Chapter 255: Giant Creatures 13

Just then, as they were walking, a rustling sound suddenly came from nearby, followed by a tense voice.

"Who? Who’s over there?"

Upon hearing the voice, Perry Yates and Amber Sheridan simultaneously dropped the offensive stances they had prepared.

As the faint footsteps drew nearer, the tall grass ahead was slowly parted, and a young, innocent face appeared before them.

The girl looked to be only seven or eight years old. With timid eyes, she asked in a small, tentative voice,

"Are you... here to rescue us?"

"No, we’re here to look for supplies," Perry Yates said.

Hearing they weren’t there to rescue them, disappointment instantly filled the girl’s eyes.

"Why are you here? Do you have any other companions?" Amber Sheridan asked.

He observed the girl’s appearance. Her clothes were a little dirty, but she didn’t look disheveled at all. In fact, she was quite clean, and even her hair was neatly groomed—not like the butchered, dog-chewed styles he was used to seeing.

Most importantly, the girl had a rosy complexion and showed no signs of having gone hungry. This indicated that the park must have a good amount of supplies.

"We came to this park for camping, but a sudden downpour trapped us here."

For a little girl of seven or eight, the events of the past few days were far beyond her comprehension.

Fortunately, the three teachers leading the trip were very professional. After sensing that something was wrong, they had moved the children to a safe location and calmed them down so they wouldn’t be afraid.

There were fifteen people in total, including the children on the camping trip and the three teachers. They had been living off the supplies within the park ever since.

Unaware of the situation outside, with no sign of rescue and no cell signal, the three teachers had been reluctant to leave the park because they had so many children to look after.

"Follow me, I’ll take you to my teachers."

When Perry Yates and Amber Sheridan followed the little girl to their camp, they saw the three teachers—two women and a man—cooking over a fire.

"This is the last of the food," the only male teacher said.

Over the past few days, their most common method for placating the children had been to comfort them with food.

Unable to contact the outside world, they had no idea how precious food had become. They assumed the situation was temporary and that rescuers were bound to arrive.

This method of appeasement was highly effective—the children’s tantrums decreased—but the consequence was that their food supply dwindled at an alarming rate.

Hearing the male teacher’s words, the other two female teachers looked equally worried.

"The phones still don’t have a signal today. I have no idea what it’s like out there. When is anyone ever going to come rescue us?"

Just then, the little girl who had led Perry Yates and Amber Sheridan there suddenly called out, "Teachers, I brought people back!"

Hearing this, a flash of joy crossed the faces of the three worried teachers. ’Have rescuers finally arrived?’

However, when they saw Perry Yates and Amber Sheridan, that joy vanished instantly.

After all, neither Perry Yates nor Amber Sheridan looked like members of a rescue team; they looked more like freeloaders looking for a handout.

One of the female teachers stepped forward and introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Willow Lowell."

Perry Yates shook the offered hand and introduced herself in turn. "I’m Perry Yates, and this is my cousin, Amber Sheridan. Have you all been here this whole time?"

Perry Yates asked smoothly.

Willow Lowell nodded. "Yes, we’ve been staying here the whole time. We don’t know the situation outside, and we have a lot of children with us."

With only three teachers, staying in one place was manageable. If they tried to move, the children would likely be exposed to danger.

That didn’t even account for the plants that had suddenly grown enormous, a phenomenon they still couldn’t explain.

"Right, you two came from outside, didn’t you? Do you know what’s going on out there? When will the rescue teams arrive? We’ve completely run out of food here," Willow Lowell said, her voice growing anxious.

She stared intently into Perry Yates’s eyes, as if searching for some kind of affirmation.

"I’m sorry, I don’t know when the rescue teams might get here either. As for what it’s like out there..."

Perry Yates gave them a brief summary of the current situation outside. In an instant, the three teachers froze, their faces a mask of pure shock, as if their entire worldview had just been shattered.

Perry Yates and Amber Sheridan didn’t stay there for long. After all, they hadn’t forgotten their reason for coming to the park.

After leaving the group, the two of them quickly found the plant they had seen earlier.

They had only glanced at it from a distance before and had no real sense of its scale. It was only now, observing it up close, that they realized just how enormous the plant was. It was like a giant.

The plant seemed to sense the approaching danger. It swayed slightly, and invisible spores drifted down from it with the wind.

The spores were corrosive enough to eat away at the very soil. The slightest contact was enough to instantly corrode a hole through fabric and skin.

While not capable of a one-hit kill, it was more than enough for self-defense.

However, with the Cold Moon Guardian active, the plant spores caused no harm to Perry Yates and her cousin. Instead, the surrounding vegetation was gradually corroded away by the tiny, invisible spores.

It was only then that the two of them realized the spores were there.

Seeing this, the two wasted no time and immediately attacked the plant. After all, turnabout is fair play.

They had fought it before, so they knew the plant was no match for them. After spending a short while uprooting it, a beam of light shot out from the plant’s body and solidified about half a meter above the ground, coalescing into a card that glowed with a yellow light.

Perry Yates reached out and took the card.

"What is it? An item card?" Amber Sheridan asked.

Perry Yates nodded. "It’s an item card."

She then tried to use it without hesitation. However, no matter what she did, the card in her hand remained completely inert.

After several more failed attempts, Perry Yates gave up completely. She tossed the card to Amber Sheridan, then flopped onto the ground and closed her eyes, adopting an air of wanting to be left alone.

Amber Sheridan, now holding the card, stubbornly tried a few times himself. But when nothing happened, he finally gave up as well.

It seemed they wouldn’t be able to exploit any loopholes in this game after all.