I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 56

The heart is the most crucial organ for any animal.

You can live without one kidney, and even if half a lung is blown off, you can survive as long as your heart remains intact.

But if the heart is damaged, even if it’s localized, the probability of death skyrockets.

Blood, essential for every organ. The heart, which supplies that blood.

Even the brain, which governs all thought, is nothing more than a squishy blob of jelly without blood.

Was the reason blood kept flowing despite losing so much because its heart was still alive?

Though every other organ including the brain had perished, it felt as though it alone was ’alive’.

Dugeun! Dugeun! Dugeun!

"...."

A heart larger than my head was flaunting its vitality.

Even though its host and every other organ had ceased functioning, it alone bragged of its vigor.

’Fuck. What on earth is going on?’

I felt like my entire common sense was being thoroughly shattered.

Its head was cut off, yet its heart is beating?

Even though it’s been at least six hours since it died?

Was this saber-toothed tiger bastard a zombie instead of a normal tiger?

No, wait. Even zombies are walking corpses.

It was under conditions where a heart could under no circumstances beat, yet it pulsated as if alive, leaving my mind numb.

’L-Let’s clear out the other organs first.’

Rigor mortis... yeah, something like that. That’s what I chose to tell myself.

My common sense told me rigor mortis usually only occurs in muscles.

Screw that. This was a world where the common sense I knew didn’t apply.

Right now butchering took priority, so I decided to finish the job before sorting out my thoughts.

Dugeun! Dugeun! Dugeun!

Somehow, I cleared out all the entrails, leaving only the heart behind.

I hesitated on whether I should sever this separately, but decided to cut it out.

The arteries and veins were so tough that even an aura-infused dagger struggled.

On top of that, blood spurted everywhere while slicing, which was a real pain in the neck.

"Phew."

Only after detaching the heart was I finally able to catch my breath.

I grabbed the heart—much larger than my own head—with both hands.

Even though all surrounding blood vessels were torn off, the heart churned violently as if to assert it was alive.

’Is this... even possible? A heart beating all on its own?’

Harboring doubts, I carefully moved the heart.

I placed the heart inside the box where I had previously kept the Golden Mushroom.

Because of its size, even the box felt cramped.

Dugeun! Dugeun! Dugeun!

Each time the heart pounded, the box rattled.

The heart showed no sign of stopping. Staring at it with mixed feelings, I turned away.

’Let’s finish what needs to be done first.’

I still had to finish butchering and dump the organs into the river.

If the heart was still beating by then... I don’t know. I’ll ask the Gallery.

I washed the inside of the gutted saber-toothed tiger.

Then, following the instructions from the Gallery, I separated the meat by cut.

Just in case, I checked for signs of decay, but found no problem areas.

’Is smoking... my only option?’

Looking at the neatly butchered piles of meat, I fell into thought.

Before, I had given up on smoking out of fear that predators would catch the scent.

But throwing away this much meat was also a foolish choice.

Choose an uncertain future, or prioritize immediate safety?

Even if I discarded the tough-to-eat cuts, the quantity was still immense.

’...Right. Let’s go with smoking. When you think about it, the most dangerous threat is running out of food.’

Fighting the saber-toothed tiger taught me that. At least beasts can be fought and defeated.

But food? Could I really survive a famine?

Sure, I had Fasting Pills as emergency rations, but currently they served as Speed Sloth’s staple diet.

Considering I didn’t know when access to the Gallery might cut off, smoking the meat was the best course of action.

’I should ask the Gallery.’

Maybe there was another preservation method.

Before the meat spoiled any further, I posted on the Gallery.

Title: Can anyone tell me how to preserve meat long-term?

Wild Grylls

I butchered the tiger and got a metric ton of meat. I really want to preserve it, but smoking is the only way I know.

Anyone know another method?

ㄴStarlight Lady) May I share a method with you?

ㄴWild Grylls) I’d love that.

ㄴStarlight Lady) First, you will need a large amount of salt. Salt draws out moisture from the meat. This will allow you to preserve it longer.

ㄴWild Grylls) Is it okay to smoke it after doing that?

ㄴStarlight Lady) It’s even better! I will write a detailed post in a little while, so you can just follow along.

ㄴWild Grylls) Thank you so much. But how do you know all this?

