S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 4 Chapter 113

The Murderer Who Returned From Hell 13 – Unexpected Calamity

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"Popescu... It's a Romanian name, right?" Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao.

"Ahem." Zhan Zhao nodded, "'Scu' is a suffix with no actual meaning, it's common in Romanian names, similar to 'Ski' which is also common in Russian names, but 'Skiton' often represents the family. It is also common for men to use husband, and for women to use 'ya' and 'wa'. Russians have a strong sense of patriarchy..."

Bai Yutang glanced at Zhan Zhao, "Ahem."

Zhan Zhao narrowed his eyes, holding back for a long time, "Yes..."

Everyone stifled a laugh.

Zhan Zhao was reluctant to give up and originally wanted to glare at Bai Yutang, but when he glanced over, he gazed behind Bai Yutang and shouted at a distant window, "Who's there!"

Everyone froze, and Bai Yutang immediately turned back.

Only to see a figure disappearing with a swoosh outside the window.

"Crawling away..." Zhan Zhao pointed at the window and said to Bai Yutang and the others who ran over, "It's a person! It looks a bit like a dry corpse, but it doesn't seem to be the same as the previous one."

It sounded strange to everyone... Although this place was only on the fourth floor, could a human being crawl on a vertical window?

Bai Yutang reached the window, but the windows were all fixed shut. It was dark outside and bright inside, so he couldn't see above, and the light reflected.

"Err... this window can't be opened..." Before Shen Bo could finish his sentence, Bai Yutang pulled out his gun and shot at the window.

Behind him, Zhao Hu took a stool and smashed it hard, and a clang sound was heard...

After smashing through the glass, Bai Yutang peered out, then pointed upwards at Luo Tian and the others who had already arrived at the door, "Go up one level."

Luo Tian and the others ran up.

Zhao Hu used a stool to smash all the glass around the perimeter, and the commotion of the broken glass attracted the SWAT team below.

Bai Yutang gestured to them and pointed to the upper floor, "Lights!"

The SWAT team members turned on the convenient spotlights on their vehicles and shone them on the upper floor.

At this time, Ma Han had already run downstairs, approached the spotlight, jumped onto the roof of the car, and pointed it towards the fifth floor.

Bai Yutang jumped up on the window, leaned out most of his body, grabbed the top of the window with one hand, and looked upwards.

Not a moment later, he saw Luo Tian peer out, "Captain, there's no one on the upper floor."

Bai Yutang frowned.

Luo Tian stretched out his hand.

Bai Yutang grabbed the window and moved upwards, reaching out, and Luo Tian pulled him up to the upper floor.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Chi were leaning next to the window and watching. Zhao Hu was also looking upwards, when he suddenly glanced up and saw a person on the north-west corner who was climbing up to the sixth floor.

"Head!" Zhao Hu pointed.

Bai Yutang and Luo Tian leaned over to take a look, and both found it unbelievable. There was absolutely nothing around that could be climbed, so how did that person climb up there? Spider-Man? Moreover, that person's body was abnormally dry and thin, with long arms and legs, similar to that dry corpse from before.

Ma Han asked the SWAT team for a rifle, and looked at Bai Yutang, meaning – shoot him down?

Bai Yutang frowned. He had gone up to the sixth floor, if he shot him down, wouldn't he fall to his death?

Bai Yutang made a waiting gesture to Ma Han, which meant – wait until he gets to the roof and won't fall off before shooting a non-fatal area.

Ma Han nodded and took aim with his gun.

Bai Yutang then led the way to the roof.

Zhan Zhao and the others leaned out to help watch the person who was continuously climbing upwards, or… a monster?

Bao Zheng, who was standing by the window and watching with them, made a few calls, and soon, the building was completely surrounded by the SWAT team.

Zhan Zhao stroked his chin and wondered – A dry corpse appeared before, and Spider-Man appeared this time?

As he was watching, Zhan Zhao realised that Bai Chi, who was usually quite curious and questioning, was very quiet. Subconsciously glancing at him, he saw that Xiao Bai Chi's face was pale, and he was frowning as if he was stuck in some kind of tangled state.

Zhan Zhao reached out and snapped his fingers in front of his eyes.

With a pop, Bai Chi snapped back to his senses and looked at Zhan Zhao.

"What's wrong?" Zhan Zhao asked Bai Chi.

Bai Chi thought for a moment and asked Zhan Zhao, "Brother, do you remember that day when I left the airport with Zhen, that driver suddenly said that there was a dry corpse lying on the back window of the car?"

