S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 195

Special Files – Witches 42 – The Real Killer

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Zhan Zhao took a photo and sent it to Jiang Ping.

After a short while, Jiang Ping sent a message back.

Zhan Zhao handed his phone to Bai Yutang to have a look.

Bai Yutang frowned slightly, "As expected..."

Earlier, Gui Jiali had used her experience to "remove the makeup" from the sketch of the disguised Leapfrog Killer, and the result was the Leapfrog Killer.

Bai Yutang thought that this method of removing and applying makeup had a certain pattern and was very useful, so he asked Jiang Ping if designing a program for this would be difficult.

Jiang Ping said it was not difficult at all, similar to a beauty filter, so he designed one that could automatically remove and apply makeup to photos.

Zhan Zhao sent Lin Tian's photo to Jiang Ping.

Jiang Ping used the program to apply and remove makeup from Lin Tian's photo and sent both resulting photos to Guan Yi.

When Guan Yi saw the photo with the makeup applied, she said that there was a caregiver in the hospital who looked like that when Che Dongming was hospitalised.

Che Dongming had limited mobility and needed a wheelchair to get around. Almost every day, a caregiver would push him around the hospital for about an hour to get some sun...

Guan Yi actually had some impression of this caregiver at that time because she often saw other caregivers pushing patients out, but she only saw this caregiver pushing Che Dongming and no one else.

However, Guan Yi didn't think much of it at the time. Now that she thought about it... perhaps he wasn't a hospital caregiver, but to them, he appeared to be one, and to others, he seemed like a family member of the patient...

......

At this time, it was the media's question time. The host asked the main creators to pick journalists to ask questions. As the lead actor, Xu Lie took the microphone first.

Many reporters in the banquet hall raised their hands. When Xu Lie was selecting, he noticed someone outside the reporters' area raising their hand.

Xu Lie pointed towards that person...

A large group of reporters thought Xu Lie was pointing towards the back and turned their heads together.

They saw that the person raising their hand was Zhan Zhao.

And Xu Lie was indeed pointing at Zhan Zhao.

Su Feifei glanced at Xu Lie.

Xu Lie shrugged – Since he had raised his hand... let him ask his question.

At the entrance, the twins squinted at Zhan Zhao.

Backstage, Bai Jintang and Gongsun, who were preparing to go on stage for a speech, were also puzzled as they watched Zhan Zhao suddenly appear on the big screen.

Zhan Zhao took the microphone and said, "I am the psychologist from SCI, Dr. Zhan Zhao."

Several reporters recognised him and curiously held up their cameras.

Zhan Zhao said, "I have a question for Lin Tian."

Everyone on stage and a large group of reporters looked at Lin Tian.

Lin Tian took the microphone handed to him by Xu Lie and smiled, "Dr. Zhan... what do you want to ask me?"

Zhan Zhao said, "In the film, you played a ruthless villain."

Lin Tian nodded.

"So in real life, as a serial killer who has taken multiple lives and committed crimes for over twenty years, known as the Broken Spine Murderer, were you simply playing yourself?"

As soon as Zhan Zhao finished speaking, there was a dead silence. For a moment, everyone lost their ability to control their expressions.

"Pfft..." The first to react was the host.

The host, who had been planning to take a break and have a drink, had a mouthful of tea. When he realised what Zhan Zhao had said, he couldn't help but spray it out.

The host choked and started coughing.

The reporters at the scene instantly exploded. As a professional instinct, the flashbulbs started going off, and many began searching for "Broken Spine Murderer."

Today's press conference was being streamed live online, and the livestream also blew up, with the number of viewers skyrocketing.

The twins, watching the viewership count rise, got excited, "Oh! This promotional method is really unexpected... Zhan Kitten, a marketing genius!"

Gongsun, who was adjusting the shape of Bai Jintang's tie knot, couldn't help but exclaim, "The seventh one!"

Big Brother Bai clicked his tongue and shook his head, thinking that they wouldn't escape being on the front page tomorrow, "Why don't you hold your police department's annual meeting at my Bai Group in the future? You can catch thieves and celebrate simultaneously!"

