Chapter 10: Collecting the Bodies

【Ravenna Main Hall】

Wearing cleaning gloves and masks, the four of them were packing up all the rotting food and throwing it out of Ravenna.

They rinsed the floor with clean water as much as possible, at least to reduce the odor inside the building. As for the problem in the backyard, they would figure out how to deal with it later.

After cleaning up the mourning hall, the four continued to work in shifts, covering the building with devices called’Strip Wall Lights.’

These lamps were flat, elongated strips that could be stuck to the ceiling or walls. Equipped with advanced battery technology, they could provide continuous light for a week without needing to be recharged.

This ensured sufficient light during their practice, so even if the lanterns were destroyed, it wouldn’t have any impact.

The entire process took over three hours, during which everything in Ravenna remained normal, with no abnormal phenomena heard or seen.

【Second Floor – Master Bedroom】

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

Even now, just thinking about the smell in the backyard gave Anna a stomach cramp.

It was roughly estimated that at least thirty pigs and cows were piled up in the backyard, most of them in an advanced state of bloating.

If they were to drag them into the mountains to bury them one by one, it would be too physically demanding and time-consuming. Moreover, there might be some highly contagious pathogens among the carcasses.

But if they were left in the backyard untreated, who knew if these carcasses would become linked to some evil ritual.

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

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

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

Perhaps when a certain time came, the masters on the tree would come back to life.

Thinking of this,

Gao Yuxuan, leaning against the curved corner of the wall, offered his opinion: ‘Burn it. Burn everything, including the tree in the backyard. It will eliminate both the smell and the danger.’

This idea coincided with Luo Di’s. Now it seemed that burning was indeed the best method.

However, how to burn them was another question.

The squad leader tapped her chin, carefully recalling knowledge from her academic classes. ‘Most of these animal carcasses are already in an advanced state of bloating. We’ve all experienced the concentration of the odor in the backyard; if we burn them recklessly, they might explode.’

‘It would be better to drag these carcasses into the mountains and throw them down a slope.’

Luo Di, who was standing by the head of the bed, took the initiative to speak: ‘We don’t need to burn the animal carcasses, just the four people on the tree.’

The squad leader immediately asked: ‘How? Burning the tree directly is quite dangerous. The methane concentration in the backyard is probably already above the explosive limit… If we’re not careful, the whole of Ravenna could be blown up.’

‘We move them out to burn them. We carry the corpses to the open ground outside Ravenna, dig a shallow pit, pile up enough firewood, and cremate them on the spot.’

The squad leader nodded. ‘Good idea! How about we split into pairs? Anna, you and Luo Di are responsible for preparing the firewood for the cremation, and Xiao Gao and I will transport the corpses.’

‘Yay!’

Upon hearing that she didn’t have to go to the foul-smelling backyard, Anna turned around and hugged the squad leader who had assigned the tasks so tightly that she almost felt like she was suffocating.

Gao Yuxuan, however, expressed his opposition. ‘No. I think all four of us must act together.’

‘The corpses hanging in the backyard are very suspicious, and there might be danger during the transport process. Let’s go directly to the backyard now and move the corpses outside of Ravenna first before talking about cremation.’

After breaking free from Anna’s grip, the squad leader punched her palm. ‘Hmm, that’s settled then! Let’s go. Everyone, put your masks on. There are four of us, so we can each carry one.’

‘We should also bring our sleeping bags; they’ll be perfect for wrapping the corpses to isolate any potential infectious diseases. Anyway, we’ve already found rooms to sleep in.’

Anna, who had just thought she wouldn’t have to go to the backyard, began to dry heave again and put on a full four layers of masks.

【Backyard】

Pig and cow carcasses crisscrossed here, forming winding paths.

Between the paths, various filth flowed out from the rotting carcasses.

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

Perhaps because they had already been baptized once, this time, facing such a ‘magnificent’ scene, everyone managed to hold it together.

Raincoats wrapped around their bodies,

wearing gloves,

and shoes completely covered with plastic bags,

‘Let’s go.’

Squish!

Luo Di walked in front, and the squad leader quickly followed.

When she stepped onto this soft, wet, and sticky surface, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

‘Luo Di, you don’t seem affected at all? We didn’t receive this kind of training at school.’

‘I often cook at home. When I have time, I go to the wet market to help slaughter poultry, and occasionally I’ve helped slaughter pigs. Compared to this, the smell is just a little lighter; there’s not much difference.’

The squad leader didn’t doubt this explanation and instead shifted her attention to another matter. ‘Wow, you can actually cook? If we can pass this time, can I taste your cooking?’

‘No.’

The squad leader’s eyes changed slightly, and she changed the subject again. ‘It might be dangerous when we retrieve the corpses later, so be careful.’

‘Mm.’

The four of them stepped through the filth and finally arrived at the locust tree in the center of the courtyard.

Perhaps because it had been absorbing filth for a long time, the surface of the locust tree’s trunk was covered with dense Holes. The sinister wind circling the entire Ravenna was spilling out from these Holes.

They were dense and made people feel very uncomfortable.

The four corpses hanging from it looked like the master of Ravenna, his wife, and their son and daughter.

The height of the hanging was also very particular.

The old man suspected to be the head of the family hung at the very top and was the most decomposed.

The middle-aged woman was next,

and the two young man and woman were at the very bottom, with early signs of bloating. It seemed they had arranged everything in the house before finally hanging themselves.

Luo Di also noticed something strange about this family, especially the old man hanging at the very top, who had been dead the longest. His fingernails had large black spots on the surface, were completely blackened, and were quite long.

It gave one the feeling that even after death, the fingernails were still growing.

Next, they encountered another problem,

【How to retrieve the corpses above?】

The two young corpses and the middle-aged woman’s corpse had already been successfully retrieved. These corpses did not undergo any changes when the ropes were cut or when they were put into body bags.

The entire backyard remained just as foul-smelling, without any further changes.

Next was to retrieve the old man’s corpse from the very top.

Not choosing to climb the tree,

Luo Di once again cooperated with Anna, stepping on her shoulders so he could just reach the position where the old man was hanging.

He swung the machete in his hand—swish!

The hemp rope was cut.

The old man’s corpse, losing its support, fell downwards, almost brushing against Luo Di’s body as it dropped vertically. For some reason, perhaps instinctively sensing danger, Luo Di subconsciously moved his legs and retreated.

Because he was standing on Anna’s shoulders, this step backward caused him to fall backward.

The collision with the ground he expected did not come.

Luo Di, who was protecting his head with his hands, was a bit dazed. He could clearly feel two strong arms touching his back and thighs, supporting him steadily.

Anna’s reaction speed was very fast; almost the moment he lost his footing, she completed the turn and reached out, catching Luo Di just in time.

Luo Di wasn’t embarrassed at all; instead, he was very surprised that a high school student could easily catch his 80kg frame, raising his estimation of this foreign student from another school once again.

The squad leader and Gao Yuxuan quickly packed up the corpse.

‘Hey! How much longer are you two going to hug? Be careful or you’ll get dragged to the Dean’s office for a lecture!’

The squad leader gave a strange smile and used the photo mode on her wristband to record this scene as one of the memories of this practice.