S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 3 Chapter 118

Mad Doctor Murderer 13 – Hatred in the Fire

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A fire in the forest is no joke, whether it’s forest fire season or not. The neighbourhood is inhabited and if it picks up, there could be a lot of damage.

So the forest warden rushed to call the forest fire police, and R and T barked at the house as if something was wrong.

"The smell of roasting meat!" Bai Yutang said with a frown.

"You mean there's someone inside?" Zhan Zhao saw that Bai Yutang was about to go down and hurriedly pulled him back, "Yutang!"

"Let us go." At this time, the forest firefighters in protective suits arrived. Bai Yutang borrowed a protective suit from them and went down together. Zhan Zhao knew he couldn't stop him and followed anxiously.

Zhao Qin watched from the sidelines, frowning and not saying anything.

When the crowd rushed to the bottom of the hill, they saw the fire raging and many burnt snakes lying on the ground.

"Is that the smell of roasted snake meat?" Bai Chi asked.

Gongsun picked up a snake and sniffed it, shaking his head, "It doesn't smell the same!"

By this time, the firefighters had already rushed into the fire. Qin Ou stopped Bai Yutang, who was about to go in wearing protective clothing, "Captain, I have experience, I'll go!"

The crowd knew that he had been a fire captain. Bai Yutang nodded and let him have the protective suit. Qin Ou quickly put it on and went in with the firefighters. Not long after… Qin Ou led the men in carrying out a large safe from inside.

The sound of scratching and a woman's screams kept coming from inside the safe, which was somewhat muffled.

Qin Ou took off his mask and took two breaths, "There's a lot of hunting prey inside, hares, and..."

"And?" The crowd was puzzled.

Qin Ou frowned, "Body limbs, which look like they've been soaked in formalin."

At this time, with a ‘bang', the door of the safe opened. A dishevelled woman fell out, screaming and tossing her head frantically, looking like she was about to collapse.

The crowd frowned. They could see that she was in a safe, which had a simple feeding device, and there was a display on the device counting down the time left on the oxygen, with less than five minutes left.

The safe was conducting heat quickly and it looked hot inside, and the woman had a patch of red burns on her body. She looked like she was frightened out of her mind, crying and screaming, her mouth shouting, "It's not my business, it's not my business!"

Bai Yutang frowned, and told Luo Tian and Zhao Hu to go over and support her, but she still lost control.

Bai Chi called an ambulance and Zhan Zhao went over, whispered a few words in her ear, then guided her, "Take a deep breath, breathe..."

The woman gradually calmed down and took deep breaths following Zhan Zhao's rhythm.

"Relax." Zhan Zhao nodded and told her to calm down for a while.

Only then did the crowd get a good look at the woman, who was probably in her forties. She was lean and thin, with sunken cheeks and bulging eyes, and seemed to have been starving for a few days. Her long chestnut hair was very messy, and by the shadows in her eye sockets, she should wear glasses all year round.

Zhao Qin suddenly shouted, "Ah?! Director!"

Bai Yutang asked, "You know her?"

Zhao Qin nodded, "She's the dean of the school."

"From your university?" Zhan Zhao asked, "Teacher Hao's school?"

“En..."

When Zhan Zhao mentioned Teacher Hao, he paid attention to the change in the eyes of the dean. With the light of the fire, her pupils visibly widened slightly.

Zhan Zhao frowned, "C-R-B."

"What?" The crowd wondered what new term this was.

Zhan Zhao looked at the crowd, "The Pavlov Effect."

"Oh." The crowd all nodded.

Zhao Qin frowned and asked Zhao Hu, "You know that too?"

"Nonsense." Zhao Hu gave him a blank look, "I'm not illiterate."

Zhao Qin knew that he was still angry about the sarcastic comment he had made about the police profession earlier, so he didn't say any more.

"C-R-B means conditioned-reflex-behaviour." Zhan Zhao said, "She was treated like that because of a reason, and when that reason was brought up, she was instinctively scared."

“What’s the reason?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Pay attention to her pupils." Zhan Zhao looked at the dean and said, "The murderer."

The dean's pupils produced a subtle change, slightly dilating, and her eyes widened.

"Killing."

The pupil's appearance remained the same.

"Hao Ling."

Her pupils remained slightly dilated, and her face showed horror.

“Plane crash."

There was no reaction from her pupils, but her eyelashes trembled slightly.

The dean, who didn't know what had been done to her by Zhan Zhao, acted like a puppet, hearing the command and reacting.

"Chen Keqing."

The dean blinked unconsciously.

"Zhao Qin."

Zhao Qin faintly froze.

There was no change in the eyes of the dean.

“The truth."

