Chapter 34: Chapter 31: The Dead Can't Lie
Qian Rushan's face was gloomy as he carelessly ripped off the surgical gown and threw the disposable gloves behind him.
"The autopsy is finished; this guy had seven types of weapons hidden on him, a master skilled in the art of killing."
"What a pity, he died too quickly, and we couldn't pry any useful information from his lips."
"Sorry, I was incompetent and couldn't stop him from committing suicide in time," Wenna said with shame.
"It's not your fault, his Human Skin Technique was very sophisticated; even the Group's security system failed to detect his true identity," Qian Rushan said.
He then looked towards Shen Ye.
Shen Ye said, "I only have one point of confusion."
"Speak," Qian Rushan said.
Shen Ye looked at the body on the floor and spoke, "Why did he insist on being alone with me before taking action?"
Qian Rushan's gaze suddenly deepened, and he said softly,
"The other side didn't want to expose everything. After all, you're from the Shen Family. If you were killed in public, the Shen Family would investigate to the end for the sake of face."
"If your death was silent and disguised as an accident, then everything would go smoothly."
"Speaking of which, even though our house has left the Shen Family, it seems they are still wary of the Shen Family," Shen Ye said with a self-mocking tone.
"Let's go, this corpse is no longer of any value," Qian Rushan said.
"You all go ahead, I'll stay a bit longer," Shen Ye said, looking at the body.
Qian Rushan sighed, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Then stay for a while longer, and come find me on the top floor afterward."
This kid could sense death.
Since he had a Talent related to death, maybe he could sense something.
Such oddities are all too common among Professionals.
"Alright," Shen Ye said.
Qian Rushan left with the others.
In the operating room, only Shen Ye and the corpse remained.
Several minutes passed.
The voice of the Skeleton softly arose, "No one's here now."
Shen Ye nodded and said,
"It seems someone said I wouldn't know anything."
— "Whispers of the Dark" activated!
"The dead must respond to your summons with the corpse as a medium, climbing up from Hell, and tell you everything they know so their spirits can find rest."
The corpse suddenly opened its eyes.
"This is..." it murmured in surprise, then let out a short laugh, "You can actually speak to Undead Souls? But it's useless; I won't tell you anything!"
Shen Ye was slightly astonished.
Previously, when Luo Feichuan willingly communicated with him, it was genuinely to protect him.
But faced with such a hostile person, how could "Whispers of the Dark" make the other side "truthfully" tell
him any information?
"What if it won't speak?" Shen Ye asked the Skeleton.
The Skeleton spoke with an uncertain tone,
"I don't know what will happen—those who receive the three great inheritances are rare, who would choose a 'Whispers of the Dark' that can only talk? At least, I've never seen it."
"However, this legacy Talent is the essence of the Undead. There should be a way to make the other side speak."
No sooner had he finished speaking than an unexpected change occurred—
Shen Ye felt as if the whole world had suddenly disappeared.
He was floating in a sea of darkness.
All around were towering, impenetrable black metal walls.
Cries of pain and wails echoed from within the walls.
In front of Shen Ye, from within one of these black metal walls and embedded in it, was a corpse.
— It was the assassin.
Endless dark flames emerged from the walls, turning them red-hot, and the body sizzled in the fiery embrace.
The corpse let out a horrendously pained scream.
It quickly turned to bone, and the bone was calcined to ash.
Yet in an instant, it reverted to a fleshed corpse, continuing to endure the burning of the dark flames.
This cycle of endless torment went on for an indeterminate amount of time.
After a long while had passed,
Shen Ye even felt as if centuries had gone by.
One day, from within the dark walls, seven or eight skeletons clad in dark cloaks emerged.
Dragging various torture devices, they slowly advanced from the depths of darkness, then surrounded the corpse, arranging their tools of torment.
"Reporting to the Technique Master, the official execution is about to begin."
A skeleton addressed Shen Ye gravely.
——So the burning that lasted for hundreds of years was just a prelude?
"Yes," the skeleton seemed to know what Shen Ye was thinking and explained, "Each type of torture lasts one hundred million years, then repeats for one hundred million sets of one hundred million years, and after that, the tools are changed."
"What if it never talks?" Shen Ye asked.
"We will call upon even more powerful evil spirits. For such obstinate souls, I believe those evil spirits will be very interested. They delight in tormenting these souls and are each skilled in ways that keep the souls conscious and intact while they suffer."
The skeleton said.
Just as they were about to employ those unheard-of torture devices——
"I'll talk!"
The corpse cried out loudly as it crumbled.
For a moment.
All the strange phenomena disappeared.
Shen Ye found himself still standing in the autopsy room.
The second hand on the wall had just moved one tick.
The body had already started talking rapidly:
"We are assassins from the Assassins Alliance, and recently we took on a joint mission."
"The main objective of this mission was to kill you, but to make it look like you died in an accident."
"Wait a second." Shen Ye interrupted him, took out his phone, and dialed Xiao Mengyu's number.
"Hello? Any new intelligence?"
Xiao Mengyu's voice rang out.
"I've caught an assassin here, interrogating. He's already confessed," Shen Ye said.
"What does he say?" Xiao Mengyu asked.
Shen Ye glanced at the body.
The body immediately continued:
"From the beginning, I killed Chen Haoyu, disguised as him, and told you I was hospitalized."
"We set up a scene that resembled a 'catastrophe' in the hospital, with my accomplice handling the execution."
"It's strange——"
"Once that thing was triggered, you should have died in the hospital already."
"But you didn't die, and there was even an eyewitness at the scene."
"So we continued the operation until today, when I personally took action to kill you and then stage the scene."
"You have no idea who the employer is?" Shen Ye asked.
"Only the person in charge of the mission knows all the details. He controls every aspect of the operation," the body said.
"Who is the person in charge?" Shen Ye asked.
"He is known as 'The Skinner,' a very reputable assassin in the underworld. The Human Skin Technique on my body was performed by him," the body said.
"Where is he?" Xiao Mengyu asked.
The body looked towards Shen Ye.
"Talk," Shen Ye ordered.
"He's gone to kill the eyewitness," the body said.
Shen Ye asked, "Why kill the eyewitness?"
"Because that nurse witnessed the Curse of a Thousand Ghosts taking effect. If the Shen Family investigates, they'll find out that everything was no accident," the body replied.
"Where is the eyewitness now?" Shen Ye said.
"She fled to the vicinity of the Western Suburbs, hiding in a five-star hotel called 'Maple Forest,' preparing to leave this city."
The body paused, then added: "However, 'The Skinner' has already begun his move, and the nurse will soon die – she might already be dead."
"What kind of assassin is 'The Skinner,' and does he have any weaknesses?" Shen Ye asked.
"I wouldn't dare defy his orders, nor could I discern any weaknesses," the body replied.
"If he's so strong, why didn't he come to kill me himself?" Shen Ye asked.
"He had no plans to act personally."
"Why not?"
"To be honest, with his status and standing in the world of assassination, personally killing a middle school student would tarnish his career. He would be mocked by his peers thereafter," the body said.
Shen Ye said, "So he's just been controlling the progress of the entire assassination plan from the shadows?"
"He felt that just overseeing it a bit was already a great face given to the mastermind behind the mission," the body said.
"Doesn't he have any distinguishing features?" Shen Ye pressed on.
"If I had to mention one, he has a unique predilection——"
"Cannibalism."
Having said everything, the soul left the body.
Xiao Mengyu's voice came from the phone: "I'll go meet this 'The Skinner.'"
The call ended.