This villain is too popular.

Chapter 456 Trap [4000 words]

[Martial Arts Capital, Tianwu Training Base, Public Rest Area]

The afternoon sun shone through the portholes, casting dappled shadows on the long metal table in the public lounge area. Fine dust particles floated in the air, exposed to the light.

Since the end of the Longevity Island trial, the students have briefly returned to a relatively stable period of cultivation and study.

However, the cruelty of the trials on Changsheng Island still served as a wake-up call for many.

As a result, they began to cultivate even more diligently.

This naturally includes Chen Kong and others.

As the camera zoomed in on the anime, Dust Sky, the main character of the group who hadn't appeared for an entire episode, reappeared before the viewers.

In the video, he is sitting on a seat in the public rest area, watching the video intently.

The video showed some of his previous battles on Changsheng Island.

Although these were all things that had already happened, Chen Kong still managed to find many areas for improvement through this continuous review.

On the other side, for some reason, Vivian was holding a yellowed old book on star energy theory and reading it intently.

In contrast to the quietness on their side, the simulation training ground not far away was quite noisy.

Liu Ma's roars and the clanging of metal gauntlets rose and fell in waves.

On the training field, he threw a straight punch at Isabel's ice shield.

Not only did it fail to break through Isabel's defenses, it also made its own hand go numb from the shock.

However, he didn't seem to care and continued to grin, "Isabel, I promised to help you improve your close combat skills, but I can't help you like this."

After thinking for a moment, Isabel said, "You're right."

As soon as she finished speaking, Isabel deliberately dispelled her Star Source Absolute Zero and began close-quarters combat with Liu Ma, a skill she was not good at.

In this respect, the gap between Isabel and Liu Ma is like that between a college student and an elementary school student; Isabel is utterly powerless to retaliate.

However, if you want to improve, you can only make up for your shortcomings little by little.

Otherwise, if she encounters a situation similar to Changsheng Island again, she really has no good solutions other than praying for a miracle.

Just as the main characters were all doing their own things and improving themselves, an unexpected person appeared.

On the other side of the rest area, Anqin, who had been marked as a 'traitor' by Tiandao and Caroline, walked in carrying a silver-gray metal file box.

The box was engraved with the Star Envoy Association's bas-relief emblem, but it appeared somewhat dull under the light and shadow.

Unlike when she first appeared, she dressed relatively modestly.

Anqin seems to have found a new 'part-time job' in the training area. She has not only changed into a white lab coat as part of the training base, but also tied her light brown long hair, which used to cover her eyes, into a low ponytail. She looks much more sunny and energetic.

She walked to the table where Chen Kong and Vivian were sitting and stopped half a meter away from Chen Kong.

Are there any seats left here?

Chen Kong, who was focused on analyzing his past battle videos, subconsciously looked up.

Upon seeing that the person who arrived was An Qin, he was taken aback for a moment before replying, "There are still seats available, please sit down."

"Thank you."

Anqin politely thanked them and then sat down opposite Chen Kong and Vivian.

Her appearance was clearly not a coincidence.

Vivian put down her book and asked, "Is there something you need from us?"

When faced with Vivian's question, Anqin did not hide anything.

"There are some things."

As she spoke, Anqin showed off her 'part-time certificate' that she had recently obtained.

That was none other than the Field Service Department of the Star Envoy Association headquarters.

Although they are just field staff, this is a position that not everyone can obtain.

Especially considering that Anqin herself is a participant in this 'Starry Sky Ladder Ranking Tournament'.

Looking at the certificate, Vivian immediately realized something.

"Your part-time job should allow you to access the latest intelligence from the occupied territories, right?"

"Ah."

Anqin nodded and followed up on Vivian's words: "You all know about the 'tower climbing' at the Tianwu Training Base, which is the so-called exploration of the occupied area."

"For most of us, every exploration of occupied territory was dangerous."

"That's why I specifically went to obtain this identity, so that I could select as many occupied areas as possible that match my current strength, thereby fulfilling the basic exploration requirements of the ranked matches."

