"Excuse me, Mrs. Alison, do you hear what you're saying?" Rodson questioned, observing the most experienced medical examiner in Manhattan in a state of shock, likely terrified by the victim's body.
Alison dropped the tweezers she was holding and sat on the floor, retreating to a corner of the bedroom. Hugging herself, she trembled violently and whispered, "I swear to God, this guy still has breath..."
Rodson's expression changed slightly; he hadn't checked the victim's breath himself!
He had been informed over the phone by Nathan en route that they were dealing with a dismembered body at the scene!
He immediately looked towards Nathan, who, meeting Rodson's gaze, stammered, "This... the victim was cut into over forty pieces, why check for breath?"
Rodson remained silent.
Although Nathan's statement didn't follow procedure, it made sense under the circumstances.
Rodson put on a mask, entered the bedroom, and, fighting the urge to vomit, reached out to check "Steve's" breath.
Instantly, Rodson froze, as if struck by lightning!
Steve, who had been "sliced" into forty-six cuts and was now in forty-seven connected pieces, indeed had a faint breath!
This meant, from a clinical medical perspective, the person was not dead yet!
Rodson tore off his mask, turned to Nathan in a daze, and said, "Quick, call... call an ambulance, call an ambulance..."
Nathan paused for two seconds, then angrily retorted, "Call an ambulance?! Have you both gone mad?! How could anyone survive that?"
Insisting, Nathan also checked the victim's breath.
When his hand touched the victim's bisected nose, Nathan, like Rodson, was struck as if by lightning!
Attempting to grab his phone, his trembling hands dropped it into a pool of blood with a "Bang."
After several failed attempts to pick it up due to the slippery, blood-stained phone, it was Rodson who had an officer call Manhattan's emergency services.
The ambulance arrived quickly, within ten minutes.
A paramedic, leading two stretcher-bearers, approached the bedroom door. Seeing the horrific "slicing" scene inside, he turned and vomited against the wall!
The stretcher-bearers followed suit.
After emptying their stomachs, the medic, leaning against the wall and covering his nose and mouth, waved at Rodson and the others, suggesting, "In this case, there's no need for emergency services. Contact the crematorium."
Realizing he was speaking to officers, he corrected himself, "Um, if it involves a homicide, you handle it as you see fit."
Rodson and Nathan, unsure how to explain Steve's condition to the doctor, watched as he prepared to leave. Rodson reluctantly suggested, "Maybe, doctor, we should check his breath first?"
Nathan added, "Yeah, what if, just saying, what if he's still alive?"
The doctor turned back, his pale face after vomiting looking at them with pity, then without a word, stepped back into the bedroom.
Seconds later—
"FUCK!"
The middle-aged medic with half-white hair jumped, exclaiming, "Oh God, it's a miracle! Is the Almighty protecting this man?"
"Save him! Save him!"
Prompted by the doctor's call to action, the "sliced person" on the ground suddenly moved. His breath grew heavier, his hands twitched slightly, and he even emitted a faint mumbling sound.
Rodson, listening closely, heard the blood-soaked "sliced person" whisper, "Save me, save me..."
Rodson was bewildered and profoundly shaken.
Suffering forty-six cuts, sliced into forty-seven pieces, and yet not dead!
To endure so long and even speak!
Such an indomitable will to live!
But at that moment, Rodson felt no admiration for the "sliced person's" will to live. He thought of the five skeletons in the basement, even feeling an urge to inflict further harm.
Meanwhile, Nathan, eyes nearly ablaze, angrily stated, "It's unjust of God not to let him die!"
"This man deserves to be executed by lingchi!"
"He has already experienced lingchi." Rodson said as he made way for the stretcher-bearers.
However, with the stretcher ready, the paramedic and the two emergency workers were at a loss on how to lift the victim onto the stretcher, especially since he was still alive. Any mishandling could lead to a medical accident.
