Plague Doctor-Chapter 529: Honest Man

It was on the 9th day of the autopsy that Gu Jun got the bad news. Yesterday, there were 5 murder cases that were suspected to be related to supernatural forces. All 5 cases happened within a group of friends, colleagues and students. Based on the autopsy report and crime scene investigation, the victims died from heavy bashing to the heads. The mo was extremely brutal. The victims' heads were all caved in and their faces made unrecognizable. The case with the largest number of victims occurred at Stone Cave Mountain, the suspect was Tan Jinming. All the 5 suspects were on the run.

Before Tan Jinming disappeared, he messaged his parents. The investigators found his phone on the hiking trail. Since there were a pair of bloody handprint left on the rails, the investigators suspected Tan Jinming committed suicide. But his body was not found in the valley and there was no sign of anything falling down the hill either. Even the Zoogs found nothing, or perhaps they were too afraid to actually find anything. The Zoogs commented that there was a thick lingering dark energy presence at the scene. 

The murder scene was not far from a mountain stream. The MP Team and the One sent some members over there to check. The two male bodies were soaked under the water. Their skulls were misshapen. One of the rocks was dyed red with blood and brain matter. The two female victims were found slightly further away from the stream. They died from a smash to the back of their heads with a rock. The bloody murder weapon was left beside the two bodies. The back of their heads was cracked but their faces were unharmed. The fear and pain they experienced were fresh on their faces. Their lifeless eyes glanced down the stream. 

The hikers who found them all suffered from trauma. The symptoms of trauma were numerous and could manifest in different ways. Most patients would suffer from dissociation, where they shut down and were unable to respond to outside stimulus. In some cases, they might mumble incoherently to themselves. Some of the hikers were found in this state. They did not respond to the questions. They stood there dumbly, in a serious stuporous state. They did not answer to calling or nudging. They lacked expression and refused food and water. 

It was wise to not expose them with the incident that caused their trauma. Interaction with it would cause further exacerbation of their conditions like heart palpitation, shaking, rashes and so on. If this continued for 4 weeks, they would be diagnosed as having PTSD. There were middle-aged people, young kids and students among the hikers. There was no similarity between them. 

The cause of the trauma was not only because they had been spooked by what they saw, it was suspected that they were corrupted by dark energy as well. Among them, there was a high-schooler named Peng Hui that did not enter a stuporous state. It was Peng Hui who called the police. Even though he too was scared and had symptoms like racing heartbeat, he still had autonomy as well as a clear mind. He told the investigators. "It has to be that fatman… We ran into him when we came up the trails. His body was soaked and he had blood on him, it has to be him…"

Based on the Spell Department's assessment, Peng Hui had high spirituality. If he was willing, he could enrol in Phecda University. In a few years, he could be a Spell Department member, but for now, he was just a frightened student. 

Yu Chi, Feng Peiqian and Deng Ximei all recorded traces of dark activity at the crime scene. The energy was thickest on the stone that was splattered with blood. It was like a strange object that jutted out from the abyss. Clearly, Tan Jinming was corrupted by darkness… It was why the honest man would commit such an atrocious crime and confess to his parents.

"These people…" Gu Jun looked through the investigation report inside the morgue. He scanned the pictures of the suspects. Tan Jinming turned his head away from the camera, he did not like to be photographed. "They are all negative selections." None of them were handsome or pretty, they would not be able to compete for mates. Every suspect had a negative trait that would make them less attractive to potential partners. In Tan Jinming's case, it was his body size. These people were not even stabilizing selection, they were negative selections.

This was not a good discovery for the Investigation Department. It meant that Shub-Niggurath influence was not limited to newborns but also normal adults. The youngest suspect was 20 and the oldest 35. 4 males and 1 female. None of them had criminal records, they left good impressions on their friends. They were honest people. Even their online history was clean. They were not antisocial, they were the kind of people who would never turn to violence according to criminological study. But reality proved otherwise. 

When they committed the crimes, they were clearly under some kind of outside influence. This was most prevalent with the girl. She was a 21 year old student, she killed a male student who was literally twice her size. Based on the crime scene, there was no struggle. The suspect neutralized the victims almost instantly. So were they conscious of their crimes then?

"Why these people and not others? Why not positive selection or stabilizing selection…" The more Gu Jun studied Tan Jinming's photo, the more agitated he became. The voice of the Negative Selection returned, asking him what he was feeling at that moment. "These suspects… were chosen. The enemy wanted negative selections. He wants them… to awaken."

Awaken? After Gu Jun said that, he could sense something even greater. The Negative Selection would not go after those already at the edge of darkness, they would fall in eventually. Instead he would give these 'honest people' a chance for them to awaken to their true selves… If they failed…

Gu Jun's heart chilled as a picture of Tan Jinming's horrible death appeared in his mind.