Embers Ad Infinitum

The next morning, the "old tune team" waited until the sun rose completely before leaving the camp and driving the jeep back to Linhe Village.

This place is no different from yesterday before dark, except that the soil under the old locust tree has more signs of turning.

They were left behind by Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong when they ordered Du Shaochong's body to be laid to rest.

Jiang Baimian looked at it carefully for a while and said to the team members:

"Let's go into the village."

After walking a few steps, Shang Jianyao suddenly said "uh".

Just when Jiang Baimian was wondering if this guy had committed another problem and hesitating whether to ask, Shang Jianyao took the initiative to ask:

"Do you think the bones buried under the old locust tree are still there?"

How could it not be there? We just buried it yesterday! Long Yuehong muttered in her heart.

Having said that, he still couldn't help but think about the possibility in his mind if he was really gone.

This is very scary and very scary!

Old God Jiang Baimian responded to Shang Jianyao’s question:

“I just observed that the condition of the soil is no different from when we left last night.

"Besides, since we won't try to dig out the bones now, what difference does it make between its presence and absence? You can't confirm it. Go back out of the company, take Lao Ge with you, and come back to check again."

For some reason, when he heard the team leader's words, a picture suddenly appeared in Bai Chen's mind:

He and other carbon-based people were hiding a few kilometers away, holding a telescope and watching an intelligent robot from Lao Ge digging the soil with a shovel.

"Okay..." Shang Jianyao was very disappointed that the shocking development he came up with was not recognized.

The "old tune team" continued to move forward and arrived at the entrance to the village.

Shang Jianyao turned his head and looked at the place where Xiao Chong took the children to urinate.

"Put away your current thoughts!" Jiang Baimian gave full warning and stopped him in advance.

Shang Jianyao sighed and said:

"That's a holy relic!"

...Long Yuehong didn't know how to complain for a moment.

After a few seconds, he muttered:

"Those things are called holy relics?"

Jiang Baimian did not give Shang Jianyao a chance to discuss the matter, and gave the order directly:

"Enter the village!"

She took the lead and walked into Linhe Village.

Bai Chen and others followed closely behind.

They looked at the situation in the houses on the roadside through the glass windows that were still quite intact.

The area of ​​Swamp No. 1 Ruins has not been discovered before, so it seems that this place has not been visited by ruin hunters until now. Whether it is high-end items such as TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners, cars, or tables, chairs, benches, and cans of instant noodles, they are all silent. It rested quietly in its original position, unmoved for decades.

Looking at it, Long Yuehong suddenly felt something was wrong.

Something is missing here!

The next second, Bai Chen said:

"Where's the whole village?"

No matter what happened to the villagers when the old world was destroyed, someone would always die and there would be debris left behind, but now there is not a single corpse in Linhe Village!

Shang Jianyao laughed:

"Maybe they had nothing to do back then and survived the destruction of the old world, and then the whole village moved to another place.

"That's how it is with the blessing of Zhi Sui."

He spoke with such certainty that it was as if he had seen it with his own eyes.

Jiang Baimian glanced at him and said concisely:

"The entire village will not be relocated without food."

Especially canned and instant noodles which are more convenient to carry.

"Maybe some people got the 'unintentional disease', and the other people were forced to evacuate in a hurry. Well, those 'unintentional people' chased them all the way and never came back." Long Yuehong tried to guess.

Bai Chen disagreed:

"If some people really became 'Heartless' when the old world was destroyed, some of the remaining people would definitely die. And when the survivors hurriedly evacuated, if they had cared to take the bodies with them, they wouldn't have stayed. Portable food.”

This is what she has learned over the years from what she has heard and seen:

Once a large number of people in a certain place suddenly become "unintentional people", then there will inevitably be people around them who have no time to guard against and are hunted down.

And if there weren't many "unintentional people" in Linhe Village enough to be guarded by the villagers, then the survivors wouldn't have to flee in a hurry, not even taking food with them.

"Yes." Long Yuehong nodded.

He suggested another possibility:

"They all became 'careless people' and went to look for food elsewhere..."

As he spoke, Long Yuehong's voice gradually became lower, because "unintentional people" also know how to use simple tools, open cans, and tear off packages.

This is confirmed within many urban ruins.

Jiang Baimian looked around and said thoughtfully:

“What Zhi Sui provides may not be blessing.

"Do you still remember the situation in Taicheng?"

Bai Chen and Long Yuehong recalled the state of the citizens in Taicheng:

They all died instantly when the old world was destroyed!

"Did everyone in Linhe Village also die when the old world was destroyed?" Long Yuehong wondered to herself, "But if they are all dead, where did the bodies go?"

Hearing this, Shang Jianyao smiled.

He lowered his voice and said:

"Became a zombie...

"They're hiding somewhere, looking at your neck..."

Although Long Yuehong knew that this guy was telling a ghost story, after experiencing so many abnormalities, he did not dare to deny the possibility casually.

