Then, without making a sound, they took the weapons they had prepared into their hands. As everyone’s attention was drawn to the business of opening the crate, they instinctively learned the art of assassination - covering mouths, slashing throats, and then propping up the bodies to sit on the ground. The entire sequence was incredibly smooth, as if the executer had rehearsed it hundreds of times.

After the stealthy attacks succeeded, the others weren’t fools. Although their attention was on the crate, the sudden silence caught their attention. With a loud shout, those who had been focused on the crate immediately saw the few individuals sitting on the ground not far away.

These people were sitting on the ground as if nothing was wrong, and if it weren’t for the fresh red liquid continuously flowing from their necks, the others might have thought they were simply tired and had sat down to rest.

However, the blood bubbling from their necks unequivocally told everyone else there was something seriously wrong with their condition.

Seeing the three lifeless bodies on the ground, everyone immediately became alert. When they saw the three individuals in the back holding blood-dripping daggers, disbelief crossed their faces.

Until now, they had merely thought the three had been tempted by greed and hadn’t considered any other possibilities.

As they turned to guard against the three attackers behind them, the team member close to the crate quietly opened it, eager to see what was inside first.

But when he opened the crate, his expression froze, and then he lifted the lid off the crate forcefully.

When the crate’s lid was flipped open to its fullest, it collided with the crate’s body, making a loud ’clang’, which made everyone who was on guard against the killers instinctively turn their heads to look back.

Little did they expect that their instinctive glance would give the three attackers the opportunity to rush into the crowd to slaughter.

However, as soon as they had taken a few steps forward, the rest, alerted by the noise, immediately turned and were on guard.

On seeing the three individuals rushing towards them with daggers, the others, for their own safety, quickly took out the weapons they carried with them.

Combat was about to erupt.

However, nobody noticed that the team member who had just opened the crate was now moving his limbs erratically, as if he were a marionette.

Only Dong Tianyu, who was watching the scene from the sky, noticed the individual’s abnormal behavior.

When the three people holding the bloodstained daggers charged, those with their weapons drawn noticed the blood-red eyes of their attackers.

It was this clear abnormality that made it clear to the others that these three individuals were not in a normal state, so when they engaged in combat, nobody held back.

But the attackers were only three in number, and there were more than a dozen normal individuals on site. Adding to that, everyone fought without restraint, so the three trying to attack the group were quickly subdued.

As they looked at the assailants lying on the ground, shrieking and flailing with hacked limbs, yet still trying to attack others, they felt a chill run down their spines.

The individual who had covertly opened the crate finally regained control of his body. His previously rigid expression had now returned to normal.

He was now like any normal person, circling the three who were on the ground, discussing them just as the rest were.

However, now he seemed to have developed a fondness for patting people on the shoulder. Whenever he patted someone, the person would suddenly become dazed, then shake it off as if a computer rebooting.

Once they came back to themselves, just like the first man, they became touchy in conversation, coming into physical contact with their teammates.

Because of this chain of touch, it didn’t take long before all the people on site stopped moving as if time had stood still, whether they were laughing or regardless of what posture their bodies were in. They all became like statues.

Were it not for the three people on the ground with broken limbs still screaming, the scene would have seemed as eerie as a paused moment in a horror film.

After a short pause, the silent people moved the crate back into the room. After placing the crate, one individual took out a weapon from their possession and placed it on the empty altar. Then everyone left the room.

For some reason, the three who had been screaming on the floor quieted down as soon as the door closed. Their eyes, once bloodshot, returned to normal, and at the same time, their sanity returned.

Collapsing on the floor, although they didn’t understand why they had become like this, the intense pain made them scream out loud.

However, when their painful cries went unanswered, the volume of their screaming gradually lowered. Eventually, they observed that everyone else was standing silently around them, motionless, staring at them, and they were gripped by an inexplicable chill.

Just as they were about to say something, the first member to open the crate came over and patted their heads. Instantly, their bodies began to convulse.

It wasn’t long before their bodies stopped twitching, and their expressions became much calmer. The three rose from the ground as if uninjured and swiftly stood up.

Once they were up, everyone one by one went to a corner of the courtyard, lifting a wooden plank to reveal a dark cave. Then they all jumped into the cave in turn.

Watching the eerie behavior of those in the courtyard, Dong Tianyu seemed to suddenly remember something and took out his thermal imager again.

Indeed, through the thermal imager, Dong Tianyu noticed that somehow, another spherical heat source had appeared in the courtyard. This heat source was not much different in size from the one that had been lurking there earlier and had the same capabilities.

It was only now that Dong Tianyu noticed through the thermal imager that those survivors in the courtyard were all connected by a thin line.

After everyone had jumped into the cave, the displaced cover was put back into place, once again concealing the cave.

In the blink of an eye, the previously empty courtyard was once again overgrown with waist-high weeds, and the yard had returned to its original state.

Zachary, having witnessed the entire process from the sky, although he felt the courtyard posed no threat to him, still felt goosebumps run down his spine after seeing everything unfold.