The two teammates who came with Yu Yili, who had temporary meat allergies, were even more afraid that he wouldn't be able to give away the canned food in his hands, and wished they could take it all if they wanted it.
Having received the benefits, the young girls naturally did their best to guide them.
Among these people, Yu Yili has the best temper and the most normal social habits. As long as he doesn't have an episode, he can easily get along with strangers.
At first, the two girls were a little hesitant to speak, but gradually, under Yu Yili's guidance, they became more familiar with him.
The girl on the left is named Xiao Zuo, and the one on the right is naturally named Xiao You. Their mother died in childbirth and they were raised by their father.
“It was very hard for my dad to raise us all by himself. Fortunately, the people in the village are very kind. After all, we are all family and we take care of each other,” Xiao Zuo said.
The group chatted as they slowly walked into the village.
This village is isolated from the outside world and its level of development is much lower than that of the protected area. It feels as if you have traveled back to ancient times, but it does not have the ominous atmosphere of the protected area. Life seems to be more harmonious and joyful.
There is no electricity here, and you can't see any large objects from modern society, but there are a few small shops at the village entrance on both sides of the road, and the mud houses have fields full of crops and vegetables, as well as cages for raising livestock.
It seemed that at least no cannibalism would happen here, which put Yi Heye at ease. However, some memories flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but feel nauseous again.
As they walked, they realized that there seemed to be no other people in the village.
Xiao Zuo explained, "My family members are all very shy. They probably heard you were coming and hid at home."
Yi Heye was suspicious. How could everyone in a village be afraid of strangers? Was there some kind of ambush?
The thought had barely formed in their minds when they turned into a house together. The two sisters knocked on the door and called out in unison, "Dad, open the door! We have guests!"
Yi Heye frowned and quietly tightened his grip on the knife hilt once more. He heard a thumping sound coming from inside the room, like someone walking, but it was much heavier than the footsteps of a normal person.
The sound slowly approached the door, and after a long while, the doorknob clicked open from the inside. Yi Heye had already prepared to draw his sword, but when he saw who it was, he froze in his tracks—
The man in front of them was only about waist-high, and he looked as if he had been flattened from top to bottom, short and clumsy.
His spine was almost completely deformed, like a thick shell on his back, and his facial features were so distorted that they could hardly be pieced together into a single face.
He looks even scarier than his two-headed daughter.
Fortunately, this time, everyone has already gone through the ordeal of the two-headed sisters, so they can all remain calm.
Not uttering a curse was already the height of politeness.
In contrast to the group's complicated feelings, Xiao Zuo and Xiao You were unusually happy. They turned around and excitedly introduced them to their father: "These are friends who were passing by. They are kind people and even gave us some nice things!"
Upon seeing this, Dad immediately and warmly welcomed them into the house, saying, "I'm sorry I startled you."
"No, no," Yu Yili replied politely, but she didn't dare to look at his face—not because she was afraid he looked too strange, but because his face was so asymmetrical.
The father and daughter in this family seemed very naive and wary of strangers, but a polite act of kindness could completely win their trust. The man thanked Yu Yili for the canned food, saying, "We don't have anything good to give you."
The group waved their hands repeatedly, not even daring to drink the water the man offered—they remembered the rumors circulating about this place, and seeing the father and daughter in front of them, they dared not touch anything carelessly.
“We are cultural investigators sent by the government. We came here to see the unique local customs and traditions. If needed, we will also ask the outside world to provide some help and support.” Pei Xiangjin’s lies were already flowing smoothly. “So we would like to trouble you to tell us more about the situation here, and whether you have encountered any difficulties or anything like that.”
Upon hearing this, the man immediately stood up somewhat awkwardly and said, "I can't make this decision by myself. I need to call on my family."
It would be great if they could call out the names of other people, but calling out the names of an entire village at once was a concern. There were too many people, and if something happened, they wouldn't be able to handle it. The man clearly saw their worries and comforted them, saying, "Don't worry, everyone here is a good person."
As the man went out to call out, several people immediately gathered around Yu Yili, looking anxious: "How is it?"
Yu Yili took out the Roentgenmeter and pointed to the readings, saying, "There is a small amount of residual radiation in the air, but it is not fatal, so we cannot determine whether the man was infected here."
After saying that, he stood up and said, "It's best to avoid touching these things. There is residual radiation on the surfaces, and it's not good for your skin to come into direct contact with them."
The three people immediately sprang up. Although Little Cloud was wearing a special protective suit for lambs, her hooves were still on the ground. Upon hearing this, she was so frightened that she kicked and shuffled, looking flustered and panicked.
