It turned out that Huo Fuyu didn't belong to any organization; He Jiang had simply latched onto this high-level player. Since Huo Fuyu appeared to be a nice guy to outsiders, He Jiang had grouped them together on his own.
Huo Fuyu knew this but never bothered to explain, so others naturally assumed he was their leader.
Having a leader from the Power Rankings was something most scavengers dreamed of, which naturally allowed He Jiang to recruit more people.
He Jiang felt even more confident after hearing Huo Fuyu speak, and he gave Nan Yue a meaningful look.
"We are about to follow the villagers to the ancestral hall. Are you sure you're not going?"
Huo Fuyu shook his head. "No. I'm here because I have a small favor to ask of you."
"A favor?"
Huo Fuyu's eyes flickered with a smile as he raised his right hand. Blue veins were visible beneath the skin of his long, fair fingers, and his fingertips shimmered with a silver glow under the sunlight as countless threads intertwined and tangled between them.
"Yes, a small favor."
Nan Yue and Huo Fuyu stood by the forest closest to Ga Ya's house. She watched with a complex expression as He Jiang walked toward the house with a dull, numb gait.
He Jiang, a man who had used countless lives to pave his own path, had ultimately become a puppet in the hands of a higher-level scavenger to scout the way.
How ironic.
Indeed, a person's path is of their own making, and so are the sins they commit.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Ga Ya opened the door, her gaze sweeping over He Jiang. Huo Fuyu spoke softly from where he stood. "Ga Ya, who exactly is the subject of your sacrifice?"
On the other side, He Jiang repeated the same words, one syllable at a time.
Initially, Nan Yue felt like the village was going through something unknown, but Jiang Mingfu's death made her certain that while others might be in the dark, Ga Ya definitely knew.
Clearly, Huo Fuyu thought so too.
Ga Ya let out two coarse, raspy laughs. She looked at the sky, and something in her gaze changed. "Come in and talk."
The pitch-black house was filled with danger and death, but He Jiang's eyes remained vacant as he stepped inside.
He Jiang's eyes were Huo Fuyu's eyes. Through He Jiang, Huo Fuyu could see that Ga Ya's house was filled with various masks and ant stone statues.
The most conspicuous was a black ant mask, carved with an ant's face, compound eyes, and antennae, all of which were lifelike.
Unlike the brightly colored and uniquely shaped masks in the villagers' homes, if a person wore this mask, they would easily blend in with those stone statues in the dark.
Ga Ya's hand gently stroked the mask. "Our faith is the Ant God."
He Jiang spoke stiffly. "What is it that you fear?"
Ga Ya looked at the mask in her hand and remained silent for a long time. "What we fear is also the Ant God."
"What is the Ant God?"
Ga Ya raised her eyes and stared fixedly at the person in front of her. In Huo Fuyu's vision, Ga Ya's eyes didn't change, but the overly weary look in them made her seem like an old woman who had lived for an untold number of years.
"The Ant God is the people of Antswamp Village."
Huo Fuyu sensed something was wrong and wanted to ask more, but it was too late. Dense swarms of ants poured out from every corner of Ga Ya's room.
Countless half-palm-sized ants surged over He Jiang's body like a tide, devouring his flesh and blood with extreme speed.
He Jiang collapsed to the floor, regaining a portion of his consciousness due to the pain.
His eyes were filled with terror and despair. He wanted to call for help but couldn't make a sound.
Ga Ya walked through the swarm of ants as if she were walking through water.
She walked over to He Jiang, and those terrifying ants moved around her, only attacking the man on the ground.
Ga Ya looked down, her gaze unreadable. Her voice was old and raspy, yet it carried extremely complex emotions.
"Eat... eat... we are all sinners, and we all need to welcome a new life."
Huo Fuyu's vision plunged into darkness.
He silently severed the puppet threads. Nan Yue was still standing quietly beside him.
"He Jiang is dead."
Nan Yue looked at him without speaking. Huo Fuyu recounted exactly what he had just seen to her.
Nan Yue sighed. "What do you want me to do?"
A two-faced person like Huo Fuyu wouldn't share clues for no reason.
Huo Fuyu smiled innocently. "You know now. My ability is puppetry. It's somewhat similar to He Jiang's stand-in ability, but it has no offensive power."
"Furthermore, a puppet cannot take damage for me. Simply put, I have no combat capabilities."
"This mission is bound to be dangerous. I need you to give me a hand when that time comes."
Huo Fuyu winked at Nan Yue. "That shouldn't be hard for you, right?"
Nan Yue wanted to curse.
"What you've given me isn't enough for that. This mission is too dangerous; I might not even be able to protect myself."
Huo Fuyu let out an "oh my." "Then I'll give you an extra piece of information as a bonus."
"The villagers really don't know what's actually happening."
Huo Fuyu's puppetry allowed him to perceive a portion of the controlled subject's thoughts. He couldn't reach Ga Ya, but he could reach Suo Qisi.
"Suo Qisi only has fear. I can see part of his memories—death, blood, stone coffins... He doesn't know what's happening. Everything is just tradition."
Nan Yue fell silent. Huo Fuyu's ability was indeed formidable; it could compensate for many clues that couldn't be deduced.
No wonder he could become a top 50 player.
"Deal."
Nan Yue wasn't the type to take benefits and run. Regardless of the reason, she had accepted Huo Fuyu's favor and had to repay it.
Huo Fuyu's smile was charming. He knew Nan Yue was a rare, principled, and ruthless person.
Ruthless to others, and ruthless to herself.
What was rare was that she actually had some so-called principles in her heart. In the academy, who wasn't full of a sense of justice, morality, and principles?
After escaping death countless times, everything was thrown to the back of their minds. They would say whatever was necessary to survive; everything else was nonsense.
Huo Fuyu hummed a little tune. It was just that Nan Yue was too alert, and she carried a sense of danger that made his skin crawl.
Otherwise, if she were made into a puppet...
She would definitely be the most useful one.
Dong Sheng and Liu Kai Xu waited until very late, but He Jiang never returned. They faintly realized something, so they stopped waiting and hurried to the ancestral hall.
"Go to sleep early. The sacrificial rite begins tomorrow."
Nan Yue was already feeling very uncomfortable. Her stomach was burning, and that sense of hunger was making her somewhat irritable.
But no one noticed her problem, and she didn't say anything.
Things were clearly wrong on Zhu Xi Ning's side, Wen Xiang Yuan's ability was limited, and Shang Xi wasn't one of their own after all. If she also had a problem, the pressure on Gu Xiang Kai would be too heavy.
Nan Yue gave a few instructions and quickly went to sleep.
Now only two stone houses were occupied. Shang Xi's side had also gone to sleep early.
Time flew by, and in the middle of the night, Song Sisi woke up in a daze. She had been woken up by a noise.
Having just woken from a dream, she was still a bit confused.
She seemed to hear a slurping sound...
Song Sisi sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes as her brain slowly started to function.
It sounded like the sound of someone sucking up saliva...
Once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Song Sisi finally saw the person making the noise.
Rate on N.U.
