[Longevity County · Late Night Street]
The streetlights in the night cast blurry light, diffused by the grey fog.
The goat-bearded old man looked at Chen Xing not far away. The cracked crown of his head transformed into pale purple tentacles, wriggling like living snakes.
Viscous fluid dripped from the tentacles onto the bluestone pavement, making a 'tap-tap' sound, reflecting a bizarre luster in the blood-flame light emanating from Chen Xing.
"Outsider, you have broken the rules of Longevity County."
Soon after the goat-bearded old man finished speaking, the surrounding residents slowly converged on Chen Xing, their steps unsettlingly uniform.
Their joints cracked, their bodies twisted at angles that defied physical laws, and hideous fissures opened on their foreheads, with flesh and blood churning out tentacles.
In their empty eye sockets, two masses of green spectral light suddenly ignited, like ghost fires in a graveyard.
Chen Xing, however, didn't pay much mind to this.
She suddenly tightened her grip on the hilt of the demonic blade. The flame patterns on the scabbard were ignited by her Star Energy, the orange-red firelight reflecting on her cold and beautiful profile.
"Rules?"
Chen Xing scoffed. The moment the demonic blade was unsheathed, a blast of scorching blade-wind swept out, burning streaks of char into the surroundings.
"Using lifespan as collateral, grinding living people into soulless puppets—does this filth deserve to be called a rule?"
"..."
The tendrils on the goat-bearded old man's head suddenly tautened, as if Chen Xing had hit upon something that shouldn't have been mentioned.
Then he stopped wasting words, suddenly roaring and waving his arm.
In the next second, several tentacles pierced towards Chen Xing like spears. The tips of the tentacles bore barbs and flashed with a poisonous sheen.
"Kill her! The secret cannot be exposed!"
"Relying on these defective products?"
Looking at the hideous monsters of Longevity Island, Chen Xing tapped her toe, her body tracing a graceful arc in the air. While avoiding the tentacles' attack, the demonic blade had already slashed out a crescent-shaped wave of fire.
Where the fire wave passed, the air was heated to scalding. The flesh and blood tentacles extended by the residents instantly ignited, emitting a sizzling sound of scorching, accompanied by a nauseating smell of burning flesh.
"Aah! Aah! Aah!"
Amidst the firelight, waves of screams rose and fell, breaking the silence of the night.
The residents, ignited by the blood-flames, now rolled uncontrollably on the ground like fireballs. Their bodies slowly melted in the blood-flames' inferno, exposing the life core coiled within.
As Chen Xing landed, the demonic blade spun in her palm, the fire on the blade casting a long shadow of her.
"Many people want to kill me, but you... are not qualified."
Seeing this, the goat-bearded old man sharply curled his body, and the flesh tentacles grew wildly, instantly weaving a massive net that rushed to cover Chen Xing.
The surface of the net was covered in viscous fluid. It surprisingly didn't immediately burn upon contact with the fire, instead sticking to the flames somewhat.
"Stay right there!"
"Child's play."
Chen Xing's eyes chilled. She injected her full Star Energy into the demonic blade, which suddenly erupted with a dazzling light.
Blood-Flame. Void Slash!
The wave of fire transformed into a sharp blade, instantly splitting the tendril net in half. With undiminished force, it slashed onto the goat-bearded old man's core of flesh and blood.
Bang!
A violent explosion echoed on the street, splattering green fluid across the walls.
Soon, the chilling monster roars were gradually drowned out by the crackling of the burning flames, slowly settling into silence.
[Meanwhile, Longevity County Guesthouse]
The lamp in Room 601 was still lit. Jing Liuli walked out of the bedroom, clutching a stuffed bear.
She rubbed her eyes, her eyelashes still showing signs of sleepiness.
Looking at Tendo, who seemed about to go out, Jing Liuli asked curiously, "Tendo, where are you going? In the middle of the night."
Facing Jing Liuli's inquiry, Tendo smiled and said, "Nothing, just going out to find something."
"Find something?"
Jing Liuli instantly woke up.
"I'll go with you! It's not safe at night—"
"Let me go with him instead."
Caroline emerged from the bathroom, holding a half-dry towel. She wiped the water droplets from her hair, her eyes determined.
"It's better to have two people to look out for each other."
Facing their suggestions, Tendo waved his hand.
