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Chapter 980: Grave Village

“Applause!”

“Wait! He hasn’t even spoken yet!”

“Wonderful!”

“Idiot! You say that after the speech is over!”

The chief was well-respected. He had given his life to the village. The chief got up the simple platform. He looked down at the familiar faces. He didn’t want to see their eyes, so he looked away.

Grave Village was built inside a giant hole. It was the trash center for other cities. The people living aboveground kept throwing trash into the whole. Due to the bad living environment, there were no normal villagers around Grave Village. Everyone was deformed in some ways. They might be normal on the inside, but on the outside, they were monsters.

The old chief looked up. As more trash was sent into the hole, the deeper the village would be buried. The villagers would never get out. Stench lingered in the air, but the villagers didn’t mind. The trash was a treasure for them. They had to process the trash to earn money to buy medicine to prolong their miserable lives.

The world under the sun created trash, and people threw trash into the whole. People paid the villagers to process the trash. This sounded natural, but it was not what the chief wanted.

A ghost lived under the village. The village could never move. Therefore, the chief hoped the people outside would stop throwing rubbish into the hole, but they would come down to help improve and change the situation inside the hole. Grave Village didn’t need the negative and dirty things. The chief had hope, but he underestimated humanity’s wickedness and greed.

“Under the leadership of Chief Fu, everyone at Grave Village has lived a wonderful life. Now, it’s time for the chief’s speech!” A young man in a suit next to the stage said. He was handsome, cheerful, and clean. He was out of place at Grave Village.

The villagers quieted down. They looked up at the chief.

The aged chief moved his lips. He hesitated for a long time, but he couldn’t tell the truth. Instead, he smiled, “I’ve been trying to maintain communication between Grave Village and the surface cities. I’ve successfully acquired the third aid fees for the village. In the future, we’ll live a better life!”

The villagers clapped thunderously. Everyone trusted the chief.

“Eat well and drink well. Then, we’ll start worshipping the Ghost God!”

The chief left the stage. He didn’t stay with the villagers but led the young man in the suit to his home. He looked at the clock in his house and frowned. “Ol’ Three, go get your two older brothers. Tell them I have something important to inform them.”

“It’s already 8 pm. There are only 4 hours left to the ritual. Big brother and second brother must be busy…”

“Do as I say!” The chief shouted angrily, which was not like him at all. After the young man left, he took out a piece of paper from his drawer and wrote down a few words. At 8.20 pm, the door opened. A large man walked into the room, carrying a rattan basket on his back. His body was covered in paint. He was very handsome. If he had been born outside Grave Village, he could easily be a celebrity.

“Dad, are you looking for me?”

“Why did it take you so long?”

“I was dealing with dangerous objects among the trash, and I found him…” The man put down the basket and carried a baby out. “This child isn’t born in our village. He should be abandoned by his parents and dumped into the hole.”

The middle-aged man was very kind. He softened his voice as if afraid of waking the baby. “He is very strong to be able to survive in the hole until now.”

“You might as well let him die in the trash heap.” The old chief sighed.

“Why? Isn’t Ol’ Three an orphan you’ve raised? You’ve always taught us to repay this world with kindness to brighten this dark world with colors…” The man felt that there was something on his father’s mind.

“That was what I taught you, but sometimes, we can’t make the world colorful, but the darkness of the world will drain the colors out of us.” The chief sighed. “The danger coalition has given me an ultimatum today.”

“What did they say?”

“Grave Village has spread too many unknown illnesses. To solve this problem, the coalition decides to abandon this village. They will fill up the giant hole and cut off the village’s connection to the outside world.” The old chief gripped his fists. Grave Village was his life. He also didn’t expect this outside.

“Are those people blind? The reason Grave Village festers illnesses is that they keep dumping their negativity here! They didn’t want to solve the problem but wanted to bury us alive?!” The middle-aged man raised his voice. “Even if they cut us off, as long as they keep producing trash, the ghost under the village will eventually emerge! Then, it’ll be too late for them!” Frightened by his voice, the baby started to cry.

“Humans will never learn their lessons. They will only work together when there is danger. When the danger is over, they’ll fight each other again.” The old chief was tired. “Now we only have two choices. One, accept their help and destroy the deep hole, or two, release the ghosts inside the grave and bring them to consume the cities aboveground so that they’d become new Grave Villages.”

