Krafft's Notes on Anomalies

"Glowing?" Craft drew his attention and glanced towards the place where the sound came from. He found that Martin had picked up the pendant embedded with unknown minerals, walked to the dark place and surrounded it with his palms to block the light and check it.

"That's right, it's its own light. You can see it clearly this way." The knight held the pendant up to his eyes with the candle on his back, confirmed his discovery, and then wanted to hand it to Kraft for inspection.

Kraft, who was holding a knife and tweezers, trembled subconsciously. His hands loosened and the opened skin fell back to its original position. "No! Stay away from me and put that thing back!"

Although he didn't know what it was yet, his instinct told him that it was best not to get too close to some luminous gadget with unknown principles. Moreover, this thing was just taken out from the pocket of a suspicious person whose skin was full of mycelium. I don’t know if it was stained with anything.

"I suggest you clean your gloves and rub them with lime powder, otherwise I can't guarantee what will happen."

He wasted a pair of needle pliers, picked up the thing's tether, and carried it to a dark place indoors. Fortunately, he didn't feel the rumored symptoms of itchy skin or nausea, nor did he notice any light immediately.

"Why? Is there any danger in this?" Martin was frightened by the doctor's overreaction. You must know that the inlay was just in front of the tip of his nose. If something really happened, it would be 80% too late now.

"Based on my personal experience, a large number of minerals that emit light are often associated with certain incurable diseases."

While intimidating Martin, Kraft distanced himself and observed the ornament from a few steps away.

Under the bright candlelight just now, it was just an ore of poor quality, black and slightly reddish. Its transparency could hardly be classified as a gemstone. In addition, the bracket was made of ordinary brass and had no special decoration. It was really It's hard to connect with anything important.

But when the light is dim, the glow Martin describes becomes easier to detect.

It's not like the whole stone fluoresces like fluorite as imagined. It is a kind of light that comes from within, with a dark red color, more like a light source at the bottom of a deep pool that penetrates the turbid water layer and comes into the air, or an eye with bright red pupils staring motionlessly. to the observer.

In the dark silence, Martin couldn't help but ask: "So is this the 'not a small part' you said?"

"Not sure. If I had seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have the chance to stand here." Kraft shook his head. He had a little doubt that this thing contained radiation, but then he thought about it. The pagans must have had a long history of contact. , if it’s just for a short while, nothing will happen.

"Find two lead boxes, the thicker ones, and we'll seal them."

Although there is no solution to radiation sickness, there are simple ways to deal with suspected radiation sources. Lead is a metal that is widely distributed, easy to extract and has a low melting point. It is soft and easy to shape. It is easy to find a lead container to shut it up.

Of course, this is just in case. The pagans have been living with it for a long time, which shows that this thing is not a strong radiation source. As for what it is, it is hard to judge. Maybe it is really a special fluorite. They quickly found a lead bottle with a lid for temporary use, threw the pendant in, and ended this little episode in the dissection.

"That's it for now, Martin, go over there and rub your gloves clean in the lime basin, and don't touch anything until I finish, okay?" Kraft picked up the knife and tweezers again, and returned to the coffin to continue. work.

Making a Y-shaped incision to enter the body, he quickly understood the cause of the loose skin. When the dry epidermis is pressed, it resembles pitting edema, leaving irreversible pits. The interior is almost entirely filled with loose cotton-like mycelium, which inherits the organic matter and moisture of the original tissue.

The costal cartilage that connects the sternum and ribs has also been eroded, causing the overall structure to enter an unstable state, which reduced a lot of trouble for Kraft to dismantle the thorax.

It is relatively easy to cut through the already fragile costal cartilage, disconnect the bones, and pry up a gap in the chest. He first wanted to reach out, but then retracted and replaced the pliers, and probed into the chest along the right edge of the sternum, with a look of confusion on his face. Then I opened the pliers and turned them around a few times, and it seemed that I didn't hit any obstacles at all.

"It's a little strange... Do you want to avoid it?" Kraft suddenly raised his head and asked without warning. Martin shook his head in confusion. Since he had seen it before, there should be no need to avoid it now.

