Chapter 66: Deeply Suspicious

Lord Han looked at Fang Yue strangely: "I found the source of those refugees—on a flat stretch of ground about two thousand meters outside our village. The refugees suddenly appear there like illusory shadows, then unconsciously walk toward our village."

"As they near our village, they gradually shift from illusion to reality, taking on the appearance of those people by the gate. Then they slowly walk to our village entrance and stop, piling up together."

Shift from illusion to reality?

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.

"Lord Han, what do you mean by 'shift from illusion to reality'?"

"Literally—they go from being phantoms I can't even touch, to becoming solid bodies!"

"This…"

Everyone's scalp prickled. If even Lord Han couldn't handle it, they had no chance at all.

"Don't overthink it. From Xiao Ye and the others' example, the refugees don't seem hostile. And they truly have nothing but ordinary human physiques—they couldn't cause trouble even if they tried. It's just the way they appear that's truly strange."

After a pause, Lord Han said: "I suspect… this might be a new, unknown Transcendence-level Weird phenomenon, like 【Night Rain】 or 【Cold Night】."

Everyone fell silent.

【Night Rain】 and 【Cold Night】 had already become part of their lives. Whether caused by Transcendence-level Weirds or not, they accepted these phenomena as real.

Now another Transcendence-level Weird—or at least a new phenomenon—had emerged, leaving them uneasy, unsure whether it was good or bad.

"Lord Han, should we contact the higher Qing Office and report the village's situation?"

"Yes, we must report it."

If it were only the small number of refugees from yesterday, Gu Yue Cun could handle it alone—no need to report to the county.

But with so many refugees pouring in, and so strangely, we must report it.

Fang Yue had a rough idea what these refugees were, and wasn't as tense or worried as Lord Han and the others.

He merely thought the game's character creation method was bizarre.

Thinking of these people like offline characters who could still move freely in the wild, Fang Yue grew curious.

If I logged off and let my character keep walking into the wild, could I also avoid Weirds and safely reach my destination like them?

If so, couldn't I bypass the wild entirely and safely reach the neighboring village?

The more Fang Yue thought about it, the more excited he became—he felt like a top-tier player who'd just discovered a game exploit.

Then he heard Lord Han speak.

"By the way, on my way back, I saw many refugee corpses and dragged blood trails—some refugees were dragged off and eaten by Weirds. Even bodies without lifespan are being targeted; likely low-level Weirds. But since it's happening near the village, it's still unsafe. Tomorrow daytime, you two will need to lead a team to deal with it."

Lord Han was speaking to Fang Yue and Lin Ling.

Before Fang Yue could respond, Lin Ling had already eagerly agreed—he was always eager to show off in front of Lord Han.

Fang Yue didn't think much of it, just pondering Lord Han's words.

So… these refugees have no lifespan because players haven't Advent yet.

No lifespan, so they can safely walk over a thousand meters in the wild? Yet some still got killed by Weirds out there…

It seemed his earlier theory didn't hold up at all.

But if they walked two thousand meters to the village entrance, shouldn't that take a long time? Logically, they should've been affected by 【Yuhan zhi shi】—yet they weren't…

As Fang Yue was thinking, Lord Han added: "Set up a larger Human Soul Bonfire for the refugees. Look at the earliest group to arrive at the village entrance—their feet already show signs of 【Yuhan zhi shi】 erosion. If you don't burn Human Soul fire, they'll all die at the gate before dawn. Let the Human Soul Bonfire burn until dawn, then extinguish it to conserve the village's lifespan. And if they haven't woken up by tomorrow night, leave them—let them fend for themselves."

Fang Yue followed Lord Han's pointing gaze and carefully examined them—only then did he notice the earliest group of refugees had faint white frost congealed on their bare feet, worse than his own.

Well, it seemed these refugees were truly ordinary people, just lucky enough to reach the village entrance. Left unattended, they'd all freeze to death by morning.

Comparing the frost on the refugees' feet, Fang Yue recalled his own experience—he'd only been exposed to 【Yuhan zhi shi】 during the walk down from the ruined temple to the village entrance.

He'd run through the rain, losing HP, but his exposure time outside the Cold Night had been brief.

"Alright, those who need to work, get to work. Everyone else, disperse. Nothing to see here."

Lord Han dispersed the onlookers, then turned to Fang Yue and Lin Ling: "Tomorrow I'll send people to neighboring villages to inquire—see if they're experiencing the same refugee phenomenon."

"If they are, then this is a new Weird phenomenon with wide coverage—and Gu Yue Cun isn't special, not targeted by any Weird."

"If they aren't…"

Lord Han didn't finish, because that meant something terrifying—being targeted by a Transcendence-level Weird!

But Fang Yue remained calm—he was certain this was just the game's method of deploying players, nothing terrifying.

As the three were discussing, a Guard Team member on the village wall suddenly shouted, pointing far to the left-rear of the refugees.

"Lord Han, look! Something's over there!"

All three froze. Fang Yue reacted first, immediately looking up.

In the direction the soldier pointed, a light suddenly flickered.

Lin Ling's expression tightened, his brow furrowed.

"Everyone be careful—there may be too many refugees gathered, attracting a Weird!"

Everyone's hearts clenched. This was one reason Gu Yue Cun rarely welcomed refugees.

Some even directly suggested killing the refugees and burning them with the corpses at the gate.

But Lord Han stopped them.

Not only was it cruel, it was inhumane.

If word got out, no other village would ever deal with anyone from Gu Yue Cun again.

After calming everyone, Lord Han turned to look.

At that moment, the flickering light had drawn closer. The crowd at the gate grew tense; some had already run back to alert others and call for reinforcements.

Fang Yue and the others didn't stop them. Though Lord Han was present and danger seemed unlikely, more hands were always better if something happened.

But before the reinforcements could get far, Lord Han suddenly exclaimed in delight.

"Wait! That's not a Weird! That's… An Shenyi!"

(End of Chapter)