The hunchbacked old man did not merely walk away; he seemed to dissolve into the scenery, fading step by step until he vanished completely from their vision.

A terrified silence descended upon the survivors. They exchanged glances, the air thick with palpable dread.

“Ye, stay close to me,” Iron Lion rumbled, his voice muffled like thunder behind a heavy door. Without hesitation, the giant strode toward the village entrance.

Chen Ye tightened his grip on the Hand Crossbow and followed the massive figure. He didn’t mind the nickname; in a place like this, having a meat shield like Iron Lion was a luxury. At his waist hung a makeshift quiver filled with bolts soaked in Black Dog Blood, the dark crimson stain drying on the shafts. On his back, he carried the large hiking pack he had removed from the tricycle.

Iron Lion, true to his role as a Titan Sequence Beyonder, was laden with countless empty bags, ready to be filled.

The paths of Longevity Village were narrow and winding, impossible for vehicles to navigate. This raid would be entirely manual—carry what you can, run when you must. From the outside, the Great Willow in the village center seemed close, its branches swaying despite the lack of wind.

Chen Ye scanned his surroundings, his nerves pulled taut. Beside him, Nana, the Maiden Sword Immortal, moved with a peculiar rhythm. Despite the heavy pack on her back, her steps were light, almost floating, her right hand resting casually on the hilt of the long sword at her waist.

Seeing the three leaders move, the spell of hesitation broke.

The first to follow was a wretched-looking old man. Chen Ye recognized him; back in Apricot Blossom Town, this same old man had been the first to scavenge, displaying a survival instinct that belied his age. In a convoy dominated by the young and fit, his survival was a testament to his cunning.

At the village entrance, the remaining survivors wavered. Greed warred with fear in their eyes. Longevity Village was obviously a death trap, but without supplies, they were walking corpses anyway. In the apocalypse, supplies were life.

“Sis, hurry up, let’s stick to them!” Zhou Xiaoxiao whispered urgently, hoisting a large bundle. “It’s safest if we stay close to Chen Ye and the others!”

Zhou Lan hesitated, her face pale, but she nodded and followed.

“Xiaoxiao, we…” Zhou Lan started, her voice trembling.

“Sis, don’t overthink it,” Zhou Xiaoxiao interrupted, his voice low but confident. “If something really goes wrong, I don’t believe Chen Ye won’t save us. And even if he’s cold-blooded, there are the other two. You’re a big star! They won’t just watch you die.”

Zhou Lan bit her lip. She deeply regretted letting her brother reclaim the gasoline earlier. If they had let Chen Ye keep it, they might have purchased a sliver of genuine protection. Now, having offended him, expecting aid seemed delusional. Unlike her brother, she saw the cold indifference in Chen Ye’s eyes.

Near the back of the crowd, a more sinister parting was taking place.

“Grandson, don’t worry. Grandma… Grandma is going to find food for you,” the old woman said, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and venom. “You stay here obediently and wait for me.”

The Brat clung to her leg, wailing. “Grandma, I don’t want you to go! Don’t go!”

“Silly child, if I don’t go, what will you eat?” The old woman glared at the surrounding survivors. “It’s the end of the world. These bastards won’t sympathize with you!”

This was the pair Chen Ye had disciplined earlier. It was a miracle they hadn’t starved or been abandoned yet. Over the journey, the convoy had learned their true nature. The Brat would snatch, spit, and steal, and the grandmother would shield him with the eternal excuse: “He’s just a child!”

Now, disgusted and weary, no one offered them a hand.

The old woman squatted down, gripping the boy’s shoulders hard. “Grandma has to rely on herself. Listen to me, my good grandson. If Grandma doesn’t come back, everyone here is a murderer. When you grow up, remember to avenge me!”

She pointed a shaking finger toward the village entrance. “Especially that Chen Ye. Remember his face! If they hadn’t refused us food, I wouldn’t have to take this risk! Do you hear me?”

“Grandma… Waaaah…”

The Brat’s crying grated on the nerves of the nearby survivors, but they remained silent, averting their gaze.

Not far away, Chu Che sat in his vehicle, his hand reaching out to cover the Eavesdropping Radio with a blanket. The device captured every whisper in the convoy, including the old woman’s toxic legacy.

“When man sows evil, he cannot live…” Chu Che sighed, shaking his head.

More than half the convoy eventually mustered the courage to enter. Most were women, driven by the desperate hope that bringing back supplies would elevate their status from “burden” to “human.” Chu Che did not stop them. It was a fair transaction: risk your life, earn your keep.

Chen Ye paused at the threshold of the village, lighting a cigarette to steady his shaking hands. No matter how many times he did this, the adrenaline still spiked. He clamped the cigarette between his teeth, leveled his Hand Crossbow, and stepped forward.

The moment he crossed the village boundary, the world shifted.

Goosebumps erupted across his skin. Outside, it was high noon, the sun blazing down. Inside, the light seemed to be filtered through a heavy, gray gauze. The temperature plummeted, and the vibrant world was replaced by a gloomy, oppressive twilight.

It was as if they had stepped into a different dimension.

“Be careful,” Nana whispered, her hand tightening on her sword hilt. “This is a Spectral Domain.”

“Spectral Domain?” Chen Ye asked, his voice low.

“A special field formed by a powerful supernatural force,” she explained, her eyes darting around the shadows. “Inside a Spectral Domain, the probability of Anomalies appearing is extremely high, even during the day.”

Chen Ye’s expression darkened. Apricot Blossom Town hadn’t had a Spectral Domain. Did this mean a small village like this was even more dangerous than a populated town?

He felt eyes on him. Malicious, unseen eyes staring from the darkened windows and the deep shadows between houses. But whenever he whipped his head around, there was nothing but decay and gloom. The hunchback was nowhere to be seen.

Greed, however, often overrode caution.

Two male survivors spotted two small adobe houses near the village entrance. The structures were dilapidated, the wood rotting, clearly abandoned for a long time. But to the desperate, they looked like treasure chests.

Gripping steel pipes, the two men tiptoed toward the houses. If they could find just half a bag of rice or some flour, they would be rich.

They reached the door. The lock had rusted into a useless lump of iron. With a gentle push, the door creaked open, revealing a pitch-black interior that seemed to swallow the dim light of the Spectral Domain.

The two men swallowed hard, exchanged a glance to bolster their courage, and walked in side by side. Their legs were trembling.

Chen Ye watched them. His target was the supermarket under the Great Willow, but he kept an eye on the periphery.

He watched the two men step into the darkness of the adobe house.

And then… nothing.

There was no scream. No sound of struggle. No noise of scavenging.

The house simply swallowed them. It was like the gaping maw of a silent beast. They walked in, and they ceased to exist. The silence was more terrifying than any scream.

“I can’t… I don’t want to die! I want to get out!”

A man wearing glasses, witnessing the silent disappearance, finally snapped. He screamed and turned to bolt back toward the village entrance.

Zhou Lan and Zhou Xiaoxiao stood frozen, their hearts pounding against their ribs. The silent horror of the village pressed down on them, but the fear of starvation pushed them forward. Trembling, they forced themselves to take two more steps into the gloom.