S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 199

The Intelligent Killer 04 – Trade

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Bai Yutang and Bai Ye returned to the villa.

The outside of the villa was quiet.

After a while, all the lights in the villa went out, indicating that everyone had probably gone back to their rooms to rest.

In the yard, the trunk of Xiao Ding's car lifted a bit. Inside the trunk, a person was curled up, holding a small laptop. After some quick typing, they clicked confirm...

In an instant, all the surveillance cameras in the villa were turned off.

The car trunk opened, and a young man crawled out, looking around and smiling. "Is that all? Such simple security settings."

The young man wore white sneakers with little yellow duck prints and a hoodie, looking like a student... He was the notorious 'Thief S' who had previously been chased by security guards in the mall.

He got out of the trunk, stretched his limbs, packed the laptop into his backpack, and strolled toward the villa.

The lights inside the villa were all off, but a few street lamps outside were still on.

Thief S wandered around the front of the villa and soon found the main entrance... He saw it was a glass door with a password lock, then wrinkled his nose and he shook his head in disdain. "For police officers, their security awareness is really... tsk tsk!"

While complaining, he took out the small computer from his backpack. After a moment of operation, he took out a small device resembling a calculator and waved it in front of the electronic lock... A string of passwords appeared on the calculator.

S entered the password, and the lock clicked open.

He carefully grabbed the door handle and opened the door.

S peeked inside first.

The entryway was large and empty, so he slipped in, gently closing the door behind him, and then glanced toward the living room.

A floor lamp was lit in the living room, but no one was there.

S grabbed the strap of his shoulder bag and swaggered into the living room.

Next to the sofa was the hoverboard that Zhao Jue had brought back earlier.

S picked up the hoverboard and nodded. "It's you then, teach them a lesson."

After saying that, he pulled a card with an "S" written on it from his pocket and placed it conspicuously on the coffee table.

Just as he put down the card, he felt something furry arching over him from behind.

S froze, wondering if there was a dog in the house.

Quickly, he pulled out an electronic device meant to interfere with dogs from his pocket. He turned around, intending to press it to scare the dog away... but what he saw made him stop.

Standing before him was a large white lion.

S's mind instantly crashed. This thing looked alive, but how could there be a live lion kept in a house... His rational mind told him it was impossible, but his eyes told him it was alive.

The white lion suddenly yawned and shook its mane.

S screamed and fell back onto the sofa.

S cowered on the sofa, trembling, while the lion tilted its head to observe him. Meanwhile, a small lion and a very chubby Ragdoll cat walked over, and on the other side of the sofa, a cute white Persian cat and several kittens appeared.

S's eyes widened as he found himself surrounded by a group of felines.

At this moment, the lights in the living room suddenly came on.

A yawning sound came from the sofa opposite.

S couldn't believe his eyes... There was obviously no one on the sofa just now, but now there was a handsome guy lying there, petting a cat and looking at him.

S suddenly had a thought – Could this family... be vampires?

Just as he was thinking this, a hand suddenly reached out from behind him.

"Waaah!" S screamed and dodged to the other side of the sofa.

Behind the sofa, Bai Yutang reached out, holding S's small laptop, examining it.

Zhan Zhao also leaned in to take a look, seemingly puzzled. "Why take the hoverboard and not the keyboard?"

As Zhan Zhao spoke, he pointed to the mechanical keyboard on the coffee table.

S seemed confused.

Zhan Zhao also seemed regretful – If the keyboard had been taken, it would have been a legitimate excuse to delay his work!

Everyone else came out as well. Bai Yutang and Bai Ye had mentioned a thief sneaking in when they returned, so everyone ran upstairs to turn off the lights and wait.

In fact, all the surveillance systems in the SCI members' homes were specially made by Jiang Ping, with a self-recovery function in case of hacking. If hacked, the system would automatically restart within three seconds without turning on the lights. The residents' phones and other terminal devices would receive an alert, along with surveillance footage and multiple options. They could call the police, contact others, or even lock certain doors and windows with special functions to create a small enclosed space to catch the intruder.