Zhan Zhao frowned and nodded, "Wasn't it a hallucination? "

"Although Zhen and I didn't see anyone, we did see a somewhat suspicious handprint." Bai Chi scratched his head, "Because that driver's reaction was too abnormal and he also said that he hit a child on the motorway, we all thought that he was hallucinating and didn't pursue the matter. But now that I think about it... that dry corpse also climbed over the roof of the car without a sound, and all of that driver's tests were normal, he didn't take any medication, he wasn't drunk, and he didn't have any mental illnesses."

Zhan Zhao gently touched his chin.

Bai Chi became more and more confused. At this time, he felt someone gently poke his shoulder.

Bai Chi turned around.

Only to see Gongsun standing behind him with a smile, asking, "Chi Chi, the car you said had fingerprints on it, is it the backup car that Jintang usually doesn't use much?"

"Yes!" Bai Chi nodded.

Gongsun immediately took out his phone, "It seems like that car hasn't been used since it picked you guys up that day, and it probably hasn't been washed either."

The phone went through, and when Gongsun asked, the twins said that the car was in the garage.

Gongsun asked them to maintain the scene and not to go near the car, and then called the forensics department to ask Old Yang to take people to the car to collect fingerprints.

After hanging up the phone, Gongsun glanced at Bai Chi.

Bai Chi was shocked and took a step back. Ma Xin came up and put her arm around his shoulder, "Chi Chi, the dry corpse lying on the roof of the car is such a valuable thing, why didn't you share it?"

"Er..." Bai Chi opened his mouth.

"Come," Ma Xin pulled him aside, "let's talk about life!"

Bai Chi was taken aside by Ma Xin to be questioned about the dry corpse in detail.

Zhan Zhao, on the other hand, stroked his chin and looked again at the already empty wall outside that window, where the bizarre dry corpse appeared to have disappeared.

Zhan Zhao and Bao Zheng were looking for traces of that dry corpse with the SWAT team members downstairs, when suddenly, Song Jiajia's voice came from the doorway, "Little friend, who are you looking for?"

Everyone looked at the colleagues at the door, and suddenly heard Song Jiajia scream.

When Zhan Zhao turned around, he saw Zhao Hu chasing after someone.

Bao Zheng asked, "What happened?"

"There was a little girl just now!" Hao Nan opened his mouth wide, "She... stabbed the professor and left."

"Professor!" Hao Nan and Song Jiajia supported Shen Bo who was falling backwards, a dagger stuck in his round and protruding belly.

"Don't move him."

Gongsun and Ma Xin no longer cared about bullying Bai Chi and rushed over to give the old man first aid.

Bai Chi hurriedly called for an ambulance.

Bao Zheng chased Zhao Hu downstairs.

At this time, Zhao Hu was looking back and forth in the dark lobby, but – there was no one!

Hu Zi felt a little frightened, he had clearly just seen a young girl who was probably four or five years old and had two small pigtails, turning around and running out...

It was too fast just now, he only saw that she was wearing a light blue dress, and... had yellowish brown hair. It was definitely a young girl, and she felt quite cute and thin... but she stabbed Shen Bo!

Although Zhao Hu did not see the whole stabbing process, he definitely saw the girl running away!

It was already weird enough for a little girl to appear in the dark of night for no reason, and it was even creepier that she stabbed someone and disappeared into thin air.

Bao Zheng also walked around the lobby, and finally asked the janitor next to the glass door, "Have you seen a four or five year old girl?"

"Huh?" That old man looked at Bao Zheng with wide eyes in disbelief, "A little girl?"

"Turn on the light." Bao Zheng frowned.

The security guard was probably intimidated by his big black face, and took the key to open a box on the wall aside, turning on the lights... In an instant, all the lights on all the floors of the building were brightly illuminated.

Zhao Hu searched the ground floor again, but did not see any little girl.

At this time, footsteps came from upstairs. The two tilted their faces, only to see Zhan Zhao with his hands in his pockets, slowly walking down.

"No need to look." Zhan Zhao waved his hand at Zhao Hu, who had become a little frazzled.

"I really saw a kid just now!" Zhao Hu frowned, "Fuck! Like a horror film!"

Following him down from upstairs, Bai Chi's little face turned white. In addition to the silent dry corpses that could crawl, even a little girl had appeared this time! So that driver wasn't lying that day? What's going on? He desperately needed Zhao Zhen to explain to him right now that this was not a supernatural phenomenon but a magic trick!

Zhan Zhao opened the glass door and walked out.

Outside the institute building, many of the SWAT officers were tilting their faces and staring daggers at the roof of the building with their mouths wide open, looking like fools.

Ma Han had just hung up his phone and was frowning, his level of irritation was similar to Zhao Hu's, and for the police community's top paralysed face, this kind of expression was all the more extraordinary.

"What?" Zhan Zhao asked, "The person is gone?"

