Before everything goes out

"I'm back!"

"Niuwazi and the others are back!"

"You're finally back! Didn't the village chief say you'd make a round trip in one day?"

"Good heavens! How come there are only three people left?!"

The news of the three's return was like a stone thrown into a calm lake.

The stone stirred up ripples that quickly spread throughout the small village, and soon most of the villagers had gathered at the village entrance.

Six months, or even longer.

The dirt streetlights, which hadn't been lit for a long time, were turned on, and under the luxurious light, three faces with complex expressions were visible.

"Hey kid, have you found him yet?"

"Big Brother Niu, where's our Melon Head? Why didn't he come back with us?"

"Yes, and what about my Ah Ji? Is she lagging behind? That kid's always been slow..."

As one of the men spoke, he leaned forward to look in the direction the group had come from.

In the wilderness, it was pitch black, and there wasn't a single person in sight.

"them..."

Faced with the villagers' questions, the Niu brothers opened their mouths but couldn't answer.

Judging from their facial expressions, their injuries, and the fact that they should have returned the same day, it took them a whole day to get back...

The family members seemed to realize what had happened, and their expressions quickly changed.

"Say something, you lot!"

"Where is he? Why is he mute?!"

Some people remained silent with dark expressions, while others grabbed Niu Wenbing and pressed him for answers.

Finally, it was Li Fei who spoke.

"They sacrificed their lives."

Once confirmed, the families' hopes were dashed, and the old and young alike wept bitterly.

no way.

Li Fei had anticipated this outcome before returning.

He looked up and gazed past the crowd, then looked back and saw a familiar figure.

It was Lin Wen wearing an apron.

Standing on the periphery of the crowd, her eyes were slightly red as she looked at Li Fei without saying a word.

It's too noisy around, you can't hear me even if I speak.

Separated by a group of people, the two stared at each other in silence. Only after Li Fei nodded in acknowledgment did she breathe a sigh of relief and relax her tense body.

Not seeing Bai Xiaowu following him, Li Fei inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

I can't explain why.

He clearly had that shoe in his pocket, he clearly had kept his promise, and it wasn't his relative who died...

Yet, for some reason, she was a little afraid to face Bai Xiaowu.

"Hey kid, let me ask you something..."

Amidst the sobs, an old woman, unable to speak, grabbed the Niu brothers.

"My son, Guatou...did Guatou help you? Was his sacrifice worthwhile?"

Niu Wenbing swallowed hard.

What appeared before my eyes was the scene of Gua Tou losing his mind and recklessly rushing out in the campfire, only to be pierced by the tree spirit.

Was the sacrifice worthwhile?

It was a complete waste of time and energy to throw their lives away.

"he..."

Before Niu Wenbing could finish speaking, Li Fei interrupted him from the side.

"His sacrifice was worthwhile; without him, we might not have made it back."

Li Fei replied seriously.

Upon hearing this, the old woman seemed to lose all her strength and collapsed to the ground.

"That's good...that's good..."

Amid the old woman's sobs, more villagers gathered around, asking all sorts of questions.

What did they encounter in the mountains?

Have the villagers who were kidnapped by Huanzi been found?

How did your own child die?

Everyone was talking at once, and the scene was chaotic.

It wasn't until a large black dog darted into the crowd and Liu Yongxiao quickly appeared that the surroundings quieted down a little.

"He was seriously injured."

Liu Yongxiao, his back hunched, glanced at the three men.

Niu Wenbing's left hand was broken, and blood soaked his sleeve. Niu San had several deep scratches on his back, so deep that the bone was visible.

Li Fei was the least injured; he was just standing unsteadily, clearly having injured his foot.

"Snake Seven hasn't returned?"

"no."

"Did we run into Grandpa Tree?"

"I met him last night."

"OK."

Liu Yongxiao spoke calmly, but there was a flicker of emotion in his eyes.

Li Fei had noticed earlier that the old man and Snake Seven had an unusual relationship, and now it seemed that was indeed the case.

"Okay, you go see Dr. Wang first, I'll be there shortly."

Liu Yongxiao made this arrangement.

Seeing that he had spoken, the villagers could not stop him and could only let the three of them leave.

"Let's all disperse for now, it's getting dark. We can talk about it tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, whether it's the villagers who haven't been found or the ones who sacrificed their lives, Old Liu will give you an answer."

These words were spoken.

The villagers wiped away their tears, dispersed dejectedly, and returned to their homes.

then.

More sounds came from the houses.

Crying and cursing.

Or perhaps it was the sound of excited conversation, until the streetlights at the village entrance were turned off, and all the sounds disappeared into the darkness.

...

On the dirt road.

After the crowd dispersed, Lin Wen finally had a chance to step forward.

She checked Li Fei over and, after confirming that he had no serious injuries, helped him walk towards Wang Guodong's house.

Are you hungry?

"A little."

Are you thirsty?

"good."

"Is that a ringed gun?"

Lin Wen looked behind Li Fei.

All the luggage and weapons they took with them disappeared, and they only got a gun in return.

"Yeah, I found it."

