Chapter 164 [02-Puppet] Separation Technique

After leaving Meiyuan Residential Area, Cheng Ren wandered aimlessly through several streets.

Perhaps feeling a bit hot, he took off his suit jacket and draped it over his shoulders.

His suit and white lining were almost entirely wrinkled, as if they had never been ironed, making him look unlike a high-level white-collar worker who often wears suits and ties.

Because he wasn't originally one.

He was just one of the developers of an internet startup, and after the website was developed, he was marginalized and only received a pitiful amount of shares and revenue sharing.

This wasn't because his friends were deliberately trying to sabotage him; rather, his emotions had been acting strangely lately.

The root of all these problems lies in those vague memories in his mind... or what the psychologist calls hallucinations. These hallucinations have greatly affected his life, leading his partners to believe that he has mental problems.

He couldn't tell if it was a dream or reality, so, hoping for the best, he posted his experience online. He didn't have any high hopes; he just wanted to try his luck.

Unsurprisingly, his post received no replies; his incoherent ramblings went unread. However, a netizen named "Legal Citizen Li Si" left a reply, asking for details, as if he completely believed everything he said.

This gave him a glimmer of hope, and just as he was about to reply, a phone call came in.

It came from the Public Security Bureau.

The other party inquired in detail about the dream, and Cheng Ren told them everything he knew, including his various actions in searching for the truth behind the illusion.

He initially thought that this really wasn't his hallucination, that the police had already taken notice of the matter, and that things would definitely take a turn for the better. But when the other party heard that his hallucinations had started four or five years ago, they seemed to lose all interest in listening further, simply saying, "I'll let you know if there's any news," before hanging up.

He waited for several days without receiving any "notification," and the post was deleted. It was as if the matter had simply passed, and he was the only one who remembered it.

It was as if those were truly his hallucinations.

But just yesterday, I received a strange message on my phone.

Li Si will help you.

This short, prank-like message felt like a lifeline to him. He remembered the "outlaw Li Si" who believed him online and began to investigate the information he had scattered across the internet.

He quickly found out who the other party was, and the fact that the other party was a forensic police officer from the provincial department made Cheng Ren believe that he had definitely found the right person.

He arrived in the city yesterday—because the highway was closed, he had to cross mountains and valleys, and climb over country roads to get in. His clothes were torn quite a bit by tree branches.

This is also one of the reasons why his clothes were disheveled.

Before he knew it, he had walked into a park.

The park still had water stains from yesterday's rain, and since it wasn't the weekend, there weren't many people.

He walked to the stone bench, ignoring the damp stains, placed his briefcase and clothes on it, and sat down. Cheng Ren pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, expertly held the cigarette butt in his mouth, and just as he took out his lighter and lit it with a "click," he said, "I told you, no smoking! I hate the smell of smoke!"

A clear, familiar yet unfamiliar voice rang in Cheng Ren's ears.

"Wife!"

He suddenly stood up and glanced around blankly.

The park's lawn was empty; there was no one there, and no one could possibly be talking.

He stood there somewhat bewildered, and after a moment of stunned silence, he extinguished the lit cigarette in his hand and threw it into the nearby trash can. He sat down again, picked up his briefcase, and began to organize the documents he had just jumbled up.

It contained every word he heard, every scene he saw, and several portraits that looked like doodles—long hair, big eyes, this was how he remembered his "wife".

He could only draw some things vaguely, but he really had no talent for drawing; his drawings looked like scribbles.

Besides these written records, there are also many reasonable inferences about the sudden appearance of his memories.

For example, my family says that I bought my suits for work, but my business partners and I never wear suits normally. The most formal clothes we wear are polo shirts.

There's no way I would buy a suit myself. The only possible reason this suit is in the picture is that I'm wearing it at a wedding, and someone else bought it for me. Besides that, there are pairs of toothbrush cups, a photo album with one empty space, and that familiar voice that occasionally pops into my ears.

He was confused.

Are the others really right? Do they not have a wife at all, but are just mentally unstable and imagining a non-existent "wife"?

"..."

Suddenly, his cell phone, which was in his briefcase, vibrated slightly.

The vibration brought him back to his senses. He took his phone out of his briefcase and saw another new, unfamiliar number sending him a text message.

They have a way of making you remember.

It's that same person again!

Who is behind this? A prank? Because they know they're "crazy"?

Cheng Ren pursed his lips tightly and began frantically typing on his phone.

Who are you? Who are they? I will never trust you again!

He would never believe it again. He wanted to go back and follow the advice of his friends and family to go to the hospital for treatment...

Shen Yuan, Lu Wenying, and Wu Xiaoting, the three people you just met have the ability to help you remember everything.

