Paper Baby

Chapter 6

"Tell me about it," I said, trying to sound reserved, though I was actually eager to find out.

He Xi opened her handbag, took out a few photos, and handed them to me.

“This is…” I frowned.

“The child will freeze to death,” He Xi said.

I looked at the table full of steaming dishes, and even though I'm usually pretty resilient, I wasn't sure if I'd have room to eat them all later.

The reason why many horror movies like to use babies as the main characters is because the contrast between a baby's ferocity and their innate nature creates a greater sense of fear. In many places, stillborn infants are considered to be filled with resentment, and their spirits are believed to be more difficult to exorcise than ordinary ghosts.

Don't assume that a dead baby looks like they're just asleep. In reality, because their blood quickly freezes and their muscles stiffen, their posture will differ from when they were alive, and their skin color will change as time passes. These subtle changes are enough to make anyone who sees them feel extremely uncomfortable.

What about frozen stillborn infants? Or more accurately: stillborn infants that have been frozen and then thawed!

If you buy a piece of meat, you won't notice much difference between it before freezing and after thawing. At most, you might notice a difference in taste, because you wouldn't really pay attention to what the meat originally looked like.

But a baby is different.

For example, the skin has some strange wrinkles, some areas are loose, and some areas are cracked; the facial features have become somewhat distorted, or to put it bluntly; as for the two legs, I am reminded of the pig's trotters that were cut off. I bought two pounds of them the day before yesterday and froze them in my own refrigerator.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my rumbling stomach.

The first photo shows two stillborn infants placed side by side. The following photos are all close-ups of a single stillborn infant.

"What happened?" I glanced at the photo quickly. Without He Xi's explanation, I couldn't figure out much from the photo. She had just said that this was an unnatural death.

“This was found in the refrigerator of a French designer working in Seoul, South Korea last month.”

"Found two dead infants in his own refrigerator?" I can only imagine the scene when this Frenchman opened the refrigerator; it's truly horrifying.

This story sounds like something out of a horror movie, but it actually happened in real life.

The Frenchman, named Courjois, returned to his home at 260 Seocho Villa District, Seoul, South Korea, after a vacation in July 2006. Initially, he didn't notice the two stiff infant corpses in his refrigerator. According to his statement to the police, on the morning of the 23rd, he went to the refrigerator to get butter to spread on bread and only then noticed the plastic package. Around noon that day, he went to the supermarket and bought two salted mackerel. In his haste to put them in the refrigerator, he took the plastic package out. He assumed it was left by his Filipino maid, but upon opening it, he was horrified and immediately called the police.

The very process of discovering the body was extremely bizarre. As I listened to He Xi's account, many guesses formed in my mind, and I couldn't help but ask, "Was it an intimidation attempt by an enemy?"

He Xi didn't answer, but continued, "The security system in the neighborhood where Kuruo lives is quite tight, with guards stationed near the apartment, and a security card is required to enter and exit the main gate. As for the apartment key, only a few familiar Filipino maids and a handful of French friends have had it. According to clues provided by neighbors, while Kuruo was out, a white girl lingered at the door for a long time, and a Frenchman visited the door multiple times. The South Korean police started looking for these two people based on surveillance footage, but before they could find them, the DNA of the baby's body came out."

At this point, He Xi paused slightly, as if the DNA test results had left her somewhat puzzled.

"Previously, South Korean police had obtained a DNA sample from Courjois and the test results showed that he was the father of the baby. Subsequently, French police obtained a saliva sample from Courjois's wife, Veronique, in France through a warrant, which proved that she was the mother of the child."

"Huh?" This result greatly surprised me. If Kuror killed his own child, why would he call the police?

"But the Kurzau couple firmly denied it, saying that the DNA test must have been wrong. Many other people came to testify for Veronique. These people who frequently came into contact with Veronique said that they had never seen her with a big belly, and if she were pregnant, it would be impossible to hide it from everyone. Then Veronique produced another piece of evidence: her uterus had been removed in 2003."

"Hysterectomy...?" I was just shocked a moment ago, but now I'm speechless. Of course, she can't have children if her uterus is removed, but the child's DNA test results confirm that she is the mother. What's going on?

"Could it be that the DNA test was wrong?" I asked, which was also my first reaction.

"The accuracy rate of DNA testing is very high."

"That's not necessarily true. I've heard that even in top-tier tertiary hospitals in Shanghai, it's common to get the same blood test result at one place and a completely different result at another," I muttered to myself.

