Chapter 1038: Four Joyous Meatballs
Chapter 1038: Four Joyous Meatballs
'Pre-apocalypse? Six months? Very... peaceful?'
1
'Is Liu Sanjiu deluding herself?'
Bohemia suppressed her anger, enduring her disgust, and pinched a piece of Old Da's soft, hanging facial skin with her fingertips.
Upon closer inspection, it was about five to six centimeters thick with layers of 'flesh' and 'bone' inside. When squeezed, it oozed fresh red blood and fat. If injured, as long as it wasn't peeled off like a rice dumpling like now, the 'blood' contained within the skin would seep out. If the wound was deep, you could even see some muscle-like bones. It was almost indistinguishable from a normal human.
What was originally the back of his head was now a large open wound, letting off a foul smell in the darkness. She couldn't see what was inside clearly. But even she couldn't muster the courage to peel the thick skin down any further. Posthumans couldn't do it, and only people like 12 would continue without flinching.
Speaking of which, why hadn't this self-proclaimed human being died yet with his scalp torn off? What did it take to kill him?
Bohemia lowered her head to take a closer look. Just as she did, from under the flipped flesh, a pair of partially covered eyeballs met her gaze.
The sight made her immediately want to vomit, and she thought to herself, she really wished she could see something cute to soothe her spirit.
"Since the first time I saw you," she said with a stern face, feeling heavy in her stomach, "every time I see you, it gets more and more disgusting. If you really are a person, you should reflect on yourself... But when my companion sees you, we'll know what you really are."
She flipped down the facial skin that was half hanging, and in response, the face seemed to express confusion.
Regardless, once she killed him and had Lin Sanjiu turn him into a card, they would have all the information about him! She came out to gather information, and this trip could be considered a complete success. However, it was quite uncomfortable carrying Old Da back.
Was it safe to leave now?
She glanced up at the flesh columns not far away. Unbeknownst to her, the newly grown flesh sprouts had already densely covered a small patch of the sky. The tall, swaying columns of flesh obscured even the buckets they extended from, making it look like bean sprouts were growing on an overturned truck.
For some reason, this reminded her of something.
Strange, she had never seen anything so repulsive before... Why did it feel familiar?
Regardless, these things that startled her seemed to pose no danger. She had been on guard for several minutes, but the flesh columns continued to enjoy the sweet night breeze, seemingly not paying her any attention...
Just as she was thinking this, there was a sudden shushing sound not far from her, as if something had brushed past her feet.
How could that be? She only saw a corpse here! Bohemia was taken aback, and her movements were quick and nimble like a cat. She leaped backward in a hurry, and, while still in the air, shot a glittering, sand-like attack towards the grass by her feet, at the same time enveloping the half-covered corpse in the grass—
"No!"
Two pointed ears suddenly emerged from the nearby grass. Before Bohemia's feet touched the ground, her gaze met a pair of round, green eyes. The sandy shadow attack suddenly froze in mid-air and fell to the ground with a clatter—only a small part hit the right arm of the corpse. The arm instantly seemed to erode, emitting wisps of white smoke.
The two pairs of eyes stared at each other for half a second, and both blinked.
"So annoying!" A little cat jumped out of the grass, circling around the corpse twice. "Look at what you've done!"
Bohemia was filled with embarrassment and wanted to kneel down to apologize. Her face turned bright red as she said, "I'm sorry..."
"The right arm is all ruined," the cat said. Although it looked a bit dirty at first glance, a closer look revealed that, compared to the humans in the post-apocalyptic world, this cat was in enviable condition—smooth and luxurious fur, clean and moist eyes, the perfect balance of health and beauty. Even its slightly tarnished little backpack matched its fur color— but if you had to judge, it seemed like the cat's recent days hadn't been too good.
"Don't you know this is important medical material?" the cat said, very displeased.
"It's my fault," Bohemia said sincerely, lowering her head and pushing Old Da, whose scalp was half peeled, forward. "If you are willing, please take this as compensation from me."
The fur on the cat's back immediately stood on end.
"What is this thing?"
From the half-exposed forehead, Old Da gasped, "I'm a human."
Bohemia was very courteous and pushed him a few more times. "Here, good sir, please take this person."
