S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 227

The Intelligent Killer 32 – Suspicious Betrayal

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Magic's customer service suddenly contacted SCI using an "illegal" method, making their behaviour seem quite "suspicious."

Bai Yutang asked Jiang Ping to connect the video call.

Soon, a dialogue window appeared on the computer screen.

A person in a dark background appeared in the dialogue window.

It was a man in his forties, wearing a black hoodie. Due to the lighting, he looked a bit haggard, and his skin appeared dark.

When the video connected, the man seemed a bit surprised as well. He coughed, sat up straight, and greeted the people on the screen.

Since everyone had previously heard Yu Yang speaking with the customer service representative, they noted that this voice was indeed similar to the one from before.

Jiang Ping compared the voiceprints and nodded to Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao – It was the same person.

Everyone was quite surprised – It really was the customer service representative.

Zhan Zhao asked him, "Are you planning to turn yourself in?"

Hearing the question, the person on the other side actually breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had been troubled about how to start.

"I know you're investigating Magic," the customer service representative said in a low voice. "I can give you all the criminal information about the company, but you have to find a way to get me out of here!"

Everyone looked at him with a frown – Yet you out?

"What's your name?" Zhan Zhao asked, not in a hurry, chatting with him slowly.

"My name is Chen Youfu."

Upon hearing this name, everyone was momentarily taken aback – A name that sounded a bit out of place and didn't quite fit the image of a hacker or computer expert...

"You want us to rescue you?" Bai Yutang asked, "Are you being held captive, or are you being targeted by someone dangerous?"

"Both," the customer service representative said bluntly. "I've been in a state of being held hostage and monitored from the very beginning, forced to work as customer service for many years."

"Who's holding you captive?"

"The witch," the customer service representative replied, "that is, Magic's AI."

On the side, Zhao Jue squinted impatiently – This development was getting more and more bizarre.

"Are you saying that you, a living person, is being held captive by your company's computer?" Zhao Hu found it hard to believe. If worse comes to worst, couldn't you just pull the plug? If that doesn't work, just stop paying the electricity bill, and the power company will cut it off for you.

"You're thinking too simply," the customer service representative said helplessly. "Magic's scale far exceeds your imagination, and you can't even come into contact with the real core members!"

No one responded, as there were no rookies here. Who knew what this customer service representative's situation was, turning himself in could just be a ruse to get information.

"How do you want us to rescue you?" Bai Yutang asked.

"You've already found the company's headquarters, which means that soon, someone will commit suicide, and the blame will be shifted onto them... just like the ones who were abandoned before," the customer service representative said, pointing to himself. "I think the next one will probably be me. I'll send you my schedule later."

Everyone looked at each other, oh boy, he even had a schedule?

"My daily life must be completed according to the schedule, and all my movements are under the system's surveillance. Any deviation would be considered as a potential betrayal."

"But aren't you contacting us online now?" Zhan Zhao asked him, "Can't the AI detect it?"

The customer service representative suddenly smiled, moved aside a bit, and adjusted the camera angle, letting everyone look behind him.

They realised he was in an underground environment similar to a sewer. The dim light and the surrounding darkness looked rather eerie.

Bai Yutang frowned – Was this guy hiding in the sewers while connecting with them? Finding a signal there wouldn't be easy...

"I've long anticipated the day when I'd be abandoned, so I prepared a backup plan. If you can get me away from them, I can give you all the secrets about Magic," the customer service representative said, seemingly ready to go offline. "To show you that I'm not joking, I'll include a list of test users for a game with my schedule. You can check it out and decide whether to believe me or not."

After finishing his words, the video call was cut off.

Jiang Ping tried to locate the customer service representative and confirmed that he should be in Magic. Did the company have an underground tunnel?

At the same time, Jiang Ping indeed received an email from the customer service representative.

The email contained not only his schedule but also a list of thirty people.

Zhan Zhao looked over the so-called "schedule" and found that it detailed the customer service representative's daily routine, including times for going to the supermarket and convenience stores, along with designated routes.

"Oh..." Bai Chi took out a map and compared it. "It seems they chose routes with surveillance for him to use, so all his actions would be under observation."

"So is he telling the truth or lying?" Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue.

Both answered in unison, "Lying."

"So, is he trying to set us up?"

"Well..." Zhan Zhao glanced at Zhao Jue, who shrugged. "The exact purpose isn't clear yet, but what he's saying is definitely not the truth."

"This guy's acting skills are impressive; I almost got fooled," Zhao Hu clicked his tongue and shook his head, lamenting how one can't judge a book by its cover.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue turned to ask Zhao Hu, "Do you think he's telling the truth?"

Zhao Hu scratched his head, "Uh..."

"Any reason?" Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue were curious about Zhao Hu's opinion.

Feeling uneasy, Hu Zi hid behind Ma Han and poked him, "What did you say earlier? Didn't you agree too?"

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue turned their sharp gaze to Ma Han – Did you agree too?

Ma Han pointed at Zhao Hu, "Hu Zi just said that unless this customer service representative is the mastermind, the boss of Magic, he doesn't seem to have any reason to lie."

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue blinked and tilted their heads – I don't seem to understand, was there any logic connection here?

