S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 144

Screen Murderer 40 – The Storm is Coming

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"Viper" got poisoned.

Just from the literal meaning, it seemed quite ironic – a venomous snake poisoned by its own venom.

Zhan Zhao found it somewhat satisfying, looking at the weakened Viper in the video, and quipped, "Karmic retribution comes quickly! Serve him right!"

Bai Yutang glanced at Zhao Jue.

Zhao Jue continued to sip his tea leisurely.

Bai Yutang couldn't help but feel that Viper, who had always been scheming against others and ended up harming himself instead, had a feeling of tit-for-tat, a style which was especially reminiscent of...

"Did you do it?" Bai Yutang eventually couldn't hold back and asked Zhao Jue in the end.

Zhan Zhao, who was watching the video, also glanced up, then turned to look at Zhao Jue – Did you do this?

Zhao Jue spread his hands, "What, an old retired man like me, right... Ai, a retired old man who needs psychological counselling and goes looking for trouble everywhere..."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a helpless glance – Where did he hide the surveillance? He seems to know everything we gossip about behind his back!

The house was quite lively with a large group of dogs. Zhao Jue had received quite a few messages from people interested in adopting them, which he passed on to Mia for review.

Mia glanced at the messages and crossed her arms – Declined!

Zhan Zhao also posted some photos in the police group, looking for adopters. Mia gestured and outlined her conditions, saying they had to keep them forever and not abandon them!

Zhan Zhao nodded with a smile, indicating he understood.

At this moment, the twins sent a message asking if they wanted to watch the rehearsal, followed by a bunch of dog emojis.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang felt there was something more to this message than met the eye.

However, they were more concerned about Viper’s situation, so they asked Zhao Jue, "Where is he now?"

Zhao Jue replied, "He's hiding somewhere for recovery."

Zhao Jue minimised the video screen, and it immediately turned into a thumbnail of a mountain villa, then a panoramic view. The location in the mountains seemed familiar, and with a further zoom, it turned into a satellite image.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both recognised the place – it was a resort on the outskirts of S City.

"There seem to be many tourists there." Bai Yutang frowned, feeling it wouldn’t be so easy to catch him there.

"Not only are there a lot of tourists, there are also many recuperation hospitals as well as hot spring spas and whatnot." Zhao Jue smiled faintly, "Places with many people are definitely safer to some extent, but also more dangerous. Heh heh."

Zhao Jue's statement seemed contradictory, but in reality, it wasn't. Places with many people were easier to blend in, but at the same time, they were also more convenient for enemies to monitor.

Zhan Zhao asked Zhao Jue curiously, "So, what's the deal with these monitors?"

With a disdainful wave of his hand, Zhao Jue said, "I've already said, it's a gift for you. Take it, take it." Saying that, he stood up and left.

Zhan Zhao murmured to Bai Yutang while holding his phone, "Look! He's throwing another tantrum!"

Bai Yutang couldn’t laugh or cry. "He's just embarrassed, isn't he?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had no choice but to stop Eleven, who happened to be passing by, to ask for clarification.

"Uncle Chopsticks!" Zhan Zhao reached out and grabbed Eleven as he floated by.

Eleven paused for a moment before realising that Zhan Zhao was calling him, then froze instantly – Chop... Uncle Chopsticks...

Zhan Zhao showed the shocked Eleven the video of Viper.

After calming down a bit, Eleven glanced at the phone screen again and said sympathetically, "I've been saying he'll get into trouble, messing with the wrong people, and now he's getting sorted out."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both looked at Eleven – More details?

Eleven asked, "Do you know why Mia rejected all of Zhao Jue's 'friends' who wanted to adopt a dog?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a glance before asking together, "Because they're not reputable people?"

Eleven shook his head helplessly. "It's because none of them are from this city, and they wouldn't come to S City for nothing."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both frowned – It’s like this...

"S City was never really favoured by that bunch of people, the environment was unfavourable to begin with," Eleven said, gesturing towards them.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang thought for a moment, nodding in satisfaction. "Not being favoured by criminals means we’re doing a good job in SCI!" Zhan Zhao remarked.

