This villain is too popular.

Chapter 440 The Monster Jungle Beyond the Space-Time Rift [4000 words]

[Early morning of the fifth day, underground vault of the county bank]

Buzz.
In the quiet underground vault, the aftershocks of mysterious energy still echoed from the vault's dome, and rubble fell from the broken ceiling, crashing onto the remains of the rotting vine serpent.

Chen Kong slumped in the pile of rubble, his hands braced against the rocks behind him, his palms aching from the sharp stone chips.

His chest heaved violently, and each breath brought a dull pain to his ribs.

The pressure that had almost crushed my bones when I was entangled by the giant snake had not completely dissipated, and the sour, rotten taste of the vine sap still lingered in my throat, even my saliva tasted astringent.

However, more curious about the sudden appearance of that mysterious energy fluctuation than about his own superficial injuries, he was curious about what it was.

He looked up at the distance and saw that the once invincible monster serpent had now turned into countless withered gray-green vines. Fragments covered in corrosive sap fell to the ground, quickly losing moisture and crumbling into powder that could be crushed at the slightest touch.

"So... what exactly happened just now?"

Chen Kong raised his hand to wipe the dust off his face, wiped the dried blood from the corner of his mouth with his right hand, and spoke with lingering fear.

His heart still pounded uncontrollably whenever he recalled the torrent of energy that pierced through the sinkhole.

That force was so strong that even the aftershocks almost caused his entire body's star energy to dissipate.

What concerned him even more was that within that violent energy, he clearly detected a familiar 'vector aura,' exactly the same as the fluctuations when the Heavenly Dao manipulated stellar energy.

At the same time, when the torrent of energy crashed into the giant serpent, even space itself rippled, as if two gods were colliding in a distant time and space, the residual force of which flattened the threat in front of them.

"It's definitely the work of Heaven."

Mi Yao leaned against the steel bars beside him, blood seeping through the bandage on his shoulder.

He bit open the tab of the energy drink, took a big gulp, and analyzed, "But besides the vector control of the Heavenly Dao, there was also a very domineering sense of devouring in that energy. It seems that this energy was generated after the battle between the Heavenly Dao and that person."

Chen Kong nodded in response to Mi Yao's words, then took out a Dream Candy from his pocket and ate it.

When they first arrived on the island, Jing Liuli left three Dream Candies for everyone, just in case.

The healing power contained in the Dream Candy flowed through his body, slowly repairing the fractures in his ribs, so much so that his originally pale complexion began to become radiant at a visible speed.

During their rest, Vivian shared her assessment.

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be residual energy that accidentally spilled out from other spacetime layers."

Her android pupils flashed with a pale blue scanning light as she slowly walked to the location of the giant snake's corpse and crouched down.

Touching the faintly visible energy film on the ground in front of him, he analyzed confidently: "My quantum detector shows that the spacetime coordinates here briefly overlapped three minutes ago, like two pages of paper being forcibly pressed together, with ink seeping into the other page."

"what do you mean……"

Mi Yao suddenly sat up straight, squeezing the energy drink can out of shape.

"Brother Tiandao encountered a similar situation in the 'space-time interlayer' where he is. Was that force just now an aftershock of their battle, 'seeping' into us through the gaps in the overlapping space-time?"

Vivian turned around, and the smart circuitry behind her ear emitted a steady blue light, with data rapidly updating on her retina.

"The probability is over 70%. The essence of the cycle on Changsheng Island is the disorder of the spacetime anchor point. The spacetime layering in different areas is inherently unstable, and high-intensity battles can easily trigger this kind of 'energy leakage'."

Vivi paused for a moment, then added, "Moreover, that devouring energy has a 63% overlap with the 'Gluttony' star source characteristics of President Ennet in the Star Envoy Association's data."

"The Grand Master? He's come to Eternal Life Island?"

Mi Yao's eyes widened, feeling that Vivian's analysis sounded utterly absurd and audacious.

After all, if Ennet really came here, then what need would there be for people like them to explore the Island of Immortality?
Ennet alone is enough to wipe out the entire Immortal Island countless times.

