S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 3 Chapter 81

Lucky Murderer 11 – Fortune Comes With Misfortune

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"Yutang."

When Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were driving back to the police station together, Zhan Zhao suddenly asked, "Have you ever bought a lottery ticket?"

"You've always been with me, you know I wouldn't do such a boring thing."

"What about when I went to study abroad?" Zhan Zhao was inexplicably curious, "Haven't you ever thought about it?"

"I wouldn't think about such boring things even if I wanted to." Bai Yutang replied with a smile, "Most of the time, I was busy solving cases."

"And what is the thing that you feel most fortunate for in your life so far?" Zhan Zhao asked with great interest.

Bai Yutang suddenly stopped talking and just picked up the corners of his mouth in a smile.

“Hey," Zhan Zhao poked him gently with his finger, “tell me about it."

"What about you?" Bai Yutang asked instead of answering, "What's the most fortunate thing?"

"Oh… there is a lot." Zhan Zhao crossed his legs and tilted his face up to think, "I seem to have been very lucky since I was a small child, like being born with a very high IQ, hmm, having a good life from a young age, having a job that I like and colleagues that I like... and so much more."

Bai Yutang smiled.

"What about you?" Zhan Zhao asked, "Are you willing to talk this time?!"

"Do you want to hear the truth or the lie?"

“Hmm... tell the lies first." Zhan Zhao made quite an odd request.

“Being talented, being born, working a job I like, etc., exactly what you said." Bai Yutang answered casually.

"Oh?" Zhan Zhao became more interested, "What about the others? Are there others that make you feel more fortunate?"

Bai Yutang sighed for a long time before saying, "You really want to hear it? I'm a bit embarrassed to say it."

"Say it." Zhan Zhao smiled and moved over, "I just want to see you embarrassed!"

Bai Yutang looked at the sky and said, "You."

......

"Huh?" Zhan Zhao froze, "Me?"

“En." Bai Yutang nodded, "You are by my side, and I got to know you as soon as I was born... this is the greatest fortune in my life."

Bai Yutang finished very calmly, but Zhan Zhao squirmed. After a long time, he glanced at Bai Yutang, “Cheesy."

Bai Yutang shrugged and continued to drive, and saw Zhan Zhao looking out the window, very embarrassed, "Me too... those were all incidental, not the most important one, the most important one is the same as you."

Bai Yutang picked up the corners of his mouth and smiled a particularly sunny smile.

"There are many things one is lucky to have aren't there?" Zhan Zhao suddenly held his chin with some emotion, "It's just that most people remember the unfortunate things."

As the car passed a lottery shop, Zhan Zhao noticed the crowd of people lining up inside to choose their numbers.

“Cat," Bai Yutang saw that Zhan Zhao seemed preoccupied and asked, “what's wrong?"

"We have to find Lian Qianyi." Zhan Zhao suddenly said, "And that army engineering team... is too abnormal."

"Let's do a little hypothetical analysis, Cat." Bai Yutang drove while analysing the case, "There is one thing that I can't figure out, if those few victims retained their genetic memories and knew they could find great wealth... why would they go buy a lottery ticket?"

Zhan Zhao nodded, “That’s right, if he was just taking his chances, why didn't he go and collect the prize after winning it?"

"Hmm." Bai Yutang frowned, "Cat... the testimony of the three tigers of the Xu family, could it be of a leading nature?"

Zhan Zhao froze and suddenly clapped his hands, “Aiya!"

“Huh?" Bai Yutang saw that Zhan Zhao had become excited and expected something to happen

"I got it!" Zhan Zhao said seriously, "We might have been tricked!"

“Tricked?" Bai Yutang didn't quite understand, "What do you mean?"

"When we heard about the army engineering team, what was the first thing that came to your mind?"

Bai Yutang froze, "Those people who initially pretended to be stone figures lying inside the tomb."

"Were they the ones who killed Ah Mao and the others?"