"No need. You just guard the room. No matter what you hear, don't open the door."
Caroline didn't insist. If Tendo said so, there must be a reason, and she would execute it unconditionally.
Seeing that Caroline had accepted it, Jing Liuli also stopped talking.
After all, if even the powerful Wilfred couldn't harm Tendo, there likely wasn't much on this vast Longevity Island that could genuinely threaten him.
"I'm going."
With that, Tendo opened the door and turned to go downstairs.
The guesthouse lobby was dimly lit at night, with only the small light at the front desk still on.
The owner, wearing reading glasses, was meticulously organizing the guest information on an abacus.
Seeing that Tendo seemed to be heading out, he adjusted his glasses and lowered his voice, "Guest, the county curfew is no joke. It's best not to walk around at this hour."
Tendo paused, glanced back at the guesthouse owner with a meaningful look, then pushed open the guesthouse door and walked out.
Before long, his figure completely disappeared into the dark night, leaving only the lingering creak of the door hinge.
The guesthouse owner watched the direction Tendo disappeared, then finally let out a silent sigh.
Then, his finger paused on the abacus for a moment. He pulled out a black ledger from the drawer, and next to the name 'Tendo,' he lightly drew a pale purple rose symbol, seemingly hinting at something.
[The next day at noon, Longevity County Guesthouse]
Sunlight streamed through the guesthouse window, casting dappled shadows on the floor.
Vivian, wearing a neat tactical suit, walked to the door of the utility room in the lobby and raised her hand to knock.
"Let's go, check-out time is up."
After a moment, the utility room door creaked open.
Chen Kong had messy hair and half-closed eyes, clearly not having slept enough.
He rubbed the red lines in the corners of his eyes and yawned.
"It's time already?"
"We'll be kicked out by the owner if we delay any longer."
Vivian shook her head helplessly, her gaze sweeping past Chen Kong.
Mi Yao was curled up in a corner among a pile of cardboard, fast asleep, clutching his handheld console. Drool was close to dripping onto the buttons.
Chen Kong understood immediately, walked over, and called Mi Yao awake.
"Wake up, it's time to check out."
Soon, Mi Yao also awoke from his slumber.
Since they didn't have the guesthouse's check-in certificate, Chen Kong and Mi Yao had slept the night in the utility room yesterday.
And this utility room wasn't always available for lodging; only these two days, after which it wouldn't be allowed.
Therefore, if Chen Kong and Mi Yao wanted to continue staying at the guesthouse in the future.
They would have to obtain a check-in certificate from the guesthouse.
But, recalling the noise in the guesthouse last night and the vague unease in his heart.
Chen Kong felt that this guesthouse might not be a place to stay long-term.
Perhaps they needed to accelerate their exploration of Longevity Island.
Before long, the three arrived at the front desk of the county guesthouse together.
The guesthouse owner was currently wiping the counter with a rag. Seeing their appearance, a perfunctory smile immediately appeared on his face.
"Are the three of you checking out? Just hand the utility room key to me."
Chen Kong handed over the key, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the ledger next to the guesthouse owner's hand. He saw that it was densely filled with guest information. Some names had red crosses next to them, while others had pale purple rose symbols.
Just as he was about to take another look, the guesthouse owner discreetly closed the ledger.
After leaving the Longevity County Guesthouse, the trio's first destination was the Longevity County Bank.
Currently, only Vivian among the three had exchanged for banknotes and was qualified to purchase items in Longevity County.
He and Mi Yao were penniless.
In a normal place, this would be fine, but in Longevity County, a place where 'life' was demanded everywhere.
Being penniless... would truly lead to death quickly.
Not long after leaving the guesthouse, Chen Kong suddenly stopped.
The street ahead was blocked by yellow caution tape. Several people in grey uniforms were guarding the intersection, their faces expressionless.
The street behind the tape was a mess. The walls were scorched black, the ground was scattered with charred fragments of flesh and blood, and there were several distinct blade marks.
Those were the flame burn marks characteristic of the Blood-Flame Demonic Blade.
Seeing this scene, Chen Kong immediately understood something.
Late last night, he had been woken up by a violent explosion in his sleep.
Mixed in with the noise were faint monster roars.
With a hint of curiosity, Chen Kong initially wanted to leave the utility room to see what had happened outside.
But the guesthouse owner reminded him that Longevity County had a curfew at night and advised against going out randomly.
