S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 96

Countdown from the Murderer 26 – Preliminary Exploration

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This particular mental research centre revealed strangeness everywhere.

After entering it, Bai Yutang felt as if some of his senses had been activated.

Zhao Hu and Ma Han kept being shaken by the shadows caused by the lights, while Bai Yutang felt that there was "someone" nearby.

That feeling of eyes watching wasn't only generated when they entered the building, but also just now at the entrance, Bai Yutang clearly felt that someone was watching them from the lit room in the office building next door.

Even after entering the surveillance room, he still felt that someone was watching them from the dark.

Similarly, this feeling also appeared in the images on the surveillance screens.

Bai Yutang felt that there was someone standing in the corner, looking at Qian Yu who was drawing.

On the other hand, Bai Yutang felt from Qian Yu's back that he was not afraid of the person watching him.

This was not the same as Zhou Ping's description, or was Zhou Ping's statement misleading?

Just as he was thinking, he suddenly saw Qian Yu in the footage glancing in the direction of the corner.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue both frowned.

Ma Han also asked the two nurses, "Is there someone in the corner?"

The nurses looked at it and said, "Maybe, sometimes Qian Yu will ask doctors and nurses to model for him."

"But he's simply painting the corner of the wall, there's no one in the picture." Zhan Zhao said.

The nurse stood next to the SCI crowd with his arms crossed, poking at the picture and asking, "What do you think of Qian Yu's drawing?"

The crowd didn't really understand it, but Zhao Jue said, "Ordinary."

The nurse laughed and looked at Zhao Jue, "You don't understand psychology, do you?"

Zhao Hu and Ma Han both let out a "pfft" when the question was asked.

The corner of Zhan Zhao's mouth moved slightly.

Zhao Jue turned his eyes furtively and glanced at that nurse.

The others were sweating for the nurse.

However, Zhao Jue didn't do anything, but rather asked curiously, "What's psychology got to do with it?"

The nurse gave Zhao Jue a treasure-like introduction, "Qian Yu has severe paranoia, but we recently found out that his brain might have some kind of lesion, thus affecting his judgement. Although he paints non-realistic images, he paints what he sees!"

"Sees?" Zhan Zhao asked, "There are no people in his images, meaning that he can't see the person in the corner?"

"He can't see them, but he can feel them!" The nurse said, "So he's in a constant state of fear. When he walks in a certain way, he'll suddenly see them again, and then he'll be startled!"

This nurse's description reminded Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang of the video they had seen earlier, of Qian Yu being frightened on the road.

At the same time, the crowd didn't quite appreciate the nurse's tone. Patients like Qian Yu with this condition should be in considerable pain, but when the nurse mentioned Qian Yu being frightened, instead of showing sympathy, he even seemed somewhat jubilant, which made everyone feel rather repulsed.

"That means that his illness is due to a dysfunction in his brain or a problem with his eyes, what does it have to do with psychology?" Zhao Jue asked the two nurses, "Is there any evidence to prove that these abnormal reactions of his are caused by psychology?"

"Erm..." The nurse spread his hands and said that he was just listening to the doctors.

Zhao Jue stroked his chin as Zhan Zhao asked, "Qian Yu has a record of seeing a psychiatrist before, do you know who that doctor is?"

The nurse froze and looked back at the other nurse.

The other nurse changed the subject and asked the crowd – Have you finished looking? They were getting off work.

The crowd frowned, it was so obvious that they were trying to muddle through...

Zhao Jue hooked his finger at the nurse beside him, meaning – come.

That nurse really came over.

Zhao Jue whispered a few words in his ear.

When Zhao Hu saw it, he tugged on Xiao Ma's clothes to the side – It's over, it's over!

Bai Yutang frowned at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao blinked as if he didn't understand.

Bai Yutang shot him a look – Bao Sir said that you and Zhao Jue aren't allowed to use hypnosis indiscriminately.

Zhan Zhao spread his hands – He is a consultant.

Bai Yutang was helpless.

It wasn't clear what Zhao Jue said to the nurse. Manager Zhu probed at the side but couldn't hear it.

After saying that, the nurse didn't change much, he just thought about it and started to say, "Oh, he was introduced to us by Mark Fan."

At this nurse's words, the other nurse and Manager Zhu were both startled.

That nurse stared towards them, and his facial expression was quite obvious, as if he was chastising – Are you crazy? Stop talking!

Manager Zhu also had a tense face at first, but he immediately regained his composure after noticing Bai Yutang glancing at him.

But he had already revealed himself in that one moment just now, and it was too late to cover up the past.

Meanwhile, the nurse who had heard Zhao Jue's whisper continued, "Qian Yu is the most important research subject here. Originally, Qian Yu only had a mild condition, but investigators had been eyeing him for a long time, trying every means to bring him in. Later, Manager Zhu came up with an idea to send someone in disguise to frighten Qian Yu, causing him to become mentally unstable, and then arranging for someone to stage an accident and subsequently bribing a lawyer. This way, the only way for Qian Yu to avoid prison was to come to this research institution for treatment. Many patients here have entered under similar circumstances. And Qian Yu's previous attending physician, Mark Fan, although he runs a private clinic, is actually a consultant funded by the institution, specifically tasked with identifying suitable experimental subjects. Manager Zhu appears to only be responsible for management, but in reality, he is one of the investors in this institution, owning nearly a third of the shares. He also has stakes in the pharmaceutical company's business."

This nurse narrated it all in a single burst.

The other nurse lowered his head in silence, holding his forehead, while Manager Zhu's facial expression was unusually vivid, with sweat streaming down his forehead, distorting his face.

