Do you know what the most terrifying thing in the world is?

When they followed them into the village, not a single soul was in sight.

"Where are all the people in your village?"

Jiang You curiously surveyed the village, surrounded by water on all sides. They had entered by boat via a water route.

It was less like a village and more like a small island in the middle of the lake.

Admittedly, the village's location was quite good.

The lake water acted as a natural barrier, keeping the zombies at bay.

Zhang Long explained, "When we left, just in case, we moved all the old people and children in the village to the cellar. We also left some young people in the village. They'll only come out after we've returned."

Zhang Shuhui didn't quite understand, "Are you afraid zombies would break in when you're not home? But you can only enter this lake by boat, and zombies can't swim."

Zhang Long shook his head, "It's not to defend against zombies, it's to defend against people. We're not the only group of survivors around here. Many people are covetous of our village's geographical advantage. There have been instances of outsiders breaking in before, so ever since then, whenever we go out, we place the old and young in the cellar. Only villagers know the entrance to the cellar. No matter what they steal, at least no one will get hurt."

Zhang Long led them to a small courtyard. The others went to notify the people in the cellar.

"This courtyard is no longer inhabited. You can rest here. I'll have someone tidy it up shortly."

Zhang Long pushed open the courtyard gate and ushered them inside.

Zhang Shuhui quickly shook her head, "No, no, I'll tidy it up myself. We adults are used to me tidying up, no need for help."

Seeing Zhang Long nod, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. No one is going to steal my job!

Jiang You observed the small red brick courtyard before her. This courtyard clearly had residents; the table under the eaves was free of dust. Yet, Zhang Long said no one lived here, which meant the owner of this house had recently died. Perhaps killed by those rotting corpses. However, she didn't ask. Her purpose for coming to the village was clear: to learn about Huai Shan Farm. Since those rotting corpses had serial numbers, it proved there were definitely more than just a few; there had to be many more.

Thinking of the possibility of a horde of rotting corpses, Jiang You felt as if she could see a pile of egg-sized crystal cores waving at her. But if there were many rotting corpses, she herself might not be able to handle it if she rushed in. Confidence is good, but sometimes overconfidence can be one's downfall. Jiang You never did anything without a high degree of certainty.

So, she spoke, "I'd like to meet your Village Chief."

Zhang Long nodded repeatedly, "Of course. I've already sent someone to notify the Village Chief. He'll be here shortly. It's just that he's old and walks slowly, so please wait a few more minutes."

After speaking, Zhang Long asked someone to bring some food to entertain Jiang You, but Jiang You waved her hand and refused. "No need for entertainment, we have food."

Zhang Long thought that such powerful ability users would surely eat better than them and probably wouldn't care for their simple food, so he didn't insist further.

A few minutes later, Jiang You heard a heart-wrenching wail.

Zhang Long's face turned a little pale, "It's Aunt Li. Her son was also a member of our village's defense team. This time... he died at the hands of the rotting corpses."

Jiang You looked at his fractured arm and said, "You don't need to stay with me. You should go get your arm treated first, to avoid any lingering issues."

He nodded and left.

Suddenly, only Jiang You and Zhang Shuhui were left in the courtyard. Da Zhuang was lying on the ground, his favorite activity after eating his fill was to lie down. The grey mouse busily scurried over Da Zhuang, giving him a massage.

The room was quite stuffy, so Jiang You took a chair from her Space and sat down under the shade of a tree in the southeast corner of the courtyard. Not long after, a young man, about seventeen or eighteen years old, carrying a pot of water and some food, walked to the courtyard entrance.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Come in."

The young man walked in, "This is our local Old Yin Tea. The preserved vegetable buns are freshly steamed. Please have some to tide you over."

The young man's face bore a fresh cut, he was thin and dark, but his eyes held a lively spark.

Jiang You had seen him before at the lychee grove.

However, he had clearly changed into clean clothes and tidied himself up.

