This villain is too popular.

Chapter 459 The Game [4000 words]

[A desolate desert of bones, a temporary helipad]

The hatch of the 'Explorer VII' starship slowly opened, and a gust of hot, sandy wind rushed in, making everyone's clothes flutter.

The blinding sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone on the rolling yellow sand dunes, reflecting a dazzling luster.

In the distance, the abandoned energy ruins loomed in and out of sight amidst the sandstorm, their dilapidated outlines resembling lurking giant beasts, exuding a desolate and eerie atmosphere.

Chen Kong stepped out of the cabin first. The alloy helipad under his feet was scorching hot from the blazing sun. He subconsciously activated his star energy, and light blue, fine patterns appeared all over his body.

This is his improvement on the "Void Pattern" after drawing on the "Reversal of All Things" of the Heavenly Dao.

Although it did not actively trigger the elimination effect, it could still form a thin barrier by circulating star energy, blocking out some of the heat waves and sand.

Liu Ma followed closely behind, and couldn't help but complain as soon as he landed.

"Good heavens, this place is incredibly hot!"

He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his face. The enhanced star energy spread along his skin, forming a light red protective layer on his body, repelling the approaching sand and gravel.

Isabel pushed up the goggles on her nose, and the lenses automatically adjusted to anti-glare mode.

She glanced around, and the tactical glasses Vivian had given her immediately displayed real-time environmental data.

'Temperature 52℃, wind speed 18m/s, sand and gravel of medium hardness, no high-level star beast fluctuations detected, currently safe.'

At the same time, An Qin came down with Lin Feng, Zhao Yu, and Vivian.

She took out five silver communicators from her tactical backpack and distributed them to everyone.

"This is a special anti-jamming communicator that I got from the field operations department. It can maintain uninterrupted communication even in various extreme environments."

"Now let's gather in the safe zone, check the surrounding environment, and then start our group operations."

The safe zone is located at an abandoned outpost on the west side of the tarmac. The metal walls of the outpost are covered with traces of wind and sand erosion, but traces of reinforcements from years ago are still visible.

After everyone entered the outpost, Isabel first checked the condition of the abandoned outpost, and then immediately activated Star Source Absolute Zero to condense the water vapor in the air into ice crystal threads, which were hidden in the sand and gravel. As long as any living creature approached, an alarm would be triggered.

This wealth of wilderness experience and mastery of Star Source is clearly different from her previous work.

After confirming that there was no danger in the surrounding area, the group entered the abandoned outpost one after another.

"Lin Feng, Zhao Yu, Vivian, and I will go explore the right side first. You guys search the left side. Remember not to go into unexplored areas, and report any abnormalities immediately."

Upon entering the abandoned outpost, Anqin opened the virtual map on her optical computer, reconfirmed the group route, paused slightly on the 'core conversion area' marker, and unconsciously raised her voice.

"In particular, do not approach the central building of the energy site without authorization, as the structure there is unstable and there is a risk of collapse."

She paused, her gaze falling on Chen Kong, and added, "Chen Kong, your 'Void Rune' can counter most star energy attacks. Remember to prioritize protecting your teammates when you encounter danger."

Hearing this, Chen Kong frowned and said, "Isn't the central building the key area marked by the advance team? Isn't our mission this time to explore the unexplored areas?"

"Can the mission be completed by avoiding the central building?"

Anqin's body stiffened slightly, and she quickly offered an explanation.

"The advance team's report indicates that the central building has been mostly buried by sandstorms, its internal structure is extremely complex, and there may be residual energy leaks from the old era, making it extremely dangerous."

"We can get basic exploration points as long as we complete the exploration of the outer area, there is no need to take this risk."

Surprisingly, Lin Feng, leaning against the wall, crossed his arms and said to An Qin's suggestion, "I don't think it's necessary to be so cautious. It's better to set off as soon as possible."

"It's best to complete the exploration before dark, otherwise the temperature in the desert will drop sharply at night, and nocturnal star beasts will also appear, making the exploration even more dangerous."

Upon hearing this, Chen Kong thought for a moment and also felt that what he said made no problem.

"Alright, let's get going as soon as possible."

Even so, Chen Kong still subtly gave Liu Ma and Isabel a look, signaling them to remain vigilant.

He then turned and walked out of the outpost, heading towards the area on the left.

Liu Ma and Isabel nodded secretly, and then immediately followed.

