Chapter 207: The Senate's Song Ci (Continued)

She woke up well past noon. Su Wan’s stomach rumbled, and she was delighted to find that her long-lost appetite had returned.

“I’m going to have a big meal!” Su Wan stretched, threw off the covers, and scrambled out of bed, standing naked and barefoot on the floor.

From lying down to standing up, gravity caused her full bladder to ache. Su Wan ignored the wooden and leather flip-flops in the bedside cabinet and strode barefoot towards the small door on the side of the room.

Relaxing her sphincter on the flush toilet, enjoying the pleasure of excretion, Su Wan let out an involuntary moan of satisfaction. After initially relieving the physiological pressure, she sat on the toilet and surveyed the bathroom. Neither the decoration nor the fixtures were inferior to the apartment she had purchased in Lin’gao. Moreover, it was meticulously arranged. The transom window, protected by an iron screen, was open, letting in a cool breeze from nature. A potted green plant sat in the corner.

“So corrupt! Corrupt!” Su Wan exclaimed indignantly, still naked on the toilet.

She took a shower in the bathroom, wrung out her wet hair with a towel, and returned to the bedroom. The polished, natural-wood floor felt comfortable under her feet. She looked at the clothes strewn all over the floor and remembered that she hadn’t opened her luggage yet.

The naturalized citizen cadre at the reception office had said the luggage would be left outside her door. Su Wan carelessly pulled open the bedroom door, and a cry of surprise immediately sounded from outside. A female naturalized citizen in a police uniform with a blue collar patch leaped up from a bench in the hallway, covering her mouth in shock.

“What are you screaming about? I’m not a tiger! At attention!” Su Wan stood with one hand on her hip, in a T-stance, and puffed out her chest, shouting while timely covering her “fried eggs.”

“Re… re… port…” The woman was scared out of her wits by the tall, large, and naked “Chief.” However, she had been trained to have a conditioned reflex to commands. She almost immediately stood up, saluted, and reported, “Reporting to the Regional Commander, Kaohsiung Police Department… Political Security Division, Political Security Probationary Assistant Officer Yao Yulan reporting to you!”

“At ease. Bring my bags in.”

“Yes, yes.” Yao Yulan, still shaken, dared not look at the female Chief’s dazzlingly white body. With her head bowed, she carried the two suitcases from the hallway into the room.

“Get out. I’m changing!” Su Wan ordered sharply.

Yao Yulan quickly scurried out. Su Wan then slowly opened her suitcases and got dressed.

Inside was a summer uniform of the National Police. The so-called summer uniform was nothing more than a short-sleeved, open-collared shirt made of a cotton-linen blend, paired with a loose cotton skirt. She leisurely fastened her diagonal leather Sam Browne belt: real cowhide with a brass buckle, which creaked when she walked. It would have been quite dashing with a command sword hanging from it. The only complaint was that it smelled when it got damp, but for Su Wan, that was hardly a flaw.

However, for Su Wan, this cotton uniform lacked a certain violent aesthetic. Firstly, it wasn’t very crisp. Secondly, almost all uniform decorations had been omitted. If it weren’t for the epaulets, collar patches, and Sam Browne belt, you could hardly tell it was a uniform. She also had no dashing riding boots to wear—of course, for most of the time in Lin’gao, wearing riding boots was a form of self-torture.

“This hat, the taste of a country bumpkin,” Su Wan sighed as she picked up the female service cap, a black, rimless, soft, round cap with white piping. The enamel cap badge, custom-ordered from the Zi Zhen Zhai by the General Office, was at least shiny. “Even if we can’t make peaked caps at this stage, at least we could have a garrison cap or something…” she grumbled as she put it on.

In the state’s coercive apparatus of the Senate, the police and the Political Security Bureau personnel wore the same style of black uniform. This was not for coolness or deliberate imitation, but a decision dictated by the need to simplify supply and the low level of the textile industry’s dyeing capabilities. The difference was that the police wore collar flowers, while Political Security Bureau personnel wore blue collar patches.

Finally, she took out a holster from her suitcase and hung it on her belt. The exquisitely made leather holster was stuffed with toilet paper. Su Wan found a pistol hanging from her belt to be too heavy, and her daily work didn’t require one at all, so she just wore the holster.

“It would be so much better to have a saber than this useless thing!” Su Wan touched the holster with a hint of regret.

Her self-designed image was a black lapelled police uniform, a garrison cap, a Sam Browne belt, riding boots, a black-sheathed combat sword hanging from her waist, and a long-handled horsewhip in her hand. It was an image that easily brought to mind the brutal female guards of Nazi concentration camps or the female secret agents in movies and TV shows set in places like Zha Zi Dong.

After getting ready, she walked out of the room. Yao Yulan glanced at her again and saluted. “Reporting to the Regional Commander, I have been ordered to take you to the Kaohsiung Health Center. Several Chiefs are waiting for you.”

