Chapter 68: Special Operations Team

The next morning.

Fang Xiu received a call saying that the operations team had arrived in the mountainous area near Heishui Village, but due to the difficult mountain roads, they were unable to drive and were walking to Heishui Village, with an estimated arrival time of one hour.

After agreeing to meet the operations team in the middle of the Heishui River, Fang Xiu led everyone into Heishui Village.

Notably, he had put on the sunglasses he had prepared in advance.

He intended to verify his hypothesis. Since it had been too late the previous day to see other villagers, he planned to examine the hair of other villagers today.

As they walked through the village, their group immediately drew the attention of numerous villagers.

Many villagers had already gone out to work—some farming, others herding livestock.

Fang Xiu and his group's attire stood out starkly from the villagers', clearly marking them as city dwellers, which drew the attention of many villagers.

However, the villagers' gazes were mostly curious, not hostile.

Perhaps the village chief had already informed the villagers that journalists would be coming.

As the villagers scrutinized Fang Xiu and his group, they too were scrutinizing the villagers.

The more they looked, the more startled they became, for without exception, every villager had jet-black, lustrous hair.

"Xiu Ge, what's going on here? Did these villagers all grow up eating black sesame seeds?" Zhao Hao asked tremblingly.

"Where could you find black sesame seeds with such powerful effects? I just saw several elderly people whose hair was also jet-black and lustrous, not a single gray hair in sight." " The fat man agreed.

While everyone was examining the hair, Fang Xiu's gaze drifted to the surroundings.

No anomalies! Not a single anomaly!

This time, Fang Xiu was certain—there were truly no anomalies in the entire Black Water Village!

Why was that? If it was because they had entered the Anomaly Domain, causing them to be unable to see the illusory anomalies roaming the streets, then why was there a signal in the Anomaly Domain?

Was it because the encrypted phones were issued by the Investigation Bureau?

However, when Fang Xiu took out his ordinary phone, he found it also had a signal, though it was weaker in the mountains.

Fang Xiu didn't understand. The secrets of the anomalies were too numerous, and he likely only understood the tip of the iceberg. Many strange things remained unexplained.

At that moment, he approached an old man basking in the sun. This old man was even older than the village chief, with wrinkles that had become deep furrows on his face. He held an old pipe in his hand, smoking while soaking up the sun.

"Old man, may I ask how you maintain your hair? At your age, how come your hair is blacker and shinier than that of young people?"

The old man looked at Fang Xiu in surprise: Why are you, a city boy, teasing an old man like me? My hair has been white for ten years. How can it be black and shiny?"

Upon hearing the old man's words, Shen Lingxue and the others were startled, staring intently at the old man's thick, black, shiny hair, feeling a chill run down their spines.

Fang Xiu remained composed, replying calmly, "I'm sorry, I must have seen incorrectly."

After saying that, he turned and walked away with Shen Lingxue and the others.

After they had gone, Zhao Hao couldn't help but ask, "Was that old man's hair black or white? Am I color blind? I thought it was black."

"I thought it was black too," the fat man agreed.

"These villagers are problematic. They've likely been affected by something strange. " Shen Lingxue asserted, "Those affected by the strange influence may exhibit some unusual characteristics, typically manifesting as physical weakness, emotional abnormalities, or mental exhaustion, though other effects cannot be ruled out."

Fang Xiu glanced at her and said calmly, "How can you be certain that it's the villagers who are affected, and not us?"

Everyone was slightly startled, and Zhao Hao and the fat man turned pale.

Just then, voices suddenly echoed from the distance.

"Miss Shen, so you were here."

The arrival was none other than the village chief's grandson, Wang Fugui.

Wang Fugui ran over, panting, and asked, "Miss Shen, you sure got up early. I was just about to call you for breakfast this morning, but found no one in the room."

The others looked at Wang Fugui's jet-black hair, their expressions clearly odd, especially Zhao Hao and the Fat Man. Knowing that the villagers might be up to something, they found it hard to maintain their usual polite and friendly demeanor.

Fortunately, Shen Lingxue, being a seasoned spirit tamer, showed no signs of unease and replied calmly, "Yes, we're used to getting up early. After all, we have work to do."

"Are you about to start filming? Let me take you to some scenic spots to explore."

"Not today. We plan to explore on our own first. We'll call you when we need your help."

Wang Fugui looked visibly disappointed. "But the mountains are dangerous. There might be wild boars roaming around. You'll have a hard time without a guide."

"It's okay. We've been out on assignments before and have some wilderness survival experience. We've been to places even more remote than this. Don't worry. We'll explore on our own this afternoon and ask you to guide us later."

Wang Fugui wasn't good with words and didn't know how to refuse. Hearing Shen Lingxue say this, he could only nod in agreement.

"Alright, but if you're exploring on your own, don't go to the center of the Black Water River."

Shen Lingxue's heart skipped a beat, and she asked casually, "Oh? Why can't we go to the center of the Black Water River?"

Wang Fugui's expression turned fearful, as if he had recalled something terrifying.

"Just don't ask any more questions. My grandfather doesn't allow us to spread superstitions, but more than one person in the village has said that place is haunted, so don't go there under any circumstances."

Seeing that she couldn't pry any more information out of him, Shen Lingxue nodded and said she understood.

Wang Fugui then left.

Shortly afterward, Fang Xiu's phone rang.

"Investigator Fang, the 10th Special Operations Squad is in position."

"Alright, we'll be there shortly."

Fang Xiu hung up the phone and addressed the others, "Ignore the villagers for now. Let's deal with the strange occurrences in the Black Water River first."