When Bai Yutang heard this, he stopped talking and thought for a long time, “That’s right, Cat, if there is something wrong with the testimony of the three tigers of the Xu family, it is very misleading. The three of them had been helping work in the tomb before and most likely knew about the existence of those people, so, after killing Ah Mao and the others, they framed those people in order to exclude themselves from suspicion, which is enough to lure us to think that way."

"To be lucky enough to win a ten million dollar jackpot and not go and claim the prize, instead expecting to get a greater fortune by digging up ancient tombs, such an act is illogical in itself." Zhan Zhao gave a cold laugh, "The three tigers of the Xu family said they were afraid of getting into trouble and did not go to cash the lottery ticket even though they were in possession of the ticket, which is completely inconsistent with their character! This case may seem ordinary, but it actually hides a mystery."

"Besides, it doesn't make sense that Lian Tongli would go to such lengths to alarm the police without hesitation... just to find Lian Shuli to inquire about Lian Qianyi's whereabouts." Bai Yutang shook his head, "This whole case seems reasonable, but in reality, many of the cause-and-effect relationships are very far-fetched. It seems like everyone is lying."

Zhan Zhao rested his chin on one hand and leaned against the car window, “Yeah, what exactly is the point?"

"That's right," Zhan Zhao was silent for a moment before asking again, “do you have anyone in the black market who buys antiques? Usually, things from before the Ming Dynasty are too risky to sell, so it's not very easy to sell them, right?"

"I'll have Lu Fang check it out." Bai Yutang had just picked up the phone when it rang, and the caller was an unfamiliar number.

Bai Yutang answered, "Hello?"

On the other end of the line, there was a voice coming out through a voice changer and it was somewhat eerie, "Excuse me, is this Captain Bai?"

Bai Yutang pressed the speakerphone, "Yes, who are you?"

"I'm just a little man who follows the rules." The man said, changing his tone, "But there are some people that want to break the rules and kill me and my companions, so I had to make a phone call to expose them for my own protection."

"Would you be interested in coming to the SCI office?"

“No no, I'm not going to throw myself into their trap." The man said with a low chuckle.

"So what leads do you have to offer?"

"I'll just give you a heads up." The man stopped laughing and spoke seriously, "Know that in this world, good luck cannot be stopped once it comes. There is an old Chinese saying that fortune comes with misfortune, and sudden good fortune is not only not only a gift, but often a reason to die, so please think it over carefully." Having said that, he gave a polite greeting and hung up the phone.

Bai Yutang frowned as he listened and pressed the tracking signal he had just sent to Jiang Ping, asking "Have you found the source of the call?"

"I found it, it's a public phone booth... near the ancient tomb."

"Near the ancient tomb?" Zhan Zhao was stunned, holding his chin in one hand and pondering, "When luck comes, you can't stop it, fortune comes with misfortune..."

Bai Yutang turned the car around and drove in the direction of the tomb instead, and saw Zhan Zhao frowning with his eyes full of doubts. He was familiar with Zhan Zhao's every look and knew that this cat might have thought of something and was sorting it out, so he didn't bother him and let him think alone.

Suddenly, Zhan Zhao tilted his face up, "Could it be because of the lottery?"

Bai Yutang was stunned, "Huh?"

"The cause of all the trouble is because that lottery ticket happened to win!" Zhan Zhao said seriously, "Think about it, the numbers of the lottery are self-chosen, you can choose whatever you want and arrange them however you want. What if the lottery ticket was not bought to be cashed in at all, but for other purposes?"

Bai Yutang responded at once, "Like to deliver a message or something else?!"

"Exactly." When Zhan Zhao figured out a starting point, he could smoothly proceed with the following speculation. He chose a more comfortable position and leaned back in his chair, "Let's assume that Ah Mao and the others bought the lottery ticket because they wanted to contact someone. That string of numbers had a special meaning, yet it just so happened that the lottery ticket won and attracted the coveted attention of the three tigers of the Xu family. However, that lottery ticket was, in the end, not redeemed. Or perhaps, Ah Mao and the others saw that they had won the lottery and wanted to go and cash it in, that’s human nature, but because of this, they got into trouble and it led to their deaths."

