S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 42

Inheritor of the Three Murderers 11 – Target

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Typically, the scene in the first half of a marathon is a crowded one, with everyone crammed into a pile and running slowly, a situation that has its benefits and drawbacks.

The good thing was that people were gathered in front of each other and were easier to catch, the bad thing was that there were too many people and it was easy to cause chaos.

The staff who were broadcasting this competition were quite experienced, and in cooperation with SCI, they skillfully switched the camera and avoided the process of arresting them.

Bai Yutang and the others smoothly caught about ten people within the first ten minutes or so.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Chi pointed out the locations, and Bai Yutang and the others quickly caught up and dragged the people down, withdrew the guns hidden on their bodies, and handed both the people and the guns over to the police officers waiting outside the fence, all in one fell swoop.

However, as a little bit of time passed, problems arose.

The marathon course changed with the streets, there were a few big turns ahead, and the crowd of runners began to pull away, gradually dividing into several groups.

The problem for Bai Yutang and the others was that they didn't know whether to go forward or backwards.

Luo Tian, Zhang Long and Wang Chao had been trying their best to run at the very back to look for anyone who had slipped through the net.

Ma Han and Zhao Hu desperately ran forward, and after securing both ends, Bai Yutang shuttled back and forth in the middle.

Chen Si and Lu Xiaolan both noticed something – Bai Yutang seemed to be completely unaware of fatigue.

"So capable of running!" Lu Xiaolan couldn't help but say.

"How come it feels like he's not even sweating?" Chen Si was astounded, "What kind of physical ability is this?"

While the two were lamenting, Zhao Jue let out a "pfft" behind them.

Zhan Zhao turned around and slanted a glance at him, casting a warning look.

Zhao Jue raised an eyebrow and reached out in front of his mouth, making a zipping motion.

As the procession got more and more drawn out, the people also started to be hard to find. Zhan Zhao and Bai Chi looked at the monitor screens one by one. Chen Si and Lu Xiaolan were already confused, they were all dressed in tracksuits and running around in a disorganised manner, so who could tell which was which? And they had to look at the numbers one by one...

"Cat."

Bai Yutang didn't hear the list provided by Zhan Zhao and the others on this side and was also a bit anxious, so he asked, "How many more are there?"

"There should be five or six more." Zhan Zhao said, "'We're looking for..."

"Ah!" Xiao Bai Chi suddenly clapped, "Over there!"

Zhan Zhao followed the direction of Bai Chi's finger and immediately told Bai Yutang, "Yutang, in front of you, but they're a bit far away."

"Where?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Keep running after the turn, he's already at the next turn."

After Zhan Zhao finished his words, Bai Yutang started to speed up and run forward. The few police officers beside him who had been following were tired and panting, but Bai Yutang disappeared in a flash.

They had no choice but to pick up their walkie-talkies to notify the police officers in front of them to take over.

Ma Han and Zhao Hu, who were running further ahead, also slowed down appropriately.

Zhao Hu could finally slow down, panting as he walked, "I'm going to... be exhausted!"

"There's one in front of you guys!" Zhan Zhao said to Zhao Hu and Ma Han, "Not far, but he seems to be touching his gun."

Zhao Hu raised his head, "Telling the truth or speaking nonsense?"

"Believe it or not, hurry up and chase!" Zhan Zhao shouted.

"Ahead!" Ma Han rushed up as soon as he pointed in front of him.

Zhao Hu also saw that the man did indeed reach for the black hilt of his gun from his waist.

"For real?!" Zhao Hu also ran up, flanking left and right with Ma Han.

That man looked to be a college student, with a head of curly hair and wearing a pair of black glasses... From the back, his movements were a bit mechanical, and he was panting quite a bit.

The hand that he drew his gun was shivering, and he raised it in a shaky manner. Usually, it is difficult for a rookie to raise a gun and aim it with one hand. Just when he raised his other hand and prepared to hold the gun, Zhao Hu and Ma Han had already run behind him.

"Hey! Handsome guy!" Zhao Hu shouted at him.

The man turned to look at Zhao Hu.

Zhao Hu was really startled... This man's eyes were glazed over, his face was pale as if he was poisoned, and it wasn't clear whether it was because he was nervous or tired, but he was sweating profusely.

Just as the man saw Zhao Hu, Ma Han stepped forward from behind him and twisted his hand behind his back, took his gun, and pushed the man outside the guardrail. The police car had already arrived at the road and a few police officers escorted the man into the car.

"Hu Zi!" Zhan Zhao suddenly called out to Zhao Hu who was looking in the direction of the guardrail.

"Huh?" Zhao Hu froze.

"They passed behind you!"