Seeing them ask seriously, Zhao Hu replied earnestly, "Well... isn't turning oneself in to the police usually for a lighter sentence? Given his situation, if he's being coerced, he will most likely get a lighter sentence for cooperating. Besides, we have no information about him, if his life weren't in danger, he could just run away, there's no need for all this. Whether we fall into his trap or not, his situation would be worse than before turning himself in... So, it doesn't seem necessary."

As Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue continued to stare at him, Zhao Hu lost momentum and mumbled, "Aiya, maybe he just doesn't want to complicate things, right, or maybe he's just a pervert..."

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue said nothing, both deep in thought.

Bai Yutang asked Jiang Ping about the list.

Jiang Ping had already started checking and, after finishing, had a slightly subtle expression. "Hmm... they're all level two and three hunters."

"All of them?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Mhmm-hmm, they all have criminal records. Their levels are higher than Yu Yang's, but not level one." Jiang Ping seemed to agree with Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue's opinion. "This move feels like cutting off a tail to survive. Of course... it's like 'better them than me.'"

"Although this guy is indeed very suspicious," Bai Yutang said, after hearing everyone's opinions, "there's one thing that's quite strange."

Everyone looked at him – What's strange?

"The schedule," Bai Yutang said. "If he's trying to set a trap for us, wouldn't it be better to specify a definite time and place? For example, tomorrow afternoon at three o'clock after work, or tonight at a certain location... By giving us a schedule, it means we can take him away from the road at any time, how is he going to set up an ambush? But thinking about it the other way around, it's also quite strange... He's saying he'll be abandoned, meaning he's in danger of losing his life at any moment. Why wouldn't he want us to rescue him as soon as possible? Does this make sense? If someone wanted to kill me, would I just give you my schedule and tell you to pick any day to save me?"

Zhan Zhao nodded silently, his Yutang usually didn't say so much in one breathe unless something was really off.

Faced with the bizarre clues thrown out by the customer service representative, everyone fell into a state of indecision.

At this moment, Bai Ye suddenly spoke up, "Could it be a self-destruct card?"

Everyone was taken aback.

Zhao Jue asked, "He's the mastermind behind Magic? Not the reception director?"

"Chen Youfu?" Jiang Ping thought it would be best to check the identity of this customer service representative. The name was quite common, so it might be difficult to find anything, but luckily they had his face...

He thought it might be challenging, but within three minutes, he had found it. Surprisingly... he actually gave his real name!

After looking through this person's resume in detail, Jiang Ping was quite shocked. "Did this guy teach himself computers? There's no record of education or employment in this field..."

"Did he have any connection with Che Dongming and Li Hedu?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Er... wait a minute, this address looks familiar." Jiang Ping pulled up Chen Youfu's previous information. "He used to run an internet café, right across from the hospital where Che Dongming and Li Hedu stayed."

"Then it's quite possible they had some interaction," Zhan Zhao frowned. "Not just the hospital, even the internet café across the street produced such talents? What kind of feng shui treasure land is this?"

"Is that internet café still there?" Bai Yutang asked Jiang Ping.

Jiang Ping checked, "No, it closed down after about a year, and Chen Youfu went to prison."

"He has a criminal record?" Everyone was curious. "For what?"

"Fraud," Jiang Ping felt that after all that, it had little to do with AI and artificial intelligence. "This guy is a repeat fraudster, from selling fake goods to phone scams to financial fraud. He's been in and out of prison three times for fraud, though the sentences were never heavy, and he was never the main perpetrator."

"A fraudster?!" Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue seemed to have realised something, both rubbing their chins and muttering to themselves, "So that's how it is..."

Bai Yutang waved to them, meaning – Come on! Speak up if you have any thoughts!

Zhan Zhao asked, "What are the characteristics of a fraudster's speech?"

All the people present had years of experience investigating criminal cases and catching murderers, but they hadn't had much interaction with fraudsters.

"Professional con artists tend to hedge their bets when they speak," Zhao Hu, who had more experience with such people, said. "They rarely say anything definitive, often leaving things ambiguous and open to interpretation."

Everyone exchanged looks – This matched the way the customer service representative spoke, and even that strange schedule.

"So is he using professional con artist tactics against us?" Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao. "Or has he just been a fraudster for so long that it's become second nature?"

"If he really wanted to deceive us, he probably wouldn't have given us his real name, right?" Zhan Zhao was also puzzled. "But he definitely wasn't telling the truth..."

Bai Yutang pondered, "Is he risking exposing his identity to self-destruct? Is he being threatened?"

"He might really be in danger," Bai Ye said. "Right now!"

"Is he at the company?" Bai Yutang asked Jiang Ping.

"During the call, the address showed that he was at the company, but according to the schedule," Jiang Ping checked the schedule, "he should be taking the subway home and resting in the afternoon."

Bai Yutang asked for his home address, and everyone prepared to head to Chen Youfu's house to investigate.

As they stepped out, Gongsun came running with a phone in hand, shouting as he walked, "Jintang says the ghost has appeared!"

Everyone at the elevator turned back, "Now?"

Gongsun nodded vigorously, "The woman in red! The real deal!"

The group found themselves at another decision point at the elevator door – Which way should they go? To save someone or to catch a ghost?!

‿︵‿︵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: August 12, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 30, 2024 by Soojin