I love watermelons, you love men, and we both have a bright future.

Based on the brawny leader's remarks, analyzing the situation logically:

The Great God of Evolution should be the earliest deity to emerge.

It was Its power that helped the wasteland survivors get through the initial aftermath of the nuclear war, granting humanity the physical strength to withstand high concentrations of nuclear radiation bare-bodied.

Meanwhile, the God of Eternal Glory—who governs strange powers—and the God of Natural Redemption—who is capable of cultivating normal fruits and vegetables from the old era—were both later arrivals.

The Great God of Evolution was magnanimous as a deity.

To allow humanity to survive better, It permitted the other two deities to share Its followers.

Although it was unclear what followers and faith were actually used for, in the brawny leader's understanding, this was the absolute truth.

Having read numerous web novels, Lu Wenwu inevitably began to lean toward conspiracy theories.

Such as:
"Launching World Annihilation to Collect Faith, Then Acting as the Savior Again."
"Twilight of the Gods Triggered by the Struggle for Faith, Leaving Only Three Brothers Behind."
"Everything Is Fabricated, Merely a Beautiful Fantasy in the Hearts of Wasteland Dwellers."
"Human Civilization Re-evolving Starting from Nature Worship."
And so on......

Any of these speculations could be turned into a web novel just by slapping a book title on it, and they were the kind widely applicable to many genres.

"Calm down, friend. We are merely investigating each settlement's understanding of and level of devotion to the deities, with no intention whatsoever of showing disrespect to the Great God of Evolution," Anthony said, attempting to placate him.

Su Qinghong let out a soft, gentle hum and cast a minor soul spell, suppressing the brawny leader's continuously escalating agitation.

Standing nearby, Lu Wenwu felt more and more that this voice clashed completely with the daily aesthetic of a Northeastern fox maiden.

It gave him the surreal impression of Li Kui wearing a voice-changer while shouting, "Brother Gongming!"

Seeing the man calm down, Anthony continued asking, "What does your Giant Bone Settlement's daily ritual for worshiping the Great God of Evolution look like? Do you have idols, temples, or anything of the sort?"

"No idols, and no temples," the brawny leader shook his head. "The true form of the Great God of Evolution is imprinted in the heart of every believer, but we cannot carve or depict it, no matter what method we try."

The matter was becoming increasingly murky and bizarre.

Why did this description sound so much like Cthulhu?

Anthony distressfully pulled a crimson-colored pouch from his backpack, held it to his lips, and sucked on it, his brow furrowed as deeply as a Shar-Pei's.

The other four stared at him in silence as they watched the pouch empty out by more than half.

Seeming to sense the sudden heaviness in the atmosphere, Anthony instinctively glanced to the side.

Meeting the gazes of the four, he finally realized that his action might seem somewhat inappropriate to outsiders.

Immediately afterward, Anthony produced four identical pouches and motioned toward them.

"Would you like some? They are quite delicious."

Lu Wenwu casually reached out, tore open the seal, took a large gulp, and his eyes lit up slightly.

The taste was surprisingly good!

"No way!"

Su Qinghong's pretty face turned pale as she refused loudly.

The austere old monk, Master Ruhuo, said dryly, "Amitabha...... Benefactor Anthony, I believe this kind of beverage is still a bit too advanced for us......"

"Huh? What are you all talking about? Isn't this a perfectly normal thing? Tyrannosaurus even said it's delicious," Anthony said, completely baffled. "This is very common in Shenzhou, right? That's precisely why I settled down here!"

Even the socially anxious Kassane couldn't help chiming in, "Mr...... Mr. Anthony, what you call normal applies to vampires...... Although I don't know much about Shenzhou, how could this kind of thing possibly be common in human society?"

"It's indeed quite common, though it would be even better with some ice," Lu Wenwu muttered softly. "Kassane, care to cast a freezing spell?"

At this moment, Anthony finally realized something was amiss, his expression turning deeply embarrassed.

