S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 153

Screen Murderer 49 – The Last Gamble

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Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu were arrested in full view of the public, and the evidence leading to their arrest was displayed on the big screen at the film festival, spreading quickly across various online platforms that very evening.

Wang Meiyun, who had intermittently hit the headlines recently, once again... and perhaps for the last time, dominated the public eye. Of course, the accompanying photos and videos were of her and Qian Yu wearing handcuffs and being escorted by the police into the patrol car.

This bizarre case, coupled with the celebrity effect and the shocking background story, sparked widespread discussions.

People scoffed at the twisted criminal organisations of New World and Qian Yu's group on one hand, while feeling pity for Anna and Dong Yuan's love story on the other.

Many began to discuss Dong Yuan himself. As the boss of Dong Group, Dong Yuan occasionally appeared in public, but he was always perceived as a playboy who indulged in worldly pleasures. However, after watching his final video, people realised that Dong Yuan was much smarter than they had imagined.

Even Bai Jintang regarded him differently – Due to their competitive relationship, they had some interactions. But now, Bai Jintang felt that Dong Yuan's constant troubles for Bai Group weren't because of inter-corporate competition or competitiveness. He now realised that Dong Yuan was investigating him to gather information about SCI and the King organisation.

Of course, at this moment, the ones who suffered the most were Qian Yu and Wang Meiyun. The most glorious ones were SCI, who suddenly had a breakthrough in a major case, dismantled two criminal organisations, made a big splash at the film festival, and received gratitude from police forces around the world.

Bao Sir awaited SCI's return at the police station. The first to step out of the elevator were Jiayi and Qi Le, who were accompanying Anna, and Jiang Nan, who walked out in gorgeous attire.

Bao Sir quickly took off his suit jacket and draped it over her.

The SCI team gossiped as they watched Bao Sir and Jiang Nan exchange glances.

Passing by, Bai Ye saw the scene and pulled out his phone to send a group message – Bao Xiao Black, single no more!

Seconds later, Bai Ye's phone started vibrating like crazy.

Those around him wondered, and Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang glanced over – Uncle Ye also has a lot of friends!

After Bai Ye read a few messages, he raised his phone towards Bao Zheng and Jiang Nan, who were talking at the elevator entrance, "Look over here."

The two turned to look, and there was a click.

Both Jiang Nan and Bao Sir were stunned.

Then suddenly, Jiang Nan said, "Wait."

Bai Ye, with his finger hovering over the send button, looked up.

Jiang Nan turned on the corridor lights, reached out to adjust Bao Sir's tie, then linked arms with him, smiling at Bai Ye, "Take a better picture!"

Bai Ye raised his phone, "Xiao Black, you are smiling so widely."

......

Because the evidence in this case was overwhelming, Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu couldn't deny it. And what really nailed them was the evidence left by Dong Yuan.

And this evidence was found by Zhan Zhao.

......

Turning back time a bit.

After seeing off Liang Xiaoyu, Zhan Zhao had an idea. He messaged Zhao Jue, asking him – In Anna's guardian angel, is there a USB drive?

Shortly after, Zhao Jue replied – Smart.

Zhao Jue went upstairs.

At that moment, Anna was downstairs with Mia, feeding the rabbits with vegetable leaves. The guardian angel ornament was placed on her bedside table.

Zhao Jue reached out and picked up the ornament, weighing it in his hand.

At this time, Bai Ye passed by the door and knocked, a little puzzled as to why Zhao Jue was in Anna's room.

Holding the angel ornament, Zhao Jue asked, "Would it be bad if it's broken?"

Bai Ye frowned – Why would it be broken?

Zhao Jue said, "Zhan Kitty suspects that Dong Yuan had someone put this angel next to Anna, and that it contains important evidence."

Bai Ye walked over, taking the ornament from him.

Zhao Jue urged him, "Break it open and take a look!"

Bai Ye hesitated, "Shouldn't we ask Anna first?"

Zhao Jue spread his hands – Go ahead and ask then!

Bai Ye thought for a moment, then reached to pry open the base of the ornament.

Zhao Jue was curious – Why pry open the base?

"If this really is the angel Dong Yuan left for Anna," Bai Ye applied a bit of force and snapped the circular base off, "to ensure safety, he should have tried to keep the angel intact."

Saying that, Bai Ye gently squeezed the base and it came apart, revealing a USB drive inside.

The two glanced at each other, inserted the USB into the laptop, checked the contents, and immediately sent it to Zhan Zhao.

Of course, they wanted to tell Anna right away, but Zhan Zhao mentioned his plan to expose Qian Yu's scheme at the film festival. Hearing this, Zhao Jue and Bai Ye thought the plan was solid. To ensure Anna's emotional stability at the festival, they temporarily didn't tell her about it.

