Small Town

Hot air balloons can only move by relying on air currents in the air.

Experienced pilots will continuously adjust the height of the hot air balloon to adjust its direction.

But without a doubt, Lu Bai had almost no experience in this area.

We can only let the wind carry us wherever it takes us.

The sun was setting in the west, its rays like blood.

On the country road, two figures, one in front of the other, looked rather travel-worn.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Yao Yi pounded her thigh a couple of times and couldn't help but ask.

The hot air balloon landed in a very remote ravine, which was far from ideal.

With no village or shop in sight, we wandered around for almost two hours before finally finding this small path with signs of human activity.

Be patient.

Lu Bai chuckled and tried to reassure him.

While the hot air balloon drifted in the air, he carefully observed the scenery on the ground.

If you continue along this road, you should be able to see a small county town soon.

Yao Yi sighed, looking slightly puzzled. "Why don't we just call for help?"

"Then how do you explain your girlfriend's death? Did you tell the rescue workers that your girlfriend turned into a monster?"

Lu Bai slowed his pace slightly, glanced at Yao Yi, and continued, "And have you forgotten that the monster is still inside you?"

Upon hearing this, Yao Yi froze, instinctively reaching out to touch her chest.

They walked on in silence for a while longer.

He took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. "There must be other reasons, right? You must have some secrets too."

I guess so.

Lu Bai nodded, Long Fang appeared out of thin air in his hand. With a flick of his wrist like a juggler, the Nodachi disappeared again.

In fact, all weapons obtained from the [Armory] can be actively stored away.

However, this portability advantage can only be enjoyed by the original owner of the [Armory]. Even if someone else steals the weapons, the system will not provide this storage function.

This can be glimpsed to some extent in the previous Deathmatch Showdown, such as Fan Ding's ability to obtain a sword out of thin air and the duo's casual handing over of guns in the supermarket.

Lu Bai was quite satisfied with this feature. After all, carrying around such a strange weapon as Long Fang would be quite conspicuous.

Watching a Nodachi) over two meters long appear repeatedly, Yao Yi exclaimed from the bottom of her heart, "No matter how many times I see it, it still feels magical."

Beep beep~

The truck's horn blared from a distance, not very clear, but not so loud as to be easily ignored.

"Did you hear that?" Yao Yi asked, not entirely sure.

"Hmm, looks like we'll be there soon."

Jiangyu County.

A small county town with a permanent population of less than 100,000.

Because it is only about half an hour's drive from the city center, young people in the county naturally choose to work and live in big cities.

As a result, people over sixty years old account for more than half of the county's population.

In county towns like this, the nights are always a little longer.

The sun had just set, and there were already few pedestrians on the streets. The old, dilapidated streetlights cast a dim, yellowish light, carrying an indescribable sense of desolation.

A young woman in her early twenties rode her electric scooter slowly across the intersection and stopped in front of a Scrap Recycling shop at the northernmost part of the county.

Woof, woof!

The two- or three-year-old Chinese rural dog saw its owner and barked eagerly from a distance, but was unable to pounce because it was on a leash.

"Hehe, Pudding, do you miss your big sister?" Tong Shujuan squatted down and started rubbing Pudding's head angrily.

However, unusually, the stray dog did not show her affection as usual; instead, it continued to bark, and the barking grew louder and louder.

"What's wrong, Pudding?"

Tong Shujuan found it a bit strange, looked around, and then noticed that there was no leftover food in the dog bowl next to her. "Oh, it's hungry."

Squeak~

Just then, the side door was slowly opened.

Several elderly people came out of the house, all looking at Tong Shujuan expressionlessly.

One of the men and one of the women were Tong Shujuan's parents. Although the sudden appearance of these elderly people was a bit strange, she didn't think too much about it.

She continued squatting beside the dog, looking up and asking, "Mom, did you forget to prepare dinner for Pudding?"

However, no one answered her; everyone just watched her silently.

The stray dog barked even more fiercely, and even bared its teeth at the old men.

"W-what's wrong?" Tong Shujuan gradually sensed that something was amiss.

The elderly people exchanged glances, then began to talk as if no one else was around.

The first to speak was Tong Shujuan's mother, her tone stiff. "We need younger bodies."

"Which of you will switch?"

"I need to change it," said the old woman, who looked at least seventy years old.

"Can."

Tong Shujuan's father expressed his approval. "Juan, Juan, come inside."

The scene of their conversation sent a chill down Tong Shujuan's spine.

In particular, some of the words the old man used sent shivers down her spine, and her voice trembled uncontrollably. "You... you're joking with me, right?"

"No joke, don't be," her father said.

These are clearly my parents, so why does it feel so eerie?!

Tong Shujuan mustered her courage and asked, "Then why would you talk like that?"

Upon hearing this, the elderly people exchanged bewildered glances.

"She discovered a question."

"Not yet, not natural enough."

"This language is difficult to learn."

As they talked, the group gathered around Tong Shujuan.

Seeing this, Tong Shujuan took out her phone, dialed 110, and showed the phone screen to the elderly people.

She was panicked and scared, her voice trembling with tears. "If you're joking with me, stop right now!"

The elderly people ignored her and stiffly gathered around her.

This silent scene appeared exceptionally terrifying to Tong Shujuan.

She was so frightened that she trembled all over and couldn't even hold her phone steady. "Enough... stop!"

Just then, a gentle voice suddenly rang out.

"Excuse me for bothering you, but I'd like to ask if there are any restaurants nearby?"

Lu Bai looked on curiously at the situation at the scrap metal recycling station.

As the saying goes, "looking at a mountain makes a horse run itself to death," although he and Yao Yi saw the county town in the evening, it was already completely dark when they actually arrived at the small county town.

Standing at the intersection, he and Yao Yi looked around. Most of the shops on both sides of the road were closed, except for one general store with its lights on, but there was no one around the store to watch over it.

Therefore, even though the situation at the scrap metal recycling station next door seemed a bit off, Lu Bai still decided to ask.