Before everything goes out

In the dark cave, three people and a dog walked briskly forward.

Saying goodbye to the womb of the Tai Sui, passing through black cocoons, the flat cave is unobstructed.

But I don't know why.

The closer Li Fei got to Shuanghe Village, the more uneasy he felt.

It wasn't just because of the death of village chief Liu Yongxiao, but also because of the "chief" that Fan Yaodong mentioned before his death.

"Nothing should happen. Liu Yongxiao isn't here, and the villagers won't be foolish enough to confront Huanzi head-on. The worst-case scenario is that a few people will be kidnapped like before."

Li Fei comforted himself in this way.

The other two also looked serious, and their pace quickened.

Fortunately, the path inside the cave was much easier to walk than the one outside. What would normally take most of the day to traverse the mountains didn't take them very long inside the cave...

Nevertheless.

It was already six o'clock in the evening when the three of them left the cave.

The exit is a well, which connects to the end of a side road inside the cave.

As the water became shallower, they continued to climb upwards until they poked their heads out of the moss-covered well. Only then did Li Fei realize that it was almost completely dark.

Look around.

This is an abandoned farmhouse, and the dry well they drilled is right in the center of the yard.

The courtyard was overgrown with weeds, and the house was dilapidated.

Amidst his panting, Li Fei looked up.

The night sky seems even more expansive than the daytime sky.

Without stars or the moon, only a few darker clouds could be vaguely seen on the black sky, moving horizontally with a supple and freehand style.

The rain has stopped.

That's a good sign.

"This is a house that was abandoned after the disaster. It's not far from the village. The underground river used to extend right up to where we are now."

Beside her, She Qingqing glanced around the courtyard and had already set off.

She nimbly jumped onto a low house, stood on the roof, and looked over the wall, where she could even see the blurry outline of Shuanghe Village.

"Why isn't anyone lighting the lamps?"

Li Fei followed her as she jumped onto the roof, his brows furrowing slightly.

It's dinnertime now.

Logically, every household should be cooking with lights on, but looking around, the village was completely dark, with not a single light in sight.

"How can you see clearly from this far away? Let's get closer first!"

Niu San's voice came from under the eaves.

Unable to move one hand and unable to climb, he kicked open the wooden gate of the courtyard and ran quickly toward the village.

Two people and a dog followed closely behind.

The closer Li Fei got to the village, the stronger his ominous premonition became.

There were no lights, no sound.

Not to mention the "Chief" that Fan Yaodong mentioned before his death, he didn't even see a trace of Huanzi's presence.

"Something's happened..."

His heart skipped a beat.

Before my eyes flashed Lin Wen, Bai Xiaowu, Wang Guodong, Niu Wenbing, and the faces of men, women, and children in the village.

After jogging towards the vague outline of the village, the three stopped on a path outside the village.

Several beams of flashlight light were focused on a dog carcass on the ground.

"Woof!!"

Ertong pounced on it, sniffing around the dog carcass.

Needless to say, the three of them recognized it; it was Liu Yongxiao's dog, which had been left in the village and was now dead.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the dog's body was not killed by bullets or cleavers, but rather in a state that is difficult for ordinary people to comprehend.

"Twist".

Its body is twisted in a way that defies the laws of physics.

The neck was broken, the joints were dislocated, the ribs were flipped out and pierced the chest cavity, and bloodstains were dragged all over the ground.

It's like a wrung-out rag.

Even though the dog had no expression, Li Fei could imagine from the ferocity on its face that it had suffered greatly before its death.

"It's over..."

The three exchanged a glance.

At this point, they were fully aware of the seriousness of the situation.

A sense of crisis made them run for their lives, and the once steady beam of their flashlights began to shake wildly in their panic.

in view.

As the village entrance grew larger, before Li Fei had even stepped inside, he smelled a strong stench of blood emanating from within, which darkened his face considerably.

Passing through the village entrance, we stepped into the village.

On the familiar yet unfamiliar dirt road, the three of them, who had been walking in a panic, gradually slowed down.

As the horrific scenes unfolded before their eyes, their expressions froze instantly, and they couldn't utter a single word.

There were no living creatures.

Nothing was intact.

Houses, livestock, or people.