"Have you found the ring that caused the zombie to turn into a zombie?"

"No, this is..."

Speaking of guns, Li Fei thought of the pile of rubble and the unrecognizable corpses.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. It's good that he's back."

Before he could speak, Lin Wen shook her head understandingly.

Seemingly sensing something, she stopped asking about Bai Xiaowu's mother, forced a smile, and turned to leave.

"Go ahead, I'll wait for you at home. I'll wait for you to come back for dinner."

"Um."

Watching her departing figure, Li Fei made up his mind that he would tell Lin Wen and Bai Xiaowu everything when he got home.

Whether you say it sooner or later, you have to say it eventually.

As they spoke, the group had already reached Wang Guodong's door.

"Is Dr. Wang here?"

As soon as Niu San finished speaking, Wang Guodong, who was getting dressed, hurriedly came out of the house to greet him.

He glanced around and was slightly taken aback to see that there were only three people.

"Where are the others?"

"Only the three of us are left."

"Come in."

Wang Guodong opened the door with a solemn expression and led the three people into the house.

Boiled cotton cloth, scissors burned by fire, and half a bottle of strong liquor...

Wang Guodong's home has extremely limited medical equipment, but conversely, his techniques are quite professional. Even a layman like Li Fei can tell that Wang Guodong is definitely a professionally trained doctor.

Divide it in no time.

Within minutes, after a few muffled groans of pain, the injuries of the group were treated.

Niu San's back was stitched up, and Niu Wenbing's broken left hand was fixed with a wooden board.

Li Fei's two festering feet were soaking in a large basin filled with medicine.

"With limited resources, we'll have to make do with this makeshift remedy for now."

As Wang Guodong spoke, he added some more grass leaves to the basin.

The green juice mixed with the dregs of the medicine spread in the water, reducing swelling and relieving pain.

Soon, Li Fei felt his burning feet cool down considerably.

"I didn't know this folk remedy before. It was Sheqi who taught me it after I came to this village."

Is Dr. Wang not from the village?

No wonder.

From the first moment Li Fei met Wang Guodong, he felt that the man lacked a certain rustic charm and didn't seem like a local at all.

crunch~

As they were speaking, the door was pushed open.

Liu Yongxiao walked into the house, followed by two large dogs, one yellow and one black.

It seems he has calmed the villagers down.

"Is everything packed?"

After entering the room and looking around, he confirmed that the three people were in stable condition.

"Now tell me what happened in the mountains, and how Snake Seven died."

...

10 minute later.

Surrounded by two large dogs, the three men told Liu Yongxiao everything that had happened in the mountains.

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

"Many of the people who went missing after leaving the village were eaten by Grandpa Tree..."

"Snake Seven was trying to lure Grandpa Tree away..."

"The abducted villagers were beaten to death by Huanzi in the pile of rocks..."

Liu Yongxiao squinted and muttered to himself.

Because the events were so bizarre, it took him quite a while just to figure out the details.

soon.

More doubts were uncovered and presented to the public.

The rings died in the southern woods, and after their transformation, they traveled over ten kilometers of mountain road to reach the north...

How did these mutated villagers get to the north?

and also.

Speaking of this, Liu Yongxiao then asked, seemingly remembering something:

"By the way, how did those corpses mutate? Did they gain heads, or lose arms?"

Niu Wenbing suppressed his nausea and gave a rough description of the corpse's appearance.

After listening, Liu Yongxiao shook his head repeatedly.

"No, this is not right."

After pacing back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, Liu Yongxiao gave his conclusion.

"The villagers weren't killed before they mutated; they were thrown into the shadows, mutated, and then killed."

"Why...why do you say that?"

Niu Wenbing pressed for an explanation, still puzzled.

Liu Yongxiao replied:

"When the dead mutate, they become what they 'want,' just like animals. But when the living mutate, they become what they 'fear.'"

This time, all four of them, including Wang Guodong, were a little confused.

Niu Wenbing was the first to react.

Because he was most familiar with those corpses.

"I understand. Because of his tall and thin build, he was often bullied as a child and was particularly afraid of being called that nickname..."

That's why it mutated into that shape after death, becoming long and thin, just like a real stick...

If he mutated after death, his body would probably shrink, reverting him to the size of an ordinary person as much as possible...

At Niu Wenbing's prompting, an extremely thin and long corpse came to mind for the group.

He is over three meters tall, and his thighs are as thin as his forearms.

That's the mutated hemp stalk.

"Wait a minute, if that's the case, what is Xiao Wu's mother afraid of?"

Li Fei recalled Bai Xiaoyan's corpse.

Even among that pile of corpses, Bai Xiaoyan's mutation was extreme.

"deformity."

After a brief recollection, Niu Wenbing gave his answer.

"I didn't mention before, but those four children she took in later died of illness..."

"Some only have one hand, some have no ears, some have their lower bodies twisted into a knot. In short, except for Bai Xiaowu, they are all born with deformities..."

"Because she was afraid of being deformed, her mutation was deformed."

"And it's not just a normal degree of deformity, it's a combination of deformities from several children..."