Steam Old Days: The Extraordinary Begins with a Corpse Collector

"Hurlish claw marks."

Lyndon stepped forward and reached out to touch the stone wall.

As he ran his fingertips across the claw marks on the wall, he couldn't help but marvel, "These stones are incredibly hard. That strange creature managed to leave such deep scratches with just a light touch. It's not to be underestimated!"

Lyndon's eyes sharpened. He withdrew his hand and turned to Cecilia, asking, "What kind of alien species do you think these claw marks are?"

Cecilia shook her head: "I can't tell either. There are only a few types of mutants living in Veltlin, but the claw marks on the wall are too wide and too deep. They are different from the claw marks of any mutants I know."

Her expression was serious, her brows furrowed: "That's why I called you up here, to see if you've ever seen claw marks like these before."

Upon hearing this, Lyndon examined the claw marks on the wall more closely, and finally said helplessly, "No, I've never seen them before either. Perhaps they belong to some kind of undiscovered new species?"

"A new mutant species, huh..."

Cecilia murmured, her face showing even deeper worry.

Throughout history, many new and unusual species have indeed been discovered.

Even now, people dare not say that they have completely studied alien species.

Therefore, Lyndon's statement is not without merit.

But Cecilia felt she wasn't so lucky.

Could it really be so easy for someone to stumble upon an undiscovered, wondrous alien species?

If this were told to the alien researchers, they would probably be furious.

Moreover, the unknown represents danger.

If it truly is a completely new and unknown species, what level is it? What category does its spiritual power belong to? And how can the two of them deal with it?

These are all issues they need to consider.

Just as the situation reached a stalemate, Uncle Moses suddenly spoke up: "That's not all, there's more in the sheepfold. I can take you to see it."

This news greatly boosted the spirits of Lyndon and Cecilia.

The more information we obtain about this alien species, the better we can deal with it.

"Quick! Take us there!" the two said in unison.

So Uncle Moses led the two downstairs to the sheepfold behind the house.

As soon as you enter the sheep pen, the air is filled with a strong smell of sheep manure and mutton fat.

The smell made Lyndon's eyes burn.

He had no choice but to grit his teeth and walk inside, holding his nose.

At this moment, he might be missing the air of Chongqing.

The entire sheepfold was built of stones.

In the corner, there was a low shed, made of wood, with a thatched roof and dry grass on the ground.

In winter or on rainy days, the sheep will crawl inside on their own.

These hays also need to be replaced frequently, otherwise the sheep will get foot rot.

The three stood in the sheepfold, while the sheep huddled together in a corner, bleating uneasily as if some terrifying monster lurked inside.

Uncle Moses stepped forward, pointed to a mark on the ground, and said, "This is it. You see, after the monster stepped on it, the sheep dared not come near here."

Lyndon and Cecilia stepped forward and saw two clear paw prints on the soft ground.

The two of them squatted down and examined it carefully.

Lyndon pressed his handprint next to it for comparison, and the result was that the paw print on the ground was only half a circle larger than Lyndon's hand.

So it seems Uncle Moses was right; the monster wasn't very tall, probably only half a head taller than Lyndon.

"Philip, you've seen this."

Cecilia ran her fingers over the edge of the claw mark.

The front of the claw print has two sharp, slender finger marks, while the back has only a short, thick finger mark, resembling a half-written "Y".

"It looks a bit like a chicken or bird's claw mark."

Lyndon glanced at it and said.

"I think so too, and I'm even more convinced that the mutants in Veltlin don't have such claw marks. This must be an alien species, or as you said, a mutant that we've never seen before."

Cecilia said with a serious expression.

"What should we do then?" Uncle Moses overheard their conversation and anxiously asked for a solution.

If neither of the two people in front of him can solve the problem, then he will have no choice but to go to the city and spend a lot of money to beg Saint Caleb for help.

In that case, I would definitely go bankrupt.

If that's the case, Uncle Moses thinks it would be better to let the monster eat him whole.

At this point, Lyndon asked, "Uncle Moses, when that monster came last time, it didn't eat any sheep, right?"

"Yes!" Uncle Moses nodded. "I even gave that monster a few bullets, but unfortunately, I couldn't kill it!"

