Collecting Corpses

[Mansion Foyer]

The four, now wearing cleaning gloves and masks, were packing up all the rotting food and discarding it from the mansion.

They rinsed the ground with clean water as much as possible to at least reduce the smell inside the building. As for the backyard, they would figure out a solution later.

After finishing the cleaning of the mourning hall, the four continued their division of labor, sticking devices called "strip wall lamps" all over the building.

These lamps were flat and long, able to be attached to the ceiling or walls. With advanced battery technology, they could emit light continuously for a week without recharging.

This would ensure sufficient light during the practical training, even if the lanterns were destroyed.

The entire process took over three hours. During this time, the mansion remained normal, with no unusual sounds or sights.

[Second Floor - Master Bedroom]

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

Even now, the thought of the backyard's smell made Anna feel a pang in her stomach.

Roughly estimating, there were at least thirty pigs and cattle piled up in the backyard, mostly in a state of gigantification.

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

But if they were left in the backyard unaddressed, these corpses might become linked to some evil ritual.

Of course, the most important thing was the four human corpses hanging from the tree.

Luo Di, who often watched horror movies, used his divergent thinking to come up with a terrifying guess:

The food in the mourning hall was for them, the guests, while the pigs and cattle scattered in the backyard were for the masters on the tree.

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

Thinking of this, Vice Class Monitor Gao, leaning against the curved corner, offered his opinion, "Burn it all, including the tree in the backyard. It will clear the smell and eliminate the danger."

This idea coincided with Luo Di's. Burning indeed seemed like the best method now.

However, how to burn it was another question.

The class monitor tapped his chin with his finger, carefully recalling knowledge from his cultural studies classes. "Most of these animal corpses have already undergone gigantification, and everyone has experienced the concentration of the smell in the entire backyard. If we burn it carelessly, it might explode.

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

Luo Di, standing by the head of the bed, took the initiative to speak, "No need to burn the animal corpses. Just burn the four people on the tree."

The class monitor immediately asked, "How to burn them? Burning the tree directly is also quite dangerous. The methane concentration in the entire backyard has probably exceeded the explosion limit... It might even blow up the entire mansion."

"We'll move them out to burn. Carry the corpses to an open space outside the mansion, dig a shallow pit, pile up enough firewood, and cremate them on the spot."

The class monitor nodded. "Good idea~ Why don't we split into two pairs? Anna, you and Luo Di prepare the firewood for the cremation. I'll go with Xiao Gao to move the corpses."

"Yay!"

Upon hearing that she didn't have to go to the smelly backyard, Anna turned and hugged the class monitor, who was assigning tasks, tightly. The force was so strong it felt like she was about to suffocate.

However, Gao Yuxuan objected, "No~ I think we must all go together.

The corpses hanging in the backyard are very suspicious. There might be danger during the transport. Let's go to the backyard directly now and move the corpses outside the mansion before discussing the cremation. "

After breaking free from Anna's embrace, the class monitor smacked his palm with his fist. "Hmm~ It's a happy decision! Let's go. Everyone put on your masks. There are four of us, so we can each carry one.

Also, bring our sleeping bags. We can use them to pack the corpses and isolate potential infectious diseases. We've already found a room to sleep in anyway."

Anna, who had just thought she wouldn't have to go to the backyard, started gagging again and put on four layers of masks.

[Backyard]

The corpses of pigs and cattle formed winding paths here, The spaces between the paths were filled with various filth flowing from the decaying bodies.

A large number of flies and insects were having a feast here, dancing, spinning, and gorging themselves.

Perhaps due to the initial baptism, this time, when faced with such a "magnificent" scene, they managed to hold on.

Raincoats covered their bodies, Gloves were worn, Shoes were completely covered with plastic bags.

"Let's go~"

Squelch!

Luo Di walked first, and the class monitor quickly followed.

She felt somewhat uncomfortable stepping on the soft, sticky fluid surface.

"Luo Di, you don't seem affected at all? We didn't have this kind of training at school."

"I often cook at home and go to the wet market when I have time. I help slaughter poultry and occasionally participate in pig slaughtering. Compared to this, the smell is just slightly milder, not much different."

The class monitor didn't doubt his explanation. Instead, her attention shifted to another matter. "Wow, you can cook? If we pass this successfully, can I taste your cooking?"

"No."

The class monitor's expression shifted slightly as he changed the subject again, "Retrieving the bodies later might be dangerous, so be careful."

"Mhm."

The four of them, stepping through the filth, finally arrived at the locust tree in the center of the yard.

Perhaps due to continuously absorbing the filth, the trunk of the locust tree was covered in fine, dense holes, through which the eerie wind encircling the entire mansion was seeping.

They were so dense it made one feel deeply uncomfortable.

The four corpses hanging from the tree appeared to be the master of the house, his wife, and their two children.

The height at which they had hanged themselves was also deliberate.

The elder, believed to be the patriarch, hung at the very top and was the most decomposed.

The middle-aged woman was next.

The two young adults were at the bottom, with early signs of gigantification. It seemed they had arranged everything in the household before hanging themselves last.

Luo Di also noticed something strange about the family's bodies, especially the elder at the very top, who had been dead the longest. The surface of his fingernails had numerous black spots, and they were even completely black and overgrown.

It gave the impression that his fingernails had continued to grow after death.

Next, they encountered another problem.

[How do we get the corpses down from above?]

The bodies of the two young adults and the middle-aged woman had been successfully retrieved. These corpses had not undergone any changes when their ropes were cut or when they were placed into body bags.

The entire backyard remained only reeking of stench, with no other changes.

Next was to retrieve the elder's body from the top.

He didn't choose to climb the tree.

Instead, Luo Di and Anna cooperated again. Luo Di stepped on Anna's shoulders, just reaching the position where the elder was hanging.

He swung the machete in his hand—swish!

The rope was cut.

The elder's body, no longer supported, plummeted downwards, falling almost vertically beside Luo Di's body. For some reason, perhaps sensing danger instinctively, Luo Di subconsciously shifted his legs and stepped back.

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

The expected impact with the ground did not come.

Luo Di, covering his head with his hands, was bewildered. He could clearly feel two strong arms touching his back and thighs, supporting him steadily.

Anna's reaction speed was incredibly fast. The moment he lost his footing, she had already turned and reached out, catching Luo Di perfectly.

Luo Di felt no embarrassment; instead, he was astonished that a high school student could so easily catch his 80kg weight, further raising his evaluation of this foreign student from another school.

The class monitor and Gao Yuxuan quickly packed the bodies.

"Hey~ How long are you two going to hug? Be careful you don't get called to the dean's office for a lecture!"

The class monitor wore a strange smile and used the camera mode on his wristband to record the scene, adding it to his memories of this practical training.