Gourmet Hunter - Chapter 346 (Patreon)

Chapter 346: Harvest

Luo was left speechless by Ging's response, but the question was dropped for the time being.

Ging agreed with the idea that having more friends equates to having more opportunities. As Luo exhibited certain signs, he could bring their relationship closer, benefiting future friendly interactions.

Whether in collaborative partnerships, ordinary friendships, or even deeper connections, forging a bond with Ging could only bring advantages, not disadvantages.

Both Luo and Ging were curious about what might be inside the stone box, possibly containing important clues. However, Luo couldn't dispel the Nen curse at the moment, let alone open the stone box. Thus, they set it aside, planning to deal with it after leaving the place.

The black cat didn't swallow the stone box but held it in its hands, cursing Luo softly in the corner.

The statue in the sacrificial hall held no significant value for exploration, so the two shifted their focus to the ancient texts on the floor and the stone carvings on the walls.

The texts were obscure and difficult to understand, so they started examining the wall carvings first.

Compared to the stone carvings in the ruins outside, the ones in the sacrificial hall were entirely fantastical, featuring an incredibly exaggerated style that was as vivid as it was over-the-top.

Yet, this exaggerated style gave the carvings a clear and defined tension.

There were images of giant monsters, fierce beast hunts, purification of human sacrifices with flames, worshipping bodies in a circle, mummies wrapped in bandages, and visions of phantoms entering and defeating massive monsters.

Luo and Ging circled the hall, examining the carvings and taking photos with their phones.

The carvings depicted more vividly than the indecipherable ancient texts, offering a clearer understanding of the Serbo people's sacrificial culture, as well as the phantoms and giant monsters.

Among all the images, what caught Luo's attention were the depictions of phantoms entangled with the giant monsters, illustrating how the phantoms subdued them.

Finally, there was even an image of the Serbo people worshipping the phantoms.

According to Netero's account, the creatures of the Dark Continent were immense, with humans being as insignificant as ants in terms of size. However, the five known calamities humans encountered there were relatively normal in size, yet possessed bizarre abilities akin to the phantoms on the island.

Facing these enormous creatures, the calamities could survive likely due to their strange abilities.

Luo had witnessed how the phantoms attacked their targets—true to their name, they were invisible disasters, non-living entities similar to human-made biochemical weapons.

Theoretically, phantoms could easily handle creatures many times their size, even if they couldn't kill them instantly, they could gradually erode them.

Thinking about this, Luo unconsciously thought of Sanbica.

Ging, seeing Luo deep in thought, didn't disturb him and instead lay on the ground, examining the Serbo script on the floor.

Ging had broad knowledge of ancient cultures, though not a master, he could recognize Serbo script. However, translating it was another matter.

After a while, Ging felt a headache from trying to decipher the script, so he took photos with his phone instead.

He didn't need to translate it immediately; he could later consult a professional. The Association had hunters specializing in ancient texts, including linguists and translators.

When Luo snapped out of his thoughts, he saw Ging sprawled on the ground, carefully moving around to examine the ancient script.

Since arriving in the underground space, Luo could easily discern Ging's archaeological attitude—meticulous and cautious about preserving the relics left by time.

This made Luo glance at the tightly sealed rubber gloves he wore, which Ging had insisted he use.

He then crouched down and began touching the ancient script on the ground, but the White Smoke Font remained unresponsive. Had it not reacted to curses earlier, Luo would have thought it had run out of power.

Clueless about the ancient texts, he wondered if Chrollo could understand them, deciding to photograph them first.

After a long while, Luo meticulously photographed every inch of the area, while Ging, slower due to attempting to decipher as he photographed, finished his part.

Seeing Ging fully engrossed in work, reminiscent of Sanbica, Luo decided not to disturb him.

He moved aside, reviewing the photos on his phone to ensure their clarity, knowing that Demon Island was now under national control, making visits infrequent.

"Using just a flashlight, the photos are barely acceptable," Luo muttered, randomly sending a photo to Chrollo, then putting away his phone. He noticed the black cat holding the stone box and asked curiously, "Can't you just swallow it instead of holding it?"

The black cat replied irritably, "Do I need you to tell me? If I could swallow it, I wouldn't be holding it."

"Oh?" Luo was surprised, realizing that even the black cat couldn't swallow everything.

"The curse is too strong. If I swallow it, it would affect me," the black cat explained.

"I see."

Luo nodded and focused back on the phantom statue.

Unable to read the ancient script, the wall carvings offered the only clues, especially the image of the people worshipping a body with hollow eyes.

The information they had was still too limited to fully connect the bodies outside with the phantoms on the island, but it was a start.

Luo's gaze shifted to the stone box in the black cat's hands, thinking that absorbing the curse might push him past the sixty percent threshold.

After waiting patiently for a while, Ging finally finished and stood up.

Luo asked, "Did you decipher anything?"

Ging sighed and shook his head, "No, we need a professional."

"Is that so..." Luo was slightly disappointed, knowing he couldn't decipher it without the White Smoke Font either.

"I know a hunter in the Association who's an expert in ancient texts. She might be able to decipher part of it," Ging suggested.

Luo nodded at this and proposed, "Let's check the nearby buildings."

"Alright," Ging agreed.

The two left the sacrificial hall, heading towards the better-preserved buildings nearby.

Time passed quickly, and most of the day flew by.

They searched through the buildings, taking numerous photos, but gained no substantial findings. However, the increasing number of phantom carvings indicated an unknown relationship between the Serbo people and the phantoms.

To think that such disasters could coexist with humans?

If possible, perhaps humans could survive in the Dark Continent as well.

After a busy day, Luo and Ging sat on a collapsed stone pillar, eating the purified water and compressed biscuits they carried.

The dim blue light shone in all directions, surrounding them with corpses. The cold air clung to their skin like maggots, yet they ate undisturbed.

As they chewed the compressed biscuits, both contemplated the day's findings, leaving the underground space eerily silent except for their chewing.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake without warning. Luo and Ging immediately put down their biscuits and exchanged glances.

Above them, countless glowing particles fell from clusters of crystals, forming a peculiar, dazzling sky.

"An earthquake?" Luo looked up at the falling particles.

Deep underground, encountering an earthquake-like situation was dangerous, but both remained calm.

The shaking stopped after a few seconds, only to resume after a few more seconds, repeating the cycle.

"Doesn't seem like an earthquake," Ging remarked.

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