Chapter 4

"Answer the phone? It wasn't really an important call, just a date invitation from a woman."

Lao Zhou wasn't a man with many faults, just a bit of a playboy. He often said there were two things he would never refuse: the first was when his buddies called him, and the second was when a woman he found attractive invited him out.

A man who was good-looking, had a good job, and even a bright future was naturally very popular. It was normal for him to receive more of these kinds of calls.

"So, you went." I lazily glanced out the shop window; the sun was probably obscured by clouds, making the sky look a bit gloomy.

"You didn't go?" Lao Zhou countered, clearly dissatisfied with my attitude, probably thinking I was being a hypocrite.

"The point?" I fiddled with the lighter in my hand, the crisp sound of the lid snapping open echoing in the shop. I had slightly adjusted the steel plate inside to make this sound, and it seemed to work well; I was quite satisfied.

"The point is that the date was quite pleasant, and I got back around 11 PM. You know me, you know what I usually do?" Lao Zhou rubbed his face, clearly also feeling helpless about himself.

I had mentioned before that Lao Zhou had a cleanliness obsession and was quite particular in some areas, which determined his character. For example, if he decided to do something today, he would be unable to sleep well if he didn't finish it. If he still didn't complete it the next day, he would continue with red eyes from lack of sleep.

This trait wasn't very likable, or at least not by me, as I was a rather casual person.

Based on my understanding of Lao Zhou, the details of what he would do next were already forming in my mind.

Go home, take the most familiar glass, pour a cup of honey grapefruit water from the fridge, drink it, wash the glass, and put it back in its place. Then, wash his face, check for any unseen oil on his face. If he wasn't going out, he would walk to the bathroom, take off his clothes, put them in the laundry basket next to the washing machine, take a shower, and change into pajamas.

If he was going out, he would definitely gather the things he needed, check them twice, put them in his backpack, smell himself to check for any lingering odors, and then spray perfume behind his ears and on his wrists.

The thing he didn't complete yesterday was to go and pay respects to the executed prisoner's body as I had suggested. So, after doing these trivial things at home, he would definitely go out.

When he went out, he would definitely bring the incense, candles, and the standard paper money I had specially prepared for him, which were in his briefcase.

"What time did you go?" Thinking about this, I frowned and asked.

I had mentioned before that the place students considered terrifying was actually 'clean.' No matter what time Lao Zhou went, as long as he didn't scare himself, nothing would happen. My question was actually unnecessary because Lao Zhou, being a medical student and quite extreme, was not easily frightened.

"When I got there, I didn't check the time, but when I left, it was around 11:40. I probably arrived after midnight." Lao Zhou saw me frown and also became serious.

He didn't believe in the supernatural, but he trusted me.

"Were you the only one in that building?" I asked another unnecessary question, but if it was just a common incident of Lao Zhou encountering something in the morgue, the hospital wouldn't have to suppress it.

"Of course not, there was a security guard. The hospital values these specimens, but you know the security guard is in a room at the far end of the entrance. Damn, there are no cameras in that building." Lao Zhou suddenly said, sounding frustrated.

"Is that important?" I was surprised. What strange event had scared Lao Zhou so much that he was still thinking about the cameras?

"Of course it's important, let me finish." Lao Zhou tugged at his shirt collar, looking a bit agitated.

Following his narrative, the time was pulled back to around midnight.

It was around that time that Lao Zhou arrived at the building that students found scary. It was an old three-story building, probably built in the 1970s, a typical red brick building later painted white for aesthetics.

It was said that the building had been renovated, changing the original tiled roof to a modern flat roof.

But even so, it couldn't hide the old and outdated structure of the building. The security guard was just a formality. In my memory, it had three exits: the two sides and the main entrance.

The security guard was at the main entrance, and the side doors were locked at night with old iron locks and wooden doors. The side doors were a distance from the main entrance, so if anything happened, the security guard would be too late to help.

Lao Zhou entered the old building on such a night.

