S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 1 Chapter 110

Shadow Murderer 18 – Brother

---

Facing another strange bearded man in front of him, Bai Yutang stood outside the car and confronted him, while inside the car, Zhan Zhao was puzzled by his inexplicable 'brother'. Looking at his eyes, he was looking at Luo Yang, but he couldn't possibly be Luo Yang's younger brother at his age.

Zhan Zhao watched the bearded man attentively and saw that his face was so innocent that he didn't feel like a person of that age at all – Was there something wrong with this man's intelligence? No... was there something wrong with his mental state?

Bai Yutang moved a little closer again and asked him, "Which one is your brother?"

At this point, Zhan Zhao moved back slightly, putting some distance between him and Luo Yang. The bearded man's finger pointed precisely at Luo Yang, and this time, even Bai Yutang could see it.

"What's your name?" Zhan Zhao opened the car door and stepped out, looking at the bearded man.

The bearded man cocked his head and looked at him. Seeing that Zhan Zhao was wearing a brick-red woollen sweater, he frowned slightly and said, "Why don't you wear white, you look good in white, really good."

Bai Yutang glanced towards Zhan Zhao - what is wrong with this person?

Zhan Zhao shook his head and looked at the bearded man, "What do you want from your brother?"

The bearded man cocked his head in thought, "Brother… Brother, I've been doing a lot of things that would make you happy lately!"

"What kind of things?" Zhan Zhao asked him.

But the bearded man didn't seem to hear, and continued to say to Luo Yang, "Brother... you still refuse to listen to me?"

Bai Yutang winked at Zhan Zhao, who hesitated, then peeked into the car and said to a surprised Luo Yang, "Yang Yang... you..."

"I've seen him before!" Luo Yang suddenly said.

Zhan Zhao froze, "But you said you hadn't seen another bearded man."

"He always stands at the entrance of the alley at night to watch me, or else he's at the window and doesn't come in." Luo Yang also seemed a little confused, "I always thought it was Uncle Big Beard, but... it feels different."

Zhan Zhao nodded and said to Luo Yang, “Help me ask him questions!"

Luo Yang nodded obediently, and Zhan Zhao reached out and pressed the button to open the roof – The special roof of the Spyker C8 slowly opened, and Luo Yang poked his head out from behind the front seat and looked at the bearded man.

The bearded man seemed to be attracted by this peculiar car and stared at it with some curiosity, moving forward a few steps.

Zhan Zhao noticed that he was very inattentive, this man was somewhere between a mental problem and an intellectual disability... or both.

"Ask him what his name is and what he wants from you." Zhan Zhao whispered to Luo Yang.

“En..." Luo Yang nodded and turned back to look at the bearded man, "Brother?"

"Brother… Brother, you are not angry with me anymore?" The bearded man's face showed a pleased look and he stepped forward, "I will never be soft on those people again, and I won't make you angry in the future!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were both confused, what was this man talking about?

"Brother... why did you change your name?" Luo Yang asked in a way that surprised both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, "You never said that you didn't like your original name."

"I... I didn't." The bearded man seemed a little puzzled, "Jie Jie didn't change his name ah, he's still called Jie Jie."

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao looked at each other, this kid Luo Yang was too sophisticated, simply brilliant.

Luo Yang turned his face to look at Zhan Zhao, as if to ask if it was okay to ask this?

Zhan Zhao nodded approvingly to him, signalling for him to continue asking.

"Why did you come looking for me?" Luo Yang said, "Aren't you busy, busy doing what makes me happy."

Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows at Zhan Zhao and made a whistling motion – this boy had a future.

Zhan Zhao didn't know whether to be happy or worried; Luo Yang was too mature, far beyond the psychological age a seven year old should be, this wasn't normal. What had prompted his brain to be perfected too early? It's not the same thing as IQ, it's a matter of maturity.

"Right, right!" The bearded man who called himself Jie Jie nodded desperately, "I'm busy doing something very important, and when I'm done, I'll be able to get you back."

Luo Yang was a little confused and looked at Zhan Zhao, as if asking what he should do next?

Zhan Zhao smiled faintly and whispered, "Gather information about him, the people around him, the things he does."

Luo Yang nodded and said to the bearded man, "You... don't get fooled by the bad guys."

“He he... won't." The bearded man shook his head with a smug smile, "They're the ones who are fooled by me... they can't fool me."

"You have to be careful, that person... I heard he's really bad!" Luo Yang said ambiguously, but Zhan Zhao was surprised to find that Luo Yang had a very keen insight, and that he was using the skills he had learned from his book.

"Do you mean that Taber?" The bearded man shook his head, "I know he's a bad guy... Hey, they think they can fool me, but in fact, they all smell the same."

