S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 4 Chapter 16

A Requiem for a Murderer 16 – Disappearance

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Zhan Zhao, together with Bai Yutang and Gongsun, observed that there was no one in the hallway, then flashed out of the office. Inside, Da Ding and Xiao Ding hurriedly locked the door to the room, while the rest of SCI acted as a forensic department, collecting evidence from the scene and then coming up with ideas to get the body out.

When the three arrived at the infirmary, they saw a girl lying flat on a patient bed, and a boy standing awkwardly next to her, wearing a sweatshirt and glistening with sweat. The maths teacher, who went by the alias Zhao Xueyan and whose real name was Xueyan, stood to the side, gently holding her eyes and looking after the girl.

The girl lying on the bed caught Zhan Zhao's attention.

As soon as they entered, Zhan Zhao gently touched Bai Yutang with his elbow, nudging him and whispering, "Big boobs!"

Bai Yutang rolled his eyes and glared at Zhan Zhao – there were many girls with big breasts, were they all ghosts? If she was Ghost, she wouldn't have fainted so easily.

"What's the situation?" Gongsun put on his stethoscope, but was drawn to the girl's face... only to see that the girl was originally quite good-looking, but there was a red mark on her face and a large bump on her forehead.

"Bumped into a pole?" Gongsun frowned.

"No, I was in maths class when a soccer ball suddenly flew in and hit her." Zhao Xueyan said in a helpless manner.

"A soccer ball?" Bai Yutang was surprised, "What floor is your classroom on?"

"Third floor, ah."

Zhan Zhao very seriously said to Bai Yutang, "There is something wrong with that soccer ball..."

Bai Yutang turned his face to look at him, "You think so too?"

“En!" Zhan Zhao nodded, "It was definitely Conan who kicked it!"

......

There was a moment of silence before they heard the boy suddenly let out a "pft".

“Hehe…” The girl who was lying on the bed in a daze woke up laughing. As soon as she laughed, she felt pain in half of her head, then rubbed her head and grunted.

Gongsun examined her carefully, "Well, it's a small matter, just let the swelling go down. You can lie here to rest and go back later. Avoid spicy food for a few days, don't scratch or rub it, and be careful when washing your face. Let the swelling go down on its own, otherwise it will leave scars or black marks."

"Oh, thank you Doctor." The girl had come to her senses and leaned back with a pout, taking out a mirror to look at her face.

When Zhao Xueyan heard that the girl was okay, she reassured her and told her not to worry too much, that she was still pretty and that the swelling would go down in a few days. She also joked with her that she could always test her boyfriend, saying that the swelling wouldn't go down in the future and seeing if he would mind or not.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other; this was not like a professional killer, but a model of an amiable teacher, and she really didn't look as harsh as she should.

"It's your turn."

Who knew that Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang would feel that she was not bad. Zhao Xueyan's expression immediately changed and she looked back at the boy.

No matter how tall and big that boy was, he was really stimulated, “Teacher… Teacher Zhao."

Gongsun took off his stethoscope to watch the fun.

"What are you going to do, disciplinary action or a demerit?" Zhao Xueyan crossed her arms and looked at the boy coldly.

“No, Teacher, it has nothing to do with me."

"There's only the group of you downstairs, if you didn't do it, why did you come up here to save her?" Zhao Xueyan put her hands on her hips, "Want to get the police to check your fingerprints?"

The corners of Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang's mouths twitched involuntarily – she had become so scary in an instant!

"No, we were playing basketball downstairs, soccer was being played in the playground."

"The playground?" Zhan Zhao calculated the distance, "Then the one kicking the ball shouldn't be Conan, it's Ultraman!"

Bai Yutang gently patted him, which meant – Don’t interrupt, Cat.

However, Zhao Xueyan suddenly turned around and looked at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, "What grade are you two in? What are you doing in the infirmary instead of going to class?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other and spoke in unison, "Seeing a doctor."

Gongsun looked up, "They both needed to get leave slips, I told them to wait."

Zhao Xueyan withdrew her eyes and glared at the boy again, "Write down the names of your classes and wait for the disciplinary action."

"I'm sorry, Teacher!" The boy was anxious, "I really didn't kick the ball."

"Then who kicked it?" Bai Yutang saw that he couldn't get to the point and was also a bit puzzled.

