Card Room (Rebirth)

Xiao Lou prepared to stitch up Qi Zhaoming’s body and put it back in the freezer. He just picked up the stitches when there was the sound of men’s leather shoes on the floor tiles outside the door. The footsteps were slow like someone was walking leisurely.

In the middle of the night, in the empty corridor outside the morgue, the clear sound of footsteps was suddenly heard. Xiao Lou got the chills. The other person’s walking rhythm was very familiar. It was exactly the same as last night’s footsteps.

Liu Qiao’s face turned pale and she lowered her voice. “It should be Zhao Sen right?”

Xiao Lou’s expression was a bit ugly. This Zhao Sen was simply a ghost! Didn’t he say he wasn’t on duty tonight? Why come to the morgue again?! Looking at the corpse in front of him that hadn’t been stitched up, Xiao Lou’s heart beat violently. He took a deep breath and ordered decisively, “Liu Qiao, help me use this time to stitch him up!”

Liu Qiao nodded and held the body in place.

Xiao Lou was wearing gloves. He gently pressed the skin of the corpse with the tweezers in his left hand. The tweezers in his right hand picked up the suture needle. The needle tip passed through the skin and quickly knotted. It turned a circle and continued to sew and knot. His hands moved quickly like they were casting magic. The incisions that had just been cut were closed stitch by stitch to Xiao Lou’s hand at a very fast speed.

The footsteps in the corridor were getting closer and Liu Qiao felt that her heart was going to stop beating. If Zhao Sen came in and saw that the corpse had been cut then he would feel suspicious and investigate. Then they might be exposed!

The corridor outside the morgue wasn’t long and Zhao Sen’s footsteps quickly approached the door.

Yu Hanjiang lay on the edge of Xiao Lou’s pocket, afraid to make a noise. There was a layer of sweat on Xiao Lou’s forehead but the movements of his hands were steady. The sound of footsteps outside were sounding ominously closer but he knew he couldn’t panic now.

At almost the moment Zhao Sen’s footsteps stopped in front of the door of the morgue, Xiao Lou finished the last stitch in a thrilling manner. Liu Qiao immediately covered the body with a white cloth and the two people pushed it back into the freezer together before quickly turning off the lights.

Xiao Lou said, “Hurry, wear the cloak!”

The card was activated and Xiao Lou and Liu Qiao put on the cloak at the same time, hiding their bodies. The next moment, the door of the morgue was pushed open.

Zhao Sen entered the morgue, turned on the lights and looked around with narrowed eyes. He found no one in the morgue so he walked to the corner, opened the drawer where his cousin’s head was stored and took out the black bag.

The round thing in the bag was his cousin’s head. Xiao Lou clearly remembered what he saw when he opened the drawer last night. Seeing Zhao Sen turn to leave, Xiao Lou couldn’t help wondering, “Where is he going to take his cousin’s head?”

Yu Hanjiang’s voice was heard in his mind. “I’ll follow and take a look.”

He crawled out of Xiao Lou’s pocket, ran along the corner to Zhao Sen’s side and while Zhao Sen wasn’t paying attention, Yu Hanjiang used the Light as a Swallow card to accurately jump into the pocket of Zhao Sen’s clothes.

Xiao Lou, “……”

Seeing the small version of Yu Hanjiang getting into Zhao Sen’s pocket and being taken away by Zhao Sen, Xiao Lou’s face turned pale and he inwardly spoke in a quivering voice, “This is too risky…”

Yu Hanjiang replied calmly, “Don’t worry, if I encounter danger then I will directly transfer to the Peach Blossom Spring. You and Xiao Liu withdraw first. I will definitely be back in three hours.”

Zhao Sen closed the door after leaving the morgue. Xiao Lou let out a breath and told Liu Qiao, “Let’s go back.”

The two of them took off their invisibility cloaks, moved back to the Peach Blossom Spring and then exited from the entrance at the VIP ward of the general surgery department.

Liu Qiao found that the thumb-sized version of Group Leader Yu in Xiao Lou’s pocket was gone and was stunned. “Group Leader Yu didn’t come back? Where is he?”

“…He got into Zhao Sen’s pocket and went to investigate.” Xiao Lou frowned worriedly. “He is still injured and is currently in a shrunken state. If Zhao Sen finds him then Zhao Sen can trample him to death with one foot.”

Xiao Lou’s back stiffened slightly as he thought of the small version of Yu Hanjiang being trampled into a meat patty and he immediately made himself stop this terrible association.

Liu Qiao was very optimistic. “Professor Xiao, there is no need to worry so much. Group Leader Yu has aa plan in mind and can be transmitted back at any time.”

Xiao Lou smiled reluctantly. “Xiao Liu, go back and rest. I will wait here for Group Leader Yu.”

Once Liu Qiao left, Xiao Lou restlessly paced back and forth in the ward.

