Cheng Shuang wasn't the only one to notice this problem; the other five gradually realized it as well, because the village's buildings offered a more direct view of everything they wanted to investigate, with almost no concealment whatsoever.
Bypassing the main road accessible by car, and walking along the narrow dirt paths that wind between courtyards, they saw the entirety of each house. White walls and gray tiles, the houses, looking particularly fresh and elegant under the blue sky and white clouds, stretched out in a row. The dirt paths were so narrow that only two people could walk side by side, and each courtyard had two gates, one in the front and one in the back.
The door with the sun shining was wide open, bustling with activity, and one could occasionally catch a glimpse of the villagers' daily life. But outside the other door next to the dirt road, there were white paper couplets pasted on it, and a crescent moon hung on the tightly closed door, giving these outsiders the illusion that the door had never been opened before.
Because all the crescent-shaped gates were closed, the dirt road became increasingly desolate, almost like a scene from a horror movie. The weeds along the road, the silent yet closely connected courtyards, and the dilapidated brick walls and gates made one afraid to look at them for long and want to get out of this narrow and cramped dirt road as soon as possible.
Han Meimei was alright, finding some comfort in clinging to Li Lei's arm. Qingyun, despite her sharp appearance, wasn't the type to act like a strong woman. She rubbed her cold hands, hesitated, glanced at Sun Han who was whispering to the other two men, and then helplessly turned her gaze to the little girl at the back...
"Huh!" Qingyun exclaimed in surprise, her expression changing slightly as she said nervously, "Quick, quick, come down!"
The shy, sweet, and pretty little girl was peeking over the wall, peering intently into the courtyard where the crescent moon hung.
Qingyun wasn't worried about the young girl who looked like a native; she was afraid that the girl might act rashly and implicate her.
The others immediately stopped in their tracks. Du Jun hurriedly went back, picked up the little girl, and whispered as if scolding her, "Don't be naughty, stay close to me!"
Cheng Shuang immediately blinked innocently and obediently agreed.
Du Jun patted her head, took her hand, and led her to the back of the line. With Sun Han there, he barely needed to say a word; Sun Han had already managed to find out a bit about Li Lei and Han Meimei's identities.
Li Lei is the protector, and Han Meimei is a native, but these two people who should have been completely unrelated fell in love, or at least that's how they appeared to be.
"Li Lei once scored zero points in a dungeon. When he reappeared in the 'newbie village,' he found that all of his attributes had dropped by one point."
If we consider mental strength as life force, then when mental strength drops below zero, it is no different from death.
This is like using a soft knife to torment someone!
In other death zones, even if someone is injured, they can recover through various means. But here, the damage is truly being eroded by the hard-earned attribute values of the maintainers.
Every single attribute point they earned was earned with their lives.
With so many dungeons here, the chances of accidentally ending up back in the starting area are quite high.
"So the wanderers hiding in the shadows didn't directly harm the natives, but simply devoured human life force in a different way?"
Cheng Shuang's delicate face was serious.
She always grasps the key points, and her little head is full of whimsical ideas. Although Du Jun was not surprised that she could think of this deeper meaning from a simple matter, he had to admit that sometimes adults are indeed not as perceptive as children.
The two walked past each other at the back, whispering to each other. When they looked up, they found three paths ahead and their temporary companion had disappeared.
With Sun Han in charge of exchanging information, that was enough. They were preparing to break away from the group and act on their own, so they didn't even need to find an excuse. However, before the two could choose a route, a commotion came from afar, and occasionally they could see the hurried figures of villagers on the straight crossroads ahead.
Du Jun pulled Cheng Shuang over. Some villagers glanced at them and then ignored them, while others completely disregarded them.
The villagers were in a strange state of both numbness and excitement. Although it was somewhat eerie and complex, it was more vivid than the people in the courtyard who only knew how to laugh at night.
"Han Meimei calls the people in the dungeon NPCs, while she herself is a player."
Cheng Shuang understands that perhaps in the eyes of the indigenous people, the dungeon is a pure game world, and even if the score reaches zero and they experience death and pain, they will not truly die.
Soon, the villagers gathered in a spacious place, like a square, where a large tree with most of its leaves fallen stood in the center.
Among the men and women dressed in worn-out blue cotton-padded jackets were a few who were dressed in relatively bright and shiny clothes, but the most eye-catching were the three men tied to the tree.
Their faces were flushed with a strange blush, their eyes were glazed over, like drunkards drowning their sorrows in the dead of night. Two of them were muttering something weakly, while another was fast asleep, his snores drowned out by the noisy crowd.
Suddenly, a gasp came from their side. Cheng Shuang and Du Jun turned their heads and saw Qingyun looking pale-faced, her lips trembling as she looked at the bound person. After a long while, she cast a pleading look at Sun Han behind her.
Sun Han sighed. Had he given Qingyun the wrong impression, making him think that he was a saint who would save people without regard for the cost? Besides, even if he were killed by the villagers, he wouldn't truly die; Li Lei hadn't hidden this fact at all.
Of course, it could be interpreted as Qingyun not believing Li Lei's words, but why should she believe Sun Han, or even expect someone she'd only known for one night to save a stranger because of her silent expectations?
Sun Han avoided her gaze, his expression indifferent. Han Meimei, however, the petite and adorable girl, frowned slightly and warned Qingyun, "Don't act rashly. Angering the NPCs won't end well. They've definitely been drinking..."
"If you don't drink, the emcee will bite your head off!" Qingyun angrily interrupted Han Meimei, but fortunately, she knew to keep her voice down for the sake of the bigger picture.
"If you want to save her, then save her. Why are you yelling at my wife!" Li Lei said angrily, pulling Han Meimei to the other side to shield her from Qingyun's glare.
Qingyun bit her lip, not daring to provoke Sun Han and Li Lei, who were also protectors. She glared at Han Meimei with a look that seemed to be both a superior pity and the contempt of an ignorant girl.
"here we go!"
Du Jun coldly interrupted Qingyun's unwillingness.
Everyone looked over and saw the simple-looking village chief standing in front of the big tree, his face filled with grief and indignation. "They killed Xiaoyun, Duo'er, and Erya. Their lives were already full of misfortune. Why didn't God spare these three children!"
Immediately, sobbing and weeping erupted from the villagers; they were truly grieving for these three young girls in the prime of their lives.
"I don't!"
A man who wasn't completely drunk struggled to speak, but his voice was drowned out by sobs.
Instead, Qingyun, standing beside Cheng Shuang, muttered angrily in a low voice, "These devils, these ignorant country bumpkins, are truly despicable!"
Her words were full of indignation, but she did not go forward to rescue her companion. Instead, she kept complaining, her eyes occasionally showing disgust towards Han Meimei.
Cheng Shuang and Du Jun silently distanced themselves from her.
It's not that I'm bad at being incompetent, it's that I'm afraid of logical geniuses who can't see the situation and complain about everything!
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