Chapter 479: Chapter 478: Cannon Fodder in the Infinite Survival Stream: Food Village 15

"Why are you all here?" Wei Yao answered instinctively, his hand already on the door, which Huo Jingchen stopped. Facing Huo Jingchen’s serious gaze, he snapped back to his senses, cold sweat breaking out on his back.

Could the people outside be monsters in disguise?

Whether they were or not, Wei Yao, who had regained his composure, didn’t dare to open the door again.

"Earlier, someone came knocking for help, and we ignored it," Bai Qiaoqian’s voice sounded again, "After a while, it went silent, and we decided to come out and have a look. Didn’t we agree to check out the situation tonight? We thought of checking on your side. We used invisibility tools, so as long as we’re careful, we shouldn’t be discovered."

"There’s nothing else outside for now," Shi Lingmeng chimed in.

The power was out, and the lights couldn’t be turned on.

But their phones still had power, and the indoor light came from the phone.

Listening to what Bai Qiaoqian and Shi Lingmeng were saying outside, those inside exchanged glances.

Huo Jingchen spoke up, "We’ve decided not to go out tonight. Whether you want to check the situation or go back is up to you."

After saying this, he typed on his phone and showed it to everyone: Whether or not we go out tonight, we can’t agree to the people outside for safety.

Wei Yao was the first to nod. Unexpectedly, another line of text appeared on Huo Jingchen’s phone: Especially you, Wei Yao, during the day is one thing, but at night, no matter what happens outside with Bai Qiaoqian, you’d better not respond.

Wei Yao, being named, felt a bit embarrassed but still nodded quickly.

Jingchen is his brother, reminding him is for his own good, not to harm him. Even if there’s something really wrong, between Bai Qiaoqian and Jingchen, he’d naturally choose his brother without hesitation. In a place like this, no one could compare to a good brother.

"Clearly, you can save us by opening the door. Why won’t you? You have such cruel hearts. Even if I become a ghost, I won’t forgive you." A sinister voice sounded, but it wasn’t Shi Lingmeng or Bai Qiaoqian’s. The wind outside started howling, and that voice seemed to be blown away, restoring the outside world to silence once again.

The almost door-opening Wei Yao felt as if he was drenched in sweat. If it hadn’t been for Huo Jingchen’s reminder, he might really have been fooled. After all, who would have thought that monsters could disguise themselves as someone they knew?

"He seems unwilling to let us go even as a ghost. Could he come in and cause trouble?" Wei Yao said with lingering fear.

Ah Chen spoke up, "Probably not. Based on my speculation, the rule here is that the outside is dangerous at night, and as long as you don’t go out or open the door, there should be no problems. As for the daytime, as long as you don’t break the rules, you won’t get kicked out. For the second level, as long as you don’t act recklessly, you can basically survive."

"I wonder what would happen if we opened the door," Wei Wenlan muttered, curious. Judging by the nighttime situation, it seemed absolutely safe to stay inside without opening the door. She wasn’t that afraid anymore.

The rest of them relaxed and, after thinking it through, agreed that Ah Chen was right.

"There’re two possibilities," Ah Chen said, seeing the group’s curiosity, and didn’t mind sharing her guesses. "First, caught by village people and burned to death."

Seeing their faces flash with fear, she continued, "Second, if you help them escape, they will surely find a way to retaliate against the villagers later."

"The villagers would be retaliated against. Now they’re still in the role of ordinary villagers, can’t escape, and then... after the villagers die, they all turn into vengeful spirits. Those who intervened previously probably can’t escape, triggering the strongest killing intention. Even with tools, it might not be easy to escape, though with many tools, you might save a life — after all, this is just the second level."

The group remained silent, pondering for a minute and realizing that this was very likely the case.

"You’re saying the core is the villagers, and those seeking help at night might be bad?" Huo Jingchen asked. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Ah Chen nodded, having no intention to hide it. It’s just the second level, and Huo Jingchen is quite capable enough to pass it.

"Since it’s the villagers, how can we win their favor?" Wei Yao asked.

The upgraded level was not as simple as their first encounter. Gaining favor and rewards wasn’t easy.

"Actually, the rewards we got at the Food Festival are quite good; there’s no need to be greedy," Qin Lin interjected, "In these matters, sometimes fate has to be considered. Forcing it might backfire. Like the current situation, aside from the initial tasks, the villagers don’t seem to need help. We might as well follow the rules and stay here, continuing to participate in the Food Festival activities tomorrow. It’s basically risk-free."

Qin Lin’s words made a lot of sense, and even Huo Jingchen thought the same.

Even if they suspected that gaining core favor would yield extraordinary rewards, they didn’t dare to push it. There were too many uncertainties in the nighttime of the Food Village. The main thing was, they already had rewards from the Food Festival activities, so it wasn’t as urgent as it initially seemed.

Meanwhile, on Shi Lingmeng’s side, something similar was happening.

Only, unlike Ah Chen’s side, when Huo Jingchen’s voice rang out, no one inside had any intention of opening the door.

They had once been monsters, and even if they had no memory of that checkpoint, they were much calmer than those adventurers new to this world.

"Let’s forget it tonight. The rewards from the Food Festival activities during the day were plenty; there’s no need to take unknown risks for extra rewards," Shi Lingmeng responded to Huo Jingchen.

"Xiao Qian, what about you?" Wei Yao’s voice sounded.

Bai Qiaoqian’s voice was filled with apology: "Brother Yao, it’s pitch black at night, and I’m genuinely scared, so let’s skip it, sigh."

After a while, an accusing voice rang from outside. The people inside were not scared but wore expressions of expected realization.

"Shall we go out tonight?" Jiang Le asked.

Shi Lingmeng replied, "No, let’s not go out."

She hadn’t yet figured out the situation in the village, and since Yan Hui had gone out last night too, going out again would probably lead to similar experiences, with a high risk of being discovered. It wasn’t worth it.

They couldn’t possibly go out to save those being burned, could they? Now it seemed those being burned weren’t good people.

As for watching? She didn’t have such a hobby.

Besides, she had a gut feeling that even quietly observing might get her discovered. Who said hiding tools would always work? Once monsters leveled up, primary tools wouldn’t suffice, and they would be discovered.

As for intermediate tools, they were quite expensive.

"I’ll go out to take a look later." Who would have thought that at this point, Yan Hui would say such a thing?

Seeing everyone look at him, he said, "I’m curious."

If discovered, he’d just use a tool to escape. He had good luck during the day and made a lot. He had a flaw, which was curiosity, and he felt restless without figuring things out.

"Then be careful," Shi Lingmeng didn’t persuade further, believing one’s fate was in their own hands.

On Ah Chen’s side, once Wei Wenlan and Qin Lin went to sleep, she sat up.

She was pretty curious about what was happening outside, so she decided to take a look.

Now that everyone was asleep, it was the right time.

"Brother, is she going out?" Xiao Pan was surprised.

Bai Chao was somewhat worried, "Seems like it."