Starting with dissecting ghost stories

Shen Xing withdrew the abnormal flesh covering his body, looked down at the photos on his phone, and nodded slightly.

When the amount of blood and flesh gushing out of one's own body reaches a certain level, it can achieve the effect of erasing one's own appearance from imaging data.

Shen Xing was unsure how his posture would appear to ordinary people.

The doll can mimic the appearance of the original owner of the flesh and blood it devours, and only Shen Xing can see its original appearance.

Logically speaking, after covering oneself with abnormal flesh and blood, one should appear in a different form in the eyes of others.

However... it would be difficult for Shen Xing to verify this matter.

On the other hand, now that he has the ability to conceal his identity, the plan he had conceived in his mind has the conditions to be implemented.

This coverage capability, if maintained continuously, can last for about two hours. If it is only turned on briefly with breaks in between, the coverage time can be maintained for longer throughout the day.

However, for this plan to be perfect, Li Ya's support is still needed.

At the same time, the danger Shen Xing had to deal with was not only Li Ya, but also that strange puppet.

Based on Li Ya's initial statements, the doll has at least three definite functions.

Devouring, disguising, and sharing personality.

There is another, less certain, ability, which is what gambler Li Ya repeatedly mentions as "changing one's luck."

It seems that it can bring Li Ya luck by consuming the flesh and blood it devours.

is this real?

Judging from Li Ya's appearance, he did indeed win a lot of money through so-called luck.

But Li Ya's luck couldn't help him evade his pursuers.

Although luck is an elusive thing, Shen Xing still had to adopt the attitude that it's better to believe in it than not.

After all, the things that happen to you can't be explained by common sense.

Does this kind of luck have no effect on someone who is also abnormal? Or is meeting someone else simply a manifestation of Li Ya's luck?

If Shen Xing had no intention of killing, then Li Ya was indeed lucky to have encountered Shen Xing, who could handle these problems, after killing three people...

It was good luck in his own subjective sense.

If that's the case, then Li Ya's use of "luck" is quite restricted.

For the rest of the time, Shen Xing did nothing but wash the dishes and wait by his phone for Li Ya's call.

Almost exactly half an hour after Shen Xing mentioned, Li Ya called right on time.

It was clear that Li Ya was anxious, but he also followed the rules, seemingly worried that Shen Xing might be scared.

This is also the reason why Shen Xing dared to hang up on Li Ya. Li Ya needed his help, but Shen Xing could completely ignore him.

Hanging up the phone was also a way of reminding Li Ya that she was in control, which would make subsequent arrangements easier.

It was the same landline number. Shen Xing answered the phone, and Li Ya's voice came through.

Before Li Ya could speak, Shen Xing spoke first.

"I'll come over tonight to help you with this, but you'll need to buy some things first."

"Fuck you..." Li Ya had just uttered the curse when he heard Shen Xing offer to help. He jerked back, coughed twice, and asked, "What do you want to buy?"

"Remember this."

After thinking for a moment, Shen Xing said, "Two bundles of thickened industrial plastic film and large nylon cable ties, several bottles of high-concentration medical alcohol, and a pointed boning knife."

After Shen Xing finished speaking, he paused for a moment, but no sound came from the other end.

After a few seconds, Shen Xing finally spoke: "I'll hang up now, I'll be there at 2 AM..."

Li Ya's voice came through the receiver.

"What do you need these for? They're just three heads. Can't you just crush them or melt them down and dump them somewhere? And what the hell are these things? Where do you buy them?"

Li Ya seemed to have no idea what Shen Xing wanted these things for, and he also had no idea where to buy them.

"Industrial plastic film or floor coverings used for decoration, or even thick waterproof fabric will do. At least it can cover the entire floor and walls of the video studio," Shen Xing explained without any impatience. "It's to prevent blood from seeping into the floor cracks or dripping onto the ground when handling corpses, so it can't be washed off."

"After the body decomposes, the bones will fall apart. You need to wrap them up and then secure them with cable ties. If you can't get high-concentration medical alcohol, go to a pharmacy and buy a few bottles of medical alcohol, as well as thinner... Just go to a paint store and ask for banana oil. Just say you're renovating your house and the stuff is for decomposing the body."

"Oh, and if you're going to buy industrial alcohol and banana oil, remember to also buy a bottle of 84 disinfectant."

Li Ya on the other end of the phone was stunned. Although it was very complicated, Shen Xing talked on and on, and it seemed quite professional.

"Okay...okay, I'll go buy it now." Li Ya gritted her teeth and agreed. "And then?"

"I'll come to the video rental store to find you at 2 a.m. tonight. Don't touch anything else in the house, just put the plastic sheeting on."

"Doesn't that wooden table need to be dealt with?"

"You're not going to take the wooden table and burn it yourself, are you?"

After Shen Xing finished speaking, he hung up the phone immediately.

At the beginning, Shen Xing specifically mentioned some items that were even harder to buy, mainly to test whether Li Ya's luck could help him acquire them.

If he can buy it, it proves that Li Ya is indeed lucky, and he can also use up some of his luck—after all, his luck is maintained by the flesh and blood devoured by the puppet.

In fact, the things Shen Xing wanted to buy were never meant to help Li Ya deal with those three heads.

Instead, it would allow more shop owners to know that Li Ya bought these things himself.

Thinner and medical alcohol are completely useless for dissolving corpses, and a human head is not so brittle that it needs to be fixed with industrial cable ties. As for the plastic film...

That does prevent blood from splattering everywhere.

Now, Shen Xing has also decided to set off.

He went to his garage where he stored his things, took some handy old surgical instruments, and put them all into his satchel.

There was also a set of white disposable medical protective clothing.

Not long after the SARS lockdown, protective suits like these were readily available everywhere.

Before going home, he also went to the pharmacy to buy a bottle of chlorpheniramine.

Chlorpheniramine is among the most potent over-the-counter (OTC) sleep aids, and unlike sleeping pills, it doesn't affect the central nervous system.

He took a nap early to try and get some rest, and it wasn't until around 8 p.m. that Shen Yuan, looking exhausted, returned home.

Shen Yuan's eyes were red and swollen, as if she had cried several times, seemingly because of Li Xiaohua's disappearance.

She had been waiting at the police station for a long time before she couldn't resist running out to look for something. She hadn't eaten anything and was now both tired and hungry.

When she got home and saw that Shen Xing had prepared a table full of hot dishes and was waiting for her, Shen Yuan's nose felt a little sore, and her eyes, which were already swollen from crying, started to sting again.

Then, while eating, she drank the hot milk containing chlorpheniramine, which Shen Xing had carefully controlled the dosage for her. Around 10 o'clock, she felt dizzy and extremely sleepy. She had been exhausted from looking for people all day, so she went to sleep.

Shen Yuan couldn't know that Shen Xing had gone out. In Shen Yuan's mind, Shen Xing must still be in the state of "not fully recovered from a cold, having slept all day and not going out".

Around midnight, Shen Xingcai came out of his room and opened Shen Yuan's room door.

Chlorpheniramine induces deep sleep, not coma.

Shen Yuan lay on her side on the bed, her arms and legs wrapped around a green snake-shaped pillow. Her breathing was heavy and long, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep and did not notice Shen Xing coming in at all.

The peak blood concentration of chlorpheniramine is around 2 hours, and its half-life is as long as 12 hours. Milk itself contains tryptophan, which also has a sleep-inducing effect. With this sleep, she will at least sleep until 8 a.m. tomorrow.

Shen Xing changed into a disposable medical protective suit, put on a black hoodie and black sweatpants, picked up his suitcase, and walked out the door.