S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 211

The Intelligent Killer 16 – Character

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As the case developed, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both inexplicably thought of a phrase – Creating complications.

Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao in a low voice, "Xu Lie coming to the school was a last-minute decision, wasn't it?"

Zhan Zhao glanced at the twins and Big Brother Bai, "It wasn't entirely last-minute. They did some publicity for the effect, but the decision was definitely made today..."

Zhan Zhao also understood the implication of Bai Yutang's question. Orchestrating this wasn't easy, from planning to execution, and how did the other side know Sun Jian would write an apology letter to Xu Lie?

While they were puzzled, Bai Yutang's phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID and showed it to Zhan Zhao with a look of helplessness – It was Bao Sir.

Zhan Zhao's face scrunched up like a steamed bun – Making such a big fuss, Bao Sir would definitely scold them!

Bai Yutang wanted Zhan Zhao to answer, but Zhan Zhao refused, and they pushed the phone back and forth.

At that moment, Big Brother Bai took the phone and answered it on behalf of Bai Yutang.

Bai Jintang walked to the corridor with the phone, while Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged glances and followed him to the door.

They overheard Big Brother Bai apologising to Bao Zheng, explaining that Xu Lie was impulsive due to the death of a friend.

However, judging by Bao Sir's calm tone, it seemed he wasn't too angry. After all, he was usually polite to Big Brother Bai.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang felt a bit jealous – He only knew how to be mean to them.

Meanwhile, Zhao Hu curiously asked Zhao Jue, "Master Jue!"

Zhao Jue looked at his favourite little husky and asked, "What do you want to ask?"

Zhao Hu asked, "Can you analyse it from a psychological perspective? Is Xu Lie's challenge to the woman in red effective?"

Zhao Jue replied with a question, "Effective?"

"I mean, will many people still contact the woman in red to sign a contract? Or will they wait for the result of Xu Lie competing with the woman in red before deciding?" Zhao Hu asked.

Zhao Jue smiled at Zhao Hu and nodded with satisfaction, this kid had some good thoughts for a husky!

In fact, the others were also curious about this question.

Ma Han thought it might not be very effective, "Those who believe will still believe, right?"

Eleven pointed at Ma Han and nodded, indicating that was the truth.

Bai Chi didn't think that was necessarily true, "It might awaken some rationality, right? Like, let's wait and see?"

Zhao Zhen sided with Bai Chi without any principle and nodded, indicating that it might save a few.

Bai Yutang also asked Zhan Zhao, "Will it have an effect?"

"Er..." Zhan Zhao also found this question hard to answer. After thinking for a moment, he said, "It depends on how you think about it."

"How you think about it?"

"For example, someone originally planned to make a deal with the woman in red, but after seeing Xu Lie's video, decided to wait." Zhan Zhao said, spreading his hands. "But no one can prove that without Xu Lie's video, they wouldn't have made the same decision."

Everyone pondered the logic in Zhan Zhao's words, even Xu Lie was confused and asked Zhan Zhao, "So... was what I did effective or not? Surely I didn't provoke them for nothing, right?"

Zhan Zhao looked at Zhao Jue – What do you think?

Zhao Jue spread his hands, "It's okay to feel a bit self-satisfied."

Xu Lie stepped back and clutched his chest, "I took such a big risk... How cruel!"

"Aiya, this kind of thing doesn't really matter," Zhao Jue said impatiently.

"Doesn't matter?!" Xu Lie felt a second blow and looked back at Chen Mi.

Standing next to him, Chen Mi said nothing. Xu Lie blinked and asked, "Do you also think it was useless?"

Chen Mi stared at Xu Lie for a while, touched his chin, and looked aside.

Xu Lie muttered to himself, "So, it really was useless? Those who seek the ghost will still go?"

"Not necessarily." Chen Mi patted the listless Xu Lie.

Xu Lie immediately stood up straight, looking at Chen Mi with shining eyes – I really didn't love the wrong person after all!

Chen Mi tapped his forehead to wake him up.

Xu Lie shook his head.

"If we catch that ghost, it won't matter even if they sign the contract," Chen Mi said, looking at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, implying – hurry up and save the situation!

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao – He at least made considerable sacrifices and had good intentions, so they shouldn't discourage him.

Zhan Zhao smiled, walked over, and asked Xu Lie, "A year ago, you persistently chased after Chen Mi, did he pay any attention to you?"

Xu Lie thought for a moment and shook his head – No, he didn't.

"And now?"

Xu Lie patted his chest, "That's because I was persistent!"

"Exactly!" Zhan Zhao pointed at him, "You need to use that same relentless and shameless approach!"

Xu Lie didn't quite understand.

"Tsk, what if that ghost doesn't come to you?" Zhan Zhao asked him, "If she doesn't appear, we can't catch her, she can completely ignore you, just like Chen Mi ignored you back then!"

Xu Lie glanced at Chen Mi.

Chen Mi looked up at the sky – What was this shameless conversation about?

"Hmm..." Xu Lie seemed to understand what Zhan Zhao meant, "You mean I should make it impossible for her to ignore me?"

Zhan Zhao snapped his fingers, "Exactly! And remember, she isn't someone you want to pursue, she's a ghost you want to destroy, so you can be even more shameless!"

Everyone silently looked at Zhan Zhao – None of these sounded like good words.

"How shameless should I be?" Xu Lie asked earnestly, crossing his arms.

