High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 150: Chapter 74 Dehydration Beetle _1

The sun was hiding behind thick clouds, not a single golden ray of sunlight shone through.

The weather was quite cloudy and chilly.

Through the large windows of the study, one could see a small patch of blank sky.

The colour of the sky was almost the same as the drawn silver-grey curtains on either side of the windows.

It all gave off a heavy feeling.

A faint cold breeze, from unknown origins, lightly brushed against Zheng Qing’s nape.

It made Zheng Qing, who was examining a ’beautifully bony’ skull, shiver.

He felt this was not psychological.

Because he did not feel too scared, just slightly uncomfortable.

As such, Zheng Qing shrank his neck and looked around.

Sure enough, he saw the culprit behind him.

The wooden door of the study seemed to be failing from age, it was not tightly shut.

The cold outside air slipped in through the door gap, ruffling the young wizard’s uneasy thoughts.

”I’m sorry, for outsiders—I mean non-professionals, these little bugs are somewhat taboo.” Doctor Du Zemu rubbed his palms nervously and glanced at Zheng Qing.

He seemed to think that the skull or the small bugs had caused Zheng Qing’s discomfort.

Zheng Qing forced a smile, indicating it didn’t matter.

”Are they imported from outside the island?” Jiang Yu walked up to the two of them, looked at the bugs in the cabinet, and of particular interest, asked, ”Which country are they imported from?”

”No, they are a specialty of the depths of the Silent Forest.” The doctor shook his head: ”Compared to the Qinling Corpse Beetles and the Pyramid Scarabs, these corpse-eating insects from the depths of the Silent Forest have a slightly stronger adaptability.”

”What’s the difference?” Jiang Yu seemed to be very interested in these little bugs: ”I mean, what’s the difference between corpse eating bugs from different places?”

”The corpse-eating insects from the depths of the Silent Forest, compared to their counterparts outside, because they have lived in a closed environment all year round, their evolution is slower and they retain some characteristics of the original corpse-eating insects.” Obviously, Doctor Du Zemu was happy to show off in front of his major benefactors.

He pulled out a long tweezer from the toolbox next to his desk, reached into the fish tank, and picked up a corpse-eating insect.

When this bug was truly exposed to the dim light, Zheng Qing was surprised to find that it wasn’t truly white.

To be precise, the skin of the corpse-eating insect was greyish-black, only its outer shell was covered in a layer of tiny white fur.

Although called beetles, that grey-black skin shell severely deformed as soon as it was pinched by the tweezer.

Zheng Qing was very worried that a bit more force from the doctor would squeeze this bug into a blob of meat sauce.

Doctor Du Zemu held the tweezers slightly towards the light on the window side, the bugs held within went into a frenzy, twisting and turning, while making a sharp crackling noise.

”As you can see, these corpse-eating insects from the depths of the Silent Forest have retained their ancestral characteristic of fearing light.” The doctor moved the tweezers back to the dark, that poor insect made a last feeble crackle and then gave up struggling.

”Because they live in darkness, their skin lacks the calcium produced by sunlight synthesis, making their skin soft.”

”Living off decay and not seeing the sun for years, has caused their skin to grow moldy and sprout fur. The excess phosphorus in their bodies evaporate through these furs.”

”You see them as white in the dark because of the phosphorescence evaporating.”

Zheng Qing looked at the delicate little insect on the tweezers, clicking his tongue in admiration.

”And what about the Corpse-eating Insects from outside the island?” Jiang Yu relentlessly questioned.

”Insects from outside the island are much more complex,” Doctor Du Zemu carefully put the beetle back into the tank, then began wiping the tweezers meticulously with a cloth soaked in kerosene, advising, ”The Corpse-eating insects in the Silent Forest naturally carry a deadly toxin, which is beloved by the Fallen Sorcerers. If you accidentally get it on you, wiping it with kerosene can disinfect to some extent. Of course, the best method is to expose it to sunlight—this poison dies in light.”

The two young wizards nodded in agreement.

”As for the insects from outside the island,” the doctor squinted his eyes, pondered for a moment, and concluded: ”Actually, I’ve mentioned before, only two main types remain. One is the Qinling Corpse Beetles from Huaxia Qinling, the other is the Sacred Scarab from the Egyptian pyramid. There used to be a Feather Corpse Beetle in the South American rainforest, but no wild population has been detected for a long time—it is considered extinct.”

”The Qinling Corpse Beetles favor humidity and darkness—it’s an upgraded version of the Corpse-eating Insect. Generally, they are bred inside the bodies of zombies by wizards. The larvae feed on internal organs of the corpse, the adults breed extremely, following blood into the flesh, hard to eliminate.”

”The Pyramid Scarab, on the other hand, loves sunlight and dry conditions, contradicting the other Corpse-eating insects of the same species. It can be considered a mutant.”

”According to common theories, the ancient Corpse-eating Insects were buried with the old Egyptian priests in the sunless pyramids, gradually changing their habits, slowly evolving into the modern Sacred Scarab.”

”Typically, the Sacred Scarab lays its eggs in the host’s blood vessels, the larvae then drift along the vessels, finally entering the host’s heart. Once it bursts out, it is officially an adult.”

”The Pyramid Scarab has developed an exceptional skill during its long evolution. They can dehydrate.”

”Dehydrate?” Jiang Yu raised his brows in surprise.

”I happen to have a dehydrated Sacred Scarab shell here.” Doctor Du Zemu snapped his fingers, quickly diving behind the desk, pulling out a small transparent glass bottle.

Zheng Qing noticed a stack of tissue-like things layered in the bottle.

The doctor opened the bottle, plucked a piece of ’tissue’ out with tweezers, tossed it into a bowl, quickly sealed the little glass bottle again, and returned it to the back of the desk.

Within these mere seconds, the thin tissue tossed into the bowl had started to change colour, turning yellow.

”This is what the Sacred Scarab looks like after dehydration,” Doctor Du Zemu used a glass rod to poke at the tissue, explaining to his guests: ”If no one stops them, in an hour, this adult beetle will absorb enough moisture from the air to restore its form, turning back into an intimidating killer.”

”Of course, if we give them a little help, the recovery time can be shortened,” the doctor said, casually collecting ink from the desk, and pouring it into the bowl: ”Any liquid—I mean, any... including, but not limited to poison, oil, boiling water et cetera, any state of liquid, can help these dehydrated beings recover their health.”

Zheng Qing held his breath.

The ink in the bowl disappeared at a pace visible to the naked eye.

The paper soaked with water inflated like a balloon.

Head, horns, feelers, eyes, mouth, feet—the insect’s tiny components stretched out like inflating, slowly forming an ugly and palm-sized bug.

”Sacred Scarab’s normal colour is golden yellow, as dazzling as the sunlight. But if they absorb impure liquids while rehydrating, it may affect their bodily colour.” The doctor tapped at the beetle in the bowl with a glass rod.

The newly recovered Sacred Scarab shook its feelers impatiently, trying to flutter its shell.

Zheng Qing nodded.

Indeed, the bug that was now slowly budging its limbs seemed yellowish black, its back faintly speckled with dots.

Just as he was anticipating the bug’s further performance, Doctor Du Zemu tossed a spark into the bowl.

As if kindling meeting fierce fire, or perhaps a spark falling into gunpowder.

The Sacred Scarab, which had just bounced back to life, became a fireball in the blink of an eye, quickly turning into ashes with a shrilling scream.

The air was filled with a pungent smell, as if burnt plastic.