S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 2 Chapter 105

Love Murderer 12 – Xu Tian

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After returning to the police station, Zhan Zhao and the other who hadn’t slept all night were too tired. Zhan Zhao and Bai Chi fell asleep as soon as they laid on the sofa.

Ma Xin and the others who were called in the early hours of the morning were not as tired. When they saw Gongsun’s white face, they felt a little worried, however, Ma Xin knew very well that Gongsun had to personally examine such corpses. She blames herself for being too tender, often missing important clues, so Gongsun is responsible for most of the work.

Bai Jintang followed the group back, and watched Gongsun lose weight, staying up late, and suffering from low blood sugar, as he was not fond of sweets or meat. He was a bit irritable, and his stare made Bai Yutang’s scalp numb.

The SCI members all went back to work, and Da Ding and Xiao Ding brought breakfast for everyone. After Bai Jintang coaxed Gongsun into eating a slice of chocolate cake and drinking a large glass of milk, he retreated to the forensic room to perform the autopsy.

Bai Yutang sat at his desk, looking at the past information about vampires. Everyone was busy investigating the clues of the deceased, as well as the case from a few days ago. Luo Tian was reporting the situation of the injured student to Bai Yutang, but he couldn’t get answers from him as the student’s vocal cords were cut. Even though he may be okay, he is mute and cannot answer any questions… Regardless, he didn’t even see anything.

The girl had no issues other than the fact that she was frightened, and she had been picked up by her parents. The murderer’s clothes have been checked, and fingerprints belonging to many people have been found, so someone was sent to investigate. Wang Chao and the people with him came back and reported that the roads around the forest had been blocked off all night, and there were no cyclists that were seen.

As for the unlucky ghost they caught in the woods, he was indeed a wanted criminal. He was taken away by the drug trafficking department for further investigation.

The evidence collected in that mysterious wooden cabin was being investigated by the forensic department, and the identity of the forest ranger has been confirmed… However, it seems that all of the clues have become useless with the disappearance of the mysterious person. Sitting in a daze with a bunch of materials around him, Bai Yutang needed to sort out all of the clues in his head.

Zhao Hu handed him a cup of coffee, “Captain, you can sleep for a while.”

Bai Yutang shook his head and signaled that he was not sleepy. He then turned to Jiang Ping, “Jiang Ping, help me find information on Xu Tian and Zhang Miaomiao. Where are they now, I want to ask them details about the vampire case back then.”

“All right Captain.” Jiang Ping searched for a long time, then turned to Bai Yutang, “Captain… Xu Tian passed away ten years ago.”

“What?” Bai Yutang frowned, thinking, ‘Xu Tian passed away ten years ago? In other words, he started chasing the vampire in his twenties, spent ten years with Zhang Miaomiao after he caught him, and then died at the age of forty?!’

“How did he die?” Bai Yutang asked.

“Suicide.” Jiang Ping answered.

“How is that possible?” Zhao Zhen, who was sitting sleepily on the sofa, heard it and felt it was incredible, “How could such a determined person commit suicide?”

“He died by jumping off a building.” Jiang Ping pointed out the relevant information and gave it to Bai Yutang. Bai Yutang took the information. There was a photo of Xu Tian when he was in his twenties; he was determined and handsome.

Bai Yutang looked at his basic information and sighed; he had a bad premonition in his heart, thinking, ‘Xu Tian and Zhang Miaomiao loved each other so deeply, how could it be possible for him to commit suicide? Could it be that something happened to Zhang Miaomiao…?’

“What about Zhang Miaomiao?” Bai Yutang asked Jiang Ping, “How is she?”

Jiang Ping searched the database for a long time, then turned to look at Bai Yutang, “Captain… there is no information on Zhang Miaomiao, she doesn’t exist.”

“What?” Bai Yutang stood up and walked over to his computer.

“There are many people named Zhang Miaomiao in the country, but if she was bitten by a vampire, there should be a record of it. In addition, she was Xu Tian’s legal wife, and there should be a record of it. Xu Tian has a record of being married twenty years ago, but the column for his wife was deleted… The file for this person was deleted.” Jiang Ping explained.

Bai Yutang was silent for a long time, then asked Jiang Ping, “What kind of person can erase all evidence of a person’s existence?”

Jiang Ping thought for a while, and then answered seriously, “Someone very powerful.”

“For example?” Bai Yutang asked him.

“Uh… the national security agencies that are high-level, police officers with lots of power, or…” Jiang Ping paused.

Bai Yutang frowned and spoke lightly, “Say it!”

“Bao Sir.” Jiang Ping whispered, “It’s possible…”

Bai Yutang frowned. Turning his face, he saw Zhan Zhao. He didn’t know when he had woken up, but he was frowning and leaning against the door. The two looked at each other, and Zhan Zhao walked into the office. He approached Bai Yutang, took the glass of hot milk that he handed him, and took a sip, “Can you find Xu Tian’s previous residence… or a person he is related to, anything is fine. Let’s go and visit.”

Bai Yutang nodded, thinking that this method was feasible.

Jiang Ping sorted out all of the information; Xu Tian used to live in the urban-rural fringe of Y City, where his old mother still lives.

After Bai Yutang got the information, he was going to leave with Zhan Zhao but Luo Tian stopped him, “Captain, it takes at least an hour to drive to Y City, let me go with you. I can drive and you two can sleep for a while.”

“I’ll go too.” Ma Han said.

Bai Yutang nodded and looked at Jiang Ping, “If Bao Sir comes later, let him see the information and ask him if he knows about it… Everyone else, if you are tired, take a break first. If you are not tired, everyone can work on their own and look for clues. The museum case and the case of the red-lipped killer still need to be followed up on. When Gongsun’s autopsy report comes out, we will come back and have a meeting.”

