S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 2 Chapter 45

Murderer vs Murderer 18 – Head-to-Head Confrontation

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As Zhao Jue walked into the living of the villa, all of the SCI members looked at him with caution. Zhao Jue looked around and gracefully sat down on a wrought iron stool. The servant brought black tea, which Zhao Jue sipped, smiling in satisfaction.

At that time, Gongsun walked down from the second floor. Zhao Jue looked up at him and smiled slightly. Gongsun glanced at him and the members of SCI. He was a little helpless and the atmosphere was awkward.

“Have you eaten?” Gongsun walked over and reached out to hug Luoyang on the sofa, “Is Yang Yang hungry?”

“En.” Luoyang nodded. After a long day of playing, he only just realized that he was hungry. However, Luoyang noticed that Luo Tian had been on guard ever since Zhao Jue showed up, so he was vigilant and forgot to worry about his hunger.

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao and raised his eyes — ‘He really is his son.’

Zhan Zhao smiled — ‘Are you jealous? You could have one too.”

Bai Yutang pouted — ‘I don’t want it. I only want one with you but you can’t give birth to one.’

“Where’s Big Brother?” Zhan Zhao’s face blushed and he turned away to look at Gongsun.

“He’s in the study. He said he needed to deal with some things.” Gongsun took Luoyang into the kitchen to get some food. The rest of the SCI team were also hungry, and the twins had already eaten. Bai Yutang, Zhan Zhao, Ouyang Chun, and Zhao Jue had already eaten as well, so they sat on the sofa and drank tea.

Soon, the members of SCI became lively again; everyone was eating and chatting. Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang sat on the sofa and looked at the information while discussing the case.

Zhao Jue looked around and suddenly asked Ouyang Chun “Where’s the bathroom?”

Ouyang Chun was also in the villa for the first time, so he looked blankly at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang. Zhan Zhao pointed his finger at the hallway across from the living room, “Go through the hallway and turn left. It’s right next to the stairs.”

Zhao Jue stood up and walked into the hallway.

As he exited the bathroom, Zhao Jue did not return to the living room. Instead, he walked up the stairs to the second floor.

The lights on the second floor were not turned on and there was a floor-to-ceiling window on the dark side of the stairs. Because it was late at night, the night view was visible; the lights were dazzling and it is a very beautiful sight.

“It’s a very good view of the night, huh?” Zhao Jue asked Zhan Zhao, who had walked up behind him at some point.

Zhan Zhao had watched Zhao Jue go into the bathroom and stay in there for a while. He came to take a look and found Zhao Jue standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window admiring the night scene.

“Yeah.” Zhan Zhao put his hands in his pockets and walked over to him.

“However, when the beauty of a city is its night view, it proves that the city no longer belongs to most people.” Zhao Jue looked at Zhan Zhao, “Right?”

Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, “What’s up with that? Found some literary inspiration?”

“Heh…” Zhao Jue smiled and blinked at Zhan Zhao, motioning at something outside the window, “What do you think of that? What kind of person drives a car without turning their lights on this late at night?”

Zhan Zhao was taken aback for a moment, “Someone who is afraid of being discovered…” As he said it, he turned around and ran downstairs.

Zhao Jue smiled lightly. Looking back out the window, he could see four military-style Jeeps approaching the villa silently in the dark.

“Xiao Bai, someone is coming!” Zhan Zhao ran to the living room and informed Bai Yutang. At the same time, the electronic security alarm sounded ‘Di…Di…Di…”. Da Ding and Xiao Ding turned on a small monitor on the wall that showed the surveillance footage. On the screen, they could see four military-style Jeeps pass through the security gate and begin to drive up the mountain towards the villa.

“This villa is the only thing on the mountain, right?” Bai Yutang asked.

“Yeah.” The twins frowned slightly and spoke to the servants in French, “Take everyone and hide in the basement. Don’t come up until we tell you to!”

The servants all left to hide in the basement.

“It’s a mercenary car,” Ouyang Chun whispered, “We don’t have guns on us… This is a bit troublesome.”

“Guns?” Xiao Ding turned around and smiled at Ouyang Chun, “How many do you want? What kind?”

Ouyang Chun was taken aback and the twins waved everyone over. Everyone followed them to a hidden compartment at the end of the hallway. The twins opened the compartment and a ‘bang’ sounded. After the door opened, they saw all kinds of firearms inside.

Ouyang Chun opened his mouth and stared at the weapons in the cupboard. The twins took their favourite guns and looked at the crowd in excitement.

Bai Yutang felt a little helpless and told the members of SCI, “Chose the ones that you are comfortable with. Use cold weapons so we make as little mess as possible. Jiang Ping, Gongsun, Cat, and Yang Yang, bring the laptops up to Brother’s office on the second floor. Luo Tian and Bai Jintang are in charge of guarding the room. Ma Han, go to the roof and deal with the ones who are going to stay at a distance. The rest of you scatter in the villa. Make sure all of you wear earpieces.” (Angel: a cold weapon is a weapon that does not involve fire or explosions that result from the use of gunpowder or other explosive materials.)

