Chapter 200 146: This Guy Couldn't Be...

But that had little to do with how the players were feeling.

"Other than the weather, the anchored island's terrain is no different from the one in the instance."

"Brother Lang originally had one, too, but not long after it was anchored, other players rushed over and killed it. So if you want to fight the boss, you still have to go into the instance."

Li Miao explained as he organized his inventory.

"You little shit!"

An angry voice rang out as Shore grabbed Li Miao by the collar.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Why did you delete me?"

"…" Li Miao scratched his head and gave a sheepish smile. "My friends list was full."

Shore's eye twitched, a vein throbbing on his forehead. "Then couldn't you have just deleted someone unimportant? A full one hundred friend slots—don't tell me you actually talk to every single person on there!"

At that, Li Miao actually gave it some serious thought before nodding. "I do, in fact."

Shore's vision went black with rage, and he instinctively raised his hand.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I was just kidding! It was just easier that way!" Li Miao quickly backed down.

After finishing his preparations, which included clearing out his friends list, Li Miao stood up.

"All right, I have to head out to sea," Li Miao said, now all packed. "I'd suggest you save up enough money to activate all the features before trying to clear the instance."

"But if you're looking for a challenge, then hey, do whatever you want."

"If there's anything you don't understand, you can message me."

"Okay," Gray Sky nodded.

With that, Li Miao and Shore headed for the waters just off the coast of Seaside Town.

After they left, Gray Sky turned his gaze to the anchored Seaside Town. After a moment of thought, he walked into one of its small alleys. At every corner, he would stop, frowning in deep thought for a long while…

Meanwhile, Li Miao and Shore had already reached the port. After confirming their direction, they summoned their upgraded Spirit Fire Sails, ready to depart.

But just then, Shore suddenly froze, looking back in surprise.

Seeing his reaction, Li Miao also glanced back, confused.

Then his eyes met with those of Gray Sky, the very person they had just parted ways with a few minutes ago.

"…Bro, you don't have to see us off this far. You're being too polite." 'He must be here to see me off,' Li Miao figured.

"…" Staring at the two of them, Gray Sky also seemed a little surprised, but he maintained a calm expression and nodded. "Safe travels."

With that, he turned around crisply and disappeared into the endless rows of residential alleys in Seaside Town.

"That dude talks like an NPC, ha-ha," Shore couldn't help but laugh.

The two of them bantered for another moment before setting off.

Once touched by the Spirit Fire, the sails unfurled with a WHOOSH. A Formless force, like the wind, began to push their two Spirit Fire Sails forward.

"Wahoo! Now *this* is what I call a boat!"

Shore cheered as the wind blew past him.

"The Spirit Fire Sail will get faster and faster! Keep it under control, and don't crash into the shore!" Li Miao shouted as a reminder.

They planned to explore the waters behind Seaside Town, which meant they first had to sail around the island for some distance.

"Like I need *you* to tell me what to do?" Shore retorted, sticking his nose in the air.

"…"

Li Miao shook his head, speechless.

But a moment later, he saw Shore with his eyes closed in blissful enjoyment, while his Spirit Fire Sail headed straight for a wooden piling on the shore ahead.

"Wei Zi! Stop messing around! You're going to crash!" Li Miao roared.

Hearing the shout, Shore snapped back to his senses and frantically steered away, narrowly avoiding a crash with the piling.

"You fucking idiot," Li Miao cursed irritably.

But Shore was now staring at the shore in surprise.

After a moment, he looked away, scratching his head in puzzlement.

"Scared stiff?" Li Miao wondered what he was looking at.

"…" Shore looked away from the shore and turned to him. "I think I just saw that guy you added earlier."

"Gray Sky?" Li Miao was taken aback, then waved a dismissive hand. "How's that possible? He's probably already in an instance by now."

He hadn't even finished speaking when the two of them suddenly saw a figure emerge onto one of the shoreline houses of Seaside Town and gaze calmly out at the sea.

