Chapter 54: Human Skin

Actually, among the three pieces of animal skin Xu Huo told Peng Fengnian and the others about, only one had a lining layer. Concealing the other two was just a backup plan to prevent ticket holders from turning hostile after clearing the level.

But Zou Weichang obtained that piece of skin without clearing the level, which proved his assumption wrong—human skin was not the key to clearing the level.

Of course, it might not have been that piece of skin, but there was no time to verify the rare items to complete the first task, so they had to risk trying the second task.

He cut all the stitches on the red-haired pig’s abdomen. Although the pigskin underneath was completely filled with mucus and some parts had fused with the skin, the incomplete stitches indeed extended the time for the pigskin to merge. Even after nearly twelve hours, the pigskin could still be removed.

Sima Xiao Er painfully peeled off the skin, wincing from over a dozen wounds of varying sizes all over his body. He quickly drank a bottle of healing potion and only relaxed when he saw the cracked wounds slowly start to heal.

“I’ve seen the game task. What do I need to do?”

Xu Huo briefly explained the situation with the Skinner. Sima Xiao Er’s anger flared up, “Those bastards are unbelievable. They’re even fighting among themselves now? I’m going back to check their connections!”

“Good luck with that,” Xu Huo said noncommittally, then asked, “What handy items do you have?”

Sima Xiao Er immediately became guarded. “What do you want to do?”

Xu Huo didn’t waste time arguing and directly said, “Tomorrow during the day, I’ll lure the Skinner out. I’ll entrust you with two tasks. Do what you can handle.”

He lowered his voice and added, “Do you have any ideas?”

Ideas? Sima Xiao Er had none.

Before the twisted version of the Skinner appeared, he still had some thoughts. Now, he had absolutely none. His sense of smell was exceptionally sharp; when Zou Weichang was captured, he smelled a strong metallic blood scent—the kind that only comes from fresh blood flowing continuously. After hearing from Xu Huo that someone had been skinned alive, he immediately gave up on bribing the Skinner.

“Won’t I be discovered if I leave?” He hesitated. “I’m afraid the Skinner will take it out on others.”

“Ticket holders will actively help us cover for you,” Xu Huo said. “Before clearing the level, we’re still on the same side as them.”

After finalizing their plan, Sima Xiao Er hid outside the factory, and Xu Huo returned to the Skinner’s bedroom.

Day broke quickly. Xu Huo walked out of the bedroom. The Skinner had just sat up from the sofa and ruffled his neatly combed hair into a mess again, reverting to the oily look from yesterday. He tilted his head back and gulped down several mouthfuls of alcohol before speaking, “Brother Wang, up so early?”

Xu Huo looked tired and pointed behind him, “Still have that nighttime wandering problem?”

The Skinner paused, immediately got up, and headed to the workshop. When he saw the bodies hanging, his anger surged. He stormed over and kicked open the door to the player rest area, shouting, “Get up and clean this mess!”

Peng Fengnian had already left. Tang Pei and the others came out of the room, and seeing Zou Weichang’s state, they were all horrified and instinctively turned their heads away.

The Skinner kicked Xian Dazhi, who was closest, “Why are you just standing there?”

“Well… where should I put it?” Xian Dazhi said with difficulty.

“Throw everything into the slaughterhouse. Someone will come to collect loose goods tomorrow. Cut the meat into pieces and pack it. No heads, no entrails,” the Skinner said, then paused and looked at them menacingly. “If I catch you stealing food…”

Tang Pei and the others almost vomited and quickly promised they wouldn’t steal.

After breakfast, Xu Huo left with the Skinner and also took Yang Can along.

Tang Pei and the others had already planned to act during the day. They carried Zou Weichang to the slaughterhouse, and Xian Dazhi’s hands trembled like he had epilepsy holding the skin.

“Why did the Skinner peel the skin and then reject it?”

“Maybe he wasn’t satisfied with this piece of skin,” Qin An said as he covered Zou Weichang’s face with a piece of cloth. “Hurry up. Let’s go to the secret room.”

The two left the slaughterhouse. Tang Pei happened to come from the pigpen behind. “Peng Fengnian was right. Xu Huo really has companions. One fewer person in the pigpen.”

“Don’t worry about him for now,” Qin An waved his hand. “Xu Huo is smart. Even if he doesn’t cooperate, he won’t make trouble with us.”

The three entered the Skinner’s bedroom and found the wall had already been pushed aside. They hurried inside and saw an unfamiliar red-haired young man climbing the fireplace to take down the painting above.

Qin An exchanged a look with the other two, and the three surrounded him, spreading out.

Hearing voices behind him, Sima Xiao Er immediately hugged the painting. “What are you doing? Trying to steal the painting?”

Qin An looked at Tang Pei, who shook her head, and the three relaxed their posture.

Since there was no notification about someone clearing the level, it proved that the painting was not the Skinner’s rare item.

“Why did Xu Huo let you take that painting?” Qin An couldn’t help but ask.

Sima Xiao Er snorted coldly, grabbed a burning stick from the fireplace, and left.

“Could they still be trying to save someone?” Tang Pei said in disbelief.

Since it wasn’t a clearance item, it could only be to save someone. All these items belonged to the Skinner. Unless the Skinner was dead, even if they got their hands on them, they’d be useless.

“Could it be that Xu Huo has his own way to clear the level?” Xian Dazhi looked at the other two.

Qin An scanned the secret room, suddenly recalling what Peng Fengnian said last night. He turned and walked out, entering the fur storage room. Following Xu Huo’s description of the three pieces of skin, he checked them one by one. He stopped at the third piece, pinching the skin with one hand and grabbing the fur with the other, then pulled it apart. With a “shhhh” sound, a thin layer of human skin appeared in the lining.

[Congratulations to all players for completing the task "The more precious something is, the easier it is to lose" and successfully clearing the "Good Taste Fresh Meat Supply Plant" dungeon. This dungeon is a group dungeon with a shared rating of D.]

...

[Congratulations to ticket holders for completing the task "The more precious something is, the easier it is to lose" and successfully clearing the "Good Taste Fresh Meat Supply Plant" dungeon. This dungeon is a group dungeon with a shared rating of D.]

[Since player Extra was a random participant in this dungeon and does not participate in the rating, the ticket holders have cleared the dungeon. You may choose whether to exit the dungeon now.]

[Yes]

[No]

When Qin An and the others received the game notification, Xu Huo also received it. Noticing the subtle change in body language between Yang Can and the Skinner beside him, his expression suddenly darkened, and his muscles tensed uncontrollably!

The Skinner, who had been lazily lying in the chair, slowly sat upright, focusing intently on the float bobbing on the water. Suddenly, he sighed, “If only there was a temporary pass, so I wouldn’t have to move everything around.”

He abruptly turned his head, his eyes reflecting Xu Huo’s figure. “The scent on you is a bit like that little piglet that escaped yesterday.”

The bucket in Yang Can’s hand crashed loudly onto the ground.

Xu Huo moved his fingers slightly and suddenly smiled. He lifted his fishing rod, and a fat fish struggled on the hook.