Bai Ye modified the guardian angel into a pendant that could be hung on a phone.

At first, Anna was a bit puzzled. She only had fear towards the angel, not any other feelings, so she didn't understand why Bai Ye wanted her to carry it with her.

But all Bai Ye said was, "You'll know why later."

And Bay Ye was right. When Anna saw the video and Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu being arrested, she finally understood. Even when Jiayi and the others helped her into the car back to the SCI office, she was still in a daze. Repeatedly echoing in her ears were Dong Yuan's words at the end of the video, "Actually, I didn't love you that much, so don't worry about it."

......

The key to solving the case was naturally how Zhan Zhao managed to unlock the mystery of the USB drive.

Based on the information SCI had gathered so far, the murder of Boss Wang was the strangest aspect of the case. As a flower shop owner, he was unrelated to New World and Qian Yu and Wang Meiyun. However, further investigation revealed that Boss Wang was a participant in the New World game and had an invitation code, so why was he killed by Wang Meiyun instead of a New World assassin?

After Anna arrived in S City, the focus of the case gradually shifted towards the New World game, until Chen Gui and Chen Fu suddenly appeared in everyone's sight, followed by the crucial clues being found and the New World organisation being destroyed...

Everything went smoothly, giving the impression that Qian Yu and Wang Meiyun set up a scheme, using SCI to destroy the New World organisation... But what benefit did they gain from doing so?

Despite the difficulties in finding Chen Gui and Chen Fu, their appearance was akin to offering their heads.

Including the later killings of Viper, Zhou Ping and Qian Fu, it seemed like everything was helping Zhan Zhao and the others to close the case as soon as possible.

Especially the appearance of that flash drive that, in Liang Xiaoyu's words, was surprisingly smooth to find.

Zhan Zhao figured everything out when he sensed that this USB drive was deliberately intended for them to find – Who wanted them to find the USB? New World certainly wouldn't want to self-destruct, so it must be Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu.

Including the previous sudden kidnapping case involving the Dong Group, Wang Meiyun's ordeal and the three unemployed drifters who reminded them that the numbers were game invitation codes, it all aimed to shift their focus onto Anna and her relationship with New World. This made them realise that Dong Yuan intended to rescue Anna from New World. By the time they destroyed New World, Dong Yuan's plan would be fulfilled, and Anna would be rescued.

So what was Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu's true purpose?

The answer was – the USB drive!

Until the search team was deployed, among the many USB drives SCI had obtained, only this empty one hidden in the orchid shop was inexplicable. Why would someone go to such lengths to hide a brand-new USB drive? Was it really an accident, as Chen Fu claimed?

Obviously not!

Zhan Zhao started pondering from the moment they effortlessly obtained the crucial evidence to destroy New World, why did Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu send this USB drive to them? Their real purpose was to prevent them from searching for the real USB drive anymore.

At first, the verdict on Boss Wang's murder was that he possessed evidence against Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu, which led to his pursuit by Wang Meiyun.

But in the end, it turned out that the evidence he had was detrimental to New World, and it was cleverly handed over to SCI by Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu. The reason was simple... they did this to stop SCI from finding the real USB drive that was harmful to them.

So which USB drive did Boss Wang possess?

As a participant in the New World competition, it was reasonable to assume that he had evidence against New World on his USB drive. But at the same time, as someone who had free access to the Dong Group, and since Dong Yuan also participated in New World, where crimes were committed as a team, it indicated that Dong Yuan also had subordinates.

If Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu discovered evidence in Dong Yuan's possession that accused them, Dong Yuan died, and coincidentally, a florist who frequented the Dong Group was also a participant in New World, then it would be logical to speculate that the evidence Dong Yuan had against them might be in Wang's possession.

So they pursued Boss Wang to retrieve the USB drive...

But after killing Boss Wang, they didn't find the USB drive.

Now Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu were in a hurry. Besides needing to find the USB drive themselves, more importantly, they needed to stop SCI from finding it.

This is where Chen Gui and Chen Fu came into play.

The story about the three USB drives might have some truth to it, but in the end, Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu only found the USB drive containing evidence of New World’s crimes.

At this point, Qian Yu should have vaguely realised that they had been deceived by Dong Yuan. The allure of joining New World didn't seem as appealing anymore, so, for self-preservation, they sacrificed New World. Their sole purpose was to make SCI believe that there were no more USB drives to find.

So why was Zhan Zhao so sure that Qian Yu would attend the film festival?

Because the thought of there possibly being another USB drive containing evidence against Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu immediately made Zhan Zhao think of Dong Yuan.