He tried to connect with Yu Hanjiang using the mind channel. The information in his mind was very confusing and he didn’t know what Yu Hanjiang encountered. Xiao Lou was anxious and kept calling out in his mind, “Group Leader Yu, are you there?”

Finally, Yu Hanjiang’s voice was heard. “Zhao Sen drove up a mountain. He has a private villa in the mountains and the layout of the house is strange. There is a separate showroom underground with many human specimens.”

Xiao Lou was stunned and the soles of his feet were cold. “Human specimens? Did he kill a lot of people and make specimens?”

“It isn’t the whole body. It is separate organs.” Yu Hanjiang lay on the edge of Zhao Sen’s pants pocket, revealing his fingernail-sized head.

Due to his miniature size, his vision was limited and he could only see the display case clearly by raising his head. There were many transparent boxes in the showcase that contained various organs. This scene made people’s hair stand up. If Yu Hanjiang’s mental quality wasn’t good then he might’ve vomited in Zhao Sen’s pocket.

Yu Hanjiang quickly scanned this weird room and told Xiao Lou, “There is a heart, liver, kidney and others I don’t know. The specimens are all immersed in liquid and kept in glass boxes that are neatly placed.”

“……” Xiao Lou felt numb as he imagined this scene. “Is it like a medical school’s specimen display case?”

“It should be. I haven’t been to the specimen room of a medical school.” Although their minds were connected, they couldn’t share their vision. Yu Hanjiang tried to describe the scene he saw to Xiao Lou in detail. “I suspect that these are his cousin’s organs.”

“It is possible. Perhaps his cousin’s entire body was dismembered and made into specimens. He secretly did the limbs and organs previously. Today he took away the head. Will it be to make a specimen?” Xiao Lou had this thought and immediately warned nervously, “Be careful, don’t be discovered by him!”

If Zhao Sen found Yu Hanjiang hidden in his pocket then maybe Yu Hanjiang would also be made into a specimen.

Yu Hanjiang replied lightly, “Don’t worry, I’ll pay attention.”

Just then, Zhao Sen suddenly reached out, trying to find the key in his pocket. Yu Hanjiang noticed the hand coming to the edge of the pocket so he flew out and hid under the table. He hugged the legs of the table and stared at Zhao Sen through the gap beside him.

Zhao Sen’s cold eyes swept around the room. He didn’t find the thumb-sized Yu Hanjiang hiding under the table. He took the key out of his pocket, opened a cabinet door and took out a strange liquid. The strong smell of formalin filled his nose, causing Yu Hanjiang to frown. Zhao Sen put on gloves, opened a transparent box, put his cousin’s head in it and poured formalin inside the box.

He was indeed making a specimen.

Yu Hanjiang endured his nausea and watched this person finish the specimen. Then Zhao Sen placed the head specimen in the middle of the showcase and stared at his cousin’s wide eyes with a weird smile on his face. “Well, now you are complete. Soaked in formalin, your body won’t rot. Brother, your horrified expression can be preserved for many years.”

Yu Hanjiang, “……”

Xiao Lou, “……”

Zhao Sen finished the specimen and went to sleep in the bedroom. Yu Hanjiang transferred back to the Peach Blossom Spring. Seeing the thumb-sized Yu Hanjiang appear on the sofa, Xiao Lou hurriedly turned off the Thumbelina card and Yu Hanjiang changed back.

Yu Hanjiang sat on the sofa, his expression ugly. “He did make that head into a specimen.”

Xiao Lou held his temples as he had a headache. “Zhao Sen made so many organ specimens. Does he have a relationship with the organ trafficking case?”

Yu Hanjiang frowned. “He dismembered his cousin’s body and said that it is complete. This obviously means that his cousin’s corpse was made into specimens. I found only one heart and liver in the showroom and the kidneys are a pair. They should be removed from his cousin’s body. I didn’t see the organs of any other people.”

He paused before continuing to analyze it. “Still, Zhao Sen’s suspicion can’t be completely ruled out. Just now, you went to the morgue to do an autopsy and said that Liu Renyuan’s kidney removal surgery wasn’t very professional. Perhaps it was done by a layman or an intern? Zhao Sen is a heart surgeon. It is possible that Liu Renyuan’s operation was done by him since he isn’t a professional when it comes to the kidneys.”

Xiao Lou heard this and agreed with Yu Hanjiang’s inference.

If Zhao Sen was involved in the organ trafficking case then the information on Liu Renyuan’s body could be reasonably explained. Zhao Sen did heart surgery all year round but he wasn’t experienced enough to perform kidney surgery. However, they couldn’t investigate Zhao Sen alone. They didn’t have any evidence.

Yu Hanjiang continued saying, “We must keep an eye on Chief Shao and wake him up as soon as possible. I have a hunch that Chief Shao knows a very important clue or he wouldn’t be in a coma for so long.”

