Chapter 141: Broodmother’s Heart, a Deal

Chapter 141: Chapter 141: Broodmother’s Heart, a Deal

Inside Vorlag City’s temporary official command center, the atmosphere was even heavier than the icy landscape outside.

Justin Brooks was still wrapped in thick bandages, but he was already forcing himself to work.

His face was unusually pale from his injuries and anxiety, but his eyes burned with agitation and anger.

"Damn it! We haven’t even finished cleaning up the mess Hunter Lowe left behind, and now this deadly cold snap hits us out of nowhere! Is this so-called apocalyptic era on Azure Star just one extreme disaster after another?!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He slammed his fist into the nearby wall, shaking dust from its surface.

Philip Jensen, who was beside him, quickly held him back. "Calm down! Your injuries haven’t healed yet, don’t move around!"

But right now, how could Justin Brooks care about his injuries? The sense of powerlessness and urgency was nearly overwhelming him.

Philip Jensen sighed, his gaze turning to the blizzard-shrouded world outside as he tried to find something positive.

"Fortunately, your Ability is unexpectedly useful at a time like this. Using the [Stone Wall] Talent to rapidly construct the Shelter’s outer walls and structure is more efficient than any engineering team. As long as we can solve the problem of your excessive spiritual power consumption, we can build Vorlag City’s official safe zone in the shortest possible time. Once we gather everyone together behind solid fortifications, we’ll be in a much better position to handle whatever disasters come next."

Philip Jensen looked into the distance.

Through the swirling snow, he could faintly make out thick, tall stone walls rising from the ground, forming the outline of a massive structure.

This was the result of Justin Brooks working through the night, ignoring his injuries and expending a vast amount of spiritual power.

However, it was also during this night that they had witnessed the arrival of this terrifying blizzard firsthand and understood its dreadful power.

Philip Jensen changed the subject, his tone growing serious. "I heard about what happened in your residential complex. I think we need to bring Miss Webb to the safe zone as soon as possible. I also received word that the Player named Chandler who saved you... although he took care of the Insectoid Monsters, his methods were... a bit too direct. It’s caused fear and rejection among some of the residents, and he’s practically become a target of public criticism."

He sighed. "The emergence of Players is slowly creating a rift, even a conflict, with ordinary people. This kind of situation will likely become more and more common."

"Sean Chandler is incredibly strong,"

Philip Jensen continued, "I personally would love for him to join our team. I’ve subtly extended an invitation to him before, but that guy... he doesn’t seem interested at all. All of his attention is on his girlfriend; he just wants to stay and protect her."

Hearing this, Justin Brooks was rather calm. "Mm, for a Player as powerful as him, as long as he doesn’t actively cause trouble and is willing to remain neutral and step in during a crisis, that’s already good enough. Forcing the issue might just backfire."

As the two were talking, Ronald Lynn, wrapped in a heavy military coat, rushed in out of the blizzard, his face etched with unprecedented anxiety.

"Captain Brooks! Captain Jensen! The situation is getting worse!"

He reported breathlessly, "The temperature is still dropping with no end in sight! All the major hospitals and temporary medical stations in the city are overwhelmed. Countless citizens are running high fevers, and medicine is in extremely short supply! What’s worse, our reserves of food and winter supplies are almost gone, and the transport teams can’t move at all in this weather!"

One piece of bad news followed another, making the air in the command center practically freeze.

The survival challenges brought by the cold wave were far more severe than they had imagined.

Meanwhile, Seraphina Sullivan was also too unsettled by the persistent low temperatures to sleep.

Just then, Sean Chandler seemed to suddenly remember something.

He took out a strange-looking, dark red necklace from his Sapphire Space Bag and handed it to Seraphina Sullivan.

Seraphina Sullivan took the necklace. It felt strangely warm and slightly elastic to the touch. She asked quizzically, "What’s this?"

Sean Chandler explained, "I ripped it off Hunter Lowe’s neck when I dealt with him. At the time, I had a feeling this thing might be the core that controlled those beetle monsters, so I kept it. I forgot about it after being questioned by the military."

Seraphina Sullivan examined the necklace in her hand carefully.

A faint light seemed to flow within the center of the dark red "gemstone." The more she looked, the less it resembled an ordinary mineral and the more it looked like a curled-up, lifelike ruby spider!

A faint but tangible life fluctuation emanated from it.

Heart of the Nest’s inner thoughts: ’Have I been discovered? Impossible! This master’s disguise is flawless!’

Seraphina Sullivan frowned slightly. She immediately put on her [Analysis Glasses] and activated the Item Identification function.

However, the information fed back by the glasses made her pause.

[Warning: Faint life signs detected in target. Item Identification module cannot perform standard appraisal on living organisms.]

"It’s alive?!"

Alarmed, Seraphina Sullivan immediately focused her mind. A faint golden light flashed in her eyes—[Eye of Resume], activate!

This time, the real information was displayed before her without reservation:

[Name: Heart of the Nest (Weakened, Disguised)]

[Gender: Female]

[Professional Skills:]

1. [Insect Breeding]:

Can continuously produce three different types of insectoid monsters (Worker-type: Rogue Beetle; Scout-type: Compound-Eye Roach; Guard-type: Goliath Soldier Ant) as long as it is fed sufficient flesh and blood Energy.

2. [Advanced Disguise]:

Can perfectly disguise itself as a non-living object such as a gemstone or mineral, concealing its life Aura to evade normal detection.

[Status: Extremely Hungry, Lacking Energy, Activity Reduced Due to Low Temperature]

[Weaknesses: Extreme Aversion to Cold: Low temperatures will cause it to enter hibernation or die; Hunger: Cannot reproduce without flesh and blood Energy]

Seeing this string of information, Seraphina Sullivan was first surprised, but then the corners of her mouth curled up uncontrollably into a smile, like someone who had just discovered a treasure.

"Looks like... we’ve stumbled upon something incredible,"

Seraphina Sullivan murmured to herself, her gaze burning as she stared at the Heart of the Nest in her hand, which was still "playing dead."

A wicked thought on how to "deal with" and "utilize" this dangerous little thing instantly formed in her mind.

A malicious grin immediately spread across Seraphina Sullivan’s face.

Heart of the Nest: ’...I suddenly feel so cold. Not the kind of cold from the weather, but the kind of cold you feel when a villain has their eyes on you...’

RING, RING, RING!

Just as Seraphina Sullivan was pondering how to "welcome" the Heart of the Nest playing dead in her hand, her phone rang inopportunely.

She glanced at it and saw it was Dexter Luther again.

’That guy really knows how to pick his moments.’

She answered the call, and Dexter Luther’s urgent voice immediately came through, seemingly mixed with the sound of chattering teeth in the background:

"S-Sullivan! This god-awful weather suddenly got cold enough to kill someone! My Player friend... he... he said he wants to meet your boyfriend as soon as possible to make the trade. You... you probably know this too, but you can’t buy food or supplies outside right now, everyone’s in a rush to stock up... Look, how about we get this done today?"