The Decaying Dream of America: I Assemble Corpses and Confront Madness

Chapter 112 Dissecting Lies

The cold air, mixed with the smell of formaldehyde and a faint stench of blood, solidified in the duty room of the morgue at Emerald Dream City Public Hospital.

Lin Zheng looked down at his hands, which were covered with tiny scars left by suture needles and scalpels.

Arthur Morgan leaned against the wall, fine beads of sweat sliding down his temples. Clearly, Evelyn Reed's words had shattered the last vestiges of his illusions about the "rule of law."

Evelyn didn't say anything more, but simply pushed several documents in front of them, a gesture that sounded like a verdict.

The document contained densely packed tables recording the alarming increase in the antibiotics category on the hospital's drug procurement list.

She pushed over several yellowed printouts containing patient transfer records with names obscured, each case accompanied by a "bizarre" ending.

Finally, there were some clippings, with the front page headlines crossed out with black pen, leaving only vague reports in the text about "mysterious infectious disease" and "ineffective treatment".

The scattered papers made a slight rubbing sound as she tapped them lightly on the table, but it resonated with a deafening roar in Lin Zheng and Arthur's hearts.

Lin Zheng picked up a purchase list and carefully looked at the batches and amounts on it.

"Look, these are the data from the same period last year." Evelyn's voice was a little hoarse, but it carried an undeniable calmness.

"These are from this year."

She pointed to several data charts with steep upward curves, clearly showing the surge in antibiotic procurement in just one year.

"In particular, several new broad-spectrum antibiotics were originally intended to be stockpiled to deal with sudden large-scale infections, but the purchase volume has far exceeded the reasonable range."

"They were transferred to private clinics and some unknown medical service centers," but the records lack any clear indication of their destination or patient usage.

"Where did all these medicines go?" Arthur slowly clenched his fist, his knuckles making a crisp cracking sound.

Evelyn just shook her head wearily.

"All we can trace back to are the records up to the transfer station. As for what happened after that, all the clues seem to have been erased by some invisible force."

"Every time I try to investigate further, there are all sorts of reasons to stop me, including from my superiors and the medical committee."

"Most of these concealed transfer records and the disappearance of patients are those who have been using expensive antibiotics for a long time."

She gestured for Lin Zheng to look at the newspaper clippings.

"These news reports all appeared shortly after they were transferred to another hospital, saying it was a new infectious disease requiring special treatment and isolation, and then there was no further news."

"But in reality, the symptoms of these new infectious diseases highly overlap with those of common bacterial infections, except that they progress faster and have a higher mortality rate."

Lin Zheng picked up one of the clippings. The blurry picture on it showed several medical staff in protective suits. Their faces were completely covered by masks and goggles, and only their taut foreheads and furrowed brows could be seen.

He pictured Murphy's emaciated body, his severe lung fibrosis, and the fatal complications caused by the bacterial infection.

If the victims of those "new infectious diseases" also went through the same process, then their causes of death are far more complex than they appear on the surface.

"If they die, who benefits?" Lin Zheng's voice was low, carrying a suppressed anger.

A flicker of pain crossed Evelyn's eyes.

"Do you remember what I said before? Antibiotics are part of the profit chain here. This chain isn't just run by the hospital; it's maintained by three forces working together."

"First, there are the street gangs. They control the drug market in the slums, but more clandestine and profitable is the sale of expensive controlled drugs and counterfeit medicines. Antibiotics are one of them."

"They hold the lifeline of the lower class in their hands. Desperate patients will do anything to buy from them in order to survive."

"The sources of those drugs, besides smuggling, also include some unidentified batches that leaked from hospitals."

"These gangs have close ties with local politicians and some police officers, and the protection they provide allows these underground transactions to continue for a long time with almost no interference."

Arthur's face turned ashen. He was well aware of these inside stories and had even handled similar cases when he was young, but he never expected that they had infiltrated to this extent.

"Secondly, there are hospitals and high-end private clinics. For them, the circulation of cheap antibiotics will directly impact their high medical revenue."

Evelyn paused, then pointed to a clock on the wall. It was 3:17 a.m., the hands silently pointing to the cold, hard time.

"The core objective of the healthcare industry is profit, not charity. They will try to avoid curing patients quickly, and instead maximize profits by extending treatment cycles and using expensive treatments."

