The two survivors’ disappearance did not slow the group. Neither Chen Ye nor Nana stopped.
The trio pressed on toward the Great Willow at the village center.
The deeper they went, the greater the strain on the survivors. An eerie fear settled over everyone. Houses lined both sides of the lane, many with their doors open onto pitch-black rooms.
Some had decided to follow Chen Ye and the others, while others still hesitated. Going deeper might not bring them more supplies, but it would certainly mean more danger. Yet entering the houses would be dangerous too.
Zhou Lan and Zhou Xiaoxiao were firmly in favor of following the three.
Chen Ye suddenly stopped, narrowed his eyes and lifted his Hand Crossbow slightly toward the path ahead. Iron Lion and Nana also looked forward warily.
It was the hunchback.
He seemed less like an old man than a marionette: both his movements and his expression had a puppet-like quality.
“You… have come…”
The Hunchback Thrall’s eerie voice made them uncomfortable. It was as though he had been waiting for them.
The survivors behind them scrambled to hide behind the three leaders.
“Are you from this village?” Chen Ye asked first.
The Hunchback Thrall chuckled without answering. “I know you’re here for supplies. There’s a small supermarket under the Great Willow, with plenty inside. You can take a look there.”
“Follow this road straight ahead to the Great Willow Mini-Mart! Hehe… lots of good things to eat there. Lots…”
Then the old man slowly turned and left. The whole exchange seemed to follow a prewritten program, making their scalps prickle.
Just then, a faint sound drifted to Chen Ye’s ears.
“Save… me… Save… me…”
The voice seemed to come from far away one moment, then close by the next. It was like… like…
Chen Ye’s expression hardened. He glanced at Iron Lion. “Big guy, did you hear that?”
Iron Lion’s face was grim. He nodded. “I heard it. Someone is saying ‘save me’.”
“It’s coming from inside that old man’s body,” Nana said.
“There’s something wrong with that old man!” This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Without hesitation, Chen Ye aimed his Hand Crossbow at the Hunchback Thrall and fired. He had practiced a great deal to stay alive, and his aim was now quite good.
The bolt, soaked in Black Dog Blood, struck the Thrall dead center between his eyebrows.
A wisp of bluish smoke rose from between the Thrall’s eyebrows, and pain flashed across his face.
It works, Chen Ye thought, feeling a surge of satisfaction. The Black Dog Blood was effective.
[System Message: You have dealt damage to the Hunchback Thrall. You have obtained Slaughter Points +100.]
But before Chen Ye could celebrate, the Hunchback Thrall turned to glare at him with venomous hatred. He reached up, yanked the bolt from his skull, and threw it to the ground.
The shot between his eyebrows had posed no threat to him at all. Black Dog Blood might be useful, but its effect was very limited, far short of Chen Ye’s arrow against the White-Dress Scissor Lady in Apricot Blossom Town. Of course, Iron Lion deserved most of the credit for that one.
“Attack!”
Nana’s eyes flashed, and her longsword became a streak of sword light aimed at the Hunchback Thrall.
Iron Lion moved a little slower, but danger seemed to radiate from him as he charged bare-handed like a bulldozer at full power.
Chen Ye drew back the string to load a second bolt.
With one stroke, Nana cut the Hunchback Thrall in two.
But there was no blood.
Before anyone could celebrate, the two halves of the body sprang away like a pair of monkeys, dodged Iron Lion’s fist and climbed onto a nearby roof to escape.
The mournful voice still came from the fleeing halves: “Save… me… please save… me…”
The sound was bone-chilling.
Nana quickly held Iron Lion back as he tried to give chase. “Big guy, calm down. Gathering supplies comes first.”
It had all happened in the blink of an eye, leaving the survivors behind them stunned.
Several felt warmth spreading through their trousers. No matter how many times they encountered Anomalies, they could not help feeling afraid.
“I’m not going! You go if you want, I’m getting out of here!”
One survivor shouted in terror, then turned and ran toward the village entrance.
“Me neither! I don’t want to die!” Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Two more broke rank and fled, chasing the first man.
Chen Ye glanced back. The Zhou siblings were still there, following closely behind the trio.
Zhou Lan seemed to notice his look. A trace of pleading and regret flickered in her eyes, then disappeared. Zhou Xiaoxiao lowered his head to avoid Chen Ye’s gaze.
None of the three said anything.
They looked toward the Great Willow and continued straight ahead. The mood was oppressive. There was still no one in the village, and walking through the Spectral Domain felt like crossing into another plane.
Suddenly, a piercing scream erupted from behind them.
“Azi! Azi is gone!”
The trio spun around.
A disheveled girl crouched on the ground, crying desperately. “Azi is gone… He was just here! Azi is gone!”
Her sobs sounded like wind blowing through a tunnel.
Chen Ye frowned. So much had happened before they even reached the Great Willow Mini-Mart. Longevity Village really was more dangerous than Apricot Blossom Town.
Feeling sorry for her, Zhou Lan crouched down to comfort her. “Don’t cry. Maybe Azi has already gone back. We might see him when we return.” Zhou Xiaoxiao looked impatient.
The girl shook her head wildly, her black hair flying like snakes. “No! I can’t be without Azi! I can’t live without him!”
Before anyone could react, the girl stood up and rushed back the way they had come.
“Wait!” Zhou Lan reached out to grab her, but her hand closed on empty air.
Silence returned to the group. No one spoke. They watched the direction the girl had fled with heavy hearts. They all saw themselves in her. Every survivor here had lost someone—husbands, wives, children.
But this was the apocalypse. Any of them might fail to leave Longevity Village alive today. It weighed on everyone like a stone.
Chen Ye lit a cigarette to ease the heaviness in his chest. Something about these events felt wrong, but he could not say what.
As he exhaled a smoke ring, Chen Ye quietly asked:
“Hey. Have any of you… ever seen that girl in the convoy before?”