“It’s not uncommon for some indicators to fluctuate in routine lab tests, but DNA testing is different.” He Xi just explained for a moment, then stopped, shook his head and said, “However, after they did the second DNA test, the results were actually quite different from the first one. I guess they might have mixed up the samples. Now the South Korean police have learned their lesson and haven’t immediately announced the results, but are preparing to do another test to confirm. However, my trip to South Korea has nothing to do with this DNA test; you can see from the last few photos.”

"Are these close-up shots? Is there anything different about this stillborn baby?" I asked, looking at the later photos, puzzled.

"This is a stillborn infant that was autopsied. While doing DNA testing, the forensic pathologist also had to do some more basic tests. The second test results showed that even the blood type was different from the first one, which is why I said they had mixed up the sample. Their forensic pathologist made a huge blunder this time, and he's definitely not having a good time now."

"That's the South Korean police's business. You still haven't told me why you went to South Korea." I noticed that He Xi was unusually talkative when discussing this case. It seemed that this case was indeed very intriguing to her.

"The baby's blood type is U-Sembei."

"U-colored... what? This blood type is..." A thought suddenly struck me. When it comes to blood types, most people only know A, B, AB, and O types, but I knew the blood type He Xi was talking about.

Seeing my expression, He Xi assumed I had never heard of it before, which was normal. She explained, "It was discovered in 1952 in a person named Sembei. It's a blood type without any distinguishing features and with defects. Its red blood cells lack matrix and do not possess common antigens, so it doesn't react to any serum. Therefore, it's easy to confuse U-Sembei blood with type O blood. To date, there are only about 30 people worldwide with this blood type."

I only knew the name of this blood type; He Xi's string of technical terms left me completely bewildered, but I understood the last sentence—that was why she went to South Korea. There are only about 30 people with this blood type worldwide, a probability even smaller than one in a billion, making her an extremely rare research subject for her.

"When we got to Seoul, I told them, since they're twins anyway, why not just cut one off and keep the other? That would be great."

I smiled wryly; He Xi had indeed reverted to her usual way of speaking.

"Actually, they had planned to do this, but the couple might be extradited to France, in which case the stillborn baby would also be handed over to the French police. So whether or not to cut it was a problem for them. I went through a lot of trouble and helped them make a decision."

I suspect that He Xi's use of "fussing and turning" is not as simple as it sounds; it probably involves a lot of methods and connections.

"This photo was taken before the cutting. The rest are just bits and pieces, and I doubt you'd be very interested in seeing them."

"That's right, that's right." I nodded quickly, "But shouldn't we preserve the body's appearance when dissecting it? You've cut it into pieces..."

“No matter how broken it is, I can put it back together,” He Xi replied without hesitation. “Do you really doubt my professional skills?”

"Of course not," I said with a smile. "You made some new discoveries during your autopsy, didn't you?"

He Xi frowned slightly and said, "The baby's muscle tissue is abnormal."

After saying that, she remained silent for a long time, seemingly lost in thought. Just as I was about to ask a question, she spoke again: "The body was frozen for quite some time. The South Korean police believe this is due to prolonged freezing, but I don't think so. They only attributed it to prolonged freezing because the changes in the muscles couldn't be explained by common sense."

What kind of change is it?

"strong."

"What?" I didn't understand.

"It is strong; some of the muscles in this dead infant are very strong."

"Uh, does he have muscles like a bodybuilder?"

"It's not that bad." Seeing that I still didn't quite understand, He Xi asked me, "Do you think you can develop muscles like Arnold?"

Arnold used to be Hollywood's most famous muscle man, but now that he's retired from acting and gone into politics to become governor, I'm embarrassed to compare the thickness of my thighs to his forearms.

Arnold's enormous black shadow flashed before my eyes, and I felt a wave of suffocation. I said, "That... is probably unlikely."

"The chances of you developing muscles like his are indeed very slim. But the muscle condition of that stillborn infant should have been impossible. That's the difference. A newborn baby struggles even to crawl; it takes a long time for him to progress from crawling to walking to running. He faces a completely different environment from the womb. Adapting takes time, absorbing nutrients for growth takes time, and strengthening certain muscles through frequent use also takes time. Those two stillborn infants died shortly after birth; their lifespan wouldn't exceed a month, and might even be shorter than a few days. But the one I dissected..."

He Xi let out a soft sigh. I noticed that she actually used the word "dissect" in a very proper way, instead of saying "cut".

"That baby, as if before it died, crawled on its hands and feet for several months."

"Oh, so you mean that although the baby seemed to have died shortly after birth, some of his muscles were like those of a baby a few months old?"

"I mean, I crawled on my hands and feet for months on end."

"Never stop?"

