S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 4 Chapter 87

Toothless Murderer 10 – Overflowing With Evil

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At night, the SCI members went home to rest after a busy day. Because the other party seemed to be threatening the safety of the people close to Chang Yan, and it so happened that those people were all friends of the SCI members, they simply gathered at Bai Jintang's villa.

Bai Jintang, who wanted to "elope" with Gongsun, was also dragged back by Gongsun, seemingly unwillingly.

After dinner, each couple found a place in the villa to stroll around and chat. Life was rarely this relaxed.

Bai Yutang stood on the balcony of the second floor with his hands casually interlocked and leaned against the railing, looking at the night scene of S City in the distance. A large part of the bustling S City was visible to the eye, and the lights were brilliant... It was probably too rare to look at the city from this angle, so Bai Yutang inexplicably felt that this place where he had lived for more than twenty years was strange and unreal.

Holding a cup of tea, Zhan Zhao came up with a large line of cats and kittens following closely behind him, and saw Bai Yutang wearing a pair of large headphones on his head, seeming to be listening to something.

Zhan Zhao went to his side, leaned over and put his ear against the headphones... It seemed to be some kind of music? Some sort of empty feeling.

"It's rare to see you listening to music." Zhan Zhao gently lifted one side of the headphones and asked, "Where did it come from?"

Bai Yutang took the headphones off and said, "From Chang Yan."

Zhan Zhao raised his eyebrows.

"It's not evidence, Ran Shaoqi gave them to me." Bai Yutang said as he put the headset on for Zhan Zhao and whispered, "Ran Shaoqi told me just now that Chang Yan has a heavenly voice that can't normally be heard."

Zhan Zhao pressed the headset, "This is..."

"It's the hymns Chang Yan sang in the cathedral and some opera passages." Bai Yutang turned up the volume slightly for Zhan Zhao.

When Zhan Zhao heard the singing coming out of the headphones with superb sound quality, he couldn't help but sigh in admiration, "A mermaid should have this voice."

"She was indeed gifted." Bai Yutang nodded.

Zhan Zhao listened for a while and removed the headset, "There's something in Chang Yan's singing."

Bai Yutang didn't quite understand, "What is it?"

Zhan Zhao stared out into the night for a while, "There is someone who should like this music." As Zhan Zhao said this, he beckoned to Jiang Ping down below, took out the CD and gave it to him, asking him to send a copy to Zhao Jue.

Bai Yutang didn't quite understand, "Sending songs to Zhao Jue, aren't you afraid he'll laugh at you?"

"He won't laugh at me." Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, "He will be very regretful that Chang Yan has died..."

Sure enough, about half an hour later, Zhao Jue sent a text message with only three words, "What a pity."

"What is he regretting?" Bai Yutang asked.

"If Chang Yan was around, the two of them might have been able to become friends." Zhan Zhao said lightly.

"Is it possible for Zhao Jue to become friends with someone else besides you?" Bai Yutang asked.

Zhan Zhao raised an eyebrow, "The two of them are highly unified on a certain point."

"Which point?" Bai Yutang was curious.

"They both know how their destiny will end." Zhan Zhao whispered, "They don't want to resist, it's useless to resist, they're just unwilling, so they want to take revenge. Destiny taunts them, they taunt destiny, spurning all happiness, destroying all goodness, but when they fall into the midst of all the evils, they are inclined to preserve a little bit of hope."

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao, "Cat, is that good or evil?"

"Good." Zhan Zhao answered lightly.

"You think Zhao Jue is good?" Bai Yutang was surprised.

Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, a faint light in his eyes, "Actually, to some extent, I'm just like him."

Bai Yutang looked at him.

