S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 3 Chapter 67

Ghost Murderer 34 - Waste and Abandoned Son

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(Angel: Abandoned son is a Go term meaning to discard a few pieces in exchange for some kind of benefit.)

Instead of going back to SCI, Zhan Zhao and the others went straight back to Bai Jintang's villa.

"Me?" Zhao Zhen pointed at himself and looked at Zhan Zhao in confusion, "You want me to help you catch the murderer… The murderer is someone I know?"

Zhan Zhao smiled faintly, "Only you can help us catch him. "

Zhao Zhen was puzzled, "I know him?"

Zhan Zhao held his chin in one hand and looked at Zhao Zhen from left to right.

Zhao Zhen looked at the sky and sighed, saying to Bai Yutang to the side, "Ugh, you should look at him occasionally, he's becoming more and more like Zhao Jue now, it's creepy to look at."

Bai Yutang shrugged and asked Zhan Zhao, "Cat, what are you doing?"

"Hmm." Zhan Zhao thought for a moment and suddenly asked Zhao Zhen an irrelevant question, "The entertainment industry is not good, is it?"

Zhao Zhen frowned, "I don't count it as the entertainment industry, I'm still relatively free, it's better for you to ask the twins."

"Xiao Zhao, you want to join the entertainment industry?" Xiao Ding came up and put his arm around Zhan Zhao's shoulder, "Great, I'll make you a superstar!"

"Go away." Zhan Zhao gave him a blank look and asked, "Let me ask you guys, is this kind of Zhao Zhen considered arrogant?"

The twins looked at each other and nodded, "Well, he's quite arrogant because of his nepotism with Big Brother!"

"Is nepotism alone enough?"

"Hehe." Da Ding laughed, "That's certainly not enough, the main thing is that he has the strength."

"In other words, he is valuable, isn't he?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"If you're in business, doing business is indeed a matter of using each other." Xiao Ding shrugged, "It's similar to a career, every industry is pyramid-shaped, with top and bottom performers. For example, it's easy to go from 10 to 60 by working hard, but it's hard to go from 80 to 90. Talent and opportunity are more important. Just like in chess, it's okay to keep the generals, the rest are just two kinds of pieces; one is used to protect the general and the other is used as an abandoned son."

"Hmm," Zhan Zhao nodded, "insightful."

"Cat," Bai Yutang asked him with some confusion, "why are you suddenly asking about this? Is it useful for the case?"

Zhan Zhao smiled faintly, "Yutang, do you feel that there are many similarities and imitations in this case?"

"En, there are." Bai Yutang nodded, "The way the bombs were made, the way the bombs were delivered, and the countdown on the threatening letters. Including the ghost killer who also had two techniques… there are indeed many."

Zhan Zhao then asked, "Do you still remember what Zhao Jue likes to say when evaluating certain people?"

Bai Yutang frowned slightly for a long time before saying, "Abandoned son…"

"That's right." Zhan Zhao crossed his legs and tilted his face in thought, "In so many of the cases we've solved, there have been many, many abandoned sons, most of them with great abilities, but nothing compared to the main one."

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao, "When you say it like that, it's true, in many of the cases we deal with, as long as Zhao Jue is involved, there are a lot of abandoned sons that appear. It seems that there is a mysterious organisation that is constantly experimenting to create better humans for its own use, and those abandoned sons that are discarded during the experimentation process will often come out and cause trouble."

Zhan Zhao smiled and turned his head to look at Luo Tian, "Luo Tian, do you mind…"

"Cat." Bai Yutang understood what Zhan Zhao meant, but felt that Luo Tian might not take it well. Zhan Zhao looked at him apologetically and was also a little hesitant.

"I don't mind." Luo Tian said graciously, "I was once an abandoned son too. Every year, there are many abandoned sons like me who are discarded, I am probably the luckiest one of all!"

Zhan Zhao asked the group, "Do you remember that at the beginning, we confused Luo Tian with the real murderer?"

The group all nodded.

"It's because they have similar abilities," Bai Chi sat down, "so the characteristics and methods are the same."

"Identical and imitation, there would have only been a difference in time." Zhan Zhao said, "Think about it, if two murderers with the same techniques appear at the same time, then it is the same form of crime, making it easy for us to think of looking for what they have in common. But if one commits a crime first and one later, where the time difference is several years… then we would think it is a copycat crime, right?"

After the group listened and looked at each other, Zhao Hu clapped his hands, "Right, that fan who sent threatening letters to Zhao Zhen this time may not be imitating Liang Yan, he might have come from the same place!"

"Liang Yan himself is an abandoned son." Bai Yutang said, "He joined some kind of organisation back then and was trained, that's for sure… I still remember that his clothes had a number on them. He wasn't the only one trained back then, and the one who sent threatening letters to Zhao Zhen was probably one of them!"

Zhan Zhao nodded, "And the ghost murderer's crime requires reverse thinking."

