Free Web NovelChapter 261: Carol’s Scheme (GT Bonus)
A huge thank you to Devilgreen123, dvscolt, tracy1501, Sessykags, Thomas_Fenwick, Readingman123, ElliseCatherine, unknownh, Deathgrace, and Nevarie89 for the Golden Tickets! Your support truly means a lot and keeps me motivated to continue writing and improving the story. If you guys find it boring, you can suggest it.
++++--------+++++
When Team 11 finally left the Headquarters building after attracting massive attention, many Hunters were still secretly discussing them, especially Vikram. The person once known only as the infamous lazy Hunter had shown an entirely different side today.
While Team 11 was walking back toward their vehicles, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Vikram.
It was Neha.
The usually calm and sharp-minded girl now looked unusually nervous. Her ears were slightly red.
The surrounding Team Members instantly slowed down. Sana, Kavya, and Bushra exchanged strange looks.
Neha avoided eye contact for a moment before speaking softly, "V-Vikram... Today... I want to serve you dinner."
The moment those words were spoken, several team members immediately understood the hidden meaning. Even Rohit struggled to hold back his laughter.
Vikram looked at Neha’s blushing face and gave her a slightly mischievous smile. He clearly understood that the "dinner" she wanted to serve probably wasn’t just food.
He nodded calmly. "Alright."
Neha’s face turned even redder. Kavya gave her a teasing smile. "You too, Neha? I thought you were the most mature one among us."
Neha immediately became even more embarrassed.
Before the girls could start teasing her further, Isha calmly interrupted, "Enough. We still need to prepare for tomorrow’s mission."
Although she spoke seriously, her expression showed no jealousy. Instead, she looked strangely satisfied seeing Team 11’s atmosphere becoming increasingly united around Vikram.
Soon afterward, Neha quietly left with Vikram.
And just as he had expected, the evening unfolded exactly as imagined. After Neha served him dinner, she looked at him shyly, lacking the courage to say what she truly wanted. But Vikram, already experienced in this, gently picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.
---
The next morning, Neha woke up first. She turned her head and looked at the sleeping Vikram with a soft, loving expression.
However, that gentle look was soon mixed with clear anger.
She was furious at the girls — especially Kavya, Bushra, and Sana. They had all told her that losing her virginity wouldn’t be painful. But she had experienced terrible pain in the beginning. Only after some time did she start to enjoy it.
They lied to me... she thought, biting her lip. All three of them clearly enjoyed it, yet they told me it wouldn’t hurt at all.
Although she had eventually felt immense pleasure, the anger at being deceived by the girls still lingered strongly in her heart.
---
In the days that followed, Vikram began participating in mission after mission without pause.
Whenever the situation demanded, his various Plant summons appeared and carried out the operations with overwhelming efficiency. Gradually, the entire atmosphere surrounding Team 11 transformed completely.
Previously, Vikram had been the notorious slacker who slept through missions while the rest of the team carried the burden. Now, the situation had reversed entirely. Many missions were handled almost single-handedly by Vikram and his Plant Team.
His summons quickly rose to fame across Cameron City. Each Plant Druid developed its own distinct reputation and even gained dedicated fan groups among Hunters:
Shade became legendary for his terrifying stealth and silent assassinations. Feiry earned awe for his catastrophic destructive firepower. Lighty was respected for his powerful purification and battlefield support. Guardian Druid was known as an unbreakable defensive fortress. Warry gained recognition for brutal close-quarters combat.
Even the smaller elemental Sprouts became well-known for their unique and versatile support abilities.
Over time, Vikram continued to change. He actively led operations, trained seriously, and coordinated missions with precision. His Plant Druids displayed terrifying versatility across every role, combat, healing, defense, scouting, rescue, tracking, and area control.
Hunters soon realized something shocking, Vikram’s summons alone could effectively replace entire Hunter squads. They operated independently, made intelligent decisions, cooperated flawlessly, and never tired or feared death.
