Chapter 155 - Just the Right Amount of Strangeness

Walking into the settlement, the group immediately felt numerous gazes land upon them, not just because of their attire different from the refugees, but also due to the stark bloodstains on them, which emitted an unavoidable bloody odor that began to spread the moment they entered the settlement.Seeing a group of people who seemed to have just rolled out of a heap of corpses enter the settlement, the refugees’ eyes gleamed with vigilance and suspicion, and it wasn’t long before a few youths blocked their path.

The youth leading them wielded an iron rod, wearing saggy work pants paired with a torn denim jacket scavenged perhaps from some rubbish heap, standing before them with an unfriendly expression, pointing the iron rod at Chen San at the forefront.

"What are you here for?" he asked.

He didn’t appear very old, possibly just out of a foster home in the city and at the age of struggling to survive in society, yet his face was covered in thick dust, lips chapped from dryness and bleeding, a long knife scar on his arm, eyes filled with a harshness unbefitting his age.

Chen San’s expression shifted slightly, trying to sound as calm as possible: "I’m from the Dawn Office, I know Liu, looking for him for business."

"Office?"

Upon hearing these three words, the youths became even more alert, forming a tight circle around the group, with the lead youth intensifying his tone:

"Who’s Liu? I don’t know him, and what kind of bullshit office, I’ve changed my mind, humph, I definitely won’t let you guys leave."

"You brat, don’t act like you know nothing of the world." Lin Xing rebuked lowly.

"Brothers, give me..."

A cry of agony caught everyone’s attention; the previously inconspicuous blonde girl had somehow arrived behind the youth, grabbing his arm and twisting it back, her seemingly petite frame bursting with formidable Power.

Though Xu Xiaoyou’s Power wasn’t great, dealing with these ordinary people was more than sufficient; by merely gripping the opponent’s hand, she made him half-kneel on the ground, rendering him immobile while a slight exertion made his bones crack loudly, as though they were all about to shatter.

Xiaoyou’s expression remained calm, looking at the youth whose forehead was continually sweating, his face pale, she gave him a simple kick, knocking him to the ground, sneering coldly: "Pretending to be tough when you can’t even grow a full beard."

Having suffered losses at the girl’s hands, the youth sprawled on the ground realized the disparity between them and the group before them, shouting a few times, attempting to leave with his companions, yet soon heard the girl speak again:

"I didn’t let you leave."

They flinched, turning back to find the girl’s icy glare, aimed at them as the black metal glimmered with a cold, harsh light: "Stay put here."

The youths’ hearts tightened, each tremblingly stayed behind, the lead youth gritted his teeth, unwillingly crouched down with his head in his arms, Chen San, noticing the peculiar gazes of the surrounding settlement refugees, stepped forward saying: "Hey, we’re here on a commission, don’t go overboard!"

Xiaoyou understanding that he was seizing the chance to play the good cop, decided to play along: "A bunch of blind fools, shouldn’t they be taught a lesson?"

"Without learning from experience, it’ll only look uglier when they die later."

As she said this, Xiaoyou intended to aim her gun at the youth’s leg, when suddenly a long, drawn-out call came from afar.

They turned to see an elderly man running towards them from a distance, gasping heavily despite the clothes on him visibly differing from those of the surrounding refugees, though not exquisite, certainly signifying a higher status within the settlement.

"Village Chief." The youth, upon seeing the elderly man, scrambled towards him, yet before he could speak, the elder’s hand struck his head while scolding, ending with a kick in disgust.

"You dare cause trouble with just anyone, they’re from the Dawn Office!"

Evidently, the elder held great respect here; once he appeared, the wary, scrutinizing gazes weighing on them considerably decreased, and the nearby refugees resumed their activities.

The youth clutching his butt, after a fierce glare from the elder, ran off meekly.

Soon, the elder approached Chen San, speaking apologetically: "It’s my failure to keep these youngsters in check, I caused you trouble."

"A bunch of immature kids, they’ve only been here recently, merely half a month ago their village was destroyed by a family representative’s office, including their relatives were slaughtered there, the brigands spared no one..."

Though the elder didn’t meet her eye while speaking, Xiaoyou discerned his unspoken meaning, shrugged, casting a gentle smile at the slightly worried Tang Xin without commenting further.

"Office?" Chen San frowned slightly.

"Certainly relates to those vile offspring of the families; this time coincides with their winter hunt period, specifically hiring some low-level, unheralded offices to escort them out of the city." Lin Sheng suddenly spoke.

The younger refugees upon hearing this, their eyes filled with sorrow, as for them, pain had accompanied them since their birth into this world.

Beyond the threats of predatory beasts on the snowy plains, natural disasters, hunger, and disease, to those big shots in the cities, their lives aren’t even worth grass, perhaps on a whim they would order raids or even slaughter their settlement, sparing none, neither man, woman, nor child.

Such events were not a singular occurrence, gazing at each other who ended up here for various reasons, the refugees gave a wry smile, masking their grief.

Seemingly sensing the heavy atmosphere, the elder waved the nearby gathered refugees away, indicating them to disperse, then nodded slightly towards Chen San:

"Coincidentally, dinner at home is ready, let’s discuss matters elsewhere."

"Alright." Chen San nodded in agreement.

After briefly exchanging pleasantries, they followed the elder deeper into the settlement; it wasn’t large, approximately equivalent to a small village, akin to two city blocks.

Xiaoyou’s focus was wholly on the elder, an indescribable oddity emanating from him; his face bore numerous wrinkles, expression gentle and kind, seemingly just an ordinary, respected elder.

In fact, since arriving here, the entire settlement exuded this odd sensation to her, from the women washing clothes at the village entrance to the refugees observing them from the houses, as well as the children running in the streets.

Everything seemed too ordinary, like watching a grand theatrical performance, where everyone’s expressions, movements, and actions ’perfectly’ displayed before them.

At this moment, Tang Xin lightly tapped her shoulder, she noticed the girl’s slightly curved eyes, the girl said: "Just now Xiaoyou was a bit unfamiliar to me."

She was about to say something, but Tang Xin’s fingertips covered her lips, pointing discreetly somewhere: "Shh, look there."

Following Tang Xin’s direction, she saw the figure of a skinny girl, half-hidden behind a wooden pillar, the half of her face visible covered in dust, her dark eyes quietly observing them.

"Since we entered the settlement, that little one has been watching us all along." Tang Xin gently said.

Once detected by their gaze, the girl quickly darted away, vanishing into the shadows.