S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 3 Chapter 101

Lucky Murderer 29 – Ready for Action

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It was really good news for the crowd that Zhao Jue was willing to help.

Zhao Zhen was boarding the boat with him and had to give him a little make-up, while the members of the SCI also had a lot to prepare, and the group split up.

Bai Yutang went off to plan the whole operation with the commanders of the SWAT team and the marine police unit, and he received the diagram of the cruise ship's internal structure from the twins.

The two commanders didn't know where Bai Yutang got the information, they just thought it was amazing.

Ma Han personally picked a few of the best snipers. He was going to have to fight from a helicopter this time, which was difficult. Zhao Hu and Luo Tian went to study the equipment and routes for boarding the ship with the SWAT team members.

Jiang Ping and Qin Ou were in charge of technical issues, and the others contacted the relevant personnel for their respective operations. Bai Chi ran around sorting out information. Gongsun and Ma Xin hung around idly.

Only Zhan Zhao seemed to have nothing to do. Bai Yutang originally asked him to go with him to coordinate with the two captains, but Zhan Zhao brushed it off, saying that he had something to do and went home alone first.

What was Zhan Zhao doing at home?

He went to the balcony on the second floor with a glass of water in his hand, and leaned on the balcony railing, looking at the city street scene down the hillside in the distance. He had previously marvelled at the beauty of the city at night, but the same city looked chaotic during the day; the more cars there were at night the more spectacular it was, and the more cars there were during the day the more congested it was.

Zhan Zhao watched quietly and deeply felt that the darkness could obscure many things as well as highlight many others.

As he watched, he heard the sound of footsteps behind him and turned around, only to see that it was Gongsun who had returned from his leisurely stroll.

"The police station is too chaotic." Gongsun sat down beside him and handed him a lollipop.

Zhan Zhao took the lollipop and was puzzled, and Gongsun laughed, "Yang Yang gave it to me when I left the police station."

At this time, Lisbon and the little lion outside the door also both ran in, intimately rubbing the two… Everyone in SCI, including Bai Jintang and Zhao Zhen, are busy people, and usually do not see each other at all on weekdays, they did not expect to be so free today.

Seeing that Zhan Zhao seemed to have something on his mind, Gongsun asked, "What's wrong? You're not happy to have to ask Zhao Jue for help?"

Zhan Zhao shrugged, "When Brother comes back later, I don't know if he will be unhappy when he sees Zhao Jue."

"He doesn't even care." Knowing that Zhan Zhao might be thinking too much, Gongsun reassured him, "Anyway, let's go outside tonight."

"And Yutang, I want to ask Zhao Jue who that person is and if he has anything to do with Yutang." Zhan Zhao chose an angle to sit down, "But he definitely won't tell the truth."

Gongsun leaned on the railing and rested his chin, “I, however, don't want to know what happened to Jintang back then. This probably counts as self-evasion."

Zhan Zhao smiled and nodded, "Yutang doesn't seem to want to know either, but there are some things that if they aren't resolved, I feel like they will always follow us, like our fathers and grandfathers living awkwardly."

"That's true too." Gongsun pondered. At that moment, the two of them saw that in the courtyard downstairs, Zhao Jue had changed into a black outfit that he rarely wore and walked out, hiding his long hair inside a wig cover, which felt odd as they were used to seeing him with long hair.

"Can people really change their nature and not age at all?" Gongsun stared at Zhao Jue and suddenly said "If only I could dissect him and have a look."

"Ahem..." Zhan Zhao was just lamenting, but he didn't expect Gongsun to suddenly come up with such a sentence.

"Actually, you can go ask if you want to know." Gongsun suddenly turned his head and seriously said to Zhan Zhao, "The biggest thing is that you might make him laugh at you, for Bai Yutang's sake."

Zhan Zhao froze and reached up to scratch his hair. That’s right...... for the sake of Xiao Bai, you can laugh if you want! Thinking this, he turned around and went downstairs.

