Événements étranges dans la chambre 202

Chapitre 11

In short, this is very strange. Ancient Egyptian mummies underwent complex preservation treatments, and although they are said to be well-preserved, they are unrecognizable to ordinary people. As far as I know, China also has a long history of preservation techniques. A female corpse was unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha. It was immersed in coffin liquid and did not decompose, but I have seen a photo of it, and it had actually shrunk considerably.

The most unusual thing is that the incision on the woman's abdomen had healed on its own. How could a dead person's wound heal by itself? Could it be that Duanmu Yiyun is senile and has made a mistake, mistaking the body of a woman who has just died for the Empress's remains?

I was completely baffled. Turning back, I saw Ye Xiao still carefully examining the "ALT Experiment" document. I picked up another stack of documents, and in the middle row, I saw a large black-covered notebook. I opened it and saw on the first page—"Work Log of the 34th Year of the Republic of China".

I skimmed through it; it was all in diary form, every day complete, though some days were filled with dense, detailed entries, while others were just a single sentence. It ran from January 1st to November 8th, 1945. I started reading from the beginning; there wasn't anything particularly special, just details of experiments conducted on specific dates, all using technical jargon I didn't quite understand. So I flipped to the end, where August 15th read—"Today, news of the Japanese Emperor's surrender proclamation spread throughout the streets and alleys of Chongqing. Eight years of resistance have finally ended in victory; we can finally return to Shanghai."

September 10——

"We arrived in Shanghai, disembarked, and headed straight to No. 79 Tongtian Road, where my studio resumed operations."

October 10——

"Today is the birthday of the Republic of China. I received a letter from a friend in Beiping. He told me something very strange—"

To my esteemed brother Duanmu:

Last month, a large-scale tomb robbery occurred at the Eastern Qing Tombs, including the Huiling Tomb of the Tongzhi Emperor. After opening the coffin, the robbers discovered that the Tongzhi Emperor was nothing but a pile of bones, while the Empress's body remained intact, as if she were still alive. The Empress's remains have been lying in the opened underground palace for several days now, her body still intact, showing no signs of decay. This is something I personally witnessed, without the slightest exaggeration; it is truly beyond doubt.

My brother An You

Tonight, I didn't sleep a wink. I was utterly shocked. Such a thing is unbelievable! If it's true, then the body of the Tongzhi Empress must be extraordinary. From a physiological perspective, it has extremely high research value. If we could conduct scientific testing on this body and draw some results, it would likely be an epoch-making discovery, greatly benefiting humanity. I must report this to the Nanjing government and go to the Eastern Tombs, no matter how difficult it may be.”

October 13——

"The bureaucrats of the Nanjing government are all incompetent fools. Only today have they approved our trip to the Eastern Tombs as a Nationalist government investigation team, and assigned local police to protect us. Our train departs tonight, and we will go to the Eastern Tombs via Tianjin. I am very excited."

October 16——

"After a long and arduous journey, fraught with danger and confusion between soldiers and bandits, we finally arrived at the Eastern Tombs. As expected, they were in ruins, a truly pitiful sight. We immediately headed to the Hui Mausoleum of the Tongzhi Emperor. The gates to the underground palace were open. We entered, torches in hand, accompanied by several local policemen. The palace was eerily dark and gloomy; without the torches, we would never have dared to enter. Passing through several large stone gates, everyone trembled, their faces pale as death. Several cowards fled or crouched down, sobbing. I too was terrified, but ultimately, for the sake of science and the future of humanity, I led you all into the final section of the underground palace. The scene inside..." Quite desolate, two enormous coffins made of Phoebe zhennan wood stood in the center, both moved, their lids missing. It was rumored that the underground palace originally contained countless treasures, all of which had been looted by several groups of bandits. In the southeast corner of the tomb chamber, we finally discovered the Empress's jade-like body. Under the torchlight, I witnessed this miracle firsthand. Indeed, perfectly preserved, the Empress was completely naked, her skin as white as jade, but far from the usual pallor of the dead. At first glance, it resembled a picture of a beautiful young woman in slumber, even stirring the hearts of men and arousing our desires. However, there was a cut in the Empress's abdomen, her intestines spilling out, supposedly by a vicious criminal... Searching for the gold from when the Empress committed suicide by swallowing it, and then dissecting her body, this thief's crime is truly heinous and deserves the death penalty. I put on sterilized rubber gloves and stuffed the Empress's intestines back into her body. Nearly seventy years after her death, her internal organs were remarkably intact and soft as a normal person's. When my hands touched her abdominal cavity, the feel was just like performing abdominal surgery. I immediately sutured the incision shut. Mustering my courage, I lifted the Empress's body; surprisingly, there was no stiffness whatsoever. Her body was soft, her skin elastic, and she could sit upright at a 90-degree angle, her joints movable. If it weren't for the Empress's... Her body was ice-cold; we simply couldn't believe she had been dead for so many years. I stepped aside and began to observe the environment of the underground palace. It was somewhat leaky, not completely sealed. Although the air was thin, it wasn't enough to prevent decay. It was certain that the environment of the underground palace had no direct relation to the Empress's incorruptible body. Soon after, the remains of the Tongzhi Emperor were discovered, a pile of completely decayed bones. According to historical records, the Tongzhi Emperor and the Empress died within a little over a month of each other, both young men in their early twenties, buried at the same time, and preserved in identical conditions. Why were their outcomes so different? I pondered this endlessly without finding a solution.

