S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 3 Chapter 94

Lucky Murderer 24 – Shady

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Zhan Zhao's behind-the-scenes fishing operation was a success, and it was time for the civilians to retire and the warriors to step up to the plate for the rest!

Bai Yutang nonetheless made a detailed account of tonight's action, always feeling that... it was still not perfect.

First of all – to do things in a big way, you have to be organised! Especially with such a well scented bait, how can you catch a bigger fish?

Talking about this pair from SCI, it's quite interesting.

Zhan Zhao is undoubtedly a top-notch smart guy with the ability to fool a lot of people, but he is always constrained by one person, and that person is Bai Yutang.

It's hard to imagine a man so clever that he can beat everyone at cards, chess, and other games, but is often defeated by Bai Yutang. In this regard, Bai Chi once asked Zhan Zhao seriously, "Why is this?"

Zhan Zhao's answer was, "I let him win!"

Gongsun's reply was more scientific, "Is Zhuge Liang smart? But he was only a counsellor, and to be the boss you have to be organised and logical! You also have to know how to use smart people."

And so, the most remarkable thing about Captain Bai was that he caught all of Zhan Zhao's thoughts, which were so wild and unpredictable that many people couldn't understand them, and rubbed them, just like rubbing cat hair, and smoothed them out and made them clear!

What they are going to do this time is an ambush, the steps are – lure, set a trap, ambush, capture!

It may seem simple, but there are many possible variables in the outcome.

What the other party had to do was to pretend to be a glass repair worker or a cleaner and go straight into the forensic room. Because these workers would need to bring large toolboxes with them, there had to be a place to hide the bodies.

But now there was a rather vexing problem that bothered Bai Yutang! The first is that it is not difficult to catch the people who steal the corpses, the difficult thing is to uncover the real culprits behind the scenes, that is, those who are further back than Qian Jiarang and Wei Ziqiang. How can they get them to reveal themselves?

The conclusion is that there is a trap to be set before the ambush is made.

Bai Yutang's method got stuck on the trap. Reaching out, he gently squeezed Zhan Zhao's shoulder, who was eating, "Cat."

Zhan Zhao glanced at him and moved over, "Hm?"

"There's no point in just catching little minions, it's also easy to spook the snakes." Bai Yutang said seriously, "We need to think of a way to reach out to the big fish."

"En." Zhan Zhao nodded without speaking.

"The password was uploaded from Wei Ziqiang's computer, which in itself is a piece of evidence, but with this computer business, a random excuse can be used to stall. If there is not enough evidence, it will only make the other side shrink into their shells... Wei Ziqiang is just an important link in a number of joints, the real behind-the-scenes is still hidden in the shadows." When Bai Yutang finished, he saw Zhan Zhao with his hands on his chin, tilting his face to look at him, and yawning while doing so.

Bai Yutang looked at him for a moment, "Cat, sleepy ah?"

Zhan Zhao shook his head and continued to stare at Bai Yutang.

"Then did you hear what I said?" Bai Yutang then asked.

"I heard you!" Zhan Zhao nodded, "You mean that it would be best to think of a way to make Wei Ziqiang and the others reveal their fox tails, don't you?"

Bai Yutang immediately nodded his head, "Well, do you have a method then?"

Zhan Zhao thought about it and smiled faintly, "Method, of course there is, but..."

"But what?" Bai Yutang patted him, "Cat, what's the problem? It's getting late."

"I want you, Captain Bai, to sacrifice a little!" The smile on Zhan Zhao's face clearly had some other implications.

Bai Yutang put down his pen and looked at him, "What kind of sacrifice?"

"A literal sacrifice!" Zhan Zhao raised an eyebrow, "To catch a big fish, you need to use big bait, to make a big deal, you need to use big chaos!"

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao with one hand on his chin, "Cat… be more specific."

"Tell me, why did the Joker want to kill Batman?" Zhan Zhao suddenly asked another out of context question.

Bai Yutang's brow furrowed, "You know I don't read comics."

"Why did Yue Fei die?" Zhan Zhao changed the question to one that was easy to understand.

Bai Yutang froze, "Cat, you want me to pretend to be dead so that the other side can let their guard down, huh?"

Zhan Zhao moved over and whispered, "Do you dare to play? Not only you, but also me, let's do it together!"

......

Bai Yutang opened his mouth, "Then, if you and I both leave… what about SCI?!"