ㄴStarlight Lady) Some of it I read in books, and some I researched on my own. Since I stay at home all day, I’ve accumulated various pieces of knowledge.Visit no⁠velping.com for the full chapter.

ㄴDidn’t you say you spent all day in bed though?

ㄴStarlight Lady) Yes. And what of it?

ㄴThen by any chance, is that "knowledge"...

ㄴOh my. How lewd.

ㄴAh, so that’s what it was...

ㄴAh lol I get it now lol

ㄴStarlight Lady) You people are truly idiots.

I could trust and follow advice from Starlight Lady.

Before anything, I bought a large quantity of salt. Though quite expensive, I was more than willing to spend the points.

’Let’s store the meat in jars.’

Right on cue, the Auction House listed the exact type of jars I was looking for.

I bought five decently sized jars. Layering meat and salt inside should do the trick.

I didn’t stuff the meat in whole. I sliced it into bite-sized portions so the salt could be applied evenly.

It was tedious work, but for the sake of preserving meat, I gladly endured it.

’Trim the fat too.’

As I repeated this process steadily, the jars were filled to the brim with meat.

The other jars were no different—packed tight with salted meat.

Thanks to that, I could breathe a sigh of relief. If Starlight Lady’s words held true, the rate of spoilage would slow down significantly.

Moving these into the relatively cool cave completed the task.

’Let’s clear out the trash before prepping the smoking process.’

Wiping off beads of sweat, I turned my head toward the box.

The box containing the heart was twitching slightly. It seemed to still be beating.

"Ha, seriously."

I was so dumbfounded words escaped me. This was the second most absurd thing after the missing Golden Mushroom.

It wouldn’t sprout legs and vanish later too, right?

I joked, but let out a hollow laugh at the terrifying thought that it might actually happen.

"Bbareumbo-ya. Climb onto my back. Let’s go dump this."

"...."

Time to empty the iron barrel packed to the brim with blood and organs.

The iron barrel was huge and heavily weighed down, making transport awkward, but there was a way.

Utilizing the remaining rope bought from the Auction House.

As long as I could rig the barrel like a backpack, carrying it would be manageable.

"Can you latch onto my back?"

"...."

Instead of clinging to my back, Speed Sloth chose to ride piggyback on my shoulders.

It was a little—no, immensely—uncomfortable, but I endured with the mindset that it was just for this once.

The distance to the river wasn’t far anyway. Even if danger arose, Speed Sloth would handle it.

Trudging along stubbornly, I managed to arrive at the familiar river.

Cheom-beong! Cheom-beong!

"Oh! Quite a catch!"

An impressive number of fish were caught in the fish trap I set yesterday. A whole three of them.

They were large enough that just three filled the trap completely.

Feeling satisfied, I dumped the entrails and blood inside the iron barrel into the river.

It felt like illegal dumping, but since it was organic offal and not toxic wastewater, it should be fine.

Tu-da-da-da-da!

The instant blood and organs hit the water, an astounding swarm of fish rushed in.

There were so many that one could literally step across their backs to cross the river.

Fearing I might get dragged into the feeding frenzy, I disposed of everything quickly.

One wrong step and I might get eaten alive too.

’What kind of fish...’

Now I understood why fish were caught every single day. There were simply an overwhelming number of them.

Aside from the fierce current, far more diverse aquatic life inhabited these waters than I had anticipated.

’I’ll retrieve the fish trap later.’

Since tasks still remained, I postponed collecting the fish trap.

Trapped inside, they couldn’t escape anyway, so I wasn’t worried.

Having disposed of the entrails, I returned to the cave.

Deulseok! Deulseok! Deulseok!

"...."

Even after going back and forth, the heart was still pounding. It was so absurd I was speechless.

Simultaneously, realization struck. That heart possesses a special power.

Since I didn’t know the cause, asking was my only option. I wrote a post on the Gallery.

Title: Is it possible for a heart to keep beating even after death?

Wild Grylls

Killed the saber-toothed tiger, but its heart is still beating.

It’s beating even after butchering it completely. Will upload video if you don’t believe me.

Is this actually possible? Genuinely curious.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) How long has it been since it perished?The source of this chapter is novеlping.com.

ㄴWild Grylls) Seems like at least 6 hours or more.

