Chapter 263: Giant Creatures 21

Day twenty-five of the game.

They had won the battle against the flesh-colored monster yesterday, but they had also been injured.

Perry Yates had long known that Dealer Hunters were tough opponents, but the combat prowess of the one from yesterday was beyond anything she had anticipated.

She couldn’t figure out if he had obtained the bug transformation ability from a Croupier, or if it was the effect of an item.

She couldn’t figure it out, so she pushed the thought aside.

Perry Yates shook her head. Being unable to use items now felt like a fish trapped in the shallows.

She could still swim, but she lacked the freedom she had in deep water.

Fortunately, there were only a few days left until the game ended.

"Don’t let your guard down," Amber Sheridan warned. "This is when we need to be most careful."

Perry Yates nodded in acknowledgment.

She placed her hand on a nearby tree, hoping to gather some information and, while she was at it, locate the Dealer Hunter who had escaped.

’As the saying goes, finish him off while he’s vulnerable.’

Yesterday, when the Dealer Hunter realized he was no match for Perry and Amber, he had simply burrowed into the ground and fled.

Perry had wanted to stop him, but the recent battle had consumed too much of her energy. Coupled with her injuries, she had no choice but to let him go.

After "listening" for a moment, she didn’t find any trace of the Dealer Hunter, but she did pick up on something else.

"A Safe House? This city actually has places like that?" Amber Sheridan asked.

Perry Yates nodded. "From the clues I’ve gathered, this city seems to have been a strategic location. To prepare for emergencies or natural disasters, the government built several maximum-security Safe Houses here, stocked with ample supplies.

"If we can find one, surviving the next few days should be no problem."

Hearing this, Amber Sheridan’s interest was instantly piqued. "That’s great! Do you know where the Safe Houses are?"

Perry Yates queried the plants again and quickly got her answer.

"There’s one under the government building, and it’s the highest security level. But it seems that Safe House has already been activated, and the people inside aren’t letting anyone in.

"There’s another one at the hospital, which has also been activated and is occupied.

"Besides those, there are similar Safe Houses under a few of the city’s main elementary, middle, and high schools, but they weren’t built to the highest standards, so they’ve already been destroyed."

After hearing Perry’s report, Amber Sheridan frowned. "So are there any empty Safe Houses available now?"

Perry Yates shook her head. "I don’t know. I haven’t found one yet."

With the Dealer Hunter still out there, neither Perry Yates nor Amber Sheridan wanted to share a space with strangers.

Perry Yates continued to gather information through the plants. About an hour later, she returned with some bad news and some good news.

"Which do you want to hear first?" Perry asked.

"The bad news."

"The bad news is, I didn’t find an empty Safe House. But other survivors did, and they’ve already moved in and sealed the main entrance."

Amber Sheridan was silent for a moment, then a thought seemed to strike her. "So, the good news is you have a way into that Safe House without using the main door?"

"You wish. That Safe House is already full. Even if we forced our way in, there’d be no room. We’re better off staying outside."

"Then what’s the good news?"

Perry Yates raised an eyebrow. "The good news is, I found a natural air-raid shelter."

With Perry Yates leading the way, the two of them left the city and headed into the wilderness.

As they passed through a dense forest, they managed to catch two wild rabbits, each over two meters long, for dinner.

When they reached the base of a steep cliff, Perry Yates pointed upward. The faint outline of the air-raid shelter was just visible.

"It’s right there."

Perry Yates sent vines snaking up and into the shelter.

She had only learned of this place from the surrounding plants. She didn’t actually know what the inside of the shelter was like, as no plants grew within it.

Fortunately, after a bit of exploration with her vines, Perry confirmed it was safe inside.

After planting a Space Grass, the two of them used an Any Door to transport themselves and the two rabbits into the air-raid shelter.

Amber Sheridan looked around. "There are signs of construction here," she said. "This doesn’t look like a natural formation."

Perry Yates wasn’t too concerned about it. The marks looked ancient, suggesting someone had lived here for some reason a long time ago.

The air-raid shelter was originally quite spacious, but the two giant rabbits made it feel noticeably crowded.

To save space, they started butchering the rabbits.

Of course, they weren’t foolish enough to do the messy work inside the shelter they had worked so hard to find. Instead, they found a spot near a water source to skin them, collecting the edible parts and discarding the rest.

Perry Yates took the rabbit pelts with her as well. The mutated rabbit fur was exceptionally soft to the touch; she figured she could sell them for a good price back home.

After a long day’s work, the two had a simple meal of roasted rabbit meat and then rested.

Day twenty-six of the game.

The first thing Perry Yates did after waking up was check on the Mosquito Repellent Incense, Insect Repellent Incense, and Beast Repelling Powder. Seeing they were nearly depleted, she quickly replenished them.

The Mosquito Repellent Incense and Insect Repellent Incense were especially crucial. Without them, you didn’t even have to wait until nightfall; the ubiquitous little bugs of the daytime would always manage to provide all sorts of "surprises," appearing in the most unexpected places.

Although Perry Yates could use her Cold Moon Guardian to protect herself, that consumed energy, and she had no desire to experience the feeling of being swarmed by insects.

Taking out the leftover rabbit meat from yesterday and some other food she had collected previously, Perry Yates made a simple rabbit stir-fry.

After they ate, Perry Yates, having nothing better to do, started to treat the two rabbit pelts.

"You’re so skilled at that."

Amber Sheridan couldn’t help but praise her as she watched Perry expertly treat the pelts.

"Practice makes perfect. Besides, it’s better than being idle."

She worked on them until noon, then stretched and started making lunch.

As she was washing some vegetables, she suddenly glanced outside.

"Hey," Perry Yates said, nudging Amber Sheridan beside her with her foot. "Do you get the feeling we’re being watched?"

Amber Sheridan glanced outside. "There’s nothing there. It must be your imagination."

"Better safe than sorry. Let’s move our things further inside."

"All right."

Although Amber Sheridan thought Perry was overreacting, she didn’t object. She obediently moved their belongings deeper into the cave while Perry used a Skill to seal the entrance, leaving only a small hole for ventilation.