Chapter 256: Receiving Card, White Spirit Snake

Chapter 256: Chapter 256: Receiving Card, White Spirit Snake

By now, Seraphina Sullivan had walked over. Curious, she took the card Crystal Lynn held out and examined it.

The card was smooth and warm to the touch, inscribed with arcane runes.

[Receiving Card]

[Effect: After killing a monster, if the user’s own Talent is related to or compatible with the monster’s traits, there is a certain chance to receive and master one of the monster’s core abilities.]

A flash of surprise crossed Seraphina Sullivan’s eyes.

The card’s effect was quite impressive. Despite its restrictions, a successful use meant directly obtaining a powerful new ability that could be a perfect match for one’s own Talent!

Seraphina Sullivan looked up at Crystal Lynn.

She voiced the question on her mind directly, "This Item Card has a powerful effect, letting you gain a monster’s ability. Why don’t you use it yourself?"

A look of resignation appeared on Crystal Lynn’s face as she answered honestly, "My Talent is [Beast Taming], which is mainly about taming and raising beast pets. In the dungeons I’ve been through, most of the monsters I’ve encountered lean toward physical attacks, elemental manipulation, or psychic corruption. It’s been hard to find a monster directly related to the concept of ’Beast Taming.’ So this card has been useless in my hands, since I’ve never found a good opportunity to use it."

After explaining, Crystal Lynn looked at Seraphina Sullivan and Sean Chandler. "So, can I trade this [Receiving Card], plus these ores, for all the eyeballs you have? They’re really important to me!"

For Seraphina Sullivan and Sean Chandler, the eyeballs were currently just an uncommon material. They had some value, but they weren’t irreplaceable.

They knew the eyeballs’ effect—consuming them offered a chance to gain a Petrification Ability.

After collecting them, both Seraphina Sullivan and Sean Chandler had eaten many, but neither had gained the so-called Petrification Ability, so Seraphina didn’t think much of them.

This [Receiving Card], on the other hand, had strict conditions for use but possessed immense potential value.

Perhaps at a critical moment in the future, they might encounter a highly compatible monster and the card could have an unexpected impact.

This was a trade of a non-essential current resource for a chance at something that could be incredibly useful in the future.

Seraphina Sullivan and Sean Chandler exchanged a look, seeing the same calculation in each other’s eyes.

"Alright,"

Seraphina Sullivan nodded. "We’ll make that trade."

Having successfully traded for all the eyeballs, a look of relieved joy had just appeared on Crystal Lynn’s face. But before she could even put away the precious "ingredients" properly—

A sudden commotion and a shrill cry from the edge of the trading area shattered the market’s noisy chatter!

The voice of what sounded like a young girl, filled with heart-wrenching grief and terror, came wailing toward them, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.

Crystal Lynn, who had been about to leave, froze at the sound of the cry, her expression changing drastically.

She whipped around to see a little girl of about five or six, her face stained with tears and marked by a swollen red handprint, stumbling toward her. It was her sister, Freya Lynn.

"Sister! Sister—!" Like a frightened fawn, Freya Lynn threw herself into Crystal Lynn’s arms, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

"It was Dad! And that awful woman! They... they stole our car! Sister, all the food you hid in the car... they took it all! WAAAAH... I’m useless, I couldn’t stop them..."

The little girl sobbed out her story, her whole body trembling with self-blame and fear.

Seraphina Sullivan’s gaze immediately fell on the deep red, five-fingered handprint on Freya Lynn’s cheek, which stood out starkly against the girl’s pale skin.

"What?!"

Hearing this, Crystal Lynn was first in disbelief, then a long-suppressed fury instantly surged through her.

That man, their biological father, had abandoned them at the beginning of the apocalypse.

And now he had the nerve to come back, even bringing an outsider to steal the last of the supplies the sisters depended on to survive.

However, when Crystal Lynn saw the clear handprint on her sister’s face, all her anger instantly transformed into a cold, almost tangible killing intent.

"Freya!" Crystal Lynn’s voice trembled with extreme rage.

She gently cupped her sister’s face, her fingertips carefully avoiding the swollen area. Her voice, suppressing a storm, asked, "Tell me, your face... who hit you?!"

Freya just buried her face in her sister’s embrace and cried even harder, her small body wracked with violent shudders. It seemed fear and grief had rendered her speechless.

But her silence was the only answer needed.

Crystal Lynn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, they were filled with an icy coldness.

The low pressure she exuded seemed to make the very air around her freeze.

As if sensing its master’s surging fury and killing intent, the "ornament" that had been quietly coiled around her wrist like an exquisite white jade bracelet suddenly came to life!

The "bracelet" uncoiled its body, raising a small, triangular head covered in fine, jade-like white scales. Its scarlet tongue flicked in and out rapidly, letting out a soft HISS.

Its body was pure white, its only color being its vertical pupils, which were like rubies, now glinting with a cold and dangerous light.

It was the first time Seraphina Sullivan had ever seen a pet like this.

Thinking of Crystal Lynn’s [Beast Taming] Talent, she discreetly activated her [Eye of Resume] and scanned it:

[Name: White Spirit Snake] (Beau)

[Gender: Female]

[Abilities:

1. Death Coil: Can instantly grow its body to an enormous size, wrapping around a target with immense constricting force to shatter its bones and cause death by suffocation!

2. Petrification Tooth: Its fangs can secrete a special petrifying venom. Once injected into a target, it causes their body tissue to gradually stiffen and turn to stone, starting from the wound. The process is slow and agonizing.]

[Weaknesses: Attacking its ’seven-inch’ spot (the location of its heart) can cause critical damage.]

As the information fed back to her, Seraphina Sullivan felt a chill in her heart.

This seemingly small white snake was actually a mutated monster with two deadly abilities!

Especially the [Petrification Tooth]. Seraphina instantly understood why Crystal Lynn had traded for The Silenti’s eyeballs.

The snake had obviously gained the ability by devouring the eyeballs from their trade.

’This White Spirit Snake sure is lucky. Sean Chandler is a King of Fortune, and even after we both ate so many of those eyeballs, neither of us got the Petrification Ability. I can’t believe her pet got it so easily.’

The fact that Crystal Lynn kept such a creature as a constant companion spoke volumes about her intentions and methods.

At that moment, the White Spirit Snake’s cold, vertical pupils were locked onto the direction the cries had come from, as if ready to become a blade of vengeance at its master’s command.

A cold glint flashed in Crystal Lynn’s eyes. She pulled her sister, Freya Lynn, by the hand and turned to rush out of the trading area.

From her determined posture, anyone could tell she was going to settle accounts with her bastard father. The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.