Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 172 (Patreon)

Chapter 172: Mutation

A deep rumble echoed throughout the room as the heavy stone doors were fully pushed open, leaning against the walls on both sides.

A dim green light emerged from inside, swiftly enveloping the entire chamber, turning everyone's eyes a glowing green.

A cold, sinister presence accompanied the green light, like invisible thin threads gently teasing the exposed skin of everyone present.

The pulsing of veins, the flow of blood... all seemed to slow down slightly, making the body feel slightly stiff.

Inside the door, there was a long corridor, with niches resembling shrines on the walls to the left and right, spaced apart. Each niche held a fist-sized orb, emitting a dim green light.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed as if there was a small worm wriggling inside each orb.

On the ground lay numerous human skeletons, too many to count at a glance, extending all the way to the bend at the end of the corridor. The floor was so covered with bones that there was no place to step.

The green light reflecting off the piles of bones cast a chilling aura.

The group, silent and enveloped by an inexplicable chill, stared at the corridor filled with bones.

"Are these... people who came before us?" someone asked with a trembling voice.

A field of skeletons served as the most conspicuous warning sign.

"What about it? We're already here; are you thinking of retreating now?" retorted someone with more nerve, scornfully glancing at the one who had almost failed to speak properly.

"Those glowing orbs, they look like night pearls, they must be worth a fortune given their size," another greedily suggested.

"Should we just pry the pearls off and leave? With so many pearls, that's enough to share!"

"Right, right, so many have already died just at the entrance, it must be even more dangerous inside. With all these night pearls, selling them all would definitely make us a fortune."

The ordinary people, not frightened by the aura on the stone doors, upon seeing the numerous night pearls and the skeletons so close at hand, most immediately leaned towards prying off the night pearls and leaving.

Uncle Li glanced at those eyeing the night pearls, his eyes flashing with disdain. After all, these were ordinary people who had not come into contact with Nen. Despite being physically strong, their resolve was clearly not enough to brave such dangerous places.

Just the night pearls at the entrance were enough to satisfy them... such an insult to the reputation of Stajy's tomb.

Those suggesting prying off the night pearls and leaving were ordinary people, and Uncle Li and the other Nen users did not express their stance, clearly seeing things on a different level.

Uncle Li and the others believed that if there were so many night pearls just at the entrance, what more could be deeper inside the tomb? Probably numerous rare treasures.

Bisky, a one-star gem hunter, was interested in gems and not so keen on these night pearls, seeing that the group was not tempted, she grew a bit impatient but did not show it.

Antomu, who had been deliberately keeping a low profile, stood expressionlessly in the corner, seemingly going with the flow, but he also knew that the ordinary people would be satisfied with what was before them, while the Nen users definitely would not.

This was not arrogance but a higher level of awareness; they could see further and would not be drawn by the night pearls at hand, nor frightened by the skeletons on the ground.

The people standing at the entrance of the corridor believed the glowing orbs on the walls were night pearls, without noticing anything unusual within the orbs.

Just as everyone paused, Luo, instead, was examining the two-headed bird relief on the stone doors, his actions not those of a treasure hunter entering a tomb but rather a relic hunter.

The entire body of the two-headed bird occupied the stone door, with half of the bird's body on each door.

"With the carving craftsmanship of Parlo City, such a rough relief shouldn't exist," Luo mused to himself, not noticing Bisky observing him.

At that moment, the ordinary people advocating for prying off the night pearls began their move.

Uncle Li and the others neither opposed nor assisted them.

Seeing Uncle Li and the others indifferent, the group did not care, taking out heavier tools and throwing them down the corridor.

Spades, shovels, and the like landed on the skeletons on the ground, creating several piercing sounds, and the bones lightly touched by the tools suddenly turned into a pile of powder, scattering throughout the corridor.

Everyone clearly saw that even the bones lightly touched turned into bone dust like weathered stone sculptures, dispersing in the air.

The scene brought another wave of silence to the room.

Luo stood up, looking sideways at the dozen or so ordinary people beside him. He would not participate or interfere, but if these night pearls had Nen, he would definitely get involved.

Gulping...

In the quiet chamber,

 the sound of swallowing was unusually clear.

After a pause, driven by inner greed, the group of ordinary people cautiously walked into the corridor, stepping on the bones, which turned into bone dust.

The sheer number of night pearls was overwhelming, and looking ahead, there seemed to be hundreds more. Going around the corner at the end, there might even be another long corridor filled with night pearls.

With so many pearls, there was no worry about not having enough to share.

"Uncle Li, we should take some first," one of them called out to Uncle Li at the entrance of the corridor after walking a distance.

Uncle Li just smiled, his eyes behind his glasses showing indifference, while the other Nen users silently watched the ten or so ordinary people entering the corridor.

So far, the corridor seemed safe, and the skeletons on the ground appeared intact, with no visible injuries.

After ensuring safety, those who entered began to pry off the night pearls.

They were cautious, wearing gloves, and only when they touched the night pearls did they realize they didn't need to pry at all; they could simply lift them off.

From entering the corridor to taking the night pearls, everything went smoothly.

The members looked at the night pearls in their hands, their faces expressing excitement, not hiding the greed in their eyes.

"It seems there are no traps, but these skeletons... were they the workers who built the tomb?" Uncle Li pondered.

Just then, he saw each of the individuals holding a night pearl silently fall to the ground, the pearls slipping from their hands and hitting the ground with a crisp sound, rolling away.

"Hmm?"

This sudden scene startled the people at the entrance of the corridor.

"They're dead," one Nen user concluded after a closer look at the inexplicably fallen individuals, noting they no longer exuded any life force.

"Is it poison...?" Uncle Li glanced at the night pearls. The group had suddenly died upon touching the pearls, but even if it was poison, how could it act so quickly? Moreover, all of them were wearing gloves; how could they be poisoned?

Luo calmly watched the bodies on the ground, still frozen with excited expressions, and remained silent.

Five seconds after the group fell, a mutation suddenly occurred.

The green light emitted by the night pearls in the corridor suddenly disappeared, and moments later, winged, luminescent insects began to emerge from the pearls, buzzing as they took flight.

With the help of the luminescence, one could clearly see the glowing patterns on the insects' bodies, strikingly resembling miniature human faces, about the size of a baby's fist. When they collectively took flight, it was like a swarm of fireflies by a lakeside.

However, these insects clearly posed a lethal threat.

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