Chapter 285: Highway Survival 17

The moment she saw the dark figure, Perry Yates’s heart hammered in her chest. She then watched it walk from the rear of the car toward her.

Perry Yates’s car was small to begin with, so it only took a few steps to cover the distance.

Seeing this, Perry Yates immediately used her Skill, sending dozens of green arrows flying toward the dark figure’s position.

After the dark figure saw the green arrows, although she couldn’t make out its features, Perry Yates could still sense an aura of indignation coming from it.

The instant the arrows touched the dark figure, both the arrows and the figure vanished simultaneously.

Then, as expected, another one of her cards shattered.

Luckily, it was a three-star card this time. Perry Yates breathed a sigh of relief. ’Looks like I made the right bet.’

’The dark figure is gone. I should be able to get a good night’s sleep now.’

Looking in the rearview mirror, Perry Yates saw several deep scratch marks on the car’s body where the dark figure had just been.

Judging by the force, the creature had probably used a great deal of strength.

At that moment, Perry Yates felt a bit lucky she had gotten a stone during the day that increased her car’s defense. Although it had doubled her fuel consumption, she had to admit it was useful.

’I’ll put the car cover and graffiti on tomorrow.’

Thinking this, Perry Yates slowly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

「Day 22 of the game.」

First thing in the morning, the rain outside had stopped. Perry Yates seized the opportunity to have her little dolls put on the car cover and then apply the graffiti.

After receiving their orders, the little dolls happily got to work, while Perry Yates stayed inside the car, eating breakfast and opening the chat channel.

As time went on, people gradually accumulated more supplies. In the trade section, Perry Yates saw an item that could upgrade a car’s configuration.

Perry Yates thought for a moment and decided to buy it. After all, her vehicle’s speed had noticeably slowed down after several expansions and defense enhancements, so it urgently needed an upgrade.

After buying the upgrade stone, Perry Yates also bought some fuel.

The price of fuel, on the other hand, had dropped.

After she finished shopping, Perry Yates opened the group chat.

Unsurprisingly, everyone had encountered the dark figures again last night.

In fact, it wasn’t just them; the NPC players here had encountered them too.

However, the dark figures the NPC players encountered only damaged their cars, while the actual players lost a card.

You have to understand, for a player, cards were the very foundation of their survival. Without them, they had no sense of security at all.

At this moment, many people in the group chat were begging for a card.

As for why the dark figures treated them differently, they actually didn’t. It was all a matter of mindset.

Because these players were only here for thirty days, many hadn’t paid much attention to their vehicles.

Some even felt they were powerful enough or had something like a shelter, so when choosing a vehicle, they went straight for convertibles or motorcycles.

Even those who did choose cars rarely upgraded them. After all, it was only for thirty days. Even if they did encounter monsters, they were confident they could kill them.

That was indeed the case for the first twenty days. But in the final ten days, an unreasonable dark figure appeared. Although it could be killed, it would take one of their cards every time.

Faced with this situation, they were in a bind—they couldn’t decide whether to use a Skill or not.

If they used a Skill, their supply of fused cards was limited, and it was only a temporary solution. If they didn’t, their vehicles were like paper in front of those dark shadow monsters, offering no defense at all.

The group chat was now filled with voices of regret, lamenting that they hadn’t upgraded their vehicles and had instead traded the upgrade materials for various other items.

Perry Yates closed the group chat. By now, the car’s upgrade was complete, and the little dolls had finished their work and returned to the vehicle.

"It’s done. Let’s get going."

The car slowly pulled onto the road.

Along the way, the little dolls were in charge of keeping watch for treasure boxes. If they spotted any, Perry Yates would use vines to pull them in, and the dolls would then sort them.

The treasure boxes that might contain monsters were temporarily set aside, while the ones that were completely safe were opened immediately, and the supplies from them were placed to one side.

Just then, a human figure suddenly appeared up ahead, waving.

Perry Yates now had a bit of PTSD when it came to waving humanoid figures. Fortunately, this person wasn’t black, and their facial expression was very clear.

Grace Chase had finally spotted a passing car and, throwing caution to the wind, stood in the middle of the road with her arms outstretched.

In the real world, such behavior would get you a harsh scolding at the very least, and maybe even a beating.

Perry Yates stopped the car, lowered the window, and asked, "Can I help you?"

The unspoken message was: if there’s no problem, get out of the way immediately.

’This person was willing to stand in the middle of the road just to stop me,’ Perry Yates thought. ’Are they in some kind of trouble? Or are they short on supplies?’

’If they’re short on supplies, I suppose I can spare some. I’m not lacking, after all, but I can’t give away too much.’

However, to Perry Yates’s surprise, the woman didn’t answer her question. Instead, she walked around to the passenger side and looked as if she was about to open the door and get in.

However, Perry Yates’s car doors were locked, so no matter how hard the woman pulled, she couldn’t open the door.

After trying a few times, Grace Chase gave up and said to Perry Yates, "Unlock the door first. My car broke down. Can you give me a ride? I’ll give you half of the supplies I have, and you can take the larger share of any we get in the future."

Grace Chase hadn’t expected that her car would actually break down after she just went to check out a place off the main road, forcing her to stay put.

In fact, before Perry Yates, she had run into a few other players, but they had either refused her request to ride together or had been men.

To ensure her personal safety, Grace Chase naturally wanted to share a car with another woman.

When she met Perry Yates, her original plan was to act first and ask permission later. If she got in the car first, the woman couldn’t just kick her out. Then she could play the victim, and staying wouldn’t be a problem.

But she hadn’t expected to be thwarted at the first step. ’This person actually locks her doors? Does she have to be so vigilant?’

"I don’t need it."

Perry Yates tossed out the cold reply, then started the car and sped off.

"No, you can’t leave!"

Grace Chase clung desperately to Perry Yates’s car, a vicious glint flashing in her eyes. ’If you refuse to do this the easy way, don’t blame me for getting rough.’

Grace Chase’s arm gradually took on a metallic sheen. The next second, it began to transform, turning into an incredibly sharp longsword.