Li Cu was unable to clarify things over the phone with Su Wan. After asking a few questions without receiving any answers, he could hear the chaos on the other end, suggesting that Su Wan’s family was also nearby. He had no choice but to hang up.

Taking a taxi to Su Wan’s home again, Li Cu felt uneasy, wondering if Su Wan was in trouble and how awkward it would be for him to walk in. However, when he got out of the taxi, he saw Su Wan waiting for him at the door. After paying the fare, Su Wan immediately pulled him upstairs without saying a word.

As soon as they entered Su Wan’s room, Li Cu spotted the large object Su Wan had mentioned, lying in the middle of the room like a giant coffin. Su Wan’s limited vocabulary had failed to convey the true size of the thing, which was almost as big as his bed.

“How did you get it in here?” Li Cu asked. “That thing can’t fit through the door.”

“I brought it in through the balcony,” Su Wan replied. “My dad suggested it. We used the steel wire from our home renovation to pull it up bit by bit.”

“Did your dad not ask what it was?” Li Cu stepped closer, noticing that the object was wrapped in cardboard, the sealed tape already cut, clearly having been opened before being covered again.

“Of course he asked,” Su Wan said. “I told him it was your stuff and that we need to respect your privacy, which is why I called you over in such a hurry. You need to figure out how to deal with this, otherwise, what are we going to do with it?”

The item was originally sent to him, so Su Wan’s actions weren’t entirely disloyal. However, Li Cu had no idea how to handle the situation. If all else failed, he would have to repack it and move it back down through the balcony, finding a cart to take it back to his own home.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take all the responsibility,” Li Cu assured him. “What did you say was inside?”

“You can see for yourself. I only took a glance, and it was too terrifying,” Su Wan replied, noticing that Li Cu hadn’t approached the box since they entered.

“What exactly is it? You said to give me a heads-up,” Li Cu insisted. “Looking at you, I don’t even dare to open it.”

“I didn’t get a good look, but it should be a person,” Su Wan said.

Li Cu thought to himself that he hadn’t misheard; it really was a person. What kind of situation was this? He asked again, “Is it alive or dead?”

“What do you mean alive or dead? Do you think something like this can be sent alive or dead? It’s dead, and should have been dead for a long time.”

Li Cu looked at the cardboard box and thought, “What the hell, a corpse? That makes sense; this is exactly the kind of thing that Wu Xie and his group would do.”

He swallowed hard and approached the box again, opening it once more. Inside, he found a smaller plastic container, made of a material similar to the storage boxes sold in supermarkets.

The plastic container had latches on the sides, and as he opened each one, he realized that it was sealed and definitely more than just plastic.

He forced open the lid of the plastic container, feeling that it was very heavy. Inside, there was an insulated layer, and as he opened it, a scent of desiccant wafted out, beginning to spread.

Li Cu saw that there were many desiccant packets inside, and the dry corpse was wrapped in a shiny golden foil, with only its head exposed.

This is a male corpse that shows signs of decay. Clearly, during the process of decomposition, the environment around the body changed, causing the decay to suddenly halt. Subsequently, the body began to dry out, eventually reaching this state. Perhaps this person died in the desert.

This process must have lasted at least two to three months, but just by looking at the body, Li Cu could not tell whether it was an ancient corpse or a modern one that had been mummified. However, one thing was certain: he did not see any ancient hairstyle on the head of the corpse.

The hair of the mummified body was short and neatly arranged, sparse but covered in strange dirt. Li Cu noticed a card placed on the chest of the corpse. He picked it up and saw a name written on it: Huo Zhongshu (ID number 487). There was a line of small print on the back:

Discovery Area: North District Six, Third Corridor.
Discovery Date: June 12, 1984.
Discoverer: No. 037.

This was a memo card. Although it contained only a few lines, the implicit information was substantial. There were two names: Huo Zhongshu and No. 037. Huo Zhongshu was likely the name of this corpse, while No. 037 was the person who discovered it. The place of discovery was the Third Corridor of North District Six.

This area was evidently quite large, as there were six districts in the north alone, and each district had many corridors. By conventional reasoning, it was certain that there were more corridors in the southern, western, and eastern districts as well. The term “corridor” was also crucial; it implied that North District Six was either inside a mountain or underground.

“What do you think?” Su Wan asked when he saw Li Cu lost in thought.

“You might need a bigger place,” Li Cu replied.

“Why?”

“I think this should only be the first corpse. There could be many more like this,” Li Cu pointed to the ID number behind Huo Zhongshu’s name. “At the very least, there should be over four hundred such corpses.”

Su Wan’s mouth dropped open as he stared at Li Cu, then glanced around his own room. After a long pause, he said, “Are you sure?”

Li Cu shook his head. “Not necessarily, but I think you should be prepared for this possibility. It’s very high.”

Su Wan exclaimed, “What, how is that possible? Is our house going to become a funeral home?”

“A funeral home can’t handle that many corpses—over four hundred,” Li Cu slumped to the ground, pinching the bridge of his nose, feeling particularly exhausted. “We should probably rent a warehouse in advance.”

While Li Cu said this, he still held onto a glimmer of hope in his heart, thinking that this situation seemed a bit exaggerated. Su Wan also felt that it could just be one corpse.

However, even if it was only one corpse, it was still quite a challenge for them. Su Wan was adamant about not staying in the same room as the corpse, but if they went out for the night and Su Wan’s dad entered the room, he would surely be scared to death.

But if they didn’t keep it at home, displaying it outside would be even more outrageous. If someone saw it, how would they explain it? Two kids running down the street with a corpse would certainly attract attention, and if they got caught, it would definitely make headlines the next day.

After pondering for a long time, Su Wan came up with an idea. They lived in a high-end community, and the second phase of construction was still underway, with the construction site just across the road. At night, there was no work being done at the site, and the muddy foundation was deserted. They could wait until it got a bit darker, transport the body over, and dig a hole to bury it. For the time being, they could bury it underground and look for a warehouse the next day. If what Li Cu said was true, it would be good to be prepared.

Li Cu said, “I agree with the latter, but as for the former, isn’t that just throwing a body under the moonlight? If we run into the police, it would be hard to explain.” Su Wan replied, “How about this: you can sleep here, and I’ll go to a hotel. I don’t mind you cuddling with this guy for a few nights.”

Li Cu thought about it and felt a bit scared, so he nodded. Su Wan then asked him to keep an eye on things while he went to get a cart and a few shovels to make it easier to handle things at night.