Chapter 145: The Smiling Residents

The road to that mysterious Forbidden Zone was farther than Lu Xin had expected.

He carried his favorite canvas bag. Though not particularly good-looking, it was thick and sturdy, not easily cut by a knife. Inside were food, a gun, bullets, drinking water, medicine, an Ability User suppressor, even some money and a piece of gold – all potentially useful items. If necessary, he could even use the bag itself as a weapon to hit someone.

The downside was it was just too heavy. He switched it from his shoulder to his hand, shifted it from his left hand to his right hand, until his arms ached.

Yet this path before him still seemed endless.

The weather was gloomy. Even though it was morning, everything felt gray and dim.

Turning around, he saw he was in a desolate place. An abandoned settlement seemed to lie not far away.

The Small Town was shrouded in mist, filled with various vines and lush trees. It looked as if these plants, unnaturally bursting with Life, had devoured the settlement itself, like a green monster crouching on the horizon.

The path beneath his feet definitely led straight towards Happy Town.

Weeds were sparse along the little path, and there were faint, almost indistinguishable tire tracks.

But no matter if Lu Xin looked ahead or back, not a single person was in sight.

Strangely, it felt like many eyes were watching him secretly from the desolate wilderness on either side of the path.

However, whenever Lu Xin stopped and looked towards where those gazes seemed to originate, the feeling vanished.

…

“This place is so abnormal now…”

Lu Xin muttered to himself, glancing at the Little Sister sitting on his shoulder. “Don’t you think so?”

“No.”

The Little Sister rocked back and forth on Lu Xin’s shoulder, eating sweets non-stop. “I like it here.”

Only then did Lu Xin realize his Little Sister’s aesthetic sense differed greatly from others’.

He sighed helplessly and turned his head, trying to find the Mother. He realized she was no longer beside him.

She had been following him when they first entered this area, but after walking for a while, she had vanished.

Probably because walking on such a narrow path in her high heels made her feet ache…

But Lu Xin was used to it. The Mother was the most reliable one.

Whether she was nearby or not, she would certainly appear to help him at crucial moments.

…

“The Puppet-Type Ability User has been dealt with. The other side still has two Ability Users left, plus four heavily armed people – they probably won’t be easy to handle. And this place, Happy Town itself is dangerous, might even bring some other troubles…”

Lu Xin disliked the overly quiet atmosphere here. To break the eerie, unsettling silence of this place, he started speaking slowly, using a conversational tone meant for his Little Sister: “Plus, before we left this time, we promised the Father we would ask for his help.”

“So we might really have to let him out later, Little Sister, are you afraid of him?”

…

It was a natural action, but to an outside observer, Lu Xin would seem to be talking to his own shoulder and asking for its opinion.

The Little Sister lowered her head from Lu Xin’s shoulder to look at him upside down. “Of course not afraid. Why should I be afraid of him?”

She waved her little fist. “When I grow up, I’m going to make him into a Toy and beat him every day…”

“Huh?”

Lu Xin was a bit surprised. “Haven’t you always been afraid of him?”

The Little Sister fell silent. She just stared at Lu Xin quietly with her large eyes for a good while, then suddenly grinned.

“It’s not him I’m afraid of…”

…

“Not afraid of him?”

Lu Xin didn’t understand. “Then who are you afraid of?”

The Little Sister didn’t answer him. Looking up, he saw the Little Sister had straightened up on his shoulder and was slowly pointing into the distance.

“Big Brother, look quickly…”

…

Following the direction she pointed, Lu Xin looked ahead. Instantly, a faint headache struck him.

It was like a sudden lapse in consciousness. Shouts of many people seemed to echo inside his head.

The scene before his eyes flickered like an old television set, intermittently filled with snowflakes and ghost images.

After steadying himself for a moment, he regained his balance. The sight before him gradually cleared.

…

He saw a vast stretch of farmland in the distance.

The land was divided into neat plots, orderly like a Puzzle Cube.

Among the fields grew rows of crops, flourishing with remarkable uniformity.

The entire farm stretched beyond sight, yet each plot stood out distinctly, clear and separate.

