"What do you think? Should we continue to Liangshui Gou or head to Qiujiawan first?" Candle Dragon asked.

"Qiujiawan." Sun Hang turned the steering wheel all the way, the car made a swift 180-degree turn, heading back the way they came.

...

Compared to most closed-off Qiang Clan villages, Qiujiawan is relatively open—Sun Hang and his team saw a large billboard on the roadside shortly after entering the fork. In bold orange characters, it read "Qiang Clan Specialty Agritourism", accompanied by a photo of a beautiful Qiang girl in traditional attire.

The girl was holding a delicately crafted porcelain plate, which seemed to contain stir-fried cured meat dishes.

"Do the villagers of Qiujiawan also refuse to leave the village to seek refuge in the city?" Sun Hang asked while driving. "It looks like they're not one of those backward, secluded Qiang Clan villages."

"I checked, and indeed as you said, Qiujiawan is a peculiar case among these Qiang Clan villages," Yang Qi's voice came from the backseat. "But their reason for not leaving isn't due to ancestral instruction..."

"Then what's the reason?"

"Because of their thriving tourism and agritourism projects, Qiujiawan is one of the richest villages in this mountain area. Many villagers have built small villas, restaurants, farms, and retro Qiang forts to attract tourists..."

"Don't tell me they're reluctant to leave because they can't give up their real estate," Sun Hang guessed immediately.

"Although the action files from the Lizhou City Public Security Bureau don't explicitly state it... that's pretty much it," Yang Qi nodded.

"Humans die for wealth, huh." Sun Hang couldn't help but remark.

He thought of the driver uncle from the Tianfu City Research Institute...

Eternal night blankets all of Shuzhou, yet there are only so few who want to escape this place...

The reason is quite simple; their families, houses, jobs, and businesses are rooted in this land. Going elsewhere means becoming a refugee with nothing... Especially with Shuzhou's current situation, selling real estate is extremely difficult, and starting anew in another city is incredibly hard with just the savings they have.

The Federation Government will only provide refugees with the most basic survival guarantees, but beyond that, nothing... For the people of Shuzhou, leaving Shuzhou means their former lives will never return, and their efforts of the first half of their lives will turn into bubbles...

While staying might give them a chance to see the day the sun rises again.

With the sound of a slight brake, the car came to a stop.

Sun Hang got out of the car, glancing at the more than five meters high rock next to him, engraved with "Welcome to Qiujiawan" in large characters. The grooves were filled with bright red paint... This color was originally quite festive, but in this dark and quiet atmosphere, the car lights made the blood-red characters seem eerily sinister.

Especially with the aid of those few worn-out red lanterns hanging at the village entrance, Sun Hang suddenly felt that if a pair of exquisite embroidered shoes were placed in the middle of the road, the scene would be just right.

"Have there been any detections of eerie fluctuations in the memetic?" Sun Hang asked.

"No." Yang Qi shook her head. "I've expanded the search range and increased the power to the maximum, but still found nothing."

"Almost, I don't smell anything either." Sun Hang patted the hood. "You guys stay in the car, I'll go into the village and check around."

"Try not to enter indoor areas and stay within the drone's surveillance range," Yang Qi cautioned. "If something happens, send the prearranged signal, and we'll immediately come in to support you."

"Understood."

Sun Hang snapped his fingers, and liquid metal flowed out from his sleeve, forming a dozen sharp flying blades that hovered around him. He then slowly walked into the village.

At the village entrance were two agritourism restaurants. From the parked cars at the restaurant doors, it was clear Qiujiawan's level of affluence and living conditions were unmatched by other Qiang Clan villages.

Sun Hang opened the courtyard gate of the agritourism on the left—The courtyard inside was very spacious, with a heavy stone mill placed in the corner, two motorcycles leaned against the wall, small stools scattered around... Although the courtyard was filled with traces of human activity, Sun Hang couldn't see a single living person.

Oh, correction, no dead bodies either.

Sun Hang approached the door, intending to open it when Yang Qi's reminder came through his earpiece: "Don't leave the drone's field of view, be careful!"

"Okay." Sun Hang stepped back half a step, his action changing from opening to knocking, asking loudly, "Is anyone home? I'm from the Lizhou City Public Security Bureau, conducting a routine visit."

There's no response.

"Yang Qi, the military drones should have the capability to scan for heat sources, right?" Sun Hang spoke into the earpiece. "Scan this house to see if there's anything alive inside."

"They can, but it's a huge drain on power... If you scan every house, the drone might soon have to return,"

"Let's scan this house first and see. If there's no one in this house, the others are probably similar."

"Alright... Scanning in progress," Yang Qi said softly. "The results are in, as expected, there are no heat sources detected inside."

Sun Hang didn't linger at the door and instead moved to the window, tiptoeing to look inside.

Through the purple anti-UV tinted glass, Sun Hang could barely make out several faces staring back at him.

They weren't human faces, or rather, not normal human faces.

Their facial features were exaggerated, resembling gods or ghosts, but definitely not resembling humans.

Sun Hang was not alarmed, as he didn't sense any life force or threat from those faces.

Metal blades silently sliced open the glass window, removing the entire pane. Only then did Sun Hang realize these creepy faces behind the window were actually Nuo Opera Masks displayed on racks...

Nuo Opera performances are one of the entertainment activities provided by Qiujiawan's agritourism. Sun Hang remembered seeing the price list at the entrance; it was quite expensive—tickets cost 240 per person, half price for children, and required at least twenty people to start the show.

"City folks really have too much free time." Sun Hang glanced at those Nuo Opera Masks embodying the uncanny valley effect. "A child watching these would probably wet the bed at night."

"What did you see?" Yang Qi couldn't help but ask, "Why are you staying at the window for so long?"

The drone's view is almost vertical, so Yang Qi could only see Sun Hang standing by the window, cutting the glass with metal blades, but couldn't see inside the room.

"Here, have a look."

Sun Hang took a few photos of the Nuo Opera Masks and sent them over.

"What is it?" Yang Qi's voice in the earpiece sounded a bit strange. "There's nothing here?"

"Nothing?" Sun Hang was puzzled and quickly reviewed the photos he took.

The photos only showed empty display racks with none of the eerie Nuo Opera Masks.

Sun Hang sharply looked up; the masks still hung there, either smiling enigmatically or staring angrily at him.

Sun Hang slowly retreated two steps.

"What's wrong?" Yang Qi's tone grew urgent, "What exactly did you see?"

"Damn it, something's off," Sun Hang replied.

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