S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 182

Special Files – Witches 29 – Momentum and Logic

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Many "high IQ" criminals in this world end up exposing themselves. Due to overconfidence, these clever individuals often reveal obvious flaws to the police. This was the case with Fang Dongshun before, and it is now the case with Wang Zhengyu.

After reading the post, Zhan Zhao began to suspect Wang Zhengyu.

From the start, Wang Zhengyu emphasised that the girl following Chen Yan was not from their school, and his reasoning was – she was particularly beautiful.

This was essentially trying to convince the readers of the post – such a beautiful girl, if she were from the school, he would definitely know her.

This reasoning was actually quite far-fetched. With a comprehensive university the size of S University, having tens of thousands of students, no one could guarantee they remembered every single person, let alone guarantee they had seen everyone.

So why did he say that? This is a typical evasion tactic.

He was subtly suggesting to the readers, "She's not from our school! So there's no need to investigate within the school."

But the truth was – the murderer was indeed from the school.

Wang Zhengyu described himself as the sole eyewitness, and immediately after, he was attacked, with his phone, which contained crucial evidence of the suspect's appearance, being stolen.

According to his logic, while watching the post by the artificial lake, he saw the murderer, got scared, and ran away, only to be chased, knocked out, and have his phone stolen. The perpetrator then deleted the post from the campus network, turned off the phone, and disposed of it.

This explanation seemed clear in cause and effect, but the only unreasonable part was it implied that the murderer was both a superhuman and an idiot.

Firstly, Wang Zhengyu claimed he accidentally saw a non-student passing by the laboratory building.

Could that person, upon glancing up, immediately recognise him inside the teaching building, remember his appearance, and perceive that he was making a post?

It suggested the murderer was omniscient.

Even if it was such a coincidence, and the murderer knew everything, she was only photographed passing by the laboratory building with Chen Yan, without any substantive evidence proving she committed murder.

Would it be necessary to take such a huge risk to attack and steal the phone on a campus with so many police officers, just to delete a photo of them passing by together?

Moreover, deleting that post was akin to saying "there's no silver buried here," making it more conspicuous than not deleting it.

Additionally, even without the photo, Wang Zhengyu could describe the suspect, or say she resembled a certain female celebrity... Such facial features wouldn't be difficult to recall even without a photo. The photo, taken from inside the teaching building, was not that critical.

The purpose of Wang Zhengyu's actions was to fabricate the presence of a non-existent person. Once this was understood, he naturally became the prime suspect.

Lies in this world come in two types: those based on momentum and those based on logic. Momentum-based lies aim to intimidate, while logic-based lies aim to mislead.

As an elite among psychology elites, to deceive Zhan Zhao, you would need to be on Zhao Jue's level.

To Zhan Zhao, Wang Zhengyu's lies were too obvious. The problem was how to expose him. Critical evidence was needed – that was his phone.

If this so-called female suspect did not exist, then Wang Zhengyu must have disposed of his own phone.

The time between posting by the artificial lake and the phone being turned off was very short. Wang Zhengyu had just enough time to find a secluded spot, injure himself, hide the weapon, and feign unconsciousness. Hence, the phone must have been hidden nearby. The safest place to hide it would be on himself. Zhan Zhao deduced that the phone was likely still on Wang Zhengyu.

To be sure, before going to the school hospital, Zhan Zhao had Zhao Hu and Ma Han search along the route carefully.

Zhao Hu and Ma Han found half a brick with some blood on it in the bushes, but despite searching twice, they couldn't find the phone. This made Zhan Zhao even more certain that the phone was on Wang Zhengyu, and he needed to find a way to make him produce it himself.

Additionally, Zhan Zhao sensed a familiar element in this case.

Chen Yan was killed after "tricking" Zhao Li into going to the desolate countryside. Zhao Li was attacked by the Leapfrog Killer. When the police investigated, they would naturally link Chen Yan's death to the Leapfrog Killer.

But if Chen Yan was murdered by Wang Zhengyu, what did it have to do with the Leapfrog Killer?

"Framing a murder on a serial killer" was similar to Fang Dongshun's behaviour not long ago.

