Chapter 89: Too Netherworldly

Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Too Netherworldly

If this doesn’t work...

’Auric Young, you’ll have to be the martyr.’

Seraphina Sinclair held her breath, trying to minimize her presence as much as possible.

Through the gaps between the corpses covering her body, she could clearly see the figures of the approaching Corrupted Sentinels.

Seraphina Sinclair wasn’t sure if she had moved. Her heart was pounding like a drum, and her entire body must have been frozen stiff.

As for why she could only say "must have been"...

She really didn’t have the mental energy to analyze her own condition right now.

The Sentinels were getting closer. And it wasn’t just one—they moved as if by agreement, forming an encirclement and then slowly tightening it.

It was as if every living thing within that circle was prey they were determined to claim!

Seraphina Sinclair did not want to become prey. Holding her breath, she racked her brains, trying to figure out a way to escape with her life.

’If they really find me...’

Just the thought of it made Seraphina Sinclair feel like her heart was going to explode.

But if her past life had given her nothing else, it had certainly given her a strong heart.

After her grandmother died, she became an orphan.

Struggling alone in the big city with no one to rely on, what kind of nasty words hadn’t she heard?

She’d long since been hardened by it!

’If I really have to compare...’

’These monsters are less disgusting than some of the gut-wrenching things people have said.’

Seraphina Sinclair took another slow, deep breath. Honestly, she should have been holding her breath the whole time. The stench here was unbearable.

But humans die if they hold their breath for too long...

Seraphina Sinclair mentally shook her head, forcing her thoughts back on track.

In her eyes, everything on this island was like a pre-programmed game.

Sentinels patrolling on fixed routes... treasures hidden in a few possible locations... the setup where taking the treasure alerts all the Sentinels!

And then there were these stinking, not-yet-fully-decomposed corpses all over Seraphina Sinclair.

If you analyzed it with real-world logic, none of these key points made any sense!

Sentinels are individuals with self-awareness; there’s no way they would tirelessly and repeatedly patrol a fixed route without getting bored.

As for the treasure, that goes without saying. The treasure is the reward, and the reward is the premise for everything.

And alerting all the Sentinels after taking the treasure was even more ridiculous. Seraphina Sinclair hadn’t even opened the chest!

She just stuffed the chest into her personal space!

’Okay... maybe there’s no difference between the two, but the most important thing is...’

’Why on earth are there so many relatively fresh corpses in the same place as the treasure chest?’

At this stage... other than a cheater like Seraphina Sinclair, who had [Mystic Insight] and could see the monsters’ patrol routes, could anyone really make it this far?

That was a good question indeed.

Seraphina Sinclair tried to apply the logic she was familiar with from her past life to this world, but she quickly realized the problem.

This damned place has a recognition function!

Just like in a game, things she crafted herself, like cloth or charcoal, had to be recognized and authenticated by the system before they could be used as items.

If that’s the case, couldn’t this be considered a massive, real-life virtual game?

To take it a step further, if this entire special area was a single game level... why would the developers place a pile of fresh corpses where they put the treasure chest?

Why?

Seraphina Sinclair was asking herself, but she had actually already figured it out.

The reason was simple. The treasure chest was designed to trigger an alert from all the monsters no matter how it was taken, or even if it was just touched!

And the monsters were designed to be impossible to fight head-on, so...

These corpses were clearly a necessary tool for escape—a lifeline left for the survivors!

The Sentinels were getting closer, and the time until the special area closed was also drawing near.

But Seraphina Sinclair stopped staying quiet and immediately sprang into action.

Forcing down her nausea, she apologized several times in her mind to the corpse she was under, then reached up, tore off a chunk of rotten flesh, and viciously smeared it on herself!

This outfit was definitely ruined, but of course, she couldn’t worry about clothes right now.

This method might not work, but it was the most plausible one Seraphina Sinclair could come up with.

She had never seen these monsters before, but she had seen zombie movies!

That’s how they always did it in the movies! Even the monsters’ designs were similar.

Better to fight for her life than just lie here and wait to die.

Seraphina Sinclair dry-heaved as she continued to smear.

’Seriously... Sometimes she really felt it would be better to just get it all over with. What kind of crap did the genius system of this damned place come up with?’

’Is it trying every possible way to be disgusting?!!!’

The more viciously Seraphina Sinclair cursed in her mind, the faster her hands moved.

And most importantly, the Sentinels’ forward Speed had actually become even more Slow.

It was as if... as if they had lost their target!

This was definitely a good thing, but Seraphina Sinclair couldn’t bring herself to smile.

She pinched a glob of rotten flesh...

There’s no need to give a Description of how it felt. Seraphina Sinclair’s current expression was one of grim determination, as if she were facing death.

She pressed her hand firmly against her neck, avoiding her mouth and nose, and smeared her face as well. Only then did she blink a few times and observe her surroundings.

’Hmm... the monsters have all stopped.’

’It seems to be working.’

’The next step is... to move!’

To be honest, Seraphina Sinclair’s body was a little stiff. The current situation was so bizarre it was almost comical.

She tried to stretch her stiff cheeks, but after feeling the foreign substance on her face, she immediately tensed up again.

Then, she finally took her first step.

Seraphina Sinclair very carefully lifted her foot, turning her body as she cautiously got to her feet.

As she moved, she watched the monsters’ reactions.

’Good, they haven’t noticed me!’

Seraphina Sinclair’s heart was in her throat. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to stand up completely.

This seemed to attract the attention of one Sentinel. The monster’s gaze seemed to hold a hint of curiosity.

Of course, this was purely Seraphina Sinclair’s speculation.

It was rotted beyond recognition; it would be weirder if she could actually read its emotions.

Seraphina Sinclair stood in place and waited for a moment. Only after confirming that the monsters weren’t reacting did she quietly let out a small sigh of relief.

’Next... I have to get back to the mobile cabin before the countdown hits zero.’

There was one more very important problem.

’Why did these monsters form an encirclement and then just stop moving??’

’Couldn’t they at least leave a gap for me to get through!’

Seraphina Sinclair wanted to cry but had no tears. She mimicked the way she remembered the Corrupted Sentinels moving, shifting her body a few times.

Then she stopped again, staring at the gap between two Corrupted Sentinels, and fell completely silent.

’What is this?’

’Am I supposed to squeeze past them?’

’Squeeze past? That’s way too messed up!!’

’Touching these monsters won’t trigger an immediate attack, right?’

Seraphina Sinclair’s brow furrowed. She began to question if she was even still alive.

Otherwise, how could she be going through something so messed up?

Just as she hesitated for a moment, steeling herself to just go for it, she suddenly saw the monster that had first noticed her begin to move.