Chapter 188: Trying to Poach, But Can’t Find the Foot

Perhaps because the game had ended early, Perry Yates was in an exceptionally good mood.

She even had more energy for work.

Once the Card Furnace had finished its work, Perry Yates took out the newly fused cards.

She then began to Ascend the cards.

About ten days later, the Ascension for all the cards was complete.

Perry Yates sent a message to Evan Fuller and Amber Sheridan, then opened the live stream for the Heavenly Ascension Ladder.

Someone had already climbed to the one-thousandth step.

Seeing this, Perry Yates couldn’t help but marvel at their astonishing willpower.

"It almost makes me want to give you all a shortcut," Perry Yates said, shaking her head.

Of course, she was just talking. Perry Yates wouldn’t—and couldn’t—offer such a shortcut. Otherwise, even if someone made it to the top, the rewards and benefits they received would be greatly diminished.

Most importantly, offering a shortcut would also damage the Heavenly Ascension Ladder itself, making it a completely thankless endeavor.

She would never do something that amounted to digging her own grave.

The live stream had a large audience, with everyone tuning in for the spectacle. There were viewers from Drakonia and other countries, and the live comments were incredibly active.

However, Perry Yates had no interest in watching the spectacle. There were simply too many comments to keep up with.

She went down to the bar on the first floor.

Quite a few people were resting, while others were talking in low voices.

As The Card Tavern’s fame grew, more and more players began to visit, with some even taking up permanent residence.

After all, out in the real world, they had to deal with all sorts of demands from their families. The Survival Game Administration also placed many restrictions on players’ abilities to prevent conflicts with ordinary people.

If anyone was caught breaking the rules, minor violations resulted in hefty fines, while serious ones led directly to jail time.

The addition of the fighting arena had been especially helpful, giving players an outlet to vent their frustrations. Even the general atmosphere among the players had become much more harmonious.

After all, any conflict could be settled by having a match in the arena. If one fight wasn’t enough to blow off steam, they could just keep fighting until it was.

To avoid any lawsuits over potential fatalities, Perry Yates had also thoughtfully provided life-and-death liability waivers.

Just then, Sylas Sawyer found Perry Yates and said with a sly grin, "Quite a few foreign players have been applying for Drakonian citizenship recently."

Perry Yates blinked. "Drakonian citizenship? Why?"

Hearing her question, Sylas Sawyer shot her a look. "Who else would it be for? They’re all coming here because of you."

"Because of me? I don’t even know them. Why would they be coming for me?"

Seeing Perry Yates’s still-confused expression, Sylas couldn’t tell if she was playing dumb or if she genuinely didn’t understand. After all, his hint had been perfectly clear.

So, Sylas just said it outright, "They’re coming because of you, or more accurately, because of The Card Tavern."

At that, it dawned on Perry Yates. ’What’s all this fuss about? So they’re just potential customers. In that case, welcome, welcome, a warm welcome to all!’

Seeing how calm she was, he couldn’t help but ask, "You don’t seem worried at all."

"Why should I be?" Perry Yates asked, blinking in confusion.

"Aren’t you afraid they’ll cause trouble for you?" Sylas said.

The government was currently stalling their applications, mainly because they suspected these people had ulterior motives.

It was no secret that with international tensions running high, many countries had their eyes on Perry Yates—the goose that lays the golden eggs—and wanted to poach her.

However, the Tavern’s owner had always been notoriously elusive. Those with ulterior motives couldn’t even get close to her, let alone try to poach her.

Even on the rare occasions they did run into her and tried to strike up a conversation, Perry Yates’s response was always cold and distant.

Gradually, those people seemed to realize how difficult it would be to poach her. So, they changed their approach, requesting that The Card Tavern open "branch locations" in their own countries and offering to cover all expenses.

They also made a host of other tempting offers, hoping to win over Perry Yates, the owner of the Tavern.

To all of this, Perry Yates remained completely unresponsive, not showing the slightest ripple of interest.

In truth, it wasn’t that Perry Yates was unresponsive; she simply had no idea any of this was happening.

Although, even if she had known, she likely wouldn’t have paid it any mind.

’As for opening "branch locations"... forget it. It’s too much trouble, and I don’t really have that much ambition anyway.’

If anyone else knew what Perry Yates was thinking right now, they’d probably cry their eyes out from sheer frustration.

After all, her business already spanned planets, yet she was unwilling to go international.

’Could it be that, for her, going abroad is even harder than going to another planet?’

And the truth was, that’s exactly how it was. For her, going abroad was indeed harder than interplanetary travel.

After all, there wasn’t any Space Grass for her to use abroad.

Hearing Sylas’s words, Perry Yates gave him a cool glance. "Afraid? I have nothing to be afraid of. You all underestimate me. I haven’t given those people a second thought. If they want to come, let them come."

Hearing this, Sylas pressed, "Then aren’t you worried The Card Tavern will be overflowing? From what I know, the number of people applying is no small figure."

At that, Perry Yates suddenly leaned in close to Sylas. "If that’s what you’re thinking, then you’re seriously underestimating a five-star item."

Leaving him with those words, Perry Yates turned and casually strolled away.

The Card Tavern’s physical form was based on the old shopping mall, so from the outside, it appeared to be the same size.

However, that was just its external appearance. In reality, the interior space of The Card Tavern could expand infinitely.

It was just that the current space was more than sufficient, so she had never needed to activate this ability.

After a quick tour of the first floor, where she watched two intense arena matches, Perry Yates went up to the third floor. She pushed open a door and stepped into a steam-filled room.

’It’s been too long since I’ve had a nice, relaxing soak in a hot spring.’

Perry Yates took off her clothes and submerged her entire body in the warm spring water, leaving only her head above the surface.

Feeling the warmth envelop her body, Perry Yates let out a comfortable sigh.

This was no ordinary spring water. It possessed the ability to heal injuries, cure illnesses, enhance one’s beauty, and even eliminate chronic ailments.

However, these effects were minimal on Perry. It wasn’t that the spring water wasn’t potent, but that her physical constitution was so absurdly resilient that the water had nothing to work on.

So when she took a dip, it was really just for the simple pleasure of soaking in a hot spring.

As Perry Yates soaked in the hot spring, she quickly began to feel drowsy.