S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 3 Chapter 29

Smiling Murderer 28 - Yan

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(Angel: Yan was written in English in the chapter title)

After entering X Prison and passing through multiple iron gates, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang appeared at the entrance of the interview room.

The interview room also had multiple iron doors, and there was a layer of high-strength bulletproof glass between the prisoner and the interviewer.

When Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang entered, they saw a young man in an orange prison uniform already sitting on the opposite side of the glass.

Bai Chi and Luo Tian stood at the entrance and could hear the conversation inside, but did not go in, while Wu Meng and other prison staff retreated to a farther distance to wait.

As soon as they entered the interview room, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had already begun to survey Deng Che.

Deng Che looked a lot more ordinary than one would expect.

After hearing Zhao Jue's description and his experience, they thought that Deng Che would be a person with a strong presence. However, when they actually met him and Deng Che was presented in front of them, they were slightly disappointed and puzzled. This man was too inconspicuous, wasn't he?

Bai Yutang visually measured his height. Although he was sitting, he could still roughly judge that he should be around 1.72m or 1.73m. He was very thin, his hair was fluffy and naturally curly, his features were ordinary to the extreme, neither extremely ugly nor extremely beautiful, in short, he was the type of person that people could not remember at all after a glance.

The man raised his eyes and looked at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang walking in. He raised his hands to his chin to scrutinize the two men, looking at them for a long time, before smiling faintly. 

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang sat down. This Deng Che is probably the least perverted pervert they've ever seen, and his smile is just ordinary and kind, it is not at all appalling.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang took a seat and looked at him.

Teng Che looked around, stretched out his chained hand and pointed at Zhan Zhao, asking, “You are Zhan Zhao?”

Zhan Zhao nodded.

“Well… you’re the same as what I imagined!”  Deng Che smiled and nodded, then looked at Bai Yutang and greeted him politely, “Captain Bai.”

Bai Yutang nodded slightly and looked at Zhan Zhao, their eyes met.

Bai Yutang – Cat, you do it or I do it?

Zhan Zhao – I’ll do it.

Bai Yutang turned back and did not speak.

 “You're looking for us for something?” Zhan Zhao asked Deng Che.

Deng Che looked at Zhan Zhao, and then at Bai Yutang, and asked with a smile, “You two can actually communicate directly with your eyes without any change in expression or appearance?”

Neither Zhan Zhao nor Bai Yutang replied.

“Oh, your relationship is not simple.” Deng Che affirmed.

Bai Yutang frowned and asked him, “What exactly do you want from us? Not hesitating to help Yellow Wolf escape?”

Deng Che faintly froze and nodded with a smile, “That’s right, I helped Yellow Wolf escape just so I could say hello to you and have you come to see me.”

“What do you want?” Zhan Zhao looked at him.

“I know what case you guys have been working on recently.” Deng Che replied.

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang frowned slightly, and Zhan Zhao asked with interest, “Oh? Then tell me, what case have we been investigating recently?”

Deng Che went over and breathed on the glass, then with his index finger, he gently drew the swastika symbol of the Nazi Party.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both felt troubled in their hearts… This kid, being in prison, how could he know so much about the situation in the outside world?

“How did you know?” Zhan Zhao asked him.

“I can give you some important clues to crack this case, but you have to promise me one thing.” Deng Che said with a smile.

“You want a reduced sentence?” Bai Yutang asked.

Deng Che shook his head, “No, reducing my sentence is meaningless to me, it's safer and more suitable for me here.”

Zhan Zhao raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, “Then what do you want us to promise you?”

“I want to meet Zhao Jue.” Deng Che replied.

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were stunned; Deng Che wanting to see Zhao Jue was not something that they were expecting.

“Why?” Zhan Zhao asked him, somewhat puzzled.

“I have a very important secret to tell him!” Deng Che said, “Let me see him!”

“I can help you tell him.” Zhan Zhao said.

“No, I want to see him and tell him myself.” Deng Che insisted.

“But he might not be in the country at the moment.” Zhan Zhao said.

“Then inform him immediately!” Deng Che said, “Now! Have him come!”

Zhan Zhao frowned slightly, but stood up anyway and looked at his phone, however, there was no signal inside the prison, so he said to Bai Yutang, “Wait for me for a moment.”

