Chapter 163: Island Royale 32
Day twenty-one of the game.
The wearable armor on Perry Yates’s hands was not, after all, a wide-area-of-effect weapon. Even though it could secrete a deadly toxin, the amount was extremely limited.
So, despite injecting the toxin into the snake’s body without a moment’s rest, she had only finished a fifth of the task after a full day.
Furthermore, to prevent the snake meat from being affected by the toxin or decaying over time, Perry Yates also needed to continuously use Ascension on it.
The most visible result was that a day after its death, the Venom Python’s body was still as vibrant as if it were alive. In fact, its scales had become even more beautiful than when it lived.
Night fell.
Perry Yates had thought the Plesiosaur wouldn’t come ashore to feed. A creature of that size must expend enormous energy with every movement, and it had eaten several giant pythons just yesterday.
Logically, that much food should have been enough to keep it satisfied for some time.
But contrary to her expectations, as darkness descended, a stir came from the lake once more. A colossal figure emerged, the ground trembling with its every step.
The surroundings fell deathly silent.
The three of them hid in a concealed spot, shielded by a Cold Moon Guardian. The Any Door was also active, ready for them to escape the moment things turned sour.
Meanwhile, Evan Fuller and Amber Sheridan were on high alert, their eyes fixed on the massive figure in the distance.
Indeed, after yesterday’s encounter, the trio had chosen a hiding spot a great distance from the lake. But even from so far away, the sight of the Plesiosaur was still staggering.
Upon reaching the shore, the Plesiosaur wasted no time and immediately began to hunt for food.
That day, through their combined efforts, Evan Fuller and Amber Sheridan had managed to kill six prey animals.
Several other surviving Dealer Players had lent a hand as well. Though it could be said they weren’t so much helping the trio as helping themselves—clearing the island of dangerous creatures was a good thing for them, too.
This time, the Plesiosaur once again returned to the water before dawn.
Day twenty-two of the game.
Today, Perry Yates was still injecting toxin into the snake’s body.
At her current pace, it would take about five days to reach the state she envisioned. This was far too long for Perry’s liking, but she had no better alternative.
Furthermore, she had made an error in judgment when selecting the creature. She had assumed choosing a venomous snake would make her job easier, but the reality was the complete opposite.
Because it was a venomous snake, its body possessed a natural resistance to toxins. This caused a portion of the poison Perry Yates injected to be neutralized.
Perry Yates had no idea how a dead snake could still break down toxins, but she reminded herself, ’This place doesn’t operate on scientific principles, so nothing should come as a surprise.’
However, while this made things a bit more troublesome, it wasn’t without its advantages. As the weaker toxic components were neutralized, what remained would only become more potent and deadly.
That evening, the Plesiosaur came to forage once more.
However, compared to its feasting on the previous two days, the Plesiosaur’s appetite was clearly smaller tonight.
Or perhaps its appetite hadn’t diminished at all; it simply couldn’t find any suitable prey.
Day twenty-three of the game.
Amber Sheridan watched as Perry Yates, after using Ascension on the prey they had hunted the day before, returned to her work on the Venom Python corpse off to the side.
His eyes fell upon the prey on the ground, and a flash of longing flickered within them, but he quickly suppressed it.
He knew, after all, just how toxic that thing was.
"Perry Yates, how many more days will this take?" Amber Sheridan asked.
Perry Yates thought for a moment. "Including today, I’ll need another three days. The Plesiosaur is just too big. I’m worried a smaller dose won’t be fully effective."
Amber Sheridan swallowed hard. "Well, you’d better hurry. I’m afraid I’ll lose control before you’re even done."
This was the first time Amber Sheridan had ever found an unprocessed carcass, dead for several days, to be so... alluring.
This "allure" wasn’t about taste; it was psychological, a feeling. In short, as Amber Sheridan stared at the snake corpse on the ground, he had the overwhelming urge to pounce on it and start chewing, consequences be damned.
Nearby, Evan Fuller remained silent, but his gaze was far darker than it had been in the preceding days. His sharp, almond-shaped eyes were filled with craving.
But this wasn’t a craving for women or power—it was pure, primal hunger.
Perry Yates had a pretty good idea of what was happening. ’I just never expected that using Ascension on an ingredient multiple times would have this kind of effect,’ she thought. ’It’s practically turning them into wild animals.’ She, however, seemed to be unaffected.
That evening, when Evan Fuller and Amber Sheridan returned, they were covered in blood and grievously wounded. Their injuries looked severe, and they both appeared utterly battered.
Seeing their state, Perry Yates took out two Life Essences and some white mushroom slime she had collected during the first game.
The slime itself already had healing properties, but the batch Perry produced had been enhanced by her Ascension, making it exponentially more potent. It was no exaggeration to call it a holy healing remedy.
After consuming the Life Essences and applying the white mushroom slime to close their wounds, Evan Fuller and Amber Sheridan’s conditions improved significantly.
Perry Yates also learned from them what had transpired and why they had returned in such a state.
"Are you saying... the non-Dealer Players from before aren’t dead?" Perry Yates’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"How is that possible? I distinctly saw..."
Perry Yates wanted to say she had seen them swallowed by crocodiles with her own eyes, but then she reconsidered. ’No, that’s not right, I didn’t see it happen directly.’
’But even if I didn’t witness it firsthand, it was as good as seeing it.’
That was why she had been so certain they were dead.
"It’s not your fault," Evan Fuller said. "No one could have guessed they could survive inside a crocodile’s stomach for so long."
The whole incident began with those three goth girls who dressed like stoplights.
Evan Fuller and Amber Sheridan had been hunting for prey. They found some, but they also found the three girls.
The girls were in the middle of a battle with a massive crocodile, one with an abnormally bloated stomach.
Both Evan Fuller and Amber Sheridan had fought this kind of crocodile before. They sensed something was off about this one, but they didn’t give it much thought at the time.