S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 135

Screen Murderer 31 – Surprise Attack

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Bao Sir's call interrupted the heated discussion among the group.

Bai Yutang answered, "Bao Sir..."

On the other end of the line, Bao Sir's voice sounded serious. "Something's happened."

Bai Yutang frowned, activating the speakerphone, while Zhan Zhao looked puzzled.

Bao Sir said, "Just now, Dong's side called to report that Wang Meiyun received a death threat in the mail. Then, gunshots were heard from the Dong Group’s building at night, and the upper floors couldn’t be contacted. The elevators are shut down and the stairs are blocked. Now, everyone on the top floor is unreachable."

Upon hearing Bao Sir's words, both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were momentarily stunned and asked together, "No contact?"

"Wang Meiyun and several executives are still working on the upper floors. Now, none of their phones are reachable. There's suspicion they've all been collectively abducted!" Bao Sir shouted. "You two go to the rooftop of the police station and get on the SWAT helicopter. Tell Ma Han to get into position, quickly! News vans from the television stations are already there, they got the news even before the police did."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a glance and quickly got up.

Bai Yutang drove to the police station, while Zhan Zhao continued to contact Bao Sir for more details. "Any information on the kidnappers? Who could be behind this?"

"We don’t know!" Bao Sir was also overwhelmed, he had just received the news and rushed to the Dong Group. "The security guard downstairs reported to the police that Dong Group received many unidentified packages this afternoon, some of them contained letters threatening to kill Wang Meiyun, along with plastic toy bombs and similar items. Initially, they thought it was a prank because Wang Meiyun has received many threats during this period, and they didn't take it seriously. But suddenly, they received news of Dong Fei's accident in the evening. Then, Wang Meiyun gathered several senior executives for a meeting at the company. Afterwards, the power on the top floors suddenly went out. It should be because someone upstairs pulled the circuit breaker because everything downstairs was normal, and the main circuit breaker had no issues. Then the elevators were locked on the upper floors and couldn't move. Security guards climbed up the stairs and found the safety gates had fallen."

"Safety gates?" Bai Yutang was a bit puzzled.

"These are part of the high-rise security system." Bao Zheng explained with some frustration. "In theory, in the event of any disaster, people on the upper floors can reach the top floor faster. When they reach the top floor, the safety system is activated, and the safety gates fall, physically separating the top floors from the rest of the building."

"The doors can't be opened from downstairs?" Bai Yutang asked. "What about the company responsible for the security system?"

"The only way to activate it is with the safety button in the CEO's office on the top floor. This thing not only contains people but is also bulletproof, waterproof, and fireproof. It'll take artillery to blast it open!" Bao Sir spoke amidst the background noise, indicating he'd arrived at the Dong Group building.

Meanwhile, Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao had already reached the police station.

The other SCI members had also arrived. Bai Yutang quickly delegated tasks downstairs. He and Luo Tian boarded a helicopter with the SWAT team, Zhan Zhao, Bai Chi, and Jiang Ping headed to the police station's surveillance command vehicle, Ma Han and Zhao Hu went to the sniper points, and Qin Ou joined the demolition team to analyse the building's security system; if the door couldn't be opened conventionally, they'd blow it open.

With clear assignments, they told each other to be careful, and then split up.

As Bai Yutang and Luo Tian reached the top floor of the police station, SWAT team leader Xiao Fei waved to them from the helicopter.

The helicopter's massive rotors created strong winds and noise.

Bai Yutang and Luo Tian quickly boarded the helicopter, which then ascended.

Xiao Fei handed each of them a bulletproof vest. Bai Yutang asked, "There’s firepower on-site?"

Xiao Fei nodded, "They reported hearing gunfire, and a lot of it."

Bai Yutang was puzzled, "Haven’t the kidnappers made any contact with the outside? What about the people inside the building? Haven't they made any distress calls?"

Xiao Fei shook his head.

By now, the Dong Group building had appeared in front of the helicopter.

Bai Yutang glanced over and sure enough, he saw that the top three floors of the Dong Group building were pitch black, while the lights were on downstairs, probably turned on by security.

Police cordoned off the area around the Dong Group building, but there was a crowd nearby... On one hand, it was already a bustling area, and on the other, there were many members of the media.

With the live broadcast online, even more people came to watch.

