This villain is too popular.

Chapter 429 The Hidden Rules

[Changsheng County - Late Night Streets]

The streetlights on the street at night had their lights blurred by the gray fog.

The old man with the goatee looked at the dust star not far away. His cracked skull transformed into pale purple tentacles, writhing like living snakes.

The sticky liquid on the tentacles dripped onto the bluestone slab, making a 'drip drip' sound, and gleamed eerily in the blood-flame firelight of the dust star.

“Outsider, you have broken the rules of Changsheng County.”

Shortly after the old man with the goatee finished speaking, the surrounding citizens slowly gathered around Chen Xing, their steps strangely synchronized.

Their joints cracked, their bodies twisted at angles that defied the laws of physics, and their foreheads split open with grotesque fissures, from which flesh and tissue surged and extended tentacles.

Two eerie green lights suddenly shone from the empty eye sockets, like will-o'-the-wisps in a graveyard.

Chen Xing didn't pay too much attention to this.

She suddenly gripped the hilt of the demon sword, and the flame patterns on the scabbard were ignited by her star energy, the orange-red flames reflecting on her cold and beautiful profile.

"rule?"

Chen Xing chuckled, and the moment the demon sword was drawn, a scorching wind swept out, burning black marks all around.

"Using lifespan as a bargaining chip, grinding living people into puppets without self, does this kind of filthy thing deserve to be called rules?"

"."

The vines on the old man's head with the goatee suddenly tightened, as if Chen Xing had hit a nerve with something he shouldn't have said.

Then he stopped talking and suddenly roared and waved his arms.

The next second, several tentacles stabbed towards Dust Star like spears, with barbs at the tips that gleamed with a deadly venomous light.

"Kill her! We can't let the secret get out!"

"You think you can compete with these defective products?"

Looking at the ferocious monster from Changsheng Island, Chen Xing lightly touched the ground with his toes, his body drawing a graceful arc in the air, dodging the tentacle attacks while his demonic blade unleashed crescent-shaped waves of fire.

Where the flames swept across, the air became scorching hot, and the fleshy tentacles of the citizens that reached out were instantly ignited, emitting a sizzling sound and accompanied by a nauseating smell of burning.

"Ahhh!"

Amidst the flames, screams of agony rose and fell, shattering the silence of the night.

The citizens ignited by the blood flames began to roll on the ground like fireballs, their bodies slowly melting as the flames burned, revealing the life cores coiled within.

As the dust settled, the demon sword spun in her palm, the flames on its blade casting a long shadow.

"Many people want to kill me, but you are not qualified."

Upon seeing this, the old man with the goatee suddenly curled up, and his fleshy tentacles grew wildly, instantly weaving into a huge net that enveloped Chen Xing.

The surface of the large net was covered with sticky substance, which did not immediately ignite when it came into contact with fire, but instead stuck the flames to the surface.

"Leave me alone!"

"Little tricks."

Chen Xing's eyes turned cold, and he poured all his star energy into the demon sword, causing the blade to suddenly burst out with a blinding light.

Blood Flame. Skybreaker!

The flames transformed into sharp blades, instantly cleaving the vine net in two, and with undiminished force, slashed at the core of the old man's flesh and blood.

boom!
A violent explosion rang out in the street, and green sap splattered all over the walls.

Soon, the eerie roar of the monster was gradually drowned out by the crackling sound of the flames and gradually subsided.

Meanwhile, at the Changsheng County Guesthouse

The lamp in room 601 was still on when Jing Liuli walked out of the bedroom, carrying a teddy bear.

She rubbed her eyes, a trace of sleepiness still clinging to her eyelashes.

Looking at Tiandao who seemed to be about to leave, Jing Liuli asked curiously, "Tiandao, where are you going? It's the middle of the night."

In response to Jing Liuli's question, Tiandao smiled and said, "Nothing, just going out to find something."

"Looking for something?"

Jing Liuli suddenly regained her senses.

"I'll go with you! It's not safe at night."

"I'll go with him."

Caroline emerged from the bathroom, a half-dry towel in her hand. She wiped the water droplets from her hair, her eyes resolute.

"It's good that there are two of them, so they can look after each other."

Faced with the two people's suggestion, Tiandao waved his hand.

"No need. Just guard the room and don't open the door no matter what you hear."