"That father and son have already confessed, they were the ones who created the many car accidents where the ghost murderer was responsible for the deaths, mainly because those few drivers had evidence of their corruption and involvement with the triads and wanted to report it, so they wanted to cut the grass and remove the roots. The son is quite perverted; those arson cases were because he didn't like the teachers and played pranks on them, but he didn't expect to receive unexpected results, which is why his father was inspired," Ma Han told Bai Yutang about the results of the interrogation, "It’s just that they denied ordering the hit on Brother Bai and the attack on Bai Chi in front of the police station… they said they didn't do any of this."

Zhan Zhao smiled, "Let's follow up on the case we analysed last time! The case of the ghost murderer has a very definite fault line, if we exclude the cases done by the father and son of the rental company, the other cases all have one thing in common!"

The group thought about it and frowned, "They're all from this villa!"

Zhan Zhao shook his head, "To be exact, they should all be people around Zhao Zhen."

"Indeed!" Bai Chi also nodded, "Brother and I were both attacked, even Big Brother was attacked. Our relationship, one, they are both Bai family members, and two… they are both friends of Zhao Zhen!"

"An attack on the Bai family members would not involve Cat." Bai Yutang said, "Zhao Zhen's friends is more reliable."

Everyone nodded.

"As a rule, people are different." Zhan Zhao said, "Some are smart and some are dumb, some are evil and some are kind… The forms of expressing love are also varied, but the abandoned sons in this case, taking Liang Yan as an example, have one big thing in common!" Zhan Zhao spoke as he looked at the group.

Bai Yutang nodded, "Very extreme and paranoid!"

"That's right." Zhan Zhao smiled, "Most of those early test subjects of the organisation had obvious defects, such as being irritable, or very extreme for example. This influence may appear on top of the personality, as love requires total possession and the elimination of all those around the crush who share his love."

"What do you want me to do?" Zhao Zhen asked Zhan Zhao, "You want to draw out the person who has been writing to me, so as to find all of those abandoned sons around him?"

"Not bad." Zhan Zhao nodded, "In addition…"

"In addition what?"

"Chen Xinglong and Yu Feng should have left behind a lot of money back then, right?" Zhan Zhao asked old man Chen.

Old man Chen was on the sidelines, shaking his head, "My son died in vain, not to mention the money, he didn't even leave a word for A’Yu and I. However, over the years, someone has been watching over us. Ten years ago, someone started to send me money. At that time, I happened to be in dire straits and A'Yu had to pay school fees. Don't laugh at me, I thought my bastard son was playing dead and had found his conscience to do his duty as a father."

"That's right." Chen Yu nodded, "He even sent me a drum kit. I love drumming, he bought me my first drum, but it was delivered by courier, I don't know who it was."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other, no need to ask – Chen Mi.

"Is the drum white with a silver frame?" Qin Ou suddenly remembered that when Chen Mi was on a mission with him, he had stared at the drum for a long time, and it was worth two months' salary.

"Yeah." Chen Yu nodded and asked Qin Ou, "How do you know?"

Qin Ou nodded to Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao – it was from Chen Mi.

The old man saw the hints and asked, "What is it that you… are hiding from me?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had no choice but to tell Chen Mi's story.

"What?!" The old man was shocked and angry, "He… that brat has a son out there? What a sin!"

"Chen Mi is still with Bao Sir, and will probably have a lot to answer for from back then…"

"Will he be sentenced to jail?!" Chen Yu was anxious, "He was involved in the kidnapping, isn't that a very serious crime?!"

Zhan Zhao patted her shoulder to calm her down, "This is not necessarily the case, if it wasn't for him this time, we wouldn't have been able to retrieve that information. Don’t worry, there will be a turnaround!"

"Cat, what made you think of that money?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Well… I was thinking, if Zhao Jue's box and the gold were stolen together, then there's no reason why the box was found and the gold couldn't be found." Zhan Zhao rubbed his chin, "Li Ying suddenly appeared, and… those people sent explosives to both old man Chen and Chen Yu. Could it be that in addition to the information, they also want that money?"

The group was stunned.

Bai Chi clapped his hands, "Could it be in the warehouse of Zhen’s old family home?"

"But…" Ma Han shook his head, "we took everything out of it and there was no gold."

"It shouldn't be hidden on the surface." Zhan Zhao smiled, "Why don't we take a metal detector and try?"

The group thought it was possible, so Ma Han and Zhao Hu set off with their men. Bai Chi was familiar with the path and was also going to look for it, but Zhan Zhao stopped him and said, "Wait Chi Chi, don't go, you and Zhao Zhen have things to do."

"You have a way to lure that person out?" Zhao Zhen asked.

"Yes, but only if you and Bai Chi cooperate!"

"Me too?" Bai Chi got serious. Forget about solving the case this time, even if it was just to help Zhao Zhen catch the pervert who was stalking and spying on him, it would still be good, and it wouldn't develop into something like what Qin Ou experienced. That would be too tragic.