Zhao Zhen had been practising a new magic trick, lying on the sofa playing invisible.

S didn't know that, from the moment he crawled out of the trunk, he had been under surveillance. Lisbon, who had been held on the stairs by Bai Chi, had been let down by Bai Chi earlier.

Everyone watched the once smug but now panicked Thief S, finding it quite amusing.

Bai Yutang took out a pair of handcuffs. "Caught in the act of breaking and entering."

S quickly waved his hands. "No, no! I just came in by mistake!"

"By mistake?"

"Yes!" S said. "I was being chased by bad guys and had nowhere to hide. I saw an unlocked car and crawled into the trunk! Then the car drove off and brought me to this villa! After I got out, I just looked around! It's your fault for not locking the doors!"

Zhan Zhao laughed at him. "Not locked?"

"Go check the door if you don't believe me! I didn't break in!" S insisted.

Bai Chi held up his phone, showing S the video of him hacking into the surveillance system and opening the electronic lock.

S clicked his tongue, admitting defeat.

S pouted, feeling wronged, muttering that he just wanted to test the police's computer security and hadn't done anything wrong!

As he said this, he felt someone behind him. Turning around, S saw Zhao Jue peering at him.

S looked at Zhao Jue in confusion.

Zhao Jue asked, "Can you modify claw machines?"

S snorted, "Those claw machines are rigged so you can't win, I'm just seeking justice!"

Zhao Jue stared at him for a while, then clapped his hands. "Well said!"

After saying that, he grabbed S by the collar, trying to drag him away. "I need to borrow this kid for a bit. After I'm done, he can go to jail!"

S struggled.

Zhan Zhao stopped him. "What do you need him for?"

"To modify the claw machines!" Zhao Jue replied.

Zhan Zhao was speechless. "You can't modify the ones in the mall! Damaging other people's property is a crime!"

"Who said anything about the mall?"

Everyone stared at Zhao Jue, and Bai Ye sighed.

Bai Chi asked, "Uncle, don't tell me... you bought a claw machine?"

Xiao Ding muttered, "He bought more than one."

Everyone looked at Zhao Jue with accusatory eyes – Did you buy them to keep at home? For what purpose?

"For training!" Zhao Jue said indignantly, shaking S by the collar. "You're going to modify all the machines to win every time! Or I'll feed you to the lions!"

S gasped in fright.

Zhao Zhen hugged Lisbon and shook his head. "My Lisbon doesn't eat messy things!"

S breathed a sigh of relief but also felt a bit hurt – Messy things?

Bai Yutang waved his hand, stopping the flying comments from both sides, and asked S, "What's your name? Why did you sneak in here?"

S looked at Bai Yutang and was about to speak when Bai Yutang reminded him, "Lying to the police is also a crime!"

S flattened his mouth and said, "I wasn't entirely lying! Earlier in the mall, I was being chased by those security guards. When I was running away, I saw you guys. I had seen you on TV before and knew you were from SCI, supposed to be very impressive, so I wanted to challenge you. Later, I hid in a hot pot restaurant and heard you say that a car would come to pick you up after you drank... so I went downstairs. Then I saw him..."

S pointed at Xiao Ding. "I saw him at Xu Lie's press conference before, so I knew he was from the Bai Group and must be there to pick you up."

"And the car was unlocked because he went to buy milk tea, so I hid in the trunk."

Everyone glanced at Xiao Ding, who looked embarrassed – Leaving the car unlocked to buy milk tea, what if it got stolen?

Xiao Ding felt aggrieved. Who would crawl into someone's trunk for no reason?

"With all that equipment, hacking the surveillance and opening the lock in just a few minutes, you say you're not a professional thief?" Bai Yutang asked, holding up S's laptop.

S was indignant. "I'm a chivalrous thief, okay?"

Everyone looked at the hoverboard – Why would a chivalrous thief steal a hoverboard?

