Apocalypse Descends: I Win Effortlessly by Turning Trash into Treasure

Ever since entering the game, Perry Yates had rarely eaten. She usually got by just by absorbing sunlight and Moonlight.

However, constantly expending energy was too draining. Photosynthesis and absorbing sunlight weren’t nearly enough to keep up, so she had to find other ways to replenish her strength.

Luckily, she had prepared plenty of cooked food and stored it in her Space Backpack. She could eat it straight away without any further prep, which saved a lot of time.

With her mouth stuffed full of meat, Perry Yates’s cheeks puffed out like a little hamster’s. Amber Sheridan and Evan Fuller were not around; they had gone to scout the surrounding area.

Perry Yates turned to look at the calm, placid lake and suddenly felt the urge to fish.

Few people knew that Perry Yates enjoyed fishing. That was because she’d never once caught a single fish in her life, which was utterly humiliating (this is based on the author’s own experience), so she never told anyone about it.

Looking at the vast lake, Perry Yates acted on a sudden impulse. ’What if,’ she thought, ’what if this is the time I finally succeed?’

With that thought, a black card appeared in Perry Yates’s hand. With a flash, it transformed into a fishing rod. The rod was jet-black, but it glinted with specks of golden light.

The item’s ability introduction was just one sentence: It can catch whales.

After baiting the hook with a piece of meat, Perry Yates cast her line into the lake. All that was left to do was wait.

Fishing is an activity that requires great patience, so Perry Yates wasn’t in any hurry. While keeping an eye on her rod, she kept her hands busy with other tasks.

Just then, three figures—one in red, one in yellow, and one in green—approached from a short distance away.

”Hello, could we borrow some fire?” asked the girl in the red dress, her voice soft and sweet.

”No.”

Perry Yates glanced up at them for a moment before looking away, her refusal sharp and decisive.

Not only that, but she also put her campfire away.

Seeing their request denied, the smiles on the three women’s faces froze.

That was the downside of wearing heavy makeup—you couldn’t make any big facial expressions for fear of it cracking or rubbing off.

”Go on, get out of here,” Perry Yates said, shooing them away impatiently. ”Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something?”

As she spoke, she kept glancing at her fishing rod, the anxiety in her eyes looking genuine.

Seeing that Perry Yates was completely intractable, the three had no choice but to leave. After all, being women themselves, they doubted she would fall for their flirtatious, cutesy act, so it was best not to waste their energy.

Only after the trio had left did Perry Yates let out a sigh of relief.

’Just borrowing a little fire. Was it necessary to be so tense?’

As a matter of fact, it was! Absolutely necessary!

The moment the three women approached, Perry Yates had sensed danger. As Dealer Players, how could they possibly be unable to make a fire?

On top of that, a faint, hot sensation had emanated from her wrist the moment they spoke, which told her they had come with malicious intent.

Finally, and most importantly, were their Talents.

Luck Siphon, Sensation Siphon, and Strength Siphon.

Just as their names suggested, their respective Talents could strip other players of their luck, sensations, and strength.

However, activating such powers likely required certain conditions or some kind of medium.

She glanced at the newly replicated card in her hand.

[Luck Siphon: Upon use, you may siphon a portion of the target’s luck. The target will become unlucky during this process.

If the target dies during this period, the siphoned luck is permanently lost to them. If not, the luck returns to its original owner, and the caster will also lose a portion of their own luck, becoming unlucky for a short time.

Activation Condition: Must receive an item willingly gifted by the target.]

The other two Talents had similar activation conditions.

Seeing this, Perry Yates thought, ’Just as I thought. They were up to no good.’

After some thought, Perry Yates decided not to integrate these three Talents.

The number of Talents a person could possess was limited—two at most. If she wanted to acquire a third, she would have to discard one of her existing ones.

A discarded Talent would be gone forever, never to be recovered.

Since Perry Yates had so many Replication Cards, she naturally wanted to hold out for a truly powerful Talent.

So far, the Talents of Justin Shaw and Evan Fuller seemed quite good.

By the time Amber Sheridan and Evan Fuller returned, Perry Yates still hadn’t caught a single fish, though she’d lost plenty of bait.

’It wasn’t a total loss,’ Perry Yates consoled herself. ’At least this proves there are definitely fish in the water, and they’re very clever.’

”Oh, right. If those three ’traffic lights’ come asking for anything, you’d best not give it to them,” Perry Yates added.

”Why?” Amber Sheridan asked.

”They came by to borrow fire while you were gone, and my gut tells me something’s off about them. But hey, if you really want to help them out, I won’t stop you.”

After all, you can’t reason with people who are asking for trouble. Having read so many novels, Perry Yates had long understood one thing: just because you have someone’s best interests at heart doesn’t mean they’ll appreciate it.

That night, the three of them took turns keeping watch.

Amber Sheridan had actually suggested that Perry Yates didn’t need to take a watch. Although she didn’t know what exactly Perry had been up to, she could tell from the constant eating that Perry’s energy consumption was massive. Perry, however, refused.

Her reason was simple: she was a Dealer Player too and didn’t need any special treatment.

Besides, being awake allowed her to actively absorb Moonlight—and with the full moon out tonight, there was plenty of it.

「Day 16 of the game.」

Perry Yates clutched her overstuffed stomach and let out a long sigh. It was finally done. The whole night had been exhausting.

She rubbed her aching jaw muscles. They felt unusually developed. ’If this keeps up,’ she worried, ’am I going to get a square jaw?’

At that thought, Perry Yates frantically shook her head. ’No way. Absolutely not.’

She raised her hand and infused her jaw with the energy of Ascension. The moment the energy flowed in, the soreness in her cheeks vanished.

”Yesterday, Master Ford and I scouted the area,” Amber Sheridan said. ”We didn’t find any immediate dangers, but we saw tracks from several large animals. We’re planning to check out the other side of the lake today. It’s a bit of a trek, so you should come with us.”

Hearing Amber Sheridan’s plan, Perry Yates nodded. ”Alright.”

’Leaving this spot would be good,’ she thought. ’After all, who wants to live under constant surveillance?’

’And yes, I’m talking about the other groups of Dealer Players.’