"A human?" The cat took two steps back, and its white whiskers all stood up. "If he's a human, then I'm a doctor—no, I'd be a king!"
"Your demeanor is sufficient to be a king," Bohemia earnestly clapped her hands.
Perhaps it was because Old Da showed no resistance, while the one who did have resistance had a particularly good attitude. The cat doctor hesitated for a moment but finally stopped retreating. However, it still didn't want to get too close, only elongating its neck to peer inside Old Da's skin sack. "Oh my, this is truly extraordinary... I originally just wanted to take a corpse back for research, but I didn't expect to find something like this."
"Human," Old Da weakly corrected.
"If you want a corpse, I can also help," Bohemia said while rolling up her sleeves. "Just give the order—where do you want to go? My companion can wait, there's no rush."
Dr. Hu looked at her and finally relaxed a little, letting out a long breath. His white whiskers drooped down.
"That's great," his tone gradually turned bitter. "I finally encountered a normal person. The people in this world are too indifferent, not even willing to lend a helping hand... Hmm, if they were all like this thing, I wouldn't blame them."
"I said I'm a human."
No one paid attention to his words. After listening to a few words from Dr. Hu, Bohemia was almost moved to tears. She vigorously nodded her fluffy golden-brown head and said earnestly, "Do you have a place to stay now?"
Dr. Hu became embarrassed and scratched his head with his hind leg. "No. It would be great if we could find a hospital."
"What a coincidence!" Bohemia clapped her hands and exclaimed, "My companion is actually looking for a hospital! And she has an ability that is especially useful. With a touch of her hand, she can immediately turn a few corpses into cards—"
Before she could finish saying the word "cards," those green eyes suddenly approached her nose.
"Is your friend named Lin Sanjiu?"
Bohemia's mood at that moment was like discovering that her neighbor knew Michael Jackson—she was so excited that she almost jumped up. "S-So, she had the honor of meeting you!"
"Good to hear," Dr. Hu nodded reservedly and patted her knee with a front paw. "I feel relieved now that I've encountered an old friend. But before we leave, it seems like you forgot something."
"What?"
The little cat lifted its head, and a pair of emerald green eyes gazed at the night sky. The starlight seemed to pour into the green depths, shimmering and sparkling like water. It didn't look in the other direction, but used the tip of its tail to point ahead. "Hmm... What are those clusters of disgusting things?"
Bohemia regretted not reading more books before.
"Well... I'm not sure... They don't seem to be aggressive... I followed these trucks all the way here, and it seems like they're satisfied just growing out of corpses. Ah!" She suddenly remembered and quickly grabbed Old Da and shook him. It was strange that although from the torn area, his head looked like a bag of ripped flesh, his body, in terms of appearance and weight, still felt like a human. She could even feel the hardness of his shoulder bone.
"This guy seems to know quite a bit!"
Dr. Hu looked at Old Da. "He's unconscious."
"Oh, I'm really sorry, and I hope you'll excuse me..." Bohemia shook him a few more times. Just when she was wondering how to wake him up, Dr. Cat pointed to the closest fleshy pillar to her. "This one grew from the cranial cavity of a corpse."
"Great insight!" Bohemia clapped her hands excitedly, and Old Da fell to the ground with a thud, his wet scalp shaking off. Only then did he slowly open his eyes.
The flesh column that grew out of the neck of the corpse seemed to be shorter and thinner than its siblings because it lacked sufficient nutrients. It was only slightly taller than Bohemia. The head supported by it swayed in mid-air, but it was finally not clearly visible.
"Alright," Dr. Hu extended a sharp, curved nail and made a demonstration cut. "You cut off half of its top, then help me carry the corpse and this thing to the hospital."
"N-No!" Before Bohemia could speak, Old Da hoarsely spoke, "You absolutely can't harm them... As long as you cut even a corner of them, all of you... including me... will be remembered by them... their servants... will endlessly swarm us..."
Huh?
Bohemia was stunned for a moment and suddenly stood up straight. She reached out her hand, and a paper crane fluttered down from the sky, landing in her hand.
"Bohemia!" Lin Sanjiu's voice sounded hurried and anxious, her breathing quick as if she were in the center of a battle, but there was silence in the background. "Don't come over, don't enter the city! We're surrounded!"