S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 3 Chapter 100

Lucky Murderer 28 – Close at Hand

---

Wei Ziqiang never thought that he let Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang come to a real sense of the stolen goods, he was on edge for the entire day, and did not expect all their actions to be in SCI's calculations... Looking at the young Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, he secretly sighed, the younger generation is fearsome ah.

That kid arrived at a remote location on the beach, stopped the car, opened the trunk to take out the body and gasoline, and wanted to light a fire to destroy the body, while taking out his phone ready to ask when Wei Ziqiang can come, so they can burn it together.

When Zhao Hu and Ma Han saw that he was only destroying the corpse and there was no meeting, they were a bit bummed out, but they still followed Bai Yutang's order to make the arrest.

Qian Jiarang had just picked up the gasoline can when he heard someone behind him ask him with a smile, "Yo, Qian Jiarang, are you thinking of setting yourself on fire? Do you finally know what it means to play with fire?"

As soon as Qian Jiarang heard the voice, he turned around and saw Zhao Hu happily watching him, and his blood instantly ran cold.

Ma Han appeared on his other side, surrounded by a large number of police officers.

Qian Jiarang threw away his lighter and gasoline can in tears and knelt down to wait to be arrested.

When the man was escorted away, Zhao Hu put one hand on Ma Han's shoulder, "What a fucking pain in the ass! Xiao Ma Ge, don't you think it's great to work with smart people? This case is so exciting!"

Ma Han's face was filled with a rare smile as he escorted Qian Jiarang back to SCI with him.

SCI had successfully unearthed one of the biggest worms in the police force, and the case was a major sensation for the police and the media. This time, the high level intervention demanded a thorough investigation and everyone found it unbelievable that someone was lurking in the police force for more than a decade or two. Is this the real version of Internal Affairs?!

Bao Zheng received a call from Bai Yunwen early in the morning and was a bit dumbfounded to hear the result. He originally thought that Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang, and the others would at most catch a small fish, he never thought that they would be able to catch a net full of big fish and small fish! Hanging up the phone, Bao Zheng said to himself, "What a bunch of kids! If things go on like this, my position will be theirs too."

He got up quickly and rushed to the police station.

......

In the morning, Ma Xin ran happily into the police station with a large bottle of champagne and several bags of takeaway, and heard many colleagues talking about it along the way. Ma Xin was even more delighted and rushed into SCI at a faster pace. As it turned out, everyone had spent the night interrogating Qian Jiarang and Wei Ziqiang, and they were all starving.

Gongsun also arrived dragging his ‘tired' body, cursing Bai Jintang as he walked to the office. Behind him, the twins brought a large portion of food, which Bai Jintang had ordered to be brought to SCI to celebrate.

Compared to the dozens of boxes of high-class cuisine sent by Big Brother, what Ma Xin brought was more like a snack or refreshment. She hugged a red-faced Luo Tian in a wounded pride manner, wanting comfort! Wanting a hug!

Luo Tian stiffly wrapped his arms around her and patted her, so awkwardly that the whole SCI was speechless.

Zhao Hu whispered to Zhan Zhao, "Brother Tian is too shy, is it a psychological disorder? Dr. Zhan, can you look at it for him?"

Ma Xin was glancing at Luo Tian with red ears, cursing in her heart, "Nasty, making it sound like this lady is unattractive."

The SCI group was celebrating.

Bai Yutang was watching from the doorway and felt that the commotion was not small, so he asked Zhan Zhao, "OK?"

Zhan Zhao nodded, “En, but I don't know if Bao Sir will get mad when he comes later."

As he spoke, the elevator door opened.

Bao Zheng walked out, followed by Zhao Zhen and Lisbon, who he had met downstairs

Zhao Zhen had his hands in his pockets and was pleased with the scene at hand. He had been driven home to sleep by Bai Chi after his foreign aid yesterday. Because he has been very busy with a lot of work recently, Bai Chi was worried about his health and wanted to make sure he got some sleep. Ever since he met the magician, Bai Chi has realised how much hard work and effort is required behind the glitz and glamour. It's true that it's not easy to do anything, and it's even harder to do it well, and it's not easy to be one of the best like Zhao Zhen. Thinking about it, Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang, and Gongsun were all so good, but their efforts behind the scenes were covered up by the glory of their brilliance.

Bao Zheng walked out of the elevator and froze when he saw the scene, then walked over and told Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao, "Not bad."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other and thought: "No way, Bao Zheng understands what they are going to do next?"

“Bao Sir..."

Bao Zheng waved his hand slightly, "I will contact the marine police for you later, you guys talk to them about cooperation. Remember, you must be careful this time."

The two of them swallowed their saliva at the same time and said in their hearts - Sure enough, the old ginger is still hot!

Zhao Zhen slowly walked up to the two of them and said, "There's something I want to tell you."

