S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 1 Chapter 121

Shadow Murderer 28 – Lure the Snake out of the Hole

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"Wait a minute... Hey!" Bai Chi followed behind Zhao Zhen, who was walking quickly forward, ran up two steps and reached out to grab the arm of the person in front of him.

Zhao Zhen stopped in his tracks and stood still without saying a word.

"Why are you angry?" Bai Chi asked, tilting his face up.

Zhao Zhen glanced at him and asked instead of answering, "When did you first meet him?"

"Who?" Bai Chi rubbed his head.

"Zhao Jue."

"That was Zhao Jue just now?!" Bai Chi's mouth opened wide in surprise.

"You don't know who he is?" Zhao Zhen was surprised.

"I've only seen him twice in total." Bai Chi said, "I thought he was quite godly, and he felt a bit like Brother."

Zhao Zhen seemed a little surprised after hearing Bai Chi's words.

"He's Zhao Jue, so isn't he your uncle?" Bai Chi rubbed his chin and examined Zhao Zhen, "You don't say, there's really some resemblance, how come I didn't notice it before..."

"You, didn't you think I looked like him before?" Zhao Zhen looked at Bai Chi and asked, "Wasn't it because of him that you forgave me and treated me well?"

"Huh?" Bai Chi was puzzled by the question, "What are you talking about? How could I know him that well?"

This time it was Zhao Zhen's turn to be completely dumbfounded. After a long time, he shook his head and laughed to himself, reaching up to rub his eyebrows.

Bai Chi looked at him and felt strange, and after thinking about it, asked cautiously, "You... aren't angry because of this, are you?"

Zhao Zhen sighed, walked to a flower bed outside the hospital and sat down, saying, "I've been thinking, if I were you and someone did something like that to me when I was a kid, I would definitely never forgive him in my life."

Bai Chi walked over to him and sat down, blinking, waiting for him to continue.

"But you seem to have forgiven me quite quickly, and I've been wondering if there was some reason for that." Zhao Zhen smiled helplessly, "Just now I saw Zhao Jue kiss you, then I thought... oh, so that's what happened."

After hearing Zhao Zhen's words, Bai Chi understood and muttered in a small voice, "I'm not that cheap."

Leaning towards Bai Chi, Zhao Zhen said, "In the future, don't let others kiss you."

"Who are the others?" Bai Chi blushed a little.

"Someone other than me." Zhao Zhen smiled shyly.

Bai Chi didn't say anything and squinted at him. Zhao Zhen moved over and was just about to speak when Bai Chi's phone rang – the music from the Doraemon cartoon.

"Hello? Brother." Bai Chi stood up to answer the phone, "En, okay, I'll go buy it now and come over as soon as I'm done."

Bai Chi hung up the phone and turned back to Zhao Zhen, "Brother and the others are all back at the police station, they said there's going to be an operation. I'll go back first, if I'm not back by dinner time, you can put the bento in the fridge in the microwave to heat it up." After saying that, he waved his hand and ran away.

Zhao Zhen let out a long sigh, lit a cigarette and plucked his ears in boredom.

At that moment, his own phone also rang. Zhao Zhen hurriedly took it out to have a look and was a little disappointed to see that it was an old friend.

"Hey, Great Magician, the bartender in my bar is sick, come help me hold the fort, just for tonight." The old friend on the other end yelled.

"Huh?" Zhao Zhen couldn't help but roll his eyes, "You really think I'm a jack of all trades and can do anything?"

"Come on, we have some big shots coming tonight, it wouldn't look good without a bartender!" The guy on the other end begged.

"Why don't you hire two?"

"They're not as handsome as you are!" The guy answered simply, "Remember to come! Please." After saying that, he hung up the phone.

Zhao Zhen was so angry that he closed the phone and stuffed it into his coat pocket, stood up in dismay and decided to go home and sleep! He muttered, "Why should anybody have a crush on a kid who doesn't know anything?! Waiting for him to get the hang of it, do I really have to wait until the sea runs dry?"

Police Station.

In Bao Zheng's office, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang saw a bizarre image – Bao Zheng, whose face was already dark, was now even darker than ever before.

Sitting on the chair in front of his desk was Zhao Jue, who had his legs crossed and was leisurely drinking coffee. What's even more interesting is that while drinking his coffee, Zhao Jue's mouth was still open, "Hey, Xiao Black, I'm telling you, eating papaya can really whiten your skin! Last time I heard someone experimented with chimpanzees and turned them into white gorillas! With your small size, you will be able to turn back into a human being without having to eat it for two or three months! Don't be discouraged, at most, it won't mix well and turn grey, but it's still better than soy sauce."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang held back their laughter as they knocked on the door and entered.

When Bao Zheng saw the two of them, he was furious and glared at Zhan Zhao, "What's going on here?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other and he replied, "I need his help with my next plan."