The dean blinked up in quick succession, seemingly disturbed.

"Revenge. "

Her pupils widened slightly once more.

Zhan Zhao was silent for a moment and moved over, "I'm sorry..."

"Ah!" The dean suddenly screamed, and as if she had been untied, she covered her ears and shook her head, saying over and over again, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Zhan Zhao shook his head. By this time, the medical team had come up from down the mountain, and Bai Yutang had Bai Chi and Luo Tian accompany them to take the woman to the hospital.

"Cat, what do those reactions just now mean?" Bai Yutang asked.

Everyone nodded, waiting for the fire department and the forest fire brigade to put out the fire while they gathered around to hear Zhan Zhao's next answer.

"I was testing her pupil reactions, which was actually a test of her emotions by testing the level of tension in her muscles." Zhan Zhao explained.

Gongsun nodded, "A person's pupils will change in response to changes in light exposure and muscle conditions. Generally, emotions such as tension, excitement and fear will cause the muscles to contract tensely and the pupil dilating muscles to follow suit, causing the pupil to dilate. And conversely, relaxation or damage to the sympathetic nerve in the face will cause the pupil to narrow or even fail to dilate."

Zhan Zhao nodded. Gongsun explained it in a much simpler and more understandable way from a medical perspective than he could have said it himself, so he continued, "This technique is commonly used in psychology to determine a person's emotions, and is widely used in interrogation for evidence. Her reaction just now said it all.

Murderer, killing, Hao Ling, she was acting scared.

The plane crash, she was uneasy.

Chen Keqing, she was suspicious.

Zhao Qin, who was used for comparison, she didn't react at all, she didn't remember this person.

The truth, she was even more disturbed.

Revenge, extreme fear.

Sorry, the only response she could give.

The crowd looked at each other, and Zhao Hu thought for a moment, "So to sum it up?"

Zhan Zhao narrowed his eyes at Bai Yutang, letting him sum it up, he was the best at it anyway.

Bai Yutang thought about it, "It seems clear that Hao Ling was killed and that a murderer exists. The truth about the plane crash disturbed her. Chen Keqing had something to do with it. What happened to the dean was revenge and she was extremely disturbed, and the only thing she could do was apologise. It seems that... the dean is not completely above the board."

"Captain Bai."

At that moment, the fireman beckoned, "The fire is out!"

Bai Yutang nodded, and the forensics people came, waiting to collect evidence after they had surveyed the scene. But with a fire, there wasn't much left, and the firefighting team called in someone from the arson section to identify the cause of the fire.

"There's an accelerant." The fire captain said to Bai Yutang as he pointed to a jerry can of gasoline on the grass on the outskirts.

Bai Yutang nodded as Qin Ou led the men over to look.

"This situation is definitely arson." Qin Ou looked around.

"Tell the canine team to search the mountain with their men." Bai Yutang told Zhang Long and Wang Chao to lead a carpet search in case the arsonist was hiding in the mountain.

Qin Ou went inside the rubble while Zhao Hu and Ma Han wandered around.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao stood at the doorway to look inside first. Bai Yutang suddenly asked Zhan Zhao, "What do you think about the emails? Cat?"

"The other party should know Ma Xin or Chen Yu.” Zhan Zhao said lightly.

“No way" Zhao Hu heard this and came over to ask, "Dr. Zhan, you don't think those two girls betrayed us, do you?"

Zhan Zhao smiled, "That's not what I meant."

Ma Han was also listening at the door, a little worried. Before Chen Yu and Ma Xin also became the target of that 'mermaid song' attack, Chen Yu was attacked first and almost died, and Ma Xin also received it right after.

"Chen Yu and Ma Xin are the only bridge that can connect us, Hao Ling and Chen Keqing." Bai Yutang walked to the front of the premises and knelt down to look at the charred dead snakes on the ground, "This case, it's clearly a revenge case. The other side obviously planned quite well, so they must have investigated everyone involved and the people related to them. Ma Xin's identity is rather special, Chen Yu is also related to us... so we might also be within the scope of investigation, and the other party has made all the preparations."

Ma Han and Zhao Hu both understood.

Ma Han listened and bowed his head, "If Chen Yu and Ma Xin let the other side choose, the killer seems to prefer to hurt Chen Yu and not Ma Xin."

“En!" Zhan Zhao nodded in approval, "Xiao Ma Ge is very perceptive!"

Ma Han looked at the sky. Zhao Hu had given him this humiliating nickname and now the whole police station was calling him that.

"Because that person first sent that mermaid song to Chen Yu, and then to Ma Xin, Ma Xin was on guard." Just as Zhao Hu finished speaking, he heard Chen Yin and Zhao Qin shout in unison, "Mermaid song?!"