"Hmm?" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked up at him at the same time.

Zhao Zhen raised his hand and conjured up a card from nowhere, handing it to Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang to read, "I've received an invitation to the cruise the day after tomorrow!"

"You're going?" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both knew that this action was dangerous! Most of the people on the ship had complicated backgrounds, and with a status like Zhao Zhen's, it was better not to go if possible.

Zhao Zhen shrugged, "I don't think any of you can go on board, right? I'm ok with this, for an operation of this magnitude, you always need an inside man."

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao both knew that it was almost impossible for anyone from SCI to blend in... Zhao Zhen was indeed the best person for the job, but if he was the only one, it would be a bit worrying.

Zhan Zhao looked back at the crowd around him, who could help? Suddenly... a candidate flashed through his head, but he felt something was amiss so he stepped aside and frowned.

Zhao Zhen looked at Zhan Zhao's difficult expression and asked Bai Yutang, "What's he doing?"

Bai Yutang smiled, "Finding you some helpers."

"Helpers?" Zhao Zhen laughed, "What do I need help for? I can move around easily on my own."

"That's not what I meant." Bai Yutang shook his head, "Firstly, your safety is at stake, secondly... this time is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The secret we want to know most is close at hand, of course we want to uncover it as soon as possible and see its true nature."

"But, everyone in SCI should be known by the other side, it's not easy to get on board!" Zhao Zhen thought, “Using a disguise is possible, but Zhan Zhao has to direct the action on the ship, you have to direct the rescue operation, and the others... The risks aside, you may not be able to help me, but the twins may be able to."

"The twins can't.” Zhan Zhao walked back and said, "Not enough brains, you are not going up there to commit violence, and their specialty is strafing with submachine guns! I need someone who is skilled in psychology, who can hypnotise when necessary, and who is above average and capable of completing special tasks."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the twins behind him sneezed at the same time and looked back blankly, as if to ask - who's talking bad about us?

"Then who do you want to find?" Zhao Zhen shrugged, "Bai Chi definitely can't go, and since Chi Chi can't hold down this scene, you're the only one!"

Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang, who smiled lightly, "There is another person."

Zhao Zhen suddenly realised and smiled somewhat feebly, "Don't, I'm still a bit nervous seeing him."

"Nervous about what, aren't you related?" Zhan Zhao said, "It's good to take him, if there is danger, you can run away by yourself, he is strong, he will emerge again in a few days anyway!"

Zhao Zhen looked at Bai Yutang, unable to laugh or cry.

Bai Yutang patted Zhan Zhao, "Zhao Jue is indeed the best candidate, but he may not be willing to help, isn't he very busy lately?"

“Hmm…" Zhan Zhao shook his head, "I think he should be happy to help, after all, this kind of reservoir dog and falling into a well work is something he should be very fond of. It is his character to seek revenge, and he should have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. But it's too annoying to ask him to come as if we're begging him for help... What's the best way to get him to help without begging him?" (Angel: Reservoir dogs is a phrase that refers to a dog that fell into the water and falling into a well is a Chinese idiom that is a metaphor for taking advantage of someone to frame them when they are in danger.)

“Should I call him for you?" Bai Yutang pulled out his phone.

"No!" Zhan Zhao held his hand, "What's the difference between you calling and me calling?"

Bai Yutang heard this and looked meaningfully at Zhan Zhao, nodding, "Oh... so there's no difference between you and me!"

Zhan Zhao was embarrassed, and decided it was better to think about it again.

In the afternoon, the entrance to the police station was full of media, as Wei Ziqiang held a very high position. The entire police station was standing by, and the follow-ups were all handled by Bao Zheng.

Everyone in SCI continued to deal with the Lian family's case about tomb raiding, but honestly, at this time, the minds of everyone were on the matter of the cruise ship in a few days. The scale of this operation is too big, so the crowd was a little excited.

In the afternoon, Jiang Ping's spies who had set up the camera came back with photos of people going in and out of that betting shop near the Song Dynasty tomb, and this person, after multiple checks, was confirmed to be a staff member on that cruise ship, so he should be the inside man mixed in with them.

With this, the crowd was more confident about the next action.

Bai Yutang contacted the marine police and all the offshore marine police would be deployed that night. There would also be three helicopters responsible for sending Bai Yutang and other SCI and SWAT team members on board, plus speedboats and jet skis all on standby. The details were complicated, and Bai Yutang and Ma Han had experience in this area and were in contact with each other to arrange the plan.

Everyone was busy, but Zhan Zhao was not interested in lining up the troops. He was pacing alone in the lounge, turning Lisbon on the sofa, a little dizzy.

Zhao Zhen was playing cards, and at the entrance of the SCI lounge, a number of police officers from other sections were swarming to Zhao Zhen.

