Chapter 216

Suddenly, two thin sheets of A4 paper appeared in Seth Larkin’s hands.

They contained Perry Yates’s file.

Just two small sheets of paper encapsulated the past twenty-plus years of Perry Yates’s life.

"According to the file, Perry Yates was in the seventh batch of players to join after the survival game began. Moreover, she started preparing for it long before she ever entered."

"So, what does that prove?" Candice Sawyer asked.

"It only proves she’s someone who prepares for every eventuality."

The next day, Perry Yates had just stepped outside when she saw Dylan Adler waiting for her at the entrance of the apartment complex.

Eyeing the sleek, black, modified car, Perry Yates asked, "How did you convince security to let you drive in?"

"I just showed my credentials to the property manager," Dylan Adler replied casually.

After getting in the car, Perry Yates realized it was just her and Dylan Adler.

"Is it just the two of us for this mission? Where’s everyone else?" Perry Yates asked.

"They have other missions to attend to. It’s just the two of us for this one."

Hearing this, Perry Yates looked at Dylan Adler. "You have that much confidence in me?"

Dylan Adler started the car and pulled out of the complex. "Without you," he said as he drove, "our original plan was to send a few players who had integrated with Fire Element Cards to burn down those plants. Then, we’d have players with Earth Attribute Cards churn up the surrounding land to completely destroy the underground root systems."

That’s what they had always done. Although it was time-consuming and laborious, the results were undeniable. The only problem was that the plants would always stage a comeback before long.

After hearing his explanation, Perry Yates asked, "Why not send players who’ve integrated with Wood Attribute Cards?"

"Because very few people integrate with Wood Attribute Cards.

"Wood Attribute Cards have major limitations in combat, and they aren’t as versatile as Water Element Cards. They’re geared more toward support and healing. Compared to the mild nature of Wood Attribute Cards, people much prefer the powerful, combat-focused Thunder Attribute or Gold Attribute Cards."

"There’s also the fact that high-level Wood Attribute Cards rarely appear. Most are only around one-star."

Perry Yates nodded. "Plants aren’t as high-level as animals, after all."

"Besides, we have sent Wood Attribute players before."

At this, Perry Yates asked curiously, "And what happened?"

"The Card Levels of the players we sent were too low. They were nearly dragged off and devoured by those plants."

Hearing Dylan say that, Perry Yates’s eyes went wide. "It’s that dangerous, and you only brought me?!"

Dylan Adler smiled faintly, his tone full of confidence. "Don’t worry. I’ll protect you."

"Later, our research on the cards revealed that the energy within them holds a fatal attraction for all mutated creatures, especially those of a matching attribute. Those plants must have sensed the Wood Attribute Energy within the players, which is why they went into such a frenzy."

"Because those players weren’t powerful enough, they were overwhelmed. If the tables were turned, however—if a Wood Attribute player was powerful enough—they should be able to absorb energy directly from the plants."

Listening to Dylan Adler’s passionate speech, Perry Yates asked, "Is this something you’ve already proven, or is it still just a theory?"

"We’ve already run experiments. The players involved were just too weak for the energy absorption to be noticeable. However, Doctor Yorke discovered that the energy siphoned from plants is exceptionally pure and should be usable for upgrading Card Levels. The only catch is that successfully upgrading a card is an extremely slow process because the amount of energy required is immense."

Hearing that cards could be upgraded, Perry Yates’s eyes lit up. She knew that aside from her first integrated card, which had reached five stars, all her others were stuck at four.

"Who’s Doctor Yorke?" Perry Yates asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Doctor Yorke is an actual doctor. He’s also a player—one of the first batch, in fact. But after two rounds of the game, he obtained a special card. It allows him to retain his player status without having to participate in the game, but the price was that he could never integrate another card again."

After using that card, Doctor Yorke began to devote himself completely to researching how the cards worked.

"According to Doctor Yorke’s research, the cards are essentially energy constructs. What we call Skills and items are just different manifestations of that energy. If we could break through these limitations, the technology of all of Cerulea would take a quantum leap forward. Who knows, we might even be able to unlock the Genetic Locks that constrain humanity."

Perry Yates had no interest in unlocking the Genetic Lock, but she was very interested in this Doctor Yorke. Not for any particular reason, other than that he sounded exactly her type. ’What a stunningly handsome man.’

She wasn’t sure what method Dylan Adler used—probably some kind of item—but a journey that should have taken several days was completed in less than half a day.

After arriving at Vaelan, Perry Yates gazed at the vast primeval forest before her. "This is Vaelan?" she asked.

"Yeah. You’ve never been?"

"Nope, never."

Perry Yates extended her senses to the surrounding flora, and her mind was instantly flooded with a cacophony of voices—some ancient, some young, some lively, some quiet.

"So noisy. All of you, shut up."

Hearing her words, Dylan Adler shot her a surprised look. ’I didn’t say anything.’

Perry Yates noticed his gaze and explained, "I wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to them."

"You can communicate with plants?" Dylan Adler asked, his voice laced with surprise.

"Any Wood Attribute player should be able to."

Dylan Adler considered her words. ’That seems right. The previous players could also sense the plants’ presence, but they were nowhere near being able to communicate with them.’

Perry Yates was no longer paying attention to Dylan Adler. Her focus was now entirely on the plants before her.

"Why are you growing here? This is not where you belong."

"Who made that rule? We can go anywhere there’s soil."

The voice that replied was fiery and aggressive.

Perry Yates followed the voice with her gaze and spotted a chili plant covered in fiery red peppers.

"Wow, awesome little chilis. ’I’ll pick some to take back for a stir-fry.’"

With that, Perry Yates reached out and began yanking the peppers from the plant.

"No!"

"Don’t!"

The chili plant and Dylan Adler cried out at the same time, but they were too late to stop her.

After plucking off all the red peppers, Perry Yates was quite pleased with her harvest.