Chapter 942: Chapter 470: Deformed Aberration_2
But now, they have all become cold corpses, indistinct in the flesh.
And the culprit... has already disappeared.
Xia Nan suddenly turned around and looked towards the northernmost part of the clearing.
There, close to the bottom of the cliff, was a small pool.
Its area was not large, occupying only one-sixth of the entire clearing, but it was extraordinarily calm.
Unlike the surrounding sea with its violently crashing waters of different colors, the pool was calm, looking from afar like a piece of black glass, its mysterious depth evident from the dark hue.
Once bitten, twice shy.
He remembered that the shark beast he encountered last time had leaped from a pool in an underground cave, taking the opportunity to ambush one of his Half Elf teammates, resulting in their death.
Facing a similar situation now, Xia Nan naturally couldn’t overlook it.
He immediately warned everyone to be cautious and designated the area around the pool as a high-risk zone, advising everyone to stay away.
Then, passing through the numerous fragmented corpses of fishmen, they found the bodies of the missing islanders.
Or rather, the islanders’ corpses.
Just like the situation at the fishing village on Wild Rabbit Island, the fishermen who lived for generations in Twin Canyon were all killed, their bodies used as sacrifices and thrown into a large pit that had been temporarily dug.
Now, they were rotting and stinking.
But strangely, no mosquitoes or insects were drawn to the smell of the corpses.
No one thought much of it, because everyone’s attention was focused on the mysterious altar in the center of the clearing.
Compared to the two crude altars Xia Nan had seen before, made seemingly with stones from the sea, this building truly had the appearance of an "altar."
It was like a small mountain rising from the ground, with its base made of tightly stacked sea rocks sculpted with wave patterns, adorned with numerous shells, conches, and oysters, with scattered pearls shimmering between the layers;
Above, various pale fish bones were stacked in strange yet organized shapes of different colors, surrounded by intertwined corals.
The entire altar was conical like a pyramid, with the wide base gradually narrowing upwards.
But what was extremely strange.
In this location, where all Exotic Realm buildings had been completely cleared, suspected to be the center of the Secret Realm.
At the top of the altar, something peculiar occurred — the only instance of a clipping issue.
As if it was a fusion out of nowhere.
Half of an operating room had merged with the altar.
The side of the room’s door had completely disappeared, exposing the floor laid with white and green checkerboard tiles, while fish bones and corals shot out obliquely;
The operating room’s walls were white, with a kerosene lamp whose outer glass cover was shattered hanging on the wall, and next to it, a steel instrument cabinet stood open, empty except for a few shells integrated with the altar.
In the center of the operating room sat a marble operating table.
Its appearance should be the same model found by Xia Nan and the others earlier in the cliff cave, but now it was completely damaged, a huge crack running through it from top to bottom, faintly visible with large stains of blood on its surface, and the surrounding ground scattered with bloody bandages and surgical knives, as if the surgery was ongoing when the transmigration occurred, leaving no time to clean up.
Yet the operating table was completely empty, with no patient or corpse.
The most intriguing to Xia Nan was the nearby overturned sofa.
Ordinarily, such a sofa wouldn’t be found in an operating room but should be placed in a waiting area for family members or medical staff to rest, but now, it was slanted and sunken into the ground.
On the sofa sat a portable suitcase.
Its body was made of deep brown leather, with a subtle diamond pattern on the surface.
In the center of the case was a symbol embedded in the leather, a dark gold vertical stethoscope emblem.
In his mind, Xia Nan couldn’t help but recall the information captured earlier on the attribute panel of the operating table in the living area.
The suitcase was from the so-called "Doctor Association" within that Secret Realm.
It seemed to have been used for many years; the corners of the leather on the suitcase were worn white, and there were two spring-loaded metal clasps on its front, but they were unlocked, merely resting on either side.
In the gap between the upper and lower parts of the case, a thin, dark slit seemed to seduce people into opening it.
Xia Nan had experienced many Secret Realms and had summarized some patterns within them.
For instance, those obviously inconsistent with the surroundings, exotic-styled structures bizarrely merging like a glitch with the surrounding things; or venues suddenly opening up, representing the center of a Secret Realm.
Meanwhile, he also knew that the Secret Realm itself might have already completely merged with this world, or still retain a pocket dimension.
But in most cases, every Secret Realm has its core.
Like the Gilded Gourd within the Snake Cave Secret Realm, the Flame Crystal Wooden Staff within the Gray Valley Secret Realm, or the Sheep Deer Statue within the Evil Secret Realm...
Having experienced it multiple times, Xia Nan vaguely felt a certain inexplicable connection with the core objects of such Secret Realms.
Now, past accumulated experience and keen Perception Ability were strongly reminding him.
The core of the Secret Realm where he was now located is that suitcase marked with the "Doctor Association" emblem.
Or more precisely, inside the suitcase!
Xia Nan couldn’t help but feel stirred inside.
Just as he was pondering how to explain it to his teammates, not far away, the pool of black water that had been still like a mirror since earlier began to ripple.
"Glub."
Tiny bubbles continuously rose to the surface, vaguely revealing a larger and darker silhouette gradually ascending.
Thanks to Xia Nan’s earlier warning, everyone was increasingly vigilant against the pool that might harbor enemies.
Almost the moment they noticed the movement, they were ready for battle.
Whether it was an overconfidence in its own strength or sensing their vigilance, the monster lingering in the pool didn’t suddenly leap out from the water like its counterpart on Cliff Island and attack the intruders.
Instead, it ascended slowly and leisurely, with a posture full of oppressive force.
"Boom."
Water splashed as the short, thick legs supporting a massive body stepped forward, webbed feet landing with a sound like dull drums.
It was a humanoid shark beast monster.
The disproportionately large shark head occupying a quarter of its body and the inverted-triangle torso filled with muscles indicated that it was of the same species as the shark beast Xiuxiu had slain.
But its impressive twelve-foot height and more swollen, muscle-monster-like bulky body made the previous nine-foot-tall shark beast seem like a "youth version."
The group, all seasoned adventurers, weren’t surprised by the bizarrely shaped demons, especially since Xia Nan had already detailed his previous encounter with the shark beast to the team.
Even though the shark beast in front was much bigger, it didn’t seem to elicit much surprise.
However, the situation was different at this moment.
A human male body with pale skin showing surgical scars emerged much like the interlocked buildings they’d seen on the way and had fused with the shark beast.
His existence violated the natural biological structure, protruding diagonally from the shark beast’s right side.
His head was bowed, obscuring his face, with his left arm hanging over the beast’s abdomen, while his right arm and lower chest were fully embedded within the beast’s body, with his lower body extending from its left rear hip, legs hanging beside its sturdy thighs.
Two species sharing the same body.
