[Night, in an unknown cave on Longevity Island]
The grease from the roasted beast leg dripped onto the fire, making a gentle 'sizzle' sound. The orange-red firelight danced on the cave wall, stretching and shrinking the shadows of the two people.
Chen Kong squeezed the bandage on his arm. The cotton cloth carried a faint herbal scent.
It wasn't the pungent smell of Starlight Energy Potion, but more like the refreshing fragrance of some wild plants, clearly gathered by Mi Yao nearby on short notice.
He picked up the roasted beast leg from the banana leaf. The outer skin was roasted until fragrant and crispy, but when bitten into, the meat inside was surprisingly tender, with a slight salty tang from the seawater.
After a period of rest, the dizziness caused by the poison had significantly lessened for Chen Kong.
However, the spot on his back where the Rotten Vine Corpse had struck him still throbbed faintly. Every movement tugged at his ribs, making him involuntarily frown.
But more than all this, Chen Kong was actually more concerned about the situation at the landing point.
He clearly remembered that shortly after he left, there was a massive commotion coming from the landing point.
Although he knew that Tendo's current strength absolutely exceeded his imagination,
Wilfred's power was also plain for all to see.
Thinking of this, Chen Kong's thoughts slowly drifted away.
Not far across from him, Mi Yao leaned against a rock in the deepest part of the cave, his over-the-ear headphones hanging around his neck. He was holding a handheld game console and playing intently.
But halfway through the game, Mi Yao's peripheral vision caught sight of Chen Kong's worried expression and he couldn't help but make a snide remark: "Don't frown like an old man. So what if you couldn't beat some Level 2 Star Beasts? It's no big deal."
Hearing this, Chen Kong first snapped back to attention, then immediately retorted stubbornly: "I didn't not beat them, I was just poisoned."
As Chen Kong spoke, he took a vigorous bite of the roasted beast leg in his hand, mumbling: "And you know how troublesome those Rotten Vine Corpses are. Unless you destroy the core in their chest, those guys simply won't die."
Upon hearing this, Mi Yao put down his game console and began toying with the 'Revival Coin' in his hand.
The surface of the Revival Coin was engraved with complex pixel-style patterns, glowing with a faint purple light under the firelight.
"Compared to those Rotten Vine Corpses, that old guy at the landing point is clearly more troublesome."
Mi Yao paused, pressing his fingers to his temple.
"First, a mysterious Calamity-level old man, then the bizarre gray fog and the difficult monsters."
"No matter how you look at it, this Longevity Island is not a simple trial ground. Our journey here... might not be easy."
Seeing Mi Yao, who was also incredibly troubled by this trial, Chen Kong asked a question that was on his mind.
"If that's the case, how did you find me a little while ago?"
Mi Yao raised his handheld game console and displayed the screen to Chen Kong.
On the game screen, not only were there two small figures resembling them, but the map in the upper left corner showed many red dots symbolizing dangerous creatures, as well as simplified patterns of some terrain features.
"My 'game console' can play not only the 'games' already on the market but also some 'games' that I customize myself."
"Reality is part of the content I customized. After exploring the surrounding area to a certain extent, the gray fog you mentioned has become something like 'map fog' in a game to me."
"The location of the Rotten Vine Corpses will also be displayed in real-time as red light dots on my 'game screen,' providing continuous information."
Chen Kong raised his head in surprise, forgetting even to chew the meat in his mouth.
A moment later, he asked curiously: "Besides these, does your 'game console' have any other functions?"
"Even if it does, do you think I'd be silly enough to tell you?"
Seeing the look in Mi Yao's eyes that seemed to view him as an idiot, Chen Kong realized he had said something foolish.
Just as he would never tell anyone about 'Bai Kong' deep within his soul,
Mi Yao's Star Source, 'Arcade Master,' clearly had many unique abilities he hadn't yet demonstrated.
And Mi Yao wasn't the only one with secrets like this.
Having experienced the 'Sea Music Hall' storyline, Chen Kong knew very well that Jing Liuli calling them over was actually asking them to help her break through.
Although they didn't play much of a role in the process,
Through some subsequent casual chats, he understood that after that New Year's Eve concert, Jing Liuli clearly underwent some massive transformation.
And if Jing Liuli was like this, people like Tendo, Caroline, and his sister Chen Xing certainly also had their own trump cards and secrets unknown to outsiders.
Not lingering on this topic, Chen Kong simply skipped it and asked about something else.
"Since your 'game console' can draw a surrounding minimap and sense the presence of life around, can you find other people? Like how you found me."
The more people, the greater the strength.
This was a principle Chen Kong had heard from Tendo when he was a child.
Though Tendo himself had never practiced it.
However, Mi Yao's answer was somewhat unexpected for Chen Kong.
"Sorry, I can't find them."
Mi Yao explained: "My interface can only display 'hostile targets' and 'safe zones.' Live human signals are shielded by the gray fog."
"Unless they actively use their Star Source, the resulting energy fluctuations would mark a temporary red dot on the map, but that might also attract higher-level monsters. I'm not willing to take that risk."
Not long after Mi Yao finished speaking, the roars of several Rotten Vine Corpses suddenly came from outside the cave.
The sound was distant and indistinct, sounding like they were chasing some prey.
Hearing these roars, Chen Kong instinctively tried to stand up, his expression serious.
In contrast, Mi Yao casually picked up his palm-sized 'game console,' clicking on the display that showed a simple map of the island.
On the map, dense red dots were concentrated on the south shore, and their current location was marked with a green 'Safe Bonfire' icon.
"Don't panic. This cave has a 'Terrain Concealment' bonus. Those clumsy guys can't smell us."
Mi Yao calmly said this while manipulating a strange little character on the screen to move across the map: "The reason I could find you is because when you were sent flying by the Rotten Vine Corpse, your Starlight Energy fluctuation exploded like a firework. It would have been hard not to find you."
Upon receiving this answer, Chen Kong's originally tense mood completely relaxed.
And recalling Mi Yao's statement that reality was also a part of his 'game,' Chen Kong couldn't help but ask curiously: "Then, in your eyes, what kind of game is Longevity Island?"
Mi Yao thought for a moment before giving a vague, yet surprisingly apt, answer.
"Survival category. The difficulty... is medium to high, I'd say."
"Only medium to high?!"