God-Tier Extraction Talent: Reincarnated in a Game-like World!-Chapter 88: Arriving at Halden Settlement

"What?!" Victor swerved in shock. "It was just here when we left!"

Cassie went pale, her lips trembling slightly. "No... no way. We risked our lives just now and it’s gone?!"

"This, how did this happen?!" Gabriel exclaimed, for the first time losing his cool.

"This doesn’t make sense. When did it..." Sophie was speechless, not knowing what to say.

All this while, they’d fought the enemies, not allowing even one to come two meters close to their vehicle.

’Was it during the time of the illusion?’ Gabriel mumbled, a slightly dazed look on his face.

He quickly turned toward the others and asked, "Did any of you suddenly find yourself in an icy terrain during the fight?"

"No, I didn’t," Cassie answered.

"Same here," Victor said, shaking his head. "I didn’t see any illusion either."

"Then we were the only ones trapped in the illusion." Sophie’s expression turned grim.

The more they tried to think about how the crate had gone missing, the more their heads ached.

Gabriel thought long and hard, piecing several things together. His eyes flashed as he realized something.

"During the ape attack, everyone had stepped out," he said. "I think the enemies somehow sneaked into the vehicle during that time frame and made away with the crate."

No one said anything, realizing what he said made a lot of sense.

Subconsciously, both Cassie and Victor began cursing in their minds.

"If only we’d stayed back!" Cassie clenched her fist so tightly that vines popped out of her skin.

Victor was muttering "damn" under his breath, as if it were the only word he knew.

"It’s none of your fault," Gabriel said calmly. "For someone to get away with the crate unnoticed, I’m sure they’re no ordinary person."

"In fact, I wouldn’t be shocked if they were Hero Rank," he mumbled under his breath.

Although he appeared calm, Gabriel felt a wave of frustration—but he didn’t dare let it show. A leader doesn’t show signs of weakness, especially not in front of his subordinates.

"So what now?" Sophie furrowed her brows.

"We..." Gabriel paused, then said, "We continue to Halden and deliver the news to the receivers. At least they deserve that much."

The rest of the journey continued in silence.

Some time later, the sun slowly rose into the sky, revealing towering walls with guards patrolling ahead of them.

"We have arrived!" Victor announced, a slight trace of excitement in his voice.

As the vehicle reached a certain range, the archers manning the walls slowly aimed their arrows at them.

Seeing this, Victor stepped out and waved a white cloth at the archers.

They slowly lowered their weapons, and the front gate of the settlement opened.

The vehicle drove in. From the windows, they saw several buildings made of concrete and metal, all appearing to be in very good condition.

"Halden Settlement is considered a Tier-Two settlement," Victor explained. "It’s one of the safest settlements out here in the wilderness."

"I can see that," mumbled Gabriel, slightly impressed by the architecture, which was a blend of modernity and technology. freeweɓnovel~cѳm

So far, this was the most advanced city he had been to—even surpassing Stellar City. The only thing Stellar City surpassed it in was size.

Right in front of the entrance, Gabriel spotted some individuals waiting in the distance.

Their vehicle came to a stop, and one after the other, they stepped out.

"I’ll go talk to them," Gabriel said to the others.

"Alright," they nodded.

"Are you Gabriel Reyes from the Adventurer Guild?" the first man asked.

"Yes." Gabriel nodded confidently.

"Where is the crate?" The man frowned, trying to look behind him but found nothing.

"About that..." A wry smile appeared on Gabriel’s face.

Behind him, both Sophie and Cassie looked to the side with slightly embarrassed expressions.

However, before Gabriel could part his lips to speak, he felt an arm on his shoulder.

"It’s okay, Gabriel. Thank you for safely escorting me back," Victor smiled.

"Huh?" Both Sophie and Cassie exclaimed at once.

Sophie stepped forward. "Wait, don’t tell me—"

"Hahahaha, yes, I’m the one you people were meant to protect."

"So the crate... it was a decoy," Gabriel mumbled under his breath, thinking back to how calm Victor had been.

Victor’s knowledge about the terrain hadn’t seemed suspicious—Gabriel had simply assumed he was someone who frequently traveled the wilderness.

"Does this mean we completed the mission?" Cassie asked.

"It seems so," Sophie replied with an uncertain expression. "Then what was inside the crate? And who are you, really?"

"Oh." Victor scratched the back of his head. "The crate is most likely empty. Vice Leader Scarlet suspected something like this might happen, so she came up with this plan."

"So she knew there was a chance of the crate going missing..." Gabriel’s eyes glinted. "That means she knew that even we wouldn’t be able to stop the person responsible."

And ironically, she had been right.

Gabriel felt a pang of admiration for the Vice Leader of the Adventurer Guild.

"You still haven’t answered the question," Cassie pressed. "Who exactly are you?"

"Not many people know me, but... well, my name is Victor Halden, a Level 67 Mechanic." He gave a small smile.

Both Sophie and Cassie sucked in a deep breath. Now they realized why a major guild like Crimson Star had come after them.

’Halden... so he’s the owner of the settlement,’ Gabriel deduced.

"Okay, since you’re all here, why don’t you take a rest in my mansion before returning to Stellar City?" Victor suggested. "With a warm meal, at least—that way, I can properly thank you guys."

Gabriel looked at the rest of his teammates, and seeing no objections, he said,

"Sure, we’ll be in your care then. Hope you treat us nicely."

"Of course! Feel at home!" Victor laughed loudly as he led the team toward his mansion.

---

Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location, a magic circle lit up on the ground, and a woman appeared along with the armored crate Gabriel and the others were meant to protect.

She had flowing red hair like fire and a star-shaped blindfold over her eyes.

And on her flawless, beautiful face was a smirk.

"That was easier than I thought," murmured Lilith Valentine, the leader of the Crimson Star Guild...

The woman known across the wilderness as the Silent Whisper.

***

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