Starting with dissecting ghost stories

Wednesday, 6:00 AM.

Shen Xing woke up on time, a rare occurrence for him, having recovered from the previous physical exhaustion.

Perhaps because no new abnormal flesh and blood had been fused into his body in the past few days, he did not enter that deep sleep, but rather a state of hibernation.

Does this mean that my body has fully adapted to the "modification" so far?

I didn't continue fusing the abnormal flesh yesterday, which seems a bit conservative... but time doesn't allow it, so maybe I can try today.

The job imposed many restrictions on him, preventing him from fully dedicating himself to the study of his own body and those abnormal flesh and blood.

But he couldn't resign, not only because the root of the problem was the wall in the school clinic, but also because he wasn't financially independent.

Especially recently, I bought a lot of things for experiments, and my own stock of experimental equipment has been being used up, and I haven't been able to replenish it yet.

Fortunately, these items are not expensive. A knife handle, a box of blades, tweezers, and pliers can be bought for less than 50 yuan at a medical device store near a top-tier hospital.

However, it would be best to look for alternatives now.

Otherwise, if I keep buying these consumables, it will eventually attract other people's attention.

Since the abnormal flesh and blood I'm dissecting doesn't require sterility, I could probably buy a penknife from a stationery store to replace a scalpel, even if it's not quite as convenient to use...

While washing up, Shen Xing searched for alternative solutions in his mind.

When he finished washing up and came out of the room, he saw Shen Yuan already sitting at the dining table, holding an English book, seemingly preparing for class.

Shen Yuan is unusually well-behaved today.

Shen Xing walked to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and then turned back to ask, "What do you want to eat for breakfast?"

"Either is fine." Shen Yuan replied to Shen Xing before continuing to read her book.

The redness and swelling around her eyes hadn't subsided, but her overall condition had changed significantly.

Shen Xing rarely offered advice to his sister, and she never sought his help before; she mostly relied on herself to cope.

It seems that Shen Yuan has a pretty strong mental fortitude.

Aside from Shen Xing and Li Ya, almost everyone felt guilty about the deaths of Li Xiaohua and Granny Zhang, including Shen Yuan.

Shen Xing felt that Shen Yuan didn't need to feel guilty, because Granny Zhang's death was inevitable.

If I don't kill Li Ya, the next one to die will be Granny Zhang.

Because Li Ya once said that the closer the relationship...

While frying eggs, Shen Xing suddenly remembered this, something Li Ya had mentioned to him in the alley behind the video arcade.

The closer the blood relation between him and the person he feeds the doll, the better his "luck" will be...

How is this "luck" manifested? Is it reflected in winning money? Why don't I feel anything about it?

Maybe I'll find some money while walking down the street today?

Li Ya is not highly educated and is quite superstitious. Anything related to "luck" may simply be a product of his own imagination.

Because what he calls winning money is actually controllable.

In gambling activities such as playing cards, mahjong, or flipping coins to determine the size of a game, cheating is extremely easy if there are mannequins present.

If the puppet can teleport in front of Shen Xing, then it might be able to do it in front of others as well.

What if we replace the concept? Would it be easier to explain if we replaced luck with power or energy?

The closer Li Ya is to someone by blood, the more energy the doll will receive.

Li Ya's wife has no blood relation to him, so the puppet received the least power, while Li Xiaohua has the deepest blood relation to Li Ya, so the puppet received stronger power.

How should I experiment with this myself?

After all, Shen Xing was an orphan, and had no parents to sacrifice.

However... what if we also apply this bloodline theory to abnormal flesh and blood?

Now, the abnormal flesh and blood have a very strong connection with Shen Xing. When they are away from the walls of the school clinic, they show a strong desire to return to their nest.

It's as if Shen Xing is another mother entity besides [01].

According to this explanation, these abnormal flesh and blood are actually part of one's own body, even if they haven't returned to their nest yet.

For the puppet, Shen Xing was essentially sacrificing his own flesh and blood to feed it.

Similarly, after absorbing a portion of the "will" from the abnormal flesh and blood, the doll also exhibited strong homing or attachment behaviors, such as wanting to lean against itself and hug its leg.

If that's the explanation, then everything makes sense.

Shen Xing was still immersed in the joy of solving several mysteries at once when he smelled a burnt smell.

Looking down, I saw the fried egg was burnt, and white smoke was billowing from the black pan.

"Sizzle".

Shen Xing turned off the heat, lifted the pot, poured the eggs into the trash can, added some water to the pot, and began to clean the charred residue stuck to the bottom of the pot with a steel wool pad.

Perhaps noticing the gazes coming from the dining table, Shen Xing turned around and saw Shen Yuan looking at him. He then gave a slightly apologetic smile and said, "Sorry, I was daydreaming."

Shen Xing continued cleaning, and Shen Yuan also turned around to look at her English textbook.

My brother... is also being affected by this. He, who never made a mistake before, has started to lose focus.

When his parents passed away, he didn't show any signs of sadness; he could even look at himself and give a very normal smile.

At that time, Shen Yuan could only feel disgust and revulsion, and she kept recalling what Shen Xing had done and criticizing him in her mind.

But in the past few days, Shen Yuan has been thinking a lot.

The older brother also has feelings; the departure of their parents was a huge blow to him as well.

She can cry and scream to her heart's content, venting her emotions, but what about her brother?

It seems like he's the only one holding the family together. If you put yourself in his shoes, having a much younger sister, Shen Yuan wouldn't show any vulnerability in front of her during such a major upheaval.

Because she wants to be the pillar that supports everything and shelters us from the wind and rain.

Shen Yuan learned to put herself in her brother's shoes and realized that she knew too little about him and had treated him too badly.

Thinking of this, Shen Yuan took a deep breath, mustered her courage, looked up at Shen Xing again, and said, "Brother."

"What's wrong?" Shen Xing brought over two bowls of rice noodle soup with eggs and placed one in front of Shen Yuan.

"Thank you."

Shen Xing: "?"

Do you have a fever?

Or did I add too much medicine to my prescription before?

Shen Xing's phone vibrated slightly. He took out the phone from his pocket and saw the messages Lu Wenyin had sent him. He sent three messages in a row, completely disregarding the fact that sending separate text messages would double the cost.

What did you say at Grandma Zhang's shop on Monday night? What did she say to you?

[What was the purpose of your phone call to Granny Zhang's shop the day before Li Ya died? What was the content of the call?]

Can we talk sometime? Or I can come to your school to see you.