Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 544 Insects!

In that instant, the faint heartbeat of the person on the straw mat stopped, and all life activities came to an end.

However, through the skin, through the thick mucus, through the not-yet-completely-hidden internal organs, and through the bones, Hu Ming could clearly hear some strange sounds coming from this corpse!

Perhaps, this strange sound is the cause of this man's death?
"Scalpel?"

The doctor glanced at Hu Ming with a puzzled look, but Hu Ming showed no intention of explaining and continued to solemnly look at the corpse that was making all sorts of strange noises.

“Give it to him! He's not the kind of bored lunatic who would casually desecrate a corpse; there must be a reason he did this!”

Looking at Hu Ming's profile, Ah Ning suppressed her discomfort and gave the order in a deep voice.

Hu Ming had not systematically studied anatomy, and his hand gestures were extremely rough.

Compared to meticulous dissection, the small and delicate scalpel in Hu Ming's hands was more like a butcher's knife being wielded by a butcher.

puff~
The sharp scalpel easily sliced ​​open the corpse's chest cavity, and countless drops of black pus gushed out.

Hu Ming held his breath and roughly tore open the flesh with his hands, which were covered by disposable medical gloves, exposing the corpse's ribs to the air.

It is common knowledge that human bones are white.

But the bones of this corpse were now a pale gray!
Hu Ming flipped the scalpel over and tapped the handle gently against his ribs. A look of realization dawned on his face.

"Uncle Ming, what's going on?"

Xiaohua covered her nose, frowned, and asked in confusion.

Hu Ming didn't answer. Under A Ning's unwavering gaze, he exerted a little force and broke one of her ribs!
"See for yourself!"

After scraping away the remaining flesh and blood from the ribs, Hu Ming threw the broken ribs onto the ground.

"It's empty!?"

Upon closer inspection, everyone was immediately astonished.

Not only bone marrow and other substances, but even the outermost layer of bone has been corroded for unknown reasons, leaving only a mere two or three millimeters of bone layer!
Hu Ming had no time to explain; he was still searching for the real reason that had caused the man's miserable state.

The scalpel handle tapped lightly against the bone as Hu Ming closed his eyes and focused intently on listening.

A few moments.

"found it!"

Hu Ming opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing within them. He spun the scalpel in his right hand, then abruptly flipped the corpse over, the blade flashing towards the mid-vertebrae at incredible speed.

The scalpel easily sliced ​​through the flesh. Throwing the scalpel aside, Hu Ming clenched his fist and smashed the already corroded and fragile spine with a single punch!
As the shattered bones flew everywhere, Hu Ming glanced to one side, then pointed his fingers like knives, unleashing the double-finger probing technique of the Tomb Raider, penetrating deep into the hollow cavity in the center of the spine, seemingly clamping something in place.

Pulling out his blood-stained fingers, Hu Ming found himself holding a rather unremarkable, bright red insect.

"This is?"

Ah Ning stepped forward, looking at the insect in Hu Ming's finger with suspicion. "This is the real reason your men died."

"This little thing probably feeds on human bone marrow and other substances. It may secrete some kind of strange substance that can corrode a person from the inside out into corpse fluid."

"...Watch out, didn't you see that thing's two pincers? This little creature can easily bite through human bones. Do you want it to invade your body?"

Hu Ming slapped away Ah Ning's outstretched hand and said irritably.

This woman doesn't usually seem like the kind of reckless person.

"So this tiny little bug killed my man?"

Ah Ning was still in disbelief; the tiny insect in front of her was only the size of her little fingertip.

It's hard to imagine that such a small thing could turn a muscular man weighing over 160 pounds into this grotesque state.
"Just a tiny insect?"

Wu Xie pinched his nose, wanting to refute, and also to educate A Ning on just how terrifying the insects in this world really are.

But seeing Ah Ning's unpleasant expression, he wisely chose to keep quiet.

"Don't underestimate this thing. If I'm not mistaken, this should be a defensive measure that the Zhang family keeps near the passage."

"These tiny insects are hard to spot, yet they possess a deadly and terrifying killing power. No wonder they're from the Zhang family!"

"Alright, you can have your men's bodies disposed of now. My friendly advice is that if you don't want to burn the bodies, you should wrap them in a lot of quicklime before burying them."

Hu Ming recalls that Western customs do not seem to include the practice of cremating corpses.

However, there was more than just one small worm inside the corpse. Hu Ming had just discovered that there were many worm eggs deep inside the bones!
Clearly, this mangled corpse had become a breeding ground for insect eggs.

I wonder what the body structure of this little insect is like. How can a single insect reproduce?
Is it a rare hermaphrodite?
"Are these deadly insects being bred around the passageway portal?"

"We can be certain that the 'key' provided to Grandma Huo and the others is absolutely correct! If it's the right path, why would such a thing appear?"

Xiaohua frowned and asked in confusion.

Who the hell would keep such a terrifying thing in front of their own house?
Aren't they afraid that their own people might accidentally get hurt by this little thing?
"In fact, the Zhang family isn't afraid of such clever little things at all!"

Seemingly anticipating Xiaohua's question, Hu Ming shrugged.

"I don't know much about the Zhang family's specific situation, but I can tell by looking at Xiao Ge and Zhang the adjutant in Beijing."

"Those with pure Zhang family blood possess a unique and precious bloodline, just like Uncle Ming. Snakes, insects, rats, and the like dare not approach them!"

"Zhang Family Ancient Building... From the limited information we have, we know that it is the gathering place of the purest Zhang family bloodline. Therefore, this kind of insect defense measure is perfect for them!"

Standing to the side, Wu Xie understood Hu Ming's meaning and sighed as he explained.

The Zhang family, possessing pure Qilin blood, are born with the ability to repel insects!