Jamie leaned against her desk, flipping through the case file while taking a bite of a cold meat bun. As a paranormal columnist, her daily work involved investigating all sorts of bizarre and eerie incidents. But this case was undoubtedly more "interesting" than usual.
"A faceless corpse? And it's completely smooth?" she mumbled through a mouthful of food.
Her laptop screen displayed an unfinished article with the bold headline: "Shocking! A Nameless Faceless Female Corpse Found by a Jogger—Police Called in Horror!"
She stared at the photo on the screen. It was a corpse with no facial features—its face appeared wiped clean, perfectly smooth, with no eyes, nose, or mouth.
Scrolling down, she skimmed through the police's preliminary investigation report:
The deceased was an unidentified woman, approximately 35 years old. Cause of death: sudden cardiac arrest. No identification found on the body.
Muddy footprints were discovered near the corpse when the police arrived.
Surveillance footage showed a shadowy figure passing the scene at 2 AM, but the image was too blurry to determine if it was human.
Jamie put down her bun, clapped the crumbs off her hands, and a gleam of excitement flickered in her eyes.
"Interesting, very interesting!" She grabbed her coat and phone, heading straight out the door.
"Sandra, I need to borrow some files from you regarding a case!"
Sandra was busy at the city forensic lab.
Clad in a white lab coat and latex gloves, she focused intently on examining the wounds of a cadaver on the autopsy table. Her delicate features were framed by an air of cold detachment—a demeanor cultivated over years of working with the dead.
The sudden ringing of her phone shattered the stillness of the morgue.
She glanced at the caller ID before answering, her tone indifferent. "What is it?"
"I'm coming over to check out the autopsy report on the faceless corpse," Jamie's voice brimmed with excitement.
Sandra frowned, shifting her gaze back to the lifeless body before her. "You're interested in this case?"
"Of course. It's too intriguing to ignore."
Half an hour later, Jamie arrived at the forensic lab, carrying coffee and late-night snacks.
Sandra took the coffee, flipping open the report while pointing at a forensic image. "The victim's face wasn't corroded or cut—it appears as if it was 'wiped away' by some unknown force. There are no pores, no skin texture. It's unnaturally smooth, like wax."
"That's downright eerie." Jamie leaned in closer, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"What's even stranger…" Sandra gestured toward the autopsy table. "The heart was completely necrotic, yet the other organs remain relatively intact."
"That doesn't seem like an ordinary case of cardiac arrest."
The two exchanged a glance, their expressions growing serious.
Suddenly, the lights flickered, and an inexplicable chill spread through the air.
Jamie instinctively looked at the corpse. For a split second, she could have sworn that the smooth, featureless face… twitched.
"…Did you see that?" she whispered.
Sandra didn't reply immediately. Instead, she carefully set down the report, removed her gloves, and her expression turned grave.
"The wind tonight feels… different."
The lights flickered again. The door to the autopsy room creaked slightly, as if nudged by an unseen force.
The mystery was only beginning.