forward slightly.

Outside the cabin, the floor extended outwards.

This, too, was identical to a mobile cabin.

As Seraphina Sinclair turned her head, she saw a pot with a withered Sunflower.

On the Earth in the flowerpot, a room card was placed.

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t touch any of it.

She took a deep breath and retreated back inside the cabin.

At that moment, Seraphina Sinclair could finally be certain. This was a mobile cabin—and one whose Sunflower had already withered.

In other words, the owner of this mobile cabin was already dead.

’Then...’

Seraphina Sinclair’s head snapped toward the pile of supplies in the corner.

’The so-called special area, the so-called rewards... is this it? The legacy of dead survivors? Or rather, survivors who didn’t die in the ring?’

The thought sent a chill crawling up Seraphina Sinclair’s spine.

’If this speculation is true, then isn’t this special area essentially a massive graveyard, displaying the countless relics of dead survivors?!’

’Every motionless mobile cabin is a tombstone.’

’And "exploring zones" just means entering the homes of different dead people to loot what little they had left?!’

’No wonder the prompt mentioned infinite possibilities. After all, who knows what kind of supplies or items might be hidden in the next room.’

’Then... what about monsters?’

’Where would the monsters come from?’

Seraphina Sinclair tentatively reached out and picked up the cup from the table.

The water inside was indeed still warm, but it was far from clean.

This small detail offered a glimpse into the survivor’s meager existence. Just like the supplies—they were all so ordinary that she felt no desire to take any of them.

As she held the cup, Seraphina Sinclair scanned her surroundings vigilantly. It was silent. Nothing happened.

She stood and thought for a moment, then collected the supplies from the corner into her Silver Moon Earrings. The instant she did, her body tensed, her longsword materializing in her hand as she prepared for a fight.

The wind howled through the open wooden door, making the tattered bed canopy flap violently.