Stormfjord.

The spawn location of the Abyss Lord BOSS.

It took Zhang Fan quite a while to get to this place, mainly because he needed to light up teleportation points along the way and avoid many high-level monster areas.

Even a level 10+ Minotaur Knight, dressed in full "Rise of the Minotaur" gear, is no match for the level 70-80 red-named monsters in high-level maps; they can't withstand a single blow.

He didn't want to go back to the temple to be resurrected and run around again, so he could only spend a little more time and take a longer route.

When Zhang Fan arrived at Stormfjord, the Abyss Lord BOSS was gone, and many items were scattered on the ground.

It seems the other party only picked up the "plasma gun" and ignored the other dropped items.

Where are they?

Zhang Fan looked around but didn't see any other players. He tried adding friends from his friends list, but the other person wasn't nearby.

However, the items that fell on the ground have not yet been refreshed by the system, so the other party will not be gone for long.

The problem is, where did they go? Without a direction, there's no way to track them down.

Zhang Fan calmly considered the situation for a moment, then activated a return scroll and headed to the nearest main city in the game.

After defeating a boss, players usually return to the main city to replenish their health and mana potions, or they go to identify newly acquired equipment.

After returning to the nearest game city, Zhang Fan rushed to the pharmacy but didn't see anyone. He then immediately went to the appraisal center.

Inside the appraisal center, a gunslinger was trading appraisal talismans at the counter.

Zhang Fan glanced at the Dark Night Gunner's head; the ID was Little Willow Leaf Knife.

I've finally caught you!

"Brother!" Zhang Fan slapped the other man's shoulder, unable to hide his excitement. "Let's talk in private."

"What?" The other person was startled and turned around, giving Zhang Fan a suspicious look from head to toe. "What? Do you have a hidden quest for me?"

"Hidden quest? I'm not an NPC!" Zhang Fan was speechless. "I'm alive! A player!"

"Really? How can you prove it?" The other person's eyes widened. "How can you prove you're a player?"

"Fuck you!" Zhang Fan was furious and couldn't help but curse. What the hell are you trying to prove?

Wow! It really is a living person!

Little Willow Blade burst into tears, burying his face in Zhang Fan's arms and sobbing uncontrollably.

"Two years... I've finally met a living person!"

Zhang Fan was stunned. What was going on? A grown man was hugging him and crying.

"Brother, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Brother Pig." Little Willow Leaf released Zhang Fan, wiped away her tears, "It's just that when I met you, Brother Pig, I couldn't help myself and couldn't hold back."

It took Zhang Fan quite a while to realize that "Brother Pig" was calling him, since his game ID was "Southern Savage Pig".

What a terrible name this system has!

"Two years?" Zhang Fan was also a little confused after hearing what Little Willow Leaf Blade had just said. "Two years have passed, and you're the only one playing this game?"

“Yes, Brother Pig.” Little Willow Leaf Blade nodded. “Brother Pig, you are the only living person I have met in the past two years. I’ve tried to chat with ‘people’ a few times before, but I found out they were NPCs for hidden quests, which made me excited for nothing. That’s why I didn’t believe you just now.”

Zhang Fan was speechless: "My name is Zhang Fan. Judging from your voice, you should be younger than me. You can call me Brother Fan."

“Pig… okay, Brother Fan.” Little Scalpel was very happy. “My name is Liu Xiaoye, I’m a medical student, my friends call me Little Knife, you can just call me Little Knife.”

"By the way," Little Willow Blade said, introducing himself, then asked with some confusion, "Brother Fan, you're also named Zhang Fan? Is it a coincidence? I mean, the same Zhang Fan as that hero from Mars..."

"You know me?" Zhang Fan pointed to his nose. "I'm on Mars right now..."

The little lancet's eyes widened.

"Brother Fan, don't lie to me, he's my idol!" Little Willow Leaf Knife looked a little unhappy. "I've seen my idol Zhang Fan on TV. I may be younger than you, but I'm not stupid..."

"Turn on the video!" Zhang Fan was too lazy to explain to him.

Players connect via video within the game, and their video windows appear in the chat interface.

"See? Don't I look just like the person you see on TV?"

Quiet.

There was no response.

Um?

Zhang Fan patted the screen.

Is it stuck? Why is the image not moving?

Wait a minute, all the NPCs around me are moving, there's no glitch...

