"Third Uncle, in times like this, you're still thinking about your mule? Is that thing more important than your life?"

"Second Grandpa, your cow looks like it can't even get up. Are you planning to carry it on your back?"

"Fourth Aunt, don't bother with those tattered clothes. I'll buy you new ones later."

Among the crowd, the village chief's hoarse voice occasionally rang out, giving a sense of sadness and indignation.

And indeed, that was the case.

The young ones had already fled the village, but at this moment, the elderly were perfectly illustrating what it means to prioritize wealth over life.

These elderly people, truly being dragged backward even when pushed forward, insisted on taking every little thing with them.

The village chief and the officers were nearly losing their minds; only now did they truly understand how maddeningly stubborn these elders were.

However, at this moment, the old man who had been trying to support his cow suddenly started crying while hugging it, his wails so tragic that everyone around was drawn to the spectacle.

In fact, this cow was the old man's only means of production. He relied on it for plowing the fields, planting crops, and bringing home grain during the busy farming seasons.

Without this cow, the old man's life was devoid of security.

The village chief was clearly aware of the old man's situation, so he walked over and crouched next to him, patting his shoulder to comfort him, "The dead cannot be brought back to life. It's best to quickly move to the village entrance. We'll deal with everything else later."

The village chief was truly afraid that the old man would act impulsively, which would cause chaos. After all, in Huaxia, the longstanding belief is that human life is paramount.

The old man looked up at him and said, "Just now I heard you say you'll buy Fourth Aunt new clothes. Look at my cow..."

The village chief was stunned, eyes widening, "Second Grandpa, are you saying I need to buy you a new cow?"

A few pieces of clothing aren't worth much money; you can just buy them. But a cow is no small expense.

If he were the type to exploit the village for personal gain, it might be different, but this village chief wasn't greedy, or rather, there was no opportunity for greed left.

Of course, it's not exactly purely altruistic. Some people are after money; some seek a good reputation. Different motives, that's all.

At this point, Second Grandpa wiped his tears, "A calf will do. No need for a full-grown one."

The village chief was both amused and annoyed. While he called him Second Grandpa, he wasn't actually related by blood. They were just neighbors, and he couldn't bring himself to buy a cow out of his own pocket.

"You do whatever you want. I'll quit being this village chief before being a fool taken advantage of."

The village chief left his words behind, then addressed others unwilling to leave, "You folks make your own decision. If you're really bent on not living, then just stay here."

After saying this, he strode toward the village entrance.

A concerned officer caught up to him and advised, "Don't be too harsh. Just agree for now, and once this blows over, do you really think he'll pursue you for the cow?"

"What do you think?" The village chief paused in his steps, retorting with some irritation.

"Uh... it seems, he might," the officer replied hesitantly.

As reluctant as one might be to admit it, countless grim experiences in the past prove that you should never oppose the elderly because you never know what surprisingly drastic actions they might take.

The more the village chief thought about it, the angrier he got, eventually yelling, "Ever since I became this village official, my wife at home scolds me for being useless, and outside, I have to endure this crap. I'm really fed up. I might as well quit. What can they do about it?"

By the end of his speech, his voice was nearly failing him, but it carried an unexpectedly resonant impact in everyone's ears.

Fourth Aunt, Third Uncle, and others who had been stubbornly refusing to leave began dropping their bundles and followed the group toward the village's edge.

Someone wanted to help Second Grandpa up, but before they could, Second Grandpa stood up abruptly, glaring, "With the cow gone, I can't survive anyway. Today, even if it costs me my life, I'll take down that cripple!"

After stating this, and with inexplicable energy, he began marching back into the village, clearly aiming to find Shao Wenxing.

Under the moonlight, the silhouette of this lone elder walking in the opposite direction of everyone else seemed especially solemn and tragic.

With no sons or daughters and now the fallen old cow, he truly had nothing left to lose.

…

On the other side, Xiao Feng and his team were in the final stages of preparation to catch animals when a grieving shout came from outside, "You bastard, come out here! If not for you, my cow wouldn't have died!"

Everyone was stunned, then saw an old man, furious, charging in. The moment he laid eyes on Shao Wenxing, his eyes turned red, and he charged at him recklessly.

"Didn't you say that this smell isn't lethal?" Xiao Feng looked at Sun Shijie.

In fact, Xiao Feng had already minimized the release of the toxin in the small cylinder. If this still managed to kill the cow, that would be absurd.

Not to mention, without any lively animals, what would be used to deal with the bats?

As everyone knows, whether human or animal, blood coagulates over time after death, and even if you poison an animal, it won't spread through its bloodstream.

Simply put, even if bats sucked the animals' blood, there's no poisoning risk.

Sun Shijie explained with a grim face, "This man's called Ma Lao'er. If I remember correctly, his cow was at least twenty years old, and he worked it to death, honestly speaking. It's already a miracle it lasted this long."

"So it's unrelated to the smell?"

"Yes."

At this moment, Ma Lao'er, who was charging at Shao Wenxing, suddenly seemed to realize something, halting and shivering as he slowly turned his gaze to Sun Shijie.

As soon as he saw Sun Shijie, Ma Lao'er exclaimed, "A ghost!" and then promptly fainted, eyes rolling back.

This wasn't particularly surprising. After all, anyone who suddenly saw someone "risen from the dead" after two years would react similarly.

"Snap, snap, snap..."

The rapid and dense sound suddenly erupted, drawing Xiao Feng and the others towards its source. They saw the gigantic net undulating up and down, clearly indicating the bats, awake from hibernation, were becoming restless.

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