Translator: CinderTL
He turned back to scrutinize the names on the plaque, his chin bobbing slightly as if checking something.
Each name corresponded to a cold, lifeless corpse.
But the numbers didn't add up!
According to the plaque, there were eighteen names listed, which should mean eighteen bodies. Yet they had only counted sixteen.
This realization instantly shattered the fragile sense of relief they had just begun to feel, plunging them back into dread.
After a brief discussion, the group huddled together to re-examine the exhibition hall, paying particular attention to the corpses in the glass containers.
Finally, they made a new discovery.
In an inconspicuous corner, hidden behind a curtain-like divider, stood two more glass containers they had previously missed.
The moment they pulled back the curtain, the air in the exhibition hall seemed to thicken, permeated by an overpowering, unnatural stench.
There was the unmistakable scent of formalin, but this was far more pungent, mixed with an indescribable, oily undertone.
Yet none of this mattered compared to what they found next.
These two glass containers were different from the others. They were empty.
The containers were empty.
Each held only about two-thirds of its volume in liquid, with faint, hair-like impurities suspended within.
Even more disturbingly, the lids of both containers had been pried open. One lay carelessly discarded nearby, shattered into two pieces, while the other was nowhere to be seen.
Damp puddles lingered on the floor, and upon closer inspection, a sticky residue coated the glass, speckled with dark hairs.
Glurp. Fatty swallowed hard, his throat working visibly.
The situation was clear: unless someone had deliberately staged this, the corpses within the containers had grown restless, pried open the lids, and wandered out.
"Let's go," Jiang Cheng said slowly, backing away. He led the group out of the room at a brisk pace.
Whether the corpses had wandered off on their own or were simply having too much fun to return, Jiang Cheng didn't care. He knew what mattered: finding the registry book to complete the hospital mission and rescue Xiaoting, who was trapped here.
There was no need to expose themselves to these potentially avoidable risks.
Yet, shortly after they left, a dark green iron cabinet stood in a corner about five or six meters from where they had been.
The cabinet appeared long abandoned, covered in a thick layer of dust that made it blend almost imperceptibly into the cluttered room. Unidentifiable tools were scattered on top, and a toppled fire extinguisher lay beside it.
But upon closer inspection, a viscous liquid could be seen seeping continuously from the gap at the cabinet's base, so thick that it formed stringy drips.
The group hurried down the corridor, Jiang Cheng constantly scanning his surroundings, especially behind them, as if worried something might give chase.
There were few rooms on this side of the corridor. After rounding a corner, they entered another section.
According to their earlier agreement, this area was Gao Yan and Shen Mengyun's responsibility.
But it no longer mattered. Time was running out. If they didn't find the final registry book soon, everyone would die.
"There's light ahead," Fatty said in surprise.
"It sounds like it's coming from a door," Liang Shan surmised, drawing on his life experience. "The door isn't fully closed, so only a sliver of light is seeping through."
"Could it be Gao Yan and the others?" Huai Yi asked, glancing nervously behind him. The thought of whatever had been relentlessly pursuing them made his skin crawl.
As they approached, they confirmed it was indeed a door. From the outside, it resembled an operating room—a white door stood slightly ajar, emitting a soft glow from the crack. Faint sounds drifted from within.
Compared to the previous dangers, this place felt unsettlingly welcoming. Liang Shan swallowed the words forming in his throat: If we open that door, we might find paradise.
It was just a feeling, one he himself found hard to believe.
After one last glance at the clock, Jiang Cheng made up his mind. He strode forward and yanked the white door open.
Contrary to their initial assumption, it wasn't an operating room, but an anatomy lab.
A corpse lay on the dissection table, its chest cavity sliced open and its internal organs completely removed.
The corpse's head had also been severed.
A group of students in white lab coats stood with their backs to Jiang Cheng and his companion, huddled around an operating table. They watched intently as two teachers performed an autopsy.
Perhaps the sound of their entrance had drawn attention. One of the teachers, clad in surgical attire with a mask that revealed only his narrow eyes, suddenly looked up. "You're late for such an important class," he grumbled, his tone displeased.
"Sorry, we were delayed," Jiang Cheng replied confidently, striding forward. He had already spotted the attendance register on the table behind one of the teachers.
A ballpoint pen lay beside the register, thoughtfully provided for them.
Wearing rubber gloves, the teacher pointed to a specific area of the corpse and began a patient explanation. The students, all masked, nodded occasionally.
The classroom was bathed in natural light, not from artificial sources, but from the rare, clear sunny day streaming through the windows.
Jiang Cheng speculated that some bizarre force had transported them back to a specific day, a day when something truly terrifying had occurred in this very dissection room.
He immediately recalled the story Yuan Xiaoyi had told him: two professors and a group of students dissecting a corpse that shouldn't have existed.
His gaze slowly swept across the two instructors. He soon noticed that the teacher who was leaning forward, explaining something with his head bowed, had a name tag visible on his chest.
Wang Wenli.
The name was familiar. Jiang Cheng had just seen it recently in the first Exhibition Hall.
One of the corpses there was named Wang Wenli!
It seemed this professor was one of the two missing bodies.
Identifying the other instructor was now straightforward. He must be the professor standing next to Wang Wenli—the other professor who had mysteriously disappeared after the dissection class.
It appeared that after the Ghost Face Old Madam incident, both professors involved in the dissection had met with unfortunate ends.
Just then, Fatty Huai Yiwen, Liang Shan, and a few others approached, surrounding the dissected corpse and pretending to be fellow students.
Jiang Cheng knew that impulsively signing the attendance sheet would arouse suspicion. As he pondered his next move, he suddenly noticed Fatty frantically signaling to him, his face twisted with tension. Huai Yiwen and Liang Shan looked equally grim.
Following Fatty's gaze, Jiang Cheng realized he was referring to the corpse itself.
Only then did Jiang Cheng notice that the corpse had smooth skin, indicating she was young—no more than thirty years old. She was also a woman.
But the next moment, his eyes froze, his gaze fixed on the corpse's hands.
The corpse had beautiful hands, and on the middle finger of her left hand was a ring set with a sapphire.
It was the same ring Shi Xiaoya wore.
(End of the Chapter)
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