Chapter 184: The Moving Corpse

The security guard told the story so vividly it sent a chill down my spine. Though there were no ghosts or demons in his tale, it felt far more terrifying than any haunting by evil spirits.

"And then what happened?"

"Her friend's boyfriend called the police. Both Zhang Jiaqi and her friend had passed out on the floor at the time. A lot of teachers knew about the incident, but they kept it quiet from the outside." The short security guard recounted the event as if it were playing out right in front of him. "Medical checks showed that Zhang Jiaqi had severe sleepwalking. As for what her friend actually saw that night, we have no idea. Either way, getting too close to Zhang Jiaqi won't do you any good."

Even though the two security guards were stealing corpses, they weren't inherently bad people.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"No." I shook my head and looked toward the pitch-black tunnel entrance. Remembering the flash of light that had reflected back when I shone my phone inside, I offered them a well-meaning warning. "Dead men's money isn't so easy to make. This tunnel isn't safe, so watch yourselves."

"What's unsafe about it? It's not like this is our first trip down here..."

"Old Song." The short security guard clapped the tall one on the shoulder. "Get to work, get to work. Cut the chatter."

Realizing he had let that slip, the tall security guard quickly shut his mouth.

"Wait." Watching the two of them get ready to jump into the tunnel, I hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "Could I trouble you for one more thing?"

"You sure have a lot of demands. Weren't we already even? Hurry up and spit it out." The two security guards were getting impatient.

"Could you let me take a look at your tongues?"

"Our tongues?" Thoroughly baffled, the two security guards gave me a strange look. "What do you want to see our tongues for?"

It was actually a spur-of-the-moment impulse; I couldn't shake the feeling that the child's mention of tongues had some deeper meaning. "Never mind why. Just let me take a look and I'll let you go. I won't stop you."

The two security guards did as I asked and stuck out their tongues. Both were red, just like any normal person's.

"Psycho." Muttering curses, the two security guards jumped into the tunnel and carried the corpse away down the passage.

"As if a dead man's things are that easy to take." I tucked the Underworld Live Show Phone against my chest and was about to leave to check the other two Laboratory Buildings when a heavy thud echoed from the tunnel beneath my feet, immediately followed by the tall security guard's piercing scream.

"What happened?" I vaulted down into the corpse transport passage and used my phone for light, though it was hard to see clearly in the dark. "Hey, are you two alright?!"

Stooping low, I made my way down the narrow tunnel, moving cautiously until I reached the two of them and finally got a clear look.

The tall security guard had accidentally stepped on the carcass of a dead cat. When he slipped and fell, a piece of exposed rebar sticking out by the wall had impaled his lower abdomen, tearing it open.

Blood bubbled from the wound. His face was pale, his forehead beaded with sweat from the pain.

"Lie flat with your knees bent. Don't move, and call 120 right away." The wound was deep; the rebar had punched straight in. I knew some basic first aid for abdominal trauma. The tall security guard's internal organs had been ruptured, causing abdominal swelling and severe bleeding. This was critical—he needed a hospital immediately.

"No, don't call. Carry the corpse out first." Gritting his teeth, the tall security guard forced himself to stand, clutching his bleeding stomach. "If you call, it's all over. My daughter just started school, and getting stitches will cost me too. Where am I supposed to get that kind of cash if we don't sell the body? Monkey, let's drag the corpse out first."

"Money can be earned back, and mistakes can be fixed, but if you lose your life, you really lose everything." I tried to talk them out of it. "Your name's Monkey, right? Hurry up and make the call before someone actually dies here."

The short security guard hesitated. "This specimen is completely intact. Ones like this are rare—I heard it can fetch twenty or thirty thousand."

"Can twenty or thirty thousand buy a life? Make the call now!"

"I couldn't call even if I wanted to—I didn't bring my phone." The short security guard fished through his flat pockets. "You make the call."

"Me?" The Underworld Live Show Phone had no function for dialing 120, and my own phone had been taken by Zhang Jiaqi. "Forget it, let's help him out of here first."

Walking was the last thing someone with severe abdominal trauma should do—the best course of action was to lie flat with the knees bent and wait for rescue. Right now, though, we had no other choice. Inside this sealed-off campus, it was hard enough just to find a normal living person, let alone wait around for help.