Wow!!!! Zhang Dada!

"It really is you!"

A tiny scream came from the game.

"It's definitely me!"

"Zhang Dada, I really like you!"

You are my idol!

"Stop, stop, stop!" Zhang Fan was sweating profusely. "Xiao Dao, can you listen to me first?"

"Great! I'm so excited to see you, Zhang Dada!" Little Willow Leaf Blade finally calmed down after a while. "I really, really like you!"

"Listen to me first," Zhang Fan said after the little scalpel had quieted down a bit. "I have a task for you now..."

"Uh... Zhang Dada..." Little Willow Leaf Blade stared wide-eyed, "Are you sure you're not an NPC who gives out hidden quests?"

"It's not a hidden quest in the game!" Zhang Fan was speechless. "It's a quest in the real world. I need your help with something."

"Oh, what is it? I'll definitely help if I can!"

With limited time, Zhang Fan briefly told Liao Changtian, the director of the teaching and research office of the China National Space Administration, about his request.

"Zhang Dada, to be honest..." Little Lancet said with a bitter face, "I really can't help with this."

“How could I not help?” Zhang Fan encouraged the other party. “You don’t need to worry about them not believing you. You can find the contact information or phone number of the China Space Agency online. Just say that I’m looking for Liao Changtian and ask him to log into the game.”

Zhang Fan had heard Liao Changtian say that the internet on Blue Star had been restored to basic functionality. Even if phone calls couldn't get through, it shouldn't be difficult to send an email to the China Space Agency's external mailbox.

"Zhang Dada, I really can't help you with this..." Little Lancet was almost in tears. "Zhang Dada, you probably don't know where I am..."

"Where are you?" Zhang Fan was stunned. If you can play online games, you're either at home or in an internet cafe. Could you be on Mars?

Okay, it's possible on Mars.

"I am on an unknown desert island in the Pacific Ocean."

"Huh?" Zhang Fan was stunned.

"I've been living here alone for two years." Little Lancet was on the verge of a breakdown.

"When I woke up in the new era, I found myself lying on the beach of this deserted island. There was no one here except for volcanoes and primeval forests."

"I once thought about giving up and dying, but then I saw Zhang Dada living alone on Mars in a TV I found on the beach."

"That's why I had the courage to survive. Zhang Dada, you are truly my idol!"

“I usually live in a cave on a deserted island and live by hunting and gathering wild fruits.”

"Supplies that drifted in from the mainland often get stranded on the beaches here. Later, I found a set of servers on the beach, and after assembling them, we created the StarCraft 4 game server."

"Zhang Dada, you may not know how much effort I put into getting the server running. I used all the physics and chemistry knowledge I learned in junior high and high school."

"This game has been with me for two years. It is my only entertainment and spiritual sustenance. Apart from this, I have no other means of contacting the outside world, let alone making phone calls or sending emails."

Zhang Fan was stunned. So it turned out that the StarCraft 4 server had been swept into the sea by the tsunami and he had ended up finding it.

No wonder this crappy online game is still running even though two years have passed since the new era began.

"Haven't you met anyone else?" Zhang Fan understood the other person's situation.

“No, I’m all alone on this deserted island.” Little Lancet shook his head. “I put up ‘SOS’ signs in several directions on the beach and also lit a fire in an open area by the sea to create thick smoke, but no one ever comes. I’ve never seen a ship or plane pass by either.”

Ships and airplanes also follow fixed routes when sailing on the sea. If a deserted island is not near a route, it is normal not to see ships or airplanes all year round.

A person survived on a deserted island for two years; that little lancet was both pitiful and brave.

"Xiao Dao, don't rush." ​​Zhang Fan thought for a moment and asked, "Tell me first, what supplies do you have on hand right now?"

The little lancet described in detail what he had in his hand, and Zhang Fan would occasionally interrupt with questions, which he would then answer.

"Little Knife, you just said you lit a fire on the island, but no one has found you in two years, right?"

"Yes." The little scalpel nodded.

"Perhaps the fire was too small to be noticeable."

"Then what should we do?"

"Didn't you just say there's a volcano on the island?"

“Yes,” Little Willow Leaf Blade said, somewhat confused, “but what does this have to do with the campfire?”

“Of course it’s related.” Zhang Fan licked his lips and grinned maliciously.

"I'll teach you how to make a big one, I guarantee they'll see it!"