It would be more appropriate to define the workers at Lenghu Cemetery as corpse retrievers.
Unlike the seven-day cemetery, which has seven sections, each cemetery has different rules.
There is only one main cemetery here - Lenghu. The other cemeteries on the shore surrounding the lake are only used to collect "inferior products" and there are no too strict requirements.
However, Lenghu, the core of the cemetery, has relatively complex rules.
First, the regional division:
In the outer ring area where the lake water temperature is greater than or equal to -10℃, burials and corpse retrieval can be carried out at any time of the day.
In the middle area of the lake where the water temperature is between -10℃ and -30℃, related work is limited to 00:00-07:00.
In the center of the inner lake, where the temperature is below -30°C, the operating hours are limited to 00:00-02:00.
There are also a series of rules related to lakes:
1. It is forbidden to use any lighting equipment. If there are signs of ice on the lake, you can use kerosene lamps or torches to disperse it. Once the ice disappears, turn off the light source immediately.
2. If you find a hand sticking out of the lake while rowing, please tie the black rope provided on the boat to your ring finger and your arm will return to the lake.
If the fingers are tied with black ropes, the action of extending the hand means "showing goodwill". Just high-five with him and the arm will sink.
Please be sure to complete the above interactions, otherwise the arm will keep following and may eventually attack the ship.
3. If any floating debris is found in the lake, it must be caught with a fishing net and sent to an incinerator for destruction as soon as possible.
If you find a piece of paper, check the information on it and try to meet the requirements. If you are unsure about how to handle the information, ask your supervisor for advice.
…
There are seven other rules similar to the above, which are very cumbersome, like serving a group of old men and women living at the bottom of the lake, and also having to do the related work of cleaners.
Every rule carries hidden dangers, and if you fail to follow it properly, your life may be in danger.
Because it is located in the water, it is much more dangerous than a real ground cemetery. No wonder it often cannot recruit people.
The task that Yi Chen and Reagan were called in to help with temporarily could be completed in just one night, but only gentlemen like them who had experience in cemeteries could help, and ordinary corpse lifters would be in great danger.
Lame Field's request was to dig out the five special bodies buried in the burial area in the middle of the lake and pack them up for disposal. An organized body transport vehicle would be responsible for picking them up on the shore.
Considering that it was the first time for the two juniors to work, Field paddled the boat himself and took them to the center of the lake ten minutes in advance.
As the rules state, the temperature of this lake is shockingly low.
However, at the first moment of feeling the cold, the gentleman's clothing immediately adapts to the new style by adding fleece and thickness, and even generates heat autonomously inside.
This warm and moist leather feeling is as if there is a strong man who has just finished playing basketball sandwiched in front, behind, and on both sides.
While rowing towards the center of the lake, the calm lake surface stretched out its pale arms many times.
Yi Chen immediately followed the rules, either tying knots on their ring fingers or high-fiving them. The other party also seemed very happy, shaking their arms happily and sinking into the lake.
We also found a paper boat on the way. After we fished it out with the fishing net, we found something written on it: I want an autobiography.
I don't know why Yi Chen felt like laughing.
Field explained seriously, "The need for textual items indicates that they are awakening their consciousness, and these needs must be met... Unfortunately, there is no time to read to them now, so they need to be salvaged."
Yi Chen caught the key word "awakening consciousness" from this sentence and thought of Reagan's girlfriend.
But there is an essential difference in consciousness here. The corpses at the bottom of the lake can awaken consciousness because their bodies are intact and their brains are intact and even fresh.
But Reagan's girlfriend initially had only one spine left, and had to reconstruct her own consciousness based on the genetic information remaining between the bones. The concept is completely different.
Lake Center
The ship stopped just in time for midnight.
This time point plus the hazy reflection of the moon on the lake reminded Yi Chen of some bad memories. The former Twilight Clinic also changed at this time point, and the moon emerged.
This incident was far away from Zion, and Yi Chen was worried about the moon all the way.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look up at the sky.
