Chapter 43

After noon, the sky, which was already covered with dark clouds, became even darker.

It was as if someone had dipped a brush in ink and drawn a line in the sky. All of a sudden, the rolling clouds were all stagnant together, making people's hearts gloomy.

This kind of weather made others uncomfortable, but for Anthony, it couldn't be more comfortable.

He was a half-vampire.

According to legend, there were many things that vampires disliked the most, such as garlic, holy water, crosses, sunlight, and so on.

In fact, the only thing vampires disliked was sunlight. Unless holy water was consecrated by the cathedral, it would be difficult to harm them.

But this disadvantage was especially obvious for half-vampires.

Half-vampires were actually humans who had not yet fully transformed. The Blood Breeds could only amplify their abilities to the top of the human category, unable to exceed the human boundary because this was one of the ironclad rules laid down by the main system.

Therefore, half-vampires hated sunlight, even more so than real vampires.

Night people's base castles in their Infinite Loop used thick curtains to block out the light from outside. At most, they would only light candlesticks for other guests. This was because vampires had excellent night vision, so good that they could easily see things in pitch-black places.

"Where are we going now?"

Lin Guoxing opened his mouth and asked.

He was one of the more honest Grade-A existences. He usually got along well with everyone, and he even dared to speak in front of the bad-tempered barbarian Anthony. The other Grade-B and Grade-C elders also obediently followed behind them.

"What's the hurry? Let's look around and see if we missed any information."

Anthony stopped and directed the other elders to investigate nearby, but he stood in place calmly.

He obviously didn't care much about this dungeon.

Although there were two Grade-S who came in with them, Anthony's strength was a high-level Grade-A. During the Infinite Loop, he had followed His Highness into Grade-S dungeons. Now that he was faced with a dungeon whose difficulty was lower than Grade-S, naturally he would be much more negligent.

Of course, there was another reason. His biggest competitor, Vincent, was dead.

No one would have thought that one of Fan Zhuo's right-hand men would fail to even survive the first Thriller Trainee dungeon. After hearing the news, Anthony almost laughed himself to death. He opened a few bottles of whiskey overnight and celebrated with his confidant that they had gotten rid of their old rival without losing a single soldier.

Hence, Anthony's current posture was very relaxed. He even placed his hands behind his head and slowly enjoyed the scenery around him.

Within this instance dungeon, there were only three people who required his attention.

The first two were the only two S-level bosses in the dungeon, Zhuge An and Azan.

Anthony was not worried about the black-clothed Ah Zan's words. Although this No.9 cultivated the most evil Ghost Raising Technique, he himself was an upright and upright person. He rarely played any tricks, and even often gave out information for free. For example, when they were in the mourning hall just now, he had given everyone the information that Granny Yin was a Yin Walker.

As for Zhuge An, he was someone Anthony didn't dare to provoke.

Although he was called a barbarian and did things in a straightforward manner, he wasn't brainless. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to reach the top of the Night people. Anthony was very clear about who he should provoke and who he shouldn't. Someone like No.8 was someone he had to avoid.

Back in the Cursed Mask, Fan Zhuo and Anthony were one of the three factions. After being played around by Zhuge An, it left a very deep psychological shadow. Even now, he felt a headache whenever he saw that face. Even if he couldn't be on good terms with this person, he definitely couldn't be on bad terms with him.

But in reality, the first two weren't that important. The third was the most important.

The white-haired one was more beautiful than a woman. It was said that he was a Grade-C trainee with unlimited potential, Zong Jiu.

He was the number one candidate Anthony needed to pay attention to.

As for why —

After the conflict at the Grade-A gambling table, Anthony was given a beating by Fan Zhuo.

"I hate people who disobey my orders."

Under the dim candlelight, the man's handsome face was dignified and grave.

The double-headed eagle insignia on his black and gold military uniform flickered under the flickering candlelight. A long military knife was placed on the conference table.

He looked at his subordinate kneeling on the ground and said in a cold voice, "Remember, there's no next time."

"Yes … Your Highness."

Under the pressure from his bloodline, Anthony felt as if his heart was being squeezed. It was so uncomfortable that he couldn't bear it for even a second.

Fan Zhuo looked at him coldly. He didn't exert any pressure. Instead, he turned around and walked to the window engraved with silver patterns.

