Before everything goes out

It has thick hair and interlocking canine teeth.

In Li Fei's trembling vision, the old man raised a face that was half human and half dog.

Or to be more precise...

This is half a dog's face, but it's grown onto half a human face.

It's not a harmonious fusion, but a crude patchwork.

If Li Fei saw this face in the middle of the night, he would probably scream and run away as fast as he could.

And now.

In broad daylight, with the house packed with people, he didn't feel terrified, only a sense of unease.

"Wait, don't these villagers find it strange?"

Li Fei stared intently at the old man, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the villagers' faces remained expressionless.

Could it be...?

Are these deformed monsters, half-human and half-dog, very common here?

Thinking back to the chicken from before, he suddenly felt that this wasn't too much of a problem. At least this "dog monster" could talk and had half a human-like appearance.

"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

As Liu Yongxiao spoke, he bent down and walked through the crowd.

When he reached the bedside, Li Fei noticed a large hairy mole on the corner of his mouth, with two curly hairs on it that bounced as he spoke.

"No, it's nothing."

Li Fei suppressed his surprise and forced a smile.

Wang Guodong stepped forward and offered an explanation to Liu Yongxiao:

"Village chief, this Huanzi has amnesia. He can't remember anything, including who he is and where he came from."

village head?

This guy is actually the village chief?

That's right. Judging from the respectful attitude these people have towards him, he must be either the village chief or a secretary.

"Two of a kind".

Liu Yongxiao called out softly.

The big black mongrel named "Ertong" jumped onto the bed, licked Li Fei's hand lightly, and barked twice.

"Woof woof~"

"Oh, Er Tong said that this guy doesn't smell like he's lying; he really does have amnesia."

Does this work too?

Can a dog use its scent to determine if I'm lying?

Li Fei was stunned.

In his previous life, he had indeed heard that dogs could judge their owner's emotions by subtle changes in their scent, but to be able to detect lies directly here seemed a bit too exaggerated.

Although it seems very unscientific, the villagers surprisingly accepted it.

"Looks like he really has amnesia..."

"That's what the village chief says, so it must be true."

"So what if he has amnesia? If you ask me, he's still the same old Huanzi, no different."

The last sentence was said by Niu San.

Before he could finish speaking, his elder brother, Niu Wenbing, turned around and glared at him.

"You fucking..."

Just as Niu Wenbing was about to say something, his expression changed and he shut his mouth, because Liu Yongxiao had already turned to look at them and said with a smile:

"Niu San, it seems you have a lot of complaints about this ring?"

"No, not really."

Niu San sensed something was wrong, and his expression changed.

"Is it that my old Liu's words are no longer valid?"

Liu Yongxiao was still smiling, but the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed.

The surrounding villagers' expressions turned serious, while Niu San shrank back, taking a half-step behind his brother Niu Wenbing.

Li Fei could see it.

Besides respect and trust, the villagers also harbored another, less obvious emotion towards this half-human, half-dog village chief...

"fear".

"How could that be! Village chief, whatever you say goes. If you say attack east, I absolutely won't go west!"

Niu San shook his head repeatedly, his shoulders hunched, and he seemed to have shrunk in size.

"Oh? So you just came in with a knife?"

Liu Yongxiao's smiling gaze shifted downwards to the scissors in Niu San's hand, and the latter immediately hid the knife behind his back.

"That's not it. I was just trying to scare him. Nobody dared to touch the ring unless you, village chief, gave the order..."

"Yeah?"

Liu Yongxiao interrupted with a strange laugh, his face suddenly turning cold.

"Five days ago, you and your older brother tied someone up for interrogation, and they almost burned to death. It was my idea that led you to do that."

"Also, you just came in with a knife, in a hurry to kill someone to cover it up. Were you afraid I'd find out? Was that my idea?"

These words were spoken.

Not only Niu San, but even Niu Wenbing next to him changed his expression.

His already gloomy face darkened several shades in an instant, and he immediately spoke before Niu San could:

"Village chief, you know what we mean to you."

