Chen Pingchuan was about to nod. After all, judging by the name of the simulation instance, this village was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

What kind of thing could possibly be worthy of the name "Sound of Destruction"?

But as his gaze swept over the surroundings, he immediately grew wary. A hunchbacked old man was approaching them, a broad smile plastered across his face.

"Guests from afar, welcome to Tree God Village," the old man said. "Our village is quite remote, so we haven't had travelers in a very long time. It must be fate that brought you here."

"Er Gou, Da Hui, have some of your people prepare a delicious meal for our guests."

Hearing the old man's words, two burly men in the crowd nodded strangely before quickly departing.

As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face. Since they were being so welcoming, Chen Pingchuan felt it would be wrong to let the Great Fierce Bear slaughter the village; it went against his code of conduct. Of course, something was definitely off about this group. It was only a vague sense of foreboding, but Chen Pingchuan was convinced of it. Unwilling to waste time with pleasantries, he directly refused.

"Elder, we're just passing through. Sorry for the disturbance."

The old man's eyes flickered. "No disturbance at all! It's rare to have guests. You've arrived just in time for our ritual to the gods."

Chen Pingchuan's heart skipped a beat. He had intended to leave without another word, but this caught his attention.

He feigned nonchalance and asked, "A ritual to the gods? What do you mean?"

The old man pointed to the large locust tree at the village entrance. "This is our Divine Tree. As long as we provide offerings, the Divine Tree will protect us, ensuring favorable weather and keeping us from starvation."

Chen Pingchuan's expression remained neutral as thoughts raced through his mind.

An ancient tree, a remote village, and strange villagers... could this place be haunted?

But then he reconsidered.

This is a cyberpunk world, after all. Everything has a traceable cause. Even a genetically mutated ancient tree is more plausible than…

A genetically mutated ancient tree… a bloodthirsty tree. Is it protection, or are they being farmed?

Chen Pingchuan suddenly felt he understood.

If my suspicions are correct, then everyone in this village deserves to die, because anyone who didn't is already dead.

A moment later, he casually inquired, "Offerings to the gods? What kind of offerings?"

The old man hesitated for a moment. "Just some living creatures. Coincidentally, we have a few guests today. How about you join the ritual after dinner?"

The suspicion in Chen Pingchuan's mind solidified.

This old man plans to use us as the offerings.

"Oh, we'll skip the meal," Chen Pingchuan said calmly. "But witnessing this ritual of yours sounds interesting."

Hearing this, the old man grew visibly anxious. "Absolutely not! For guests from afar to not eat would mean our Divine Tree Village is a poor host. We can't have that."

Chen Pingchuan didn't care for the charade. Since they wouldn't do it the easy way, they'd have to do it the hard way. He wasn't going to indulge them.

He took a slight step back, a clear signal to Porcupine behind him.

Instantly, a rude and arrogant bellow echoed through the village.

"Old man, didn't you hear what our boss said? We're not interested in whatever slop you've prepared, so stop your yapping before I crush your old skull!"

"You... you... you..."

It had been a long time since the old man had encountered such an insolent young man—not since the insect plague a year ago.

I will have them skinned alive and their tendons pulled out as an offering to our Divine Tree, the old man fumed internally.

"Village Chief, we should..."

Though the old man managed to restrain himself, the villagers behind him couldn't. Their false smiles vanished instantly as a green light glinted in their eyes. They surged forward, intending to surround Chen Pingchuan's group.

A hint of malice flashed in the old man's eyes, but he suppressed his fury. The time for the sacrifice had not yet arrived.

He waved a hand to stop the advancing villagers, then spoke to Chen Pingchuan in a low voice, "Since our guests are so unappreciative, fine, don't eat. The first house at the village entrance has been prepared for you. You can rest there. Tonight, I will show you what a true ritual to the gods looks like."

"Everyone, this old man isn't feeling well and will take his leave."

Without waiting for a response, the old man turned and walked away. The villagers shot Chen Pingchuan's group a venomous glare before turning to follow.

Porcupine was about to let loose a string of curses. He had a bad feeling about that old man, and anyone who dared to defy his new boss was a fool with a death wish. Chen Pingchuan was his meal ticket; his hopes of eating his fill from now on depended entirely on him.

"Alright, Piglet, that's enough," Chen Pingchuan said. "There will be a chance later."

Chen Pingchuan didn't dwell on what kind of opportunity that might be. He had refused their food simply because he didn't trust them. Who knew what they might have added to it?

The group settled into the house and rested for half the day. During that time, they scouted the surrounding area but found it no different from an ordinary village. They even investigated the so-called Divine Tree but discovered nothing.

Poisonous Widow thought Chen Pingchuan was being overly cautious, believing the villagers were nothing more than common Earth Race. What danger could they possibly pose? Ignoring Chen Pingchuan's warning, she accepted a drink from a villager—the "Divine Spring" they had so carefully prepared for her. Yes, that's what the locals called the water drawn from the well in the center of the village.

Night soon descended. The sun yielded its light and warmth, giving way to the pitch-black sky.

Divine Tree Village was exceptionally lively on this day. Every household was brightly lit, especially the area around the large locust tree at the entrance, which was bathed in light. Today was the day of the monthly sacrifice.

Near the massive tree, hundreds of villagers and Chen Pingchuan's group stood in two distinctly separate lines.

Feeling the villagers' eager and greedy stares, Chen Pingchuan smiled coldly to himself.

Reversing the roles of predator and prey, turning the tables completely. To take them from a state of assured victory to utter despair... manipulating the emotions of others really is fun!

In front of the Divine Tree, the old man pointed at three circular rings carved into the ground beside the trunk and shouted, "Place the offerings!"

At his command, the villagers, each holding a live animal, dragged them into the rings and slit their throats with knives. Fresh blood stained the ground, pooling into a bizarre pattern.

"How much longer until your bloodsucking monster of a tree finally does something? I'm getting tired of waiting," Chen Pingchuan suddenly asked.

The old man nodded. "Soon, soon. Once the offerings are presented, the Divine Tree will manifest its divine power in less than ten minutes, bestowing us with..."

He trailed off, suddenly realizing something was wrong.

His eyes widened as he stared at Chen Pingchuan, who met his gaze with an unbridled, mocking look.

"When did you find out?" the old man cried out in shock.

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