As Lin Yu had guessed, the inside of the carriage was covered with talismans.
Dense yellow papers filled the inner walls of the carriage, like solidified grease on the surface of a rich soup.
In the gaps of the vermilion-painted talisman symbols on the yellow paper, chains like neuronal synapses extended and wrapped around a "human left arm" suspended in the center of the carriage.
Rather than a "left arm," it was more like a fragment of a torso attached to the left arm.
It was a body consisting of the entire left shoulder, most of the chest, and half of the lower abdomen, and judging from the muscle tissue and bone structure, it seemed to have once belonged to a strong and muscular adult male.
There were two cut marks on the fragment, one extending between the abdominal cavity and ribs, and the other slicing diagonally from the shoulder, removing the parts connected to the right chest and neck.
It looked as if someone had cleanly and neatly split it with dual blades in a complete '袈裟斬' (kesa-giri/袈裟斩, a diagonal cut from shoulder to opposite hip).
The skin color of this fragment was also bluish-gray, with a texture that even resembled a stone sculpture.
Looking at the cross-section of the cut, the internal organs, bones, and blood vessels were all grayish-white, devoid of vitality.
However, judging from Li Nian's "ability" or from the perspective of the 'Death Game'... it really was alive.
Lin Yu trusted the 'Death Game's' judgment.
So the question was...
"Why is this thing alive?"
Lin Yu murmured.
Li Nian felt the same bewilderment as Lin Yu.
"So... does this thing look like half a human corpse, but it's actually a special type of demon or a rare life form from the Prison Mountain Realm, like a dead leaf butterfly or a stick insect?"
"It only appears to resemble another life form after 'death' or 'decay,' but it's essentially a disguise, with a completely different life form inside?"
Li Nian's analysis made some sense.
But unfortunately, this analysis didn't hold up in Lin Yu's view—his perspective allowed him to see more and more detailed things than Li Nian could.
Because from the perspective of mental power perception and the 【Mind's Eye Monocle】, this thing definitely had no ability to think or feel emotions, and there wasn't a trace of mental or emotional fluctuations on it.
Old Zheng also thought the same: "I can't feel any soul or spirit residing in this thing at all..."
This eliminated the possibility that the other party's mental power was too strong for Lin Yu, a beginner, to detect.
Because Lin Yu might misjudge, but Old Zheng wouldn't!
So...
"This thing is a living being without a soul or spirit? How is that possible!"
Lin Yu felt even more puzzled.
Because precisely according to the 'Death Game's' general criteria, only those with both a soul and vitality can be considered "living beings."
Otherwise, those living corpses that Old Zheng manipulated in the Mist Island Mental Hospital could also be considered living things!
At this moment, Lin Yu suddenly noticed an abnormal emotion transmitted from the connection between himself and the mountain goblin leader "Sanyang."
Sanyang seemed to sense some irresistible temptation, and even without the 【Rage Spray】, it showed a scene of restlessness.
Even the hands that Sanyang was using to hold Lin Yu were trembling slightly.
Although it was far from "out of control" or breaking free from Lin Yu's control, but...
This throbbing was abnormal enough.
"This is quite strange."
Lin Yu muttered, then smiled in relief.
That's right, after all, it was a 【Dungeon】 that he was participating in. If there weren't any strange things, Lin Yu would feel uneasy—because that would mean something big was waiting for him.
Like a surprise 'fortune teller' suddenly popping up.
"Close the carriage door and right the car."
Lin Yu ordered, jumping down from Sanyang's hands.
After Li Nian also left the carriage, Sanyang righted the overturned carriage, then put the half-torn door back in place.
After Sanyang stepped back, several escorts boldly stepped forward and reattached the reins of the carriage to the giant beast pulling the carriage that was standing next to it.
This long-haired, humped, four-hoofed creature that looked like a hybrid of a horse, camel, and yak was surprisingly stable—when Sanyang overturned the carriage earlier, it had also been knocked to the ground, but it just broke free of the reins, rolled over and stood still, without panicking or even making a loud noise.
After the carriage door was opened, the aura that made Sanyang so attracted and even restless didn't shake this pulling beast in the slightest.
Moreover, if it was said that beasts had no aura perception, following this line of thought, the human escorts around them were all martial artists, and they didn't seem to feel anything either.
This also made Lin Yu feel quite concerned, and he silently noted this difference.
"Only demons can be attracted to this thing..."
Li Nian looked at the carriage that had been righted and turned to Lin Yu: "So... do you have any clues?"
"Not yet, but I have many questions."
Lin Yu said calmly.
"Then you just close the car door like that, without going in to take a closer look, smell it, ask about it, and examine it carefully," Li Nian said jokingly, "What's more, there are two other carriages next to it, won't you open them together and take a look?"
They had only used the "accident" to look at one of the three carriages.
Lin Yu shook his head: "The other two are just red herrings, a cover for this one carriage. What Sanyang really cares about is this half of a torso."
"Researching this thing isn't urgent, there are more important things to do now?"
Li Nian raised her eyebrows: "What's more important than this?"
Lin Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead and pointed to the increasingly hot and dazzling light in the sky.
"Don't you think it's getting hotter and hotter—Head Escort Yue reminded us earlier that it's best to reach a place where we can rest and avoid the heat before noon."
"Don't forget, we're in 'Fire Hell' now—and even if we can still endure it, you don't plan to worry about whether these escorts will get heatstroke. From the beginning, our employer has been too hot to say a word."
Li Nian turned her head and saw 'Flying Knife,' who was squatting in the shade under the horse, sweating profusely, fanning himself with his hand, and looking like he was about to wilt, and she reacted.
Because Lin Yu's physique was strong and he could withstand this high temperature, Li Nian herself obviously had some kind of 【Item】 blessing to avoid the heat, but 'Flying Knife' was really about to give out.
Although he wouldn't be heatstroke to death, but seeing that he was about to get heatstroke and pass out—in this dangerous wilderness, if his condition was worse, and he encountered unexpected situations such as demon attacks, the chances of survival would naturally be lower.
"Damn, we really have to put the employer first..."
"Let's go, Head Escort Yue, it's getting hotter and hotter, let's quickly find a cool place to rest."
