S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 4 Chapter 55

Ghost Ship Murderer 21 – Three Minutes

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The sky was getting darker, with a sunset in the distance suspended at sea level, and the orange glow spread far and wide, staining the waves golden as they undulated and rolled... The sea had not been very calm lately due to the typhoon.

The Emilia was moored near the harbour, and the ship was heavily tarped, as if the paint on the railings hadn't dried yet, or they were afraid the high winds would scrape something away... In any case, the spooky hull was covered up, blocking out the prying eyes of the public.

Lin Ruo got on board and stood on the deck, watching the sunset in the distance.

The sea was a special presence for him, he has seen all kinds of seas. Since he started sailing as a teenager, he has encountered all kinds of wind and waves, and the more dangerous they were, the more attractive they were to him. He was fascinated by the huge waves, obsessed by the endless blue, and the sea never defeated him, until that shipwreck.

Lin Ruo's fingers gently slid across his chin and some memories came in response.

When he would push himself forward, only ever knowing how to control the sails and go fast, Han Wei would tease him, "Slow down, are you in a hurry to be reincarnated?"

When he was young, Lin Ruo was so arrogant and confident that he was supercilious, "Even the biggest waves can't kill me."

Han Wei always laughed at him, "You're too lucky in this life, so take it easy and live slowly, you won't be so lucky in your next life."

Lin Ruo never took Han Wei's words to heart...

Now, Lin Ruo still has not lost the courage to conquer the sea, and he has never feared the huge waves, he just resists the so-called fate. It turns out that the difference between a good life and a bad life can be so great, as if, having encountered the same shipwreck, he woke up, but Han Wei never did.

"Buzz..."

His phone vibrated. Lin Ruo reached out and grabbed it, it was a text message. Before he could read it, he heard footsteps... they seemed to be coming up to the upper deck.

Looking at the time on his phone, Lin Ruo frowned and shouted in the direction of the stairs, "So slow, I've been waiting for half a day."

......

With Lin Ruo's voice, the sound of footsteps suddenly disappeared, but no one could be seen coming up.

Lin Ruo froze for a moment and frowned in the direction of the stairs, "Stephen?"

"Stop playing." Lin Ruo was a little impatient. He had just received a call from Stephen, asking him to go to the same bar he often went to to talk about something, but halfway through the drive he suddenly received a text message saying that the location had been changed to the deck of the Emilia.

Lin Ru picked up his phone and didn't bother to read the text message, but dialled Stephen's number directly.

A few moments later, a phone rang from the stairs.

Lin Ruo looked to the sky and put his phone back in his trouser pocket, "Hello."

......

But there was still no response from deck below, and… the ringing phone was cut off.

Lin Ruo was slightly stunned, feeling that... something was wrong.

He took a step back and looked around, his eyes fixed on the direction of the stairs. He fumbled for his phone and called the bar where he had previously made an appointment with Stephen.

"Hello?"

The bartender answered the phone, and it was noisy there.

Lin Ru asked, "Is Stephen there?"

"Master Lin?" The bartender asked, "They're all here, why aren't you here?"

Lin Ruo's heart stuttered and he tsked, "I'll be there later."

After saying that, Lin Ruo hung up the phone and asked, "Who are you?"

There was still no sound from the lower deck.

Lin Ruo walked carefully to the stairway and saw that the bottom of the staircase was empty, and just above the white iron steps lay a phone. It was Stephen's phone. Lin Ru frowned, retreating to the deck without risking going down or picking up the phone.

He thought to himself – It was getting darker and darker and it would be disadvantageous to him, but the only way off the deck was via that staircase, which had limitations, and going down could easily lead to him being the target of an assassination attempt.

He leaned out to look at the outside of the hull. The rain cover could be used to slide down, but it was a long way down, so he could easily fall, and jumping into the sea was even worse, as there were more crises underwater, and if he went into the water, he could not help himself. 

Lin Ruo was rapidly calculating how to get out, and wondering who had led him here. It was clear that the other party had no good intentions.

