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The Story of Han (I)

Han is a well-known figure in the university's dance society. Thanks to her excellent talent and years of hard work driven by her keen interest, the third-year mathematics student often draws attention on stage. For this reason, she has also modelled for a number of instructional materials on dance poses and movements.

Recently, the city's health department has planned the publication of three new teaching materials: "Demonstration of Post Mortem Body Examination - External Examination", "Preparation of the Body before a Funeral" and "Guide to the Cremation Procedure". To do this, Professor Zhang needed to find three female students at the university to model for the publications. The head of the project, Professor Zhang from the University's School of Medicine, learnt about Han through her dance works and thought that if Han could be persuaded to become a model for the teaching material "Preparation of the Body before a Funeral", her body would make the work a classic.

Professor Zhang invited Han to his office and had a long talk with her. He was surprised to learn that Han's boyfriend was Dr. Zhang Taihe, the forensic pathologist working at Mingxing Mortuary. Han is very hesitant about Professor Zhang's idea. Despite wanting to keep her body at its most beautiful age eternally, she remained fearful of death, especially of being killed in an execution. Professor Zhang asked her not to tell anyone about their conversation, and Han agreed.

A fortnight later, Han approached Professor Zhang again, indicating that she could become his model, but did not dare to be executed in a mortuary or execution site like Shuhui. Professor Zhang reassured her, "I will schedule a doctor to come to your dormitory, so you can lie on your own bed and pass away peacefully. I'll let you know when I've made the arrangements."

Late at night on the 10th of June, Han was chatting with her roommate Meiling in her dormitory when her mobile phone rang. Han picked up the phone and heard Professor Zhang's voice, "Tomorrow morning Dr. Li Jianliang will head to your dormitory, he will make you sleep eternally and bring your body to the mortuary. Please don't tell Dr. Zhang Taihe, I will inform him afterward."

Since Han was not from the area and her family was living in a small town about a hundred kilometres away, this sudden arrangement caught her off-guard. It was too late for her to say goodbye to her friends and family, and only her roommate Meiling would be by her side when she passed away.

Dr. Li drove to Han's dormitory the following morning. After Meiling opened the door of their room, Han heard Dr. Li walking in. Dread and terror caused her to curl up and hug Meiling, her body trembling and her tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

Dr. Li is a man who rarely smiles. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he regularly carried out executions, he seemed indifferent to Han. He placed the toolbox containing the poison, syringes and other items on the table and said to Han, "According to the agreement between you and Professor Zhang, I will perform the lethal injection on you today. Please take off your clothes and go to the toilet first, so that you can avoid dirtying your body and the surroundings with faeces and urine after your death to the greatest extent. It's also best to take a shower so that you can leave this world clean and I don't have to wash your body afterward. After your shower please come out in a nightgown, I need to check your health first."

Despite the tears still hanging on her face, Han didn't hesitate too much before taking off all her clothes and walking towards the bathroom. She tried to suppress her inner uneasiness in the face of Dr. Li's cold attitude, just hoping that the whole matter would be over as soon as possible and that she could suffer less pain.

In the bathroom, Han emptied her bowels as much as possible and took the last shower of her life. She then put on a camisole nightgown and returned to her bedside. The "Body Donation Ordinance" stipulates that before executing someone who voluntarily accepts to be executed and donates his or her body, a doctor must confirm the volunteer's physical and mental health, Dr. Li instructed Han to sit on the bed, while he himself moved a chair next to the dormitory desk and sat down, took the stethoscope from around his neck, pressed the tip against Han's left chest, and carefully listened to her heart and lungs. "Have you had any discomfort lately? Any underlying illnesses?" Medical Examiner Li asked. After receiving a negative answer, Dr. Li was satisfied and put the stethoscope back into the toolbox.

"I need to explain to you what will happen next." Dr. Li took out a small vial of clear yellow liquid and said to Han, "I will inject this vial of poison into your body. It will cause your respiratory system to fail and you will have difficulty breathing and eventually die from lack of oxygen."

Han stared intently at the vial of poison in Dr Li's hand, the fear of death seeming more and more real. "Will there be pain?" She asked in a shaky voice.

