S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 4 Chapter 42

Ghost Ship Murderer 08 – Causes

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As the flash of confusion disappeared from Bai Yutang's face, he quickly opened the door and reached out to catch the falling, petite girl as he shouted downstairs, "Doctor!"

Gongsun and Yang Fan looked at each other and ran upstairs together.

At that moment, the lights on the second floor turned on, Zhao Hu and the others opened the door to the room and froze when they saw what was in front of them.

Everyone couldn't help but be curious, and Zhan Zhao also ran upstairs, with Stephen and Lin Ruo following behind.

When they entered the room, they saw a bizarre scene.

They saw that the study was located on the second floor and was very high-class, but in the middle of the room, on the expensive carpet, there was an old man lying flat on his back, the butler who was called Kevin.

Around the butler's neck was a long tie.

And in front of the floor-to-ceiling balcony window stood a clothes rack. On the top of the clothes rack hung two blood bags and a number of tubes, the other end of which was inserted into a young girl wearing a large white dress, who was now completely unconscious and slumped in Bai Yutang's arms, her face as white as paper. Bai Yutang held her up and did not dare to move because the distance connecting her to those blood bags was so far that he did not know whether blood was being transfused or drawn at this point, but he could feel that the girl, who was close to being cold, still had a heartbeat and a pulse.

"Hold still!" Yang Fan rushed over and looked at the blood bag, "It's a transfusion, she's lost a serious amount of blood, hurry up and call an ambulance!"

"The butler is dead!" Gongsun checked Kevin's condition and shook his head helplessly.

"Sally!"

At that moment, a miserable cry came from the doorway.

It was a cry that was dripping with sadness and panic, and belonged to Stephen.

Bai Yutang looked up and saw Zhan Zhao and Stephen arriving at the door together, and Stephen suddenly shouted out when he saw the girl, "Oh my god! Sally!"

Zhao Hu and Luo Tian stopped Stephen who had lost control and was about to rush over.

Zhan Zhao asked Lin Ruo, who was also white with surprise behind him, "What's going on?"

Lin Ruo frowned, "Sally is Stephen's sister."

Zhan Zhao looked at Lin Ruo in confusion.

"Sally should be studying in England... I don't understand how she could have come here." Lin Ruo shook his head, his face full of confusion, "Stephen was afraid that her rushing back for his marriage proposal would affect her studies, so he didn't tell her. "

"Looks like someone else told her."

Ma Han picked up a cell phone from the ground and pulled up a few of the text messages to show to Zhan Zhao, and next to it was Sally's luggage.

When Zhan Zhao took the phone, he saw that it was a record of a conversation between Kevin and Sally, who seemed to have conspired to surprise Stephen today.

Zhan Zhao opened the suitcase and found a beautifully wrapped box inside, which appeared to be an engagement gift for Stephen.

"She's not going to make it!" Yang Fan gave Sally first aid.

Stephen was completely out of control and Zhao Hu and Luo Tian struggled to pull him out, while Lily, who had run up and, according to Lin Ruo, was like a sister to Sally, fainted when she saw what was happening in front of her.

The ambulance arrived in time and Yang Fan accompanied the paramedics to take her to the hospital.

Bai Jintang asked the arriving twins to take Stephen to the hospital.

A large group of police officers led by Bao Zheng arrived, and Bai Yutang told the SCI crowd to survey the scene and be careful of the poisonous roses.

What was once a beautiful and peaceful rose garden has now become noisy and bloody.

Twisted bodies lay in the flowers, and the poisoned roses were vaguely speckled with some eerie patches of light in the moonlight. There were also some fireflies lying on the leaves of the flowers. It is unknown if it was the effect of the toxin, but the fireflies, which should have been fluorescent green, had turned an eerie blue colour.

Zhan Zhao stood at the edge of the balcony and looked down.

Bai Jintang and Zhao Zhen, who were not police officers, were around the corner of the balcony not far from him, and Lin Ruo was leaning alone on the balcony railing at the other end, expressionlessly watching the busy police officers downstairs, no longer smiling in his usual way.

Bai Yutang washed his hands and came out, walking over to Zhan Zhao.

"I hate this case." Zhan Zhao whispered.