"Slander her!" Zhan Zhao suggested a dirty trick, "She wants to use your fame to promote herself as the woman in red! So you should use your fame to expose her completely!"

Xu Lie rubbed his chin, "For example?"

"For instance, give her a real identity!" Zhan Zhao smiled slightly, "The woman in red is currently an abstract figure. Because she is abstract, people can imagine her with limitless power, but if we can make her a specific person, it'll be easier to deal with!"

"We could have Jiang Ping create a character," Bai Yutang thought this idea might work, "Make up a story where she's an apprehended criminal, not some supernatural force."

Xu Lie agreed, but how should they go about it specifically?

The group gathered to brainstorm a backstory for the woman in red. Zhao Jue suggested, "We have ready-made material we can use!"

"Ah, like the one who met with Lin Tian?" everyone asked.

"Lin Tian is a celebrity, and Xu Lie is also a celebrity. We can make that person a psychologically disturbed stalker," Zhan Zhao wrote down a series of ideas on a notepad, "She was Xu Lie's schoolmate who has been stalking him in all kinds of ways, and Xu Lie even dropped out because of her... and here's the key point."

Everyone looked at him.

"She has already been caught by us," Zhan Zhao smiled, "And her ghostly tricks... if they could create projections back then, it should be a piece of cake now. We could even do a science show to explain it, and the Bai Group can do a live broadcast."

The twins agreed – That wouldn't be a problem.

Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao, "So we say she's been caught?"

Zhan Zhao nodded, "The act of creating the woman in red is an act of creating something out of nothing. To counter it, we need to create nothing out of something. As long as we say she's been caught, any subsequent appearances would just be copycats. And as a ghost, she can only influence people one-on-one, not hold concerts or fan meetings, right?"

Everyone thought about it and felt that Zhan Zhao's plan, while a bit underhanded, might actually work.

They then started to "set the stage".

Back at the police station, Jiang Ping's data monitoring showed that searches for the woman in red were still high. Indeed... believers would continue to believe, unwilling to even wait for a result.

Zhan Zhao handed over the thick stack of character backgrounds he had written on the way to Jiang Ping, instructing him to create a new identity.

It wasn't too difficult and soon, Jiang Ping fabricated a girl named "Wang Xiaohong" out of thin air.

With an identity established, they needed an actor.

Finding this actress was a bit challenging, mainly because the role could be somewhat dangerous, so someone quite capable was needed to play it.

Zhan Zhao pondered whether they should look for a suitable policewoman in the criminal police team.

At that moment, Zhao Jue raised his hand, indicating that he had a recommendation.

Zhao Jue pointed at Issel, "Call your sister!"

"No way?" Issel's face turned pale, and he shook his head vigorously, "It's not necessary, not necessary... isn't it just catching a fake ghost, do we need to call a real ghost?"

Everyone looked at each other – a real ghost?

"Hurry up!" Zhao Jue urged.

Issel looked helplessly at Bai Ye.

After some thought, Bai Ye nodded.

Issel, looking defeated, pulled out his phone and reluctantly dialled a number.

Once the call connected, Issel handed the phone to Zhao Jue.

"Irina, come and catch a ghost," Zhao Jue took the phone and gave a few instructions.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were curious – Who was Irina? Issel's older sister? Wouldn't she be too old to be Xu Lie's classmate?

Bai Ye kindly reminded Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, "Don't mention age when she's around."

Issel was fumbling with his keys and passport, looking like he was ready to run. Eleven told him to stop, as he was already exposed.

The others went to prepare props for the fake identity. Zhan Zhao asked Issel, "What's wrong with your sister? What's the problem"

Issel looked at Zhan Zhao, "I'm afraid she'll improvise... especially given this kind of platform."

Zhan Zhao didn't understand, isn't it just a strong desire to perform? That shouldn't be a problem.

Later in the evening, when preparations were almost complete, a person appeared at the door, an old man carrying a tent, looking like a mountaineer.

Everyone looked at the old man who suddenly appeared, dirty as if he had just returned from surviving in the wild. Xiao Bai Chi asked, "Who are you looking for?"

They found it strange because if there was a visitor, the security at the entrance should have called to confirm, how could someone just walk in?

Everyone was a bit cautious, staring at the door.

Bai Yutang observed the old man for a while and said, "It seems to be a woman."

Everyone was startled – A woman?

At that moment, the mountaineer turned their head and sized up Bai Yutang for a moment, then grabbed the hair on top of their head and yanked it forcefully to the side.

The action was so rough that everyone watched as they pulled off the entire hairpiece and a large portion of their face mask, the visual effect being quite shocking.

"Phew..." After pulling off the makeup and wig, a short-haired young woman was revealed.

She looked quite similar to Mia, with healthy tan skin, appearing to be in her early twenties.

Everyone guessed she must be Irina, she looked quite healthy...

They were just about to greet her when Issel, who had gone to the restroom and was wiping his hands as he walked back, met his sister at the office door.

"Whoa!" Issel turned and tried to run, only to be grabbed by the collar and dragged back by Irina.

"Help!" Issel struggled immediately.

Everyone found it amusing, thinking the siblings might have fought a lot as children.

But to their surprise, after grabbing Issel, Irina suddenly drew a dagger from her waist.

Everyone was stunned.

Then, Irina swiftly plunged the dagger into Issel's chest.

‿︵‿︵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 22, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 30, 2024 by Soojin