Because Zhao Xu had been to Daling Village several times and was familiar with the environment and layout, he was asked to lead the way.
Of course, for safety reasons, Lao Cao and I both stood by his side.
Yuan Fei and Ni Yang were at the back of the team, while Daniel and the other four people and the bodyguards in black were walking in the middle.
We held torches, and a light mist filled the village.
Full of a mysterious atmosphere.
Every time we passed a house in the village, we would separate out a few people to check it out.
In order to allow several cultivators in the team to get used to it and get used to the situation where more zombies may be besieged in the future, the mix of personnel is different every time.
Sometimes it’s me, Xiao Yuan and Lao Cao.
Sometimes it’s me and Yuan Fei, Ni Yang.
Sometimes it is Lao Cao who takes Daniu and others...
In short, I hope everyone can fight face to face with this weird corpse first.
Unfortunately, all the houses along this road are empty.
After carefully entering, there was not a single ghost inside!
There was no longer the situation where there were two corpses in the first house after passing the archway when we first entered the village.
Yuan Fei was laughing and joking, saying that those ghosts must be afraid of them, so they didn't dare to show up.
But I feel a little worried in my heart...
Lao Cao also said that there are still nearly a hundred villagers in Daling Village. If even half of the villagers mutated into this kind of corpse, it would already be a huge headache!
In addition, if they are not in their respective houses or running around in the village, it means that they must be concentrated in a certain place - which means that there may be greater trouble.
Madoka immediately grumbled dissatisfiedly.
"Old man Cao, can you please stop being a crow here? If a large number of corpses really gather together later, I will never finish with you, Mr. Bird. From now on, when you fall asleep at night, I will come to your bed to shit. .”
Lao Cao: "..."
I took the dead fat bird off my shoulders, held it in my arms, kneaded and rubbed it vigorously, and scolded it.
"You stupid bird, you know nonsense every day."
"Wu boy, let me go! If you keep doing this, you'll mess up my hair, brother. I'm not done with you."
Fortunately, except for Ni Yang and the bodyguards in black, everyone else has long been accustomed to Xiao Yuan's mean talk and vulgarity. He didn't show too much surprise.
We continue to follow Zhao Xu and explore the scope of the village...
Then we discovered that the situation began to change!
As we get closer to the center of Daling Village, the surrounding fog gradually becomes thicker, and the houses in the village are hidden in the fog. I also started to see some weird situations.
The surface of every room was covered with criss-crossing weird things—it looked like thick roots of some kind of plant, or like vines.
These weird things wrap up the house like the tentacles of an octopus, giving people a weird and creepy feeling in the mist.
Yuan Fei said softly.
"This ghost place is getting weirder and weirder. I've been traveling all over the place for several years, and I still know nothing about it...Has Brother Cao seen this weird plant?"
Lao Cao shook his head.
At this time, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
"Old Cao, Uncle Yuan, do you think that these things wrapped around the house are a bit similar to the mold hyphae in the bodies of the two corpses just now? They are just enlarged versions."
oh?
After hearing what I said, they shined a bright flashlight on the nearest room and looked at it carefully for a while.
Yuan Fei slapped his thigh.
"Hey, don't say it, it's true! But the breath seems a little different."
Lao Cao also said in a deep voice.
"Looking at the gray mold hyphae on the corpse will make you feel inexplicably irritable. But these thick plant roots wrapped around the house will not feel this way. Perhaps the source is the same, but the effect is different?"
I nodded and agreed with Lao Cao's guess.
In fact, we have been chatting along the way. Maybe if we find out what the fungus is that parasitizes in the body of the corpse, we can reveal the secret and truth of the disappearance of Daling Village! And, find out the mastermind and conspiracy behind the scenes.
At this time, Zhao Xu suddenly exclaimed and pointed to a certain location in front of him.
"Hey, that's weird! What is that? I don't think I've seen it before."
Um?
We were all stunned when we heard this, and then we shined bright flashlights in the direction of his fingers and looked over.
I saw a huge alien thing standing not far ahead in the hazy mist.
It was like a thick pillar or a bare tree, about two feet high - and about two feet in diameter, so it looked very strange in proportion.
But since there is still a short distance and the diffuse fog, the light of the strong flashlight is not enough for us to see clearly. Need to keep getting closer.
Zhao Xu explained that the reason why he was so surprised was because the place in front of him was originally the center of Daling Village.
About seven or eight years ago, Wang Wenguang wanted to make it more convenient for the villagers to dry millet and various pickles and cured meats, and also to chat and play during their leisure time. We specially helped Daling Village build a large cement square in the center of the village - of course, rural people still used to call it Dabazi.
At that time, Wang Wenguang asked the company secretary and Zhao Xu to take responsibility for this matter. The secretary is responsible for coordinating the search for the construction company, and Zhao Xu is responsible for keeping an eye on the quality.
At that time, after all, the social market economy had just started, and various industries and systems were not yet standardized, so there were a lot of shoddy projects!
With a gangster like Zhao Xu watching over him, the construction department would not dare to play tricks...
"Ahead is the center of Daling Village. It is a concrete dam of four to five hundred square meters. It is impossible to have such a huge columnar object. What the hell is that thing?"
Zhao Xu's eyes were confused and he muttered to himself.
Ni Yang patted his shoulder and said.
"Brother Zhao, stop guessing, the answer is right in front of you. Let's go over and take a look, won't we know? Of course, the truth is probably there, and the degree of danger must be very high. Let's be prepared to fight hard first, and then go over."
After saying that, he looked at us practitioners again.
"What do you think?"
"That's natural! It's time to reveal the truth. It's probably time for a real fierce fight."
Lao Cao and Yuan Fei also nodded in agreement.
So, we stopped here temporarily to check our magic weapons and equipment and make some repairs. Then he walked towards the weird column in front of him in his best condition...
The closer I got, the more I felt an eerie atmosphere permeating the surroundings, and at the same time, I smelled a strong putrid smell in my nose.
Even Lao Cao next to him frowned.
"The smell of corpses is so pungent... It's like the smell of at least dozens of corpses that have been exposed to the hot sun. I have been carrying coffins for many years, and I have rarely smelled such a strong corpse smell."
As soon as he finished speaking, a "wow" sound came from around him.
There were two or three bodyguards in black who couldn't bear it anymore and actually vomited on the side.
I quickly moved aside - if I accidentally got vomit on me, it would be hard to lose my temper.
"Fortunately, I prepared some masks before setting off. Everyone, please bring your masks!"
Zhao Xu gave orders.
As for us practitioners, we should not use it. Anyway, even if you don't specialize in eating Yin people, you often deal with dead people, corpses, monsters and ghosts... you are used to the smell.
"Give me one too! I have to wear it too."
Ni Yang couldn't help it, and quickly asked Zhao Xu for a mask.
After all, this guy has been hanging out in various banquet venues for dignitaries in the city, and he hasn't experienced too many such things.
Finally, we got close to the strange "pillar" not far in front, and finally saw its true face clearly.
This is actually...a tree!
A weird tree.
The whole body is dark gray and the trunk is extremely thick.
At first glance, it is very shocking.
And the most shocking and dumbfounding things are two places...
