S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 191

Special Files – Witches 38 – Minion

---

Zhao Hu and Ma Han had just come out of the hospital when the facial recognition results from Jiang Ping's side came through. A wanted notice was sent to Zhao Hu's phone.

Hu Zi got into the car, looking at his phone while fastening his seatbelt, and suddenly froze, "Damn... a big fish! Do you remember the 'Devil Nurse' case from five years ago?"

Ma Han frowned, "The one where the serial killer bought insurance for elderly people and then killed them for the payout?"

"Yeah!" Zhao Hu nodded vigorously, "Wasn't there an elderly survivor who provided a sketch of the killer? It's the same person who came to the hospital yesterday to deliver the corpse and harm Zhou Hao!"

Ma Han thought the modus operandi was indeed similar, "Five years ago, he also injected sodium-containing drugs into the IVs, causing the patients to die of heart failure. Since they were all elderly, heart attacks didn't arouse suspicion... The situation is quite similar to the Leapfrog Killer."

"Right, both failed crimes five years ago when the survivors saw what they looked like and disappeared after the sketches came out, only to pop up again recently," Zhao Hu speculated. "He's probably been at it for the last five years, just like the Leapfrog Killer, but using methods like manipulating those three zombies, indirectly, by hiding behind the curtain."

Ma Han found it highly possible, "Also like the Leapfrog Killer, he has two faces."

"Could be the same makeup techniques..." Hu Zi shook his head, "Tsk, turns out there's a mass production. I thought there was only one Leapfrog Killer..."

"The question is, why have they all suddenly appeared?" Ma Han was puzzled, "It's like they've been gathering in front of us ever since the cornfield case."

"A form of alternative surrender?" Zhao Hu asked, "Where are we going next?"

Ma Han started the car and told Zhao Hu to ask the captain.

......

Meanwhile, in the Bai Group's hotel, Bai Yutang was looking at the alert system on his phone.

A screenshot and information of a criminal recognised by the facial recognition feature appeared on the screen.

Bai Yutang frowned at the information, "Hammer Butcher..."

"Really?!" Zhan Zhao, excited, leaned forward and bumped heads with Bai Yutang, causing both to clutch their heads in pain.

Zhao Jue reached out to pat their heads and asked, "Who's the Hammer Butcher..."

The wanted notice showed a scrawny middle-aged man with drooping eyes. There was a reward of one million, and he was wanted for dozens of murders, mainly attacking truck drivers in remote public toilets with extreme cruelty, often using a hammer. Five years ago, during a missed attack on a driver, he was struck on the left cheek with a bottle, and then the Hammer Butcher vanished.

"Oh, this is a highly dangerous violent criminal... what's he doing at the hotel?" Zhao Jue was curious.

Bai Yutang opened the system's recognised surveillance screenshot... and found the Butcher in a hotel staff uniform in the stairwell.

......

In the underground car park, Bai Ye found Bai Yutang's car, took out Zhan Zhao's tablet, and started walking back.

Just as he entered the elevator, he heard footsteps outside, and a hand reached in just as the doors were closing.

Bai Ye looked at the hand gripping the door.

With a ding, the lift doors reopened, and a hotel porter in uniform walked in.

The banquet hall was on the twentieth floor, which Bai Ye had already pressed.

The porter entered the elevator without pressing any buttons and just stood there. He was a scrawny middle-aged man with drooping eyes, dark skin, and a light scar on his left cheek.

Bai Ye noted the wrinkled and ill-fitting uniform, the crooked hat, and the coarse, cracked hands...

"Aren't the porters supposed to work only in the lobby three?" Bai Ye asked.

The porter didn't move upon hearing this and remained silent for a while. Then his shoulders started shaking slightly, and he let out a "hehehe..." laugh.

He suddenly raised his hand and pressed the emergency stop button on the elevator.

With a creak, the elevator stopped at the thirteenth floor.

Bai Ye saw the man, with his back to him, seemingly rummaging through his clothes while still chuckling.

The man slowly turned around, revealing a sinister smile with a mouthful of crooked teeth, and holding a hammer.

Bai Ye looked at the man in front of him with some exasperation.

"Let's start with you... hehehe," the man laughed eerily, raising the hammer to strike Bai Ye.

......

At the banquet hall entrance, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang saw in the surveillance that the Hammer Butcher appeared in the stairwell leading to the underground parking lot, so they decided to take the elevator down.

The elevator stopped on the thirteenth floor.

As soon as it stopped, the surveillance room received a malfunction alert.

The security personnel in the surveillance room saw two people in the elevator, one holding a hammer, and immediately called Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang answered the phone and heard the security team shouting, "Two people are trapped in the elevator, one has a hammer... aiya... wow!"

Bai Yutang was startled, thinking that some unlucky person was trapped in the elevator with the Hammer Butcher.

"What's the situation now?" Bai Yutang asked as he ran downstairs.

On the phone, he heard the surveillance team collectively exclaiming, "Wow! That's brutal! Tsk tsk tsk... Hurry and save him!"

Bai Yutang, anxious, wondered if there would be another victim of the Hammer Butcher after so many years. That would be too unfortunate...

Arriving on the thirteenth floor, Bai Yutang looked for tools to pry open the elevator door.

At the same time, he heard banging and screams from the elevator.

Soon, several nearby security guards arrived with keys and crowbars...

Just as they were about to pry open the door, the noise inside the elevator suddenly stopped...

After a while, the elevator seemed to resume operation, and with a ding, the doors opened.

Immediately with a whoosh... a bloodied figure flew out of the elevator, hitting the opposite wall with a bang... leaving a red, human-shaped imprint on the wall.

Bai Yutang saw the person sliding down the wall – dressed in staff clothes... it wasn't some unlucky passerby, but rather the Hammer Butcher himself... with a hammer cradled in his chest.

