Chapter 159: Island Royale 28
After rising into the sky, Perry Yates and the other two had a complete view of the entire island.
Before, they were too caught up in the situation to see the full picture. Now, high in the sky, they finally realized just how perilous the disaster they faced truly was.
From the sky, they could clearly see two enormous dark shapes on opposite sides of the lake.
Based on the shapes of the two dark masses, combined with Perry Yates’s deductions and her item’s analysis, it was almost certain that the rounder shape was a snake—a massive python—while the long, slender one was a crocodile.
In addition to the lake, the trio also spotted numerous giant pythons scattered across the island.
These pythons seemed sentient, capable of actively evading them. That explained why they hadn’t spotted a single one for so long.
Perhaps it wasn’t merely a matter of sentience.
After all, Perry Yates hadn’t just been exploring the island with her eyes; she had also used her plant perception and her Spiritual Body, yet even then, she hadn’t detected anything unusual.
But Perry Yates quickly figured out why she hadn’t noticed anything.
She watched as a vivid green python slithered to a spot and became perfectly still. Then, as time passed, its body gradually blended in with its surroundings until it was indistinguishable.
Upon seeing this, it all clicked for Perry Yates. No wonder she’d felt something was off before but couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.
And that was just the danger on the island itself. Beyond its shores, it wasn’t safe either.
Dozens of meters from the coastline, a black, ribbon-like mass completely encircled the entire island.
"What is that? A plant or an animal?" Amber Sheridan asked.
Their identification items weren’t high-level enough; they needed to collect a sample up close to get a reading.
Perry Yates, however, had no such limitation. A single glance was all it took for her to get detailed information on the object.
"Those are Brine-Borers," Perry Yates said.
"That name doesn’t sound like anything good. What do they do?" Amber Sheridan asked.
Perry Yates read the information on the Brine-Borers that appeared before her. "Brine-Borers are known as the locusts of the sea," she said. "In any waters they inhabit, all surrounding life is devoured, leaving not even a speck of bone behind.
That black band we’re seeing isn’t the actual Brine-Borers, but a wall of their dead bodies. The living ones are transparent and colorless. Do you know what that means?"
"What does it mean?" Amber Sheridan asked.
"It means we’re already surrounded by them," Perry Yates said, her expression grim. "If we don’t want to die, we absolutely cannot touch the seawater."
’Snakes, crocodiles, flesh-eating ants, and all sorts of venomous insects on the island,’ she thought. ’And in the sea, Brine-Borers, the locusts of the ocean.’
’We’ve got land and sea covered. Surely nothing’s going to pop up in the sky, right?’
The moment Perry Yates had that thought, Amber Sheridan spoke up beside her. "If a monstrous bird shows up now, we’ll have the complete set: land, sea, and air."
The words had barely left his mouth when Amber Sheridan felt two scorching gazes land on him.
CREAK...
Amber Sheridan slowly turned his neck, his eyes meeting Evan Fuller’s death glare. "Uh, Master Ford, I was just spouting nonsense. Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! Jinx, bad luck away, good luck stay!"
As he spoke, Amber Sheridan even slapped himself on the cheek.
To break the awkward silence, Amber Sheridan took the initiative. "Perry Yates, what level is this item of yours? It actually brought the three of us this high up without any discomfort at all."
Initially, Perry Yates had taken them straight up to an altitude of one thousand meters.
According to Perry Yates, that altitude was the safest.
However, Evan Fuller and Amber Sheridan clearly lacked Perry Yates’s exceptional eyesight. At a thousand meters, they couldn’t make out any details on the island at all. Left with no choice, Perry Yates had to descend slightly, but they were still several hundred meters up.
"Four-star," Perry Yates said coolly.
Ever since she’d started the game, Perry Yates had mostly dealt with Advanced Cards. So, while she knew they were rare, she didn’t grasp just *how* rare.
Take this moment, for example.
’In my mind, since Evan Fuller and Amber Sheridan had been in the game for several years longer than me, they must have amassed a decent collection of cards. Maybe not five-star cards, but they surely had some four-star ones, right?’
And yet...
"Another four-star card? Just how many of those do you have?"
’If I’m not mistaken,’ he thought, ’the campfire, the kettle, the protective suit she’s wearing, her identification items, the Space Backpack she uses... aren’t they all four-star?’
At that moment, Amber Sheridan looked at Perry Yates as if she were a glittering treasure chest.
"Say, if you had such an amazing item, why didn’t you bring it out sooner?" Amber Sheridan asked, confused.
’If I had an item this incredible,’ he thought, ’I would’ve brought Master Ford up into the sky to wait it out ages ago.’
"Because... well... I forgot," Perry Yates said with an awkward laugh.
’Actually, I hadn’t forgotten at first. But that was early in the game. I might have been through several rounds, but this was my first Croupier game. I was afraid that leaving the field of action would make me miss crucial information.’
’If that led to me failing the mission and getting eliminated, it would have been a terrible loss. So I didn’t use it in the early stages.’
’Later, I met Evan Fuller and Amber Sheridan. Their combat strength was obvious to anyone. Following them wasn’t exactly what I’d call a total sense of security, but the rewards were plentiful, so I never took out Claudia Vance.’
"You’re something else..." Amber Sheridan looked at her with utter exasperation.
"All right, that’s enough," Evan Fuller said, cutting off their conversation.
At the sound of Evan Fuller’s voice, Amber Sheridan immediately straightened up. "Master Ford, what’s our next move?"
"Our next move? Can’t we just hide up here?" Perry Yates said.
’Now I finally get why this game is called Island Royale,’ she thought. ’Pythons, crocodiles, and no way to escape. They really don’t intend to leave us any path to survival.’
’Judging by the size of that python, if it swallowed us whole, it probably wouldn’t even need to burp.’
Hearing Perry Yates’s suggestion, Evan Fuller said, "Have you ever heard the saying?"
"What saying?"
"The best defense is a good offense."
Perry Yates froze for a second. At the same time, she understood what Evan Fuller meant.
She glanced down below. ’To be honest, I really don’t want any part of this.’
She had prepared for a major battle, sure, but there was a world of difference between getting ready and actually fighting. The prospect still intimidated her.