ㄴHeavenly Demon) If that is the case, I am uncertain. I too have witnessed hearts beating post-mortem, but only for a brief moment after death.

ㄴWild Grylls) Don’t tell me those weren’t human hearts?

ㄴHeavenly Demon) They were human indeed. Is there a problem?

ㄴWild Grylls) Never mind.

ㄴSword Matstar) What do you mean only the heart is beating? I don’t understand?

ㄴWild Grylls) Want me to show you? Might be a bit gross though.

ㄴSword Matstar) Yes.

ㄴWild Grylls) (Video of pulsating heart) How’s that?

ㄴSword Matstar) Woah;; Is that really possible?

ㄴWild Grylls) I don’t know either, that’s why I’m asking lol

ㄴLook at the fucking size lmfao why is the heart so huge?

ㄴIf you see the photos of the saber-toothed tiger you’d get it lol it’s just fucking massive

ㄴWas its dong huge too by any chance?

ㄴWhy the fuck are you asking that you dumbass

ㄴFuck off, a guy can be curious

ㄴAllfather A fascinating phenomenon indeed. It is quite rare for a heart to beat in isolation... Did you not sense any energy residing within it?

ㄴWild Grylls) Well, I’m pretty insensitive to that kind of stuff...

ㄴAllfather It is merely my hypothesis, but there ought to be something inside sustaining its activity—most likely an Inner Core. Would you care to slice open the heart and check?

ㄴWild Grylls) What if there’s nothing?

ㄴAllfather I can guarantee it. There is no effect without a cause in this world. Something inside that heart is making it beat.

ㄴWild Grylls) I’ll think about it.

ㄴGrylls-nim. Did you notice if the meat showed any signs of spoilage?

ㄴWild Grylls) I lack knowledge so I’m not sure, but there weren’t any discolored parts.

ㄴThought so. Because the heart kept beating and blood kept circulating, spoilage must have progressed far more slowly.

ㄴWild Grylls) Ah. Is that so?

ㄴIt’s just my guess though.

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero Eww! That’s gross! Excuse me, but may I lock the comments!

ㄴWild Grylls) What happens if you lock comments?

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero The video won’t completely disappear! The comments will just be hidden!

ㄴWild Grylls) If you deem it repulsive content, feel free to do so.

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero Thank you for your cooperation!

ㄴWild Grylls) Orange Badge-nim, do you know why it’s like this?

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero Nope! But like Allfather-nim said, there’s definitely something inside! Or why not grill and eat it! Heart is super chewy and delicious!

ㄴPassing Dwarf) That’s my drinking snack. Don’t touch it.

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero Ahhh! I’m sorry!

ㄴWild Grylls) What are you talking about now;;

There was a brief commotion. As Allfather suggested, cutting open the heart seemed like the right call.

Even if there was nothing inside, it wouldn’t be a problem. It couldn’t hurt me.

I lifted the heart stored in the box with both hands.

The moment I held it in both hands, the heart seemed to pulsate even more violently.

’Blood might splatter, so I should change clothes first.’

I first changed into the uniform demoted to work clothes.

Placing the heart upon a flat stone, I stared at it quietly.

Dugeun! Dugeun! Dugeun!

Was there really something inside as Allfather suggested?

If there was, could it be an Inner Core? The likelihood was high.

Picking up the dagger used during butchering, I made my decision.

Whatever was inside, let’s cut it open. It won’t kill me.

Kuk-

’Now even a heart won’t take a blade?’

Even slicing vigorously with the dagger left not a single nick.

On the contrary, as if warning me not to harm it any further, the heart beat even harder.

But that only stoked my stubbornness. I infused aura into the dagger.

It might be my imagination, but channeling aura felt much smoother than yesterday.

’No matter how tough it is, a heart is still a heart.’

I brought the aura-laden dagger against the heart.

U-u-u-ung!

"Huh?"

With that, the heart suddenly swelled up as though enraged.

Beyond mere swelling, blood vessels bulged outwards erratically.

Bad omen. Urgently dropping the dagger, I scrambled backward.

Next moment, the heart shuddered, and—

Kwagawang!

Detonated in a colossal explosion accompanied by a flash of blue light.

Staring into that explosion, only one thought crossed my mind.

’Fuck me sideways.’