Plague Doctor

Neither Gu Jun nor Deng Ximei could tell whether the Black Billy Goat had died in the explosions or it had escaped. After the series of blanket fires, the satellite showed that the Black Billy Goat dispersed into a cloud of black dust. It was exactly the same when the flesh forest disappeared from the sky of Mo Bei. It dissipated along with the dust and wind. After the explosions stopped, drones were sent into the cratered forest to check but they found no trace of black powder on the ground. However, they did find broken body parts that had been blown apart from the Black Billy Goat's body before it disintegrated. 

The most well-preserved was definitely the goat's leg. It was 2 metres long with the calf and hooves. Even the smallest part had a diameter of 95 cm. There was a chance that the Black Billy Goat had escaped in a method that they were not privy to. 

On the other hand, when the tanks rolled into the collapsed cave, the original flesh tissue on the wall had already wilted. They turned into something like a keratinized cuticle, they lost their previous color, elasticity and life. However, the headquarters was still glad about this result. Zero death! They only lost 2 tanks and had won over this abnormal creature that they had encountered for the first time. Different from flying polypus hydroid and the locust swarm, the physical defense of Black Billy Goat appeared to be no different from zombies; they could be taken down by heat weapons. If that was the case, humanity could put up quite a fight against this creature. 

After the tanks ensured the safety of the cave, Gu Jun led a PM unit into the ruined cave. They did not trigger any new illusion but did express some lingering mental disturbance. The border inside the cave already disappeared. The cave was about 100 metres deep. The drones noticed that the cuticle layer at the end of the cave was particularly thick and they still had some dark energy left in them because it was the lair of the Black Billy Goat. The cuticle was still pulsing but when the tanks attempted to take a sample, they soon wilted. Gu Jun speculated that the space inside the cave represented the uterus, it was where life was sustained.

The 2 tanks were found among the rubble. They were not spared from the explosions. The technicians managed to identify them and even managed to salvage the video card from the first tank's camera. Even though the card was heavily damaged, there was a chance for recovery. The card was handed to the world's best computer technicians to see if they could restore the video files. They might be able to see what happened to the drone after it crossed the border. The scanning of the whole cave required time and analysis of the unknown sample needed time too. But there were only 290 hours left for Gu Jun's autopsy quest. 

Speaking of which, Gu Jun had already left the frontline, he was inside the cabin of an armored car heading back to Eastern State base. It would take an hour to reach the base but Gu Jun wasted no time. Despite the bumpy ride, he already started the autopsy quest. The cabin was quite large but after placing the giant goat's leg inside it, it appeared quite cramped. Black-greenish liquid dripped onto the deck. The small space was smelling up horribly. Thankfully Gu Jun, Uncle Dan, Wang Ruoxiang were all in respirators or they'd faint from the lack of oxygen. Even Wu Siyu, who normally was not affected by these things, had to put on a heavy mask.

How to describe that smell… Rotten eggs, durians, dead rats, slippers, unclean toilets, multiply that by 100 times and it would be the smell of decomposition, multiply that smell by another 100 times and it'd be this smell inside the cabin now. Wu Siyu was hazed until she questioned her life, she took a deep breath and then another…

The sound of Zoogs tapping started inside the cabin as well. Lucky, Babyfat and a few other Zoogs cowered at the corner, talking among themselves. They were in extreme pain and regretted accepting the invitation to get in this car. Stupid Zoog, dumb Zoog, how were they going to survive this journey?!

Lucky was ultimately the vice leader, he was an official. Sometimes, he needed to take up the responsibility. He slammed heavily on the ground and gestured at Gu Jun who turned over, "Erm…" he wanted to say, could you please stop the car, it'll take less than a few minutes for us to get down. Or can we jump? But the car was moving too fast for that. This was not a movie, they'd die if they jumped while the car was moving. Even though the Zoogs were used to most smells from their adventures, this one was pushing their limits…

"What's wrong?" Gu Jun pulled out a scalpel from his pocket, its sleek blade was still sharp. He tried to make a cut at a rotten spot of the goat's leg. The location was suitable for experiment, there was no worry of ruining the tissue because it was already rotten. The knife met very firm skin. He had to apply force before the knife cut into the flesh. Liquid oozed out from the wound. At the same time, Wang Ruoxiang, Uncle Dan and the rest took out their tools as well. Gu Jun alone would take more than 10 days to dissect such a large goat's leg. 

"Erm…" Lucky was stumped. His long speech was somewhat translated into a gesture. He clamped his claws into a fist. "Good luck!"

Wu Siyu, who had been paying attention, nodded silently. That was a good choice. Lucky turned around to face his people, he was thinking about how to explain himself. Babyfat patted him, "Vice leader, you don't need to say anything, we understand."

Zoogs were not the only ones who were nervous. Shadeless lamps covered the cabin and many cameras were installed. The video was relayed to many bases. Many experts were watching. They'd provide analysis and opinions during the autopsy process. Before the autopsy even started, Xiao Huiwen's face was wrinkled together. Black Billy Goat was a new type of abnormal creature, just the leg alone would take days to dissect and that leg alone would provide so many new tissues and parts to label….