S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 2 Chapter 20

The Innocent Murderer 20 – Murder Weapon

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"A murder weapon?" Both Bai Yutang and Luo Tian couldn't understand Zhan Zhao's conclusion.

"Cat." Bai Yutang asked, "What murder weapon?"

Zhan Zhao gently lifted his injured leg, put it on the other leg, beat it lightly, and said, "In this case, I have always been puzzled about one thing."

"What?"

"Do you still remember that I wanted to give up writing books several times?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Mhmm." Bai Yutang nodded, "That time when Qian Mingyue asked someone to take a picture of you, and later when the book was misused by the TV station. Of course, there were also times when you were lazy and didn't want to write."

"You..." Zhan Zhao glared at Bai Yutang, and then said seriously, "The reason I don't want to write anymore is because someone is doing evil things with what they learned from my book!"

"Well, what is it then?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Have you both read my book?" Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang and Luo Tian.

"Mhmm." Both of them nodded.

Zhan Zhao asked Luo Tian again, "How do you feel after reading it?"

Luo Tian didn't understand why Zhan Zhao suddenly changed the subject. After thinking about it for a while, he replied, "Well, to be honest, I didn't understand too much. I could understand the meaning and plot; it felt like I was reading a mystery novel. The writing style is very good."

After listening, Zhan Zhao nodded and asked, "After reading it, do you think that psychology is amazing?"

Luo Tian nodded, "Mhmm, it's great for solving crimes."

"Then... after reading it, have you ever thought of using the psychological methods mentioned in it to commit crimes?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Huh?" Luo Tian tilted his head and thought for a long time, then shook his head, "Thinking about it now, there is actually no special psychological method in it. Moreover, it is mainly about solving crimes, not committing crimes..."

"This is the point." Zhan Zhao interrupted Luo Tian and sneered. "It doesn't matter whether you are an expert or a layman, it is impossible to learn any technical things from my book, let alone wanting to commit a crime after reading the book!"

"What you mean is... although the pervert said that he is a fan of your book, he can't actually learn anything from your book." Bai Yutang frowned, "That does make sense, but what does it mean? They learned it from somewhere else. But where? A school or a book?"

"Have you read all my books?" Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang.

"I have." Bai Yutang nodded.

"What have you learned?" Zhan Zhao asked with a smile.

"What did I learn?" Bai Yutang asked, "If you look at all of the characters, they are all in Chinese. But if you put them together, they form words and sentences that don't sound like Chinese. Ah, I see!"

Zhan Zhao saw that Bai Yutang understood and he smiled slightly. Luo Tian was confused behind him, and asked, "What does he understand? Why don't I understand?"

Bai Yutang said, "To put it bluntly, psychology is not a course that can be taught by yourself. The layman can't even understand the tutorial, but all the perverts so far have known that you are the best in psychology, which means that they are all experts!"

"Exactly." Zhan Zhao nodded, "They are very special. They only know how to use psychology to kill people and they are all very interested in using psychology to kill people!"

"Cat, the murder weapon you are talking about is..." Bai Yutang was surprised.

"Yes." Zhan Zhao became serious. "We have reason to believe that there is something in this world that can teach people to use psychology to kill and make people want to use psychology to kill."

At this time, the car had stopped at the gate of the elementary school where Luo Yang was studying. They arrived ten minutes before school was over, so the three waited inside the car, chatting.

Bai Yutang unfastened his seat belt, raised his face and thought for a while. He said, "Cat, I thought of something."

"What?" Zhan Zhao looked at him with a smile.

"Do you still remember the case of the digital murderer... Professor Xu, Zhang Boyi, and Old Man Sun, they all mastered certain psychological skills. All of that stemmed from the research data that Zhao Jue did not destroy at the time. In addition, Zhao Jue himself was discovered because he burned the research materials. Is there some connection?" Bai Yutang asked.

Zhan Zhao nodded in satisfaction, "Xiao Bai, drawing inferences from other cases, so smart."

Although Luo Tian didn't quite understand what kind of person this Zhao Jue was, he understood their conversation and frowned, "Dr. Zhan... I know something. I don't know if I told you before…"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked back at him at the same time and asked, "What is it? We'll listen."

"Allen Poe forced me to create Yang Yang because he saw a few pages of information." Luo Tian said.

"What?" Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao looked at Luo Tian with eyes wide open, "What information was it?"

Luo Tian shook his head, "I don't know the details... but I know that Poe went crazy after reading it."

Zhan Zhao turned his head, and his whole body tensed up. Bai Yutang reached out to grab his hand, and found that it was actually cold. He asked worriedly, "Cat, what's wrong? Are you uncomfortable?"

Zhan Zhao shook his head in a daze, and said, "If this is the case... then that matter may be related."

