Gurgle! Gurgle! Strange noises bubbled from the Popo's stomach, like a pot of thick, boiling porridge roiling within.
Inside its stomach and intestines lived unique colonies of bacteria that helped break down food, producing peculiar gases that made the odor increasingly foul. Some Popo could even release highly toxic gas through flatulence—or trigger explosions.
At the same time, this repulsive smell helped them deter predators. It was hard to say it wasn't a deliberate evolutionary adaptation. After all, evolution favored survival: if a creature was disgusting enough, it wouldn't be eaten and could live on.
With its belly stuffed full of all sorts of junk, the Popo finally couldn't hold it any longer after a while. It began releasing freely with loud, wet sounds. A stream of greenish-brown liquid fell into the wooden barrel already positioned below, spreading an intense stench that formed a visible haze.
Logan and Zhu Peiniang quickly covered their noses—the herb leaves stuffed inside for filtering barely helped. Even retreating dozens of meters away, the smell remained clear. For a time, Logan didn't dare approach, only watching as the Popo continued uncontrollably until it finally collapsed in exhaustion, completely drained.
"Poor guy!"
Once the green mist dispersed, he held his breath, grabbed the wooden plug nearby, hooked the barrel out with a long pole, and sealed it tightly.
"Whew! Stink bomb complete!"
Plenty of base material, plus rotten meat, water, and fresh bacterial cultures—after some fermentation, the resulting smell was beyond imagination.
To prevent leakage, he wrapped the barrel with pre-prepared spider silk ropes and layered thick leaves over the surface, sealing it airtight.
Then Logan turned to the pitiful Popo and swung his wrist blade, cutting it free from the trees. Upon landing, it didn't flee immediately but simply went limp and collapsed on the ground.
Logan ignored it, tied a sturdy vine to his homemade stink bomb, and headed toward the Great Ant Mound Wasteland. The thick wooden walls could withstand the journey's bumps and friction, allowing him to run without worry.
With a clear destination, the return trip to the Anjanath's lair was much faster. It took just over a day to reach the cave entrance. But he didn't rush in. Instead, following his memory, he climbed above the nest and peered through a cracked fissure.
The familiar form of the Anjanath came into view, still curled in the soft sandy corner as if it had never left. Only scattered stones on the ground and remnants of fallen cacti proved it had been active.
"Good! Good! It hasn't started laying eggs yet—driving it out would be hard otherwise."
Logan lay quietly on the boulder, waiting. Pregnant animals needed more nutrition and hunted frequently, so it wouldn't be long before this Anjanath left the nest.
Sure enough, about two hours later, the sleeping Anjanath slowly awoke. It shook its heavy head, exhaled a puff of black mist from its mouth, and lumbered out with ponderous steps.
Once the Anjanath was far away, Logan immediately dragged the stink bomb inside, placed the barrel in the center of the cave, pulled out a hollow thigh bone sharpened at one end, and stabbed it in forcefully.
Under immense strength, the sharp bone instantly pierced the barrel's weaker fibers. A pale yellow gas, built up from internal fermentation pressure, erupted violently.
The invisible stench spread rapidly. Logan felt as if his nose had been punched hard—tears nearly streaming—as he turned and fled, vanishing quickly.
...
Over an hour later, the foraging Anjanath returned. But as it neared the entrance, the intense odor drilled straight into its nostrils, churning its stomach and nearly making it vomit what it had just eaten.
Enduring the foulness, it took a few more steps inside, but the smell only grew stronger, as if ready to engulf it. Soon, as though making a firm decision, it whipped around and left without looking back.
For a pregnant Anjanath, nothing was more important than ensuring the safety of its impending eggs. If traces of another creature appeared nearby, it would eliminate them immediately. Once a birthing nest was compromised, it had to be abandoned at once.
Though it didn't know what creature had left this overpowering stench, caution prevailed—it chose to leave. After all, for an Anjanath skilled at digging, building a suitable nest wasn't difficult and didn't take much time.
This time, it decided to go deeper underground. After laying the eggs, it would collapse the entrance and stay put until the young hatched.
...
Logan truly hadn't expected his plan to go so smoothly. He had underestimated a pregnant mother's vigilance toward danger. Over the next three days, he saw no sign of the Anjanath returning, confirming it had abandoned the nest.
But then a new problem arose. The Popo stink bomb's effect exceeded expectations. Even after stuffing his nostrils tightly with leaves, enduring nausea to rush in and drag the barrel out, the odor lingered stubbornly—as if it had seeped deep into the stone.
He lasted less than ten seconds inside before fleeing, choked out. Zhu Peiniang refused to even enter, standing guard at the entrance.
This wouldn't do. Waiting for the smell to dissipate naturally would take at least half a month—he needed active measures.
Logan began gathering dry timber from the surrounding forest, bundling it with spider silk and dragging it into the cave. Once he had enough, he piled it into a massive bonfire, stuffing soft grass and wood shavings underneath. Then he extended two claws, tips facing each other, and lightly touched them.
As his electricity-generating organs activated, massive current surged to the claws. Voltage climbed rapidly, forming a thick arc between the fingertips. The high-temperature plasma quickly ignited the soft grass, spreading flames to fine shavings, leaves, and branches. Soon the massive logs atop caught fire too.
The blaze roared, releasing vast light and heat. The cave's temperature soared like a gigantic oven, baking everything inside.
Insects and small rodents were driven from stone crevices by the heat, fleeing desperately toward the exit. The high temperature evaporated the cave's scarce moisture, killing off microbes in droves.
At the same time, large amounts of carbon dioxide were released, acting as an excellent adsorbent. It carried the lingering odors upward, rising gently through the ceiling fissures and gradually dispersing into the air.
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