Seeing this, Caroline stopped insisting. Since Heaven had said so, there must be a reason for it. She would just have to comply unconditionally.

Seeing that Caroline had said so, Jing Liuli said no more.

After all, even the mighty Wilford couldn't defy the will of Heaven, so there probably aren't many things on this vast Island of Immortality that could truly threaten him.

"gone."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tiandao pushed open the door, turned around, and went downstairs.

The lobby of the guesthouse was dimly lit at night, with only the small light at the front desk still on.

The owner, wearing reading glasses, was busy organizing hotel information with an abacus.

Seeing that Tiandao seemed to be about to go out, he pushed up his glasses and said in a low voice, "Guest, the curfew in this county is no joke. It's best not to wander around at this time."

Tiandao paused, turned back and gave the innkeeper a meaningful look before pushing open the inn's door and walking out.

Before long, his figure disappeared completely into the deep night, leaving only the creaking sound of the door hinges.

The guesthouse owner gazed in the direction where the Heavenly Dao had disappeared and finally sighed silently.

Then, his fingers paused on the abacus for a moment, and he took out a black ledger from the drawer. After the name 'Tiandao', he lightly drew a pale purple rose symbol, as if hinting at something.

[The next day at noon, at the Changsheng County Guesthouse]

Sunlight streamed through the guesthouse windows, casting dappled shadows on the floor.

Vivian, dressed in a smart tactical uniform, walked to the door of the storage room in the hall and knocked on the door.

"Let's go, it's time to check out."

A short while later, the door to the storage room creaked open.

Chen Kong had messy hair and half-closed eyes, clearly not having had enough sleep.

He rubbed the bloodshot eyes and yawned.

"Is it time already?"

"If we dawdle any longer, the boss will kick us out."

Vivian shook her head helplessly, her gaze sweeping over Chen Kong's back.

Mi Yao was fast asleep, curled up in a corner of a pile of cardboard, clutching a game console, with drool almost dripping onto the buttons.

Upon seeing this, Chen Kong immediately understood and went over to call Mi Yao as well.

"Wake up, it's time to check out."

Soon, Mi Yao also woke up from his sleep.

Since they did not have a check-in certificate from the Changsheng County Guesthouse, Chen Kong and Mi Yao slept in the storeroom yesterday.

This storage room isn't a place where people can live all the time; it's only allowed for these two days, and not after that.

Therefore, if Chen Kong and Mi Yao wish to continue staying at the guesthouse, it will be necessary to decide whether to proceed.

Then they would need to obtain a guesthouse check-in voucher.

But recalling the commotion at the guesthouse last night, and the lingering unease in his heart, Chen Kong felt that this guesthouse might not be a place he could stay for long.

Perhaps they should accelerate their exploration of Changsheng Island.

Before long, the three of them arrived at the front desk of the county guesthouse.

At that moment, the guesthouse owner was wiping the counter with a rag. When he saw them, a formulaic smile immediately appeared on his face.

"Are you three checking out? Just give me the key to the storage room."

Chen Kong handed over the key, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the ledger beside the guesthouse owner. It was filled with guest information, some names marked with red crosses, others with pale purple rose symbols.

Just as he was about to take a second look, the guesthouse owner quietly closed the ledger.

After leaving the Changsheng County Guesthouse, the three's first destination was the bank in Changsheng County.

Of the three of them, only Vivian has exchanged her money for small change and is eligible to purchase goods in Changsheng County.

He and Mi Yao were penniless.

In a normal place, it would be fine, but in Changsheng County, a place where everything is a matter of life and death.

Without money, people can really die very quickly.

Chen Kong had only walked a short distance from the guesthouse when he suddenly stopped.

The street ahead was blocked off by yellow police tape, and several people in gray uniforms were guarding the intersection with expressionless faces.

The street behind the police line was a mess, the walls were charred black, and there were charred pieces of flesh and blood scattered on the ground, as well as several clear knife marks.

Those were the unique flame scorching marks of the Bloodflame Demon Blade.

Upon seeing this, Chen Kong immediately understood what was happening.

Late last night, he was asleep when he was awakened by a loud explosion.

The faint roars of monsters could be heard from within.

With a bit of curiosity, Chen Kong wanted to leave the storeroom and go outside to see what had happened.

However, the guesthouse owner reminded him that there was a curfew in Changsheng County at night and advised against going out unnecessarily.

