Weak life form?!

Lu Xi'an heard Gou's words and immediately looked across the river, simultaneously straining his ears to listen closely.

In front of them was the Broken Bridge River, and at a glance, there were no signs of people. If there were any life forms ahead, they would only be on the other side of the river.

Though eyes couldn't see, fortunately, ears could hear—

From the roadside across the river, faint heartbeats and breaths could be heard.

The heartbeat was extremely weak, and the breaths were intermittent, as if the life force could be extinguished at any moment.

This sensation was indeed quite weak.

However, neither Lu Xi'an nor Yao Wei would make a hasty judgment. As Lu Xi'an got into the vehicle, he asked the robotic dog, "Gou, is the life form ahead a human? Is it dangerous? Besides that life form, are there any other dangers?"

He got into the vehicle to check the Resonant Gene Scanner, entering through the rear door, and as soon as he was in the vehicle, he saw the scanner's map.

The map showed only three lit red dots, allowing a slight sigh of relief.

The mechanical dog answered, "Scan detection reveals that the life form's physiological signs indicate it's human. Harmful viruses are present but not contagious, judged to be non-dangerous."

So... is there a person ahead who is about to die from illness?

Anyway, as long as it's not contagious, it's fine.

Lu Xi'an got out of the vehicle, picked up a few stones from the ground, and looked distantly across the river, saying, "Hey, over there, please come out for a moment."

Yao Wei, imitating Lu Xi'an, picked up some items from the ground to stand up. She not only collected stones but also branches, her hands full, better prepared than Lu Xi'an.

Although Gou said that it was a dying person with no threat across the river, both Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei were accustomed to being overprepared—

If the person across cooperated when coming out, everything could be discussed; if not, their concealed weapons would be put to use; if they refused to come out, they'd have to consider crossing the river to have a look.

The person across did not appear, but a voice emerged.

Unexpectedly for Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei, it was the voice of a small child.

The voice was extremely weak, gasping severely, making it hard to discern if it was a boy or a girl: "Are you… fetching water?

If… gasp… fetching… gasp… fetching water, please… head a bit upstream… gasp… to fetch.

This area… gasp… gasp… is where we… gasp… jump into the river…

Gasp… gasp… gasp… when I'm about to die… gasp… I will jump too…

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei looked at each other.

The weakness in the voice didn't seem feigned, and it revealed the location while speaking. After speaking, there was continuous heavy breathing, with the position never changing.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei listened for a while longer, noticing the breathing gradually weakening without any change in location. Lu Xi'an finally said, "You cover me here, I'll go take a look."

"Okay."

Yao Wei agreed, slightly raising her hand, preparing the "hidden weapon" in her hand, keeping a close eye on the opposite side.

The Guanhai River's channel was very wide, unable to fill with river water under the Broken Bridge, forming a massive gorge. Despite the low water level, it still surged tumultuously, creating a formidable spectacle.

The Guanhai River's water rolled eastward, making the already long Broken Bridge appear even longer.

But this was not difficult for Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

Lu Xi'an lightly leapt and crossed the river.

Once he crossed, he saw the person making the noise.

It was indeed a small child, appearing slightly older than Chai Xin.

Well... by the standards of this world, it should be considered a young boy.

With an Adam's apple, it indeed seemed to be a young boy.

This was based on the standard human image.

Slight in build, pale-skinned, hair dry and disheveled, with wrinkles at the forehead and eye corners, his demeanor was one of extreme fatigue and illness.

This appearance was far worse than Chai Xin today, but seeing him, Lu Xi'an couldn't help but recall the little girl who once raised her frozen hands on the snowy ground.

However, this boy was different from the Chai Xin of the past.

The Chai Xin of the past would bravely stand in front of them, while this boy, upon seeing Lu Xi'an, shivered all over, as if frightened.

Yet, it should be said, this was the normal reaction of ordinary people seeing Neo-Humans. Chai Xin's case was unusual.

"You're willing to jump into the river to die, yet you're afraid of me?"

Lu Xi'an observed the boy from a distance, asking.

The boy couldn't look directly at Lu Xi'an, avoiding his gaze, breathing heavily as he replied, "I… gasp… I thought I wasn't afraid, I… gasp… was going to die, so… so I just… gasp… spoke.

But… but seeing you, I'm still scared. You… gasp… people like you, how could you come to… gasp… this place?"

