S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 174

Special Files – Witches 21 – Child

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The direction of the case's development left Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang somewhat unable to grasp the main point. The mystery of the five people from the Shen family who disappeared five years ago... clues began to emerge in an unexpected manner 

After talking with Wang Hua, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang returned to the basement once again.

At this time, Shen Yan... or rather Su Feifei, had calmed down under Hou Yingqi's comfort.

Zhan Zhao stared at Shen Yan for a while, then beckoned Zhao Jue over with his finger, indicating – Let's talk privately.

Zhao Jue sauntered over, and Zhan Zhao quietly recounted what Wang Hua had just said.

Zhao Jue was slightly taken aback, tilting his head and looking at Zhan Zhao with a somewhat complicated expression.

This was the look Zhao Jue usually reserved for Zhao Hu. Zhan Zhao rubbed his chest, feeling a bit hurt.

Not to mention that Zhan Zhao had never seen such a case before, Zhao Jue hadn't either...

The two of them simultaneously turned to look back.

At this moment, Shen Yan was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, seemingly asleep from exhaustion after crying.

Hou Yingqi was holding a notebook, writing and sketching something.

Seeing the notebook, Zhan Zhao suddenly remembered – if this person was truly Shen Yan, she should recognise him... she had seen his signature before, and she had read many of his books, indicating she had studied psychology for a long time, yet she didn't recognise him at all during their meeting just now.

Zhan Zhao was now full of doubts – Could it be that it really wasn't Shen Yan's personality, but the younger sister of the Shen family? But Shen Yan didn't give the impression of being such a young girl... how many personalities were there in total?

Compared to Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue's brainstorming, Bai Yutang and Bai Ye were more interested in the basement environment.

Who arranged this basement?

"Hmm..."

At this moment, Shen Yan stirred and opened her eyes.

Seeing her awake, Hou Yingqi was about to ask if she wanted water.

However, as the two looked at each other, Hou Yingqi was stunned... how to put it, Shen Yan's eyes now were completely different from before... as if she were a different person.

After opening her eyes, Shen Yan stared at Hou Yingqi for a long time, seeming somewhat puzzled, then began to look around.

Finally, she looked questioningly at Bai Yutang, who was closest to her, and asked, "Captain Bai?"

Bai Yutang and Bai Ye stared at Shen Yan. Not only were her expressions different, but even her voice and articulation had changed...

Bai Yutang tentatively asked, "Shen Yan?"

Shen Yan looked confused, "I'm Su Feifei. Captain Bai, don't you recognise me?"

Bai Yutang and Bai Ye instinctively exchanged glances and then turned to look at Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue.

As a "newbie", Hou Yingqi widened her eyes at the strange girl beside her – What was happening? Was this acting? Or a live personality switch? It was quite thrilling!

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue both stared at Su Feifei.

Su Feifei seemed to have a headache and, while rubbing her head, asked, "Where am I? Sis! Sis!"

Just like Shen Yan had called out "Dad" earlier, now Su Feifei was calling out "Sis."

Unlike the previous lack of response, there was now a hurried sound of footsteps upstairs, and soon, Su Feifei's manager came rushing down, almost tripping in her haste. She ran to her side, "Feifei!"

Su Feifei instinctively reached up to touch the necklace on her neck and asked in confusion, "Where am I?"

Her manager cupped her face to check her condition and, realising she was indeed back to normal, immediately hugged her and cried, "You scared me to death... I thought you had gone mad! Ahhh, have you been too tired lately?"

Bai Yutang and Bai Ye frowned; they didn't understand either and could only continue looking back at Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue.

At this moment, Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue's expressions were quite similar, like Luban seeing something novel and fascinating. Their eyes were bright, filled with curiosity despite their confusion.

......

Obviously, after reverting to Su Feifei, she had no memory of being Shen Yan.

The manager didn't understand the situation, and Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue didn't recommend explaining it to Su Feifei just yet; her condition needed further observation.

Thus, Bai Yutang had to ask Su Feifei how she got there.

Su Feifei sat on the bed thinking for a while, "I met a very cute little girl while I was resting. She said her house was ahead, but the road was dark and she was scared to walk alone, so I walked her home... then..."

As she spoke, Su Feifei rubbed her head and looked around, while her manager was almost frantic, "How could you walk with her alone? Weren't you afraid of danger?"

Looking back, Su Feifei also found it a bit strange and murmured, "I don't know what happened. It felt like I was possessed or something..."

The manager, apparently quite superstitious, recalled Su Feifei's odd behaviour and couldn't help asking Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, "She couldn't have encountered something evil, right?"

Zhan Zhao placated her with a few words and then pulled Bai Yutang aside to discuss.

