Chapter 566: Strange Toxin

“KK!”

Chen Shi kicked open the door and saw KK lying on the floor, groaning, “So hot! So hot!”

KK’s skin was as pale as paper, with frostbite inexplicably appearing on his fingers and hands. When Chen Shi touched him, KK felt as cold as a corpse. Chen Shi quickly called 120 for an ambulance and shook KK awake. As soon as KK woke up, he started tearing off his clothes, screaming, “Ah, it feels like I’m on fire! I’m burning up, even the air in my throat is scorching. Chen, help me!”

A needleless syringe lay on the floor, and Chen Shi guessed that Li Xiang had injected KK with some kind of toxin.

“Don’t move!”

Chen Shi grabbed a cup, washed it clean, broke a bar of soap into it, added water, and stirred it with his finger.

By this time, KK was scratching his chest, leaving bloody marks. Chen Shi helped him sit up and made him drink the soapy water. KK took a sip and screamed, “Hot! Hot! I can’t swallow it!”

“Drink it!” Chen Shi commanded.

After much effort, KK finally swallowed the soapy water, then vomited everything from his stomach. However, the chaotic sensation of hot and cold did not subside.

An ambulance arrived, accompanied by a police car. The police had met the ambulance on the way and followed it to the scene.

Chen Shi informed the doctors that KK might be poisoned and that he had already used soap to induce vomiting. The doctor nodded in understanding and loaded KK into the ambulance.

Lin Dongxue arrived, asking, “What happened?”

“I’ll explain on the way.”

At the entrance of the community, Chen Shi asked the security guard to describe Li Xiang’s appearance before he disappeared. The guard said he wore glasses, a white T-shirt, a blue jacket, was skinny, had a 3-7 hairstyle, carried a black bag, and most importantly, “was holding a female corpse.”

Many police officers had seen the two corpses in the Bluebird and were talking about it. Lin Dongxue said, “You’ve been silent the past two days and were investigating a necrophiliac? Why didn’t you notify us sooner?”

“I didn’t expect him to be exposed so quickly; it was a bit unexpected.”

“Did he kill anyone?”

“Based on my judgment, he likely has killed someone. Even more dangerous is that he has a virus that amplifies people’s sensations of hot and cold.”

“Amplifies hot and cold sensations?” Lin Dongxue was surprised. This type of toxin was unheard of.

The police began searching the area around the community. Tao Yueyue said, “Uncle Chen, the corpses in the car are like dolls; their limbs can be detached.”

“Really?”

Chen Shi inspected the car and found that the corpses’ limbs had joints similar to dolls, allowing them to be freely detached and moved. He also noticed that the corpses were dressed in layers of clothing, meticulously put on as if they were alive in Li Xiang’s eyes.

Running away while carrying a female corpse demonstrated a sentiment that normal people could not comprehend.

Meanwhile, Li Xiang, with Peipei’s limbs detached and packed into his backpack, squatted in the bushes by the roadside. Hearing sirens, he hid like a frightened animal.

In his imagination, Peipei whimpered from the bag, “Dear, it hurts so much. It’s so stuffy in here!”

Li Xiang comforted her, “I’m sorry, bear with it. I’ll take you to a safe place soon.”

“It’s all that cop’s fault. I hate him. Why did he have to disturb us?”

“No one can understand our love. They’re all ordinary people. I’ll protect you!”

“You’re so kind. When we reach the safe place, I want to do that with you.”

“Yes, we’ll do that all night!”

His “lover’s” comfort gave Li Xiang some courage. He pulled out a sharp folding knife from his pocket. It was the last night of the holiday, and the streets were still crowded. From his position, he could see women’s long legs passing by—slender, plump, healthy, chubby—all kinds, dazzling like a display of jewels.

But he looked at them with a craftsman’s eye for parts, as they did not arouse his desire. They all had a fatal flaw—they were attached to living people. People who ate, excreted, were dirty like pigs, and were emotional and boring!

Li Xiang focused on a long, fair leg, following it with his gaze, while rubbing the knife’s edge. “Dear, I’ll find you a beautiful body!”

The police expanded their search to several surrounding streets, but Li Xiang was nowhere to be found. The streets were particularly crowded, and inquiries with passersby yielded no results. Frustrated, Lin Dongxue stood by the roadside, looking at the passing crowd. She decided to call for reinforcements, phoning the precinct and the traffic police department. Then, a call came through her walkie-talkie, “Captain Lin, we found something on the west side of the pedestrian street!”

“I’m on my way!”

Lin Dongxue rushed over, meeting Chen Shi. The police had found discarded human limbs in a trash can, each joint equipped with doll-like ball joints. Chen Shi said, “It looks like Li Xiang took off with the torso. He’s more mobile now and likely out of this area.”

“I’ve asked the traffic police to check the surveillance at the intersections.” Lin Dongxue looked at her phone, “The precinct sent over Li Xiang’s photo and details. I’m forwarding them to you.”

Chen Shi glanced at it, realizing Li Xiang worked as a researcher at an algae research institute. So, the guy had lied to him.

Lin Dongxue said, “You should’ve informed us earlier about this case. Now he’s alerted.”

“Today’s events were unexpected. I planned to inform you once I had more leads.”

“It’s fine. We’ve been working overtime during the holiday anyway, so now we have something to do.” Lin Dongxue smiled wryly, “This might turn into a big case!”

“Where could he have gone…” Chen Shi pondered, “As a necrophiliac, what does he need most now?”

“A hiding place!”

Chen Shi glanced at the trash can, “Besides a hiding place, he needs limbs for his beloved doll. He treats them like people, even fleeing with one. He can’t bear for his ‘lover’ to be incomplete… Check the origin of these corpses!”

Lin Dongxue assigned a team to take the bodies back to the precinct.

Chen Shi drove to the hospital with Tao Yueyue, worried about KK’s safety.

At the hospital, KK was sedated and under observation. The doctor said, “It’s good he had his stomach pumped in time, or it would have been worse. This toxin is unknown. KK has frostbite on his limbs, and the blood in his skin isn’t circulating. We’re using artificial hormones and anesthetics to stabilize him.”

“Will it be fatal?” Chen Shi asked.

“Not necessarily fatal. My guess is this toxin tricks the body into feeling extremely cold, causing the central nervous system to redirect blood from the extremities to the torso. The worst outcome could be necrosis of the limbs and skin, similar to frostbite. Frostbite occurs when the body restricts blood flow to the surface to prevent freezing, causing surface cells to die.”

Chen Shi thought of Li Xiang’s dismemberable corpses. Could this be how they were made…?