S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 185

Special Files – Witches 32 – Painting Competition

---

In the SCI office, Zhan Zhao received a call from Chen Mi.

Chen Mi briefly explained what had just happened. He sounded quite helpless, saying that he was seriously disturbed by the two One was Su Feifei, who was hiding behind him like a frightened child, peeking at Bai Ye. The other was Xu Lie, who was excitedly whispering in his ear, comparing Bai Ye and Bai Yutang's fighting abilities.

Zhan Zhao, holding the phone, was stunned and doubted his hearing, so he asked again, "You said Uncle Ye caught three what? Zombies?"

Nearby, Bai Yutang and the other SCI members were also drawn over – Zombies?

Next door, Gongsun, perhaps with some radar system, rushed over immediately, asking as he ran, "What zombies? Who mentioned zombies?"

Zhan Zhao, also helpless, had to go to the hospital with Bai Yutang. Gongsun handed over his work to Ma Xin and Xia Tian, then squeezed into the car to go to the hospital with them.

......

Zhan Zhao sat in the front passenger seat, tapping furiously on his phone.

Bai Yutang asked, "Why would a hospital suddenly have zombies? Are they after Xiao Yumi or Zhou Hao?"

"No idea, Zhao Jue isn't replying to my messages!" Zhan Zhao, holding his phone, was getting anxious.

......

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Zhao Jue had his phone in his pocket and was chatting with Zhou Hao on the hospital bed.

After looking at two drawings of the leapfrog man, Zhou Hao said he recognised one of them. He was referring to the portrait of the actual leapfrog man.

Zhao Jue was somewhat surprised. If he knew the real leapfrog man, it meant their encounter might have been accidental, rather than orchestrated by the leapfrog man.

"How do you know him? How well do you know him?" Zhao Jue heard footsteps, asked this question, and looked up at the doorway.

Bai Ye walked in, followed by a crestfallen Su Feifei.

After the earlier incident in the basement, Xu Lie and Chen Mi guessed SCI would come, so they didn't rush home and instead went to accompany Xiao Yumi.

Su Feifei was still in a somewhat split personality state from earlier, so Bai Ye brought her to find Zhao Jue. Meanwhile, Zhan Zhao kept bombarding with messages, asking Bai Ye why Zhao Jue wasn't replying.

Zhao Jue gestured for Bai Ye to wait. Zhou Hao glanced at the door, then suddenly opened his mouth wide, "Su... Su..."

He seemed agitated, with the monitors showing his heart rate and blood pressure significantly rising, prompting doctors to rush over.

Zhou Hao pointed at Su Feifei, stammering, "My goddess! My idol! My favourite celebrity!"

The doctors motioned for Bai Ye and Su Feifei to step out, so they had to wait at the door.

"If you answer well, I'll let her take a photo with you later!" Zhao Jue pointed at Zhou Hao, telling him to breathe deeply, otherwise the heart surgery would be wasted.

Zhou Hao quickly adjusted his breathing, becoming more spirited and talkative, "This guy's name is Shen Bin, and we were in the same club."

"What club?" Zhao Jue asked, puzzled. "A gang?"

"School club activities!" Zhou Hao emphasised, "The Hanged Man Club!"

Zhao Jue found it baffling, "What's that? A cult?"

Zhou Hao looked exasperated, "It's a Tarot card enthusiasts' club!"

"Then why not just say Tarot card enthusiasts' club?" Zhao Jue was also exasperated.

"The Hanged Man sounds cooler!" Zhou Hao was displeased with Zhao Jue's disdain for his hobby.

Zhao Jue waved off the argument, continuing, "So, did you meet him during a fortune-telling session?"

Zhou Hao was annoyed, "You have a stereotype! Why do you think Tarot cards are for fortune-telling? We study Tarot card culture!"

Zhao Jue stared at the young man, patiently asking, "Tell me about Shen Bin. Is he also in your club?"

"Yeah," Zhou Hao nodded.

"A classmate?"

"Same school, he's in the art department," Zhou Hao replied.

Zhao Jue frowned, after all this time, he was still a student? He took out his phone to ask Jiang Ping to investigate... but noticed it was on silent mode, flooded with messages and missed calls... like a furious cat demanding attention with flared teeth and claws.

"Are you close with Shen Bin?" Zhao Jue sent a message to Jiang Ping, asking him to check if there was a student named Shen Bin in the art department of Zhou Hao's school.

"Not too close, we met once at an art competition when we were kids, so we have some connection." Zhou Hao seemed thirsty, pointing to the water cup on the bedside table.

Zhao Jue handed him the water cup, asking him to elaborate on the art competition.

