S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 188

Special Files – Witches 35 – Missing

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Bai Yutang drove Zhan Zhao, Zhao Jue and Guan Yi back to the SCI office.

The three psychology doctors chatted enthusiastically along the way, discussing everything from sacrifices to the sense of ritual. In short, they went on and on, and Captain Bai didn't listen to a single word, feeling completely numb.

They finally arrived back at the SCI office, and it was nearly dawn. Everyone went to sleep.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue, still full of energy, suggested going to the cemetery to look at Che Dongming's grave, but Gongsun scolded them.

"What are you doing going to the cemetery in the middle of the night? Go to sleep!"

Everyone went back to their own homes, agreeing to discuss everything in the morning.

Bai Yutang first drove Guan Yi and Zhao Jue home, then took Gongsun and Zhan Zhao back together.

Brother Bai's villa was still quite lively; Chen Mi, Xu Lie and Su Feifei were all in the living room making a bed on the floor, while the twins stayed up late playing games as usual. Bai Jintang had finally waited for Gongsun to come back, and looked at Bai Yutang with a displeased expression – Did he really need to work so late?

Bai Yutang was also tired and went to take a shower first.

Hearing Xu Lie and the others discussing a trip after the celebration party, Zhan Zhao asked the twins, "Are you having a celebration party?"

The twins nodded, "Yes, it's customary to have a meal together after finishing a film."

"When is it?"

"Tomorrow."

"Where?" Zhan Zhao seemed somewhat interested.

"At the Bai Group's hotel. We'll have the celebration party and then sign a contract," the twins pointed to Su Feifei.

Su Feifei, now back to her usual self, cupped her cheeks and smiled, indicating that she was now officially an employee of the Bai Group!

Zhan Zhao rubbed his chin and asked the twins, "Will there be many people there tomorrow?"

"There should be quite a few. The film was a big production, so the crew will all be there, along with many media outlets. There's also a signing ceremony and a press conference... A'Lie and Feifei have been in the spotlight lately, so it's a good time to promote the film." The twins looked at Zhan Zhao warily, as if asking – What are you planning?

Zhan Zhao waved his hand, ignoring the twins for now, and asked Xu Lie and Su Feifei, who were playing cards, "Have any of you heard of the name 'Che Dongming'?"

Everyone shook their heads, indicating they hadn't.

"Then what about 'Shen Bin'?"

Again, everyone shook their heads.

"What about 'Ding Ying'?"

Everyone still shook their heads, but Su Feifei suddenly raised her hand.

Zhan Zhao asked her, "Did you see Ding Ying for depression treatment?"

Su Feifei shook her head, "No, but now that I think about it, I've heard the name Shen Bin before."

"Where did you hear it?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Su Feifei hugged her arms and tilted her head, indicating she couldn't remember at the moment.

"Could he be a relative of Shen Yan?" Bai Chi suddenly asked.

Zhan Zhao thought momentarily and nodded, but didn't say anything further.

Bai Yutang came out after his shower and urged everyone to go to bed...

......

Meanwhile, at Zhao Jue's villa.

Zhao Jue sat on his bed, surrounded by a pile of documents that Hou Yingqi had previously given him, related to the investigation of the Shen family's disappearance case.

There were also several research reports on the seventh generation.

As he was reading through the experimental data, Zhao Jue's phone buzzed with a message and an attachment.

Zhao Jue opened the attachment, which contained experimental data.

After reading it, Zhao Jue tapped his chin with the documents, making a "tsk tsk" sound and muttering to himself, "I knew it... how could there be another finished product?"

Sitting on the bed with his arms crossed, Zhao Jue thought for a while, then smiled slightly, got up, went to the desk, tore a sheet from a notepad, and wrote a few words...

......

The next morning, after waking up, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang arrived at the SCI office.

Bai Yutang called all the staff members for a meeting to analyse the case.

The current situation was relatively complex, but they had plenty of clues and evidence at hand.

Firstly, there were two separate cases: one was the double murder in the cornfield committed by Fang Dongshun and his mistress. The other was the campus artificial lake murder case committed by Wang Zhengyu, who they had arrested the previous day.