"Think about it, if patients in slums could easily obtain cheap antibiotics, their infections could be controlled quickly, and then hospitals would lose the opportunity to profit from these patients."

"Not to mention, the high cost of antibiotics and the associated high examination fees are also a significant part of their revenue."

"Therefore, they will never allow cheap antibiotics to flood the market, as that would directly undermine their business model."

Lin Zheng felt a spasm in his stomach; it wasn't just exhaustion, but also a physiological reaction to this cruel reality.

He recalled Murphy's agonizing struggle before his death and their experience of having to sell his body to a "high-end buyer" in exchange for their daughter's freedom.

Evelyn continued, her voice becoming even lower.

"Finally, and at the very top, are the large pharmaceutical companies."

"They monopolize the research, development, production, and sales channels for the vast majority of antibiotics. Through complex patent barriers and marketing strategies, they have pushed the price of antibiotics to a level that is unaffordable for ordinary people."

"They spend huge sums of money lobbying politicians and controlling drug regulatory agencies to ensure that market regulation helps them maintain high prices and a monopoly."

"Anyone who tries to bypass them, whether it's privately importing cheap foreign drugs or attempting local production, will immediately face their ruthless suppression."

"Their legal team will drag you into an endless quagmire of lawsuits, their competitive business tactics will leave you penniless, and even threaten your personal safety."

"Because this is not just about money, but also about their control over the entire healthcare ecosystem."

As Lin Zheng listened to these words, he felt the air around him growing thinner and thinner, and a tremendous sense of powerlessness weighed down on his chest like a lead weight.

He never imagined that such a simple antibiotic could hide such a huge and intricate chain of interests.

This is not merely a collusion between the underworld and legitimate society; it is a massive network meticulously woven by the elite of the upper class, with lives as the stakes.

"What about those who dare to challenge this chain of interests?" Arthur's voice was squeezed out from deep in his throat, hoarse with a hint of despair.

Evelyn did not answer immediately; she simply stared blankly into the distance, as if she could see through the walls of the duty room and witness some scenes she did not want to recall.

"They—they will disappear." Her voice was soft, but every word carried immense weight.

"Some were arrested unexpectedly, on trumped-up charges, and committed suicide in prison."

"Some were robbed," others were shot and killed by drug dealers, becoming yet another nameless victim in the statistics.

"And then there are those who simply vanish without a trace, as if they never existed."

She sighed softly, her tone filled with exhaustion and helplessness.

"I once had a colleague, a very honest doctor, who tried to import a batch of generic antibiotics produced in India through a non-profit organization."

"And then?" Lin Zheng stared intently at her, holding his breath.

Evelyn gave a bitter smile, a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"He had just finalized the deal with the suppliers and hadn't even paid the deposit yet when his son was found dead in his garage the next day."

"Police determined it was a drug overdose, which caused his wife to suffer a mental breakdown."

"He himself was diagnosed with severe depression, then his medical license was revoked, and he eventually disappeared."

"Everyone says he only has himself to blame, that he failed to discipline his son properly."

Lin Zheng's Adam's apple bobbed as a chilling fear gripped his heart.

This is no longer a simple business competition, but a blatant threat, an attempt to make an example of someone.

"So, do you know what this means?" Evelyn repeated her previous words, but this time, her tone contained less anger and more weary resignation.

"This means that providing cheap antibiotics to the poor in private would simultaneously infringe upon the fundamental interests of three parties."

"Gangs, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies—they'll team up and wipe you out completely."

"It's not worth it," she said finally, her gaze sweeping over the two men again, trying to imprint her warning firmly in their minds.

"You've done your best. Selena is safe now, and that's enough. Don't even think about touching things you shouldn't."

Lin Zheng did not respond. He simply picked up the "Murphy's Virgin Statue" and ran his fingertips over the blurry face of the statue and the words "I'm sorry" on the back.

The statue of the Virgin Mary seemed unusually heavy, so heavy that it made it hard for him to breathe.

Murphy's death is merely an insignificant footnote in this vast darkness.

If they stop here and watch this injustice continue, then what difference is there between him and Arthur and those indifferent bystanders?

The sky had turned from a deep indigo to a leaden gray, and a faint ray of morning light shone through the cracks in the window of the duty room, bringing an eerie glow to the cold space of the morgue.

Evelyn picked up the coffee on the table; it was completely cold, and the bitter taste had become even more intense.

