Chapter 301: Escape the Desert 5

Perry Yates glanced at the setting sun outside, then back at the dim room, and couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath.

’I’ll probably freeze to death if I stay in a room like this.’

Perry Yates walked over to the bed, casually brushed off the dust, and plopped down.

The bed was built directly from stone and sand. She didn’t know what method had been used to make the sand stick together.

Perry Yates felt it with her hand. ’It’s definitely not water,’ she thought. ’After all, water is an extremely precious resource in the desert. Why would they use it to make mud?’

"This scent is a little familiar... It smells like cactus."

Perry Yates leaned in for a sniff and confirmed that the binding agent was cactus juice.

She patted it. Rock-hard. ’There’s no way I can sleep on a bed like this.’

Just then, Perry Yates noticed a piece of paper lying on the bed.

The paper read:

Mattress......one gold coin

Thick blanket......one gold coin

......

......

In short, it was a long list of billable items.

After carefully reading the paper, Perry Yates silently set it aside and surveyed the room again.

’No wonder the room felt so empty. Everything has a price.’

’Oh well. It’s not like I really need any of it.’

Perry Yates tossed the paper aside, preparing to make do for the night.

Just as she closed her eyes to perform an Ascension on the five item cards in her hand, her ears twitched.

She faintly heard the low murmur of voices from outside.

"Are you sure you got it right? She’s alone?"

"Positive. Just one person. I saw her with my own two eyes. She sold a few camels to Camel Five, kept only one, and got a whole bag of gold coins. I followed her the entire way."

"Alright. Then we make our move tonight."

"Wait, Lowell. That girl looks so soft and delicate... I want to take her home to be my wife. You think you could go easy on her when the time comes?"

"Heh, you little punk. Fine. Since you brought me good intel, I’ll grant you that. But you know the rules, right?"

"I do, I do! Of course I do. I’ll make sure you get to enjoy her first, Lowell."

Inside the room, Perry Yates listened to their conversation, utterly disgusted. She had confirmed that she was the person they were talking about.

’Since these people want to come after me, I’ll have to strike first.’

Perry Yates released a Spiritual Butterfly to follow the two men, hoping to find their hideout.

The two men probably thought Perry Yates was just some weak woman and paid her no mind. After casing the joint and finalizing their plan, they swaggered off to go get their tools.

Perry Yates’s Spiritual Butterfly followed each of them back to their respective homes.

Just then, she activated the Any Door, teleporting behind each man. After dealing with both of them, she plundered their homes for any valuables before returning to her room.

She glanced at the time. Only ten minutes had passed, and most of that had been spent searching their homes.

Just as Perry Yates was preparing to rest again, there was a knock at the door.

She got up to open the door and saw the proprietress from earlier standing outside.

When the proprietress saw Perry Yates, a look of conflict flickered in her eyes. After a long moment, she said, "It’s dangerous outside at night. If anyone knocks, don’t open the door.

Also, this place is extremely dangerous. People die here every day—most of them vanish without a trace. Young lady, you look so clean and well-kept. You must be from somewhere else. I’d advise you to leave this place as soon as you can."

Hearing the proprietress’s words, Perry Yates knew the woman was warning her that she had been targeted.

"To be honest, I want to leave this place too, but I don’t know the way. Can you give me some advice, ma’am?" Perry Yates asked with a sincere expression, pressing a handful of gold coins into the proprietress’s hand.

The proprietress felt the weight in her palm. Even without looking, her years of business experience told her there were probably more than twenty gold coins.

She had never met someone so generous. For a moment, she was stunned.

Perry Yates didn’t feel the slightest bit of regret for giving away so many gold coins. After all, she had just looted them from those two men’s rooms.

After calming her turbulent emotions, the proprietress discreetly pocketed the gold coins. "I’m not too clear on the way out of here myself," she said, "but I see you have a camel. The day after tomorrow, a camel caravan called The Oasis Caravan will be departing from here. Their destination is the largest oasis, the Taska Oasis. You should be able to find a way out from there."

After hearing the proprietress’s words, Perry Yates nodded seriously. "Thank you, ma’am."

The proprietress said nothing and walked away in silence.

’The Oasis Caravan was the same one those players had mentioned to her before. It looks like all I have to do is follow them.’

After closing the door, Perry Yates sat on the rock-hard bed, took out her cards, and began the Ascension.

The first card she chose for Ascension was the Safe House.

「Day four of the game.」

Early in the morning, Perry Yates was about to head out for a look around when the proprietress suddenly called out to her as she passed the front counter.

"If you’re looking to buy anything, you should check out the east side of town. A new batch of supplies just arrived today, and they have a wide variety of goods."

Hearing this, Perry Yates paused for a moment, then smiled. "Thanks for the tip. I’ll go check it out now."

’Looks like yesterday’s money wasn’t spent in vain.’

Following the proprietress’s directions, Perry Yates arrived at the east side of town and saw camels laden with goods parked there. A crowd of people dressed as merchants were gathered around, talking with the locals.

Perry Yates walked past the rows of supplies, looking for anything she might need.

She didn’t need food or water, and she wasn’t in desperate need of medicine either.

After looking around for a while, Perry Yates finally stopped in front of a stall selling fabric.

Unlike the other merchants, who were surrounded by people haggling over prices, this merchant had almost no customers.

Even the few who occasionally inquired about his wares would turn and leave immediately after hearing the price.

However, the reason Perry Yates noticed this person wasn’t because she needed fabric, but because of the results her Identification ability had shown her.

[Fabric made from Desert Spider Silk. Cool to the touch, windproof, and sand-resistant. The most sought-after fabric in the desert.]

’Fabric like this must be very valuable.’