Plague Doctor

The limb of the zombie was what the headquarters’ experts suggested that they start first, but with Gu Jun’s plan, it had become the very last part. This desiccated, gnarly arm looked like it was picked up from a body that had died a long time ago. The skin was deeply wrinkled. They sliced through it and did not find the superficial fascia, but the strangest thing was at its bone. The obvious mutated growth and ossification aside, the skin of the fingers on the back of the zombie’s right hand had been peeled off before it found its way into the morgue. In fact, the extensor digitorum of the index finger and other muscles appeared to have fallen off, revealing the phalanges underneath.

First, Gu Jun attempted to use the Carlot Scalpel to remove the mutated fingernail from the finger bed, but the ossified nail was so hard that it wouldn’t budge even from the sharp knife. He tried it again with the dissecting scissors, but it was still to no avail. The nails were so hard that if it was to claw the skin of a normal human, it would gouge deep like a hook.

“Bone shears,” he said. Wang Ruoxiang next to him immediately handed him one. Gu Jun used it to give the finger a strong snip. With a click, the mutated fingernail finally came off the hand. He picked it up to study it for a while before concluding, “This cannot be called a fingernail anymore. It is more like a… bone claw.”

“Yes.” Cai Zixuan nodded. Uncle Dan and the rest were silent.

The headquarters were listening in. Instantly, the label ‘bone claw’ appeared on the monitor, and it pointed toward the location of the fingernails on the zombie. Over the past five days, the mutated and abnormal organs all over the zombie had been labeled with similar medical terminology. Basically all the new terms were all given by Gu Jun, lacerating teeth, mutated xiphoid, bone claw…

The accuracy of the terms aside, this did cause some bubbling annoyance among Xiao Huiwen and his colleagues. This kind of new discovery was what motivated the passion behind every coroner. Their predecessors like Andreas Vesalius brought anatomy into an actual science through part by part exploration and categorization of the human body. It was the background that contributed to the publication of the most influential book in the history of anatomical science, De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem. And now it was like they were watching another chapter of the field being turned, and the person behind that next big change in this science was Gu Jun. This young man was meant for great things. But that realization came with regret for some because they knew that Gu Jun also suffered from an incurable fatal illness. Geniuses were always taken way before their prime…

Back in the morgue, Gu Jun placed the bone claw away and resumed his dissection of the index finger. Soon, he reached the extensor expansion where he added, “There appears to be a mutation at the dorsal aponeurosis as well. It appears to have ossified and has become much thinner. I believe this is a kind of new mutated tissue… Let’s call it ‘dorsal mutated membrane’ for now.”

Unbeknownst to Gu Jun, there was no ‘for now’ in his case. Every new label that he casually came up with would be recorded in future medical books.

“Sigh.” Xiao Huiwen and He Tao were both anxious and envious. This was also why so many people had requested to move to Eastern State to join in this autopsy.

Right then, just as Gu Jun removed the dorsal mutated membrane, he sensed something in his mind. It was a pop up message from the system.

“Abyssal Mission completed! You have completed the mission fifty-six hours ahead of the time limit. Completion rating is nine stars (maximum being ten stars). Reward waiting to be retrieved: Unknown. Please click to retrieve your reward.”

‘So, it’s finally over…’ Gu Jun instantly felt winded. That was how the human mind worked. The mind closed itself off to fatigue when it was in deep focus, but once the task was done, his whole body felt like keeling over. Weakness bogged down his limbs, and even his heart felt like it was slowing down… ‘So, the abyssal mission comes with its own completion review. But I would have thought I’d reached the maximum with the amount of work I’ve put in. Does it expect me to work literally nonstop to reach ten stars?’

In any case, what was done was done…

“Urgh.” Gu Jun felt a dull pain radiating from his lungs. The breath stuck in his throat, and his right hand that held the scalpel trembled.

“Ah Jun?” Wang Ruoxiang was the first to notice the pallor to his face and frowned. “You really need to rest now.”

She had been saying that for a while, but this time, there was an edge to it.

“I think you’re right… I need this rest…” Gu Jun attempted a deep breath, but it came up as a horrible-sounding hack.

“Quick! Get Ah Jun to the chair!” Uncle Dan was worried, and others rushed forward to help. They were good enough doctors to tell that everything was eventually going to catch up to Gu Jun. They were really worried that he would have a cardiac arrest, so much so that they already had an emergency team waiting outside the morgue.

“I’m fine. I just need some rest,” Gu Jun said with a puff of his chest and that brought some reassurance. He turned to look at Chen Defa on the autopsy table. It had been hacked into pieces by now. The only parts that were barely recognizable were the limbs. If he had enough time, he would like to finish them, but he had more important things to do now. “I’ll leave the rest to you…”

With Uncle Dan watching him closely, Cai Zixuan and Wang Ruoxiang supporting him, Gu Jun was escorted out of the morgue, teetering. Wu Siyu climbed up from her perch and followed along silently.

At the same time, seeing Gu Jun leaving the morgue, the headquarters and Eastern State command center were surrounded by an atmosphere of relief and disappointment. Yao Sinian gave a long sigh when he received the news. This meant that the new breakthrough that they were hoping for was not going to come. Even though the autopsy was still ongoing, if Gu Jun felt that his presence was no longer required, it probably meant that the remainder of the corpse would not provide anything important.

After leaving the morgue, Gu Jun went into the bathroom to take a shower, but even a handful of shampoo would not wash away the horrible stench of the zombie.

“Reward waiting to be retrieved: Unknown. Please click to retrieve your reward.”

Reading this notification, Gu Jun was both excited and confused. Why would it be such a mystery? He had no idea what would pop out. Perhaps it would be another zombie or a bunch of mutated lab rats returning for revenge. The image of him being torn apart by millions of small lab rats flashed across his mind. He shivered and told himself to stop being so paranoid.

‘I need to find a more suitable place to do this,’ Gu Jun thought. ‘If it’s going to be the revenge of the lab rats… then that’s just karma.’

He believed the system was merely a manifestation of a mysterious power, so anything was possible. But the fact that the system would not show him the reward at a time like this made him feel the sinister nature coming off the system for the first time since he was bonded with it. After changing into fresh clothes, Gu Jun informed his friends, “You guys should go and rest as well. I wish to go and have some alone time.”

“How about this? I’ll return to the dormitory and cook some soup for all of us,” Cai Zixuan said with kindness.

Wu Siyu immediately nodded. “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

Seeing that color had returned to Gu Jun’s face, Wang Ruoxiang had no more concerns. Gu Jun told the same thing to the command central. He wanted to have some private time to clear his mind, indirectly forbidding anyone from following him.

He left the autopsy building and walked down the paved street. Gu Jun stared at the setting sun, and a breath that he did not know he was holding came out. Perhaps there was more truth to his excuse than he realized. He walked all the way to the edge of the forest that fringed the medical department. He made sure there was no one around. He didn’t want to drag in an innocent should the ‘reward’ turn out to be something dangerous.

After everything was set in place, Gu Jun channeled the system and clicked ‘retrieve the reward’. His brain was buzzing with a brilliant, consuming light, and a mellifluous voice sang.

“You have obtained a new ability, Strong Heart!

“You have obtained a pair of Carlot Dissecting Forceps!

“You have obtained one ‘Diary of the Watcher’.

“You have obtained a letter of correspondence.

“You have obtained one incomplete page from a spell book.”

However, before Gu Jun could explore any of the notification in more details, a wave of vertigo seized him.