Apocalypse Descends: I Win Effortlessly by Turning Trash into Treasure

The twelfth day of the game.

Perhaps because Perry Yates had put the antidote into the cruise ship’s fresh water filtration and storage system, the people who had eaten the day before didn’t turn into zombies. However, some of them still showed signs of discomfort.

Surprisingly, only a portion of them felt unwell—about a third of those who had eaten. The rest were completely fine, eating and drinking as usual.

’Is it because the zombie virus incubates at different speeds depending on the individual?’

In any case, Perry Yates had smoothly dealt with that lunatic couple on the ship last night.

As a result, the ship was thrown into chaos early in the morning due to the captain’s disappearance.

But the chaos didn’t last long. It seemed someone had seized the opportunity to take control of the entire cruise ship.

Regardless, this development worked in Perry Yates’s favor, so she paid it no mind.

That evening, Perry Yates suddenly heard what sounded like shouting outside.

Curious, she went downstairs and out onto the aft deck.

Ever since the number of shipping containers dwindled to just two—the ones holding their own food supplies—and the captain vanished, the security detail on the aft deck had been canceled.

Perry Yates stepped outside and found the area brightly lit.

She glanced up at the night sky. Although it was almost midnight, the sheer luxury of the cruise ship made it easy to ignore the difference between day and night. The entire interior of the vessel even had oxygen supplied around the clock.

Following the sound, Perry Yates saw a group of men in sailor uniforms casting nets to fish.

The cruise ship offered a lavish fresh seafood feast every day, with a wide variety of options. According to the service staff, all the seafood was caught that very day, guaranteeing its freshness.

’So this is how they catch it,’ she thought. ’Why haven’t I noticed this process before?’

However, Perry Yates didn’t dwell on the question for long. For now, she watched the scene with fascination.

Just then, the sailors hauled in a net teeming with a large number of fish. Perry Yates noticed that as a few of the sailors looked at the flopping, wriggling fish, their eyes were filled with an intense craving. One of them, seizing a moment when the others weren’t looking, reached down, picked up a small fish that had fallen onto the deck, and shoved it straight into his mouth, chewing voraciously.

The fish’s blood and guts dribbled from the corners of the sailor’s mouth. He stuck out his tongue to lick it away, a look of pure ecstasy on his face.

Upon seeing this, Perry Yates couldn’t help but gag. At the same time, she realized something was terribly wrong.

’There’s plenty of food on the ship; there’s no way these crewmen are so hungry they’d eat anything. Especially not with such a look of pure bliss.’

’Something is wrong. Definitely wrong.’

But just as Perry Yates was about to investigate further, a sailor spotted her.

”Miss, it’s dangerous out here. Please head back inside as soon as you can.”

Although the sailor who ran over spoke gently, his voice carried an unyielding firmness.

It was as if he would physically escort her back the moment she refused.

Seeing this, Perry Yates of course chose to ”be obedient.”

Perry Yates turned and left, but she left her Spiritual Body behind.

Controlling her Spiritual Body, she moved in closer and got a much clearer view.

The freshly caught fish were all dumped into a ship’s hold.

At that same moment, back in her room, Perry Yates’s eyes shot wide open.

’What did I just see? Parasites! So many of them!’

”Identification!”

Perry Yates’s breathing grew ragged. ’Don’t tell me... has all the seafood people have been eating on this ship been infested with these parasites?’

’Thank God I didn’t eat any.’

Before Perry could even fully appreciate the fact that she hadn’t touched any seafood since boarding the ship, the Identification results came in.

[Brain-Eater Bug

A parasite dormant in the deep sea that awakens as the ambient temperature rises. The Brain-Eater Bug will parasitize small organisms. After devouring its host’s brain, it controls the body to get it eaten by a larger predator. This process is repeated until the bug finds a host to its liking.]

Looking at the Identification results, Perry Yates felt a chill run down her spine. She’d thought the crisis this time would be zombies, but it turned out there were also Brain-Eater Bugs. At that moment, she felt like nowhere was safe.

For a moment, Perry Yates even considered eliminating everyone on the ship. However, she quickly dismissed the idea. After all, the ship carried not only ordinary people but also Croupiers and other players. She couldn’t risk exposing her identity.

’Well, if I can’t take care of everyone else, then I’ll just have to take care of myself.’

「The thirteenth day of the game.」

Perry Yates came down with a high fever, and small red rashes began to break out on her skin, looking utterly terrifying.

After examining Perry Yates, the ship’s doctor concluded she had hand, foot, and mouth disease, a contagious illness, and recommended she be treated in isolation.

Perry Yates readily accepted this. Her daily meals and medicine would be delivered to her door ahead of time.

Having successfully gotten herself quarantined, Perry Yates breathed a sigh of relief. But she would soon learn that her relief was premature.

Because that very evening, four uninvited guests arrived in her room.

Felix Flynn, the blonde Pearl Norris, and an unnamed woman in black clothes and a man in a trench coat.

Seeing these four appear together, Perry Yates had a feeling this couldn’t be good.

”What do you want with me?” ’They can’t possibly be here to visit a sick person.’

Pearl Norris glanced at Perry Yates’s spotless face and arms, then sneered. ”See? I told you she was faking it.”

Perry Yates stared silently at Pearl Norris.

Just then, the woman in black spoke up. ”Don’t be nervous. We’re here to exchange information.”

”Exchange information?”

The man in the trench coat nodded. ”We’re outnumbered. As Croupiers, we’re theoretically on the same side. We need to help each other if we want to survive.”

After all, besides dealing with the disasters, they also had to be on guard against assassination attempts from non-Dealer Players.

The man in the trench coat went first. He had investigated and found that all the food on the ship was likely contaminated. Only the food inside the shipping containers was safe. However, he noted that while the containers were full of supplies, ”supplies” didn’t necessarily mean ”food.”

The man in the trench coat estimated that the food in both containers combined was, at most, enough for a few dozen people.

”Furthermore,” he continued, ”the ship’s water is just seawater run through its own purification and filtration system. And just last night, I noticed someone sneak up to that very system and add something to it. I don’t know what it was, though.”