Genesis Code: The Genetic Awakening
Chapter 160: Reconnaissance (4)

Chapter 160: Reconnaissance (4)

Nighttime.

Inside the small, almost empty room on the first floor of the inn, Caleb sat on the small single bed, his gaze locked on the floor.

Since the guard brought him here, Caleb made no obvious moves to draw attention to himself. Even with his normal senses, he could tell the inn was being closely monitored.

He relaxed easily when he spotted Jess and Crusher returning after their little encounter produced no results. Even with the mist masking them, the villagers were unwilling to speak.

Before night came, he had focused on the surrounding buildings, utilising his eyes to pierce through the walls of the buildings to observe what was happening within them.

While it was an invasion of privacy, Caleb was not here for peeking. From his observations, he noticed the children were mostly kept indoors, kept busy with chores and other minor work.

Their parents did not allow them to step out more than a few meters from the main entrance — they made sure to keep an eye on them.

The entire situation was very bizarre. The adults of the village, no matter the kind of person they were, did not engage in any conversation that could give away whatever was happening.

It was as if they were aware of their predicament and acted accordingly. At the same time, they had no knowledge of what was making them behave the way they were.

There was no way everyone would keep quiet and act like everything was normal when things were clearly not. He refused to believe this was the norm, and nothing from his appraisal indicated coercion either.

Aside from the brief talks on the activities of the neighbouring kingdom and the villages they took over, there was nothing of significance, at least not yet.

The inn where Caleb currently resided had a tavern for the villagers living nearby, allowing them to gather together to share drinks and stories. Gossip flowed when the tongue became loose, and this was what Caleb was waiting for.

He didn’t dare go down as his status as a stranger could affect the atmosphere. But that was fine as he didn’t need to go down to hear or see anything.

And the pieces he gathered during the day were not enough to paint a full picture of what was happening.

As the men continued to share drinks and chew on their meat, they conversed about their daily activities, their harvest, the recent gossip — the usual.

However, as more time passed and people drank more, the conversations gradually shifted to what Caleb was interested in, resulting in his current posture and attentiveness.

With both hands clasped under his chin and elbows resting on his knees, Caleb focused on a particular table of four middle-aged men.

"Ah... That hit the spot." One of the men expressed as he drowned his beer, slamming the mug on the table. "Say... How long are we going to live like this?"

The expression of the others swiftly changed as one of them almost choked on his beer while the other two looked around cautiously. "Lower your voice, dammit."

"Yeah, do you want to disappear like the others?" Another whispered as they leaned forward. Luckily for them, no one was paying attention to their table. "This may not be ideal, but we’re alive because of it..."

"I know, okay?" The man sighed as he lowered his head shamefully. "But... I miss the good old days. We live every day like we’re lifeless husks, fearing a stranger might one day discover what we did.

We can’t even allow the children to roam free because of this. I get that they didn’t do much for us, but at least it was better than this."

"..."

The table went silent as the man poured his heart out in a low whisper. The other three men exchanged glances and then sighed, knowing all too well how their friend was feeling.

"We just have to bear it for now, Frank. Once this is over, things will return to normal."

"Agreed."

"Mm," The one known as Frank nodded as he took another sip.

Meanwhile, Caleb closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, processing what he had just heard. While what he heard wasn’t clear, he could make a few guesses.

’Sounds like they sold themselves to the Growian Kingdom...’ He speculated calmly. ’For survival, people are willing to do whatever it takes to protect themselves and their loved ones.’

Recalling the actions of the nobles as well, he could see a pattern here. The nobles were too deep in sin to back out, while the normal folks were too weak to resist. In both cases, they’ve been offered a lifeline.

Similar situations, different conditions.

’The villagers can be pardoned as this is understandable. The nobles, on the other hand, ...’ Caleb stood up and moved towards the window.

He looked over the buildings and focused on the village head’s compound. Guards were patrolling the surrounding areas, watching out for any unscrupulous activities.

Ignoring the guards, Caleb focused his eyes on the head and realised the head was up to something. This village head was in changed clothes as he grabbed a cloak to cover himself.

’There is no place a person like him would go at this time of the night...’ Caleb mused silently. ’Unless, of course, he’s going out to meet someone...’

Under the gaze of Caleb, the village head walked out of his building and towards the back, where a few of the guards roamed. They spotted the head, stopped for a second before continuing their patrol.

Walking past them, the village chief made his way towards the edges of the village, making sure to stick close to the shadows to avoid attention drawn to himself, despite the streets being mostly empty.

Once past the village exit, Caleb’s figure flickered and disappeared, appearing hundreds of meters above the moving chief. Up ahead, Caleb could see the lights from the camp of the stationed army.

’The kingdom’s own army?’ Caleb wondered with narrowed eyes, zooming in for a closer look. His assumption was that the head was on his way to give some kind of report to whoever was running the show here.

’Just how deep does their ploy run...?’

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