It was the third day of the secret room and Shao Qingge was still in a coma. Without Shao Qingge’s help, the team members were restricted in their actions and couldn’t leave the hospital. The investigation of this case couldn’t spread out.

Xiao Lou stated, “If he isn’t awake tomorrow morning then I will consult a specialist.”

Yu Hanjiang gently patted Xiao Lou’s shoulder and softly told him, “Go to bed first and speak in the morning.”

The moment he finished speaking, Yu Hanjiang frowned suddenly. Their minds were connected and Xiao Lou soon noticed his pain. Xiao Lou asked in a worried manner, “What’s the matter?”

“Maybe I did too much activity just now. My wound has opened.” Yu Hanjiang was indifferent but Xiao Lou was very distressed. After all, Yu Hanjiang had just finished an operation and the wound must be very painful. Xiao Lou immediately stood up and ordered. “Go back to bed and lie down. I will check you.”

A moment later, Xiao Lou pushed the treatment cart in and opened Yu Hanjiang’s gown. He took off the bloody gauze and saw that the wound was opened. Fortunately, it wasn’t serious. Xiao Lou spoke softly, “Please bear it. I will sterilize and re-stitch you.”

Yu Hanjiang hummed in agreement and Xiao Lou moved quickly. As he disinfected and changed the stitches, Yu Hanjiang looked at the seriously working man beside his bed and his heart softened. It didn’t hurt, perhaps because all his attention was on Xiao Lou.

After re-wrapping the wound with gauze, Xiao Lou softly advised, “Don’t do strenuous activity anymore. You are now a patient and the light footwork card can’t be used casually.”

Yu Hanjiang nodded. “Yes, I’ll listen to you.”

“I will sleep on the sofa next to you. If you feel uncomfortable in the middle of the night, call me and I will prescribe painkillers.”

Yu Hanjiang’s heart warmed. “Don’t worry, this small injury is nothing.”

Xiao Lou took off his white coat and slept on the sofa.

He once again had a nightmare. This time, he dreamed that he entered Zhao Sen’s organ specimen showroom and was surrounded by all types of fresh organs. The head of Zhao Sen’s cousin was placed in the middle of the display shelf, staring at Xiao Lou with wide eyes. Xiao Lou was taken aback by the head and was about to turn to walk away. As a result, Zhao Sen suddenly appeared behind him, placed a scalpel against his neck and asked with a smile, “Dr Xiao, do you want to change into a specimen?”

Xiao Lou shot up from the couch, sweating. These days, he always had nightmares. Blame that pervert Zhao Sen for always appearing in front of him, making Xiao Lou unable to rest well.

His neck was chilly. Xiao Lou touched his neck and found his on-duty phone was ringing. He picked it up and saw that it was a landline phone number, like a hospital department. Xiao Lou took a deep breath to stabilize his first heartbeat and answered the phone as calmly as possible. “Hello, I am Chief Resident Xiao Lou of the general surgery department. What’s the matter?”

A nurse’s soft voice entered his ears. “Hello Dr Xiao, Shao Qingge of ICU bed 3 is awake. Dr Zhao told us to notify Dr Xiao as soon as he woke up. Would you like to come and have a look now?”

It was 7 o’clock in the morning. It wasn’t work time yet. This was one of the few good news he heard in these past few days. Xiao Lou was happy and he hurriedly put on his white coat while saying, “I will come right away.”

Yu Hanjiang also learned the good news. “Go and see how Chief Shao is doing. Ask him if he has any clues.”

Xiao Lou nodded and strode to the heart surgery ward. Zhao Sen hadn’t gone to work yet and the door of the ICU was closed. Xiao Lou looked for the nurse on duty. Hello, I am Dr Xiao. Please open the door for me. I am going to see my friend.”

The nurse opened the door in a friendly manner and told Xiao Lou to wear an isolation gown.

Xiao Lou entered the room and found that the elderly person in bed 1 was still wearing a ventilator to inhale oxygen while the young man in bed 2 was gone. Shao Qingge in bed 3 was frowning and leaning against his bed, his face as white as paper.

Xiao Lou quickly walked to his bedside and asked softly, “Chief Shao, are you okay?”

Shao Qingge might be ill but this guy was never serious in front of Xiao Lou. He saw Xiao Lou and immediately smiled. “Professor Xiao is a doctor again this time? How did I become a patient? What about the others?”

“They are also patients.” Xiao Lou looked at him. “Chief Shao, is there anything wrong with your body?”

Shao Qingge put aside the joking manner and frowned slightly. Many memories poured into his mind and he was silent for a moment before pressing a hand against his temple. “I have a strange memory. I seem to have just had a kidney replaced not long ago?”

Xiao Lou, “……”

Proofreader: Fictional Reality