Chapter 493: Suspicions
She did not intend to confront him yet.
They still knew too little about the village, and Chief Gao clearly believed they were ordinary travellers with a few useful abilities.
It was better to let him maintain that misunderstanding.
Outside, the locusts continued passing over the village.
The deafening sound made ordinary conversation difficult, yet Chief Gao showed no intention of leaving.
Instead, he continued asking seemingly innocent questions.
"How many vehicles do you have?"
"Three," Lu Zhen replied.
"They must consume a lot of fuel."
"They do."
"You must have stockpiled plenty before the apocalypse."
"A little."
"Do you have a space ability user?"
Lu Zhen raised his eyebrows.
"Why do you ask?"
"No reason." Chief Gao laughed. "You don’t seem to be carrying much luggage. I thought you might have someone with a storage ability."
Lu Zhen lifted his hand.
A packet of biscuits appeared in his palm.
Chief Gao’s eyes immediately brightened.
"So, you are a space ability user!"
"It is just a small storage space," Lu Zhen said casually. "There is nothing worth mentioning."
"A storage space is already incredibly rare."
Chief Gao stared at the biscuits as if they were priceless treasures.
Although he tried to conceal his greed, his eyes remained fixed on Lu Zhen’s hand.
The rest of the group silently exchanged glances.
Chief Gao had been interested in their vehicles and supplies from the beginning. Now that Lu Zhen revealed his space, his attitude became even more enthusiastic.
"You are truly distinguished guests," he said. "You must allow our village to host you properly."
"That won’t be necessary," Lu Zhen refused.
"It is necessary!" Chief Gao insisted. "You arrived at our village, and it would be shameful if we allowed you to eat biscuits while we have warm food."
"There are thirteen of us," Leng Pan reminded him. "Providing food for so many people will burden your village."
"It won’t be a burden at all."
Chief Gao replied too quickly.
He paused before continuing in a gentler tone.
"We have enough food. Besides, it has been a long time since our village welcomed so many guests. Once the locusts pass, come to my house. We will prepare dinner for everyone."
"You have meat?" Lu Tao asked.
His question sounded innocent, but everyone had already heard from Little Vine that the villagers possessed meat.
Chief Gao laughed.
"A little. We occasionally trap mutated animals. You arrived at the right time."
"What kind of animal?" Shade suddenly asked through the mental connection he shared with Lu Zhen.
Of course, Chief Gao couldn’t hear him.
However, Lu Zhen also wanted to know.
"What kind of meat?" he asked.
"Wild goat," Chief Gao answered. "The animal wandered close to the village a few days ago. We were lucky enough to kill it."
Little Vine tightened around Leng Pan’s wrist again.
Through their connection, it sent her a feeling of rejection.
It had detected the meat in several houses, but the scent did not resemble an ordinary animal.
Leng Pan’s smile did not change.
"Then we will have to trouble Chief Gao."
"You agreed?" Chief Gao asked excitedly.
"Since you are so generous, refusing again would be impolite."
"Good! Good!"
Chief Gao rose to his feet.
"I will tell everyone to prepare. The locusts should pass soon. You can come to my house once it becomes quiet."
He glanced at the untouched cups.
"The water..."
"We will drink it later," Leng Pan said. "We aren’t thirsty yet."
Chief Gao appeared reluctant, but he couldn’t force them.
"Of course. There is no hurry."
He stepped outside, and Leng Pan closed the mist barrier behind him.
The two men immediately moved the umbrellas above his head and escorted him away.
Everyone remained silent until the three disappeared into the neighbouring house.
"That man is definitely plotting something," Lu Tao said.
"You only realized now?" Lu Hao asked.
"I realized from the beginning!"
"Then why did you almost drink the water?"
"I was only pretending!"
Lu Hao looked at him without speaking.
His expression clearly said he didn’t believe a word.
"Enough," Lu Zhen interrupted. "We already know he is suspicious. The question is what he wants."
"Our vehicles, supplies, and your space ability," Silk said.
"He also reacted strangely when we mentioned Tayi City," Sonny added. "He knows more about the city than he admitted."
"And he lied about the meat," Leng Pan said.
She looked at Little Vine.
"It doesn’t recognize the scent as goat meat."
The atmosphere became heavier.
"Could it be human flesh?" Janna asked, her face turning pale.
"No conclusion can be made before we investigate," Ouyang Jin replied. "Mutated animals smell different from their original species."
"What about the water?" Vanish asked.
"I can sense a strange energy inside it, but I can’t identify what it is."
Leng Pan took out an empty bottle and poured some of the water inside.
"I will examine it later. Until then, no one should drink or eat anything provided by the villagers."
The others nodded.
The locust swarm continued for nearly three hours before the sound gradually faded.
When the sky brightened again, several villagers emerged from their houses.
Not long afterwards, a young woman approached their shelter.
She appeared to be in her twenties, but her thin body and exhausted expression made her look older.
"Chief Gao asked me to bring you to his house," she said without looking directly at them. "Dinner is ready."
The group followed her to the two-storey house.
Unlike the other buildings, Chief Gao’s home was spacious and clean. A long wooden table had been set in the courtyard, covered with bowls of rice, vegetables, and several plates of roasted meat.
The aroma was tempting.
Chief Gao stood beside the table with a broad smile.
"Welcome! Please sit. There is no need to be polite."
Several women moved around the table, serving food and filling cups with water from the well.
However, Leng Pan noticed something unusual.
The women handled the food normally, but whenever they touched the water jar, their bodies became tense.
More importantly, even though Chief Gao repeatedly urged the guests to drink, none of the villagers drank the water themselves.
Janna also noticed their behaviour.
Wanting to test their reaction, she reached for her cup and raised it towards her lips.
Before the water could touch her mouth, the young woman standing beside her suddenly struck the cup from her hand.
It fell to the ground and shattered.
Every sound in the courtyard disappeared.
The woman stared at the broken cup with terror on her face.
Chief Gao’s friendly smile slowly vanished.