Mark

"What's wrong with you?" Carter noticed Lai Er's unusual behavior.

"No... it's nothing." Lai Er subconsciously shook his head, trying to suppress the emotions in his heart.

But... it wasn't very successful.

Carter frowned slightly as he looked at Lai Er's suddenly pale face. "If you have something to say, just say it. There's no need to hide it."

"It's really nothing," Lai Er forced a smile. "It's just that what I saw earlier made me a little uncomfortable."

Lai Er added, seemingly afraid that Carter would notice something was amiss.

"Physiological."

Carter, of course, could not believe such nonsense.

What kind of scenes hasn't a Black Market Merchant seen? Carter knew that when they were involved in human trafficking, they would sell people and their brains separately. Wasn't that much more stimulating than what he was seeing?

There must be something fishy going on here, and it's definitely not a small matter, since Lai Er is lying while wearing the necklace.

What could be the reason?

Carter glanced again at the tentacle that had vomited out bones, but couldn't figure out why for a moment.

Lai Er, though still trying to remain calm, was trembling uncontrollably with his hands beneath his sleeves.

Because he thought of that terrible thing—this was No Man's Land.

So, the person that tentacle just ate...

Lai Er didn't dare to think any further; the moment he did, cold sweat poured down his face.

"I'm not feeling well," Lai Er said to Carter. "Could I rest for a bit?"

Carter looked into Lai Er's eyes.

This wasn't part of his plan. What he needed now was to act swiftly and decisively, get Lai Er to swear allegiance to his master as soon as possible, and then...

"Say yes to him," Diana's voice suddenly echoed in Carter's mind. "See what he's up to."

Having received the order, Carter nodded to Lai Er: "You can wander around the area, as long as you don't reveal your identity. I'll be waiting for you here."

Lai Er subconsciously thanked him, then turned and left in a daze.

But he didn't know where he was going or what he was going to do; his mind was completely blank.

He was certain that the skeletons he had just seen belonged to humans, meaning that this "Obedience of Heavenly Voice" was cannibalistic.

So what kind of people are they eating, living or dead? If living, what kind of people are they, and where are they from?

Lai Er tried to reassure himself that what they ate might not have been living people, but rather corpses. After all, with such a massive physique, how many people would it have eaten if it were to feed on living beings? It was simply unimaginable...

No, it's not that I can't imagine it.

His past as a black market trader flooded back to him. He recalled the prison he had seen that night, and the innocent faces of the people in those cells.

He had witnessed firsthand the darkness that ordinary people could not even imagine. He had seen the sordid deeds committed by those prestigious religious sects and those high-ranking Father and Knight... no, not just seen, but participated in them.

That is why Lai Er is in such pain right now, afraid to think about it, and doesn't even have the courage to ask Carter directly. He can only keep comforting himself in his heart.

It's alright, his village is forgotten. Carter himself said so; it's one of those villages that can't be found.

So they must be fine. Besides, Ha Luo has been delivering things to the village on my behalf all along, hasn't he? If anything had happened, Ha Luo would have told me.

This stroke of luck gradually eased Lai Er's tense nerves.

But just then, a familiar voice that hadn't been heard in a long time rang in my mind.

"Head south."

Lai Er was startled and almost cried out.

"Visas-sama?!"

Lai Er glanced subconsciously at the necklace on her chest.

It's still in good condition and not damaged.

Lai Er felt lost.

If that's the case, why did he hear Visas-sama's voice? Didn't Carter say that the necklace could...?

Lai Er's pupils suddenly narrowed.

Carter only said that the necklace could block Tongue-sensei.

In other words...

Lai Er's lips went dry. "Visas-sama, I..."

"If you want to apologize for having thought of betraying me, there's no need," Bai Wei said calmly. "Betrayal and loyalty are both boring things to me; they're just dancing with a mask on. What I want to see is the true face beneath the mask."

"I do not understand."

"It's about two hours south," Bai Wei said. "You'll understand."

What place is that?

"A tiny, insignificant village."

Lai Er's eyes widened instantly. He guessed what Bai Wei meant, but he wasn't sure.

"Visas-sama ..." He still clung to a last glimmer of hope, "What place is that?"

"You already have the answer in your heart, so why ask any more questions?" Bai Wei said. "I've already told you the location. It's up to you to make the choice."

Lai Er opened his mouth.

The fear from before surged back into my heart.

Ten minutes later.

Carter watched Lai Er sprint away from the gathering point, his figure disappearing into the south, and asked himself, "Master, are we just going to let him go like this?"

"Of course not," Diana said. "Send someone to follow him, but don't show yourself. Just follow him and see what he's up to."

With that necklace as a marker, tracking Lai Er wouldn't be difficult, but Carter had some doubts. "But you haven't reached a deal with him yet, is it really okay to let him go like this?"

"He has already seen the Obedience of Heavenly Voice, so the deal is already half done," Diana said calmly. "Now, it depends on whether he wants to keep his life."

Diana knew she was the least likely to panic. As long as she didn't leave the Contract Land and held onto the Obedience of Heavenly Voice, things wouldn't be too bad even if her identity was exposed.

The Contract Land can seal even the largest part of Visas's body, so why would it be afraid of a few insignificant pieces of his corpse?

She believed her tongue would be found, but before that, she wanted to know what Lai Er was up to and why he had suddenly changed his attitude.

"What's to the south?" Diana asked.

Carter recalled for a moment and said, "A village that was once lost."

Diana understood.

The reason for using the word "once" is that the village was once lost.

It's because we've now found it.

In the villages near the meeting point?

Diana seemed to have guessed something, and then slightly raised the corners of her mouth. "That seems interesting."

She paused for a moment, then gave the instruction.