Lin Tian suddenly became the centre of everyone's attention.

He seemed a bit surprised, frowning slightly as he looked at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao saw his expression, smiled, and waved his phone lightly at him, "Don't you understand yet?"

Lin Tian's eyes suddenly widened, and with a clatter, his phone fell to the ground. The phone's screensaver lit up, showing a picture of an adorable five or six-year-old girl.

Ma Han and Zhao Hu went up on stage and handcuffed Lin Tian. Tony reached out and picked up Lin Tian's phone. The screen suddenly displayed the sinister face of the little girl, followed by eerie laughter.

Tony frowned slightly...

The phone screen went black, and the phone shut down automatically.

The banquet hall was in an uproar, and the host quickly announced the cancellation of the live broadcast.

Backstage, Big Brother Bai, holding his speech notes, was displeased, "Took half a day to prepare."

Gongsun was also displeased, looking at the increasingly bizarre tie knot, "Took half a day to tie!"

They exchanged a glance, and Big Brother Bai asked, "To the rooftop?"

Gongsun reached out, took the champagne intended for the celebration from the table, and, with a smile, went upstairs with Bai Jintang.

......

In the SCI office, everyone was present, including Bao Sir.

Because the case was so significant, capturing seven serial killers at once, most people didn't understand how Zhan Zhao had figured out that Lin Tian was the Broken Spine Murderer.

Bao Zheng also didn't quite understand, so he asked Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang to hold a case briefing.

Zhan Zhao started by posting an A4 colour photo on the whiteboard. The photo was of Lin Tian's screensaver, the cute five-year-old girl.

This little girl was Lin Tian's daughter, Lin Zhenzhen.

Lin Tian had video calls with his daughter almost every day and had a very close relationship with her.

Most of the film crew knew this girl.

Zhan Zhao smiled slightly and pointed at the little girl in the photo, "How can a five-year-old child command seven serial killers to kill many people?"

Everyone was speechless...

On one hand, they were shocked, wondering if this girl was the mastermind.

On the other hand, their imaginations were running wild.

"A dwarf? Actually an adult?"

Everyone shook their heads. It didn't make sense; dwarfs don't look like this.

"A genius?"

They shook their heads again. That didn't seem feasible either...

"Orphan..."

Everyone glared at Zhao Hu... Your usual horror movie scenario, huh?

"I couldn't figure it out either." Zhan Zhao smiled, "But she just revealed herself."

Everyone looked at Zhan Zhao in confusion.

Bao Sir also said, "Explain clearly!"

Zhan Zhao said, "The key was the call that the Leapfrog Killer received earlier."

Everyone recalled that moment.

"To direct the Leapfrog Killer's escape, several conditions were needed." Zhan Zhao said, "First, knowing the internal structure of the Bai Group to ensure the elevator stops on the twentieth floor. Second, having access to the internal surveillance of the Bai Group to know which floors the police had ambushed. Third, seeing the situation in the hall to know when Yutang rushed out of the banquet hall."

Everyone frowned – Meeting all these conditions simultaneously seemed impossible...

"You've all talked on a video call before, right?" Zhan Zhao suddenly veered off-topic.

Bai Yutang silently glanced at him, and the others frowned at him – Please use simple and clear language to explain in the best possible Chinese!

Nearby, Zhao Jue impatiently yawned – Does it really need to take this long to explain...

"At that time, in the banquet hall, Su Feifei and Tony were listening to a call, and the Leapfrog Killer was also on a call. Only Lin Tian was on a video call, and his video call was with his daughter," Zhan Zhao looked at everyone, "With video calls, you might only see the other person's face, but they might see more than just your face."

Everyone thought about it and nodded – The angle was the key.

When Lin Tian video called his daughter, Xu Lie greeted him, so Lin Tian held the phone far away.

"His camera could capture other parts of the banquet hall, which means his daughter was the only one who could directly see what was happening in the hall."

Everyone thought about it, "So, there was someone beside Lin Tian's daughter who saw the situation in the banquet hall and informed the Leapfrog Killer?"

Zhan Zhao shook his head, "I said that all three conditions need to be met simultaneously, three perspectives, the banquet hall, surveillance cameras, and the hotel's internal structure, all of which must be visible."

