Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 167 Sister?
Hongkou pushed open the door to her small room and gestured to Elon and the others behind her, "Come in, it's not a big place, please make yourself at home."

The hunters entered with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity.

The cabin was simply furnished, but it had everything you'd expect, including some game consoles, though they didn't look like they'd been played much.

All of this is completely different from the cold, standardized, and impersonal dormitories on the lighthouse.

"Sit wherever you like, and help yourself to your water." Hongkou pointed to the kettle and several cups on the table.

Xuefeng, Jeff, and the others awkwardly found stools or the edge of the bed to sit down, but their eyes couldn't help but wander around.

The room itself, and Hongkou's current state, both suggest that she has found peace and stability here.

It could even be described as a comfortable life.

Elon didn't sit down; he stood in the center of the room, his gaze sweeping over every detail before finally settling on Red Hair.

“Red Hair.” Elon finally asked the question.

"How...how exactly did you survive on the ground? And what about the source potential you mentioned earlier, Boss Yang...and what Mark saw that day, were you on a mission? Were you also searching for supplies?"

Seeing the confusion in Elon's eyes, Hongkou gently shook her head and replied, "The village rarely goes out to search for supplies anymore."

Just as she was about to continue explaining, the wooden door creaked open, and Po Xiao's figure appeared in the doorway.

He smiled at everyone in the room: "Everyone's here? The field report has been submitted."

As dawn broke, it swept over his former comrades and finally settled on Red Hair.

“Yes, let them rest here for a while,” Hongkou replied, then looked at Elon again and began to answer the many questions in his mind.

“Instructor Elon, you asked us how to survive on the ground… First of all, it’s because of the sophisticated shielding system built around the village,” Red Hair explained. “That kind of system can shield human emotions.”

"Suppress emotions? Why would you need to suppress emotions?" Xuefeng asked, puzzled.

Hong Kou looked at the bewildered Xue Feng and continued, "The Devouring Beasts don't track humans using sight or hearing. They sense life essence, and strong emotional fluctuations make life essence impossible to hide from them."

Elon frowned slightly, while Xuefeng and the others were stunned.

This explanation completely overturned their understanding of the Devouring Beasts over the years and solved the mystery of why this area was so safe.

No wonder those Devouring Beasts stopped chasing after them; it seems they had entered the coverage area of ​​the shielding tower that Hong Kou mentioned.

"Then are you not going down to the surface? What will you do if you go outside?" Xuefeng continued to ask. "That shielding tower doesn't cover the entire continent, does it?"

“Entering the Returning to Origin state can also achieve the effect of concealing the life essence,” Hongkou replied.

"Return to Origin State?"

Hongkou shook her head: "We'll talk about this later; it's too complicated to explain."

"Okay then."

Xuefeng rubbed his still slightly swollen cheeks and asked again, "Then Hongkou, Dawn, Benny's legs... that Boss Yang you mentioned, he... he can really make people grow legs out of thin air? What... what kind of ability is that?"

Hongkou looked at Xuefeng, then at the other hunters who also had expressions of curiosity.

She paused for a moment, organized her thoughts, and slowly began to speak.

"The power the boss possesses is complex. You can think of it as... primal potential. Healing Benny's leg is not difficult for him."

“Source potential?” Elon caught the unfamiliar term. “Is this related to the source of life?”

“That’s one way to understand it, but it’s not exactly the same.” Hongkou nodded.

"Source potential is a power hidden in human genes. Once it is activated, it will awaken all kinds of abilities."

She pointed to herself and Dawn: "Dawn and I are also slowly trying to awaken. There are quite a few people in this village who possess the potential of the Source Essence. This is one of the assets that allows us to survive on the ground and fight against the Devouring Beasts."

The hunters were dumbfounded.

Kun Jie murmured, "So... that person who could emerge from the ground, and that invisible attacker... were also people with this kind of source potential?"

“You could say that,” Dawn chimed in. “Everyone’s potential is different.”

The sheer volume of information overwhelmed the hunters, leaving them feeling overwhelmed.

“I understand…” Elon’s voice was a little hoarse. “It seems that the people on the ground are much stronger than we thought.”

Hongkou looked at him and said, "Instructor Elon, this world is far more vast and complex than the Lighthouse knows. The Mana ecosystem is a disaster, and simply running away will only lead to the complete extinction of humanity."

Everyone fell silent.

Dawn looked at Elon and asked, "Instructor Elon, what is Lord Morgan's attitude towards the Lighthouse this time?"

The question from Dawn went straight to the heart of the matter.

Red Hair also looked at Elon, waiting for his answer.

