You've Made Me Hungry Just Watching

The layout of the Ruined Capital Funeral Home is different from other places.

In a normal funeral home, the mourning hall and crematorium are connected. After seeing the body for the last time in the mourning hall, the body is sent directly to the crematorium for incineration.

However, the funeral home located near Gray Alley, situated between the Black Street of the slum and the area where ordinary people live, has been involved in some shady dealings to some extent. It also has a spacious morgue and an autopsy room.

"People die every day in Black Street. At first, no one dealt with the corpses, but they could easily cause plagues and pollute the water. Later, someone from higher up probably couldn't stand it anymore and donated some money to this place. The interest on that money was used to deal with the corpses in Black Street, of course, only the ones that could be found."

The staff member explained as he led the three towards the morgue.

The funeral home's paint scheme was solemn and dignified, predominantly black, and the walls were mottled as if they had been burned, with traces of charcoal smoke.

The corridor was long and somewhat narrow, making one wonder how a trolley carrying a corpse could possibly get through.

Occasionally, you can see photos hanging on the wall, mostly group photos of funeral home staff, black and white, faded, standing alone, more like memorial portraits.

The funeral home was a bit dim in the afternoon, but at least there was still light.

As I passed some rooms, I could hear soft voices coming from inside the doors.

Lu Ban looked up at the name of the room: Morgue 02.

Perhaps it was a conversation between family members or staff who examined the body.

Upon arriving at the Room at the end of the corridor, the staff member had just taken out his key to Door Opening when he suddenly glanced at Lu Ban behind Trist.

"I feel like I've seen this guy before."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ban remained calm and composed.

"I had a relative who was cremated here. Thank you for taking care of me."

"Oh."

The staff didn't investigate further, but instead inserted the key into the lock and tried turning it.

"Huh, that's strange, I remember it was locked."

He pulled out the key and Door Opening.

The morgue was empty except for a body lying on a bed.

"He doesn't seem to have any relatives. The police said it's a homicide and told us not to rush to dispose of the body. To be honest, Dr. House has always been a good patron of our business, and I'm also very sorry about his death. Um, you're the ones assisting the police, right?"

The staff member walked into the morgue and asked another question.

"These are your identification documents."

Trist pulled out his identification and glanced again at the corpse shrouded in white cloth.

"Why did the police think it was a murder case? Couldn't it be that the doctor choked while eating too fast, stood up to get a drink of water, tripped, hit his head, and bled to death?"

Lu Ban asked.

"?"

The staff member looked at him suspiciously.

"You'll know when you see the body."

He lifted the white cloth.

Lu Ban finally understood why this mission was called "Glass Flower".

Because what was presented to them was a Glass Flower.

Dr. House was a composed middle-aged man, but at this moment, a crystal-clear flower bloomed from the center of his well-trained body, a flower so intense and unforgettable.

All of the man's internal organs were forcibly dragged out by something. Most of his spine and ribs were crushed and frozen together with his internal organs at the moment they were pulled out. The solidified glass perfectly preserved the posture, turning it into a flower blooming on the corpse.

Such a posture of death undoubtedly indicates murder.

Moreover, Lu Ban estimated that nine times out of ten, those who killed him were not normal humans, but rather those from the evil god's clan or alien monsters.

Is this really glass?

Lu Ban instinctively reached out to touch it, but then suddenly realized that it seemed to be someone else's internal organs, and it might be impolite to touch it casually, so he withdrew his hand.

"I guess so. It's formed from bones or something that have been melted by a sudden high temperature and then solidified. How exactly does this thing come about?"

Trist put on gloves and gently touched the Glass Flower.

The corpse was as hard, cold, and smooth as real glass. Surprisingly, apart from being damaged, the internal organs inside had not deteriorated due to the high temperature, as if it had just left its owner's body.

Have you heard of similar cases?

Xiya held a bag of donuts in her hand, which she had bought to make up for the last cookie that had disappeared. In the morgue, which was filled with the strange smell of disinfectant, she still held a donut in one hand, eating and talking.

"No, people who die on the Black Street don't die so tragically. Most of them are beaten to death or die of illness. I've never seen anything like this before."

The staff member sighed.

Lu Ban glanced at the corpse through his [True Sight].

Many details are clearly visible.

He saw the calluses on the corpse's hands, likely from years of scalpel work as a doctor, and the remnants of dinner inside the body's internal organs: grilled short ribs, boiled potatoes, red wine, fried fish, and vegetables. Lu Ban felt hungry just looking at them.

"Can people with that kind of income afford to eat steak every night?"

Lu Ban couldn't help but ask.

"How could that be? Even if doctors are high-income earners, people who run clinics in Gray Alley have to think twice before eating a steak."

Trist immediately denied it.

"So what kind of banquet did he attend that night?"

Lu Ban shared his discovery with his two companions.

"I want to eat it too."

Xiya offered some guidance.

"Strange, according to the information given by the police, Dr. House should have been in his clinic that night and had not come out. His body was discovered by the newspaper deliveryman the next morning, so the time of death should have been in the early morning."

Trist opened his notebook and looked at the records inside.

"This record shows his itinerary on the day of his death. He made his usual rounds in the morning, saw two patients in the afternoon, and met with a supplier. This was the last time he saw anyone else."

"So that supplier was the last person he met?"

Lu Ban confirmed it.

"Yes, we can go and ask the supplier later, or we can go to the clinic to check out the primary crime scene first."

Trist nodded.

"You just said there might be two more victims. If they all died like this, it should be easy to find them, right?"

Xiya swallowed the donut in her hand, then picked up another one and ate it with relish, making Lu Ban hungry.

However, thinking about how delicious it was for Xiya even when she ate bugs, Lu Ban felt that this donut might not be that tasty.

"Indeed, but we haven't received any similar reports yet. Perhaps people like gangsters and prostitutes might die and no one would find out."

Trist added.

"By the way, have you heard about that woman who recently appeared on the Black Street?"

A funeral home staff member standing nearby suddenly spoke up.

*

Bonus chapter for first monthly pass in November (2/3)

Thank you to "Micer" for the 2600 coins, thank you to "Eyes Lolita Control" for the 500 coins, thank you to "Yakumo Ren" for the 300 coins, and thank you to "Time Fragments_Orange Wind" for the 100 coins!