Chapter 2013: Autopsy

Mr. Albert's suggestion is quite good. If the fortune teller Xia De is looking for really holds an unknowable relic, it is impossible to fortune tell the other party. But if he can rely on a local ring warlock with many connections to inquire, it is indeed much more convenient than Xia De looking for it himself.

But the phrase "female fortune teller" alerted Xia De, so he held his wine glass and asked another sentence:

"Does that Lady Amethyst have any strange habits?"

"Basically doesn't fortune tell for men. It's not that there are none, it's that there are very few. Over the years, I have almost never heard of her choosing men as fortune telling objects."

Xia De blinked, feeling that he had probably guessed who "Lady Amethyst" in the Moon Bay region was.

The vampire species whose profession is coroner has lived locally for nearly ten years and knows a lot about the situation of local ring warlocks. He doesn't know that Xia De has made up his mind not to see the other party, so he kindly recommended Xia De to walk around the Moon Bay City Hall more, saying that it is more likely to be seen by "Lady Amethyst" there.

"I came here for relics, not for witches."

When raising his glass to drink, Xia De kept chanting in his heart.

If he really wants to know the great witch of destiny, it is better to wait until witches like Miss Aurora or Miss Bernice also arrive locally, and then introduce them through them.

The coroner's work is probably very easy, at least today is very easy. Near noon, Mr. Albert didn't have the mind to go back to work, so he simply asked for lunch at the Spider Hotel and had lunch with Viscount Bernhardt and his new friend John Watson.

During lunch, in addition to discussing the basic situation of local ring warlocks, they naturally talked about Mr. Albert's work. Although this topic is not suitable for mentioning at the lunch table, the three people present are not ordinary people, so no one cares too much.

"There haven't been any murders in the city recently, just a few corpses with strange causes of death in the lower city area."

He explained to Xia De and Viscount Bernhardt while stirring his vegetable salad with a fork:

"You also know that plagues have been prevalent in various parts of the Old Continent in recent months, so the Moon Bay City Hall is naturally vigilant, so let us coroners pay more attention to the corpses with strange causes of death recently."

He lowered his voice slightly:

"Typical plague victims have not appeared yet, but there have been headless corpses in the city for two consecutive weeks. This matter is now making a lot of noise. Fortunately, the corpses are mostly concentrated in the lower city area, so there has not been too much tension among the nobles and merchants in Moon Bay City. As for those headless corpses, there are quite neat cuts at their necks."

He even touched his own neck to show the two the position:

"But the strange thing is, if someone really used a sharp weapon to cut off the victim's head, the large amount of blood splashed and the large amount of blood on the head taken away would also be sensed by our racial talent. But after the corpse deliverer sent two such victims here, I went to the scene to check the situation, but didn't find any clues at all."

"The handiwork of a ring warlock?"

Viscount Bernhardt also asked in a low voice, and Mr. Albert shook his head slightly:

"It's hard to say now, and you can't underestimate ordinary people. Maybe it's a technique we didn't think of. However, the church should take over this matter, and it has little to do with us. Armand, I asked you to meet at the morgue today, actually for another corpse."

"Are there any other strange corpses in Moon Bay recently? Oh, please continue."

Xia De said, so the coroner wearing a robe continued to introduce:

"I have been doing this job for many years and have seen all kinds of strange things locally. The night before yesterday, the corpse deliverer sent an unclaimed nameless female corpse. Judging from physical characteristics, I guess it should be a prostitute in the lower city area. The cause of death was excessive blood loss, and there were tooth marks on the neck."

The conversation of the three people was quiet for a while. Viscount Bernhardt blinked and turned to Xia De beside him:

"Don't draw conclusions first, although even I suspect it is the same race... Ptolemy, continue."

"I reached the same conclusion as you initially. But the in-depth dissection found that the blood loss of the corpse was not external blood loss, but that the blood was drawn by something that once existed in her stomach for the most part. No, she was not pregnant. I found abnormalities in the abdomen of the corpse, which was covered in wounds, and then found that there had been something that did not belong to the human body in her stomach, but now it is gone. I am not sure if it is a creature like a blood-sucking demon insect or something else. But it can be determined that that thing is her true cause of death."

"Then what about the tooth marks?"

Xia De asked again, and the coroner answered very affirmatively:

"After inspection, it was confirmed that it was printed around the time of death. I used the unique secret technique of the race, and the tooth marks were definitely not the cause of death."