From near to far, everything in the field of vision was twisted into pieces in an extremely distorted way.

Like the dog carcass at the village entrance, which looks like a rag.

"Second Uncle..."

"Sister Hui..."

"That's the Melon Head family..."

The three walked through the crowd, their expressions growing increasingly solemn.

After turning a corner, in front of the ruins of an earthen house, Niu San's legs gave way, and he finally knelt down, picking up half of the unrecognizable corpse.

"Mom!!"

His eyes were bloodshot, but no tears came out.

More than grief, there was anger.

anger.

This anger made his molars grind together, made his chest burn, and made him want to roar out loud...

until.

Until he heard a noise from the side.

Turning his head, he saw a blurry figure crawling towards him on the ground.

It's Niu Wenbing.

To be precise, it was Niu Wenbing after he turned into a zombie.

"Third child..."

Niu Wenbing, who was originally short, finally became tall and strong after his death.

If the missing lower body were replaced, he would be just as good as Niu San.

Under the shocked gazes of the three men, he used his two remaining hands to grip the ground, dragging his upper body as he laboriously crawled toward Niu San.

"elder brother!!"

Tears welled up in Niu San's eyes.

He was about to step forward when She Qingqing grabbed him.

"Watch out! He's turned into a zombie, he might..."

"He's my brother!"

Niu San broke free from She Qingqing.

Before he could reach out and touch Niu Wenbing, Niu Wenbing's cloudy eyes suddenly lit up, and he spoke as if in a final burst of energy.

"Sanwazi, I know you're not stupid... Listen to me... Don't go looking for those rings... Live well..."

Before Niu Wenbing could finish speaking, his whole body contorted once again.

Starting from his shattered lower body, the twisting continued to spread upwards, past his stomach, past his chest, until it completely crushed his head.

"elder brother..."

Niu San knelt down on the ground, holding a pool of red and white stuff in his hands.

He tilted his head back, mouth wide open, but no sound came out; only hot tears silently streamed down his face.

This scene.

Li Fei shuddered, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare.

"Lin Wen!!"

He suddenly turned his head and looked in the direction of Lin Wen's house.

In the dim light, the oil lamp that had been burning for him could no longer be seen.

"Keep an eye on him!"

He abandoned Niu San and She Qingqing and started running again.

On the country road, all sorts of things that were once familiar but are now twisted and broken rushed past him and disappeared into the darkness.

His breathing became increasingly labored, and he nearly tripped over the rubble.

at last.

At the end of this dirt road, he saw what Lin Wen's house looked like now.

The farmhouse courtyard has completely collapsed.

He stepped over the collapsed courtyard wall and jumped into the ruins.

His panicked gaze trembled as he swept across the room, past the wooden bench, past the podium, past the swing...

After scanning over all the broken pieces, the final image focuses on a corner of the courtyard.

Below the flower bed was Lin Wen, whose body was still mostly intact.

"Lin Wen..."

Li Fei's heart tightened, and he quickly stepped forward to pull her into his arms.

This body is as light as a sheet of paper.

At this moment, Lin Wen's eyes were closed, her body was warm, and there was not much blood on her face, which may have been washed away by the rain.

"Your legs..."

Li Fei's gaze shifted downwards.

Lin Wen's legs were twisted and broken.

And this distortion is spreading upwards at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Li Fei, you're back."

Lin Wen opened her eyes.

Those beautiful eyes held no tears or pain; their gaze was calm as if there were no suffering at all.

"Xiao Wu, and the other children, they were all taken away by them..."

She moved her arm with difficulty and took out an iron box from under her body.

The box was opened, and inside, pebbles were scattered all over the floor; they were all from Bai Xiaowu's collection.

"God says that you should treat your relatives and friends like your right hand treats your left, wholeheartedly doing what's best for them, but without letting them know how you do it..."

"You are to do your charity in secret, for God will see it in the dark and will surely reward you..."

Lin Wen's voice grew weaker and weaker, almost inaudible.

Li Fei gritted his teeth and brought his ear close to her mouth.

"Li Fei, I always thought I was the right hand, but only today did I realize that I'm actually the left hand..."

"Xiao Wu went with them to save us..."

"They're lying..."