After Zhan Zhao finished speaking, Zhao Hu turned his head, and sure enough, a young girl in a tracksuit ran past behind him.

"That girl?" Zhao Hu asked.

"Right! The one in the yellow tracksuit!" Zhan Zhao reported the number to Zhao Hu, "Hurry up and chase after her!"

Zhao Hu immediately chased after her.

That girl had obviously seen the scene where Zhao Hu and Ma Han were arresting the man just now, and when she realised that Zhao Hu was chasing after her, she suddenly sped up and ran wildly.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Chi were both surprised – Aiya! This girl runs so fast!

Zhao Hu was also puzzled, the girl in front looked as skinny as firewood and ran really fast.

"Special ability?" Zhao Hu asked while chasing.

"Hurry up and chase!" Zhan Zhao and Bai Chi urged him.

"I'm here to be a cop, not a long-distance runner!" Hu Zi complained as he ran.

Behind him, Ma Han saw the girl turn the corner and simply leapt over the fence and ran diagonally.

Zhao Hu also shouted as he ran, "Xiao Ma Ge! Foul!"

Ma Han had already rushed to the guardrail on the other side of the turn, jumped in, and grabbed the girl.

The girl suddenly whipped her hand.

Ma Han saw something flashing with a "ci-la-la" sound and hurriedly shrunk his hand...

"Wow!" Ma Xin shouted.

"Is that the legendary anti-wolf stun baton?" Xiao Xiatian asked Ma Xin.

Ma Xin nodded her head, "Aiya, Brother was treated like a hooligan."

That girl was quite capable of fighting. As soon as Ma Han withdrew his hand, she ran forward again, and in desperation, the stun baton was dropped.

Ma Han was almost electrocuted, he frowned and picked up the stun baton on the ground.

The crowd in the SCI office all looked at Chen Si and Lu Xiaolan suspiciously, you guys count this as a strict security check ah?

Lu Xiaolan and Chen Si were also worried – How did they bring in so many weapons?

Beside him, Zhao Hu had already run past, and as he passed him, he said, "See! Told you you fouled!"

Ma Han pointed to the flowerbed next to him.

Zhao Hu understood and took a shortcut through the flowerbed to chase after her.

At this time, Bai Yutang also arrived.

Captain Bai caught two more along the way and handed them over to the roadside patrol, running ahead he saw Ma Han and Zhao Hu scratching like eagles catching chickens but failing to catch the girl.

"What's her background, she moves as fast as a rabbit."

Zhao Hu crossed the flower bed and pounced again, unable to resist asking.

"Hmm..." Zhan Zhao looked at the girl's profile which Jiang Ping had given him and stroked his chin, "A kindergarten teacher?"

Everyone tilted their faces in thought – How hard is it to raise kids these days? Look at how much the teacher has exercised...

After that girl ran some distance away, she also reached out and drew the handle of her gun from the pocket of her tracksuit.

Bai Yutang saw it at a glance, "Hu Zi, what are you doing? Hurry up and catch her!"

Zhao Hu was also in a hurry, spreading his legs and running wildly, "Waaaahhhhhh!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Chi hurriedly took down their headphones, and saw Zhao Hu pounce and grab the sleeve of the girl's tracksuit.

The hand that the girl was holding the gun with was yanked by Zhao Hu and she stumbled strangely.

After Hu Zi grabbed the person, he took away the gun, took out handcuffs and handcuffed the girl to the guardrail. He unloaded the clip and dumped the gun, panting as he grasped the guardrail.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Chi felt that compared with running in the field, it's better to do brain work in the office...

A police car drove over next to them, and two police officers escorted the girl away while holding back their laughter.

"Good guy..." Zhao Hu breathed heavily as he took the mineral water that Ma Han handed to him.

"It's been too long since I've run at the gym." Zhao Hu took a deep breath.

Ma Han wiped his own sweat as he tossed him a towel, "Don't you say you usually eat two less burgers?"

Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao, "Cat, how many more?"

"Hmm..." Zhan Zhao said, "There should be two left... Huh?"

"What's the problem?" Bai Yutang asked as he walked.

"The one running in first..." Zhan Zhao said, "is a professional athlete?"

Bai Yutang frowned.

Zhao Hu asked, "Want to chase the one in first place? Can I commandeer a police car?"

Ma Han also frowned and found it strange, "Didn't you say that they would never participate in something like a marathon? Professional marathon runners should often participate, right?"

"No..." Zhan Zhao shook his head and looked at the profile of that professional athlete that Jiang Ping had printed out for him, "G probably didn't lie... at least not on this point."

"What do you mean?" Bai Yutang was puzzled.

"The professional athlete in question is Yuan Ming, isn't it?" Lu Xiaolan asked, "He's quite famous."