Before long, the three figures disappeared into the sandstorm.

Watching Chen Kong's departing figure, An Qin gripped the star energy jammer in her pocket tightly.

Vivian stood beside her, the scanning function of the intelligent electronic eye never turned off, taking in every subtle movement of Anqin, and her suspicions grew stronger.

"Anqin, let's set off too. The sooner we finish our investigation, the sooner we can get some rest."

An Qin took a deep breath, suppressed her inner struggle, and nodded to Lin Feng and Zhao Yu: "Let's go."

[Desert of Bones, Exploration Area on the Left]

The left side of the area is filled with the ruins of abandoned low-rise buildings. Most of the walls have collapsed, leaving only half of the earthen walls and exposed steel bars, teetering precariously in the wind and sand.

Chen Kong walked at the front, his body covered in faint blue void patterns, ready to trigger elimination effects to deal with unexpected situations at any time.

As he probed, he spoke into the communicator, "Vivian, how's the situation on your end? Have you noticed anything unusual?"

Soon, Vivian's calm voice came through the communicator.

"No abnormalities for now. We have just entered the right edge of the area and only found some traces of level one sand wolves, which have already been cleared out by Zhao Yu."

She paused, then lowered her voice and said, "It's just that Anqin's condition is a bit strange. She seems to be deliberately avoiding certain routes, as if she's guiding us in a certain direction."

"I see."

Chen Kong responded and glanced at a collapsed building in front of him.

"We've also discovered some traces of star beasts here, but they're all low-level and pose no threat."

"Isabel, has your tactical radar detected the location of the central building?"

Isabel stopped in her tracks, the radar on her tactical uniform operating at full power, displaying a blurry red area on the screen.

"It can be detected, but the signal is very weak. The stellar energy fluctuations around the central building are very chaotic, as if something is interfering."

"Moreover, the scan results show that the structure there is not as unstable as Anchin said; on the contrary, it is quite intact."

Hearing this, Liu Ma frowned and said, "Why don't we go to the central building now? Maybe those guys are really as Vivian said. I'm a little worried about her going with them alone."

To Liu Ma's surprise, Chen Kong immediately stopped him.

"No, if we act rashly now, we might alert the enemy."

“Since Vivian has chosen to stay by their side, she must have her own plans.”

"Let's proceed with the original plan and explore the area first. Once we find a suitable opportunity, we'll figure out a way to get closer to the central building."

Just then, Isabel's radar device suddenly emitted a rapid alarm, and a fast-moving red dot appeared on the screen.

"A star beast is approaching; its energy fluctuations indicate it's at the upper level of the second tier. It's coming!"

As soon as Isabel finished speaking, a yellow figure darted out from behind the building ruins.

It was a massive sand wolf, its body covered in hard, gravelly armor, its sharp fangs gleaming coldly, as it pounced on Liu Ma. Instead of retreating, Liu Ma advanced, his enhanced star energy surging, his fists clenched, and he swung them to meet the sand wolf's attack.

"Well done!"

With a loud bang, Liu Ma's fist slammed into the sand wolf's armor.

Sand and gravel flew everywhere, and the sand wolf let out a painful howl, forced to take a few steps back.

It shook its head, a fierce glint in its eyes, and pounced again, opening its mouth to spew out a storm of sand and gravel.

"careful!"

In an instant, Chen Kong activated the Void Pattern, and the silvery-white patterns suddenly surged, weaving into a thin net in front of Liu Ma.

The moment the sandstorm struck the patterned net, the star beast energy it carried was completely eliminated, and the sand, having lost its kinetic energy, scattered all over the ground.

Isabel seized the opportunity, activated Star Source Absolute Zero, and condensed an ice-blue energy beam at her fingertips, which she aimed precisely at the sand wolf's eyes.

The sand wolf let out a shrill scream, its eyes instantly frozen, losing its sight.

Liu Ma seized this opening, leaped forward, and delivered a powerful punch to the Sand Wolf's head. The enhanced star energy erupted instantly, smashing the Sand Wolf's head to pieces. Its massive body collapsed to the ground, twitched a few times, and then went still.

"It's done!"

Liu Ma dusted off his hands and smiled smugly.

To them now, an ordinary level-two star beast is really no different from a stray dog ​​on the roadside.

Of course, if the number of stray dogs increases, it will cause some trouble.

But there was one thing that Chen Kong found very strange.

Logically speaking, a star beast is still a beast.

