Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 343 (Patreon)

Chapter 343: Anomaly

Even through rubber gloves, touching the corpse's skin with his fingertips, he could feel the coldness that lay somewhere between chilly and freezing.

Luo opened the left eyelid of the female corpse, then lowered his hand and examined the right eye. Upon lifting it, he found the same empty eye socket.

The corpse was remarkably well-preserved, except for the missing eyes. Were they gouged out, or had she been born without them?

After all, there were almost no traces of the eyes being removed. It was as if they had vanished into thin air.

Ging pressed his hand against the female corpse's skin, his mind slightly tensed. The body temperature was very low, but the texture was not like that of a corpse. It was elastic, more like the skin of a living person.

He glanced at Luo, who happened to be looking at him. Both had reached the same conclusion after their initial contact with the body.

"After death, muscle tone is lost, and all the muscles relax and soften. This is the primary and earliest feature, and relaxed muscles are absolutely different from those of a living person."

Luo's gaze shifted back to the female corpse. He placed his hand on her flat abdomen and wiped from left to right. When he lifted his hand, the edge of his palm was covered in dust.

Aside from the appropriate corpse temperature, there was no sign of late-stage decay.

Last time, from a distance, the corpse not decomposing into a pile of bones seemed eerie. Now, up close, it felt even more bizarre.

"Let's check the other corpses," Ging said, standing up and looking around at the scattered bodies.

"Okay."

Luo nodded and stood up as well. At that moment, the female corpse deflated like a punctured balloon, rapidly flattening.

This sudden discovery caused both Luo and Ging to tense slightly. They simultaneously focused their energy into their eyes, using "Gyo," but saw no aura or resentment.

The once muscular corpse transformed into an empty skin in less than three seconds.

Luo squatted down, pinching a corner of the skin and lifting it slowly. The animal hide clothing and some tooth ornaments that had adorned the corpse fell to the ground.

There was no muscle, no bones, no blood—just a freshly peeled skin.

After gently placing the skin on the ground, Luo approached a nearby middle-aged male corpse.

This male corpse had a strong build, with muscles bulging like rocks.

Luo squeezed the corpse's muscles, confirming the presence of bones. He then lifted the corpse's eyelids, finding no eyes.

Ging stood nearby, deep in thought.

"What do you think?" Luo asked without turning around.

"A deception. What about you?" Ging replied.

Luo shook his head slightly. "The texture is too real to believe it's a deception. Also, there was no fluctuation or indication of aura when the corpse changed."

"Unable to explain it rationally and unrelated to aura, this place might really be connected to the Dark Continent." Ging also found the hypothesis weak, his eyes glimmering slightly.

From Ging's words, it seemed he hadn't fully accepted the idea that "Xu" originated from the Dark Continent, due to the lack of concrete evidence.

"Xu indeed comes from the Dark Continent. I can guarantee that," Luo said, looking down at the middle-aged male corpse. "But whether Xu is connected to these corpses, I don't know."

As soon as he finished speaking, the strong male corpse followed the same fate as the female corpse, turning into a skin in less than three seconds.

Luo looked at the skin and, after a moment of silence, said, "I've confirmed it. There were bones beneath the muscles."

Even the strongest corpse-dissolving fluid would leave traces after dissolving muscles and bones in three seconds, but all that was left here was a skin, with no liquid at all.

Ging said nothing, moving to another intact corpse. He crouched down, lifted the eyelids on both sides, then released them and stood up, waiting.

Luo watched Ging's actions from the side.

After a while, the corpse whose eyelids Ging had lifted also turned into an empty skin.

"Opening the eyelids is the key..." Ging said, moving to the next corpse. This time, he didn't lift the eyelids but touched the corpse for a while before withdrawing his hand and waiting.

Time passed, but the corpse remained unchanged, proving the earlier judgment correct.

If the corpses were like tightly sealed balloons, then opening the eyelids might be like loosening the seal, causing the balloon to deflate instantly.

Even knowing that opening the eyelids would turn the corpses into skins, this discovery didn't help their understanding.

Why were the corpses missing eyes? Why did opening the eyelids turn them into skins? Where did the muscles and bones go?

What caused this phenomenon, and what connection did it have to the Dark Continent? Was it a disaster or a hope?

"Let's check inside," Luo suggested.

There were at least ten thousand corpses here, all preserved for unknown years but able to turn into skins instantly.

Ging agreed, and they walked past the corpses towards the ruins of the buildings.

The area was large, with the layout of the buildings forming a square. The outer buildings were almost ruins, while those closer to the center were better preserved, still retaining a rough outline.

The place was so vast that they didn't move together. Instead, they spread out in different directions to gather information, planning to meet in the center of the ruins.

Luo headed towards the left area, entering the remnants of a building that had only one wall left.

The walls were made of bricks, a mixture of stones and mud, with some wooden materials scattered among the ruins.

This suggested that the people of this ancient, unknown civilization had a decent understanding of construction techniques.

Luo rummaged through the debris, finding some household items, mostly stone or wood carvings, such as bowls and tables.

These items had significant archaeological value, along with the clothing and ornaments on the corpses outside. Selling them would bring a substantial income.

Luo examined every corner, touching everything he saw, but the white smoke font remained silent, providing no information.

As he moved through the remnants of each building, aside from some graffiti-like stone carvings, he found nothing else.

The stone carvings depicted the daily lives of the inhabitants, with no text.

After exploring most of the area, Luo headed towards the center of the settlement. When he arrived, Ging was already there, standing with his back to Luo, looking at a relatively intact building that resembled a temple.

"You're here."

Ging didn't turn around and pointed at the temple. "Let's check inside. Maybe we'll find something."

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