Chapter 498: Chapter 498: Applying to Enter, Settling Inside the Shelter
When Seraphina Sullivan came out, the first thing she saw were the eager faces of Dexter Luther and the others.
"Sullivan!" Dexter Luther immediately rushed over. "What’s it like inside? Is it good? Can we go in?"
Flora Sullivan stood to the side, watching as Seraphina Sullivan poked her head out the door. She wore a wry smile. "Sullivan, it looks like this Shelter requires your permission to enter. We just tried the door, and it wouldn’t budge at all."
Seraphina Sullivan was taken aback for a moment, then a system notification sounded in her mind:
[DING! Survivor ’Flora Sullivan’ has requested to enter your Lord’s Sanctuary. Do you approve?]
[Notice: As the master of the Shelter, you have complete administrative authority. You must personally authorize each person who enters.]
Realization dawned on Seraphina Sullivan. ’I approve,’ she thought.
The next moment, another system notification sounded:
[DING! Survivor ’Flora Sullivan’ has successfully joined your Shelter.]
[Current Shelter Members: 1/1000]
[Remaining Slots: 999]
Seraphina’s eyes flickered.
’One thousand slots.’
’So there is a limit.’
’That makes sense. If it could hold an unlimited number of people, the Shelter would’ve been plunged into chaos long ago.’
’And considering the size of this Space, a thousand people living here is probably the limit.’
’After all, we have to leave room for farming and construction.’
Without hesitation, she looked at Dexter Luther, Crystal Lynn, Matthew Dawson, and Sean Chandler in turn.
[Approve ’Dexter Luther’ to join]
[Approve ’Crystal Lynn’ to join]
[Approve ’Matthew Dawson’ to join]
[Approve ’Sean Chandler’ to join]
[Approve ’Freya Lynn’ to join]
[Approve ’Paul Payne’ to join]
A series of system notifications followed:
[Current Shelter Members: 7/1000]
[Remaining Slots: 993]
"Alright, come on in." Seraphina Sullivan stepped aside, clearing the doorway.
The group surged inside, unable to wait another moment.
Then, a chorus of astonished gasps filled the air.
"Holy shit—!" Standing on the black earth, Dexter Luther’s mouth hung open as he stared around, his eyes as wide as saucers. "It’s huge! This is a million times better than that crappy underground garage!"
Crystal Lynn took a deep breath, a blissful look on her face. "The air... it’s normal air! It’s not hot. Not hot at all!"
Matthew Dawson crouched down and grabbed a handful of the black earth, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "This soil... Sullivan, this soil is fertile! We can really grow things here!"
Sean Chandler didn’t speak, but his tightly clenched fists and slightly trembling shoulders betrayed his inner excitement.
Flora Sullivan’s long hair fluttered gently. She closed her eyes for a moment to take it all in. When she opened them, her expression was uncharacteristically soft. "Sullivan, in here... we’re shielded from the extreme temperatures. It’s a completely normal environment."
Seraphina Sullivan nodded. Watching her teammates’ excitement, the corners of her lips curled into a slight smile.
She waited for their excitement to subside a little before she spoke, relaying the information from the system and her own thoughts to everyone:
"This Shelter has a one-thousand-slot limit. We’ve already taken up seven, so there are nine hundred and ninety-three left."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over everyone. "The Space is about the size of a stadium. We can plant, we can build, and it’s unaffected by any of the natural disasters outside. As long as we’re in here, we don’t have to worry about the extreme temperatures, we don’t have to search for water, and we don’t have to live in constant fear."
"But—" her tone shifted, "the slots are limited, and the Space is only so large. We’ll need to think carefully about whether we should accept more people, who to accept, and how to go about it."
The group exchanged glances and nodded seriously.
Dexter Luther scratched his head and grinned. "Well, of course. We can’t just accept people randomly. If we let in someone with bad intentions, wouldn’t we just be asking for trouble?"
Crystal Lynn also nodded. "Exactly, and we need to save room for farming and construction. We can’t fit too many people in here."
Flora Sullivan mused for a moment before speaking softly, "Sullivan, I think... we should start by only accepting people we trust completely. Like those reliable friends we made at the base."
Seraphina glanced at her and gave a slight nod. "We can discuss that later. For now—"
She surveyed the empty yet hopeful Space, a hint of a smile in her voice:
"Let’s figure out how we’re going to build this place up."
For the next while, the group shuttled back and forth between the underground garage and the Shelter, moving all the supplies they had accumulated, piece by piece.
Food, water, weapons, sleeping bags, spare clothes... Everything they could carry was moved onto the black earth.
When Dexter Luther finally hauled in the last crate of supplies, grunting with effort, the group at last had a chance to catch their breath.
Standing beside the pile of supplies, Seraphina Sullivan casually picked up a piece of hardtack left over from the day before. She examined it closely, then gave it a sniff.
Her expression changed.
"This food..." she paused, looking at the others. "It hasn’t spoiled any further."
Dexter Luther, who was in the middle of stuffing his face, froze at her words and leaned in for a closer look. "Huh? Seriously? Wasn’t this stuff already starting to go bad yesterday? It should be even stinkier today—"
He leaned in and sniffed, his eyes going wide. "Holy shit, it’s true! The smell hasn’t gotten any worse!"
Flora Sullivan picked up an opened package of crackers and inspected it carefully. "She’s right," she said softly. "It seems the environment inside the Shelter prevents food from spoiling."
Crystal Lynn, who had been listening nearby, froze for a second. Then, an expression of irrepressible joy spread across her face.
She shot to her feet, her voice trembling. "D-does that mean... Freya won’t have to become a Player?"
All eyes turned to her.
The rims of Crystal Lynn’s eyes reddened. She clutched the hem of her shirt, her voice thick with long-suppressed emotion. "The truth is... I found a Player Key a long time ago. But I never had the courage to let Freya use it."
She paused, taking a deep breath. "First of all, Freya is too young. She’s only seven. Making her a Player wouldn’t be a blessing; it would be like throwing her to the wolves.
Even an adult like me has to be extremely careful in those disaster instances. How could a child possibly survive?"
"Second..." her voice lowered, "if something were to happen to me in an instance, she, alone outside, without being a Player, could at least hide somewhere safe and... wait to die. But if she became a Player too, we’d both end up dying in an instance."
"But now—"
She looked up at Seraphina Sullivan, her tear-filled eyes shining with startling brightness. "Now we have your Shelter, Sullivan!
As long as the Shelter stands, and as long as you’re safe, no one can take this place from us.
Freya can stay here! She won’t have to become a Player, she won’t have to enter those instances, she won’t have to live in constant fear!"
She grew more and more emotional as she spoke, her voice catching in a sob by the end.
Seraphina Sullivan looked at her, her gaze softening.
She walked over and gently patted Crystal Lynn’s shoulder. "Then let her stay.
The Lord’s Sanctuary is perfectly safe, and the food won’t spoil. When you have to go into an instance, she can wait for you here."