"I was just trying to remind you that your surveillance system is lousy! I left a card!" S pointed at the hoverboard. "You won this in a lottery, you didn't buy it! They don't even have the latest model of their hoverboard for sale, so you can only win by throwing darts..."

Everyone looked at him after hearing his tone – Is it because you keep throwing darts and not winning?

S continued to mutter, "That spinning wheel is rigged! Only a maniac can win!"

Everyone looked at Bai Ye – Uncle Ye, beat him up!

Bai Yutang searched S's bag, which contained a tablet, charger, cables, and a stack of documents.

Bai Yutang took out the documents, immediately drawn to the Magic logo on the cover. He opened the folder, revealing an application form.

It was the registration form for Magic's robotics competition, which Bai Yutang and Bai Ye had just seen advertised.

The form included the competition date, some notes, and various requirements....

Bai Yutang asked him, "You signed up for this competition?"

"Yes," S said to Bai Yutang while keeping an eye on Lisbon and the little lion. He seemed to realise Lisbon didn't bite and tentatively reached out to stroke its mane.

Lisbon dozed off on the sofa, not understanding why these humans loved staying up late.

Bai Yutang glanced at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao took the documents and frowned slightly.

Everyone looked at S. Could it be such a coincidence? They were investigating this company, and now someone connected had shown up?

Zhao Jue poked him. "Where's your ID?"

S looked at the sky. "I didn't bring it."

Zhao Jue looked at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang – Why not just recruit him? And we can also learn his claw machine tricks!

Bai Yutang sighed and glanced at the hands on the wall clock nearing twelve o'clock – Was it really so hard to go to bed early?

"ID." Bai Yutang extended his hand to S.

S fished out a wallet from his pocket and handed his ID to Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang took a look: Shi Zhu, twenty years old.

"I need to make a call." Shi Zhu raised his hand.

Everyone looked at him – Call who?

"A friend!" Shi Zhu said. "She can communicate with you."

Bai Yutang handed him the phone but asked him to put it on speakerphone.

Shi Zhu took the phone and dialled a number.

The phone rang for a long time. Just as everyone was about to give up, it connected, and a male voice answered, sounding muffled, "What do you want with my sister in the middle of the night? Are you looking for death?!"

Zhao Jue frowned slightly when he heard this voice – It sounded familiar...

"Second brother?"

"Who's your second brother!" The person on the other end was quite grumpy.

Zhao Jue suddenly asked, "Liang Xiaotian?"

The person on the other end was also taken aback. "Zhao Jue?"

Shi Zhu blinked, looked at Zhao Jue, and then asked the person on the phone, "Second Brother, do you know the people from SCI? I've been caught."

There was a moment of silence, followed by a sigh. "Master Zhao, you don't need to listen to him, he's a fool!"

Everyone agreed with the last part.

Zhao Jue asked, "What's your relationship with him?"

"He's my sister's childhood friend, and I know his brother well." The person on the other end sounded resigned, with background voices asking who was on the phone.

Bai Yutang asked Zhao Jue, "You know him?"

Bai Ye whispered, "Remember Liang Xiaoyu, who helped you find the USB before?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang remembered – Oh, that miraculous lost-and-found team.

At that moment, another male voice came from the phone, "What trouble have you gotten into?"

"Brother, save me!" Shi Zhu cried out.

Bai Ye and Zhao Jue looked a bit troubled, glancing at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged looks.

Bai Yutang spoke into the phone, "This is Bai Yutang from SCI."

There was a brief silence on the other end. "Captain Bai, can we meet to talk?"

"About what?"

"A trade," the person on the other end sounded quite reliable. "Shi Zhu is just a tech-savvy kid with a middle-schooler's mentality, it's better to use him than to arrest him."

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao stroked their chins, looking at Zhao Jue and Bai Ye.

Both nodded – Worth discussing, not a loss.

Bai Yutang said, "Tomorrow at the SCI office."

‿︵‿︵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 9, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 30, 2024 by Soojin