Paintings of Terror

Chapter 164: Removing the Beast

Qin Ci looked at Zhu Haowen somewhat inquiringly. At this moment, he was in the middle of the office, and the other ten members were sitting around him.

Qin Ci cleared his throat and raised his voice slightly, “About the beast, I have a few points to tell you: First, the beast is a living entity, and it’s relationship with the human host is as a semi-resident. It doesn’t rely on the host for nutrition or survival. There is typically no interference between the beast and the host, and even the beast has no effect on the host’s body weight. In the last century in Heart City, there was a girl weighing less than 45 kg. After her death, the beast that was removed from her body weighed 31 kgs.”

Everyone listened quietly. The people who already knew that they had a beast wore complicated expressions.

Only Xiao Qinxian’s eyes glowed, as if she could foresee that Zhi Chun and Chi Lei would have such a big “surprise” in their bodies.

Right then, Qin Ci poured cold water on Xiao Qinxian. “That is an extremely rare and special case, and so that was why it was recorded in history.”

Su Benxin wanted to ask what the girl with the giant beast had experienced during her lifetime, but it wasn’t suitable to interrupt, so she waited patiently for Qin Ci to finish.

Sure enough, the next information Qin Ci revealed was extremely explosive, “At present, the approximate location of the beast in Zhi Chun’s body has been found using certain testing equipment.”

“There is such a detector? Wouldn’t it be possible to see the beast in everyone’s body?” Yu Ji couldn’t help but say.

“The detector can only detect the beast inside the corpse, and it can only measure the approximate location, not the size,” Qin Ci said sharply. “Zhi Chun’s beast is located on his left wrist. I cannot infer that this is a coincidence but still……”

Lion exclaimed, “He had cut his left wrist, right?!”

“Yes, that is correct.” Qin Ci nodded. “We can’t determine whether he truly intended to commit suicide or had just wanted to kill the beast hidden in his wrist.”

Zhao Yanbao’s eyes became blurred. “I have always been suspicious of Chi Lei’s suicide, even with the motive. I just had a discussion with Mu Yiran about how difficult this suicide must be to implement. Without external force, no one can purposefully stop the beating of their own heart. It was like she’d died while in a deep sleep, and even the forensic doctor could not find signs of trauma and suffocation.”

Mu Yiran said, “A good guess is that Chi Lei’s beast is in her heart.”

“You mean that they didn’t commit suicide, but was killed by the beast in their own body?!” Yu Ji’s expression was extremely frightened.

Zhu Haowen’s voice is low and clear, “This is in line with the style of the painting.”

Yu Ji looked at Zhu Haowen like he was a monster. The more he thought about the possibility of the beast attacking the host, the more he became afraid.

At this time, an urgent knock suddenly sounded at the door, and a nurse pushed in anxiously. “Dr. Qin! Zhi Chun’s body has changed…”

“What’s wrong?” Qin Ci asked hurriedly.

“The wound on his left wrist seems…something is overflowing from it…”

No one could remain calm. Qin Ci had already stood up and was rushing towards the door. “Immediately prepare for the Beast Removal Surgery!”

…

If it weren’t for the bizarre circumstances, the operating room that everyone was waiting in would be perfectly normal—brightly corridors, closed operating room doors, and a striking Happy Surprise on the wall.

About an hour later, a nurse came out of the operating room, and several of the members flocked to her with the expectant expressions of ‘maternal family members’ on their faces. “How is it? What’s the situation now?! Has it come out yet?!”

It seemed that the “joy of life” was being played in the operating room, even though the “dead” who had been stiff for nearly seven hours was the one being operated on.

The nurse frowned. “The main beast has been stripped, and the connecting branches are now being separated.”

It sounded like the severing of an umbilical cord.

Xiao Qinxian asked with joy, “How many catties? How many catties?!”

“Sorry, it hasn’t been weighed yet.”

Xiao Qinxian’s smile did not fade. “Then let’s wait a little longer. It’s not urgent, it’s not urgent.”

The nurse looked at the work badge on Xiao Qinxian’s chest. “Are you the forensic staff member that dresses up the corpse for burial?”

“Yes, I’m a forensic doctor.” Xiao Qinxian felt that her profession was quite good in Heart City.

“Then, I’ll trouble you to start preparing the costume for the funeral. The burial period of the deceased should not exceed three days, especially the remains that have experienced beast stripping, which are especially prone to decay,” the nurse said seriously.

“Oh.” Xiao Qinxian’s face paled a little. She hoped that more than 13 kilograms of beasts would be stripped from the bodies of these two people, so that she would not have to engage in this terrible “costume” work.

Upon closer inspection, making wedding dresses for the dead was scary and full of the unknowns.

Half an hour later, Dr. Qin walked out of the operating room. He held a small glass bottle in his hand. There seemed to be a bloodstain in it, and it seemed to be moving.

Everyone was a little scared, but their eyes were involuntarily attracted to that red mass.

But only Ke Xun walked over to take a closer look. He saw what appeared to be a slug-like red flesh in the glass bottle, slowly squirming. When Ke Xun looked at it up close, the “slug” seemed to notice his gaze and stretched out a few soft tentacles out over its head.

Ke Xun hurried away, feeling very uncomfortable.

