Not long after, the army escorted the people from Yixiantian out of the village. Among them were not only the survivors who had worked hard on the land, but also all sorts of other people.

This raises the question: is this truly meant to save them from suffering, or to plunge them back into the abyss of doom? In reality, it no longer matters.

Because Deputy Captain Liu had already promised Ye Lei that he would thoroughly clean up this place and hand it over to Ye Lei for his use.

As for what to do with these survivors? Nobody could care.

Just then, a man wearing a white shirt and black trousers suddenly shouted, "I'm not from here! I'm just here to exchange supplies, you can't arrest me!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Lei's lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile. It seemed that this clamoring man was the mastermind behind the murder of Xia Fujun.

"If you're not from here, then where are you from?"

Ye Lei rushed forward, stopped the man, stared at him sharply, and asked in a stern tone.

“I…I came here from elsewhere.”

The man was startled by Ye Lei's sudden action and stammered in response.

"Where are you from? What are you doing here?"

Ye Lei pressed on, giving the other party no chance to catch his breath.

"Who are you? Why should I tell you?"

The man composed himself and, seeing that Ye Lei wasn't wearing a military uniform, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Ye Lei might not be a member of the military. So his attitude hardened, and he arrogantly retorted.

However, Ye Lei was not intimidated by the man's imposing manner. He said calmly, "You won't talk, huh? Then I'll send you to meet the King of Hell right now!"

Before he finished speaking, he swiftly raised his pistol, the dark muzzle pressed directly against the man's forehead.

The man turned pale with fright and his body trembled uncontrollably. He then realized that the seemingly ordinary person in front of him was far more ferocious than he had imagined.

"No, no, no, brother, let's talk this out, no need to resort to knives and guns!"

The man was terrified and immediately begged for mercy.

"Stop talking nonsense and speak!"

Ye Lei's voice was cold and firm, revealing an unquestionable authority.

"Okay, I'll tell you, I'll tell you. Actually, I'm from the Tomato City Scavengers' Alliance. I brought some gasoline and diesel fuel here this time, hoping to exchange some living supplies with them."

The man dared not hesitate any longer and honestly told the truth.

Upon hearing the man's answer, Ye Lei understood. Just as he had expected, he had not mistaken the man for someone else.

"Are you the second-in-command of the Scavengers' Alliance?"

"Yeah, brother, so you know me! That makes things easier. Finally, someone can prove I'm not from here!"

The second-in-command was so happy that he danced around with joy, his face beaming with a smug smile.

"Of course I know you, and I've been looking for you for a long time. Now we've finally met!"

Ye Lei's lips curled up slightly, revealing a cold smile.

"Can you take me away from here? I don't want to go with them."

As he spoke, the second-in-command pointed to the menacing soldiers behind him.

"So you want to come with me? Sure, no problem. But before that, I want to ask you something: do you know Xia Fujun?"

Ye Lei's voice suddenly turned serious, and a sharp glint appeared in his eyes.

"Xia Fujun? Who is Xia Fujun?"

The second-in-command frowned, touched his head, and tried hard to recall the name, but he couldn't remember it no matter what.

"Then tell me, where did you get all this gasoline and diesel from?"

Ye Lei changed the subject and continued to press for answers.

"Oh, you mean those? We brought them back from the Tomato City Energy Reserve Base. There's a lot of oil there!"

The second-in-command smiled nonchalantly, seemingly quite proud of his "achievements".

"Pull? You stole it, didn't you?"

"Brother, what's the difference in this world? It's the apocalypse, what's the difference?"

"There's a big difference. When you went to steal gasoline and diesel, did anyone stop you?"

"What you say, brother, is true. Back then, someone did tell us that this was the country's energy source and we couldn't take it away without permission. It's the apocalypse now, and survival is the most important thing, right?"

"So what did you do to him?"

Ye Lei couldn't be bothered to argue with him.

"I didn't do anything!"

"Didn't do anything? Looks like you're about to die and still don't want to say anything?"

Ye Lei pressed the pistol against his forehead again, his eyes filled with disdain and indifference.

The man with a gun to his head finally panicked. He stammered, "Brother, I...I'll tell you everything, please don't kill me..."

Ye Lei sneered and removed the pistol from the man's forehead, but remained vigilant.

“He insisted on stopping us from transferring oil, so I gave him a sedative to calm him down.”

The second-in-command lowered his head after speaking.

"Sedatives? Is it that simple?"

Ye Lei simply did not believe that a tranquilizer alone could kill Xia Fujun.

"Yeah, but one injection didn't seem to work, so I gave him another one. Is he okay?"

It turns out that the second-in-command was unaware that Xia Fujun was already dead.

"Just two injections of sedatives? Where did you get those sedatives?"

"Oh! That was when I came here last time, I traded it with someone else."

"Others? Who exactly are they?"

"It's those people in the mountains. They made their own tranquilizers, claiming they were very effective. But we were fooled. After one injection, they were useless!"

The second-in-command looked like he'd been tricked.

"You mean there are still scavengers in the Ten Thousand Mountains?"

After hearing this, Ye Lei realized that the matter was probably not so simple.

"They don't call themselves scavengers, they call themselves witchers."

The second-in-command answered honestly.

"Witchers? That's interesting... Where do they live? And what are their homemade tranquilizers used for?"

Ye Lei secretly resolved to investigate the matter thoroughly.

"Well... I really don't know where they live. I guess they're hidden deep in the mountains and forests. As for that tranquilizer, I heard they use it when they're hunting, and they occasionally bring it to the tribe to exchange for other things."

It seems that the second-in-command has limited knowledge, but this tranquilizer is probably not simple at all. It is most likely a potent poison. Otherwise, how could Xia Fujun have died from poisoning? In this way, the whole incident gradually becomes clear.

"Okay, I'm done asking!"

"So... can I leave now?"

"Yes, that's fine."

"Thank you so much!"

The second-in-command felt as if he had been granted a pardon and turned to run. However, he had only taken a few steps when he heard a gunshot, followed by a sharp pain. His vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to move.