October 23——

"Today we set off back to Shanghai. The environment here is terrible; thieves roam everywhere, and even the so-called police protecting us are just petty thieves. We've also heard that the Eighth Route Army is about to enter the Eastern Tombs to suppress bandits. This place is really not safe to stay any longer. As for the Empress, I can't let her body remain in the underground palace. I must transport her back to my studio in Shanghai for in-depth research and to unravel all the mysteries. I've ordered a lightweight coffin, placed the Empress's body inside, sealed the coffin, and then hired laborers at great expense to carry it onto a car and transport it to Tianjin. From Tianjin, we'll take a train back to Shanghai."

October 25——

"After a difficult journey, it's now night. I'm sitting on the train; we've booked an entire carriage, and the Empress's coffin is beside me. The train sways and rattles; we're almost at Shanghai. I'm lost in thought by the window. If we could unravel the mystery of the Empress's incorruptibility, humanity itself would be transformed. Perhaps we wouldn't need graves anymore; our deceased loved ones could remain forever as if they were alive, remembered by us. Every time we watch our deceased relatives being placed in coffins and buried, the pain of that final farewell is immense. Perhaps every one of us has experienced this trauma. Perhaps, after we make new discoveries, in the future, death will no longer be frightening; death will simply be returning home, like Zhuangzi, where we sing while drumming on a basin. Death is eternal life. This thought suddenly popped into my head. I looked back at the coffin, and my heart suddenly raced."

October 26——

"Because my studio was located in a Western-style building, which also housed many government officials, to avoid drawing attention to the matter, I placed the Empress's body in a glass coffin in the basement, an environment resembling an underground palace or tomb. We conducted the first autopsy in the basement, and the results confirmed my judgment: the Empress's body was intact. I decided to proceed to the second step, an autopsy. Just as I was about to write down the autopsy plan, I suddenly stopped. I felt I shouldn't perform an autopsy; from a scientific perspective, autopsy is the most effective method. However, facing the perfectly preserved Empress—yes, she was completely..." She lay before me, flawless, even the incision in her abdomen miraculously stitched up. I couldn't imagine taking a scalpel and cutting open her abdomen again; I felt it was a crime. Since I began studying medicine, I've dissected countless corpses. Dissecting a morbid or abdominal cavity is child's play for me, routine as a matter of course. But facing the Empress's exquisite body, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Because I didn't feel she was dead at all; before me, she was like a beautiful woman asleep. How could I dissect a sleeping person? In that instant, I was in immense pain. Ultimately, I signed the autopsy report: "The female cadaver is not suitable for dissection."

October 27——

"Today's test was the second one, and the result is the same as yesterday."