When he arrived, the security guard was still awake, and the guard's room was lit with a dim light. The guard saw Lao Zhou and wasn't surprised, even greeted him and had him register according to the rules.

"You going to the specimen building at that time didn't surprise the guard?" I couldn't help but ask again, this time changing to a different lighter, the sound of the lid opening was more muffled, and I started adjusting the steel plate inside.

I liked the crisp sound of the lighter lid opening, finding it pleasant. Lao Zhou, however, was a bit annoyed and said, "Lao San, can you listen to me seriously? Stop playing with your lighters."

"I'm listening very seriously, just keep talking." I didn't look up, still fiddling with the steel plate. It was hard to explain to Lao Zhou that hobbies can be contagious. For example, someone liked lighters, and I was unconsciously infected.

He once said that a flame could give a person a glimmer of hope in their darkest moments. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, life was like a sugarcane with juice, still sweet. If it was still sweet, one shouldn't give up on life, just like not spitting out the sugarcane, but chewing it a bit more.

Even if it was just a tiny, small hope, there was still a tiny, small happiness.

The lighter in my hand had once brought a glimmer of light in his darkest moments, so he later liked collecting lighters, as if collecting many hopes, and I also liked them.

Who was he? Lao Zhou didn't know, and I deliberately 'forgot.'

Knowing my stubbornness, Lao Zhou didn't insist, just answered my question in a somewhat numb way: "Going to the specimen room at midnight isn't strange. After all, that building isn't just a specimen room; it also has a few small medical laboratories. Doctors are a rather numb and rational profession, often with a bit of obsession. Staying in such a building overnight isn't unusual. And if they forgot something important or needed to get specimens for the next day's class, it's normal. Sometimes, specimens need to be 'stolen.'"

I didn't know if Lao Zhou's reasons were far-fetched, but since he said so, I believed it. After all, it's normal for different professions not to understand each other.

What profession was I in? I thought for a moment and firmly told myself, a small antique shop owner.

"Okay, you went in, then what?" What Lao Zhou encountered next was beyond my speculation, and it was bound to be the key to the problem.

"What then? You know my character, I went straight to the basement, where the formaldehyde pool is. I was thinking that the new batch of bodies hadn't been processed yet, so they weren't in the pool but still in the freezers. I was also a bit lazy and had to specially find the executed prisoner's body. I was thinking about this as I walked to the basement." Lao Zhou paused, then looked at me, somewhat awkward and uncertain, "But, I felt the basement was a bit cold yesterday."

"Cold is normal, it's an old building and a basement." I finally fixed the lighter, looked up at Lao Zhou, and said.

"Not normal, I got goosebumps. I was just focused on my troubles, and anyone would feel uneasy facing a bunch of bodies. I was even relieved that I wasn't a forensic doctor. But as soon as I got to the basement, I suddenly became very clear-headed. No, Lao San, I don't know how to describe it. It wasn't just clear-headed, but a clear awareness that I was in the basement because it was so cold, I got goosebumps." Lao Zhou looked at me, his eyes still retaining the fear from last night.

"Hmm, cold?" I answered casually, then couldn't help but squint and look at Lao Zhou, subconsciously rubbing my forehead.

No problem, Lao Zhou was fine. Then, I patted Lao Zhou's shoulder, signaling him to continue.

Lao Zhou was a bit agitated, this time unbuttoning one more button on his shirt, as if he was feeling very hot at the moment, just as he felt very cold in the basement of that specimen building last night. My encouragement made Lao Zhou a bit more at ease, and he continued, "In short, that part of my memory is a bit blurry because I'm not sure what I saw. Lao San, I told you first, not others, not only because you're my best brother, but also because I believe you can help me solve this problem."

"Okay." At such a time, extra words were just nonsense, so I just said, "Okay."

I roughly knew that Lao Zhou might have felt something, a feeling that couldn't be called 'seeing.' However, I believed this feeling was far from the most important part of the incident—the part that scared Lao Zhou so much.

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