S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 120

Screen Murderer 16 – Cell Phone

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A bang came from Zhao Jue's side of the call and then the call disconnected. Zhan Zhao was anxious, he tried calling again, but no one answered.

Bai Yutang started the car and rushed to the villa while urging Zhan Zhao to call Bai Ye.

Bai Ye's phone did ring, but no one picked up.

Zhan Zhao then tried calling Eleven, but still got no response.

Zhan Zhao was so anxious that he smashed his phone. "Is this some kind of mistake? Can Tang Xing alone take down all three of them? What kind of superman is he?"

Bai Yutang, on the other hand, wasn't as worried. He didn't believe there was anyone in the world who could take down all three of them at once. No one answered their phones... there must be some other reason.

The villa where Zhao Jue lived wasn't far from the SCI office, and they arrived in five minutes.

Zhan Zhao jumped out of the car before it had even stopped. Bai Yutang barely missed grabbing him, then hurriedly stopped the car before rushing after him.

But there was no scene of bloodshed in the villa. Zhao Jue, Bai Ye and Eleven were not only standing, but standing side by side in the living room, looking up at the ceiling lights.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang rushed into the living room and saw Tang Xing crouching on the sofa, holding his head. He had two big bumps on his head, and he seemed a bit dazed and confused.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked up in the direction the three were staring in... and saw two cell phones half out of the ceiling light fixture.

Underneath the light fixture, Zhao Jue and Eleven were in the midst of an argument.

"I already told you not to use this kind of light! It's prone to gathering dust and things easily fall into it!"

"If only you weren't so clumsy with your hands!"

"Bai Ye threw it like this too, does that mean his skills are bad too?"

"Ahem."

Bai Yutang coughed softly.

Both Eleven and Zhao Jue turned to look.

Both sides stared at each other for a while.

Eleven pointed upward at the light fixture, while Zhao Jue took out his phone and aimed it at Zhan Zhao. Together, they shouted, "Compensation!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both glanced at Zhao Jue's phone – The screen was shattered, and there was a thin metal shard wedged inside.

The two exchanged a glance, then turned to look at Tang Xing, who had clearly been subjected to some form of "violence" – What happened?

Rewind to a few moments ago.

Tang Xing discreetly raised the specially crafted lighter-shaped "gun" and aimed it at Zhao Jue. In the split second before pulling the trigger, Eleven suddenly spun around, hurling his phone at Tang Xing's head.

Almost simultaneously, Bai Ye's phone flew in through the window, striking Tang Xing alongside Eleven's.

Tang Xing's hand wavered as he pulled the trigger.

Simultaneously, Zhao Jue's phone took a direct hit, right on target.

Meanwhile, Bai Ye's and Eleven's phones, which struck Tang Xing, flew up at the same time and landed on a large chandelier above.

Now, this chandelier was specially customised by Zhao Jue, it was quite large and could be raised and lowered. During the renovation, it had been subject to various criticisms. In Zhan Zhao's words, it hung in mid-air like a door panel.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao finally understood why no one in the family was answering their phones... everyone was fine, but the phones were all busted.

"Ai..."

Seeing that Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang came, Zhao Jue sat down at the table, shaking his head and sighing, "Some people, just casually bring such dangerous characters into other people's homes without even bothering to check their backgrounds! It's only because I'm lucky that nothing worse happened... Just thinking about it gives me the shivers. And those so-called 'future stars' in psychology, some can't even judge a person properly, I wonder if it's intentional... Hmph!"

Zhan Zhao's face turned red with embarrassment, and he glared at Bai Yutang - An utter disgrace!

Bai Yutang nodded in agreement – A stain on my life!

"Ai," Eleven mimicked Zhao Jue's tone sarcastically, "some people, they're already out of a job with no income, and their brand-new phone breaks before they even get to watch a livestream..."

Zhao Jue immediately chimed in, "Livestream, that's right! I wonder if Anna has arrived, or if Wang Meiyun has started her press conference!"

Zhan Zhao glared at the two of them. "Is compensating you with two new phones enough?!"

The two immediately began listing their conditions.

"We want the latest model!"

"With 5G dual SIM!"

"Top-of-the-line with 512GB!"

"Foldable screen!"

"And throw in a new plan."

"And it has to be Apple!"

Compared to the two who were haggling, Bai Ye was more straightforward. He went to fetch a ladder, climbed up, and retrieved both phones from the chandelier.