Where would Dong Yuan hide a USB drive?

Zhan Zhao recalled the unfinished video Dong Yuan sent to Anna.

In it, Dong Yuan left a clue. He was interrupted before finishing his sentence, and it seemed like someone was looking for him.

Someone came to find him, and there were only two possibilities: either a guest he knew or an unexpected visitor. If it wasn't Wang Meiyun and her group who found him, could this person be someone Dong Yuan arranged to meet? Dong Yuan died that very day, and everything was meticulously planned by him, so, who would he meet before he died? Someone he trusted, who could carry out tasks for him. It's very likely that Dong Yuan handed the USB drive to that person at this moment.

So ultimately, who would Dong Yuan give this USB drive to?

Without even having to think about it, a name popped into Zhan Zhao's head – Anna!

Dong Yuan did all of this for Anna. He put the key to destroying New World into the hands of Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu, so, after New World was destroyed, where was the key to destroying Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu? In Anna's hands! This was actually more like a thank-you gift to SCI.

Anna must have received this USB drive after Dong Yuan's death. What did Anna receive after Dong Yuan died?

The guardian angel!

Moreover, this guardian angel seemed to carry a sense of destiny for Dong Yuan. In the game, he was Anna's "guardian", and in the real world, he became Anna's true guardian angel.

Based on this reasoning, Zhan Zhao asked Zhao Jue to open up Anna's angel to see if there was a USB drive hidden inside.

With Zhao Jue's intelligence, he immediately understood the connection. This time, Zhan Zhao figured it out before him, so he praised "smart". Besides praising Zhan Zhao, he also praised Dong Yuan – this was simply a flawless plan! It carried a strong sense of artistry and destiny. At the same time, as Dong Yuan himself said, he was an incorrigible villain and a gambler... His final mad plan was a perfect critical hit, causing New World, the house, and Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu, who tried to reap the rewards, to lose everything.

After subsequent interrogations and investigations, Zhan Zhao and the others understood the whole story of the case.

Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu's original plan was indeed to replace Dong Yuan, driven by their great ambitions, infiltrating the New World game and implanting Qian Yu's paintings to gradually take control. The first victim, Jin He, and Tang Xing, who killed Jin He, were both subordinates of Qian Yu and Wang Meiyun.

Jin He developed the New World game, which wasn't directly related to this case, but since Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu were clueless about computers, they needed Jin He's help for everything. Unfortunately, Jin He couldn't keep his mouth shut and later started using these matters to blackmail Wang Meiyun, so he was eliminated.

The earliest attempt to embed images in the horror film Don't Open Your Eyes was an experiment by Qian Yu.

Fei Mu's blind date was also one of the victims. They filtered out people who might be affected based on electronic ticket purchase records and then added some interference factors to achieve the experiment's purpose.

The strange crossed line phone call that Fei Mu received was also part of the experiment.

However, Qian Yu and Wang Meiyun's happiness was short-lived. They soon discovered that SCI was involved, and things started going increasingly wrong. Eventually, they realised they had been tricked by Dong Yuan, and by then, it was too late to escape.

In other words, while SCI thought Wang Meiyun and Qian Yu wanted to replace Dong Yuan, the truth was that they were just trying to retrieve the USB drive that could incriminate them.

This is also why Zhan Zhao was certain that Qian Yu would show up at the film festival. He also guessed that Dong Yuan might have given the USB drive to Anna. When he saw Anna holding the phone charm, he remembered seeing a similar guardian angel on Dong Yuan's desk. This gave him a glimmer of hope that they could retrieve the USB drive. Little did he know, this was Zhan Zhao's surprise for him, letting him experience the emotional rollercoaster from hope to disappointment.

......

This case had a significant impact, even prompting legislative changes in internet management in certain regions, and many people were arrested.

At the same time, many people were saved, not just Anna.

A week after the case concluded, Anna, her family, and the SCI team attended Dong Yuan's funeral together.

In the end, the Dong Group was not left to Anna.

Dong Yuan had arranged everything in advance. The Dong Group was dissolved, the assets sold, and all the money was used for various lawsuits and aftermaths. In short, he cleared away any potential troubles for Anna and her mother.

He left nothing for Anna, except freedom.

After the funeral, everyone departed.

When Bai Yutang saw the epitaph, which read "I didn't love you that much," he felt a bit helpless.

Zhan Zhao, on the other hand, smiled faintly.

When a liar says "I love you," it doesn't necessarily mean he truly loves you.

When a liar says "I don't love you," he might really love you.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

As per usual, because the case ended today, there will only be one chapter uploaded. The new case will start on Monday!

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: May 26, 2024 by Angel

Edited: November 26, 2024 by Angel