"I participated in a painting competition when I was a kid, my aunt signed me up. When I got there, I found many participants, and I didn't know what to draw, so I borrowed a card from my aunt and drew it." Zhou Hao nudged at the straw on the bedside table, wanting to drink with it.

Zhao Jue rolled his eyes, thinking kids today were troublesome, but he pulled out a straw and stuck it in the cup, asking, "What card?"

"A Tarot card, my aunt likes Tarot cards," Zhou Hao replied.

"Was it the Hanged Man?" Zhao Jue asked.

"Yeah," Zhou Hao nodded.

"I drew the Hanged Man..."

Zhou Hao was interrupted by Zhao Jue, "What's your aunt's occupation?"

Zhou Hao blinked, "She's a doctor... a psychologist."

Zhao Jue frowned, "What's her name?"

"Guan Yi," Zhou Hao noticed Zhao Jue's subtle expression and asked, "Do you know my aunt?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Hmm... Just a feeling, you two seem a bit alike. Are you also a psychologist?"

Zhao Jue found this amusing and asked back, "Do I look like a psychologist?"

"A bit," Zhou Hao continued drinking water, and continued recounting how he met Shen Bin as a child, "I was drawing the Hanged Man, and halfway through, a kid next to me asked for yellow paint, said his was used up, so I lent it to him. Then I went over to see, wow! He was a little genius, his painting was amazing!"

Zhao Jue showed him the suspected work of the seventh generation on his phone, asking, "Is this the one?"

Zhou Hao stared at the phone, then nodded, "Yeah! That's the one!"

"Did you talk to him then?"

"No, my aunt did."

"Your aunt accompanied you?" Zhao Jue asked, "What did they talk about?"

"About painting and stuff, also witches and magic, he borrowed my Tarot cards to see..."

Zhao Jue showed him the enlarged image of the Hanged Man in the crystal ball, "Is this your card?"

"What the, what is this..." Zhou Hao shook his head, "The Hanged Man doesn't lie half on the ground like that! And how could he lie like that, his spine would be broken!"

Hearing this, Zhao Jue suddenly touched his chin and muttered to himself, "Broken spine..."

"Your aunt..."

"Why do you keep asking about my aunt?" Zhou Hao was curious, "Do you know her? She's single!"

Zhao Jue laughed, "Do you know why your aunt is single?"

"High standards, I guess?" Zhou Hao seemed to have thought about it seriously, "My aunt is beautiful! Hmm... in terms of appearance, you two actually match well! But the one at the door seems even more handsome... aiya."

When Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang walked into Zhou Hao's hospital room, they saw Zhao Jue grabbing Zhou Hao's hair and shaking him while saying, "Don't go around setting your aunt up with people. Did you know your aunt is like a spider with eight legs and she eats people?"

A group of medical staff watched in horror as Zhao Jue used violence on a bedridden student.

Zhan Zhao rolled up his sleeves and went over to pull Zhao Jue away, thinking no wonder he wasn't replying to messages, he was busy bullying people!

On the other hand, Bai Yutang looked puzzled, while Gongsun glanced at Bai Ye leaning against the wall and Su Feifei yawning on a chair at the door – Didn't he say that he captured the zombies? Where are the zombies?"

Zhan Zhao finally managed to pull Zhao Jue away when Zhao Jue's phone rang. He checked it and saw it was Jiang Ping calling back.

Jiang Ping said there was no student named Shen Bin in the art department. He had checked all the Shen Bins in the country and did facial comparisons; none matched the Leapfrog Killer.

"There's no student named Shen Bin in your school's art department," Zhao Jue told Zhou Hao, who was fixing his hair.

Zhou Hao was stunned. "What? How is that possible? He was clearly in the art department..."

Mid-sentence, Zhou Hao seemed to remember something, stroking his chin and muttering to himself, "Could it be he's not from our school?"

Zhan Zhao looked at Zhao Jue in confusion – What are you two talking about? Did you ask what I told you to ask?

"Did you see each other again after the childhood painting competition?" Zhao Jue signalled the curious Zhan Zhao to wait and continued questioning Zhou Hao. "Did your aunt ever ask you about him or mention him?"

"No, I saw him again when I was organising a club event in my first year of university. You know how our Tarot club is pretty niche, people aren't usually interested. That day I was handing out flyers, and Shen Bin happened to pass by. I recognised him immediately."

"You recognised him? After all these years, you recognised him at a glance?" Zhao Jue asked.

Zhan Zhao desperately wanted to join the conversation but didn't know the context, which frustrated him.

Bai Yutang asked Bai Ye about the zombies. Bai Ye said they were in the emergency room; the doctors just examined them and said they were poisoned.

