Chapter 224: Autopsy Anomaly: Origin of the Female Corpse

It is well known that American media are a pack of mad dogs, or rather, journalists in any capitalist country are mad dogs.

A family wiped out, with a mysterious female corpse dug up in the basement—this was clearly big news, and every media outlet had its eyes on it.

And since the media, as a group controlling the public voice, to some extent represents the public, once public pressure mounted.

The police department could only hasten the investigation and sent the corpse to Tang Mi and his son, hoping the autopsy might yield other clues.

Tang Mi and his son had no choice but to work through the night.

Forensics is a profession that gives the dead a voice; it demands professionalism, and corpse autopsies follow four steps: external examination, internal dissection, examination of the heart, lungs, and other digestive organs, and finally the brain.

Tang Mi and his son followed the same procedure.

They turned on the radio and listened to the latest weather forecast.

“The next few days will all be sunny…”

The father and son put on gloves, activated the recording equipment, took several photos of the female corpse, and began documenting.

“Skin normal, still viable, no signs of bleeding or bruising; time of death no more than two days.”

Looking at the female corpse lying on the stretcher—pale-faced, eyes tightly shut, her body unmarked—Tang Mi made this judgment.

Even though the corpse was naked and preserved perfectly, indistinguishable from a living person, neither Tang Mi nor his son showed the slightest reaction; they did not linger even a fraction of a second on sensitive areas.

“Continue. Next step.”

Tang Mi pried open the corpse’s eyelids—and was stunned to find her pupils… were gray!

Gray pupils are a postmortem reaction that only appears after a person has been dead for some time.

This is not normal!

“Dad, this isn’t right,” Austin said beside him.

Tang Mi nodded, steadying himself. “Don’t panic. Keep going.”

Austin nodded. He had seen all kinds of strange things in this line of work; he wouldn’t panic over this.

But what happened next made things even stranger.

“Her waist… why is it so thin?”

“Her wrists and ankles are soft—broken.”

“There’s peat in her fingernails and hair strands…”

“Mouth… where’s her tongue?!”

Austin stared in shock at the corpse’s empty mouth.

Broken limbs, tongue removed, and peat—that specific soil…

Austin’s eyes lit up.

“Dad, do you remember the human trafficking case from fifteen years ago? I think two of the girls had this exact condition?”

Tang Mi thought for a moment, then nodded.

“Correct. Looks like we’ve got a lead. Proceed with the autopsy.”

Both picked up their scalpels, ready to begin.

But then—

Blood suddenly trickled from the corpse’s nose, and a green-headed fly emerged, flapping its wings—yet not a single drop of blood stained it.

A mysterious force had begun to invade reality at this very moment!

Click!

The radio suddenly emitted a voice: “Mom, tell me something.”

“Something children should know.”

“It’s a story about the devil.”

The nursery rhyme inside sounded unnaturally cold and terrifying; Austin couldn’t help shuddering.

“Don’t be afraid. Stay alert,” Tang Mi said calmly, far more composed than his son; he unaffected, he calmly switched the station.

But instead of urging Austin to continue the autopsy, he walked to the corner of the room, pulled out a cross, and placed it beside the corpse.

Austin was puzzled but said nothing.

Soon—

The autopsy began.

Autopsy is a terrifying, nauseating task; only those with strong psychological resilience can handle it. Ordinary people get sick at the sight of chickens or pigs being slaughtered—facing a human corpse, they’d be far worse.

The internal organs, blood, and stench are beyond what a normal person can endure!

The sharp scalpel cut through the skin—the autopsy officially began.

But as the autopsy progressed, more and more strange anomalies appeared.

“So much bleeding—this should only happen with a fresh corpse.”

“The waist thickness… wrong. This looks like long-term compression deformity—corset? But that’s something worn only centuries ago.”

“Lungs severely blackened—this requires third-degree burns across the entire body, yet her skin is completely unharmed? How did the burns penetrate the skin to reach the organs?”

“Heart… liver… they’re all scarred? What is this? Torture?”

“Wait! What’s in the stomach?”

A cloth inscribed with a religious ritual diagram was pried out with forceps.

Tang Mi’s face darkened, but out of professional duty, he still picked up the scalpel and began cutting along the corpse’s skin—yet before cutting, he glanced at the cross and saw no unusual movement; he exhaled slightly in relief.

As the skin was sliced open, identical patterns to the diagram on the cloth were clearly drawn on the chest muscles and the inner surface of the skin!

