The instant his Aperture burst open, Yang Yong felt as though all the Meridians in his body had widened several times over.
The Blood Moon Energy that had once flowed sluggishly now surged wildly through his body like a rushing river.
If the energy he could store before had been no more than a shallow cup of water,
then now, it was a genuine little pool!
His capacity had increased several times over and more.
Now, even without relying on the One-Yang God-Sealing Banner, the Blood Moon Energy he had stored himself was enough to activate the Little Golden Flood Dragon Scissors and unleash one complete attack!
This was power that truly belonged to him, without the help of any external object!
Wild joy filled Yang Yong's heart, and he almost couldn't help jumping up.
But the caution he had developed through days of struggling in the apocalypse forced him to suppress the impulse.
Having suffered once for his recklessness, he knew that impatience was the greatest taboo in cultivation.
He had forced the first Aperture open, barely escaping disaster.
He would never dare to use such brute force on the next Aperture.
He planned to settle down and use the safest method, slowly breaking through with patient, painstaking effort.
A night of cultivation passed in a flash.
Early the next morning, Cao Xianming made an announcement in front of the convoy.
"After breakfast, everyone heads out to explore that village behind us!"
According to his calculations, the village had most likely already been visited by other survivor convoys.
But Xiao Liao had previously found so much tobacco, alcohol, and tea in an inconspicuous hidden room.
No one could guarantee that nothing had been overlooked in the village.
Searching it wouldn't take much time anyway.
Besides, Cao Xianming's calculations showed that the odds of making a substantial find on this trip exceeded fifty percent!
With a fifty-percent chance of finding essential supplies, it was absolutely worth a try.
After breakfast, the convoy immediately began dividing into teams.
They paired up to work together so they could look out for one another.
When gathering supplies, they were to prioritize high-calorie foods that kept well.
On previous searches, Zheng Xiaofeng and Wang Ying had always been partners.
But now, Zheng Xiaofeng was severely injured and unable to move around.
Yang Yong naturally became Wang Ying's new partner.
No one in the convoy dared object.
Over the past few days, almost everyone had witnessed how ruthless Yang Yong was in action. Provoking such a deadly man was simply asking for trouble.
Yang Yong and Wang Ying exchanged a glance. Without the slightest hesitation, they followed the main group straight toward the village, one behind the other.
The village wasn't too far from the nearest urban area, yet its location was relatively secluded. In the apocalypse, it was a place very likely to hold supplies.
But after searching several homes in succession, everyone's expression gradually darkened.
The houses had all been stripped clean. Forget food and drinking water-not even a single stick of firewood remained.
The two of them worked their way deeper into the village, finally stopping in front of a small building near the highway.
The building's exterior was reasonably intact.
But when they pushed open the door and entered, they found the same mess left by repeated searches, and once again came up empty.
Yang Yong's brows knitted tightly, and the inexplicable unease in his heart grew stronger and stronger.
This village was far too clean.
Abnormally clean. Eerily clean.
"This shouldn't be happening."
Yang Yong looked at Wang Ying beside him, his voice carrying clear confusion.
By all rights,
their leader Cao Xianming's calculations never went wrong. He had clearly said there was a fifty-percent chance of finding supplies here.
Yet now, they hadn't seen a single useful thing.
It was as though someone had deliberately swept this place clean, leaving nothing worth taking. Everything about it seemed wrong.
Even if other survivor convoys had come here, they couldn't possibly have stripped it so thoroughly.
Yang Yong knew something fishy had to be going on.
But for the moment, he couldn't say exactly where the problem lay.
Frustrating.
Utterly frustrating.
He turned to Wang Ying, hoping this powerful woman might have a different insight.
But the habitually aloof woman merely gave him a cool glance and said nothing.
Well, she's another brute who only knows how to charge into battle.
For work like thinking things through and finding clues, he still had to rely on Cao Xianming.
Yang Yong frowned, sinking into thought.
Old Cao had said that data didn't lie.
In his calculations, there was clearly a greater than fifty-percent chance of finding supplies here. That couldn't be false.
But where... exactly was the breakthrough?
