Chapter 410 - 409: Dragging You Down

Chapter 410: Chapter 409: Dragging You Down

It was a truly amusing sight.

Seraphina Sinclair’s lips curled into a smile, and the anger that had just begun to swell within her dissipated.

The midday sunshine was scorching. Seraphina Sinclair brought over a blanket and spread it on the ground of the Wind-carved Fissure. She carefully positioned the Sunflower so its head was aimed directly at the sun, then lay down beside it, her whole body relaxing.

As long as there was sunshine, the Sunflower wouldn’t even notice a human lying next to it. The thoughts it transmitted were just a stream of meaningless bytes.

Seraphina Sinclair lay beside it, comfortably soaking up the sun for a while. When it started to feel a bit too hot, she rolled over, propped her chin on her hands, and recalled the events inside the dungeon.

This dungeon was a race. The objective was simple: just run to the finish line.

However, the path from start to finish was lined with countless caves to hide in, and all sorts of unexpected situations could occur along the way.

On top of that, there was a B-level monster chasing them from behind. Getting caught meant death. Triggering a trap on the path also meant death. And while the caves were safe, hiding in one for too long was just another way to die.

The system had assigned her four teammates. They had just entered the dungeon and hadn’t even learned everyone’s faces when one unlucky soul was swatted to death by the monster right before their eyes.

And it wasn’t over. The monster didn’t even pause before immediately attacking a second person.

Even though Seraphina Sinclair was fast and had her Skills, it still took considerable effort to get out of the dungeon.

But as for her Evaluation...

Seraphina Sinclair smiled faintly. ’Getting an S is a sure thing.’

Compared to convoluted dungeons, Seraphina Sinclair much preferred this kind.

The rules were explained beforehand, so you knew exactly what was going on the moment you entered. Where to go to complete the objective, what to do to get a higher Evaluation—it was all crystal clear!

And among all the different types of dungeons, these race-style ones were Seraphina Sinclair’s absolute favorite.

The strong got out first; the weak were left behind.

When she exited the dungeon, her two surviving teammates were still hiding in a cave. Even the area channel was dead silent, without a single message.

But a good while had passed since then. ’The ones who were going to make it out should be out by now, right?’

With that thought, Seraphina Sinclair opened the area channel.

The previous silence was gone. The channel was bustling with activity again, as if it had never quieted down.

Except...

’What’s this? Are all the messages from the Chrona group chat leaking out?’

Right now, almost everyone was discussing the Expansion Crystals.

"So what’s the real price of an Expansion Crystal? Can someone give us the inside scoop? I want to see if I can even afford one."

"Weren’t they supposed to go on sale today? Why aren’t they out yet this late? If they weren’t hoarding them, my cabin would’ve been upgraded ages ago!"

"LMAO, who would’ve ever believed these top players would act like this back in the day."

"Are Artemis and Mountainwind still not out of the dungeon? Or are they just laying low?"

"Cloudmute is out, but she’s busy, you know. (grabs popcorn)"

"Busy with what?"

"Busy crying her eyes out with voice messages in every chat group. My friend’s in the casual channel next door, says she’s spamming the whole thing, boo-hooing about how she was forced into it. Says Mountainwind and the others went to Master Blacktiger first, and she just has a big mouth and accidentally blabbed."

"...Huh?"

"Wait, wait, wait. Mountainwind went to see Master Blacktiger? When did this happen?"

"Yesterday, apparently. Seriously, these top players and their complicated games. If it weren’t for Mountainwind’s big mouth, we wouldn’t know about any of this!"

"Post it, post it! If you have a screenshot, just post it! If you don’t, you’re talking out your *ss."

"..."

Seraphina Sinclair’s eyes narrowed. ℯℯ𝑙.

The next second, a heavily censored screenshot of a private chat actually appeared in the channel.

The ID in the screenshot was indeed Mountainwind’s. The message content was obscured, leaving only a faint outline, but the name "Master Blacktiger" and the word "cooperated" were exceptionally clear. The censorship was so poor it was obviously intentional.

The channel went silent for three seconds.

Seraphina Sinclair frowned slightly as she looked at the image. ’Someone’s trying to drag me into this hoarding mess and sling some mud my way.’

Not that she minded being dragged into this ugly skirmish.

In fact, she had wanted to get involved all along—not to side with the hoarders, but to figure out who actually had the goods, kill them, and take everything for herself.

’As for her reputation in the area channel? Who cares?’

[Area Channel]

"So are they going to sell today or not? This whole thing has become a total mess."

"Of course they’ll sell. Artemis already announced it. If she backs out now, she’d just be making a fool of herself, right?"

"But can she handle it alone? Cloudmute turned on her, and Mountainwind is cooperating with Blacktiger. She’s a general without an army now. Who’s she going to sell that pile of crystals to?"

"To the people who need them, obviously. How many people in this channel have been waiting for Expansion Crystals so long their hair has turned white?"

"What do you mean, a general without an army? If it wasn’t for Artemis, why would Blacktiger ever cooperate with Mountainwind?"

"Huh? So Mountainwind and Artemis are still on the same side, and now they’ve got a top player like Blacktiger with them?"

"Didn’t someone say before that if this got out, we could settle it in the arena? Well, great. Now Boss Blacktiger is on their side too! Who dares to challenge Master Blacktiger to a duel?"

’So they really are trying to drag me into this.’

Seraphina Sinclair lowered her gaze. Now that they had the situation in the area channel under control, the other party would probably send someone to talk to her.

’They can’t just keep wielding the stick without offering a carrot, right?’

’Go on, contact me then.’

Wind surged in from the mouth of the canyon, lifting the loose ends of her hair.

The sun was slowly, steadily climbing toward its zenith.

And Seraphina Sinclair suddenly had a feeling that this afternoon was going to be very interesting.

She lay there under the sun, looking completely lethargic, but her thoughts were sharp and clear.

Artemis’s move wasn’t meant to confirm anything specific.

Her goal was to shift everyone’s attention from "What’s the real price of the Expansion Crystals?" to "Is Blacktiger Ford involved or not?"

As long as that question hung in the air, when she started selling her stock, she could use "Even Master Blacktiger approves of our methods" as a form of endorsement.

This was despite the fact that Seraphina Sinclair hadn’t said a single word of support from start to finish. Despite the fact that in the screenshot, Mountainwind had said "cooperated," not "Artemis is right."

A red dot suddenly popped up, signaling a private message.

Seraphina Sinclair’s lips curved. She turned her face away from the sunshine and opened it.

It was Artemis, just as she’d expected.

[Artemis]: Partner with us. I take fifty percent of the profits, you take fifty percent. What do you say?

Seraphina Sinclair stared at the message for a long moment, then suddenly laughed out loud.

The five top players—Seaview, Artemis, Cloudmute, Mountainwind, and Nathan Kane—had all been cooperating.

Seaview was dead. Cloudmute had leaked the information, committing a heinous crime in their eyes.

Mountainwind and Nathan Kane had tried to leave but couldn’t, and were now still working for Artemis.

The agreed-upon profit split was sixty percent for Artemis, with Mountainwind and Nathan Kane getting twenty percent each. Now, needing Blacktiger Ford to join the group, Artemis’s opening offer was—

"I take fifty percent of the profits, you take fifty percent."

Seraphina Sinclair looked at the message, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

’I wouldn’t dare partner with someone like that.’