After saying that, Uncle Moses clapped his hands angrily.

"In that case, I estimate that the monster is very likely to come again tonight!" Lyndon immediately made his judgment.

He turned to Cecilia and said, "Cecilia, tonight we'll stay here and wait for the monster to come to us, then we'll take care of it!"

Cecilia agreed with Lyndon's idea.

"Uncle Moses, tonight you and your family should stay inside, lock the doors and windows, and don't come out no matter what noise you hear. Leave the outside to us."

Looking into Cecilia's resolute gaze, Uncle Moses felt a glimmer of hope and comfort.

"Okay! Thank you so much! I'll have Martha prepare some food for you right now, and find some blankets. By the way, where are you going to hide tonight?"

Lyndon stood up, glanced around, and pointed to the shed, saying, "Hide it there!"

As night fell, the sheep were all driven into the shed.

The sheep huddled together, their soft wool rubbing against each other, making a soft rustling sound.

At the very back of the shed, Lyndon and Cecilia sat on a thick layer of hay.

They huddled among the sheep, sharing the small hiding place with them.

A few pale rays of moonlight shone through the small window in the shed, scattering and barely outlining the contours of things.

Lyndon was wiping the shotgun in his hand, which he had borrowed from Uncle Moses.

Although ordinary bullets cannot harm the aliens, they can at least attract their attention and create an opportunity for attack.

The sheep watched quietly as Lyndon cleaned his gun, occasionally craning its neck to curiously examine the gun in Lyndon's hand.

Lyndon grinned wickedly, pointed the gun at the sheep, and said "Bang!"

The sheep seemed to smell the gunpowder from the barrel; it shrank its neck, but then stuck out its tongue and licked the barrel.

"Ugh! That's disgusting!"

Lyndon put away his shotgun and lightly slapped it.

"Meow!"

The sheep bleated pitifully, then buried its head in the flock and turned its rear end toward Lyndon.

Lyndon moved aside with a look of disgust.

Cecilia sat next to Lyndon, tilting her head and watching him make a fool of himself with a sheep with a smile.

Her azure eyes reflected Lyndon's image.

Cecilia suddenly found Lyndon somewhat adorable.

His actions sometimes carried a touch of youthful naiveté.

And so, without thinking, she murmured, "So cute..."

"What?" Lyndon turned his head and looked at Cecilia in disbelief.

Cecilia then realized that she had spoken her true feelings aloud.

She quickly waved her hand, trying to cover for herself, saying, "No, I didn't say anything. You misheard me. I didn't."

Then Cecilia buried her face in her knees.

But by the moonlight, Lyndon could see that the tips of her ears were flushed red.

Lyndon's senses had been enhanced, so he clearly heard what Cecilia had just said. The reason he asked a question was because he couldn't believe that Cecilia would say such a thing to him.

For the rest of the time, the two did not exchange another word.

Only a few bleating sounds could be heard from inside the shed.

Time passed by, second by second.

Cecilia yawned, her eyes glazed over, and then leaned against the edge of the shed and fell asleep.

"Go to sleep, I'll stay here."

"Linden said softly."

But gradually, as Cecilia fell asleep, her body swayed, and her head tilted to the side, resting on Lyndon's shoulder.

Lyndon felt the weight on his shoulder, and he straightened his back, trying to keep the position unchanged so as not to wake Cecilia.

The night wind blew through the thatched roof.

It was so quiet outside that not even a bird chirped.

Lyndon had no idea what time it was; he wondered if the monster wasn't coming today.

Just then, a mournful sob suddenly came from outside the shed.

Upon hearing the voice, Lyndon's previously relaxed nerves instantly tensed up.

He listened intently and felt the sound getting closer and closer.

Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed past the small window on the shed.

Seeing this, Lyndon quickly woke Cecilia up.

"Hmm, what... um!"

Cecilia had barely uttered the words when Lyndon covered her mouth.

"Shh!"

Lyndon gestured for Cecilia to be quiet, then raised his gun and pointed it at the wooden door.

Cecilia, whose mouth was covered, heard footsteps outside and a chilling gurgling sound, like the grinding of upper and lower teeth.