Chapter Seventy-One: The Fashion Exhibition

Stepping formally into the morgue, the first sight was rows upon rows of cold storage cabinets neatly arranged against the walls. In the center of the room stood several autopsy tables, and not a single living soul could be seen. The security officer Old Wang, whom the sub-bureau chief had mentioned as being on duty, was nowhere to be found.

"Could he have..." The sub-bureau chief had already drawn his service pistol, following closely behind Qi Chen, as if only this man from that special department could offer him any sense of security.

As for Qi Chen, he was acutely sensing the strange aura lingering in the air. It was odd—an unsettling presence hovered in the morgue, growing steadily stronger, as if slowly awakening. Yet, even with his powerful mental faculties, he could not pinpoint its exact source; he could only vaguely sense that the origin lay somewhere among the densely packed cold storage cabinets.

"Why is there another room over there?" Qi Chen suddenly noticed a tightly closed door at the very back of the morgue and immediately questioned it.

The sub-bureau chief thought for a moment before replying, "That’s the examination lab. Old Wang might be inside."

"Do you have the key?"

The answer was unsatisfactory; the sub-bureau chief did not carry all the keys for the bureau.

Staring at the closed door, it felt as if some monstrous creature lay in wait behind it, ready to devour anyone who dared approach.

Qi Chen considered for a moment, then strode toward the door without further ado.

Click!

His hand gripped the doorknob and twisted. The abrupt mechanical sound echoed through the silent room—the door was locked from within.

From inside, faint sounds of movement could be heard. Qi Chen pressed the sub-bureau chief further behind him, signaling for more distance.

“Overlord!”

In an instant, the ash-gray Overlord appeared, extending a single finger and violently thrusting it into the lock, twisting hard.

In the sub-bureau chief’s eyes, the door seemed to open on its own, sending a chill straight down his spine.

So... this was one of those special agents from that department?

"Is anyone there?" Qi Chen called into the room, ignoring the sub-bureau chief’s shifting expressions. No one replied, but a blurry figure silently emerged.

A set of security bureau uniform, walking toward them as if alive!

The sight struck the sub-bureau chief like a hammer. Despite his years at the bureau, he had never personally witnessed anything so bizarre.

A set of clothes, moving with the gait of a living person, approached them. The pants and sleeves bent at the joints like flesh and bone.

Bang!

Instinctively, the sub-bureau chief squeezed the trigger. The bullet tore through the uniform’s chest, ripping it apart. A piercing scream erupted!

"Watch out!" Qi Chen shoved the sub-bureau chief aside just in time. The uniform, struck by the bullet, launched a blurry attack at the spot where the chief had just been.

Its method of attack was to fling open its jacket, as if to envelop its victim.

This uniform had truly become some kind of monster.

Clang! Clang!

At the same time, every cold storage cabinet in the morgue began to shake violently. Stainless steel doors clashed and rattled, making the once silent morgue suddenly come alive with a riotous clamor.

But the commotion was of a most unbearable kind.

Bang! Bang!

Several cold storage drawers shot open without warning, startling the sub-bureau chief into scrambling to his feet and ducking behind Qi Chen.

He had handled plenty of heinous cases, and as a higher-ranking insider, had heard of incidents like this before. But facing such a reality himself, all his usual composure vanished.

"Is this a zombie outbreak?!" the sub-bureau chief blurted out, desperate to ease his fear.

But Qi Chen’s entire focus was on the changing corpses and the uniform still writhing on the ground.

Without warning, several lifeless bodies sat bolt upright in their open drawers, their dead eyes staring unblinkingly at the only two living beings in the morgue.

The next moment, these revived corpses began to move stiffly, closing in on Qi Chen and the sub-bureau chief from all directions.

Gunfire erupted. Within moments, the sub-bureau chief emptied his magazine, but fear had already destroyed his aim and the few shots that landed had no effect on these soulless monsters.

“Overlord!”

At this critical moment, only Qi Chen could be relied upon.

A mental command—and Overlord charged forward with a roar. But his target was not the shambling corpses; instead, he went straight for the animated security uniform.

A few mighty blows ripped the uniform into countless scraps.

Yet even as fragments of the uniform scattered through the air, an unseen force drew them together, reassembling the uniform in an instant.

Qi Chen suddenly remembered the repeated warnings from his gentle friend—brute force could solve many supernatural problems, but never all of them.

It seemed that this uniform was precisely such an exception.

“Get down!” Qi Chen shouted, spinning rapidly. The sub-bureau chief responded perfectly, crouching immediately.

A cloud of blood mist exploded overhead—a corpse had been smashed to pieces by Overlord.

If he couldn't deal with the uniform, surely these lesser monsters inhabiting corpses were within his power.

The mask-like face contorted; tigerish eyes radiated overwhelming dominance and murderous intent.

Overlord’s fists struck in tandem, eliminating all the walking dead without effort.

"Officer Mask! The cabinets are moving again!"

Qi Chen turned at the words and saw the rows of cold storage cabinets trembling violently once more. As they shook, one after another slid open, their inner trays tumbling out. A quick glance revealed dozens of them.

But this time, it wasn’t just corpses emerging. Numerous uniforms, like the security bureau outfit from before, climbed from the cabinets.

These uniforms were of all different styles—men’s, women’s, some clearly belonging to the young, others to older men.

Yet now, all these varied garments shared a single trait: they moved as if alive, crawling from the cabinets, making strange noises as they closed in step by step.

"Stay behind me!" Qi Chen ordered, grabbing the sub-bureau chief and staring tensely at the semicircle of supernatural threats encroaching upon them.

He was sure these uniforms were not the source, but spawned anomalies.

So where was the origin?

A sudden flash of insight lit his mind. He asked urgently,

"Look carefully—do you see the dress that was on the suicide victim among them?!"

...