Ji You was startled, thinking she must have seen it wrong. She quickly leaned in closer, examining the head of this Level 8 female Carrion Vulture, and found that indeed there was a small hole in the position of its bird crown.
This small hole was shallow, as if it had been cut open not long ago, with traces of blood on it. Judging by the shape of the incision, Ji You guessed it was made by a small knife. Ji You opened her mouth: "Huh?"
Based on the observed situation, wasn’t it the very small knife Teacher Mu used just now?
Linking to Teacher Mu holding a small knife and what she had done to the Corona Corpse Vulture’s body, Ji You rubbed her chin:
Could it be that Teacher Mu deliberately used a small knife to cut open the head of this Level 8 Star Beast and took something from inside?
What could it be?
Ji You picked up the carrion vulture’s head, examining it carefully, looking over it several times, and found nothing missing. Ji You had dismantled materials from Carrion Vultures twice before, and was very familiar with all its organs, so she was very sure that nothing else was missing from this carrion vulture except for a hole in its head.
Was her guess wrong?
But—
Ji You certainly saw Teacher Mu use the knife to do something to the bird’s crown, it’s just her moves were so fast that Ji You didn’t see clearly.
Guessing again and again but unable to figure it out, Ji You left the Level 8 carrion vulture behind and quickly went to see the other Level 4 and 5 carrion vulture corpses. She checked them one by one and found they were all intact with no holes in their heads.
This means Teacher Mu only took something from the heads of two Level 8 carrion vultures?
Thinking of this, Ji You raised her hand to point at the carrion vulture’s head and asked the surrounding classmates: "By the way, did any of you see Teacher Mu take something from here just now?"
The others, hearing this, seemed a bit confused.
Chu Jiaojiao asked: "Take what? Isn’t everything here?"
Yue Qiguang muttered: "Who had time to watch her, too busy killing enemies to even manage that."
Yue Qiyuan shook his head, saying: "I didn’t notice."
Shen Changqing also shook his head, saying: "I was too far away earlier, couldn’t see clearly. Ji You, what are you trying to say?"
Ji You pointed to the hole in the carrion vulture’s head, saying: "Nothing much, just, look here, there’s a hole. I saw Teacher Mu take something, but didn’t see clearly what it was."
Shen Changqing was startled.
The others showed a bit of curiosity: "There’s something here?"
"Yeah." Ji You waved her hand, saying: "Don’t dwell on it, quickly dismantle the materials, everyone get to your positions, hold down the spaceship and the flight path, we need to get back to the examination site as soon as possible."
"As for this issue..." Ji You thought for a moment, then said: "Once Teacher Mu is rested, I’ll ask her."
Everyone nodded: "Alright."
Thus, a party of 10, excluding Sheng Qingyan who was focused on watching the turrets, and Xuzhou, Zhang Ye, Lou, and Lance who were navigating the spaceship, Ji You, Shen Changqing, Chu Jiaojiao and 4 others quickly extracted all the materials from this batch of carrion vultures.
While dismantling, all of them held their noses, feeling quite disgusted. Because, after using the stinky bomb to drive away these carrion vultures — though it wasn’t successful — they all carried the smell of stinky bomb, a lingering odor that was hard to describe.
Yue Qiguang said: "In my life, I’ve never smelled such a stench."
Ji You laughed: "Congratulations, you’ve smelled it now."
Yue Qiguang: "..."
Yue Qiyuan kept his mouth shut, wearing a face-shielding mask, looking as though he didn’t want to say another word.
Chu Jiaojiao wanted to speak, but as soon as she opened her mouth there came a waft of stench. She had endured the smell earlier to say a few words, but now she really didn’t want to talk. Still, after staring at Ji You’s face for a while, she said: "Ji You, your face sure is beautiful. By the way, did you make that stinky bomb yourself? Really amazing, you truly live up to who you are, even if it stinks, it stands out from others, reaching a higher level, a higher realm."
Ji You: "..."
Ji You rolled her eyes: "Jiaojiao, aren’t you afraid of the smell? Say less."
Shen Changqing had been keeping his head down, silently dismantling materials. Upon hearing this topic, he looked up at Ji You, saying: "The stinky bomb is effective on Viper Worms and Sea Iron Bulls, but seems to fail on carrion vultures. Do you know why?"
Ji You asked eagerly: "Do you know why, Shen Changqing?"
Shen Changqing shook his head, saying: "I don’t know, but I checked on the Star Network just now, it seems it’s because the carrion vulture’s taste and smell senses have degraded. Due to the failure of these senses and their robust bodies, they can survive in very harsh environments. Plus, as species that mainly feed on decaying materials, most of them live on smelly garbage planets for long term..."
As someone from a garbage planet, Ji You said: "I haven’t seen them on Garbage Star No. 101. So, they are immune to the stinky bomb mainly because their taste and smell senses have failed?"
Shen Changqing nodded: "Almost certainly."
Ji You rubbed her chin and after a while, her eyes suddenly brightened: "So, my stinky bomb could potentially be effective against all Star Beasts with sensitive taste and smell senses?"
Shen Changqing was slightly surprised, nodding: "Yes."
He hadn’t expected Ji You not to fall into the frustration of the stinky grass’s failure and instead immediately see the advantage from another angle.
Shen Changqing felt somewhat sincerely impressed by this.
Ji You asked: "Shen Changqing, do you know which Star Beasts currently have failed taste and smell senses like carrion vultures?"
Shen Changqing thought carefully, then said: "To my knowledge, there are about thirty Star Beasts with similar conditions, most like the carrion vulture, with some specific exceptions..."
At this point, Shen Changqing said: "When I have time, I’ll organize this list and send it to you all."
Ji You squinted and smiled: "Great."
Shen Changqing truly lives up to being the promising young genius of the school, apart from being too honest, in terms of thinking, talent, strength... in every aspect, he well deserves the title of genius.
Ji You’s favorite aspect about Shen Changqing is his attention to detail and broad knowledge, for example, in the problem just now, he knew more clearly and comprehensively than other classmates.
Before Ji You could speak, Shen Changqing thought for a moment, then continued: "I’ll also organize a list of Star Beasts with especially sensitive taste and smell, and send that to everyone as well."
Ji You: "Great."
Sea Iron Bulls and Viper Worms are two of the Star Beasts with top-notch taste and smell senses. Ji You’s stinky bombs had magical effects against them. In battles with high-level Star Beasts, every minute, every second, is crucial. Any mistake, or a slight advantage, might turn the tide of the whole battle.