Moreover, Fang Dongshun and Wang Zhengyu had a subtle similarity; both were top students, both were arrogant, and everything they did was under the illusion of perfect logic without any flaws...

How did Wang Zhengyu know the leapfrog man would attack Zhao Li? It was simple, two possibilities: one, he actually knew the Leapfrog Killer, and they conspired together. Two, he made an arrangement with someone to impersonate the Leapfrog Killer to attack Zhao Li and frame the Leapfrog Killer...

And this "certain person" was in the same role as the "intern" in the previous case with Fang Dongshun, so a reasonable suspicion would be that the "intern" was causing trouble again.

To verify which situation it was was very simple, just let Wang Zhengyu know that the person who attacked Zhao Li was not the intern disguised as the Leapfrog man, but the real Leapfrog man.

Sure enough, when Wang Zhengyu saw the photo, he instantly realised he had been fooled and that the "certain person" he collaborated with was actually the real serial killer.

"Did I cooperate with you to kill someone just to incriminate myself?" What for? For fun, because life was twisted! Wasn't it terrifying?

Of course, Wang Zhengyu was scared.

Zhan Zhao asked Luo Tian to find a black hoodie, while Dr Xu asked the medical staff at the school hospital to leave temporarily, creating a "terrifying" environment for Wang Zhengyu.

When you realise you have crossed paths with a plotting serial killer, a normal person's first reaction is to avoid being alone and to seek a crowded place. People are most vulnerable when they are paranoid.

Zhan Zhao knew how to handle emotions perfectly. First, he created a scary atmosphere, and at the peak of Wang Zhengyu's fear, he had Luo Tian frighten him.

If the leapfrog man's appearance alone wasn't enough to scare Wang Zhengyu crazy, the inhuman "force" with which Luo Tian slammed the door certainly was. Wang Zhengyu genuinely believed that the Leapfrog Killer would kill him to silence him, so in the end, he chose to expose himself...

Simply put, Zhan Zhao used another method to deceive Wang Zhengyu. Wang Zhengyu relied on "logic," while Zhan Zhao relied on "momentum."

However... things were not over yet.

A slightly recovered Wang Zhengyu sensed a subtle difference.

The Luo Tian in front of him and the figure lurking outside the window earlier were not just different in appearance but also in aura.

The "terror" created by Luo Tian came from the atmosphere; without that special atmosphere, Luo Tian appeared tall and righteous, not terrifying at all but rather safe.

The figure outside the window was different, creating an inherently terrifying aura.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang instantly realised something. Ma Han and Zhao Hu had already run out of the hospital.

Bai Yutang went to the window, opened it, and looked outside.

Outside the hospital window was a narrow concrete passageway, beyond which was a greenbelt, then a pedestrian path within the campus. Not far away was the teaching building. At this time, many students, in groups of twos and threes, were walking along the path after their evening classes, and some were heading to the cafeteria for a late-night snack. It was quite lively.

At this moment, Ma Han and Zhao Hu also arrived.

The three of them stared at the ground outside the window.

On the concrete ground directly opposite the window were three pine cones.

Bai Yutang took out an evidence bag.

Zhao Hu and Ma Han put the three pine cones into the evidence bag and checked the surroundings... There was no one nearby.

Bai Yutang handed the evidence bag to Zhan Zhao, who took it and looked at it, puzzled – More pine cones? Why did the Leapfrog Killer always leave pine cones when he appeared? There were no records of this in previous cases.

Luo Tian put Wang Zhengyu into the police car and took him back to the SCI office first. Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang also left the hospital.

Soon, Zhao Hu and Ma Han returned from running around the campus, reporting that they couldn't find anyone in a black hoodie; there were too many people on campus, making it easy to hide.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both frowned – So was the Leapfrog Killer at the university? Or did he come specifically to take a look?

Bai Yutang contacted Jiang Ping and asked him to issue two wanted notices, one for the Leapfrog Killer and one for the intern.

Jiang Ping first reviewed the personnel files of S University to ensure neither the Leapfrog Killer nor the intern were among the staff or students, and then he issued the wanted notices.

......