Their eyes met his for a few seconds.

"…" Gray Sky.

"…" Li Miao.

"…" Shore.

Since the Spirit Fire Sails had already picked up speed, none of the three said anything, simply staring at each other for a few seconds.

"…Holy shit. The dude's not gay, is he? You think he's into you?" Shore suddenly sounded horrified.

"…Probably not, right?" For a moment, Li Miao also felt a chill run down his spine.

"Not your ass! He's obviously fucking following us! You think he's lost or something?" Shore scoffed.

Now that he mentioned it, Li Miao felt it was a real possibility.

'…Is Gray Sky following me?'

'…But for what purpose?'

GULP…

Li Miao swallowed hard, his mind racing with terrible possibilities.

"Let's go, we're about to pass the castle. He definitely won't be able to keep up."

"Hmph. Serves you right for being such a social butterfly. Now you've attracted a real creep, haven't you?" Shore sneered.

…

Meanwhile, back on the shore of Seaside Town.

"…"

Gray Sky's brow furrowed even deeper.

'How did I end up back at the shore?'

'I was heading for the castle!'

Lost in thought, Gray Sky arrived at another corner in the alleys.

Staring at the three paths before him, he had a strong sense of déjà vu.

'I'll go left this time…'

Having made his decision, Gray Sky briskly walked down the path to his right.

"This game's map… is terrible."

He shook his head as he walked on.

…

「In the Spirit Candle Space.」

The young woman's long eyelashes fluttered. A moment later, she opened her eyes and slowly sat up.

Luo Ge retracted his focus and turned his gaze upon her.

"You're awake?"

"Mr. Luo Ge?" Noxia rubbed her head, her eyes looking much clearer than before. "Where am I…?"

'Amnesia again?' Luo Ge's brow furrowed slightly as he muttered to himself, 'Her Soul has recovered quite a bit. This shouldn't be happening…'

But Noxia's next words quickly dispelled his doubts.

"I… I remembered a lot of things."

Noxia's eyes brightened.

Hearing this, Luo Ge let out a small sigh of relief. 'Thankfully, it's not amnesia again.'

"Then tell me. What did you remember?" Luo Ge nodded, not expecting much.

But what Noxia said next was a pleasant surprise.

"I can sense the direction of the Fire Element Divine Hall, Mr. Luo Ge," Noxia said earnestly.

What?

Luo Ge was stunned.

He had assumed Noxia would only recall more useless scraps of information like before. He never expected her to drop a bombshell with her very first words after waking up this time.

The Fire Element Divine Hall!

It was the most important location he had learned about from Klemo concerning the Firewood Gatherers—very likely their main gathering point.

And before Noxia fell unconscious last time, she had also uttered the words, "The Fire Element Divine Hall has been taken."

It was safe to say that Luo Ge now considered the Fire Element Divine Hall an important location, on par with the Eternal Holy Altar.

"Sense? You can pinpoint its exact location?" Luo Ge asked.

"No, I can't pinpoint it," Noxia said, shaking her head and tracing a line on the ground with her finger. "But this sense… it can guide us, allowing us to travel in the direction of its location…"

"And besides that, I can also sense some other special locations."

Hearing her words, Luo Ge's eyes lit up.

"Good. This way, we'll be able to find the Fire Element Divine Hall."

Luo Ge was excited for a moment, but then his expression changed as he looked at Noxia.

"But… how do you sense their existence?"

"Is it Magic? Or some kind of ritual?"

"…" Noxia fell silent for a moment before replying softly, "…It's Prayer. I just need to use Prayer to sense it."

'Prayer…'

Looking at Noxia's expression, Luo Ge's brow furrowed.

Seeing Luo Ge's gaze on her, Noxia's eyes flickered, and she looked away.

"…" Luo Ge sighed inwardly. "Noxia, I don't want you to lie to me… Tell me the truth."

"What is the price for doing this?"