"No, this isn't blood! It really isn't! This is watermelon juice! What on earth were you all thinking?"

"I personally flew to Hainan Province, picked top-quality Kirin watermelons one by one from the locals, hand-pitted them, juiced them, strained out the pulp, and sealed them in bags."

"W-Watermelon juice?" The Northeastern fox maiden's CPU instantly overloaded. "Then why on earth are you packing it in blood bags?"

"What else am I supposed to use? It's not like I'm going to commission a beverage bottle production line just for sealing!" Anthony said, on the verge of a breakdown. "Blood bags are sturdy, durable, have great seals, are just the right size, and are easy to carry. Once packed, they're even more convenient than canned drinks—just tear a small opening and sip, and it's hard to spill."

Holding his iced watermelon juice, Lu Wenwu nodded in deep agreement: "Truly decent. Out of a total score of ten, I'd give it at least an eight, with the remaining two points deducted for the lack of freezing and being a bit too raw and natural."

Among the six people present, probably only Lu Wenwu, with his uniquely wired brain, could remain entirely composed and leisurely critique watermelon juice here.

The other three members of the wasteland exploration squad were deeply shocked and incredulous by this point.

Anthony, you are a dignified orthodox bloodline count of the Barrow family—what is this nonsense about loving watermelon juice?!

As for that brawny leader......

Wait, the brawny leader?

Just as the four of them were making a comical scene, Lu Wenwu let out a soft exclamation, walked over to the brawny leader who had been motionless for quite some time, and placed his hand on the man's Baihui acupoint.

The soul fluctuations had completely vanished, and even the soul echo was nowhere to be found.

The man had actually died without a sound!

"Hey guys, something's off," Lu Wenwu said with a strange expression. "This guy dropped dead suddenly, dying from a missing soul, and his physical vitality has also begun to rapidly decay."

The bickering between Anthony and Su Qinghong instantly ceased.

The gazes of all four instantly locked onto the unresigned face of the brawny leader.

His expression remained that of deep piety mixed with lingering anger, but his eyes had long since lost their focus.

Commit murder right in front of five players?

And among them were a succubus and a fox demon—two races proficient in mental and soul magic.

How could this be possible?

Within a mere five seconds, the brawny leader's body rapidly withered away, reducing him to a state resembling a dried corpse.

Anthony muttered, "The flesh and blood essence has been completely devoured; this is comparable to the most evil devouring secret arts of our family."

"Evil?" Su Qinghong blinked. "You vampires live by feeding on the blood of other creatures; how can you talk about things like that?"

Anthony retorted indignantly, "Please, even if human stories portray us as monsters, that doesn't mean we're actually as stupid as the stories make us out to be!"

"Drinking a tiny bit at a time can sustain a human for decades. Drain them all at once, and they die! Cultivating a new one takes at least another dozen years before they reach their prime and can have some blood drawn without being affected."

"Don't you think we understand a concept as simple as 'eat your fill once or stay full every day'? Instead of slaughtering them, why wouldn't we raise humans with good food and drink and quietly make a fortune?"

Unconvinced, Su Qinghong pressed on, "Then what about those things in vampire stories?"

The honest man Anthony could no longer bear it and finally exploded: "What about your great-great-great-great-grandmother in the Investiture of the Gods? And what about those relatives of yours and the scholars in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio? And what about the doujinshis on that pink software?"

"......"

The fierce Northeastern fox maiden finally fell silent.

Just when Anthony thought the farce was finally over and they could finally get down to business,

Su Qinghong turned her face away and said with a hint of embarrassment:

"It's...... it's just some slightly exaggerated and artistically processed documentary literature! My great-great-great-great-grandmother was still a bit inferior; if you want someone with real talent, it has to be Ancestor Nujiao of the Tushan Fox Clan...... She was none of other than Yu of the Three Sovereigns, you know......"

Anthony: "？？？？？？"

I really don't understand you foxes!