S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 139

Screen Murderer 35 – Monsters and Monsters

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Zhan Zhao's laughter caught the attention of the entire SCI team, and everyone looked at him.

Once his laughter subsided, Gongsun asked him, "What's so funny?"

Zhan Zhao suddenly remarked, "That day, I saw a poster about Godzilla vs King Kong or something."

The others looked at Zhan Zhao with confusion, failing to see the connection.

Gongsun glanced at Bai Yutang – Is your boyfriend alright? Why does he seem so scatterbrained?

Bai Yutang remained composed, anyway, for Zhan Zhao, unconventional thinking was just another day. He asked Zhan Zhao, "Is there any relevance to the case?"

"The right way isn't for humans to defeat monsters, but for monsters to defeat monsters." Zhan Zhao muttered to himself.

The others stared at Zhan Zhao, seeming puzzled.

Bai Yutang, on the other hand, stroked his chin thoughtfully, apparently considering the matter. Finally, he turned to Zhan Zhao. "So... this is Anna's true intention?"

Zhan Zhao smiled faintly.

"Ahem."

Beside them, Gongsun cleared his throat, interrupting them – You two, there's no telepathy here, speak human words!

"Who really killed Dong Yuan?" Zhan Zhao asked. "Was it Wang Meiyun?"

The others pondered. "Not exactly."

"The one who directly killed Dong Yuan was Sun Xi, but the pharmacist’s team has all been wiped out. Another team was responsible for Dong Yuan's death, although it seems to be Wang Meiyun on the surface, in essence, it should be Qian Yu, the group of people who escaped justice from the previous case."

"What were the plots of the cases Anna had been involved in before?" Zhan Zhao continued to inquire.

The others thought for a moment. "In summary, 'reaping what one sows’?"

"The three classmates who bullied Anna were frozen to death using the same methods they used to bully others, the nanny who injured Anna's pet dog was dismembered using similar farming tools, and Anna's ex-husband, who wanted her to disappear, was eliminated by the assassin using the methods he once conceived to deal with Anna..." Zhan Zhao said. "These methods can be summed up as 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth'."

Everyone nodded in agreement – Indeed.

"What about Wang Meiyun, who killed Anna's husband and left her son without a father, as well as the mastermind Qian Yu behind them?" Zhan Zhao asked.

The others furrowed their brows slightly. "That..."

"Dong Yuan's true cause of death was because of that game called New World wasn’t it?" Zhan Zhao asked.

The others followed Zhan Zhao's line of thought.

"So, according to the previous 'rule', Wang Meiyun and the others would also die because of this game, and it would be a gruesome death?"

The members of SCI carefully considered Zhan Zhao's words, a thought beginning to form... Could it be...

"Using monsters to defeat monsters..." Gongsun had a bold idea and voiced it to Zhan Zhao for confirmation. "So Anna is letting her monsters deal with the monster that killed Dong Yuan?"

Zhan Zhao smiled and nodded.

Bai Yutang frowned. "Then, which monster was behind this recent attack?"

Zhan Zhao shrugged. "I'm not sure about that. We'll have to ask Anna, and..."

Everyone looked at Zhan Zhao.

"Anna's monster seems to be quite difficult to control... That's why Leonard had Eugene take care of her, and she has to stay in the 'monster house'." Zhan Zhao rubbed his chin. "Maybe Anna is also planning to take advantage of this opportunity to get rid of the monster by her side..."

"The best outcome would be for both monsters to perish together, wouldn't it?" Bai Yutang found it somewhat amusing. "So, what about us? Just watching from the sidelines?"

"Letting both monsters die together would indeed be a preferable outcome," Gongsun said wistfully, "but from Anna's experiences, it seems she might not have the ability to control the monsters... Who knows, both monsters might go berserk in the end..."

Everyone raised their hands, looking for wood to knock on – Knock on wood...

Bai Yutang shook his head. "Monsters or not, we need to figure out what's going on first."

After calming down Zhang Yong and Jiang Ping, Bai Yutang instructed them to investigate the game and the meaning behind those numbers. The rest would have to wait until they returned from Zhao Jue's house.

With that said, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang went to find Zhao Jue.

......

Soon, the two of them pressed the doorbell at Zhao Jue's house.

After pressing the doorbell, they suddenly realised – what time was it now?

Checking their watches, goodness, it was two in the morning...

The two silently exchanged a glance. Usually, ringing someone's doorbell at two in the morning... would get you beaten up, right?

But Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were quite bold – Bai Ye definitely wouldn't beat them up. As long as Bai Ye didn't lay a hand on them, they should be able to handle attacks from others.

With that in mind, they exchanged another glance and nodded silently – Love Uncle Ye!

However, the door opened shortly after the doorbell rang.

Bai Yutang drove in, and as they passed through the driveway and saw the villa, they noticed the lights were still on in the living room.

Zhan Zhao frowned. "These people are quite old to still be awake at two in the morning!"

Bai Yutang parked the car outside the garden and noticed that besides Bai Ye's, Eleven's and Issel's cars on the driveway, there was another car.