"Have you liked any of the cases that SCI has taken so far?" Bai Yutang asked rhetorically.

"This one is different." Zhan Zhao was silent for a long time, "Maybe we should reshape Emilia's personality a little."

Bai Yutang looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"You said you didn't understand why Emilia wanted to kill everyone in that village, didn't you?" Zhan Zhao suddenly asked Bai Yutang, "You think it's illogical, there should be something else happening that we can't figure out that irritated Emilia."

Bai Yutang nodded, "I indeed can't figure it out."

"Because you are not Emilia, and nor are any murderers Emilia." Zhan Zhao turned back to Bai Yutang and asked, "Hypothetically speaking, if Stephen killed me, would you treat his sister like this to get revenge?"

Bai Yutang froze and shook his head, "No."

"Then is there anything that would be more upsetting to you than my death?"

Bai Yutang shook his head, "No."

Zhan Zhao smiled lightly, "There are bad people in this world, evil to the point of being more evil than anyone we've ever seen before."

Bai Yutang frowned slightly and looked at Zhan Zhao, "Has Emilia shaken your world view?"

"It's the view of people." Zhan Zhao said seriously, "Zhao Jue has said before that my research has limitations because I never knew how evil the human heart could be."

Bai Yutang frowned and looked back at Lin Ruo who had walked near them, he seemed to be hesitating and had something he wanted to ask.

Knowing that he was smart enough to analyse this attack case on his own, Bai Yutang asked him, "Did Stephen have anything to do with that expedition of yours to the Emilia?"

Lin Ruo shook his head, "No, he didn't contribute any money or effort, but every one of my friends knew I wanted to find out why the Emilia sank."

Zhan Zhao reached out and gently rubbed his eyebrows, "What about Ryan? Did he have anything to do with the Emilia? And that waiter, have you ever met him before? There's also a man named Chen Fei, and Ding Yuan..."

"Plus Sally." Lin Ruo walked over to the railing and looked out the door at a forklift driving in, looking ready to tear up the rose garden.

"And a few shipmates." Lin Ruo muttered to himself, "They are all related to me, did I cause them to die?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other without making a sound.

"I'd rather believe that Emilia's grievance or curse is at work." Lin Ruo's face sank, "Otherwise, I've just offended the devil, taking revenge like this."

"Can you think of anyone whose grudge against you would run this deep?" Bai Yutang asked Lin Ruo.

Lin Ruo sank and shook his head, "I can't really think of one, but I'm sure I haven't done anything so bad that would warrant such revenge. "

Zhan Zhao patted Bai Yutang who was standing beside him, "I need to think about it some more." After saying that, he walked into the room alone, sat down, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.

This was the first time Bai Yutang had seen such an action from Zhan Zhao, but the way his brain works has never been something that others could figure out. When Bai Yutang turned around, he saw Lin Ruo walking behind the railing on the other side, his hand gripping the railing and frowning.

Bai Jintang lit a cigarette, and at that moment, the two brothers, Lan Xi and Lan Qi, came up.

Lan Xi walked over to Bai Yutang and warned in a low voice, "There might be something bad going on."

Bai Yutang looked at him in confusion.

Lan Xi lifted his chin, indicating for Bai Yutang to look in the distance.

Bai Yutang looked over in the direction he indicated, and saw several people gathered next to a tent not far away. These were all good friends of Stephen and Lin Ruo, and... were all elites from all walks of life.

At a rough glance, Bai Yutang could name them all; these were all prominent young talents in S City, from business elites, to famous entertainers, to famous doctors, lawyers, and some public officials who held important positions.

"They seem to have decided to fight back." Lan Xi whispered, "I just passed by them, and there was a murderous aura."

Bai Yutang frowned, it seemed that this case had ignited the anger in the hearts of this group of people.

At that moment, one of them turned back, his eyes swept over the upper floors and upon seeing Lin Ruo, he waved to him.

With a serious expression, Lin Ruo climbed over the railing and jumped down from the second floor, running to their side as the group gathered around and appeared to be discussing something.

"What are they doing?" Bai Yutang sensed the commotion and unusual atmosphere amongst the crowd.

"Solving the problem in their own way." Bai Jintang walked up.

Bai Yutang looked back at him, "What's the solution?"