Animal instincts will make them instinctively avoid dangerous enemies.

But this sand wave seemed to have gone mad, not only breaking away from its pack but also actively seeking out several targets that were obviously not to be trifled with, which was undoubtedly against the laws of nature.

Thinking of this, Chen Kong walked to the corpse of the sand wolf, squatted down and examined it carefully.

On the sand wolf's wound, there were faint black lines, as if it had been corroded by a special energy.

Chen Kong subconsciously reached out his hand, and several wisps of the Void Runes around his body extended out, gently brushing over the corpse of the Sand Wolf. The black runes vanished the moment they touched the Void Runes.

Clearly, these black lines also represent some kind of stellar energy source or stellar core.

"Be careful, the creatures here seem to have undergone some kind of change. I'm not sure if this change is only affecting the Star Beasts, or if it affects everyone who enters this fallen territory."

[Desert of Bones, right-side exploration area]

As Vivian followed Anqin and the other two to explore, she secretly recorded the route. Her intelligent electronic eyes captured all the details of the surrounding environment and transmitted them to her personal computer.

She noticed that Anqin deliberately chose routes closer to the central building every time she turned, seemingly avoiding dangerous areas, but actually shrinking the encirclement step by step.

“Anqin, the building ruins ahead look complicated. Should we take a detour?”
"Vivian deliberately pointed in a direction far from the central building and asked.

An Qin paused, her eyes showing some hesitation. Zhao Yu, who was beside her, immediately said, "Taking a detour will waste a lot of time. Let's just go straight through. With Lin Feng and me here, there won't be any danger."

As he spoke, he took the lead and walked towards the building ruins ahead.

Anqin bit her lip, did not refute, and could only follow.

As Vivian watched the interaction between the two, she became even more certain of one of her suspicions.

She secretly pressed the hidden record button on the communicator and simultaneously sent an encrypted message that only Chen Kong could decipher.

As they passed through the building ruins, several rock lizards suddenly emerged from the sand. Their bodies were covered in gray rock armor, and they spewed out hot magma as they lunged at the group.

Lin Feng snorted coldly, his enhanced star energy covering his entire body, and charged towards the rock lizard. With a swing of his fist, the rock lizard's armor was smashed to pieces.

Zhao Yu moved nimbly among the rock lizards, his short blade flashing with cold light as he precisely stabbed at their weak points.

Vivian stood beside Anqin, seemingly assisting in the investigation, but in reality, she was observing Anqin's reaction.

She discovered that although Anqin also released her support abilities, she did not specifically support Lin Feng and Zhao Yu. Instead, when the rock lizard approached her, she deliberately expanded her star energy barrier to protect herself and Vivian.

"careful!"

Anqin suddenly pulled Vivian away from a fallen rock.

The rock crashed to the ground, sending up a spray of sand and gravel.

Vivian paused for a moment, looked up at Anqin, and found a genuine worry in her eyes.

"Thank you."

Vivian whispered.

Anqin shook her head without saying anything, but her eyes became even more complicated.

Lin Feng and Zhao Yu quickly dealt with all the rock lizards.

Lin Feng gave An Qin a cold look, his tone carrying a warning.

"Focus on the task at hand and don't get distracted."

Anqin lowered her head and did not refute.

The four continued forward, getting closer and closer to the central building of the energy site.

Vivian could clearly feel that the surrounding star energy fluctuations were becoming increasingly chaotic, and a faint smell of blood began to permeate the air, mixed with a strange, sweet scent.

"The communicator is being jammed, the signal is getting weaker and weaker, and if we go any further, we may lose contact."

As Vivian spoke, she raised the communicator in her hand.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yu smiled and smoothly took out a 'signal booster' from his pocket.

"Don't worry, I've been prepared."

He turned on the signal booster, and Vivian's communicator signal instantly returned to stability.

Vivian's heart sank; it seemed they had made thorough preparations long ago.

At the same time, Chen Kong received an encrypted message from Vivian, the content of which was very simple.

'Target is the central building; communications may be monitored. Proceed with caution.'

Chen Kong's expression was solemn as he said to Liu Ma and Isabel, "Vivian has confirmed that An Qin and Lin Feng are indeed problematic; their target is the central building."

"We will change course immediately and quietly approach to support Vivian."

"it is good."

Liu Ma and Isabel nodded immediately, and the three of them adjusted their direction and moved quickly toward the central building.

(End of this chapter)