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao heard him say the name ‘Taber' and were surprised – he was actually related to Taber!

"Then tell me, what did he tell you to do?" Luo Yang then asked, "I'll see if he's really not lying to you."

"Can't say it can't say it!" The bearded man hurriedly waved his hand and pointed at Bai Yutang, "He's a policeman! Can't say those words… he he."

Bai Yutang couldn't laugh or cry, and looked at Zhan Zhao – is this kid smart or stupid?

Zhan Zhao was also quite helpless. This bearded man was quite ill, he had a serious mental disturbance, or mental substitution. He had a basic sense of survival and the concept of good and evil, but he had selectively confused some of his memories, that is, the part about Luo Yang, or more precisely, the part about his 'brother'.

After thinking about it, Luo Yang said to the bearded man, "By the way, Jie Jie, I saw a person who looked like you the other day."

The bearded man froze, then his face became a little scared and he looked around, "Where is he? Where?"

"Why are you so afraid of him?" Luo Yang asked in disbelief, "What did he do to you?"

"No... he was going to kill you... no!" The bearded man shook his head violently, "He's black, the blackest, very scary..." As he spoke, he backed away slowly, muttering, "I'm leaving... leaving." After saying that, he turned around and wanted to run.

Bai Yutang would not let him run, raising his hand to raise his gun and shouting, "Stand still."

The bearded man slowly turned back and looked at the gun in Bai Yutang's hand for a long time before saying, "This... is what Brother uses to fight bad guys... I'm not a bad guy... no."

Bai Yutang frowned and asked him in a cold voice, "Which part does your Brother usually shoot?"

The bearded man stared at Bai Yutang for a moment, then reached out and slowly pointed his hand at his forehead.

Reaching behind his waist and pulling out handcuffs, Bai Yutang gestured to the bearded man, "Cuff yourself!"

The bearded man shook his head, "Don't..."

"I hate the type of people like you who pretend to be crazy and foolish the most." Bai Yutang sneered, "You don't have to do this, if you were really stupid, would you still have a gun hidden inside your trousers leg?

The bearded man stared at Bai Yutang foolishly, "The trouser leg... trouser leg..." Saying that, he bent down and took out an old-fashioned .38 revolver from his trouser leg.

Raising the gun up, he asked Bai Yutang, "You mean this ah?"

Bai Yutang noticed that the gun was fake, but... he quickly saw that something was fishy, even Zhan Zhao was stunned. What the bearded man was holding was an extremely battered toy pistol – the same one that the shadow murderer had nailed to the wall – exactly the same!

Looking at the bearded man with a smile on his face, Bai Yutang put the gun away and stepped forward, "Come back to the police station with me!"

The bearded man shook his head, "No way! I'm a bad guy!" After saying that, he turned around and ran.

Bai Yutang stepped forward and raised his hand to yank his arm, but something unexpected happened. The bearded man violently twisted his arm, and Bai Yutang felt as if he was not grasping a person's arm, but a limp snake; it was cold, but exceptionally soft – no bones?

The moment he froze, the bearded man took the opportunity to run forward, running at an alarming speed. Bai Yutang pulled out his gun and fired a shot at the ground directly in front of him.

The loud gunshot and the thin smoke billowing up from the ground startled the bearded man into jumping and covering his ears, “Hate!"

Bai Yutang raised his gun and aimed at him, "I'm not joking with you, behave yourself and come back or I'll hit you in the leg with the next shot.

The bearded man thought for a moment and made a face at Bai Yutang, "No!" After saying that, he turned around and continued to run.

Bai Yutang frowned. This man was strange and not too big nor small, so he couldn't figure out what he wanted to do next. He wasn't doing anything dangerous, and although he was a suspect, he couldn't really injure him. Bai Yutang slightly adjusted the angle of his gun and fired a shot at his leg. The bullet flew against the bearded man's thigh, and a graze immediately appeared on the outside of his thigh, and blood quickly gushed out from the long wound. But strangely enough, the bearded man seemed not to notice and continued to run out of the building maintaining the same posture as before - not feeling any pain.

Bai Yutang suddenly remembered the matter of pain sensation – this man had no sense of pain!

But Bai Yutang would not be Bai Yutang if he let the suspect go like that. Taking aim again, Bai Yutang fired a shot at the bearded man's calf just before he rushed out of the car park entrance, causing him to yelp “ouch" and fall to the ground with a ‘poof'.

Bai Yutang went after him, but the bearded man stood up and walked towards the entrance. As Zhan Zhao watched from afar, he was amazed to find that the bearded man did not have paralysis of his nerves, but had lost his sense of pain completely.

At that moment, there was a squealing sound of brakes at the entrance, and a black car pulled up. The bearded man quickly jumped into the car, which spun around and took off.