Everyone frowned, looking at Zhan Zhao – How could this be achieved?

"An accomplice?" someone asked, "A hacker?"

Many people nodded, thinking it was possible.

"Think more broadly," Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, "This is a hacker even Jiang Ping couldn't detect. Moreover... I asked Xu Lie, the crew members, and people familiar with Lin Tian, and almost everyone had seen Lin Tian's daughter, Lin Zhenzhen, but only through video calls or photos. No one had seen the girl in person..."

At this point, Jiang Ping suddenly shouted, "AI?"

Bao Zheng also understood, "So the out-of-control seventh generation Ding Ying mentioned... is a five-year-old artificial intelligence?"

"These killers surrendering themselves today, the Leapfrog Killer's strange behaviour, and Lin Tian being exposed..." Zhan Zhao waved Lin Tian's phone, which had been wiped clean of all content, "The out-of-control five-year-old seventh generation is an artificial intelligence created from Che Dongming's data after his death. Che Dongming continues to exist in the form of an AI. Maybe Ding Ying originally intended it for experimentation, but eventually... it went out of control."

Everyone frowned – So that's what happened...

"Is the Shen family's collective disappearance case also related to this AI?" Bai Chi asked Zhan Zhao.

"Remember the strange basement in Shen Yan's house?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Putting aside the unreliable superstitious summoning, what was the main feature of that basement?"

"It was completely isolated from any electrical appliances and it insulated from the outside world," Bai Yutang thought for a moment, "Shen Yan's diary mentioned multiple times 'she came,' 'she seemed very angry'... Was she referring to the AI?"

Zhan Zhao raised an eyebrow, "Mhmm-hmm, only in that basement could she not be monitored."

"So it was able to find and control so many serial killers," everyone understood, "through online data collection..."

"Controlling so many serial killers, she used them to manipulate malicious individuals into committing crimes and then sending these individuals to the police..." Jiang Ping muttered to himself, "Is she collecting data for self-improvement?"

Bao Zheng waved his hand, "Wait, wait, wait... Are you sure this isn't a sci-fi movie? Then... where is this AI now? Did it escape? Is it on the internet? How many people could it harm?"

Zhan Zhao looked at Jiang Ping, "Although I don't fully understand, if she could escape to the internet, she wouldn't need to eliminate all her minions, right?"

Jiang Ping nodded, "It's not to that extent yet. AI is just a set of algorithms, so there must be a huge computer setup in a server room somewhere... Ding Ying might have collaborated with a tech company. This is not something that a couple of people could pull off!"

"We need more information," Bai Yutang looked at the door where Tony and Su Feifei were entering with Bai Ye, "Can you two provide it?"

Both nodded.

Tony took out a coin and placed it on the table.

The coin looked like a commemorative or game coin... On the coin was an image of a faceless person in a cloak, resembling the "witch" head in Che Dongming's painting.

Jiang Ping looked at the coin and found it familiar. He searched for it, "Magic Company! This image was their old logo before it was changed. This commemorative coin is quite valuable online."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both looked at Tony and Su Feifei, "Did Ding Ying collaborate with this company?"

Tony said, "The doctor originally intended to use Che Dongming for research to improve the seventh generation's inherent weaknesses, but this company deceived the doctor..."

The entire SCI team looked at the silver coin and suddenly felt that the bunch of killers they caught today seemed less significant, "It feels like we've caught them, but also like we haven't."

"This company created such a dangerous AI and collected so much hazardous data. What are they planning to do?" Luo Tian and Qin Ou, the two fathers, thought of their children, who loved playing games and felt increasingly worried.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both looked at Bao Zheng.

"Your next case," Bao Sir pointed at the coin, "The Intelligent Killer."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang also pointed at the chairs next to the table for Tony and Su Feifei, "You two sit down and tell us everything you know!"

———

The author has something to say:

The next case, Case 24, is "The Intelligent Killer," which is linked to this volume, therefore, it will be updated together in the fifth volume.

The sixth volume will start after the new year.

‿︵‿︵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: July 1, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 24, 2024 by Soojin