"Mr. Watson, you can believe Ptolemy's honesty, I can guarantee this point. So, someone wants to frame the vampire species?"

Viscount Bernhardt also understood, and the coroner nodded:

"Yes, this corpse will soon be pulled away by the church. Although I believe the church can also check the true cause of death, I also believe that the church will still suspect that this matter is related to us. So, Armand, I need your help. I want to investigate the true source of this corpse and who the murderer is. When the news is spread to the black market, the church can also understand that it is us proving our innocence."

His idea is correct. Even if it is confirmed that the tooth marks are framing, the church cannot go without investigating the local vampire species. It is not that the vampire species sucked the blood, it may also be that the vampire species is doing some experiments. And once the investigation is launched, those vampire species settled locally will probably face major changes in their lives.

"Who else did you tell about this?"

Viscount Bernhardt asked again, and the coroner answered:

"Temporarily only you two outsiders. Armand, we are old friends for many years, and you are also the strongest of the same race I know locally."

A Seventh-Ring vampire species is strong enough. There must be high-ring vampire species in Moon Bay City, but those people are not easy to find.

"I understand what you mean. I am an outsider, Mr. Watson looks like a resident of Delarion at a glance. The possibility that this matter is related to the two of us is not high. The tooth marks are framing, but whether the local same race can be trusted is also hard to say."

Viscount Bernhardt looked at Xia De again, and seeing that Xia De also showed an interested expression, he nodded to the coroner:

"After lunch, you take us to see that corpse."

If Xia De hadn't appeared to disturb just now, they would have originally checked it before lunch.

Xia De also said:

"Although I have other things to do locally, I am also willing to help."

This is not meddling, but past experience shows that after arriving in a new city, contacting strange things is conducive to the progress of those main investigation tasks that have no clue for the time being.

"Of course, but don't eat too full for lunch, the scene later will not be very good."

After the three had lunch, they returned to the tunnel with the two morgue guards who were playing Luo De cards. The latter, upon learning that Xia De

Entering the corridor behind the iron gate, the three doors after turning the right angle are all autopsy rooms, which, of course, also serve the function of a morgue. There are four coroners working here in total, but due to the special nature of the workplace and the compensation, Mr. Ptolemy Albert spends the most time here.

He opened the door on the left and took out robes for the three of them to put on. The space behind the door was quite vast. After walking down a slope about three stories high, the underground space enclosed by stone walls was illuminated by dim gas lamps. There were about thirty iron-framed beds placed against the walls, but most were covered and partitioned by cloth curtains, making it impossible to easily see if they were all occupied by corpses.

In the center of the room was a square area raised one step above the ground, with three relatively professional metal operating tables on the platform. High-powered gas lamps hung above for illumination; this must be the place where autopsies are performed.

The air was filled with a strange odor, a mixture of the stench of corpses and preservatives, and the chill after entering here was even more severe than outside. After putting on masks, hats, goggles, and gloves, Xia De and Mr. Bernhard watched Mr. Albert use the slope on the side of the central platform to push the corpse from the iron-framed bed in the southeast corner to the side of the operating table, and then directly used a spell to make the corpse, covered in a white sheet, float onto the operating table.

Xia De and Mr. Bernhard gathered around. The coroner repeatedly confirmed that they were mentally prepared before lifting the white sheet.

"Tsk tsk, this is really..."

The female corpse, which appeared in a bizarrely shriveled state due to the loss of a large amount of body fluids, had her eyes tightly closed and her cheeks sunken, with withered yellow hair as messy as weeds. She looked to be older than 25 but no more than 30, and her body was covered with whip marks, binding marks, and candle wax burns, with lacerations visible on sensitive areas.

There were traces of sharp blade cuts on the abdomen, but only one of them was made by Mr. Albert.

The coroner explained the general autopsy process in detail to the two gentlemen beside him, and deduced the living conditions of the deceased before death from her fingernails, hair luster, eyelids, foot marks, and finger marks.

He then asked the two to hold their breath, before dissecting the corpse's stomach and removing the contents for examination to explain the corpse's living conditions. This was also Mr. Albert's first time dissecting a corpse's stomach, but there were no foreign objects worth noting in the food residue, which only indicated that the deceased had eaten a quite sumptuous meal before death.

Not only were there hard-to-digest pasta desserts, but also expensive ingredients like lobster and caviar. Because the time of death was too long ago, some food residues were truly difficult to distinguish, but it could be judged that such a meal did not match the identity of the corpse.