Recalling the eerie residents in the county, the Wilfred they encountered upon first landing on the island, and those troublesome Corrupted Vine Corpses.
Chen Kong ultimately abandoned the risky move of leaving the guesthouse at night and went back to rest.
And this sealed street was clearly where the commotion from last night had occurred.
Looking at the situation behind the tape, Chen Kong frowned.
So... was Chen Xing fighting something in Longevity County last night?
Thinking this, Chen Kong spoke to Vivian and Mi Yao in a low voice.
Then he quickly walked to the caution tape and stopped a passing resident.
"Uncle, excuse me, what happened here last night?"
The resident's eyes were somewhat unfocused, as if reciting a pre-set line.
"Nothing, just a gas tank explosion. It burned a few shops."
A gas tank explosion could leave these kinds of blade marks?
Chen Kong looked at the marks left on the wall not far away and clearly didn't believe this excuse.
However, no matter how he questioned the resident afterwards, the resident couldn't provide any specific details about what happened last night.
After that, Chen Kong asked several more people, but the answers were all similar, so he eventually gave up and returned to Vivian and Mi Yao.
"How was it? Did you find anything?"
As soon as Vivian saw Chen Kong return, she asked.
Chen Kong shook his head.
"No, they weren't clear about what exactly happened here either."
Vivian thought for a moment about this answer, her gaze sweeping over the surrounding streets.
"But no matter how you look at it, this seems like Chen Xing's doing. We just don't know where she is now."
Chen Kong didn't speak.
He felt that if Chen Xing was alright, they should be able to find traces of her quickly in this small county.
But if they didn't find her, things would be troublesome.
Because since arriving at Longevity County, Chen Kong had noticed a very strange problem.
That is, although Longevity County was not large, why hadn't he encountered anyone else besides Vivian and Mi Yao so far?
Although many people had fallen victim to Wilfred upon first landing on the island.
Likewise, not a small number of people had survived.
Coupled with the complex environment around the county and the strange Corrupted Vine Corpses within it.
Logically speaking, the remaining trainees should be in the county by now. Why hadn't he encountered any of them?
Could it be that there was some hidden secret on Longevity Island that he hadn't yet discovered?
Just as Chen Kong was puzzled, Vivian patted his shoulder.
"Don't overthink it. Let's go to the county bank first. We can worry about other things after exchanging some money."
Chen Kong nodded, then followed Vivian toward the county bank.
While Chen Kong and the others were heading to the Longevity County Bank, the camera switched to Liu Ma and the others, who had been absent for a while.
"Isabelle, do you think we should really go to the bank? I feel..."
On a street in Longevity County, Liu Ma looked at Isabelle walking ahead of him and couldn't help but ask.
Isabelle frowned in response, "The guesthouse owner said yesterday that if we want to stay, we need a check-in certificate, and the only place in the county qualified to issue one is the county bank."
"No matter if it's a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, we must go there."
Although Liu Ma knew that was the situation, after the narrow escape yesterday and the difficulties posed by the Longevity County residents.
Liu Ma already understood the county's bizarre situation.
The people in this place seemingly only cared about money, but actually only recognized 'lifespan' and 'memories.'
Yet, Liu Ma didn't want to actually use those two things for transactions.
But given the current circumstances, they didn't seem to have many other choices.
And more than all of this, Liu Ma wanted to know where everyone else had gone.
Why had he only encountered Isabelle in this vast Longevity County so far?
Where were Chen Kong, Vivian, and even Tendo?
If Chen Kong and the others might have been stuck outside the county due to lack of strength.
What about Tendo, Caroline, and the others?
If he, Liu Ma, could reach the county, there was no reason the stronger Tendo and Caroline couldn't.
Or had they already arrived, but he just couldn't see them?
Similar confusion also arose in the minds of the Dimensional Audience on Site 13.
But this confusion was quickly resolved.
"We've arrived."
Isabelle looked at the county bank's front door and asked Liu Ma behind her without turning her head.
At the same time, the camera deliberately showed the time next to the bank door, which read [12:35].
And shortly after they arrived, Chen Kong and the others also reached the bank.
The time of their arrival, however, was [12:30].
In other words, they had arrived at the county bank before Isabelle and Liu Ma.
If everything went according to plan, the two groups should encounter each other soon.
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi