S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 1 Chapter 83

The Murderer Is Not Human 16 – Step-By-Step

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"What's this?!" Zhan Zhao looked at the strange clip that Bai Yutang had attached to his necktie.

"A tie clip." Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows and helped Zhan Zhao fix his clothes again, "Why do you seem to have lost weight, Cat? You still look so thin even with the bulletproof vest on!"

"En~~ I weighed myself yesterday and I'm three pounds lighter." Zhan Zhao stared at the tie clip with resentment, "The clip is so ugly ah look!!!"

"This is already the best looking one, it has a miniature camera and a bug inside!" Bai Yutang tucked the tie into his jacket, "Have you been too tired lately?"

"No~~" Zhan Zhao shook his head, "It's not like it's the first time I've worked on a case..."

"Hasn't your physical work increased recently compared to before?" Bai Yutang smiled and patted Zhan Zhao's back...

"Damn mouse!!!" Zhan Zhao lifted his foot and stomped hard, "It's mainly because the food has been bad lately! I want to have sweet and sour pork tonight!"

Bai Yutang put on a watch for him: "There is a locator in this watch. The button on the side can send an alarm when pressed, I can receive it here. If something happens, press it!"

"En... where are the sweet and sour ribs..." Zhan Zhao looked in the mirror. There was nothing missing.

"Go home and make them for you." Bai Yutang tucked the miniature Remington into the gun pouch on Zhan Zhao's calf. "Give Shang Luo a shot if he dares to do anything to you!"

"Is that what the police would say?!" Zhan Zhao glared at him, then said, "I'll press my watch and call you, you come and beat the hell out of him!"

"Fine! That's a deal!" Bai Yutang twirled Zhan Zhao in place twice. After checking that there were no more slip-ups, he finally said, "Cat! Be careful!"

"Don't worry!" Zhan Zhao smiled with confidence.

"Brother!" Bai Chi poked his head in through the door. He was holding a pile of things, all of which were surveillance equipment, "It's all ready." After saying that, he saw that Bai Yutang's hands were resting on both sides of Zhan Zhao's shoulders. He blushed and retracted his head again, "I... will wait in the car..." and then hurriedly fled.

The two men in the dressing room looked at each other, not understanding what Bai Chi was blushing about~~~

After a few brief words of encouragement, Bao Zheng said, "Be cautious about everything" and sent the two out the door.

The operation this time was very intensive, with Zhan Zhao heading to the venue alone. Bai Yutang and Bai Chi followed in one car from a close distance, and Ma Han Zhao Hu trailed in another car waiting in the shadows.

In order not to arouse suspicion, Zhan Zhao did not take Bai Yutang's car to the venue, but took a taxi instead.

The car arrived at the entrance of the International Hotel without a hitch. Zhan Zhao got out of the car and, with the guidance of the hostess, walked into the elevator together.

Bai Chi opened his computer and connected to the camera and bug on Zhan Zhao's tie clip. Everything had a good signal and he sighed in praise, "Jiang Ping is amazing, something like this can be adapted. It is also wireless and anti-interference." 

Bai Yutang put on his headphones and heard Zhan Zhao politely ask the hostess, "Is it in the hallon the 13th floor?"

"Ah, that’s right." The hostess had been receiving a lot of old men and middle-aged uncles today, so when a young and handsome man like Zhan Zhao came in, she was already dazzled. In addition, he was smiling as he spoke to her, so she immediately replied enthusiastically.

The elevator soon stopped at the 13th floor, and Zhan Zhao politely thanked the hostess before exiting the elevator and walking inside

Bai Yutang saw that the hostess felt dizzy, and her voice was also very nervous, so he gritted his teeth – this cat was attracting bees and butterflies!

Bai Chi, who was beside him, heard what Bai Yutang was muttering clearly, and his face immediately turned red again.

Bai Yutang, however, paid no attention at all, staring intently at the screen, watching Zhan Zhao's next move.

It was a small banquet hall, with about sixty to seventy people in the room. After entering, Zhan Zhao first naturally looked around so that Bai Yutang and the rest of them could also get a more detailed view of the banquet hall's ambience, the general flow of people, the perspective of the windows and so on.

