As Chen Yu walked through the empty passage, a deep and wary voice suddenly broke the silence from the depths of the passage.

"who?"

"Brother Hao, it's me." Chen Yu responded quickly, quickening his pace as he walked towards the direction from which the voice came.

As he drew closer, he saw a figure standing in the dim light ahead—a burly young man, none other than Liu Hao, a villager from the village.

Upon seeing Chen Yu, Liu Hao's tense nerves did not relax. He gripped a wooden stick tightly in his hand and asked warily, "Chen Yu, what are you doing here at this hour?"

Behind him was the room where the transport team members who caused trouble last night were being held. Although Chen Yu was not part of the transport team, he was still an outsider and a key target for their village's current security efforts.

Chen Yu stopped and smiled at Liu Hao: "Brother Hao, don't be nervous. I'm just here to ask the transport team about something. How are they doing?"

Liu Hao frowned, a hint of displeasure in his eyes: "You still care about them? They caused a huge mess last night, and you..."

"Let him in!" A deep, powerful voice came from inside the room, interrupting Liu Hao.

Chen Yu and Liu Hao exchanged a glance. Although the latter was dissatisfied, he still made way for them.

Chen Yu pushed open the door and entered the room, where he was greeted by several young and strong villagers sitting at the entrance, their eyes fixed on the members of the transport team who had caused trouble the previous night.

These transport team members, some sitting and some lying down, were tied to various corners of the room, their expressions varied—some were remorseful, some ashamed, and others fearful.

Not far from them, in a grand chair, village chief Xu Anbang sat upright, his eyes sharp as an eagle, scanning each transport team member.

The person who let Chen Yu in just now was Xu Anbang.

After entering the room, Chen Yu first nodded slightly to the villagers at the door before walking towards Xu Anbang and saying softly, "Uncle Xu, I have something I'd like to ask them. Is it convenient?"

Xu Anbang nodded slightly, a wry smile on his face, and said, "Chen Yu, you've come at the right time. We're also having a headache over these transport team members. Go ahead and ask, see if you can get any useful information from them."

Chen Yu nodded and turned to the bound transport team members.

He glanced at them, then fixed his gaze on Liu Long. In his previous life, Liu Long was the only one in their transport team to die here, and one of the three who went with Chen Yu to stop Li Liguo and Xiang Shaogang.

He's a good person.

"Liu Long, tell me, what kind of person is Li Liguo in your impression?" Chen Yu asked slowly.

Liu Long looked up, a hint of doubt in his eyes. He didn't understand why Chen Yu would ask this question.

He hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "Although our captain is a bit strict on weekdays, he is very good to us team members. He never puts on airs and is always kind to everyone."

Chen Yu sneered, then looked at Zhou Yu, who was one of the three who went with Chen Yu to stop Li Liguo and Xiang Shaogang.

However, after Liu Long was shot and killed by Li Liguo, Zhou Yu, like Chen Yu, chose to remain silent and back down.

He could be considered a righteous person, at least that's what Chen Yu thought.

"Zhou Yu, what do you think? What kind of person is Li Liguo?" Chen Yu's tone carried a hint of sharpness that was barely perceptible.

Zhou Yu's expression changed slightly, as if Chen Yu's question had touched upon some deep-seated memories within him.

He lowered his head, remained silent for a while, and then slowly spoke: "Li Liguo... he is very complicated. Sometimes he is very kind to us, like a brother; but sometimes he can be very cold and frightening."

Chen Yu nodded, then looked at a younger man.

This person's name is "Yin Wende". In the previous life, there was no such person in this transport team.

The reason he appeared in this transport team was because the transport team had a fixed membership of 8 people, and Chen Yu was not among them in this life.

Therefore, he is the only person Chen Yu doesn't understand.

"Yin Wende, right? Tell me, what's your impression of Li Liguo?" Chen Yu narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the other man.

“Captain… he, he is a very capable person.” Yin Wende finally spoke, his voice trembling slightly, as if he was trying to organize his thoughts. “He always leads us to complete our missions, and he never competes with us team members for credit. He always leaves the opportunities for us. He is a good person.”

As Yin Wende spoke, he inadvertently glanced at Xiang Shaogang.

Chen Yu sneered upon seeing this: "Heh, a good person? What a good person!"

"You! Speak up too." Chen Yu suddenly turned his attention to Xiang Shaogang, who had been silent all along. "These past few days I've seen you hanging out with Li Liguo a lot. You should know him quite well, right?"

Xiang Shaogang was startled by these words, but he quickly calmed down and put on a smile: "Brother Chen Yu, what are you saying? Captain Li and I only communicate more for work, we're not really hanging out. As for how well I know him, I do know him better than most of the team members, um... I think the captain is a good person, a really good person!"

At this point, Xiang Shaogang paused for a moment: "The captain is right. Our transport team has lost contact, and the Fire Seed Base will definitely not give up. They will definitely send people to investigate! They will definitely find Wenshui Village. At that time, not only will we members of the transport team die, but you village chiefs will also be doomed! The captain ran away to find a way for all of us to survive!"

Xiang Shaogang's last words were directed at Xu Anbang. He was trying to persuade the village chief with his words so that the chief would not act impulsively and vent his anger on him before Li Liguo returned with his men.

Upon hearing this, Xu Anbang frowned. This explanation had already been given to him last night when he arrested Xiang Shaogang and the others.

It has to be said that, given the current situation, their village has no better option.

As Xiang Shaogang and others said, although their village would lose the hot springs they depended on for survival if they voluntarily surrendered to the Fire Seed Base, and the villagers would be exploited by the Fire Seed Base and live a slave-like life with these transport team members, at least they could save the villagers' lives, right?

If they wait for Li Liguo to arrive with the armed personnel from the Fire Seed Base, and they still insist on guarding the village's hot spring, then what awaits them is inevitably a bloody massacre, and the entire village will be reduced to ashes.

Xu Anbang was well aware of this, and his gaze appeared particularly solemn in the dim light.

"Is this all there is to it?" Xu Anbang sighed helplessly to himself.

At this moment, he seemed to have aged 10 years. He regretted it deeply, regretting that he had meddled in other people's business seven days ago and gone out to rescue these transport team members.