"The goodness that I identify with is different from the goodness that the world identifies with." Zhan Zhao said in a low voice, "A person who commits a crime is said to be evil, and when he later changes for the better, people say that he is good... In fact, this is not a question of good and evil at all but a question of right and wrong. Do the wrong thing, accept the punishment, then do the right thing, and don't hurt others, that's all. Good and evil are sometimes a path that guides one to live a better life, but sometimes they are cages that allow one to never live a good life." Saying this, Zhan Zhao gently pointed to his forehead, "If there is a label of goodness affixed here, even if one does evil deeds, one is still a good person. If a label of evil is affixed here, even if one performs good deeds, one is still an evil person. The world's affairs are cumbersome and heavy shackles, Chang Yan's singing voice is unusually clean, and there is a kind of ethereal spirit that rises upwards. This kind of singing voice is actually not just created by the voice, but out of Chang Yan's heart. She was being toyed with by destiny, and might leave tomorrow. She loathed everything in the world, yet she remained attached to something and couldn't bear to part with it. Singing is her strength, breaking through the layers of obstacles for her, towering high enough to look down on her destiny, and allowing her to be freed."

Bai Yutang listened carefully and asked, "There are some things that no one can talk about understanding without experiencing them, right?"

Zhan Zhao nodded and smiled, "That's why I hate it when someone says 'look away' when advising others. If you haven't even seen it, why are you telling others to look away? Those who haven't cried bitterly are not qualified to comment on other people's tears. There is a reason to love Chang Yan's songs. A singer uses their feelings to bring comfort to the listener. The closer the encounter, the more similar the state of mind, the more resonance you get, the greater the comfort you get, and the more obsessed you become."

Bai Yutang thought for a moment, "Are you trying to say that that murderer is also a person who is resigned to his destiny but is reluctant?"

Zhan Zhao nodded, "He must have experienced immense pain and had a destiny that he couldn't defy, yet he was an extremely brilliant person. Chang Yan might have been his attachment... He lost his only attachment and support, and that led to his behaviour."

"So he's killing the people around Chang Yan to take revenge on destiny?" Bai Yutang laughed, "It really is a perverted logic."

Zhan Zhao, however, gently shook his head, "I keep feeling that something isn't quite right."

"I also feel that." Bai Yutang said, "This murderer is very strange. If we say he's not smart, he's been clean–handed up until now, and hasn't let us catch any useful clues at all. But if we say he's smart, his foreshadowing of the murder and the execution of the murderous actions are outlandish. Especially Ye Fu! Surprisingly, he managed to miscalculate the time."

"Maybe... it wasn't a miscalculation." Zhan Zhao suddenly gently clapped his hands, "It's destiny!"

Bai Yutang was slightly stunned... Just then, his cell phone meowed.

Bai Yutang opened it to find that it was a text message from Zhao Jue, and there was only one word written in it – Destiny.

Zhan Zhao slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

Bai Yutang sent a message back, "Zhan Zhao said it first."

Not a moment later, a second text message was sent over – The signal is too poor! Obviously I'm faster!

Bai Yutang laughed and shook his head, putting away his phone and asking Zhan Zhao, "How do you explain the word destiny?"

"The person we're looking for may have limited mobility." Zhan Zhao said in a low voice.

"Why do you make this speculation?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Generally, there are only a few situations where destiny is hard to defeat. This murderer obviously has certain conditions to carry out his plan, and his financial ability should be fair. Normal people who don't suffer from illnesses or calamities and have fair financial conditions are basically living quite well. And the rules he set for the game seem to indicate that he has a lot of time and is quite idle, unlike those with terminal illnesses. Combining it with other various things... I think he might have trouble with his legs or feet." Saying that, Zhan Zhao called the twins.

The twins were downstairs, and looked up at Zhan Zhao, "What?"

"Within Chang Yan's loyal fans, are there any with impaired legs or feet?" Zhan Zhao asked.

The twins scratched their heads, "This..."

"There is!"

At this time, Chen Jiayi ran over, "There is such a person!"

"Do you know his information?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Chen Jiayi shook her head, "He often watches Xiao Yan's concerts, I know where I can find his photo!"