Ma Han nodded, and several SWAT team members around him pointed at the roof of the building in disbelief, "Just as it reached the shadows of the top floor, that dry corpse suddenly disappeared..."

Zhan Zhao tilted his face up to look, only to see Bai Yutang standing behind the railing on the roof of the building and looking down, seemingly also feeling confused.

At this time, the ambulance arrived. The doctors brought Shen Bo to the hospital, and Hao Nan and Shen Bo's assistant were determined to follow.

Bao Zheng looked at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang understood, and winked at Wang Chao and Zhang Long on the side... so the two accompanied them, keeping a close eye on Hao Nan and that assistant.

Zhan Zhao asked Gongsun, who was walking back, "How is Shen Bo?"

Gongsun shook his head. Ma Xin, who had once been an emergency room doctor, understood the situation better and frowned as she told Zhan Zhao, "It's not good! The old man's body is very poor, and this stab may have injured his internal organs."

"It's hard to imagine that a four or five year old little girl would have this strength." Gongsun shook his head.

At this time, Song Jiajia walked over to Zhan Zhao's side and seemed to be a little hesitant, "Dr. Zhan, uh..."

"Wife and Daughter, right?" Zhan Zhao suddenly asked.

Song Jiajia was relieved, "You really know."

"What wife and daughter?" Bai Yutang asked, and the crowd all moved closer curiously.

"The work of a Romanian sculpture artist." Zhan Zhao said.

"A work of art?" Bai Yutang was puzzled, and the crowd didn't understand what this bizarre rhythm had to do with a work of art.

Zhan Zhao looked at Song Jiajia and asked, "That thing wouldn't happen to be in your research institute, right?"

Song Jiajia was helpless and nodded, "It is! It's on the third floor, but it's locked, and there's no way it can come to life..."

Before Song Jiajia finished speaking, Gongsun gasped, "Wife and Daughter!"

Song Jiajia nodded.

"I want to see it!" Gongsun was excited.

The crowd looked at each other in disbelief. Wasn't Gongsun only interested in corpses? When did he become so keen on artwork?

Bao Zheng said to Song Jiajia, "Take us there."

"Oh." Song Jiajia nodded and led the crowd upstairs.

"Cat, what wife and daughter?" Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao as he walked.

"You'll understand once we arrive and see it, it will be easier to explain it when you see the real thing." Zhan Zhao was quite helpless as he spread his hands, "This thing is all evil. The Wheel of Caleb and the Wife and Daughter are both strange things that are resurrected by evil things."

"But what's up with that little girl and that wall-climbing dry corpse just now?" Bai Yutang was puzzled, "Is it really haunted?"

"I think so!" Zhao Hu felt like he was probably going to have a serious psychological shadow, and Ma Han frowned as he walked aside, obviously also unable to figure it out.

At this time, the crowd arrived at the entrance of a room on the third floor, with a metal door equipped with a very advanced electronic lock.

Bai Yutang observed the surrounding area, which was covered with cameras.

After Song Jiajia opened the door, there was a hallway inside with a green laser anti-theft system.

"Wow..." Zhao Hu reached out and touched the laser strip with his hand, and as his fingertips touched those green rays, in an instant, the alarm bell rang loudly. At the same time, four iron fences fell around the perimeter, locking down the laser area.

Bai Yutang looked around – The level of anti-theft security was top notch. Aside from biochemical weapons and nuclear bomb remote controls, this system could hide any level of treasure.

Song Jiajia took out a magnetic card and swiped it through a slot on the side, and instantly, all alarm systems were disarmed.

After turning off the anti-theft system, Song Jiajia led the crowd to the front door, and after entering a string of numbers, she prepared to open the door while turning back to remind the crowd, "It might be a bit scary, so prepare yourselves psychologically."

Bai Chi subconsciously shrank behind the excited Ma Xin and Gongsun, and Zhao Hu borrowed sunglasses from Ma Han to wear.

Ma Han looked at him speechlessly, "What the hell do you need sunglasses for?"

Zhao Hu's face was serious, "I feel more at ease when I wear them!"

Ma Han was speechless and gave him the sunglasses.

With a clatter, the metal door was pulled back, and behind the door, a bizarre picture appeared.

Inside the door stood two people. One was a mummy-like extremely ugly dry corpse. From the shape of the body, it could be seen that it was a woman. It was shrivelled and decayed, and was so ugly that it was similar to a mutant zombie in a horror film. However, in stark contrast, that dried corpse was holding a small girl who was only four or five years old with one hand. This girl was wearing a light blue dress, and her slightly yellow hair was brushed into two pigtails. With one hand, she was pulling that dry corpse, and with the other hand, she was holding a broken bear doll. Her appearance was very cute, and she gave off a somewhat pitiful feeling, which caused people to feel sorry for her.