He tossed one to Eleven and examined his own. After confirming that the screen was shattered, he gestured to Zhan Zhao. "I want a white one."

Zhan Zhao, annoyed, muttered, "Can't you put on a screen protector and a case?!"

After some consideration, the three agreed that it was a good suggestion. "We want screen protectors and cases. The screen protector should be anti-blue light, and the case should be crystal."

Zhan Zhao was furious. "You three know quite a lot for old folks!"

Hearing the term "old folks", the three immediately protested, "Throw in three charging docks! And new headphones, with noise cancellation!"

Zhan Zhao took a deep breath and turned to leave.

Bai Yutang asked him, "Where are you going?"

Zhan Zhao glanced back. "Where else? To the phone store!"

Zhao Jue and the others immediately followed him out, suggesting, "Why not pick up two tablets while you're at it?"

Zhan Zhao declined. "You lot are only worth three phones! That's it!"

"Stingy!"

Bai Yutang shook his head and went to haul up Tang Xing, leading him back to the police station.

......

In the SCI office, everyone was quite worried. They never imagined Tang Xing was capable of such cunning. Hopefully, nothing serious would happen.

After a while, they saw Bai Yutang return with Tang Xing alone. Everyone was curious. "Where are Dr. Zhan and the others?"

Bai Yutang handed Tang Xing over to Luo Tian and said, "They went to buy phones."

Everyone was even more puzzled. "Buy phones?"

Bai Yutang produced two evidence bags. One contained Zhao Jue's phone with the metal shard stuck in it, and the other contained the lighter.

Qin Ou and Gongsun gathered around to examine the evidence.

Gongsun picked up the metal shard and inspected it, rubbing his chin. "It matches the diameter of the wound, it should be a circular wound caused by high-speed rotation."

Qin Ou examined the lighter. "Oh, it's similar to a miniature launcher, quite finely crafted."

Bai Yutang also found a pack of cigarettes in Tang Xing's pocket. Opening the pack, he found that the cigarettes were stained red, and there was also a blood-stained plastic film tucked inside. Within it was a small launching device, resembling the structure of the lighter but smaller. It likely fired a metal shard, slightly shorter than the one lodged in Zhao Jue's phone, which was presumably the murder weapon used to kill Jin He.

With this evidence, they could confirm that their speculations about Jin He's murder process from the previous day were correct.

When Jin He dashed out of the woods, he wasn't dead; at that moment, he was still planning to play dead and scare everyone.

However, the props triggered a deadly mechanism. At the moment when Tang Xing pretended to be scared and jumped up from his chair, everyone was momentarily distracted...

That was when someone triggered the mechanism, and Jin He was killed.

Tang Xing pretended to touch the body and took away the blood pouch containing the mechanism. It was probably hidden in his pocket at the time, and later, he discreetly placed those items into the cigarette box. He was wearing a raincoat at the time, making it less likely for his actions to be noticed. Plus, since Tang Xing wasn't a suspect but only returned to cooperate with the inquiry, the authorities wouldn't search his belongings.

However, to accomplish all of this, he would have needed at least one or two accomplices to replace the surveillance video in the control room and retrieve the iron shard that pierced Jin He's chest.

There were a lot of people at the scene where Jin He was killed. Due to the deception of the pierced bench, the police searched for the "bullet" in the flowerbed. However, the actual murder scene wasn't in the flowerbed but outside it. With three film crews nearby, it was quite easy for someone to hide or pick up such a metal shard.

Finding the person who took away the metal shard might be challenging, but locating the individual who swapped the surveillance videos shouldn't be difficult, as it would require access to the control room.

Jiang Ping briefed the twins, and they went to investigate the issue with the surveillance room.

Shortly after, the twins reported back that two maintenance personnel from the surveillance system company had come to inspect the system that afternoon. However, when they called the company, they denied sending anyone for maintenance.

Jiang Ping speculated that they might have tampered with the system at that time, setting up remote control.

The twins also sent a video clip showing two individuals carrying toolboxes, wearing caps and uniforms entering the surveillance room.

Everyone frowned – These people seemed to have a similar demeanour to the group that went to Wang Meiyun's house to "steal paintings"...

"It seems that Qian Yu and his people have a team working for them."

Everyone felt that this team of individuals might be larger than they had imagined.

"What about the flower shop owner?" Ma Han asked.

