S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 110

Screen Murderer 06 – Will

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Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang returned to the police station together with Chen Jiayi.

Upon entering the office, Jiayi couldn't find Ma Han and immediately looked displeased.

Bai Yutang, puzzled, asked Zhao Hu, who had wandered in from outside the door, "Where's your partner?"

"Borrowed by the criminal investigation team."

Zhan Zhao wondered, "Why would the criminal investigation team borrow Ma Han?"

"They're investigating a murder case." Zhao Hu said. "They can't determine the shooting location, so they asked Xiao Ma Ge for help."

Chen Jiayi asked, "Will it take long?"

Bai Chi made her a cup of milk tea. "He said it'll be quick, he’ll be back in an hour at most."

Jiayi took the milk tea and went to the adjacent forensic room to find Ma Xin.

Zhan Zhao gave the movie disc given to him by Auntie Chen to Jiang Ping for analysis.

Jiang Ping carefully examined it and found nothing unusual in the footage, especially in the second half of the movie. He scrutinised each frame but didn't find anything unrelated to the film.

Zhan Zhao picked up the master disc of the movie that Qin Ou placed on the desk, "Seems like it's on the master disc."

Zhan Zhao called the twins, and they said they would bring it directly to the Bai Group's screening room in a while.

Zhao Hu was currently reading the draft on preventing school violence written by Bai Chi.

Hu Zi felt uncomfortable all over and complained to Bai Yutang, "Captain, why are we just idling around while the criminal investigation team is working on a murder case?"

Xiao Bai Chi nodded in agreement, expressing dissatisfaction. If this continues, he'll end up being a professional milk tea maker!

Bai Yutang felt helpless, saying there was nothing he could do if there were no serial killers around.

Zhao Hu grumbled that it was boring. He wished he had gone with Xiao Ma Ge to play with the criminal police earlier.

Bai Yutang asked him, "What case is the criminal investigation team handling?"

"It's quite strange." Zhao Hu said, getting more spirited as he talked about the case, "A married couple, both around thirty years old, the husband Wang and wife Liu. They run a flower shop in the flower and bird market. Don't those shops in the flower and bird market have two doors, front and back? Their shop sells flowers and bonsai trees. In the middle, there's a shared space turned into a small office with tables, chairs, and some miscellaneous items. They do bookkeeping and eat meals there."

Zhan Zhao also came over and listened with Bai Yutang.

"The incident happened yesterday afternoon. There was a loud bang in the flower and bird market, followed by a scream from Liu. When people went in to check, they found Wang sitting in a chair with a bullet wound in his neck."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang listened with some confusion, "Does Wang have any special background?"

"No, just an ordinary flower shop owner," Zhao Hu said, gesturing to indicate he hadn't finished yet. "The strange thing is, Wang had two holes in his neck, pierced diagonally. This angle could have been from shooting from the front door, the back door, or inside the shop. And you know what? The forensics team turned the whole flower shop upside down, even sifted through the soil for planting flowers, but they couldn't find the bullet!"

"Oh?" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang's interest was clearly piqued.

"Also, there are a lot of people in the flower and bird market these days, especially with many flowers blooming this season like begonias and azaleas, there were buyers everywhere. If someone had shot from outside, someone would have seen it. However, at the time of the incident, Liu was greeting customers in the shop, just two or three metres away from Wang, but no one knew what had happened. They just heard a loud noise, and many thought a balloon had burst or something. Wang didn't even make a sound, just sat there motionless. It was only when Liu went to the desk to get the computer that she realised her husband had stopped breathing."

Zhao Hu recounted the bizarre murder case, "Now, over at the criminal investigation team, they can't find the bullet, which means they can't determine the murder weapon. That's why they've asked Xiao Ma Ge to help out."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both found the case quite intriguing.

As they were discussing, the elevator doors opened, and Zhan Qitian arrived.

Zhan Zhao looked at his father.

Father Zhan came in and handed several documents to Bai Yutang, saying, "We can't prosecute Wang Meiyun, there's no evidence."

Although Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were prepared for this, they still felt somewhat disappointed.

"Su Li, Li Sunxi and Li Linlin were all convicted. Qian Fu's lawyer argued that Qian Fu has the same hereditary mental illness as Qian Yu, a very mild form, and easily collapses under stress. So Qian Fu apologised, was fined and detained for a few days, and that's all there is to it." Zhan Qitian frowned. "As for Qian Yu..."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang understood that Qian Yu would likely not be convicted either.

"Not only will he not be convicted, but he'll also receive a huge compensation." Zhan Qitian spread his hands, indicating – it was all for nought, and the tiger was allowed to return to the mountain.

"So, are the few of them going to be released?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Zhan Qitian nodded, then asked Zhan Zhao, "What did you tell Zhao Jue about watching a movie?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Qitian in surprise – How did you know? Were you just with Zhao Jue?

Zhan Zhao was displeased, muttering under his breath that he felt neglected because they didn't involve him in reviewing past cases.

However, Zhan Qitian continued, "Was it the film featuring Wang Meiyun and Tang Xing?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both looked up at him – How did he know everything?

Changing the subject, Zhan Qitian continued, "Dong Yuan is dead, isn't he?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both nodded.

"Dong Yuan's lawyer announced his will a few days ago."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were curious. "He made a will at such a young age? We didn't see it in the news."