Bai Yutang felt troubled. They needed to verify Su Feifei's identity. If she truly was Shen Yan, they could take her back to the police station to investigate the Shen family case from years ago.

But if Su Feifei wasn't Shen Yan... there was nothing they could do. Even if she did have multiple personalities, it wouldn't fall under police jurisdiction. Additionally, no one knew when she might switch personalities again.

While Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang couldn't come up with a solution, Su Feifei had already climbed out of bed and ran out of the basement to continue filming.

The film crew was baffled, and the director was nearly in despair, wondering if the film would ever be completed.

The crew members returned to continue working, leaving Zhan Zhao and the others to inspect the Shen family's villa.

Bai Yutang led a team to search the area around the Shen home but found no sign of a girl dressed in traditional Chinese clothing or funeral attire.

Since the Shen home was unoccupied and nearby construction had left the area largely deserted, they couldn't find any witnesses.

The only one who provided a bit of a clue was Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen said that he saw a figure flash by earlier, but it wasn't a child, it was an adult male, and his posture was very strange.

Bai Yutang asked him how it was strange.

After thinking for a while, Zhao Zhen gave an answer – the running posture looked like a frog's.

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang clicked their tongues at him.

Zhao Zhen looked innocent – How come he was being looked down upon even after providing evidence...

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were speechless. The evidence was unclear, and it even linked back to the previous frog-like murderer case. Seriously, this area was cursed.

The search didn't end until the early morning, but it wasn't entirely fruitless.

In the area where Zhao Zhen claimed to have seen the figure, Bai Yutang found two pine cones, along with some messy footprints nearby.

There were no pine trees nearby, so the pine cones on the ground seemed out of place.

Although unsure if they were useful, Bai Yutang had the forensics team take them back anyway.

......

In the rest area near the filming crew, Chen Mi sat waiting for Xu Lie, occasionally chatting with Zhao Zhen and Bai Ye.

At the beverage area, Zhao Jue was having a lively chat with a group of girls from the crew, as popular as ever.

Zhan Zhao searched through all the written materials in the villa, feeling tired and hungry with a swollen mind. Finally finished, he walked over to Bai Ye and the others and dragged a chair to sit down.

Chen Mi handed him a glass of water, and just as Zhan Zhao took a sip, Bai Yutang walked over, talking on the phone.

"You're sure?" Bai Yutang frowned as he confirmed something with the person on the other end of the line.

"What's wrong?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Bai Yutang sat down next to him, looking slightly puzzled, "The forensic team says that Su Feifei's DNA doesn't match Wang Hua's. They're not mother and daughter."

Everyone was stunned.

"So, after all this effort..." Zhao Zhen asked, "it was a mistake?"

Chen Mi couldn't quite understand, "If it was a mistake, then why did she split into Shen Yan just now?"

"And did her mother also mistake her for someone else?" Bai Ye found it a bit absurd...

Zhan Zhao glanced at Zhao Jue not far away, who was still chatting with a group of girls. He then looked back at Bai Ye.

Bai Ye and Zhao Zhen probably had only one-tenth of their attention on the case here, while the other nine-tenths were focused on the drone flying above the filming scene in the distance. The two were discussing the model of the machine.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang suddenly remembered... Whenever Zhao Zhen bought a new drone or interesting props, he would talk on the phone for quite a while, discussing boring stuff like data and parameters... So, he was chatting with Bai Ye over the phone?

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged glances – So, Uncle Ye likes mechas? It seems like sending fruit to lose! And why were the two of them so close?!

On second thought, Zhao Zhen was Zhao Jue's relative, so he had a closer relationship with Bai Ye... Another loss!

Bai Yutang poked the displeased Zhan Zhao and pointed at himself – When it comes to relatives, Cat, you lose, not me.

Zhan Zhao indignantly stomped on Bai Yutang's foot.

Rubbing his foot, Bai Yutang whispered to Zhan Zhao, "Then why don't we just investigate the car accident from back then?"

Zhan Zhao thought it was a good idea. There might be something fishy in this area, and the incidents seemed to be connected.

At that moment, Bai Yutang's phone rang again, this time it was someone from the forensics team.

After listening for a moment, Bai Yutang frowned and hung up, then told Zhan Zhao, "Su Feifei's DNA doesn't match Wang Hua's, but it matches the DNA extracted from the pillow and clothes taken from Shen Yan's room."

Everyone was stunned.

"So, it means that Su Feifei did indeed live in the Shen family's house before?"

"The forensic team said it's not certain, Su Feifei might have stayed there recently, so further investigation and comparison are needed."

"Could it be that her personality changed several times, and when she turned back into Shen Yan, she went back to her hometown for a few days..." Zhan Zhao analysed various possibilities, all of which seemed too bizarre.