Walking out of the meeting room, Bai Chi and Luo Tian were waiting at the door. Luo Tian accompanied Zhan Zhao outside, and when he reached the entrance of the prison, Zhan Zhao sighed, “It’s so far, this person really is good for nothing.”

After saying that, he dialed Zhao Jue’s number.

Luckily, Zhao Jue’s phone was turned on and it didn’t take long for the call to be picked up, “Kitty!”

Zhan Zhao sighed, but didn't retort, instead he asked, “Where are you right now?”

“I'm in the bedroom.” Zhao Jue replied.

“How long would it take you to get to X Prison?” Zhan Zhao asked.

“You want to trap me?” Zhao Jue feigned anger, “I’m not falling for it.”

Zhan Zhao was helpless, “Deng Che said he wants to see you, as soon as possible!”

Zhao Jue froze for a moment, then asked, “Deng Che? What's his reason for seeing me?”

“He said he has a big secret to tell you.” Zhan Zhao said briefly.

“Heh…” Zhao Jue suddenly laughed with uncertain meaning and said, “You'd better go back and see if he's still alive.”

……

Zhan Zhao froze, then immediately turned around and ran back inside the prison. Luo Tian did not understand what was happening but hurriedly followed.

Just as they entered the prison, they heard the alarm ringing loudly and the guard at the entrance calling for emergency services.

When Zhan Zhao rushed into the interview room, he saw Wu Meng and a few prison guards opening the door to the interview room, and Bai Yutang walking in, while Deng Che was slumped back in his chair.

“Deng Che!” Zhan Zhao rushed forward and saw Deng Che's face twitching slightly.

“What do you know!” Zhan Zhao asked him.

Deng Che's pupils slowly dilated, and his mouth repeatedly said only one syllable, “yan… yan…”

“Deng Che!” Bai Yutang asked the prison guard at the door, “Where's the ambulance?”

“It’s too late.” Zhan Zhao reached out and checked Deng Che's nostrils, he had stopped breathing.

“This can't be!” Wu Meng said, “How could he have died suddenly? He had a medical checkup just a few days ago, he was healthy!”

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other, noticing the expression that eventually froze on Deng Che's face, that eerie smile – Deng Che had been in a large prison, how could he possibly have had access to the death smile poison?

“Cat?” Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao, “What did he just say?”

Zhan Zhao shook his head, he only understood one syllable – yan. What is yan? Is yan smoke, eye, salt, rock...in short, it could be a lot! Or maybe it's not just one syllable? (Angel: The pinyin for smoke, eye, salt, and rock is all ‘yan’, they just have different tones on the ‘a’.)

“This is a problem.” Wu Meng was in a hurry, rubbing his head and saying, “I'm going to get written up for having such a situation in this prison!”

“Did you get written up for Yellow Wolf's escape?” Zhan Zhao asked.

Wu Meng shook his head, “My superiors were fired directly, and I was temporarily appointed as the prison warden. And now, the new prison warden has not yet arrived, and I am in this situation again, so I guess I will either be written up or demoted!”

If he had known that this man had not died suddenly from a sudden illness, but rather had been poisoned, he would have handed in his resignation, packed up, and left.

“Call Gongsun to examine the body.” Bai Yutang said to Bai Chi, “And… let's check his cell, and the solitary confinement cell!”

Wu Meng hurriedly nodded and said, “I'll have someone pull the alarm and lock up all the prisoners!” With that, he went to get ready.

“Cat, what did Zhao Jue say?” Bai Yutang asked.

Zhan Zhao sighed, “He told me to come in and see if Deng Che was dead.” With that, he walked outside and said, “I still have to give him a call.”

After leaving the prison gates, Zhan Zhao sat down on the steps at the side of the road and dialed Zhao Jue’s number.

When the call was answered, Zhan Zhao didn't make a sound, and Zhao Jue waited for him for a moment, then smiled and asked, “Dead?”

“En.” Zhan Zhao nodded his head.

“But I guess it wasn't because of me that he was killed.” Zhao Jue said.

“En.” Zhan Zhao nodded again, “The death smile was meticulously measured, which means he was poisoned before we arrived.”

Zhao Jue thought for a moment and asked, “Any last words?”

“En.” Zhan Zhao replied, “He said ‘yan’.”

“Ha?” Zhao Jue was a little confused.

