S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 4 Chapter 81

Toothless Murderer 04 – Toothless Formula

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Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang walked into the SCI office and froze for a moment. They both subconsciously backed out of the doorway and looked at the door plate – It was right, it was SCI's office.

But right now, the office was filled with computers, and there were several rows of people they hadn't ever seen before, both men and women, most of them with one trait – They didn't look like police officers! An air of geekiness washed over them.

At this moment, Jiang Ping was leading all the technicians in the computer department of the police station and they were working feverishly.

Lu Fang frowned at the side as he kept answering his cell phone, always answering with just one sentence, ''Sorry, they won't be there! They will not participate in the event! They will not film for TV! They will not do interviews! They will not..."

......

Looking at the rest of the SCI officers, they were all squeezed into the hallway, and Bao Zheng stood at the front door with a black face, his face almost blacker than graphite.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang glanced at each other and asked, "The video hasn't been deleted yet?"

Bao Zheng handed the tablet in his hand to the two.

Bai Yutang moved over to take a look, and saw that it was the video of him neutralising the two attackers just now, and the title of the video was – SCI Captain Kills Two Killers in Seconds.

Zhan Zhao blinked and looked at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang frowned. There were quite a few people upstairs filming with their cell phones earlier, but they wouldn't be so idle as to put it on the internet to this extent, would they?

"This video is no better than the one from earlier." Jiang Ping was very helpless, "The netizens captured it themselves, from various angles, and the number of retweets is even more astonishing than the reasoning one from earlier, I won't get any sleep tonight."

Zhan Zhao curiously looked at the comments related to the video, and there were a few that were quite interesting, "Xiao Bai, look, the network language has already broken through the constraints of pictograms and hieroglyphs, and has developed in the direction of both sound and form!"

Saying this, Zhan Zhao read them to Bai Yutang...

"I kneel down for you! This is a film special effect, right?"

"Mother, he can fly!"

"Damn, I'm instantly a brainwashed fan!"

"Is SCI still hiring? Captain Bai, I'm looking for a job!"

"I'm forming a fan club! Please visit!"

......

Bai Yutang was baffled by what he heard, and Zhan Zhao pounded the table while reading, saying that this section was enough to make him laugh for half a year.

This video was more intuitive than the video of Zhan Zhao from earlier, and it didn't require any patience, not to mention brain power, to understand and analyse. It had a direct visual impact, and the amount of retweets was astonishing.

It didn't take long for SCI to become a popular term for internet searches.

On the other side, Lu Fang's good temper was also worn down, three phone calls were received in turn, receiving one and dropping one...

"This is the police station! Police station ah!"

"They are the police! Police ah!"

"SCI is for investigating cases! Investigating cases ah!"

......

At the door, Zhao Hu and Ma Han walked in with two large bags of takeout, and watched in horror as the always cultured Lu Fang was in an out-of-control state.

Zhao Hu still joked, "Ooh, after the last big blackout, it's been a while since Lu Fang has been a repeater, hasn't it."

Ma Han felt helpless and went in to talk to Bai Yutang, "Head, all three were saved, but they were all poisoned and will have aftereffects."

Zhao Hu also nodded, "Yang Fan examined them and was shocked, asking what non-mainstreams are swallowing into their stomachs nowadays."

"Did anyone say where the pills came from or how they were poisoned?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Not yet, a few of them have some problems with their vocal cords and can't speak for the time being, they're being treated. Luo Tian and Bai Chi are waiting, and will ask them as soon as they can speak." Ma Han replied.

Bai Yutang nodded.

Zhan Zhao fished out a sandwich from the takeaway bag and nibbled on it while asking Qin Ou who walked in, "Where is Ran Shaoqi?"

"I arranged for him to be in the interrogation room." Qin Ou said, "Chen Jiayi, Qi Le and the girls are also here, and are in the lounge with Ma Xin."

Zhan Zhao nodded and hooked his finger at Bai Yutang, "Let's go, let's talk to him."

Bai Yutang followed him to the door, and as Zhan Zhao walked out the door, he doubled back and took a can of drink along with him.

"Xiao Bai."

Zhan Zhao called out to Bai Yutang who was already walking ahead.

Bai Yutang looked back.

Zhan Zhao raised his hand and casually threw the can of drink at him.

Bai Yutang did not turn around, he just stretched one hand to the side and caught the can of drink. Still with one hand, his thumb gently snapped the pull ring of the can, and he somehow twisted his long and slender forefinger, which was already through the pull tab. He looked back while doing this action in one fluid motion... When he faced the hallway and walked forward while drinking, he heard screams coming from in front of him.