"Is the child biologically hers?"

Zhao Jue, who came back at an unknown time, stood behind Zhan Zhao sorrowfully.

Zhan Zhao glanced back at him.

Bai Yutang found this idea quite plausible, "If Shen Yan was adopted when she was young, this scenario could make sense."

"Let's ask." Zhan Zhao asked if Wang Hua was still around, but Bai Yutang said she had already left.

Everyone frowned – Maybe she was adopted, but it didn't feel quite right, after all, she had come to see her daughter filming...

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao with the phone in his hand – Should they ask?

Zhan Zhao nodded, suggesting Bai Yutang to ask. It was safe over the phone, they wouldn't get beaten up if it went wrong.

Bai Yutang reluctantly made the call.

After hearing the question, Wang Hua was silent for a moment, then calmly replied, "Yes, I gave birth to her after ten months of pregnancy. Is there a problem?"

Bai Yutang was stumped by her response, realising that further questioning might lead to a scolding, so he hung up the phone first.

Bai Yutang called the forensic team again, asking if there might have been a mistake in the DNA comparison between the mother and daughter. The forensic team replied that they had checked three times, and the result was consistent.

Now Bai Yutang was scratching his head.

Zhan Zhao also found it suspicious, "Could it be so dramatic, like in a TV drama, where the baby was switched at birth?"

"Why would a switched baby have the same hereditary disease as the father?" Bai Yutang retorted.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue both looked at him askance – Dissociative identity disorder isn't hereditary!

Bai Yutang muttered under his breath, "It's just a hereditary mental illness."

Upon hearing this, everyone around him gasped – Captain Bai was bold!

Sure enough, Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue's eyes turned dangerous – Say that again?! Mental illness?!

Bai Yutang smiled as he looked at the two – What can you do to me?

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue were both stunned – So arrogant!

But then they realised – there was seemingly nothing they could do to him...

Just then, Bai Yutang's phone rang again.

He glanced down and saw that it was Bai Jintang calling.

The time displayed on his phone was already 3 a.m.

Bai Yutang furrowed his brow – Why was his older brother calling him at this hour?

Answering the call, Bai Jintang's voice came through, "Are you still at the filming location?"

"Mhmm, we are."

"Where's Xu Lie?"

"Xu Lie..." Bai Yutang looked up, and the others followed suit... they saw Xu Lie filming in the distance.

"He's filming. What's the matter?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Just now, the company security guard called and said someone delivered a package to the Bai Group overnight, and the recipient was Xu Lie. When we opened it..." Bai Jintang paused for a moment. "Can you guess what was inside?"

Bai Yutang blinked. Knowing his older brother and Xu Lie's style, he replied, "A box... a human head?"

"Heh." Bai Jintang sounded unusually upbeat, "Your imagination is not wild enough!"

Zhan Zhao leaned in and asked, "What's going on?"

Bai Yutang briefly explained, then turned on the speakerphone. Zhan Zhao asked, "Sent to Xu Lie? Feces?"

Bai Yutang wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Because it was quite peculiar, Gongsun and I took a look together." Bai Jintang said, "Listen for yourselves."

Within moments, the sound of a baby crying came through the phone.

Everyone was stunned.

"Is it a baby?!" Zhan Zhao exclaimed.

The rest of them were equally shocked.

"Mhmm." In the lobby of the Bai Group, Bai Jintang extended the phone towards Gongsun, who was checking the baby.

Gongsun shouted into the phone, "It's a girl, around six months old. You guys ask Xu Lie what he did?!"

Everyone instinctively looked at Chen Mi.

Chen Mi, holding his cup without moving, remained silent for a moment before responding, "If we add six months to the ten months of pregnancy, that's sixteen months ago... during that time, we were on vacation in the Maldives. He shouldn't have had time for anything else."

Everyone was shocked – Oh! An alibi... wait, that's significant information...

Chen Mi held his cup and continued, "But nothing is absolute. We'll take him to the police station later for a paternity test. If it's really him, send him to the distillery in the south of the city."

Everyone was puzzled, "Why send him to the distillery?"

Chen Mi casually replied, "Oh, there's going to be an explosion there tomorrow. We'll tie him to a weight pillar and add a few more tons of explosives."

Everyone silently took a half-step back – feeling the wrath...

Meanwhile, in the distance, Xu Lie, who was filming, suddenly shrank his neck.

Tony, who was acting opposite him, asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you?"

"It felt like there was a gust of cold wind just now..." Xu Lie looked around cautiously and muttered to himself, "An ominous premonition..."

‿︵‿︵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: June 7, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 18, 2024 by Soojin