"Because the family requested not to disclose the contents of the will temporarily. It's likely to be explosive news once it's made public." Zhan Qitian said, "Dong Yuan's family has been appealing, claiming there are issues with the will."

"What issues?" Everyone wondered.

"Dong Yuan left a small portion of his properties to his family," Zhan Qitian said, "but the most valuable company, he left it all to Wang Meiyun."

Zhan Qitian's words left the entire SCI team dumbfounded.

"What?" Bai Yutang found it unbelievable.

Zhan Qitian nodded. "In other words, it's not the Dong Group anymore, it's the Wang Group now."

Zhan Zhao frowned. "When was the will made... What's the relationship between Dong Yuan and Wang Meiyun?"

Zhan Qitian nodded again, "It's said that while Wang Meiyun was dating Qian Fu, she was also seeing Dong Yuan."

Everyone frowned.

Zhao Hu couldn't help but comment, "Oh my god, the entertainment circle is too chaotic."

Zhan Zhao asked, "Is there any evidence?"

"There are some photos of them together, they are indeed quite intimate." Zhan Qitian said, "But there's something worth noting: Dong Yuan made the will just three days before his death. However, the entire process of making the will was flawless, so even though it's strange, the family members probably won't win the case."

"How much of the assets will Wang Meiyun inherit?"

"It’s quite a sum, the Dong Group is also a sizable enterprise." Zhan Qitian shook his head. "The news will probably come out after Wang Meiyun leaves, maybe today or tomorrow."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both felt uneasy – Wasn't this tantamount to handing the company over to Qian Yu?

Thinking back to the movie Wang Meiyun starred in previously, the Dong Group was focused on the film industry, if she were to make more films, what would happen?!

This time, not only Bai Yutang, but the rest of the SCI team also had a foreboding feeling of an impending storm.

Zhan Qitian dropped the bombshell and left. Just before leaving, he handed Zhan Zhao two discount coupons for the dessert shop across the street, urging him to hurry and use them because the shop had received numerous complaints and was likely to close soon.

Zhan Zhao was elated, holding up the coupons and asking if anyone wanted to have fruit pancakes. Everyone pretended not to hear, lowering their heads.

As soon as Zhan Qitian left, Ma Han returned.

Before Zhan Zhao and the others could ask if the bullet had been found, Ma Han asked first, "There are so many reporters at the entrance of the detention centre next door. What happened?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang thought for a moment, then immediately took out their phones.

Jiang Ping, already at the computer, had opened social media, and sure enough... the explosive news had arrived.

The headlines were even more sensational, suggesting that Wang Meiyun's "fatal charm" not only drove a wealthy businessman to madness and suicide by jumping off a bridge but also led to her inheriting the entire estate of her deceased boss. Phrases like "from prisoner to female tycoon" and "the highest level of playing both sides" were rampant... the media was in a frenzy.

At the same time, footsteps were heard from next door, and Ma Xin and Jiayi exclaimed, "Big news!" as they rushed in.

Seeing that Ma Han had arrived, Jiayi immediately threw herself at her Xiao Ma.

Jiang Ping opened a live video, and everyone watched as Wang Meiyun was released from prison.

Wang Meiyun emerged from the detention centre looking radiant, no longer with the demeanour of a big star but that of a powerful woman.

A car was waiting for her at the detention centre's entrance. She waved to the crowd of reporters and got into the luxury car, which then drove away.

The person who came to pick her up was also familiar to everyone – Dong Yuan's assistant, Secretary Zhang.

Hu Zi shook his head continuously. "This guy wasn't loyal either. Are they all villains?"

"Not necessarily." Jiang Ping said, "He might just be doing his job, and Wang Meiyun is his new boss."

But for SCI, it wasn't entirely a bad thing.

Qian Yu and the others would cause trouble sooner or later after their release. While they operated in the shadows, SCI had been wondering how to keep an eye on them. This turn of events might be beneficial after all. They could focus directly on the Dong Group. With money and means, it was uncertain what Qian Yu and the others would do next.

Bai Yutang was still concerned about the flower and bird market case. He asked Ma Han, "Did you find the bullet?"

Ma Han shook his head. "No!"

"It still hasn't been found?" Zhan Zhao was also surprised.

Ma Han nodded. "I suspect it wasn't a bullet."

"Not a bullet?" Everyone was curious. "Then what pierced through the neck?"

"The environment wasn't suitable for shooting from front or back, it would have been seen by people, and the market is under full surveillance. There are no blind spots in front of or behind the store, and everything is captured on CCTV." Ma Han analysed. "Moreover, from the descriptions of nearby witnesses, they all said the sound was like a burst balloon or a tyre blowout, not like gunfire. So, once the forensic team checks the wound again, if it's not a bullet, it could be some kind of mechanism."

Zhan Zhao and the others were certainly interested, but this was the criminal investigation team’s case... They originally had nothing to do, but they probably would soon, especially since Qian Yu and Wang Meiyun were still at large.

......

In the blink of an eye, it was time to clock out. Everyone went to the cafeteria for dinner first, then they made plans with their families and headed to the Bai Group's screening room together to watch the mysterious midnight movie.

‿︵‿︵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: April 5, 2024 by Angel

Edited: April 10, 2024 by Angel