The arrival of Zhan Zhao drew the attention of many people. To put it bluntly, Zhan Zhao is quite famous in the psychology community, especially in the criminal psychology community. However, he does not participate in the activities of the psychological community, so most people have been admiring him for a long time but have not yet met him. It is said that this man is a rare psychological genius who has outstanding looks, is very young, and is gentle and elegant... and when they saw him today, that was indeed the case...

"Ah! Dr. Zhan!" Lu Wen, the president of the Association of Psychology, hurriedly welcomed him, and the old man enthusiastically shook hands with Zhan Zhao: "Welcome, welcome, ah, I'm so happy that you can come tonight." With that, he turned back to everyone and introduced him, "Everyone, this is tonight's protagonist, Zhan Zhao! Dr. Zhan!"

In the face of the probing gazes and admiration, Zhan Zhao was very calm. In other words he didn't bother to notice, he smiled and greeted the crowd in return, while searching around for Shang Luo's figure... The result was actually negative~~

Zhan Zhao was also a bit disappointed and turned around to leave, but he was bumped by a person walking next to him and a glass of champagne was spilled on his chest...

"Ah! I'm sorry... I wasn't paying attention... sorry sorry sorry!"

Zhan Zhao was shocked by the bump, because the champagne spilled right on the tie clip, and he was not sure if the machinery inside would work or not. However, after hearing the person's voice he just froze, and Zhan Zhao quickly straightened up. Bai Yutang and Bai Chi in front of the screen saw it at the same time, the person standing next to Zhan Zhao - was Shang Luo.

"Aiya, it's Dr. Zhan, what a coincidence!" Shang Luo said, while taking out a handkerchief from his jacket pocket to wipe the wine stains on Zhan Zhao's tie.

Zhan Zhao said, "It's okay", while deftly accepting Shang Luo's handkerchief and wiping his shirt and tie, thinking that the performance of the stuff made by Jiang Ping must be okay...

"The tie clip is very unique." Shang Luo suddenly spoke.

Zhan Zhao smiled: "Yes... someone gave it to me."

"A sweetheart, huh?" Shang Luo asked with a smile, "Look at how sweet you are smiling."

"Yes~~" Zhan Zhao nodded graciously, "a prospective wife, just not very aesthetic~~"

Bai Yutang then heard the laughter of Ma Han and Zhao Hu from the other car coming over the walkie-talkie. He was so angry that he ground his teeth, saying, "You dead cat, you still don't forget to take advantage of me with your mouth at this time~~Great!

The already slightly red face of Bai Chi flushed a few more degrees. Looking down to focus on the screen, his heart beating really fast...

Bai Yutang beside him noticed his discomfort and asked, "Bai Chi, are you hot? You're sweating all over!"

"Huh?" Bai Chi froze and hurriedly looked down at the screen, "Well... it's really cold today... no, I mean it's not too hot today... it's not too cold and not too hot... "

Finally, Bai Yutang patted Bai Chi, who was incoherent and biting his lower lip, as he stared dryly, "It's okay, I'm just asking, no need to answer so seriously..."

After a long time, Bai Chi said, "Hmm~"

Ma Han and Zhao Hu on the other end, burst out laughing again ~~ Bai Yutang was furious!!!

"I'm so sorry..." Shang Luo looked at the wine stain on Zhan Zhao's tie and said apologetically, "Let me walk you to the bathroom to clean it..."

Zhan Zhao nodded, "Sure."

The two then headed out of the hall and headed for the restroom.

Bai Yutang frowned and Bai Chi tensed up, "That, Shang Luo seems to have hit him on purpose... Is it okay to follow?"

"Don't worry..." Bai Yutang said out loud, "That cat is smart, it will be fine." But the frown grew tighter and tighter...

Shang Luo led Zhan Zhao out of the hall and towards the bathroom, seemingly chatting casually about a topic: "By the way, how is the case going?"

Zhan Zhao also replied casually, "Is it the case of the Box Corpse?"