No.7's room was luxurious enough. It even came with a small garden. Looking out from the crimson tapestry, one could just see the blooming tulip field outside.

"Pay attention to him."

Although he didn't say who, Anthony, who was on the ground with his head bowed, was well aware.

"When necessary … protect him."

Anthony ended his memories.

The expression on his face was very bad.

This was the only time His Highness had ever given him a protective order, and the target was just an ordinary C-level.

So what if he made a name for himself in Las Vegas and collected a million dollars in chips? In the end, he was just a fledgling newbie.

His Highness didn't even treat a powerful veteran like this, let alone a newbie. How could a newbie deserve it?

Although he said that, Anthony, who had already experienced disobedience once, didn't plan to experience it again.

Therefore, even though he was not happy with the Grade C who had tricked him at the casino and humiliated him, he chose not to do anything after entering the Barren Village dungeon.

"Senior Anthony!"

Just as Anthony's eyes darkened, an old man in the team rushed over from afar. "When we were investigating, we felt Yin energy in many of the villagers' houses."

Yin energy?

Anthony frowned. "Is it Bodhisattva soil?"

As an experienced veteran, he naturally knew what the appearance of Yin energy signified.

Just this morning, a low-level shaman in the team quietly shared information with them, saying that the "Bodhisattva soil" that the villagers said was transformed by Bodhisattva was actually extremely cold.

It made sense, if it wasn't extremely cold, how could it be like what the villagers said, where no plants could survive if transplanted there? To a certain extent, plants that could survive in such an environment were probably the so-called "immortal herbs" that had extreme Yang attributes and were not afraid of Yin energy.

The old man who delivered the information shook his head. "My senses are limited, I only felt that the Yin energy in the big house at the northernmost part of the village was exceptionally strong."

North of the village?

Lin Guoxing pondered. "Isn't that the village chief's house?"

While the other team was collecting firewood at the old locust tree yesterday, Anthony's team wasn't idle either.

They were bold because of their skills, so they directly started to investigate and found out the location of the other villagers. Naturally, they knew that the big mud house in the north, together with the woodshed, was the village head's territory. Other than the village chief, Wang Shou and his son also lived there.

Other than that, they also got a lot of information.

For example, Wang Shou's first wife gave birth to a son and died in childbirth. The wife who escaped back to her parents' home was a widow he later married from the neighboring village. When the widow married into the village, she also brought a daughter, the one they saw Wang Shou sell to the human traffickers in the prequel plot.

"We just went to the woodshed to take a look. Wang Shou caught his wife and locked her in the woodshed. The other team's newcomers had a conflict with them and are shouting there. "

"Don't worry about them, a bunch of newcomers won't amount to anything."

Anthony sneered and waved his hand, motioning for them to follow.

Seeing that there was an A-level leading the team, the other veterans who wanted to complete the Danger Challenge naturally couldn't wait and quickly followed behind him.

Halfway through, Lin Guoxing suddenly asked, "By the way, did anyone see Azan in black?"

"Yes, I saw him. He was with us when we went door to door."

Another old man shrugged, "But we were looking for Yin energy, but he looked like he was looking for something. We didn't pay attention to him after that and he disappeared in the blink of an eye."

As they spoke, they arrived at the mud house in the north.

The house was very quiet, presumably Wang Shou and the village chief hadn't returned yet.

Anthony made a gesture and a few A-level trainees nimbly flipped over the wall.

Mud houses in the countryside usually had wooden slats on the windows, so there was no way to enter except through the door.

Skills like lockpicking were usually activated with survival points, so after a while, a few of them nodded. One person stood guard behind the tree at the door, vigilantly watching the situation outside. Another person went to the back of the house, alert for any changes that might occur at any time.

Anthony and Lin Guoxing stepped into the house.

The light in the house was dim and everything was shrouded in darkness.

The village chief lived in a much better place than the ordinary villagers. Not only was it fully furnished, but there was also a thick quilt on the kang bed. Other than that, there was nothing suspicious at first glance.

But … there was Yin energy.

The two of them exchanged a look.

Lin Guoxing took out his human skin drum, and Anthony's fingernails began to be dyed black from the tip. Both of them looked wary.