"Is that leapfrog man really the seventh generation?" Bai Yutang was a bit puzzled, "What exactly is his motive?"

Zhan Zhao thought for a moment and provided an answer, "Maybe he's just a bad person?"

Bai Yutang looked at him.

"It really feels like he just enjoys doing bad things!" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang walked along a path on the S University campus.

"Look, both Fang Dongshun and Wang Zhengyu are bad people, right? But from thinking about killing, planning to kill, to actually killing, that's a qualitative change! As long as they don't take action, even if they think about it every day at home, it's not illegal. But the leapfrog man is like the devil's whisper, tempting them. In the end, they committed murder, but they didn't get away... they were also caught in the devil's scheme, not only arrested but also humiliated."

"Compared to the previous accidental killings, the leapfrog man's behaviour is an upgrade." Bai Yutang asked, "So he stopped committing crimes back then because he found a more 'interesting' way to do it?"

"It's possible. This is a kind of pure evil." Zhan Zhao nodded, "And both times he appeared before us, he left pine cones. Isn't there a bit of provocation in that?"

Bai Yutang felt that there was indeed provocation in it, "Cat, do you think he appeared on purpose to provoke us? Or did he really want to kill Wang Zhengyu?"

Zhan Zhao was also unsure, but they did have leads. They needed to interrogate Wang Zhengyu further to see how he conspired with the "intern." If the leapfrog man really wanted to silence him, it would suggest Wang Zhengyu knew some crucial information.

Additionally, they had uncovered a stone coffin. They needed to determine if the body of the Shen family's youngest sister was inside.

The two of them got into the car and left S University, heading back to the SCI office.

......

Meanwhile, at the hospital.

Xiao Yumi's surgery was very successful. After the operation, the child was placed in the observation room for monitoring.

The previous incident where the child was attacked had stirred up significant attention online. Not only were the hospital and police on high alert, but various media outlets had also brought their own security. No unauthorised individuals were allowed near Xiao Yumi's ward; anyone attempting to approach would be photographed or even live-streamed.

Unknowingly, the child had become an internet sensation. Xu Lie, acting as the "guardian," watched the baby in the observation room and realised – this might have been the intention of the person who brought the child here, safety! Now, Xiao Yumi should be very safe.

Chen Mi had just returned from completing some hospital admission procedures for the child with Yang Fan when he received a call from Zhan Zhao, asking him to inquire with Xu Lie if he had any special impressions of "pine cones".

Chen Mi approached the ward door and tapped Xu Lie, who was leaning on the glass window, watching the baby. "Zhan Zhao wants to know if you have any impressions of 'pine cones.'"

"Pine cones?" Xu Lie looked puzzled. "What pine cones? The kind that grow on pine trees?"

Xu Lie clicked on the photos Zhan Zhao had sent him.

There were three photos: one taken on the ground near Shen Yan's house, one placed on a tombstone in the wilderness, and one outside the window of the school hospital.

Xu Lie frowned. "What the hell is this?"

Chen Mi relayed this verbatim to Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao asked if Xu Lie had recently come into contact with pine cones, noting that the pine cones had his fingerprints on them.

Reminded this way, Xu Lie did remember. "Ah! The Christmas tree! I recently shot a clothing ad. One set of photos had me wearing a sweater and hanging pine cones on a Christmas tree. That's probably the only time I touched pine cones. I don't normally encounter them."

Chen Mi thought about it and quickly searched "Xu Lie, sweater", soon finding many pictures, including some of him hanging pine cones on a Christmas tree.

......

In the car on the way back to the SCI office, Zhan Zhao saw the advertisement photos Chen Mi had sent over.

"So it was from a photo shoot." Zhan Zhao was puzzled – How did the shooting props end up in the Leapfrog Killer's hands? And... what special significance did the pine cones have?

By this time, Bai Yutang's car had already entered the police station's parking lot.

As soon as they got out of the car, Zhan Zhao received a message from Gongsun – The coffin has been opened! It's incredible, come and see!

The two exchanged glances and quickly rushed to the elevator, heading straight for the forensic lab.

‿︵‿︵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 18, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 19, 2024 by Soojin