Chapter 151: A Familiar Figure: Is That You, Great-Grandma?

Chapter 151: Chapter 151: A Familiar Figure: Is That You, Great-Grandma?

Flora was waving two of its thickest vines, nimbly scooping up the last Night Rat’s corpse like a pair of hands. It was gleefully shoving the body into its enormous, petal-lined mouth, which was bristling with Sharp Teeth.

Half of the rat’s corpse was already inside its "mouth," with only the hindquarters and tail still sticking out.

Seraphina Sullivan: "..."

Flora, who had been eating merrily, sensed its master’s gaze and froze. Its giant flower head slowly turned, meeting Seraphina Sullivan’s exasperated stare.

Flora: "..."

It quickly swallowed the rest of the rat’s corpse with a single GULP, then waved its vines and hastily "explained" in a tone that was both sheepish and eager for praise:

"Master! Um... I was just so hungry, I couldn’t help myself! But! But I remembered you wanted their blood!"

It pointed to the side with one of its vines.

"I had Moe draw out a whole bunch and save it beforehand!"

Seraphina Sullivan looked in the direction it was pointing and, sure enough, saw the Little Demon Prince, Moe, floating nearby. He was holding a large syringe already filled with the dark red blood of a Night Rat.

When Moe saw her looking, he even jiggled the syringe in his hand, his face still wearing that sinister yet slightly proud expression.

Seeing this, Seraphina Sullivan wasn’t angry. She just didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and felt a deep sense of puzzlement.

’That’s strange. I never starved Flora back at the farm. I fed it plenty of meat. So why is it acting like it hasn’t eaten in a century the moment we’re outside... Could this be a case of "tame flowers not smelling as sweet as wild ones"? Or... does hunting for its own food just make it taste that much better?’

Seraphina Sullivan shook her head helplessly, gaining a new appreciation for Flora’s gluttonous nature.

After dealing with the spoils of battle, Seraphina Sullivan immediately bent down, picked up the high-intensity flashlight Nicholas Jensen had dropped, and quickly switched it off.

The blinding light vanished, and the surroundings were once again swallowed by a thick darkness, leaving only the eerie green vision provided by her Analysis Glasses.

Out of habit, she used Item Identification on the flashlight.

[Sun Flashlight]

Effect: When activated, it emits a powerful light that simulates the solar spectrum, providing excellent illumination and deterring certain photophobic creatures. It can absorb and store solar energy, giving it a nearly infinite battery life.

"Hm? This is actually a pretty top-tier item."

Seraphina Sullivan raised an eyebrow and, without hesitation, stored the flashlight in her Space.

"Consider it confiscated. Think of it as interest on the favor of saving your life."

She turned her head, a wicked, malicious smile on her face, and looked over at the unconscious Nicholas Jensen, who was still being treated by Sean Chandler.

’Hmm, should I just use some method to Control him and exploit him as a pure "munitions production machine" until he’s all used up? Or should I play the long game and attempt a more long-term "cooperation"?’

The thought flashed through her mind.

However, before she could give it more thought, her keen senses picked up more strange noises coming from the darkness in the distance.

Apparently, the earlier gunshots, sounds of fighting, and the flashlight’s beam had acted like a stone tossed into a pond, attracting things from the surrounding area.

"We can’t stay here. Let’s go!" Seraphina Sullivan decided instantly.

Sean Chandler nodded, effortlessly hoisted the unconscious Nicholas Jensen onto his shoulder, and followed closely behind Seraphina Sullivan. The three of them quickly disappeared into the shadows of the ruins, leaving the troublesome area behind.

「A short while after Seraphina Sullivan’s group had left.」

A few cautious figures appeared in the area where the battle had just ended.

Their movements were sharp and efficient; they were clearly Players, too.

One of them was a young man with an upright posture and a calm face.

Dustin Sullivan’s sharp gaze swept over the still-wet bloodstains on the ground, the scattered shell casings, and the claw marks left by a giant bat. "Looks like things were lively here a moment ago," he said in a low voice. "Someone had a fierce clash with monsters. More than one wave, it seems."

A younger-looking girl with bright, lively eyes beside him chimed in, her voice tinged with worry, "Dustin, should we try to find those people? That Player seemed pretty strong. I have a really bad feeling about this Dark Apocalypse instance. The precognition item I just used vaguely indicated that on the final day... something absolutely terrifying might happen! There’s strength in numbers. Wouldn’t it be safer to cooperate?"

Dustin Sullivan was silent for a moment and didn’t answer right away.

He scanned the dead-silent darkness around them and slowly shook his head.

"There’s no need to rush. Apocalypse instances are fraught with danger, but a lot of the time, the most dangerous threats are the other people wearing the same clothes and bearing the same Player title as us. If we want to team up, we have to find teammates who are truly compatible and trustworthy. Otherwise... it’s no different from inviting the wolf into your house."

His voice was calm and restrained, revealing the caution he had learned from struggling to survive in the apocalypse.

...

「Meanwhile.」

Nicholas Jensen’s consciousness drifted, as if it had broken free from its heavy mortal shell and was endlessly ascending.

"Huh... where am I?" He looked around in a daze. He was surrounded by a hazy, warm white light, and he couldn’t feel any pain.

Then, the scene before him changed, and he once again saw his long-dead great-grandmother!

The old woman was dressed in old-fashioned clothes, floating before him with her hands on her hips, staring at him with a look of utter disappointment.

"You good-for-nothing little brat!"

His great-grandmother’s specter cursed as she reached out a spectral hand and grabbed him by the collar. "How did you end up in a place like this again? Huh?! Is this somewhere you should be? Get back there!"

As she spoke, before Nicholas Jensen could react, his great-grandmother swung her other hand and unleashed a torrent of slaps—a veritable "Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms"—on his head and face, leaving him completely dazed.

Weak and pitiful, Nicholas Jensen covered his battered face, looking utterly wronged.

Then, a powerful wave of dizziness washed over him, and his consciousness was violently dragged downward...

...

Back in the real world, Nicholas Jensen gasped and his eyes flew open.

A sharp, stabbing pain emanated from his neck. He subconsciously reached up to touch it, only to feel a thick bandage.

"Huh? I... I’m not dead?" he muttered to himself, his voice still hoarse.

The familiar scene left him in a daze for a moment.

"I feel like... that whole scene was so familiar. It’s like déjà vu. The last time I almost died, I think I also dreamed that my great-grandma beat me back to life..."

Seraphina Sullivan, who had been keeping an eye on him, heard his voice and shot him an inquisitive look.

Sean Chandler, who was standing guard nearby, also silently turned to glance at Nicholas Jensen, his expression complicated.

Nicholas Jensen had just pushed himself into a sitting position when he immediately felt two pairs of eyes fixed on him.

He looked up, and the first thing his eyes met was Moe, floating in mid-air, tilting his head and sizing him up.

Those Imp eyes glowed with a faint green light, paired with an expression that looked anything but friendly.