Creak… creak…

The body storage cabinets in the room began to tremble slightly, the radio automatically switched back to the nursery rhyme station, and thunder rumbled suddenly…

All kinds of anomalies appeared.

Tang Mi immediately set down his tools and turned to his son Austin.

“Enough, Austin. Stop. Something’s wrong. We’re leaving—now.”

???

Austin was surprised. His father had always been rigid—yet now he was so decisive. Still, he didn’t hesitate and nodded immediately.

The father and son hurried toward the exit.

In recent years, mysterious incidents have occurred frequently; as the city’s security agency, the police are among the most exposed to such cases, and coroners closely tied to the police naturally know some unclear things.

And now, this female corpse clearly involved religious rituals—its danger had skyrocketed.

Of course, if it were merely linked to the cult, Tang Mi wouldn’t react this way—he’d autopsied plenty of corpses tied to the cult before; all of them were fakes!

But the corpse’s previous bizarre traits were enough to trigger Tang Mi’s suspicions.

There’s an old Eastern saying: “Careful sailing ensures a thousand-year voyage.”

The West has similar wisdom—so Tang Mi chose to halt the autopsy.

What had been uncovered so far was enough to report.

“Austin, stay close to me. Did you take the cross?”

Tang Mi hurried toward the exit, alert as if facing a deadly enemy, warning his son—but no sound came from behind.

He stopped dead, whirled around—no one was there.

His son, who had just been right behind him, had simply vanished?

Before Tang Mi could shout—

Ding ling—

Ding ling—

Ding ling—

Faint bell sounds began to ring.

Tang Mi froze completely.

Bells… there are many bells in this morgue, but they’re all hung on the corpses’ ankles—to confirm whether the person is truly dead.

This…

A chill crawled up his spine.

His entire mind plunged into utter terror.

He gritted his teeth.

Tang Mi ran back inside.

But the door was locked shut—impossible to push open—and his son’s screams came from within.

Tang Mi threw himself against the door with all his strength.

Bang!

The entire—

Door burst open.

Revealing the scene inside.

Everything remained unchanged.

The corpse still lay where it had been; nothing stood behind the door.

But the crematoriums storing the corpses had all opened automatically—each one empty!

And where was Austin?

Ding ling—

The faint bell sound rose from behind him. He spun around—only a fleeting black shadow vanished into the dark.

Tang Mi took a deep breath, pulled out the cross in his hand, and walked toward the female corpse; he knew this entire mystery might be tied to her.

If they could unravel the mystery of this female corpse, they might find Austin.

Standing before the corpse, he took another deep breath and examined her closely.

After observing, he discovered that the woman’s brain cells were still alive!

“Oh no, this can’t be possible.”

Tang Mi cried out in disbelief.

What did this mean?

It meant that every dissection he and Austin had performed on her, she had felt in full!

She was still alive!

This struck Tang Mi, a professional forensic pathologist, with a dual blow to his professional ethics and worldview.

He clutched his head in agony.

But then—

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The morgue door suddenly erupted with violent pounding.

Tang Mi hurried over but did not rush to open it; instead, he peered through the crack.

But—

A gray eye stared directly at him.

!!!

Tang Mi’s eyes widened.

Before he could react—

“Dad?”

Austin’s voice came from the door.

“Dad? Open up, it’s me.”

“Austin, where were you just now?”

“I was right behind you, but then you vanished in an instant. I heard bells on the way, and all the ceiling lights exploded. When I ran to find the exit, I couldn’t open it.”

At that moment, jingle jingle—

The bell sound rang again.

Tang Mi no longer hesitated; he opened the door and let Austin in.

Seeing Austin unharmed, Tang Mi finally exhaled in relief—then tensed again. “Listen to me, right now we…”

Based on Tang Mi’s slight understanding of the occult, they now had two choices: either gain exorcism power, or fulfill the female corpse’s demands.

Otherwise, escape was impossible.

After a brief investigation,

the father and son found another line written on the cloth: “Leviticus Chapter 27.”

Leviticus is the third book of the Pentateuch, and Moses is a well-known figure in Christianity, famed for parting the sea.

Chapter 27 states: “Anyone who communicates with the dead shall be put to death, for they are witches.”

Finally, in the corner, it read: 1693.

Christian text, witch, 1693, corseted dress…

Together, they pointed to—

The Salem Witch Trials!

This female corpse might have been a witch!

If so, every strange event they had experienced so far made sense.

A witch who died in agony, her soul still alive, filled with resentment, constantly feeling pain—and now, she clearly intended for Tang Mi and his son to suffer the same.

(End of Chapter)