When he came out of the door, he saw Zhao Jue sitting on a bench in the courtyard, surrounded by Lilia and Luban, with a group of meowing kittens on his lap. He didn't know when this litter of cats had become so close to him.

When he saw Zhan Zhao slowly walking over, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. He picked up Luban beside him and put him on the other side, as if to make room for Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao took a deep breath and reminded himself once again, for the sake of Yutang!

When he reached his side and sat down, Zhan Zhao raised his eyes to look at him, "There are some things I want to ask you."

"Hm?" Zhao Jue squeezed the paw of the small fat cat, seemingly quite pleased with how soft it felt in his hand. The warm weather combined with the furry kitten meowing, Zhan Zhao was momentarily swayed.

It had been a long time since he had seen this image... but it seemed that every time he saw Zhao Jue, he was suspiciously staying in a particularly warm and sunny environment. For example, the first time they met, it was with those calla lilies in the daylight, and the greenhouse, the brightly lit gallery, the white sandy beach paved court, the sunny African grasslands...

Seeing that Zhan Zhao was in a daze, Zhao Zhen looked at him carefully, "Have you been very tired lately?"

Zhan Zhao froze, realising that he might have dark circles under his eyes, before he remembered that while he had slept for a few hours, Yutang hadn't closed his eyes since the decision to capture Qian Jiarang, and now he was off to talk about important matters. He must be forced to get some sleep tonight!

"Heh." Zhao Jue chuckled and shook his head.

"What?"

"You're too poisoned." Zhao Jue whispered, "No matter what is mentioned, your face shows that you are thinking about someone."

"Where?!" Zhan Zhao was a little embarrassed, petting Luban and Lilia who had jumped into his arms to pamper themselves.

"Cats are so cute." Zhao Jue suddenly said with emotion, "It's obviously very favoured, yet it's still cautious, like it's always showing affection to its owner. It obviously cares a lot about other people's favour, but it still has to pretend like it doesn't care, playing with its temper and all that. Obviously already cute, but still very careful about grooming and trying to be cuter with every action... Dogs are different, they roll all over the place when you don't pay attention to them."

"Cats can roll around too, okay." Zhan Zhao rubbed Luban's stomach.

Zhao Jue laughed and Zhan Zhao secretly sighed, this man really loved to laugh, though most of the time he laughed in a very unpleasant way.

"I want to ask you a question," Zhan Zhao suddenly said.

"What?” Zhao Jue asked calmly.

"About that person." Zhan Zhao said, "The one who looks like Yutang..."

"You think they're alike?" Zhao Jue asked.

Zhan Zhao looked stunned for a moment then nodded, "Very similar."

"Haha." Zhao Jue laughed coldly and shook his head, “Not similar!"

Zhan Zhao frowned, obviously the appearance was the same, could it be a make-up trick? It couldn't be that complete, could it?

"Who is he?" Zhan Zhao still pursued the question. Zhao Jue looked like he didn't want to say it, and according to Zhan Zhao's character, he wouldn't pursue the question, but still, he asked for Bai Yutang’s sake.

Zhao Jue was a little embarrassed, reaching out and rubbing his chin, "Are you sure Bai Yutang wants to know?"

"I can consider the situation to see if I want to tell him, but I want to know and I want to make sure that this matter is harmless." Zhan Zhao said seriously, "I can say that I already owe you a favour for this operation, if that person is related to Yutang, I have to think it over!"

Zhao Jue laughed and shook his head, "You're counting so clearly with me, huh? Besides, my own personal revenge is a little more involved this time."

“Those two things are completely irrelevant" But Zhan Zhao insisted, "I don't want to make things difficult for Yutang later."

"You're so much like the man you were when you were younger, barking out the word Yutang and thinking of him in every way." Zhao Jue suddenly said quietly, "But he is different from Bai Yutang, that little tiger of yours is unique."

Zhan Zhao felt that Zhao Jue was reminiscing about his life and asked him, "Which one is he?"

