Apocalypse Descends: I Win Effortlessly by Turning Trash into Treasure

As soon as Perry Yates stepped out of the antechamber, she saw Elara Lynch waiting for her.

”I’ve been waiting so long for you. You’re finally out!”

As soon as she saw Perry Yates, Elara Lynch rushed over impatiently and pulled her into a vehicle.

”Where are we going now?” Perry Yates asked, looking at the vehicle and realizing Elara Lynch’s background was likely anything but ordinary.

Perry Yates peered through the window, curiously taking in the sights.

After all, this was the first time she had seen a real underground city.

Lights of all kinds were everywhere, bright but not blinding.

If you ignored the fact that there was no sun in the sky, the environment here was almost the same as the world above ground.

Seeing Perry Yates’s expression, Elara Lynch thoughtfully began to explain:

”This is Base Three. It has a population of nearly one hundred thousand people.”

”The whole base is divided into five sectors: the marketplace, the residential district, the agricultural zone, the research sector, and the government sector.”

”So where are we headed now?” Perry Yates asked.

”The research sector. My grandpa and parents are researchers there, and I want you to tell them the same thing you told me yesterday.”

Perry Yates didn’t refuse.

At the same time, she realized she was likely the first person ever to eat an Insect Egg.

”You said what?!”

Upon arriving at the research sector, Perry Yates wasn’t immediately allowed inside. After all, the area was filled with scientists—humanity’s hope for striking back against the Xenomorphs—so security was naturally at its most stringent.

So, even with Elara Lynch as her guide, she couldn’t just walk right in.

But she didn’t have to wait long.

First, a shocked cry echoed from within the research institute, immediately followed by the sound of urgent footsteps.

Soon, the institute’s doors were flung open, and two people in white lab coats rushed out, the dark circles under their eyes deep enough to rival a panda’s.

”You’re Leah Lowell?”

One of them—a woman—spoke first. Her voice was hoarse, but the excitement in her tone was unmistakable.

Perry Yates nodded.

”Wonderful! You...”

Compared to her excitement, the other person—Elara Lynch’s father—was far more level-headed, despite also being thrilled.

”Honey, this isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go inside,” he said.

At his words, the excited woman finally realized they were still outside.

”You’re right. I got carried away.”

And how could she not be excited? They had researched countless methods to fool the Xenomorphs, yet none had worked. Now, they’d finally found a way. This could be the breakthrough they needed to launch a counteroffensive.

Once inside the institute, the two researchers began by asking what had happened.

Perry Yates recounted the story she had told Elara Lynch, after which the pair conducted a series of tests on her.

When the test results came back, Elara Lynch’s parents stared at the report, their brows deeply furrowed.

”What is it? Is there a problem with the report?” Elara Lynch asked, noticing their expressions.

”Not at all. Miss Lowell’s body is extremely healthy. I haven’t seen a report this clean in a very long time.”

Perry Yates just smiled. Her entire body had undergone Ascension multiple times; it would be strange if she wasn’t healthy.

”We can’t detect any trace of the Insect Egg in your system. It seems to have been fully metabolized.”

”Several hours have passed, after all. That’s to be expected.”

Despite saying this, looks of disappointment couldn’t help but cross their faces. They looked at Perry Yates as if they’d just lost a winning lottery ticket.

”If you want to test the effects, why not just have someone else eat an Insect Egg? I remember we just destroyed a small Hive a little while ago and killed a bunch of Xenomorphs. There must have been some Insect Eggs, right?” Elara Lynch suggested.

Mr. Lynch tapped his daughter on the head. ”Those Insect Eggs were destroyed long ago,” he said.

While humanity had been steadily beaten back by the Xenomorphs over the years, things weren’t so desperate that they’d start considering the Insect Eggs as a resource.

Especially since the surface of the eggs is transparent, allowing you to clearly see the developing Xenomorph inside. The sight alone is nauseating—who would ever think of eating one?

”Besides, we’ve studied the Xenomorph eggs before. The fluid inside is highly corrosive; nothing can withstand it.”

Because of that discovery, they abandoned all research on the Insect Eggs. The things seemed to have zero research value and were, on the contrary, extremely dangerous.

No one could have possibly imagined that someone would actually boil an Insect Egg and eat it.

However, when they considered the situation Perry Yates had been in, they could understand her actions.

At the time, she had a choice: either wait for the Phase-bug to hatch and implant itself in her, or break the eggshell, which would cause the corrosive fluid to erupt, killing both her and the bug.

Faced with this, Perry Yates chose a third option and, miraculously, survived.

”The most important thing now is to find more Insect Eggs. Elara, wasn’t your squad’s mission to locate a Hive? Did you find one?”

Elara Lynch shook her head. ”We didn’t, but Leah Lowell gave us the location of the Hive she escaped from. We haven’t had a chance to scout it yet, so we don’t know how big it is.”

Hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Lynch thought for a moment before saying, ”We’ll take care of the arrangements.”

With that, the pair hurried off. Elara Lynch, however, seemed completely used to this sort of behavior.

”Come on, I’ll show you around the base and treat you to a meal. You’ve been a huge help, you know.”

With that, Elara Lynch led Perry Yates back outside.

They headed to the marketplace district and stopped in front of a restaurant.

”Here we are. The chef here is incredible. I heard he used to be the head chef at a five-star restaurant. You’re going to love it.”

The restaurant owner seemed to know Elara Lynch well, greeting her with a wide smile the moment she walked in.

”Elara! Long time no see. Heard you were out on a mission. You just get back?”

Elara Lynch smiled. ”Yep, just got back. And I brought back a real treasure this time.”

As she spoke, Elara Lynch clapped Perry Yates on the shoulder.

The owner, however, clearly didn’t get her meaning. He assumed her ”treasure” meant she’d struck it rich. ”That’s amazing!” he said. ”In that case, you’ll have to order a few extra dishes to celebrate properly.”

”Of course,” Elara said. ”We’ll have the usual, plus an extra order of your specialty red-braised pork and red-braised ribs.”

”You got it!”