Eleven chuckled and pointed to Bai Ye, who was currently trying out dog houses with several dogs, then gestured towards Zhao Jue, who was sharing biscuits with Mia in the room. "With those two combined, it's like hell-level difficulty. Taking a detour through S City is already a new rule."

Suddenly, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang started worrying about their future KPIs... What if there were no more cases?

"Now there are rumours all over the place that Viper has stirred up a hornet's nest, and both the police and Zhao Jue are after him." Eleven asked with a smile, "Do you know what that means?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang frowned again – What does it mean?

"It means anyone who has had dealings with him or who he knows any secrets about and so on," Eleven waved his hand, "wants to kill him to keep him quiet."

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao both rubbed their chins in thought – So, should they let him live?

"Viper should know that too, so Zhao Jue set up a camera for him in a conspicuous place. When he's sober, he should confess his crimes in front of the camera and provide clues that could save his life. But whether to save him or not depends on Zhao Jue's mood." Eleven indicated that they should keep their phones on, expecting Viper to contact them.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang thought it was a big gift, so they accepted it. At the same time, they had a thought and asked Eleven, "But isn't Viper also a dangerous person? Putting him in a place with many tourists, wouldn't that cause trouble?"

Eleven waved his hand nonchalantly, "What's scary about a snake with its fangs pulled out?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were quite curious – How exactly did they pull out someone's teeth? Both of them instinctively reached for their phones to observe whether Viper still had his teeth.

At that moment, Mia ran out from inside, asking Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang if they wanted to watch the rehearsal.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang nodded in agreement...

But Mia gestured for them to wait and ran back into the villa. In no time, she ran out carrying a canvas bag.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang noticed that there were promotional posters on the canvas bag featuring Qi Le and their band singing with Xu Lie, it was probably merchandise from their previous concert together...

Mia waved a fan with the Qi Le and their band's logo on it, indicating that she also wanted to go watch!

Zhan Zhao tilted his head – Then let's all go together.

Eleven and Issel also wanted to come along.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao looked at the three of them squeezing into the back seat, holding their support fans, and felt like they were all the same age.

Bai Yutang started the car, while Zhan Zhao curiously asked Issel, "Are you getting used to living here?"

Issel smiled faintly, "Mhmm-hmm, it’s not bad."

In fact, the only thing Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were curious about regarding Zhao Jue's household setup was Issel's role.

What was so special about Issel? Bai Yutang knew his combat abilities were not weak, but certainly not on the level of Bai Ye. However, when G came to S City previously and wanted to hire him as a "bodyguard", it indicated that he indeed has some exceptional qualities.

At the same time, there's another point that both of them were quite curious about.

Mia is one of the more successful "experimental subjects" in the organisation. Kalin is just her adoptive mother, Issel is her biological father, so, who is her biological mother?

Zhan Zhao occasionally glanced at the rearview mirror. Mia was teaching Issel how to wave the support baton, the father and daughter looked quite alike. A child's intelligence is often inherited from the mother, and Issel wasn't the scholarly genius type, but Mia's intelligence was on par with Bai Chi's, did that mean Mia's biological mother also possessed exceptionally high intelligence?

"Right!" Bai Yutang suddenly asked Eleven, "What did you give Ma Han and Jiayi as a gift?"

Eleven shrugged, "A globe."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both glanced at the rearview mirror – Seriously? You gave them a globe for their wedding?

Issel also chimed in, "Just a globe? Isn't that quite ordinary? Are you not on good terms with your disciple?"

"Heh," Eleven smirked slightly, raising an eyebrow, "of course not just any ordinary globe."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were both puzzled – What's so special about a globe? Isn't it just the kind that floats when it's inflated? Isn't this supposed to be a graduation gift for students? Is it appropriate as a wedding gift?

With a belly full of doubts, the car arrived at the entrance of the Bai Group's film and television city.

Today was the final rehearsal at the film and television city, with all the performing guests present, as well as many business negotiations, so there were many reporters gathered at the entrance.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang didn't walk in from above, but entered from the underground garage.

