S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 50

Inheritor of the Three Murderers 19 – Ice Cream Factory

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Yellow lines were drawn outside the police building, a large number of journalists arrived upon hearing the news, and news vans occupied the open space in front of the building.

Turning on the TV, the news broadcast some scrolling images, but luckily the images of the fierce battle inside the police station building did not come out.

However, the helicopter that crashed on the tarmac on the roof of the police station and the several explosions on the periphery of the building were all recorded on video. In addition to what was shown on the TV news, there was also what passers-by shot with their cell phones.

What's special about this era is that anyone has the tools and platforms to spread information, and discussions on social networks dominate the top of the topic list.

As the press spokesperson, Lu Fang gave an official explanation of the case – The police were investigating a certain case and caught an important suspect, which resulted in this attack. Because the case is still being investigated, not too many details can be revealed, but all the attackers in this incident have been caught, the number of police casualties is zero, and there is no need for the public to panic...

This explanation, apart from omitting the plot in which several killers were involved, was a statement of fact... Although it was not classified as a terrorist attack, it still caused an uproar.

Public opinion mainly focused on one point – The criminals nowadays were too arrogant, attacking the police station directly!

At the same time, many people began to speculate about what major case was being investigated. S City had been calm lately, and there hadn't been any major murders or serial killers on the news... Could it be that the SCI had gotten into trouble with some pervert again?

The calls to the police station were constant, and Bao Zheng was burnt out.

The SCI office, on the other hand, was relatively calm.

After G was interrogated, he didn't say anything, he just sat there in a stagnant state, with no expression and no words, almost as if he had been cast in a spell of immobility.

Bao Zheng had too many things to deal with and couldn't find time to ask Zhan Zhao what exactly he had asked.

Moreover, when Bao Sir left, he rubbed his temples with a look of hopelessness and felt that he didn't care whether Zhan Zhao and the others investigated that year's matter or not, and he didn't care how much they knew about it, it's better to end this mess as quickly as possible.

Zhan Zhao sat on the swivel chair in the office and turned in a circle, not talking, just concentrating on considering things.

Bai Yutang was in the hallway exchanging words with the SWAT team leader. The busier ones were Gongsun and Lao Yang, and the two pairs of forensic teams. There were a lot of corpses in the building, and it was shocking to look at them. Mura and Fu Min both had official backgrounds, and Fu Min was an authority on genetics, so they stayed behind to help Gongsun identify the dead.

Jiang Ping was organising the footage, while Zhao Hu and Ma Han were on the roof with the people from the forensics department.

Qin Ou and Luo Tian were checking out the helicopter's wreckage.

Some medical personnel put the body on the roof on a stretcher and prepared to send it to the forensic room... When they passed by Zhao Hu, one of the body's hands was exposed, dangling outside the stretcher.

Zhao Hu glanced at it and suddenly called for that stretcher.

Seeing Zhao Hu squatting by the stretcher and pulling the hand of the corpse to examine it, Ma Han walked over.

"What are you looking at?" Ma Han also crouched down.

"Xiao Ma Ge, there's a tattoo on this person's hand, does it look familiar?" Zhao Hu asked.

Ma Han stared at the tattoo for a while and frowned, "The killer who attacked A'Mo before had this tattoo, but it was on his shoulder."

"One of those killers we met at the warehouse who went to catch the last inheritor also had it, on his neck." Zhao Hu said.

"Are they from the same group of killers?" Qin Ou and Luo Tian both walked over as well.

"This group of killers are all surprisingly talented." Luo Tian frowned, "It doesn't feel like they're on the same level as G."

"Originally, attacking the police station to save someone is an inexplicable move." Zhao Hu bristled, "What's the difference between it and suicide? And doing it in such a high profile manner... is indeed not G's style."

Ma Han took out his cell phone to take a picture of the tattoo and sent it to Jiang Ping, then the few people went back downstairs to the SCI office.

In the office, Jiang Ping was searching the computer database and comparing the few tattoos.

Bai Yutang walked in with Xiao Fei.

The SWAT captain was ready to leave, but he caught a glimpse of that tattoo pattern on the computer monitor and walked over, "This pattern..."

Ma Han and Zhao Hu both looked at him, "Captain Xiao, you've seen it before?"

Xiao Fei nodded his head, "I've come across it on missions before. These guys should belong to an overseas security company, with the acronym ICE. We all call it the Ice Cream Factory."

"Ice Cream Factory?" Jiang Ping was puzzled, "A security company? Is it of the same nature as Blackwater?"

