"What do you mean you're not planning to leave?"
Long Yi felt like his entire being was falling apart.
It was as if a sudden bolt of lightning from a clear blue sky had struck him today, leaving him charred inside and out.
He could hardly believe his ears.
Was this something a normal person would say?
Was it really okay?
Was it truly alright?
Perhaps it was Long Yi's intensely surprised expression that amused Duan Chen.
He shook his head helplessly, asking with a hint of resignation, "What are you thinking about?"
"Why wouldn't we leave?" Long Yi couldn't suppress his inner anxiety.
This place was filled with corpses and blood, a chaotic mess, giving off the vibe of a horror movie set.
Long Yi absolutely could not accept the idea of spending the night here.
Whether or not they spent the night wasn't the most important issue. The important issue was, who knew if there were any survivors lurking around?
What if, by some accident, while he was sleeping, something like a face-melting bug from under the bed suddenly pounced into his embrace? What would he do then?
Whether he could fight it off was one thing, but the sheer disgust was another.
These things were what he feared most… no, what he hated the most.
Wang Zihao, seeing his expression, knew exactly what he was thinking. He walked up, patted Long Yi's shoulder, and tried to comfort him.
"Don't worry, we won't be staying here for too long. We just need me to collect the data here."
"By the time you collect the data, who knows how long that will take!" Long Yi was visibly growing impatient.
However, when his gaze met Duan Chen's, he immediately calmed down, refraining from unleashing his temper.
Like a quail, he pouted a little, feeling wronged, and stood silently at the back.
Although he didn't say a word, Long Yi crossed his arms, his body language clearly conveying his complete lack of fondness for this place, and that his staying was merely out of necessity.
But whether it was out of necessity or willingness, Duan Chen wouldn't say anything as long as Long Yi didn't cause trouble.
He meticulously examined the residual items here and found that these villagers indeed showed no signs of life.
This might sound strange, but before this, the villagers were fully capable of movement.
Afterwards, they had become like wooden puppets.
Duan Chen turned to look at Tian Ximeng, who had been following him closely.
He asked, "Have you noticed anything special or strange about this place?"
Tian Ximeng shook her head, a trace of confusion on her face. "I haven't found anything strange here."
"My talent is related to this, but I didn't discover that these villagers weren't real people."
Didn't discover it?
Duan Chen made a mental note of this.
He nodded inwardly. "I understand. Thank you for your hard work. Could you help dispose of these bodies?"
Since these bodies were not real people and their flesh was not actual flesh, they could be dismantled for reuse, which was why Duan Chen said this.
Upon hearing Duan Chen's words, Tian Ximeng's eyes suddenly lit up, and she became extremely happy.
Although her expression remained impassive, the aura around her and the sparkle in her eyes indicated that her emotions were surging with excitement.
"Can I really freely dismantle these mechanical constructs here?"
Tian Ximeng asked with anticipation.
"Are all of these mechanical constructs?" Wang Zihao frowned, somewhat bewildered, unable to understand why Tian Ximeng could so confidently make this judgment.
Tian Ximeng nodded vigorously.
"That's right, everything here is a mechanical construct. It's just that a layer resembling parchment was applied to the outside of the mechanical constructs. It's not real parchment, but rather a peculiar skin manufactured from something strange."
"I don't know what kind of strangeness it is, but I can guarantee that when I extract the mechanical constructs from within, I will carefully peel off the outer skin with no more than 20% damage, leaving it for you to collect data and conduct research."
Tian Ximeng's promise also made Wang Zihao happy.
Lu Shuishui's mood also improved because her sister had made a sale.
As for Su Baiyi, she maintained her cheerful disposition due to a shared secret with Duan Chen.
A shared secret was the beginning of a close relationship.
She had always been very clear about her own objectives: to successfully infiltrate the Su Cheng Guild as quickly as possible.
This would allow her to undertake more missions and improve herself.
Only Long Yi suffered the world's misfortune.
Long Yi wore a sour expression, but he couldn't negate the decisions of others.
If it were just one person, it would be fine. He could throw a tantrum and argue that he didn't want to stay here.
However, the current situation was that everyone else was willing to stay, and only he was not. Naturally, he couldn't say anything, as that would mean going against the majority.
He was at a complete disadvantage.
Eventually, he looked around and saw that everyone else was occupied with their own tasks. With his arms crossed, standing idly by, he suddenly felt his face burn.
With a stubborn personality, he slowly walked over to Duan Chen's side.
"Is there anything I can do, Instructor?"
Duan Chen glanced at Long Yi, without making any particular comments. Instead, he pointed towards the courtyard.
"There are a few things you can do. Do you see the courtyard? There are still some egg sacs left inside. Some were frozen to death, while others were incubating but had their hatching stopped due to special reasons."
Long Yi followed the direction Duan Chen was pointing. He frowned slightly, feeling disgusted, but still managed to nod.
Duan Chen continued, "What you need to do is very simple: set a fire there."
"Burn everything inside, but be careful not to burn down the house."
Long Yi pinched his nose and asked reluctantly, "Why do we need to keep the house? Isn't it simpler to just burn the house down?"
Duan Chen looked at him speechlessly.
"That's naturally because there are still things inside the house that haven't been thoroughly investigated and require further research and study."