Perry Yates spoke with the utmost seriousness.

Orion Abbott’s brow furrowed at her words.

He had come to find Perry Yates to demand answers. Though "demanding answers" was putting it mildly—he was really just looking for someone to blame.

But for some reason, faced with Perry Yates’s unhurried tone, he felt inexplicably unnerved. Perhaps it was because he knew, deep down, just how flimsy his argument was.

"If I fuse with one of your cards, will I get special abilities like the people outside?"

Orion Abbott had calmed down completely as he asked the question.

"No. These cards are different from the ones they fused with.

"The cards in my hand are called Alien Gene Cards. Fusing with one allows you to mutate any part of your body to become like a Xenomorph’s.

"This mutation is controllable. As long as you don’t exceed three cards, you’ll still be human."

After hearing Perry Yates out, Orion Abbott asked impatiently, "Then what kind of cards did those people fuse with?"

"Those are Skill Cards. Fusing with one lets you use a Skill. However, after your first one, any other cards you fuse with must match the first card’s attribute," Perry Yates explained patiently.

"Then why didn’t you show us the Skill Cards before, only the Alien Gene Cards?" Orion Abbott asked.

"Because I felt like it. Is there anything else? If not, you can go. Besides, the cards I have are excellent. If you want one, you should decide quickly."

Just then, a player ran in from outside and said to Perry Yates, "Boss, a convoy has arrived. They say they’re looking for you."

"Okay, I got it."

As she spoke, Perry Yates stood up. Before leaving, she gave Orion Abbott a look that said, ’See? What did I tell you?’

The new arrival was not Isaac Sawyer, nor was it Ian Usher. It was the commander from Base Seven, a man she had only heard about but never met. Beside the commander stood a middle-aged man in a white lab coat and rimless glasses, whose features looked somewhat harsh.

The moment she saw him, Perry Yates sensed a faint, almost imperceptible hostility from the man.

Come to think of it, Perry Yates had seen this middle-aged man at the base before—not in person, but on a giant screen in the center of the base.

In the video, the middle-aged man had been impassioned, as if giving a victory speech, inspiring everyone in the base. He told them that they would certainly drive away the Xenomorphs that had invaded their planet.

Setting her own biases aside and judging objectively, the man’s words were highly incendiary.

That’s right, incendiary.

During her few days at the base, Perry Yates had constantly heard this man’s rhetoric. It felt as though she had stumbled into some large pyramid scheme.

When Commander Sawyer saw Perry Yates, he immediately walked up excitedly, greeting her with a smile. "You must be the boss Isaac and Jin mentioned! Your reputation truly precedes you. I’m the commander of Base Seven, Austin Sawyer."

"Commander Sawyer, let’s talk inside."

Perry Yates pointed toward her temporary office.

Upon stepping into the library again, Perry Yates discovered that it had been redecorated at some point.

The previously empty space was now furnished with a sofa and a coffee table.

On the coffee table sat several cups of steaming hot tea, apparently freshly prepared.

"Please, have a seat."

After the group sat down, Commander Sawyer was the first to speak. "We apologize for the incident with Ian Usher. Of the Xenomorph corpses I’ve brought this time, one hundred are a gift for you, Boss, as compensation."

Hearing such good news, a smile instantly appeared on Perry Yates’s face (though it was hidden by her mask), and even her tone softened considerably.

Seeing this, Austin Sawyer couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. ’It seems I’ve made the right move.’

"Also, we have another small favor to ask."

Hearing Commander Sawyer say this, Perry Yates had already guessed what he wanted to talk about. It was undoubtedly about the cards.

’Considering the one hundred Xenomorph corpses, I suppose I can hear him out.’

But even though she had guessed, Perry Yates still asked as a matter of course, "What is it?"

Austin Sawyer said, "Although the Alien Gene Cards are powerful, we were hoping for more options."

A few days ago, after Isaac Sawyer and the others brought back the Alien Gene Cards, they had immediately arranged for people to test them.

The results proved that after fusing with the Alien Gene Cards, the subjects’ bodies did indeed mutate, becoming like Xenomorphs with powerful attacks that they could control at will.

Furthermore, they discovered that everyone who fused with an Alien Gene Card received significant enhancements in all physical aspects, most noticeably in strength, speed, and stamina.

However, as powerful as the Alien Gene Cards were, they had one obvious drawback: a person could only fuse with a maximum of three.

Three was already more than enough, of course, considering the significant changes just one card produced.

But people are always greedy. Once you have something, you want more. And what you can’t have always seems the best.

Besides, not everyone was willing to have their body mutate.

In addition to Skill Cards, they were also very tempted by the various item cards.

"Seeing as Commander Sawyer is so sincere, very well.

"I just did a quick count. You brought a total of five hundred forty Xenomorph corpses this time. Of those, five hundred twenty-five are relatively intact and valuable. Subtracting the one hundred you gifted me, that leaves four hundred twenty-five.

"At the previous price of ten Xenomorph corpses per card, that comes to forty-two cards. You can take the remaining five corpses back, or you can leave them here as credit for your next visit."

After she finished speaking, Perry Yates made a light swipe with her hand, and a whole slew of cards fanned out before her like a hand of poker cards.

More than half of them were Alien Gene Cards. The rest were Skill Cards and item cards, with a small portion being two-star cards.

It wasn’t that Perry Yates didn’t want to offer only one-star cards; she simply didn’t have that many.

Back when she had free time in the game, she had used Ascension on all her cards to get them to two stars.

After returning to reality, she had Ascended another portion of them. The one-star cards she had on hand now were for emergencies, and she hadn’t brought many with her in the first place.

Just as Austin Sawyer was carefully making his selection, the middle-aged man, who had been silent the entire time, spoke up.

"That protective shield you have outside is impressive. How much?"

Looking at his condescending attitude, Perry Yates smiled and said, "That one’s not for sale."

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