Yi Heye quickly picked the child up from the ground and rummaged through his backpack. To his surprise, he actually found the anti-radiation shoes that he had prepared for Xiaoyunduo outside. However, they were too small and he hadn't found them at first because they were hidden in his bag.
After putting on his shoes, Xiao Yunduo felt much more at ease, but he still clung to Yi Heye's arms like a soft lump and wouldn't leave. Yi Heye could only hold him in his arms and feel this heavy sense of dependence.
Soon, the outside became bustling and lively; the villagers must have arrived.
When everyone turned around, despite having been somewhat prepared, the sight before them still caused them all to feel a sudden wave of dizziness.
Of these nearly one hundred people, almost none of them looked like a human being.
Some people have underdeveloped arms on their backs, like soft fish fins, dangling from their spines and swaying haphazardly with their movements. Others have faces covered in hair, making them look like an incompletely evolved bipedal animal. Still others are either adults or children, not very tall, but with heads that are twice the size of one, making one worry that their necks might give way at any moment.
Some women were holding crying babies, but they were all disfigured; some were covered in scales, some had only one eye, and some had all their limbs reversed...
This is a deformed village, with nearly a hundred people, all of whom have deformities of varying degrees.
The appearance of a single "weirdo" would always evoke a sense of dread, but when nearly a hundred deformed people appear before them at the same time, the immense sorrow and shock overshadow all other emotions.
This is probably why the villagers still raised them with such enthusiasm despite their different appearances – because they are all different – everyone is a freak, so no one is a freak.
The other villagers were all curious about this group of "normal" outsiders, whispering and looking them over, but no one dared to approach them to speak.
Yu Yili was always the first to adapt. He only paused for a few seconds before accepting the existence of such a distorted village.
"Hello," Yu Yili said politely. "I'm very sorry for the sudden visit that has disturbed your normal lives."
Seeing how polite and courteous these outsiders were, and that there was no discrimination or fear in their words, the villagers visibly became more courteous as well.
Seeing Yu Yili surrounded by enthusiastic villagers, Pei Xiangjin couldn't help but laugh and tease, "What a heartthrob!"
Yu Yili smiled and turned to his teammates, saying, "They're just unlucky and sick. They're not monsters, so we don't need to be afraid."
This statement also meant that this group of people did not have any so-called highly contagious diseases, and everyone's last bit of fear was relieved.
After briefly explaining our purpose, the villagers began to chatter and share their observations about the place.
Many people here have some degree of intellectual disability, making it difficult to understand them. Yi Heye felt a headache coming on after only a few sentences, and Pei Xiangjin couldn't help but frown. However, Yu Yili was very patient, listening to everyone's speech in an orderly manner. If someone didn't understand his question, he would repeat it to them again and again.
After much effort, everyone finally understood what was going on with this village.
Although no one has experienced it, and there is no record of it in the available historical records, the stories passed down from generation to generation say that this place should have been a prosperous city.
“They didn’t say it explicitly, but based on the description, I guess that a very serious nuclear accident must have occurred in the area where this city is located.” Yu Yili summarized the information he had heard and shared it with everyone. “That accident turned this land into a barren wasteland where no life could survive for a very long time.”
Pei Xiangjin asked, "This place was once wiped out, which proves that these people are not actually the original inhabitants?"
“Yes.” Yu Yili nodded. “The original residents of this village were actually those who migrated here in batches during the recent major pollution periods.”
Saying they were moved here is a bit of a stretch; to be precise, they were forcibly transferred and quarantined by the governments of their respective districts.
Historical records indicate that the major pollution incident twenty years ago was not the first of its kind in modern history. In fact, with the rapid development of industrial technology, such recurring pollution incidents have become the norm in history.
The first group to move into Zone E was about seventy or eighty years ago. It is said that there were many people there at that time, most of whom had contracted serious illnesses due to pollution.
At that time, the pollution incident was a huge political stain on the government. A large number of civilians became seriously ill or even died as a result. In order to cover up the truth, the government simply sent all the seriously ill people to the E area, which had been razed to the ground, to fend for themselves with the serious criminals.
At that time, infectious diseases were rampant, and these people were already sick. Under these extremely difficult conditions, out of tens of thousands of patients, only a handful survived. This small group of people became the origin of this village.
Later, this village became a place where the government hid "evidence of pollution." Whenever such an irreversible pollution incident occurred, the final result was always the same: a large number of patients were thrown in to fend for themselves.
