Beneath the Dome, Sin within Sins - Chapter 74 - Corpse Mutation

uess was correct, Zhao Dekai was no longer in the grave.

“What’s going on?”

At that moment, Tang Xin approached me, asking what was going on.

I shared my findings with her. After hearing me out, a grim look spread across her face. “So, you’re saying Zhao Dekai was dug up by someone?”

“That’s what I believe, but I can’t say for sure.”

Tang Xin didn’t respond to what I said immediately. She stayed silent for a while before speaking. “So, based on a bit of loosened soil, you think Zhao Dekai was dug up?”

“I’m not certain. That’s why we need to figure out whether or not there’s still someone-or something-in there.”

“Couldn’t it be that someone was just here to do some grave maintenance?”

“Impossible!” I immediately dismissed her assumption.

Seeing my firm stance, Tang Xin frowned and replied with some irritation, “How can you be so sure?”

“There are specific times for grave upkeep. People don’t just randomly do it, especially when it’s not during a holiday or festival. Plus, Zhao Dekai didn’t exactly die under honorable circumstances. His family burying him at all was already more than enough.”

After saying this, I turned to Tang Xin and asked for her shovel. Hers was sturdier and better suited for this than mine.

Once I dug up the coffin, both Tang Xin and I couldn’t help but swallow nervously.

“I’m going to open it,” I said.

Tang Xin nodded and replied, “Go ahead. If anything unexpected happens, I’ll take care of you immediately. Don’t worry!”

Her words caught me off guard, and I stared at her in disbelief. “Hey! Tang Xin, what do you mean by that? What do you mean by ‘take care of me’?”

“The books say opening a coffin is extremely dangerous. If you’re not careful, you could turn into a ferocious corpse. To prevent you from becoming a monster, the least I can do is deal with you before that happens.”

Expressionless, I let out a sigh after listening to her. “Maybe you should stop reading so much. Just because a story feels immersive doesn’t mean it’s true. And trust me, everything’s going to go smoothly.”

With that, I used the shovel to forcefully pry open the coffin lid. What I saw inside was exactly as I expected.

It was empty.

Tang Xin and I exchanged a glance and, with unspoken understanding, began filling the grave soil back in. Once we were done, Tang Xin frowned and said, “Could it really be that the dead turned into a zombie?”

“Zombie? It’s the virus at work,” I replied firmly.

As soon as I said that, I suddenly remembered the words the bandaged man had told me before he left. He had mentioned something… something about the party starting when the sun rises.

As I recalled his cryptic words, a cold sweat broke out on my back. For a long moment, I just stood there frozen, my heart racing. Then, with trembling hands, I pulled out my phone and called Lu Che. Her phone rang and rang, but no one answered. That sent my panic into overdrive.

I hurriedly dialed Su Mo’s number next, but he didn’t answer either.

Frustrated, I hung up and quickly called Lu Xun. This time, he actually picked up, but before I could even speak, he cut me off. “Can’t talk now; busy. I’ll contact you later.”

Tang Xin looked at me, puzzled. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you acting so jumpy?”

“Something’s happened. We need to get back to the police station immediately.”

After saying that, I stuffed Tang Xin’s gear back into her bag, grabbed her hand, and started dragging her down the mountain.

Seeing my urgency, Tang Xin couldn’t help but ask again, “What exactly is going on?”

“Just keep quiet. You’ll understand when we get to the station.”

We descended the mountain as fast as we could, flagged down a car, and headed straight to the police station. However, when we arrived, the whole place was in complete chaos.

As I stepped toward the entrance, an officer at the door stopped me. “Mr. Lu, Director Su specifically instructed that if you arrived, you should go back.”

Hearing this, I became livid. “What kind of joke is this? My sister is still inside! Get out of my way-I need to take her home!”

With that, I made a move to barge in, but the officers stood their ground, blocking me at every turn. To my utter disbelief, one of them even took out a pair of handcuffs.

That was it-my temper flared. Just as I was about to lose it, I heard Lu Xun’s voice from behind me, calm but authoritative. “Wait. Let Mr. Lu through.”

The officer at the entrance hesitated, looking uneasy. “But Director Su specifically said that if Detective Lu showed up, he’s not allowed in.”

“Detective?” Lu Xun chuckled and shook his head. “This time, he’s not here as a detective.” He walked over to me, extended his hand with a faint smile, and said, “Professor Lu, thank you for waiting.”

The officers standing by were all dumbfounded. “W-what’s going on here? What does this even mean?”

“Professor Lu is here at my request to provide medical support,” Lu Xun explained. “Our team can no longer manage the situation inside, so I invited him specifically for technical assistance. Don’t worry, if anything happens, I’ll take full responsibility.”

With that reassurance, the officers finally stepped aside and allowed me to enter.

As soon as we were inside, I turned to Lu Xun and asked, “How’s my sister doing?”

“Don’t worry,” he replied calmly. “She’s busy in the forensic pathology lab.”

Hearing this, I let out a small sigh of relief. However, I still felt uneasy. “What’s going on here? What exactly happened at the police station today?”

Lu Xun shook his head and answered vaguely, “Don’t worry about it. Everything’s under control.”

At that moment, Tang Xin moved closer to him, frowning with a determined look on her face. “You’re lying,” she said bluntly. “Your eyes are shifty. Just tell us-what’s really going on?”

“It’s nothing, really,” Lu Xun insisted, but his tone wasn’t convincing.

“Lu Xun,” I said seriously, “if we’re here, it’s because we already have a strong reason to be. There’s no point in hiding it from us now.”

Lu Xun saw the determination on my face and finally let out a defeated sigh. “It sounds unbelievable, but it’s true. Those people… they’ve mutated.”

“Mutated?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “What kind of mutation are we talking about here?”

“They’ve turned into what the legends call zombies.”

His words made me freeze, my mind reeling. In that silence, the bandaged man’s ominous words echoed in my mind again. To confirm my suspicion, I took a deep breath and asked, “Did this start happening this morning?”

Lu Xun’s expression turned to one of shock as he stammered, “H-How did you know that?”

I didn’t answer his question. Instead, I asked, “What is Lu Che doing right now?”

“She’s in the forensic pathology lab, working on developing an antiserum,” Lu Xun explained. “She’s trying to figure out if we can suppress the zombie-like symptoms.”

Hearing this, Tang Xin was quiet for a moment before she spoke up thoughtfully, “If this has anything to do with Chengyuan Pharmaceutical Factory, I might be able to help with the antiserum. I worked on the previous batch of medication, so I might understand some of its properties and be able to contribute to the research.”

Lu Xun’s face lit up at her offer. “That would be a huge help!” he said enthusiastically. Then, turning to me, he added, “Su Mo is in the conference room. Go talk to him. I’ll take Tang Xin to assist Lu Che-she’s been working nonstop all day. Let’s hope this time we can make it work.”