The Shelter Game: Me, Starting with a Tenfold Drop Rate

Just as Elder Seville was about to abandon Irving and the others in a fit of rage and proceed alone, a strange noise suddenly emanated from the ominous building ahead.

Everyone's eyes turned towards the sinister structure.

Benjamin and Anna, who were closest to the eerie building, widened their eyes and remained on high alert, ready for any monster that might appear at any moment.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Irving slowly emerged from the building.

Irving's face was pale, and a trace of blood lingered at the corner of his mouth.

Elder Seville's expression changed dramatically upon seeing Irving, and a smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

"You finally made it back! I was just worrying about you!" Elder Seville said with concern.

Lying was second nature to Elder Seville. He didn't need any mental preparation to utter lies that even he himself wouldn't believe.

Irving glanced at Elder Seville, then at Benjamin and Anna standing beside him.

"What is going on here? Didn't you promise me you would ensure the safety of my companions?" Irving said weakly.

Elder Seville's smile deepened. He began to walk slowly towards Irving while speaking.

"Of course, I promised you I would ensure your companions' safety. But your companions had a conflict with my subordinates. To calm them down, I had no choice but to intervene."

As he finished speaking, Elder Seville had closed the distance to within five steps of Irving.

From that short distance, Elder Seville carefully assessed Irving's condition. In his eyes, Irving looked terrible, as if he had encountered something extremely dangerous inside the building.

"It seems you were attacked by a formidable enemy. What exactly happened to you in that building?" Elder Seville asked with feigned concern.

Irving shook his head. "That's not the most important thing. The most important thing is to heal me immediately!" With that, Irving collapsed to the ground.

Benjamin and Anna hurried to his side.

"Irving, how are you?" Anna asked, her eyes red and a glimmer of tears at their corners.

"We need to provide him with some treatment! His condition is too severe! If we don't treat him, he will die soon!" Benjamin, usually so composed, was now in a state of panic seeing Irving in this condition.

Not far from the trio, Elder Seville's lips curled into a cold smile.

"You have no choice but to rely on my help now. I certainly have the ability to treat Irving, but I have my conditions," Elder Seville declared.

His words made Benjamin and Anna glare at him with intense hostility.

"You're actually trying to take advantage of the situation? If you don't treat Irving, he won't tell you the information he obtained from that building," Benjamin immediately realized Elder Seville wasn't in an entirely dominant position. After all, Irving still possessed information that Elder Seville desperately wanted.

Elder Seville maintained his cold smile, nodding slowly. "You're right, but Irving should have his own thoughts on this matter, don't you think?"

He turned his gaze directly to Irving.

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Still weak, Irving glanced coldly at Elder Seville and said softly, "I am willing to provide you with the information, but you must first restore me to my best condition."

Elder Seville shook his head. "I think you're mistaken. Even if you don't tell me what you know, I have other means of obtaining that information. But for you, there is only one chance. If I refuse to help you, you won't survive. So what you need to do now is tell me everything you know.

Only then will I seriously consider whether to save your life."

After saying this, Elder Seville took a few steps back to ensure there would be no unexpected incidents. If Irving, still possessing some strength, suddenly attacked, Elder Seville might not be able to react in time.

"I should have known you'd exploit someone's misfortune," Irving said venomously.

Elder Seville's smile remained unaffected by Irving's words. "I can tell you the information I obtained in that building."

As soon as Irving said this, Benjamin and Anna tried to stop him. However, Irving signaled with his eyes for them to cease their objections.

"The intelligence I gathered from that building is that the artifact you've been searching for isn't here at all. It's actually buried beneath the Benevolent Sanatorium."

Upon hearing this information, Elder Seville's face displayed a look of utter astonishment.

"That's absolutely impossible! You must be deceiving me! We both went to the underground of the Benevolent Sanatorium. Besides a strange, unknown space, there was nothing but the surging power of chaos. There was no artifact from the Smith family ancestors there."

Elder Seville's response was exactly what Irving had anticipated.

A cold smile appeared on Irving's face as he replied calmly, "Whether you believe it or not is your concern. I'm just relaying the information I've discovered."

After saying this, Irving took several deep breaths. His condition seemed even worse than before.

"In the building I just entered, there was a remnant spirit of the Smith family ancestor. This remnant spirit told me everything. Its goal is for me to bring it to the underground of the Benevolent Sanatorium. This way, the two remnant spirits of the Smith family ancestor can reunite, and the ancestor can be successfully resurrected.

The Smith family ancestor promised me that if I help achieve its resurrection, it will grant me unimaginable power."

Irving's words left Elder Seville even more perplexed.

To Elder Seville, the presence of the Smith family ancestor's remnant spirit in that building was entirely plausible. He had suspected as much before the mission. Additionally, it made perfect sense for the remnant spirit to strike a deal with Irving for its resurrection. If both statements were true, it meant Irving's earlier claim was indeed valid.

After considering this, Elder Seville took a step forward.

"What method should I use to obtain the artifact from the underground of the Benevolent Sanatorium?" Elder Seville asked, his eyes fixed intently on Irving.

Irving smiled slightly. "You should know very well that I won't disclose this method so easily. If you want to know, you must first restore my health."

After making this statement, Irving coldly stared at Elder Seville.

Elder Seville's expression shifted unpredictably. After pondering for some time, he slowly nodded.

"I won't fully restore your health; I'll merely keep you alive and ensure you won't die in the short term," Elder Seville decided on his strategy.

"I will take you to the underground space of the Benevolent Sanatorium next. Once I have you there, I can extract the method to obtain the artifact from you."

After saying this, Elder Seville turned his gaze towards the members of the Night Blades behind him.

"Bind them all up! We'll be leaving the Smith family ancestral home immediately!" Elder Seville commanded.

With that, Irving and the others were completely subdued by the members of the Night Blades. Using a map of the Smith family ancestral home, Elder Seville easily led everyone out.

Irving's face contorted with displeasure, but internally, he was quite pleased. He and the remnant spirit of the Smith family ancestor had already succeeded in half of their plan.

Most of what Irving had said was a lie.

Irving and the lingering soul of the Smith family ancestor's true plan was actually to have Elder Seville carry the aura of the lingering soul of the Smith family ancestor to the underground space of the Benevolent Sanatorium.

This way, the Smith family ancestor could cooperate with Irving to completely annihilate the virtual persona created by the artifact.

At the same time, they could use the power of the artifact to eliminate Elder Seville and the members of the Night Blades.

This way, the Smith family ancestor could finally rest in peace, and Irving would gain control of the artifact and the immense power promised by the ancestor.

Initially, Irving had indeed worried that Elder Seville wouldn't fall for the ruse. To ensure his disguise was flawless, he had the remnant spirit genuinely injure him. However, the spirit had also given Irving a method to quickly restore himself to peak condition. By invoking the power of the Taikoo Flame Pearl in his mind, Irving could rapidly recover.

After leading everyone out of the Smith family ancestral home, Elder Seville regrouped with the members of the Night Blades waiting outside.

"Elder Seville, has your plan succeeded? Have you found the artifact?" a middle-aged Night Blades member hurriedly asked upon seeing him.

Elder Seville shook his head, then nodded, causing the other to look puzzled.

"What do you mean? Did you find it or not?"

"I didn't find the artifact itself, but I discovered crucial information related to it. We will now head to the City of Warding together," Elder Seville declared.

He then ordered the Night Blades to bring along Donald and Sophia as well. "Once I have the Smith family artifact, these people will be of no further use to me. I will personally see to their disposal!"

Elder Seville said this venomously to the Night Blades members at his side.