The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

Page 70

Terence followed leisurely behind him, offering brief greetings to the two Hunters without seeming surprised. The recent anomalies were likely a continuation of the "Plum Moon Ritual," so it wasn't unusual for the original task force to be in charge again.

It's much more reliable to entrust the task to someone who is already familiar with the situation than to temporarily dispatch a team with no relevant experience.

"Good day, Professor Terence. It's a pleasure to work with the White Cup Order again."

Following the etiquette of a hunter, Haida offered a brief greeting to the two.

“Me too.” Terence nodded, his tone as calm and resolute as ever.

He then looked around, scrutinizing the hunters and funeral maids on duty along the blockade line. But he couldn't find the doctor anywhere.

"Hmm... Where's Dr. Fran? Didn't she come along?" Zero

Upon hearing this question, both Haida and Vivian's expressions became somewhat subtle.

This white-cup exorcist seems to believe that Dr. Fran truly holds a position within the Order of the Mysteries. However, her appearances are actually random. The more interesting the event, the more likely she is to show up.

Clearly, this doctor, who was a bit of a germaphobe, wasn't particularly interested in crawling into the filthy sewers...

“Dr. Fran has something to do today. Besides, the medical court is very busy, and she can't always come with us.” Q

After a moment's consideration, Haida decided to make up an excuse to get away with it.

"I see." Terence looked enlightened upon hearing this.

That makes sense. According to his original guess, although Fran was nominally an external physician, her actual position in the cult was probably that of a supervisor or higher... It was impossible for her to be the team doctor by Heda's side every time.

Childe recalled his previous encounter with Fran and then picked up the conversation.

"Speaking of which, I met her at the Mirror of Enlightenment Club a few days ago. Besides being a doctor, she's also a very skilled fortune teller..."

Vivi's expression was strangely indifferent. She wasn't surprised at all... after all, the doctor himself was strange enough. Being multi-talented seemed to be just one of her traits.

Haida gently touched her chin, seemingly lost in thought.

During her last "quarterly visit," Dr. Fran took a moth-shaped robe from Dorothy... which is probably why she works as a fortune teller at the Mirror of Enlightenment Club.

Just like when she received a funeral maid outfit at the Hungry Club, she soon appeared at the Norlington Central Museum as a funeral maid.

"If you get new clothes, you should find a suitable place to try them on..." In an instant, Haida felt that she understood her thinking.

"Mr. Child, what exactly did you ask her for a divination?"

Vivian was curious about what kind of person Dr. Fran was, so she asked Child.

“I’ve been hearing whispers a lot lately, and I also get headaches from time to time. She said she would use ‘dream divination’ to check on me… After waking up, all the previous symptoms had indeed disappeared, and they haven’t recurred.”

Child's tone was clear and cheerful, clearly indicating that he was in a good mood after being freed from the torment of the nightmare.

“Oh, that’s really amazing…” Vivian couldn’t help but squint.

Based on Child's description, it seems that Dr. Franklin simply hypnotized him and then performed treatment...2”

"Ahem." Terence coughed lightly, interrupting the two who were about to continue their conversation.

Although this sewer entrance has been sealed off for some time, it probably won't make a difference if it's sealed off a little longer... but it's better to talk about these non-task-related topics later.

"Let's get down the well without delay."

"Ah."

Heda agreed to Terence's request and then took the lead in climbing the ladder into the dark, lightless sewer pipes.

-

Stepping into the sewer, the stench of decomposing organic matter, accompanied by a warm, sticky, and damp smell, hits you in the nose, and even wearing a mask cannot block it out.

However, it is clear that the Hunters' logistics team had made some advance arrangements, such as lighting up the area near the entrance with lamps and clearing away debris that might affect their operations.

Guided by a white-cup plumbing engineer, the group quickly found the place where Moloch had seen the pile of headless corpses.

"A strange corpse."

Terence approached a withered, headless corpse and examined it closely, marveling at it.

"To die in such a damp place as a sewer, not only did it not rot into a giant, but it didn't even have maggots..."

The corpse seemed to have lost all its vitality at the moment of death, turning into some kind of inorganic matter like carbon.

