Chapter 54 Human Skin

In fact, among the three pieces of fur Xu Huo had mentioned to Peng Fengnian and the others, only one had a middle layer. Concealing the other two was merely a precautionary measure, a safeguard against the ticket-holding players turning hostile after clearing the game.

However, Zou Weichang had obtained that piece of skin yet failed to clear the instance, which meant his deduction was wrong; human skin was not the key to clearing the game.

Of course, it was also possible that it wasn't that specific piece of human skin, but there was simply not enough time to inspect the precious items and complete the first task. He had no choice but to take a risk and try the second task instead.

He severed all the stitching on the red-haired man's abdomen. Although the area beneath the pigskin was completely filled with mucus, and in some places it had even fused with the flesh, the incomplete stitching had indeed delayed the fusion process. Nearly twelve hours had passed, and the pigskin could still be peeled off.

Sima Xiaoer peeled it off with great difficulty, his face grimacing in agony from the dozen or so wounds of varying sizes all over his body. He hurriedly gulped down a bottle of self-healing agent, his expression relaxing only when he saw the ruptured wounds begin to heal at a sluggish pace.

"I've seen the game task. What do you want me to do?"

Xu Huo briefly explained the situation regarding the flayer. Hearing this, Sima Xiaoer's anger flared up instantly, "Those bastards are truly heartless, starting an internal conflict at a time like this! I'm going to track them down and settle scores when I get back!"

"See if you even survive to track them down first." Xu Huo said noncommittally, then asked, "What handy props do you have on you?"

Sima Xiaoer immediately turned defensive, "What are you trying to do?"

Without arguing with him, Xu Huo stated directly, "Tomorrow during the day, I will lure the flayer out. I'll give you two tasks. Do what you can within your capacity."

After lowering his voice to finish speaking, he asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Thoughts? Sima Xiaoer had none.

He had some thoughts before the mutated version of the flayer appeared, but now he had none at all. His sense of smell was exceptionally acute; when Zou Weichang was captured, he had caught a heavy scent of blood—the kind that only came from fresh blood flowing continuously. Upon hearing from Xu Huo that the man had been skinned alive, he immediately abandoned any thoughts of bribing the flayer.

"Will I be discovered if I leave?" he asked hesitantly, "I'm afraid the flayer will vent his anger on the others."

"The ticket-holding players will actively help us conceal it," Xu Huo said. "Before clearing the instance, we're still in the same boat as them."

After the two of them finished discussing, Sima Xiaoer hid outside the factory, while Xu Huo returned to the flayer's bedroom.

Dawn broke quickly. Xu Huo stepped out of the bedroom just as the flayer sat up from the sofa, mussing his neatly combed hair into a mess with a few swipes, reverting to his greasy appearance of the day before. He tilted his head back and gulped down a few mouthfuls of liquor before speaking, "Brother Wang, up so early?"

Looking as though he hadn't slept well, Xu Huo pointed backward, "Do you still have the habit of sleepwalking at night?"

The flayer paused, then immediately scrambled up and headed toward the workshop. Catching sight of the hanging figure, fury instantly welled up in him. He rushed over, kicked open the door of the players' rest room, and roared, "Get the hell up and clean this place!"

Peng Fengnian had already left. Tang Pei and the others walked out of the room, and upon seeing Zou Weichang's state, they were all struck with terror and instinctively averted their eyes.

The flayer kicked Xian Dazhi, who was standing closest, "Stop standing there like a post!"

"Um... where should we put him?" Xian Dazhi asked with difficulty.

"Throw all of it into the slaughterhouse. Someone is coming to collect the loose meat tomorrow. Cut the meat into chunks and pack them up. Leave the head and internal organs behind," the flayer said, pausing to cast a sinister glance over the group. "If I catch any of you stealing a bite..."

Tang Pei and the others almost vomited and hurriedly swore they wouldn't steal any food.

After breakfast, Xu Huo left with the flayer, also calling along Yang Kan.

Tang Pei and the others had already agreed to act during the day. They carried Zou Weichang to the slaughterhouse, Xian Dazhi's hands trembling so violently while holding the skin that he looked as though he had Parkinson's disease.

"Why doesn't the flayer want the skin after peeling it?"

"Maybe he's just not satisfied with this piece." Qin Anne tore off a piece of a cloth sack to cover Zou Weichang's face. "Hurry up, let's go to the secret room."

As the two walked out of the slaughterhouse, Tang Pei happened to be coming over from the back pigsty. "Peng Fengnian was right. Xu Huo indeed has a companion; another one is missing from the pigsty."

"Ignore him for now," Qin Anne waved a hand dismissively. "Xu Huo is a smart man. Even if he doesn't cooperate with us, he won't fall out with us."

Upon entering the flayer's bedroom, the three discovered that the wall had been pushed open. They hurried inside to find an unfamiliar red-haired youth climbing up the fireplace to remove the painting hanging above it.

Qin Anne exchanged glances with the other two, and they spread out to surround him.

Hearing a noise behind him, Sima Xiaoer immediately clutched the painting to his chest. "What are you doing? Trying to rob me of the painting!"

Qin Anne looked at Tang Pei, who shook her head, and the three lowered their defensive stances.

Since no notification of clearing the instance had been received, it proved that the painting was not the "Flayer's Precious Item."

"Why did Xu Huo ask you to take that painting?" Qin Anne still couldn't resist asking.

Sima Xiaoer let out a cold snort, picked up a burning piece of wood from the fireplace, and walked away.

"Do you think they're still trying to save someone?" Tang Pei said incredulously.

Since what they took wasn't the clearance prop, it could only be to save someone. The owners of all these items were the flayer; unless the flayer died, those things were completely useless even in their hands.

"Could it be that Xu Huo has found a way to clear the instance himself?" Xian Dazhi looked at the other two.

Qin Anne's gaze swept around the secret room. Suddenly recalling what Peng Fengnian had said last night, he turned and strode outside. Entering the fur storage room, he searched one by one according to the positions of the three pieces of skin Xu Huo had mentioned, stopping only at the third piece. Grabbing the skin with one hand and the fur with the other, he pulled them apart in opposite directions. With a "rip," a thin layer of human skin was revealed in the middle layer.

[Congratulations to all players for completing the task "The More Precious the Item, the Easier It Is to Lose," and successfully passing the "Good Taste Fresh Meat Supply Factory" instance. This instance is a group instance, with a joint rating of D-level.]

...

[Congratulations to the ticket-holding player for completing the task "The More Precious the Item, the Easier It Is to Lose," and successfully passing the "Good Taste Fresh Meat Supply Factory" instance. This instance is a group instance, with a joint rating of D-level.]

[Since player Lu Renjia is a randomized player for this instance and does not participate in the rating, the clearance of the ticket-holding players counts as your clearance. You may choose whether to leave the instance now.]

[Yes]

[No]

The moment Qin Anne and the others received the game prompt, Xu Huo received it as well. Noticing the subtle changes in the body language of Yang Kan and the flayer beside him, his gaze instantly darkened, and the muscles all over his body involuntarily tensed up!

The flayer, who had previously been lounging lazily in his chair, slowly sat up straight, focusing all his attention on the float bobbing on the water, before suddenly remarking with a sigh, "If only I had a temporary pass, then I wouldn't have to keep moving back and forth so troublesomely."

He abruptly turned his head, his two eyeballs reflecting Xu Huo's figure. "The scent on you smells a bit like that little piglet that escaped yesterday."

The bucket in Yang Kan's hand crashed heavily onto the ground.

Xu Huo twitched his fingers and suddenly smiled. He pulled up his fishing rod, and a plump, large fish struggled fiercely on the hook.