As a result, Team 11’s mission completion speed became absurdly fast. Operations that once required multiple squads, heavy preparation, and prolonged battles were now finished efficiently by Team 11 alone.
Within just one week, Team 11 soared to the undisputed Number One position among all regional Hunter squads, not just in Cameron City, but across the entire regional network.
This meteoric rise completely stunned Hunter Headquarters. Everyone still remembered clearly how Team 11 had once been a mediocre squad, carried almost entirely by Isha. Now, the formerly infamous "lazy Hunter" Vikram had become the central pillar of the strongest regional team.
Even many senior Hunters had begun paying serious attention to him.
---
Within Team 11, every girl had now personally experienced what it felt like when Vikram entered them. Because of this, they no longer needed to tease each other about it. They were all genuinely happy with their team’s rapid rise.
---
Meanwhile, Carol Danvers had become increasingly competitive after witnessing Team 11’s explosive growth. Every time the rankings updated, Team 11 remained firmly above Team 10. The more she observed Vikram now, the harder it became to reconcile him with the lazy, useless image she once knew.
This only made her more unwilling to lose.
The more Carol tried to compete against him, the more she realized just how terrifying Vikram truly was. At first, she believed Team 11’s sudden rise was mainly due to Isha and the strange versatility of his summons. But after personally observing multiple missions, she slowly discovered the truth.
Vikram himself was the real core.
His judgment during missions was calm and decisive. His tactical thinking was extremely sharp. He adapted frighteningly fast. And most importantly, his summons weren’t mindless creatures, they moved according to his will with near-perfect coordination.
Even Team 10 found it harder and harder to keep up with Team 11’s mission completion speed.
At the same time, Carol began noticing something else. Vikram wasn’t just strong, he was extremely handsome. Previously, his legendary laziness and irresponsible reputation had made her suppress any attraction she felt. But now, everything had changed.
He had become dependable, calm, responsible, confident, and highly respected throughout Headquarters. Combined with his appearance and mysterious summons, his charm had grown dangerously attractive.
Carol eventually admitted to herself what she had ignored for years. Even before Vikram changed, she had secretly found him appealing. Now, that attraction had become much stronger.
However, she also understood one crucial thing: Isha would never leave Vikram. And strangely, Isha seemed genuinely happy seeing other girls grow closer to him. That attitude confused Carol deeply.
Still, instead of continuing open rivalry, Carol decided to change her approach.
If she wanted to get closer to Vikram, she needed natural opportunities, not direct competition.
After thinking for a long time, she finally made her decision.
The next morning, inside Hunter Headquarters, Carol walked straight toward the mission board.
She stood calmly before the massive holographic mission board inside Hunter Headquarters.
The surrounding Hunters subconsciously became quieter as they noticed her personally selecting a high-level operation. A-Rank missions were on an entirely different level, they usually involved Vampire Nobles, large-scale casualties, or classified Federation matters.
Soon, the holographic screen expanded before her eyes. A crimson mission file slowly opened.
---
[A Rank Mission]
[Operation: Crimson Archive]
Mission Location: Bloodfang Stronghold, Northern Ruined Sector
Mission Reward:
• 45,000 Contribution Points
• Special Federation Merit Reward
• High-Level Resource Access Authorization
---
Mission Details: Federation Intelligence has discovered that Bloodfang Stronghold, a heavily fortified Vampire-controlled territory in the Northern Ruined Sector, is secretly storing classified records regarding human settlements, Hunter movements, blood experimentation projects, and Vampire noble communications.
The stronghold is directly controlled by a Vampire Viscount under Baron-level authority. According to intercepted intelligence, the facility may also contain confidential archives connected to recent disappearances near regional settlements.
Several previous Hunter squads sent to investigate the area have either disappeared or failed to return. The Federation suspects the existence of hidden underground laboratories and restricted information vaults inside the stronghold.