"Remember to carry the gross anatomy teacher."

"Got it. Let's move." Supporting the tall security guard, I led the way while the short security guard followed behind with the corpse on his back.

We moved through the pitch-black underground passage for several minutes until I felt a sudden warmth on my palm. Looking down, I saw that the blood from the tall security guard's stomach had completely soaked his clothes. The arm he had braced against me was trembling, and every step he took was a mere shuffle.

"How much longer until we're out of this passage?" I could tell the tall security guard had reached his physical limit; if he kept walking any further, he would probably die on the way.

The short security guard glanced at his watch. "Probably another two or three minutes. How about we get the corpse out first? There are carts for hauling bodies outside—we can push one back in and wheel Old Song out on it."

"That's our only option." I helped the tall security guard over to the side. "Wait here, and don't touch your wound with the hands that handled the corpse. We'll be right back." With that, the short security guard and I picked up the corpse and hurried off.

The pitch-black underground passage was suffocatingly oppressive. Just thinking about the countless corpses that had been hauled through here made it feel even worse.

"Are we there yet? Why does something feel off?" Because of my profession, I had a highly accurate sense of time. "It should've been more than three minutes by now."

"Just a little further and we'll be out." The short security guard tightened his grip on the burlap. The corpse's head was pointed toward him, and as we walked, it kept slipping into view, making his skin crawl. "I don't know about you, but does this gross anatomy teacher feel a little heavier to you?"

"Heavier?" I had just started carrying it, so I hadn't noticed a difference, but I stopped in my tracks the moment he mentioned it. "Pull back the burlap and take a look. Make sure it's not corpse reanimation or something."

"Don't scare me like that." As the short security guard hesitantly reached out to lift the burlap sack covering the body, I slipped out a Suppression Talisman and hid it in my palm.

Once the burlap was pulled back, the intact, finely preserved specimen came into view. It looked remarkably lifelike—unlike someone who had been dead for a long time, there was very little difference from a living person aside from the color of the skin.

"Any changes?" I asked the short security guard. He stared at it for a long moment before shaking his head.

"If nothing's changed, our minds are probably just playing tricks on us. Let's get out of here first—every second we waste brings your buddy one step closer to death."

The short security guard and I covered the body back up with the burlap sack and took only a few more steps before he suddenly let out a yell.

"What now?" Startled, I had nearly thrown the corpse right into his face.

"Something crawled onto me—it felt like thin threads." The short security guard grimaced. "And another thing... I think this gross anatomy teacher's eyeballs just moved."

"They moved?!" I motioned to him. "You take the front. I'll carry the head end."

After we swapped places, I kept my full attention fixed on the corpse's face, yet I didn't spot any unusual movement at all.

I thought we would make it out smoothly this time, but something unexpected happened again. About ten seconds later, a blurry dark figure came walking toward us from the other end of the passage.

"Man or ghost?" Having just switched to the front, the short security guard froze in terror. He only breathed a sigh of relief after shining his flashlight ahead. "It's fine, it's Old Tao. He probably got worried and came to meet us."

Watching the figure stumbling unsteadily toward us, I felt an inexplicable sense of unease. "How many of you are in on this altogether?"

"Just the three of us. Old Song and I handle moving the bodies, while Old Tao contacts the buyers and waits outside with the car. Once we get paid, Old Song and I take the lion's share, and Old Tao gets twenty percent."

The three security guards had a clear division of labor; this definitely wasn't their first time pulling this off.

"Brother Tao, you and this guy take the body out first! I'm going back to check on Old Song—he's hurt!" the short security guard called out, but Old Tao didn't answer.

"Something's strange." I frowned. Normally, any living person walking into a pitch-black underground passage would bring a light, yet Old Tao had come staggering in without even a flashlight.

"Brother Tao, we're over here!" The short security guard still hadn't realized anything was wrong—not until Old Tao walked faster and faster, until he was practically sprinting down the passage. Only then did the guard sense that something was amiss.

"Brother Tao?" He swung his flashlight, and the beam inadvertently swept across Old Tao's face.

"Crap!" I instantly stepped back and grabbed the short security guard. "Run!"

"What's wrong?"

"That guy has a dead-white tongue!"