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墨書 Inktalez
Over four meters long—what does that even mean? The intestines of an average adult are about four to five times their height, which means Chen Lin's intestines would be roughly between seven and nine meters. This one worm occupied almost half, if not two-thirds, of that space. Just imagine having a worm that long inside you; what kind of feeling would that evoke?
I think most people's first reaction would probably be to lose their appetite for at least three meals.
Guan Zengbin said, "The first moment I saw it, I was indeed startled. But once I figured out what it was, it wasn't so frightening anymore. Just wait; I'll pull it out and show you something interesting."
Watching Guan Zengbin's inexplicable excitement made my stomach churn, and I felt like I might throw up everything I'd eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Although I was a woman, adding "Forensic" after the word "woman" seemed to mark the end of normalcy and transform me into something else entirely.
Guan Zengbin used tweezers to grip the head of the worm and began to pull it slowly backward. It reminded me of the time I had candied sweet potatoes, and at that moment, I vowed never to eat anything prepared in that way again. As Guan Zengbin pulled back, the worm gradually emerged from Chen Lin's intestines.
One meter, two meters, three meters, four meters.
Guan Zengbin was nearly beside me now. I tried to back away, but there was a wall behind me; there was nowhere to go. Guan Zengbin stood next to me with a rather provocative look in his eyes. I had never felt such humiliation in my life, but seeing this worm stretched out to four meters without a tail made my eyes well up with tears.
Guan Zengbin began to walk around the wall to the other side while continuing to pull the worm out. After a moment, the tail finally emerged, and according to the autopsy room's estimates, this worm was over five meters long. I simply couldn't comprehend how Chen Lin could have such a long worm inside him without noticing.
Guan Zengbin found a basin nearby and placed the worm inside as if he were fishing for noodles.
"Come take a look," he beckoned with a finger. "What are you afraid of? It can't eat you. This worm might provide us with many clues; don't you want to solve the case?"
After taking several deep breaths and psyching myself up for quite some time, I finally edged closer to the basin.
Guan Zengbin squatted down, poking at the worm's head with tweezers while asking me, "Do you know what this worm is called?"
I shook my head. "Does such a disgusting thing even have a name?"
Guan Zengbin chuckled. "Who doesn't have a name? Look at this flat, pale worm; doesn't it remind you of that white noodle we had in Linfen, Shanxi? It's long and wide and flat just like that."
I recalled eating those white noodles in that village; it was my first time trying them and they were delicious. But hearing Guan Zengbin say that made it impossible for me to look at those noodles the same way again.
"Is this worm called a white noodle worm?" I asked slowly.
Guan Zengbin shook his head and said, "It's not called that; it's called Beef Tapeworm."
"Beef Tapeworm?" I was speechless. "You've made it so that I can never eat noodles or beef strips again in my life."
Guan Zengbin chuckled, "The one next to the silk-like structure is the Beef Tapeworm. Look at the head of this worm; it's square-shaped, with no hooks on top, but rather four suckers."
I looked closely and indeed saw the four suckers.
Guan Zengbin continued, "These four suckers latch onto a person's intestines and start absorbing the nutrients inside. There's another worm similar to this one called Pork Tapeworm, but the head of the Pork Tapeworm has hooks instead of suckers."
"How does this worm get inside?" I asked.
Guan Zengbin shrugged and replied, "By eating raw meat. Raw pork and beef can carry the eggs of these parasites. If ingested, they hatch in the stomach and grow into adults in about three months."
The worm was still wriggling, and I asked, "Isn't there any harm? Can't Chen Lin feel anything?"
Guan Zengbin shook his head. "Of course he can feel something. If it's a Pork Tapeworm, it can cause significant harm. Its cysticerci can spread through the bloodstream to various parts of the body, potentially appearing in the eyes or even in the brain. I've encountered such cases during my studies."
I felt goosebumps all over and trembled as I asked, "What about Beef Tapeworm?"
Guan Zengbin answered, "Compared to Pork Tapeworm, Beef Tapeworm is relatively less harmful. However, it can still cause headaches, diarrhea, and neurological symptoms. Different people may react differently; it could even lead to death. I suspect Chen Lin is experiencing similar symptoms."
"He probably expels a large number of eggs every time he uses the restroom," Guan Zengbin added. "This Beef Tapeworm has likely grown to its maximum length—equal to the length of a person's intestines. It's been there for at least several months; however, from an immune perspective, what he ingested was likely an adult."
