Chapter 3080: Hidden in the Past
This player appeared somewhat younger during this period, and at that time, he wasn't participating in the Challenge Island project but was there for pioneering. However, during the pioneering, he encountered a Chaos Space and, along with his companions, was fortunate enough to survive.
This person's experience was also quite interesting. When he encountered the Space Wall, he saw the Rabbit Eye Star approaching, and within the Space Wall, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a red streak of light. Therefore, he believed there was a treasure in this place and repeatedly persuaded his companions to return here to search, hoping to take advantage of the gaps in spatial chaos to get lucky.
But luck didn't come. On the fourth return trip, they ran into a Chaos Space, and half of the team died.
After the Corpse Wall was drained, Xu Huo continued to look at other Curved Times.
Much of what was recorded were irrelevant people and events, but they all showed the danger of this place. Many people had died in the Chaos Space, some even directly dismembered by Space Blades, a horrific scene.
However, there was also some valuable information. For example, the Rabbit Eye Star appeared here more frequently than in Zone 025, and each time it appeared, there was an illusion of it approaching the island. Additionally, the volcanoes on the planet erupted during these times, seemingly corresponding to the spatial changes on Challenge Island.
As for the red streak of light the gun-wielding player saw, it did not reappear in other time fragments, but Xu Huo learned something about the island's layout.
The island's divisions were indeed circular: Fang Snake Zone, Bear Hug Zone, Wasteland Zone. Beyond the Wasteland Zone, there was a Central Zone. The Central Zone had once been hit by a meteorite, making it an ore mining area. However, according to the players who landed on the island, the ore had been fully mined, and it was to be developed into a city.
The Central Zone was likely the final destination for the challenge players.
As for the situation inside, the players responsible for developing the island hadn't mentioned it.
Xu Huo once again saw the approaching Rabbit Eye Star in the Curved Time, but this time it was no longer a desolate Gobi Desert but a lush wilderness.
It seemed there was entanglement between the two spaces. Flying rocks fell from the Rabbit Eye Star, turning into fireballs that crashed into Challenge Island, burning the entire wilderness. Some red gravel scattered everywhere, and these stones were similar to the red stones of the Enforcement Team earlier, the only difference being that there was no flowing sand inside.
He didn't know when this happened, but it was likely the origin of the Central Zone and Wasteland Zone on Challenge Island.
Had Dr. Wu come here only after the meteorite fell?
Xu Huo continued forward, looking at more past memories. He flipped through countless times that were meaningless to him until, finally, he saw Dr. Wu's figure.
Dr. Wu wore glasses, his appearance slightly different from Pumpkin City, but not a complete transformation. It made sense—if he had already mastered the ability to trigger Curved Time, he wouldn't need to make major changes to his appearance because no one could catch him in a time rewind.
He stood sideways to Xu Huo, staring for a long time in the direction of the Rabbit Eye Star, then pulled a red key from his pocket.
The key's material was clearly that red ore. Although it had been deliberately ground into the shape of a key, there was still flowing sand in its center.
He casually threw the key on the ground, then turned and walked away. As time changed, this key was buried by the soil and sand churned up by a second meteorite fall, remaining deep underground for a long time.
A key, made of ore, similar in structure to the ore scattered everywhere on the island. How could one find this special stone in this sea of rocks?
Xu Huo tried to identify the location, but there were no obvious reference points. At that time, the ground was already barren.
Later, he flipped to another memory. This time, the people who came seemed to be a scientific team. Their goal was to block the meteorites from the Rabbit Eye Star. He didn't see the specific implementation process, but in their conversation, they mentioned setting up a special energy release device in the Central Zone to change the gravitational fluctuations between the two planets and prevent further meteorite falls.
The time node was much earlier. The purpose might have been to protect the island and prevent Dr. Wu's hidden items from being destroyed by the meteorites.
But from the current situation, it seemed the government had abandoned this place and turned it into a player arena for profit.
However, there was no clue about what they were really looking for.
The Curved Times that had been rewound would disappear. The places Xu Huo had passed had all become empty walls, and after the corpses disappeared, the Space Walls were gradually vanishing. So he could only repeatedly recall the details of the times he had seen.
Dr. Wu had hidden an ore key in the past, likely involving more than just the Perfect Potion, which was why Zone 025 was searching at all costs.
There were no fragments in the rewind about others finding the key, but that didn't mean the key was still in the Wasteland Zone.
Of course, this wasn't entirely bad news. Since Dr. Wu deliberately threw the key in the Wasteland Zone, the "treasure box" corresponding to the key was probably not there. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the trouble—he could have hidden the "treasure box" using the same method as the key.
After chewing over every detail, the most special things were the Rabbit Eye Star's approach and the red streak of light the gun-wielding player saw.
Red streak of light... Based on the light changes in the Curved Time, Xu Huo could roughly estimate that the red streak of light came from the direction of the Rabbit Eye Star, and the direction of the Rabbit Eye Star's appearance was likely fixed. Both meteorite falls followed a pattern.
Dr. Wu had hidden the key in the past. How would he hide the Perfect Potion? Where? So that Zone 025 couldn't find it?
Xu Huo pondered this question until the surrounding Space Walls disappeared.
Ding Xiang and the others were still nearby. They had also fallen into the Chaos Space, but only Old Duan and Love Orange had seen the Corpse Wall. The two found it psychologically hard to bear, and their faces were pale.
At this moment, the Rabbit Eye Star was gradually pulling away from Challenge Island.
"Is the Rabbit Eye Star's orbit fixed?" Xu Huo asked Love Orange. "Its appearance here shouldn't be a coincidence. Could that direction be the next area?"
Love Orange had some basic astronomical knowledge but wasn't deep into it. She had learned a bit about the Rabbit Eye Star when following trends. "I haven't heard of the Rabbit Eye Star changing its orbit. There's been no change in Zone 025, but I'm not sure about Challenge Island."
"What did the Corpse Wall look like?" Ding Xiang pressed. "Were the people who died inside all players who landed on the island?"
Love Orange hadn't looked closely. Honestly, facing a Corpse Wall that reached the sky, the catastrophic thought that the mountain of corpses could collapse at any moment was impossible to shake off, so she instinctively avoided looking.
"A lot of people died." Old Duan's expression was complicated. "Among them, there were actually people from the Inspection Department."