The others might not understand what this meant, but Haida was all too familiar with it...

These are traces of the throne of the decapitated... Yaheng really came here.

Seemingly sensing the presence of the living, several corpses, still bearing heads, slowly rose from the pile of bodies. Their rotting skin was covered in thick blood and mold, exactly as Morlock had described.

Their movements were extremely slow, seemingly due to rhabdomyolysis and joint damage. This also explains why the repair team that came here before was able to escape easily.

Just as Terence reached for his gun and released the safety, several loud gunshots rang out suddenly.

The muzzle flashed and then went out, a wisp of grayish-white smoke drifting from Haida's gun. The heads of the corpses showed jagged, blackened notches.

"Zombies... Be careful. These guys might be carrying infectious diseases."

Terence cautiously reminded everyone.

The Corrupted Crown Cult has previously been known to spread plagues by manipulating corpses, so this must be treated with caution.

Just as the situation reached a stalemate, a smiling female voice quietly rang out.

"Hmm, very vigilant. Professor Terence, your hygiene awareness is excellent. If everyone were like you, we would avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble..."

Her tone was highly distinctive, neither Haida nor Vivian.

"Dr. Fran?" Haida immediately looked in the direction of the voice.

"Good evening, dear Sister Heda."

Fran slowly emerged from a dimly lit corner, a wisp of mist still clinging to the hem of his white coat.

"Although the environment here is worrying, I had no choice but to make this special trip because you need professionals... How can we do without an experienced coroner when dealing with a body of unknown origin?"

-

Transitioning (Status is being adjusted and updated).

Chapter 71 Ya Yue's Betrayal

Heda initially thought Fran wouldn't come, since Fran hadn't appeared while she was doing other tasks.

Moreover, this exploration mission took place in a sewer, in a very harsh environment.

But Fran's unusual behavior at this moment indicated that the content of the mission had piqued her interest. Of course, it could also be due to her certain obsession with the identity of "coroner"... She's always been unpredictable.

Fran did not immediately examine the body, but instead turned to Child, who was standing to the side.

"Mr. Child, please allow me to make a brief follow-up visit regarding your condition. Hmm... have you been hearing those strange whispers and murmurs lately?"

"I can't hear you anymore. But I've still been having dreams lately. How should I describe them? The scenes in my dreams are very quiet and peaceful. When I wake up, I feel very relaxed."

After a moment's recollection, Child responded quite seriously.

"Don't worry about it, these are just some simple methods to calm your mind. Given that you're in good condition, you probably don't need to proceed to the next stage of dream entry. But if you feel unwell again, remember to come to the Mirror of Enlightenment Club to find me. Just make an appointment with Tong En."

In order to maintain her image as a diviner in front of Child, Fran, with her excellent self-control, refrained from using words she often used, such as "the next phase of treatment" or "follow-up appointment."

It's worth noting that she didn't actually use any drugs on Child. The reason he had those calming dreams was most likely because Luara did something...

Vivian listened to the entire conversation between the two, and her brows furrowed slightly, a hint of doubt creeping into her eyes.

Isn't this just a standard post-treatment follow-up? That's why Child was so convinced that Dr. Fran was giving him a fortune reading...

"Alright, now we should give the gentlemen lying on the ground a medical check-up."

As he spoke, Fran expertly put on medical rubber gloves and then walked toward the pile of corpses flowing with thick, sticky blood.

"The most troublesome thing about being a coroner in Norrington is the unstable doctor-patient relationship; you could easily be attacked by a patient. But thankfully, Sister Heda's previous reassurance was very effective."

With a warm and friendly smile, she walked up to a dissolved corpse and took out a small scalpel.

"The soft tissue is highly dissolved and covered with a large amount of dirt. The 'external inspection' process will be visibly difficult..."

She pursed her lips and sighed softly. She began to scrape away the dark red and black filth from the surface of the dissolving corpse's skin, mostly a mixture of putrid mud and congealed blood.

A very deep, indistinct wound can be seen at the carotid artery, resembling the fang marks left by some kind of snake.

Fran gazed at the wound, his amber eyes flickering slightly, as if deep in thought.

