In TV dramas and films, there’s a plot device everyone knows well.

For example, the protagonist’s party arrives at a completely unfamiliar place.

The owner of that place warns the group to rest and leave as soon as possible, but of course the protagonists act foolishly and insist on investigating the place’s secrets.

As a result, the protagonist group ends up wiped out.

Chen Ye had no interest in secrets at all, and he felt nothing for the beauty standing before him.

So he shook his head decisively and said, “We have no interest in the secrets of Divine Elephant Village, Miss Su, there’s no need to say more. We’ll be leaving soon!”

“You—”

“Old sir, it’s getting late, you should go back and rest.”

Just as Su Mansheng was slightly annoyed by Chen Ye’s rejection, an elderly voice suddenly sounded behind the two of them.

Su Mansheng was startled.

Chen Ye, however, remained calm, because he had already heard footsteps from behind. Even without seeing anyone, the sound of those footsteps told him the person was likely very old.

It was only the use of “old sir” that made Chen Ye glance at Su Mansheng a moment longer.

Su Mansheng’s face paled a little, and she gave Chen Ye an apologetic smile. “Mr. Chen, then I’ll be going first!”

Having said that, Su Mansheng turned and left.

Chen Ye cast a quick look and saw an old figure beside Su Mansheng, a woman leaning on a cane.

But Chen Ye did not sense any anomaly from the old woman.

She was just an elderly person.

Su Mansheng left.

Chen Ye stood alone at the cliff edge, feeling the evening breeze bring a slight chill.

It seemed Divine Elephant Village did have quite a few secrets.

He hoped everything would go smoothly.

Chu Che was right, humanity was dwindling;
if people could unite, there might still be hope.

Only…

…

Time passed quickly.

In all this time, this was the first time Chen Ye had actually slept in a bed.

Although the mattress was hard, there was no soft spring mattress to speak of, it still gave Chen Ye the illusion of returning to life before the apocalypse.

Standing in the courtyard breathing fresh air felt invigorating.

Today the weather was good, the clouds overhead looked close enough to pluck by hand.

The survivors had also gotten up.

They had been arranged to sleep last night in a nearby large courtyard.

Although everyone slept in a shared dormitory last night, it still felt dreamlike to many.

During the convoy days, many people simply slept on chairs or curled up in a corner.

Those with slightly better conditions, like superhumans, at most had a tent.

To be able to sleep on an actual bed now, without constantly fearing sudden Anomaly attacks, was simply wonderful.

Many people woke with red eyes.

Some even quietly vowed to stay in Divine Elephant Village.

Compared to the Death God Church before, Divine Elephant Village was clearly more suitable for survival.

But it was unlikely the village could take everyone in.

Divine Elephant Village could house a thousand people, already operating beyond capacity;
any more and trouble would likely follow.

The village provided breakfast for the superhumans.

The superhumans’ breakfast was nothing more than a bowl of noodles with some bright green lettuce tossed in.

Yet even so, Chen Ye and the others ate with satisfaction.

They had not tasted fresh vegetables for a very long time.

As for the other thirty or so survivors, breakfast was the convoy’s responsibility.

After all, feeding thirty-plus people over the long term was not an easy burden.

With the current supplies in Divine Elephant Village, they probably couldn’t hold out long.

Chu Che understood their material shortage very well, so he didn’t make a fuss.

Zhang Yanping, the voluptuous young woman, led several survivors to prepare breakfast.

But after breakfast, Xue Nan pulled the voluptuous woman aside and chattered for a long time.

The woman’s expression was strange—part joy, part fear, part expectation.

The other survivors looked baffled.

“Ahem… In a bit the Village Chief will come to exchange supplies with us!”

“Do any of you have anything else to say?”

Captain Chu cleared his throat, wearing the confident expression of a man who had thought things through.

“Just don’t let us get completely ripped off, Captain. If the price is too high, forget it!”

Ding Dong hesitated before saying.

From yesterday’s analysis, she had already formed expectations;
it would not be easy to trade for those two kinds of seeds.

Iron Lion looked bewildered, not really understanding what everyone was talking about.

“Ahem… Rest assured, we won’t suffer losses today!”

Chen Ye eyed Chu Che suspiciously. “Captain Chu, you didn’t happen to eavesdrop last night, did you?”

Chu Che’s face froze for a moment, pretending not to have heard the question.

“Captain Chu, the Village Chief requests a few honored guests to come over!”

At that moment, a young man’s voice came from outside the courtyard.

The speaker was the Village Chief’s assistant, Xiao Zheng.

The trade would take place at the parking area outside the village, where a simple pavilion stood.

Counting Chen Ye and the convoy’s five vehicles, the village itself had five or six, mostly off-road vehicles.

There were also about seven or eight motorcycles.

The Village Chief had already ordered the ordinary villagers to stay away.

In the parking area, a patch of open ground had many items laid out.

Chen Ye’s group opened their car doors and had survivors bring out their goods.

After all, everyone had various supplies;
this direct, hands-on trading method was straightforward and convenient.

After brief greetings, the two sides began trading.

The first item to be traded was naturally the miraculous seedling everyone had seen the previous day.

This was the main purpose of today’s exchange.

The Village Chief had his people bring up the flower pots planted last night.

After a night’s growth, the two pots—one with potatoes, the other with lettuce—had sprouted verdant seedlings.

Under the sunlight they looked especially vibrant.

“Everyone, as you can see, these were planted yesterday and have already reached this stage today. In just a few days you’ll witness a miracle.”

“If the trade is completed today, you can even take these two pots to verify the seeds’ authenticity!”

“Rest assured, Divine Elephant Village never deceives people. Moreover, with humanity dwindling, we should unite and help each other.”

The Village Chief’s words were grandiloquent, but Chu Che nodded. “That’s right, Village Chief. Our convoy also hopes to cooperate amicably. Whatever the Village Chief needs, I, Chu Che, promise you will not be disappointed.”

Indeed, one was a captain and the other a village chief;
just those two lines made listeners feel at ease.

Big Head Village Chief smiled broadly, clearly taking Chu Che’s words at face value.

“Since that is so, Captain Chu, let us not beat around the bush. You know the value of these two seed types. How about this: for the fish meat from last night, we want ninety percent of what you have now!”

“And for other rice and flour, at least thirty bags each, and also…”

The small-statured Village Chief’s demands made Sun Xixi and Iron Lion look somewhat angry.

He had clearly investigated the convoy’s supplies enough to demand ninety percent of their goods outright.

Ding Dong’s face, however, showed no change. Those who knew the one-armed boxer realized that the calmer she looked, the more displeased she actually was.

Only Chen Ye remained composed.

The Village Chief looked sly, but trying to swindle Chu Che was still premature.

Chen Ye paid little attention to the verbal sparring;
his eyes roved elsewhere. Today’s exchange was not only about seeds—there were many other items.

For instance, Chen Ye took out his Hemorrhoid Sniper.

He also brought out several cassette tapes he didn’t much care for, even the hand crossbow whose string had broken early on.

There was also a bottle of baijiu he had been given earlier, a down jacket scavenged in Rong City, and some shoes…

Chen Ye’s stall by the car looked like a large jumble-sale table.

Iron Lion’s stall was even more excessive. Their group was the largest, so their supplies were the most plentiful, even including women’s sanitary products set out openly.

Others had similar modest spreads.

Divine Elephant Village’s side had many goods as well;
in front of the slovenly Daoist priest there were lots of talisman papers and peach-wood swords and the like.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep