# Chapter 54: Human Skin
In fact, of the three pieces of fur Xu Huo had told Peng Fengnian and the others about, only one had a hidden layer. Concealing the other two was merely a precaution, in case the ticket-holding players turned hostile after clearing the instance.
But Zou Weichang had obtained that piece of skin and still hadn't cleared the instance, which meant Xu Huo's assumption was wrong—the human skin wasn't the key to clearing.
Of course, it was possible it wasn't that particular piece of human skin, but there was no time to identify the genuine article and complete the first task, so they could only take a risk and try the second task.
He cut all the stitches on the red-haired man's abdomen. Although the area beneath the pigskin was completely filled with mucus and had grown together with the skin in some places, the incomplete stitching had indeed prolonged the fusion time. Nearly twelve hours had passed, and the pigskin could still be removed.
Sima Xiao'er struggled out of the skin, grimacing from the pain of over a dozen wounds of varying sizes on his body. He quickly drank a bottle of self-healing agent and only relaxed when he saw the cracked wounds beginning to slowly heal.
"I can see the game mission now. What do you need me to do?"
Xu Huo briefly explained the situation with the Skinner. Sima Xiao'er's anger flared as he listened. "Those bastards are really something else, causing internal conflict at a time like this. I'm going to check their water meters when I get back!"
"You can check if you can find them." Xu Huo was noncommittal, then asked, "What convenient props do you have on hand?"
Sima Xiao'er immediately became wary. "What do you want to do?"
Xu Huo didn't waste time arguing with him and said directly, "Tomorrow during the day, I'll lure the Skinner out. I need you to do two things, within your ability."
After lowering his voice and explaining, he added, "Any thoughts?"
Thoughts? Sima Xiao'er had none.
Before the perverted version of the Skinner appeared, he might have had some ideas, but now he had none at all. His sense of smell was exceptionally sharp. When Zou Weichang was caught, he had smelled a heavy bloody odor—the kind that only comes from fresh blood flowing continuously. After hearing Xu Huo say the man had been skinned alive, he immediately abandoned any thoughts of bribing the Skinner.
"Will I be discovered if I leave?" he hesitated for a moment. "I'm afraid the Skinner will take it out on the others."
"The ticket-holding players will help us cover it up," Xu Huo said. "Before we clear the instance, we're still on the same side."
After the two had discussed their plans, Sima Xiao'er hid outside the factory, while Xu Huo returned to the Skinner's bedroom.
Day soon broke. Xu Huo walked out of the bedroom. The Skinner had just sat up from the sofa, messing up his neatly combed hair with a few grabs, returning to that greasy appearance from yesterday. He tilted his head back and gulped down a few mouthfuls of wine before speaking: "Brother Wang, you're up early."
Xu Huo looked like he hadn't slept well, pointing behind him. "Do you have a habit of sleepwalking at night?"
The Skinner paused, then immediately scrambled up and rushed to the workshop. When he saw the hanging body, his anger surged. He charged over and kicked open the door to the player's rest room, roaring, "Get the hell up and clean this up!"
Peng Fengnian had already left. Tang Pei and the others walked out of the room and were shocked by the sight of Zou Weichang, instinctively turning their heads away.
The Skinner kicked Xian Dazhi, who was closest. "What are you standing around for!"
"Um... where should we put him?" Xian Dazhi said with difficulty.
"Throw everything into the slaughter room. Someone's coming tomorrow to pick up the bulk goods. You cut the meat into pieces and pack them. No heads, no organs." The Skinner paused, then eyed the group sinisterly. "If I catch any of you sneaking a bite..."
Tang Pei and the others nearly vomited, quickly assuring him they wouldn't steal any food.
After breakfast, Xu Huo left with the Skinner, also calling Yang Can.
Tang Pei and the others had already decided to act during the day. They carried Zou Weichang to the slaughter room. Xian Dazhi's hands trembled like he had epilepsy as he held the skin.
"Why does the Skinner skin them and then not want the skin?"
"Maybe he's not satisfied with this skin." Qin An tore off a piece of cloth to cover Zou Weichang's face. "Let's hurry. We're going to the secret room."
The two walked out of the slaughter room, and Tang Pei came over from the pigsty at the back. "Peng Fengnian was right. Xu Huo does have more companions. There's one less in the pigsty."
"Leave him alone for now." Qin An waved his hand. "Xu Huo is a smart man. Even if he doesn't cooperate, he won't fall out with us."
When the three entered the Skinner's bedroom, they found the wall had been pushed open. They quickly went inside and saw a red-haired young man they hadn't seen before climbing up the fireplace to take down the painting hanging there.
Qin An signaled the other two, and the three spread out to surround him.
Hearing sounds behind him, Sima Xiao'er immediately hugged the painting to his chest. "What are you doing? Trying to steal the painting!"
Qin An looked at Tang Pei. Tang Pei shook her head, and the three of them relaxed their stances.
No notification of someone clearing the instance had come through, proving that painting wasn't "The Skinner's Treasure."
"Why did Xu Huo tell you to take that painting?" Qin An couldn't help but ask.
Sima Xiao'er snorted coldly, grabbed a burning stick from the fireplace, and left.
"They're not still trying to save people, are they?" Tang Pei said incredulously.
Since what they took wasn't the clearing item, it could only be for saving people. All these items belonged to the Skinner. Unless the Skinner died, even if they got their hands on them, they'd be useless.
"Does Xu Huo have his own way to clear the instance?" Xian Dazhi looked at the other two.
Qin An's gaze swept around the secret room. Suddenly remembering what Peng Fengnian had said last night, he turned and walked out. Entering the fur room, he searched for the three pieces of fur Xu Huo had mentioned, one by one. He didn't stop until the third piece. Pinching the skin with one hand and grabbing the fur with the other, he pulled in opposite directions. With a "ripping" sound, a thin layer of human skin was revealed in the hidden compartment.
[Congratulations to all players for completing the mission "The More Precious the Thing, the Easier It Is to Lose" and successfully passing the "Good Taste Fresh Meat Supply Factory" instance. This instance is a group instance, with a collective rating of D.]
...
[Congratulations to the ticket-holding player for completing the mission "The More Precious the Thing, the Easier It Is to Lose" and successfully passing the "Good Taste Fresh Meat Supply Factory" instance. This instance is a group instance, with a collective rating of D.]
[Since the player Passerby A is a random player in this instance and does not participate in the rating, the ticket-holding player's clearance counts as clearance. You may choose whether to leave the instance now.]
[Yes]
[No]
When Qin An and the others received the game notification, Xu Huo also received his. Noticing the subtle changes in the body language of Yang Can and the Skinner beside him, his gaze suddenly darkened, and then the muscles throughout his body uncontrollably tensed up!
The Skinner, who had been lazily lounging in his chair, slowly sat up straight, focusing intently on the float bobbing on the water's surface. Suddenly he sighed emotionally, "If only I had a temporary pass, I wouldn't have to go through the trouble of moving around."
He abruptly turned his head, both eyeballs reflecting Xu Huo's figure. "The smell on you is a bit like that little piglet who ran away yesterday."
The bucket in Yang Can's hand crashed to the ground with a thud.
Xu Huo moved his fingers, then suddenly smiled. He pulled up the fishing rod, a large fish struggling on the hook.