S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 45

Inheritor of the Three Murderers 14 – Deep Memories

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In the elevator, Bai Yutang recounted to Zhan Zhao a past event that was hidden in the depths of his memories, not so much forgotten but rather ignored by him.

Bai Yutang remembered that when he was a child, he might have met Issel.

It was when he was about six or seven years old. That day, he and Bai Jintang were at home when suddenly Bai Yunwen ran back, pulled Bai Jintang aside, and whispered something to him.

Xiao Bai Yutang seemed to hear that Bai Yunwen was asking Bai Jintang to identify someone.

When father and son were about to leave, Bai Yutang ran and pulled Bai Jintang's hand, wanting to go along too.

It just so happened that on that day, Mother Bai had something to do and Bai Yunwen didn't feel comfortable leaving Xiao Bai Yutang alone at home, so he took the two brothers with him... The place they went to was a hospital in S City.

It was not until later when Bai Yutang became a police officer himself that he realised that this was a special hospital, where security measures were tightened because of the need to treat some "special" patients.

On that day, Bai Yunwen brought Bai Jintang into the intensive care unit, and Bai Yutang was left waiting outside the door.

Bai Yutang was still small. Through the glass window, he could barely see a person lying on the hospital bed in the room... From the side, the person seemed to be a teenager, he was wearing an oxygen mask, with many tubes inserted into his body, and there were several instruments beside him with regular flickers of light.

Bai Yunwen said a few words to Bai Jintang, and Bai Jintang seemed to nod.

After that, Bai Yunwen went to the hallway and talked to a doctor while Bai Jintang was still in the room.

Xiao Bai Yutang then slipped into the ward and curiously stood next to his brother to take a look... Getting a closer look, Bai Yutang could see that it was a foreign teenager, about the same age as his brother, and seemingly Hispanic. Originally, at Bai Yutang's age then, he shouldn't know Latin American or South American or whatever... Unfortunately, his childhood sweetheart was a genius who takes reading books as breathing, so he also knew a lot at a young age.

Bai Yutang grabbed Bai Jintang's hand and asked curiously, "Brother, who is he?"

Bai Jintang was just about to open his mouth when outside, Bai Yunwen walked in and led the two brothers out the door.

Walking out of the ward area, Bai Yunwen took Bai Jintang to the second floor to do a checkup and told Bai Yutang to wait in the lobby.

Bai Yutang was a restless person, and after waiting in the lobby for a while, he ran out, circled the huge hospital twice, and finally returned to the vicinity of that ward for some reason.

At that moment, he saw a man in a long white coat standing at the entrance of the ward, his back facing the corridor, seemingly wanting to go in.

Bai Yutang walked behind the man and asked, "What kind of illness does he have?"

......

That doctor didn't move, remaining standing like that with his back to Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang tilted his face up to survey that back... This person should not be young. From his back, his greyish-white hair was slightly curled, and underneath his white coat, he could see half of his black trousers and a pair of black leather shoes.

Bai Yutang stared at that back for a while and asked, "Aren't you a doctor? Why are you wearing a white coat if you're not a doctor?"

The man froze after hearing Bai Yutang's words, and then he slowly took a step back, as if he wanted to turn back...

Just at this time, Bai Jintang's voice came from the end of the hallway, "Yutang?"

......

Bai Yutang glanced back, and from around the corner, Bai Jintang walked over, apparently having realised that he had run off and gotten lost and was looking for him everywhere.

"What are you doing here?" Bai Jintang finally found Bai Yutang, so he waved at him, "Let's go home."

"Oh..." Bai Yutang nodded, then remembered to turn back again, only to find that the man in the white lab coat standing in the doorway just now had already disappeared.

"Why are you in a daze?" Bai Jintang came over and pulled Bai Yutang's hand to walk back, "Dad is looking for you everywhere, you’d be beaten up again if you weren’t skinny."

Bai Yutang turned back as he walked, and asked his older brother, "Brother, did you just see a man in a white coat?"

Bai Jintang laughed, reaching out to hold his head and shake it around, "What's so unusual about seeing someone in a white coat in a hospital?"

Bai Yutang asked curiously, "Who's in the ward?"