I was confused by this explanation and quickly asked, "Can you explain it more clearly? I don't understand."
Guan Zengbin continued fiddling with the worm without looking at me. "The human body has a strong immune response to Beef Tapeworm eggs. This means that occasionally eating raw beef with parasite eggs won't necessarily lead to infection. Unless you eat raw beef regularly, which increases the chances of infection."
"So you're saying Chen Lin likes to eat raw beef?" I frowned and asked, "Could it be that he got infected from drinking dog blood?"
Guan Zengbin shook her head. "No, dogs are not intermediate hosts for the Beef Tapeworm. Dogs don't eat grass; the intermediate hosts for Beef Tapeworm are usually cattle, sheep, or deer. So it wouldn't be in a dog's blood. The most likely scenario is that Chen Lin ingested it himself."
"Ingested it himself?" I could hardly believe my ears. "How could he do that?"
Guan Zengbin stood up, gesturing for me to follow her outside. "Imagine an ordinary person who unknowingly eats undercooked raw meat and ends up with parasites. His first reaction would definitely be to go to the hospital for a check-up and take deworming medication to get rid of the worms."
"That's true," I nodded.
"Exactly. But Chen Lin didn't do that. The worms grew over five meters long; if he had no symptoms when they were only one or two meters long, there's no way he wouldn't have symptoms with a five-meter-long worm in his intestines." Guan Zengbin took off her gloves and motioned for me to wash my hands thoroughly. "Wash well; I’m sure you don’t want worms growing in your stomach."
I had never washed my hands as thoroughly as I did that day; it seemed I used more hand soap in that one instance than in my entire life combined.
Guan Zengbin continued, "So there’s a problem. Even if Chen Lin is a fugitive and can't go to a regular hospital, many pharmacies sell deworming medications. Why would he let the worms grow in his intestines? This indicates that Chen Lin knows he has worms and is ignoring them."
"What could be the reason for that?" I asked.
Guan Zengbin turned to face me, looking serious. "These worms absorb nutrients from their host's intestines constantly, and the intestines are the most important organs for nutrient absorption in the human body. Have you seen how Chen Lin looks? His front is protruding, his back is curved, and he has almost no excess flesh."
Suddenly, I understood what Guan Zengbin was getting at. "Are you implying…?"
Guan Zengbin nodded decisively. "It's what every woman strives for in her life: weight loss!"
The first thought that crossed my mind was indeed this. I weakly asked, "I thought of weight loss too, but can this really lead to weight loss?"
"It can lead to weight loss," Guan Zengbin said dismissively. "But it's essentially using one's life to lose weight; it could easily result in death."
As she spoke, Guan Zengbin walked out and headed toward the office. I was somewhat confused and asked, "What are we going to do now?"
Guan Zengbin didn't directly answer my question. "Think about it: worm eggs are not easy to survive, so Chen Lin chose to directly consume adults instead. To ensure the adults could survive, he supplemented their nutrition by drinking dog blood; it all makes sense now."
I nodded, beginning to understand what Guan Zengbin meant. "So, it's not easy for adults to survive. There must be someone specifically raising these creatures. If we use this as a breakthrough, we should be able to find some clues."
"Exactly!" Guan Zengbin replied.
In the office.
When the people from the City Bureau heard that we had pulled a five-meter-long flatworm out of a corpse, they were stunned. They were like wild horses that had broken free, insisting on seeing it for themselves. Despite my repeated attempts to dissuade them, they left anyway. I could already imagine the scene of the officers surrounding the yard, throwing up everywhere.
Perhaps many would have a sleepless night tonight.
Even Captain Shao and Mary were not exempt from this human nature!
Before long, Captain Shao and Mary walked in with grim expressions, while outside, the sounds of retching echoed continuously. I had warned them, but it was no use; people are creatures that love to court disaster.
"This thing," Captain Shao said calmly, "is quite something."
"Indeed," I replied. "I think we should just display it at the police station and charge admission—five bucks a ticket..."
Guan Zengbin shot me a glare and said, "Mary, I suspect this worm is being traded online. If we investigate, we should be able to find Chen Lin's transaction records. Through those records, we can determine his previous activities' general location, which would significantly narrow down our investigation range."
Mary's face turned pale as she simply gestured a 'K' with her hand, clearly feeling quite nauseated by the situation.
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