Before everything goes out

Speaking of which...

This is the first time it's rained since I came here.

Walking on the damp dirt road, Li Fei felt his feet were sticky and he wasn't used to it.

Walking along the river and turning two corners, you soon arrive at Liu Yongxiao's house, which is located in the middle of the entire village.

This is a fairly spacious courtyard.

In the yard, there were dog kennels made of iron sheds, of varying heights and arranged in a pleasing, staggered manner.

Even from this distance, Li Fei could smell a strong dog odor.

Actually.

For the past week, he had frequently passed by this place, and every time he passed by, he could smell this odor. He knew it was the village chief's house, but he had never gone inside.

Firstly, there was no reason for it, and secondly, he didn't want to have too much contact with Liu Yongxiao; it would be best if he could stay as far away as possible.

"Woof woof!"

"Woof woof woof!"

Inside the courtyard, the barking of dogs rose and fell, some loud and some soft.

Upon noticing Li Fei's arrival, various dogs emerged from the iron shed and became active in the yard, some standing and some running, a total of more than a dozen, which was quite a sight.

This scene reminded Li Fei of the stray dog ​​shelter he had visited in his previous life.

It was just like that—dirty, messy, and smelly.

"These dogs definitely aren't dogs..."

Li Fei did not step directly into the courtyard, separated by the fence.

That's for sure.

Recalling the man-eating yellow dog and the dog he encountered in the middle of the night that mimicked human movements, he was almost certain that these dogs were mutated creatures like Liu Yongxiao's Snake Seven.

As for whether the villagers were transformed, it's hard to say.

"Come in."

A response came from inside the house from Liu Yongxiao.

In an instant, the dogs fell silent and made way for each other.

Li Fei walked through the courtyard and into the house, only to find that the house, like the courtyard outside, was also crowded with dogs.

The two that could be named, Er Tong and Qi Wan, were also among them.

After scanning around, there were probably twenty or thirty of them, even more exaggerated than Li Fei had imagined. And this didn't even include the ones roaming around the village.

The further you go in, the stronger the dog smell becomes.

Once inside the house, Li Fei frowned slightly and began breathing through his mouth.

"It's raining a bit outside, but it's fine. We'll grab something to eat and then we'll head out."

At Liu Yongxiao's invitation, Li Fei sat down at the table.

He glanced at the porridge in front of him; it wasn't much different from what Lin Wen's family made, except that it contained some crushed egg whites.

He tried to suppress the dog smell, drinking the gruel, but his eyes couldn't help but wander around.

really.

There was no one at Liu Yongxiao's house, only his dog.

He had actually heard the Niu brothers mention this matter during casual conversations before.

Liu Yongxiao's elderly parents, wife, and son all left the village in the first few years after the disaster, until only Liu Yongxiao remained...

Of course, there's also this group of stray dogs of unknown origin.

"Village Chief Liu, is it just the two of us?"

"Who else do you want to come?"

"No, that's not it..."

"Don't worry, my gang of dogs is more effective than people."

As Liu Yongxiao spoke, he threw some torn pieces of steamed bun on the ground, and added to Li Fei's complicated gaze.

"Don't worry, Niu Sanwa is with us too, he'll be here soon."

As soon as Liu Yongxiao finished speaking, Niu San strode into the house.

He carried an axe, a bag of dry rations, and a few torches on his back, his face showing both tension and excitement.

"Village chief, I'm here."

"Hmm, have some."

Niu San sat down, ignoring the strong dog smell, and began to drink large gulps of corn porridge.

This is the end.

With three people and a pack of dogs, the team heading into the mountains was reassembled.

The scale was much smaller than last time, but after the last time, Li Fei understood that the number of people was not important; what mattered was whether they had real skills.

After finishing their meal and checking that their equipment was in order, the two of them put on a straw hat and followed Liu Yongxiao out the door.

Outside.

Unlike the last time I set off, no one saw me off; only a light drizzle fell, which I could barely feel.

After all, most of the villagers had already been found last time.

The only two who haven't been found...

Niu Zhiyuan already had his younger brother Niu San in the team, so there was no need for him to see him off.

She Qingqing, whose only father, She Qi, died during her last trip into the mountains.

"Let's go, the sooner we go, the sooner we'll be back."

Surrounded by a pack of dogs, Liu Yongxiao strode out of the village entrance.

He still stood with his hands behind his back and his waist tucked in, just like before. His movements were strange, but his speed was not much slower than Snake Seven's.

"These two dogs are so weird..."

Li Fei followed behind, but his eyes were unconsciously fixed on the two largest dogs.

A big black dog, two of a kind.

A big yellow dog, 70,000.

This time, the pack of dogs didn't pull a cart; instead, the big black dog carried two heavy cloth bags on its back.

The bag had been simply modified; it was clearly made specifically for dogs. It was bulging inside, probably containing torches and food.

This is normal.

What really struck Li Fei as strange was the big yellow dog.

Sickles, axes, machetes, and some other strange-looking homemade weapons...

Various cold weapons were stuck into a weapon bag made of thick cloth and hung on the big yellow dog's body. They jingled as it walked, like a large bunch of heavy keys.

"Why bring so many weapons? Do you think these dogs can even use them?"

The image of the dog he encountered in the middle of the night popped into Li Fei's mind.

If all thirty-odd dogs could move like humans, then carrying so many weapons would make sense.

"Don't worry, my brother said that if we go into the mountains with the village chief, even if we don't find anyone this time, we'll be able to get back safely."

Noticing Li Fei's doubts, Niu San patted his chest in confidence.

The Niu brothers knew best how formidable Liu Yongxiao was.

That's why his brother, Niu Wenbing, didn't come to see them off in the morning, because he knew they would be back before dark.

"What if we run into Grandpa Tree again?"

Li Fei asked.

"We won't run into him. Grandpa Tree only comes out at night. If we don't go in circles, we won't have to spend the night in the mountains."

"Aren't you afraid of getting lost in a maze anymore?"

"What's there to be afraid of? Look..."

Following Niu San's finger, Li Fei saw a curly-haired mongrel dog on the roadside lift its leg and spit out a few drops of urine.

Determining routes by smell?

If all else fails, we can follow the scent of dog urine back to the village.

indeed.

Guided by scent, they could not be disturbed no matter how the trees moved.

That makes sense.

Come to think of it, even ordinary dogs can do this, let alone Liu Yongxiao and his gang of strange dogs.

"I just hope the rain doesn't get too heavy, otherwise the mountain roads will be slippery and difficult to walk on."

Li Fei looked up at the sky.

The sky was a bit brighter than when I woke up in the morning, but there was no sign of it clearing up.

Fortunately, the rain was light, and a straw hat was enough; otherwise, without umbrellas, getting wet would have been a problem.

The road into the mountains was clear all the way.

The scenery was familiar, and the group followed the same route they had taken before.

To Li Fei's surprise, even though it had been two hours since they left the village and they were climbing the mountain, Liu Yongxiao hadn't asked him to look at the map.

It's clear that this old man's familiarity with the mountains is on par with that of Snake Seven.