With this in mind, Lin Ruo quickly picked up some coils of rope on the ground and tied knots around the railing of the deck, tying one end of the rope to the railing and flinging the other end off and into the middle of the deck. In the same manner, he did this with several rolls of rope, while vigilantly watching for changes around him.

He then climbed up to the watchtower above the ship and stood on the top of the railing overlooking the ship... but the rain cover blocked most of the view.

At this time, his phone buzzed twice again.

Lin Ruo frowned and took it out to see two unread text messages. He opened the second one and saw that it was from Bai Yutang, with only one sentence – Hold on for three minutes.

As soon as Lin Ruo woke up, he immediately saw hope. It seemed that someone was indeed trying to harm him, and Bai Yutang and the others were on their way to save him. Based on his confidence in Bai Jintang, Lin Ruo was also very confident in Bai Yutang. Hold on for three minutes and he wouldn't have to die, how could he not hold out for three minutes?

Inertially, he clicked on the previous text message… Lin Ruo froze when he saw it.

A gust of sea breeze blew by, carrying the special salty smell of the ocean, which cleared Lin Ruo's almost congested head, followed by a whirring gust of wind.

Lin Ruo subconsciously lowered his head and leapt down from the watchtower. As he looked up, someone jumped down after him.

Lin Ruo took a few steps back, keeping his distance from the person, while sweeping a glance over to survey them, frowning...

He had never seen the person in front of him before. They were short, sturdy, dark skinned, and very agile, in their forties or fifties, with grey hair, but their eyes were fierce and their appearance had a sinister feel to it.

The strangest thing was that he was wearing a blue and white chequered outfit, similar to pyjamas... or rather, a hospital gown?

The first thing that flashed through Lin Ruo's head was – A professional killer? But seeing him empty-handed, how can there be such an unprofessional professional killer? And wearing a hospital gown...

"Who are you?"

Lin Ruo tried his best to pull himself out of the shock of the text message he had just received, he had to hold on for three minutes, three minutes! Go back and meet that man!

Lin Ruo was not a defenceless young master. Although he didn't know any kung fu and was not a threat, he had the ability to defend himself and was very agile.

At this moment, he was staring at the person with a deadly gaze, ready to move if the enemy moved, while circling with him, "You know me?"

The other person hunched over, originally staring at Lin Ruo closely, but then their movements relaxed and they stood up.

Lin Ruo didn't relax and kept his guard up.

"You don't remember me?"

The person opened their mouth to inquire, seemingly a little disappointed.

Lin Ru looked at them carefully, certain that he definitely did not know nor had he seen this person before, "Remind me?"

The other person smiled faintly and said, "I'm Emilia."

Lin Ruo was taken aback and the corners of his mouth twitched gently, "That's very humorous."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." The other person was doing very feminine actions with a very masculine look, making Lin Ruo a little uncomfortable. But it wasn't like they were effeminate or anything... the behaviour was too natural, it simply felt like a woman.

"I haven't seen you in a few years, you've changed a lot." The man smiled and shook his head, "You're strange, haven't you been looking for me all these years? Now that you've found me, you don't recognize me?"

Lin Ru looked slightly more serious and frowned, "What do you mean?"

The man covered his chest, "You really make me sad, so let me ask you a question..."

After a slight pause, the man spoke, "I'm so lonely, I have to leave someone behind to keep me company, of the two, can only go one back, which is it? You decide yourselves."

Following his words, Lin Ru's face turned white, "You..."

"I'll stay." The man, however, ignored Lin Ruo, and his voice was serious, as if he was playing a one-man show in two parts.

"Let him go back."

"Why are you being foolish, no one will stay!"

"You go!"

"Hold on tight and don't let go!"

"You go back, I told you, you won't be as lucky as you are now in your next life."

"I won't leave you alone, at worst, we'll die together."

......

The man was still going on.