“Next, let’s begin the ‘internal autopsy’.” She began cutting the skin on the dissolving corpse’s chest with precision and fluidity.

The scalpel, with its mirror-like blade, sliced ​​across the shoulder blades and lower abdomen, leaving a "Y"-shaped incision.

Professor Terence was delighted to see Fran display his superb skills, but considering safety concerns such as infection, he still offered his usual reminder.

"Dr. Fran, are you not using any other protective equipment besides gloves?"

Of course, he didn't believe Fran would neglect hygiene issues. He simply wanted to try to understand her medical philosophy further through her explanation.

"good question."

Fran gave a word of approval, while his hands continued moving without stopping.

"This area is one of the junctions of several sewer pipes on Sandrank Street, and this pile of bodies has been there for at least three months. During this period, there has been no large-scale outbreak of disease or poisoning in the South District. Therefore, it can be preliminarily determined that they did not carry malignant infectious diseases or biological toxins."

"By working backwards using the logic of time... I understand."

After listening, Terence nodded slightly and approached the dissolving corpse that was being examined. A pungent, almost tangible stench of decay wafted over him.

"In addition, they have some medical experience. If they really have chronic illnesses caused by the secret techniques of the 'Decadent Crown' system, I will be able to tell."

Fran opened the medicine box, took out a small circular saw, and installed the steel saw blade.

The saw blade hummed as it spun at high speed, easily severing the ribs of the dissolving corpse. Soon, she had completely removed its entire chest plate along with a set of organs that were no longer recognizable.

"Although I wanted to use the Vershaw method to remove the internal organs one by one, they had already fused together... so I had to remove them all at once."

9. Fran removed the blood-stained, bone-shard-covered saw blade and pursed his lips with a hint of regret.

Haida gazed at the tangled, rotting entrails, her gray-chestnut eyes darkening slightly.

The liver, heart, kidneys, lungs, large intestine... everything was interwoven and glued together, becoming a single piece of flesh. Intertwined and merged, inseparable.

"Can a person's internal organs rot like this?"

"To be very responsible, no. Due to the phenomenon of 'autolysis' after death, the internal organs may become a liquid. But solid matter will not be joined together in this overlapping manner."

Sanfulan patiently explained to Haida, and pondered whether he should give her some books on modern medicine next time.

San Terence had dealt with the Crimson Cup Cult for many years and was quite knowledgeable about flesh-and-blood magic. The appearance of these organs gave him a strange sense of familiarity…

After a moment of contemplation, he guessed, "So, these internal organs were 'grown' together before the patient died?"

Fran looked at Terence and winked mischievously.

Search for "correct answer."

"However, the word 'before death' isn't quite accurate. Do you think they...are they really dead?"

Upon hearing this, Vivian subtly moved half a step closer to Haida's position.

A group of people having their skulls shattered by steel-core bullets, then having their chest plates and all their organs removed, isn't considered "dead"? Even a high priest of the Red Cup would be dead in this situation...

"I can prove he is still alive with a simple experiment."

Fran removed his blood-stained gloves, revealing his left hand with several stitches. He then inserted his long, slender, pale index finger into the open mouth of the dissolving corpse.

"Crack!"

Almost the instant it reached in, the corpse bit down with incredible speed. Fran, however, pulled his index finger back a step earlier, causing his jaws to slam together abruptly.

"You see, just a little temptation is enough to make him lose control."

She deftly spread her hands, showing the group her experimental results.

"What on earth is this..."

Terence rarely showed such surprise. As a highly experienced paleographer, he had witnessed many bizarre artifacts. But this was truly the first time he had ever seen anything like it.

His brain was shot into a pulp, all his organs were removed, and there was no secret technique to control the corpse... so why could he still move?

"Let's reveal the answer. It's actually quite uninteresting... If everyone had a little more time, they should all be able to figure it out."

Fran used a scalpel to pry open the corpse's mouth, revealing two unusually sharp canines.

“Vampire…” Haida keenly noticed this characteristic.

Combining this with the escape of Byes, everything became clear, and many of the previous inconsistencies were explained.

Special relics, blessed silver, and the light of the sun. Generally speaking, only these three methods can effectively harm vampires.