Human Head

The Patrol Team is made up of six people.

Normally, during the first half of the night, even experienced Patrol Teams like Brother Yong's wouldn't light Soul Fires to save Lifespan, unless a situation arose.

But in the latter half of the night, most Patrol Teams would light Soul Fires, burning some Lifespan to gain visibility and safety.

After all, Anomalies become more active the deeper the night gets.

Of course, this doesn't mean they don't appear during the day, it's just less likely.

Someone seems to have researched this phenomenon, and apparently Anomalies prefer the environment of Deep Night.

"But didn't Lin Ling say we don't normally need to light Soul Fires?"

Shi Wuliao immediately became anxious.

Lighting Soul Fires consumes Lifespan.

Their Lifespan was just enough to last until the end of their patrol.

Only by handing over their duty and receiving their Lifespan reward could they continue to eke out an existence.

But if they burned Lifespan, they wouldn't last until the end of their duty.

So, if they were to light Soul Fires, they could only rely on Fang Yue or Niu Niu, who had obtained Bronze Lifespan Tokens early.

"With Lin Ling's strength as a captain, he really doesn't need to light Soul Fires under normal circumstances. But it's different for guards like us with low strength. If we don't light Soul Fires and encounter an Anomaly, we'll probably be killed before we even see what it looks like, dying silently and without reason."

This was what Brother Yong told Fang Yue, and Fang Yue found it very reasonable.

With the current visibility, Fang Yue already felt it was dangerous, and this was only the first half of the night.

"Do we have to light them..."

Everyone hesitated.

"It's still the first half of the night, why don't we skip it?"

"Yeah, we should save Lifespan whenever we can."

Fang Yue shook his head.

"No! We're lighting the torches now."

"This... why?"

Everyone was confused.

Fang Yue patiently explained.

"Brother Yong has years of patrol experience, so he can lead the team in the dark during the first half of the night. We players are all beginners, we can't compare."

"Just like that last wave, if it wasn't Brother Yong who came, but an Anomaly, all five of you would be down by now. But if the torches were lit, we could have discovered the situation early and been prepared to escape or fight, instead of only realizing it when it's right in front of us."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

They knew Fang Yue was making sense, but psychologically, they were reluctant to spend their Lifespan.

Burning Lifespan in the first half of the night, and continuing to burn it in the second half, their Lifespan would be gone before the patrol ended!

This was also a very realistic problem.

Fang Yue thought for a moment and said, "How about this, I'll cover the Lifespan consumption of the Soul Fires for now. After the patrol ends, when you receive your rewards, you can split it with me. There are six of us, and the Soul Fires burn for six hours. Divided among us, each person only contributes one hour of Lifespan."

One hour, it sounded easy.

Before they even received their rewards, everyone was already feeling a twinge of pain at the thought of giving up their Lifespan.

Shi Wuliao's eyes darted around. "Brother Ye, the Bronze Lifespan Token should be able to allocate Lifespan to others, right? I want to buy an hour of Lifespan from you!"

The others' hearts stirred, and they also spoke up.

The prices offered rose from a thousand to ten thousand, making Fang Yue's heart flutter.

But Fang Yue still refused.

Fang Yue had a lot of Lifespan, but practicing martial arts consumed it rapidly.

Moreover, he hadn't found a way to earn a large amount of Lifespan. Every bit he used was less, so he would definitely keep such precious resources for himself.

If his character was powerful, he could earn more money, Fang Yue understood this principle.

Seeing Fang Yue's firm stance, everyone turned to Niu Niu, and the price rose to twenty thousand.

Niu Niu was finally tempted and sold 1 hour of Lifespan.

Fang Yue shook his head, offering no comment on this practice.

Seeing Shi Wuliao buy 1 hour of Lifespan, everyone continued to persuade Niu Niu to sell.

Finally, Niu Niu was persuaded again. Thinking that he would still receive Lifespan rewards at the end of the patrol, he sold another 4 hours, keeping only 1 hour for himself.

Fang Yue looked at Niu Niu, who had suddenly become rich overnight, and his resolve wavered slightly.

But thinking of the bright future, and the great wealth he could earn once his character became powerful, he finally suppressed the impulse.

"Everyone has Lifespan to supplement, now each person contributes 1 hour of Lifespan to light the Soul Fires, any objections?"

"No."

Burning the Soul Fire, lighting the torch.

With a puff, the flame ignited in the darkness, illuminating the surroundings.

Looking at the small flame, they felt for the first time that light was such a luxurious thing.

The Soul Fire torch requires the holder to burn their Lifespan to ignite it.

Fang Yue was the first to carry it. When the next hour passed, he would hand the torch to the second person, letting them hold the torch and burn their Lifespan.

Holding the torch, Fang Yue continued his patrol route.

Those following behind Fang Yue were a little excited.

With light, their courage grew a bit.

It was said that the Soul Fire torch also had the function of dispelling Anomalies. This meant that if an Anomaly entered the village, the probability of everyone being attacked would also decrease.

Fang Yue's team's patrol route was in the small area north of the village, slightly towards the center. This path, which passed Captain Chen's house, was considered a relatively safe route among all the night patrol routes.

After all, it was close to the Chen residence, and Captain Chen usually slept there, so he could provide immediate support if anything happened.

This route wasn't chosen by Fang Yue; Lin Ling had chosen it for him.

One could say that after Fang Yue became a "cripple," that guy's attitude towards him improved greatly. He was practically taking great care of him.

This made Fang Yue hesitate about whether to tell him the "bad news" that he had fully recovered.

As for Brother Yong's patrol route, it overlapped with Fang Yue's for one section.

However, everyone's patrol efficiency was different, so under normal circumstances, they would only meet two or three times a night.

With Fang Yue leading, seeing his steady demeanor, and the wide illumination of the Soul Fire torch, everyone's courage gradually grew.

From the initial caution, it gradually turned into occasional idle chatter.

By the time the first hour passed and they had completed two cycles of the patrol route, and it was Shi Wuliao's turn to hold the Soul Fire torch, everyone was already chatting freely, their mood completely relaxed.

"What is this? This patrol is nothing special."

"Exactly. I thought we would definitely encounter an Anomaly and be on edge."

"According to those villagers, because Lord Han is here in Ancient Moon Village, the number of times Anomalies enter the village is much less than in other villages. We're not that unlucky to run into one."

"Not only that, but it's also said that the core of Ancient Moon Village is larger than that of neighboring villages. Besides resisting the [Cold Night], it can also disperse low-level Anomalies, making them feel repulsed and preventing them from entering the village. Of course, some will slip through, which is why the Patrol Team is needed."

The latter half of the sentence was information Fang Yue already knew, but the first half made him pause slightly.

Lord Han?

Lin Ling said Lord Han went to the neighboring village to find medicine for me. He shouldn't be in the village right now...

It should be fine, he only left yesterday.

As Fang Yue was pondering this, he suddenly saw the surrounding light and shadow change abruptly.

Startled, he looked up and saw Shi Wuliao slumped on the ground, pointing forward with his finger, his face full of terror and fear, his mouth opening and closing but unable to speak.

It was said that some people cannot make a sound when they are extremely terrified.

Clearly, Shi Wuliao belonged to this category.

"What's going on?!"

"The fire is going out! Someone quickly pick it up!"

"Did we encounter an Anomaly? Let me handle it!"

The last voice came from Niu Niu.

He strode forward, picked up the torch from the ground, and swept it forward.

With that sweep, everyone saw clearly.

On the ground lay a head.

Brother Yong's head.