Chapter 75: Agreement Reached, Strengthening Sean Chandler

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Agreement Reached, Strengthening Sean Chandler

Ash spoke while Seraphina Sullivan and the others listened intently.

"That’s no simple competition... it’s a ’massacre game’! The two slaughterhouses will each send a batch of ’temporary workers’ into a special mixed butchering zone. Not only do you have to process several times the usual number of ’livestock,’ but you also have to watch out for... watch out for other temp workers stabbing you in the back! They don’t give a damn if we live or die. In the end, they just count which facility has more people left alive and has processed more ’product’... That place is a meat grinder!"

Seraphina Sullivan, Lily Underwood, and Dustin Sullivan all listened in silence. The atmosphere grew heavy.

"Achieving our goal isn’t going to be that simple, after all."

Dustin Sullivan gently pushed up a pair of nonexistent glasses.

His tone was calm, but his gaze sharpened slightly. He was clearly re-evaluating the risks and their future plans.

To Seraphina Sullivan’s surprise, Lily Underwood suddenly spoke up.

Her voice carried a rare trace of... was it consideration?

"If you don’t want to participate, that’s fine. We won’t force you." Lily Underwood directed this at Ash.

Seraphina Sullivan looked at Lily Underwood, somewhat surprised.

In her previous impression, the woman had always acted quite aggressively.

More like a ruthless egoist who would do anything to achieve her goals.

Lily Underwood seemed to sense Seraphina Sullivan’s gaze and snorted coldly. "What are you looking at? Even if this world has gone to hell, I still have to hold on to what little I have left inside me. Otherwise, what’s the difference between me and those pig-headed idiots who only know how to eat, or scum like Harvey Fletcher?"

Her tone was still abrasive, but it carried an awkward sort of conviction.

Seraphina Sullivan was slightly taken aback, then gave Lily Underwood a sincere thumbs-up.

Some might think she was being pretentious or putting on an act.

After all, this was a survival apocalypse dungeon.

For someone to still be sticking to their principles...

In an apocalyptic dungeon like this, where you could die at any moment and humanity had been lost, anyone who could take the initiative to say they wouldn’t force a weaker person to their death and still held onto some kind of bottom line deserved respect, regardless of their strength.

This nearly stubborn adherence to one’s core values was, in itself, a form of strength.

Ash had a clear understanding of his own limitations. He knew that with his level of Power, entering that "competition" was no different from a suicide mission.

He was filled with gratitude that Lily Underwood had said such a thing, and he whispered, "Yeah, thank you... thank you for your consideration."

Dustin Sullivan’s gaze finally landed on Seraphina Sullivan and Sean Chandler.

His eyes seemed to ask, ’So, what’s your decision?’

"If the information is accurate, the competition could start as suddenly as tomorrow."

Dustin Sullivan concluded, extending a hand. His palm was clean, his nails neatly trimmed—a stark contrast to their bloody surroundings. "To a pleasant partnership?"

This was both a confirmation of their cooperation and an inquiry as to whether they were willing to participate in this dangerous "promotion" competition together.

Without any hesitation, Seraphina Sullivan reached out and briefly shook his hand.

Under her control, Sean Chandler also silently extended his hand for a symbolic touch.

"To a pleasant partnership," Seraphina Sullivan said, her eyes firm.

Risk meant reward. She decided she would see what this "massacre game" was all about.

She had seen the mission rewards before. They were all good stuff, and she wasn’t going to miss out.

In another corner of the cafeteria, Harvey Fletcher took in the entire interaction between Seraphina Sullivan’s group.

Although he couldn’t hear the specifics, the meaning behind them huddling together and talking in low voices couldn’t be more obvious.

"Fletcher, it looks like that group has teamed up. What should we do?" Henry Jennings, sitting beside Harvey Fletcher, asked in a hushed voice.

His voice held a barely perceptible trace of anxiety.

Although there were four people on their side, the other two were of average strength and were more like filler.

Harvey Fletcher narrowed his slender eyes, his fingertips tapping lightly on the tabletop. That unsettling, insincere smile was still plastered on his face. "What’s there to panic about? It’s just a partnership. In this godforsaken place, it’s better to have more friends than enemies. There’s no need for us to be at each other’s throats, is there?"

He spoke eloquently, as if he were taking the moral high ground, but deep down, a strong sense of displeasure and jealousy surged within him.

He was used to controlling the situation, to being the center of attention and the leader of the group.

Anything that slipped from his grasp, especially anything that might threaten his position, irritated him to no end.

Especially that Dustin Sullivan!

With that nonchalant air of his, as if he had everything under control—just looking at him was infuriating.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried using his Emotion Control Ability on Dustin Sullivan, but Dustin had noticed and dodged it, which put him on high alert.

’This Dustin Sullivan is no simpleton.’

He automatically dismissed Seraphina Sullivan. ’How dare she get mixed up with them?’

In his eyes, Seraphina Sullivan was just an inconspicuous, ugly woman. Who was she to compete with them for resources?

Seraphina Sullivan, who was using the Transformation Ring: ??? ’Did I do something to you? And you’re resorting to personal attacks?’

On the other side, the brief, secret meeting concluded.

Dustin Sullivan elegantly peeled the Mysterious Whisper Sticker off the table, and it vanished from his fingertips in an instant.

Seraphina Sullivan didn’t miss this detail.

She immediately noticed a ring on Dustin Sullivan’s finger.

[Jade Ring]

Effect One: Possesses a ten-square-meter storage Space.

Seeing the ring, Seraphina Sullivan didn’t say anything.

’Every Player has their own trump card.’

It was just that after seeing the ring, Seraphina Sullivan felt it would look much better on her own hand.

Dustin Sullivan and Lily Underwood got up and left, as if they had just been having an ordinary chat during their meal.

Seraphina Sullivan also led Sean Chandler back to their small, cold dorm room.

The slaughterhouse only provided one meal a day—a paste of Growth Potatoes—which was nowhere near enough to replenish the Energy consumed by the high-intensity work.

"Damn capitalists!" Seraphina Sullivan cursed under her breath. "Even if it’s the end of the world and we have a new boss, the fundamental nature of exploiting workers hasn’t changed one bit!"

Although she complained, she wasn’t in a terrible mood. She had food in her Space, so she wasn’t worried.

Having Sean Chandler, a puppet completely under her Control, gave her a significant confidence boost.

’This is good, too.’

She thought, ’Even if something goes wrong with my cooperation with Dustin Sullivan and Lily Underwood, or if they have ulterior motives, having Sean Chandler as backup in the shadows gives me at least one more trump card. I’ll have the Ability to fight back or escape.’

No matter the situation, always leave yourself a way out. Always have a backup plan that can save you at the last minute.

This was a Skill she had honed after countless encounters with fickle clients and the harsh beatings of society.

In this bizarre slaughterhouse dungeon, that rule applied all the same.

Seraphina Sullivan looked at Sean Chandler and took out three greenish-blue apples from her Space.

They were Power Apples.

’Since he’s my puppet, I have to make him stronger. That way, he can protect me better in this dungeon.’