Bai Yutang looked up...

He saw at least two dozen female police officers standing at the door of the lounge in front of him, both uniformed and plainclothes, mostly clerical, holding books in their hands, gathered there excitedly covering their mouths or screaming at him.

Bai Yutang glanced at Zhan Zhao who was happily nibbling on a sandwich and walked over to him.

Zhan Zhao obviously did it on purpose. Bai Yutang usually opens the can in this manner, anyway, some inadvertent actions are the most lethal. Using the slang from those previous comments – those girls in the front didn't endure to the end, they were caught in seconds, and instantly became fans of Captain Bai, and they were all brain-dead fans!

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao – What is the meaning of this?

Zhan Zhao smiled generously – Serving the public.

Bai Yutang looked at the sky.

Zhan Zhao continued to nibble on the sandwich, nibbling on it in a handsome and elegant way, gentle and wise... although no one knows how those girls who can't extricate themselves from the state of continuous infatuation can see wisdom from the action of nibbling on a sandwich. Perhaps in their eyes, everything that Zhan Zhao does is full of wisdom...

However, Bai Yutang didn't pay attention to those girls. Not to mention that he wouldn't be shy if he was looked at twice and called out twice, Captain Bai's aura in the police station had always been daunting to people, and he could be viewed from afar but not seen from close up.

When Bai Yutang walked to the door of the lounge, he realised why there were so many young girls. It turned out that Chen Jiayi and the others were all in the lounge.

Jiayi was not in the mood at all now, and was talking to Ma Xin, while Qi Le and Chen Yu were signing autographs for the waiting staff at the door.

Bai Yutang looked at the girls somewhat speechlessly, wanting to tell them not to chase after stars in the workplace.

Behind him, however, Zhan Zhao gave him a gentle tug and warned, "Don't interrupt the girls from chasing after the stars, let alone make scornful remarks."

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao in confusion – This was the police station.

Zhan Zhao stretched out a finger and gently shook it, seriously telling Bai Yutang, "Be careful of fans turning from pink to black!"

Bai Yutang was speechless, but he had never dwelled on such trivial matters, so he prepared to go to the interrogation room to talk to Ran Shaoqi.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Zhan Zhao signalled for Bai Yutang to wait a little longer, and turned around to enter the lounge.

Bai Yutang followed him in.

Chen Jiayi was holding a cup, and looked up to see Bai Yutang and the others, "Captain Bai, Dr. Zhan..."

Zhan Zhao nodded, then turned back to the girls at the door and made a "shh" gesture.

The girls had almost all got their signatures, and beautifully and orderly withdrew.

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao even more confused – Is this considered as you giving them a suggestion? It does not look like they're turning black.

Zhan Zhao raised an eyebrow – Some things you will never understand...

Bai Yutang held his forehead.

"Ran Shaoqi said that he killed Chang Yan." Zhan Zhao said, "Both Ran Shaoqi and Chang Yan belong to the type that don't have much family, it seems like you have the closest relationship with them, what do you think?"

Chen Jiayi was obviously also troubled by this matter, "Actually, there's something I don't know if I should say..."

Zhan Zhao smiled and nodded, "Ran Shaoqi and Chang Yan don't have a relationship as simple as master and disciple, right?"

Chen Jiayi froze, her eyes widened as she looked at Zhan Zhao, "You... know?"

Zhan Zhao reached out and took a sip of the half-can of drink still left in Bai Yutang's hand, and asked, "I'm just speculating that the two of them have a similar relationship to that of lovers, where the woman takes the initiative a little bit, and the man has some qualms about his age so he's more resistant to it, right?"

Chen Jiayi blinked, "Godly, you can see this?"

"I was listening to Chang Yan's song this morning, I feel that this girl don't seem to be gentle, but her character is extremely courageous in love and hate, but she is also a perfectionist, and because she is suffering from a terminal illness, she is living a somewhat drunken and dreamy life..."

"Smart!" Chen Jiayi nodded, "Xiao Yan is such a character, drunk and dreamy is very appropriate."

"Be specific." Zhan Zhao seemed to be interested in the gossip.

Bai Yutang leaned back on the sofa and quietly listened.