"Just recently, I discovered a fairly good occupied area, but it's impossible for me to explore it successfully on my own."

Upon hearing this, Chen Kong and Weiwei instantly understood.

Anqin approached them, clearly wanting to team up with them.

In the previous Explorer's Certificate assessment, they had all witnessed Anqin's methods and understood that the person in front of them was no ordinary passerby.

Among the current trainees, her strength is definitely in the middle range, making her a very good teammate.

Although they were somewhat tempted by Anqin's suggestion, they did not rush to express their opinion.

After thinking for a moment, Vivian said, "Could we take a look at the information about the occupied territories first?"

"of course."

Anqin nodded, then placed the document box in her hand on the table and pressed the fingerprint unlock button on the side.

With a soft 'click', the projection device inside the box activated, and a 3D map of the occupied area, named 'Desert of Bones', floated in front of everyone.

On the map, the yellow sand dunes and gray rocks of the barren desert are clearly visible, with a flashing green coordinate on the edge that stands out, and the area around it marked with blue lines to indicate the 'safe zone'.

Anqin pointed to the holographic map and began to explain it seriously.

"This is an old-era energy site located on the edge of the 'Bone Desert'. The core area was cleared by the headquarters' advance team three months ago. Most of the remaining star beasts are level one to two sand wolves and rock lizards, with moderate strength."

As she spoke, she pointed to the cluster of buildings in the center of the map and continued, "This is a section of old-era buildings that has not yet been fully explored. The advance team's assessment is that there are at most level three star beasts here, and no calamity-level star beasts will appear."

After speaking, An Qin looked at Chen Kong and Vivian and said seriously, "Although the advance team is a group of experienced Star Envoys, we cannot completely trust their words. After all, the biggest characteristic of the occupied area is its unpredictability."

"Therefore, I still made some worst-case scenario plans, namely that there might be star beasts of the calamity level or above appearing in this unexplored area."

At this point, An Qin paused for a moment, then said with a serious expression, "According to the association's regulations, unless there is permission from the association, normal exploration of occupied areas requires at least five people."

"Although I've approached quite a few people during this time, they either already have established teams or are unwilling to team up with me." "So, are you interested in this occupied area called the 'Desert of Bones'?"

Upon hearing An Qin's words, Vivian and Chen Kong immediately began to think about it seriously.

Judging solely from the level of danger in the occupied areas, the 'Desert of Bones' is indeed a very good place.

Even though Anqin said that there might be calamity-level star beasts in this place, any occupied area could potentially have calamity-level star beasts, so although the danger exists, it is not as great as imagined.

Not to mention that this place had already been partially explored by the advance team.

Its security was far superior to that of other occupied areas.

It is a low-risk area that is absolutely suitable for them to explore.

Even so, Vivian was still in no hurry to give Anqin an answer.

She leaned slightly forward, her gaze fixed on the green coordinates on the map, her fingers tapping lightly on the table in a steady, even rhythm—a habit she had when she was thinking.

A moment later, Vivian looked up at Anqin, her eyes sharp and focused.

Is the stellar energy fluctuation in this occupied area stable?

Upon hearing this question, Anqin raised her hand and tapped the control panel of the document box a few times.

Shortly afterward, an encrypted test report was projected in front of everyone.

The first page of the report was stamped with the red seal of the advance team from headquarters, and the number was clearly traceable.

"This is a detailed test report submitted by the advance team, which shows that the star energy fluctuations in the site area are stable within a safe range of ±2."

"The highest fluctuations are only those of a level two star beast?"

Hearing Anqin's words, Vivian slowly made up her mind.

Perhaps sensing that Vivian was already somewhat interested, Anqin quickly added, "Vivian, although two-thirds of the 'Desert of Bones' has already been explored, if we can complete the exploration of the remaining third, we can still obtain about two thousand Tianwu Coins as a reward."

"Two thousand Heavenly Martial Coins?"

Chen Kong exclaimed in surprise.

It's important to know that these two thousand Heavenly Martial Coins are no small sum; they're enough to boost their strength by about a third.

