Chapter 234: The Teleportation Dove’s Ability and a Call for Help

Chapter 234: Chapter 234: The Teleportation Dove’s Ability and a Call for Help

Seraphina Sullivan put down her phone.

But the terrified words and disturbing video from the screen lingered in her mind, impossible to shake.

She forced herself to calm down and analyze the situation:

’From the video, a single rabbit’s attack method seems rather simple. It mainly relies on Biting, so its destructive power might not be that great. But... the key is their terrifying numbers and their nearly unstoppable Split trait.’

Her brow furrowed. ’They’re endless. The more you fight, the more there are. It’s a war of attrition. No matter how strong you are or how good your equipment is, when faced with an inexhaustible tide of rabbits, you’ll eventually be worn down and die from exhaustion. The fate of the Players in Kaelen is a bloody example.’

For humans who relied on defending fixed strongholds, this kind of monster, which used overwhelming numbers in a "human wave" tactic, was even more threatening than some powerful, singular bosses.

She glanced at her wrist to check the time. There were only a few days left until the next mandatory entry into a Doomsday Game dungeon.

’I just hope these Rabbitfiends don’t spread to Vorlag City too quickly.’

It wasn’t that she feared these rabbits. With her Abilities and trump cards, she was confident she could protect herself even if the rabbit tide arrived, perhaps even contend with them using her [Heart of the Nest] and farm space.

But she didn’t want to see the Vorlag City safe zone suffer the same fate as Kaelen.

Tens of thousands of survivors had worked so hard to establish this place. If it too was destroyed, the blow to survivor morale would be devastating.

’I can’t just sit in the car overthinking things. I should get out, get some fresh air, and see what the situation in the safe zone is really like.’

Seraphina Sullivan stood up, deciding to dispel her inner anxiety with action.

Meanwhile, the relative calm within the Vorlag City safe zone had already vanished.

News that the Kaelen safe zone had been destroyed by monsters was spreading like wildfire among the survivors; it was impossible to contain.

Panic brewed rapidly within the crowds. People were discussing it everywhere, their faces etched with anxiety and fear.

An oppressive atmosphere, like the calm before a storm, hung over the temporary residential area.

Justin Brooks stood at the command center window, watching the somewhat agitated crowd below with a tight frown.

He knew he couldn’t stop the news from spreading; all he could do was try his best to calm everyone down.

"Please remain calm! Trust the military! We are actively investigating and formulating a response! The safe zone’s defenses will be further reinforced! Please maintain order and do not fall into disarray."

His voice, broadcast through loudspeakers, spread throughout the safe zone and had a somewhat stabilizing effect. But the deep-seated fear in people’s hearts could not be so easily erased by just a few words.

Near the trade district, River Sterling found his younger brother, Forrest Sterling, who was just closing up his stall. River’s expression was grim.

"Forrest," River Sterling said in a low voice, "I remember you mentioned you have a friend in Kaelen. Use your Ability and try to send him a message. Ask about the situation, and... confirm if he’s still alive."

Hearing this, Forrest Sterling’s usual lively demeanor vanished, replaced by an exceptionally serious expression.

He nodded without a word, closed his eyes, and concentrated.

He cupped his hands, and faint wisps of light gathered in his palms. Soon, a translucent pigeon made of energy, with bright, lively eyes, materialized out of thin air.

This was his Talent Ability, [Teleportation Dove].

Forrest Sterling whispered a few words to the Energy Carrier Pigeon, then flicked his hand upward.

Like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, the Energy Carrier Pigeon instantly flapped its wings and took flight. It streaked through the air, leaving a faint trail of light, ignoring all physical distance and obstacles as it sped toward Kaelen, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.

The two brothers stood where they were, waiting in silence.

...

Far away, in the ruins of Kaelen, a silent escape was underway deep beneath the cold earth.

Aaron Webb, a Player known for his speed and agility, was a friend Forrest Sterling had met in a dungeon.

At this moment, he was holding his breath, pressed tightly against the cold, damp soil, his heart pounding wildly from fear and exertion.

His face and body were caked with mud and frozen bloodstains. His eyes were filled with the terror of a survivor and a bottomless grief.

Just a few hours earlier, he had witnessed hell on earth.

An endless horde of blood-eyed rabbits, like a bursting dam, had instantly overwhelmed the safe zone’s defenses.

He had tried to break out with his family, but the sheer number of the rabbit tide and their Split trait made all resistance futile.

In the end, he could only watch helplessly as his parents and younger sister were swallowed and torn apart by that terrifying red tide amidst piercing screams... The despair and powerlessness of that moment nearly tore his soul apart.

’Dammit! If... if only I were stronger... if my Talent wasn’t just for running away...’

He slammed his fist into the dirt beside him, splitting his knuckles and drawing blood, but he felt no pain—only gnawing regret and sorrow.

The faces of his family flashed endlessly in his mind. Tears mixed with dirt, freezing on his face.

The only thing that had kept him alive was his special Talent—[Digging].

It was thanks to this Ability that, at the last second, he had burrowed into the ground like a gopher, narrowly escaping the fate of being devoured.

Like a frightened mouse, he moved continuously underground, relying on vibrations and the faint Biting sounds from above to detect danger, avoiding the rabbits that seemed to have some ability to sense things underground as well.

Just as he was curled up in a small, hastily dug burrow, so tormented by despair, hunger, and cold that he was about to give up, a soft circle of white light appeared without warning on the wall of earth in front of him.

Immediately after, a lifelike white pigeon formed from condensed Energy pierced through the solid earth, crossing space and distance to appear directly before his eyes!

Seeing this incredibly familiar energy creation, Aaron Webb could hardly believe his eyes. A tiny flame of hope instantly rekindled in his dead heart!

It was Forrest Sterling!

It was his friend!

He reached out a trembling hand, barely daring to touch this symbol of hope.

The energy pigeon tilted its head, and Forrest Sterling’s familiar, urgent voice came from its beak, asking if he was safe and what his situation was.

Hearing his friend’s voice, Aaron Webb’s tears broke free once more.

He choked back a sob and, speaking to the energy pigeon with the fastest and most concise words he could manage, recounted the terrifying attack on Kaelen.

He described the destruction of the safe zone and his own desperate situation: having narrowly survived thanks to his Talent, now trapped underground and being hunted everywhere by the Rabbitfiends.

Finally, he gathered all his strength and pleaded for help: "Forrest! Save me! They’re still in Kaelen! And... there might be other people hiding here like me! Not all the Players in Kaelen are dead; many of them escaped with survivors!"

Once the message was delivered, the energy pigeon dissipated into motes of light as silently as it had arrived, carrying the plea for survival back across space to Forrest Sterling.