Chapter 18: Mobile Doll Talent

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Mobile Doll Talent

Hearing the sound, Seraphina Sullivan quickly ducked into a pharmacy, held her breath, and peered through her Analysis Glasses toward the source of the noise.

"VROOOM—ROAR!"

The roar of an engine grew closer. A fiery red sports car suddenly burst into view at the end of the road. Its streamlined body gleamed with a blinding metallic luster under the sunlight, its spoiler angled high, and its tires screeched sharply against the pavement.

It was unmistakably a Formula 1 race car!

"What the hell?" Seraphina’s eyes widened.

The sight of the race car in the apocalyptic ruins was so jarring it was almost surreal.

This was so not post-apocalyptic!

Her Analysis Glasses immediately locked onto the target. Through the car’s frame, she saw a helmeted figure in the driver’s seat.

She activated her [Eye of Resume], and the other person’s information appeared:

[Name: Nicholas Jensen]

[Gender: Male]

[Professional Skills: Talent - Mobile Doll: Can materialize toys.]

[Weaknesses: Extreme mysophobia]

[Note: One of the Players randomly selected by the system.]

"Materializing toys?" Seraphina was stunned when she saw this Talent, but then realization dawned on her.

’So this F1 race car isn’t a real thing.’

’It’s something this Player named Nicholas Jensen materialized from a toy car using his Talent Ability!’

Seraphina then used the [Item Identification] ability of her Analysis Glasses to appraise the race car.

The car showed no signs of being a toy. It was roaring and speeding along for real, and she could even see the sparks from its tires screeching against the pavement.

"There’s a Talent like this?!" Seraphina stared, her eyes wide with envy. "If he had a toy tank or a model fighter jet, wouldn’t he be completely invincible?"

’But then again,’ she thought, ’using my abilities costs stamina, so his Talent must have a huge drain, too.’

But then Seraphina’s brow furrowed. "Still, this guy is way too flashy. It’s not nighttime now, but if he drove such a conspicuous car at night, wouldn’t he be afraid of attracting a swarm of parasitic variants to gang up on him?"

As if to prove her point, the roars of parasitic variants immediately echoed from several buildings in the distance, clearly drawn by the engine’s noise.

Although they couldn’t get out, the parasitic variants were still agitated.

Nicholas Jensen, however, seemed completely unconcerned. The red race car executed a beautiful fishtail drift, leaving black scorch marks on the pavement from its tires. Then, with a ROAR, it accelerated and vanished at the end of the street in the blink of an eye, leaving only the arrogant thrum of its engine echoing through the ruins.

It took Seraphina a moment to snap out of it. "So flashy... Does this guy even have a brain?..."

She shook her head and was about to resume her search when she suddenly heard a soft "CRUNCH" from behind her—the sound of something hard crushing glass.

Her body froze instantly. Slowly, she turned her head. Outside the pharmacy’s shattered display window, a humanoid shadow with twisted limbs was slowly straightening up. Its blood-red eyes stared intently at her through the shards of glass.

It was clearly a parasitic variant that had been hiding in the room.

The roar of Nicholas Jensen’s F1 car did more than just attract the parasitic variants hiding in the distance.

It had also startled the monster lurking inside the pharmacy.

The humanoid parasitic variant looked at Seraphina.

Up close with the humanoid parasitic variant, Seraphina realized the creature before her could no longer be described as human.

Its limbs seemed elongated, its eyes were crimson, and its skin was a ghastly white. It was more like a wild beast ravenous for flesh and blood.

Just as it lunged at Seraphina,

her reaction was faster!

The moment she sensed danger, she had already pulled the Sound Wave Vibration Gun from her Space with her left hand and fired it at the creature!

"VMMMM—!"

The shockwave erupted, distorting the air. The impact sent the humanoid parasitic variant flying into a Wall.

But its body had been strengthened by the parasite.

It only staggered for a moment before lunging again!

Seraphina’s eyes turned cold. The Silver Needle in her right hand instantly condensed into a slender Silver Needle Sword. With a flash of movement, her sword darted through the air like lightning!

"SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!"

She used her Quick Sewing skill.

Energy Silk Threads traced silver arcs in the air, and in the blink of an eye, they had stitched the parasitic variant’s limbs to the floor, rendering it immobile.

"ROAR—!" The monster struggled and shrieked.

But Seraphina had already switched to a new weapon.

Expressionless, she drew an axe and swung it down hard on its neck!

"SQUELCH!"

The head rolled away as dark red blood sprayed out.

Immediately after, a crimson Parasitic Bloodworm squirmed out from the severed neck, its hideous, jointed legs thrashing wildly as it tried to escape.

Seraphina snorted coldly. Her Silver Needle Sword shot out instantly, precisely piercing the worm’s body!

"SKREEE—!"

The Parasitic Bloodworm let out a sharp shriek before dying limply.

[Ding! Parasitic Variant - Human killed. Mission progress: 2/100.]

As the system notification sounded, Seraphina flicked the blood off her Silver Needle Sword, her expression icy.

In the daylight, she could see the disgusting appearance of the Parasitic Bloodworm more clearly.

Its crimson body was covered in black spots, and its pincers dripped with a nauseating slime.

"Seriously, if I ever run into that Nicholas Jensen guy again, I’m going to teach him a lesson!" Seraphina muttered, grinding her teeth.

"Driving a car that loud... is he trying to attract every monster in town? Good thing it’s not nighttime, or I’d be cursing him to get swarmed by parasitic variants!"

She took a deep breath to calm herself, then quickly scanned her surroundings. After confirming no other parasitic variants had been disturbed, she continued toward the hardware store.

"Still... his Talent is pretty enviable."

Seraphina pouted and couldn’t help but think, ’If I could materialize toys, I’d just pop out a Gundam. Why would I need to struggle like this?’

Shaking her head, Seraphina pushed the thought aside, tightened her grip on her weapon, and stepped toward her next destination.

Seraphina cautiously pushed open the hardware store’s glass door. The hinges let out a piercing "CREAAAK."

She didn’t enter immediately. Instead, she stood in the doorway and kicked a nearby metal shelf hard.

"CLANG—!"

The loud noise echoed through the empty store.

She held her breath, pricking up her ears to listen carefully.

There were no unusual sounds, no telltale roars of parasitic variants.

"Mm, good. No parasitic monsters."

Having learned her lesson from the pharmacy, she was being smarter this time.

After confirming it was safe, Seraphina finally stepped into the store with peace of mind.

The hardware store was filled with the smell of metal and engine oil. Tools were scattered all over the floor from the shelves.

She crouched down and began to carefully search for useful supplies.

Wrenches, screwdrivers, nails... rope. These ordinary tools weren’t of much use to Players trying to survive in the apocalypse.

But to Seraphina, they were all resources.

She tossed the usable metal parts into her Space.

After she finished gathering everything,

Seraphina found a relatively clean corner to sit down. She took out the bread she hadn’t finished that morning from her Space and began to nibble on it.

Crumbs fell as she stared blankly at the pile of metal parts in front of her.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind.

’The Tailor Profession’s [Clothes Making]... I can still experiment with this skill, and the Skill Effect doesn’t seem to have any material restrictions!’