Chapter 141 Discovery, Confused Humans

Chapter 141: Chapter 140: Discovery, Confused Humans

This group of Water Monkeys was obviously working together.

After the group killed off the squad of roughly a dozen Water Monkeys, no more sounds of thrashing could be heard nearby. Everyone quickly gathered the corpses of the Water Monkeys and other Sea Beasts from the water outside, then retreated indoors.

At the stairwell on the fifth floor of the office building, several emergency lights were crisscrossed and mounted on the walls, barely illuminating a small area below.

The headless corpse of the Water Monkey was laid flat across two adjacent desks.

The weakest of these Water Monkeys possessed the strength of an Elite Black Snake, and every single one of them yielded an Energy Crystal Stone. Furthermore, they could communicate, organize, and coordinate with one another—traits clearly belonging to intelligent beings. This stark contrast to the Black Snakes gave everyone an intense sense of crisis, while simultaneously sparking their curiosity.

Nearby, the group formed a circle, their gazes solemn as they scrutinized the bizarre corpse from the deep waters.

"Let’s see what exactly this thing is first," Han Ning said.

"Ming," Chairman Wu called out.

An older youth walked over. Before transmigrating, he had been a surgeon, making him quite skilled at anatomy. With Han Ning’s nod of approval, he was given the go-ahead.

"Begin."

"Mm." Understanding the cue, Ming fetched a sharply honed knife and sliced open the Water Monkey’s body along its existing wounds.

Blood-drenched organs were revealed to the group.

"Its organs are highly developed, very similar to a human’s..." Ming murmured, probing the Water Monkey’s internal organs.

Even without Ming’s explanation, everyone could roughly identify the heart, liver, gills for extracting oxygen from the water, and a few other peculiar tissues.

"Hm? Is this the stomach? Why is it so huge?" he suddenly questioned in surprise. He pressed the tip of his knife firmly into a sac-like organ resembling a stomach a few times, slicing it open.

The expected sight of stomach acid and half-digested food spilling out did not occur. Instead, within the opening, another overlapping, pouch-like object was revealed.

"Their textures seem different. Why does this inner ’stomach’ look a bit like a swim bladder?" Ming poked at it, then looked at Han Ning and Chairman Wu with questioning eyes. "Bosses, should I go deeper?"

"Cut!" Han Ning replied with a single word.

Ming followed his instruction and continued cutting. Yet this time, no matter how hard he tried, the inner pouch behaved like tough cowhide, refusing to tear.

Despite failing to cut it open, Ming seemed to notice something. He widened the incision on the outer stomach, pinched the surface of the "inner pouch," and pulled it out.

A translucent, sac-like object the size of a small cantaloupe emerged. It looked like the swim bladder of some fish that had been meticulously processed. A slender strand of green seaweed was tied around one end of the sac. At first glance, it looked remarkably like a bag meant for holding items.

Ming used the tip of his knife to untie the seaweed, then gave the pouch a shake.

CLATTER.

A flurry of items poured out of the sac and tumbled onto the desk nearby. Bone Bottles and jars made from bone fragments, strange rocks, plants, shells, and all sorts of miscellany piled up into a small mound.

"So many things?" Vice President Zhao asked, somewhat surprised. "This bag doesn’t look that big."

"There’s something strange about this swim bladder bag." Han Ning took the translucent bag Ming handed him. It felt slippery, cold, and highly elastic. He tried reaching his hand inside to feel around and discovered that the internal space was far larger than its exterior suggested. It could hold about half a cubic meter of items, though the weight of the contents would stack. "Interesting. It’s like some kind of spatial compression technology, or... the tissue organ of an Extraordinary Creature?"

The group’s attention was quickly drawn to the items on the desk.

"This is..." Chairman Wu picked up a fishbone container the size of a wine glass and gave it a gentle shake, producing the sloshing sound of liquid from within.

These fishbone containers were roughly polished, with irregular outer shapes, and sealed with peculiar seaweed at the opening. He carefully pulled out the seaweed stopper at the top.

Instantly, an extremely pungent scent with a strong, salty, fishy odor permeated the air.

However, upon smelling this odor, the Awakened present—including Han Ning—felt as though a slightly violent surge of Energy brushed past their bodies, bringing with it a trace of strength.

"The liquid inside... seems to stimulate Energy?" Lin Qianqian felt the Energy Fluctuations within her body, somewhat uncertain.

"But something feels off." Han Ning frowned.

Extremely faint traces of black mist were slowly scattering from the viscous, dark green liquid inside the Bone Bottle. "This thing is tainted by the Black Tide’s pollution. Handle it with care."

Hearing this, Chairman Wu’s expression grew solemn as he plugged the seaweed back in.

Next, Vice President Zhao picked up a peculiarly shaped conch. It was not the one the Water Monkey had blown earlier. This conch was entirely blue, covered in spiral patterns, and just the right size to be held in the palm of a hand.

"What is this thing now?" Vice President Zhao examined it over and over. He thought about mimicking the Water Monkey and bringing it to his lips to blow, but then gave up on the idea, worried that the sound might attract more Water Monkeys.

Han Ning continued to inspect the other items.

There was a fist-sized, dark green, almost black fruit covered in bizarre patterns. Notably, the aura it emitted was incredibly similar to the violent aura emanating from the fishbone bottle. The aura of the Black Tide was equally potent, just not as concentrated as the one inside the bottle.

There were also a few bundles of unknown, fragrant aquatic plants, minced meat pressed from some kind of fish, and several Energy Crystal Stones brimming with Energy. Additionally, he found some sharp scales and jagged bone spikes, which appeared to be materials used for crafting tools or weapons.

"Look at these items..." Chairman Wu picked up the bone spike tools, his brows knitted tightly. "This group of Water Monkeys has definitely surpassed the realm of mere beasts. They possess considerable intelligence and know how to use tools. Look here, there are even characters carved into them. They are much more High Level than the Black Snakes."

He put down the map, his gaze sweeping over the hideous corpse of the Water Monkey, his tone heavy. "The most troublesome part is that they harbor clear hostility toward us. This was just a small squad. If they realize their companions are missing, the ensuing retaliation..."

Chairman Wu left his sentence unfinished, but everyone understood his meaning.

A single Water Monkey could tame a shark and command Strange Fish; their individual strength and leadership capabilities were extremely troublesome. If it weren’t for the fact that their own strength had improved significantly, combined with the suppressive firepower of the Squirting Cucumbers, and—most importantly—Han Ning slaying the Water Monkey Captain leading the charge, they would have been completely wiped out long ago.

If a whole swarm of them came, or if there was an even more powerful existence behind them... Biyun Resort had just endured the assault of the Black Snake Monster Swarm and suffered through extreme weather; it simply could not withstand another massive storm.

Han Ning picked up the grayish-white conch, fiddled with it for a moment, and said, "It’s time to prepare to evacuate. If we wait any longer, this office building will just become an isolated island swallowed by the floodwaters."

Hearing this, the expressions of the group turned incredibly grave. Vice President Zhao couldn’t help but ask, "Then... Mr. Han, where do we run? The north is already occupied by massive numbers of Black Snake Monsters, and the south has Water Monkeys closing in on us step by step. Where can we go..."