I'm your friend, you just haven't remembered me yet.

Two text messages arrived in quick succession, less than a second apart, as if they had been pre-programmed for automatic transmission. Shen Yuan? Shen Xing's sister?

Cheng Ren held his phone, ready to type a reply, but hesitated when his hand touched the keys.

Is it true...?

But the woman on the other end was a police officer, and she had warned him that if he followed them again, he would be arrested and detained for a few days... Cheng Ren's hand holding the phone trembled slightly.

Finally, he gripped his phone tightly.

In the end, I'll be locked up in a mental hospital anyway.

Even if it's just a prank, I'm going to give it a try.

Try anything, even if it seems hopeless.

At the farmers' market and kitchenware store, Shen Xing was buying things he might need.

Just then, a man passing by whispered, "Lu Lingyun is gone."

"Where are you going next?" Shen Xing didn't look up, still selecting some handy knives.

Scalpels are regulated medical devices, but they are only used for opening the abdomen and skull of the dead. Such precise knives are not necessary. Opening the abdomen is essentially the same as orthopedics, which is a physically demanding job.

Since the bodies will eventually be cremated anyway, those with obsessive-compulsive tendencies who want to be meticulous can just bear with it for now.

Once Lu Lingyun leaves the city, I can easily get my hands on a new scalpel.

"Go and 'eliminate' the influence. After 'eliminating' it, I will tell Lu Lingyun that I want to stay," the man said.

Shen Xing was not surprised that Lu Lingyun would definitely agree, because Wang Xinran's condition for "eliminating" the influence was that she wanted to stay in the city.

Lu Lingyun also seemed to be planning to try to recruit Wang Xinran into the Ninth Squad, so that Wang Xinran could help deal with the real highest-level "strange" turmoil that might break out in the Mother Nest City at any time.

This was an extremely bold attempt... From Lu Lingyun's perspective, it seemed to have no problems, but they overlooked one point. That is, Wang Xinran had someone directing things from behind the scenes.

Shen Xing had previously considered having [02-Puppet] infiltrate the Ninth Squad, but he never expected that Wang Xinran would actually make his plan a reality. After selecting his items, Shen Xing paid the bill, took the packed goods, and got into a taxi, returning to the funeral home.

He didn't see anyone else along the way, and following the route he remembered, he arrived at one of the mortuary rooms.

The mortuary had been almost completely emptied, making it feel exceptionally spacious.

There were two stainless steel tables and chairs with two corpses covered with white sheets on them. Shen Xing walked around them and felt a little more relaxed.

Compared to the forensic autopsy room, this place is missing a lot of things.

The stainless steel dissecting end was not connected to the drain pipe, there was no shadowless lamp, and no other professional tools.

However, the good thing is that there is an exhaust fan, the floor is waterproof, and the walls are tiled. It seems that Wang Xinran had someone connect a water pipe with a rubber hose so that the dirt can be washed away.

It's missing a drainage system; if it had drainage, it would be perfect.

However, this is the first floor, so it should be able to be renovated.

Shen Xing looked at the two corpses that remained and lifted the white cloth covering them.

These two are Wang Xinran's father and younger brother. The middle-aged man has multiple stab wounds, while the boy has multiple gunshot wounds.

The body was unusually pale due to being refrigerated, and the bloodstains on the surface of the body had been cleaned by the forensic doctor, and the wounds had been preliminarily stitched up.

Compared to the middle-aged man's corpse, even though the boy's corpse was stitched up, there were many irregular dents on his body. This was because the bullet had severely torn the tissue and shattered the bones. Without support, the stitched areas would show such dents.

The middle-aged man's body was mostly covered in knife wounds, with black sutures of varying lengths covering the surface, resembling countless black, hard-shelled insects. Because a large amount of skin had been forcibly pulled together and sewn up, the skin on the body was taut and even somewhat shiny due to surface tension, reflecting the incandescent light overhead.

The key to "resurrection" is whether the split offspring of [02-Puppet] can acquire memories and simulate them by devouring corpses, just like [02-Puppet].

First, cut the [02-Doll] into two small pieces and nurture them.

As for the research on [04-Mengzhong], Shen Xinghui will postpone it until the afternoon, after the funeral home staff have finished get off work.

He didn't know what kind of impact researching [04-Dream Bell] would have. [04-Dream Bell] was a counter to [03-Honeycomb]. If something went wrong and the white worms in other people's minds were cleared away, that would be bad.

Shen Xing's perspective shifted and landed on the suitcase placed in the corner.

The suitcase seemed to sense Shen Xing's gaze and shook slightly.

It moved before the fingers were even snapped?

Shen Xing frowned slightly.

That's not good.