"A bit more low-end." Xiao Fei said, "You all know that the Middle East has been in chaos lately. Whether you're going in, coming out or passing by, you need to hire some security guards... To put it bluntly, you need to hire some outlaws with guns. A war means that there is a big business opportunity, these security companies are established one after another, but the quality is mixed. To put it plainly, it is similar to express delivery, some express delivery is expensive, but the service is good, fast and guaranteed. Some express delivery is cheap, but the risk is high, and the quality of employees is not high. Ice Cream Factory belongs to a relatively poor security company, not impressive nor useful. The price of hiring a hundred people from his company is probably not even enough to hire a decent mercenary."

"So cheap?" At some point, Zhan Zhao slid over in his swivel chair.

Xiao Fei nodded, somewhat puzzled, "I went to Africa when I was on a peacekeeping mission before, and there were two factory robberies in the area. It was the people from this company that were hired, and a lot of people inside had this tattoo on them."

"These people are so low-level..." Zhan Zhao was curious, "Wouldn't the boss be losing money by hiring these people? The settlement fee that was paid was more than the money earned, right?"

Xiao Fei nodded and asked Jiang Ping if he had a satellite phone, saying that he had a friend who might know the details that he could ask.

Jiang Ping got him one, and Xiao Fei dialled a number.

Everyone knew that Xiao Fei used to be in the peacekeeping force and should have quite a few friends overseas who could provide clues.

After Xiao Fei dialled the number, he found a foreign friend, Anderson, who was said to specialise in helping private individuals and security companies with leads and was also a connection in the Middle East. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xiao Fei asked him about Ice Cream Factory.

Anderson couldn't laugh or cry when he heard about Ice Cream Factory, and said in a disgusted tone, "This security company is simply strange! The security personnel hired from there are not professional at all and are known for being uncontrollable. One of the most famous examples is that they were once hired to escort a merchant caravan across a war zone, and on the way, they encountered a convoy from the Red Cross. A few of the security guards inexplicably fired machine guns at the Red Cross car, as if they were high on drugs! As a result, the entire convoy was mistaken for a terrorist organisation and was eventually targeted by US drones. This kind of example didn't happen in isolation, but several times!"

"The security company's guards took the initiative to attack the Red Cross' convoy?" Bai Yutang was also attracted to this side and came over to ask, "Then will this security company still be able to do business in the future?"

"That's why Ice Cream Factory has long been discredited, we often joke in the industry that they rent out bandits instead of security guards." Anderson said helplessly, "So now this company has gone off the beaten track, it's no longer in the security industry, but has started renting out assassins... Calling them assassins is a bit too generous, they're just renting out hitmen! Their company's people are brainless and brutal, their judgement is questionable and they don't listen to commands, two or three people who are slightly more disciplined will be able to wipe out dozens of them."

Zhan Zhao was curious, "This is very strange! It's easy to find one loser, but finding a whole company of losers is very difficult, isn't it?"

"Hahaha..." Anderson was amused by Zhan Zhao, "That's what's fishy!"

"Fishy?" Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao glanced at each other, feeling that they had caught the crux of something.

"Security company employees basically all come from somewhere. Security personnel are not killers, although they are dangerous, they are also from a formal industry! No matter what, even if they are war maniacs, they still have a hometown background! But the people rented out by Ice Cream Factory can't be found, and they're not from any war zone! It always feels like there's an IQ problem or they're delirious. You could say they're sociopaths, but they're specially trained, not ordinary thugs. And no one knows who the owner of Ice Cream Factory is... Several peers and I once made a joke, maybe you guys can take it as a reference."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both asked Anderson to speak bluntly, with no need to hold back.

Anderson went straight to the point, "We feel that making money from Ice Cream Factory is secondary, and the first priority, it seems, is to consume those 'bandits'."

"Consume ah..." Zhan Zhao repeated meaningfully.

"Every time Ice Cream Factory goes out on a job, more than half of them have to die, sometimes it's even a total wipeout. Which company can stand to have so many people die!" Anderson said, "Insiders can see that there is something fishy about this company, but they don't say anything when they see it."

Zhan Zhao seemed to be very interested in Ice Cream Factory, so he asked Anderson, "The emergence of a company like Ice Cream Factory may upset the balance of your industry at any time, so to deal with this kind of hidden danger, an industry leader like you must have a plan, right? Can you reveal it?"

On the side, Xiao Fei nodded to Zhan Zhao, which meant – Good question!