"Catch him, now."

Why do you insist on leaving?

"Didn't you hear what that person said? There's a huge world out there!"

He's lying to you!

"How could he be lying to me? Who among us has ever seen a stranger like this before?"

Even if he wasn't lying to you, even if what he said was true, so what?

"What do you mean 'So what'? Isn't this enough? Why should we stay in this small place and breathe in yellow sand every day?"

"That's how our ancestors all lived."

"Is it right just because our ancestors all lived this way? Do you see that guy? He's older than my father, but he looks younger than me! Have you forgotten what he said? In the outside world, people can live to be fifty! Here, I'll be dead in ten years, and I don't want to die like that!"

"But you have children..."

"So what? Nobody can stop me! Nobody can stop me!"

"Waaaaa (baby's cry)..."

The mature young man shook off his wife's hand, ignored his baby son crying in his swaddling clothes, pushed open the door, and strode forward.

The merchant in the black cloak was glancing at him sideways.

"Oh, you've decided?"

"It's decided, take me with you!" the young man said through gritted teeth. "Let's go now!"

"You certainly have courage," the businessman said with a smile. "I hope you can maintain that courage while you're out there."

"Certainly!"

"Then come with me."

The young man followed the merchant, but the weeping of his wife and children, the lamentations of his parents, and the strange looks from the villagers continued to torment him.

So he turned around abruptly and roared at all of this.

"You just wait! I'll be back soon, and I'll prove you all wrong, every single one of you!"

Then he walked into the vast expanse of yellow sand, etching the outline of the village in the sand into his heart.

Lai Er's hands trembled as he looked at the silhouette in the yellow sand.

This confirmed to Bai Wei that he had found the right place.

Bai Wei had never been to the Contract Land before, but based on Lai Er's memory of the village and the gaze of his left eye piercing through the endless yellow sand, he found this place.

He didn't urge Lai Er, because once they returned here, the outcome was already decided.

Lai Er stood like a sculpture in the yellow sand for a long time, and finally, just as he was about to be buried by the sand, he raised his trembling legs and walked step by step toward the place called "hometown".

Five years ago, he didn't know what hometown meant because he had never left it.

It wasn't until I left the No Man's Land and went out into the world that I understood the meaning of home.

Over the past five years, he had imagined countless times what it would be like to return home, but he never expected it to turn out like this.

The fog was so thick that when you could see the outline of a village through it, it meant you were very, very close to it.

But even this extremely short distance took him a very long time to walk, so long that he himself couldn't remember.

Is it a few minutes, a few hours, or... a few years?

When the village was no longer just an outline in his eyes, and when the endless yellow sand could no longer obscure his vision, Lai Er's knees buckled and he knelt on the ground.

Because he saw it.

The village was deserted, like a silent tombstone.

But that has already explained everything.

"Just as I thought." This scene naturally caught the eye of Diana, who had Carter following closely behind. "It really is like that."

This scene doesn't require much explanation to understand; Lai Er is a resident of this village.

"They're from the No Man's Land's land," Carter said. "They even went out there to become illegal traders."

However, this is not surprising. Black marketeers always search for suitable people in No Man's Land to expand their teams. However, due to their limited thinking, they can only take a few people out. Therefore Carter and Diana did not think about this at first.

Now that Lai Er's identity is known, all of Lai Er's previous puzzling behavior can be explained.

"How interesting. Is it a coincidence or a scheme that Tongue chose such a person to work for them?" Diana said with a light laugh. "Was he certain that this person wouldn't be of any use to us?"

Diana paused for a moment, her tone now tinged with contemplation.

"But how could he be so knowledgeable about the No Man's Land?"

Carter listened quietly, without making a sound to disturb Diana's thoughts.

It wasn't until Diana asked, "What's wrong with this village?"

Carter was about to answer when he saw Lai Er suddenly stand up in the distance and run into the village like a mad dog.

Lai Er refused to accept his fate; otherwise, he wouldn't have abandoned his wife and children and left his hometown five years ago.

And it's the same now. Even if his family members are really gone, he wants to know exactly how they died. He wants to see them alive or dead.

After all... what if?

What if they didn't die? What if they escaped?

Just like five years ago, when everyone thought Ha Luo was a fraud, only Lai Er still had a glimmer of hope.

What if he isn't?

So now he's run into the village, wanting to see it for himself.

The village was deserted and looked like it had been abandoned for some time, which naturally made Lai Er's heart sink again.

But he forced himself not to think about it and returned to his room in the shortest possible time.

There was no one in the room, only a mess.

The bed was covered in dust and hadn't been cleaned; the food was rotten beyond recognition; and there were broken bottles and jars scattered on the floor.

This only fueled Lai Er's despair.

All of this indicates that the people inside did not leave normally, but were suddenly taken away.

Where can it be taken?

This goes without saying.

Lai Er gritted his teeth, still not giving up, wanting to call out his son's name, but suddenly froze when he opened his mouth.

Because he had already left before he named his son.

So he could only call out to his wife and parents, but there was no response.

He searched the entire house but found nothing except two children's clothes.

In the end, he sat on the ground in despair and dejection, his eyes red as he looked at the clothes in his hands.

Judging from his clothes, he's already a grown man.

But...

Lai Er recalled the scene he had just witnessed at the Obedience of Heavenly Voice, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably, his teeth almost grinding to powder.

Why him of all people? Why...?

Just then, Bai Wei spoke again, "There's something on the door frame."

Is there something on the door frame?

Lai Er subconsciously raised his head and looked at the door frame.

He saw an engraved mark.

The mark looks somewhat familiar.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Lai Er suddenly remembered.

That's... the mark of a black market dealer!