This villain is too popular.

Chapter 423 Corpse Tide
Changsheng Island is a place with both natural disaster-level powerhouses and shrouded in gray mist, teeming with monsters. Chen Kong simply cannot associate this place with the word 'medium'.

In his view, let alone exploring such a place, it would be a miracle if he could just get out of here alive.

Mi Yao merely smiled dismissively at Chen Kong's doubts, saying nothing more, as if he had discovered some 'secret'.

However, he currently lacks some evidence, which prevents him from determining the authenticity of the 'information'.

At the same time, his rescue of Chen Kong was not entirely out of kindness, but rather because he wanted someone to help him explore the path and verify some of his 'ideas'.

Therefore, after a brief silence, Mi Yao took the initiative to change the subject.

"Instead of discussing how dangerous this place is, you should be concerned about something else."

"After all, we've already landed on the island, and the administrator's boat won't be back for another seven days."

"How to make it to the seventh day is what we need to think about."

As he spoke, Mi Yao's finger stopped in the center of the game console map, on a cluster of dense red dots.

The lights there were several times more concentrated than elsewhere, and they were constantly flashing.

“I have observed that the closer you are to the center of the island, the more concentrated the stellar energy in the environment becomes.”

“I originally wanted to find an opportunity to go deeper into the island, but I discovered something dangerous, so I turned back and that’s how I met you.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Kong asked curiously, "What did you discover?"

"I don't know. It could be an elite monster, or it could be the big boss on this Longevity Island."

Chen Kong was already used to Mi Yao's signature gaming terminology.

Those that he calls elite monsters must be at least level three star beasts.

As for the so-called big boss, it's most likely a cataclysmic being.

Thinking of this, Chen Kong frowned and said, "Two natural disasters? We're just here to participate in the trial, how come we've encountered so many natural disaster-level beings?"

"Who knows."

Mi Yao turned off the game console and casually tossed it into the backpack next to him.

"Perhaps the so-called 'trial' is just a pretext, designed to lure us 'potential guys' to the island and use us as sacrifices to give experience to the BOSS."

"After all, such plots are not uncommon in 'games'."

Upon hearing this, Chen Kong's heart sank instantly.

Now he realizes that this trial is far more complex and dangerous than he initially imagined.

It was as if there was an invisible hand manipulating something from behind.

"Speaking of Heavenly Dao, do you know where he is?"

"That guy's vector force field is displayed as 'Golden Legend' level energy fluctuation on my interface, which is even more dazzling than the BOSS's red dot."

"And this energy gradually disappeared after a period of time."

"Therefore, I deduced that he may have solved the problem of the landing point, which is why I turned back to ask him some questions, but I didn't expect to run into you first."

Upon hearing this, Chen Kong recalled the massive 'explosion' he had vaguely seen in the distance before leaving.

Although he did not know the cause of the explosion, nor the consequences of it.

But based on his understanding of the Way of Heaven...
"I don't know, but I'm sure they're still alive and heading towards the nearest gathering point."

“We were originally planning to go to that designated rendezvous point, but we got lost in the gray fog on the island and ended up getting separated from the others.”

"I see." Mi Yao nodded, finally understanding what had happened to Chen Kong and the others.

Just as the two were about to speak, an unusual noise suddenly came from outside the cave.

This time, the noise wasn't the roar of the rotting vine corpse, but the rustling sound of some kind of plant growing rapidly.

At the same time, strands of pale purple light silently seeped in through the cracks at the cave entrance.

Upon seeing this, Mi Yao's expression instantly changed.

He stood up, put his headphones back on, and took out his game console from his backpack to check it out.

"Oh no, it's a 'vine tide'! My interface shows that a large number of rotting vine corpses are surging this way, as if they are being controlled by something!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Kong immediately stood up.

As the light outside the cave grew brighter, the sound of plants growing closer and closer, and even the cave walls began to tremble slightly, dropping small stone chips.

Chen Kong glanced at Mi Yao's game console and noticed that the small map on the screen was reflected with a dense array of red dots.

And these red dots were rushing toward the cave where they were at an astonishing speed.

"How to do?"

His body has not fully recovered yet, and although Mi Yao is a level three Star Envoy, he has no chance of winning against hundreds or thousands of rotting vine corpses, let alone with himself, a sick patient, in tow.

Faced with Chen Kong's question, Mi Yao skillfully packed his luggage and put on his headphones.

He pressed a button on his headphones, and a rousing game background music streamed out.

"What else can we do? Of course, we have to break through."

He raised his hand towards the cave entrance and said confidently, "My 'player interface' shows there's a 'hidden passage' to the northwest. As long as we rush out, we can reach the next safe zone."

Despite it being a dangerous zombie horde chase, Mi Yao's constant use of gaming jargon and the 'game background music' so loud that even Chen Kong could hear it made the situation seem chaotic.

All of this made Chen Kong feel inexplicably absurd.

It was as if what they were about to do wasn't something that could determine life or death, but rather a tense and exciting game.

However, this absurdity did not last long, and Chen Kong regained his composure.

"And these rotting vine corpses?"

"Don't worry, I have 'bait tools'."

Mi Yao took out a capsule that was flashing red light from his backpack and casually threw it toward the cave entrance.

"This is a 'Star Energy Bomb' that I redeemed with my game currency. It can simulate the energy fluctuations of high-level Star Envoys and redirect them in the opposite direction. We'll rush out during this gap. Be quick, understand?"

As soon as the capsule flew out of the cave, it emitted a blinding red light, followed by a loud bang that shook the entire cave.

The rotting vines outside immediately let out a series of roars, and the sounds of growth and footsteps surged toward the direction of the explosion.

"It's now!"

Mi Yao rushed out first, turning the background music volume in his headphones up to the maximum.

"Keep up with me, don't fall behind. In my game, there's no such thing as a 'team wipe'!"

Chen Kong followed closely behind, and the cave behind him was soon covered by pale purple vines.

He glanced back and saw the rotting vine corpses surging towards the direction of the explosion like a tide, while he and Mi Yao's figures quickly disappeared into the gray fog and jungle of Changsheng Island.

(End of this chapter)