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

A chill crept through her left arm as Wendy struggled to open her eyes. She realized she was in a filthy sewer. Not far from her, a rat was gnawing on the corpse of another rat.

Seeing this scene jolted Wendy into full awareness, and she kicked the rat away with force. "Where am I? Have I returned to the real world? Why am I in a sewer right now?!"

A flurry of questions raced through her mind as she began to piece together what had happened. "I was fighting Elder Lawrence with my companions, and then the ground suddenly collapsed. It seems I fell in a completely different direction from the others."

Wendy sorted through the information regarding her previous circumstances. However, none of this information helped her current situation. After some careful thought, she ultimately decided that she needed to find the exit of the sewer.

"I have to get out of here quickly; the conditions are just too terrible. If I stay here too long, I might get infected by the germs in this sewer."

As she spoke, Wendy glanced at the wound on her thigh. Even though she had used a piece of cloth torn from her shirt to bandage it, blood continued to seep from the injury.

If Wendy's wound became infected, her situation would worsen significantly. Limping along, she leaned against the walls of the sewer, continuing her search for a way out. She encountered one junction after another, but these passages seemed to lead deeper into the sewer's bowels.

As time dragged on, Wendy felt a growing sense of despair. She began to regret entering the shelter game in the first place. "If I hadn't joined this shelter game, I'd be safe back at Irving's house. Sure, Irving would be really upset with me, but he would never kick me out."

Wendy believed she was very important to Irving. Even if she didn't offer him any help, he wouldn't throw her out. In reality, Wendy was completely mistaken. If she truly refused to assist Irving in any way, he wouldn't allow her to stay in his home for long.

After what felt like hours of wandering, Wendy sensed her strength waning. She found a somewhat cleaner spot and sat down. Not far from where she rested, there was a passage that appeared to lead upward. However, she didn't have the energy to climb through it just yet.

With a sigh, Wendy murmured, "Maybe this is fate! I'm certain I'm going to die here. I just hope Irving and the others can escape safely."

Just as she finished speaking, a violent tremor shook the sewer around her.

As the violent tremors continued, Wendy heard a cacophony of rats scurrying toward her from the end of the sewer. Her expression changed dramatically; she knew that countless rats were rushing straight at her. Despite the fact that her thigh wound had begun to fester, she struggled to sprint toward the nearby passage as quickly as she could.

However, before Wendy could successfully reach the passage, a horde of rats crashed into her. The sheer force of the rodents propelled her forward, and she found herself quickly moving up the passage. Ultimately, Wendy was overwhelmed by the swarm and fell to the ground.

Tumbled out by the mass of rats, Wendy landed not far from the exit of the sewer. The sudden turn of events left her struggling to adapt quickly. Just as she was beginning to regain her senses and assess her surroundings, she suddenly heard the voices of Nick and Benjamin.

"Are you Wendy? What happened to you?! Why do you look so terrible?" Nick and Benjamin rushed to Wendy's side, concern etched on their faces.

The two of them quickly assessed her condition and produced some healing potions.

"You finally came to rescue me! Where are the others? What is this place we're in?" Wendy asked urgently, her voice filled with anxiety.

Benjamin replied, "We're in Shadow City, the core area of the Night Blades in the Desolate Canyon. We just destroyed the city hall of Shadow City, and its infrastructure has completely collapsed. As for the others, we don't know where they are. But I believe that since we've survived, they should also be safe from any major danger."

After hearing this, Wendy finally understood the reason behind the horde of rats that had overwhelmed her earlier. Just as the three of them were speaking, Aron and Anna arrived from another direction.

"I was wondering why the outer defenses of Shadow City were practically nonexistent. Turns out, it was you guys who dismantled Shadow City's defenses. Great job, Nick!" Aron said with a smile, praising Nick.

Nick, hearing Aron's compliment, looked a bit embarrassed. "Actually, it wasn't just me. I didn't play a major role in the operation. Benjamin is the real hero of this mission."