As he walked, Zhan Zhao looked at Zhao Zhen, who was sitting on the sofa, shuffling cards in one hand and one deck in the other. The movement was oddly fast, but he didn't seem to care, as if he was playing. Zhan Zhao had noticed before that Zhao Zhen's hands were amazing, his fingers could touch the back of his hands when he turned them up, so he asked if he had been born with that. Zhao Zhen's answer was - they were stretched in hot water.

Zhan Zhao was suddenly interested and moved his stool over, "Can you change a living person?"

Zhao Zhen laughed and looked at Zhan Zhao with a look that seemed to say - what do you want now?

"I see that your kind of large-scale magic often transforms planes and military vehicles and so on into nothing, is that something you can actually see, or do you need a TV to complement it?

"I do tours, not television shows." Zhao Zhen smiled, "Close up and far away is not a problem, live magic is the real magic!"

"Then..." Zhan Zhao thought about it, walked over and closed the lounge door behind him, then came over and asked Zhao Zhen, “is it possible to secretly transport the marine police near the cruise ship that night?"

Zhao Zhen laughed at this, "That's not too difficult."

"Really?" Zhan Zhao was amazed, "Then why don't you just get us on board?"

Zhao Zhen looked at him with admiration, "How about I put you on Mars first?"

Zhan Zhao flattened his mouth and sat aside to look at him.

Zhao Zhen was puzzled, "What else do you want to say?"

Zhan Zhao shrugged his shoulders, indicating that there was nothing.

Zhao Zhen shook his head, "I understand, it would be better to change you."

"Change me into what?" Zhan Zhao wondered.

Zhao Zhen took Zhan Zhao's phone and pressed it to the address book to find the long string of names, his slender fingers flicking over the names on the phone screen. After handing the phone back to Zhan Zhao, Zhao Zhen pointed to the door, "Go open it."

"Huh?" Zhan Zhao was puzzled.

Zhao Zhen smiled, "Go and take a look."

Zhan Zhao walked to the door suspiciously and reached out to open the door of the room...

Only to see the doorway empty, there was no one there.

Zhan Zhao looked back at Zhao Zhen with a contemptuous expression and was just about to open his mouth to say a few words when he heard a familiar voice, "Not bad, it's progressing fast."

Zhan Zhao froze abruptly and turned around, seeing the long-lost Zhao Jue standing behind him.

"You..."

"You guys are really something, you've already touched their tails, you’ve done more in a few years than we've done in a decade. Should we say that technology is advanced, or that the waves after the Yangtze River are pushing the waves." Zhao Jue came in with his hands indifferently in his pockets. When he saw Zhao Zhen sitting on the sofa, he smiled and went over to sit beside him, stroking his head "Be a good boy, greet people!"

Zhao Zhen was a little embarrassed and greeted Zhao Jue, probably calling him 'uncle'.

Zhan Zhao looked at his phone and wondered how Zhao Zhen had managed to do that. Could it be that Zhao Zhen had spoken to him?

Thinking of this, he reached out and flicked his hand to Bai Yutang's name in the address book. After looking around and seeing no movement, he turned back and was just about to continue talking to Zhao Jue when Bai Yutang's voice came from behind him, "Cat, I just saw Zhao Jue go upstairs..."

"Ah!” Zhan Zhao was startled and jerked back.

Bai Yutang looked at him with a surprised expression, not knowing why he was reacting so strongly.

"Haha!" Zhao Jue looked delighted, resting one hand on his cheek and leaning his elbow against Zhao Zhen, "How funny, it's been a long time since we've seen each other, but you're still alive and kicking.!"

Zhao Zhen looked at Zhao Jue and was a little worried "Are you sure you want to go? Those people all know you, don't they? Is it okay for you to go on board?"

"I am not worried," Zhao Jue came over and smiled at him, "you are the world's most powerful magician! Turn me into something else! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I want to meet an old friend."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other.

Bai Yutang said, "Have Jiang Ping put monitoring equipment on you, and just in case, put on a bulletproof undershirt."

Zhao Jue laughed, "If I need to rely on those things to save my life, then I should have died hundreds of times already."

When Zhan Zhao saw that he was still in good spirits, he asked, "What are you going to do this time?"

Zhao Jue laughed and made a 'shhh' gesture to Zhan Zhao, "There is a magic called mind control."

Zhan Zhao frowned, "You're crazy, what do you want to do with a big boat full of people?"

Zhao Jue shrugged indifferently, "Anyway, I am a madman, it is reasonable to be crazy... In order to take revenge, you have to be thorough, trampling the enemy into the abyss, viscously shattered and buried deep, so that they can never turn over!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both took a deep breath, hoping that asking Zhao Jue to help this time was not the wrong decision.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter

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: July 14, 2022 by Angel