S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 46

Inheritor of the Three Murderers 15 – Victory is Not Yet Decided

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As the white car slowly approached, Ma Han noticed a strange glow in Zhan Zhao's eyes... That look, which was similar to a sly and somewhat expectant look, made him involuntarily think of Zhao Jue.

Ma Han suddenly had a thought, if Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue put aside their three views and personalities, in essence, they were two very similar existences.

If... just if, Zhan Zhao throws away all the constraints and completely lets go of his own nature, would he become the second Zhao Jue?

Zhan Zhao's current key is just a prototype, but sooner or later, he will be as powerful as Zhao Jue. When that day comes, will he choose to uphold justice, or will he lose himself amid absolute power?

Speaking of losing himself... Ma Han had another doubt – Was Zhao Jue among those who lost themselves?

As a person who aspired to be a police officer since childhood, the inherent perception told Ma Han that Zhao Jue, who was once locked up in a special prison, is some kind of "evil" existence. However... is he actually considered evil? If he is evil, then what is G?

If G is the representative of evil, what does Zhao Jue, who is on the opposite side of him, represent? By the same token, what does Eleven, who is aiming his gun at G, represent?

When did the line between black and white become so distorted?

Just as he was lost in thought, Ma Han suddenly heard Zhan Zhao beside him ask, "Do you want a cigarette?"

Ma Han froze slightly, looking at Zhan Zhao with a confused expression – Smoking while on a mission?

As a sniper, smoking was originally strictly forbidden, and on countless battlefields in this world, a large number of people in the middle of a war had lost their lives because of a cigarette. That slowly rising wisp of light smoke, for a sniper, was a target that could cut off the life of an opponent, but also a hidden danger that could cut off his own life.

"Are you sure?" Ma Han asked Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao smiled and nodded.

Ma Han didn't ask any more questions and pulled out a cigarette to light it.

At this time, the car had already stopped a few steps away from them.

Ma Han asked Zhan Zhao, "Are Captain and the others okay?"

Zhan Zhao nodded, "There should be no problems."

"According to A'Mo, that inheritor once washed the entire research centre in blood." Ma Han couldn't help but be a little worried, "And he's also proficient in bombs, it's a pity that Qin Ou didn't come along today."

The corner of Zhan Zhao's mouth slowly raised a few more points.

Ma Han noticed the change in Zhan Zhao's expression... When they were about to leave the building, Qin Ou suddenly disappeared. He was almost never absent from important missions, where did he go when he left? Did he take a leave of absence?

Thinking of this, Ma Han asked Zhan Zhao, "Where is Qin Ou?"

Zhan Zhao glanced at Ma Han and smiled slightly, "He took a temporary leave of absence."

"Taking a leave of absence?" In his heart, Ma Han said that he had really guessed right, what kind of emergency had occurred for him to take a leave of absence?

Zhan Zhao added as if talking to himself, "At the end of the marathon, the school suddenly called, saying that Xiao Yi fought with his classmates and that he wanted to call his parents."

Ma Han was puzzled, "Xiao Yi would get into a fight with someone? If there are any fights, Yang Yang would fight for him, right..."

Zhan Zhao smiled again for a moment, "Indeed."

Ma Han looked at Zhan Zhao suspiciously. Listening to the tone, it seemed that there was some other meaning to be expressed.

Just then, the door of the car opened, and a man with long black hair stepped out.

Zhan Zhao raised his eyes and looked over, the one who got out of the car was none other than G.

G was getting out of the passenger seat, and there should be another person sitting in the driver's seat.

Zhan Zhao glanced at the driver's seat, but because of the light, combined with the sunglasses covering his face, he couldn't clearly see what the person in the driver's seat looked like.

Zhan Zhao's eyes slowly darted between the car and the person, and Ma Han was inexplicably a little nervous when he saw G walking towards them.

G was wearing sunglasses, so he couldn't see his gaze and couldn't guess what his intentions were right now.

G walked very close to Zhan Zhao and the others and stopped.

"Surprisingly, you arrived earlier than me." G carried a bit of praise in his tone, "But... does leaving you here alone mean that Zhao Jue didn't come?"

Zhan Zhao laughed, "Don't try to play nice, if Zhao Jue was here you would have run away long ago."

G didn't seem to care about the mockery in Zhan Zhao's words. He glanced at Ma Han beside Zhan Zhao and looked around, "That little tiger isn't here... but the car is, which means you guys haven't caught him yet, right?"

Zhan Zhao didn't answer and asked him instead, "Without Issel to help you, do you think one person can catch the inheritor?"

G helplessly spread his hands, "I naturally have my ways, but you, is it alright for you to wait here? Your little tiger, may not be able to catch that inheritor."

"How about we make a bet?" Zhan Zhao looked as if he was in a relaxed mood, "Ten minutes! If Yutang catches that inheritor in ten minutes, you'll turn yourself in and go back to the police station with me."