“I have processed it, and the next step is to hand it over to the police station.” Qin Ci is wearing a medical mask, making people feel that he was as cold and ruthless as a medical device. “After weighing it, this beast is 26 grams.”

The others were silent, with a bit of hatred in their eyes.

Xiao Qinxian gasped and leaned softly on the rest seat next to her.

“Is the incident of the beast overflowing just now a common phenomenon?” Mu Yiran asked Qin Ci.

“No. The beast inside probably felt the air in the wound and so it came out along the ‘vent’,” Qin Ci said. “The beast left its shell in the blood vessel of the deceased. It took a lot of effort just to get it out.”

“Shell?” Wei Dong interrupted. “The beast has a shell?”

“This beast has a shell and its shape is very strange. It’s not like the others. It is said that in instances when the beasts have very good appearances, their weight would not be considered at all.” Qin Ci lowered his gaze and looked at the soft insect-like beast in the bottle. “The shell has been taken for testing. This kind of beast with a shell is very rare.”

Xiao Qinxian stood up from her seat again. “Can the weight of the shell also be counted? Is that shell big? Is it heavy? Will something this rare count more?!”

Hearing this, Mu Yiran raised his eyes thoughtfully.

“The shell isn’t big. It’s similar to a snail shell,” Qin Ci replied.

“…” Xiao Qinxian turned to look at Zhao Yanbao. “Can you bear to see Chi Lei’s body filled with this disgusting slug-like thing? This kind of dirty thing should be taken out quickly, or she would not rest in peace.”

Zhao Yanbao didn’t want to talk to Xiao Qinxian.

“I’ve already expressed my opinion, you can discuss it slowly.” Zhu Haowen turned and walked to the bathroom.

“I agree to take the beast, and so I have also expressed my opinion.” Wei Dong followed Zhu Haowen into the bathroom.

Xiao Qinxian regained her spirit. “Me, Lion, Yu Ji, plus that Dongzi, there are already four affirmative votes! It is four to one now! What about you?”

“Let’s stop talking here and go back to the office first.” Qin Ci walked to his office while taking off his mask.

Xiao Qinxian followed everyone. “Isn’t it that you’re too embarrassed to agree to take the beast, but are just waiting for the beast to overflow by itself? Isn’t this simply like guarding a tree-stump, waiting for rabbits? If you are all too embarrassed, then just abstain from voting!”

After entering the office, Xiao Qinxian began to look at the people who hadn’t expressed their opinions one by one. “Boss Su, Doctor Qin, two criminal policemen, and this outsider, what do you think?”

“I want to ask Mr. Yu a few questions before expressing my position.” It was Mu Yiran who spoke.

Yu Ji listened respectfully. “Please, please.”

“What actions did Zhi Chun do last night? What had he told you? Tell me even if you only remembered a few words.”

Yu Ji scratched his head. “I don’t really remember what happened after we got back to the dormitory. I seemed to have lost my mind after drinking too much, and so Zhi Chun accompanied me to sing.”

Qin Ci said, “I was checking some information in the office at first, and you were all asleep by the time I came back to the dorms.”

Su Benxin said, “I seemed to have heard singing, like a children’s song. I used to hear my little nephew’s daughter sing it. It seems that there are lyrics about snail running.”

Yu Ji himself couldn’t remember. “I really can’t remember what happened after I went back to the bedroom. I remember when I was walking back from the restaurant, Zhi Chun stopped at the door of a real estate agency and asked the staff about the housing prices in the city.”

“Why? Does he still want to settle in this ghost place?!” Xiao Qinxian felt a little horrified after speaking—Zhi Chun really did “settle” here.

Yu Ji nodded. “He complained to me about the housing prices in the previous world. He said that he waited and waited for the price to go down. Even when his girlfriend eventually left him, he still couldn’t afford a house.”

Everyone sighed for a moment, feeling as if they finally understood someone’s life after his death.

“If the beast is shelled, will it look like a snail?” Mu Yiran asked Qin Ci.

Qin Ci nodded. “It should look like a snail with a shell, but unfortunately I couldn’t see the state of the beast and the shell when they are connected.”

Mu Yiran turned his gaze to Zhao Yanbao. “Maybe the beast is a kind of visualization of the person’s mental knot. If you want to understand Chi Lei’s mind, you’ll have to take out her beast.”

Zhao Yanbao looked thoughtful.

In the bathroom at this moment, Wei Dong looked at Zhu Haowen through the mirror on top of the sink. “It’s a pity that I can’t see the red mark on your forehead. You’re not afraid at all?”

Zhu Haowen smiled. “If I die, you can tell Qin Ci to dissect me right away. I also want to know what kind of beast is in my body.”

“I think you have changed from before.”

“How so?”

“When I first met you, it was in the tube-shaped Spring Bamboo Apartment. At the time, when you ran for your life, you were the first to rush out without care. It was human instinct.” Wei Dong turned to look at Zhu Haowen beside him. “Why are you not so instinctive today?”

“You mean when I abstained?”

“Yes, you’re sympathizing with Zhao Yanbao and Chi Lei.”

“Impossible.”

“Anyway, your heart is softened. Don’t tell me that the three of you are in love together.”

“They are lovers,” Zhu Haowen replied. “Because that third-tier city is very repulsive, they can only hide it from everyone.”

“Oh, I understand.” Wei Dong seemed to understand.