However, the hazy moon showed no sign of getting closer and was still obscured by clouds, showing no abnormalities.
At this time, the lame Field took out five moisturizing body bags and handed them to the two men.
"You have already read the rules, so I won't say any more. Go ahead."
Yi Chen and Reagan looked at each other and jumped into the lake water at minus 50 degrees Celsius together.
Gentleman's clothing covers the whole body in advance to isolate the lake water and keep warm.
The lake was not deep, and the two quickly dived to the "lake center burial area" which was only ten meters deep.
There are eight graves below, three of which have been excavated in advance.
The remaining five tombs are Yi Chen and Reagan’s temporary tasks.
At this time, Little Grape came out to help improve visibility, and at the same time explained the situation here as a "veteran".
"The bodies that can be buried in this area are at least of high quality.
The three who were poached in advance were either fully mature like me, with awakened consciousness and available to the organization, or had dangerous lesions and were dealt with in advance.
The five bodies you need to deal with are not mature enough to be excavated.
It must be the spread of the gray zone, and the bodies need to be moved in advance. After all, the natural gray zone cannot be eliminated. Once it spreads to the town, the bodies in the cemetery will become diseased. 』
"Does this mean that this cemetery will be closed soon?"
"That must be the case. Otherwise, why does the old man always have a stern face? Let's get started. Since the old man is willing to give me a benefit, I will help him a little."
Next, Yi Chen and Reagan worked together to recover the body.
Crunch! Crunch!
Yi Chen released the plants to carry out rapid digging. Once the entire corpse was dug out, Reagan would instantly put it in a body bag controlled by his mind.
When they dug up the first grave, they were both stunned by the corpse lying inside.
A boy's body that was impeccable and pure from beginning to end.
The skin was almost as pure as water and even had a faint shimmer, but the next second Reagan put it in a body bag.
Perhaps it was because of the full surveillance of Little Grape, the "Cemetery Overlord",
Perhaps it was the pressure released by Miss Fei Yin invisibly.
The body recovery process went quite smoothly. None of the bodies showed any signs of resistance or attack. At most, they just opened their jewel-like eyes and glanced at us.
In addition, the bodies in the cemetery in the center of the lake all looked to be no more than 20 years old, and their skin texture was almost the same, as smooth as jade.
Soon it was the turn of the last pile of graves.
The flat-structured plants dug as quickly as a shovel, but this body seemed to be buried quite deep, and after digging for two meters, there was still no trace of it.
Just when the two were somewhat confused and alert,
The tip of the plant touched a hard object that was not soil. It was the head of a corpse. A tuft of silver-white hair could barely be seen.
He continued digging the soil until the entire head appeared before his eyes, and Yi Chen was stunned.
The feeling of fear instantly occupied the entire eyeball and spread throughout the body!
"How is that possible!"
Buried in the last pile of graves was a young man with one eye covered with gauze. His other eye was slowly opening, shaped like a silver crescent moon.
The mouth also opened and moved!
There was no sound transmission process, the sound directly echoed in Yi Chen's mind.
"William, long time no see~"
Gurgle!
Yi Chen was so frightened that he choked on the icy water at the bottom of the lake.
Almost at the moment of entering the body, the esophagus and stomach were severely frozen and cracked, and many organs in the body were frostbitten in a short period of time. The "black umbilical cord" hidden in the abdomen immediately rushed over to help repair it.
And Yi Chen heard Little Grape's voice calling him in his head:
"William! William!"
The stimulation in his body and the sound transmission in his brain made Yi Chen shake his head violently.
When I opened my eyes again,
The head of the corpse dug out in front of him no longer looked like Yue Hen, but the corpse of a young man with naturally white hair and a similar appearance.
A faint beam of moonlight penetrated the lake and fell on the young man's face... It seemed that it was this ray of moonlight that caused the illusion just now.
Suddenly,
Yi Chen recalled the words he said when he left the Twilight Clinic:
"The-Moon-is-watching-you."
(End of this chapter)