G smiled and shook his head, "Even if it's Bai Ye, it's impossible to capture him alive in ten minutes."

"Then do you dare to bet?" Zhan Zhao used a very obvious method of provocation.

G asked, "Then what if you lose?"

Zhan Zhao smiled openly, "Then I'll let you go today."

"What a big mouth." G reached out, the wrist of that mechanical arm was exposed from the sleeve of his coat, and there was a watch on the silver-coloured metal wrist joint.

G flicked the watch, "Ten minutes... start!"

......

Meanwhile, there was a completely different kind of atmosphere in the sewers.

Bai Yutang and the others heard the sound of regular footsteps approaching unhurriedly, accompanied by the click, click of metal clanking.

It wasn't known whether it was because the sewers were closed and the air was thin and oppressive, or whether it was because the footsteps were so regular that they were as steady as a pendulum, but Luo Tian and Zhao Hu, who were waiting behind Bai Yutang, felt anxious.

Especially Luo Tian, as sewers and other confined spaces were an environment for him that made him physically uncomfortable. The familiar feeling that existed in his memory raged on, making him unusually alert, and as the sound of the footsteps approached, Luo Tian sensed danger. He couldn't figure out where this danger was coming from, from the approaching person... or from the surroundings.

Bai Yutang stood in front of the crowd, quietly listening to the sounds coming from the passage next to him.

Zhao Hu looked at Bai Yutang's back and couldn't tell if he was nervous or feeling something else. At this time, what made him even more puzzled was what the metal banging sound that came along with the footsteps meant... It seemed like someone was walking while using something to knock on the metal pipes inside the sewer.

This sewer was littered with pipes, old iron pipes, lead pipes, plastic pipes...

And what made Bai Yutang concerned was this particular banging sound.

The last inheritor, according to Zhan Zhao's description, had an extremely strong regularity; it was an obsessive-compulsive disorder that was close to the extreme. To achieve the same stride length and strength in every step, it required that person to have an extremely strong control over their muscles.

Being able to control his feet, naturally, he could also control his hands, and every time he swung his hands, the force that struck the pipes should be the same... which also meant that the sound that came out would be the same as well.

However, Bai Yutang was able to hear a difference from this extremely regular sound.

What was different? Echo!

Sound travels faster than air amid solids, so knocking on a very long pipe in a confined space would cause an echo effect.

Bai Yutang keenly noticed the echoes of one strike after another, which were changing regularly.

It was clearly the same force, so what caused this change? There was only one possibility – The medium in which the sound travelled was changing!

Bai Yutang swept a glance at the layout of the section of sewer they were in, noting the staggered distribution of pipes...

Bai Yutang suddenly turned around and asked Luo Tian, "Would Xiao Yi fight with someone?"

Luo Tian was stunned by Bai Yutang's question.

Zhao Hu and Bai Chi also glanced at each other.

Luo Tian came back to his senses and shook his head, and just as the word "no" left his mouth, Bai Yutang violently yanked Bai Chi beside him and shouted to Luo Tian and Zhao Hu, "Come out!"

Zhao Hu and Luo Tian were startled by Bai Yutang, but they still instinctively followed Bai Yutang and ran forward.

Almost at the same time, the sound of metal hitting metal came once again, and with that last crash, a murmur squeezed out from the cracks of the pipes, followed by a loud boom, and the entire sewer shook.

At the moment Luo Tian and Zhao Hu followed Bai Yutang and Bai Chi to run out, the section of the sewer they were in just now exploded... The entire top of the sewer collapsed, and the wall also collapsed.

Zhao Hu and Luo Tian looked at the dust and smoke rolling behind them, and the entrance to the sewer had been blocked. If they were even one step late just now, they would have been buried alive!

In the middle of the pipe, moisture filled the air...

Strangely enough, the pipes on one side collapsed, but the pipes on the other side were fine.

Inside the part of the sewer where the collapse occurred, the water pipe should have ruptured because of the explosion. The water vapour steamed while a large amount of water flowed down to the ground, and in the air, a faint smell of this chemical agent spread, which was somewhat pungent.

Zhao Hu frowned, "I thought the water pipes were dry, but there is water. It should be wastewater right, such a powerful smell."

In the middle of the water vapour, there was the sound of clapping. The sound was very special, the person clapping should be wearing gloves.

Bai Chi sniffed the smell in the air and suddenly understood, looking at Bai Yutang, "The explosion was caused by the water pouring in from the pipes!"

Luo Tian and Zhao Hu both frowned...

"There shouldn't have been any water in these pipes in the first place." Xiao Bai Chi said, "There should have been a large amount of chemicals inside the sewer pipe on the side we were just hiding in, it's a trap! As long as the other party opens the water valve when we enter that side of the sewer, water will pour into the pipes. The water reacts with the chemicals to form an explosive substance. Knocking on the metal pipes is just to cause a vibration, prompting an explosion."

