Before everything goes out

As they talked, the two gradually became acquainted and explored most of the village.

This is the end.

Li Fei now had a basic understanding of Shuanghe Village.

Although it's called a village, it's actually just a few streets built around a river.

The living area alone is about the size of two football fields. If it weren't for the earthen houses in the middle that block the view, Li Fei could stand on a high earthen slope and see the whole thing at a glance, and walk back and forth in just a few minutes.

Population uncertainty.

Even at most, it wouldn't exceed 100 people.

Li Fei estimated that after watching the crowd just now, he had already met most of the people in the village.

"Over there are terraced fields, over there is a well, and over there is the village chief's house."

"That's the pigsty over there, along with chickens, ducks, and all sorts of other things. They're all under Second Uncle's management."

Li Fei followed behind Lin Wen, listening to various explanations.

However, these are not things he is truly concerned about right now.

For him, there are only two things to care about right now.

What kind of world is this?

Can I wear it back?

After a moment's consideration, Li Fei decided to start with Lin Wen's identity as a "college student".

"By the way, Teacher Lin, the village chief just said you're the only college graduate in the village, so are you back in the village to teach after graduation?"

"Teaching in a rural area?"

Lin Wen turned her head, her expression puzzled.

"What is that?"

"Uh, well..."

Li Fei fell silent.

Considering the cost of explaining this concept clearly, he chose to give up.

"Never mind, forget I asked."

"Oh, actually, if you put it that way, I'm not really a college student."

Lin Wen gave a bitter smile.

"It's quite a coincidence. I had just finished my college entrance exams and hadn't even had a chance to register for university when the cataclysm came, and that's how everything turned out the way it is now."

Cataclysm!

Li Fei raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

This is what he wants to find out: about everything in this world.

"I almost forgot, you don't remember anything."

Seeing the curiosity on Li Fei's face, Lin Wen realized that this was no longer the ring from before, but a blank sheet of paper.

"Can you tell me about the Great Cataclysm?"

"Well..."

Lin Wen hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

After a moment of silence, she spoke with a complex expression.

"All you need to know is that the outside world is dangerous."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Well, to put it simply, humanity is on the verge of extinction. The only thing we can do is not stay in the shadows, or we will turn into terrifying monsters."

"this..."

Li Fei was a little confused.

We cannot stay in the dark, because darkness will cause mutations?

So he was hiding in the shadows, and that's why the bracelet called the police?

It seems I wasn't wrong back then; if he had stayed any longer, he really would have turned into a monster like that chicken.

"You mean the world outside Shuanghe Village is on the verge of extinction, and the villagers here are all survivors?"

Li Fei was somewhat unwilling.

Judging from Lin Wen's age, she's no more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight. She took the college entrance exam right around the time of the Great Cataclysm, which was about ten years ago...

Humanity perished in just 10 years?

It sounds like this catastrophe simply can't stay in the shadows.

Is human civilization really that fragile?

"You could understand it that way; at least the government and the country no longer exist. Of course, there are also places like our village, like 'the wall.'"

"And what is a 'wall'?"

Li Fei asked.

"That's a question you'll have to ask yourself."

Lin Wen pointed to the bracelet on Li Fei's hand.

"All we know is that people like you who wear bracelets claim to come from inside the wall, but we have no idea where that place is or what it is."

After all, whenever the ringmen appeared, they didn't interact much with the villagers; they just borrowed livestock and feed from the village—or rather, they robbed them.

Were they only fighting over food before?

This time, they kidnapped a large group of people?

Li Fei frowned slightly, noticing something amiss.

There's always a reason behind unusual behavior. Even scumbags have their reasons for doing such things.

"Wait, so if I escape from here, I can go back to the 'wall' that I originally belonged to?"

Li Fei suddenly had an inspiration.

It is clear.

If this is an apocalypse, then compared to this backward and remote village, the organization to which the original owner belonged is a more suitable place to live.

Think the worst.

If he can't go back to his original world, he can't stay in this dilapidated village forever; he has to find a safe and good place to stay.

"No matter what, we have to get out of this village first."

Li Fei made up his mind.

He's still too weak right now. After calming down and thinking it over, he definitely can't do anything tonight.

According to the agreement, he was to give the village chief an explanation the day after tomorrow. If he couldn't hand over the kidnapped villagers by then, he would be in trouble again.

So the best opportunity is tomorrow night.

He will spend another day surveying and making preparations tomorrow, and if conditions permit, he will leave tomorrow night.

"Look, that's the room where you were locked up before."

Following the direction Lin Wen pointed, Li Fei saw a small house on the riverbank further away.

It was too far away to see clearly; all I could see was a patch of blackened, charred wood.

"When I heard noises inside, I thought you had turned into a zombie, but it turns out you weren't dead at all."

Later, Brother Niu said that when you woke up again, he would hang a chicken to scare you so that you would talk more. He didn't expect you to actually set the house on fire.

Are you trying to scare me by hanging a chicken on my head?

That chicken almost killed me!

and many more.

It's not just a chicken problem.

To be honest, there was only one kerosene lamp in the room, making it incredibly dim, so dim that it even triggered the alarm on the bracelet...

Is this appropriate?

Thinking of this, Li Fei asked:

"That room was so dark, aren't you afraid I'll mutate like that chicken?"

"What are you thinking? Living people don't mutate so easily. If they could mutate just by turning on a lamp, our whole village would have mutated long ago."

Lin Wen waved her hand.

Judging from the calm expression on her face, Li Fei even began to doubt himself.

He clearly remembered that he felt an intense itching all over his body, so itchy that he wanted to peel his skin off.

If this doesn't feel like a mutation, what else could it be?

"Look at that."

After walking a few more steps, Lin Wen pointed to a tall wooden support a little further away.

Below was a log, surrounded by a ring of windproof glass, and in the middle was a black, burning lump.

"There is no electricity in the village, so these serve as streetlights. There are four in total, and these four lights can illuminate the entire village, allowing everyone to go out at night."

Although we don't usually use this, kerosene is quite precious, so using less here means each household can get more.

Li Fei nodded.

This is probably a homemade street lamp, but it's quite stylish.

As he walked, he looked around, keeping an eye out for any possible means of transportation.

After all, he couldn't possibly escape from this deep mountain forest on foot alone.

Cars, motorcycles, bicycles...

If all else fails, a horse would be fine; in his previous life, he paid to ride one for a few minutes while traveling...

Regrettably.

As dusk fell and the two of them explored the entire village, he still hadn't found what he was looking for.

"It's getting late. The village chief has a rule that we can't go out after 8 p.m., so let's go home and rest."

In the afterglow of the setting sun, Lin Wen stopped in front of a small house.

It's a standard rural bungalow, with a fence surrounding the entrance, separating a small farmhouse courtyard. On an old tree in the courtyard, there's a tattered swing hanging.

"You...you're still swinging on the swing?"

Li Fei was stunned for a moment when he saw the swing decorated with simple colors.

"Is that not allowed?"

"It's possible, but..."

"They belong to the children."

Lin Wen clapped her hands, and then a flurry of footsteps sounded as a group of children emerged from the house.