Bai Jintang replied casually, saying that it was someone he used to know. Because the father and sons went to the shopping mall afterwards, Bai Yutang pulled Bai Jintang to pick up a doll and watch a film, and forgot about this matter when he turned his head.

......

After listening to Bai Yutang's account, Zhan Zhao raised a question, "How did you know that the man in the white coat wasn't a doctor?"

Bai Yutang who was driving heard Zhan Zhao's question and wanted to laugh a little, "Your biggest concern after hearing this is actually this point?"

Zhan Zhao nodded, "Mmhmm, that teenager lying on the bed was most likely Issel, there's nothing to be interested in, I'm more interested in that white coat, have you seen that person recently?"

Bai Yutang froze for a moment, surprised, "Cat, how do you know?"

"Because you suddenly remembered something." Zhan Zhao explained, "There are a lot of things we don't remember that haven't disappeared from our brains but have been sealed into the depths of our memories. The best way to remember these deeply buried fragments is to have the stimulation of related matters. After comparing your recent experiences with your memories from back then, I feel that the stimulus was that 'back', and by such a coincidence I also saw a back at Brother's dinner party, so... is it the same one?"

Bai Yutang sighed softly, "Cat, has anyone ever created a surprise for you?"

Zhan Zhao blinked.

Bai Yutang was somewhat helpless, "I now suspect that all the 'surprise' gifts I have given you in the past were actually within your expectations."

Zhan Zhao raised his eyebrows, "You can keep trying."

Bai Yutang shook his head helplessly.

"Back to the topic," Zhan Zhao asked, "how did you know that person wasn't a doctor?"

"Feeling." Bai Yutang replied.

Zhan Zhao frowned and stared at him – Trying to muddle through?

Bai Yutang said, "That ward was an intensive care ward, and the overall dress and atmosphere of the doctors checking in there are coordinated with that environment, but the back of that white lab coat I saw was inexplicably out of place in this environment... The black pants and black shoes were especially incongruous, plus the posture of him leaning against the door as he stood there made me feel that he was a bit shady"

Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, "It turns out that this wild animal's intuition was already apparent at such a young age."

Bai Yutang couldn't laugh or cry – Is that a compliment?

"Then the most important question," Zhan Zhao asked, "that person, is he the same person as the one we saw at Brother's dinner party?"

"I'm not sure." Bai Yutang replied matter-of-factly, "The perspective of observation was different, when I was a child I was looking up, and now I'm looking head-on. I can't tell, but..."

"But..." Zhan Zhao didn't wait for Bai Yutang to finish before he took over, "that feeling of being out of place with his surroundings is the same, isn't it?"

Bai Yutang sighed, "I definitely haven't created any surprises for you."

Zhan Zhao smiled...

At this time, Bai Yutang stopped the car.

Zhan Zhao raised his head and looked out, and saw that they had arrived at an area on the outskirts of the city which resembled an abandoned dock. There were a large number of used containers piled up, as well as several rusty piping installations, a few old bungalows and a large area of abandoned factories. The surrounding weeds were long and it was very desolate.

Bai Yutang opened the car door, and in front of him, Zhao Hu and Ma Han also got out of the car.

Ma Han was pressing his earpiece, looking down at the address display on his tablet while asking Jiang Ping, "Sure this is the place?"

Jiang Ping, who had already returned to the SCI office, nodded, "Mhmm, the address that Issel provided is right here."

Bai Yutang frowned as he observed the surroundings, "The last inheritor is here?"

"Be careful." Zhan Zhao cautioned, "If this is the one we're looking for, then he's quite dangerous."

Bai Yutang nodded, and at this moment, Zhao Hu ran over and whispered, "Boss, there's someone inside!"

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao both looked up.

At the entrance of the factory, Ma Han was leaning against the fence and looking in, and when he saw Bai Yutang looking over, he made a gesture.

Bai Yutang frowned.

Zhan Zhao asked, "What does it mean?"

"Ma Han saw four people, all heavily armed." Bai Yutang frowned.

"Do we need SWAT support?" Bai Chi asked.

Just after asking, Bai Yutang raised his head sharply.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Hu exchanged glances.

Bai Yutang looked towards the factory entrance.

At this time, Ma Han and Luo Tian, who were at the entrance, seemed to have discovered something, and the two of them exchanged glances and ran inside.