All of the SCI members are accustomed to Bai Yutang’s arrangements and they executed them without error. They took their weapons and made their way to their stations.

Ma Han went alone to the roof of the building. Da Ding and Xiao Ding went out to guard the door of the villa. Jiang Ping grabbed the laptops and Luo Tian took Luoyang and Gongsun up to Bai Jintang’s office.

Zhan Zhao pulled Bai Yutang’s hand, “Xiao Bai, be careful.”

“Don’t worry.” Bai Yutang inserted the gun into his belt and held a knife that the special forces would use in his hand. He nodded at Zhan Zhao, “I’ll be at the top of the stairs.”

Zhao Hu, Wang Chao, and Zhang Long scattered across the villa and Ouyang Chun and Bai Yutang hid at the top of the stairs.

There was a monitor for the surveillance system in Bai Jintang’s office, so he already knew that someone was coming. When he saw Zhan Zhao and the other enter, he stood up happily. Taking a look at Luoyang, he asked “Are you afraid?”

Luoyang was sitting at the table watching the surveillance footage of the black-clothed men with guns getting out of the Jeep and starting to sneak around the sides of the villa. When he heard Bai Jintang ask, he looked up at him in confusion, as if to ask ‘What is there to be afraid of?’.

Bai Jintang smiled and reached out to pat Luoyang’s head, “You are bolder than Yutang was when he was a child.”

Zhan Zhao smiled; Luoyang was worthy of Bai Jintang’s compliment. The little guy idolized Bai Yutang, and sure enough, there was a smile on his face.

“These people are a little weird.” Gongsun stared at the screen and frowned slightly, “They behave like special soldiers but their outfits are homemade and they resemble terrorists.”

“Ah!” Jiang Ping called out suddenly.

“What’s the matter?” Zhan Zhao walked over to him.

“Look!” Jiang Ping stretched his hand out and pointed to the screen. There were three men dressed in black windbreakers getting out of the last Jeep.

“It’s the three werewolves from the video!” Luo Tian frowned.

“Yutang!” Zhan Zhao picked up the walkie-talkie and called Bai Yutang and the team, “The three werewolves are also here, you must be careful.”

Everyone received the message loud and clear. Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows and spoke to the team, “You heard him. The three werewolves are here, remember to catch them alive. Whoever catches one will be rewarded!”

“Heh…” Laughter could be heard over the walkie-talkie.

Zhan Zhao smiled and shook his head, putting down the walkie-talkie.

“Reinforcements should be here in about ten minutes.” Ouyang Chun put his phone down and informed Bai Yutang. “We only need to hold them off until they arrive.”

Bai Yutang nodded and frowned, ‘This WOLF is quite proactive. The sent such a gift as soon as they arrived…’

All of the lights in the villa were turned off and everyone breathlessly waited. Soon, the first group of people entered the yard of the villa. Some snuck to the blind spots of the surveillance system while a few stood outside with thermal sensors. As soon as they lifted the thermal sensors and aimed at the villa, they heard a ‘poof’ and a bullet hole appeared in the thermal sensor; it was rendered useless instantly.

The person that was holding the thermal sensor seemed to be the commander of the group of intruders. He was taken aback and raised his head to look at the source of the bullet. With a second ‘poof’, a bullet flew at him and he fell down with a bullet hole in his head.

Zhao Hu looked out the glass window with binoculars, “Tsk-tsk. Brother Ma is too cruel. One shot, one kill.”

“His marksmanship is good.” Bai Jintang looked at the surveillance monitor and couldn’t help but admire him.

“This is called killing one and preventing one hundred.” Jiang Ping said, “The sniper is warning them that anyone who comes in will have to die.”

The intruders were a little confused. The first group of WOLF members that were waiting in the blind spots were able to clearly see that there was a sniper on the roof. Just as they were about to raise their guns to shoot at the roof, the suddenly saw flashes and a row of bullets from assault rifles.

After shooting, Xiao Ding stood in the yard, “Grandpa will give you the whole magazine!” (Angel: for those who don’t know much about guns, the magazine is the part of the gun where the bullets are stored. He is saying that he will shoot all of his bullets at them.)

At the same time, a series of gunshots sounded in the backyard; Da Ding had killed a group in the backyard.

The twins retreated back to the villa while still shooting. Soon, all of the intruders in the yard had fallen. Bai Yutang frowned when he looked down from the second floor, “Brats.”

Ouyang Chun also smiled bitterly, “It seems impossible for the intruders to get out alive.”

The intruders were frustrated, but they managed to send the three werewolves and three other assassins armed with guns into the villa.

“Captain, the three werewolves came in. One is heading towards you, one is going upstairs using the other stairs, and the third is moving towards the living room with the three assassins.” Zhao Hu reported.

Bai Yutang nodded and instructed the team, “You guys deal with the assassins and catch the werewolves.”

Bai Jintang stood up. He took off his jacket and said to Zhan Zhao “I’ll guard the door.”

Zhan Zhao nodded. However, he looked around the room and was shocked, “Have any of you seen Zhao Jue?”

