Chapter 312: Escaping the Desert 16

Perry Yates left the room and looked at the others. A thought suddenly struck her: ’If I’m taking one Pass Token, I might as well take two. Why not grab a couple more?’

Although she hadn’t found any trace of Pass Tokens in the other rooms before, her recent experience had given her an idea.

Perhaps she had been searching in the wrong direction from the very beginning.

With that in mind, Perry Yates headed in another direction.

After some searching, she did indeed find four more identical golden tokens, and she also managed to scrounge up a good number of gold bars.

Looking at the gold bars in her Safe House, Perry Yates decided she would throw out the bed when she got back and build a new one out of Gold. She wanted to experience what it felt like to sleep on gold for herself.

After safely leaving the Oasis Guards’ headquarters, Perry Yates returned to the room where she was staying.

However, just as she was about to rest, she suddenly heard a clamor from outside, along with the sounds of battle.

Through the window, Perry Yates saw flashes of fire and lightning outside.

After a few minutes, the commotion outside died down.

A few more minutes passed before a set of steady, orderly footsteps approached from the distance.

Perry Yates looked outside through the window.

In the pitch-black night, a squad of green-clad guards in combat gear was heading this way. Behind them, a long iron chain clanked dully as they moved.

The chain seemed to be dragging something behind it.

As the group drew closer, Perry Yates could finally see what they were dragging. It was people.

More accurately, they were players.

Their clothes were tattered and showed clear signs of battle. Their eyes were shut tight, and they were obviously unconscious.

The iron chains dragging them along the ground were pierced directly through their bodies. Blood gushed continuously from the wounds, leaving a long, horrifying trail of red on the ground.

Seeing this, Perry Yates silently looked away.

Although Perry Yates had been extremely cautious since entering the game, she had, in truth, never taken the NPCs seriously.

In Perry Yates’s mind, the dangers she faced came from the unknown, from natural disasters, or from other players.

But now, Perry Yates felt she would have to change her opinion of this world’s NPCs.

To be able to subdue so many players with such ease, no matter what methods they used, proved they were not to be underestimated.

With that in mind, Perry Yates took out the four extra Pass Tokens she had brought from the Oasis Guards’ headquarters. After wrapping them in cloth, she thought, ’It seems I need to get these four Pass Tokens out there as soon as possible.’

Perry Yates gave this task to her Clone, telling it to find influential and powerful people.

From her previous conversations with the owner, she could clearly sense that although life here was good, the locals still yearned to leave the desert.

After all, as good as the Oasis was, it wasn’t completely safe. In their imaginations, the world beyond the desert was a place of absolute safety with an abundant supply of water, where they would never have to worry about their next drink.

For people who had lived in the desert their entire lives, the world outside was paradise.

「Day 15 of the game.」

Early in the morning, Perry Yates left her room.

The moment she stepped outside, she noticed the atmosphere was tense. The number of Oasis Guards seemed to have increased, and every one of them wore a grim expression.

"Owner, has something happened?" Perry Yates whispered, leaning closer to her.

The owner carefully leaned in to Perry Yates’s ear and whispered, "I’m not entirely sure of the details. It’s been like this since early this morning. The last time this happened was when the Desert Robbers attacked the Oasis."

"Could it be the Desert Robbers again?" Perry Yates asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

The owner shook her head. "It doesn’t seem like it. By the way, were you heading out?"

Perry Yates nodded. "Yeah, just for a walk."

Perry Yates had gone out for long periods every day since arriving, so the owner was used to it. This time, however, she stopped her.

"Don’t go out today. Judging by the Oasis Guards’ attitude, something serious must have happened. If you go out now, you’ll likely arouse their suspicion. If they arrest you, no one will be able to save you."

Hearing this, Perry Yates nodded and pulled back the foot she had just extended. "Alright, then."

In any case, she already had the Pass Token, so it didn’t make much difference to her whether she went out or not.

Perry Yates stayed in the guesthouse, learning how to weave from the owner while they chatted and watched the Oasis Guards patrol endlessly outside.

Seeing the Oasis Guards searching house by house, apparently looking for something, Perry Yates was certain. ’It looks like they’ve found out about the missing Pass Tokens and Gold.’

’They found out so quickly? I thought it would take another day or two.’

As Perry Yates pondered this, it never occurred to her that she had completely hollowed out their bed and simply placed a mattress on top afterward.

It wasn’t obvious from the outside, but the moment someone lay down on it, the ruse would be exposed instantly.

When the Oasis Guards entered the guesthouse, neither the owner nor Perry Yates put up any resistance, letting them search freely.

The owner had a clear conscience, and Perry Yates wasn’t afraid of a search at all. After all, all her things were stored in her Safe House.

The Safe House, now in card form, was kept close against her body. No matter how these people searched, they would never find it.

In contrast, the other people in the guesthouse were not nearly as cooperative.

Among them were more than a few players.

However, the Oasis Guards were firm and gave the players no opportunity to refuse.

At that moment, Perry Yates finally understood why that group of players had been defeated the night before. These Oasis Guards were all martial arts masters.

Looking at the aura they emanated, she could tell it was a power different from that of cards, but by no means inferior.

After subduing the resisting players, the Oasis Guards entered their rooms to search. They found a large amount of stockpiled supplies, but nothing else.

As for the large quantity of supplies, the Oasis Guards were already used to seeing it. This was the desert, after all, and everyone hoarded some daily necessities in case of emergencies.

Just then, Perry Yates suddenly remembered that she still had a lot of uncooked ingredients in her Safe House.

She needed firewood to cook, but she hadn’t brought the undying campfire with her.

But that wasn’t a problem for Perry Yates. What was this place? It was a desert! Even without a fire, it was still an easy matter to cook food.