Chapter 4

PS: Thank you to Yuna Yuuki, Solitude, Freedom, and Death for the 100 donations!

As the snail worm struggled, its movements suddenly intensified, causing it to collide with the dirt road, leaving small dents.

Wei Xiaobei, seeing this, was secretly startled. If he hadn't dodged quickly, being hit by the snail worm would have broken his bones. Even if his bones weren't broken, he wouldn't have been able to stand up.

While the snail worm was struggling, Wei Xiaobei didn't just stand by. He poured salt into his hand and, taking advantage of the snail worm's exhaustion, sprinkled a handful of salt on its wound. The snail worm struggled even more desperately.

Due to the continuous application of salt, the snail worm's wound couldn't heal. Instead, it began to bubble, and a fluid flowed out, changing from blue to a bluish-green.

By the time Wei Xiaobei had almost run out of salt, the giant snail worm finally stopped moving.

But by then, the snail worm had completely changed. Its originally plump body had become shriveled, like a dried corpse, and its color had changed from a bright blue to a nauseating bluish-green. The surrounding pools of bluish-green fluid emitted a suffocating stench.

Taking a whiff, it was as if he had swallowed a lump of feces that had fermented for two or three days.

However, after the life-and-death battle, these odors were nothing to Wei Xiaobei.

The attribute panel in his mind seemed to have changed, but Wei Xiaobei didn't have the time to study it. Instead, he found a stick, stood far away, and cautiously poked the giant snail worm a few times.

The giant snail worm was truly dead and stiff. Even when poked with the stick, there was no sign of life.

At this point, Wei Xiaobei finally breathed a sigh of relief. The fatigue and pain he had suppressed all came rushing back, and he sat down on the ground, not wanting to move.

But Wei Xiaobei knew he couldn't relax yet.

After all, if one giant snail worm appeared here, there could be a second, a third, or even a more powerful monster!

Go back! For now, the rental house was the safest place.

Thinking of this, Wei Xiaobei struggled to his feet, ready to return to the rental house. But at that moment, he caught a faint whiff of a strange fragrance.

This fragrance was peculiar, not like any flower scent or chemical perfume he knew. Instead, it resembled the enticing aroma of well-cooked meat.

The smell instantly made Wei Xiaobei's appetite grow, and he couldn't help but swallow.

Wei Xiaobei found this scent strange. He had eaten until he was almost full at the convenience store, and no matter how much energy he had expended, his stomach shouldn't have been hungry so soon.

Like a dog, Wei Xiaobei sniffed the air.

Due to the overwhelming stench of the snail worm's decaying body fluid, the fragrance was particularly noticeable and easy to locate.

After circling around, Wei Xiaobei determined that the fragrance came from inside the snail worm.

To be honest, when Wei Xiaobei finally got close to the snail worm to sniff it, he almost vomited. The mixture of the stench and the fragrance was even more unbearable.

But no matter what, Wei Xiaobei couldn't give up on exploring the source of the fragrance. At first, his stomach only rumbled a few times, but as time went on, he became increasingly eager. The fragrance had directly triggered his hunger.

Poking the dead snail worm with his finger, Wei Xiaobei felt a headache. Without a knife, he couldn't cut through the snail worm's tough skin, even though it was dead.

Fortunately, after poking around in the snail worm's wound with the stick, Wei Xiaobei found the lost dagger.

Well, to be precise, it was no longer a dagger.

Corroded by the snail worm's blue fluid, the dagger had shrunk by more than half. The horn handle had completely disappeared, and the blade, which was originally about 25-26 centimeters long, had shrunk to less than 10 centimeters, resembling a broken pencil sharpener.

Wei Xiaobei wiped the remaining blade with a rag and held it in his hand, feeling surprised. The blade, after being corroded, should have been ragged and much lighter.

But the remaining blade of the dagger seemed to weigh more than the original dagger, and after being wiped with the rag, it shone brightly, as if coated with mercury.

Clearly, the dagger had undergone more than just simple corrosion after being exposed to the blue fluid.

Wei Xiaobei didn't have much time to study this. He found two pieces of rotten wood, clamped the blade between them, and tied it with a strip of cloth, creating a crude knife.

Next, Wei Xiaobei, holding his breath and frowning, used the knife to cut open the snail worm along the previous wound.

The stench was overwhelming. As soon as he cut it open, a stronger stench hit him, causing him to gag.

After gagging, Wei Xiaobei forced himself to endure the smell and used the stick to poke around inside the snail worm's body.

Hmm?

What is this?

Wei Xiaobei pulled out a fist-sized meat ball from the snail worm's body, connected to several blue meat tendons. Following the tendons, he found that they ultimately connected to the tentacles. When he grabbed the meat ball, a spark of electricity appeared on the tentacles.

Hmm? Wei Xiaobei had a hunch. This meat ball must be the snail worm's electric organ?

On Earth, there are a few creatures that can generate strong electricity, such as the famous electric eel, whose body is lined with thousands of tiny biological generators that can produce up to 650 volts, enough to kill its prey.

But this meat ball was different. It felt hard and semi-transparent, with some liquid flowing inside. When he brought it close to his nose, a strong, enticing aroma wafted out.

No doubt, this was the source of the fragrance.

After putting the meat ball away, Wei Xiaobei poked around with the stick for a while but found nothing else of interest. He then returned to the convenience store, grabbed a few compressed biscuits, put them in his backpack, and prepared to leave.

Hmm, before leaving, he needed to check on the man. Wei Xiaobei walked over.

The man's back was charred, emitting a faint meaty aroma, with no signs of life.

Wei Xiaobei couldn't help but marvel at the electrical power released by the giant snail worm.

After all, air has a high resistance. Although the air was humid, significantly reducing the resistance, the voltage required to penetrate 20 meters of air would be over 100,000 volts.