Although the perpetrators of these two cases had been caught, both of these self-proclaimed clever criminals had, to some extent, been incited and guided. The real mastermind behind them was the Leapfrog Killer.

At present, SCI's understanding of the Leapfrog Killer was limited to his name, Shen Bin, a composite sketch of his real face, some blurry surveillance photos, and a sketch of him often disguised as a certain character.

Everyone found it impressive that this guy had been a fugitive for five years, yet had never been caught and continued to commit crimes.

Additionally, the Leapfrog Killer was the prime suspect in the murder of Ding Ying and was closely linked to the out-of-control seventh generation experiment Zhao Jue was recently investigating.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, piecing together their clues, had a lot of information but still couldn't figure out who the mysterious out-of-control seventh generation subject was.

"The person who initially painted the hanged man picture was Che Dongming, who was also the dangerous seventh generation test subject under Ding Ying and Guan Yi's surveillance, but he died of a heart attack five years ago," Zhan Zhao said, pointing to a photo of Che Dongming on the big screen, along with evidence they had recently found like the stone coffin and photos of the greenery near the cemetery. "The Leapfrog Killer's actions indicate he knew Che Dongming. The Leapfrog Killer seems to idolise Che Dongming, perhaps out of voluntary worship or deliberate indoctrination. Overall, the Leapfrog Killer's actions are a tribute and a sacrifice to Che Dongming."

"The Leapfrog Killer imitated Che Dongming's paintings when he was very young, indicating they must have known each other from a young age," Zhao Hu, a bit confused about their relationship, said. "Ding Ying sought out Zhao Jue, providing only that painting as a clue. So, did he want Zhao Jue to investigate Che Dongming or the Leapfrog Killer? If it's Che Dongming, hasn't he been dead for five years? If it's the Leapfrog Killer... then Guan Yi said the Leapfrog Killer isn't a seventh generation test subject."

"Moreover, Guan Yi said Ding Ying told him the out-of-control seventh generation test subject was only five or six years old," Ma Han added, feeling the two people were quite confusing. "So far, no child of that age has appeared..."

"Not exactly," Zhao Hu reminded, "think beyond the realm of the living... think more in the supernatural direction..."

Everyone looked at Zhao Hu, who was making a ghostly face.

"The rumoured Shen family's little daughter who was resurrected was around that age," Gongsun, who perked up at the mention of this topic, said. "Also, when the incident happened at Shen Xin's cement factory, the suspect was believed to be the ghost of a little girl. Plus, when Su Feifei went to the Shen family villa's basement, she was following a little girl in burial clothes of that age..."

"Could it be that these people's meddling actually summoned something?" Zhao Hu asked.

Everyone shook their heads – They were dealing with a crime story, not a horror movie.

"What if Xiao Yumi is already five years old?" Zhao Hu continued with his wild ideas, "That experimental organisation is always working on anti-ageing and such."

Everyone looked at him speechlessly – It wasn't a science fiction movie either!

"Su Feifei has dissociative identity disorder, right?" Bai Chi asked Zhan Zhao curiously, "Could that little girl be one of her personalities?"

"The problem is..." Bai Yutang reminded, "besides Su Feifei, someone else saw her walking with the little girl."

"Tony."

Zhan Zhao had already noted his involvement, "Although he hasn't been very active, let's not forget... he was the first to discover the body. He found the first corpse in the cornfield while looking for Su Feifei's necklace. He also alerted us to the hanged man drawing, leading us to the crystal-seller charlatan Chen Feng, which connected the case to the seventh generation Zhao Jue was looking for."

"And he's been filming with Xu Lie, so he should be quite familiar," Bai Yutang was also suspicious of him, "Could it be that Xiao Yumi being sent to Xu Lie is related to him?"

"But there's no evidence yet. Focusing on him recklessly might alert him," Zhao Hu and Ma Han said, having asked Qi Le and Jiayi about him before, with no issues found.

Gongsun nodded in agreement, "The twins said he's a bit superstitious, but overall, he's quite normal."

Bai Chi, noticing the sudden shift to Tony, felt a bit out of the loop, so he asked, "When did you start suspecting him?"

Everyone smiled at Bai Chi – The innocent kid.

