Chapter 358: Carboniferous Period 30
「Day Fourteen of the game.」
By now, Perry Yates had completely given up on finding the last Any Door card.
Without the threat of the Executor, Perry Yates had relaxed quite a bit. However, as the game entered its later stages, the insects living in this instance began to constantly evolve, developing all sorts of powerful abilities.
Still, Perry faced these insects with ease. Plus, with the Safe House, she didn’t have to worry about being ambushed at night.
So, compared to the other players who were running themselves ragged in the instance, life for Perry Yates and Sage Bishop was almost too good. Sage Bishop had even gained a couple of pounds.
「Day Fifteen of the game.」
With the help of Sage Bishop’s items, Perry Yates continued to collect the cards scattered throughout the forest.
Although Perry Yates seemed to be having an easy time in this game, the instance’s difficulty was, in fact, absolutely hellish.
Compared to the current situation, the difficulties at the beginning of the game were truly entry-level—just higher humidity, slightly larger insects, and all fused cards disappearing. It was nothing like now.
Not only was the environment terrible, but fires were raging everywhere. A moment of carelessness could get you burned alive. The insects hadn’t just grown larger; they had also awakened a variety of new abilities.
Furthermore, the spreading fires severely compressed the living space for both players and insects, leading to more frequent encounters between them.
Most importantly, while the insects grew stronger and stronger, many players still hadn’t recovered their own cards. And they couldn’t use other players’ cards even if they found them.
As a result, the number of players in the instance was dropping at an alarming rate.
Some players, realizing the danger, decided to band together to fight against the freakish insects.
None of this, however, had much to do with Perry Yates.
「Day Sixteen of the game.」
After dealing with an insect drawn by the scent of their food early in the morning and finishing breakfast, the two began searching for more scattered cards.
"Hey, if you let me go now, I can tell you where the Any Door is. You won’t get another chance if you wait any longer."
A voice only Perry Yates could hear spoke from her waist.
After several days of sun exposure, the Executor was still alive, but it had shrunk and looked extremely weak.
"Then don’t. I don’t want it anyway," Perry Yates said bluntly.
"You don’t want it?! That’s a Five-Star card! You really don’t want it?" The Executor’s voice was filled with shock.
"So what if it’s a Five-Star card? The fact that you’d even ask that shows you don’t know me at all. To me, a Five-Star card is..."
Perry Yates stopped mid-sentence, then asked, "Was that last time the first time we met?"
"What else would it be?"
Hearing the Executor’s reply, a thoughtful look flickered in Perry Yates’s eyes, but it vanished just as quickly.
「Day Seventeen of the game.」
"BOOM!!!"
A red figure was sent flying by Perry Yates.
The figure reacted instantly, a pair of wings made of fire unfurling from his back just as he was about to hit the ground, allowing him to hover in mid-air.
The man looked down with great interest at Perry Yates, who appeared a little disheveled from the fight (in reality, she just had a smudge of mud on her face). "You’re the first player who’s been able to fight me to a draw," he said.
"The feeling’s mutual. You’re the first player I haven’t been able to easily crush," Perry Yates retorted without ceremony.
With her high Card Level, she had always steamrolled her opponents, be they insects, players, or Executors. This was the first time Perry Yates had met a player who could face her head-on.
Moreover, his fire attribute was even a slight counter to hers.
"So, how about it? Want to team up?"
The man slowly descended, his wings retracting behind him.
"Team up? With your strength, I doubt there’s anything in this instance that can threaten you. So I don’t see any need for us to cooperate," Perry Yates said, stating the simple truth.
In her view, people teamed up because they couldn’t face a crisis alone. That clearly wasn’t the case for either of them.
"You’re right, we don’t really need to team up." Skyler Rowan rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed. He just thought that the young woman before him was not only his equal in battle but also quite cute, and he simply wanted to make a friend.
Just then, Sage Bishop stepped out from behind a nearby tree trunk.
Skyler Rowan recognized him and said in surprise, "Sage Bishop?"
Hearing this, Sage Bishop forced a smile and greeted Skyler Rowan, "Long time no see, Young Master Rowan."
Skyler Rowan grunted in acknowledgment, then asked, "You two know each other well?"
He then looked at Perry Yates, thinking, ’Could she also be a victim of that madwoman, Reina Quinn?’
As if reading Skyler Rowan’s mind, Sage Bishop quickly waved his hands and said, "No, no, no, we’re not close. I just hired her."
"Hired her?"
"He provides me with the locations of two Pseudo-Five Stars cards and three pieces of intel daily, and I protect him so he can get through this game safely."
After hearing Perry Yates’s explanation, Skyler Rowan nodded. "That’s a fair price. Right, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Skyler Rowan, Cerulea ID 7732, Croupier number 001."
He held out his hand to Perry Yates as he spoke.
Hearing this, Perry Yates hesitated for a moment before shaking his hand. "Perry Yates, Croupier number 001."
Perry Yates didn’t state her Cerulea ID, and Skyler Rowan didn’t press the issue. Instead, he said, "You have my cards on you. Could you give them back?"
Before Perry Yates could speak, Sage Bishop cut in, "Young Master Rowan, we worked hard to collect these cards. Isn’t it a bit inappropriate for you to just ask for them?"
"Inappropriate? But I’m not asking for them for free. Not everyone is like Reina Quinn, trying to freeload all the time."
"Young Master Rowan, please do not slander Lady Reina Quinn."
Hearing Skyler Rowan insult the person he respected most, Sage Bishop’s entire demeanor changed instantly. He was like a startled hedgehog with its quills raised, ready to attack his enemy at any moment.
Skyler Rowan clearly didn’t take Sage Bishop seriously. A Croupier who could only survive by depending on others posed no threat to him at all. This female Croupier named Perry Yates, on the other hand...