October 28——

"The third examination yielded no new findings. It has been a full twelve days since October 16th. In these twelve days, we have not taken any preservative measures for the Empress's body in order to maintain its original appearance. I had speculated that some busybody might have stripped a recently deceased woman naked and thrown her into the underground palace to impersonate the Empress and deceive us. Now it seems that such a possibility is absolutely impossible. Even if she had just died on the 16th, by today, no matter how well preserved, there would be changes. And now the Empress's body is exactly the same as what I saw twelve days ago, except for the abdominal incision. This is absolutely a miracle. I didn't believe in miracles in the past, but now I do. Although I can't explain it yet, one day I will be able to explain it using scientific methods."

There was no content for three days: October 29, October 30, and October 31.

November 1——

"Today is the day to formally submit the test report. I don't know how to write it. My studio is owned by the government, and those people in the Nanjing government won't pay attention to this report. Even if they do read it, none of them will believe it. Lately, I've had a special feeling in my heart, especially when I'm close to the Empress's body."

November 2——

"Today, my capable assistant, Yang Zisu, died. The cause of death was very strange; he strangled himself. I've never seen such a death before, because when a person has difficulty breathing, their hands lose strength. Last night, he was on duty in the studio. This morning, when I entered the basement where the Empress's body was kept, I found him. He was already dead, probably between midnight and 1 a.m. His eyes were open, and he looked terrifying, as if he had died with his eyes wide open, staring straight at the Empress's body lying in the glass coffin. Looking into his eyes, and then at the Empress sleeping peacefully, a sudden sense of fear welled up in my heart."

November 3——

"Tonight, I've decided to take the stand guard in the basement by myself."

The log ended here; November 3rd was the last page. My head was spinning. I tried to recall what I had just read, but I couldn't say a word. Duanmu Yiyun's writing was a bit strange, switching between classical and vernacular Chinese. Perhaps that was the common written language at the time. I closed the "work log" and didn't dare to read it a second time. I handed it to Ye Xiao.

After reading it, Ye Xiao's face turned pale. He slowly said, "Duanmu Yiyun's file states that he died at midnight on November 3, 1945, from intravenous injection."

"Intravenous injection?" I was a little confused.

"He injected himself; it was suicide."

"I'm really scared."

“To be honest, me too. Here, take a look at this document. I found it on the last page of the ALT experiment when you were looking at the work log earlier.” He handed me the document.

I mustered my courage and started watching again—

Investigation report on deaths during the ALT experiment

Due to two deaths that occurred during the ALT experiment, the deceased were the renowned human physiologist Duanmu Yiyun and his key assistant Yang Zisu. Although the deaths were confirmed as suicides, the reasons for their deaths remain unclear. The Nationalist government decided to investigate the matter. The statement given by Zhang Kai, a staff member of Duanmu's studio, is listed below—

My name is Zhang Kai, I'm 26 years old, and I'm a student of Mr. Duanmu and a member of his studio. I went to the Eastern Tombs with Mr. Duanmu and participated in all his activities and experiments. After we brought the Empress's body back to Shanghai, we temporarily placed it in the basement. We conducted all the necessary examinations on the body except for the autopsy, and concluded that the Empress was intact. On the evening of October 31st, Yang Zisu invited me to dinner at the Paramount. He had been in very poor spirits these past few days, and when I asked him why, he refused to answer. Later, we drank a lot of alcohol. He has a low alcohol tolerance and quickly got drunk. After he got drunk, he said many things, and I still remember a few of them. He said to me, "Zhang Kai, I've fallen in love with a woman."

"Really? Tell me quickly, who is it? Is it that newly transferred Miss Liu?" I asked him.

“No.” He shook his head, looking pained, and took another sip of wine.

"Zisu, stop drinking. Look how drunk you are."

"No, I'm very distressed because I've fallen in love with a woman." He took another sip of his drink.

"Who exactly have you fallen in love with?" I reached out to snatch his wine glass.

“You won’t believe me.” He pushed my hand away.

"I believe you." I think he'll feel better if he says it out loud.

"I have fallen in love with—the Queen."

"who?"

"Empress."

"You've had too much to drink, let me help you home."

“I’m not drunk. I’m getting more and more sober now. When we first saw the Empress’s body in the underground palace of Huiling, I was captivated by her. In my entire life, I have never seen such a beautiful woman. After returning to Shanghai, there were many times when I was alone with her. When I looked at her, I always thought that I was looking at a sleeping woman, not a corpse. I looked at her silently. Although I graduated from medical school, I felt that I was a tiny life in front of her, while she was an immortal goddess. Yes, a goddess. I love her, I worship her, I bow down to her. I would die for her and use my life as a sacrifice for her.”

