Chapter 64: Doomsday Survival Exchange Group

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Doomsday Survival Exchange Group

Miss Webb clutched her coat tightly, her face still pale with fright.

Perhaps because of the sudden power outage, the elderly woman, who lived alone, seemed particularly on edge.

"Sullivan, what are these property managers doing here in the middle of the night?" Miss Webb asked in a hushed voice, her eyes darting nervously toward Keith Griffith.

Seraphina Sullivan’s expression was calm, her tone light. "They’re just checking to see if anyone needs help. There have been a lot of outages recently, so property management is probably just worried about the residents."

"Oh... is that so." Miss Webb visibly relaxed. "They were knocking so urgently, I thought something terrible had happened. It’s just a power outage, really. I don’t have any pressing issues..."

At the other end of the hallway, the other two "property managers" gave up on units 3201 and 3203 after getting no answer.

They shot Keith Griffith a look, and the three of them hurried toward the stairwell.

Before leaving, Keith Griffith glanced back and gave Seraphina Sullivan a long, hard look.

His mind was churning over certain things.

"Miss Webb, you should go back inside. Remember to deadbolt the door," Seraphina Sullivan advised softly.

"If anything happens, just shout. I’ll hear you."

"Yes, of course. You get some rest too, Sullivan." Miss Webb nodded and quickly retreated into her apartment.

Seraphina Sullivan heard the distinct CLICK of the deadbolt, only then returning to her own home, relieved.

After closing the door, Seraphina Sullivan immediately checked the locks on her door and the security measures on her windows.

Once she confirmed everything was secure, she pulled out her phone to check the local news.

As expected, the city-wide blackout had become a hot topic:

"BREAKING! City Experiences Widespread Blackout, Power Company Cites Grid Failure!"

"Netizen Report: Theft Rings Impersonating Property Management Active in Multiple Residential Areas. Residents Urged to Be Vigilant!"

"Police Alert: Stay Vigilant If Strangers Knock on Your Door at Night!"

Seraphina Sullivan scanned the various news reports, her brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

On a local forum, she saw a screenshot of a post that had been quickly deleted:

[This isn’t a normal blackout! My cousin who works at the power company said a Player made a move. This person’s Ability is related to electricity, they absorbed...] (The rest was cut off)

’So it really wasn’t just a simple blackout... A Player is involved,’ Seraphina Sullivan muttered to herself.

Although Keith Griffith wasn’t a Player, his knocking on her door after the power went out was definitely strange.

It was a lot like those people online who case apartments before a robbery.

But Seraphina Sullivan wasn’t afraid. If they came, she’d just use her Sweet Fragrance Control on them.

Flora appeared beside her, pointing a vine at the door. "Master, will those people come back?"

"I don’t know, but we don’t need to be afraid if they do."

With that settled, she went back to scrolling through her phone.

As Seraphina Sullivan was scrolling through her phone, a group chat invitation suddenly popped up.

She frowned and saw that it was that guy Dexter Luther who had invited her to a group called "Apocalypse Survival Exchange."

The moment she clicked "Join," a flood of messages inundated the screen.

Her eyes were immediately drawn to a few key messages:

[The farm on the west side of town was completely looted last night. Surveillance footage shows a figure moving at an unnatural speed.]

[The People’s Hospital admitted three patients bitten by an unknown creature. Examinations revealed that they were missing a significant amount of blood.]

[Latest news, a woman’s body was discovered in the Serene Gardens Residential complex. The victim’s neck was completely crushed!]

Seeing that last message about Serene Gardens Residential, Seraphina Sullivan’s finger paused slightly.

She knew that was the complex where Corinne Joyce lived.

Because of the ’spider silk link,’ the scene of Sean Chandler killing Corinne Joyce had also been transmitted to her, so Seraphina knew the victim was Corinne Joyce.

The discussion in the group chat continued:

[Don’t you guys feel it? With the appearance of Players, it feels like the calm before the storm. Things are about to get chaotic!]

[Tell me about it. But is being a Player really all it’s cracked up to be? I heard that to become one, you have to struggle to survive in all sorts of apocalyptic instances. Who would trade a perfectly good life for one lived on a razor’s edge in some doomsday instance?]

Seraphina Sullivan put down her phone with a wry smile and stood up to begin her daily workout.

As she performed her high-intensity physical training, she thought about the conversation in the group chat.

’Who wouldn’t want to live a peaceful life...’ she murmured to herself, sweat dripping from her chin onto the floor.

But becoming a Player had never been her choice.

Ever since being chosen by that bizarre mechanical voice, her life had been completely derailed.

In order to live a good life, she had to force herself to become stronger.

Flora gently wiped the sweat from her forehead with a vine.

Seraphina Sullivan patted its flower bud and continued with the rest of her training regimen.

The chain reaction triggered by this city-wide blackout was far more serious than it appeared on the surface.

Judging from the messages in the group chat, at least two incidents had occurred simultaneously:

1. A robbery involving superhuman speed.

2. Injured people who were possibly attacked by a mutated creature.

And she was already well aware of Corinne Joyce’s death.

All of this pointed to a terrifying fact.

The effects of the Disaster Game were gradually bleeding into the real world.

And it was still unknown whether the apocalyptic era on Azure Star, which the System had mentioned before, had already begun.

After finishing her last set of push-ups, Seraphina Sullivan sat on the floor, drenched in sweat, her chest heaving violently.

"HUUH—" She let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from her brow.

’The Effect of the Power Apple is truly amazing. Doing one or two hundred push-ups is so easy now.’

She took out the last two shimmering green Power Apples from her Space and gently rubbed them in her palm.

Based on her previous experience, her body should be able to withstand the strengthening effect of two more.

Thinking about the upcoming Level 2 instance and the Players from other worlds, Seraphina Sullivan no longer hesitated, downing the apples in a few quick bites.

A familiar warmth once again swept through her body. She could clearly feel her muscle fibers restructuring and her bone density increasing.

This transformation process was more intense than before, with the veins beneath her skin clearly visible, but thankfully, she didn’t experience the same agonizing, bursting pain as the first time.

After that, it was time for swordsmanship practice.

Seraphina Sullivan stretched her limbs, materialized her Silver Needle Sword, and began to practice.

The blade cut through the darkness, leaving sharp, silvery trails of light, occasionally flashing with a brilliant gleam.

Outside the window, the torrential rain continued to POUR down, but the sound of her sword practice now brought her a strange sense of peace.

「Just like that, seven days passed in a flash.」

A lot happened during that time.

The power was finally restored on the second day, but it continued to go out intermittently.

The rain never stopped, leading to severe flooding in the city and submerging many areas.

Over these seven days, the situation in the city grew progressively worse.

The incessant downpour caused severe urban flooding, and several residential complexes in the southern part of the city were already submerged.

On the eve of the seventh day,

A mechanical "DING!" echoed in her mind.

Seraphina Sullivan knew a new Disaster Game was about to begin.