She looked at Lin Zheng and Arthur's silent faces, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

"Since you are not willing to give up now—" Evelyn's voice became somewhat erratic, as if she had made some kind of decision.

"We can't fight head-on; we have no chance of winning that way," Arthur said in a deep voice, looking at Evelyn with a resolute, desperate look in his eyes.

"This chain of interests is deeply entrenched. All we can do is infiltrate it and figure out exactly how it operates."

"We need intelligence, more in-depth and detailed intelligence."

Evelyn hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Arthur, you used to have a lot of old connections in the police force. Although they don't dare to openly help you now, some unofficial information channels should still be there."

"You could try to gather evidence from those marginalized informants about the distribution of drugs within the gangs' underground network and their collusion with the authorities."

"But be careful, you're not a cop anymore, and those old connections are only looking out for themselves."

Arthur smiled slightly, a smile tinged with a sense of vicissitude and self-deprecation.

"Don't worry, my doctor. I know these bastards better than anyone. Do they think I've forgotten everything just because I've been drowning my sorrows in alcohol all these years?"

His eyes gleamed with a long-lost sharpness, as if he had returned to the state of solving cases when he was young.

"I'll try to find some clues from inside the hospital," Evelyn continued, her brow furrowing again.

"The annual medical audit reports, drug inventory lists, and anonymous patient complaints always contain some unusual data fluctuations."

"But I can't make a big fuss about it, or I'll be discovered very quickly."

She glanced at Lin Zheng, then looked out the window.

"Lin Zheng—you are more dangerous, and more special," Evelyn said softly.

"The nature of your job allows you access to materials that ordinary people don't have access to."

The causes of death for those bodies that were "accidentally" disposed of may be far more complex than they appear on the surface.

"Moreover, you are very familiar with human anatomy and are good at analyzing the essence through appearances."

She pointed to the newspaper clippings with her names crossed out, the vague descriptions of death.

"If possible, I hope you can find some hidden truths among those corpses, truths that only death can tell."

Lin Zheng understood what she meant.

What he wanted to do was not just perform autopsies, but to become the "spokesperson" for the dead, using the scalpel in his hand to expose the bloody reality that was covered up by lies and interests.

"But the premise is that it absolutely cannot arouse anyone's suspicion." Evelyn's tone became unusually serious.

"From tonight onward, the three of you will be like ghosts living in the shadows, each acting independently yet closely connected."

"A problem in any link could lead to total failure."

Arthur nodded. He knew Evelyn's concerns and was aware of the risks involved in their actions.

"We understand, Doctor. This is a—hidden war."

"It's not a war, it's an investigation," Evelyn corrected. "We're just looking for the truth, digging up the truths they've buried."

The three fell silent again, but this time, their silence was tinged with a sense of resilience and determination.

It is no longer despair, but a hidden fighting spirit to face the unknown challenges.

In the back alley of the hospital, the faint light of dawn had already begun to outline the buildings.

Evelyn straightened her white coat, tucked her disheveled hair behind her ears, and regained her usual calm and professional demeanor.

She handed each of them an old-fashioned flip phone, which had no pre-installed applications and only three dial keys: their respective numbers and a space key.

"This is a specially encrypted phone, used only for communication between us," Evelyn explained.

Use only when necessary, and each call should not exceed thirty seconds. Remove the battery after use.

""

Lin Zheng took the phone; the cold metallic touch reminded him of everything he was about to face.

This is not a simple job, but a real adventure, and possibly a one-way street.

They walked to the exit of the back alley.

The garbage cans emitted a sour smell, which mixed with the cool morning air to create a unique urban atmosphere.

The neon lights of the distant city still shimmered in the shadows, creating a stark contrast with the darkness nearby.

As they parted, Evelyn felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity the instant her eyes met Lin Zheng's, as if they had known each other for a long time.

Her gaze lingered on his face for a moment, with a hint of doubt and consideration.

In the end, she didn't say anything, but simply turned around and disappeared into the darkness of the early morning.

Lin Zheng was somewhat unsettled by this sudden gaze and feeling, and a strange unease welled up in his heart.

Unbeknownst to him, in the direction Evelyn had gone, a black sedan flashed past a street corner in the distance and silently disappeared into the night.

It seemed as if it had never been there—yet it seemed to have always been there, gazing at everything like an invisible eye, silently watching the newly formed, secret alliance.