“Yes Sir.” Everyone nodded.

“When Bai Chi wakes up, have him go to the archives and the library at the station.” Zhan Zhao said to Zhao Hu, “Have him investigate clues about the case that year.”

“Okay.” Zhao Hu nodded.

Zhao Zhen smiled, “I will go with Chi Chi when he wakes up, I am also interested in vampires.”

Everyone discussed and decided, and Bai Yutang and the others went downstairs. Luo Tian drove, Ma Han sat in the front seat, and Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao sat next to each other in the back seat, ready to sleep for a while.

However, the two of them did not sleep at all, they just sat there in a daze.

“Cat, what do you think?” Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao.

“I think Xu Tian’s death is too strange.” Zhan Zhao frowned, “This case came too suddenly, and it happened to coincide with the case of the red-lipped killer. Also, there are still no clues regarding Zhang Ying… I don’t know what she will do.”

“There is also the chip that Zhao Jue sent.” Bai Yutang said, “Jiang Ping estimates that he will be able to find the information in it soon, but I have no clue what he sent.”

“Captain, you said that Zhang Ying could come and go freely after being shot a few times?” Ma Han asked.

“En.” Bai Yutang nodded.

“I have read Zhang Ying’s information, but I don’t remember this woman being part of the experiment… When I think about it, all of us who participated in the experiment seemed to be men.” Luo Tian said.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other, and Ma Han was a little embarrassed. Luo Tian would always feel uncomfortable when he mentioned the past. Although he never said it, only he himself knows the pain imprinted in his memory.

“There was no woman…” Zhan Zhao said, “Could the physical qualities of women be inappropriate for this kind of muscle strengthening experiment?”

“I’m not sure.” Luo Tian shook his head.

“A congenital insensitivity to pain may also cause this situation. If she feels no pain, the injury would not affect the body’s movement.” Zhan Zhao said, “After all, for a normal person, it is impossible to move normally after being shot so many times, so there must be something.”

“Haah…” Bai Yutang sighed, and touched his head, “Both cases have no clues, and the timing of them are very close.”

“Actually, they’re not completely unconnected.” Zhan Zhao said, “Don’t forget, the list that Zhang Ying gave us included Li Hao, and Li Hao’s art gallery is where the vampire articles were stolen from. This is why they were reminded of the case from twenty years ago, as they are inextricably linked to each other.”

“En.” Bai Yutang nodded.

“In addition…” Zhan Zhao seemed hesitant to speak.

“What else?” Bai Yutang looked at him.

“I saw some paintings in the art gallery… I think that they looked like Zhao Jue’s paintings.” Zhan Zhao said.

“It’s about him again?” Bai Yutang couldn’t laugh or cry, “By the way, when I think about it, he burned the files about the vampire case back then. Did he delete the information about Miaomiao too?”

Everyone was a little stumped. As long as Zhao Jue is involved in the case, it will be indescribable… Also, it is very likely that a series of new problems will arise, especially with that mysterious organization from back then. In short, it is confusing.

During the first half of the drive, everyone studied the case. During the second half of the drive, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang slept for a while.

At just after nine o’clock in the morning, Luo Tian parked the car at the urban-rural fringe of Y City. He took out the address and asked the locals, who gave him direction. The place where Xu Tian and Zhang Miaomiao grew up is a village not far away, called Zhangxu Village. It was a type of village that was very common, with the ancestors of the village probably being from two families: the Xu family, and the Zhang family.

What Luo Tian drove this time was not one of the two eye-catching sportscars of Bai Yutang, but rather the Jeep issued by the police station. On the side of the road, it was not too obtrusive.

After getting out of the car, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang found a public faucet on the side of the road and washed their faces. Everyone cheered up and rushed to Xu Tian’s home.

Xu Tian’s home was to the west of Zhangxu Village. It was a bungalow with white walls and black tiles, and the courtyard was surrounded by a low wall. Compared with the two- or three-story small western-style buildings around it, it looked quite simple.

Luo Tian knocked on the gate, and loudly asked, “Is any there?”

The sound of a dog barking came from the yard, and a small black dog was barking inside; it seemed that someone lived there.

“Is anyone there?” Luo Tian knocked on the gate again.

At that time, an old lady with gray hair and a walking stick walked out of the house. She slowly walked to the gate of the yard and looked at them puzzledly, “Who are you looking for?”

“Mother-in-law, is this Xu Tian’s house?” Ma Han asked.

The old woman was stunned for a long time before she answered, “Are you looking for A Tian? He has been dead for ten years.”

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other. Bai Yutang took out his ID and showed it to the old lady, “Mother-in-law, we are the police. We know that Xu Tian has passed away, but we want to ask you something about him.”

The old woman hesitated. At that moment, two men in their forties walked out of the house next door. They looked at Bai Yutang and asked, “Who are you looking for?”, then walked over and asked the old woman, “Mother Tian, do you want help?”

The old woman pointed to Bai Yutang’s ID, “They are police officers and they said they want to ask about A Tian, but I don’t know how to read.”

The two lads took a look at Bai Yutang’s ID and quickly returned it, “Are you investigating Tian’s case? Brother Tian died too unjustly, we will tell you whatever you want to know.”

“You two are?” Zhan Zhao asked them.

“Oh, my name is Xu Zhong, and he is Xu Bao.” One of them said, “We are brothers. We have been neighbors with Tian’s mother for decades. Brother Tian and I were good brothers since childhood.”

“What about Zhang Miaomiao?” Bai Yutang asked, “Do you know this person?”

“Don’t mention that woman to us!” Xu Bao suddenly cursed with an excited look, “Brother Tian was destroyed in the hands of that demon!”

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

And the case gets more complicated 😭

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

Translated: May 30, 2021