Perhaps it was due to the relatively standard accent of the rotund man.

The simultaneous translator smoothly translated his conversation with Wei Boquan into Huaxia without any discrepancies.

Yao Rong watched the rotund man speak eloquently, and couldn't help but frown slightly.

He always felt that something was not quite right.

These refugees, although in tattered clothes, did not have an unhealthy sallow complexion but rather a full face with a hint of redness.

From their actions, it could also be seen that their bodies were quite strong.

It was obvious.

These days, they must have had a sufficient source of food—whether they were overfed or not is another matter, but at least they couldn't have been going day and night hungry.

It should be noted.

Wenqin City faced the same major beast tide as Chixian City, and it's been almost twenty days since the fall of the city.

How much food did these refugees bring along the way to ensure everyone had sufficient food for such a long time?

Considering these refugees did not carry a lot of items, a thought suddenly popped into Yao Rong's mind.

He nudged Yu Guanghui with his elbow:

"Old Yu, do you feel something's off?"

Yu Guanghui quietly nodded and lowered his voice:

"You felt it too? What's on your mind?"

Yao Rong was silent for a few seconds:

"I think these refugees either have Spatial Bags, or... they're eating two-legged sheep."

Yu Guanghui's pupils suddenly contracted; being someone who reads, he knew very well what Yao Rong meant by 'two-legged sheep': "This... this..."

Yao Rong continued:

"That's all I can think of. It can't be that they have some magical thing in hand that grows grain daily, right?

This isn't a Grimm fairy tale. If such a thing exists, I'd go back to the cockpit and bite the control lever on the spot, okay?"

After saying these.

Yao Rong reached out his hand and discreetly tapped four times on the side of the earpiece.

This military earpiece had a tactile transmission function, and tapping four times was a code for:

Special situation, enter standby mode.

Following the instruction.

The Wuzhi-10 helicopter hovering above maintained its hovering state unchanged.

But pilot Zhou Pingnan's hand had subtly moved to a specific component on the left.

Meanwhile.

Yao Rong stepped forward directly and, through the translator, asked the four representatives:

"Everyone, if you have something to say, please speak directly."

The rotund man heard the Huaxia language with an unfamiliar accent and looked at Yao Rong with curiosity, but soon retracted his gaze.

Over the years, he had come across people with accents from other regions.

After all, the Damo Realm was vast, and language barriers in some regions weren't surprising.

Anyway, from Wei Boquan's attitude towards Yao Rong, it seemed this man was the leader among them.

So he organized his words and said:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've long heard of Wei Mansion's good reputation and the actions of Si Ming Ancestor, known for centuries...

So let me get straight to the point.

We have a rather decent treasure in our hands. Are you all interested in taking a look?"

Yao Rong immediately had a puzzled expression on his face: "?"

The rotund man smiled and gestured an invitation: "Please follow me."

Yao Rong followed along quickly and signaled for Wei Boquan and Yu Guanghui to join.

"Old Yao."

During the walk, Yu Guanghui gently tugged on Yao Rong's sleeve: "Look at these people's waists."

Yao Rong gently turned his head and glanced over.

As they walked, a gap at the waist of the four revealed the shadow of one or several jade tokens.

Yao Rong was somewhat familiar with these jade tokens—he himself had one, which was part of the equipment issued by the command before departure.

Talismans!

One must know.

The talismans of the Damo Realm were unlike the Spiritual Energy shields of the rabbits, which had a lead; only true Cultivators could activate the talismans of the Damo Realm.

This means the identities of these four were not refugees but the survivors of Wenqin City's Cultivators!

However, even after discovering their identities, Yao Rong's doubts grew deeper.

If these people were Cultivators, why were they moving with such a large group of refugees?

And even if the four of them didn't need to worry about food, why were the refugees appearing healthy and vigorous?

After walking another thirty or fifty steps.

The rotund man led them to a very central location.

In the center of the ground, a grassy object was prominently placed.

The rotund man cleared the grass away, revealing a cage about one and a half meters in length, width, and height in front of everyone.

After seeing what was inside the cage.

Wei Boquan, Yao Rong, and Yu Guanghui simultaneously took a sharp intake of breath:

Inside this cage sat a little girl about five or six years old, her face smeared with mud, and her clothes were tattered and wrinkled.

In her arms, she held a radish the size of a 155mm howitzer shell, and in front of her was a tuber about thirty centimeters long.

