My lord, spare his life!

"You...you said...take the corpse..."

Puyang Kui's voice trailed off with a dangerous tremor.

"...As firewood for heating and starting a fire?"

The way she looked at Zhang Yang also underwent a dramatic change, turning from shock and bewilderment to disgust, loathing, and disbelief. Zhang Yang, of course, couldn't read the emotions in her eyes, but he knew one thing—the name above Puyang Kui's head instantly switched from green to red.

His aura also subtly revealed restlessness.

What does this mean?

This meant that Puyang Kui was currently a red-named NPC who could attack Zhang Yang at any moment. Zhang Yang was puzzled, confused, and innocent; she truly didn't understand why Puyang Kui had developed murderous intent. However, she didn't want to know and decisively took countermeasures.

He held the swaddled baby in one arm and stepped back to create a safe distance.

With his other hand, he took out a gold brick from his game backpack.

The other villagers were all emaciated, practically skin and bones, unable to withstand being thrown into a fire. In contrast, Puyang Kui was much more robust and muscular. Since Puyang Kui dared to be publicly known, Zhang Yang naturally dared to provide extra fuel for the heating stove.

Puyang Kui was panting heavily.

"How dare you!"

Such utter depravity is so extreme that even the nineteenth level of hell wouldn't accept them!

Zhang Yang replied indifferently, "Why wouldn't you dare? Isn't this a common occurrence?"

No, who exactly is issuing weekly tasks to the observation samples to collect zombie corpses and alien beast corpses?

Of course, it's the NPC that manages the base's supplies.

Every time I talk to this NPC, he immediately says that the base is short of heating resources. If there isn't enough fuel to keep the heating stoves running, many of the elderly and weak in the base will freeze to death. Could the brave and righteous survivors help me gather ten units of fuel?

Zombies, alien beasts, and alien plants can all be included.

This weekly task is performed on almost every observation sample.

The only way to observe the samples is to increase their reputation at these bases by contributing tasks, which can then be exchanged for various items.

Zhang Yang also did it.

She even made a lot of money by reselling zombie and monster corpses.

Unfortunately, the quest was too tedious, and the environment in the occupied territories was unpleasant, so many players didn't want to go there. However, this weekly quest was one that everyone did, naturally creating demand. Where there's demand, there's a market.

Zhang Yang did not mind the filth of the occupied areas.

She likes to collect zombie and monster corpses when she has nothing to do.

A single backpack slot can hold up to 9999 corpses. At the peak of the market, a single corpse can fetch a high price of 1000 Alliance Coins on the trading post. Selling zombie and monster corpses is more profitable than robbing players.

_(:з」∠❀)_

Zhang Yang couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the heating stoves.

This isn't burning zombies for warmth; it's clearly burning money.

"Heh, commonplace?" Puyang Kui found it utterly absurd; this sophistry was utterly repulsive. "Have you actually seen it?"

Zhang Yang: "It's commonplace."

Puyang Kui was almost speechless.

The red name above his head quickly turned yellow: "...Commonplace?"

"If you can't find firewood, what's wrong with using a dead body? The living are always more important than the dead. When the living are freezing to death, do you still care about the dignity of the dead? It's better to benefit the living than to benefit maggots, right? Or are you worried that burning corpses for warmth will arouse their appetite? Roasting them over charcoal... it's not unheard of..."

As he spoke, Zhang Yang recalled the behavior of certain observed samples.

She had personally witnessed some observational subjects, bored out of their minds, engaging in some kind of stunt, stringing zombies together with wooden sticks to create an outdoor Barbie-like scene.

However, the zombies mostly rotted, and the smell of charcoal grilling was very foul.

The game also contains many strange items. Zhang Yang knew of one called—[Charcoal-grilled Zombie: Normal people can't stand its smell, but some high-level zombies like it. It's also good bait for fishing aquatic mutated creatures.]

The corpses in the village were fresh from their deaths and exposed to a natural freezer; they might even smell like meat if you used them to make a fire.

When Zhang Yang said this, his expression was natural and open.

As she said—

It's commonplace and something we take for granted.

Puyang Kui's pupils trembled violently, and it was impossible to tell what she was going through. The yellow name above her head gradually turned back to the familiar green that Zhang Yang knew. Her lips trembled and she stammered, finally saying in a deflated voice after a long while, "These things are against the laws of nature—"

"What is the principle of Heaven?"

"It is nature, it is order, it is law, it is the fundamental difference between humans and other birds and beasts." Puyang Kui recalled Fan You's words that Zhang Yang's strange behavior was imitating the targets she had seen, and the anger in her heart gradually subsided. She knew that Zhang Yang's mind was different from ordinary people, and he would probably not listen to these principles, so she threw out a bait, "If you are to be a ruler, you must abide by the principles of Heaven."

Zhang Yang only had a vague understanding of this.

A bad pen is worse than a good memory; write everything down.

She took out a brand new notebook and started writing and drawing.

Puyang Kui: "..."

Although she was initially furious, even contemplating murder, she calmed down and immediately considered a more terrifying aspect. Zhang Yang liked to imitate and learn, meaning her actions were based on real historical events. So the question arises: what kind of place would routinely use cremation for warmth? And what kind of place could raise someone like Zhang Yang?

There are many mysteries surrounding Zhang Boyuan.

Even from a distance, Fan You sensed Puyang Kui's emotional fluctuations and rushed over to see that Zhang Yang was holding a fluffy, exquisitely made swaddled baby, while Puyang Kui's face showed lingering fatigue.

Who is this child?

"Found it on the stove."

Fan You wheeled himself forward and commented, "This swaddling cloth looks to be of extraordinary craftsmanship; it's not something that ordinary villagers could afford."

"Of course, because it's mine."

A large coral fleece blanket, soft against the skin and warm.

Fan You choked on his words: "...I'll hold this child."

He was also afraid that Zhang Yang would lose patience and forget about the child.

Others might have a short memory, but for Zhang Yang, it was a matter of spatial awareness. Fan You volunteered to do the work, and Zhang Yang naturally wouldn't refuse. She also thought the doll was too ugly, didn't fit her aesthetic, and was disgusting to look at, so she threw it away.

Fan You: "..."

Fortunately, he was prepared and caught it.

The next moment, Fan You also threw the child out.

Puyang Kui was furious: "Are you two, master and minister, insane?!"

She nimbly caught the poor baby, then looked down at him.

Then--

Silence perfectly reflects her state of mind at this moment.

The baby was indeed only four or five months old, but the child's facial features and the distribution of the three courts and five eyes clearly indicated that he was an adult, or rather, a middle-aged or young adult with a goatee.

Puyang Kui: "..."

How should I describe it?

The body of an infant, the mind of an adult.

This bizarre combination is far more than just an eyesore.

Zhang Yang sensed something was wrong from the two men's actions.

Upon closer inspection: "Isn't this a child?"

Zhang Yang had never seen what a real human child looked like, but he had seen many observation samples sculpted into four-headed babies and baby faces, which looked much better than this swaddled baby.

Puyang Kui swallowed hard: "No."

"Oh, so it's actually just a beast that looks like a human?" Zhang Yang remembered that some books in the library had recorded the existence of beasts with human heads. "Since it's not human, but a beast, can it be roasted?"

Puyang Kui: "..."

The next second, the baby uttered rough human words.

"What do you want with me?!"