Bai Yutang signalled to Zhan Zhao, indicating they should go to the emergency room with Gongsun to check it out first.

"I have a great memory," Zhou Hao said proudly, pointing to himself. "My aunt trained me from a young age on how to enhance my memory, so my grades are also good."

Zhao Jue looked up at the ceiling.

Zhou Hao looked at him suspiciously. "Come to think of it, do you have some grudge against my aunt? Could it be that you're involved... aiya!"

Before Zhou Hao could finish, Zhao Jue grabbed his ear. Zhan Zhao quickly pulled him away.

Zhao Jue poked Zhou Hao with a straw. "Ask your aunt if her face is big enough for such rumours! Involved? I told you, your aunt is like a spider with eight legs!"

Zhan Zhao was speechless. "Who exactly is his aunt?"

Zhao Jue, fuming, said, "Guan Yi."

Zhan Zhao was taken aback, looking at Zhou Hao, then at Zhao Jue. "Guan Yi, who treated Hou Yingqi before? What's her connection to this case? Do you know Guan Yi? You acted strange when you heard her name earlier."

Zhou Hao, rubbing his ear while looking at Zhao Jue with a gossipy expression, grabbed his phone from the bedside table to complain to his aunt.

He actually got through, and soon he was on the call, Zhou Hao pouted, "Auntie, someone is bullying me!"

Then he asked Zhao Jue, "What's your name again?"

Zhao Jue took his phone and handed it to Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao signalled for him to answer.

Zhao Jue clicked his tongue.

Zhan Zhao reluctantly answered the call, "Dr. Guan, this is Zhan Zhao."

Guan Yi was silent for a moment. "Oh... Dr. Zhan, let the person next to you answer."

Zhan Zhao glanced at Zhao Jue and handed him the phone.

Zhao Jue refused to take it.

Zhan Zhao asked Guan Yi, "Can I put you on speaker?"

"Heh." Guan Yi laughed, "Sure."

Zhan Zhao turned on the speaker, and Guan Yi's voice came through, "Professor?"

Zhao Jue looked up at the ceiling.

Zhan Zhao gave him a sidelong glance – She's calling you, say something!

Zhou Hao was also curious. "Are you a professor? So young? Are you a genius?"

"A genius among geniuses," Guan Yi's voice carried a smile, "and a devil among devils."

Zhan Zhao recalled that Guan Yi was a highly authoritative figure in psychology and was still young, in her forties. He had seen her at some forums, beautiful and attractive. Once, after a conference, Bai Yutang picked him up, and they coincidentally met Guan Yi. Bai Yutang was surprised she was a scholar, noting she seemed fit and capable.

Zhan Zhao pondered for a moment, then looked at Zhao Jue – Was she part of the organisation, or another experiment?

Zhao Jue clicked his tongue again.

Guan Yi seemed to guess what everyone was thinking during the brief silence and said, "I used to be the professor's assistant. Is Bai Ye there?"

At the door, Bai Ye glanced towards the room.

Guan Yi chuckled, "When you ditch the professor, remember to come find me..."

Before she finished, Zhao Jue grabbed the phone, ready to throw it out the window.

Zhan Zhao quickly snatched it back.

Zhou Hao, now brimming with curiosity, looked at Bai Ye at the door and then at Zhao Jue. "I see... my aunt does have good taste... aiya!"

Zhan Zhao watched helplessly as Zhou Hao got hit again. This kid certainly had a knack for getting on people's nerves.

Ignoring Zhao Jue, Zhan Zhao picked up the phone and asked Guan Yi, "Someone is impersonating your nephew... do you remember Hou Yingqi you treated before?"

Guan Yi asked, "Who is impersonating Zhou Hao? If they know he's hospitalised, that means they've contacted him? Is it a dangerous person?"

"A serial killer..." Zhan Zhao looked at Zhao Jue, "named Shen Bin?"

Zhao Jue nodded.

"Shen Bin..." Guan Yi thought for a moment, then asked, "Professor, did Ding Ying contact you before?"

Zhao Jue stopped tugging on Zhou Hao's hair. "Ding Ying is dead."

"You're mistaken," Guan Yi suddenly said, "The seventh generation that Ding Ying is looking for is not Shen Bin! Shen Bin is not the seventh generation at all."

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue exchanged glances.

"My nephew might be in danger. Take good care of him, I'll be there right away." Guan Yi seemed anxious and hung up.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue looked at Zhou Hao in confusion.

Zhou Hao was equally puzzled.

At that moment, a rolling sound came from the door. Bai Ye looked up and saw a nurse pushing a small cart towards them down the hallway.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter

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 22, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 20, 2024 by Soojin