Chapter 290: Highway Survival 22

Watching the newly arrived dolls quickly integrate into the group, Perry Yates continued to ascend her Sublimation Cards.

「Day 28 of the game.」

At noon that day, while Perry Yates was eating lunch, there was a knock on her vehicle’s door.

Through the window, Perry Yates saw the visitor was a sweet-looking girl. Her hair was a bit messy, likely because she hadn’t had time to primp lately.

Perry Yates raised the vehicle’s partition, preventing anyone from seeing the little dolls playing wildly inside the cabin. Only then did she slowly open the window and ask, "Can I help you?"

After Perry Yates opened the window, the girl glanced into the cabin. A flicker of disappointment flashed in her eyes when she saw the partition, but she quickly composed herself and said in a gentle tone, "Hello, my name is Faye Tate."

"I’m Leah Lowell."

Perry Yates decided to use her alias after a moment’s thought.

"Um, Leah, we’re running low on supplies. Do you have any spare food? We were wondering if we could trade for some."

"Food, huh? I have a little left, but I’m running low myself. What do you have to trade, and how much are you looking for?"

Disappointment flickered in Faye Tate’s eyes at the first part of the sentence, but hope flared anew at the second.

"Don’t worry, we don’t need much—just about ten pounds of food and ten liters of water. As for what we have to trade, we have an extremely rare blueprint."

"A blueprint?"

’Trading a single blueprint for ten pounds of food and ten liters of water? Such confidence.’

Perry Yates’s curiosity was instantly piqued.

’A blueprint that powerful... I have to see it, one way or another.’

"I need to see the blueprint before I make a decision."

Faye Tate nodded. "Alright. Come with me, I’ll take you to see it."

"No, I’m staying in my vehicle. Just bring the blueprint over. If it’s really worth the price, we’ll make the exchange right here—supplies for the blueprint."

A troubled look flashed in Faye Tate’s eyes. After a long pause, as if she had come to a difficult decision, she said, "Alright. Wait here, I’ll go get it now."

With that, Faye Tate dashed off.

She ran to a black vehicle, opened the door, and got inside.

A few minutes later, Faye Tate emerged from the vehicle. She glanced around cautiously before walking back toward Perry, trying to act nonchalant.

"Here, this is the blueprint."

Perry Yates reached for the blueprint, but Faye Tate pulled it away.

She unfurled the blueprint, signaling that Perry could just look at it like this.

Perry Yates glanced at the blueprint, showing no surprise. She already had a similar one. Though the design looked slightly different, they were both blueprints for a safe base—there was no fundamental difference.

"I already have one of these blueprints."

To prove her point, Perry Yates took out her own blueprint.

Now, it was Faye Tate’s turn to be stunned.

’How is that possible? Wasn’t this supposed to be the only blueprint of its kind?’

Realizing she’d been deceived, a surge of anger welled up inside Faye Tate. She knew this wasn’t the time for an outburst, though. The priority was to sell the blueprint she was holding.

However, selling the blueprint for the original asking price was now clearly impossible. She would have to lower it.

But Perry Yates had never intended to haggle. To her, ten liters of water and ten pounds of food were a trifle, and the blueprint was certainly worth the asking price.

And so, Faye Tate took the food and water, looking completely stunned. When she looked toward Perry again, the vehicle’s window was already rising, blocking her line of sight.

「Day 29 of the game.」

Nothing eventful occurred, and Perry Yates successfully ascended another five-star card.

「Day 30 of the game.」

Early that morning, Perry Yates discovered something extraordinary. Everything she’d obtained in the game, including food, had turned into cards. The little dolls were no exception, their cards scattered all over the floor.

Seeing this, Perry Yates quickly gathered all the cards.

The dolls’ Card Levels were generally around three stars, with a few even reaching four.

Perry Yates took a look; the ones that had reached four stars were the very first dolls that had come to her.

"You all can just stay in card form for now."

With that, Perry Yates put the cards away. Then, she remembered the considerable number of items still in her Space Backpack. She quickly checked, only to find that nothing inside the backpack had turned into a card.

’What’s going on? Why the special treatment?’

Perry Yates took something out of the Space Backpack.

The instant it was outside, it transformed into a card.

"Looks like only items left outside turn into cards."

Following this, Perry Yates took out everything she had collected during the game, waited for each item to become a card, and then put them away.

Once she had finished, she looked around the empty cabin. ’It feels a little strange,’ she thought, not quite used to the sight.

As time ticked by, second by second, a familiar voice sounded in Perry Yates’s ear.

[Congratulations, Player Perry Yates, on clearing this round of the game. It has been detected that Cerulea #68656 has entered the survival game era. As a Croupier, you possess the right to Concrete this game round. Do you wish to Concrete?]

"Yes."

Perry Yates chose "Yes" without hesitation.

[Please select the star level for Concretization.]

[Ten five-star cards detected in player’s possession. The highest level, six-star Concretization, is available. You will be able to completely dominate this instance and modify it as you see fit.]

Hearing this, Perry Yates hesitated. She ultimately declined and chose to perform a temporary one-star Concretization instead.

[Concretization successful. The game "Highway Survival" has been Concreted. This instance will no longer appear on any planet.]

After returning to the real world, Perry Yates was still mulling over the system’s words.

’So it’s true,’ she thought. ’Instances are one-of-a-kind. Or rather, Concreted instances are one-of-a-kind.’

After calming herself, Perry Yates began to inspect the instance she had just Concreted.

[Instance Name: Highway Survival

Danger Level: Four Stars

Concretization Level: One Star

Opening to the public is not advised, as its contents are liable to escape.

Instance Description: This is a most wondrous instance. Simply drive your vehicle down the road, and you will encounter all manner of treasure boxes. These boxes might contain treasures, or they might contain trash.]

Next, Perry Yates tried to check the potential contents of the treasure boxes, only to be informed that her clearance was insufficient.

Perry Yates: "..."

’You’re forcing my hand,’ she thought.

’Fine, I’ll just check again later.’

Putting that aside, Perry Yates went to sort through her latest haul. Compared to previous rounds, this one had been a massive windfall.