Zhao Jue was silent for a long time and said, "Well, I'll tell you quietly, don't tell anyone."

Zhan Zhao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but it sounded like Luo Yang and Xiao Yi were whispering to each other. Were they elementary school students?

Zhao Jue moved over, covered Zhan Zhao's ears, and whispered a sentence to him.

After hearing this, Zhan Zhao froze and stared at Zhao Jue, "You... lied, right?"

Zhao Jue put the kittens on the bench, stood up, and walked in the direction of the villa with his hands behind his back, leaving only the words, "Whether it's true or not, you can judge for yourself."

So, Zhan Zhao sat on the bench, cuddled up to a group of cats and thought about it for the whole afternoon.

When Bai Yutang returned from his discussion, he saw this scene - under the evening sunset, Zhan Zhao was sitting on a bench with a group of cats in his arms, dazed.

Walking over to Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang coughed softly and asked, "Is this some kind of way to communicate your feelings? Or are you brewing a transformation?"

Zhan Zhao tilted his face up and saw Bai Yutang standing under the golden sunset, smiling and looking at him. There was a light tiredness on his face, but he was in a very good mood.

Zhan Zhao suddenly remembered someone who had once said - no matter how tired you are, once you return home and see the person you like smiling at you, you will be in a better mood. No matter what the person you like is like, to be happy at the sight of them is what you really like, that is true love.

Zhan Zhao put the group of sleeping big cats and kittens down and stood up, "Are you tired?"

Bai Yutang smiled and nodded, "Kinda."

"Then go to bed!" Zhan Zhao pulled him inside, "I'll take care of dinner!"

"Really?" Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao in surprise, "You don't want to be near the kitchen, do you? I don't want to get up in the middle of a nap to put out a fire."

"How could I!" Zhan Zhao pushed him upstairs, pressed him down on the bed, and covered him with the blanket. He carefully opened the door, held the little lion who was about to rush in and be intimate, dragged him out, closed the door, and told Bai Yutang to sleep well.

Downstairs, Bai Chi had also returned with a large pile of information, "Brother, all the records of today's discussion. Jiang Ping printed them for you, and Brother said to show them to you so that you can understand the whole operation."

Zhan Zhao nodded, sat down, took the information and looked at it carefully, while asking Bai Chi, "What about around the Song tomb? How is it?"

"Oh yeah, I heard that the archaeological team is going to open the tomb on the day the cruise ship goes to sea!" Bai Chi yawned, "But Brother said that was a diversion to draw us away from the scene, it'll be fine to set up a false police presence to ambush over there!"

"Hmm, smart!" Zhan Zhao nodded and continued to look, then suddenly it occurred to him that he still had to cook. This was a bit difficult. Bai Chi is good at his craft, so why not ask him! But in the blink of an eye...

He saw Bai Chi cuddling up to Lisbon and already snoring.

He patted the little lion and told him to call Zhao Zhen out.

Zhao Zhen was distressed to see how tired Bai Chi was, so he picked him up and sent him back to his room to get a good night's sleep.

Zhan Zhao looked at Zhao Zhen who was leaving the room, "Can you make dinner for me?"

The corners of Zhao Zhen's mouth twitched and he gave him the phone, "Have a courier deliver it to you."

Zhan Zhao locked eyes with the phone. Gongsun had just arrived at the staircase, and when he saw him holding the phone, he said, "No need to order takeaway for me, I've asked Jintang to go out for dinner."

Zhan Zhao held his chin, ordering takeaway?… Does not feel sincere at all.

After taking veal out of the fridge for Lisbon and the little lion and pouring cat food for Luban and the others, Zhan Zhao stood in the kitchen, staring in a daze.

"What are you doing?" Zhao Jue walked in, "By the way, I'm very hungry! Do you have anything to eat at home?"

Zhan Zhao looked at him and said to himself: for someone who can draw and is old enough, cooking should not be a problem.

"Oh, I want to prepare dinner for Yutang." Zhan Zhao replied.