Zhan Zhao shrugged, "You can say that, then guess, those who have been seeking opportunities but have not been able to, will they also be waiting for this opportunity?!"

Bai Yutang crossed his arms and seemed to be seriously considering, "Indeed..."

"I've always felt that many of the things we've encountered so far are related to Zhao Jue's research back then. This research, based on my investigation and partial deciphering of those secret materials of Zhao Jue, came to some conclusions. Basically, there is a mysterious organisation that has been engaged in some research on the limits of human beings from a very long time ago. There are many fields involved, psychological, neurological, and of course... biological." Zhan Zhao leaned on the table, cupping the empty cup of milk tea in his hand, "This research has been going on since before the war, it may have been official at the time, but apparently they suffered a huge setback during the war years. But the project didn't end... the genius member of that year, Zhao Jue, revived the hope of that project. However, as the saying goes, success or failure mean nothing. This strange man, Zhao Jue, seems to have caused a great deal of trouble for that organisation, causing it to fall into disarray to this day. And now, they've had another fatal setback."

"No money?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Uh huh." Zhan Zhao smiled, "Money isn't everything, but you can't do research without it. Now that technology is so advanced, there is so much that can be used for research, yet the equipment may not be able to keep up with the ideas. To do experiments, it is simply impossible to accomplish without a strong financial backing!"

"Funding, to get so much money at once, it's simply impossible to not make any noise!" Bai Yutang thought.

"Originally, the cashier's check from the bank that Zhao Jue left us was the best source of funds, but we have already donated it. If they want to get another fortune, a better way is..." Zhan Zhao paused here.

Bai Yutang continued, "Dig up a treasure!"

"But!" Zhan Zhao asked seriously, "Do you think that a true treasure exists in the world?"

Bai Yutang was a bit taken aback, "A true treasure?"

"Gold mines and diamond mines... are not as profitable as oil mines!" Zhan Zhao laughed, "Some are even worse than salt mines! There are thousands of ways to make money, so why bother using such a stupid method as grave robbing? Besides, we can already be sure that Lian Qianyi does not genuinely have a genetic memory, so it is very likely that the legends of Lian Tongli's ancestors are all fabrications."

"That's true!" Bai Yutang nodded, "Whether those diagrams are real or not is indeed based only on the Lian family's word."

"Ai!" Zhan Zhao rubbed his arm against him, "Think about it! If Lian Qianyi really has some kind of genetic memory, why would he be looking for diagrams, he could just draw them himself! Also, if Lian Qianzhong really wanted to find the Great Tomb of the Northern Song Dynasty, why did he hide in the lottery shop and wait? What was he waiting for? For the archaeological team to dig up the tomb? That would be at least three or four months away, and when the treasure is out, could he then rob it? Wouldn't that be asking for death?"

Bai Yutang nodded and found it reasonable, "Indeed, the whole tomb-robbing case, as well as the theft of those bodies with oversized bones this time, seem illogical... so to say, the fabrication is a bit too much, and it is a deliberate attempt to confuse us."

Zhan Zhao gently clapped his hands, "... If one day, I get a billion or even more dollars of ill-gotten wealth, and then I have a few pieces of artwork from the Song Dynasty on hand, as long as I take these things abroad, auction off the artworks, and then buy them at a high price with my ill-gotten gains, is that money laundered?"

"Trying to launder money through this method?" Bai Yutang frowned.

"The organisation that has been after us and Zhao Jue had many overseas connections before, it's simply too convenient to do this!"

"Indeed, even if we do open the Song Dynasty tomb, we may not be able to find much inside." Bai Yutang tapped his fingers on the table, "There's no upper limit to the price of artworks, especially the ones that have just been dug up. There's nothing else in a Song Dynasty tomb but porcelain, and that's the hardest thing to value, it's easy to get a sky-high price! It's also a black market transaction, so it's hard to trace the source."

"The reason why they haven't done anything is because the time is not ripe!" Zhan Zhao whispered with his shoulder next to Bai Yutang's, "That group seems to be waiting for something... We might as well follow the vine since we hold information about their mole!"

"After talking for half a day..." Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao, "Cat, what exactly is your idea?"

"Tonight, let the group steal the body away! Of course, what they steal will be the fake corpses made by Gongsun and Ma Xin. This is the kind of thing would probably be burned when taken away." Zhan Zhao said, his face bringing out a sense of excitement, "Then, let's create a big cake for them and create a big mess, let's see who will come to take a bite of this!"