"Xiao Yan and I learnt music from our teacher since we were very young! Xiao Yan fell in love with Master when she first saw him, it was the kind of admiration-with-respect crush! But she hid this feeling very well, until her body was getting worse and worse, and she felt that she wouldn't last much longer. Then she confessed her love to Master. At that time it scared the old man a lot." Chen Jiayi helplessly spread her hands, "After all, there's a difference of more than twenty years. Master is intoxicated with music, forget about his age, he's actually very simple. Apart from music, he knows almost nothing, let alone knowing anything about human relationships and so on."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang nodded in understanding.

"What about the development after that?" Zhan Zhao pursued.

"After that, it was Master running away in fear, and Xiao Yan chasing after him everywhere." Chen Jiayi sighed, "This matter couldn't be high profile yet, as once it is exposed, even the purest of feelings will be blackened out."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang nodded.

"Master has never accepted Xiao Yan, and his reasoning is sound. He is nearing his twilight years, and Xiao Yan is in her prime, it's just a moment of confusion to treat worship as love. He firmly rejected her, and told her to find a true love that is more suitable for her."

Zhan Zhao held his chin as he listened, "Ran Shaoqi's way of handling this is actually quite foolish."

Qi Le, Chen Yu and Ma Xin were also listening, and they all curiously asked Zhan Zhao, "Foolish? It's very responsible and considerate towards Chang Yan."

"Even if Chang Yan didn't have a terminal illness, she wasn't a person who gave up lightly, and what you can't get is always the best... Why did Chang Yan fall for Ran Shaoqi? Although he is graceful, a girl in her twenties would not love an old man for physical reasons, but because of his mind and spirit, of course. In Chang Yan's eyes, Ran Shaoqi was a man of clean and pure, even sublime, feelings. The more he refused, the deeper Chang Yan fell in! And considering the feelings of Chang Yan, who felt that her life would not be long, she made every decision essentially like a last wish, and would not make a second choice... So that girl took the road of no return."

The four girls present all listened with their mouths wide open.

Seeing that he had gone too far, Zhan Zhao waved his hand, "Speaking seriously, how did Ran Shaoqi come to terms with it later?"

"One day, Xiao Yan got drunk and told me that she might be dying soon, but Master just refused to accept her, and she might have to carry this regret to her coffin."

"Ran Shaoqi heard that, right?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Chen Jiayi nodded, "Actually, it was deliberately arranged by Xiao Yan. Pretending to be drunk and crying to me, she used the opportunity to show her cards and confess to Master."

"This move is cruel enough." Qi Le was helpless, "If she couldn't get his love, even if she wanted his sympathy, Chang Yan was going out on a limb, this love is too humbling."

Chen Jiayi nodded, "After that, their relationship was delicate. In fact, it was impossible to go out shopping, eating and watching films hand in hand. Xiao Yan didn't need these things, she only needed a sense of belonging on a spiritual level. The two of them would often bask in the sun and talk about music together. I've bumped into them a few times, and all stereotypes aside, at least at that moment, they were both happy and blissful."

The crowd nodded – Understandably.

"After that, I didn't pay much attention to the change in feelings between the two of them anymore, but I would never believe it if you say that my master killed someone, he couldn't even kill a sparrow!" Chen Jiayi said, frowning, "But I indeed noticed a few suspicious points."

The excited Zhan Zhao and the already sleepy Bai Yutang both perked up and waited to hear the suspicious points.

"Firstly, Xiao Yan's laptop is missing." Chen Jiayi said, "I've searched everywhere, I can't find it!"

Zhan Zhao stroked his chin, "What would she normally use the laptop for?"

"Mostly making music, surfing the internet and saving some photos." Chen Jiayi said, "I wanted to take a few photos of her life and print them out to make a photobook to keep at home, so that I can take them out and flip through them when I miss her, but I can't find her laptop anywhere!"

After hearing this, Zhan Zhao nodded gently, "There's more than one suspicious point, isn't there?"

"More than one!" Chen Jiayi continued, "Xiao Yan's diary and newspaper clippings that she had kept for more than ten years are also missing!"

Zhan Zhao was curious, "Writing a diary for more than ten years? And newspaper clippings?"

"Yes, there's a big box full of them!" Chen Jiayi said, "Xiao Yan knew she was sick since she was a child, so she treasured every bit of her life, and had the habit of writing diaries and making newspaper clippings, but that big box of information that recorded her life is missing!"

"It's just a matter of lifting the notebook casually, this thing can't be that heavy, right?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"That's not true! That camphor wood box is at least a few hundred pounds, you have to call for a moving company to move it!"

"Is there anything else?" Zhan Zhao then asked.

"There is one more!" Jiayi's expression became a little more serious, "And it's the most suspicious point!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at her, meaning – They're all ears.

