Starting with dissecting ghost stories

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

After finishing with all the tools, Shen Xing returned to the infirmary and finally felt a rare moment of relaxation.

The contents of a travel bag are not difficult to destroy. From the easiest items like hazmat suits to the most difficult-to-dispose-of surgical scalpels, they can all be disposed of with fire.

Simply heat the scalpel until it glows red-hot; the high temperature will instantly carbonize all blood residue and proteins, completely destroying the DNA chain.

Surgical knives are generally made of high-carbon steel, which is hard but extremely brittle. After being heated to red-hot and then quenched—and then immersed in cold water—the thin blade can be easily shattered.

Dealing with the broken metal fragments that have irregular edges, each about the size of a fingernail, is even simpler.

They are no longer knives, but just a few meaningless pieces of industrial scrap metal.

Everything else, including the handbag, had been reduced to black embers in the flames and scattered in the river.

However, while dealing with the waste, two people flashed through Shen Xing's mind.

Now, the crime scene located in the video arcade in the old town has nothing to do with him. Even if someone can deduce that Li Ya did not commit suicide, it is impossible to trace the chain of evidence back to him.

However, the presence of two people will inevitably bring Shen Xing into the police's sights.

One was Granny Zhang, and the other was her younger sister, Shen Yuan.

They were all worried about Li Xiaohua's disappearance. After confirming that Li Ya had killed Li Xiaohua, Granny Zhang and Shen Yuan, who had also witnessed Li Xiaohua, would be taken in for questioning by the police.

As Shen Yuan's guardian, I will inevitably have to undergo some investigations and inquiries.

As long as Shen Xing cannot completely sever his ties with anyone, he will inevitably face the chain reaction brought about by his network of interpersonal relationships.

It seems I shouldn't go to the garage anytime soon.

There were no prohibited items piled up in the garage. At first glance, they were all secondhand items that had been found elsewhere. But these things could be used for other purposes by someone with a keen eye.

If you take a dangerous action, you must bear the risks that come with it. The risks that Shen Xing can currently perceive are all acceptable.

Besides the two individuals who might pose a risk, there are two other pieces of information that could bring him into the police's sights.

First, there's the gambler in the abandoned hotel who witnessed Li Ya running away after seeing him.

Secondly, I called Grandma Zhang to ask her about Li Ya's address.

However, Shen Xing had already prepared perfect excuses to deal with these possible inquiries.

The reason I went to the abandoned hotel was because I wanted to visit the place where I lived as a child, and since I had a holiday, I wanted to stroll around the park.

When Li Ya saw that he was running away, it could be directly interpreted as him thinking that he was still a policeman.

When he asked Granny Zhang about Li Ya's address, he could use his former profession as a shield.

When Shen Xing met Li Ya at the hotel, he could smell the drug because of his profession. Moreover, Li Ya was in a state of high excitement, as if she had taken drugs, and ran away as soon as she saw him.

His sister had a good relationship with the other party's daughter and Granny Zhang. He was worried that if Li Ya continued like this, he might do something that could even harm his sister. So he asked Granny Zhang for his address and tried to persuade her to go to a drug rehabilitation center, but he failed.

The core of this narrative is to create the persona of a "good person" and someone who "cares about his sister." Once this persona is established, the police are more likely to believe what he says and stop investigating any inconsistencies or coincidences.

Of course, this kind of questioning is highly unlikely to occur.

The police have a 99% chance of closing the case immediately.

Even if there's only a 1% chance that the case won't be closed immediately, but instead, the local forensic pathologist will be asked to perform an autopsy and conduct a more in-depth investigation...

Then he should really congratulate the police for hitting a dead end.

The time of Li Xiaohua's disappearance, as stated by eyewitnesses, does not match the forensic doctor's deduction of her death.

At the time the forensic examiner determined they died, the deceased were still chatting with family members and talking to their partners...

And most importantly, the police will never be able to find the body.

All Shen Xing could do was pray for his colleague, hoping that his colleagues wouldn't doubt his professional competence because of this.

Motive, means, and opportunity have been the three pillars of criminal investigation over the past century.

These three pillars, like theorems, can also act as shackles, firmly binding their thinking in such supernatural and extreme cases.

Shen Xing pulled his wandering thoughts back to the five paintings in front of him.

If all goes well, these five diagrams of human muscles will be hatched the day after tomorrow.

At that time, Shen Xing will remove four paintings, leaving one to continue "raising" and observing its changes.

These few days are perfect for avoiding going to the garage and staying out of the limelight. All I need to do is stay home and record changes in my body data.

However, there was one more thing Shen Xing really wanted to do.

That is the study of dolls.

The infirmary has been designated as an anomaly by Shen Xing as [01], while the doll is designated as [02].

Unlike [01], [02] has the ability to speak. It seems to be able to communicate normally with ordinary people—although it seems abnormal to Shen Xing.

Can I get anything out of [02]?

What benefits will dissecting [02] bring to yourself?

【02】......Could it also be sewn into one's own body and become a part of oneself?

If that doesn't work...

What will happen if the abnormal flesh and blood produced by the [01] wall are filled into the body of the [02] who needs to devour flesh and blood...?

Shen Xing tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table in front of him. Just thinking about the experiments to be conducted made his body excited and his mind leap with joy.

Undoubtedly, his understanding of the anomaly will be further enhanced.

However... now is not the time...

"Buzzing..."

Suddenly, Shen Xing's phone started vibrating.

He took out his phone and looked at the incoming call number.

Shen Xing could recognize every number stored on his phone. The number calling him now belonged to Granny Zhang.

coming.

Shen Xing shifted his posture, a smile appearing on his face, pressed the green answer button, and placed the receiver to his ear.

"Feed? Grandma?"

"Brother... Li Xiaohua is dead..."

On the phone, Shen Yuan's voice was trembling with sobs. You could tell she was trying her best to suppress her emotions, but her trembling voice still betrayed her feelings at that moment.

Class is about to start, why isn't she at school?

Shen Xing rarely leaves the infirmary, so he wasn't sure if Shen Yuan had come to school in the afternoon.

"Huh? What's wrong? What happened?" Shen Xing asked in a tense and shocked voice, "Where are you now?"

"I ate lunch at the old lady's house this afternoon and stayed there with her... Then, about half an hour ago, the police came..."

Shen Yuan seemed to have panicked. She didn't answer Shen Xing's question at all, but instead began to talk incessantly about what had happened since she left home.

Shen Xing did not interrupt, but occasionally echoed back. Only after Shen Yuan finished speaking did he extract the information he wanted from her words.

The police have located the crime scene, and the victim's identity has been confirmed.

The fact that the news was not released to the public indicates that the police are conducting a thorough investigation.

They were at the police station as the victim's family members, while Shen Yuan was cooperating with the investigation as a close contact of Li Xiaohua before her disappearance.

Now, the police need Shen Yuan's guardian, Shen Xing, to be present to accompany Shen Yuan.

"Okay, wait a moment, I'll go ask for leave for us."

Shen Xing hung up the phone, stood up, glanced at the five paintings on the wall, and walked out of the infirmary.

Can you get back before 5 o'clock?

Shen Xing was thinking about this.