S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 2 Chapter 82

Password Murderer 20 - Games

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At 8:30 in the morning, when Bai Chi arrived at the SCI office, he saw Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang sleeping on the sofa in the lounge.

Gongsun wandered in in a white coat and asked, “What happened to these two? Didn’t they go for a drive after dinner, were they out all night?”

“Huh?” Bai Yutang woke up first, sitting up and rubbing his neck, “What time is it?”

“It’s almost nine o’clock.” Wang Chao handed a cup of coffee to Bai Yutang, “Captain, where did you go with Dr. Zhan last night?”

“I have something for you to see.” Bai Yutang took out a digital camera from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Ping, “Take the phots out and look at them!”

Jiang Ping took the camera and exported all of the photos.

“Mother!” Jiang Ping couldn’t help but tremble, “So scary?” (Angel: The character he shouts is one of the three characters in mother****er.)

“What is it?” Bai Chi leaned over curiously and saw a few photos on the computer screen. One was Liu Fang standing next to a tombstone, and the other was the tombstone itself… The two names on it read Chen Jianxian and Liu Fang.

“Did this Liu Fang mother****er buy himself a grave or something?” Zhao Hu frowned.

“Isn’t Chen Jianxian the mute uncle? Why is there a tombstone for him?” Ma Han asked puzzledly.

“In the afternoon, Cat and I are going to ask Liu Fang.” Bai Yutang said, “Zhang Jianqi should bring Zhang Hua here this morning.”

“He hasn’t come yet. I don’t know if he can deal with his own son.” Jiang Ping sighed, “It looks like he is a problem child.”

“He’s not a teenager anymore.” Gongsun said, “He’s already more than twenty years old.”

“If the mute uncle isn’t Chen Jianxian, then Zhang Jianqi should have realized that.” Luo Tian puzzled, “Why didn’t he say anything?”

“Could it be that he didn’t realize it because of the burn?” Bai Yutang felt completely awake, while Zhan Zhao was still confused.

“No way, his face wasn’t that badly burnt.” Bai Chi said, “There’s no reason to not realize it, right?”

“That’s true.” Bai Yutang nodded.

“Hmm…” Gongsun suddenly spoke up, “Chen Jianxian and Liu Fang were both severely burnt back then, right?”

Everyone looked at him, “Yes.”

“In other words, the hospital must have kept some of their records… such as blood types?” Gongsun said, “If you can get blood sampled from Liu Fang and Chen Jianxian, you might be able to compare them with those records.”

“It makes sense.” Bai Yutang touched his chin, “How do we get their blood samples? It’s a bit difficult…”

“Although there are two tombstones, it is impossible to apply to the court for enforcement. After all, this evidence is not stable” Gongsun thought for a while, then said, “It can only be done privately.”

“Privately?” Bai Yutang couldn’t laugh or cry.

“For example, hit them and make their nose bleed?” Zhao Hu asked.

Everyone glanced at each other speechlessly.

“That’s one way…” Bai Yutang thought about it alone, then he heard Zhan Zhao ask in confusion, “What is a way?”

“We want to take blood samples from Liu Fang and the mute uncle.” Bai Yutang stretched his hand out to pull up Zhan Zhao, who was sleepy.

“Isn’t it enough for them to go for a physical examination?” Zhan Zhao rubbed his eyes.

“Physical examination?” Bai Yutang pondered, “That’s right.”

“Liu Fang works for a company, and Chen Jianxian works for the school. We can let the company and school cooperate with us and give them blood tests.”

“This is a good way.” Gongsun nodded, “Don’t ordinary companies do medical examinations once or twice a year? If they did, then we don’t need to do a new one, we can get the old ones.”

Bai Yutang nodded, “Let Lu Fang take care of this.”

“En!” Gongsun nodded, “I will let Lu Fang think of a way. If he can’t get it, he can cover his face and beat them, and I will take a blood sample.” After that, he left happily.

Zhan Zhao narrowed his eyes and moved to Bai Yutang’s side, “Xiao Bai, Gongsun seems to be in a good mood.”