Without realizing it, Yang Yong had fallen into a mental rut. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't figure it out.
Where exactly had those essential supplies been hidden?
They had clearly searched every corner they could think of just now, so why had they found nothing?
Could there be... somewhere they had all overlooked?
In an instant, he suddenly thought of someone.
Xiao Liao.
The college student who studied architecture.
Yang Yong immediately turned and asked the survivors following behind him in a low voice, "Did Xiao Liao come along?"
Everyone froze.
Xiao Liao?
Which Xiao Liao?
"The college student, Xiao Liao, who studies architecture!"
Yang Yong sounded a little urgent. "He understands building structures. He might spot something fishy! Where is he?"
A stir ran through the crowd.
Only after quite a while did someone answer timidly, "He... he seems to have fallen behind... could he have gone back on his own?"
He hadn't kept up?
Yang Yong's expression instantly darkened.
This really was troublesome.
The clues were clearly right in front of him, yet he couldn't find a way in. That helplessness was deeply unpleasant.
What exactly could he do to break this deadlock?
His expression shifted, and frustration filled his heart.
They had clearly searched every house carefully, yet they couldn't find any trace of supplies.
Why exactly was that?
Before long, Xiao Liao, who had fallen behind, was found and brought over, half pulled and half dragged.
"Brother Yang, Sister Ying."
Xiao Liao greeted the two of them, looking somewhat uneasy.
Yang Yong wasted no words and asked directly, "While we were searching along the way, did you notice anything wrong with the structure of any of the houses?"
"For example... could there be a hidden compartment for storing things, or a secret room?"
Xiao Liao recalled carefully, then shook his head gently. "No."
"I've been paying attention the whole way. The dimensions of these houses are all normal, and I couldn't see any problems with the thickness of the walls either. They don't look like they have hidden compartments..."
He paused, hesitated, then added, "As for basements... I'm not sure."
"The floors are all packed earth. There's no sign of digging at all."
Yang Yong and Wang Ying exchanged a glance.
It seemed they had taken too much for granted.
The terrain had already become highly changeable after the apocalypse, and this was only an unremarkable little village in the south.
Basements and cellars were rarely dug in the south to begin with, unless a household specifically wanted somewhere to hide valuables.
This didn't fit, and neither did that.
Where exactly... were those supplies hidden?
The survivors gathered together, throwing out random guesses over one another.
Some said the attic, others said underground.
All sorts of strange possibilities were raised, but not a single suggestion was truly plausible.
Yang Yong scratched his head, frustration welling up inside him.
As the saying went, three ordinary minds could rival one master strategist.
Yet with so many people here today, they couldn't come up with a single useful line of thought.
Were they really going to slink back empty-handed today?
Finding absolutely nothing would be far too embarrassing.
Just as everyone was at a loss, the convoy's assistant, Xiao Ma, came rushing over on a bicycle from the village entrance.
"Xiao Ma's here!"
Someone's eyes lit up, and he blurted it out.
Xiao Ma usually didn't take part in supply searches. For him to come rushing over now, Cao Xianming must have had important instructions.
Could it be... that Old Cao had already calculated where the supplies were hidden?
At that possibility, everyone's gaze instantly focused on Xiao Ma, full of anticipation.
Sure enough, the moment Xiao Ma stopped his bicycle, his first words cleared up everyone's confusion:
"The leader said the supplies are hidden over there-in that oldest Ancestral Hall!"
He caught his breath, then hurriedly added, "The leader also specifically said we have to move fast!"
"This place... feels wrong!"
Once he had delivered the message, Xiao Ma didn't dare linger.
He immediately turned his bicycle around and pedaled back at full speed.
Yang Yong and the others instantly perked up. Without any further hesitation, they immediately led the search team toward the Village Center, rushing at the old building whose style was clearly completely different from the surrounding houses.
When they had first begun searching, one look at this old building had told them it was an ancestral hall, used for honoring ancestors.
It hadn't looked like somewhere supplies would be hidden, so everyone had overlooked it right away.
No one had imagined that the real key would actually be here.
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