Chapter 268: The Fear-Inducing Stench
Fang Xiaocao sent the message.
There was no notification indicating “contact does not exist.”
Clearly, Hot Noodles was in a service area.
However, she did not receive an immediate response.
Blinking, Fang Xiaocao guessed that Hot Noodles was busy and hadn’t checked their phone yet.
Shaking her head, she put her phone back in her pocket, deciding not to dwell on the mysterious pawnshop anymore.
“If soldiers come, we fight; if water comes, we block it!”
“Stay alert. If we do encounter people from the pawnshop, we won’t provoke them first, but if they dare to…”
She made a throat-slitting gesture.
“Understood!”
Tom and the other two responded in unison.
With Tom leading the way, they avoided many detours. Soon, a suffocating stench filled the cave ahead.
The odor was extremely peculiar.
It gave Fang Xiaocao a sense of déjà vu.
But for a moment, she couldn’t recall where she had smelled it before.
The stench made her gag uncontrollably, and an inexplicable fear crept up from within.
Beside her, Taotie and the others grew visibly tense. Almost instinctively, they gripped their weapons tightly, their expressions grave.
Noticing their reactions, Fang Xiaocao was puzzled.
“Ugh…”
She gagged again.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ugh—”
“Why do you look so serious?”
She asked between retches.
Seeing her reaction, Tom put away his gun and walked over. He reached into her backpack and pulled out a gas mask.
“Your Highness, put this on.”
Fang Xiaocao’s eyes lit up.
She hurriedly took the mask and put it on.
The device activated, linking to the small filtration, oxygen supply, and ventilation system inside her backpack.
She greedily inhaled the fresh air. After a while, the nausea and fear subsided significantly.
“Tom, what is this smell?”
“Why are you all so tense?”
“Why does it make me feel so panicked and afraid? Is the odor toxic?”
Her muffled voice came through the mask’s speaker.
“That’s the smell of rotting corpses.”
“The stench of decaying human bodies.”
Tom said gravely.
“Humans are social creatures, and the smell of death serves as a warning to our kind. It’s an instinct imprinted in our genes. Most people, unless trained, will react just like you—feeling nauseous and fearful. It’s normal.”
Tom drew his gun again and explained.
“Corpse stench?”
Fang Xiaocao exclaimed.
“Yes.”
“And a lot of it.”
Tom’s expression darkened.
“I think we’ve found the nest of those flesh-eating rats.”
Fang Xiaocao’s blood ran cold.
“What should we do?”
She asked anxiously.
Tom’s eyes flickered with thought.
A moment later, he smirked.
“Destroy it.”
“I have concentrated fuel and materials to make Molotov cocktails in my bag. I’ll prepare a few and burn this place down.”
“Leaving these flesh-eating rats and corpses here will only lead to trouble. Our villa is at the foot of the mountain—if the rats ever come down, we’ll be their prey.”
His tone was chilling, his intent clear.
Fang Xiaocao blinked, then nodded.
“Alright, burn it.”
“Once we get rid of these rats, we’ll move on.”
She fully supported Tom’s decision.
Tom set down his backpack and began making Molotov cocktails. The high-tech, purified materials he used were extremely efficient—small in quantity but powerful in effect.
Fang Xiaocao had seen their potency before.
A sugar cube-sized piece of concentrated fuel could burn for an incredibly long time, even outlasting coal.
“Taotie, you and Hummingbird go ahead and scout.”
“Be careful. There are probably flesh-eating rats inside. Don’t alert them.”
Tom instructed while preparing the Molotovs.
Taotie nodded and signaled to Hummingbird. They moved forward cautiously toward the source of the stench.
Fang Xiaocao hesitated but decided to follow them.
Both Tom and Taotie noticed but didn’t stop her.
She needed protection, but she also needed experience.
Letting her witness this firsthand would be a valuable lesson.
Taotie gestured for her to stay behind him.
Fang Xiaocao nodded, moving cautiously like a sneaky thief.
Seeing this, Taotie and Hummingbird chuckled but said nothing.
The three of them proceeded down the cave, walking about 500 meters before reaching a dead end—a massive pit with signs of artificial excavation.
At the bottom of the pit lay a dense pile of corpses.
Some were ancient, dried to the bone. Others were more recent, their decay just beginning. Some were even grotesquely swollen, bloated beyond recognition.
Even with her gas mask filtering the stench, the sight alone made Fang Xiaocao gag.
But she forced herself not to look away.
She made herself take in every detail.
The pit was filled layer upon layer with bodies.
It was impossible to count how many there were.
And among the corpses, a swarm of flesh-eating rats scurried about.
A rough glance revealed thousands.
They varied in size—some were as large as house cats, their white fur standing out. These were rare, numbering only a dozen or so.
The smaller ones were pink and hairless—newborn pups.
But aside from these newborns, every single rat was gnawing at the decaying flesh in the pit.
The scene was nauseating.
A nightmare made real.
Fang Xiaocao felt her scalp tingle.
If these rats ever escaped into the outside world…
The consequences would be unimaginable.
A capable adult might survive if not overwhelmed.
But children and the elderly?
Just ten or twenty of these creatures could mean certain death.
“Let’s go.”
Taotie surveyed the area and confirmed the terrain.
His voice was low.
Fang Xiaocao and Hummingbird nodded.
They carefully retraced their steps to regroup with Tom.
Seeing so many flesh-eating rats made Fang Xiaocao’s legs tremble.
Even Taotie felt a shiver down his spine.