“And how do you plan to get me there?” Su Wan snorted with a humorless smile. She had had enough of the damn carriage. One more ride and she would vomit up every organ between her cardia and appendix. “A horse has been prepared outside. If you wish to go now, you can.”

Although she had been in this world for a long time, Su Wan had never learned to ride a horse. This made her an anomaly among the Elders, especially those working in the coercive agencies. She much preferred cars and airplanes. Unfortunately, one of those modes of transport didn’t exist at all, and the other was rarely deployed.

“No, I can’t ride. Let’s walk. I can take a look at Kaohsiung on the way.” Su Wan tugged at her Sam Browne belt, completely ignoring the fact that she was barefoot in rattan sandals, which clashed horribly with her attire.

Seeing this tall, long-haired “Chief” with bare feet in sandals choosing to walk like an ordinary soldier instead of riding a horse surprised Yao Yulan. Horses were not abundant in Kaohsiung, but even here, a naturalized citizen cadre of a slightly higher rank could call for a horse when going out.

Before Yao Yulan could figure out the reason, Su Wan had already stepped out the door. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go.” Yao Yulan dared not delay and hurried to follow.

Although it was the Little Ice Age, Su Wan felt none of the “ice.” The summer in Kaohsiung was no less intense than in Lin’gao. The scorching sun still baked the ground, and the salty smell of the sea breeze made her feel a little dizzy again. But thanks to the textile technology of her old world, she didn’t collapse from wearing non-breathable, stiff clothes.

The construction of Kaohsiung City had been further strengthened since Dr. Zhong’s last visit. In particular, the Army and Navy’s Fengshan Fort and Qijin Base here were beginning to take shape. Barracks and training grounds had been expanded, and a dry dock capable of maintaining and repairing large ships was under intensive construction. In addition to the permanently stationed troops, there were Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Security Forces units that had traveled thousands of miles from Hainan, Jeju Island, and Shandong to participate in “rotational training.” Soldiers in different uniforms, fully armed, hurried along the roads. The glint of sabers, the sound of gunfire, shouts, drums, bugles, cannons, and military songs mixed together, creating a symphony of steam-age warfare.

The main roads in Kaohsiung City had all been paved. Su Wan admired this “symphony” while asking Yao Yulan questions about Kaohsiung. She was tall and had a long stride, so Yao Yulan had to almost jog to keep up with her.

After walking along Senate Avenue for more than twenty minutes, Yao Yulan led her to a prefabricated wooden building hidden in a grove of trees a dozen meters from the main road.

“This is it?”

“Reporting to the Chief, this is the Kaohsiung Health Center. The Chiefs are waiting for you here.”

Su Wan noticed that the health center was quite large. The foundation, raised a meter above the ground, was built of stone and had a series of dark, arched ventilation windows. There must be a large basement underneath.

Yao Yulan did not lead her through the main entrance but through a small side door. They passed through a corridor to the entrance of the basement. Yao Yulan showed her credentials to the two police officers at the door. One of them opened the door to the basement, and they walked down a ramp.

At the end of the passage, a door opened into a large, brick-vaulted cellar. The cellar was lit by electric lights. It was cool and damp inside, with a pungent smell of disinfectant. Su Wan’s nose twitched. A familiar smell!

In the middle of the cellar was an autopsy table tiled with ceramic. Along the walls were shelves with cabinets for miscellaneous items, and on the shelves were glass jars of various sizes containing preserved specimens.

Two men were sitting at a table. She recognized one of them: Lei En from the Ministry of Health, who specialized in epidemic prevention. Su Wan had seen him a few times at joint meetings with the Ministry of Health. But she hadn’t seen him in Lin’gao for a long time. Su Wan never paid much attention to personnel changes. So he had come to Kaohsiung!

The other she didn’t know, a young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. Like most male Elders, he had very short hair and looked like a generic background character. He had the typical expressionless face of an Elder. From his uniform and blue collar patch, she could tell he was an Elder from the Political Security Bureau.

“Forensic Scientist Su has arrived,” Lei En said, standing up to greet her as she entered.

“Dr. Lei, so you’ve been transferred here,” Su Wan said politely.

“I’ve been here for a long time. Let me introduce you. This is Comrade Chen Baibin from the Political Security Bureau,” Lei En introduced. “And this is Su Wan, our forensic scientist.”

“Hello, a pleasure to meet you.”

The young man named Chen Baibin extended his hand. Su Wan nodded and smiled at him but didn’t shake his hand. She just said, “What important matter required me to be specially called to Kaohsiung?”

Chen Baibin seemed to be a man of few words. Lei En quickly said, “This is a mission from the Political Security General Bureau. There is a special corpse that requires your professional expertise for identification.”