"Since there is no infusion equipment here, you can only be executed by intramuscular injection." Dr. Li explained, "The types of toxic agents that can be used for intramuscular injections are more restricted, and the onset of effect is also longer. The poison that is going into your body today will take about five to ten minutes from injection to death. It has no anaesthetic effect, and your respiratory failure will occur gradually, so it will indeed be somewhat painful until you eventually become completely out of breath and die due to asphyxiation."

Hearing this, Han couldn't help but feel some regret. However, Forensic Doctor Li didn't seem to give her any more time to hesitate, "I've already filled out the Body Donation Registration Form on your behalf, so we can start the procedure as soon as you sign it. "

Han forced herself to calm down as much as possible. She read the terms carefully and signed on the end page. Dr. Lee then instructed her to walk to the light in front of the dormitory door, strip naked, stand with the registration form in both hands and have a photo taken for the archives. This identification photograph would serve as evidence that she had voluntarily submitted to execution.

Dr. Li told Han to sit back on the bed while he himself began to draw the poison into the syringe. Meiling, who was also feeling sad for Han after witnessing what happened, hoped that she could let Han see her boyfriend one last time before she departed. She picked up Han's mobile phone and called Professor Zhang, who refused her request.

After preparing the poison injection, Medical Examiner Lee said to Han, "Please straighten up your upper body, let's begin." Han only felt her body stiffen at this point. She tried hard to sit up straight, but her eyes didn't dare to look at the injector in Dr. Li's hand. Dr. Li first sterilised the injection site with alcohol, then grabbed Han's left upper arm and jabbed the poison needle in. Due to his skilful technique, Han didn't feel much pain.

After pushing all the poison into Han's body, Dr. Li said, "Thank you for your contribution to our causes. Now we will leave the room and wait outside. You may experience some pain after the agent takes effect, but it will all be over within fifteen minutes. We'll be back in half an hour to collect your body." He then pushed Meiling out of the room.

Shortly after Dr. Li left, Han first felt a splitting headache and couldn't help but curl up and shake. She instantly felt a great deal of regret for being too cowardly to travel to the mortuary, choosing instead to accept such a painful death in her own dormitory. Before she could think about it much, her breathing became increasingly difficult. She gasped for air but felt deprived of oxygen. The dizziness caused her to fall back onto the bed, her hands clenched and her arms and legs struggling uncontrollably and haphazardly. Her expression was pained as she tried to scream but was unable to make a sound.

After a minute or two, Han's struggles diminished and her consciousness faded. Her grimace gradually disappeared, the rise and fall of her chest became weaker and weaker, and her legs drooped loosely over the side of the bed. Shortly after, she feebly exhaled her last breath, and her half-open eyes completely lost their lustre.

Han died, turning into a beautiful corpse.

It was more than ten minutes after the entire room fell silent that Dr. Li and Meiling returned. The doctor placed the tray needed to transport the body on the floor, while Meiling stood by the bed, not knowing what to do. Everything in front of Meiling seemed surreal to her. Dr. Li instructed Meiling to sit on the bed and close Han's half-open eyes before lifting her upper body upright, while he pressed the blood vessels in Han's neck with his right hand to check whether she was really dead. He then also took a cursory look at Han's pubic area and found that although there was no faecal or urinary discharge, the body's urethra and anus are all relaxed.

Dr. Li then picked up Han's legs and instructed Mei Ling to clutch her upper arms, the two of them lifted the body's limbs and moved her from the bed to the body tray, then covered her with a plastic sheet. Feeling Han's unresponsiveness, Meiling finally felt that death was so real and close. She immediately lost control of her emotions and sat down on the floor and burst into tears. Dr. Li initially would have liked to ask Meiling to carry Han's body with the body tray downstairs, but seeing Meiling's devastated state, he quickly took a few photographs of Han's body at the scene for the archives, before bending down himself and painstakingly picking her up and carrying her down the steps.

Han's dormitory was located in a pedestrian area in the old town, and the roads were very narrow. Therefore, parked in front of the building is the electric three-wheeled body transport service vehicle that Dr. Li drove when he arrived. Before coming to execute Han, Dr. Li had already picked up the body of a drowned unidentified woman from the river and a man who had drunkenly died in the bar area of the city centre. This had left insufficient room in the already small tricycle. Dr. Li had to pile Han's body on top of the naked man. "I might have to wash her body after all." He said to himself.

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