Chapter 228: Acting to Become a Player, Considerations and Plans

Chapter 228: Chapter 228: Acting to Become a Player, Considerations and Plans

Seraphina Sullivan was prepared.

In keeping with her established persona as a healing and support Player.

She extended her right hand, palm up. A slender Silver Needle, glinting coldly, materialized at her fingertips.

Seraphina Sullivan made the Silver Needle levitate and said in a slightly uncertain tone, "I think... it’s an Ability related to stitching? I feel like... I can stitch a lot of things. Not just clothes... I can even stitch up wounds."

She spoke vaguely on purpose, establishing the image of a Talent that was primarily for utility but seemed to have a little potential.

A flicker of disappointment, almost imperceptible, flashed in Dexter Luther’s eyes.

But he quickly concealed it and offered a reassuring smile.

"So it’s a support-type Talent... That’s not bad, very practical! With Chandler on the front lines, the two of you—one for combat and one for support—will complement each other perfectly. Your chances of survival will definitely be much higher!"

Upon hearing that her Talent was "stitching"—a seemingly weak support type with little combat application—most of the people who had been secretly watching lost interest. They looked away and went back to their own business.

Seeing the unwanted attention die down, she knew she’d muddled through.

After browsing the trading area for a while longer and finding nothing else worth acquiring, Seraphina Sullivan and Sean Chandler decided to return to their RV.

You could clearly get good things at the Player trading area, but you needed to have something valuable to offer in return.

Seraphina Sullivan planned to go back and prepare, transferring some items out of her personal Space. In the future, she would let Sean Chandler come here to trade for goods.

’It would be best to collect more Skill Upgrade Cards.’

However, just as they were about to leave the trading area, they unexpectedly ran into two acquaintances.

Justin Brooks and Philip Jensen.

Justin Brooks and Philip Jensen had apparently also heard that an item allowing ordinary people to gain Player status had appeared in the trading area, so they had rushed over to investigate.

Their motive was simple.

If they could figure out the origin of such items and how to acquire them.

They could perhaps collect them in dungeons in the future, allowing more loyal and reliable comrades to gain Player status and thereby strengthen the safe zone’s overall defenses and development.

"Miss Sullivan! Mr. Chandler! What a coincidence, you’ve made it to the safe zone too!"

Seeing Seraphina Sullivan and Sean Chandler, Justin Brooks broke into a sincere smile, clearly pleased to run into them again.

"Captain Brooks, Comrade Jensen," Seraphina Sullivan replied with a smile.

"Yes, the temperature outside kept dropping, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. Even though Sean is a Player and can find ways to stay warm, an ordinary person like me can’t last long in the wild. So, we joined an evacuation team and came to the safe zone."

After a few pleasantries, Justin Brooks got straight to the point and asked about the "item that grants Player status."

Seraphina Sullivan told him what she knew without holding back.

Although Justin Brooks was a little disappointed that he hadn’t been able to see or acquire the card himself, he was invigorated by the knowledge that a safe path for ordinary people to gain Player status truly existed.

At the very least, it proved his idea was feasible and pointed toward a possible direction for the safe zone’s future development.

「Back inside the privacy of the RV.」

Seraphina Sullivan picked up the *Vorlag City Safe Zone Survival Guide* again.

Her eyes scanned the articles meant to maintain order, but inwardly, she was far from as calm as she appeared.

The clamor from outside was shut out.

"I hope the natural disasters on Azure Star itself don’t get any worse..."

Seraphina Sullivan murmured.

Her voice carried a hint of imperceptible worry.

If the environment in the real world continued to worsen, holing up in a safe zone just to cling to life was by no means a long-term solution.

Resources and Space were both finite, and passive defense would eventually reach its limit.

’If I want to truly change the situation, I need to have the kind of power Yana Yates has—enough to handle any contingency, maybe even... influence the rules themselves.’

Her experience at the Junkheap Ruins had also made Seraphina Sullivan aware of another level of existence.

The Divine and their Beloved.

It was probably because her own power was still too weak, but the existence of the Divine might be able to change the course of Azure Star’s apocalyptic era.

’But with my current power, I probably can’t make contact with beings on that level yet.’ 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The thought flashed through her mind, but she quickly pushed it down.

Such things were still too far out of reach for her right now.

’The most important thing right now is to stay grounded and improve my own strength as quickly as possible.’

The thought of Yana Yates cast a shadow over Seraphina Sullivan’s heart.

She was almost certain she had unintentionally ruined a major plan of Yana’s.

Given the disposition of a powerful individual like Yana Yates, retaliation was a certainty.

’She would do the same if she were in Yana’s shoes.’

Although Yana Yates probably didn’t know who was responsible yet.

But the Doomsday Game was full of strange and bizarre items. No one could guarantee there wasn’t an item capable of tracing cause and effect to lock onto a target.

Seraphina Sullivan had to be prepared.

She took a deep breath, temporarily pushed aside her distracting thoughts, and took out the [Skill Upgrade Card] she had just acquired.

The card was smooth and warm to the touch, suffused with a strange Power.

Without much hesitation, she silently chose her target—

’Use on [Scavenger’s Farm]!’

The card in her hand instantly dissolved into a soft, vibrant stream of green light that flowed into her body, directly affecting her Scavenger’s Farm Skill.

[Ding! Skill Upgrade Card detected. Target locked: Skill - Scavenger’s Farm. Initiating upgrade...]

[Scavenger’s Farm is upgrading. Estimated time: 10 minutes. During this period, the Space will be temporarily sealed. Access and item storage/retrieval are disabled.]

Feeling her connection to the Farm’s Space temporarily severed, Seraphina Sullivan used the ten-minute window to seriously consider the issues of long-term survival and development within the safe zone.

The real world was another front she needed to manage.

Her trade with Dexter Luther and his team made her realize more clearly that in the increasingly dangerous Doomsday Game, the drawbacks of going it alone would become more and more apparent.

An individual’s Power and luck were ultimately limited. Many rare items might not be directly useful to her, but could be crucial to others.

Without connections and channels, those items would likely just rot in her hands, or she would miss opportunities to trade for resources she desperately needed.

Being cut off from information was an even more fatal weakness.

’I need to adjust my strategy going forward.’

Seraphina Sullivan told herself.

Staying completely hidden was safe, but it also meant missing opportunities.

She needed to integrate into the Player community to a certain degree, building her own information network and trading channels, all while keeping her core secrets safe.

So, always laying low was a problem.

If you had enough power, laying low was perfectly fine. But if your power wasn’t sufficient to lay low with ease, then it was the wrong choice.

Revealing herself as a Player was part of that new choice.

With more and more Players appearing, she needed to let others know that she was also growing stronger.

Then, Seraphina Sullivan’s gaze fell on Sean Chandler, who was sitting quietly to one side.

Although Sean Chandler was under the absolute Control of the [Spirit Mutation Spider Silk] and could never betray or harm her, he was no mindless puppet.

He still possessed independent thoughts, emotions, and desires; they just wouldn’t ever conflict with Seraphina Sullivan’s interests or safety.

Another reason he now worked so diligently by Seraphina Sullivan’s side without complaint was simply that Sean Chandler was a very quiet person.