Bai Yutang chased the car to the door, only to see the end of the car without a licence plate, and put away his gun with some frustration. It would have been better if he had just started shooting him in the leg...

Back in the parking lot, Zhan Zhao and Luo Yang had both gotten out of the car.

"Are you okay?" Zhan Zhao walked over to check on Bai Yutang, he was really afraid that when that car stopped just now, someone would come out with a machine gun and shoot Bai Yutang.

“I'm fine… Unfortunately he got away." Bai Yutang was a bit disappointed, "It was so hard to get a clue."

"Don't worry!" Zhan Zhao smiled faintly, "We already know quite a lot."

Bai Yutang looked at him in confusion, "Cat, what have you found out?"

Zhan Zhao blinked, "You hurt him, he can't do anything bad now. It’s too late today, let's talk about it tomorrow after we wake up." After saying that, he took his hand and led Luo Yang with the other hand, walking in the direction of the elevator.

Opening the door to the room, Luo Yang walked into Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang's home.

At first glance, when he saw Bai Yutang, Luo Yang thought that his home should be a kind of handsome and upscale place, with tables made of metal, walls of glass and what not. When he saw Zhan Zhao, Luo Yang thought his home should be a very warm and elegant place, with frosted lamps, white sofas and so on. But after knowing that the two lived together, Luo Yang started to get confused and wondered what a home for the two together would be like.

When he entered the room and took a look, Luo Yang was dumbfounded.

He saw a big zebra print sofa in the living room in front of him, a furry cushion on the floor, a furry cactus in a pot on the table, and a poster of a robot cat on the wall – a lovely living room!

Seeing the surprise on Luo Yang's face, Bai Yutang helplessly said, "The living room was decorated by Bai Chi, and the sofa was a gift from Zhao Zhen."

Luo Yang nodded his head, no wonder.

Zhan Zhao went to the guest room to get slippers for Luo Yang to change into. Luo Yang curiously followed him to the guest room and was stunned again.

He saw a big white wall in the guest room, a big black bed, a sleek overhead light that he had never seen before, and a cabinet, but nothing else.

Zhan Zhao stroked his head, "This is what Brother arranged."

Changing into slippers, Luo Yang ran to inspect the kitchen... Sure enough, he was stunned once again.

The first impression the kitchen gave him was – hospital, icy cold. Although it was clean, there was nothing but stainless steel.

Without waiting for Bai Yutang to say anything, Luo Yang asked, "Is it the forensic uncle?"

Bai Yutang nodded with a bitter smile.

After visiting the bathroom, Luo Yang looked at the various furnishings inside with amazement – what a big bathtub, so well-equipped, and the style was less weird.

Zhan Zhao smiled, "This is what Xiao Bai decorated.” He leaned over and whispered, “He has a cleanliness obsession!"

Luo Yang nodded and was led by Zhan Zhao into the study. The style was similar to that of Zhan Zhao's office, only the number of books was more spectacular. Luo Yang looked up and down at the shelves with great interest.

Zhan Zhao asked with some curiosity, "Yang Yang, my books, did your father tell you about them?"

Luo Yang nodded, “En, Dad said that you are a genius."

Zhan Zhao was secretly surprised, his books weren't exactly obscure, but they weren't the kind of novels that you read for pleasure either. Luo Wen was actually able to teach a seven year old child to employ them... which was really remarkable.

"There is another room, is it a bedroom?" Luo Yang asked curiously.

Zhan Zhao was a little embarrassed and nodded.

"I want to see it!" Luo Yang ran to open the door, and Zhan Zhao held his forehead... This was a big embarrassment, the bedroom was decorated by the twins.

When he opened the bedroom door, Luo Yang's mouth opened wide, he was too shocked to say anything. The room was decorated in a magnificent way, especially an enlarged photo of two babies kissing at the head of the bed which was particularly eye-catching. There was also a huge bed in the middle of the room which was ridiculously big, the kind with a canopy, and Luo Yang had never seen such a bed in his life.

"What's this?" Luo Yang picked up a pretty little box by the pillow and asked Zhan Zhao.

“Ah!" Zhan Zhao blushed as he snatched it up and threw it into the trash like a cockroach, thinking, "Damn rat, how can you leave such things lying around?!"

Luo Yang blinked and tilted his head, "What's that?"

Zhan Zhao was relieved that Luo Wen had not taught him this.

That night, Zhan Zhao was in the living room with his notebook, working away on his book, while Luo Yang was playing with Bai Yutang, asking him to teach him how to tackle.

Zhan Zhao saw the two of them having fun, and for some reason, he was in a good mood and his ideas were flowing!

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter

Translator Notes

Translated: December 23, 2022 by Angel

Edited: January 19, 2023 by Angel