The existence of Dragonbone Village is undoubtedly a huge blow to the Lighthouse, and Morgan's attitude will determine whether the next steps will be cooperation, confrontation, or non-interference.

Elon sighed, his brows furrowed. "The city lord... initially didn't believe there were large numbers of survivors on the ground, thinking the risks outweighed the rewards. Sending out the hunter squad this time was partly to verify Mark's discovery, and partly... to assess potential threats."

“Hmm…” Hongkou nodded knowingly, not surprised at all.

She knew all too well the conservatism and closed-mindedness of the lighthouse.

"After the boss and the others return from... well, after the boss and the others return, they will go to the Lighthouse to negotiate with Lord Morgan."

Elon understood from what Red Hair said that it was as if the "boss" going to the lighthouse to negotiate was a matter of course and something that would inevitably have a result.

At the same time, the "boss" that Hongkou mentioned repeatedly aroused even deeper curiosity.

He hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "Hongkou, the boss you've been talking about... what exactly is his... status in Dragon Bone Village?"

"Boss...?" Jeff couldn't help but ask, "Are they... the leaders here?"

Hongkou and Poxiao exchanged a glance. Hongkou thought for a moment and said, "Boss Yang, and Boss Bai... well, you can think of them as the 'city lords' of the village."

She paused, then added, "However, they are not quite like the Lighthouse Lords we know. They are more like... leaders."

“Major decisions in the village are usually made by them, and people are willing to follow their arrangements, but there is no strict hierarchy like that of a lighthouse. They are more focused on dealing with external threats, and... leading everyone to a better future.”

Dawn nodded in agreement with Red Hair's statement.

“Lord of the City…” Elon repeated the title in a low voice, but he knew in his heart that the “boss” that Red Hair spoke of was definitely not the same as Lord Morgan.

Xuefeng and the others looked at each other in bewilderment.

What kind of person could inspire such trust in Hongkou and Poxiao, and create such a sanctuary on the ground?
They were extremely curious about the "Boss Yang" and "Boss Bai" whom they had not yet met.

Hongkou looked at the expressions on everyone's faces and knew that they had begun to understand the significance of this matter.

She said no more, but calmly stated, "So, please stay here until the boss returns. As long as you follow the village rules, you will be safe guests."

"You can rest assured that although the boss and his group are powerful, they are not unreasonable people. As long as you don't cross the village's bottom line, they are usually very easy to talk to."

"The bottom line?" Haji asked instinctively.

“Protect our home, protect our companions,” Hongkou said. “Anyone who threatens either of these is an enemy.”

Just then, light footsteps and a clear girl's voice came from outside the hut: "Sister Hongkou! Brother Poxiao! Are you there? My dad asked me to come and ask about the dinner arrangements for those people from the Lighthouse tonight." Before she finished speaking, a girl with several cute braids and bright eyes appeared at the door. It was Wulan Maiduo.

She curiously peeked in and saw a room full of people, especially Xuefeng with injuries on his face. She blinked.

"Have you used the ointment I gave you?"

Xuefeng was taken aback by the question. He subconsciously touched his still somewhat swollen cheek and then remembered the ointment that Hongkou had given him earlier.

He was so focused on being shocked and asking questions that he completely forgot about this.

Seeing this, Hongkou introduced her to Xuefeng: "She is Wulanmaido. She was the one who sent the eagle to deliver medicine to you before."

Xuefeng then realized what was happening and hurriedly took out the white-packaged ointment from his pocket, waving it at Maiduo somewhat helplessly.

"Yes, yes! I'll use it right away! Thank you, little... Maido."

He had originally intended to address her as "little girl," but remembering Hongkou's earlier introduction, he immediately changed his address.

In a place where even children might possess incredible abilities, he dared not be the slightest bit presumptuous.

Maido chuckled at his clumsy attempt: "No need to thank me! My dad says that as long as you're not here to fight or cause trouble, you're a guest."

As Xuefeng listened to the child's innocent words and saw the girl's pure smile, and compared it with the fact that his group had broken in with weapons, his face couldn't help but feel a little hot.

He nodded hesitantly, then quickly tore open the ointment packaging, squeezed out a little of the milky-white ointment with a cool scent, and gently applied it to his swollen and painful cheek.

The ointment brought a comfortable coolness to the skin, and the burning stinging sensation seemed to have been relieved somewhat.

"Thank you for the medicine, Maido." Hongkou smiled at Maido and then asked, "What are your dad's plans?"

Maido withdrew her gaze from Xuefeng and turned to Hongkou.

