Before everything goes out

"Let's take a break. If we walk downstream along this river, we'll get back to the village."

Niu Wenbing washed his face with river water and sat down on the ground.

I left my cotton-padded coat open, letting the heat escape.

"I'm dying of thirst!"

Of the three, Niu San is in relatively the best condition.

He strode to the riverbank, scooped up some water with his hands, and before he could even bring it to his mouth, Li Fei stopped him.

"Wait, this water is too dirty; you'll get sick if you drink it."

Li Fei said.

Under the watchful eyes of the Niu brothers, he tore off a slightly clean piece of his sleeve and took a large leaf from the side, rolling it into a bowl shape.

In a few quick movements, the two components were combined into a simple filter device.

Scoop up the muddy water, filter it through the cloth, and collect it in the bowl. Although it can't be called clear, it is noticeably more transparent.

"Wow! How do you know this even though you have amnesia? I've never heard of it before!"

Niu San's eyes lit up, and he gave a thumbs up.

Although it was a time of catastrophe, he had been living in the village for the past 10 years and had no experience in wilderness survival.

"It might be a remnant of the survival instinct, like how people know to eat when they're hungry."

Li Fei handed the water to the two of them.

After the two of them had drunk several large bowls, he took the bowl and drank it himself.

"Shh!"

Before he could even take a couple of sips of water, Niu Wenbing let out a loud hiss.

I turned my head and looked.

Not far away by the river, a deer was drinking water with its head down.

Li Fei instinctively raised his gun to aim, but Niu Wenbing pressed the barrel down.

"Don't be afraid, this deer shouldn't hurt anyone."

As soon as Niu Wenbing finished speaking, the deer turned its head.

After the angle changed, Li Fei saw that the other side of the deer's face was covered with antlers, as many as seven or eight.

Moo!

With a cry, the deer hopped and skipped away into the woods.

"Isn't it interesting? Opportunities to see mutant animals are rare. Do you know why it has so many horns on its head?"

Why?

Li Fei shook his head, waiting for Niu Wenbing's explanation.

"Because it 'want'."

"want to?"

"Yes, whatever you want, you will grow after mutation. Think about it, if a deer often fights with other deer, it will want more and harder antlers. Once it mutates, the antlers will grow out."

"So that's how it is..."

Li Fei suddenly realized.

In this sense, many of the previous distortions are explained.

Because of his bad skin, after his resurrection, he became a smooth-skinned dummy.

The head was bald, so after the corpse turned into a zombie, it grew a thick head of long hair.

From a certain perspective, this mutation is quite good; it feels like it's helping people fulfill their dreams.

but...

"According to this logic, how could a wasp grow a human head? Could it be that it wanted to become a human?"

Li Fei followed up with another question.

"I don't know about that."

Niu Wenbing shook his head.

Actually, they weren't sure about this theory either; it was just based on their experience.

As for those that cannot be explained, just treat them as special cases.

"What about the village chief and Snake Seven? What's going on with them?"

"They...they are incompletely mutated. They look scary, but they are still human, not monsters."

"Understood."

Li Fei immediately accepted this explanation.

In fact, that was his initial guess; otherwise, it wouldn't make sense why two mutated monsters could live with the people of a village.

"By the way, soldier, what I meant earlier was to get some venison to take back and eat."

During the break, Li Fei looked in the direction the wild deer had fled and explained his actions.

"Mutant animals cannot be eaten; their meat is poisonous."

Niu Wenbing waved his hand.

"Oh, have all the animals in this forest mutated? No wonder I see that people in the village only eat the animals they raise, and no one hunts or anything."

"Not really. When Uncle Snake went into the mountains before, he would bring back some wild game that hadn't mutated from time to time."

"Not mutated?"

"Hmm, remember that wild rabbit from yesterday? That one didn't mutate."

After being reminded, Li Fei quickly recalled the events.

The gray hare that appeared yesterday before the hornets.

Two ears, four legs.

It looks normal.

"Why doesn't that rabbit mutate? Does it have a place where it can get light at night?"

"I don't know about that, but there are indeed some animals in this forest that haven't mutated, though they are very few. If you happen to encounter one, you can try to fight it back."

"You can eat it yourself, or you can trade it with the villagers. Don't worry, there's no such thing as taking something for free in this village."

Animals that should have mutated but didn't?

How did they manage to do that?

Could it be that he was right all along, that these villagers and certain animals are indeed immune to the darkness?

Li Fei frowned slightly, pondering the underlying principle.

After half an hour.

Sitting by the river, listening to the babbling water, and chatting about this and that, the group felt much better.

Not only physical fatigue, but also mental weakness has been greatly alleviated.

"hiss..."

Li Fei took off his shoes and looked at his festering feet.

The effects of the herbs that Snake Seven had previously applied had completely worn off, and after walking for so long, every step was excruciatingly painful.

"Come on, I'll carry you on my back."

Before Li Fei could speak, Niu San hoisted him onto his shoulder.

"You saved my life last night, so I owe you one."

"Did I save you?"

Li Fei was a little confused.

"Hmm, you forgot, you burned the tree spirit in front of me and then threw me a torch."

Niu San scratched his bald head and chuckled.

"Now we're not enemies, we're comrades."

...

After resting, the three of them quickly resumed their journey.

With no food or water, and torches that wouldn't last all night, they had to get back to the village before dark no matter what.

Fortunately, the riverside path was clear, with no trees or slopes, making the walk much faster.

5 PM.

As dusk settled, before the last rays of sunlight were cut off by the mountains, the three finally caught sight of the lights of Shuanghe Village.

It wasn't exactly bright, but it gave people a great sense of security.

So they quickened their pace, taking two steps at a time.

Sadness, anger, unease...

There is also the relief of surviving a disaster.

With mixed feelings, the three of them finally stepped into the entrance of Shuanghe Village.