S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 107

Screen Murderer 03 – New Task

---

Bai Yutang was handed a document by Bao Sir, who said it was a new assignment.

Bai Yutang opened it and looked at it, puzzled. "School violence?"

Zhan Zhao also leaned over to look. "Not a homicide?"

Bai Yutang glanced at Bao Sir with some difficulty.

Bao Sir glared back at him. "What's wrong? Not satisfied?"

Bai Yutang pointed to the document. "Isn't this Lu Fang's job?"

"Lu Fang isn't as popular as you lot." Bao Sir replied with a smirk. "You SCI guys have become internet sensations, aren't you popular with the youngsters?"

Bai Yutang felt a bit disdainful. Zhan Zhao took the folder and flipped through it, looking quite surprised. "So many school violence incidents in a year?"

"So, we need to nip crime in the bud!" Bao Sir said, "The school wants to organize some anti-school violence activities and hopes we can help. You guys are the most idle in the entire police department."

With that statement from Bao Sir, the SCI team felt greatly disheartened – Where is this idleness?

"In any case, school violence poses a huge threat. I want you all to handle it well, especially you!" Bao Sir said, pointing at Zhan Zhao, "The students who have bullied have legal punishments, but those who are bullied need experts like you for psychological counselling! Some of these bullied students are afraid to even leave their homes to go to school. I want you to visit their homes!"

Bao Sir gestured towards everyone, "This is about giving back to society, and fulfilling your duties as adults!"

With that said, the director reached for a pastry and left while eating.

Everyone squinted as they watched him leave – He clearly had his own, yet he's taking from ours... hmph!

With that thought, they all reached out and divided up the remaining pastries on the table.

...

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao carefully analysed the documents. The tasks Bao Sir gave them mainly consisted of two parts: one was about giving safety lectures, and teaching students how to seek help when being bullied; the other was to provide psychological counselling to some of the students who had been bullied.

Bai Yutang assigned the first task to Zhao Hu and Ma Han. Their dynamic duo act, akin to stand-up comedy, might be more easily accepted by students. He also assigned Bai Chi to assist them in drafting the script.

He and Zhan Zhao were responsible for the second task, visiting the homes of students with more severe psychological issues to provide counselling.

With everything arranged, they all went their separate ways to carry out their tasks.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao couldn't just go directly to the students' homes themselves. They needed to go to the school first and meet with a relevant staff member responsible for such matters before conducting the home visits.

Bai Yutang expressed some frustration, "Aren't we supposed to be investigating serial killers? How did we end up doing home visits?"

"It indicates that the recent spree of serial killings has somewhat subsided, and there are fewer bad guys." Zhan Zhao flipped through the documents, saying, "Modern technological advancements have led to more and more auxiliary means for criminal investigation. The systematic study of criminal investigation has also become more sophisticated, making it increasingly difficult for criminals. But the problem is, while major crimes are decreasing, minor offences are on the rise..."

As he spoke, he tapped the folder in his hand. "Look at this! Organized crime at just over ten years old! Threats, violence, defamation, extortion, you name it. Where did they learn all this? Even spending time playing games would be better than bullying others."

Bai Yutang drove to the school first to pick up the teacher while listening to Zhan Zhao's rambling complaints about social issues from the passenger seat.

As they approached the school, looking for a place to park, Zhan Zhao suddenly exclaimed, "Huh."

Bai Yutang stopped the car and looked at him, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"Just now, Zhao Hu mentioned a case where two girls went to the movies and one got hit by a car." Zhan Zhao pulled out a case file from the folder, "This case feels somewhat similar. I wonder if it's the same incident."

"Wasn't that one just a scare from watching a movie? Would that count as school violence?" Bai Yutang asked, confused.

"Hmm..." Zhan Zhao was also puzzled.

As they got out of the car and walked out of the parking lot towards the school, they noticed a group of students surrounding a car not far away.

The students, presumably all high schoolers, some carrying backpacks, some holding water bottles, and others with their phones out, were gathered around the front of a car.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a glance and approached. Upon closer inspection, they found the scene quite peculiar.

