Chapter 562, Contaminated Zone 4 (Part 3)

The five people did not climb the mountain.

—Given that the mountain is full of mutant species, it's better to drive around.

The car went over the hill.

Yun Zhao looked out the window.

The scene in the second village was the same as that in the first village: endless fields of crops and many people standing in the fields.

The layout of the two villages is slightly different. The houses in the second village are not as concentrated as those in the first village, but are scattered along the country roads.

Some houses stand side by side, while others sit alone at the other end of the field.

The armored vehicle drove to an open area and stopped.

As the five people got off the bus, those "people" all stiffened their necks and slowly looked over, just like before.

His empty eyes were unfocused, his gaze still fixed on the box in Xie Tu's hand.

This made the others even more curious about what was in the box.

Xie Tu remained calm. "Look behind you."

Behind us are the mountains we came from.

The shadowy forests were visible, and the sound of rustling trees could be faintly heard. Many shadows could be seen moving about.

At the mountaintop, the last rays of the setting sun were sinking below the ridge.

The sky instantly darkened.

"It's getting dark," Yun Zhao said.

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole village seemed to come alive.

Noises and sounds came from all directions.

The indigenous people, who had just been staring at the box with stiff necks, suddenly regained their energy.

"The sun has set, time to go home for dinner!" someone shouted.

The villagers carried their farm tools and walked through the fields toward the main road.

The people at the front, seemingly having just noticed them, asked with surprise, "Are you here for tourism too?"

Xia Mingang looked at the villagers who had suddenly returned to normal, his expression one of utter shock.

His hand had already unconsciously reached for his waist.

Yun Zhao didn't react much, but naturally replied, "Yes, do many tourists come here?"

"many."

The old man, ignoring their guns, spoke enthusiastically: "The scenery here is beautiful! Look at the mountains, they're full of tourists..."

Tourists?

The group frowned in unison as they gazed at the mutated species covering the mountains and fields.

Yun Zhao then asked, "It's very late now, aren't the tourists coming down the mountain?"

Another villager chimed in, "The village is too small to accommodate everyone, so tourists pitch tents in the mountains."

"However, they occasionally come into the village to beg for food."

The villagers emphasized, "You can do that if you need it, but you'll have to pay."

Yun Zhao nodded, as if she were genuinely visiting the village for tourism. "If there's a charge, could you please find us a place to stay tonight, old man? We'll pay."

Upon hearing this, the old man's face lit up with a smile. "Of course you can come and stay at my house. My son and daughter-in-law are away working, so it's just the two of us old folks at home. There are enough rooms for you."

"Then please lead the way, sir."

Yun Zhao turned his head and reached out to Jiang Mu for money.

Xie Tu ran out of banknotes in Nanjing. Of the five people, only Jiang Mu and Fu Mo probably had money from the old era.

Jiang Mu was speechless at her self-righteous attitude.

Yun Zhao gestured with his lip: "I'm the captain."

—The implication is that you have to listen to me.

What could Jiang Mu say?

He pointed to his backpack, "The banknotes are at the very bottom of the backpack. It's hard to find them now, but I'll get them for you when we get there."

Upon hearing this, it became clear that he indeed had money.

Yun Zhao said no more, grabbed Xie Tu's arm and followed the old man who was leading the way.

Xie Tu was pulled forward by her, his gaze lightly sweeping over Jiang Mu.

Jiang Mu raised an eyebrow at that look.

People from the fields carried their farm tools and walked one after another onto the main road, chatting about everyday things as they headed home.

Almost all of them were elderly; I didn't see any young people.

"Old Li, did you pick up tourists again today?" A middle-aged woman passing by glanced curiously at Yun Zhao and his group of five.

The old man replied with a smile, "Yes, it's peak tourist season recently, and we've had quite a few visitors."

"I'm so envious. Your son and daughter-in-law made money and built a house early on, unlike my doghouse, which can't even accommodate one more person."

"Yes, the village chief said that if the conditions aren't right, they're not allowed to just take in outsiders..."

"The village chief is pretty strict, huh?" Xie Tu casually remarked, but slowed his pace slightly, glancing at the reactions of the surrounding villagers.

The old man waved his hand, "No, no, he's doing this for our own good. Opening up to tourists and boosting the local economy is a good thing, but there are too many people who don't follow the rules. They don't live peacefully in the village and always like to go down to the fields and ruin the crops."

"Oh, by the way, don't go into the fields. I won't accept any compensation for ruining the crops."

Yun Zhao gave a perfunctory reply, "Okay."

If mutants are forbidden from going somewhere, then they absolutely must go.

Fu Mo asked casually, "Where does your village chief live?"

The older woman next to me pointed to the mud house to the west and interjected, "That's it."

The five people looked in the direction the aunt pointed.

At the westernmost edge of the village, a mud house built of brick and earth came into view. There were no neighbors around the house, and behind it was a large bamboo forest.

At this moment, one by one, the village lights came on.

The kitchen lights in the earthen house were also on, and wisps of smoke rose from the chimney.

Xia Mingang found it strange, "Does your village chief live in such a dilapidated house?"

His words echoed the sentiments of everyone present.

Yun Zhao had never seen anything like it before; officials lived in places worse than ordinary people.

"Our village chief is a college graduate. He gave up a high-paying job in the city to come back and help us escape poverty!"

The old man's face was full of respect, and his wrinkles revealed pride. "He said the money should be spent on road repairs and schools, and it doesn't matter if he lives in a poor place."

Not far away, wisps of smoke twisted into strange shapes in the twilight.

From the window of that solitary mud house, a figure could be vaguely seen busily working at the stove.

"A college graduate as village chief..." Xie Tu suddenly chuckled, "Are there many young people in the village now?"

The villagers' smiles froze at the same time.

The old man sighed, "There are hardly any young people left in the village. Most of them have gone to the city to work and settle down, and only come back for the Spring Festival."

The five men exchanged glances, each understanding the other without saying a word, and followed the old man to his residence.

The old man's house is on the east side of the village.

The building is a two-story cement building with a two-meter-high stone wall around it.

There is a neighboring house in the same building on the left, and three more houses a hundred meters ahead on the right.

The old man carried a hoe into the house and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Old woman, we have a guest!"

The woman lifted the curtain and came out.

She was wearing a faded apron and her hands were covered in flour. She was clearly taken aback when she saw the crowd.

Wow, so many people!

The old woman wiped her hands, her gaze sweeping over the five people before she quickly revealed a simple smile. "Come in and sit down. I'm steaming some buns right now, they'll be ready to eat in a little while."

The old man put down his hoe and cheerfully introduced, "These are tourists from the city who will be staying at our house for one night."

The old woman nodded, turned and walked towards the kitchen: "Then I'll go cook a couple more dishes, you all rest for a bit."

Yun Zhao stood in the center of the main room, his gaze sweeping over the family photo hanging on the wall—in the photo, an elderly couple stood beside them, holding a five- or six-year-old boy in their arms, their smiles radiant.

Strangely, the faces of the young couple appeared to have been repeatedly scratched with fingernails, making them blurry.

Yun Zhao was preoccupied with finding the cellar where her father's photo was located, and wanted to go there first to see if there were any clues left behind.

"No need to cook for us, we brought our own food."

Yun Zhao did not step into the house, as if he had only come to familiarize himself with the place.

She said to the old man, "It's still early, let's go out for a walk and come back later."