Bai Yutang and Luo Tian looked at each other, and they didn't understand what Zhan Zhao was thinking of, but the expression on his face was really grim.

At this moment, the window of the car was suddenly knocked on several times. Everyone turned their faces and saw Luo Yang standing outside the car window with his school bag on his back and smiling at them. The smile was so bright that the weird atmosphere inside the car disappeared instantly.

Luo Tian quickly opened the door and reached out to help Luo Yang into the car and helped him take off his schoolbag.

"Are you here to pick me up?" Luo Yang asked with a smile, "Aren't you busy today?"

Bai Yutang smiled, fastened his seat belt and started the car, asking, "Yang Yang, are you hungry?"

"I'm not hungry." Luo Yang took out an exquisite lunch box from his school bag and said, "Someone gave me a cake today."

"Who?" Luo Tian was a little nervous and went to look at the box.

Luo Yang smiled, "A girl in class."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang glanced at each other – This kid is very popular.

Luo Yang took a piece of cake and stuffed it into Luo Tian's mouth, "Dad, try it. It's delicious!"

Luo Tian chewed on it and nodded. Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao looked at each other again, and the two began to reflect on how unfilial they were when they were young...

"Yang Yang, we will have dinner later, okay?" Zhan Zhao leaned on the back of his chair and teased him, "Go with us first."

Luo Yang rolled his eyes and said, "Okay. We are going to see Jing Jing, right?"

Zhan Zhao was surprised: "How do you know?"

Luo Yang blinked, "It's your working time. Is it natural for me to come with you to investigate? Apart from talking with Jing Jing, how else can I help you?" Luo Yang reached out and took a tissue to wipe Luo Tian's mouth. He leaned back in the seat and asked Bai Yutang, "Uncle Bai, do you know a good karate coach?"

Bai Yutang was a little surprised and asked Luo Yang, "Why do you want a karate coach?"

"I want to learn karate." Luo Yang said triumphantly, "When I reach twenty years old, I will be better than you!" As he said that, he patted Bai Yutang on the shoulder trying to act like an adult.

Everyone couldn't help but laugh. After Zhan Zhao laughed, he leaned back in his chair in a daze, as if he was thinking of something.

"Cat, what are you thinking about?" Bai Yutang found Zhan Zhao in a daze, so he asked him.

"Hmm... nothing." Zhan Zhao shook his head, but still seemed worried.

Bai Yutang didn't ask any more, and continued to drive to the hospital.

......

Zhao Jing's condition was a bit strange; her attending physician told Bai Yutang that when there is no stimulation, Zhao Jing's condition is similar to that of a normal little girl, except that she is more introverted and does not like to talk. However, once she is stimulated, she will become weird.

"How weird?" Bai Yutang asked the doctor, "What are the specific changes that make her weird?"

"She will arrange everything that she can get into the shape of 'I LOVE YOU'." The doctor looked at Zhan Zhao and said, "It feels like a severe obsessive-compulsive disorder."

Zhan Zhao nodded. After thinking about it, he asked the doctor, "Does Zhao Jing cry during her hospitalisation?"

The doctor shook his head and said, "No, this child is very good."

"Then has she laughed?" Zhan Zhao asked.

The doctor shook his head with a wry smile, "No, this child is weird."

Bai Yutang smiled, "That's a weird behaviour, isn't it?"

Luo Yang suddenly said, "Speaking of which, Jing Jing seems to have never said anything about her mother... It seems like she has no feelings towards her."

"No feelings..." Zhan Zhao touched his chin, and Bai Yutang turned to see the doctor.

The doctor shrugged, "This belongs to the psychology department. I am only responsible for the physical care." After speaking, he smiled and turned away.

"Cat, this doctor is weird." Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao nodded and whispered, "You are still messing around. This doctor is called Ni Xiang and he is the most well-known paediatrician in China."

"Huo..." Bai Yutang looked at the doctor who turned around and disappeared at the end of the corridor, "Looks like he is in his forties... He has so much authority at a young age. Cat, it looks like there is another monster like you."

After hearing what Bai Yutang said, Zhan Zhao remained silent before slowly saying, "Monster..."

When Bai Yutang heard his tone different, he turned to look at him and asked, "What's the matter, Cat?"

"Nothing." Zhan Zhao shook his head and said to Luo Yang, "Yang Yang, we will listen from outside. You go in alone to see Zhao Jing."

"Okay." Luo Yang nodded and asked Zhan Zhao, "What do I talk to her about?"

"Ask her about her parents." Zhan Zhao said.

"I asked that last time." Luo Yang replied, "She doesn't know what kind of work her parents do. She can't even remember their names."

Zhan Zhao nodded and said, "Then you can ask her if her Mom and Dad have any special friends... Is there anything they love to do? Do they have any illnesses, were they taking medicine or not, and other broad things."

