Chapter 200: Deadbodies

Facing a CrisisAfter the argument finally died down, peace and quiet returned to the dining area.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Sora could finally enjoy her meal without listening to Xavier and Ace argue over whether the little cubs in her belly would be Little Females.

She picked up her chopsticks again and reached toward the bowl of Sour Fish Soup.

But before she could take a bite, a frantic voice suddenly rang out from outside.

"Kaelira!"

Sora’s chopsticks paused in midair.

She looked toward the entrance.

A Wolf-eared Beastman hurried inside, his breathing heavy and his expression filled with panic.

"The Chieftain wants you and your Beast Husbands to go to the Plaza immediately!"

His voice was so urgent that Sora’s appetite vanished.

She slowly put down her chopsticks.

"What happened?"

The Wolf-eared Beastman swallowed hard.

"Someone in the Tribe..."

He hesitated, as if even saying the words was difficult.

"Someone died!"

The atmosphere instantly became heavy.

Sora’s expression changed.

"What did you say?"

Beside her, Lukan immediately stood up.

His normally gentle expression became serious.

"Were they attacked by another Tribe?"

The Wolf-eared Beastman quickly shook his head.

"No."

He took another breath before continuing.

"Alex and Dan suddenly collapsed and died."

Sora’s brows knitted together.

Suddenly collapsed?

Both of them?

And died?

That didn’t sound normal.

She didn’t waste time asking more questions.

Instead, she stood up.

"Let’s go."

Her eyes were already filled with seriousness.

"We’ll see what happened when we get there."

The others immediately followed.

The group hurried toward the Tribe Plaza behind the Wolf-eared Beastman.

By the time they arrived, a large crowd had already gathered.

The atmosphere was completely different from the usual lively scene.

Everyone looked tense.

Some Beastmen were frightened.

Others were whispering nervously among themselves.

Several Females stood together with worried expressions, while some of the older Tribe members looked deeply troubled.

The entire Wolf Tribe seemed to have fallen into a state of panic.

As soon as Sora approached, the crowd automatically parted.

Nobody needed to tell them to move.

They had not forgotten what happened the last time Serena poisoned someone.

Sora had been the one who discovered something was wrong.

Because of that, many Tribe members had gradually developed a certain trust in her.

Perhaps she could discover the cause of this incident as well.

Sora walked through the crowd.

At the center of the Plaza stood Martin.

His face was unusually grim.

Two young Wolf Clan Beastmen were lying at his feet.

They were dressed in black Animal Hide Skirts.

Their skin had taken on a faint yellowish tone.

Because they had not been dead for long, their bodies had not yet completely stiffened.

Sora’s eyes narrowed.

She didn’t immediately touch them.

Instead, she studied them from a short distance.

Then she looked at Martin.

"Father, you were looking for me?"

Martin’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly when he saw her.

"Yes."

He pointed toward the two bodies.

"You’re here. Take a look and see if you can find anything abnormal."

Sora nodded.

She was just about to squat down when someone stepped forward.

Lukan’s expression was gentle but firm.

"Chieftain, let me examine them."

He glanced toward Sora.

"Kaelira is still carrying a little cub. She should avoid unnecessary contact with the bodies."

Martin was about to agree.

But Sora smiled at Lukan.

"I’m fine."

She gave him a reassuring look.

"Let me take a look."

Lukan hesitated.

He clearly wanted to stop her.

But he knew Sora well enough to understand that once she made up her mind, it wasn’t easy to change it.

In the Apocalypse, Sora had spent countless days hunting zombies.

She had seen corpses in every possible condition.

Dozens.

Hundreds.

Sometimes even more in a single day.

Compared with the grotesque bodies of zombies, these two Beastmen looked almost peaceful.

Sora had long since become immune to the sight of corpses.

In fact, after living through the Apocalypse for so long, she sometimes found it strange when an entire day passed without seeing one.

Still, Lukan refused to take chances.

Seeing that Sora was determined to inspect the bodies, he moved in front of her.

He positioned himself between her and the corpses while examining them from the front.

The others noticed immediately.

Lucas, Xavier, and Ace exchanged glances.

A faint sense of regret appeared in their eyes.

How had Lukan beaten them to it again?

He was always one step ahead whenever Sora needed protection.

But this time, none of them complained.

They knew the situation was serious.

Protecting Sora was the most important thing.

Besides, they reluctantly had to admit that Lukan was more attentive than they were.

Sora had only taken a quick glance when she first arrived.

Now that she was crouched down for a closer look, she could see the details more clearly.

The faces of the two Beastmen were slightly blackened.

There was also dried blood around the corners of their mouths.

Quite a lot of it.

It looked as though they had vomited a considerable amount of blood before dying.

Sora’s expression became increasingly serious.

She looked at one body, then the other.

Everything about this was wrong.

Lukan reached toward one of the Beastmen’s ears.

Just as his fingers were about to make contact—

Sora suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"Don’t touch them!"

Lukan immediately stopped.

His eyes flashed with confusion.

The surrounding Beastmen also stared at Sora.

Why?

What had she noticed?

Sora released Lukan’s wrist and turned toward Martin.

"Father."

Her voice was unusually serious.