Several students were tapping on the hood of the car, while from inside the car came the mewing sounds of a kitten.

Not far away, in the nearby bushes, there was also a larger cat, facing towards them and emitting a low growling sound.

"What are you all doing?" Bai Yutang asked, perplexed.

The students turned around upon seeing the adults and began explaining in a flurry of voices.

"Uncle, a kitten got stuck in the hood of this car!"

"The mother cat can't rescue the kitten!"

Zhan Zhao looked puzzled. "Why would a kitten climb into the hood of a car?"

The students explained that they had just seen the mother cat carrying the kitten and crawling under the car. Later, when they came over to check, they found that the mother cat had run away, and the kitten seemed to have crawled into the hood of the car and couldn't get out.

A few students were calling out to the larger cat in the distance, saying, "Don't worry! We'll help you get the kitten out."

"Uncle! Can you call the owner of the car?"

"Yeah, we can get the kitten out by opening the hood of the car!"

Bai Yutang looked at the group of students and gestured to them, "Come."

The students looked puzzled.

Bai Yutang pointed towards a spot about ten meters away. "Go stand over there."

Although the group of students didn't understand, they still followed Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang to the designated spot.

Bai Yutang motioned for them to "Cover your mouths and don't make any noise."

The students looked at each other and complied, staying silent.

After waiting for a while, they saw the large cat sneakily emerge from the bushes.

"Ah..."

Just as a student was about to shout, Bai Yutang signalled to them – Shush!

They watched as the large cat cautiously crawled under the car.

After waiting for a while, the kitten emerged from under the car's chassis, and the big cat picked it up. They swiftly darted into the bushes and disappeared from sight.

The students looked at each other and then turned their gaze towards Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang pointed at the car. "The big cat was carrying the kitten across the road. When it saw all of you, it got anxious and made the kitten hide in the gap under the car chassis. In other words, the big cat and the kitten were actually trying to avoid you."

"Huh?!"

The students all exclaimed, "We didn't mean any harm..."

Bai Yutang gestured for them to quiet down. "Wild animals don't feel your affection and don't enjoy being observed by you. To them, you're all potential threats. So, the best way to treat them is to not disturb them. Also, remember, a mother cat with a kitten can be aggressive, and approaching them could lead to an attack. Understand?"

"Oh... we understood."

The students waved goodbye and walked away.

Zhan Zhao smiled and waved back at them.

As they walked away, the students whispered to each other.

"Ai, that guy in the white clothes is so handsome but looks so fierce!"

"That's right!  So intimidating!"

"The one in the blue shirt next to him seems nicer."

"Yeah!"

...

Zhan Zhao suppressed a smile as he glanced at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang shook his head, somewhat speechlessly.

"It shows that empathy education is being done well." Zhan Zhao continued walking towards the school with Bai Yutang, "The intention is good, but there's a lack of common sense. Wild animals in the city maintain a high level of vigilance and distrust towards their surroundings. On the other hand, city children have been living under the protection of their parents and enjoying relatively high-quality services, leading to lower levels of vigilance. This situation creates contradictions, simply put as 'I'm doing this for your good, but you think I'm trying to harm you'. Different living environments lead to different modes of thinking, which in turn result in conflicts. Many conflicts arise from misunderstandings, and once conflicts escalate, they can lead to violence and opposition, ultimately breeding hatred..."

From the parking lot to the school gate, it's just a short ten-minute walk. Zhan Zhao rambled on from psychology to sociology and then to humanities, and Bai Yutang was starting to feel a bit drowsy.

Bai Yutang shook his head speechlessly, inwardly murmuring – Wasn't it just because these students hadn't raised cats before?... How could a cat go into a hole and not come out? They're just scared and won't come out, not like Luban, who's so fat he'd get stuck.

Zhan Zhao glanced at him, "Were you just mocking Luban?"

......

When they reached the school gate, a bespectacled, genteel auntie was already waiting for them.

After introducing themselves, this auntie named Chen Mei, who was in charge of psychological counselling and also had a degree in psychology herself, seemed quite excited to see Zhan Zhao – her idol!