Benjamin remained expressionless upon hearing this. He simply continued to scrutinize Aron and Anna.

"Is Irving not with you?" Aron shook his head. "Irving isn't with us! We haven't found any trace of him. If what I saw before I lost consciousness is correct, then Irving should be with Elder Lawrence."

The expressions on Benjamin, Wendy, and Nick's faces turned grim at Aron's words. They all knew too well that Elder Lawrence had the capability to fight against all of them. If Irving was indeed with Elder Lawrence, it likely meant he was facing a significant threat.

"Regardless, what we need to do next is to completely destroy Shadow City. I believe Irving has enough strength to ensure his own safety," Benjamin stated, trying to maintain a sense of hope amid the dire situation.

After a moment of silence, Aron laid out his plan. Benjamin immediately voiced his disagreement.

"I believe Shadow City has been effectively crippled. As long as we can find Irving, destroying Shadow City would be quite easy. So, our priority right now should be to locate Irving."

Despite her severe injuries, Wendy completely agreed with Benjamin's perspective. Nick and Anna remained silent. Although they also felt that Benjamin's plan was the most reasonable, as members of the Angel Guild, they felt they shouldn't oppose Aron.

Aron stepped closer to Benjamin and spoke in a calm tone. "I understand that you want to ensure Irving's safety. I share that sentiment as well. However, we must consider more than just Irving's safety; we must also think about the safety of all humanity. If the Night Blades are not swiftly eradicated, the entire human race will face a tremendous threat.

I believe that when it comes to choosing between Irving and humanity, we must choose humanity."

"The idea of sacrificing Irving is something I find very hard to accept," Aron continued, "but when compared to the fate of humanity being destroyed, sacrificing Irving becomes something we may have to accept."

Benjamin listened coldly to this and shook his head. "If we truly want to ensure that humanity is not annihilated, we must find Irving. Only he possesses the extraordinary talent to discover a way to save humanity.

You Angel Guild members may be an official organization, but your understanding of the shelter game is even less than Irving's. You only have fragments of information that Irving doesn't even know about."

Neither Benjamin nor Aron could convince the other.

The tension between the two sides escalated, and the atmosphere within the team suddenly grew a bit eerie. Aron's expression remained relatively calm, but Anna could see that he was seething with anger. The hand gripping his weapon even began to tremble.

"If Vicky and Irving were both in danger, wouldn't you sacrifice Irving to save Vicky?" Aron confronted Benjamin directly.

Benjamin's expression didn't change at all; he replied calmly, "It depends on the situation. I won't let anyone sacrifice themselves willingly, and if we are to sacrifice others, it must be with their consent."

Benjamin's words completely infuriated Aron. He shouted at Benjamin, "What do you mean by that?"

Anna and Nick quickly grabbed Aron, hoping to prevent a direct confrontation between him and Benjamin.

Benjamin maintained his composed demeanor as he said, "What I mean is, we need to find Irving first! Destroying Shadow City can wait."

He articulated each word deliberately, his patience clearly wearing thin. If Aron insisted on taking action, Benjamin would choose to go after Irving alone.

Just as the conflict between Aron and Benjamin was about to erupt, a sudden flash of lightning appeared not far from Shadow City. At the same time, two figures were sprinting toward the group.

All eyes were drawn to the sudden flashes of lightning.

After a moment, everyone was able to see clearly who the two figures running toward them were. They were Elder Lawrence and Irving. Behind them, a massive golden creature was soaring through the sky, relentlessly pursuing them.

"It looks like Irving is in trouble! We need to hurry and help him!" Anna quickly changed the subject upon seeing this.

Anna understood very well that if Irving learned about what had happened earlier, he would be extremely displeased with the Angel Guild.

Benjamin instinctively followed Anna into action, and Nick showed no hesitation either. Only Aron seemed to hesitate for a moment.

"What are you waiting for? Don't you plan to go save Irving?" Wendy asked Aron in a weak voice.

Aron shook his head, but then he quickly ran toward Irving's direction as well.