Chapter 405 - 403: Communication and Exchange

Faye Yardley wasn’t one to agonize over decisions. If the Master wanted to go, then they would go. They’d find out soon enough if communication was possible.

However, before they could act, a group of people approached them first.

It had to be said, the virus had ravaged their appearances, twisting them into all sorts of bizarre forms.

They stopped a little over two meters away.

The most normal-looking of the group, a wiry man, spoke up. "Hello. I suppose we saw each other on the mountaintop earlier. I’m Tyler, this village’s chief."

Faye Yardley offered a polite smile. "Hello. Our team just arrived in the area today. I’m the captain, Faye Yardley."

Noticing the gazes of the others periodically drifting to the food on their mat, she said, "Would you like to have some?"

"No, thank you. Clean food is too precious, and we don’t have anything of comparable value to trade for it."

’They can communicate, and they aren’t greedy. This could work.’

The happiest person, naturally, was Master Veridian.

The items Master Veridian had on hand might actually be more useful to the villagers. Plus, he knew medicine, and Zephyr Sterling was curious to see how effective his Healing Ability would be on them.

Lucy White took two steamed buns and went over to strike up a conversation.

Faye Yardley didn’t know what to say, so she stayed by Master Veridian’s side, listening to their chat and chiming in occasionally.

Only Cole Kensington remained on high alert.

The villagers were mostly trying to find out if there were still many uninfected people like Faye Yardley’s group and, if so, how they had managed to avoid the virus.

Master Veridian’s goal was much simpler: he wanted to trade for some of the strange, unfamiliar items they possessed.

In truth, not even Master Veridian knew how to answer their questions.

Even Faye Yardley wasn’t sure how to describe their own current condition.

’Infected by the virus, but not completely.’

’We consider ourselves ordinary people, yet the difference between us and normal humans is obvious at a glance.’

’Say we’ve become part of the Zombie Clan? Ha, we’d never accept that. We despise zombies from the bottom of our hearts.’

’Perhaps we’re only alive now for the struggle.’

’We yearn to return to a normal, ordinary life, but we also know that’s impossible.’

Awkwardness, conflict, longing, fear—all these emotions swirled together, making Faye Yardley feel an oppressive weight when she was around them.

Faye Yardley couldn’t give them the answers they sought, but she could trade the food and vegetable seeds they coveted for the items Master Veridian wanted.

Master Veridian could have also traded with his Array Plates, but after learning more, he realized their situation was unique. The villagers’ superpowers were special, and things like Illusion Arrays couldn’t stop the mindless Mutant Beasts they faced.

Moreover, they were short on energy. This entire dungeon felt like a closed-off system.

The fruit from a mutated plant they brought out made Faye Yardley’s eyes light up. Her system scan confirmed it was non-toxic. Lucy White tried it first, reporting that it tasted strange, "like eating rubber."

The reason Faye Yardley was so curious about the mutated fruit was that she had seen Bella eat something similar in Dungeon No. 2.

’It’s not possible the two Dungeons are connected, is it?’

She traded for a large batch of it. They even had someone go back for more, completely emptying their stock for her.

For the villagers, the trade was a joyous, win-win situation.

And while both sides remained wary of each other, the overall atmosphere was friendly.

By the time the villagers left, night had fallen.

"We’ll have to be more frugal with food for the next few days," Faye Yardley told Lucy White and Cole Kensington directly. After all, neither of them had a system inventory. Cole Kensington at least had a storage ring, but Lucy White truly had nothing.

Cole Kensington said, "It’s fine. I still have some crackers."

"You traded away all the vegetable seeds. Will they even be able to grow them?"

Faye Yardley looked at Master Veridian. "It’s a good thing that they’re willing to try. You traded for quite a bit yourself, Master. Having regrets? We haven’t even survived the first day yet."

"What do I have to regret?" Master Veridian replied. "It’s just... after they left, I tried to draw a talisman and failed. It seems this land has been completely transformed by the virus. I’m afraid your seeds will have a very difficult time growing."

"Don’t worry, they still have a good number of Superpower Users," Faye said. "Mr. Zephyr Sterling, was your superpower effective on them?"

Zephyr Sterling found it difficult to give a simple "yes" or "no." "We should find a place to defend against the Mutant Beasts for the night first."

They were already in an open area in front of a collapsed house.

Faye Yardley shook her head slightly. "No need to look. They’re here again."

Fortunately, as their physical Attributes had improved, so had their stamina and regenerative abilities.

The creatures surrounding them this time weren’t zombified cats and dogs, but much larger pigs and cows, along with swarms of oversized rats.

No signal was needed for the battle to begin; the two sides clashed the moment they met.

Faye Yardley tossed a Fire Pit down next to the mat, already charging toward the enormous cow.

There were no flashy techniques—just a clash of brute force against nimble evasion, thick hide against the Shallow Wound Divine Sword...

It wasn’t an earth-shattering battle, but despite being outnumbered, the team held their ground, and the Mutant Beasts couldn’t advance a single step.

By the time they had dealt with all the attacking Mutant Beasts, it was already the dead of night.

The five of them sat gathered around the Fire Pit. It would be a lie to say they weren’t exhausted.

Even if they weren’t physically drained, the mental toll was still exhausting.

"That’s strange," Zephyr Sterling muttered. "The superpowers those animals used seemed a bit different from the ones I’ve seen from zombies in past Dungeons."

Faye Yardley didn’t see much of a difference. "Superpowers have levels... oh, or maybe they’re split into zombification-type and mutation-type."

"Faye," Cole Kensington said, "when those people were leaving, they picked through and took a lot of the Mutant Beasts we killed. They also gathered up a bunch of the scorched beetles."

Cole Kensington’s words cast a pall over the other four. It didn’t take a genius to figure out they were taking those things back to eat.

The silence lasted only a moment before Lucy White spoke up, eager. "Faye, I want to try a roasted beetle!"

"AHEM! Aren’t you afraid of getting sick?" Faye Yardley said, disapproving.

Master Veridian, however, was quite supportive. "Finn, get two of those beetles you caught earlier. Let’s roast them. Bella and I will each try one."

Faye Yardley and Zephyr Sterling were speechless.

Finally, Faye Yardley said, "How about this: on the third day, right before we’re about to leave, you can roast some and try them while you’re converting your kills to points. If something goes wrong, we can just head back immediately. Better than running into trouble here."

"Okay, whatever you say, Faye! I’ll go catch some more right now," Lucy White said, then skipped off.

Seeing Master Veridian was also raring to go, Zephyr Sterling quickly grabbed him. "Master, you only want to try one, so there’s no need for you to go. Lucy White will catch more than enough on her own. Besides, I still have one right here. You should rest and conserve your energy."