The three exchanged glances, each seeing a trace of wariness and apprehension in the others' eyes.
The danger in Longevity Village was several levels higher than it had been in Apricot Blossom Town.
And this was only a village.
"Let's go in. We're running out of time!"
Chen Ye tapped the ash off his cigarette and spoke in a low voice.
Iron Lion strode into the courtyard without a word, carrying his enormous backpack.
Nana followed close behind on her long legs, her ponytail swaying down her back.
Chen Ye took a deep drag, raised his crossbow, and followed them.
Just as Zhou Lan was about to enter, she saw a slightly stooped figure move faster than either sister, sticking close behind Chen Ye.
"Young people, don't you know you're supposed to respect your elders and care for the young?"
Zhou Xiaoxiao recognized the old woman who had clashed with Chen Ye earlier and immediately wanted to curse her out!
Zhou Lan tugged on her younger sister, who was about to argue with the old woman, signaling that this was no time for a fight.
Only then did Zhou Xiaoxiao swallow her anger, her cheeks puffed out indignantly.
Judging by its exterior alone, the village chief's large house looked much grander than the other villagers' homes.
The interior was also far more lavishly decorated.
Just inside the entrance stood an enormous European Leather Sofa that looked quite impressive.
A Marble Coffee Table sat in the middle of the sofa arrangement, its stone veining clear and natural.
Before the apocalypse, that sofa and coffee table would have been worth a fair amount, whether genuine or imitation.
A flashlight swept around the interior.
Everyone took in their surroundings.
"Spread out and search. Call out if you find any supplies."
"We don't have much time. Move fast!"
Nana kept sweeping her flashlight around.
Naturally, the kitchen was the first place everyone searched.
The village chief's kitchen was huge, nearly twenty square meters-bigger than the rooms many overworked wage slaves rented in major cities.
They soon found flour, rice, two large packs of dried noodles, and some other ingredients in the kitchen.
Although they had found something, it was nowhere near enough to satisfy them.
The Eavesdropping Radio had said there were plenty of supplies at the Big Willow Supermarket and the village chief's house.
If this was all there was, it certainly wouldn't be enough.
Everyone continued searching doggedly.
Soon, some of them headed up to the second and third floors.
Unfortunately, neither floor yielded anything.
The second floor contained a large living room with a pool table in the middle, rows of sofas on either side, and two bedrooms.
The third floor had a tea room and a bedroom, with nothing else.
They didn't find even a scrap of supplies on either floor.
They did find quite a few clothes and bags, though.
Many were luxury goods.
Apparently, the village chief had lined his pockets plenty in this village.
Before the apocalypse, all these things would have been worth a lot of money.
Now, however, no one had any interest in them.
In the survivors' eyes, these luxury goods probably weren't even worth a piece of bread.
Chen Ye did find a Digital Watch in a wardrobe on the third floor.
Before the apocalypse, digital watches had been popular, and many young people liked buying one to wear on their wrists.
Compared with traditional mechanical watches, digital watches offered powerful features and plenty of interesting functions, and could even connect to phones, making them a favorite among young people.
Before the apocalypse, this Digital Watch would have cost at least seven or eight thousand. Chen Ye would never have been willing to spend that much.
He hadn't expected to find one here.
"I used to have one of those too. But now that the apocalypse is here, it's just junk if you can't charge it!"
Nana looked at the Digital Watch in Chen Ye's hand with some regret.
"Doesn't matter. I'll keep it as a souvenir of human civilization!"
Chen Ye shrugged and tucked the Digital Watch into his clothes.
Once he traded with Chu Che for the Solar Charging Panel, he might be able to use this Digital Watch.
In the apocalypse, every resource had its own use.
Especially a Digital Watch that could tell the time.
Having found nothing on the second and third floors, everyone had no choice but to head downstairs.
It was already two thirty. They had only an hour and a half left before they needed to leave the village.
Back on the first floor, they refused to give up and began searching again.
"Over here!"
An excited cry caught everyone's attention.
They all looked over.
A boy wearing glasses and holding a steel pipe was pointing excitedly at a trapdoor beside the stairs.
The trapdoor had already been opened, and the boy was pointing at the pitch-black opening.
"There's a basement here!"
Nana darted over to the boy.
The others gathered around too.
Several flashlight beams shone down into the basement, but it was so dark that they couldn't see anything.
"Why does the village chief have a basement?"
"What's so strange about that? Most detached houses have basements!"
"Could the village chief have hidden all his supplies down there?"
"Maybe. Should we go down and look?"
"Why don't you go down?"
Everyone started talking at once, but no one dared enter the basement.
Basements generally meant enclosed spaces.
Many terrifying scenes in horror movies took place in basements.
They all had their suspicions, but when it came to actually going down, none of them dared.
Chen Ye frowned as well.
Clearly, there had to be something down there.
"I'll go down and take a look first!"
Without another word, Nana jumped down ahead of everyone.
They could see her flashlight beam moving around in the basement.
Soon, the girl's delighted voice came from below.
"Chen Ye, Iron Lion, there are loads of potatoes down here!"
"Loads!"
At the sound of her voice, delighted expressions appeared on everyone's faces.
"I'll go down and take a look!"
The boy who had discovered the trapdoor hurriedly spoke up.
Before anyone could react, he was the first to jump down.
"Sis, keep watch up here. I'm going down!"
Zhou Xiaoxiao followed right behind the boy.
Soon, the survivors jumped down one after another.
Even the old woman jumped down without hesitation.
Her nimble movements were every bit as agile as a young person's.
In this apocalypse, supplies were everything!
"Chen Ye, Iron Lion, don't come down. Stay up there and keep watch. I'll bag the potatoes, and you two take them from me."
"Okay!"
Soon, the girl lifted a backpack stuffed with potatoes up to the opening.
Iron Lion leaned over the opening and easily took it with one hand.
Had Chen Ye been the one taking that backpack, it probably wouldn't have been so easy.
Soon, Iron Lion grabbed another large bag filled with potatoes in one hand and hauled it up.
Zhou Lan helped out beside him.
"Thank you, Iron Lion!"
That was Zhou Xiaoxiao's sweet voice thanking him.
Chen Ye stood guard beside Iron Lion, crossbow in hand.
A bead of cold sweat slid from Chen Ye's temple to his chin, then dripped onto the floor.
Reflected in Chen Ye's eyes was a stooped figure standing at the first-floor entrance, watching the group with an eerie smile.
Whoosh!
He fired his crossbow!
Hearing Chen Ye shoot, Iron Lion tensed all over and turned around, scanning their surroundings warily, but found nothing.
"Ye, what did you see?"
Beside him, Zhou Lan also looked around in terror.
"Nothing. Iron Lion, hurry. I've got a bad feeling! Let's get out of here, fast!"
Iron Lion looked from side to side but noticed nothing unusual. "Ye, you could scare someone to death doing that!" he muttered.
With that, the big lug went back to hauling potatoes out of the opening.
His movements were much faster now, though.
Yet the tension on Chen Ye's face hadn't eased in the slightest.
Just after he fired the bolt,
Chen Ye's system had received a notification.
[You dealt damage to the Hunchbacked Old Puppet. You gained Slaughter Value +100.]
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