"Yes, it's a bit cold to keep it at home after all..." Shang Luo laughed a few times, "I really want the truth to be revealed soon."

"We will try our best to solve the case." Zhan Zhao replied with a smile. Seeing Shang Luo step forward to help him open the bathroom door, he nodded politely, and walked in.

Before arriving at the pool, Zhan Zhao put his handkerchief in the water to wet it, and asked Shang Luo, "Why would Mr. Shang be interested in collecting things like box corpses?"

"Oh... I don't collect it out of interest." Shang Luo helplessly shrugged, "I usually do some antique business, and I collect whatever is valuable for collection. This box corpse has a lot of room for appreciation, so I bought it."

"Really..." Zhan Zhao lowered his head and stretched out his hand. He picked up the tie and wiped the wine stains on it with a wet handkerchief... As the camera angle changed, Bai Yutang saw the faces of Zhan Zhao and Shang Luo on the screen. Zhan Zhao was wiping the tie with his head down intently, while Shang Luo was staring at him. Zhan Zhao looked at that angle, and he didn't need to think about it to know that he was looking at his neck area...

Bai Chi felt that the air field above Bai Yutang's head was getting gloomier and the air pressure was very low~~

"Is Dr. Zhan usually interested in collecting?" Shang Luo asked.

"Yes..." Zhan Zhao said, "I like to collect some things about indigenous civilization, preferably the kind related to mysterious culture."

"Then there are a few collections in my home that may suit your heart." Shang Luo reached out and took the handkerchief in Zhan Zhao's hand, put it in the water and washed it, then took another step and took the tie in Zhan Zhao's hand to help him wipe it, "Are you interested in taking a look?"

"After the banquet is over.” A hint of interest flashed in Zhan Zhao's eyes, "What kind of collection do you have?"

"Well... to tell you the truth, it is mainly corpses, most of them are special corpses of various indigenous funerals, as well as some accessories and tribal totems. "

“I'm interested!" Zhan Zhao looked very happy, "Then I'll go after the awards are given... By the way, will I bother you?"

"It doesn't matter... I live alone anyway." Shang Luo wiped the tie. The almost finished tie was tucked back into Zhan Zhao's suit, and he helped him sort out his clothes and asked, "What about you, if you go back so late, will the tasteless sweetheart be unhappy?!"

Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, "It doesn't matter… he's busy."

"Busy?" Shang Luo threw the wet handkerchief in his hand into the trash, "He's still busy at night?"

"En..." Zhan Zhao turned on the water faucet and washed his hands, smiling, "he's going to make sweet and sour pork ribs!"

Bai Yutang heard a ‘grunt’ in Bai Chi's throat beside him, looking like he wanted to laugh but had to hold back his pain.

On the walkie-talkie, he heard Ma Han and Zhao Hu say, "Boss, we want to eat later~~"

He gritted his teeth and sneered: "Okay, Sure, which one of you is going to make the ribs?!"

Silence~~

After Zhan Zhao and Shang Luo walked out of the washroom, they made their way to the hall for a simple award ceremony. After Zhan Zhao made a short speech in a grand manner and managed to charm all the guests present with his temperament and poise, he left the venue with Shang Luo and walked into the elevator.

"My car is in the basement." Shang Luo pressed the button for the underground parking garage and was just about to continue when he saw Zhan Zhao reach out and press the button for the 1st floor, saying, "I'll wait for you outside the lobby... I want to enjoy the breeze, it's really a bit stuffy inside... By the way, is it on the way?"

"No problem..." Shang Luo nodded, "I don't live far away, I'm just in Linjiang..."

Outside the building Bai Yutang chuckled, “Dead cat, so treacherous ah ~ ~” After he finished, he picked up the walkie-talkie and said, “Pork ribs pork ribs, the cat is out of the bag, the cat is out of the bag, just keep an eye on me if you don't want to be cooked."

..... After a long time, the response from Ma Han and Zhao Hu on the other end came - "Ribs received ~~~"

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

There won't be a chapter next week, as my parents are in town for my graduation.

Translated: March 19, 2022 by Turtle

Edited: June 14, 2022 by Angel