Thinking of the strange citizens in this county, Wilford whom I encountered when I first arrived on the island, and those troublesome rotting vine corpses.

Chen Kong ultimately abandoned his risky plan to leave the guesthouse at night and went back to rest.

The street that is currently blocked off is clearly the place where the commotion occurred last night.

Looking at the situation behind the seal, Chen Kong frowned.

So, was it that last night, Chenxing was having a major battle with something in Changsheng County?
Thinking of this, Chen Kong lowered his head and said something to Vivian and Mi Yao.

He then quickly walked to the cordon and grabbed a passerby.

"Sir, may I ask what happened here last night?"

The citizens' eyes were somewhat unfocused, as if they were repeating pre-written lines.

"It's nothing, just a gas cylinder exploded and burned down a few shops."

A gas cylinder explosion can leave these knife marks?
Chen Kong looked at the marks left on the wall not far away and clearly did not believe the explanation at all.

However, no matter how he questioned the citizen, he could not recall the specific details of what happened there last night.

After that, Chen Kong asked several more people, but the answers were all similar, so he had no choice but to give up and return to Vivian and Mi Yao.

"So, did you find out?"

As soon as Vivian saw Chen Kong return, she asked him a question.

Chen Kong shook his head.

"No, they don't know exactly what happened here either."

Vivian pondered for a moment upon receiving this answer, her gaze sweeping over the surrounding streets.

"But no matter how you look at it, it seems like Chen Xing did this. I just don't know where she is now."

Chen Kong remained silent.

He felt that if Chen Xing was alright, he should be able to find traces of her in this small county town very soon.

But if we can't find it, things will get a bit complicated.

Since arriving in Changsheng County, Chen Kong has discovered a very strange problem.

So, even though Changsheng County isn't very big, why hasn't he encountered anyone other than Vivian and Mi Yao so far?

Although many people perished at Wilford's hands when they first landed on the island.

However, quite a few people also survived.

In addition, there is the complex environment surrounding the county town, as well as the eerie rotting vine corpses within it.

Logically speaking, the remaining trainees should have arrived in this county by now, so why haven't he encountered them yet?

Could it be that there are some secrets about this Longevity Island that he has not yet discovered?
Just as Chen Kong was racking his brains trying to figure it out, Vivian patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't think about it anymore. Go to the county bank first, exchange some money, and then we can consider other things."

Chen Kong nodded, and then followed Vivian toward the county bank.

While Chen Kong and the others were on their way to the Changsheng County Bank, the anime's camera panned to Liu Ma and the others who had disappeared for some time.

"Isabel, do you think we really need to go to that bank? I feel..."

On the streets of Changsheng County, Liu Ma looked at Isabel walking ahead of him and couldn't help but ask.

In response, Isabel frowned and said, "The owner of that guesthouse said yesterday that if you want to stay at the hotel, you need a check-in voucher, and the only place in this county that is qualified to issue such vouchers is the county bank."

"Whether it's a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, we must go there."

Although I knew that this was the situation, after yesterday's experience of escaping and being harassed by the citizens of Changsheng County,

Liu Ma already knew about the strange situation in this county.

The people here seem to only care about money, but in reality, they only care about 'lifespan' and 'memory'.

However, Liu Ma didn't want to actually trade these two items.

But given the current situation, they don't seem to have many other options.

More than anything else, Liu Ma wanted to know where everyone else had gone.

Why is it that in this vast Changsheng County, he has only encountered Isabel so far?

Where did Chen Kong, Vivian, and even Tian Dao go?
If Chen Kong and his group were to be trapped outside the county town due to insufficient strength, then...

But what about people like Tiandao and Caroline?

If even Liu Ma could come to the county town, there's no reason why the even stronger Tiandao Caroline and others wouldn't be able to.

Or have they already arrived, but we just can't see them?

Similar questions arose in the minds of viewers on all 13 stations.

However, this question was soon answered.

"Here we are."

Isabel looked at the entrance of the county bank in front of her and asked Liu Ma behind her without turning her head.

Meanwhile, the camera also deliberately showed the time next to the bank's entrance, which was clearly [12:35].

Shortly after their arrival, Chen Kong and the others also arrived.

As for the time of his arrival, it was [12:30].

In other words, they arrived at the county bank before Isabel and Liu Ma.

If nothing unexpected happens, the two groups should meet soon.