My Ability Pool is Superior-Chapter 75 - 74: Small Town

Hot air balloons rely on air currents to change direction.

Experienced pilots constantly adjust the balloon’s altitude to maneuver.

But undoubtedly, Lv Bai had almost zero experience in this area.

So, they could only go wherever the wind took them.

...

The sun was setting in the west, the remaining sunlight stained the sky like blood.

On the rural path, two figures walking one behind the other, appeared quite traveled and weary.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Yao Yi hammered his thighs twice and couldn’t help but ask.

The landing spot for the hot air balloon was far from ideal, in a very remote mountain valley.

Far from any village or store, after wandering nearly two hours, they finally found this path with signs of human activity.

"Be patient."

Lv Bai reassured with a smile.

While the balloon drifted in the air, he had observed the scenery on the ground.

If they continued along this road, they shouldn’t be far from seeing a small county town.

Yao Yi sighed, a bit puzzled: "Why don’t we just call for help?"

"How would you explain your girlfriend’s death? Tell the rescuers that your girlfriend turned into a monster?"

Lv Bai slowed his pace a bit, glanced at Yao Yi, and continued: "And have you forgotten, the monster is still inside you." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

These words caused Yao Yi to freeze momentarily, instinctively reaching to touch his chest.

They walked in silence for a while longer.

He took out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth: "There must be other reasons, right? You’ve got secrets too."

"Something like that."

Lv Bai nodded, as Long Teeth appeared in his hand, twisting his wrist like juggling, the long Wild Tachi vanished again.

In fact, the weapons obtained from the [Armory] can be actively stored away.

But this portable benefit can only be enjoyed by the original owner of the [Armory]. Even if someone else snatches the weapon, the system would not provide this storage function.

This point can be gleaned somewhat from the previous round’s fight where Fan Ding conjured a sword and the supermarket duo handed over a gun casually.

Lv Bai was quite pleased with this feature, considering how conspicuous such a peculiar weapon like Long Teeth would be if carried around all the time.

Watching the over two-meter-long Wild Tachi appear repeatedly, Yao Yi sincerely marveled: "No matter how many times I see it, it’s amazing."

Honk, honk~~~

The shrill sound of a truck’s horn came from afar, not very clear, but audible enough not to be ignored.

"Did you hear that?" Yao Yi asked, not very sure.

"Yes, it seems we’re almost there."

...

Jiangyu County.

A small county town with a permanent population of less than one hundred thousand.

Since the urban area is only about half an hour away by car, the county’s young people naturally choose to work and live in big cities.

The result is that over sixty-year-olds make up more than half of the town’s residents.

In towns like this, the night always seems longer.

Once the sun sets, few pedestrians can be seen on the streets, and the poorly maintained street lamps emit dim yellow light, giving the streets an indescribable bleakness.

A young woman in her early twenties slowly rode an electric scooter past an intersection, stopping in front of a scrap recycling shop at the very north end of the county.

Woof, woof!

A mongrel around two or three years old saw its owner and started barking eagerly from afar, held back only by a leash preventing it from jumping forward.

"Hehe, Pudding, did you miss your big sister?" Tong Shujuan squatted down, vigorously rubbing Pudding’s head.

However, contrary to its usual affectionate behavior, the dog continued barking, its voice growing louder and louder.

"What’s the matter, Pudding?"

Tong Shujuan found it odd, looked around and then noticed the dog’s bowl beside her was empty: "Oh, you’re hungry."

Cre-eak~~~

At that moment, the side door slowly opened.

A few elders came out of the house, all of them looked at Tong Shujuan expressionlessly.

Among them, a couple were Tong Shujuan’s parents. Although their silent appearance was a bit strange, she didn’t think much of it.

She continued squatting beside the dog, looking up to ask: "Mom, did you forget to prepare dinner for Pudding?"

But no one answered her, everyone just quietly watched.

The mongrel barked more fiercely, even baring its teeth at the elders.

"What... what’s going on?" Tong Shujuan began feeling something amiss.

The elders exchanged glances, then began conversing as if no one else was present.

Leading the conversation was Tong Shujuan’s mother, her tone stiff: "We need more, youthful bodies."

"Who among you wants a change?"

"I need replacing." replied an elderly woman who looked at least seventy.

"Alright."

Tong Shujuan’s father confirmed: "Juan, Juan, come inside."

This conversation, witnessed by Tong Shujuan, sent chills down her spine involuntarily.

Especially the elders’ choice of words, making her scalp tingle and her voice tremble uncontrollably: "You’re... joking with me, right?"

"No joke," her father replied.

Clearly these were her parents, but why did they feel so weird?!

Screwing up her courage, Tong Shujuan asked: "Why are you talking like that?"

Upon hearing this, the elders looked at each other.

"She’s doubtful, detected."

"Still not, natural enough."

"This language, hard to learn."

As they spoke, they began closing in on Tong Shujuan.

Seeing this, Tong Shujuan pulled out her phone, dialing 110 and showing the screen to the elders.

Frightened and panicked, her voice trembling almost with tears: "If you’re joking, just stop now!"

The elders ignored her, awkwardly closing in.

This silent scene appeared terrifically frightening to Tong Shujuan.

She trembled violently, scarcely able to hold her phone: "Enough... stop!"

Just then, a gentle voice suddenly spoke up.

"Sorry to intrude, may I ask if there’s a restaurant nearby?"

Lv Bai curiously observed the situation at the scrap recycling station.

As they say, the journey seems longer than it looks. Though he and Yao Yi had seen the county town at dusk, by the time they reached it, night had fully fallen.

Standing at the intersection, Lv Bai and Yao Yi saw that most roadside shops were closed, save for one lit grocery store, though there were no attendants around it.

Even though the situation at the scrap recycling station seemed off, Lv Bai decided to ask regardless.