Perhaps even Vivian felt her deduction was somewhat absurd, so she shook her head and said, "It's just a judgment, it doesn't necessarily mean it's accurate."

"But in either case, one thing is certain: Tiandao and his group have definitely gotten ahead of us a long time ago."

Now, no one regards the exploration of Changsheng Island as a trial anymore.

After all, how can two-thirds of the trainees die in the trial and the remaining third still be missing?

Given the intensity of this trial, it would be a stroke of good luck if they could just get out of here alive.

But the more bizarre the trial process, the more it demonstrates the strength of the Heavenly Dao group.

Although they did not know where Tiandao and the others were or what they were doing.

But just from that exaggerated energy aftershock, they realized that what Tiandao and the others were doing was something that ordinary people could hardly imagine.

"As expected, this world of monsters is something that we ordinary people simply cannot imagine or understand."

Chen Kong couldn't help but smile, which aggravated his rib injury, causing him to gasp in pain.

Seeing his worried look, Mi Yao said sarcastically, "Stop lamenting. You're lucky you even survived."

Chen Kong did not refute, because he knew that what Mi Yao said was true.

Not to mention that Mi Yao really saved his life just now, so it's no big deal for him to make fun of him a couple of times.

After resting for a while, Chen Kong tried to move his body and felt that apart from the dull pain in his ribs, the superficial wounds on his limbs were beginning to heal under the nourishment of the energy from the Dream Candy.

He looked up at Mi Yao and asked with concern, "How are you? Is your shoulder injury serious?"

"Small idea."

Mi Yao patted his bandaged shoulder. Although his face was still a little pale, his eyes were bright.

Perhaps sensing Chen Kong's thoughts, Mi Yao said expressionlessly, "Put away that disgusting expression of yours. I wasn't thinking much just now. I just felt that with one less person, my subsequent exploration would be much more dangerous, that's all."

Chen Kong smiled but didn't say anything.

He realized that although Mi Yao was always sharp-tongued, he wouldn't easily betray his teammates when things really got tough.

As Chen Kong was thinking this, Vivian suddenly stepped forward and, amidst his somewhat embarrassed expression, placed her hand on his chest.

"A minor fracture of the third rib, no internal injury, and the external wound is healing."

After confirming that Chen Kong's body was alright, Vivian withdrew her hand.

"Ten-minute break before we set off, okay?"

"no problem."

Chen Kong stood up, patted the dust off his tactical uniform, and pebbles and vine debris fell off.

He looked into the depths of the vault, where the spatial rift was clearer than before. What was originally just a thin crack had now expanded to allow three people to pass side by side. The edges of the rift shimmered with pale purple spacetime energy, like a flowing galaxy.

On the other side of the crack, a dense black canopy can be vaguely seen.

The damp, earthy scent, mixed with a strange floral fragrance, drifted in through the cracks, creating a stark contrast to the putrid stench inside the vault.

Vivian's scanning beam pierced through the crack, her brow furrowing slightly: "The energy fluctuations on the other side are very stable, but the biosignals are extremely dense, and... it probably won't be much easier than this county town." Mi Yao crushed the empty energy drink can and stuffed it into his tactical backpack.

"No matter how dangerous it is, that's our only 'exit'."

As he spoke, Mi Yao shook the game console in his hand, and the 'mission guide' arrow on the screen was jumping towards the crack.

"Not to mention that all our clues point precisely to that place. If we want to leave this eerie island, that's the place we have to go."

"Yes."

As Chen Kong continued speaking, he looked out at the unfamiliar jungle beyond the crack.

"Let's go. It's already the sixth day since we landed on the island. There are less than two days left until the seven days the raccoon manager mentioned."

"In addition to finding a way to leave here, we also need to ensure that we board the departing ship on time."

"Otherwise, I can't guarantee I'll live to see the next seventh day."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Kong took the lead and walked towards the spatial rift. His tactical boots made a steady sound as they stepped on the ground.

Mi Yao and Vivian followed closely behind, the faint glow of the smart machine and the eerie green light of the game console intertwining to form a small band of light at the edge of the crack.