Now, nearly twenty years have passed since the last pollution incident. From the beginning to now, the village has experienced three large-scale migrations of more than 10,000 people each. Currently, the total population of the village does not exceed one hundred.
Harsh environment, scarce resources, ferocious infectious diseases... any one of these could lead to the extinction of this village.
Looking at these people now, it's a miracle that they were able to survive here, build their own villages, and live a secluded and carefree life.
Surrounded by everyone, the group began to tour the village—they had their own livestock industry, but upon closer inspection, the chickens, ducks, geese, and fish they raised were all strange and not quite normal.
Chickens with six legs, pigs with feathers, and fish with feet... these were probably all bred from species that were contaminated in the vicinity during the nuclear disaster.
I don't know what kind of effect these things will have on the human body, but judging from the way these people are now, they're probably content as long as they have food and have nothing else to complain about.
“I feel there must be a serious problem of inbreeding here.” After observing for a long time, Yu Yili secretly told his teammates, “Many people in this village have albinism, and quite a few have symptoms of spina bifida. It must be a problem passed down from generation to generation.”
Upon closer examination, it makes sense. In each great migration, only a handful of people survive in the end. If they want to reproduce, they can't escape this cycle no matter what.
Environmental pollution, mild nuclear radiation, consanguineous marriage... this village is a veritable melting pot of all the factors that could lead to human deformities. Thinking about it this way, this village is truly a place where all five vices are present.
Yi Heye hid in the crowd and didn't dare to make a sound, only quietly observing this strange yet peaceful little village.
“That’s our village’s altar ahead,” the one-eyed old woman leading the way said, pointing shakily to the village entrance. “This is the sacred place where we pray every day, asking for the gods’ forgiveness.”
When a place has a low level of civilization, the worship of ghosts and gods will increase. This is especially true in villages like this, where people often face disease and death, and they will largely attribute all their suffering to unnatural factors.
Therefore, the group was relatively accepting of this kind of ghost and spirit culture.
Yi Heye followed his mother-in-law's steps, walking forward little by little.
Just as I was wondering what religion these people believed in and what kind of rituals they would have, I froze on the spot the moment the altar came into view—
In the enormous altar, a stone-carved statue of a god sits high in the very center of the village. Its appearance is extremely simple, obviously because the village did not have good carving conditions, but the people created it with their simple wishes.
Despite its rough appearance, Yi Heye recognized it by its outline alone.
It was a black goat sitting on the ground, exactly like the deity enshrined in the ISSAC killing factory.
Author's Note:
There should be a second update!
Chapter 174 (Number 174)
Because they had participated in the follow-up arrests in the ISSAC incident, Pei Xiangjin and Yu Yili also recognized the goat. They looked at each other, speechless with shock for a long time.
"Excuse me..." Yu Yili hesitated for a long time before finally finding his words, "Excuse me, this statue...?"
“This is our god.” The old woman clasped her hands together, closed her one eye, and prayed devoutly before the statue, “May the god forgive our sins.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the villagers behind him all prostrated themselves on the ground and paid their respects to the statue.
The sudden connection of seemingly unrelated clues in his mind left Yi Heye feeling utterly bewildered. He looked at the statue, then at the villagers, wanting to ask them many questions, yet unable to utter a single one.
Fortunately, Pei Xiangjin was always the calmer one. He patted Yi Heye on the shoulder, signaling him not to be too obvious, and then started to subtly probe for information again.
"Excuse me, what is this god's name? What is its origin?" Pei Xiangjin asked with a smile. "I studied religion in college, and this is the first time I've seen such a deity. I'm quite curious."
The mother-in-law had a very good temper. Even though the question was indeed a bit offensive, she still patiently explained, "This is the Goat God, who governs the suffering and calamities of our entire village. We are sinners, so we respect Him, love Him, and serve Him, only seeking His forgiveness and pardon."
Seemingly seeing Pei Xiangjin's disbelief, the mother-in-law's perpetually half-closed eye suddenly opened, staring intently at them, sending chills down their spines.
“You’d better not doubt the existence of God,” the old woman said slowly. “God really exists; I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
This statement aroused great curiosity among everyone, but seemingly afraid of breaking a taboo, the mother-in-law was unwilling to talk any further.
Perhaps it was a trick to fool them, tourists from out of town; perhaps it was just the confused talk of an elderly person; or perhaps their eyesight was failing, mistaking other objects for so-called deities. Unable to get any answers, the group could only uneasily console themselves with this thought.
What else? After being a materialist for so many years and striving for science, are we now forced to admit that ghosts and gods really exist in this world?
Everyone shook their heads, not daring to refute, and stopped asking further questions.