"You're crazy."

"I know you won't believe it, but that night, I suddenly had an urge to touch her. When I was alone in the basement, I secretly opened the glass coffin. I touched her body, and although it was so cold, it felt like I was touching my wife. Suddenly, something occurred to me, and I boldly lifted her tightly closed eyelids. My God, I felt like she was looking at me, I really felt that way, just like you're looking at me now. The whites of her eyes and her pupils were perfectly preserved, and her pupils weren't dilated at all, but the same size as a normal person's. Her eyes shone with a kind of..." A light, a white light. Suddenly, I saw a change in the corner of her eye; the lower edge of her eye socket began to moisten, and some liquid appeared, flowing from her eye socket and down her cheek. I was terrified, trembling all over, at a loss for what to do. I touched the liquid with my hand; it was warm. I put some in my mouth and tasted it—salty. My God, it was tears, human tears. Based on my medical knowledge, this could absolutely not be corpse fluid; without a doubt, it was tears, tears secreted from her lacrimal glands. I… I'm sorry, I can't go on.”

Then, he immediately left the restaurant and disappeared alone. At the time, I thought he was drunk and talking nonsense. Unexpectedly, two days later, he was found dead in the basement, in front of the Queen's body.

The investigation concluded as follows: 1. The above statements are pure fabrication and misleading information; Zhang Kai is dismissed from his public office and will never be rehired. 2. Regarding the cause of death of Duanmu Yiyun and Yang Zisu, it is recommended that the public temporarily announce that they committed suicide due to mental breakdown caused by excessive work pressure. 3. Duanmu Yiyun's studio is to be immediately disbanded. 4. ALT testing is to be stopped. 5. The remains of the Tongzhi Empress are to be temporarily stored in the basement.

Official seal dated November 20, 1945

I put the file back into the lab report. I searched it carefully again but found nothing else useful. The latest one was from December 1945, which was mostly about the aftermath of the studio's dissolution and did not mention the Queen's remains.

Just then, I suddenly felt a stomachache. It turned out we had been in the archives all day without having lunch, and the staff were now clearing the area. Ye Xiao and I left the archives and went out to get something to eat.

While eating, I asked Ye Xiao, "Where are we going tomorrow?"

He replied calmly, "Tomorrow, we will go to see the Queen."

Ye Xiao seemed to see something in his eyes.

Outside the window is a winter night in Shanghai.

February 10th

It was a black building, about four or five stories high. It lacked the grandeur of the skyscrapers on the Bund and Nanjing Road, and the elegance of the villas on Huaihai West Road. This black building gave off a gloomy and oppressive feeling, like a sturdy medieval castle standing between two small streets. Few people noticed its existence, except for Ye Xiao and me.

We walked to the main gate, where the address read "No. 125, Nanhu Road." Ye Xiao told me, "Before liberation, the address here was No. 79, Tongtian Road."

"That is, the address of Duanmu Yiyun's studio in his work log," I continued.

"Yes, I checked. This building was built by the Japanese in 1942 and served as the command post of a secret department of the Japanese Army. After the victory of the War of Resistance against Japan, the Nationalist government took over the place and it became a research institution of the Ministry of Health of the Executive Yuan. Duanmu Yiyun's studio was one of its parts. Yesterday in the archives, we saw that the investigation report on the death incident in the ALT experiment ended with the statement that the ALT experiment was stopped and that the Empress's body was temporarily stored in the basement."

"I understand. You said we came here today to see the Queen. That's what we came here for."

He sighed, "That depends on our luck. There's only a 10% chance, because the documents say the body was temporarily stored in the basement, and the later files are gone. Maybe it stopped when the studio was dissolved, or maybe it was destroyed, or even taken to Taiwan. So we can't rule out the possibility that the Empress's body was later transported to somewhere else."

"I hope the Empress is still here." I looked up at the black exterior of the building again, my heart pounding.

