Chapter 388 Selection Game 18

The appearance of the Phase Shrimp added an element of uncertainty to a game that had started to become one-sided.

However, this element of uncertainty was quickly eliminated by Perry Yates and her group of Croupiers not long after it appeared.

Furthermore, the appearance of these Phase Shrimp solved their food shortage. Now, they were just waiting to eliminate all the remaining Executors and end the game.

For some reason, after that last massive attack, Perry Yates and her group hadn’t seen a single Executor. Even when they went out on patrol, they only encountered the shrimp-like monsters.

Yet, even so, the number of Executors continued to drop.

After discussing it, they unanimously concluded that somewhere else in this game area, there must be another group of powerful players fighting the Executors. Moreover, this other group must pose a far greater threat to the Executors than they did.

That would explain why the Executors were leaving them alone to collectively attack the other players.

This was good news for them. Not only were the enemy’s numbers rapidly decreasing, but they also got a chance to catch their breath.

They had entered this game as the prey, but after getting past their initial weakness, they had firmly seized the initiative.

But even so, quite a few players on their side had still been sacrificed.

’Everyone’s just trying to get by in these survival games. Who would choose to die if they could live?’

Perry Yates held a piece of dried shrimp meat, popping it in her mouth and chewing on it. Then, she raised a hand and finished off a Phase Shrimp that was trying to ambush her.

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. After continuous hunting, they had now figured out the Phase Shrimp’s weaknesses and behavioral patterns. Many of them could now land a one-hit kill.

Except this time...

Perry Yates looked at the creature she had just killed. ’This doesn’t seem to be a Phase Shrimp.’

The body of a Phase Shrimp was a brilliant purple, but this monster was green. Even the blood that flowed from it after being killed was green, and the instant it touched the ground, it melted the rocks.

Watching this scene, which was like something out of a textbook on concentrated sulfuric acid, Perry Yates couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.

"001, scan this thing," Perry Yates asked.

[Scanning...]

[Scan Complete!]

[Generating Profile!]

[Name: Red-Eye Skitterfiend

Description: Similar in appearance to the Phase Shrimp, but its exterior is a dark, murky green. Its temperament is both innocent and cruel. Its blood is highly corrosive and is said to be capable of dissolving anything.]

’If it’s corrosive, then I definitely can’t eat it.’

Seeing the hole that had been corroded into the ground, Perry Yates suddenly asked, "001, can this blood really corrode everything?"

[Theoretically, this corrosive blood is the bane of all metals. No matter how hard the metal, the instant it comes into contact with the fluid, it will become more fragile than a potato chip.]

"Shouldn’t it be as fragile as paper?" Perry Yates said.

[Paper also possesses a degree of toughness.]

’The implication being that the corroded metal isn’t even as tough as paper.’

"Aren’t there any exceptions?"

[There is. Glass. Because glass as a substance does not exist where the Red-Eye Skitterfiends live, their corrosive blood cannot melt it.]

Hearing 001’s explanation, Perry Yates thought, ’Just as I suspected.’

"In that case, can you extract this corrosive blood?"

[I can!]

The moment the word was spoken, several mechanical arms suddenly appeared behind Perry Yates.

’Even without a mirror,’ Perry Yates thought, ’I know I could give Doctor Octopus from Spider-Man a run for his money right now.’

But 001 was quick to act.

Soon, a small vial containing about a hundred milliliters of the purified corrosive fluid appeared in Perry Yates’s hand.

This small vial of corrosive fluid was not to be underestimated. According to 001, it was enough to make an entire large passenger jet, from the inside out, as brittle as a potato chip.

Perry Yates held the newly acquired corrosive fluid. Although she hadn’t yet figured out a use for it, she knew something this powerful was definitely a good thing. ’It might come in handy later on.’

At that moment, Perry Yates had no idea that her thoughts would one day become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

「At the same time, in the System Space.」

A humanoid figure radiating a golden glow sat cross-legged in the center of the space. In front of it was an immense blue screen.

This massive screen was, in turn, divided into countless smaller screens, each displaying various players and Executors.

Watching the screen as Perry Yates extracted the corrosive fluid from the body of the freshly killed Red-Eye Skitterfiend, the glowing humanoid suddenly raised its hand and slammed it against its face, as if it couldn’t bear to watch.

"This Perry Yates... She’s practically a bug in this game. Looks like I’ll have to restrict her a bit more."

Despite saying this, the glowing humanoid’s tone held not a trace of anger. Instead, it was tinged with amusement.

With a light tap on the screen, it quickly isolated Perry Yates’s portrait and moved it to a smaller screen off to the side.

On that smaller screen, besides Perry Yates, there were the portraits of several other players, totaling seven or eight people.

These people were grouped together, and beneath this screen, a line of small text was displayed: Selection List.

Just then, the entire System Space suddenly trembled. The glowing humanoid tapped a point in the empty air, and a moment later, a completely emotionless voice rang out. "How is the selection progressing?"

"It’s nearing its end," the glowing humanoid said lazily, its voice full of the happy languor of someone about to clock off for the day.

"From the sound of your voice, it seems this selection has gone smoothly."

"It has indeed gone very smoothly. The quality of the Croupiers this time is quite good, but the quality of the Executors is disappointing. I’m already preparing to give up on them. They had the same starting line, yet their performance is far inferior to the humans’."

’They even had a head start, and still managed to get overtaken.’

"My situation is the exact opposite of yours, as it happens," the voice said with a chuckle.

At this, the glowing humanoid retorted disdainfully, "What’s so funny about that? Your Executors are all traitors who betrayed humanity."

The voice didn’t refute the claim. Instead, it replied nonchalantly, "It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice. Besides, they’re merely pursuing greater power, and they aren’t harming anyone else. To call them traitors is perhaps a bit too harsh."