Chapter Sixty-Two: The Heart-Stopping News

“Clean?”
Collin seemed to recall certain facts as well—after death, the body’s sphincters and muscles lose control, often resulting in incontinence. It was an embarrassing truth, but undeniably a natural bodily response. Yet, this corpse did not appear to have experienced such a thing.
Of course, Collin was hardly an expert; his understanding was limited. He looked to the so-called “expert,” waiting for an answer.
“It seems you know a thing or two…”
As he spoke, the proctologist survivor’s face took on a hint of confidence. In a sense, he was a professional accustomed to dealing with matters of excrement and flatulence, having lent a hand to patients with severe constipation—he’d been the “man with the shovel,” so to speak.
He felt a pang of melancholy at the thought, but quickly gathered his thoughts and considered his words before continuing:
“The way she died is reminiscent of decapitation. Generally, for someone so young, sudden death wouldn’t instantly halt bodily functions. There would be a period of physiological chaos, including sphincter relaxation and intestinal peristalsis, causing any residual digestive matter to be expelled.”
Was this what being a doctor meant? Even in his word choice, there was a dignified respect for “patients,” and a palpable will to survive. Collin couldn't help but silently remark on it.
Then, he heard the man go on:
“But this isn’t absolute. Excessive blood loss or certain types of organ failure can result in a cleaner death.
“She likely didn't suffer organ failure, but blood loss seems probable, especially given the numerous abrasions, though none appear fatal.
“If she had little undigested matter within, a clean death is plausible.
“To be certain, an autopsy is needed, but we lack the means, and I know you wouldn’t permit such a thing either.
“So, with the information at hand, from my perspective, the main issue lies here…”
The proctologist survivor pointed to the corpse’s feet for Collin.
“There are no signs of struggle beneath her feet, meaning there was no convulsion after death. Uh, have you ever seen a chicken abruptly decapitated? Not as dramatic, but the principle is similar.
“In humans, especially someone this young, you’d expect spasms or convulsions, but she defied all logic—none at all.
“And as for her wounds, I just took a whiff—they smell… pure, almost like the original scent of blood, with no trace of decay.
“This suggests that from yesterday to now, bacteria have played little role in decomposition, though I’m certain bacteria exist in this world, and at the very least, the body itself harbors them. The current temperature should be conducive to bacterial growth…”

“There’s not the slightest bloating in her abdomen.
“Putting all these factors together, I suspect her body might be cleaner than mine.”
“What do you mean?” Collin asked, perplexed.
“She didn’t die alone. Every cell, every bacterium on her body died in the same instant.”
“Technically, such a manner of death doesn’t exist.”
“But we’ve all crossed worlds now—strange things happening isn’t beyond belief.”
He said this, but the proctologist survivor’s expression remained odd; the impact of this realization was greater than even the shock of crossing worlds.
It felt as if something fundamental had been upended.
Like someone claiming 4873918 times 64875 equals 316107699626—most people wouldn’t question it without calculation, due to the unknown.
But if someone says one plus one equals three, the error is immediately obvious—everyone knows the answer is two.
This corpse was like that to him; the crossing was unknown, but this was not.
An impossible corpse had appeared before him, shattering his worldview.
The proctologist’s breathing grew rapid; his thoughts were in chaos.
Collin patted his shoulder, bringing him back to himself.
“Thanks, take a break,” Collin said, deciding not to probe further.
He realized the corpse was a nest of riddles—the more he investigated, the more uneasy he felt; the eerier it became.
The information was of little use, but certainly frustrating.
Moreover, the prompts consistently fed him useless details, making Collin aware of something else…
Was it avoiding something?
What could it be avoiding?
Only the Grey Mist.

Only the System.
Only that dark, chaotic space.
Clearly, this line of inquiry must end—whichever of the three it was, Collin could not afford to provoke them.
If he insisted on investigating, the next to die in such bizarre fashion might well be himself.
Yet, though he’d found nothing useful here, Collin didn’t mind too much.
Not every effort in this world yields results—learning to let go is also a form of growth.
“All right, if you need me, just call. My reasoning was mostly guesswork anyway—I’m not a forensic expert, nor do I have access to papers or data, so I can’t be certain. I don’t know what you’re investigating, but take care.”
With Collin’s nod, the proctologist survivor returned to Vehicle Four to resume his role as “emergency” doctor.
He wondered how a “man with the shovel” had ended up working cross-specialty in a foreign world… Sometimes, the world was simply surreal.
Collin withdrew his gaze, shook his head to clear his thoughts, and resolved to cremate the corpse, allowing her a proper burial.
“…I had intended to say that I’d avenged you, but since your death wasn’t as I imagined, I can only apologize.”
With those words, Collin prepared to assign a team to cremate and bury her, finishing the matter before heading to the chapel.
But unexpectedly, just as he made one last unconscious check with the prompt and was about to leave,
A new piece of information appeared—one he hadn’t seen before!

[After repeated investigations yielded nothing, you prepare to cremate her, ensuring she won’t turn into a corpse monster or be gnawed by rats. But as you are about to act, you suddenly notice something new.]
[Through repeated examination, you discover some fresh calluses on the soles of her feet, seemingly formed recently…]
In that instant, the information exploded like thunder in Collin’s mind, his thoughts startled and careening like a wild horse, making him realize a terrifying possibility!
But in the very next second, Collin’s heart lurched, and with a surge of anxiety, it transformed into a strange, almost painful palpitation.
Cold sweat drenched his body.
He felt as though he might drop dead at any moment!