"What do you want me to do?" Zhao Zhen asked, "He hasn't sent me any more letters recently, I thought he had heard the rumours and withdrew."

"That man is paranoid, even if he doesn't send you a letter, he's still counting the days in his mind." Zhan Zhao smiled faintly, "What you need to do is rather simple."

"What?"

"Play dead!"

"Ha?!" Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at Zhan Zhao.

"You pretended to be in a car accident where your life is put in danger, and Bai Chi will accompany you." Zhan Zhao raised his eyebrows.

"To… to make our relationship public?" Bai Chi's face reddened, "How… how badly will it affect Zhen's career."

"I don't care." Zhao Zhen indifferently said, "I’m doing magic, not acting in idol dramas. Besides, there is not so much prejudice in this era, you don't have to worry."

"Wow!"

The group was still wondering how to proceed with this when the twins shouted out.

When Zhan Zhao saw the two looking startled, he looked at Bai Jintang, "Brother, will it cause an inconvenience for the company?"

"Uh…"

"No!"

Before Bai Jintang could say anything, the twins yelled.

"Think about it!" Xiao Ding perked up, "What a bloody plot! A famous magician is seriously injured and dying, and his lover is by his side. Wow, it's just so touching, what great hype this is! Zhao Zhen has to rest for a while anyway, so this is a great excuse!"

"That’s right!" Da Ding took his book and started writing the manuscript for the press release, "Let's say that he was seriously injured in a car accident and reduced to a vegetative state. Will the magician be able to wake up, will his beloved be by his bedside day and night, will the prince be able to wake up the prince"

"Hey…" Bai Yutang could not stand it any longer, "can you guys not be so disgusting?"

"It's not called disgusting, it's called dog blood, dog blood plot, sensational plot, you know?!" The twins got serious with their planning. (Angel: Dog blood plot is an internet term for a plot that is constantly being remade and imitated.)

Bai Chi was a bit nervous, but Zhao Zhen was in a good mood. Once this was known to the world, he would be able to propose to Bai Chi in a few days, after he tricks the little fool into going to church!

"You really want to use this trick?" Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao thought about it and said, "That person is very paranoid about Zhao Zhen, he definitely won't allow others to be by his side when Zhao Zhen dies, so he will definitely try every possible way to get over there, and that would be the best time to capture him. Of course…" Zhan Zhao also felt that something was not quite right, "it might cause some distress to Chi Chi. But in the end, we can announce it to the media and say that it was an operation in cooperation with the police to catch the stalker or something…"

"It doesn't matter."

At this time, Bai Chi was the one who spoke up and seriously said, "It doesn't matter if it's made public."

Zhao Zhen looked at Bai Chi in surprise, "Really? I thought you minded."

Bai Chi looked at Da Ding and Xiao Ding, "It's fine if it doesn't affect his career, why would I mind."

"It doesn't matter if it affects me." Zhao Zhen shrugged his shoulders, "I can quit, I can stop doing magic."

"Don't talk nonsense." Bai Chi muttered softly when Zhao Zhen grabbed his hand.

Zhao Zhen laughed happily. It turns out that Chi Chi doesn't mind making their relationship public!

"Ahem."

Bai Yutang coughed, although it was bad to interrupt a couple's true confession, now that the case was being discussed, it was better to talk about some things alone…

Bai Chi was a little embarrassed and hurriedly withdrew his hand.

"It won't affect it." Bai Jintang said, "Modern people's tolerance and aesthetic standards are different now, and men who are responsible and devoted are oddly in demand, much more so than playboys or whatever."

"That's true." The group felt it was justified.

"We'll take care of the expenses and the press, and we'll make a big splash!" The twins were excited, "The crash scene has to be realistic, this time we'll go out on the street and put on a reality show!"

"Is that a good idea?" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were worried about the funding.

"Of course it's good, what a great publicity stunt!" The twins waved their hands, "Aren't we responsible for commercial sponsorship? What a great way to kill two birds with one stone!"

"After a while, we'll say that true love touched the magician and Sleeping Beauty came back to life after N days of vegetation."

"The lover accompanies during the recovery treatment, and the magician is going to return to the stage!"

"And then when the holiday is over, we'll do a full tour and make a lot of money!"

"Ahahahahaha."

……

The group looked at the expressions on the twins' faces – so cunning!

"Phew…" Bai Yutang sighed as he held his forehead.

"What is it?" Zhan Zhao looked at him.

"Oh, it's a good plan, but I was thinking that it’ll be hard to get past the Bao Sir even if everyone agrees…"

The group looked at each other in bewilderment for a while, and after a long period of silence, they heard Gongsun ask, "Why tell him? It's not like we have anyone here with the surname Bao."

The group froze.

Gongsun had his coffee in his hand and sipped it slowly, "Act first and report later! What can he do, it's against the law to kill someone! The worst that can happen is that we'll clean the toilets."

The group thought for a moment – that's right!

‿︵‿︵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 1, 2022 by Angel