Thinking of this, Chen Kong was immediately tempted and turned to look at Vivian.

Unexpectedly, Vivian poured cold water on things at this moment.

"Sorry to bother you."

She pointed to the timestamp in the corner of the report and asked her question.

"If I'm not mistaken, this test report was generated three days ago."

"Yesterday afternoon at 4:15, I specifically searched the headquarters' database for suitable occupied areas, but I did not find anything about the 'Desert of Bones'."

"How could a complete testing report suddenly appear in an occupied area where there isn't even a record of an advance team's arrival? That doesn't seem to follow the proper procedures."

Vivian's doubts are not without merit.

Normally, a complete exploration process for an occupied area by the association consists of three parts: 'submitting an exploration application', 'completing the exploration process', and 'submitting an exploration report'.

If everything went smoothly, even if Vivian didn't find the exploration report for the 'Bone Desert' yesterday, she should have at least seen the 'exploration application' for the 'Bone Desert'.

But the truth is, she didn't see anything yesterday.

Don't underestimate the memory of a machine envoy. Vivian was certain that she hadn't gathered any information about the 'Desert of Bones' yesterday.

Anqin quickly offered an explanation for this.

"That's because although the report was completed three days ago, the final version was only submitted by the advance team at 6:20 pm yesterday. The headquarters database updates have a 12-hour delay, so you must have been caught in the update gap when you checked, which is why you didn't see it."

To prove her point, she immediately pulled up her access credentials, which were clearly displayed on the holographic projection as a gold label that read "Direct Contact Access for the Advance Team".

"As a part-time logistics staff member, part of my job was to work with the advance team members, which is why I was able to obtain important intelligence in advance."

Upon hearing this, even Vivian had no more questions.

Because Anqin's answer was reasonable.

In that case
"Okay, then tell us the meeting time."

Seeing that Vivian had agreed, Anqin immediately said, "Meet at six o'clock tomorrow morning in the Star Energy Ship cabin. The Star Energy Ship is numbered 'Explorer Seven'."

"I will prepare all the equipment and supplies, including sand suits, star energy rations, and emergency medical kits. You only need to bring your personal tactical gear and weapons."

After saying this, she looked at Vivian with a serious expression and said, "If Vivian is still not reassured, she can check the database again after midnight tonight. The update will definitely be completed by then."

"If you have any questions, feel free to contact me through the task system."

After saying that, she packed up the document box, turned around, and left.

After Anqin left, Liu Ma and Isabel, who were not far away, also came over.

Looking at An Qin's retreating figure, Liu Ma, who had overheard their conversation from a distance, said, "I've met that person before. Although he seemed a bit strange, he was generally a pretty good person."

"You're right, aren't you, Chen Kong?"

Hearing Liu Ma mention him, Chen Kong was taken aback for a moment, then said helplessly, "Yes, I briefly teamed up with her during the Explorer's Certificate assessment before, and she is indeed quite good."

To their surprise, Vivian suddenly retorted, "But I always felt that she was a bit strange, and she gave me a different feeling than the other trainees."

"How to say?"

Chen Kong looked at Vivian curiously, clearly not understanding the 'strange' reason Vivian was referring to.

After thinking for a moment, Vivian shook her head: "There's no real evidence, just a feeling."

Upon hearing this, Chen Kong immediately smiled and said, "Since it's just a feeling, let's observe it more carefully later."

"Besides, all the documents she just showed are legitimate, and the headquarters' seal cannot be forged. The mission rewards and difficulty are just right for us."

Before Chen Kong could finish speaking, Vivian interjected, "That's precisely why I agreed. After all, such a good opportunity is rare."

After listening to their conversation, Liu Ma and Isabel, who were standing nearby, finally understood.

Although Vivian had some reservations about Anqin, she was very interested in the 'Desert of Bones' that Anqin had proposed.

After weighing the pros and cons, he finally agreed to team up with her to explore the 'Bone Desert'.

Liu Ma and the others had no objection to Vivian's decision.

After all, this is also a good opportunity for them.

(End of this chapter)