Chapter 232: The Infinitely Splitting Rabbit, Pet Contract Card

Chapter 232: Chapter 232: The Infinitely Splitting Rabbit, Pet Contract Card

"Captain Brooks! Squad Leader Jensen! This is an emergency! Urgent military intelligence!"

"We just received a signal... The Kaelen safe zone... just a few hours ago, it was attacked by a horde of unknown monsters... The entire safe zone has been destroyed!"

This sudden, terrible news struck like a thunderclap.

The group standing at the RV’s entrance froze instantly.

A deathly silence descended, broken only by the faint hubbub from the distant safe zone and the soldier’s harsh, ragged breaths.

Justin Brooks’s face visibly turned ashen, his pupils contracting in utter shock.

As a soldier, he knew better than anyone what a safe zone represented.

It represented thousands, even tens of thousands of lives—a fragile flame of order and civilization struggling to survive in the apocalypse!

Philip Jensen let out a choked gasp, a look of horrified disbelief etched onto his features.

"Are you sure the source is reliable?! The safe zone was destroyed? This isn’t some kind of joke, is it?!"

Philip Jensen’s voice held a faint, almost imperceptible tremor. He took a step forward, his eyes fixed on the soldier who brought the news.

The soldier nodded grimly, the shock of delivering such a terrifying message still etched on his face.

"It’s the absolute truth! The Kaelen safe zone sent out a distress signal on an encrypted channel when the attack began, but the transmission lasted only a few minutes before cutting out completely! After that, no matter how many times we tried to hail them, there was no response... Based on our emergency protocols and the final report before the signal vanished, we believe... the entire safe zone has likely been lost!"

"A few minutes... Just a few minutes..."

Justin Brooks muttered to himself, his fists clenching so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"Impossible! The Kaelen safe zone might not be as large as ours, but it was still equipped with basic defenses and armed personnel. They had a considerable number of official Players, too. How could they be completely destroyed in a matter of minutes, unable to even mount an effective resistance?!"

"What could have done this? Recount the message from the distress call. Word for word, and don’t leave anything out!"

His voice was laced with suppressed fury and disbelief.

The soldier glanced instinctively at Seraphina Sullivan and Sean Chandler, a hesitant look on his face.

After all, classified intelligence concerning the fate of another safe zone shouldn’t be discussed in front of outsiders, according to protocol.

Justin Brooks immediately understood his hesitation. "Don’t worry," he said, his voice grave. "Miss Sullivan and Mr. Chandler are trusted allies. They have a right to know about the potential threats we’re facing. Go on."

With the captain’s approval, the soldier no longer held back. In a voice laced with fear, he recounted the last, fragmented message from the Kaelen safe zone:

"The last message from Kaelen was... ’The monsters are rabbits! Endless, man-eating rabbits! Th-they’re breaking in! AHH—! Help us! They’re splitting—we can’t kill them—’ And that’s where the transmission cut out completely."

The soldier’s voice dropped, his final words barely a whisper.

"We... We believe that everyone in the Kaelen safe zone... has likely been... devoured by those monsters."

"Man-eating rabbits... endless... they Split... unkillable..."

The keywords struck each of them like a physical blow.

Seraphina Sullivan felt a chill shoot up from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head, leaving her ice-cold.

Her mind instantly flashed to the Junkheap Ruins instance, to the Corrosive Slimes that would Split when destroyed and were practically immortal.

But that had been due to an anomaly in the instance, an unexpected difficulty spike that caused terrifying Divine Favored monsters to appear.

This, however, wasn’t some post-apocalyptic instance.

’Have monsters similar to the Divine Favored started appearing in the real world, too?’

If that was the case, it would be a catastrophe far more hopeless than the extreme cold!

Justin Brooks and Philip Jensen exchanged a glance, each seeing an unprecedented gravity and a flicker of... fear in the other’s eyes.

A new type of monster had appeared—one with a terrifying ability to multiply and a terrifying efficiency for destruction.

And it had already destroyed a safe zone just like theirs, not far away.

Would Vorlag City be its next target?

Justin Brooks and Philip Jensen exchanged another grave look, both recognizing the severity and urgency of the situation in the other’s eyes.

"Miss Sullivan, Mr. Chandler," Justin Brooks said, turning to Seraphina. His tone was apologetic but firm, leaving no room for debate.

"I’m afraid the trade for the Growth Potatoes will have to be postponed. We have to deal with this emergency from Kaelen immediately. This can’t wait!"

"I understand. This takes priority."

Seraphina immediately showed her understanding. She knew that compared to the annihilation of an entire safe zone, a simple trade for food could certainly wait.

Without another word, Justin Brooks and Philip Jensen gave Seraphina and Sean Chandler a nod. They turned and followed the messenger, striding quickly toward the command center. Their figures soon vanished into the bustling crowd.

Seraphina and Sean Chandler returned to the RV and closed the door, shutting out the noise from outside.

The two of them sat inside, processing the heart-stopping news.

"Man-eating rabbits that can Split infinitely..." Seraphina repeated the keywords under her breath, her brow furrowed.

"Does this mean the apocalypse on Azure Star isn’t just about extreme natural disasters, but also... terrifying mutations in the local wildlife?"

The thought sent a shiver down Seraphina’s spine.

If even a creature as common as a rabbit could mutate into such a terrifying, swarming predator, then the dangers lurking in this world were likely far greater than they had ever imagined.

"We have to prepare for this."

Seraphina suppressed her unease and looked at Sean Chandler, shifting the conversation to more practical matters.

"By the way, what did you get for the items you traded?"

At her question, Sean Chandler pulled a card shimmering with a soft, white light from his pocket and handed it to Seraphina.

When Seraphina saw the card’s design and its Name, she was taken aback.

[Pet Contract Card]

[Effect: Can be used on a willing or incapacitated non-Player creature to establish a contractual bond, making it the user’s pet.]

"A Pet Contract Card? You actually managed to trade for one of these..." Seraphina was surprised. It was a rather rare utility item. "Who did you trade with?"

"A quiet female Player," Sean Chandler replied. "She traded this card and some ore for all the Growth Potatoes and some Silenti eyes."

An image immediately surfaced in Seraphina’s mind: Crystal Lynn, the young female Player from the trading area who had been watching over the Dancing Grass stall with a weary yet resilient expression.

She shook her head, pushing aside thoughts of the other woman’s motives and focusing her attention back on the card in her hand.

Looking at the Pet Contract Card, Seraphina suddenly remembered the little thing she had all but forgotten in a corner of her farm Space—the Heart of the Nest.