The middle-aged man’s rage disappeared. “Grave Village is our home. I know how dirty this place is, but why…”

“Either we help the humans, or we help the ghost.” The old chief stopped him. “Tell me your choice.”

“I…” The man’s eyes moved to the baby. He couldn’t make a choice. When a person was threatened by fate, it was hard to make a perfect choice. They were given a choice before they were prepared.

The door opened again. The young man in the suit and a carpenter walked in. The carpenter had a deformed face. He carried a wooden box. It was filled with tools. He made many buildings and furniture in the village.

“Father, I’ve found second brother.” The young man was very kind. When he saw the abandoned baby, he went over and hummed a beautiful melody to make the baby fall asleep.

“Even though we are not connected by blood, I’ve always treated you as my real children. You are the people I trust the most.” The chief took out an envelope and handed it to the young man in the suit. “This is my will. You have to open it when you leave the hole.”

“Will?” The young man stood up. He didn’t dare to accept it. “Father, why are you giving me something like this?”

“I’ve tried my best to delay it, but the conflict is inevitable.” The chief looked outside the window. The trash mountain surrounded Grave Village. The village was further and further away from the outside world.

“The villagers are very well and approve of the people on the surface. As long as we keep working hard, things will change!” The young man was quite innocent.

“The villagers are happy because they want to put on a show for the people on the surface. They wade in the trash every day to appease the people on the surface, but now the coalition has decided to stop sponsoring the village. The people on the surface don’t want to coexist with us, but they want to destroy this place!” The old chief said seriously. “Plus, have you not noticed that the villagers have gotten more unhinged? Due to prolonged exposure to negativity, the deformity became more serious, and we had more violent outbursts among the villagers.”

The three children said nothing because that was the truth.

“We want the people under the sun and the villagers to coexist peacefully, but time is not on our side.” The chief frowned. “The zone of coexistence I envisioned hasn’t been built, and the buffer zones are also in testing. Therefore, we need to do anything to buy time!”

“Father, what do you plan to do?” The silent carpenter asked. He didn’t like to speak. Different from his brothers, he looked more like a ghost than a human.

“I plan to bet on a future plan. Perhaps it can delay the tragedy for a few decades.” The chief lifted up his bed. There were a few black packages underneath it. “This is the ‘medicine’ the coalition has given the villagers. They contain the wisdom of every aboveground genius. They can level the village…”

“But…” The young man tried to interrupt.

“No, but I’ve considered every step.” The chief continued, “The people aboveground don’t have the power to deal with the ghosts inside the grave yet. Once the ghosts come out, the humans have no power to fight back, so I want to enter the tomb with the three of you and become the Unmentionable ghost during this year’s ritual!”

“What?” The three children didn’t expect their father to say something like this.

“We need to slaughter the ghosts inside the graves and balance out the power so that the ghosts inside the graves will be afraid to come out.” The old chief’s eyes were red.

“There are too many ghosts inside the graves. There are only four of us. We can’t kill them all!” The middle-aged man had once entered the tomb. He knew how scary it was.

“I know. That’s why I’m prepared to die.” The chief lowered his voice. “I told you a long time ago that there’s a special box inside my brain. It is because of that box that I am able to meet you.”

The three kids nodded. They remembered fond memories.

“As the owner, after I make the final choice and become an Unmentionable, I can inherit the despair of the former owners. That way, my power will have a temporary but tremendous increase. After that, my soul will slowly die.” The chief didn’t hide anything. “After the ritual starts, I’ll tell everyone that I intend to kill the ghosts inside the tomb. After we enter the tomb, I’ll open the box. I’ll kill or injure the scariest ghosts inside the tomb. After the timer is up, I need one of you to kill me!” The chief looked at his three children before settling on the carpenter. “The ghosts inside the tomb don’t know that my power is only temporary. When they are defeated, you can kill me. That will win you their approval.

“After the Unmentionable dies, their traces will be wiped away. Therefore, I need you to kill me. That way, this will become a special premeditated death. This is the only way and I can retain some things with my death!”

The old chief didn’t have the ability to force a peaceful coexistence between the people on the ground and the ghosts inside the graves. He couldn’t destroy the tomb. His plans needed time, but the people above ground and the ghosts inside the graves didn’t give him the time. He didn’t have much time left either.

To fulfill the best future in his heart, the chief decided to open one side of the box in his mind. He would do everything he could to buy time for the next generation.