Bai Yutang rubbed his hands together, "Cat, are you going to have a big showdown with them?"

"I don't know if it's a showdown, but it's like playing backgammon, where the first player to move has a big advantage!" Zhan Zhao’s expression was cold, "We've always been on the defensive, now that the group is at a disadvantage, we have to seize this opportunity and turn the situation around!"

"A gamble?" Bai Yutang saw a hint of excitement and slyness in Zhan Zhao's eyes, and knew that he had probably been planning this for a long time, and had wanted to do this for a long time!

"The exact method?" Bai Yutang was naturally a strong supporter of everything Zhan Zhao did.

"First, let them steal the fake corpse tonight!" Zhan Zhao stated his idea, "We can secretly record the footage and collect evidence to keep for later use... but don't alert the snake!"

Bai Yutang nodded, he also had this very same idea. So far, this seemed to be the best chance they had to be able to access the mysterious layer of darkness behind this, they should let go and gamble! A high ranking police officer like Wei Ziqiang was actually an inside man, this could never be a simple spontaneous act, there was someone else behind it. Compared to that, Wei Ziqiang was also a discarded son that could be thrown away at any time, it was too bad to just arrest him!

"And then?" Bai Yutang thought for a moment, "There's still a problem, there has to be black money for laundering... where would they get so much illegal income!"

"The best method..." Zhan Zhao thought about it and took out his phone to dial Bai Jintang's number. After quite a while, the phone connected, and unsurprisingly, a warm and ambiguous aura came through the phone.

"Brother." Zhan Zhao called out.

Bai Jintang said honourably, "Very busy at the moment!"

"It’s very urgent!" Zhan Zhao asked, "Is there any way to get a large sum of money?"

Bai Jintang froze, when he heard Gongsun's voice come, "Aiya, you're not done yet?! So tired!"

Bai Jintang smiled and said very gently, "Then you can rest for a while." After saying that, he simply lit his cigarette and asked Zhan Zhao, "How big a sum of money?"

"Very big!"

"Robbing the treasury." Bai Jintang replied.

Zhan Zhao frowned, locked eyes with Bai Yutang and asked, "Anything else?"

"Large financial fraud." Bai Jintang continued.

"Why are they all illegal?" Bai Yutang was a little torn.

Bai Jintang sneered, "Legitimate business makes steady money, has long-lasting benefits, and has a strong backbone. Improper business makes money with hatred, dies quickly, and cuts off one's children."

"Apart from these few things, is there anything else?" Zhan Zhao always felt that there were some conditions missing, so it should not be those two ways to make money.

Bai Jintang thought about it again and said, "A large arms order."

"Impossible na!" Zhan Zhao rolled his eyes, "... It will take a long time after the money has arrived to be discovered, or it won't be discovered."

Bai Jintang listened and suddenly smiled, "Oh... I remember something."

When Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang heard Bai Jintang's laugh, they both had a movement in their hearts - There's a clue!

"Think of the world as a big basket, there are good apples and naturally there are rotten apples, but the apples are all in one basket." Bai Jintang smiled, "You can also do the math, how many positions that can offer high salaries and high earnings are there in total? But there are certainly more rich people than that total... Excluding those who earn white money, everyone else has money in their hands that is black."

"Ah!" Zhan Zhao suddenly realised and clapped his hands, "Black eats black!"

Bai Jintang smiled and nodded, "As far as I know, there will be a luxury cruise ship passing by soon. It seems to be a gambling ship, right? That's a black money ATM floating on the sea! Catching ten rich people and extorting one billion each, wouldn't that be ten billion, and since the money is black and unseen, who would dare to call the police to report it?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang lit up at the same time – This was reliable!

"So when will the ship arrive?"

"The day after tomorrow? Or the day after that, I'll ask Da Ding to ask around."

"OK!" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang agreed, thanked Bai Jintang, and closed the phone with satisfaction.

Zhan Zhao elbowed Bai Yutang, "How about it? Are we going to do it?"

Bai Yutang gently nodded… Indeed, you can try to put out a long line while fishing, it is best to lift the curtain of mystery! A corner is good, but they want to see the one hiding in the back, which is sacred.

The two men looked at each other, their minds already made up. They do not want to be like the old generation, speculating on understanding when confused!

‿︵‿︵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: June 13, 2022 by Angel