"He's not a police officer, he can't help!" Bao Zheng said in a cold voice.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were silent, but they heard Zhao Jue say slowly, "Don't be afraid of him, he was far worse than you when he was young, he was also dumb."

"Cough..." Bao Zheng coughed up the coffee that had reached his mouth

"He was the worst at English back then." Zhao Jue whispered Bao Zheng's embarrassing story from back then, "Once, he chased a foreigner who stole something for nine blocks before he caught him, and he said to him, 'You run ah! Run ah! Mother's! The tiger is not angry, you look me ill cat ah? Give you some terrible to see see!'"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang tried to keep a straight face, but the corners of their mouths could not help but twitch twice. When they turned their faces to look at Bao Zheng again, they saw that his black face had risen to the colour of a pig's liver.

Zhao Jue was still laughing, "So red plus black will turn purple, I thought it was brown."

Bao Zheng stared at him for a couple of moments and sneered, "Want me to call him?"

Zhao Jue's face suddenly changed and he muttered in a small voice, "Petty!", then stopped speaking.

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were curious as to who the 'him' was that Bao Zheng was talking about and that Zhao Jue was so afraid of it.

"How do you want him to help?" Bao Zheng asked in a deep voice.

"We want to give Jie Jie a hypnotic suggestion, so that he can lure out Du She and Taber's group."

"Hypnosis is not allowed!" Bao Zheng replied dryly.

Zhao Jue shrugged and muttered again in a low voice, "Che... feudal!"

"This hypnosis is very difficult, I can't do it alone, I need him to join me." Zhan Zhao said to Bao Zheng, "There is a lot at stake this time, there might be some innocent little children being used for experiments. The sooner we can solve the case, the sooner we can save the victims."

Bao Zheng pondered for a moment and looked up at Bai Yutang, "You are the captain, what do you think?"

Bai Yutang didn't give it much thought and nodded, "I trust Cat's judgement."

"Hypnosis is unethical and not allowed!" Bao Zheng was still a little hesitant.

"I also think it's feasible." Outside the door, Ouyang Chun walked in with a document, "Director Bao, this case is indeed very extensive, and we have recently received information that Taber is likely to make a move in the near future, so it is important to find a breakthrough as soon as possible."

Bao looked at the few people in front of him somewhat helplessly, and when his eyes landed on Zhao Jue's face, he saw that he was winking at him with slight amusement.

"Hu..." Bao Zheng sighed and nodded, "However, I have to call someone!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other and asked, "Who is it?"

"Someone has instructed that he must be present whenever you have close contact with Zhao Jue!" Bao Zheng picked up the phone and glanced at Zhan Zhao.

"Who is it?" Zhan Zhao was even more confused.

"Your father!" Bao Zheng waved his hand at the few people unkindly, "Go out and get ready."

Bai Yutang pulled a puzzled Zhan Zhao out the door, while Zhao Jue leaned over Bao Zheng's desk and nagged, "Tell Qitian to bring a watermelon! Watermelons are sweet these days, and by the way, should he bring you some papaya..."

After leaving Bao Zheng's office, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were filled with confusion.

"What the hell are these old guys up to?" Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao in a whisper.

"They grew up together, it's only natural that they should be familiar with each other." Zhan Zhao said, "But with Bao Sir's iron face and selflessness, if Zhao Jue is really as evil as they say he is, how can they still get along so peacefully?"

Bai Yutang shook his head, and at that moment, Bai Chi, who had hurriedly returned from the hospital, walked over to him.

"Chi Chi, have you brought the stuff?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Yes!" Bai Chi took out a bag and handed it to Zhan Zhao, "That's everything I got."

Bai Yutang opened the bag and took a look, and found that it was all toy pistols of various styles.

"Cat, what do you need so many toy guns for?" Bai Yutang was puzzled.

"You'll find out in a moment!" Zhan Zhao smiled a little mysteriously.

At this time, Zhao Jue also wandered out with his hands in his pockets, looking around as he walked, muttering to himself, "It's been decades since I've been here, but this building was built in a proper and rather dignified manner." When he got closer and saw the bag of pistols that Zhan Zhao was holding, he smiled knowingly, "So that's how it is, good idea, but it's indeed quite difficult."

"Chief, it's all ready!" Ma Han came out of the interrogation room, "Jie Jie has been immobilised. This kid seems to have gained a bit more strength, if it wasn't for Luo Tian's help, it wouldn't have been that easy to subdue him."

"Put on some light music for him to relax his nerves, preferably in Italian." Zhao Jue said to Ma Han with a smile.

Ma Han glanced at Zhao Jue and looked back at Zhan Zhao with questioning eyes.

"Do it." Zhan Zhao nodded, and Ma Han turned to walk away.

