When leaving the large tent, Captain Chu sported a magnificent black eye on both the left and right sides of his face.

The young Sword Immortal, Nana, shoved past Chen Ye and Iron Lion, stomping out of the tent in a huff, her cheeks puffed up with anger.

Chen Ye threw Captain Chu a look that clearly said serves you right and followed her out.

The convoy soon mobilized.

Captain Chu’s modified off-road vehicle took the lead. Right behind it was Nana’s vehicle. After that came Chen Ye’s motorcycle tricycle. Iron Lion’s bus brought up the rear, followed by the stragglers.

It seemed that to reach Longevity Village earlier, the pace today was slightly faster. The convoy soon stretched into a long snake winding through the desolate landscape.

At the very end were the survivors on foot, lacking any transport. Some carried backpacks, while others had nothing but the clothes on their backs, simply following the group with desperate determination.

Chen Ye constantly felt a pair of resentful, venomous eyes boring into his back. But every time he turned to look, he found nothing but weary faces.

After a few times, Chen Ye stopped caring.

Lighting an HTS cigarette, the mellow aroma of tobacco filled his nostrils. Chen Ye exhaled a long puff of smoke, his mind drifting back to the meeting.

Earlier in the tent, when the Eavesdropping Radio was broadcasting Captain Chu’s roast session, it mentioned that the price of the Titan Sequence was a drop in intelligence.

If that was the case… did every Sequence demand a price?

What price did Nana pay for the Sword Immortal Sequence?

And what price did Captain Chu pay? Was his price simply having a foul mouth that got him into trouble? If so, it seemed quite plausible.

Also, that Eavesdropping Radio was incredibly useful. It had analyzed the situation in Longevity Village with frightening clarity. This intel would save a lot of effort and make gathering supplies much safer. But it had also caused Captain Chu to experience social death in front of his subordinates.

Clearly, this Artifact had side effects too. Did every Artifact come with a curse?

While mentally filing away this crucial information about Sequence Beyonders, Chen Ye steered the motorcycle with one hand. He flicked away the cigarette butt and immediately lit another. As a heavy smoker with a stockpile from Apricot Blossom Town, conservation wasn’t in his vocabulary.

He glanced down at the dashboard. The fuel gauge was hovering near empty.

Just then, a wave of exclamations rippled through the group.

“A village! There’s a village ahead!”

“Heavens, it’s a village. After so many days, we finally found one.”

The noise felt familiar to Chen Ye. It was the same mix of hope and fear they had felt upon discovering Apricot Blossom Town.

Captain Chu’s vehicle suddenly accelerated. Nana followed suit.

Chen Ye twisted the throttle, but the engine sputtered, and the tricycle merely puttered forward unhurriedly.

Damn. He really was out of gas.

The bus behind him roared past, leaving him in a cloud of dust. Chen Ye caught a glimpse of Iron Lion’s grinning face through the window. The other vehicles quickly followed, leaving Chen Ye to bring up the rear.

After days of trekking, everyone’s supplies were critical. But Chen Ye, hampered by his fuel situation, arrived at the village entrance last.

Looking at the settlement before him, Chen Ye felt a chill rise from the depths of his soul.

The survivors stood at the entrance, their eyes filled with a mix of terror and desperate greed.

It was high noon, with the bright sun beating down. But Longevity Village seemed to exist in perpetual twilight, giving off a gloomy, overcast aura. It was as if the sunlight refused to touch the buildings.

It felt like the village existed in a different dimension entirely.

Chen Ye’s expression turned grave. Why did this place feel even more terrifying than Apricot Blossom Town?

“Sis, I feel… I feel wrong…”

Zhou Xiaoxiao stared at the village, shivering despite the heat. He looked down and saw his arms covered in dense goosebumps.

“This village… Xiaoxiao, maybe we shouldn’t go in.” Zhou Lan felt the same dread. Just looking at the place made her physically ill.

“Sis, we’re out of supplies. We split one pack of instant noodles this morning. We’re almost out of gas.” Zhou Xiaoxiao’s voice was desperate. “Longevity Village is our only chance! If we don’t gather supplies…”

He didn’t need to finish. Zhou Lan knew he was right. Without fuel, they were dead. Even though this village didn’t look like it had a gas station, they had to look.

Zhou Lan unconsciously glanced at Chen Ye. He was a Sequence Beyonder. If he looked after them, their chances of survival would skyrocket. But they had burned that bridge to ash.

“The current time is 11:00 AM!”

Captain Chu, wearing sunglasses to hide his black eyes, stood on his vehicle with a loudspeaker.

“You must exit Longevity Village before 4:00 PM. We will not wait for anyone!”

The survivors’ reactions varied. Some looked terrified, others hesitated, and some stared at the village with savage determination, puffing their cheeks in anticipation.

From Chen Ye’s position, he could clearly see a massive willow tree in the village center. It was abnormally large, its drooping branches hanging messily like the hair of a drowned woman.

Suddenly, Chen Ye’s eyes narrowed.

At the entrance of the village, a figure had appeared out of nowhere.

It was a hunchback, bent almost double, leaning heavily on a cane. The figure strained to lift its head, trying to get a clear look at the survivors.

The hunchback grinned at them.

The smile was sinister, stretching too wide across a weathered face.

“That’s… a person!”

“There’s someone at the village entrance!”

“Mom, are there still living people in there?”

The survivors erupted into commotion. A place that should be a tomb actually had a living resident. And an old man at that.

The scene was utterly Anomalous.

Chen Ye turned to Nana beside him.

The young Sword Immortal’s face was grim. “The Eavesdropping Radio said this village has no living people.”