"An important announcement is being released now."
Suddenly, the livestream device emitted a sharp "beep beep" sound. Mu Qingyun instinctively lowered her head to check the livestream window. She scrolled up, searching through the recent comments.
Before she could find the comment about the new rule, the cold, mechanical female voice of the device interrupted her.
"An important announcement is now being released. Starting today, virtual creatures will be released. Each team is required to defeat one thousand virtual creatures. The earlier the team reaches this target, the earlier they may leave the deserted island."
"Three months later, participants will be allowed to steal virtual creature points from each other. If necessary, players may kill one another. However, participants can press the distress signal button on their livestream devices for help."
As the emotionless, mechanical voice recited these words, a bright yellow touchscreen button appeared immediately on the livestream interface.
"We hereby remind all participants that while the trial is important, life is more valuable. If you encounter danger beyond your capacity to endure, please press the distress button immediately. Failure to do so will be at your own risk."
After a brief pause, the mechanical voice repeated the announcement twice more before falling silent.
The moment the announcement ended, the previously quiet disturbance outside the cave resumed.
"Hisssss—"
The hiss of snakes echoed sharply within the cave. The rustling sound of serpents sliding across the ground sent shivers down the spine.
Soon enough, the source of the noise revealed itself.
A king cobra appeared. Its body was far larger than an ordinary snake's, its scales shimmering with strange, mutated colors that made it seem like a creature from a nightmare.
"I will go!"
Before Mu Qingyun could say anything, Fan Xuanye stepped forward. His form shifted into the shape of a bamboo pit viper, appearing even larger than the king cobra.
Both snakes hissed loudly and charged at each other simultaneously.
They opened their blood-red maws wide, each desperately seeking the vulnerable spot on the other's body to strike a lethal bite.
Evolution truly made a difference. Compared to Fan Xuanye, the king cobra was insignificant.
When Fan Xuanye bit down on the king cobra's fatal point, the virtual creature instantly disintegrated into countless golden sand particles, drifting away in the wind.
At the same moment, a bright "1" appeared on the livestream device on Mu Qingyun's wrist. The number hovered conspicuously above her head, impossible to miss.
She furrowed her brow. This digital point display was quite the provocation—it was clearly designed to incite fierce competition among the participants.
Even though defeating one thousand virtual creatures within three months would prevent this competition, reaching one thousand meant killing at least ten or so per day.
Whether they could kill that many daily, or if that many virtual creatures would even appear, was uncertain.
"Awesome," Xiong Ruoyou said distractedly, noticing the change on Mu Qingyun's device. Then she turned to Mu Qingyun, her face brimming with excitement. "Mu Ge, let's hurry up and collect a thousand points. I am already eager to bring you back to my home."
"Hm, I look forward to it," Mu Qingyun replied calmly, showing little reaction.
[Wow, they are such a perfect match!]
[I do not get it. Mu Qingyun's attitude is so cold and indifferent—where is the passion?]
[You don't understand. If you cannot see it, please stop complaining. We CP fans know what we are talking about.]
[Yes, yes, you do not get it. You all are so high and mighty but keep yelling here. Mu Ge never said she liked silly Xiong, so why are you all making a fuss?]
[Who are you calling silly?]
[Ha, whoever replies is the one I mean. What? Your master has not spoken yet, but you are so eager to shout? People might think silly Xiong pays your salary.]
...
With the new rule announced, virtual creatures began appearing in geometric progression. Almost every day, seven or eight virtual creatures appeared near their cave entrance.
The virtual creatures grew stronger and stronger. After each battle, they were exhausted—barely able to spare energy or time for hunting food outside.
"My goodness, this new military school rule is utterly brutal. One thousand kills? How long will this take?" Xiong Ruoyou looked down at the wounds on her arm and sighed helplessly.
Hearing this, Mu Qingyun looked up at her, sharing the same helpless expression.
When they had defeated the king cobra so easily, she had thought all subsequent virtual creatures would be similar in strength.
She had been wrong. The second virtual creature to appear after the king cobra was so powerful it was almost absurd. The four of them had to cooperate closely just to barely win.
"The military school is forcing us to steal other teams' creature points after three months," Mu Qingyun said calmly, a flame flickering in her right hand.
She stared at the sparks crackling in the fire and frowned slightly. She had heard that the military school's top commander, Su Qiluo, had abilities over light and water—water to aid plants, and light to aid both plants and fire.
If she could meet Su Qiluo in the future, and the two of them cultivated their powers together, it would be twice the effort for half the work.
Based on her current cultivation, becoming one of the strongest on this planet in a short time was still difficult.
"Then we will steal," Su looked up at the group. "Resources on this planet have never been abundant. Have we not been competing for others' resources since birth?"
"But this time, we have to kill people," Xiong Ruoyou frowned. If they wanted to steal others' resources, those others would not simply wait quietly—they would fight to the death.
The gruesome scene of the cat-men massacre might repeat itself before their eyes.
"Still afraid to kill?" Mu Qingyun glanced at her lazily. "Fine, then you lead the formation during the battle three months from now."
"Hm?" Xiong Ruoyou turned her neck at an exaggerated angle, mouth open in disbelief. "Why me?"
"No reason," Mu Qingyun replied, leaning back in her seat with closed eyes, clearly signaling she did not want to be disturbed while cultivating.
The conversation ended instantly with Mu Qingyun's silence. Su glanced at the three of them, then raised a hand to turn off the livestream device and stood, walking toward the cave entrance.
"Beep beep beep."
Taking out the communicator from his sleeve, Su's eyes were calm and unruffled. His gaze lazily swept a virtual creature nearby that was staring at him intently. A faint smirk curved his lips.
"Go away."
The virtual creature hesitated, then quickly turned and fled.
"Finally reached you, Qiluo. Is the successor you mentioned the Mu Qingyun on your team?" A gentle male voice came through the communicator, amid some faint background noise.
"Why is it so noisy?" Without answering the question, Su tossed a question back.