Naturally, this was the Dr Mu he had met back in Hangzhou. He was Da Gang’s attending doctor whom they later encountered in one of Hangzhou’s restaurant and once more in the train station.
The impression he left on Chen Xiaolian was that of a highly ethical and responsible doctor – in today’s society, people like him was rare.
Dr Mu too, was able to identify Chen Xiaolian. “You are, you are that, that…”
“It’s me,” Chen Xiaolian helped him up. Sensing that Dr Mu’s body was still feeling weak, he brought Dr Mu over to the side of the platform where some seats were available. He then helped him down the seat and he inhaled several times.
Chen Xiaolian retrieved a bottle of mineral water from his Storage Watch. After unscrewing it, he handed it over.
“… … thank you,” Dr Mu’s face was a discoloured mess, filled with the colours blue and grey. The hand he used to accept the bottle of mineral water trembled.
“Can you tell me what happened here?” Chen Xiaolian watched as Dr Mu gulped down several mouthfuls of water. After seeing that the doctor had calmed down somewhat, he asked the question slowly.
Both Lun Tai and Bei Tai moved nearby. They stood not far away from the two of them. As for the team members of the Coffeehouse Guild, they were all gathered around Phoenix. Phoenix, who had finished her inspection of the corpse made a gesture toward Chen Xiaolian. Using her mouth, she formed a word out without making any sound. Observing her, Chen Xiaolian was able to understand what she wanted to say.
The word Phoenix had said was: Ripper.
Dr Mu finally calmed down and he began to narrate.
“I… was rushing to get to the last subway train. However, when I was moving down the stairs, before I could reach the platform, I saw someone down here.
“It was a male. He was kneeling down on the ground and I saw the blood on the ground… en, I also smelled the scent of blood.
“I, I am a doctor who does surgeries. Therefore, I am very sensitive to the smell of blood.
“At first, I thought that someone was in trouble and may be in need of help. With that consideration in mind, I ran forward…
“Then, then I… I saw a terrifying scene…”
According to Dr Mu, he seemed to have borne witness to a scene of murder and had even witnessed part of the process.
He ran down the stairs and stepped onto the platform just in time to catch sight of the murderer as the murderer brutally killed the female victim.
No, more accurately speaking, what he saw was not the process of killing.
Rather… it was the dissection process!
In the beginning, he said that he saw a man kneeling in front of a woman – as the man had his back facing Dr Mu, he thought that someone was suddenly struck by an illness and was in need of help. As a doctor, he rushed forward – it had to be said, he was a courageous and upright person.
By the time Dr Mu arrived, the murderer had already cut open the female victim’s abdomen and cut out her internal organs, and thrown them around!
At that moment, Dr Mu became shocked.
Although he was a surgeon who had attended many dissection lessons in medical school and had witnessed many bloody scenes… seeing the scene of murder and the cruelty involved in the murderer’s methods of dissecting his female victims, his mind was shocked.
At the same time that Dr Mu arrived, the murderer ran away.
According to Dr Mu, when the murderer saw him come over, the murderer quickly ran away through the stairs.
“The murderer, how does he look like?”
Phoenix came over and crouched down before Dr Mu. She spoke in a very gentle voice and extended a slender hand to gently hold onto Dr Mu’s wrist.
This action from her caused the trembling Dr Mu to calm down somewhat. With a dazed look in his eyes, he raised his head and hesitated for a bit before saying. “He… seems to be wearing a grey coloured suit. He was wearing a hat… the suit seemed very old.”
A though flashed through Chen Xiaolian’s mind and he glanced at Phoenix. He noticed a flicker of light in Phoenix’s eyes.
Grey coloured suit and hat…
That description sounded like the figure they saw after entering the subway station. The figure that had disappeared through a corner.
“We… we should… should report this to the police!” Dr Mu said after recollecting himself. Despite his trembling hands, he pulled out his mobile phone.
Chen Xiaolian thought it over and moved to hold down his hand. “Wait a minute.”
Dr Mu raised his head and looked at Chen Xiaolian with knitted brows. “Wait? For what? This is a homicide! Furthermore, this is an extremely brutal homicide! We need to report to the police immediately!”
Chen Xiaolian frowned. The insistence shown by Dr Mu was a very normal reaction for an ordinary person.
However… reporting to the police? Chen Xiaolian had no such thoughts.
Besides, this Dr Mu who was standing before him was clearly the ‘guide character’ stated by the system. How could he let Dr Mu go report this to the police?
“I must inform you, you have been sucked into a very special and unusual case,” Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath. “I will tell you about the specifics when the opportunity arises. But for now, the whole reporting to the police will have to be put aside for now.”
“Why?” Dr Mu’s eyes turned vigilant and he looked at Chen Xiaolian as his body shrank backward. “You… who are you people?”