Bai Jintang shrugged slightly, "These are not defenceless sheep, the so-called elite individuals who can kill their way through so many people are actually vicious wolves, and once their bottom line is touched, they will fight back."

"In other words, they have someone they suspect, don't they?" Bai Yutang asked Bai Jintang.

Bai Jintang shrugged slightly, "I'm still a little different from them and can't fit in completely, so I'm not a member of their brotherhood."

Bai Yutang was puzzled, "Don't you guys know each other very well?"

"Familiar is familiar, but after all, habits and ideas are different." Bai Jintang stuck his hands in his pockets, "I was born ordinary and started from nothing, they were born with a golden spoon and were the proud sons of heaven, they have different basic values and grew up differently."

Bai Yutang sank, "Friends and kindred spirits are two different things, aren't they?"

Bai Jintang raised an eyebrow slightly, "What they're going to do next, he probably knows better."

Bai Yutang saw him pointing at Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen was spinning a small Rubik's Cube with one hand in boredom. When he saw Bai Yutang looking at him, he shrugged his shoulders, "An eye for an eye, what else can you do?"

Bai Yutang was about to go downstairs when Bai Jintang pulled him back, "They won't tell you."

"It's too dangerous if they're prepared to take revenge themselves." Bai Yutang didn't understand, "If there are suspects, why didn't they tell the police? Or cooperate with us?"

Bai Jintang smiled, "If you were in danger, would your first reaction be to call for help or to save yourself?"

Bai Yutang froze.

"Have you, Bai Yutang, ever begged others for help?" Bai Jintang reached out and patted him on the shoulder, "They're all proud sons of heaven just like you, they've never asked for help in climbing to this position, they've all relied on themselves. Being clever and exceptional is the part they have always been most proud of, but that spiteful soul this time around has toyed with them ruthlessly, so of course they have to seek revenge."

Bai Yutang sulked for a moment, "Childish."

"I think so too." Bai Jintang nodded, "But look at the look in their eyes."

Bai Yutang turned back and looked at the eyes of the crowd gathered downstairs to discuss. How should he describe it? Determined? Excited? Or maybe it was murderous intent… What a complicated expression. 

"Life is inherently a game to them." Bai Jintang said, "Lin Ruo ran off to find some ancient shipwreck, it was supposed to be just a thrill seeking activity. It's been a long time since this group of people have been so combative, don't you think they're excited in addition to being angry? That's always the mood of combative people when they meet a challenge."

At that moment, Lin Ruo received a phone call, hung up and said something to the crowd, who were clearly relieved.

"Captain."

Bai Yutang turned around as Qin Ou arrived behind him and whispered, "Yang Fan called and said that Sally is out of danger, but because of the blood loss, there may be residual effects. She was knocked unconscious and blood was drawn before being transfused, the methods were brutal. Stephen hired a lot of bodyguards to protect the two, and then they disappeared."

Bai Yutang frowned, "Disappeared?"

"When Yang Fan got into the ambulance, I told him to keep an eye on Stephen." Qin Ou then said, "Yang Fan said that Stephen whispered something in his sister's ear."

"What was said?"

"I'll make them pay..." Qin Ou raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Them..." said Bai Yutang, slightly surprised.

"Head."

At that moment, Zhao Hu ran up, "There are many cars and people at the entrance."

Bai Yutang frowned, "What kind of people?"

"People in black." Zhao Hu bristled, "They all said they were here to take Young Master home."

"Young master..."

The crowd scanned downstairs, there were a lot of young masters here...

"I think I've found some clues."

The crowd turned around and saw that Zhan Zhao seemed to have ended his meditation and had walked out of the study, holding a folder in his hand and handing it to Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang opened it and took a look, and after a long moment of silence, he handed the information to Bai Jintang to read, "Perhaps this is the cause?"

Bai Jintang was unsure, taking a look at the folder and freezing.

Zhao Zhen also came over and couldn't help but whistle, "More imaginative than me."

Ma Han couldn't help but say from the side, "Looking for trouble."

Zhao Hu put his arm around his shoulders, “Really, they have a good life but this method is really… who should be blamed for getting into so much trouble?"

‿︵‿︵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: April 7, 2023 by Angel

Edited: May 9, 2023 by Angel