"Xiao Yan's money is missing! "

"Money?!" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had been handling cases with SCI for a long time, and it was strange to say, but although psychopathic serial killers had millions of motives for killing people and doing bad things, they seldom encountered the motive of "money". Money, the root of all evil, seems to be something that is discarded by serial killers and high-end murderers... This time, it suddenly appeared, and it really felt out of place.

Bai Yutang asked, "Nothing left, you mean that her bank account is empty?"

"Right!" Jiayi nodded, "Xiao Yan has no relatives, so I helped her with the afterlife affairs. As far as I know, besides her real estate, she has a large amount of savings, but her savings account is empty!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang glanced at each other.

Bai Yutang took out his phone and called Jiang Ping, asking him to take time out of his busy schedule and check Chang Yan's account.

Ma Xin ran next door, and before long, brought back a printout of the account details of Chang Yan's account.

Zhan Zhao took it and looked at it carefully, frowning, "This year, Chang Yan often spent money in large amounts, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, and all of them were cash withdrawals, what did she do with so much money? Shopping for things?"

Chen Jiayi shook her head, "This girl was very frugal! Her clothes were provided by sponsors, she usually did not wear anything fancy unless she went out, she did not like jewellery, she did not invest, moreover, she did not have any relatives to send a red packet to, she was not well, and a lot of good things could not be eaten."

Zhan Zhao frowned slightly.

Bai Yutang had Jiang Ping bring over another copy of Ran Shaoqi's account details.

Zhan Zhao opened it and looked, "Ooh, the old man is so rich?"

"That's right!" Jiayi nodded, "And he has no concept of money at all! He doesn't know or care about money management or investment, he just puts his money in the bank to depreciate."

"His assets are very clear, there's basically nothing coming in from unknown sources." Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang, "Chang Yan's assets are less than a fraction of the old man's assets, this money should have nothing to do with him."

"Where did all of Chang Yan's money go?" Bai Yutang found it puzzling, "Could it have been donated?"

While everyone here was pondering over this, they suddenly heard a bang.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at the door together, and saw Bao Zheng break through the door and enter, and his originally pitch-black face had turned white. Behind him were Zhao Hu, Ma Han and the rest of the SCI, and it appeared that something big had happened.

"Bao Sir?" Zhan Zhao was surprised, "What are you doing?"

"Something happened!" Bao Zheng handed the tablet in his hand to the two of them, "Someone made a video and uploaded it online, teaching people how to make 'toothless' capsules!"

Zhan Zhao blinked, "Toothless capsules? Is it the same thing as brain damaging tablets?"

"Don't be silly, it's the formula that caused the death of those who drank water after consuming the poisoned capsules, not only is there a video, there are also diagrams and chemical equations. It also teaches people which household items have these chemicals in them, and what portion and how to mix them to make them into poison to kill the person they want to kill..." Bao Zheng said, pointing to a line of bolded black letters, "Look!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked together at the large bolded black letters that read: The murderer that SCI can never catch is – the civilian murderer! Take action, make the people you hate, make those who deserve to die, lose all their teeth.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao froze after reading it.

"Finally."

After a long time, Bao Zheng opened his mouth and said something.

"Finally what?" Everyone looked at him.

"From the day the SCI was established, I've felt that something would eventually happen one day." Bao Zheng's face was grave, "A murderer challenging SCI!"

"Death by drinking water, that's really impossible to prevent." Zhao Hu glanced glumly at the glass of water in his hand, "It should cause a panic, right?"

Ma Han nodded.

"But... there's still a condition that needs to be met, isn't there?" Bai Yutang felt puzzled, "In addition to the capsule and the water, the prerequisite for the teeth falling out is to have a mouthful of baked porcelain teeth... Not everyone has a mouthful of baked porcelain teeth, right?"

"Hehe."

When everyone was scratching their heads, they heard a cold laugh and turned their faces to look, only to see Zhan Zhao crossing his arms and gently stroking his chin with one hand, with a shallow smile at the corner of his mouth.

This look, everyone in SCI was familiar with it: the godly man was going to appear.

Bai Yutang slightly raised an eyebrow at Zhan Zhao – You have a trick up your sleeve?

Zhan Zhao smiled and grabbed Bai Yutang's arm to drag him away.

"Where to?"

"To catch the murderer."

"Again?"

"That's right." Zhan Zhao laughed evilly, "Catch him and give him brain damaging tablets!"

‿︵‿︵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: August 13, 2023 by Angel

Edited: August 18, 2023 by Angel