"There were many of us playing basketball downstairs just now, and a soccer ball ball flew over the playground and rolled right into the basketball court. We were afraid it would affect the game and kicked it to the entrance." The boy hurriedly explained, "It's normal, basketballs are often kicked to our side, and we always kick them to the door and someone comes to pick them up soon. But this time, I kicked it a bit harder and it went out the door, rolling all the way to the road. It just so happened that a girl passed by with a pile of workbooks, and I thought it would be bad if she tripped over it, so I ran over... I didn't expect the girl to lift her leg and suddenly take a swing..."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang spoke in unison, "The kicker was a girl?"

“That’s right." The boy nodded his head.

"Heh." Zhao Xueyan sneered, "You're lying to ghosts."

“It’s true."

"What's the girl's name?"

"I don't know..."

“What did she look like?"

"Not very tall, and she was blocked by a pile of books, so I didn't get a good look."

Zhao Xueyan sneered again, "Keep making it up."

"I don't think he's lying."

While the boy was at a loss for words, Zhan Zhao spoke up.

The boy looked at Zhan Zhao like a lifesaver.

Bai Yutang nodded, "If you were to make up a person, it would be easier for people to believe it if you said that the kicker was a tall boy rather than a short girl."

"Right!" The boy hurriedly nodded, "I watched her kick the ball and it went all the way to the school building. I was mainly trying to retrieve the ball for the soccer team, who knew it would shatter the glass and hurt someone." The boy was crestfallen, "That girl's legs are too strong, Carlos couldn't even kick a ball that far back in the day, it flew halfway across the field and was still so deadly."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both wanted to laugh.

Zhao Xueyan still didn't seem to accept it too much.

At this point, the girl spoke up, "Teacher Zhao, why don't we check it out? He didn't do it on purpose, and I'm fine."

Zhao Xueyan looked down at the girl and her voice immediately softened, "It's rare for you to be so generous. How about this, let him pay for all your medical expenses, and monitor the situation for two days, then decide whether to sue them or not, and let them be responsible for the scars if there are any!"

The boy, on hearing this, hurriedly raised his hand, "I'll be responsible for it, no problem!"

The girl's face blushed, and the boy giggled, saying to himself that if he could get a pretty girlfriend with one kicked ball, wouldn't he be making a big profit?

Zhao Xueyan gave him a blank look and said to Gongsun, "Thank you, I have to go back to continue my class, please help me take care of my students."

"Oh... no problem." Gongsun nodded and thought, 'boy, this female teacher is cold enough to be so impolite with the doctor at the school clinic and only speak softly to her own students.'

Zhao Xueyan tilted her head and clicked her heels together before walking out.

When she walked out of the clinic, Zhan Zhao went over and asked the girl, “Ai, is your teacher a feminist?"

"You can guess that too!" The girl took the cup of water that Gongsun handed her and nodded, "Teacher Zhao is super nice to girls, but super hateful to men, and treats boys like dogs."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both raised an eyebrow – No way?

"It's true." The boy who was playing basketball also patted his chest, "This teacher Zhao is famous for being a ghostly person, and is known for hating all men. Once when she went to the dining hall, the boy in front of her opened the door for her in a gentlemanly manner, she cursed until she cried at the boy's position, so scary!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other – this killer had enough of a personality.

"In order to catch the boys who skip class, she always goes straight into the mens' bathroom." The girl said helplessly "The mantra is that even the most powerful men are born from women! So men are the accessories of women."

Zhan Zhao cringed in shock – A living feminist! This was the first time seeing one so radical in China

"Thank you guys for today." The boy came over and thanked Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao, "If it wasn't for you guys, I would have taken the blame for this, and also, thank you, Doctor."

Gongsun smiled, "It's a small thing, but were you telling the truth just now?"

"What... oh!" The boy perked up, "You mean the girl?"

“En" Gongsun nodded and crossed his arms, "A person's bones and muscles determine a person's strength, and usually people with strong feet have the same body type. You can observe the leg shape of a soccer ball player, with a powerful leg, the leg bones will be thick and the legs and hips large, however the calves and ankles will be thin. From where you were playing basketball to the classroom on the third floor, crashing through the glass and directly causing that kind of damage, the girl would have been quite strong, right?"

"No!" The boy shook his head vigorously, “Didn't I just say that the girl is quite pretty? I even got a good look at her face, if she wasn't a beauty, I wouldn't have run to pick up the ball."

When the boy said that, the girl gave him a blank look, "Judging people by their looks!"

"Just kidding just kidding." The boy was quite cheerful and waved his hand, "I would have gone to pick it up even if it wasn't a pretty girl." He said, introducing himself, "My name is Liu Ying, what are your names? I've never seen you guys before, you're not the two super handsome transfer students from the legend, are you?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang smiled and introduced themselves.