"Hehehe..."

Seeing Niu Wenbing's unpleasant expression, Liu Yongxiao put on a smile and called out towards the door.

"Seventy thousand!"

The moment the word "70,000" was uttered, the villagers' expressions changed drastically.

From tension to fear.

Under the horrified gaze of the crowd, a large yellow dog with something in its mouth darted into the house.

"That is..."

Li Fei's heart tightened, and he nervously swallowed.

When the dog got closer, he saw that it was carrying a torn human face in its mouth.

It was tattered and in a terrible state, but the reason it could be identified as human was because it had an ear attached to its side and half of its scalp with hair.

"I know how you two brothers treat me."

Liu Yongxiao gently stroked the big yellow dog's head.

Seemingly receiving a command, the big yellow dog chewed up its own face and swallowed it, the unpleasant chewing sound echoing in the room, making the faces of those around it even more unpleasant.

"Otherwise, it wouldn't be Chen Dashan feeding the dogs, understand?"

"clear."

Niu Wenbing's face was ashen, while Niu San, behind him, gripped the knife even tighter.

The two men did indeed keep Li Fei's interrogation a secret from Liu Yongxiao, the village chief. Chen Dashan, who had fed the dog, was the only person besides the two brothers who knew the truth, since Li Fei had been locked up behind his house a few days earlier.

"Good that you understand."

Seeing the Niu brothers' trembling silence, Liu Yongxiao nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, everyone go out first. There are so many people, don't keep them cooped up."

He waved his hand, and the villagers quickly went out the door.

At this point, the situation finally stabilized.

"Dr. Wang, take this ring out for some fresh air too."

Under Liu Yongxiao's guidance, Wang Guodong helped Li Fei walk outside.

After walking a few steps, Li Fei was certain that his body was much better than before.

I can't run anymore, but at least walking isn't a big problem.

Following behind the crowd, he slowly walked through the ward and then through the even more dilapidated living room.

Through the wooden door, he saw that the sky outside was gray and the clouds were thick, almost completely blocking out the sunlight.

"Even if it's possible to charge, it probably won't charge much in this weather."

This is what Li Fei thought.

Only after he stepped out the gate and looked around did he truly grasp the concept of this place.

A small village surrounded by mountains and forests.

The houses were crooked and the people were covered in dust.

No.

Not only these villagers, but everything in sight was shrouded in a layer of dusty gray filter.

An old well, a fence, earthen houses, and farmland further away.

Even without him saying it, one could sense that this place was isolated from the world, backward, and impoverished.

After he came out, he found that the villagers, including the Niu brothers, had not really dispersed, but were watching him from a distance, observing his every move.

Right.

The original owner had kidnapped all of these people's blood relatives; no one would easily let them go.

Amnesia.

That reason is indeed a bit far-fetched.

If it weren't for Wang Guodong protecting him, and the village chief intervening, Li Fei estimated that he would have had a hard time getting out unscathed.

"You have amnesia."

In front of the earthen house, Liu Yongxiao looked at Li Fei.

"Um."

Li Fei nodded, but didn't dare to look the other person in the eye.

He was afraid that if he saw that deformed face, he wouldn't be able to control his expression and would get into trouble.

"You say you have a way to charge the bracelet and then find the villagers who were kidnapped?"

"Um."

Li Fei nodded again, but felt a little strange.

When this was being discussed, the village chief wasn't even in the house. How did he know?

"Alright, I'll give you three days. Within three days, no matter what method you use, I need to see the missing person, dead or alive. Do you understand?"

"no problem."

Regardless of whether he could actually do it, Li Fei had to agree to it for now.

Actually.

The missing villagers were indeed pitiful, but it wasn't his responsibility, so he didn't really care.

It would be best if we could find it, but if we can't, there's nothing we can do.

不 ...

This isn't a matter of whether or not to look for it.

If he could, he would find a chance to sneak away from this hellish place tonight.