“Newborn babies spend most of their time sleeping and are not capable of crawling very far. Once they are able to crawl a certain distance, it means their limbs are stronger, and soon they can try to stand up and walk. Only feral children would continue to crawl for a long time even after they have the physical ability to walk. This is a paradox, do you understand?”

These are three paradoxes:

Firstly, it is impossible for a normal infant to crawl indefinitely without trying to walk. The muscle groups developed through prolonged crawling are different from those developed through walking, and He Xi's anatomical findings clearly support the former.

Secondly, even if it were a wolf child, it would be impossible for a child to have the physical ability to crawl for a long time from birth. Even a two- or three-year-old child would not have such physical ability, but the stillborn infant had only been born for a short time.

Thirdly, even if a stillborn infant has amazing physical abilities from birth, it only survives for a short time, which is not enough time for it to train its arm and leg muscles to such a degree.

I finally managed to understand these three layers of meaning. Regardless of the first layer, any one of the layers in the back beam is enough to prove that such a thing could not happen, just as the sun cannot rise from the west.

"Could it really be that prolonged freezing altered the stillborn infant's muscle tissue? And you dissected it after thawing; that temperature change would alter the texture of the flesh." I knew this would sound similar to what the Korean forensic pathologist said, but compared to the Hannah paradox, this seemed more plausible. However, the idea that "the texture of the flesh would change" felt a bit off. "Impossible!" He Xi said decisively.

"What happened?"

"I don't know," He Xi answered decisively, though her tone wasn't as forceful as before.

"So, what's the status of this case now?"

“I wanted to switch to another one, but they wouldn’t let me. I couldn’t stay in Seoul indefinitely, so I came back. However, I will continue to follow this case closely.”

"Okay, if there are any unexpected developments, don't forget to let me know."

"Mm." He Xi nodded.

Next, finishing the table full of food made drinking wine particularly difficult. He Xi wouldn't lose her appetite because of this, but she didn't eat much to begin with, and every time I wanted to eat something, I would think about the meat going bad, so it was impossible for me to eat heartily as if nothing was wrong.

An idea had been brewing in my mind for a long time, but when I broke up with He Xi, I couldn't help but say it out loud.

"You still have the DNA test results from that stillborn baby, right?"

"right."

"Maybe... just maybe, I'll ask you to do a DNA comparison."

"Comparison? This stillborn baby is being compared with whose?" He Xi asked curiously.

"Uh...we'll talk about it later. Actually, I think my idea is ridiculous."

He Xi didn't ask any further questions and went back to work at the police station.

When I saw the photo of the stillborn baby while eating, I thought of another person.

This person was actually Zhou Qianqian.

Three years ago, when I saw her in the hospital, it was a hot day. She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, which was a bit short and would occasionally reveal her belly button. She must have been delivered in a small hospital. The nurses cut the umbilical cord very poorly, and it bulged outwards, which should have looked unsightly. But by chance, it turned into the shape of a budding flower, which left an impression on me.

The stillborn baby's navel was also in a similar shape. Although babies' navels usually protrude slightly outwards, it still made some connections to my imagination.

I must admit, this is pure fantasy. Huang Zhi has always believed that besides the paper baby, she has another child. What connection could this baby, which no one has ever seen and which vanished into thin air, possibly have with this dead infant? That's utterly absurd. How could I possibly make such a connection based solely on a belly button? Belly buttons aren't something you're born with; they don't just grow back the way nurses cut them.

But………………

Chapter Five: A Coincidence of One in a Billion

As I was about to enter the newspaper office, someone bumped into my shoulder hard.

He was a thin man in his thirties with a stubble on his chin. He looked somewhat listless, yet he still managed to bump into me with such force.

After hitting someone, this guy didn't pay any attention to me. He only glanced at me briefly before quickening his pace.

"Hey!" I yelled, but he seemed not to hear me. I turned to look at him, and in front of him, a lake-blue figure flashed past the street corner. Soon, the guy also disappeared around the corner.

I rubbed my shoulders and walked dejectedly into the newspaper office.

As I walked past the front desk, the security guard told me that someone was looking for me.

I thanked them, walked into the press hall, and sat down in my seat, but I didn't see anyone waiting for me.

"Damn you, Tang!" I shouted.

"What are you doing?" Liu Tang turned around and looked at me from the front.

Did anyone look for me just now?

"Oh!" Tang the devil immediately put on a lewd smile. "That's a beauty. I was wondering why you have so many beauties around you. When are you going to introduce me to a few?"

"Hehe, didn't you just go to celebrate Qixi Festival last night? What, your secret weapon didn't work?"