"He's not exactly a suspect, it's hard to say what role he plays," Zhan Zhao explained. "Typically, people who 'accidentally' reveal clues are either involved idiots or insiders who know something but can't say anything directly, so are providing hints covertly. Tony has been quite obvious. Although he seems stupid, claiming to see Su Feifei with a little girl in burial clothes while no one else did, he practically exposed himself... Unless he's lying or there really are ghosts, right?"

"The Leapfrog Killer," Bai Yutang refocused on Shen Bin, "Five years ago, he used stalking and intimidation, but recent crimes show significant changes."

Zhan Zhao nodded, agreeing with Bai Yutang's assessment, "Indeed, he was initially a direct participant. Recently, he's taken a behind-the-scenes role, but the essence remains, it can only be said that he's evolved."

"Essence?"

"Normally, a girl walking alone at night, on a dark, deserted path, sees a man in black stalking her, she would naturally scared, right?"

Everyone nodded.

"So, when the Leapfrog Killer chased that girl, there was no need to perform the leapfrog action," Zhan Zhao said.

Everyone nodded again... indeed.

"Analysing the Leapfrog Killer's behaviour, the odd act aimed to amplify fear," Luo Tian said.

"Exactly, and his consistent pose each time is strange. Usually, criminals use a consistent technique or leave a signature to become infamous," Zhan Zhao continued, "But apart from the one girl who escaped, all the other victims died... meaning the pose didn't bring him fame until there was a survivor. After a survivor appeared, the Leapfrog Killer never used the same technique again..."

Zhan Zhao circled back, asking the group, "Do you understand what this means?"

Everyone nodded, "He wanted to see fear in his victims but leave no trace, hiding behind the scenes to disguise murders as accidents."

Zhan Zhao nodded, "When the Leapfrog Killer's wanted poster came out, he likely reconsidered his methods, or perhaps received advice... Sooner or later, such crimes would be discovered, since a murder without a murderer, even if staged as an accident, isn't foolproof!"

"So, he evolved, not only targeting the victims but finding the culprits," Qin Ou shook his head, "Causing harm to two parties, safer than before... This kind of crime likely occurred frequently in his five-year absence, right?"

"This time, it just happened to land in our laps, or rather... coincidentally tied to the seventh generation and the Shen family disappearance case," Bai Yutang tapped the table, looking at Zhan Zhao.

"If the Leapfrog Killer operated this way for five years, he must have been careful and kept a low profile... but the recent cases have too many flaws," Zhan Zhao tasked Bai Chi and Jiang Ping with reviewing the last five years' murder cases, looking for first-time killers trying to stage perfect murders.

Bai Yutang sent Qin Ou and Luo Tian to the prison to interview incarcerated murderers, checking if anyone had seen the Leapfrog Killer, disguised or not. Zhao Hu and Ma Han were sent to the hospital to investigate the previous night's attack and the black-clad man who attempted to poison Zhou Hao.

After the arrangements were made, Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao and Gongsun if they wanted to visit the Bai Group, as the film crew's celebration party seemed ripe for trouble.

Gongsun agreed – Jintang had the same premonition last night.

Zhan Zhao was on the phone, trying to ask Zhao Jue to join.

But Zhao Jue didn't answer.

Zhan Zhao then called Bai Ye.

The phone soon connected.

Bai Ye was feeding puppies in the yard when Zhan Zhao asked about Zhao Jue. "He's still asleep," Bai Ye said.

"Still asleep at this hour?" Zhan Zhao was dissatisfied, "Aren't old people early risers?"

Bai Ye returned to the villa, went upstairs, knocked on Zhao Jue's door, and opened it... The curtains were drawn, and the bed had a long mound, tightly covered by the quilt.

Bai Ye frowned slightly, sensing something amiss. He lifted the quilt, speechless. There were two pillows under it.

A note was stuck to one of the pillows.

Bai Ye read the note and told Zhan Zhao, "Zhao Jue is missing."

"Huh?" Zhan Zhao was puzzled.

Bai Yutang and Gongsun also looked over.

"What do you mean, missing?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Literally." Bai Ye helplessly read the note – I'm missing, come find me.

‿︵‿︵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 24, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 23, 2024 by Soojin