Then he saw Kraft opening half of the chest like a hinged window, half of the barrel vault being flipped open, and the ribs arranged inside like church beams. The light shines into the right chest, which should be filled with lungs. It is empty inside, with only a hollow on the back wall, with various growths growing out, such as paste bubbles, cauliflowers, and small coral-like protrusions.

In the intercostal space and deep tissue on the inner surface of the chest wall, lush hyphae support imbricate-like layers of things. They grow parallel to the ribs like some kind of soft scales, and the filaments extending horizontally are like dense skeletal worms. Opposite.

At first glance, it looks like a devil's treasure box has been opened, with various forms of creatures vying to show off their bodies. Martin took two steps back to avoid visual impact, making it impossible for him to see clearly the original appearance of those things. He could only see the tangled outlines, which seemed to be moving with the rough chest opening movements.

His body reacted one step ahead of his chaotic brain. He felt his stomach contract and a burning sensation flowed back down his esophagus. He bowed unconsciously and had a sour taste in his mouth.

Martin was used to seeing how his enemies and his own side died from injuries from different weapons, but witnessing such a situation still broke his understanding of the upper limit of the most terrifying encounter a person can encounter in the world. It simply opened up to him. He entered a corner of hell and was baptized with a spirit that was too cruel and vicious to describe.

"Uh!" He pinched his neck, and the lime powder from wiping his gloves drifted into his nostrils, causing him to sneeze twice in a row, causing him to vomit. A distant voice of concern floated in his ears.

"Are you okay, Martin? These are just some... mushrooms, don't be nervous." Kraft wanted to give him a hand, but the hand that had just touched his chest was not suitable for touching anywhere else.

Sure enough, outsiders should not be allowed in. Unexpectedly, such a scene would be too exciting for someone like Martin. To be honest, this was the first time he had seen such a scene. It ranked at least in the top five among the disgusting lesions he had seen, and he was a strong contender for the second and third place.

The knight lay beside him in humiliation and talked for at least two minutes before his brain started working again and he understood what Kraft was talking about, "Mushrooms?"

"Indeed, although they also belong to the 'fungi' I mentioned, it's really surprising that they can appear in the body like this." The dissector was attracted by the wonders of the chest and extended an invitation to Martin, "Do you want to come and take a look? ?”

"No." Martin held the edge of the table, turned his head to glance at the coffin and quickly looked away, "Uh, I mean wait, let me slow down."

He forced himself to wipe away the acid from the corner of his mouth, calmed his breathing and stood back in front of the stage, observing this rare spectacle with a certain professor whose impression had been subverted. He reluctantly admitted that this was probably different from the common food on the plate. Really the same kind.

"It's really incredible, Martin." Kraft picked up one of the pieces, and the typical mushroom texture made Martin's stomach contract again.

"I think the 'Mushroom Forest' you saw is not an accident. This pagan religion must have something to do with it. I don't understand the specific principle yet, but it may help find where they are."

"Thank you, Professor." This thank you was a bit reluctant, and Martin waved his hand to signal him to stop talking. "If that's the case, I probably know where you are talking about."

"Aha?"

"Hudson Town, the Duke has a manor there, which is rich in all kinds of mushrooms, especially the white-bellied mushroom with the best taste." Speaking of taste, acid reflux and nausea made him stuck for a while, and he almost wanted to slap himself. .

"White-bellied mushrooms are not very easy to preserve, so I almost always pass there during every inspection."

"Very good, now tell the Duke what we found, and then take some people for a walk together." Kraft closed his chest, preparing to end the exploration temporarily. Remembering that there was a small bottle that I found nearby, I changed my gloves and opened the cork, using the light to check the contents inside.

There was a small amount of liquid. I don't know whether it was due to lack of light or other reasons, but the bottom of the bottle was pitch black.

"Professor?" Martin noticed that Kraft's expression gradually became serious. He had never seen Kraft show such a serious expression when he opened his chest.

"Martin."

"What's wrong? Is there anything else you need?"

"Bring more people, you have to be brave enough." Kraft pushed back the bottle cork, picked up a candlestick, melted candle wax dripped on the tightly fitting bottle mouth, and completely sealed it, "There is also kerosene. "