Chen Jiayi's one sentence stunned Zhan Zhao and the others.

Afterwards, Jiayi made a few phone calls, and in no time, she used Bai Chi's tablet to open her email and found a photo to show to the crowd.

The crowd glanced at it and understood, it turned out to be a group photo of Chang Yan and her fans when she organised a fan club meeting.

Chen Jiayi pointed at a young man in a wheelchair beside Chang Yan, "That's him!"

Bai Yutang raised an eyebrow at Jiang Ping.

Jiang Ping said, "It's easy to check if it's a handicapped person!" Sure enough, it didn't take long to find out his home address and identity, "His name is Li Rui, his occupation... he writes fairy tale novels. He's from a good family, he got polio when he was a kid, and his lower limbs are paralysed, so he can't walk. He's thirty this year, and he's single."

Zhan Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly, "It's him!"

Bai Yutang tilted his head at the crowd, signalling – Arrest him!

This time, Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao led the SCI crowd to make a surprise attack.

Li Rui lived in an upscale neighbourhood, on the top floor of a small high–rise.

Bai Yutang was in the scenic elevator that was heading upwards – Inexplicably, he felt that the sensation of rising, the sensation of taking in the bustling scenery below his feet, and Chang Yan's songs all fit well together.

"Did he choose to live on the highest floor because he is not able to stand up?" Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao nodded.

Arriving at the door of the apartment, Bai Yutang pressed the doorbell.

After a while, the door opened.

Inside the door was a young man sitting in a wheelchair, who looked slightly more haggard than what the crowd had seen in the photos, and who felt a bit more slim.

He looked up at the crowd and asked, "What is it?"

Zhan Zhao nodded to Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang cheerfully pulled his wheelchair out with one hand.

"What are you guys doing?" Li Rui got agitated, "Even the police can't trespass!"

"You know we're cops without showing our IDs?" Bai Yutang winked at Zhao Hu and Ma Han. What Bai Yutang was doing was indeed a violation or at least borderline, and the reason he was so certain was – he was completely convinced that Zhan Zhao's judgement was correct.

Ma Han and Zhao Hu entered the house and circled around twice, finally opening the door to the closed study. They took a look inside and beckoned to Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang pushed Li Rui inside, and saw that on the wall of the study, there was a whiteboard with various photographs on it, including SCI members and friends around Chang Yan, as well as some people with red circles drawn on them. One of them had a cross on it, and it was none other than Ye Fu, who had died today. Ran Shaoqi's picture was in the very centre, nailed up with a sharp paper cutter.

"Head." Wang Chao found the voice changer, the cardboard box the parcel was sent in, and the capsules and chemicals.

Bai Yutang looked at Li Rui – Caught red handed.

Li Rui froze for a long time, then suddenly smiled, "Why?"

He raised his head blankly and looked at Zhan Zhao, "Why did you know it was me so quickly?"

Zhan Zhao stared at him for a while and said, "Because of destiny."

"What?" Li Rui was surprised.

Zhan Zhao said, "Ran Shaoqi was supposed to be kidnapped and brought here by you, but it just so happened that Ma Han was by his side. Ye Fu was supposed to die three days later, but he came back early and held the banquet. There was no mistake in your plan, but heaven's will interfered."

"Heaven's will..." After a long time, Li Rui laughed and nodded his head repeatedly, "That's right! I can't beat destiny in this life!"

"Someone is helping you." Zhan Zhao said, "The person who helped you deliver the package and also placed the medicine, who is it?"

"Destiny ah... destiny!" But at this time, Li Rui was already completely unable to listen to what Zhan Zhao said, he was more like a puppet whose emotions were close to collapsing, and he kept laughing, "I can't win, I can't win... Why? Why is it that mediocre people can be happy until old age, but geniuses are trapped by destiny? Suffering after being born, what have I done wrong?"

Bai Yutang frowned at him.