The moment the three figures stepped completely into the crevice, the aftershocks of the vault behind them vanished completely, and the falling rubble stopped, as if the thrilling battle just now was merely a fleeting illusion left behind by the overlap of time and space.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the rift, a mysterious jungle shrouded in darkness and the fragrance of flowers is slowly unfolding its full form.

The moment the three of them passed through the crevice, a rich scent of grass and trees wafted over them, moistened by the morning dew.

Chen Kong subconsciously squinted. Before him was a dense forest, with the branches of towering ancient trees entwined with pale purple rose vines, and the ground covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves that rustled underfoot.

Not far ahead of them, a wild boar the size of a large truck lay on the ground.

The wild boar's skin was covered with fine vines, and there was a precise through wound between its eyebrows, from which pale green sap was seeping.

"This is……"

Mi Yao squatted down and reached out to touch the wild boar's carcass, which was still warm.

"A single, fatal blow; the technique was clean and swift."

The monstrous boar before them was in a highly similar state to the giant snake in the vault, clearly indicating that it had undergone the same mutation.

Although they didn't know the boar's exact strength, just by comparing its size to the giant snake in the vault, they knew that this guy was probably no ordinary creature.

"Let's go. I have a feeling that the situation here is more complicated and dangerous than we think."

"Ah."

After observing for a while, the three set off again.

As they ventured deeper into the unfamiliar jungle, more and more monster corpses appeared before them.

Among these monster corpses were 'Rotten Vine Wolves' charred black by lightning, with not a single patch of good skin to be found on their bodies.

The wounds on it were as smooth as a mirror, as if it had been decapitated by a sharp blade.

There were also 'vine spiders' with no wounds on their bodies, yet they were completely lifeless, as if they had been killed in their sleep.

"It must be Liuli's doing."

Seeing the spider's dead state, Chen Kong, who was familiar with Jing Liuli's abilities, immediately gave his assessment.

"Ah."

Vivian nodded, then carefully observed the numerous corpses in front of her, her brain's quantum information database frantically mobilizing the files of other trainees.

"The electric shock to char the skin was probably Caroline's method, while the clean and swift execution was probably the work of Heaven."

"Judging from the degree of decomposition of these corpses, these monsters have been dead for at least a day."

"In other words, Tiandao and the others should have arrived here a day earlier than us."

As she finished speaking, Vivian stood up and looked into the depths of the jungle.

The rose vines there were even denser, and the pale purple petals shimmered in the woods, like stars scattered on the branches.

"Let's go. If we keep following these tracks, we should be able to rejoin the others soon."

Chen Kong nodded, then followed Vivian's gaze.

In the distance in that direction, there are obvious traces of a major battle.

The corpses of all sorts of strange monsters were scattered along the roadside, and the dense vines had been neatly cut down to clear a path, clearly indicating that someone had deliberately cleared the area.

The purpose is to point out a clear route and direction for those who come later.

Although they were not yet clear about what lay ahead, they had absolute faith in the will of Heaven.

Both Chen Kong and Mi Yao noticeably quickened their pace.

After all, Heaven has proven time and again that no problem is a problem in its presence.

With this in mind, the three of them quickly followed the road and moved forward.

To their surprise, the first people they encountered on this road were not the Heavenly Dao, but two acquaintances.

boom!
Liu Ma forced the mutated gorilla in front of him back with a punch, then turned to look in Isabel's direction.

At that moment, Isabel was surrounded by a group of strange-looking little monkeys.

These little monkeys are covered in special vines and have bright red eyes.

Although their star energy level is not high, they are all agile and have amazing vitality.

Even severed hands and feet can gradually recover over time, which is quite troublesome.

"Damn it, these monsters are like cockroaches, we can't seem to get rid of them all!"

Isabel froze two of the little monkeys, then couldn't help but curse.

These little monkeys were clearly no special in strength, but they managed to disgust her with their vitality that was completely disproportionate to their level.

She had never seen such an unreasonable being, seemingly weak, yet possessing an incredibly tenacious vitality.

It takes a lot of effort to kill each one.

Despite her complaints, Vivian still focused her main attention on Liu Ma.

Because the vitality of these monsters is directly proportional to their size!

(End of this chapter)