Everyone turned to look.

Bai Ye walked out of the elevator with the tablet, and with some disdain, complained to the hotel security, "Why don't your hotel staff pay attention to their mental health and personal hygiene? Did you see how long it's been since that guy brushed his teeth?"

Bai Yutang was momentarily speechless – so the "unlucky guy" trapped was Bai Ye... but in truth, it was the Butcher who was unlucky for being trapped in an elevator with Bai Ye and even trying to attack Uncle Ye... That was a death wish.

Bai Yutang found an empty room to handcuff the Butcher and called Zhao Hu and Ma Han to come over.

Zhao Hu was surprised listening to the phone, then hung up and told Ma Han, "Captain said Uncle Ye caught the Hammer Butcher!"

Ma Han raised an eyebrow, "Impressive."

......

In the banquet hall of the Bai Group's Hotel, the atmosphere was getting better. No one knew that a "bloody incident" had just occurred downstairs... The extremely dangerous serial killer, the notorious Hammer Butcher, was now questioning his life after being beaten by Uncle Ye.

Bai Yutang had the security team send a few people to guard the prisoner and called the criminal police team to take the murderer away.

The criminal police team was overjoyed to hear that such a notorious criminal had been caught and asked Bai Yutang who caught him.

Bai Yutang thought for a moment, "Just... an enthusiastic citizen..."

The criminal police team reminded Bai Yutang not to forget to bring the person in to claim the reward, praising him as an excellent citizen.

Bai Yutang hung up, a bit confused himself, then looked at the Butcher's yellow teeth, turned, and dragged the unexpectedly rich Bai Ye to the bathroom to wash their hands.

Upstairs, waiting at the elevator, Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue saw the twins rushing out with their phones.

Xiao Ding complained to Zhan Zhao, "I can't believe we caught a wanted criminal, do you guys have some kind of gravitational pull? All the dangerous people come running to the hotel!"

When Zhan Zhao's phone buzzed, he was puzzled. Bai Yutang asked him and Zhao Jue to come down to the thirteenth floor to interrogate the Butcher.

Zhan Zhao pulled Zhao Jue downstairs.

......

Bai Yutang and Bai Ye finished washing their hands and were waiting in the corridor.

Bai Yutang was looking at the information Zhao Hu had sent over. The person who tried to harm Zhou Hao last night was another serial killer who had disappeared five years ago.

"Why are they all appearing now?" Bai Yutang couldn't understand.

At this moment, Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue came down, and they all gathered around the "Butcher," finding him looking dirty and not fierce at all. He was now very meek after being dealt with by Bai Ye.

Bai Yutang signalled to the two of them – Since they had caught a live one, they should ask him why he came to the hotel.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue looked at the Butcher with some disdain, playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who would ask.

Bai Yutang was about to say something when his phone started vibrating again... The alarm sounded again.

Bai Yutang muttered while reaching for his phone, "No way..."

Sure enough, he opened his phone, and the surveillance had identified another criminal, matching a wanted notice.

Bai Yutang's eyes widened, "Really..."

Bai Ye glanced and asked, "Another one with a reward of a million?"

Bai Yutang looked at him helplessly – Are you here to get rich?

Bai Ye urged him to open it and even patted his head – I'll buy you a folding screen when I receive the reward.

Bai Yutang sighed.

Zhan Zhao was curious too, "Who is it this time? Another serious criminal?"

Zhao Jue asked, "Is there another bounty?"

Zhao Jue mumbled, "Why didn't I think there was such a road to riches before..."

While saying this, he asked Bai Yutang to make a spreadsheet for him later; they could send those idlers at home out to catch bad guys! Making money and eliminating harm at the same time, how great!

The criminal identified this time looked very familiar.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both frowned –the Leapfrog Killer was here!

The two exchanged glances – In broad daylight, he came to the Bai Group himself.

Before they could fully register their shock, the alarm sounded again.

Bai Yutang noticed a new red dot on the screen, indicating another person had arrived.

Opening the new surveillance footage – Bai Yutang found it familiar too, matching the surveillance footage Zhao Hu had sent from the hospital.

"The Devil Nurse!" Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue were curious if there was a bounty on the wanted notice.

Then, Bai Yutang's phone started vibrating again, with three red alert dots appearing simultaneously on the screen.

Zhao Jue looked at the phone with some disdain, "Is it broken... so noisy!"

Zhan Zhao, on the other hand, asked Bai Ye, "Has Uncle Ye's left eyelid been twitching lately?"

Bai Ye was also speechless, wondering what was going on, the murderers turning themselves in? A collective surrender day?

Bai Yutang opened three files in a row, finding that the escapees identified by Luo Tian and Qin Ou's investigation at the prison this morning had all appeared in the hotel, disguised as staff, guests checking in, and even mixed in with reporters...

Bai Yutang calculated, "If we catch all these people... the KPI for the year will be through the roof..."

Zhan Zhao squinted, "Walking year-end bonus!"

At this time, Ma Han and Zhao Hu arrived near the hotel and were studying which garage entrance to use when they received a call from Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang told them not to enter the garage, but to park the car at the mall next door and to bring the criminal police team over, then contact the SWAT team to standby, as there were at least six wanted criminals in the building.

Zhao Hu and Ma Han were both wide-eyed – End-of-year performance boost?

Bai Yutang coordinated with the security personnel in the surveillance room while signalling to Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue with a three gesture – I'll give you three minutes to interrogate the Butcher about why they were all gathering at the Bai Group.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue rushed in. When Bai Yutang hung up the phone, they had already come out, looking confused.

"What did he say?" Bai Ye was curious.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue uttered one word in unison – Minions!

‿︵‿︵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 26, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 24, 2024 by Soojin