Guanzhong Tomb Robbery Notes

Chapter 251: Dead with Eyes Open, Rigor Mortis

The bright light from the emergency lamp illuminated every detail of the cave.

This is a cave about one meter wide and one and a half meters high, with obvious signs of artificial construction on the cave wall.

What made us exclaim in unison was that there was a person squatting about six or seven meters inside the cave!

The man was wearing gray overalls.

The work clothes don't look like cotton, but more like chemical fiber.

Cotton fabrics were common at that time.

Polyester chemical fiber fabrics such as Dacron are actually rare commodities.

Anyone who can wear synthetic work clothes definitely doesn't work in an ordinary unit.

The dark brown leather tool bag on his waist is very eye-catching.

There are tools like pliers and screwdrivers inserted inside.

People who carry this kind of tool bag are usually maintenance workers.

But how could the maintenance worker run so deep into the cave?

There's nothing to repair here!

I looked at the chest of his clothes to see if the name of his unit was embroidered there.

I didn't expect there were really embroidered ones.

"The Second Brigade of Geological and Mineral Exploration..." I whispered.

People from the geological survey team.

Are you going into the cave to conduct geological exploration?

But geological survey work cannot be done alone.

wrong!

He didn't blink.

He wasn't the least bit surprised to see us.

Not even a sound was made!

Is it...

I tilted my head back and stared at his face carefully.

It was a young face, seemingly in his early twenties, with sparse beard on his lips.

I guess it’s because it’s inconvenient to work in the field and I haven’t shaved for a while.

He was pale, and his slightly stiff face showed an expression of pain.

There was no light in his eyes, let alone any emotion.

"Master Chen, this man looks strange!" Wang Hu turned his head and looked at me.

I nodded slightly: "He's probably dead. Go over and take a look. Be careful."

Wang Hu exclaimed, "Dead, dead?!"

"But he was squatting. How can a dead person squat?"

"His eyes are still open. Could it be that he died with his eyes open?"

"I heard that people who die with their eyes open will turn into evil spirits..."

"Are you scared?" I whispered.

Wang Hu seemed to be stimulated. He raised his head and patted his chest and said, "Why would I be afraid?"

"How can we tomb robbers be frightened by the dead?"

"I wouldn't be afraid even of the eighteenth level."

"Master Chen, just watch my performance!"

I made a gesture, indicating Wang Hu to go in and check the situation quickly.

Wang Hu took a deep breath.

He walked into the cave, crouching down and walking up the stone steps.

Still two meters away from the squatting man, Wang Hu stepped forward and shouted, "Hi! Friend!"

"Are you ok?"

The man's body slowly leaned back as he spoke.

With a thud, he fell to the ground on his back, his legs facing the sky.

After pausing for a few seconds, his limbs remained in the squatting position.

Bend your legs in a squatting position toward the top of the cave.

The left hand is on the cave wall, facing the top of the cave.

The right hand is supporting the knee and facing the top of the cave.

The limbs were straight and there was no intention of dropping them.

This is abnormal.

No matter if they are normal or dead.

If you fall on your back, your limbs will fall to the ground.

Even if it's just a prank, your limbs will tremble if you hold them like that for a few seconds.

But the man's limbs didn't move at all!

Wang Hu was frightened and trembled, patting his chest and gasping for breath.

"Hoohoo!"

"Scared me."

"This friend is so ignorant. He didn't even tell me before he went to lie down."

"Friend, let me give you a hand."

"I'm here to help you. Don't take revenge on me if you have any grievances or grudges!"

Wang Hu muttered as he slowly moved forward.

It took him more than ten steps to walk across the distance that could be covered in four or five steps.

Moving to the side of the man's head, Wang Hu carefully extended his arm.

Use your right index finger to feel the person's breath just below their nostrils.

After feeling it for six or seven seconds, Wang Hu suddenly looked up.

He looked at me and shouted, "This man is dead!"

"died!"

"I really can't close my eyes in death!"

This didn't surprise me.

From his eyes and facial expressions, I had already expected that he was dead.

It was just the way his limbs stood straight that puzzled me.

Why do his limbs still maintain the squatting position?

Could that action contain a hint?

Later, I met a senior forensic doctor, and when chatting with him, I heard a word called: rigor mortis.

Rigor mortis refers to the phenomenon that muscles throughout the body gradually stiffen and joints become fixed some time after death.

If a person dies while lying down, the mouth cannot open after rigor mortis sets in, and the neck and limbs become extremely stiff and cannot bend.

If the person died in another posture, they will remain in the posture before death.

It is not until three to seven days after death, when rigor mortis has completely subsided, that the joints will soften and recover.

The appearance, disappearance and intensity of rigor mortis are related to the surrounding temperature, cause of death, and the degree of muscle development of the deceased.

Usually, information such as the time of death can be inferred based on the degree of rigor mortis.

But I didn't know this expertise at that time.

So I think it is very strange that the person still maintains the posture he was in when he was alive after death.

Wang Hu trembled and took two steps back.

Just as he was about to turn his head to look at me, his face suddenly froze.

Then he looked deeper into the cave and shouted, "Master Chen, there's... there's another person inside!"

Hearing that there was someone else inside, I immediately walked up the stairs into the cave.

Just after taking two steps, Cui Hao grabbed his arm.

"Brother, I'm going!"

"You are our backbone, and you can't make any mistakes."

"I'll go check out the situation inside first."

Just as I was about to shake my head and refuse, the stone mill entered the hole before me.

"Master Chen, let me do it!"

"Grindstone..."

I tried to call him back, but he was so fast.

He rushed into the cave in three or two steps.

"Brother Huzi, why are you as timid as a cat?"

"Dead people are not ghosts, there is nothing to be afraid of."

Wang Hu said with a red face: "It's because he didn't close his eyes when he died. We are afraid that he will die with his eyes open and become a ghost."

"It's not that easy to find evil spirits."

Shi Nianzi muttered something and squeezed past Wang Hu.

Soon his voice came from the cave.

"Master Chen, the one inside is also dead. He looks to be around forty years old."

"He was clutching a bag tightly in his hand."

"That bag looks quite unusual."

"Shall I take the bag out for you?"

I nodded and said, "Okay!"

After a while, the millstone came to the cave entrance with the bag.

It is a sealed document bag that is waterproof and moisture-proof.

It's definitely not an ordinary bag.

In those days, ordinary documents would not fit into such bags.

Only documents containing very important information are put into this kind of bag.

Thinking about the unit names embroidered on their work clothes, I guess the contents of the sealed file bag are closely related to geological exploration.

He took the file bag and weighed it in his hand.

I was wondering whether I should open it and take a look.

If the documents inside involve important secrets, opening them would be disadvantageous to you.

"Brother, open it and take a look!" Cui Hao's eyes were full of curiosity.

Wang Hu and Shi Nianzi were also staring at the file bag, waiting for me to open it.

I squeezed the bag and said, "Stay at the entrance of the cave. Be careful Zhao Ziang might catch up with you."

"Let me first check if there's anything confidential inside. If it's a confidential document, we'll pretend we haven't seen it."

After giving the instructions, I took two steps into the cave.

When I tore open the sealed document bag, the first thing that fell out was a red book the size of half a palm, with large gold-plated letters printed on it: Work Permit.

When I opened my work ID, the first thing that caught my eye was a headshot.

Name, position, etc. are written next to it.

What attracted me most was the work unit column - 425 Institute!