"These two bodies cannot be kept here."

Martin froze.

Sora continued,

"Burn them immediately."

The entire Plaza fell silent.

Martin stared at her.

"Burn them?"

Before Sora could explain, two elderly Females suddenly stepped forward.

One of them glared at Sora angrily.

"Sora, how can you be so vicious?"

Her voice trembled with grief.

"These were good children! How can you say they should simply be burned?"

Another elderly Beastman immediately stepped forward.

"I am this child’s Beast Father!"

He looked furious.

"I don’t agree!"

His eyes reddened.

"If my child’s body is incomplete, he won’t receive the Heavenly God’s blessing!"

Another voice immediately joined in.

"That’s right!"

"No matter what, the body must remain whole!"

"If the body is burned, nothing will be left!"

The protests quickly spread through the crowd.

It wasn’t only the parents of A Dong and A Xi who disagreed.

The other Tribe members also objected.

To them, death was sacred.

Even Beastmen who died naturally from old age were given proper funerals.

The Tribe would mourn them, prepare their bodies, and send them off according to their traditions.

These two were young.

They had died suddenly.

Their families were already devastated.

Now Sora wanted their bodies burned?

How could anyone accept that?

"I disagree!"

"I disagree!"

"I disagree!"

Voices of opposition rose one after another.

The Plaza became chaotic.

Martin didn’t immediately speak.

He knew Sora.

She wasn’t someone who made reckless statements.

If she had told them to burn the bodies, there had to be a reason.

He raised one hand.

"Quiet."

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried enough authority to silence the crowd.

Once everyone settled down, Martin looked directly at Sora.

"Is there a reason?"

He glanced toward the two bodies.

"Our Tribe has never burned the bodies of those who have died."

Sora pursed her lips.

She knew their beliefs.

She also knew that asking them to burn the bodies would be difficult.

But she couldn’t allow tradition to put the entire Tribe at risk.

"I know everyone finds it difficult to accept that Dan and Alex have left us like this."

Her eyes moved across the crowd.

"But they didn’t die from an ordinary illness."

The crowd became quiet.

"They contracted a plague toxin."

The moment those words left her mouth, murmurs immediately erupted.

"A plague toxin?"

"What is that?"

"I’ve lived this long and never heard of such a thing."

"Who knows whether it’s true?"

"Perhaps we should wait for the Witch Doctor."

"Yes. We should let the Witch Doctor examine them first."

Sora’s expression became tense.

That was exactly what she was afraid of.

In a developed society, people could isolate the infected, identify pathogens, disinfect contaminated areas, and take immediate precautions.

But this was the Beast World.

A Primitive Society.

Their medical knowledge was extremely limited.

Their living conditions made it easy for bacteria and infectious diseases to spread.

If they waited for the Witch Doctor to arrive, the entire Tribe might already be infected.

And once that happened, it wouldn’t matter how skilled the Witch Doctor was.

The Wolf Tribe could be wiped out.

Sora took a deep breath.

She looked at the crowd.

"Let me ask everyone something."

The murmuring gradually stopped.

"Before Dan and Alex died, did their faces begin turning black?"

Several people exchanged glances.

Sora continued.

"Did they suddenly collapse after spitting out a large amount of blood?"

A Beastman near the front immediately nodded.

"Yes!"

His eyes widened.

"When I saw them, Dan and Alex were exactly like that!"

Another Tribe member immediately spoke.

"I saw it too!"

"They really did spit out a large mouthful of blood before collapsing."

Someone else added,

"Dan and Alex looked perfectly fine when I saw them this morning."

He swallowed.

"But when I saw them again in the afternoon, their faces had already started turning black."

The crowd became increasingly restless.

Sora’s expression remained serious.

However, several people still looked skeptical.

One older Beastman frowned.

"You only looked at them just now."

He pointed toward the bodies.

"They already have blood around their mouths, and their faces are black. Anyone could have said those things."

Sora wasn’t angry.

She simply asked another question.

"Then tell me this."

She looked around.

"Before they died, were their limbs twitching?"

The crowd went quiet.

Sora continued.

"Did their bodies curl up?"

This time, the Beastman who had challenged her fell silent.

His expression changed.

Because it was true.

He had seen it.

Dan’s body had convulsed violently before he died.

Alex had experienced the same thing.

Several people immediately began speaking at once.

"That’s right!"

"They were twitching!"

"Dan’s entire body curled up!"

"I saw it too!"

"They both collapsed like that!"

The more they talked, the more details emerged.

The people who had witnessed the deaths began describing exactly what they had seen.

Sora hadn’t been there.

She hadn’t witnessed any of it.

Yet she had described their final moments with frightening accuracy.

The crowd gradually fell silent again.

Then a familiar voice finally spoke.

"Incredible."

Everyone turned.

Colorful Sunset stepped forward.

Her eyes were filled with astonishment.

"It’s exactly as Kaelira said."

She looked around at the others.

"I watched Dan die like that."

Her voice became firm.

"Kaelira wasn’t even at the scene when Dan and Alex died."

She looked toward Sora.

"Yet she knew exactly what happened to them."

Colorful Sunset took a deep breath.

"I believe her."