Chen Xiaolian felt troubled.
If the guide character chose to be uncooperative, the situation would become more difficult.
“Do you need any help?” Phoenix who was right beside asked as she looked on cautiously.
Chen Xiaolian frowned. “Not at the moment. Could you please let me talk to him alone for a few minutes?”
Phoenix waved her hand and answered. “Go ahead.”
The young woman took the initiative to take a few steps back.
Chen Xiaolian stared at Dr Mu. He suddenly had an idea. “Can we talk?”
“… … talk about what?”
“Do you remember what happened back in Hangzhou? Do you remember the heavy wounds you saw on my friend in Hangzhou?”
“Of course I remember,” Dr Mu appeared somewhat impatient as he asked. “What does that have to do with this?”
“Don’t be impatient, please let me finish,” Chen Xiaolian sighed. He looked carefully into Dr Mu’s eyes before slowly saying. “What if I tell you … back in Hangzhou, those injuries, you did not make a misdiagnosis.”
Did not make a misdiagnosis?
Dr Mu’s eyes turned round and wide. “You mean…”
“The patient known as Da Gang, he had indeed suffered from grievous injuries. Your diagnosis of him was not wrong. Bone fractures, internal bleeding… those were not wrong. He was indeed in a life-threatening situation. However, later on… in just one night’s time, he was able to make a huge recovery and could be successfully discharged. Don’t you think there is something unusual about this situation?”
Dr Mu’s expression became increasingly shocked.
Chen Xiaolian sighed. “We… are not ordinary humans.”
“I do not understand what you mean!”
Chen Xiaolian scratched his head. “Do you read novels? Do you watch US dramas?”
“… … …”
“Do you know about the X-Men? Have you watched the US drama ‘Heroes’?”
Dr Mu’s eyes grew even wider. “You, you mean to say…”
“We are not ordinary humans… that is what I meant,” Chen Xiaolian said. Then, he flipped the palm of his hand.
Before his very eyes, Dr Mu watched as a handgun appeared in Chen Xiaolian’s hand. With another flip, the handgun disappeared and a domineering looking war axe appeared in his hand!
“You…”
“All of us here are not ordinary humans… as for the murder case you see before you, it too is not an ordinary murder case,” Chen Xiaolian slowly said. “I can only tell you this. We are here due to this case. Here to capture the murderer! As for reporting to the police… trust me when I say the police will not be able to do anything to the murderer.”
“No…please wait a moment. Let me… let me gather my thoughts… my mind is confused,” Dr Mu clutched his head.
“You should be able to believe this. You did witness for yourself the miraculous recovery of the patient in Hangzhou,” Chen Xiaolian said slowly.
“I…” It was apparent that Dr Mu believed what he had said. Yet, common sense refused to let him accept this fact.
“All right. Listen up, Dr Mu. Right now, we need your help,” Chen Xiaolian held onto his wrist. He slowly sat down and said. “First, you are the first witness to this case! Second, you are an outstanding doctor. Now, there is something I need you to help out with.”
“Me?” Dr Mu’s eyes revealed confusion. “What can I do?”
Truth be told, Chen Xiaolian did not know what it was that Dr Mu could do.
However, since the system had designated him as the guide character, he must certainly be a useful character.
An idea occurred to Chen Xiaolian. “Right, you are a doctor! Can you help us examine the corpse? From a doctor’s professional point of view, help us examine the corpse and the scene.”
“Me?”
…
A few minutes later, a calmed down Dr Mu who had been coaxed by Chen Xiaolian finally decided to walk up to the side of the corpse.
After having put aside his fear toward the murderer, his professional expertise as a doctor came to the fore as he regarded the corpse – he was no longer feeling that fearful, nor was he feeling negative.
Faced with the bloody scene that was reminiscent of a slaughterhouse, one that nearly caused even Chen Xiaolian to vomit, Dr Mu took a deep breath and calmed down.
He took a few steps forward and crouched down beside the corpse.
“Do you have gloves? A plastic, surgical type.”
Hearing Dr Mu’s request, Chen Xiaolian was momentarily at a loss.
“Here.”
Phoenix who was beside, handed over a pair of gloves. Noting the puzzled expression on Chen Xiaolian’s face, the young woman gave a faint smile. “It’s always a good thing to be prepared.”
Dr Mu deftly slipped on the gloves. As he was extending his hand out toward the corpse, he hesitated and asked. “If I touch it, will it not destroy the crime scene?”
“It won’t. Be at ease, you are helping out here!”
Dr Mu finally chose to trust him… or perhaps, he might still be partially dubious.
Still, he began to examine the body.
The whole process lasted for roughly seven or eight minutes. He even went around to examine the internal organs that were tossed about in the vicinity – this spectacle of a man going around, picking up those internal organs before examining them in detail left a rather terrifying feeling.
…