Lu Xi'an asked, "Why can't I come to this place?"

"This is… gasp… Sickness... Sickness Village..."

The boy said, gasping heavily, "We, the… gasp… sick, the discarded, would only be… gasp… sent here.

"How could someone like you...huff...end up here? Isn't it...huff puff...dirty?"

Sickness Village?

Another term I've never heard before.

But this place, with its bright sunshine, flowing river, and dense green trees, doesn't quite resemble that gloomy, dark, hopeless village from some game.

Lu Xi'an asked, "Where is this Sickness Village you mentioned? Ahead?"

"Yes."

The boy spoke, as if suddenly realizing, "You... you're from elsewhere?!"

Lu Xi'an did not respond.

He listened to the boy's words and roughly understood—

The Liangshan Village shown on the World Map One has now become "Sickness Village" to this boy.

Perhaps it's not just the boy; there should be many people there, and people from other places, who have already considered it a Sickness Village.

Any ordinary person who falls ill is driven to this place, Liangshan Village, to live. Therefore, this village, formed by gathering many sick people, is called the Sickness Village.

"So, are you driven here from elsewhere? What's your name? When were you chased here from where?"

Lu Xi'an asked.

Compared to the boy and the Sickness Village, this is a matter worth more attention. If this is the case, it shows that the area adjacent to Liangshan Village is inhabited. Could there be Neo-Humans there, and would they pose a threat?

Also...

"Why do you want to jump into the river? Besides you, are there others also jumping into the river? Or when people from elsewhere are about to die, do they all jump into this river?"

The boy said, "I...huff puff...my name is Gou..."

Lu Xi'an: "..."

What the hell?! How is there a repeat name?!

He restrained the urge to make a sarcastic remark and said nothing.

The boy Gou continued, "I... I'm from Biyun County in the south. Previously...huff puff...I had a fever...couldn't muster any strength, then the master there...huff...thought I was useless, and drove me...huff puff...here.

"All of us useless ones...huff puff...huff puff...are driven...here.

"Mainly because...huff puff...among us, some are sick...huff puff...the master is afraid we'll infect everyone...huff puff...huff puff...

"Huff puff...huff puff...Someone is keeping watch on the western side; when we came here...huff puff...they won't let us over, so we can only stay in Sickness Village...huff puff...until we die.

"And other places...huff puff...are the same. When people are useless...huff...they all come...huff puff...here..."

Listening to him constantly panting, Lu Xi'an was indeed uncomfortable, and said, "Rest a bit and then speak."

The boy Gou stopped talking.

After a while, Lu Xi'an heard his breathing gradually calm down. Although still weak, he was finally no longer continuously panting, and then asked again, "So you mean, people from many territories gather here after they fall ill?"

The boy Gou said, "Yes."

His voice was indeed no longer wildly panting. It seems that it was due to the shouting across the river with Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei earlier.

Lu Xi'an asked, "Why do you all go to the river when you're about to die?"

The boy Gou replied, "I don't know, people just do it. Even if they die and don't manage to jump into the river themselves, someone will carry their corpse here and throw it in the river.

"I don't want to trouble others, so I came myself. Actually...actually I'm afraid that they say they'll throw me in the river, but secretly eat me. I've heard of people doing that..."

Lu Xi'an originally wanted to say that being in the river would be eaten by fish and shrimp, but considering this might be too grim for the boy Gou, he refrained.

He asked again, "What about other places, do people jump into rivers there?"

"No."

The boy Gou answered.

Lu Xi'an continued questioning, "The Biyun County you mentioned, how far is it from here? How many Neo-Humans are there? Is it the nearest settlement from here?

"Settlement means a place where people gather."

The boy Gou said, "I don't know how far it is, but it took me three days to get here. Though I was sick, walking slowly. Some say it takes about a day and a half.

"There are other places like Tingxi County, Daze County, they're farther, beyond Biyun County."

He couldn't differentiate the directions, but from what Lu Xi'an saw, he meant the western side.

Lu Xi'an breathed a slight sigh of relief, pondering whether to ask if the three counties formed an alliance since they all drove diseased ordinary people here.

The other two counties are both west of Biyun County, and for people to reach Liangshan Village they must pass through Biyun County. If there's no alliance, how could Biyun County agree to let people through?

However, before he could speak, he suddenly heard Yao Wei's voice calling from afar.

"Lu Xi'an!"

Yao Wei was calling his name.

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