"I'll go take a look in the bedroom."

Lin Guoxing pointed silently at one of the dark rooms. Anthony, on the other hand, chose the door on the other side and hid himself in the darkness. He stuck close to the wall and moved slowly.

He arrived at the kitchen.

There wasn't even a window in the kitchen, only a chimney at the top. It was pitch-black.

A huge black iron pot was placed in the center of the kitchen. Below it was a charred cave.

Anthony went forward with a pair of red eyes and touched the bottom of the pot with his hand. Instantly, he felt some grease on his palm.

If there was grease, there must be meat. The village chief's family must have used meat to cook recently, which was why there were such traces.

But the strange thing was, during the famine, there was no food to eat. Along the way, they didn't even see a pig in the village, so where did the meat come from?

The half-vampire squatted down, closed his eyes, and released his senses to search for the smell of blood in the air.

If there was meat, then the smell of blood would be indispensable. The vampire's sense of smell was very sensitive. As long as there was even the slightest smell of blood, they would be able to easily distinguish it.

After pausing for about ten seconds, Anthony finally caught the faint smell of blood in the kitchen.

He followed the smell to the corner of the wall and opened the lid of the water tank.

It was very dark inside, and there was a jar of black water floating on top.

Anthony lowered his head. With the half-vampire's night vision, he could clearly see the blood floating on top of the water tank, as well as the thing under the water.

His pupils dilated slightly.

Combined with the previous fragments, some clues suddenly flashed through his mind.

At this moment, suddenly, a cold hand gently touched his shoulder.

Anthony reacted quickly. When he felt the weight on his shoulder, he grabbed the hand at a speed that was difficult for ordinary people to catch with the naked eye. His sharp black nails cut through the air like a knife, and he bent his knee to kick the other party.

However, halfway through this set of actions, the half-vampire's movements stopped in place.

Anthony was surprised, "Why are you here?"

The man smiled, "It's me."

Lin Guoxing shrugged, "I didn't find anything in the bedroom, but there was a sound here. I saw that you didn't come out, so I came over."

There wasn't much of a problem with this explanation, but for some reason, there was a string in the depths of Anthony's mind that was always tense. Perhaps it was because of this reason that he didn't let down his guard. Instead, he took half a step back.

"You finished your investigation so quickly. You didn't even say anything when you came over. I thought there was a ghost."

Lin Guoxing's fighting ability was not good. He was usually a logistics personnel, so there was nothing to be afraid of.

Anthony thought so and gradually relaxed his body's guard.

Wait! No!

The hand on his shoulder was still there, but the warmth seemed to seep through his thick clothes and the coldness seeped into his bones.

The half-vampire suddenly raised his head. He looked at the other party's face in the darkness and subconsciously wanted to strangle him.

How could Lin Guoxing's hand be cold?

Could it be … that he was the spy in this instance?

Unfortunately, it was too late.

The hand on the half-vampire's shoulder suddenly tightened. Scarlet blood leaked out from between the fingers and disappeared.

In a trance, Anthony saw the person opposite him reveal a contemptuous smile.

In the next moment, something sharp and cold slowly fell from the endless void and pierced into his cerebral cortex, nailing into a deeper part of his consciousness.

The first puppet thread represented reading, the second puppet thread represented subconsciousness.

This indescribable pain only lasted for a moment. Even the wound was so small that it couldn't be seen by the human eye.

After a moment, not to mention the pain, even what had just happened faded away in a trance as the thread stabilized.

Anthony was in a trance for a moment.

After a moment, he collected his thoughts and broke away from the state of delirium just now.

In front of him, Lin Guoxing waved his hand in front of him with a worried expression. "Anthony, Anthony?"

"Ah."

The half-vampire opened his mouth.

He felt like he had forgotten something, but if he had to say what he had forgotten, he couldn't say why. So he could only make a monotonous sound.

The person in front of him smiled.

But inexplicably, this smile was strange and joyful. Unfortunately, Anthony didn't think it was strange. Instead, he subconsciously felt that this was how it should be, so he didn't delve into it.

"Why do you think I'm the spy? If I was the spy, I should've taken care of you while you were distracted. "

Lin Guoxing laughed and lowered his voice.

"But … I do have a suspect."