"I think I've seen him on the news." Bai Chi also came over, "He's won quite a few world marathon competitions."

Chen Si also nodded, "Yes, everyone is here for fun, but he should be here to adapt to the pace of the race in addition to training, so he's a lot faster than the amateurs."

"What's wrong with this Yuan Ming?" Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao.

"His condition is consistent with our previous analyses... He might be an inheritor." Zhan Zhao said.

Bai Yutang was surprised, "He's an inheritor?!"

"Wow... those inheritors aren't young, are they?" Zhao Hu asked, "How old is this one to still be a marathon champion?"

"Uncle can also run very fast, alright!" Ma Xin interjected.

"So all these people with guns are here to kill him?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Should be." Zhan Zhao nodded and looked back at Zhao Jue.

Zhao Jue smirked, "Didn't realise until now."

Zhan Zhao glared at him.

Bai Chi was also dissatisfied, "Why didn't you say it earlier if you realised it?"

Zhao Jue pointed at Zhan Zhao and repeated the action of zipping his mouth from earlier.

"Since he's the champion there shouldn't be anyone who can catch up with him, right?" Zhao Hu asked.

"It's not too easy for people to catch up to him, but bullets should be able to." Bai Yutang told the two to hurry up and run.

At this time, Luo Tian and the others who were trailing behind also ran up.

"Cat, what's their position?" Bai Yutang asked.

"At least two blocks away from you." Zhan Zhao said.

"Those few with guns can run that fast?" Zhao Hu didn't feel very convinced.

"The remaining two killers might not have been at the starting point at all!" Zhan Zhao said, "Otherwise, it's unlikely that Bai Chi and I wouldn't have been able to find them until now!"

"Right!" Bai Chi nodded, "I've matched the numbers of all the participants, and those two weren't there."

"So they were waiting in ambush at the halfway point?" Luo Tian asked.

"That's a foul, isn't it?" Zhao Hu was dissatisfied.

Zhan Zhao and the others all looked at Lu Xiaolan and Chen Si.

"Of course it's a foul!" Chen Si said, but then seemed to be a little unsure, "But this kind of amateur marathon isn't regulated too strictly, if you really want to jump in halfway... it shouldn't be too easy to be discovered."

"So those two people might be waiting there to watch for that champion!" Zhan Zhao said to Bai Yutang and the others, "Hurry up and chase! Follow and grab that champion!"

After Zhan Zhao finished speaking, Bai Yutang started running.

"No way?!" Zhao Hu shouted, "Saying such things as catching the champion ah..."

Luo Tian went after Bai Yutang.

Ma Han ran two steps forward then stood still.

Zhao Hu almost bumped into him and looked at him in confusion, "Xiao Ma Ge?"

Ma Han seemed to think about it, then reached out and waved at the road, "Why don't we just take a car."

Zhao Hu looked at Ma Han with worshipping eyes, "Xiao Ma Ge is bold!"

Just as the two got into a police car, there was a sudden shout from Jiang Ping, "Not good!"

Everyone was startled.

Bai Yutang could already see Yuan Ming in front of him, so he picked up speed as he asked, "What's wrong now?"

Jiang Ping shouted, "I'm looking at the previous surveillance, and one of them took away a much bigger box than the others!"

In the police car, Zhao Hu and Ma Han looked at each other.

Ma Han asked, "How big?"

"It looks to be the size of a violin case." Jiang Ping said.

Zhan Zhao frowned, "So it wasn't a pistol inside?"

"What's that person's occupation?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Just an ordinary driver..." Jiang Ping said, then noticed the problem, "No, he used to be a soldier."

Zhan Zhao held his forehead.

Gongsun held his teacup, "That's right ah, the success rate with pistols is low... If your marksmanship is good enough, take a sniper rifle and find a building to wait on, the confidence is higher."

"How many sniping points are in the vicinity?" Zhan Zhao asked Ma Han.

Ma Han opened the car window and looked around... There were tall buildings all around, and there were office buildings everywhere.

"Quite a lot..." Ma Han felt that the problem was serious.

"Captain!"

When the crowd was dwelling on the fact that another sniper was hiding in the dark, Luo Tian suddenly shouted at Bai Yutang, "Is that one a killer?"

Bai Yutang also saw it. He saw that from an alleyway, a well-built, agile man suddenly ran out, burrowed through the gap in the fence which separated the track, and quickly stepped forward to catch up with Yuan Ming... As he ran, he skilfully pulled out his gun.

But now Bai Yutang and the others were at least thirty or forty metres away from the man...

In the SCI office, Ma Xin and Xiatian covered their mouths.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Chi also tensed – It was too late!

‿︵‿︵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: February 6, 2024 by Angel

Edited: May 9, 2024 by Angel