Bizarre Voyage: Summoning The Fourth Crisis

The players’ exploration of Exile Island came to a temporary halt.

But in the group chat, the players of the pioneer squad were having a heated discussion.

Brother Miao Won’t Fail the Exam: ”That’s pretty much everything Faraway and I discovered. Anyone have anything to add?”

My hamster’s name is Guagua: ”The Treasure Chest in the room at the top of the slope is full of stinky socks and underwear. Don’t open it!”

Poems and the Faraway Place: ”The [Rotting Prisoners] have a long respawn time, but the upside is that there’s no risk. It can be a consistent spot for farming Wax Oil.”

Mushroom: ”Whatever you do, don’t climb those stairs. I seriously wanted to puke...”

Brother Miao Won’t Fail the Exam: ”@Battle Bliss, Brother Mangzi, what about you? Why are you so quiet?”

Battle Bliss: ”I’ve been on the Pillaging Ship farming gear this whole time, so I don’t really have anything to add... Hehe.”

Li Miao’s lip twitched when he saw the message.

’This guy, Brother Mangzi, actually spent the entire second half of the night on the Pillaging Ship...’

Brother Miao Won’t Fail the Exam: ”...Alright then, let’s leave it at that for now. @Storyteller, it’s all you, bro. I’ve got a lot of classes today, and Faraway is busy too.”

Storyteller: ”No problem. Leave it to me.”

...

Spirit Candle Forum.

After summarizing and organizing the pioneer squad’s findings, Storyteller quickly wrote up a guide and posted it on the forum.

Storyteller: [Guide to Exploring the New Dungeon: Exile Island]

[Alright everyone, thanks to the efforts of a few of our top players, we’ve got a basic understanding of Exile Island’s layout and monsters.]

[First up, the sea route after you pass through the Gray Mist. The first time you travel this path, a dilapidated galleon called the ”Pillaging Ship” will most likely appear.]

[The monsters on the Pillaging Ship are called ”Living Corpses.” The two most dangerous ones, which are also the most recommended to farm, are the ’Blood Axe Living Corpse’ and the ’Pirate Captain.’]

[The first one, the Blood Axe Living Corpse, has extremely high Attack Power, but its weakness is also obvious: it’s very slow. It drops the Ordinary Quality Weapon ’Bloodstained Great Axe’ and some tattered clothes. This is a very specialized weapon, recommended for Power-focused Warriors. Our very own Brother Mangzi is already using it, and it looks totally badass.]

[The second one, the ’Pirate Captain,’ is an Ember Tier boss. He’s highly aggressive with no obvious weaknesses. He drops Banner·Storm Frenzy Fist, the Excellent Quality Weapon·Storm Finger Tiger, and a ’Captain’s Prayer (Fragment).’]

[...]

Storyteller’s guide was very long and packed with straightforward, no-nonsense information, clearly outlining the loot drops and the danger level of each monster.

In addition, he described the general layout of Exile Island.

It’s divided into three main areas: the patrol corridors on the outskirts of Exile Island, the Exile Mine, and Exile Peak, which Mushroom explored.

The central path in the back half of the Exile Mine leads directly to the [Open-pit Mine]. From there, you can either head to the patrol corridors or take an elevator up to Exile Peak...

[As you can probably tell, Exile Island is full of powerful Ember Tier monsters. Because of this, I (Storyteller) think it’s best to wait until you’ve ignited your Warfire before tackling this map.]

[However, Brother Miao, Faraway, and the other top players made an excellent discovery.]

[That’s a special mini-boss in the Exile Mine—the Rotting Prisoners.]

[According to tests by Faraway Lord, this monster poses basically no threat, except for the fact that it self-destructs when it dies. This means we can farm it for unlimited Wax Oil, much more efficiently than kiting the Fish People on Candle Island. It’s a little gross, sure, but it doesn’t even fight back when you hit it! It’s practically an official freebie for total noobs!]

[What’s even better is that right before you get to it, there are two groups of monsters fighting each other. We just need to tip the scales a little, then sit back and reap the rewards. That’s another haul of Wax Oil in the bank!]

[So, I (Storyteller) suggest that all you newcomers save up for a Spirit Fire Raft and head straight here as soon as you’ve learned the basic combat skills from our Fishman Coach!]

[This will save you a ton of time grinding.]

Storyteller went into greater detail about the Rotting Prisoners.

Thanks to these unique conditions, the area had the potential to become the go-to Wax Oil farming spot for new players.

The post immediately sparked a heated discussion among the players.

Bees don’t like flying: ”Damn, this new map has a lot of content. The top players worked together all night and still couldn’t explore it all?”

My Son Failed, But I’m On Shore: ”...If I’d known about this spot, I wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to level up...”

Ben Zun Suppresses All Enemies: ”You Candle Spirit pioneers have done very well. Now then, it is time for This One to make a move...”

Bu Long Isn’t Deaf: ”I wonder if that Black Stone Gatekeeper drops the Shield it’s holding?”

Ah Zheng Can’t Speak: ”I worship you! Thank you, top players! Already saving for a Spirit Fire Raft!”

Nannan: ”Thanks for the ping. I’m on my Spirit Fire Raft, already at sea!”

Ben Zuo Suppresses All Enemies: ”Heh, writing guides for a Void game now? You even hired a bunch of shills. With that money, you should’ve just given it to your parents!”

Ben Zun Suppresses All Enemies: ”?”

Zan Jia Suppresses All Enemies: ”Hater-turned-fanboy, huh? Hmph, nice little act you’ve got going, but we’re not buying it, little bro. @Ben Zun Suppresses All Enemies”

Ben Zun Suppresses All Enemies: ”Damn it, why are you all copying me?! You bastards! Change your names right now!”

Lao Dao Suppresses All Enemies: ”Infinite blessings from the Celestial Worthy... @Fellow Daoist Ben Zun Suppresses All Enemies, do not be so hasty. One must know that impulse is a demon. A calm heart naturally brings cool relief...”

Hook Literature: ”LMAO, is this the Six-Eared Macaque? Shadow Clone Skill? The Aotian Clan? I can’t take this...”

Ding Er Xiang Dang: ”One Brother Aotian joins the game, and thousands more have risen in his place!”

Wang Zai Milk: ”You brought this on yourself, Brother Aotian!”

Iced Lemon Tea: ”LMAO hahaha!”

”...”

Luo Ge, who happened to be free, also saw the post.

His eyes lit up, and he immediately pinned it as a featured post.

’Now this is more like it,’ he thought. ’What’s the point of bullying Fish People? Go farm Wax Oil for me, all of you!’

These Xiaojuncai were all so skinny right now; there was hardly any profit to be squeezed from them. He didn’t even have the heart to harvest them yet.

At the same time, he also saw the other players’ replies.

He couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw all the template-based ”So-and-so Suppresses All Enemies” usernames.

Before, the only troll on the entire Spirit Candle Forum was Brother Aotian, who would pop up everywhere to post his moronic takes.

But ever since the kid was ”pacified,” he’d been acting smug on the forums all day long. This got under the skin of some other users, who, after some deliberation, decided to start imitating his old trolling persona.

At first, there were only one or two of them. Their usernames weren’t stylized, so they actually looked like genuine trolls.

But now, after some genius started a trend, a whole crowd of people began using the template for their usernames and started mimicking his style, descending into full-blown shitposting...