Lu An'an responded with an equally profound smile, "Thank you, Village Chief."
No matter what kind of demon or monster you are, I, Lao Lu, will definitely expose you!
Standing to the side, Lu Yanli's brows revealed a complex mix of helplessness and doting affection. What to do? He was almost unable to accept his sister's overly rich identity transformation.
After all the guests had chosen their accommodations, Director Xu cleared his throat and began to announce the upcoming itinerary.
"Ahem, everyone, you can now pick up a spare set of clothes from the staff. After that, you can follow your respective homeowners back to your accommodations. Please note that the filming mode for this episode is the same as the first one, using an unmanned filming mode. All tasks will be triggered in various parts of the village. Please find clues to trigger the tasks and piece together the truth."
"Next, I wish you all the best."
Having said all he wanted to say, Director Xu waved his sleeve and led his staff away from the village.
The guests were left standing there, looking at each other in bewilderment.
Chen Mohan coughed twice, breaking the silence, "Shall we all go back now?"
Gu Tingyan nodded, frowned, and wiped the foam off his body, saying irritably, "Fine, let's all go back and change our clothes first. This sticky feeling is really uncomfortable."
Upon hearing this, the others expressed their agreement and then followed the villagers away from the village entrance.
Lu An'an and Lu Yanli followed behind the village chief, walking slowly along the path.
Throughout the journey, children surrounded the village chief, jumping and gesturing with him.
Lu An'an looked at the children, her brows furrowing slightly.
Why aren't these children saying anything?
She gazed at the smiling village chief, who was gently waving to the children, and asked, "Village chief, why aren't these children saying anything?"
The village chief hesitated slightly, and then his warm smile was replaced by an indescribable cloud of worry.
He looked at the children surrounding him, his voice becoming heavy: "Alas, the children in our village are all children with tragic fates. A few years ago, the whole village was struck by a strange disease. The adults suffered as well, but they eventually pulled through. However, the children had weaker immune systems and were more severely affected. As a result, after the strange disease passed, the children in the village could no longer make a sound."
The village chief's gaze swept over the children one by one, a fleeting sadness passing through the depths of his eyes.
Lu An'an pressed her lips together into a thin line.
[They all lost their ability to speak after contracting a strange illness?]
This is so strange, is it a bizarre illness or poisoning?
[Oh, how could this happen? These children are so pitiful; they suddenly can't speak anymore.]
[Oh my god, does this disease really exist?]
[How pitiful! They can still smile; it seems the villagers are taking good care of them.]
Just then, a little boy, his steps tinged with shyness and timidity, slowly walked up to Lu An'an. He hesitated for a moment, then held up a bunch of wildflowers he had picked by the roadside, tiptoed, and tried to put them into Lu An'an's hand.
Lu An'an's expression softened instantly. She slowly squatted down to be at eye level with the little boy, smiled, patted his head, took the flowers from his hand, gently held his wrist, and said with a smile, "Thank you for the flowers, I like them very much."
Hearing Lu An'an's words, the little boy lowered his head shyly, then turned and ran out, hiding behind another boy who was taller and looked a little older, secretly watching her.
Lu An'an remained crouched, a barely perceptible hint of anger flashing in her eyes. She exhaled a breath of stale air, suppressing her anger, took out a handful of White Rabbit milk candies from her pocket, placed them on her lap, and gently waved to the children on the roadside.
"Come here, I'll give you some candy."
The children all hesitated and dared not go over, their eyes blinking as they looked at the village chief.
The village chief smiled and waved his hand gently, his voice full of encouragement and kindness: "Go quickly, your sister is handing out candy."
The children then smiled innocently and ran towards Lu An'an in a swarm.
Lu An'an turned each child's wrist over, placed a White Rabbit candy in their palm, and patted their heads until the last child also received a candy.
She slowly stood up, staggering slightly.
Lu Yanli quickly helped Lu An'an up, his eyes filled with worry, "An'an, are you alright?"
Lu An'an turned around, a slightly forced smile appearing on her lips, and gently shook her head, "It's nothing, Second Brother, I've been squatting for too long, and my legs are a little numb."
What's hidden here is even more cruel than I imagined.
Looking at his sister's condition, Lu Yanli understood and felt a pang of heartache, but he couldn't show it on his face. So he said, "Well, lean on me and rest for a while."
Lu An'an nodded obediently, leaning against Lu Yanli. Watching the children's smiling faces as they played and ate candy, and feeling the silent stillness around them, she felt a pang of pain in her heart.
They could have had a better life.
The village chief keenly noticed Lu An'an's unusual expression, his eyes flickered slightly, and he asked with concern, "Miss Lu, are you alright?"
Lu An'an gently raised her eyes, briefly meeting the village chief's caring gaze before quickly lowering them again to conceal her cold eyes, and slowly said, "It's alright, let's go back quickly, village chief."
The village chief smiled and nodded. "Alright, then follow me."
Lu An'an exchanged a knowing glance with Lu Yanli beside her, and followed behind the village chief in silence.
When they arrived at the village chief's house, Lu An'an thought about the rows of brand-new and impressive houses she had seen along the way, which contrasted sharply with the slightly rugged roads around them. She thought for a moment and asked inquisitively, "Village chief, although the village is not very convenient to get to, the villagers' houses all seem to be quite new and spacious. It seems that the village's income is not bad?"
Upon hearing this, the village chief paused slightly as he was about to push open the door, then continued his actions naturally, a peaceful smile spreading across his face. "The village's income has indeed been quite good in recent years, so every household has built a new house."
Lu Yanli then asked, "So what is the village's main source of income?"
The village chief glanced back at them, indicating that he couldn't help with the problem: "This should be considered your task; you may need to find it yourselves."
Upon hearing this, Lu An'an smiled and nodded, "I see, thank you for informing me, Village Chief."
【Are you really not afraid we'll find something we shouldn't? Are you that confident?】
[Huh? No, they just got the clue out of them so easily??]
[...As expected of my younger sister, she spotted the difference so quickly.]
[This village is really strange, though. The houses are so new, but the transportation is inconvenient. Is this a remote and underdeveloped village? You really can't tell from the houses.]
Indeed, even in my hometown, which is considered a moderately prosperous village, we weren't this well-off.
The village chief waved his hand, "Miss Lu, you're too kind."
After saying that, he turned around, pushed open the door, stood to the side, and said gently, "Miss Lu, Mr. Lu, please come in."
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