Everyone was taken aback; they had all forgotten about him.

“He was in the stairwell near the bathroom, where the floor-to-ceiling window is!” Zhan Zhao suddenly remembered. “Is he still there?”

Jiang Ping pulled up the surveillance footage from that part of the villa. He saw Zhao Jue standing there gracefully, with his hands in his pockets. He was looking out the window, taking in the night view outside.

“What the hell is he doing?” Jiang Ping was anxious, “One of the werewolves is heading that way!”

“Let’s go!” Luo Tian put his gun in his back pocket and turned around. Just as he wanted to leave the room, he heard terrible howling sounds from outside the door. The sound made everyone feel chills; it felt like a wolf’s cry.

Gongsun and Zhan Zhao were a little worried. When they opened the door and went out, they saw Bai Jintang standing by the door, lighting a cigarette. On the ground next to him, one of the werewolves laid motionless. When they turned the lights on, they were all startled; the werewolf was laying there with a knife in his hand and blood coming out of his mouth. It was clear that he just attacked, but there was a knife that was lodged deep in his arm, nailing him to the ground.

Everyone looked at Bai Jintang helplessly — ‘So violent!’

“Ah!” Zhan Zhao and Luo Tian exclaimed, “Zhao Jue!”. As they said it, the two ran off towards the stairs.

Gongsun wanted to follow them but Bai Jintang gently raised his hand and stopped him, “Go back in.”

Gongsun glared at him but went back into the office obediently. Bai Jintang stood at the door, waiting with a cigarette in his mouth.

……

On the other side of the villa, Ouyang Chun was shocked as he watched Bai Yutang kick a werewolf down the stairs. The werewolf howled and climbed up again, looking crazy. Bai Yutang had aimed at his shoulders and knees, but the werewolf was still fighting.

Bai Yutang frowned. He reached out, grabbed him, and threw him against the wall. While pressing him against the wall, he pulled out a knife and nailed his arm to the wall. The werewolf howled and flailed his other hand. Bai Yutang nailed his other arm too. The crazy werewolf was finally nailed firmly to the wall. Seeing that he was still howling, Bai Yutang raised his knife to his neck. The werewolf coughed and finally calmed down.

“Xiao Bai…” Zhan Zhao’s voice suddenly came from the walkie-talkie, “Go to the stairwell near the bathroom. Zhao Jue is there and a werewolf is heading that way.”

“What?” Bai Yutang and Ouyang Chun were taken aback and ran towards the bathroom.

At that time, the twins and Zhao Hu had already subdued the assassins in the living room. They could hear the sirens from police cars coming from the foot of the mountain. The few intruders that remained by the entrance of the villa wanted to drive away, but when they started their Jeeps, they discovered that the tires had been popped and they were soon surrounded by police cars.

On the roof, Ma Han put down his sight and sneered “Dead foreign devils, let’s see where you can run too.”

Zhan Zhao ran towards the floor-to-ceiling window and saw Zhao Jue standing there, watching the police cars outside. Seeing that he was still alive, Zhan Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, but soon became nervous again. In the light coming in from outside, he saw the third werewolf standing behind Zhao Jue with a knife in his hand.

“Zhao Jue!” Zhan Zhao yelled. Luo Tian rushed forwards and took out his gun, ready to shoot. Bai Yutang also rushed up at that moment. At the same time, Zhao Jue turned his face slowly.

The red and blue lights from the police cars outside penetrated the window and reflected on Zhao Jue’s profile. Zhan Zhao could clearly see that Zhao Jue was smiling at him; it was a smile that held a hint of provocation.

Zhan Zhao suddenly waved to Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang was taken aback and stopped, and Luo Tian was held back by Zhan Zhao. At the same time, they all heard the werewolf raise his head and scream. He then raised his hand and slashed the knife into his own throat fiercely. In an instant, blood was pouring out…

Zhao Jue was standing next to him, and his snow-white clothes were splattered with red blood stains. It gave the onlookers a weird feeling.

Everyone was stunned. Zhan Zhao, who stood not far away from Zhao Jue, looked at the corpse on the ground in a daze.

Zhao Jue took a step closer to Zhan Zhao. He took his hand out of his pocket and slowly raised it to Zhan Zhao’s face, saying with slight affection, “You are more talented than you think. You are capable of doing that too.”

When his fingertips touched Zhan Zhao’s cheek, his hand was slapped away.

Zhao Jue looked down at his reddish hand and turned his face to look at Bai Yutang who had moved beside Zhan Zhao; he seemed quite dissatisfied.

Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows and glanced at Zhao Jue’s blood-stained hand. He spoke lightly, “Your hands are too dirty and he is too clean. It’s better not to touch him.” After that, he pulled Zhan Zhao and turned to go down the stairs.

Zhan Zhao followed Bai Yutang downstairs and looked back at Zhao Jue. The two stared at each other for a long time. Zhan Zhao turned back and left the dark stairs with Bai Yutang, entering the living room.

 ‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

How the hell did Zhao Jue get the werewolf to cut his own throat...

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

Translated: April 3/4, 2021