This was no beautiful misunderstanding; it was a genuine medical emergency.
For a while, no one dared to touch the sliced-up Steve.
A considerable amount of time had elapsed, and Steve grew increasingly restless. He seemed to grasp the fact that no one was willing to assist him. Nevertheless, he took the initiative and began to maneuver himself toward the stretcher, determined to climb onto it!
But as fate would have it, remaining still would have been the wiser choice. The moment he moved, a cascade of flesh mixed with blood started pouring down!
In the end, all that remained was a stark, bare skeleton!
The sudden turn of events left everyone present utterly dumbfounded! A collective gasp echoed through the room, and everyone rushed out of the bedroom, clutching their buckets, for yet another round of retching!
The scene that had just unfolded in the bedroom was destined to become an indelible memory for these few police officers and medical personnel!
Later, each person leaned against the wall, looking drained of color. The emergency doctor, this time, left without a word.
Nathan hurriedly asked, "Wh-why did he leave? Isn't he going to help?"
Beside him, Rodson regarded him with an incredulous look, "Buddy, you seriously don't think someone reduced to a skeleton can be saved, do you?"
Nathan: "..."
As the two fell silent, a police officer dashed upstairs, "Captain! We've got a situation!"
Rodson, steadying himself against the wall, gestured, "Speak up! What's the situation?"
"Captain, we checked the electrical and network lines of this villa and discovered that every room is equipped with functioning network cameras!"
Though Lorde and Nathan were drained from vomiting, a shared look of astonishment and delight sparked in their eyes!
The existence of a camera meant the culprit could be unmistakably identified!
...
On the opposite side of Florida.
Two girls sat by the window in a convenience store, watching the bustling street outside, sharing laughs and conversations.
Suddenly, one girl, her hair a vivid purple, brightened up, pointing outside, "Anna! Look! Do you think he's attractive?!"
"Where? Show me!"
"There, the one in white!"
The other girl, bespectacled, quickly looked where the purple-haired girl pointed, "Oh! He is quite handsome! Has a sophisticated air about him!"
"Ha, golden glasses, the sophisticated bad boy, I knew you'd favor this type!"
"Oh, he's stopped, right across the street!"
"Should we go and ask for his contact?"
"Eh?"
Abruptly, their banter ceased. They watched as the boy they were discussing took out a transparent umbrella from his white tote bag and unfurled it overhead.
The girls were puzzled, "??"
"With such bright sunlight, why use an umbrella?"
"Strange, isn't it? It's not raining."
"And a transparent umbrella doesn't block the sun, what's he thinking?"
As they pondered, suddenly, the clear sky transformed, gathering dark clouds, and a downpour of large raindrops began to fall!
Almost everyone on the busy street was unprepared, quickly becoming soaked by the unexpected rain.
Only the boy who had preemptively opened his umbrella stood quietly by the road, gazing up silently at the summer sky as the rain fell.
Inside the convenience store, the girls were in disbelief.
"It's raining?"
"It feels like... the rain started only after he opened his umbrella?"
"Now that you say it, I get that feeling too!"
"Hey, could this guy be otherworldly?"
"For a guy like that, I'd embrace the supernatural! Yes, that's a prayer to God."
"You'd risk your life for a guy?!"
Across the street.
With an umbrella in one hand and catching raindrops with the other, Kate wore a perpetually gentle smile.
He murmured, "You decided to end it yourself? Hm, okay, but..."
"Mr. Steve, as a medium, death is merely the beginning!"
With that, he flipped his rain-catching hand, and the dark clouds above immediately began to clear!
The abrupt rain stopped as quickly as it had started, vanishing without a trace!
Simultaneously, a sinister aura, unseen by the naked eye and teeming with malevolence, emerged from Steve's body far away in the heart of Manhattan's Central Park. This dark mist slipped into the police-sealed evidence bag, attaching itself to a tiny ghost-faced doll, intertwining with another sinister presence within.