Zhao Hu and Luo Tian were not stupid, and they instantly understood the question Bai Yutang had just asked – Would Xiao Yi fight with someone?

Was this the reason why Qin Ou wasn't here today? You could smell a faint chemical smell when you entered this sewer, which was masked because of the putrid smell of the sewer itself... But if it was Qin Ou, who was proficient in explosive items, he should have discovered this trap very early on!

Luo Tian, Zhao Hu and Bai Chi who had roughly figured the matter out all subconsciously glanced at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang was standing at the very front at the moment, looking at the person who appeared behind the dissipating water vapour.

At the entrance of the dark sewer, a black figure stood there, slowly clapping his hands.

After a burst of regular clapping, the voice of that person was heard, "Wonderful, to have avoided this trap that I most carefully laid out!"

......

Outside the factory, the collapse just now caused the ground to shake.

Ma Han looked with some concern at the place where the collapse had occurred – It should be the location of the sewer that Bai Yutang and the others had entered.

G tapped his watch on the unfazed Zhan Zhao, reminding, "It's been five minutes."

Zhan Zhao, however, did not care about the time, but rather said to G rather seriously, "I've been wondering why this inheritor is so important to you, that you want to capture him even at the expense of exposing yourself to danger."

G moved his eyes away from his watch and looked at Zhan Zhao with interest, "Have you come up with an answer yet?"

Zhan Zhao shook his head, "The method of luring Qin Ou away was full of flaws. Although the school teacher called, Xiao Yi himself carries a cell phone, so if we call and ask directly, we'll be able to find out whether or not he really fought with someone."

Ma Han nodded lightly, indeed.

"Regardless of whether or not Qin Ou came with us today... this crack alerted us that there might be a trap in place that has something to do with an explosion." Zhan Zhao said, "So this shouldn't be the work of the inheritor, it doesn't do him any favours. I don't think there's any way to catch the inheritor with your personal abilities, or rather, there's only one person who can capture the inheritor."

G narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Only Yutang can catch him, that's why you gave us a heads-up." Zhan Zhao continued nonchalantly, "From the time you got the news, to the time Issel came to report it, everything was part of your plan to use our power to help you capture this inheritor. But how are you going to get him out of our hands and walk away in one piece?"

Ma Han frowned when he heard this, "Hostage exchange?"

Zhan Zhao nodded, "The fact that you dared to come here alone means that you are confident enough that we can't do anything to you, so the only explanation is that you have a hostage in your hands, and if you want to take a hostage, you don't even need to physically kidnap them."

Saying this, Zhan Zhao reached out and gently pointed to his head, "Just kidnap them from here."

When G heard this, G smiled and nodded, "You're a bit more interesting than I thought, sure enough... Zhao Jue won't spend too much energy on boring things."

"But there's still nothing you can do about it." G said, turning the tables, "I have hundreds of hostages in my hands."

Ma Han frowned and looked at Zhan Zhao. Did G mean that he had hypnotised a lot of people? He couldn't help but think of the college student he had met earlier in the zen room. The innocent student who had been triggered by a certain 'signal' without warning pulled out his gun and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"I planted time bombs in their brains that even the best bomb disposal experts can't defuse." G looked at Zhan Zhao with a smile, "Not to mention you, there's no way for Zhao Jue to free these people, so whether I win or lose this bet, I'll be taking away the inheritor today, it's a match without suspense. Wisdom is also powerless against absolute power, just like how you can predict an earthquake but can't stop it from happening."

Ma Han's teeth were grinding together – G's attitude was arrogant and obnoxious, but it seemed impossible to refute what he said. He did have leverage in his hands, and the situation at hand was a dead heat.

After Zhan Zhao heard G's words, he gently nodded his and seemed to come to a realisation, "An absolutely powerful ability..."

Zhan Zhao's tone of voice again brought out that slightly absent sarcasm, and he eventually shook his head at G in disappointment, "I feel the opposite of you, you are far more mediocre than I imagined, it is me who overestimated you."

G retorted, "Then as a genius, are you capable of fighting against this absolute power?"

"Actually, Zhao Jue proposed a method to deal with you a long time ago." Zhan Zhao looked at him with some sympathy, "I thought you were an animal, but he said you were a plant."

G was lost in thought, "Plant.."

"The best way to deal with plants..." Zhan Zhao raised his hand and gently touched his nose, "is to uproot them..."

Following Zhan Zhao's movement, a gunshot was heard.

According to Zhan Zhao's previous request, at the moment he issued the command, Eleven pulled the trigger... The bullet spun at high speed and flew towards the target that Eleven thought was extremely "incongruous".

‿︵‿︵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