Bai Yutang and the others immediately ran in as well...

They saw that next to a container, there was a black-clothed man lying with a gunshot wound to the head, and another one was lying not far ahead.

Luo Tian pressed his neck and frowned, "Dead."

Ma Han pointed at the factory building in front, "A few people just went in."

"Brother," Bai Chi pulled Zhan Zhao, pointing at the dead man in black, saying, "this is a professional assassin, the same as the people who attacked A'Mo that time, they were hired."

Zhan Zhao frowned, "Looks like G's people have arrived as well!"

"They should have just arrived not long ago." Bai Yutang wanted to go in, but Zhan Zhao gently pulled him, saying, "There's no rush."

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao with some confusion, "No rush? What if we get beaten by G..."

"G hasn't arrived yet." Zhan Zhao said, pointing at the containers around them.

The crowd noticed that these containers had many strange symbols sprayed on them with spray paint. They looked messy but seemed to have a pattern.

"What are those?" Zhao Hu asked curiously.

"The one inside should be the person we're looking for." Zhan Zhao said, "These assassins were hired by him to be guards, and those assassins were hired by G. Their purpose is actually the same."

"Purpose?" The crowd wondered

"Cannon fodder!"

Just after Zhan Zhao finished speaking, they heard a boom. The crowd subconsciously lowered their heads... and then looked... there was an explosion in that factory. The shockwave shattered the windows, the glass shards flew out a long way, and thick smoke billowed.

Bai Yutang frowned, "A trap?"

"An alarm to be exact." Zhan Zhao said, "When such a big alarm goes off, it can delay a lot of time, he must have run away!"

"Run off where?" Zhao Hu asked.

Zhan Zhao asked Bai Chi, "What was this factory used for before?"

Xiao Bai Chi recalled the map of S City in his memory and said, "It should have been a sewage treatment plant in the past."

Zhan Zhao nodded, "Underneath the factory is one of the intersections of the city's drainage pipes."

Bai Yutang understood, "So he's underground now?"

"Over there!" Zhao Hu pointed ahead. At the entrance of one of the factories, there was a sign for the entrance to the sewers.

Bai Yutang stood up.

Zhan Zhao asked Bai Chi to go to the car and fetch Bai Yutang's sword... Recently, Bai Yutang had been practising with his sword, and that sword was kept in the trunk of the car.

Bai Yutang was puzzled, "I need to use the sword?"

Zhan Zhao seriously said to Bai Yutang, "This murderer is quite cunning, and his physical and fighting skills are superior to normal people by a lot, you can't hit him with a gun!"

"Can't even hit him with a gun?" Zhao Hu was appalled.

"He's a mathematical genius who can calculate the trajectory of a bullet's path!" Zhan Zhao added, "But remember, his strength lies in his regularity, but his weakness also lies in his almost obsessive-compulsive sense of regularity and balance."

Bai Yutang nodded but frowned at Zhan Zhao, "Cat, you're not going?"

Zhan Zhao shook his head, "I'm not going, I'll wait here for G."

Now, not only Bai Yutang, but several other people's eyes widened.

"Cat..." Bai Yutang was uneasy.

Zhan Zhao patted his shoulder, "Don't worry."

Bai Yutang looked at the others around him. Zhan Zhao knew that he was considering leaving a few people behind to protect him, so he smiled slightly, "The more people left behind the more favourable it is for G instead. Well... there's one person who can stay behind and help out."

After saying that, Zhan Zhao pointed at Ma Han.

Ma Han froze.

Zhao Hu was also surprised, "Is leaving Xiao Ma Ge useful? Only Captain is resistant to hypnosis!"

Zhan Zhao gave an evil smile and patted Bai Yutang, "Hurry up! Don't let that bastard run away. Leave G to me."

Although Bai Yutang was still a little worried, he always had confidence in Zhan Zhao's decisions and he felt more at ease leaving Ma Han behind.

Without delay, Bai Yutang said "be careful" to Zhan Zhao, and took Luo Tian, Zhao Hu and Bai Chi to run in the direction of the sewers.

After everyone had left, the only people left in the abandoned factory were Zhan Zhao, who looked calm and collected, and Ma Han, who was confused.