Anderson was happy and sighed at Zhan Zhao's cleverness, "I do have a bit of a clue, and although it's not specific, maybe you guys can find out who's behind this company."

Zhan Zhao expressed that he was all ears, and generously promised a favour to Anderson.

Anderson then told the crowd a name, "Lan Shan Machinery Company."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang thanked Anderson, and Xiao Fei hung up the phone and went about his own business.

"Lan Shan Machinery... sounds somewhat familiar." Zhan Zhao stroked his chin.

On the side, Xiao Bai Chi fished out a piece of information from the desk, and after flipping through a few pages, handed it to Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, "Is it a coincidence?"

Zhan Zhao took the document and found that it was the information from the investigation of Yue Hai at that time, and what Bai Chi pointed out to them was – that among Yue Hai's many companies, there was a small, not-so-impressive company – Shan Lan Pharmaceutical.

"Lan Shan and Shan Lan?" Bai Yutang frowned.

Zhao Hu was curious, "It shouldn't be a coincidence, right? Doesn't Yue Hai run a shopping mall, as well as a pharmaceutical business?"

"Check." Bai Yutang asked Jiang Ping to check while pulling out his phone to ask the twins about Yue Hai's pharmaceutical factory.

The twins said it was impossible, to be in the pharmaceutical industry wasn't that simple, and they had never heard of Yue Hai making any medicines.

The results of the investigation on Jiang Ping's side also came out. This pharmaceutical company had been established for a long time and did not produce any drugs. There was an address, which was just an office in a commercial building.

"A shell company?" Jiang Ping also checked Lan Shan Machinery, the address was a factory on the outskirts of S City. The location was quite remote, and the legal person was a foreign name, called ICE.

"It matches Ice Cream Factory." Zhan Zhao was even more puzzled, "Why would a factory that dangerous be on the outskirts of S City? How did an overseas security company get involved with a small machinery factory on the outskirts of a city over here?"

"Yue Hai really might have something to do with this." Jiang Ping tapped on his keyboard and pulled up some more information, "When I investigated Yue Hai before, I checked in more detail. Even though Yue Hai is retired and usually lives in deep seclusion, he still travels occasionally. A few of the routes are understandable, whether it's to shops, hospitals, or business centres in his city, it's all well explained, but one of the travel routes is very strange. According to the records captured by the traffic cameras, Yue Hai's car would go out a few times a month, travelling to and from the outskirts of the city and his villa. Because some sections of the road aren't highways, there are no cameras, and it's obvious that he's very careful to make detours all the time, but looking at it now, this travelling route of unknown significance is in the same direction as going to this factory."

"I also think it's a bit suspicious." Bai Chi added, "I read some of Yue Hai's recruitment requirements last time. He runs a shopping mall, but he's recruiting medical students and staff for some biochemical subjects. I originally thought it was for quality control, but he's recruiting quite a lot of people and they're all highly paid elite hires."

"So Yue Hai is indeed related to this case?" Bai Yutang asked.

Zhan Zhao smiled, "ICE ah... I!"

Bai Yutang frowned, "Yue Hai is I? You just said that N is trying to find I, and G is trying to find N by finding I..."

Zhan Zhao smiled faintly and stood up, "Why don't we go to that factory and take a look? My left eyelid is twitching like crazy, so there's a chance we'll have some good luck."

Bai Yutang was puzzled, but still gathered the SCI crowd and prepared to check out that mysterious machinery factory.

Just as the crowd was about to go out, the door to the forensic room was opened, and Ma Xin rushed out with a report, "Captain! Doctor!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang stopped and turned their faces to look at Ma Xin who ran to their heels.

"Major discovery! Teacher Mura and Goddess Fu Min's technical support has worked wonders!" Ma Xin looked excited.

Zhan Zhao blinked, and Bai Yutang rubbed his eyebrows, "Speak Chinese!"

At this time, Gongsun also came out from the forensic room.

Gongsun said to Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao, "You guys would never have guessed, guess what those dead attackers had in common?"

"Tattoos?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Gongsun waved his hand slightly and laughed, "It has nothing to do with appearance, these individual assassins all came from the same place, right?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both nodded, they were from Ice Cream Factory, but Gongsun hadn't listened to the phone call just now, so how did he deduce this?

Gongsun reached out and gently pushed his glasses, "These killers, they are all inheritors!"

‿︵‿︵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 12, 2024 by Angel

Edited: May 16, 2024 by Angel