Chapter 697: The Enigma of the Dried Corpses
by xennovelBook – The Dried Corpses (Update 5)
Impossible. Absolutely impossible… Xiao Yu internally denied it over and over. Lin
At that moment, his brain was churning like a high-speed CPU.
How could something so bizarre happen in this world?
What if it were just a poisoning-induced hallucination?
But how could everyone’s hallucinations be exactly the same?
The strange thing was that those who had hallucinations and seen ‘demons’…
all returned to normal once they awoke.
And they all believed they had encountered real demons.
In fact, after thorough examinations,
no abnormalities were detected in anyone who was ‘possessed’!
“You said…”
Snapping out of his thoughts, Xiao Yu looked at Wang Dong and asked, “Did the ghost, fragmented by demons, ever manage to land a punch?”
“Yes!” Wang Dong responded as he pulled aside his patient gown.
When Xiao Yu saw his brother’s lower abdomen, his gaze froze.
There were bruises—the kind that turn a deep purplish-blue from pooled blood.
It looked exactly like the muscle damage you’d expect after a heavy punch.
How could this be…? Xiao Yu’s pupils constricted as cold sweat broke out on his back.
“Not just me,”
Wang Dong, setting aside his gown with a pale face, said, “Every other team member shows traces of being hit. The strange part is that when we were in that ‘possessed’ state, none of the alert ones saw anyone attacking us. Yet, those of us in the possessed state did suffer ghostly blows—and that’s why we got these bruises!”
“That must be why you all believe in the existence of demons…” Xiao Yu nodded.
The logic is simple: if there were no demons,
then tell me, how did these bruises appear?
Xiao Yu had no answer!
“Calm down, you must remain calm…” Xiao Yu, his thoughts in a tangle, forced his mind to steady itself.
He had to push aside all his negative emotions.
Without a clear head, there’s no way to think clearly.
How can you piece together solid reasoning when your thoughts are muddled?
No—without sound logic, nothing works… Xiao Yu stood up.
No matter how vast your theoretical knowledge, how razor-sharp your logic, or how formidable your deductive skills—even if you’ve cracked countless cases—
trying to solve mysteries just based on what others say is downright foolish.
“Where are the dried corpses?” Xiao Yu asked.
“They were taken to the morgue where forensic experts store bodies,”
Wang Dong replied. “The crime scene has been sealed off. Right now, not even our own people dare enter until we have all the facts, let alone outsiders.”
“After the dried corpses were moved, did any of them go ‘possessed’ again?”
Xiao Yu pressed on.
“That hasn’t happened,”
Wang Dong shook his head. “We’ve tried—only once you step into the crime scene does that condition occur.”
Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow. “You take a rest; I’ll go have a look.”
“Little brother,”
Wang Dong called after him with a troubled look, “I don’t know why, but I have a feeling something’s off about this case. Be careful.”
“Got it,”
Xiao Yu left the ward without looking back.
Yet his heart felt warm—this is what brotherhood is all about!
……
Outside the hospital.
Zhou Lie leaned against an SUV, watching as Xiao Yu emerged.
The two got into the car.
“Where to?” Zhou Lie asked as he started the engine.
“Let’s check on the dried corpses first,”
said Xiao Yu, leaning back in the passenger seat and murmuring with his eyes closed, “This is just too bizarre.”
“Bizarre?”
Zhou Lie chuckled, “So, you finally believe what we’re saying?”
“I do,”
Xiao Yu nodded, then shook his head. “But I still don’t believe in demons.”
Wang Dong would never lie to him—of that, he was sure.
So, do demons really exist?
Xiao Yu resolved to search for the truth.
Of course, it wasn’t only about finding these so-called demons.
The key was that the thirty-six dried corpses represented thirty-six victims.
Determining the exact cause of death for these victims was critical!
……
City N, City Bureau Technical Division, Autopsy Room.
The strong scent of disinfectant permeated the cold air.
As Xiao Yu and Zhou Lie entered, they were hit by the mingled aromas of blood and the distinct odor of decaying corpses.
At that moment, atop two autopsy tables, lay two… dried corpses.
Indeed, these were dried corpses—the kind where the flesh has withered away, clinging only to the skeletal frame.
With just one glance, Xiao Yu squinted.
It had been mentioned before that extracting roughly 60% of a body’s moisture turns it into a dried corpse.
But these two bodies had visibly lost at least 80, even 90% of their moisture.
They were nearly completely desiccated!
Such extreme dehydration made the tissues unbelievably… hard.
Ordinary tools would be useless for conducting an autopsy on them.
Several forensic pathologists were now using chainsaws designed for dismembering bodies to saw through the corpses.
The sound of the saw echoed as if it were cutting through wood…
Xiao Yu and Zhou Lie watched silently as the pathologists dissected the bodies.
They observed every detail being meticulously recorded.
After six long hours…
a complete autopsy report was handed to Xiao Yu.
After a quick scan, his face darkened and he muttered coldly, “Heat dehydration?!”
What is heat dehydration?
It’s a severe dehydration phenomenon in the human body.
In areas of high heat, the skin evaporates a massive amount of moisture.
It’s essentially a self-protective mechanism.
However, when dehydration reaches a critical level and the body’s functions begin to fail, hypertonic dehydration sets in.
The so-called ‘sweating profusely’ likely refers to this state…
A vivid scene flashed through Xiao Yu’s mind.
He pictured a person locked inside a room.
Inside, the temperature was steadily rising.
The heat would eventually become unbearable.
The temperature can’t be too high or too low.
It forces one to sweat profusely, over and over…
In such conditions, a person might only survive for about two hours.
According to the principles of sweat therapy, a normal session lasts only about half an hour to an hour.
Exceeding an hour becomes dangerous.
An hour and a half is likely to result in severe dehydration.
Around two hours, severe dehydration can lead to organ failure and death.
Of course, this varies with each individual—it’s only an approximate measure.
But judging by these two dried corpses, Xiao Yu deduced that
they had been exposed to a high-temperature environment for at least an entire day before dying.
There were thirty-six such victims.
Thirty-six dried corpses!
Wen
Xue