After that, Suo Tian reminded us a few more things before returning to the Sector Fourth.
He said that tomorrow they would go out again, but he didn't mention what exactly they were going to do.
At first, I was a bit worried—would the T-team take advantage of Suo Tian's absence to cause trouble for us?
But then I thought about it: after what happened with the big guy today, even if Suo Tian didn't act entirely to protect us, it should have served as some kind of deterrent to that group.
After chatting briefly with Shen Feng and the others and comforting each other for a while, everyone returned to their rooms.
No matter how chaotic things got, life had to go on, right?
Lying in bed, Han Xue and Xu Shu sat beside me.
They asked for more details about my experience in the mountains, and after I spun my story with a little exaggeration for effect, they both sighed repeatedly, marveling at how lucky I had been.
Even as I tried to sleep, I was still worried about Zheng Yiyi.
That little guy looked strong and sturdy, but in reality, it was incredibly smart.
All I could do was hope it could use its cleverness to survive in the mountains.
There was no way anyone could be convinced to go back into the mountains to look for it now—after all, we had already caused such a huge mess because of it and me.
Thinking about it made me feel embarrassed; how could throwing a ball have led to all this chaos?
Not long after lying down, I fell into a deep sleep.
Even though I had long been accustomed to blood, brains, and slaughter, the scene of the big guy dying still gave my subconscious a significant shock.
All night, I was trapped in a dream wrapped in a swirl of blood-red.
I saw Suo Tian, Yangyang, and Xu Shu trying to save me outside, but the blood-red mass acted like a swamp, holding me fast.
When my body finally became free, I screamed and woke up immediately.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Xu Shu ran in from the door.
Seeing my face, still showing signs of just waking up, she couldn't help but scold me lightly.
She went to the table, poured a glass of water, and handed it to me. "Had a nightmare, didn't you?"
I stared at her in a daze for a while, only slowly pulling my thoughts out of the fog.
I took the water from her hands and sipped a few mouthfuls, feeling slightly steadier. "When did you two get up?"
"Over an hour ago. It's already past nine. Since you were exhausted yesterday, we didn't wake you—just brought your breakfast here. Wash your face, brush your teeth, and eat by yourself. I'll go check outside."
"Check outside? What's going on out there?" I asked, looking up at Xu Shu.
Xu Shu took the cup back from my hands and placed it on the table. "Well… in just one night, the whole area around us has been surrounded by iron fences."
"That's good, isn't it? There are walkers on this mountain. Fencing it in makes it much safer—otherwise, who knows when one of them might rush into the valley and turn it into a bloodbath."
"Yes, it's good, but…"
"But what?" I asked, curious.
Xu Shu glanced at me for a moment, hesitating before she said, "It's nothing really… just… how should I put it… you should go out and see for yourself."
Her words piqued my curiosity, so I stopped dazing off.
I jumped out of bed, quickly washed up, brushed my teeth, grabbed a few bites of breakfast, and followed Xu Shu out the door.
When I stepped outside the Sixth Sector and saw the scene before me, I froze on the spot.
Rows upon rows of iron fences several meters high had been erected overnight.
I couldn't help but exclaim internally: Woah!
The previously wide and open valley was now completely surrounded by barbed wire.
The road that once crossed the valley had high iron fences on both sides, with only one gate in front of the Sixth Sector, currently locked.
Fortunately, the fence didn't block the road entirely—there was a gap several meters wide to connect the two sides of the valley, as Uncle Qian and the others still needed water from the stream to irrigate the fields and cook.
Yangyang and Uncle Gazi were gathered on the grass next to the Sixth Sector, surveying the fences that had appeared overnight.
My gaze shifted back and forth between them and the fences.
It felt strange.
When I first arrived at this valley, it felt like a paradise; the environment lifted your spirits.
But now, with all these fences suddenly installed, it gave me the weird feeling of being trapped in a prison.
After greeting them briefly, everyone began eagerly discussing how these fences could have been set up in just one night.
That's when I noticed something: the T-team members, who usually wandered around leisurely, were nowhere to be seen today.
Only a single guard with a perpetually deadpan expression stood by the distant gate.
Seeing me looking around, Xu Shu assumed I was searching for Suo Tian and kindly said, "When Han Xue and I got up, Suo Tian had already left. Judging by what he said yesterday, it looks like he'll be out for several days this time."