Ma Han and Zhao Hu went straight to the top floor of the Bai Group building. If there was one optimal sniper point for the Dong Group building, it would be in the Bai Group building.

The twins had also arrived, bringing binoculars to Bai Jintang's office to observe.

In the villa, Bai Jintang, Gongsun and Zhao Zhen were in the living room watching the news on TV.

In another villa nearby, Zhao Jue and the others were also in the living room, following the developments of the event.

Anna seemed to have heard something and came downstairs, standing by the sofa in the living room, watching the content on TV.

While watching, she felt someone tap her.

Anna turned around to see Mia handing her a cup of hot cocoa and gesturing to her.

Anna stared at Mia, seeming somewhat surprised.

Issel said to Anna, "Mia wants to tell you not to worry, SCI will rescue them."

Anna seemed a bit distracted and asked Mia, "Do you... think I'm worried about Wang Meiyun?"

Mia tilted her head, continuing to gesture.

Issel looked at Anna somewhat surprised.

Anna smiled faintly, reaching out and gently making a "shh" gesture to Mia.

Mia nodded with a smile, then ran to sit on the sofa, beginning to earnestly discuss with Zhao Jue – Can we get a dog?

Zhao Jue asked, "Why don’t we get a cat?"

Mia explained – There are lots of cats at Zhan Zhao's home, I want a dog!

Zhao Jue glanced at Bai Ye.

Bai Ye said they already had rabbits, turtles, and koi, it doesn't matter if they have a dog.

Zhao Jue nodded, saying they'd go to the adoption centre in a couple of days to get one for Mia.

Mia jumped up happily.

Meanwhile, Eleven, who was flipping through a book nearby, noticed what Mia had said to Anna earlier – Don't be afraid, everyone here is strong.

......

Compared to the tranquillity in the villa, chaos reigned outside the Dong Group building at this moment. A large number of police forces arrived to maintain order. A SWAT team formed a small unit, following Qin Ou and Wang Ba up the building, and Jiang Ping had already obtained data from the security company.

These gates were similar to those in banks. Besides opening them internally, they could only be unlocked from the outside using a password, which only the buyer knew.

Qin Ou and Wang Ba studied the blueprints and found it a bit challenging to blast the door open, as they were unsure of how it was installed.

Meanwhile, in a residential building not far from the Dong Group building, Chen Mi was also watching the situation at the Dong Group. When he saw Qin Ou and Wang Ba entering with the SWAT team, he immediately called Qin Ou.

"Hello?" Qin Ou answered quickly when he saw it was Chen Mi calling.

Chen Mi asked him if the Dong Group had activated the security system and what model it was.

Qin Ou told him the signal from the security system.

Chen Mi mentioned that he had encountered such doors before, suggesting that if they were to blast the door, they should do it from above. Because these doors were heavier at the bottom, blasting from above would disconnect the stairs' flooring from the door, causing the door to fall.

Qin Ou and Wang Ba felt this advice was immensely helpful and decided to proceed accordingly.

Upstairs, the helicopter carrying Bai Yutang had landed on the rooftop, and Zhan Zhao's surveillance vehicle had also arrived.

Initially, Zhan Zhao was somewhat worried about the helicopter's proximity, what if there was firepower on the rooftop?

But the helicopter landed smoothly on the top floor.

Bai Yutang, Luo Tian, and several SWAT team members got out of the helicopter.

On the rooftop of the Bai Group building across from them, Zhao Hu looked through binoculars for a while. "Is there anyone in the building? Why is there no movement at all?"

Ma Han also observed for a while with the scope of his sniper rifle, but unfortunately, the complete darkness on the top three floors made it impossible to see anything.

"We need military-grade thermal imaging devices." Zhao Hu commented, "Any high-tech gadgets?"

Ma Han gestured downwards – The high-tech gadgets were on their way.

Zhao Hu glanced downstairs and saw SCI's surveillance vehicle opening its roof, releasing four drones.

"Wow," Hu Zi was quite surprised, "have they been modified?"

Ma Han nodded, took out his phone, and opened an app installed by Jiang Ping. The screen of his phone automatically displayed the camera feeds from the four drones.

Of the four drones, one ascended to the rooftop, while two circled outside the three floors where there was no power. The night vision cameras provided a clear view of the situation inside the building on the phone screen.