The two had bright, shiny eyes, and that expression was much like Gongsun's when he saw the odd corpse.

Zhan Zhao looked at the sky, "It's not a real mermaid, just legendary music."

“Bah." Chen Yin and Zhao Qin were both bummed, another fake!

"It's a desperate move." Zhan Zhao walked over to Bai Yutang, looking at the charred ruins, "It's not nearly enough, so many horrific actions so far, it's just a warm up for the Avengers."

Bai Yutang nodded, "For those with a guilty heart, waiting in fear is more torturous than dying in fear."

"Scaring you first, giving you a full taste of fear, then letting you die an unexpected death when you feel safe." Zhan Zhao shook his head, "A typical plot of revenge overload, it must be bitter hatred."

"Could it be, avenging Hao Ling?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Don't forget," Zhan Zhao reminded, "Hao Ling wasn't the only one who died in that plane crash."

"You mean, there was also Lan Qi?" Bai Yutang frowned, "Chen Yu was attacked after going to Lan Xi."

"That plane crash... we need to look into it properly." Zhan Zhao smiled, "Find someone who really knows."

Bai Yutang nodded.

The officers were all busy. Not far away, Chen Yin sat on a large rock and saw Zhao Qin's eyes staring straight ahead at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, who were analysing the case with each other and the other officers who were searching for evidence in the fire.

"You shouldn't be afraid to believe again." Chen Yin spoke, "It's not like there's anything to lose anyway."

Zhao Qin looked back at Chen Yin.

Chen Yin reached out and pointed to his head, "My intuition... is that the police are quite reliable this time."

Zhao Qin bowed his head in silence for a moment and walked up to behind Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao, "I have some things..."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang turned back and looked at him.

Zhao Qin reached out and took out his mobile phone from his pocket, which was old and not new at all. Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had already seen a brand new mobile phone in Chen Yin's jacket pocket, which he had just used to check the data, but this old phone was fully charged and still carefully tucked away in his trouser pocket.

"For three years, I've had it with me, phone bill, battery, all full, and I was hoping she'd suddenly call one day." Zhao Qin opened a text message, "Teacher Hao is the person I respect the most, and I have a special bond with her, she loves me very much, like a real sister."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both frowned. Ma Xin had also said that Hao Ling was a very nice person and such a talented doctor and anthropologist, it's a pity that she died horribly.

"That time, she went to an island to identify the remains of the victims of the Holocaust." Zhao Qin whispered, "There were still some armed men left there, but she had to go, and the first day she got there, she sent me a text message."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang read it, the text message read, "Xiao Qin, I just got off the plane, crossing the Pacific Ocean feels fantastic, the azure ocean is dotted with small islands."

"The next day." Zhao Qin opened the next one.

"Xiao Qin, the situation here is not as tragic as I thought it would be, the islanders are friendly and what happened to them was unfair, plus I met someone special."

"Number three."

"Remember what I said the other day? It's amazing that I met such a person in an azure ocean dotted with small islands."

"Number four."

"Today I was almost caught by armed men, that man was brave enough to protect me, I'll come back and show him to you ^-^"

"On the fifth day, she didn't send me a text message." Zhao Qin looked at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, "On the sixth day, I got a phone call."

"What did she say?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"She didn't say anything, she was crying." Zhao Qin lowered his voice, "She's a strong and calm person, I've never heard her cry like that before, tearing her heart out, and at the end, there was a huge explosion."

"Was it a plane crash?" Bai Yutang asked.

"No, because in her cries I heard no other people panicking nor a draft, but instead I heard the call of sea birds and a sound..."

"What sound?" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang asked in unison.

"The sound of laughter." Zhao Qin frowned, "Teacher Hao was crying so sadly, and someone actually laughed!"

"Who was laughing, was it a man or a woman?”

"I couldn't hear it! I didn't actually notice it at the time." Zhao Qin's expression was torn, "I was really distracted by her crying, and when I went to the police later, they all said I was hallucinating and no one believed me!"

Bai Yutang reached out and patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry, now Hao Ling's death is in doubt along with that plane crash, it will be re-investigated."

Zhao Qin nodded, and Bai Yutang told him to follow him to the police station later and give a detailed statement.

"Azure sea, dotted with islands ah..." Zhan Zhao smiled emotionally.

"Hmm." Bai Yutang nodded, “Lan Qi." (Angel: Lan from blue sea, 蔚蓝, and qi from the idiom xing luo qi bu, 星罗棋布, or star-studded.)

‿︵‿︵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: September 19, 2022 by Angel

Edited: October 6, 2022 by Angel