Lin Ru's expression was already similar to that of a dead man, the gentleness and elegance was gone, his face showed an anger that had never been seen before, and he spoke through clenched teeth, "Shut up. "

"Do you remember me?" The other man smiled cheerfully, "How's your friend? Oh yeah, I sent him back, he should be awake by now."

Lin Ruo gripped the phone in his hand, the first text message from just now was sent to him by He Ying, telling him to hurry to the hospital, as Han Wei had woken up.

"But it's a pity." The man smiled sinisterly, "I like both of you so much, I feel so lonely after letting one go, next, I'll take you away."

Lin Ruo's eyes swept over his hand, the time shown on his phone, three whole minutes had passed.

"You two will never see each other..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Lin Ruo interrupted, "Not necessarily."

The man faintly froze as a smile unexpectedly flashed across Lin Ruo's face.

"Go to hell." Lin Ruo suddenly grabbed one end of a rope on the ground, ran quickly towards the bow of the boat, leapt up, clutched the rope and jumped out.

Just below the boat, a speedboat was waiting. On board, Zhan Zhao tilted his face and waved at Lin Ruo. Behind Zhan Zhao, there was a man with a small beard sitting on the bow of the boat, looking up curiously at the situation above. Seeing Lin Ruo come down, he couldn't help but smile, "Quite clever."

Lin Ruo was suspended in mid-air by a rope, and Zhan Zhao turned off the speedboat's engine, signalling for Lin Ruo to jump into the sea.

Lin Ruo was choosing the angle to jump from when he felt the rope above him being yanked upwards with a strong force.

The man leaned out and grabbed the rope with both hands with incredible force, almost throwing Lin Ruo back.

Lin Ruo frowned and suddenly heard Zhan Zhao shout, "Take a deep breath! Hold your breath!"

Lin Ru subconsciously drew in a mouthful of air and at the same time heard a 'ping' as the rope in his hand slackened. The rope was broken by a bullet, and Lin Ruo fell into the sea with a plop.

Zhan Zhao reached out to pull him up and handed him a blanket, while turning around and giving a thumbs up to a roof in the distance.

On the distant roof, Zhao Hu waved at Zhan Zhao with his binoculars, while Ma Han, who was beside him, had taken aim at the forehead of the man who had stumbled and fallen back onto the deck because the rope had suddenly broken.

Zhan Zhao said to the man on the boat, "Nguyen Van Gao, you have nowhere to run, surrender."

Behind him, Zhao Jue couldn't help but let out a "pft".

Zhan Zhao was having a good time, but when he heard Zhao Jue's laugh, he turned around and glared at him.

Zhao Jue shook his head, "What kind of fantasy is this? A scholar acting as a soldier, I can't bear to look." 

Zhan Zhao stomped on him, and a grey mark immediately appeared on his shiny black leather shoes, causing him to grind his teeth, "Damn cat."

Ma Han turned on his infrared sight, and the red dot of light crept up to where Nguyen Van Gao's forehead was, reminding him not to resist and to let himself be caught.

But Nguyen Van Gao didn't seem intent on cooperating as he climbed to his feet and climbed the railing as if he wanted to jump after Lin Ruo.

But down on the speedboat, Zhao Jue suddenly stood up, tilted his face to look at him, and smiled, gently stroking his chin, "Interesting."

With a frown, Nguyen Van Gao retreated back to the deck.

Zhao Hu looked through his binoculars, surprised, "Shit, he's actually more afraid of Zhao Jue than he is of bullets?"

Ma Han looked up, "Aren't you afraid?"

Zhao Hu grimaced, "Afraid..."

Then he asked, "You're not aiming?"

Ma Han shrugged, "Do I need to? Can he get away?"

Zhao Hu continued to watch with his binoculars, while agreeing, "That's true, there is something worse waiting for him."

......

On deck, Nguyen Van Gao turned to run when, at the top of the stairs, a white figure emerged and Bai Yutang stood on the deck at the entrance to the stairs.

Nguyen Van Gao's face went pale.

Bai Yutang stared at him for a moment and said, "You'd better switch. I don't want to hit a woman."