Bai Yutang nodded and called Bai Chi, Jiang Ping, and the others, asking them to study the lottery ticket and the numbers on it to see if it might hide some message or have some special meaning.

When they heard this, they all thought it was possible and gathered around to study it.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao's car had already driven to the vicinity of the tomb and found a public telephone booth at the intersection of the national highway not far north of the tomb. This was probably where the call was made.

Bai Yutang stopped the car. Zhan Zhao got out and entered the phone booth to check it out, while Bai Yutang called the forensics department to send someone to collect the evidence. When they looked around, they saw workers repairing the road not far away, so they went over and asked if anyone had just entered the phone booth.

Most people said they hadn't seen anyone, but one of the older foremen said that a car had just stopped there and a man in a jacket and jeans had run down and made a phone call. He had thought the man's car had broken down and asked for help, but he hadn't expected him to get into the car and leave after making the call. It was probably because his phone had run out of battery and there was something urgent.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao looked at each other and asked the foreman – What kind of person was it?

The foreman tilted his face and thought for half a day, "Not too tall... I didn't pay much attention to him."

"What about his car?" Bai Yutang asked, “Do you remember the licence plate?"

"Oh, the car was a white Honda with the licence plate..."

He was pondering, but Zhan Zhao gently nudged Bai Yutang.

When Bai Yutang looked at him, he saw Zhan Zhao reach out and point to the street light not far away – there was a surveillance camera there.

“That’s right, are you guys looking at the camera?" The foreman said, "A lot of people get into car accidents here, so the cameras were installed."

"How long ago was it installed?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Well... it's been a while, our work started two months ago, and it was already there when I came." Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang nodded and thanked the foreman, and asked Jiang Ping to check all the relevant camera data for this period.

Apart from finding the man who had made the call, this was also a necessary route to the tomb. The village was very small and if one entered the tomb through the village, outsiders would certainly arouse suspicion, but going this way would be unnoticeable.

After getting into the car and going back to the SCI office, Zhan Zhao started to study, "The lottery ticket has seven digits, oh?"

“En." Bai Yutang nodded, "Lucky draw, 6 red balls and 1 basketball, seven digits."

"What's seven digits?” Zhan Zhao muttered to himself, "Landlines are seven digits, not counting area codes."

“It’s unlikely." Bai Yutang took out his phone and dialled the string of numbers, and the reply on the other end of the line was – the number you have dialled is empty. Bai Yutang shrugged his shoulders.

"Well... the postal code and bank password are both six digits." Zhan Zhao was troubled, “Actually, it's more than that. You know it could also be six or five digits, like a 2 and a 3 connected to be a 23."

Bai Yutang smiled when he saw Zhan Zhao take out a small book and study it carefully.

"Could it be Morse code?" Zhan Zhao was already invested and his head began to run at high speed, "Maybe it's an alphabet, like English or something else? Or maybe it represents Chinese characters, or the number of page numbers and characters in a particular book. Could it be an indigenous language? I know of an Aboriginal language that sounds a lot like numbers... or simply a number code."

"Cat."

Bai Yutang interrupted Zhan Zhao somewhat feebly, reaching out to pinch his ears, "You're thinking too complexly. Those people, I mean Ah Mao and the others, aren't geniuses or fans of Sherlock Holmes after all, so don't think in an overly complex way, it's better to think in a simple way."

"Then what do you think?" Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang seriously, "You're more mortal!"

Bai Yutang gave him a depressed look, "Mortal?"

"Think about it, it's close to everyday life."

"I'll think about it later, but I don't have time now, Cat." Bai Yutang picked up the corner of his mouth, "I need to get serious about driving." Saying that, he looked at the rear view mirror, signalling for Zhan Zhao to look too.

Zhan Zhao tilted his face up to take a look in the rear view mirror... and found that there was a car trailing behind them – a white Honda!

‿︵‿︵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: May , 2022 by Angel