The two of them were a bit puzzled – Zhao Jue had a white Bentley that their older brother had given him, but it had been parked in the garage ever since the organisation's case ended... So whose modest car was parked next to it?

They didn't pay much attention to it, thinking it might be Eugene's rental. But Eugene had such flashy tastes... would he drive such a conservative and understated car? Could there be other guests?

"What kind of guests visit at two in the morning?"

"Who knows, vampires or something could also be possible..."

They exchanged a glance, suddenly curious.

Walking through the garden, Zhan Zhao remembered something and asked Bai Yutang in a low voice, "Right, has Eleven’s gift been given to Ma Han yet?"

Bai Yutang nodded, saying it had. He saw Bai Chi give it to Ma Han earlier.

"What was it?" Zhan Zhao asked curiously.

Bai Yutang shrugged. They had been in the interrogation room the whole time and didn't know if Xiao Ma Ge had opened it yet.

Both of them were somewhat curious – What could it be?

......

Arriving at the villa's entrance, Issel had already come out to open the door.

The living room was brightly lit, with Zhao Jue, Eugene and Anna sitting on the sofa. And opposite them were two people.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had never seen these two before. There was a man and a woman. The woman was quite beautiful, around thirty years old, with short black hair, wearing a tailored grey suit, and holding a thick stack of documents, a computer and a pen, writing and calculating, looking quite professional.

Seeing her appearance, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang thought of a certain profession – Finance or accounting...

The man next to the woman had curly brown hair, looked to be in his early twenties, with a student-like appearance, downturned eyebrows, and looked somewhat gloomy. He had a tall stature, estimated to be over six feet, resembling a basketball player, and was holding a teacup while yawning, looking quite tired.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at these two people with some confusion, not quite understanding the situation.

After thinking for a moment, Zhan Zhao asked Zhao Jue, "Tax inspection?"

"Pfft..." The tall curly-haired man almost choked, grabbing a napkin to wipe his mouth while pounding his chest.

The young lady who was working on the computer stopped her movements, glanced up at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, seemingly assessing them, then lowered her head and continued with her work.

Bai Ye walked out of the kitchen and handed Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang two drinks, asking, "Is Wang Meiyun still alive?"

After Bai Ye asked this question, Zhan Zhao noticed Anna glance at them, seeming somewhat concerned.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both nodded.

Eugene spread his hands and said to Anna, "See, I told you people who cause disaster live for a long time!"

Anna seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"All set," the woman handed the numbers on the computer to Anna. "this is the final figure."

Anna glanced at it and asked, "Can it fetch that high of a price?"

"Mhmm." The woman nodded.

Anna seemed quite satisfied. "Then I'll trouble you with this."

"Ten per cent commission." The woman said.

Anna replied, "You can take fifteen per cent."

"Wow~" the tall curly-haired man exclaimed, "A premium client!"

The two of them stood up and took their leave.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both looked out the window and saw them drive off in their unassuming car.

They both turned back to Zhao Jue and asked, "Who were they?"

"Business people." Zhao Jue smirked.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both looked at him – There was a hint of illegality in the air.

Anna waved her hand. "No, I have some assets to sell, and they're helping me evaluate and broker them."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both looked at Anna – Selling assets?

"My ex-husband had a lot of assets," Anna explained when she saw Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang's confusion, "from my first marriage."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang inexplicably felt a bit embarrassed.

However, since they had come to inquire about this matter, they decided to follow up, "Can you tell us the truth then?"

Anna smiled helplessly, "Leonard was right. Zhao Jue found out the day I arrived, and you would probably find out within a few days too."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang felt a snap in their heads, "Damn it! We lost!"

Zhao Jue chuckled, his shoulders shaking while he held the teacup.

Issel yawned and went upstairs to sleep. In the living room, there was only Eugene, who was cutting apples with a fruit knife, Bai Ye, who was sitting on the sofa searching for the address of a pet adoption centre on his tablet, Zhao Jue, who was holding his teacup, and Anna, the centre of attention.

Anna reached out and took out a small box, placing it on the table.

It looked like an exquisite gift box.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at Anna with some confusion – What is it?

Anna said, "When I was a child, one day, the maid at home found this thing in my crib, next to my pillow."

Bai Yutang asked if they could open it.

Anna nodded.

Opening the box revealed a small ornament, a white porcelain cherub.

It was a quite common decoration, with a crystal base and a white cherub with golden wings, a cute form...

The two looked at Anna with some confusion – What is this?

"From that moment on, I've had a guardian angel by my side." Anna said, touching the cherub's wings gently. "When I was a child, if someone bullied me, that person would be punished. If I wanted something, it would appear in front of me the next day..." Anna said with a hint of amusement, "There was a time when I quite liked that angel..."

"So when did you stop liking it?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Anna fell into a brief silence, then after a moment of quiet contemplation, she spoke, "Until one day, I realised he wasn't a guardian angel, but an angel of death."

‿︵‿︵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: May 5, 2024 by Angel

Edited: November 4, 2024 by Angel