Chapter 9
Work
She placed the toolbox on a nearby low shelf and opened it, revealing silver scalpels of various sizes along with an assortment of other tools. The largest item among them was a black plague doctor mask with a beaked mouth.
She took a deep breath and carefully removed each item, placing them neatly on the rack beside the dissection table. Then she took out a bottle of alchemical potion and, following the anatomical knowledge recorded in the Black Book, sterilized each tool one by one.
Preventing the enchanted organs from being contaminated by external bacteria or viruses was the most critical step in the dissection process.
Both the walls of the morgue and the dissection table had been treated with antibacterial techniques and inscribed with some sort of warding symbols to prevent contamination.
Only when the final No. 7 scalpel was fully sterilized did Lucy slowly exhale a breath of stale air.
At that moment, Karen's deep voice suddenly rang out from outside.
"A batch of corpses will be delivered in five minutes. Everyone, return to your assigned morgue."
Immediately followed the sound of hurried footsteps and the opening and closing of iron doors clearly, some of the apprentice trainees were still not mentally prepared.
Lucy paid no attention to the panicked trainees outside. Instead, she walked over to the iron gate of the dissection table. After taking a deep breath, she reached out and pulled open the man-high iron gate.
Beyond it lay a metal chute so deep that the bottom could not be seen. The chute’s walls were stained with patches of congealed blood and unidentifiable chunks of flesh.
Yet the odor was not as unbearable as one might expect; only a faint scent of blood wafted through the air. It was clear that the material used for this chute was no ordinary metal.
At that moment, a loud noise echoed from within the chute.
Clang clang clang
The sound of metal clashing approached rapidly.
Instinctively, Lucy stepped back. In the next second, a massive tray slammed against the protruding lower edge of the gate with a loud clang, nearly toppling its contents.
A large black cloth covered the tray, from beneath which a heavy stench of blood and decay began to spread. Along with it came the unmistakable presence of the Contamination Value belonging to an enchanted beast.
Lucy did not dare to be careless and quickly donned the plague doctor mask she had prepared beforehand.
This type of mask impaired both vision and hearing, but it effectively blocked out odors and partially shielded against Contamination Value. It was an essential tool for anatomy.
Once she confirmed the mask was secure, Lucy summoned the blue characters.
[Name: Lucy Felicia]
[Level: Apprentice Trainee (Mental Strength: 7.1)]
[Meditation Method: Bramble Loop Meditation I]
[Witchcraft: Basic Magical Trick (Tier-0), Basic Ring of Resistance (Tier-0)]
[Skills: None]
[Equipment: None]
[Contamination Value: 47% → 48%]
[Academic Points: 2]
It had only been a moment of carelessness, and yet her Contamination Value had increased by one percent.
But this was no time for regret. She needed to quickly identify the enchanted organs in this corpse and extract them to be preserved in an organ preservation solution, otherwise she would remain exposed to a highly contaminated environment.
With that in mind, Lucy reached out and pulled away the black cloth covering the corpse.
As a corner of the cloth was lifted, a ghastly pale woman’s head suddenly emerged from the gap. Her neck, unnaturally long and serpentine, hung limply over the edge of the metal tray in a grotesquely twisted posture.
A pair of blood-red vertical pupils eyes that no longer belonged to any human stared fixedly at Lucy, brimming with greed and bloodlust, revealing a ravenous hunger for her flesh. At the same time, a sound resembling a baby’s cry issued from its throat.
Startled by the sudden change, Lucy immediately flung the cloth aside and retreated to the edge of the dissection table, knocking over several glass bottles in her haste before finally coming to a stop.
Though the term "enchanted beast" contained the word "beast," it did not refer solely to animals. Any creature influenced by magical energy fell under this category and that included humans.
While the enchanted beasts delivered to the lowest-level morgue were certainly dead, certain organs could remain active under the influence of magical energy.
Most of the time, these organs were harmless. Only in rare cases where magical contamination exceeded safe limits would such abnormalities become life-threatening.
What Lucy had not expected was that the very first corpse she was to dissect would be human.
For someone raised under the red flag of the twenty-first century, this was no easy task.
But she also understood that if she failed to take this step, not even the system she possessed would carry her much further.
