They had walked for what felt like ages.
At last, the group arrived at their destination.
They stared at the place before them.
It was, of all places, Vorlag City’s once-bustling agricultural wholesale market.
This was where all of Vorlag City’s fruits and vegetables used to be sold wholesale.
It had once been a massive complex, but after enduring both torrential rains and heavy blizzards, it now lay in ruins.
Now, it was completely buried under a thick blanket of snow.
However, before they could even approach the market gate,
a horrifying scream, filled with agony and terror, drifted out from deep within the market.
It pierced the wind and snow, a truly bone-chilling sound.
Seraphina Sullivan clearly felt Keith Griffith, the man holding her captive, go rigid.
Beside them, Victor Lowe and Todd Olsen shuddered uncontrollably at the sound.
The color instantly drained from their faces, their eyes filled with an unconcealable terror and shock.
It was as if they had just heard something utterly horrifying.
Keith Griffith swallowed hard and glanced nervously at Gene Morton. His voice trembled. "M-Morton... what’s... what’s happening in there? Why would someone scream like that?"
Gene Morton’s expression turned grim.
He cursed under his breath, "Damn it! Some clueless idiot must have pissed off the boss again!"
After saying this, he whipped his head around to glare viciously at Sean Chandler and the captive Seraphina Sullivan. His voice was laced with a harsh warning:
"You two, listen up! Once we’re inside, you’d better be on your best behavior. Keep your heads down and your mouths shut! If you dare pull anything, anything at all, and piss off the boss... forget about joining us. You’ll be leaving your lives here today!"
Seraphina Sullivan connected the information in Gene Morton’s words with the common weakness—"Neil Webb"—listed in the profiles for Victor Lowe and Todd Olsen.
She was already starting to form a theory.
She quickly reined in all her outward emotions, lowering her head to adopt a frightened, submissive expression.
Inwardly, however, her vigilance sharpened.
’Looks like the leader of the Player organization based here is named Neil Webb. He’s probably not someone to be trifled with, and his methods are exceptionally brutal.’
Gene Morton took a deep breath, forcing down his unease. He composed his expression before leading Seraphina Sullivan and the others through the half-open, rust-stained iron gate of the market.
The scene within was a bizarre contrast to the frozen, snow-covered world outside.
In an open area at the center of the market, a huge brazier fashioned from a discarded oil drum blazed away, filled with dismantled wooden furniture, door frames, windows, and even some plastic junk.
Flames danced within, sending out waves of shimmering heat and a pungent, acrid smell.
Yet, any warmth from the fire was instantly extinguished by the horrifying scene that greeted them, leaving only a bone-deep chill.
As Seraphina Sullivan and the others entered the market,
their attention was immediately drawn to the open space beside the brazier.
On the ground lay several large... "things," all cut with unnerving precision.
Heads, arms, torsos, and blood!
Those were unmistakably human corpses!
The cuts were impossibly smooth, as if made by the most precise laser. Organs and bones were clearly visible, and blood soaked the cold concrete floor, staining it a nauseating dark red.
Severed limbs were scattered everywhere.
An exceptionally cruel slaughter had clearly just taken place.
Seraphina Sullivan’s pupils contracted suddenly, and her heart sank.
She had survived the slaughter of apocalyptic dungeons, where most deaths were at the hands of rampaging monsters or cataclysmic disasters.
But to see a human being dismembered so coldly, treated like an animal at a slaughterhouse, filled her with visceral disgust and overwhelming rage.
Even Victor Lowe and Todd Olsen, who had just been through a dungeon, were now ashen-faced, their lips trembling. They kept their heads bowed low, not daring to take a second look.

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