Chapter 22: All Living Things

The hunchbacked old man slowly turned around and walked step by step into the village.

Just like that, he disappeared step by step before everyone's eyes.

The survivors looked at each other, and for a moment, it became terrifyingly quiet.

"Yezi, stay close to me!"

Iron Lion said in a deep, muffled voice, then strode forward into the village.

Chen Ye firmly gripped his hand crossbow, following behind Big Fool, not bothering to question the change in how Big Fool addressed him.

At his waist hung a simple arrow quiver filled entirely with bolt arrows soaked in black dog blood.

On his back was a large backpack that had originally been attached to his bicycle, but which Chen Ye had now taken off and carried on his back.

As for Iron Lion, that big fool, he carried countless large and small empty bags that were too many to count.

Therefore, this supply gathering mission could only rely on manual carrying.

Looking from outside the village toward the center, they could see the large willow tree, which didn't seem too far away.

Chen Ye followed behind Iron Lion, vigilantly watching their surroundings.

The Sword Fairy maiden also carried a huge backpack on her back, her right hand gripping the long sword at her waist, her long legs moving with a peculiar rhythm.

Soon, others began following the three of them into action.

The first to follow was a sleazy-looking old man.

This old man had been the first to act back in Xinghua Town.

It was worth noting that in the convoy, most people were young, with very few elderly.

This old man was one of them.

Surprisingly, this old man was still alive.

At the village entrance, many survivors looked at each other, the greed and hesitation in their eyes particularly evident at this moment.

Longevity Village clearly had problems, and no one could guarantee whether those who entered would come out alive.

But if they didn't go in, they probably wouldn't get any supplies.

In this apocalyptic background, supplies meant everything.

"Sis, hurry up, let's follow them!"

"We'd be safer staying closer to them!"

Zhou Xiaoxiao carried a huge package on his back and quickly followed.

Zhou Lan hesitated for a moment, but still followed.

"Xiaoxiao, we..."

Zhou Lan wanted to say more, but Zhou Xiaoxiao interrupted: "Sis, don't overthink it. If something really goes wrong, I don't believe Chen Ye wouldn't save us."

"Even if he doesn't, there are still the other two!"

"I don't believe they'd stand by and watch us die. Sis, you're a big celebrity!"

Zhou Xiaoxiao whispered in his sister's ear.

At this moment, Zhou Lan deeply regretted having her brother ask for that bucket of gasoline back.

If they hadn't reclaimed that bucket of gasoline back then, they might feel somewhat safer facing this situation today.

But what's done is done - the siblings had already offended Chen Ye.

Getting Chen Ye's protection was probably impossible.

Zhou Lan wasn't as optimistic as her brother.

She occasionally glanced at Chen Ye, her expression quite complex.

"Grandson, don't worry, Grandma... Grandma will go find food for you!"

"You stay obediently outside and wait for Grandma to return!"

The bratty child hugged his grandmother's leg, crying: "Grandma, I don't want you to go, I don't want you to go!"

"Silly child, if Grandma doesn't go, what will you eat?"

"This is the apocalypse now, these bastards won't sympathize with you!"

This grandmother-grandson pair were the ones Chen Ye had taught a lesson to before.

That they hadn't fallen behind or starved to death during these days of migration was somewhat miraculous.

But as time passed, many in the convoy had recognized the true nature of this grandmother-grandson pair.

Especially that bratty child.

Whenever someone had supplies, the bratty child would snatch them, spit if refused, or simply steal.

When discovered, the old woman would appear saying: "He's just a child!"

Making the entire convoy utterly disgusted.

Gradually, no one extended any help to this grandmother-grandson pair.

"Grandma can only rely on herself to find food for her good grandson!"

"Good grandson, you must remember - if Grandma doesn't return, everyone here is a murderer."

"When you grow up, remember to avenge Grandma!!"

"If they had given us food, Grandma wouldn't need to take this risk!"

"Especially that Chen Ye - you must remember that face!"

"Do you hear me?"

"Grandma~~~~ Waa waa..."

The bratty child's crying made the surrounding survivors frown.

Captain Chu not far away looked over, reaching to cover the nearby radio with a blanket.

No movement in the entire convoy could escape the eavesdropping function of the Eavesdropping Radio.

Captain Chu had heard the grandmother-grandson conversation clearly.

"When people court disaster, they cannot survive~~~"

Captain Chu sighed.

Not far away, a round-faced, sharp-chinned woman bowed her head, her hair draped down, making her expression unreadable.

Not everyone had the courage to enter Longevity Village to gather supplies.

Those standing at the entrance accounted for more than half of the entire convoy.

Most of them were women.

As long as they could bring back supplies, they could enjoy a privileged life in the convoy.

Regarding this situation, Chu Che didn't prohibit it.

Everything was fair trade.

Chen Ye lit a cigarette to relieve the pressure in his heart.

This wasn't his first time entering such a place.

But every time facing this situation, he couldn't avoid the heart-pounding feeling.

The cigarette dangled from his mouth, clenched between his teeth, his hand gripping the hand crossbow, the machete hanging at his waist.

The moment they entered the village, goosebumps instantly rose on the back of Chen Ye's hand.

Originally bright and sunny weather now felt like they had entered deep night.

The sun was still in the sky, but it seemed covered by a layer of black gauze.

Inside and outside the village were two different worlds.

"Be careful, this is a ghost domain!"

The Sword Fairy maiden tightened her grip on the long sword at her waist, her small face tense, her expression very serious.

"Ghost domain?"

"A special realm formed by some kind of power. In a ghost domain, even during daytime, the probability of anomalies appearing is higher."

The Sword Fairy maiden explained.

Chen Ye's face darkened.

What? Xinghua Town didn't have ghost domains, so how could tiny Longevity Village have something like a ghost domain?

Or was Longevity Village even more dangerous than Xinghua Town?

After entering the village, Chen Ye kept feeling like something was watching him from the darkness.

But when he looked carefully, he saw nothing, only darkness and gloom.

The hunchbacked old man had now disappeared without a trace.

Some survivors had already targeted the two houses at the village entrance.

These two houses weren't large, just simple adobe structures.

The dilapidated houses looked like they hadn't been inhabited for a long time.

Two survivors, each carrying a steel pipe, tiptoed toward the houses. If they could find half a bag of rice or flour inside, that would count as striking it rich.

The two survivors carefully pushed the door open.

Perhaps due to corrosion, the door lock had rusted beyond recognition, opening with just a light push.

A pitch-black opening appeared before them.

They swallowed hard, glanced at each other, then walked into the house side by side.

Their slightly trembling legs showed they were terrified to the extreme.

Chen Ye also noticed these two.

But their target was the large willow tree in the village center, not these civilian houses.

Chen Ye watched as the two entered that house, and then... nothing.

The house was like the gaping maw of a giant beast, silently swallowing the two without making any sound.

"I don't want to, I don't want to die, I want to get out!"

A bespectacled man couldn't bear the pressure anymore, turned around and ran toward the village entrance.

Zhou Lan and Zhou Xiaoxiao, seeing this scene, felt their hearts pounding, and couldn't help but take two more steps forward.