"Dad said that if Sister Hongkou takes responsibility herself, he will not interfere; otherwise, he will send someone to deliver food."

"Okay, I understand. Thank you for informing me, Maido." Hongkou nodded. "I'll take them there later."

"You're welcome! I'll be going now!" After completing her task, Maiduo waved to everyone in the room and skipped away.

Xuefeng rubbed the cool ointment on his face while looking in the direction where Maiduo had disappeared through the doorway.

Dawn, seeing Elon's silence, broke the stillness: "Instructor Elon, and everyone else, let's go eat now. Let you all taste what food on the ground tastes like."

Red Hair looked at Elon and the others, asking for their opinions with her eyes.

Elon nodded: "Then I'll leave it to you, Red Hair."

“Okay, let’s go now.” Hongkou said, preparing to set off.

At this moment, Dawn took off his coat and said to Red Hair and the others, "Wait a moment, I'll put my coat away first."

After saying that, he took his coat, turned around and went into the bedroom on the inside of the small house, hung the coat on the hanger inside, and then came out again.

Xuefeng glanced back and forth between Hongkou and Poxiao, finally unable to hold back: "Poxiao, you...you're living with Hongkou?"

Jeff, Haji, and the others looked at the two men, waiting for their answer.

Po Xiao was taken aback by the question, and then looked at Hong Kou.

Hongkou's face didn't show any particular expression, she just slightly raised her eyebrows.

Dawn then turned to the crowd and nodded frankly: "Yes, what else?"

"This is not a lighthouse."

Hongkou led the group through the village streets and arrived at a building with a wooden sign that read "Food is Steel".

Before even entering, a rich and enticing aroma of food wafted over, causing the hungry hunters to involuntarily swallow hard.

Stepping into the canteen, one finds more than a dozen wooden tables, where many villagers are already sitting and eating, their laughter and the clinking of bowls and chopsticks filling the air.

Hongkou led them to sit down at an empty table, and soon a waiter brought over several plates filled to the brim.

When the hunters saw the dishes on the table, their eyes widened in astonishment.

This... this is simply...

"The food on the ground...the food is so good?" Xuefeng stammered, his eyes almost glued to the pot of braised pork, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"This...this is probably even better than what the city lord eats!!"

Where else in the lighthouse can you find such a delicious and authentic meal with such high-quality ingredients?
Hongkou smiled as she looked at their naive and unsophisticated expressions.

"You didn't expect that, did you? When Dawn and I first came to the village, we were just as surprised as you are."

She pointed with her chopsticks to the tempting-looking braised pork and recommended, "Try this, braised pork."

“I remember the first time Boss Yang brought me and Dawn to the village, it was at this restaurant, and this was the first dish we ate.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the hunters, who had been unable to contain themselves any longer, immediately reached for the dishes they had been craving.

Xuefeng picked up a large piece of braised pork and stuffed it into his mouth, his eyes squinting with satisfaction.

Even the usually composed Instructor Elon, after tasting a few bites of the food, found himself gripping his chopsticks a little faster.

They devoured the food, barely speaking, wanting only to fill the void in both their bodies and spirits with this truly delicious meal.

Hongkou and Poxiao didn't urge them, but ate slowly and deliberately, looking at their former comrades-in-arms who were pouncing on their food like hungry wolves, and smiled at each other.

Once upon a time, they were the same, experiencing life, not just mere survival, for the first time on the ground.

"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you," Hongkou said softly.

"There will be more opportunities to try it in the future."

The hunters devoured all the food on the table in a whirlwind, even wiping up the last bit of soup with the last grain of rice.

After eating and drinking my fill, the fatigue in my body seemed to be relieved quite a bit.

Hongkou watched them put down their chopsticks with lingering enjoyment, and was about to say something more when she suddenly seemed to remember something of utmost importance.

She exclaimed "Ah!" and a hint of annoyance flashed across her face.

"I was so busy talking to you guys that I forgot to tell my sister!" she said, quickly standing up and saying to Dawn, "Dawn, why don't you go with Instructor Elon and the others for a stroll? I need to hurry home to get my communicator."

“Okay, you go ahead, I’ll take care of things here.” Dawn nodded, indicating her understanding.

Hongkou smiled apologetically at Elon and the others, then turned and quickly left the cafeteria.

Inside the hotel, Elon was stunned by the words Red Coco had blurted out before leaving.

".sister?"

He looked at Dawn and asked, "Dawn, has Hongkou found an older sister here?"

"Huh?" Dawn turned around. "She's not someone I acknowledge, she's Hongkou's biological older sister."

"Red egret".

(End of this chapter)