"Broad?" Luo Yang thought for a while, and nodded, "Oh... I see, the content I asked before was too precise. Because it was too precise, the possibility of remembering it is very small. But if I ask more broadly, there is a greater chance of her remembering, right?"

Zhan Zhao nodded. He hugged Yang Yang and exclaimed, "Why are you so smart?"

Luo Tian was dumbfounded, and said, "Yang Yang has been learning on the computer recently and has become fascinated."

After Luo Yang entered, he sat down and chatted with Zhao Jing. Zhao Jing and Luo Yang were obviously already friends with each other, and the two soon chatted.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang listened quietly outside. Luo Yang was indeed a very clever child. He asked many clever questions, but although his questions were good, Zhao Jing's answers could not give them any clues.

Bai Yutang finally couldn't listen anymore, and asked Zhan Zhao, "Cat... how come there are children who don't know anything about their parents? It's impossible not to talk with them at all in ordinary times!"

Zhan Zhao was silent for a while, and suddenly asked Luo Tian, "You said before that after Yang Yang was born, Poe was raising him, right?"

"Yes." Luo Tian nodded.

"Was he kept in a sterile room, isolated from the world?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Mhmm." Luo Tian nodded, and then said, "But I can't say it was really isolated from the world. When babies are born, they are blank slates. They won't remember anything from that stage."

Zhan Zhao was suddenly stunned and said to himself: "Isolated from the world... a blank..." As he said, he raised his face to look at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang's face turned pale for an instant, and he hugged Zhan Zhao and walked a few steps away, saying, "Cat... Brother also stayed in a sterile room in isolation for a year... Although he is older, he still has no memories of that time..."

After a long silence, Zhan Zhao suddenly asked Bai Yutang seriously: "Xiao Bai, do you think our genes are particularly good?"

Bai Yutang was taken aback, unable to laugh or cry, "What are you talking about?"

Zhan Zhao looked at him seriously: "Do you dare to say no? My IQ is close to two hundred. Your athletic ability is fundamentally different from normal people, and although you haven't tested it, your IQ is definitely higher than the average person!"

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao, somewhat speechless.

While looking at each other, Luo Tian patted his hand lightly in the distance. Seeing the two of them turn their faces, he beckoned, as if to say that something was going on.

Bai Yutang reached out his hand to hold Zhan Zhao and walked over.

Putting Zhan Zhao on a chair at the door, Bai Yutang asked Luo Tian, "What's the situation?"

"Yang Yang just asked Zhao Jing if she had any dreams. Zhao Jing said that she has, and that she often saw someone in her dreams." Luo Tian replied, "But she can't remember their name."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang nodded. They turned to look at the situation in the room, and saw Luo Yang gently patted Zhao Jing on the shoulder, as if to comfort her, and whispered, "Close your eyes!"

Zhao Jing nodded and closed her eyes.

"Slowly, don't think about anything... It's already twelve o'clock in the evening... You are very tired..." Luo Yang slowed down and said to Zhao Jing, "Then, you enter as usual. After dreaming, that person... appears again, is he one of your parents...or is he with his parents?"

Zhao Jing closed her eyes and slowly said, "With Mom and Dad."

Luo Yang then asked, "Mom and Dad are talking to him, aren't they?"

"That's right."

"Then Mom and Dad, what do they call that person?" Luo Yang asked, reaching out and patting Zhao Jing's shoulder gently.

"Call...Lu...Lu Liang..." Zhao Jing replied softly.

"Lu Liang?" Bai Yutang was taken aback and turned to ask Zhan Zhao how it could be him, only to see Zhan Zhao pale.

"Cat..." Before Bai Yutang finished speaking, he saw Zhan Zhao stand up abruptly. He pushed the door open and rushed in, but he was too anxious. He forgot that he still had injuries on his leg, and his body was hit by the pain. Bai Yutang hurriedly stepped forward to support him, and asked, "Cat, what are you doing?"

Zhan Zhao's actions not only frightened Bai Yutang, but also the two children inside. Luo Yang ran over and asked Zhan Zhao, "Uncle Zhan, what's wrong?"

Zhan Zhao didn't care about the leg injury, he reached out and grabbed Luo Yang's arm, asking, "Who taught you?"

... Luo Yang was baffled. Zhan Zhao has always been gentle and very fond of him. Why did he suddenly become fierce? He felt like he had done something wrong, but he didn't understand what it was. He raised his face and looked at Luo Tian with a blank face. It looked like he was about to cry.

Bai Yutang was anxious, "Cat, what's wrong with you? Don't scare the children."

Zhan Zhao didn't seem to have heard it. He grabbed Luo Yang, looked him in the eyes and asked harshly, "How did you learn to hypnotise people?!"

......

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: March 17, 2021

Re-edited: December 21, 2023