Nguyen Van Gao's eyes narrowed slightly as he took a step backwards, suddenly bent down and grabbed the rope with one hand, preparing to leap out of the boat in one leap just like Lin Ruo had just done.

"Oh?" Ma Han, who was watching the situation through his scope from afar, wondered, "Is he more afraid of Head than of Zhao Jue?"

"Not necessarily." Zhao Hu had a different opinion, "This bastard is shrewd."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw Bai Yutang retreat down the stairs.

At that moment, everyone could understand Nguyen Van Gao's move. It turned out that he grabbed the rope and jumped off the deck, then swung and leapt onto the second level. It was a very cunning and unexpected move, but as soon as he stood firm, Bai Yutang, who had anticipated his move, was already in front of him.

Nguyen Van Gao turned around and tried to descend the hanging ladder, but Luo Tian and Qin Ou came up and blocked the last way.

Retreating to the edge of the deck, Nguyen Van Gao looked around and saw that there was no way out.

At last, when everyone thought he would fight to the death or jump into the sea in an attempt to escape, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, he put his hands on his head and knelt down.

Luo Tian went over and handcuffed him.

Bai Yutang approached and looked at him, "So cooperative?"

Nguyen Van Gao lifted his head, "All you can catch is this shell, I'm hiding on the Emilia deep in the ocean..."

Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows and nodded, seeming to approve, while smiling rather disdainfully and asking him, "Are you sure?"

Nguyen Van Gao's eyebrows frowned slightly.

Bai Yutang crouched down and looked straight at him, "I don't believe you're being possessed by some sort of ghost, there's no such thing in this world, I simply know you're playing tricks."

Nguyen Van Gao locked eyes with him.

"But it doesn't matter." Bai Yutang reminded him, "There are two people waiting to play with you, and as many times as you play dead, they play dead with you too, Emilia."

......

On the deck, Zhan Zhao asked Zhao Jue, "He is your patient, your suspicions have been confirmed this time, what are you going to do next?"

Zhao Jue maintained a rare state of excitement at this time, pursing his lips and smiling, his fingertips gently stroking the slightly stubbly scruff on his chin, "Such rare material, of course, must be carefully broken down, and that female ghost should be put in a cage and slowly played with."

Zhan Zhao looked contemptuous, "Pervert."

Zhao Jue glanced at him, "Don't you want to meet Emilia?"

Zhan Zhao looked at the sky.

"Can you guys take me back to the hospital first?"

When they got to shore, Zhan Zhao and the others met up with Ma Han and the others who came running from afar, but Lin Ruo asked to postpone going to the SCI office.

Zhan Zhao thought he was hurt, but Lin Ruo shook his head, "Take me to the city hospital, I have to go see someone, I'll tell you all about it when I get back."

Ma Han asked, "To see Han Wei?"

Lin Ruo seemed surprised, but no longer cared about how they knew, and simply said, "He's awake."

"What?"

This time it was Zhao Hu and Ma Han's turn to be surprised. He was still unconscious when they saw him just now, and then suddenly he woke up?

Bai Yutang said to the two, "You two take him to the hospital first."

Ma Han and Zhao Hu nodded, and took Lin Ruo and left first.

Luo Tian and Qin Ou escorted Nguyen Van Gao into the police car.

Zhao Jue was eager to go, and Bai Yutang was about to leave, but he saw Zhan Zhao standing in place, looking back at the car that Ma Han and the others were leaving in.

"Cat?" Bai Yutang asked him, "What's wrong?"

Zhan Zhao shook his head, "Nothing… it's just feels strange."

"You mean, that Han Wei suddenly woke up at this time?"

Zhan Zhao frowned slightly before shaking his head, "Let's interrogate Nguyen Van Gao first, I'm very interested in meeting the Emilia that's residing inside him."

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Went to go see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for the third and final time tonight as it is ending its run in my city on July 2nd. Even three times in, it was absolutely amazing and I loved every second of it.

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: May 20, 2023 by Angel

Edited: June 20, 2023 by Angel