The Human-Skin Lantern, executing the old woman!

Huang Wei sniffed again and again, seemingly finding nothing.

Su Chen studied the hotel before him and began his analysis.

First, this Anomalous Object sheltered an entire village. There was no way it came without a price.

Perhaps.

The old woman had killed not just for her grandson, but also to pay that price.

Otherwise, there would have been no need to kill so many people.

There was another thing the old woman had done that he could not figure out: rendering corpse oil.

An elderly person would not exhaust herself like that doing something pointless.

There was only one truth!

Su Chen suddenly looked at the lantern by the hotel entrance.

He suspected.

This was the Anomalous Object he had heard about.

It was already daytime, yet the lantern was still lit and burning.

Su Chen recalled the first piece of intelligence he had received after reaching the village.

Why had it said that?

Why was there no limit on how long the entire village would remain safe?

Did that mean.

As long as he fulfilled some condition, he could keep the village safe?

A condition?

Then it most likely required killing people continuously.

Could they stay here safely as long as they kept this lantern burning?

Su Chen suddenly understood the contents of that first piece of intelligence.

He walked forward and used the system to check its information.

[Name]: Human-Skin Lantern

[Number]: Anomalous Object 99010

[Traits]: It could conceal auras across an area roughly the size of a village, preventing Weird Entities from detecting them.

[Weakness]: It required corpse oil to activate, consuming one corpse for an average of two hours of protection.

The Human-Skin Lantern?

The name of this Anomalous Object alone was rather terrifying.

Let alone its number.

In terms of its number, it was a little stronger than his Pig-Killing Knife.

The Anomalous Object provided shelter.

The price was corpse oil.

One person's death could guarantee two hours of safety.

Twelve people consumed per day.

Su Chen did not know whether that was reasonable or unreasonable.

The old woman was ruthless enough!

Who knew how many people she had killed?

Su Chen felt somewhat tempted to destroy this Anomalous Object.

Some things could never be started. Once they were, there was no turning back.

Could Anomalous Objects be destroyed?

Su Chen planned to try when the time came.

Suddenly.

Su Chen realized that the current timing was somewhat awkward.

He did not know how much corpse oil the old woman had made, or how long it could provide protection.

They needed it to last until at least midnight tonight.

Only after the intelligence refreshed would it be a good time to leave.

Otherwise.

He really had no idea where they should flee.

Su Chen thought it over.

He had someone watch the lantern and alert him if anything went wrong with it.

After eating his fill, he also rested for a while inside the Refrigerated Truck.

They might need to flee at any moment.

So he had better get some proper rest.

"Awooo~"

Su Chen did not know whether he was imagining it, but he actually heard wolves howling across the Snowfield.

Right!

The memories he had lost.

Su Chen found that recalling things had become much easier again.

Before.

There had always been a faint sense of forgetfulness, as though part of his mind had been sealed away.

Su Chen did not pay much attention to the howling.

As long as they did not enter the village, it was not a problem.

Listening to the faint howls, he gradually fell asleep.

After assigning people to keep watch, Yang Defa went to sleep as well.

Four in the afternoon.

Only then did Su Chen gradually wake from his sleep.

After a good sleep, he felt noticeably more energetic.

However.

There was something of a commotion inside the hotel.

Su Chen sensed his surroundings and found that most of the people had gone into the hotel.

Had the old woman woken up?

A guess immediately came to Su Chen.

Only the old woman waking up could explain why everyone was gone.

Su Chen glanced at the lantern.

It was still burning, which meant Hot Spring Village remained safe for now.

That was good news.

As Su Chen walked into the hotel, he heard the old woman's voice.

"Let me go!"

"If you don't let me go, I can tell you for certain that you're all going to die."

"This village has a secret. Hehehe!"

The old woman was still threatening everyone.

Her threats unsettled some people, who told Huang Wei.

Huang Wei had then brought everyone over.

"You mean the Human-Skin Lantern by the hotel entrance?"

Su Chen gave a cold laugh as he walked into the crowd and spoke.

"How did you know?"

The old woman's eyes widened when she heard that.

Then she lowered her head and shut her mouth.

The old woman thought Su Chen was probing her and did not actually know the details.

"You also want to say that you killed people to render corpse oil and light that lantern, right?"

Su Chen continued.

Those words had already begun to break through the old woman's composure.

Su Chen really seemed to know.

"Not only do I know all that, I also know your grandson has a special ability, but after using it, he uses corpses, right?"

Su Chen also mentioned the little boy.

The old woman completely lost her composure and pleaded, "Could you all please spare my grandson?"

"Please!"

A dying person's words were kind.

Before her death, the old woman also began to worry about her grandson.

"If you replace the oil in this Human-Skin Lantern at midnight, it can shelter the village for a day."

The old woman had also had selfish motives.

At first, she had only killed one person in secret.

In the end, however, she had failed to restrain herself and killed everyone in the entire village.

What the old woman said at the end counted as good news.

The lantern could last until midnight, and they could rest for almost another six hours.

For people fleeing for their lives, that was basically enough to recover.

Su Chen did not want to bother with the old woman. He looked at Huang Wei and said, "You've seen it too. How should we execute her?"

Su Chen felt that if he had a gun, a single bullet would be the quickest way.

As things stood, that was no longer suitable.

"I'll do it!"

"I can produce toxins."

At that moment, Xiao Zixia stepped forward of her own accord and explained her ability.

After a florist became a gardener, they could control certain toxins.

Killing a person with those toxins was very easy.

Before long.

Xiao Zixia prepared a toxin and forced it down the old woman's throat.

The old woman foamed at the mouth and eventually fell silent.

Watching the old woman fall, Su Chen felt rather conflicted.

Since the apocalypse began, this counted as his first time killing someone.

For the entire convoy, it was also a first.

It was a barrier they would have to cross eventually.

Even in society before, some people had been like impostors. After the apocalypse, they would certainly reveal themselves more thoroughly.

There would be plenty of killing in the future.

They did not know what was happening with the other group, but this could now count as a rehearsal.

Now, only the little boy remained!

What exactly they should do with this child seemed to have become a difficult question.

Su Chen began fishing for a response, looking at Gao Yue and Fan Hui as he said, "This little boy is a Sequence. Which of you wants to adopt him?"

A little boy who ate people!

He was far from harmless. Keeping him around would be like keeping a bomb by their side.

It was not as though he would deny anyone a chance.

If someone really did manage to redeem him, he would be glad to see it.

Fan Hui actually licked her lips.

A Sequence?

This child was actually a Sequence too?

She already had a grandson, and with her pension, she had been enjoying family life.

So Fan Hui gritted her teeth, looking somewhat torn.

"I..."

Fan Hui stammered as she raised her hand.