The boy clapped his hands, "Do you want to play basketball together after class tonight? Do you have a class in the third or fourth period this afternoon? After basketball, we'll go eat hot pot."

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao wanted to ask about the girl, so they nodded their heads in agreement, "We're free."

"OK!" The boy took his cell phone out and wanted to exchange phone numbers with Bai Yutang and the others.

Gongsun asked him, "Please describe the girl in detail."

The boy looked at Gongsun as if he didn't understand why he was so curious.

Gongsun smiled, "That girl's leg might have been injured."

"Oh!" The boy thought about it, "She looked very small. Her height, she was only about 5’6”. She felt very innocent, but her legs were really... strong. Maybe it's just a coincidence."

"Did she have large breasts?"

After Zhan Zhao asked this question, the girl who was drinking tea spurted it out of her mouth, and subconsciously pulled up the blanket. Seeing Zhan Zhao's expression, she was a bit surprised; she had a good feeling about Zhan Zhao just now, and by virtue of the girl's instincts, she felt that Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had some very corrupt potential... However, how could he ask this question?

Bai Yutang held his forehead and the corners of Gongsun's mouth twitched.

The boy smiled mischievously and winked at Zhan Zhao, "Not bad, very substantial!"

Everyone was a little impressed – Someone with this much foot strength was definitely somewhat of a handful. Wouldn't they... fit the qualities of Ghost in every way?

"What's her name, do you know?” Zhan Zhao asked.

"Uh..." The boy hesitated slightly, then scratched his head, "I didn't have time to ask."

At that moment, his phone rang. The boy took it out and looked at it, "Oops, I have to go to class! In a while, before the third period class, meet at the gym!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang nodded.

The boy had just left when he seemed to remember something and ran back to hand his phone to the girl, "Enter your phone number!"

The girl blushed, "Why..."

"In case something happens to you, I will be responsible for it!"

The girl blushed and entered a series of numbers for him. The boy took the phone and rushed downstairs to class.

Gongsun shook his head on the sidelines, "Aiya, youth, it sure is full of vitality."

The girl covered her face with the blanket and said with some embarrassment, "He's the vice-captain of the basketball team. He’s very famous, but very flamboyant, chasing girls all day long."

Gongsun looked at her, "A stamp collector? That's no good! You can't rely on him."

"I won't rely on him." The girl curled her lips, "But going out with him once is quite respectable."

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang scratched their heads... Times have changed, boys and girls seem to be different from their days of ignorance.

After a short while, two girls came and picked up the girl and left. Zhan Zhao and the others then returned to the office, where the crowd had already opened the gap in the wall and were just waiting for Gongsun to come and examine the body.

Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao, "Cat, that Liu Ying just now, do you think he was hiding something?"

"Absolutely." Zhan Zhao nodded, "He should know the girl's name and intentionally didn't tell us."

"Why?" Bai Yutang was puzzled.

"A sense of crisis." Zhan Zhao smiled and stretched his arms, "Let's go play basketball later!"

Everyone turned around to look at him, "You know how to play basketball?"

Zhan Zhao frowned, "You guys look down on me!"

After a moment of hesitation, the crowd turned back in silence and muttered, "You can't even walk in a coordinated manner yet you still play basketball..."

Zhan Zhao was furious.

Gongsun had the twins carry out the body and lay it flat on a hospital bed, frowning, "It's a man."

"A man's hair is that long, huh?" The crowd all frowned.

"I'll have to do a detailed autopsy and give you the results afterwards." Gongsun continued his work.

Seeing that it was almost time, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang went to their appointment to play basketball.

When they arrived at the basketball court, they saw the captain of the basketball team cursing, "Where's Liu Ying, why isn't that damn kid here yet? He's not answering his phone!"

"He was in class for most of the period just now, then got a text message and snuck off."

"Go look for him again!"

“He’s not there, we've searched the classroom and the dormitory, he's probably gone on a date with his girlfriend."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang froze and they both frowned.

"Cat?" Bai Yutang suddenly felt that something might not be right.

Zhan Zhao took out his phone and dialled a number.

It turned out that it was a call to the girl who had just been injured; Zhan Zhao made a note of the phone number she had entered. After she picked up, Zhan Zhao asked, "Is Liu Ying with you?"

The girl was a bit confused, "No."

Zhan Zhao closed the phone and looked at Bai Yutang, "Not good!"

‿︵‿︵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: January 17, 2023 by Angel

Edited: February 6, 2023 by Angel