Primary Objectives:
• Infiltrate Bloodfang Stronghold freēwēbnovel.com
• Retrieve the classified archive data
• Recover any experimental records or Federation intelligence
• Eliminate hostile targets if necessary
Secondary Objectives:
• Rescue surviving prisoners if found
• Destroy critical Vampire research facilities
• Gather information regarding higher-ranking Vampire involvement
Danger Level: Extremely High
Confirmed Threats:
• Large Vampire population
• Elite Vampire Guards
• Unknown number of Noble-Class Vampires
• Possible Baron-Level Enemy Presence
Mission Warning: This mission is not recommended for ordinary Hunter squads. Extreme caution is advised.
---
After reading the full mission details, even several nearby Hunters became visibly serious. Bloodfang Stronghold was infamous in the region, many Hunters called it "The Mouth of the Vampire Nest." Very few entered. Even fewer returned.
Carol calmly closed the mission screen. There was no hesitation in her eyes, only a sharp, cunning glint.
---
After selecting the mission, Carol did not return to Team 10. Instead, she headed directly toward the upper floors of Hunter Headquarters, toward Mist King’s office.
Inside the office, Mist King was reviewing regional mission reports when Carol suddenly pushed open the door and entered.
"Dad."
Mist King raised his eyes. The moment he saw the A-Rank mission file in her hand, his expression darkened instantly.
"...Carol. You selected an A-Rank mission?"
His voice grew heavy. He knew exactly how dangerous Bloodfang Stronghold was. Even experienced Hunter squads could easily perish there.
However, Carol crossed her arms stubbornly. "I can handle it."
Mist King replied coldly, "No. That mission is too dangerous for Team 10 to take alone."
Carol had clearly come prepared. "Then let another team assist me."
Mist King narrowed his eyes. "...Which team?"
Carol smiled. "I want Team 11."
The office fell silent.
Mist King immediately understood his daughter’s true intention, especially after noticing her recent behavior toward Vikram. He also knew that, ever since the two sisters had grown apart, Carol had always wanted to stay ahead of Isha to prove her sister’s decisions were wrong.
After a long pause, Mist King finally sighed helplessly. Among his daughters, Carol had always been the most stubborn.
"...If you want Team 11’s help," he said calmly, "then ask your sister yourself."
Carol’s eyes brightened instantly. Without wasting another second, she turned and ran out of the office.
Mist King rubbed his forehead and muttered, "...Troublesome child."
---
A short while later, inside Team 11’s resting area, Isha was reviewing mission reports with Vikram and the others when the door suddenly opened.
Carol walked in.
The moment Team 11 saw her, many became cautious l, especially after their constant ranking competition recently.
Carol walked straight toward Isha. Then, to everyone’s shock, she suddenly put on an extremely pitiful expression.
"Sis... I need your help..."
The surrounding team members looked strange. Especially Vikram, who found her acting ridiculously exaggerated.
Carol dramatically opened the A-Rank mission details and spoke pitifully, "If I fail this mission... I might not even have enough contribution points left to eat..."
Even Rohit nearly choked. Everyone knew Team 10 was currently one of the richest squads.
Isha immediately understood. "...Bullshit."
She rejected her without hesitation. "No."
However, Carol had no intention of giving up. She suddenly grabbed Isha’s arm tightly and, to everyone’s disbelief, fake tears instantly appeared in her eyes.
"Sis... If you don’t help me... then who will? You can’t just watch your little sister die..."
Even Sana and Kavya were shocked by her shameless performance.
Vikram silently watched the scene with amusement. Carol’s acting was obviously fake, yet Isha gradually began to look helpless.
After all, no matter how troublesome Carol was, she was still her younger sister. And since childhood, Isha had rarely been able to completely reject her requests.
Finally, after several more minutes of Carol’s fake crying and pitiful acting, Isha let out a soft sigh.
"...Fine."
The moment those words left her mouth, Carol’s fake tears vanished instantly. A victorious smile appeared on her face.
Vikram looked at Carol silently. For some reason, he increasingly felt that this woman’s true target wasn’t actually the mission itself.