Zhao Hu looked over his detailed murder plans and once again lamented, if he hadn't been discovered this early, he would really have been prepared to kill a lot of people.

"Why do you get overwhelmed by the little things?" Zhao Hu shook his head, "What's the point of focusing on an insignificant problem! Right! God is unfair to you, but there are things that are good about you. If you don't treasure it yourself, you can't make others responsible for your misfortune."

"What do you know!" Li Rui yelled at Zhao Hu, "You have healthy legs! Have you ever tasted this feeling of being born without that?"

"Fuck..." Zhao Hu curled his lips, "Brain–dead, I'm too lazy to argue with you."

"What did you say?" Li Rui looked at Zhao Hu.

Zhao Hu dryly laughed, "Your life is worse than death? You fucking know what it means by life is worse than death, pretentious."

Li Rui got more agitated, "You..."

Zhao Hu twisted his face and didn't want to pay attention to him, shaking his head and wandering off to the side.

The crowd boxed up all the evidence and took it away.

Bai Yutang said to Zhan Zhao, who was standing in front of the desk looking at the documents on the table, "His thoughts are really close to what you just said."

Zhan Zhao smiled, "This technique is called empathy, it's widely used in psychology, I borrowed just a bit of his mindset. But... he's not a close friend of Chang Yan's, and he can't be compared to Zhao Jue at all."

"That's true." Bai Yutang said, "He's not taking revenge, he's just venting his anger, and he's misplaced the object of his anger... There should be someone else, right? The one who is smarter than him."

Zhan Zhao nodded.

At this time, the phone rang.

Bai Yutang picked up the phone and pressed the speakerphone button.

"Faster than I thought."

A voice came out, and he didn't use a voice changer. It was the voice of a grown man, without many idiosyncrasies that could be heard. His voice was relatively calm and steady, with no emotional ups and downs.

"You're the one who helped?" Bai Yutang looked over at Li Rui, who was dishevelled and mumbling to himself in the doorway.

"Yeah."

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Zhan Zhao asked, "He's most afraid of destiny, but you showed him what it means to have a destiny that cannot be defied, completely breaking him down."

"He he."

"If we don't stop this, you'll just keep making accidents happen, and it's Li Rui you'll be tormenting." Zhan Zhao said, "You're not a fan of Chang Yan's songs either."

"Ha ha." The other party laughed, smiling cheerfully, "I just happened to find a toy, and wanted to play a game with you guys. Sure enough, it's even more fun than I thought!"

"You're not playing games with us, you're just letting us watch you play games." Bai Yutang said, "What you really want to play with is someone like Li Rui."

"Sure enough, everyone in the SCI team is an elite." The man's voice contained a bit of a judgmental tone, "So can Dr. Zhan deduce what kind of person I am?"

"You are a bad person." Zhan Zhao was blunt.

"Then, all you good guys, can you catch me, the bad guy?"

Everyone else in the room looked at each other in disbelief – What was going on?

"I'm still torturing the weak." The man's voice remained calm, with a hint of enjoyment, "I'm worse than you can imagine, I dare to say that I'm worse than all the murderers you've dealt with so far!"

"You could say that." Zhan Zhao nodded.

"Oh?" The other party seemed curious, "How did you find out?"

"Because everyone I've encountered so far has a reason for harming people, except for you." Zhan Zhao said, "You don't need a reason to harm people, the toothless capsule suits you best."

"Ha ha ha..." the other party laughed as if he was about to burst, "Then... come on! Come and get me before I torture the next person, kill more people, kill your family and friends, and make you suffer."

After saying that, the call was hung up.

Everyone looked at each other in disbelief, and Zhan Zhao looked out the window.

At that moment, Bai Yutang was standing by the window with one hand in his pocket, staring downstairs. Just now, a small yellow car drove away... flashing its lights. In the words of Zhan Zhao, the car looked extremely like an egg yolk.

‿︵‿︵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: September 1, 2023 by Angel

Edited: September 20, 2023 by Angel