Ye Xiao led me through the gate. It was now a public institution, sparsely populated, and the building seemed almost empty. We found the person in charge, and Ye Xiao showed his police ID, asking about the building. The people there didn't seem familiar with it either, and couldn't answer any questions. Finally, Ye Xiao asked about the basement.

"The basement has never been opened before, and nobody knows what's inside. But you can take a look if you want." With that, the person in charge took out a large, heavy, and unassuming key from a safe. "It hasn't been used for decades, so I don't know if it can still be used. You can try your luck. Do you want me to go with you?"

"No need, we'll go ourselves. Thank you for your cooperation." Ye Xiao took the key and we headed straight for the basement.

In an inconspicuous corner on the ground floor, we found the basement door. It was made of steel and looked very sturdy. Ye Xiao inserted the key into the lock. Decades had passed, and the lock was covered in rust. He struggled to open it. Then, he pushed the door open.

Inside the door was a row of steps leading downwards. We looked down, but it was pitch black and we couldn't see anything; only a chill emanated from the depths.

Just as I was about to muster my courage and go downstairs, Ye Xiao stopped me. He turned to the side of the basement door, where there was a row of old-fashioned power switches. He flipped one up. Suddenly, a sliver of light appeared deep inside the basement.

"You're really something."

"Alright, go down now." Ye Xiao walked down the steps, and I followed closely behind him.

The steps were wide enough for five or six people to stand side by side. The walls were cold and peeling, and I carefully descended, following a faint ray of light. About a minute later, we saw a light bulb overhead, emitting a yellow glow. The steps continued downwards, and we walked for another minute. I estimated we were now more than ten meters above the ground, and we continued down.

"How come a basement is so deep?" I finally asked. I didn't expect that our voices would echo several times in the long tunnel. I was so startled that I almost fell off the steps, but Ye Xiao pulled me back.

"Be careful, this used to be a department of the Japanese Army. This basement was built by the Japanese military. I guess it may have served some military purpose at the time, such as air defense, which is why it's so deep and large," Ye Xiao reminded me.

We continued downhill, passing several electric lights emitting a yellow glow. I suddenly remembered reading in the archives yesterday in Duanmu Yiyun's work log that he placed the Empress's remains in the basement to mimic the environment of the Huiling Mausoleum. A chill ran down my spine at the thought. No wonder he chose this place; indeed, here I felt like I was inside a tomb, like the atmosphere of the final maze game in Tomb of the Dead. This place, too, was a virtual experience, a virtual reality as terrifying as reality, making me suddenly feel breathless. Ye Xiao and I held our breath, silent, only the echoes of our footsteps audible. In this environment, I think anyone would feel like they were in an underground palace, unconsciously imagining themselves as tomb raiders. In ancient times, tomb raiders usually worked in pairs, preferably related, like Ye Xiao and me now. I don't know why I thought of this. But I understood that our purpose here was, in some ways, the same as the tomb raiders—to find the Empress.

Could the Empress be inside? Something tugged at my heartstrings again. Suddenly, an image of a naked woman appeared in my mind, but this image didn't bring me excitement; instead, it filled me with death and fear. I suddenly stopped.

"I don't want to go down," I said softly.

Ye Xiao turned around, the yellow light shining into his eyes: "To be honest, I'm scared too."

"Then, let's go back."

"If we turn back, we will be even more afraid."

I didn't dare turn back, nodded to him, and we continued walking down.

Finally, we reached the top of the steps, where a black iron gate, bathed in yellow light, blocked our way. Ye Xiao tried pushing the gate; it wasn't locked, but ajar. We stepped through. What would I see?

In the murky, cool, and damp air, we saw a large space, about a hundred square meters, with a row of lights hanging from the ceiling, emitting a yellow glow. Around the perimeter were rows of wooden shelves, probably used to display something, and in the center was a large platform with a broken glass coffin on it.

The coffin was empty.

Ye Xiao and I exchanged a glance. He sighed and then scanned the entire room again, but found nothing except rows of wooden shelves and broken glassware.

The Queen is not here.

Perhaps it was moved long ago. Perhaps it was taken to Taiwan by them in 1949? Perhaps it was destroyed by those ignorant people in the Nationalist government? Besides deep regret, I also felt a secret sense of relief. I was truly terrified of this woman.

"Look at the wall." Ye Xiao pointed to the wall.