Jiang Baimian considered for a while and said:

"Continue to search and see if there are any clues."

They moved forward slowly, opening a door from time to time, entering and checking.

The situations in these houses are quite similar, they were at a certain moment in life, and then suddenly frozen in time.

Therefore, the "Old Diao Group" saw that some people had dishes and chopsticks placed on the table, and the food had long since rotted and evaporated, leaving only some bones and stains. Some people had mops dumped in the middle of the living room, and it seemed that only half of the work had been completed...

This is more and more similar to Jiang Baimian’s guess just now:

When the old world was destroyed, no matter what the people here were doing, they died instantly.

But the problem is that their bodies are missing.

"How is it?" Shang Jianyao looked at Long Yuehong and said with a smile, "A true ghost story."

"There must be some reason behind this." Long Yue replied with a red mouth.

"Yes, the reason is that the corpses have mutated..." Shang Jianyao deliberately made his voice gloomy.

Jiang Baimian retracted his gaze, looked not far ahead and said:

"According to my folklore knowledge, there should be the village's ancestral hall over there. If you go there and take a look, you might be able to find something interesting."

For example, a tablet with the name "Du Shaochong" written on it.

"Okay." Bai Chen didn't want to listen to Shang Jianyao telling ghost stories here.

The "Old Diao Group" continued forward, bypassing a house and arriving at the Linhe Village Ancestral Hall.

This ancestral hall has the style of the old world, but both the eaves and the arches are made of cement.

At this time, the black wooden doors of the ancestral hall were tightly closed.

"Shall I open the door?" Shang Jianyao rubbed his hands and volunteered.

His "Berserker" assault rifle was slung across his chest.

Jiang Baimian nodded:

"Go ahead and be careful."

Shang Jianyao accelerated his pace excitedly and walked to the entrance of the ancestral hall.

He listened for a while, closed his eyes and sensed for a while, then put on his gloves and stretched out his palm to push the door.

After all, Jiang Baimian asked him to be careful.

The creaking sound echoed in the open space in front of the ancestral hall as the door opened backwards, and the situation inside was gradually revealed to the eyes of several members of the "Old Tune Group".

Because there was a distance, Long Yuehong picked up the telescope.

Bai Chen has undergone corresponding genetic modification, and Jiang Baimian's eyesight is also very strong, but he still only relies on his eyes.

Soon, they saw gray-white graves.

These tombs are not big, and they are densely packed in the courtyard of the ancestral hall, occupying every place.

"Wow!" Shang Jianyao exclaimed.

He half-turned around and shouted to Jiang Baimian and others:

"This place has become a mass grave!"

Not only the courtyard, but also the sides, rear and main worship area of ​​the ancestral hall seemed to be filled with tombs.

Jiang Baimian stared for a while and said to himself:

"Those bones missing from the village?"

Are all those who died buried in the ancestral hall? Long Yuehong was shocked.

"Should." Bai Chen felt that there was no other possibility.

She then pursed her lips:

"But who buried them?"

survivor? Long Yuehong guessed in her heart.

But he quickly overturned this possibility.

Because survivors will not consume or take away those canned and instant noodles.

Shang Jianyao stood at the door of the ancestral hall and looked around for a while. It was not until Jiang Baimian and others came to him that he said with reverence:

"There should have been a few people who survived and buried all the dead in the village in the ancestral hall."

This is the same as Long Yuehong’s speculation just now, but the next development is completely different:

"They also lost the confidence to live, dug their own graves, and then buried themselves."

It unfolded both horrifyingly and tragically... Long Yuehong muttered.

He didn't refute it because it was a possibility.

Jiang Baimian said "hmm" and tried to walk into the ancestral hall.

There was only a little space between the gray and white tombs to stay. It was very difficult for several members of the "Old Diao Group" to enter the hall where ancestors were worshiped without stepping on other people's graves.

The place is still full of small tombs, and only a few places where memorial tablets stand are unoccupied.

Jiang Baimian looked carefully for a while and found that this place belonged to the surname Du, but there was no name like Du Shaochong.

"Before the destruction of the old world, Du Shaochong was not dead, or the news of his death had not come back." She said after considering it.

Then, she looked at the gray-white grave at her feet, hesitated and said:

"I dug one up and took a look. I always felt that these graves were too small to be able to bury a person, unless they were buried vertically."

"Okay!" Shang Jianyao volunteered.

He led Long Yuehong out of the ancestral hall in a Yangko-like manner, and quickly brought back two engineering shovels.

Not long after, they dug up a grave.

The corpse inside was not buried deep, just a little below, and all the bones were piled together.

Obviously, they were not buried in a normal manner.

"Chop it into pieces and bury it? This saves space." Shang Jianyao suddenly realized.

Crazy... Long Yuehong only had this idea about this.

Jiang Baimian shook his head:

“The bones should have been collected and buried.

"The bodies were buried here after they had rotted into bones."

"Who buried it?" Bai Chen frowned.

This is definitely not the work of survivors.