Chapter 284: Highway Survival 16

"One more thing," Perry Yates said.

"I’m willing to give you all the dolls I have left. Could you give me a single, complete, larger piece of fabric? Sturdy fabric would be best."

Reading this, Perry Yates thought for a moment. ’We split the previous bolts of fabric evenly. This time, Vera Vance sent over a total of twelve dolls, which means she must have at least twelve more left.’

’Giving me all the dolls she has must include the ones from before, too.’

"I do have a complete piece of fabric. As for the size, I can only say it’s not small, but it’s a cotton-linen blend."

’Is cotton-linen sturdy? It should be, right?’ Perry Yates thought. She didn’t know much about this sort of thing.

"Yes, yes, that’s fine! I’ll send the dolls over right now. Also, what other kinds of dolls do you want? I can make them for you."

’She must really be in a hurry, judging by how fast she replied.’

After sending over that piece of fabric along with some others, a pile of dolls quickly appeared before Perry Yates again.

A few of them looked very familiar, obviously cast from the same mold as the batch she had just received. There were also a few she recognized from seeing them with Vera Vance before.

These dolls had very obvious signs of mending and looked dirty, like pitiful, abandoned stray puppies.

Perry Yates had Little Tiger take these little dolls to have some candy, while the noticeably grimy ones were taken for a bath to wash all the dirt off.

After taking care of all this, Perry Yates continued on her way.

She had only been driving for about ten minutes when the once clear, cloudless sky suddenly darkened.

In the blink of an eye, dark clouds filled the sky. A cool wind blew past, and the next second, huge raindrops came SPLATTERING down from the heavens.

The rain came down in a torrent. Raindrops hammered against the car’s windshield, making it almost impossible for Perry Yates to see the road ahead. Even the surrounding temperature dropped quite a bit in an instant.

’This weather sure is changing fast.’

Perry Yates thought as she pulled the car over to the side of the road. She checked the doors and windows, then had Little Lion and Little Tiger check the ones in the back. Once she confirmed everything was shut tight, she looked outside.

Because of what happened with the shadow yesterday, she didn’t dare activate the Flame Barrier now. She was afraid the shadow would reappear and shatter another one of her five-star cards with a single slap.

’If that happens again, I’m going to cry for real.’

Then, she said to Little Panda next to her, "Where are the treasure boxes we’ve collected over the past few days?"

"They’re all in the back. I’ll go get them now. How many do you want, Master?"

Perry Yates thought for a moment and said, "Bring them all. This rain isn’t going to stop anytime soon."

’I can’t drive anyway, so I might as well open the treasure boxes I’ve picked up these last few days.’

The group of little dolls worked together and quickly sorted the treasure boxes into two main categories.

One type could be opened directly without any danger. The other type would spawn a wild monster, and you could only get the item inside after killing it.

The really good stuff always came from the treasure boxes with monsters.

After opening all the safe treasure boxes, Perry Yates got a huge pile of food and various daily supplies. There was all sorts of stuff, even stickers, props for playing house, and a disposable car cover, among other things.

Perry Yates gave these things to the newly arrived little dolls. Now, it was time for the main event.

She opened a treasure box, and a black shadow leaped out. The next second, the well-prepared Little Lion instantly killed it.

"A stone?"

"Is it another stone that can expand the vehicle’s space?" Little Lion asked.

"Doesn’t seem like it. This stone is a little different from the last one. It feels heavier, and the color is darker."

"Identification!"

A white light flashed in Perry Yates’s eyes, and she instantly knew what the stone was for. It was for increasing the car’s defense.

’Nice. This is exactly what I need right now.’

After she used it, there wasn’t much change inside the car, but Perry Yates didn’t dwell on it. After all, this was only from the first box.

At the same time, the moment she used the item, her car flashed with a pink light in the curtain of rain. Immediately after, the exterior of her car changed. Although the change wasn’t huge, it looked much more solid and sturdy than before.

Soon, Perry Yates had finished opening all the treasure boxes.

Not every treasure box contained a monster, but the ones that did almost always yielded good items.

For example, she got five more of those defense stones and used them all.

She also found a few Vehicle Space Expansion Stones, which she listed on the trading market.

Besides those, she also got some repair stones, specifically for fixing the car.

There were other items, too, like a water purifier and a graffiti spray can. After spraying a design, the car would receive certain buffs depending on the pattern.

She listed the former on the trading market and kept the latter.

And then there was the final item, which came from a golden treasure box.

The monster that came out of this treasure box was no small matter—it was a massive, eight-headed serpent that started spewing poisonous fog the moment it appeared.

Fortunately, before she opened the box, Perry Yates’s passive foreknowledge Skill was triggered. After seeing what was about to happen, she decisively opened the Any Door and sent the serpent outside the instant it appeared, then dispatched it with a bomb.

The item that came from this treasure box was an orb of light—or to be more precise, an item embryo.

It was an unformed item embryo that, in theory, Perry Yates could shape into anything she wanted.

Perry Yates looked at the orb of light in her hand, a playful smile on her face.

’A custom item... Interesting. I need to think carefully about what kind of item I should create.’

’For something like this, I have to maximize the benefits.’

Perry Yates put the orb away and didn’t act immediately, because she needed to think it over carefully.

Little did she know, this decision had just saved her life.

As the saying goes, great opportunities often come with great risks. The greater the opportunity, the higher the risk.

A custom item might seem powerful, but it’s like a lighthouse in the dead of night. Once activated, all the "ships" would be drawn to it at top speed.

Night fell, but the rain still showed no signs of stopping. Perry Yates, who was sleeping, suddenly felt the car jolt as if it had been attacked.

Almost instinctively, Perry Yates wanted to show whatever was outside what she was made of, but she suppressed the impulse a second later.

She looked outside and, just as she’d feared, saw a dark figure standing there.