I glanced at Xu Shu, waved my hand, and said, "You misunderstood—I was wondering where all the T-team members have gone."
"This morning when I woke up, I heard some noise outside and went to check. Quite a few people went out this time, including many of the ones who fought with us last night. Look, almost all the vehicles have been taken out," Uncle Ga Zi said in response.
Hearing this, I glanced toward the parking area from before.
Sure enough, all the vehicles that had been there were gone.
Feeling a bit puzzled, I turned to Shen Feng and asked, "Did something happen? The T-team went out too? They're not even guarding the Sector?"
Shen Feng shook his head and pointed toward the Second Sector, which had been additionally sealed off with iron fences.
"Look at how they've blocked it off. No one can get in. But I bet there are still guards living inside."
"Hmm." I nodded in agreement and sighed, suddenly feeling the air around me a bit more stifling than before.
Just as I was staring at the fences, a piercing scream came from nearby behind me.
I've become extremely sensitive to such sounds; even before my brain reacted, my head instinctively turned toward the direction of the noise.
Behind us, past the grassy area, lay a large field.
Usually, all the residents of the activity house, except the elderly and children, were working in the field.
This was the busiest time around noon, and the scream quickly drew everyone's attention.
Alongside the field, connecting to the activity house, stood a row of willow trees.
Normally, when there weren't enough seats inside Uncle Qian's house, people would just sit under these willows.
The scream was coming from a plump woman under one of those trees.
I recognized her—it was Uncle Qian's daughter-in-law.
A typical shrew, she usually spoke loudly and roughly.
However, Han Xue got along with her quite well, and over the past few days, just seeing our faces seemed to brighten her mood like she'd eaten honey.
Seeing and hearing this, Xu Shu, Shen Feng, and I exchanged glances and immediately ran toward the sound.
We had been a bit far away, and with the large body of Sister Qian blocking the view, we couldn't see what was happening.
By the time we arrived, most of the people nearby had already rushed over, forming a dense crowd.
I struggled to push through and finally got a view: Uncle Qian's son was collapsed on the ground, his body convulsing uncontrollably.
His eyes were open but rolling back, his upper and lower teeth chattering violently, and he kept foaming at the mouth.
Several familiar people were crouched down trying to hold him still, but no matter what they did, they couldn't restrain him.
Sister Qian continued to scream loudly, her voice rough, mouth wide open, occasionally slapping her thighs while letting out strange, high-pitched wails.
She couldn't form a single coherent sentence and was clearly terrified.
Han Xue ran over with the others and, squeezing through the crowd, saw the scene on the ground.
Her face turned pale, and she tugged at my clothes, asking anxiously, "Chen Yang, what… what's going on here?"
I shook my head. "I don't know either."
Frowning, Han Xue bounced anxiously on the spot a couple of times, and seeing she couldn't help, she ran over to Sister Qian to try to calm her down.
On the ground, Uncle Qian's son was convulsing even more violently, thrashing his entire body as if he were a fish tossed onto land.
The foam from his mouth kept spewing out in bursts, accompanied by a nauseating stench.
Yet no one in the crowd stepped back; they held him down firmly, letting the foam spray onto themselves without flinching.
"Oh my God, could this be Yang Gezi feng?" someone suddenly shouted.
(Yang Gezi feng is a local dialect term for epilepsy, also called "Yangjiao feng" in many places; "Gezi" often refers to horns, hence the alternate name "Yangjiao feng.")
The shout immediately caused the crowd to erupt in commotion.
An older middle-aged man shouted urgently, "Quick, quick, hold him down tight! Check if his hands and feet are free and restrain them! Qian girl, stop crying for now, hold your husband's head steady!"
Hearing this, Sister Qian, who had been crying uncontrollably, froze and blinked at the man, her mouth trembling as she asked, "Brother Chen, what did you say?"
"Hold your husband's head steady! Don't let him choke!" Before the middle-aged man surnamed Chen could say more, someone else in the crowd, clearly impatient, yelled at Sister Qian, scolding and urging her.
"Oh, oh, oh, okay, okay!" Sister Qian finally realized what to do.
She shook off Han Xue's hand, ran a few steps forward, squatted beside Brother Qian's head, and pressed it firmly.
The large amount of foul white foam he had just spit out had covered her hands, but she didn't care at all.
She immediately started talking to Brother Qian, trying to get his attention back.
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