“He just said this one syllable, yan, over and over again, and I don’t know what he meant.” Zhan Zhao said, “What I'm more curious about is why he didn't die sooner or later, but rather right at this time?”

Zhao Jue smiled and suddenly asked, “Where's your little tiger?” 

Zhan Zhao frowned, puzzled, and asked, “What for?”

“Put him on the phone, I want to tease him!” Zhao Jue replied with a smile.

“The nerve of you!” Zhan Zhao scolded him, “I’m hanging up!”

“Wait, really, tell him to come, I want to speak to him!” Zhan Zhao wrinkled his nose, a little reluctantly, but Bai Yutang happened to be coming out of the prison gates at that moment.

Zhan Zhao then waved the phone in his hand at him and said, “Zhao Jue wants to speak to you.”

Bai Yutang picked up the phone and asked, “What is it?”

Zhao Jue smiled and said, “Someone is going to attack your cat…”

Before Zhao Jue had finished his words, Bai Yutang pulled Zhan Zhao and rolled straight down the steps… Where Zhan Zhao had just been standing, a bullet hole appeared.

There were soldiers standing guard right at the entrance of the prison, and Bai Yutang shielded Zhan Zhao as they hid behind the guard post. As soon as the prison guards saw the situation, they knew that there was someone sniping from the opposite hill, so they hurriedly crouched down and sounded the alarm.

Zhan Zhao fell hard, but luckily Bai Yutang cushioned his fall.

Zhan Zhao lay on top of Bai Yutang and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Someone wants you dead.” Bai Yutang said as he rolled over, shielding Zhan Zhao behind him. By now, the prison guards were out and Bai Yutang knew that the sniper on the other side should be gone.

At this moment, several cars from SCI came roaring in just in time to see a large number of prison guards pouring out of the prison. Even the helicopter in charge of guarding the prison was overhead.

Zhao Hu leaned out of the car and watched, saying, “Oh, Xiao Ma, what a big show!”

“Looks like something's happened!” Ma Han sped up, looking for Zhan Zhan and Bai Yutang at the entrance.

“Just one dead prisoner, there's no need to send out the helicopter, right?” Wang Chao also felt that the situation was not right.

“But then again,” Zhang Long laughed, “the X Prison team is really something!”

When the car arrived and Ma Han and the others all got out, Gongsun arrived with Ma Xin and the forensic team officers. The group saw Bai Yutang getting up from the ground and pulling Zhan Zhao out from behind the guard post.

“What’s wrong?” Gongsun asked in surprise, “Here to have an affair?”

……

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both had some embarrassment on their faces, and Zhan Zhao pointed to the bullet hole on the ground.

Gongsun frowned, “So arrogant?”

“To attack Cat.” Bai Yutang said while still finding cover for Zhan Zhao to keep him from being exposed.

Ma Han stood on the steps and looked into the distance, saying, “Don’t worry, that's the only ground he can shoot at, everywhere else is a dead end!”

“Seriously?” Zhao Hu asked.

“En.” Ma Han nodded and said, “This prison is heavily sniper-proofed, but that tree across the street probably hasn't been trimmed for a long time and has grown slightly taller… The tree is a good place to shoot from, but there's only one angle, no other position is possible, and the man should have escaped!”

“Brother, is everything okay?” Bai Chi ran out, and Gongsun and Ma Xin took the forensic team to look at the crime scene first.

Zhan Zhao shook his head, somewhat confused, and asked, “Why do they want to kill me?”

Bai Yutang and the rest of the group looked at him, “Did you find something?”

Zhan Zhao frowned slightly, “Why don't I know?”

“But there is someone who definitely knows!” Bai Yutang pointed to his phone.

Zhan Zhao narrowed his eyes and looked at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang hurriedly took a step back and asked him, “Will you ask or not?”

Zhan Zhao turned around and walked inside the prison, saying, “If I can't think of anything in half an hour, you can ask him, and I'll quit my job and go home to raise my cat!”

The group glanced at each other – Sure enough, he’s angry!

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

I went to the optometrist yesterday and she told my I might have a spot on my retina that is thinning or possibly has a hole in it, and she referred me to a retina specialist. She also said that the retina specialist may suggest laser eye surgery to fix it, which stressed me right out. 😭😭

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

Translated: September 15, 2021