Chapter 10: Picking up the Corpse

[Mansion Hall]

The four people wearing cleaning gloves and masks were packaging up the rotten food and throwing it out of the mansion.

They washed the floor with clean water as much as possible to at least reduce the smell inside the building. As for the backyard, they would figure out how to deal with it later.

After cleaning the Spirit Hall, the four people continued to work in groups to install a device known as the "strip wall lamp" throughout the mansion.

This type of lamp is flat and elongated and can be attached to the ceiling or wall. With advanced battery technology, it can glow for a week without charging.

This would ensure sufficient lighting during the practice period, even if the lanterns were destroyed.

The entire process took more than three hours, during which everything in the mansion was normal, with no anomalies seen or heard.

[Second Floor - Master Bedroom]

Everyone temporarily gathered here, wiping the sweat from their foreheads with tissues, discussing the most difficult and suspicious area - the backyard.

Even now, the smell of the backyard still caused Anna to have stomach cramps.

It was roughly estimated that there were at least thirty pigs and cows piled up in the backyard, and they were mostly in a state of extreme decomposition.

Dragging them one by one to the mountains to bury would be too physically and time-consuming, and there might also be some highly contagious pathogens among the corpses.

However, leaving the corpses in the backyard untreated might link them to some evil ceremony.

Of course, the most important were the four human corpses hanging on the tree.

Luo Di, who often watched horror movies, came up with a terrifying speculation using divergent thinking,

the food in the Spirit Hall was for these foreign guests, and the pigs and cows scattered in the backyard were meant for the masters on the tree.

Perhaps at some point, the masters on the tree would resurrect.

At this thought,

Vice Squad Leader Gao, leaning against the curved wall corner, suggested, "Burn it, burn the entire backyard along with that tree, it can eliminate both the smell and the danger."

This idea coincided with Luo Di's, and burning seemed indeed to be the best method.

However, how to burn was another question.

The squad leader tapped his chin with his finger, recalling his cultural knowledge carefully, "Most of these animal corpses are already decomposed, and you all have experienced the dense smell in the backyard. If we burn randomly, it might even explode.

It would be better to drag these corpses to the mountainside and throw them down a slope."

Standing at the head of the bed, Luo Di took over the conversation, "Leave the animal corpses, just burn those four people on the tree."

The squad leader immediately asked, "How to burn? Burning the tree directly is also dangerous. The methane concentration in the whole backyard might be above the explosive limit... it could blow up the entire mansion."

"Move them out and burn them. Transport the bodies just outside the mansion, dig a shallow pit, pile up enough firewood, and cremate on the spot."

The squad leader nodded, "Good idea~ How about we pair up, Anna and Luo Di you handle preparing the firewood, while I and Little Gao will transport the bodies."

"Yay!"

Anna, upon hearing she wouldn't have to go to the odorous backyard, immediately hugged the squad leader assigning tasks, almost suffocating him with her strength.

But Gao Yuxuan disagreed, "No~ I think we must all move together.

The bodies hanging in the backyard are very suspicious, and danger may arise during the transportation. We should go directly to the backyard now, move the bodies outside the mansion first, then discuss the burning."

After the squad leader freed himself from Anna's grip, he punched his palm, "Hmm~ that's decided then! Let's go, everyone, wear your masks. The four of us here, one person can handle one portion.

Also, let's bring our sleeping bags, they can be used to wrap the bodies to isolate any potential infectious diseases, since we've already found rooms to sleep in."

Just when Anna thought she wouldn't have to go to the backyard, she started gagging again, putting on four layers of masks on herself.

[Backyard]

The corpses of pigs and cows were intertwined here, forming winding paths,

and various contaminants flowed from the decomposing bodies, filling the spaces between the paths,

A large quantity of flies was attending this feast here, dancing, spinning, and indulging in gluttony.

Perhaps after the initial shock, this time faced with such a 'splendid' scene, everyone managed to hold up.

Raincoats wrapped around their bodies,

Put on gloves,

Shoes also completely covered with plastic bags,

"Let's go~"

Slap!

Luo Di walked in the first, and the squad leader quickly followed.

She felt somewhat uncomfortable stepping on this kind of soft, wet, and sticky fluid surface.

"Luo Di, it seems like it doesn't affect you at all? We never had this kind of training in school."

"I often cook at home and go to the market to help slaughter poultry, and occasionally take part in pig slaughtering. Compared to here, the smell is just a bit lighter, not much different."

The squad leader did not doubt such an explanation but shifted her attention to another thing, "Wow, you can cook? If we can get through this smoothly, can I taste your cooking?"

"No."

The squad leader's expression slightly changed, then changed the subject again, "There might be danger when retrieving the bodies later, be careful."

"Okay."

The four stepped on the filth and finally arrived in front of the sophora tree in the central courtyard.

It's unclear whether it's because of long-term absorption of filth, but the surface of the sophora tree's trunk was covered with densely packed holes, with the cold wind surrounding the entire mansion seeping out from these holes.

Densely packed, it made people uncomfortable to look at.

The four corpses hanging there looked to be the mansion's owner, his wife, and their two children.

The hanging height was also meticulously arranged,

The suspected head of the family, an elderly man, was hanging at the highest point and had the highest degree of rot,

The middle-aged woman was next,

The two young men and women were at the bottom, it seems they had arranged everything in the house before hanging themselves last,

Luo Di also noticed something odd about this family, especially the elder hanging at the top, who had been dead the longest, with lots of black spots on his fingernails, even completely blackened and somewhat long.

It gave one the eerie feeling that his fingernails continued to grow after death.

They encountered another challenge next,

"How do we retrieve the bodies above?"

The bodies of the two young people and the middle-aged woman were already successfully taken down, and these bodies didn't change when cutting the rope or during bagging.

The backyard was still only full of a foul smell, without any additional changes.

Next, we need to take down the elder's body,

Not choosing to climb the tree,

Instead, Luo Di coordinated with Anna again, standing on her shoulders to just reach the old man's hanging spot,

Swinging the machete~ swoosh!

The hemp rope was chopped.

The body of the elder, having lost support, fell downwards, and nearly brushed past Luo Di's body as it dropped straight down. Somehow, perhaps instinctively sensing danger, Luo Di involuntarily moved his legs to step back.

Since he was standing on Anna's shoulders, this step backward caused him to fall backward.

The anticipated impact with the ground didn't arrive,

With his hands protecting his head, Luo Di felt a bit lost; he could clearly feel two strong arms touching his back and thighs, providing stable support.

Anna's reaction speed was very fast, almost in the moment he lost his footing, she turned around and stretched out her hands, catching Luo Di just in time.

Luo Di wasn't embarrassed but rather amazed that a high school student could easily catch himself weighing 80kg, and his respect for this foreign student from another school increased.

Vice Squad Leader Gao and Gao Yuxuan quickly packed up the body,

"Hey~ how long are you two going to hug? Be careful, or you'll be caught and lectured by the school administration!"

The squad leader showed a mischievous grin, used the ring-shaped camera mode to capture this scene, recording it as a memory of this practice.