But what truly shocked Yao Rong and the others was.

This little girl not only had a pair of ears twitching atop her head but also had a fluffy tail behind her!

If Wang Qiang saw this scene, he would surely shout, "Goodness, it's a beast-eared girl!"—However, unfortunately, that funny guy was currently laboring away in the lab and couldn't come over to deliver such a quip.

And as a typical straight man, the only reaction Yao Rong had upon seeing this was to take a step back, instinctively pulling out a camp-issued pistol and sharply demanding:

"What do you mean by this?"

The plump man hurriedly made a gesture indicating for Yao Rong to calm down: "Please don't be anxious, overseer, don't be anxious."

Then he sighed and said:

"At this point, I might as well be honest. We four are from the auxiliary branch of the Lin Family in Wenqin City. During the recent beast tide, all the high-level cultivators of the Lin Family perished, leaving only a few of us to escape.

This girl is an unknown creature our family patriarch discovered before the beast tide, having a human body and face but with beastly ears and tail.

When the patriarch found her, she was being pursued by a group of monstrous beasts."

He then reached out, pointing at the radish and the tuber in the girl's arms:

"These two items are strange things that were discovered alongside this girl.

According to the patriarch's research, as long as the girl holds them for a while each day, and they are planted in the ground the next day, they can yield a large amount of food."

"...."

Upon hearing this, Yao Rong suddenly thought of something, and his expression gradually became strange.

The plump man did not notice Yao Rong's odd reaction and continued:

"During this escape journey, it is with these items that we have gathered this group of refugees.

As you can see, though these refugees' clothes are worn, they are all in good health and can perform any labor, even if it's intense...it wouldn't matter too much if something happens.

So...

Do any of you have any thoughts about purchasing these refugees along with this girl?"

Yao Rong frowned after hearing this, holding back Yu Guanghui who was about to speak, and asked:

"Since you have the ability to provide food, why not gather more people...wait, how many people's food rations can these two strange objects provide each day?"

The plump man showed a hint of embarrassment: "Three to four hundred people or so..."

Yao Rong suddenly understood.

He understood everything.

Why these cultivators were moving with the refugee group, why most of the refugees seemed very healthy, why the plump man inquired whether there were any job openings in the city before, and why they wanted to sell this little girl and the two strange objects...

Suddenly, it all made sense!

The sole purpose of these four individuals from beginning to end was:

To sell the refugees and the little girl together!

This batch of refugees is much stronger than ordinary ones, not experiencing the fatigue typical of long journeys, with a work capacity nearly comparable to regular civilians.

But compared to ordinary civilians.

These refugees are truly impoverished, making them very suitable for...exploitation!

Now that the beast tide has just passed, many cities need a lot of manpower for repair and maintenance.

Some jobs are very high in intensity and risk, which ordinary refugees can't match.

While ordinary civilians can do them, if something happens, it can cause some trouble with public opinion in the city.

But these refugees before us...

They can work and have no roots here, if something happens, just roll them up in a mat and bury them outside the city, who would trouble themselves over that?

Therefore, the plump man deliberately asked if Chixian City needed workers, as long as there was a demand, these refugees would undoubtedly be the best choice.

Some might ask, why don't these refugees run away?

The reason is simple.

First, they are ordinary people and can't travel as fast as cultivators.

Secondly....

Where would they run to?

By moving along with the plump man, they can at least get a full meal each day.

At least until they find a 'buyer', the plump man and others wouldn't let them go hungry.

If they manage to find a decent city, maybe they'd even have a chance to survive.

But if they leave the group....

If five out of ten people manage to survive after five days, it would already be a good outcome.

In these chaotic times, human lives are as insignificant as grass; it's not just talk.

As for selling the little girl, the reason is even simpler.

Just as the response Yao Rong received upon his inquiry, the two magical objects can only produce food for three to four hundred people each day—this was the limit. The Lin Family's patriarch had previously tried various methods, yet couldn't increase the daily yield.

For cultivators like the plump man, getting enough to eat isn't a difficult task.

The greatest use of these two magical objects in hand is to periodically cultivate a batch of refugees to 'sell'.

This kind of behavior is exhausting and could encounter unexpected situations like now.

Therefore, having met a reputable buyer like the Wei Mansion, the plump man and others naturally wanted to sell off this truly burdensome asset.

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