"You saved us, and we don't have much to offer. Although you told us not to bring food, Brother A Long still instructed us to prepare something good. If you're worried, I can try it first to show you!"

The young man said, swallowing.

There was no meat in the village, but they had dried preserved vegetables. Using the last of the flour from the kitchen, they made several steamed buns.

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This was the best food their village could currently produce.

The young man desperately suppressed his salivation, afraid the person opposite him would notice.

Jiang You waved her hand, "You all eat it yourselves. I don't eat other people's things."

"But Brother A Long asked us to make this for you, how can we eat it?"

"If you don't eat it, throw it away. I don't have the habit of eating food from strangers."

Jiang You wasn't a patient person and didn't want to drag this out. She immediately turned cold.

Even though she knew that for the people of this village, this white flour was likely a very precious commodity.

Regardless of whether these people were sincere or not, Jiang You's principle was to never touch other people's food when she was out. This was a lesson learned from countless experiences. You never knew what might be in the food someone gave you.

The young man sighed.

Just then, an old man with white hair and beard appeared at the doorway, leaning on a cane.

"Ping Wa Zi, take these things back. Your defense team can share them and eat them. Everyone is injured and needs nourishment. The weather is too hot; these won't keep and will spoil."

"But..."

The young man wanted to say more, but stopped. It seemed like such good food, a shame to eat it all in one go! But he still obediently took the items and left.

The Old Village Chief slowly walked in, leaning on his cane. Jiang You took out a stool from her Space and placed it under the shade of a tree. After the Old Village Chief was seated, she directly asked, "I heard you know about the Huai Shan Farm matter. Can you tell me about it?"

The Old Village Chief sighed and said in his aged voice, "The matter of Huai Shan Farm, it all started about ten years ago..."

In the Old Village Chief's narration, Jiang You heard a story that wasn't entirely complete. About twelve years ago, a large tract of land behind Yuge Village, along with two mountains, was privately contracted to be made into a farm. The farm owners were a couple with two sons. They sprinkled thorny seeds along the boundary of the farm. Thorns grow very quickly. About six months later, the thorns grew very tall, like a natural wall. The couple rarely interacted with outsiders. Outsiders were blocked by the thorn wall and couldn't get in. The Village Chief had met them because of the initial contracting agreement. The couple contracted the farm to raise a type of goat. At that time, no one in their area raised sheep on a large scale. The villagers didn't think they would succeed, but after more than a year, the farm's male owner, while drunk, accidentally revealed that they earned hundreds of thousands a year. This one oversight brought them utter ruin.

The Old Village Chief recalled the events of that time, still feeling a lingering fear. For villagers who, after a year of working to survive, could only save one or two thousand, nearly a million a year was an unimaginable temptation. He looked at Jiang You, his cloudy eyes showing a hint of tears, "You didn't eat our food just now, were you afraid we would poison you?"

His sudden change of topic caught Jiang You off guard. She nodded calmly, "I don't eat things handled by outsiders. It's better for everyone."

The Old Village Chief nodded, not angry, and instead sighed.

"Yeah… yeah… don't eat things from strangers. That farm's male owner ate too many things others gave him, and his words… too many…"

Originally, the couple on the farm were from outside. Nobody knew them, and they kept to themselves.

The female owner was usually quiet and reserved, and the male owner didn't talk much either.

But this male owner had one hobby: drinking.

Once he got drunk, he was like a completely different person.

He became very talkative.

After he revealed in his drunken state that he made hundreds of thousands a year.

He suddenly realized that the villagers near the farm were all very enthusiastic and simple.

It seemed like everyone welcomed them.

Sometimes, villagers would bring homemade food over to visit.

And children would go to the farm to play with their two sons.

They seemed to have completely blended into their surroundings…

But it wasn't long before things changed.

The Old Village Chief said, then stopped.

As if recalling something.

He looked at Jiang You, his voice trembling slightly, "Child, do you know what the most terrifying thing in this world is?"