But the nurse's "confession" wasn't over yet. "Qian Yu's drawings were all taken by the team. Although those drawings weren't aesthetically pleasing, they had a certain psychological suggestive effect. Many people who saw those drawings ended up in trouble..."

"You... you," Manager Zhu pointed at Zhao Jue, his fingers shaking, "What did you do to him... you..."

Zhao Jue turned back to look at him and shrugged, "What can I do, it's not like I understand psychology."

Zhan Zhao looked at the sky and muttered, "Show off."

Zhao Hu tugged on Ma Han's sleeve and hid straight behind Bai Yutang – Good grief, scared the hell out of me, it's almost like the whispers of the devil!

Ma Han shook his head as he looked at him – Weren't you having fun messing around with him before? Now you know you're scared?

Zhao Jue smiled slightly, reached out, patted Manager Zhu's shoulder and whispered in his ear as well.

After listening, Manager Zhu immediately nodded with a righteous expression and admitted, "Yes, what he said is true. I did provide 'samples' to the research team through illegal means and made quite a bit of money. But then things went awry. The team studying amnesia lost a very dangerous patient, and we couldn't find them even if we tried. Plus, one nurse who knew about it ran away. The research funding was already cut off, and in the end, we had to pretend to disband the amnesia team. Luckily, we got Qian Yu as a sample later on, so we had to keep him here at all costs, even if it meant squeezing the last drop of blood out of him..."

"Fuck." Zhao Hu couldn't help but curse.

Zhan Zhao reached out, took out the cell phone hidden in his pant pocket and handed it to Bai Yutang. The recording software was on, and the whole thing was recorded.

Bai Yutang contacted the police station and briefed them on the situation here. They dispatched officers to come over, bringing all relevant individuals back for investigation. Additionally, they ensured the safe transfer of the patients here to reputable mental health facilities for treatment.

And at this moment, the one who was most shocked was the remaining nurse.

That young man looked with a shocked face at his two colleagues who, after hearing Zhao Jue's whispers, started to surrender and confess for leniency.

"What's going on?" He looked at Zhao Jue in horror, "What did you do? Who are you?"

Zhao Jue smiled faintly, raised his hand, and gently shushed him.

The nurse suddenly seemed to have a breakdown and was about to rush out of the room, screaming and shouting.

Ma Han and Zhao Hu stopped the frantic nurse.

Bai Yutang asked Zhao Jue in confusion – What did you do to him?

Zhao Jue looked at the nurse with a puzzled expression and shook his head, "Nothing, I just posed, he added drama on his own."

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao was also speechless, "He's just scared out of his mind."

Zhao Jue blinked – I've said it's not my fault, I'm just a consultant who doesn't understand psychology!

Zhan Zhao looked at him – Are you still holding a grudge?!

After getting that nurse under control, a large number of police cars soon arrived outside the hospital.

Zhan Zhao was still looking at the surveillance screens.

Other people in the hospital did not know that in just a few minutes, the secrets of the entire hospital had all been revealed to SCI by two of their colleagues.

Bao Zheng personally led the way.

Bai Yutang had Luo Tian and Qin Ou go to Qian Yu's ward first, while he himself took Zhao Hu and Ma Han and rushed to the office building next door.

Bai Yutang was still more concerned about that office and made sure to check it out.

Jiang Ping's surveillance car also drove up. He easily connected to the electrical equipment of the entire institute, and in an instant, opened the locked door of the office building.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue were still in the surveillance room.

When Luo Tian and Qin Ou arrived at Qian Yu's ward, they indeed grabbed a person from the corner of the room, and that person was wearing a light blue hospital gown.

This was a bit beyond Zhan Zhao's expectations. He originally thought that there should be a doctor or a nurse in the corner, he didn't expect it to be a patient. And wearing light blue clothes – cognitive impairment

Zhan Zhao asked the nurse and Manager Zhu, who were still in a "nothing to hide" state, "What is the main focus of the team dealing with cognitive impairments?"

"Their research is all part of a series," Manager Zhu said. "Cognitive impairments are just a cover. They focus on individuals with perceptual deviations. For specific research content, you'll have to ask those doctors."

"Is there a directory of all the staff?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"There is, it's in the safe in the office building."

......

Meanwhile, Bai Yutang brought Ma Han Zhao Hu to the office building.

Since the third floor didn't have an elevator, the three of them took the stairs and ran to that office.

Just before they ran to the top floor, Zhao Hu asked, "What's that smell?"

Ma Han said, "The smell of smoke! Someone is burning something!"

Bai Yutang, who was at the front, rushed up to the third floor in three steps and saw that there was no smoke coming out of the offices at either end of the corridor.

"Chief!" Zhao Hu pointed to the corner on one side.

Bai Yutang went over to take a look and saw that there was another flight of stairs here that led to the roof. The iron door of the roof was ajar, and that smell was coming from outside.

Bai Yutang pointed Ma Han to the fire cabinet not far away and ran up with Zhao Hu.

When they opened the iron door, they saw a tar barrel sitting in the middle of the roof, and a man was throwing documents into the flaming barrel.

Zhao Hu hurriedly rushed over and pulled the man away, while Bai Yutang caught the documents that the man had thrown at the oil drum before being yanked away.

At the same time, Ma Han came up with a fire extinguisher.

The fire extinguisher sprayed fiercely against the oil drum, and the fire was quickly extinguished.

Bai Yutang kicked over the oil drum, and he and Ma Han rescued all the documents that hadn't been burnt yet.

As they were grabbing the documents, Bai Yutang suddenly turned his head to look in the direction of the door.

Ma Han and Zhao Hu also froze and when they turned back, they heard what sounded like footsteps running away.

Bai Yutang immediately chased after them.

‿︵‿︵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: March 28, 2024 by Angel

Edited: August 20, 2024 by Angel