Manbao, already seated inside the curtain, immediately poked half of her face out from the small hole, "No, all of you must be drawn. I need to make comparisons."

After pausing for a moment, she continued, "And how do you know you’re unable to reproduce? Perhaps you might be better than the young ones."

Village chief: ...

Bai Shan couldn’t help but cough lightly, reminding her to be mindful of her words.

Manbao thus fell silent.

Bai Shan smiled and said to the village chief, "Please have a seat. There’s no need to be afraid."

He said somewhat uncertainly, "It shouldn’t hurt. Come, stick your hand in here." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

The village chief’s hand trembled slightly. He had prepared himself for Zhou Man to pull out a knife and cut his hand to extract blood, which was something he could accept—a single cut was bearable. But...

The village chief stared at the curtain, finding it terrifying since he couldn’t see inside.

Swallowing hard, the village chief nevertheless sat on the stool and cautiously extended his hand. As soon as he did, his hand was grabbed, causing him to startle and almost jump up, pulling his hand back. Then it was gently patted.

Manbao said, "Don’t pull back, relax. It won’t hurt, so what’s there to be afraid of."

She asked, "What’s your name?"

Village chief: ...

Seeing no answer, Manbao said, "Never mind, I know you’re the village chief. But remember to tell people outside this curtain to sit down and state their names first. I need to remember them so I won’t mix up whose blood is whose later."

While saying this, she dismantled a package and directly pressed the needle to his arm. The village chief felt a small prick, followed shortly by a slight sting, and then his hand was released.

"Alright, call the next one."

The village chief, who had been expecting a knife, drew his hand back and took a long time to find the small pricking spot on his arm.

Seeing no movement for some time, Manbao poked her face out from the small hole again. Bai Shan lowered his head and couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her face. He reminded the village chief, "You’re done, call the next person in."

The village chief went out in a daze and then brought in the next person.

Bai Shan took charge outside, ensuring names were reported and matching people to names correctly.

Indeed, while others might not manage, Bai Shan could. After yesterday’s dinner and sharing some cloth and grains, he had memorized almost everyone in the village.

Those who he didn’t know were typically hiding in the back, unwilling to speak up or move forward.

Every apprehensive person who walked in left looking bewildered. If not for the slight sting on their arm, they would almost suspect Zhou Man did nothing.

Was that blood extraction completed?

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief yet felt concerned. Could such minimal discomfort yield enough blood? How useful could this little blood be?

Children were the last to have their blood drawn. They were the most bewildered because they didn’t understand what was happening, and when they stuck their hands in, they did it bravely. After being pricked, their lips quivered, and the woman accompanying them comforted them to prevent crying.

Bai Shan looked down and observed, even though their eyes were teary, they held back tears.

At this moment, he felt their defects weren’t that unsightly after all. Smiling, he took a piece of candy from his pouch and offered it.

The child looked at it blankly, seemingly unaware of what it was.

Bai Shan removed the wrapper, broke off a small piece, and put it in the child’s mouth.

The child’s eyes widened instantly, holding the candy, staring dazedly at Bai Shan.

Bai Shan then reached out to gently pat his dry, yellowed hair. Inside, Manbao had finished drawing blood, released the child’s hand, and poked her head out from the small hole again, smiling and said, "All done, this child is very brave, next one."

There were only five small children young enough to be coaxed with candy, and Bai Shan gave each one a piece.

Thus, these five children became the most envied in the village, with some teenagers watching them intently, their eyes full of envy.

Manbao stored the extracted blood in a box, labeling each test tube with a number and name accordingly.

She submitted the samples as study material, readying them for Teacher Mo to use for research upon receipt.

This process requires time, not something that can be resolved swiftly, so Manbao and Bai Shan decided to first search for meteorites.

The village chief said, "We only know one sky pit, the other two are unknown, but judging by the direction the fireball fell, they should be over there and over there."

The village chief gestured in an approximate direction, "But it’s very far. That’s the desert; we dare not venture deeply in, lest we can’t return."

Hence, they hadn’t located the other two sky pits.

Manbao and Bai Shan exchanged glances, feeling somewhat disappointed, but decided to start with the known sky pit.

The village chief offered his son to serve as their guide, so everyone began to prepare drinking water.

Teacher Mo also arranged a vast amount of supplies for Manbao, including protective suits and helmets, as well as a box of antigen detoxifiers.

These medications can be taken to expel foreign substances during mild radiation contamination.

"However, it’s advisable to wear protective gear and helmets as the detoxifiers only expel foreign elements, repairing less severe damage, and aren’t very effective on more severely contaminated bodies."

Manbao agreed, stored everything in Keke’s space, and only selected three protective outfits—one for herself, one for Bai Shan, and one for Daji.

She took these items out and placed them in a box, then everyone set off toward the direction of the sky pit.

Since discovering the toxic stones from the sky, locals believed the sky pit to be the curse’s origin, avoiding it. The people of Danshi Village felt the same.

Exiting the village, they found no guards outside. Aini, the village chief’s son, paused briefly before saying, "We’re headed that way."

Bai Shan nodded, riding ahead, and turned to Aini, saying, "There are no guards outside now. You could leave if you wanted to."

Aini briefly felt excited, then gradually calmed down, shaking his head, "With the children the way they are, living anywhere doesn’t make much difference."

Outside, witnessing others’ loathing and fear could be even worse for the kids, so remaining in the village was preferable. At least now, villagers are more accepting.

Since all children born here are similar, no one looks down on anyone or fears anyone here.

Bai Shan thought this made sense—outside, they might be considered outcasts, but here, they’re their own kind.

Traveling a day brought them to the desert’s edge, then watched as Aini checked the sun for direction and moved onward. Manbao doubted, "Is the direction accurate?"

After all, with different months, the sun’s direction shifts slightly.

Aini replied, "Even if it’s not exact, we’ll find it by walking more."

Bai Shan and Manbao: Makes sense.