Zhao Jue rubbed his chin thoughtfully and walked over to Bai Yutang, "I'm hungry."

Bai Yutang glanced at Zhan Zhao, who opened the door to the observation room connected to the interrogation room and nodded to Bai Yutang – I want to talk to him alone too.

"Bai Chi," Bai Yutang patted Bai Chi's shoulder, "go to the canteen and buy something to eat." After that, he walked to the chair at the entrance of the observation room and sat down, raising an eyebrow at Zhan Zhao – You guys talk about your business, I can wait at the door, I don't feel comfortable with you staying with him for too long.

Zhan Zhao walked in with Zhao Jue and the iron door closed gently. Bai Chi came over and asked Bai Yutang, "Brother, what do you want to eat?"

Bai Yutang raised an eyebrow, "A sandwich with thirteen spoons of mustard!"

"You're going on a diet, Brother?" Bai Chi blinked.

Bai Yutang glared at him, and Bai Chi hurriedly ran away.

Outside the one-sided mirror of the observation room, Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue stood side by side in front of the table, looking at Jie Jie who was seated in the interrogation room.

The music was already playing, and Zhao Jue nodded, "That's a good choice of music, your men are quite resourceful."

Zhan Zhao didn't take his eyes off Jie Jie, he just replied indifferently, "He's not one of my men, he's a colleague!"

"Hehe..." Zhao Jue laughed without saying anything.

"You'll do the hypnosis this time, I'll assist." Zhan Zhao suddenly spoke.

"I'll do it?" Zhao Jue laughed, "You're not afraid of me playing tricks, huh?"

"There are some things I still can't figure out." Zhan Zhao whispered, "I don't know exactly how powerful you are either, so I want to see how strong you are. Also, if you're willing to help this time, you must have your purpose. If it's just to help Leonard fight for territory, then there's not a big problem."

Zhao Jue stared at Zhan Zhao for a moment and asked, "What if I'm on Taber's side?"

Zhan Zhao frowned slightly and shook his head, "I don't think you'd help Taber, that seems too tasteless. Besides, there is something risky about this operation because it's a shortcut, and there is usually some price to pay for taking shortcuts. But all in all, at this point in time, it's more important to save people and contain the situation, and it was with this in mind that Xiao Bai and I decided to ask for your help."

Zhao Jue was silent for a long time before he muttered to himself, "Perhaps, it is possible that you can really be happy."

Zhan Zhao did not understand what he meant and turned his face to look at him.

"So far, I am indeed doing Leonard a favour." Zhao Jue chuckled twice, "Because he can also do me a big favour."

Zhan Zhao thought for a moment and asked Zhao Jue, "What's your relationship with my dad?"

Zhao Jue froze for a moment, then covered his mouth with a stifled laugh and said with a smirk, "I won't tell you!"

As Bai Chi walked into the elevator with the sandwich Bai Yutang had asked him to buy, he bumped into someone.

"Uncle… Uncle Zhan." Bai Chi greeted warily.

Zhan Qitian had seen Bai Chi two or three times before and nodded gently.

What Bai Chi was usually most afraid of was this kind of cold as ice elite-type elder. Standing in the same elevator, he felt like he was going to be swallowed up by the icy aura of the man beside him. But Bai Chi couldn't help but cautiously glance at him and survey him, thinking to himself, no wonder Zhan Zhao is so handsome, his father is really a standard beauty… he's just a bit intimidating, and, well, so young. Bai Chi stared at Zhan Qitian's hand resting at his side in a daze, thinking, such white hands, ah, the skin is so good, nothing like a fifty year old man.

"Still not getting out?" Zhan Qitian reached his hand out to block the elevator door and looked amusedly at Xiao Bai Chi who was standing in a daze in the elevator.

"Ah!" Bai Chi looked up and realised that the elevator had long since arrived. Blushing, he hurriedly ran out as if he was running away.

Zhan Qitian couldn't laugh or cry, this child, where was he like a Bai family member?

When he stepped out of the elevator, Zhan Qitian paused in place for a moment, took a deep breath and walked forward.

In the observation room, Bai Chi handed Zhao Jue a sandwich as Bai Yutang had wanted, and Zhao Jue had just happily taken a bite from it when the door was pushed open and Zhan Qitian walked in.

As they looked at each other, both of them seemed a little embarrassed. Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao glanced at each other, watching for their reactions, but Zhao Jue suddenly threw away the sandwich, covered his mouth and fell into Zhan Qitian's arms, whimpering, "It's so spicy, Qitian, I'm choking to death..."

Zhan Qitian stiffened and froze in place, his face turning blue.

Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows at Zhan Zhao – Look, they really have a great relationship!

Zhan Zhao was angry – Dead mouse, don't you have enough of a mess?

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Translated: March 1, 2023 by Angel

Edited: March 11, 2023 by Angel