Ma Han looked at Zhan Zhao warily, feeling that he wasn't too safe and might as well go to the sewers...

Zhan Zhao didn't say anything, standing there with a smile on his face and staring at him wide-eyed.

After a few moments, Ma Han couldn't help himself and asked, "Doctor... are you sure I can deal with G if I stay?"

Zhan Zhao smiled faintly and reached out, gently pointing to Ma Han's temple.

Ma Han did not understand.

Zhan Zhao said, "G can't do anything to you, don't forget... Zhao Jue has insured you."

Ma Han froze and looked at Zhan Zhao in surprise.

In the previous ghost ship case, when everyone went on the ghost ship to deal with Emilia, Zhao Jue had once asked to be alone with Ma Han for a while. At that time, no one knew what Zhao Jue had done to him, but after Ma Han went home and weighed himself, he found that he had lost two kilograms on that day, but he couldn't remember exactly what had happened. For half a year after that, he was trembling every day in fear that Zhao Jue had hypnotised him into doing something bad, but a long time had passed and no adverse reactions had appeared.

"What do you mean... Zhao Jue has insured me?" Ma Han was puzzled.

Zhan Zhao put his hands in his pockets and slowly walked towards the door while saying to Ma Han, "Zhao Jue probably expected that we would have bumped into G that day, so he first put an insurance policy on you... Today, I'm waiting to see G fall on his face. Let's deal a head-on blow at the first encounter... By the way, tell the one lying on the roof to use anaesthetic bullets, don't really kill G."

Ma Han didn't understand.

Zhan Zhao held up two fingers to him and wiggled them.

Ma Han frowned and took out his phone to dial Eleven's number.

It didn't take long for the call to connect, "Ahem."

Ma Han heard a cough and frowned as he lifted his head, looking over towards a tall building in the distance.

From the phone, came Eleven's voice, "Yo, smile."

Ma Han was puzzled, "How'd you get here? You're a little too well informed..."

Zhan Zhao interjected from the side, "He put a tracker in your pocket."

Ma Han was startled, reaching out to touch his pocket while looking at Zhan Zhao speechlessly, "Doctor... when did you find out?"

Zhan Zhao blinked, "Well... the night of the cafe bombing."

Ma Han was speechless.

Zhan Zhao shook his head, "Who told you to always wear this jacket when you go on missions?"

On the other end of the phone, there was the sound of Eleven's laughter.

Zhan Zhao reached out to take the phone from Ma Han's hand and said to Eleven on the other end, "I'll reach out and touch my nose in a moment, and you'll shoot."

Eleven laughed and asked, "Shoot who?"

As he spoke, a white car slowly drove up in the distance.

Zhan Zhao saw the car, sneered, and answered Eleven's question, "The incongruous one."

......

The spacious sewers, although abandoned for a long time, still smelled of rust and bleach.

Zhao Hu and Bai Chi followed Bai Yutang and Luo Tian, and together the group followed the pipes forward.

The pipes here were intricate, but Bai Chi used his good memory to indicate the direction in which each pipe led.

Luo Tian pressed his ear against one of the pipes and listened for a while, turning back to Bai Yutang, "There are indeed footsteps."

Bai Yutang stood in front of the fork in the sewers, looking at the two black entrances ahead.

Zhao Hu asked, "Boss, which way should we go?"

Bai Yutang stood for a moment and shook his head, "It's the same either way."

Everyone looked at him in confusion.

Bai Yutang lowered his voice and said, "He will come back here..."

After saying that, a gust of wind blew by.

The cold wind with a rotten odour in the sewers caused everyone to get goosebumps.

Luo Tian, who was still sticking to the water pipe to listen to the sound, jerked his head up.

Bai Yutang led the crowd to run a few steps into the sewer on the left and stood against the wall, waiting with bated breath...

Almost at the same time, from the right side of the pipeline, came the regular click, click sound of footsteps. The footsteps were approaching from afar and had a sense of stability and regularity similar to the sound of a pendulum.

Listening to the sound of footsteps, Bai Yutang reached out and waved his hand at Luo Tian and Zhao Hu, indicating that they should not act rashly... This person, as Zhan Zhao said, is extremely dangerous!

‿︵‿︵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 9, 2024 by Angel

Edited: May 9, 2024 by Angel