Bai Yutang nodded, “That’s not it, his in-laws were unanimous and he is now extremely happy because of his success”

“What is he proud of?” Bai Chi leaned forward curiously. Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang smiled without saying a word.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had finished washing their faces and were drinking milk and nibbling on bread, when Zhang Jianqi came with Zhang Hua.

“Captain Bai, Dr. Zhan, this is my son, Zhang Hua.” Zhang Jianqi introduced Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao to his son, “Zhang Hua, there are the SCI officers that I mentioned to you.”

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang raised their eye and looked at Zhang Hua carefully. They saw that he looked more than 20 years old, and that he was wearing sportswear and had sweat on his body, as if he had just exercised. To their surprise, Zhang Hua didn’t look like a bohemian punk, nor did he look to be drunkard who had been desolate and dissipated for several years… He had dark skin, a good appearance, and a strong body; he looked very healthy. Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other, and they were a little puzzled.

“Let’s go to the office and sit down.” Zhan Zhao led the father and son into his office.

Sitting down on the sofa in Zhan Zhao’s office, Zhang Jianqi told Zhang Hua, “Zhang Hua, tell the police officers if you have anything to say. Cooperate well and don’t hide anything.”

Zhang Hua looked at his father, then nodded slightly. He didn’t look up and Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, but rather just sat down on the sofa and waited.

Zhan Zhao looked at him and turned to Zhang Jianqi, “Can President Zhang sit outside first? We want to talk to him alone.”

“Uh…” Zhang Jianqi hesitated, but then nodded and went out alone.

After that, Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang, and Zhang Hua were left in the office.

“Zhang Hua.” Zhan Zhao called to him.

Zhang Hua raised his head slightly, glanced at Zhan Zhao, and said nothing.

“We want to ask about the fire that year.” Zhan Zhao said, “Do you remember it?”

Zhang Hua shrugged and nodded, “Remember.”

“Then tell us what happened back then.” Bai Yutang moved a chair over and sat down, looking directly at Zhang Hua.

“What do you want me to tell you?” Zhang Hua was silent for a while, watching Zhan Zhao.

“About how Hao Mo burned four of his roommates to death, but you were spared.” Zhan Zhao said, “Everything that you can think of, let’s talk about it.”

“I can’t think of anything. I didn’t live in the school at the time. I only knew that the four of them were bastards and were not very serious. Hao Mo was very humble and had a good academic performance, but his family conditions were not very good, so he could only endure living with the four of them.” Zhang Hua said in a calm tone, “Later, I was shocked when I heard about it.”

“What else?” Bai Yutang asked, “Has Hao Mo ever showed any signs of murder before?”

Zhang Hua shook his head helplessly, “I don’t know, I didn’t stay at the school very much. The total amount that I can say about Hao Mo can’t be more than three or four sentences. I really don’t understand why he used such extreme methods.”

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao looked at each other. Zhang Hua’s meaning is very simple; he doesn’t know these five people and he didn’t live at the school, so he doesn’t know anything. They don’t know if he is telling the truth, or if he is deliberately disassociating himself.

“Then let’s not talk about Hao Mo, let’s talk about you.” Zhan Zhao said, “Why did you suddenly start to behave abnormally? Was it the time when the fire broke out?”

 Zhang Hua shook his head, “I was greatly stimulated, as you can imagine, because everyone from the dormitory was dead, and I was the only one that survived.” At that point, Zhang Hua sighed in pain, “I often dream that they all come to me, and every time I wake up in a cold sweat.”

“What are they looking for?” Zhan Zhao asked with some interest.

“They ask me if I want to go with them.” Zhang Hua said feebly, “Those dreams have been around for a long time, but I can’t get rid of them. I had no choice but to abandon myself.”

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao — ‘Cat, why does it sound like a prevarication?’ (Angel: Prevarication means to lie in a sneaky way. This is commonly seen in children when, for example, they will lie about how something got broken.)

Zhan Zhao smiled slightly — ‘This kid is dishonest and has something to hide.’

“Then, why did it suddenly change for the better?” Zhan Zhao remained calm and asked.