Xiao Ding ran down to meet them, rubbing his hands together.

Seeing his expression, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang knew that something was probably going to happen.

Xiao Ding saw the two get out of the car and said, "Wang Meiyun will be here later!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were speechless. "Didn't she just get out of the police station? Why would she come now? Dong Group's side has lost five lives."

"Everyone with work on display has to come." Xiao Ding said, "They're here to check things out today, and they'll walk the red carpet tomorrow!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang shook their heads – Is this for real... Won't things explode tomorrow?

"It's already trending!" Xiao Ding showed Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang his phone.

Zhan Zhao glanced at the news, frowned, and took the phone.

He saw a new trending article: "Looking forward to tomorrow's red carpet showdown – Femme Fatale vs. Black Widow."

Zhan Zhao was speechless. "Who writes these news articles..."

"Because Anna and Wang Meiyun both said they would represent the Dong Group on the red carpet!" Xiao Ding grinned, "And the Dong Group is divided now. Several high-level supporters of Wang Meiyun have died, leaving only some middle management. Everyone is on the fence, supporting whoever wins. Now everyone is just waiting to see who Wang Meiyun will walk the red carpet with tomorrow!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both felt that options were limited now. "Isn't Tang Xing the hottest one from Dong Group's side? He's still in prison."

"Then she definitely has to walk with a handsome guy! It doesn't necessarily have to be someone from her own company." Xiao Ding said. "The only one who can save Wang Meiyun now is Xu Lie."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang found it amusing – How could Xu Lie possibly walk with Wang Meiyun? Would he be scared to death? He wouldn't even walk with Dunbu, let alone Wang Meiyun.

"Wang Meiyun is definitely coming with a purpose later, it's better for you two to stay here." Xiao Ding asked Mia if Anna had prepared a dress for walking the red carpet.

Mia shook her head and gestured – There weren't any clothes suitable for walking the red carpet in the villa. Her mom's box of dresses was in her room, but they were all cheongsams, and her mom was too tall.

Xiao Ding rubbed his chin happily, "We'll get Jiayi's makeup artist to prepare her later."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both felt like the twins were stirring up trouble.

The group followed Xiao Ding straight into the film and television city, while the reporters were kept outside.

Inside the film and television city were the outdoor and indoor areas. The outdoor area was bustling with the rehearsal process for walking the red carpet. There were more celebrities in the indoor area, with many of them sitting in the hall listening to Qi Le rehearse her songs. The stage was quite impressive, and the lights were being adjusted.

Mia took Issel and Eleven to sit in the front row.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a few words with Xu Lie, then looked around. The entire theatre was almost full, and the hosts responsible for the stage were busy with their scripts. Everyone seemed very occupied.

Mia waved her cheering stick and, along with the enthusiastic Chen Xiaofei and Grandpa Chen who had come to join in the fun, helped to liven up the atmosphere for Qi Le and the others.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang noticed that Bai Jintang was not around and thought of going out to find him.

As they walked past Issel, they heard him suddenly say, "Those two people are behind us."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both froze and looked down at Issel. "Two people?"

Issel smiled faintly and said, "The man who came to our house to hide the USB drive that day and the man who bumped into Bai Ye at the flower and bird market. They're in the second-to-last row, on the left near the security door."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were stunned – Chen Fu and Chen Gui?

Zhan Zhao wanted to look up, but Bai Yutang pulled him back.

Zhan Zhao immediately sat down, pretending nothing had happened, and focused on watching the performance.

Bai Yutang didn't raise his head either, afraid of attracting attention. It would be troublesome if the two men slipped out from the back door.

Zhan Zhao glanced at Issel and Eleven, gesturing for them to go around and block the door.

Both of them reached out, "Is there a reward for us?"

Zhan Zhao squinted – Are you two addicted to extortion?!

Mia gestured at them sternly, indicating that they shouldn't bully people.

Both of them reluctantly stood up, "Okay okay, we'll help you block the door."

‿︵‿︵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 12, 2024 by Angel

Edited: November 8, 2024 by Soojin