[Martial Heaven Capital, Heavenly Martial Training Base, Public Rest Area]
The afternoon sun streamed through the porthole, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow across the metal long tables of the public rest area. Fine dust motes danced in the air, illuminated clearly by the rays.
Since the conclusion of the Longevity Island trials, the students had briefly returned to a relatively stable routine of cultivation and study. However, the sheer brutality of the trials had sounded a sharp alarm in many of their hearts, prompting them to cultivate with even greater fervor.
Among them, naturally, were Chen Kong and his companions.
As the camera zoomed in, the protagonist of Stars, Chen Kong—who had been absent for an entire episode—reappeared before the interdimensional audience. In the frame, he was seated in the rest area, intently watching a video. The footage playing was of his previous battles on Longevity Island. Although these were events of the past, Chen Kong continued to find areas for improvement through constant review.
On the other side, Vivian was, for some reason, cradling a yellowed book on Old Era star energy theory, reading it with great concentration.
In contrast to the quiet on their side, the nearby simulated training field was quite noisy. The shouts of Liu Ma and the rhythmic clashing of metal gauntlets rang out intermittently. On the training ground, Liu Ma threw a straight punch at Isabelle's ice shield. Not only did he fail to break her defense, but the impact left his own palm numbed from the recoil.
He didn't seem to mind, however, and grinned widely. "Isabelle, I promised to help you brush up on your close-quarters combat, but I can't help you if you keep doing this."
Isabelle thought for a moment before replying, "You have a point."
With those words, Isabelle voluntarily dispelled her Absolute Zero star source and began engaging in the hand-to-hand combat she was less skilled in. In this regard, the gap between Isabelle and Liu Ma was like that between a university student and a primary schooler; she stood no chance. But to improve, one had to patch up their weaknesses bit by bit. Otherwise, should she encounter a situation like Longevity Island again, she would have no choice but to pray for a miracle.
As the main group worked on their respective tasks to elevate themselves, an unexpected person appeared.
From the other side of the rest area, An Qin—whom Tendo and Caroline had flagged as a "human traitor"—walked in, carrying a silver-gray metal briefcase. The surface of the case bore the bas-relief emblem of the Star Envoy Association, which looked somewhat dull in the shifting light.
Unlike her relatively low-profile appearance when she first debuted, An Qin seemed to have found a new "part-time job" within the training zone. She had changed into the standard white lab coat of the training base, and her long, light-brown hair, which previously obscured her eyes, was now tied back in a low ponytail, giving her a much more cheerful and energetic look.
She approached the table where Chen Kong and Vivian were sitting and stopped about half a meter from Chen Kong.
"Is there a seat available here?"
Chen Kong, who was focused on analyzing his battle footage, instinctively looked up. Seeing that it was An Qin, he blinked in surprise before answering, "There's space, please sit."
"Thank you."
An Qin offered a polite thanks and took the seat opposite Chen Kong and Vivian. Her appearance was clearly no coincidence.
Vivian set down her book and asked, "Is there something you need from us?"
An Qin did not hide her intentions. "There are a few things."
As she spoke, An Qin displayed her recently acquired "part-time certificate." It was remarkably from the Field Operations Department of the Star Envoy Association Headquarters. While it was only for field personnel, such an identity was not easily obtained—especially considering An Qin was still a contestant in the "Stellar Canopy Ladder Rankings."
Looking at the certificate, Vivian immediately made a connection. "With this part-time job, you should have access to the latest intelligence on the Fallen Zones, right?"
"Yes." An Qin nodded, following Vivian's lead. "You all know about the 'Tower Climbing' at the Heavenly Martial Training Base—the so-called Fallen Zone explorations. For most of us, every exploration is dangerous. That's why I went out of my way to obtain this status—to select Fallen Zones that match my current strength as much as possible, so I can complete the basic exploration requirements of the rankings."
"Just a short while ago, I discovered a fairly good Fallen Zone, but... it would be impossible for me to explore it successfully alone."
Hearing this, Chen Kong and Vivian understood immediately. An Qin had approached them because she wanted to form a team. During the previous Explorer credential examination, they had seen An Qin's capabilities and knew she wasn't just some random background character. Her strength was definitely in the middle-to-upper tier among the current students, making her a solid teammate.
However, despite being intrigued by An Qin's suggestion, they did not rush to commit.
Vivian thought for a moment and said, "Can we see the data on that Fallen Zone first?"
"Of course." An Qin nodded, placed the briefcase on the table, and pressed the fingerprint unlock button on the side. With a soft click, the internal projection device activated, and a 3D map of a Fallen Zone named "Bone Desert" hovered before them.
On the map, the yellow dunes and gray rocks of the Bone Desert were clearly visible. A flashing green coordinate on the edge was particularly striking, surrounded by blue lines marking the "Safe Zone."
An Qin pointed at the holographic map and began to explain seriously. "This is an Old Era energy ruin located on the edge of the Bone Desert. Three months ago, the headquarters' vanguard cleared the core area. The remaining Star Beasts are mostly Rank 1 and Rank 2 Sand Wolves and Rock Lizards—moderate in strength."
She tapped the cluster of buildings in the center of the map. "This is a section of Old Era architectural ruins that hasn't been fully explored. The vanguard evaluated it as having Rank 3 Star Beasts at most; no Calamity-class beasts will appear."
An Qin looked at Chen Kong and Vivian and said earnestly, "While the vanguard consists of experienced veteran Star Envoys, we can't fully trust their word. After all, the greatest trait of a Fallen Zone is unpredictability. Therefore, I've made some worst-case preparations—specifically, the possibility that a Star Beast above Calamity-class might appear in the unexplored area."