"What the hell..." When Zhao Hu saw that little girl, his hair stood up.

Bai Chi, who was also covered in goosebumps, also found it unbelievable. From the dry and thin figure, the crowd inexplicably had the feeling that the one crawling on the wall just now seemed to be this "female dry corpse".

"Dry corpses even come in pairs?" Bao Sir also frowned, "We just found a male and now there's a female."

Bai Yutang looked closer, frowned and asked Song Jiajia, "Is this a sculpture?"

Before Song Jiajia could elaborate, Gongsun, who was holding his glasses and studying carefully in front of him, said, "It's a corpse and a sculpture, this little girl and this woman were both killed."

"Corpse?" Bai Yutang frowned, and everyone felt a little put off.

Luo Tian and Qin Ou looked at the little girl whose eyes were dull and lifeless, and who seemed to be a little scared as she hugged the bear, and inexplicably felt sorry for her. Who could bear to kill such a cute little girl?

"The creator of this work is an Eastern European, probably Romanian." Zhan Zhao explained in detail, "He experienced several bloody battles during World War II and suffered from severe delusions of grandeur after retiring from the army. After the war, he lived in a small town in Romania, married a deaf and mute woman, and had a very cute daughter. There was a psychiatrist in the artist's town who took a great interest in the artist's condition and made detailed investigations and records. Psychology was not well developed at that time, and there was very limited understanding of any psychiatric disciplines, however, this medical record and the manuscript of the artist's autobiography have now become important references in the study of delusional disorder. I once read that in this artist's consciousness, he felt that his wife was a demon, and that she had sold her voice to the devil, relying on it to keep her human shape. From a psychological point of view, all the artist's fear of his wife came from all the evil he had seen during the war. His daughter, on the other hand, was seen by him as an angel who had fallen into the mortal world, and everyone in the world was attempting to harm her pure heart. All the pity for his daughter came from all the innocent victims he saw during the war, especially the little children. In the end, that artist killed both his wife and daughter, believing that to kill the devil was to punish the wicked, while to kill the angel was to preserve the purity of her soul! He embalmed the corpses and added clay for sculpture, carefully creating such a work of art. After the creation was complete, he also committed suicide, and the method of suicide was still quite cruel."

The crowd couldn't help but frown after hearing this.

"So..." Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao, "this is a haunted rhythm?"

Zhan Zhao spread his hands, "This artwork also has a story. After the artist died, the bodies of his wife and daughter were originally prepared to be buried as well, but an artwork investor secretly transported this Wife and Daughter out of Romania and stored it in his home. After that, his house began to be haunted. Some servants saw dry corpses crawling around the house and a little girl running around... Finally, the art collector suddenly jumped to his death. After that the sculpture changed hands a few times, but each time it triggered a murder, it's a true evil spirit murder weapon. In recent years, it has been kept in an overseas art museum, which is also rumoured to be haunted from time to time. However, I used to think that any haunted art museums or fraudulent corpses in museums were nothing more than hype to attract attention."

Everyone nodded, until today when they saw it with their own eyes.

"Then how did this sculpture get here?" Bai Yutang asked Song Jiajia.

"A scientific research team sent it to us for preservation, and we're also responsible for some identification work." Song Jiajia was helpless, "This thing is all evil."

"Are you sure it's dead?" Gongsun raised an eyebrow.

Everyone except Song Jiajia encouraged Gongsun with their eyes – No one is in the way, so why not just cut it open and take a look!

Song Jiajia looked pitifully at Gongsun, "We have signed an insurance agreement for this, and we'll have to pay for the damage..."

Everyone felt it was a pity.

Ma Xin took out the stethoscope and gave it to Gongsun.

Gongsun put it on and listened, shaking his head – There was no sound, and the metal detector didn't react.

Bai Yutang stared at the stone slab at the bottom of the "sculpture", and saw that where the signature should be, there was only a flowery F written.

Retreating to the back, Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao, "What's that artist's name?"

Zhan Zhao looked at him and sighed, "Royce F. Ilyascu."

"So," Bai Yutang raised his eyebrows, "another F?"

Zhan Zhao flattened his mouth and nodded.

As the two were talking, they saw Zhao Hu walk past them wearing sunglasses, bending over and crossing his arms as he carefully examined the sculpture.

Bai Yutang patted him, "Hu Zi, isn't it scarier for you to see it with your sunglasses on?"

"No, Head!" Zhao Hu took off his sunglasses and waved them at Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao, "It seems to look different when wearing sunglasses!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang glanced at each other, both somewhat puzzled.

Zhan Zhao took the pair of sunglasses and put them on to take a look, and couldn't help but frown, "Huh?!"

‿︵‿︵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: November 27, 2023 by Angel

Edited: November 30, 2023 by Angel