"That's perfect, I'm hungry too." Zhao Jue looked like he wanted a portion as well.

"Well..." Zhan Zhao pointed to the two boxes placed side by side, “which one is the microwave oven and which one is the electric oven?"

Zhao Jue stood still and stared at him for half a minute before reaching out and pointing at the kitchen door, "Get out!"

Zhan Zhao walked out, embarrassed.

Three minutes later, Zhao Jue probed out and asked, "Kitty, one by one, which one is salt and which one is MSG?"

......

Zhan Zhao stroked his forehead and reached for the phone to order takeaway.

Bai Yutang and Bai Chi slept until midnight.

Zhan Zhao, Zhao Jue, and Zhao Zhen, the two uncles and nephews, sat on the sofa and went over the plan of action this time.

"What you're going to do this time is magic." Zhan Zhao asked Zhao Zhen, "Are you prepared?"

“En! Since there is a lot of outside help this time, I chose outdoor magic with a bigger scene." Zhao Zhen told the two of them the details of the magic trick, and also explained the methods on how to draw the crowd's attention away and get the team members on board to hide.

"There are a few difficult points." After listening to Zhao Zhen's idea for the magic trick, Zhan Zhao thought it was perfect, but there were many details that made this mission very troublesome. To have them make a move and start robbing and kidnapping, there will be evidence before they go up to arrest them, the timing is difficult to grasp, and with the slightest oversight, it is possible to lose everything they worked for.

"Even if we catch them, it's likely they'll all be small minions!" Zhao Jue gestured to the cruise ship photo on the table, "Lure out the big fish, at least one! Make them lose their wives and their troops!"

Zhan Zhao looked at Zhao Jue in surprise, "There's a big fish? You know a lot about the composition of their current organisation?"

"Of course!" Zhao Jue smiled faintly, "As long as there is fragrant bait, it will whet their appetite and make the big fish swim out obediently."

"What kind of bait?" Zhao Zhen asked.

Zhao Jue reached out and pointed at himself, "Me!"

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Zhen looked at each other, "You?!"

Zhao Zhen sneered, "If they catch me, it's the same as having a chance at money and a chance at a comeback, I'm more attractive than any of the rich people on the ship!"

Zhan Zhao frowned, "Then wouldn't you be in danger? What if they all turn their attention to you?"

"If you were the bad guy who formulated this operation and saw that I, an even worse bad guy, had suddenly appeared at the scene of the operation, what would you do?" Zhao Jue asked Zhan Zhao rhetorically.

Zhan Zhao raised an eyebrow, "Panic."

"That's the thinking of the average person." Zhao Jue corrected, "I mean you, a competitive, top of the food chain person with the wisdom to despise all beings!"

Zhan Zhao stared at him for a long time and nodded, "Finish the plan and capture you alive at the same time!"

"Look." Zhao Jue smiled faintly, "Remember, use your mind to measure each other, the smarter you are, the bigger the fish you catch!"

Zhan Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly, "Are you coaching me?"

"I dare not… it’s just some kind reminders." Zhao Jue picked up the beer on the table and clinked glasses with the two of them, "This time, no one is in charge and it's legal to make trouble, we must kill the quartet!” (Angel: Kill the Quartet is a movie that tells the story about three young people who punish evil and promote good.)

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Zhen both had a strong restlessness hidden in their bodies, and the impulse to break free and do something big gradually surged to the forefront of their minds.

After the meeting, Zhan Zhao returned to his room with something to eat.

Bai Yutang was still sleeping heavily, probably too tired… he will probably wake up tomorrow morning.

Zhan Zhao laid down beside him, reached out to carefully tidy his hair, gently touched Bai Yutang's cheek, and whispered, "Yutang, I know a secret oh, I'll tell you when you wake up. And this time, make sure you plunge the knife into those guys' hearts so they know what pain is! What we and everyone else is owed, one day they will pay it all back!"

‿︵‿︵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: July 14, 2022 by Angel