Beneath the plague doctor mask, Lucy took several deep breaths in succession, then began a series of strange chants. A faint aura gradually appeared around her body.
Tier-0 Arcane Witchcraft: Basic Ring of Resistance. It created an arcane shield capable of absorbing attacks equal to her Mental Strength ×1 in energy magnitude.
Lucy’s current Mental Strength was 7.1, meaning her shield had a defensive rating of 7.1.
According to the witchcraft grading scale, magical energy of around 5 units was sufficient to cause instant death.
Unconsciously, she extended a finger to touch the translucent aura. The use of supernatural power briefly allowed her to shake off the fear inspired by the eerie female corpse.
This was the first time Lucy had used witchcraft since arriving in this world. The process went unexpectedly smoothly, and the sensation of being wrapped in magical energy was surprisingly pleasant.
But this was no time to study the aura. Summoning her courage, Lucy stepped toward the black cloth once more.
Under the hateful and greedy gaze of the female corpse, she reached out and completely pulled the cloth away.
A mangled, incomplete corpse came into view.
Aside from the head that had earlier startled Lucy, the rest of the body was covered in dark brown roots.
There was also a severed tree stump embedded in its back.
The roots, like greedy parasites, threaded through the corpse, their vein-like protrusions absorbing the remaining nutrients from the body.
The female corpse had long since been ravaged and twisted beyond recognition by these roots.
Lucy’s heart, which had just begun to steady, rose to her throat once again, and her stomach churned with nausea.
Had it not been for the fact that she had missed breakfast this morning due to the gathering outside the West Tower gate and her stomach was now empty, Lucy would have surely vomited by now.
Forcing herself to suppress the surging stomach acid, Lucy gripped the largest scalpel from the tray in her hand.
First, because in the early stages of dissection, such a large scalpel was typically used.
Second, naturally, was for self-defense to give herself at least a slight sense of reassurance.
Though she also knew that if any real anomaly were attached to this corpse, the scalpel would be of little use.
Still, it was better than facing it bare-handed.
Fighting through her intense physical and emotional discomfort, Lucy began searching the female corpse for any useful enchanted organs.
This was a long and tedious process, requiring an enormous amount of Mental Strength and focus, and at times even a bit of luck.
Normally, during dissection, a witch would need to cut open the enchanted beast’s body, then carefully explore inside, feeling each organ and even each muscle for fluctuations of magical energy to locate the enchanted organs.
Yet just as Lucy was about to make her first incision, one large and three small blue dots of light suddenly appeared in her field of vision.
These blue lights were all too familiar they were the blue characters of the system interface.
Three small blue dots were located at the eyes and the heart, while the large blue dot hovered around the lower abdomen.
"Could this be marking the positions of the enchanted organs? The system can even do this!"
Whether it was or not, she would soon find out by cutting them out.
At this point, Lucy had no time to be afraid or disgusted. She swapped the No. 1 scalpel for the smallest, the No. 7.
Under the terrified gaze of the female corpse, she pressed the silver blade against it.
With a sensation like piercing through a membrane, the scalpel slid effortlessly into the corpse’s cheek.
A piercing, agonized scream burst from the female corpse’s mouth.
At the same time, the Contamination Value in the air surged uncontrollably. Even through the plague doctor mask, Lucy could feel the rapid spike in her own internal Contamination Value.
Lucy dared not hesitate. Her fingers tightened slightly on the scalpel, making a precise cut.
With a sticky, wet sensation, the scalpel carved an oval-shaped opening in the corpse’s face.
Instantly, a crimson eyeball slid out of the corpse’s face.
Lucy immediately used forceps to place it into a glass jar filled with organ preservation solution.
As the sealing ring snapped shut, the pervasive Contamination Value in the air instantly dissipated. The eyeball swayed left and right within the clear liquid for a moment before finally losing all vitality and dimming.
Having completed the task, Lucy felt her legs go weak and leaned against a nearby shelf to barely steady herself.
No wonder no one wanted to come to the anatomy lab both the work environment and the nature of the work itself could only be described as anti-human.
Looking at the now-still eyeball in the glass jar, Lucy gradually began to understand why some of the apprentice trainees would rather risk death escaping than be assigned to the West Tower.