Meanwhile, Bai Yutang on the rooftop received several sets of night vision goggles delivered by one of the drones.

Although the SWAT team already had night vision goggles, it was evident that the set provided by Jiang Ping was more advanced.

Bai Yutang gestured for everyone to put them on... After wearing them, they noticed that there was a visual control window in the corner of the night vision goggles, allowing them to see the footage from the three drones.

"There are people inside!" Zhao Hu looked at Ma Han's phone.

On the top floor, two individuals with guns and night vision goggles were moving around. They were walking in opposite directions along the corridor, seemingly searching for something.

"There is also one on the floor below." Ma Han saw from the perspective of the drone circling the back of the building.

After some investigation, it was confirmed that there were three attackers in total.

At this moment, these three individuals were swiftly running around the top two floors, checking various rooms as if searching for someone.

Downstairs, Zhan Zhao asked the security guard how many gunshots they had heard. The guards were quite flustered, some said four shots, some said five, but eventually, it was confirmed to be four shots.

"How many people were in the meeting with Wang Meiyun and the executives?" Zhan Zhao asked.

The security guard replied, "Five, they all came in together just now."

Zhan Zhao frowned. If five shots were fired, it meant all five were taken out. But if it was confirmed to be four shots, at least one person should still be alive. Were these attackers searching for a survivor?

At this moment, Ma Han received a message from Bai Yutang asking if they could shoot.

Ma Han replied that it should be fine to shoot the individual in the corridor facing the Bai Group’s building.

As he spoke, Xiao Ma Ge instructed Zhao Hu to hold the phone while he aimed at the darkened window.

Another attacker was positioned near the rooftop, to be handled by Bai Yutang and Luo Tian.

The last attacker had already reached a position near the staircase on the third floor. Outside the security gate, Qin Ou and Wang Ba had prepared for the explosion, and the SWAT team members had found cover.

At Bai Yutang's command, a loud boom could be heard from outside the building.

Simultaneously, Ma Han fired his gun, causing the window of the Dong Group’s building to crack... Fortunately, high-rise windows wouldn't fall when broken, and a hole appeared in the glass covered with cracks... Through the scope, you could see a person lying on the ground in the corridor behind the hole, clutching their knee in pain.

On the rooftop, Bai Yutang and Luo Tian descended the stairs and came face-to-face with the armed assailant. As the assailant raised his gun, he was struck squarely in the face by Bai Yutang who appeared in front of him and collapsed without a sound.

A SWAT team member found the circuit breaker and turned on the lights.

Instantly, the upper floors of the building were brightly lit. In the stairwell of the third-to-last floor, Luo Tian and Wang Ba were astonished to find that the door didn't fall forward when blasted but backward. They heard a cry of "Ahh!" as the third attacker was crushed under the iron door.

Wang Ba looked at the door, which weighed at least half a ton, and asked Qin Ou, "Do you think he's still alive?"

Qin Ou replied, "If he's trained in breaking large rocks with his chest, maybe..."

Through the communication headset, they heard Wang Ba's laughter, "Ahahaha..."

The others shook their heads, one at the surprisingly low humour, and the other at the consistently poor quality of the dark joke.

With the assailants dealt with, everyone began searching the three floors above.

Unfortunately, a total of four bodies were found in the building... All four of the Dong Group's executives had been shot dead, but Wang Meiyun's body was nowhere to be found.

Where could Wang Meiyun be? After searching all three floors thoroughly, she was still missing.

Bai Yutang thought for a moment and went to Dong Yuan’s original office. He walked to the wall behind the desk and pressed his ear against it, listening intently. Then, he knocked on the wall gently. "Wang Meiyun? Are you in there? It's Bai Yutang."

Soon after, there was a click from inside the wall, and the wall slowly opened...

Meanwhile, the elevator had also resumed operation.

As Zhan Zhao rode the elevator up and entered the office, he saw the door to the secret room open... It turned out that Dong Yuan's office also had a secret room.

However, unlike the room with a large bed in Bai Yutang's office, this secret room resembled a giant safe, containing some artworks and documents.

Behind the door of the secret room stood Wang Meiyun, covered in blood.

‿︵‿︵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 30, 2024 by Angel

Edited: October 28, 2024 by Angel