Lu Xiaochu: "... Hmm."
At this point, Lu Xiaochu still didn't know what kind of water or food it was. What good food could such a small village, Testing Ground, possibly have?
It's nothing more than highly polluted water and low-pollution wild vegetable powder.
With this in mind, Lu Xiaochu was stunned by the "clean water" and "abundant simple meals".
This village...
What's their background?
The moment Lu Xiaofang and the others stepped into the village, Song Xiaozhu Lu Xiaofang a notification; she had the Base Manager running, and it was a pop-up notification.
[Note: Outsiders have entered the village. Would you like to check their details?]
Song Xiaozhu clicked "yes" and then saw a blurry little figure. She had seen Lu Xiaochu before—through the "camera"—so she easily recognized her.
Below the little figure are several lines of information--
Name: Lu Xiaochu.
Gender: Female.
Occupation: Gatherer.
Status: Terrible.
Song Xiaozhu glanced at it, slightly surprised; there was something interesting about this information.
Despite its simplicity, especially the "Status" section which uses a rather vague term like "bad," it's still useful.
Name and occupation are crucial information.
The latter, in particular, allows them to roughly guess a stranger's abilities once they know the stranger's profession, enabling them to take better defensive measures.
To Song Xiaozhu's even greater surprise, she asked, "Can all outsiders be detected?"
Xiao He: "Currently, only Liu Family Village is covered."
Song Xiaozhu then asked, "Can Awakened of Fan Cang's level be detected even when they enter a village?"
Xiao He: "Okay." Those two casual words didn't reflect much respect for Fan Cang.
Song Xiaozhu smiled and said, " Xiao He is so capable!"
Xiao He: "..." Finally, remembering she should respond, she gave a soft "Oh."
Song Xiaozhu happily showered her adorable Xiao He sister with compliments.
The Base Manager is really great.
Equipped with a high-level reconnaissance system, it saved Song Xiaozhu a lot of trouble.
This time she doesn't need to fear those elusive, All-Purpose Warrior anymore; she might even be able to detect those God-Favored squads in advance.
Song Xiaozhu knew that the God-Favored Team wouldn't make a move before the "Today's Headline News" was published. They would only lie in ambush at Test Site 49, or even sneak into Liu Family Village early, waiting for the Three Kills Gang to launch an attack.
The Three Kills Gang attacked Liu Family Village, and Liu Family Village retaliated. As long as someone died, whether they were a villager or a member of the Three Kills Gang, it would be counted Slaughter Value.
In this way, the ranking of the God-Favored will change on the second day.
The Slaughter Value of the 199th God-Favored will reveal their location.
Once it's determined that they are in Liu Family Village, then the next step...
Song Xiaozhu had no doubt that those crazed God-Favored would slaughter the entire village.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Once the God-Favored has revealed himself, Fan Cang will come and reap the rewards.
Last time, they almost killed everyone in Liu Family Village; this time, they've gone even further, trying to kill them.
Fan Cang truly doesn't treat "refugees" as human beings.
Song Xiaozhu clenched her fists involuntarily. She even began to doubt her own memory. Was the person who saved her on the outskirts of the logging camp really this Fan Cang, who disregarded human life?
Even back then, he would still step in and save a complete stranger, a "vagrant."
The dramatic changes in Fan Cang in just a few months can only mean one thing—
Slaughter Value erodes humanity.
The potential dangers of Task A are far greater than they seem.
Song Xiaozhu breathed a sigh of relief. She was also about to bear the Slaughter Value, and she would probably be able to feel some of it then.
Will she change too?
They became morally depraved.
Xiao He: "No."
Song Xiaozhu felt a warmth in her heart, but still said, "Not necessarily. People shouldn't overestimate themselves."
Humans are extremely complex, and blind self-confidence can lead to an endless abyss.
All she can do is avoid crossing the line.
Like those addictive drugs, because she doesn't overestimate herself, she would never even consider trying them.
Xiao He said earnestly, "It's different. You've been different from the very beginning."
Song Xiaozhu was taken aback.
Xiao He organized her thoughts, trying to speak more clearly, "You didn't have it at first, and you won't have it now."
Song Xiaozhu smiled, "Is that so?"
Song Xiaozhu could roughly understand what Xiao He meant.
Those God-Favored gradually descend into the depravity of humanity.
The first task, every task;
The first choice, every choice...
The immense "evil" is formed gradually through continuous accumulation.
Song Xiaozhu never intentionally chose to kill out of personal motives.
Even now, during this crisis, she is upholding her moral principles.
Slaughter Value isn't scary.
What's truly terrifying is the loss of oneself.
Xiao Yunjie's message brought Song Xiaozhu back to her senses. "Miss, the goods have been inventoried, totaling 21,231 Awakening Stone Fragment. Miss Lu brought back a set of B-grade weapons and a set of B-grade armor. As for medicines, she couldn't buy any above C-grade because approval was required."
Those below grade C are far inferior to those that Song Xiaozhu Batch Synthesis.
Song Xiaozhu perked up and replied, "Please send them all to the Earth Temple below. I'll be right there."
Xiao Yunjie: "Understood."
With war imminent, Song Xiaozhu and Xiao Yunjie had already discussed using the Earth Temple as a temporary shelter and command center.
The Earth Temple is very large, and the entire area below has been hollowed out. After the iron ore wall was gone, it became a natural "air raid shelter". There is only one exit here. As long as the entrance is guarded, even if Fan Cang wants to rush in at will, it will not be easy.
The elderly and children in the village were moved to the Earth Temple and settled down temporarily, while the rest of the villagers were all waiting for the " Primordial Water " to arrive.