“Suddenly… I don’t know what happened, it just seems like I woke up from a dream.” Zhang Hua replied, “My mother worships Buddha every day, maybe Buddha has appeared.”

After Zhang Hua finished speaking, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were silent. Looking up, he saw that they were looking at him, and that they had contemplative smiles.

Zhang Hua was a little uncomfortable and asked, “Is there anything else you guys would like to ask? I really don’t know what happened back then, and I’m not familiar with them either.”

Zhan Zhao nodded and asked, “Where is Ye Ling? Do you know her?”

“Zhang Hua was taken aback, then shook his head and laughed dryly, “I don’t.”

“Really?” Zhan Zhao nodded, then spoke to Bai Yutang, “You can talk to him for a while, I’ll go make a call.”

Bai Yutang nodded. Zhang Hua saw Zhan Zhao stand up, then walk to his desk and start looking for something while making a call, “Hey, Jasmine. Have you told Ye Ling about the things I told you last time?”

The person on the other end of the phone said a few words, and at the same time, Zhan Zhao took out a document from the pile of documents. He nodded and said, “Okay, just bring Ye Ling over. I’ll see you in fifteen minutes.” After speaking, he hung up the phone.

On the other side, Bai Yutang clearly saw the expression on Zhang Hua’s face change when Zhan Zhao asked for Ye Ling to be brought over; he was not surprised, but rather a little irritable and scared.

Zhan Zhao took Ye Ling’s filed and walked back, and he saw Zhang Hua sitting on the sofa, feeling helpless.

Zhan Zhao smiled, “It’s so coincidental that Ye Ling happens to be my patient. She is quite sick and seems to have no memory of the cause of her illness, so the most important part of our treatment is to awaken her memory of the past.”

Zhang Hua nodded, “Since you are busy, I will go first.” As he spoke, he stood up and tried to leave.

Bai Yutang stopped him, “Oh, what’s the hurry? You are the key to helping Ye Ling recover her memory.”

“Me?” Zhang Hua became nervous, “This… What does it have to do with me?”

“You were her classmate.” Zhan Zhao smiled, “If she can meet you, maybe it can remind her of the past… By the way.” Having said that, Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, “Do you and Ye Ling still keep in touch?”

Zhang Hua shook his head, “I have told you everything, I don’t know her.”

“Really?” Zhan Zhao nodded, “Then why don’t you ask what illness she has?”

“I… It has nothing to do with me.” Zhang Hua became more nervous. At that moment, he saw a woman with long hair walking to the door of the office and knocking on the door.

Because there were blinds on the door, it was difficult to see her appearance. Bai Yutang smiled and said, “They’re here”, as he stood up and opened the door.

“Wait…” Zhang Hua said, “I don’t want to see her. She is a lunatic and you can’t believe what she says!”

Bai Yutang opened the door somewhat inexplicably and saw a beautiful girl in her twenties standing at the door. She handed a document to Bai Yutang and said, “Captain, here is the autopsy report for the last case.”

Bai Yutang nodded to Ma Xin, and Ma Xin turned and left.

Zhang Hua opened his mouth, and Zhan Zhao chuckled at the side, “She is a forensic pathologist at SCI. Did you think she was Ye Ling? Why are you so nervous?”

“Uh…” Zhang Hua realized that he was being tricked, and sat down on the sofa, looking at Zhan Zhao with a bit of regret, “You tricked me?”

Zhan Zhao put aside his smile and looked at Zhang Hua, “It’s true that you haven’t seen Ye Ling for a long time, so you don’t know what she looks like, but how do you know that she is a lunatic? What are you afraid of her saying?”

Bai Yutang’s expression was cold, “Zhang Hua, you’d better cooperate. What happened back then?”

Zhang Hua sat on the sofa dejectedly, took out a cigarette, and started smoking. It took a long time for him to speak, “Back then… it was out fault. In fact, we just wanted to play a game.”

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other, “A game?”

“En.” Zhang Hua nodded, “The name of the game is ‘Find the Murderer’.”

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

This Zhang Hua definitely seems suspicious.

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

Translated: May 5, 2021