An Qin paused and said solemnly, "Association regulations state that unless permitted otherwise, a standard Fallen Zone exploration requires at least five people. Although I've looked for others during this time, they either already have fixed teams or are unwilling to group with me. So... are you interested in this 'Bone Desert'?"
Vivian and Chen Kong considered it seriously. Purely from a risk-assessment standpoint, the Bone Desert was indeed an excellent location. Even though An Qin mentioned the possibility of a Calamity-class beast, such a risk existed in any Fallen Zone. Therefore, while the danger was present, it wasn't overwhelming—especially since a portion of it had already been explored by a vanguard. Its safety profile was much higher than other Fallen Zones. It was a low-risk area perfectly suited for their level.
That said, Vivian was still in no hurry to give An Qin an answer. She leaned forward slightly, her gaze locked onto the green coordinates on the map. Her fingers tapped the table in a steady, rhythmic cadence—a habit of hers when deep in thought.
After a moment, Vivian looked up at An Qin, her eyes sharp and focused. "Is the star energy fluctuation in this Fallen Zone stable?"
An Qin tapped the control panel of the briefcase a few times. Soon, an encrypted detection report was projected before them. The front page of the report bore the red seal of the headquarters' vanguard, with a clearly verifiable ID number. "This is the detailed report submitted by the vanguard. It shows that the star energy fluctuations in the ruins area are stable within a safety range of ±2."
"Only fluctuations of up to Rank 2 beasts..." Hearing An Qin's words, Vivian slowly began to reach a decision.
Perhaps sensing that Vivian was swayed, An Qin added in a timely manner, "Vivian, although two-thirds of the Bone Desert has been explored, if we can complete the exploration of the remaining third, we can still earn a reward of about two thousand Heavenly Martial Coins."
"Two thousand Heavenly Martial Coins?" Chen Kong blurted out in surprise. Two thousand Heavenly Martial Coins was no small sum; it was enough to improve their strength by roughly a third. At this, Chen Kong was immediately interested and turned to look at Vivian.
To his surprise, however, Vivian chose that moment to throw a bucket of cold water on the idea. "Sorry, let me interrupt for a second." She pointed to the timestamp in the corner of the report. "If I'm not mistaken, this report was generated three days ago. And at 4:15 PM yesterday, I specifically searched the headquarters' database for suitable Fallen Zones, and I didn't find anything related to the Bone Desert."
"How can a Fallen Zone—one that doesn't even have a record of a vanguard stationed there—suddenly produce a complete detection report? This doesn't seem to follow standard procedure."
Vivian's suspicion was not without merit. Normally, the Association's Fallen Zone exploration process followed three steps: "Submit Exploration Request," "Complete Exploration," and "Submit Exploration Report." If everything were normal, even if Vivian hadn't found the report yesterday, she should have seen the "Exploration Request" for the Bone Desert. But in reality, she had seen nothing.
One should not underestimate the memory of a cybernetic Star Envoy. Vivian was certain she had collected no news regarding the Bone Desert yesterday.
An Qin quickly offered an explanation. "That's because although the report was completed three days ago, the final version was only submitted by the vanguard at 6:20 PM yesterday evening. The headquarters' database has a 12-hour synchronization delay. You must have checked right during the update gap, which is why you missed it."
To prove her words, she immediately pulled up her authorization credentials. A golden icon for "Vanguard Direct Liaison Authority" appeared clearly on the holographic projection. "As part-time logistics personnel, part of my job involves communicating with vanguard members, which is how I was able to obtain this vital intel in advance."
At this, even Vivian had no further questions. An Qin's answer was perfectly logical.
Since that was the case...
"Fine. Give us the meeting time."
Seeing that Vivian had agreed, An Qin immediately said, "Tomorrow morning at 6:00 AM. Meet at the Star Energy Ship bay. The ship is the Explorer 7."
"I will prepare all 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 added, "If you're still uneasy, Vivian, you can check the database again after midnight. The update will definitely be finished by then. If there are any issues, contact me through the mission system anytime."
With that, she closed her briefcase and turned to leave.
Once An Qin had gone, Liu Ma and Isabelle walked over. Watching An Qin's retreating figure, Liu Ma—who had overheard the conversation from a distance—remarked, "I've seen her before. Though she feels a bit strange, overall, she seems like a pretty good person. Don't you think so, Chen Kong?"
Chen Kong blinked, caught off guard by Liu Ma's question, and replied helplessly, "Yeah, I was briefly teamed up with her during the Explorer credential exam. She's decent enough."
To their surprise, Vivian suddenly countered, "But I still feel she's a bit odd. She gives me a different feeling than the other students."
"In what way?" Chen Kong asked curiously, clearly not understanding the reason behind Vivian's "oddness."
After thinking for a moment, Vivian shook her head. "I have no substantive evidence; it's just a feeling."
Chen Kong laughed. "If it's just a feeling, we can observe her later. Besides, all the paperwork she showed is legitimate. The headquarters' seal can't be forged, and the mission rewards and difficulty are very suitable for us."
Before Chen Kong could finish, Vivian interjected, "That's precisely why I agreed. After all, opportunities this good... don't come often."
Hearing their dialogue, Liu Ma and Isabelle understood completely. Although Vivian had reservations about An Qin as a person, she was very interested in the "Bone Desert" she had proposed. Ultimately, after weighing the pros and cons, she agreed to team up and explore the desert.
As for Vivian's decision, Liu Ma and the others had no objections. After all, for them, this was also an excellent opportunity.
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