After exchanging pleasantries, Auntie Chen got straight to the point, saying that she had initiated this with the school. Originally, the school was just going to invite the police to give a lecture, but when she contacted Lu Fang, she said she wanted to ask SCI for help. After Lu Fang consulted Bao Sir, he agreed, which she found quite surprising.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao exchanged a glance, both a bit puzzled – Was this teacher specifically requesting this?

The two followed Auntie Chen to her office together.

On the way, Auntie Chen briefed them, "We are a key middle school, and students' academic workload is already tight. Frankly speaking, they don't have much time for bullying or anything like that, they're too busy studying."

However, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were puzzled. "But according to the records, your school has had several incidents that resulted in serious injuries, all of them violent incidents."

"Ai," Auntie Chen sighed, "but all these incidents happened in the past six months."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both asked, "Were there none before?"

Auntie Chen shook her head, "At most, there were occasional student quarrels, but this time, it feels like a sudden series of events, which is very strange."

Zhan Zhao showed Auntie Chen the document he had just taken out, which was similar to what Zhao Hu had mentioned about the movie ghost incident, and asked, "Is this girl the victim of that recent infamous movie ghost incident?"

"Yes!" Auntie Chen looked surprised. "You know about that?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a glance – This was quite a coincidence, they had just learned about it.

"These few students who were victims have been greatly psychologically affected so far. None of them dare to come to school, and they even refuse to leave their bedrooms." Auntie Chen said with some excitement. "They have all suffered various degrees of physical injuries – falling down stairs, being hit by a car, or simply tripping. But when asked who bullied them, they refuse to say, claiming that 'speaking out will lead to retaliation'. Their parents are bound to think they're being bullied at school! But I've asked many of their classmates, and none of them noticed anyone targeting them. From my investigation so far, the only common factor among these students is that they all watched that movie, and the incidents occurred right after they watched it!"

Bai Yutang frowned. "All because of that movie?"

Zhan Zhao, curious, asked, "Auntie Chen, have you watched that movie?"

After a moment of hesitation, Auntie Chen stomped her foot. "I dare not watch it!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were both taken aback, unsure how to proceed.

Auntie Chen's face turned red. "I... I've always been afraid of horror movies since I was a child!"

With that, Auntie Chen opened her office drawer and took out a Blu-ray disc, handing it to Zhan Zhao. "I bought it! There must be something wrong with this film! You must watch it!"

Bai Yutang shook his head helplessly, while Zhan Zhao fully agreed with Auntie Chen's approach, nodding in approval. "It's important to know oneself. If you're afraid, never watch it. That's the right choice. Leave ghost-catching and whatnot to the professionals!"

With that said, Zhan Zhao took out his phone and dialled the number of ‘Long Hair Spirit’. "Hello? Wanna watch a movie? A scary one!"

Bai Yutang sighed, rubbing his forehead. This was getting out of hand... They were supposed to deal with school violence, but now it had turned into ghost hunting.

—————

Author's Note:

The stories of the older generation cannot be covered in just a few words. If I were to create a separate series, it would overlap a lot with SCI, so I’ve decided to arrange things as follows:

SCI stories have always had titles like "The XXX Murderer" as stand-alone volumes. In the future, I will introduce titles like "The XXX Files" as stand-alone volumes as well.

The "Files" series will focus on investigating old cases left behind by the organisation. SCI will collaborate with Zhao Jue’s studio to investigate these, with the older generation taking a more prominent role. There will be a lot of content about the past, and this will allow me to explain it more clearly.

The "Murderer" series, on the other hand, will be SCI investigating new cases.

The "Files" and "Murderer" series will alternate with each other. The stories will still be serialised as the sixth, seventh books, and so on.

As for the various CPs, they will appear in side stories, as there isn’t enough content to make a standalone book, and much of it would also overlap with SCI.

I’m still working on how to write the school arc, but I will try to incorporate it into the series as a stand-alone volume as well.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter

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: April 4, 2024 by Angel

Edited: April 5, 2024 by Angel