The breeze carried the fresh scent of seedlings, mingled with faint strands of an oddly sweet fragrance.

“Is this the place?”

Lu Xin pondered slowly, continuing forward.

Undoubtedly, people lived here. Aside from Qinggang’s farms, he had never seen such vast fields elsewhere. Furthermore, the meticulous cultivation indicated a sizable population.

He summoned a bit of alertness and walked ahead along the path.

Unnoticed, dusk settled.

Lu Xin looked up to see a Crimson Moon rising above the mountain peaks.

He remembered parting from Gecko in the morning—how had so little time passed, yet night already fell?

“Did I walk for an entire day?”

The thought struck him as strange.

Why had he walked all day without feeling hunger?

“Initial entry causes mild headaches and dizziness, symptoms are faint and pass with endurance…”

“After ten more minutes of walking, encountered neatly divided farmland. Unknown fertilizer used, seedlings thrive…”

“Nightfall comes swiftly here…”

“The moon seems brighter than elsewhere…”

…

Stopping by the path, Lu Xin took out his small notebook and meticulously recorded his observations.

As instructed, this exploration counted as a mission—notes were required.

He just wondered about the payment.

Gecko had forgotten to ask earlier, and Lu Xin hesitated to press him—it might seem too demanding.

After another ten minutes, the surrounding fields no longer held crops, but instead medicinal herbs blooming with pink flowers. The peculiar scent he’d noticed earlier likely came from these plants. Each medicinal plot was also segmented into precise, orderly squares—a sight deeply soothing to any perfectionist.

Passing one Flower Field, Lu Xin spotted a person.

He was a robust-looking man in light-blue coarse coveralls, intently weeding the plot. From afar, his figure sank among the pink blossoms; only proximity revealed him.

His attire resembled the Happy Town residents from Lu Xin’s reference materials.

“Hello…”

Lu Xin paused and greeted him.

The man stilled his work, slowly straightening to regard Lu Xin.

A benign smile touched his lips.

Returning the smile, Lu Xin inquired, “Is this Happy Town?”

The man offered no reply, merely maintaining his fixed, smiling gaze.

After a moment’s wait—still no answer, his smile rigid as if carved onto his face.

“Thank you!”

Lu Xin expressed gratitude and continued on.

Now, he glimpsed the farmland’s edge. Through wispy mist loomed an immense silhouette.

Distinct white walls marked a Small Town’s arrival.

Above, the Crimson Moon had climbed higher, its pale glow spilling over the Flower Field in an aura of mystery.

As Lu Xin advanced toward town, more people emerged in surrounding fields.

Despite the late hour, they toiled silently in their plots—no voices, no conversation.

Their utter quiet meant Lu Xin often noticed them only at close range.

Whether he greeted them or not, each would rise, turn toward him in unison, and smile. Their smiles felt mass-produced, mathematically identical in curvature.

Reaching the town border, Lu Xin halted.

Glancing back, the field was dotted with figures watching him—silent, aligned like Scarecrows.

“They work this late… devoted souls,” Lu Xin observed quietly.

Behind him lay the Small Town. Drawing closer, he noticed an absence of lights despite Qin Ran’s group potentially being here. In this dimness, he had no starting point for his search.

After brief reflection, he approached the nearest observer.

She was a woman in her early twenties, standing motionless in the field.

Her features were fine, but long labor under sun and wind had chapped her skin. Two patches of deep rouge stained her cheeks. Clad in the same light-blue coveralls, her proximity revealed a pungent sour odor—sweat from hard work and long absence from washing.

Lu Xin regarded her; she returned the gaze.

Her smile widened, revealing pristine, aligned teeth.

“I’d like to ask about someone,” Lu Xin inquired softly.

The woman smiled mutely, blissfully still.

“He looks like this…”

Lu Xin produced a photo of Qin Ran—pallid, stiff in death.

The woman smiled mutely, blissfully still.

“Alright…”

Lu Xin recalled Gecko’s advice before departure: in The Wilderness, two things were essential for engagement.

Weapons, and cash.

He withdrew a 50-yuan note and extended it.

“Could you tell me?”

Retaining her blissful smile, the woman accepted the money.