Zhao Hu picked up the lighter. "He was likely killed with a similar weapon. No bullets, just a piece of metal, which was also taken by someone."

"If the surveillance didn't capture it, is it for the same reason? With so many people at the scene, no one noticed?" 

"That loud noise!" Bai Yutang suddenly interjected. "The principle is the same as when Tang Xing was scared and jumped up! That noise wasn't caused by the weapon, but intentionally created to divert nearby people's attention, providing cover for the murderer."

Everyone found the possibility quite high, but why would they go through the trouble of killing a flower shop owner? What connection did this Boss Wang have to the current case?

Bai Yutang instructed Jiang Ping to look into the background of the flower shop owner.

The police had previously investigated Boss Wang's background, finding nothing remarkable about him. It was puzzling why such an ordinary flower shop owner would attract the attention of someone willing to resort to murder.

Bai Yutang looked at some photos that the criminal investigation team had taken at the flower shop.

After examining them for a while, he became interested in several large maple bonsai trees in the flower shop – they seemed familiar.

Bai Yutang asked Jiang Ping to find some photos from inside the Dong Group building.

Jiang Ping searched and found many promotional photos.

Bai Yutang pointed to a photo of the corridor in the Dong Group conference room, placing the flower shop interior photo next to it on the computer screen. After comparing the two... they immediately found a common point.

"It's the same maple bonsai trees!" Jiang Ping also noticed. "And the flower pots are the same too."

Bai Yutang nodded. They had been to the Dong Group before, and indeed, there were maple bonsai trees like those in the corridor and lobby.

"Did they all come from Boss Wang's flower shop?" Jiang Ping asked.

"These bonsai trees need regular pruning and maintenance." Qin Ou commented, as he himself enjoyed gardening.

"Could it be that Lao Wang overheard or saw something  he shouldn't have while pruning the bonsai trees, and that's why he was silenced?" Zhao Hu asked. "Typically, in office buildings like this, gardeners and cleaners work before or after the employees' working hours."

Everyone nodded in agreement – It made sense.

Ma Han glanced at Zhao Hu. "What's gotten into you lately? Have you been eating fruit of wisdom?"

Zhao Hu grinned and patted his chest. "I feel like I've become a bit smarter lately!"

Bai Yutang wanted to visit the flower and bird market, he was checking his watch and wondering when Zhan Zhao would return when suddenly, the elevator door chimed open, and Zhan Zhao entered with Zhao Jue, Eleven and Bai Ye, carrying bags of various sizes.

Bai Yutang looked at the pile of shopping bags on the table, puzzled. He glanced at Zhan Zhao – Weren't they supposed to buy phones? Why did they come back with so many miscellaneous items?

Zhan Zhao looked somewhat disgruntled – He had been coerced into buying things!

Zhao Jue and the others gathered around to examine the newly purchased phones, each holding the latest model. They also bought tablets and laptops, and reportedly coerced Zhan Zhao into buying a new dishwasher.

Everyone was speechless – So they went shopping for appliances.

Bai Chi also seemed interested in the new phones and leaned over to take a look.

Zhan Zhao rummaged through the shopping bags, took out a new tablet, and walked over to Mia, handing it to her.

Mia was helping Jiang Ping redesign the New World game, which was said to be a massive engineering task. Since Jiang Ping was also investigating the case, they entrusted everything to Mia.

Mia took the tablet, her eyes widening as she looked at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao gestured to her, indicating – it was a gift!

Mia's eyes sparkled with delight as she hugged Zhan Zhao and then bounced off happily, clutching the new tablet and messaging Kalin.

Jiang Ping widened his eyes as he looked at Zhan Zhao – I want a gift too!

Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao curiously – Cat, how much did you spend?

Zhan Zhao sighed – Don't mention it...

Glancing at Zhao Jue and the others still lively and jumping around, Zhan Zhao shook his head – Forget it, as long as everyone's okay.

At that moment, Zhao Jue and the others were quietly discussing.

"Just say that kid has issues!"

"Yeah, he couldn't even pretend to sleep properly!"

"Keeping him around does have its benefits."

"A path to riches!"

"The key to wealth!"

Bai Yutang couldn't help but chuckle – They had already figured it out, they were just waiting to exploit that cat.

Looking back at Zhan Zhao, he saw him silently reach for a pillow on the sofa, take aim... and fiercely throw it at 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: April 12, 2024 by Angel

Edited: September 26, 2024 by Angel