S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 228

The Intelligent Killer 33 – Dispersion

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When they ran to the parking lot, Bai Yutang opened the car door and looked back, only to find himself standing by the car while everyone else followed Gongsun.

Bai Yutang felt a bit speechless. "Hey!"

Everyone turned around, their eyes full of – the desire to catch the ghost.

Bai Yutang hooked his finger at Zhao Hu and Ma Han.

The two reluctantly ran over to him.

Bai Yutang then looked at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao stood behind Gongsun – Obviously catching ghosts was more interesting!

Zhao Jue also expressed that catching ghosts was more fun and even pushed Bai Ye out, telling him to go with Bai Yutang to save the customer service agent.

Bai Ye walked to Bai Yutang's side and looked back. The ghost-catching team opposite consisted of – Zhan Zhao, Zhao Jue, Gongsun, and Bai Chi...

Bai Yutang felt speechless too – Just the four of you weaklings going to catch ghosts?

Zhao Jue shot a glance back – Don't compare me with these three weaklings!

Xiao Bai Chi was also displeased – I work out, I can run three kilometres!

At this moment, Luo Tian and Qin Ou, who had taken the second elevator down, also arrived.

Bai Yutang thought for a moment. The twins were there, so these weaklings shouldn't be needed to catch ghosts. He pointed to Zhan Zhao and the others, indicating for Luo Tian and Qin Ou to follow them to catch the ghost.

Zhao Hu and Ma Han glanced at Bai Yutang, and Bai Yutang felt Bai Ye poke him.

Turning around, Bai Ye whispered, covering his mouth, "Family members."

Bai Yutang was slightly stunned but then remembered. Right, Qi Le should be rehearsing at the Bai Group, and Chen Jiayi might be there too...

Helpless, Bai Yutang signalled for a switch.

Zhao Hu and Ma Han happily ran to the other side.

In the end, Bai Yutang, along with the disinterested Bai Ye and the two fathers, went to save the customer service agent, while Gongsun led the enthusiastic Zhan Zhao, Zhao Jue, and the others to catch the female ghost.

They split into two groups and kept in contact.

Bai Yutang drove towards the customer service agent's residence according to the address provided by Jiang Ping, and felt that something was a bit strange. "How coincidental, that female ghost could have come sooner or later, but it chose to appear now?"

"And it's daytime now," Bai Ye also found it unreasonable. "Who has ghosts appearing in broad daylight?"

"Chief, I've found some clues."

At this point, Jiang Ping contacted Bai Yutang, "About Chen Youfu's previous insurance fraud case."

Bai Yutang asked him to elaborate.

"Chen Youfu's method of insurance fraud was quite unique," Jiang Ping said. "Usually, for insurance fraud, people buy insurance for others, and the beneficiary is themselves, right?"

"Mhmm," Zhan Zhao also listened in curiously from the other side. "How did Chen Youfu do it?"

"He killed himself," Jiang Ping said. "This guy is really good at dying."

"Then when he faked his death for insurance fraud, who was the beneficiary?"

"His twin brother."

Everyone was stunned. "He has a twin brother?"

"This is the funny part, his basic information states that he has an identical twin brother named Chen Youxing and another identical twin brother named Chen Youle."

Zhao Jue was confused. "So, is he a twin or a triplet?"

"I checked the records from the hospital where he was born," Jiang Ping said. "In the year he was born, there were no records of triplets being born at that hospital. Triplets are rare, and in a small county, they could even make local news."

"So his basic information was tampered with?" Bai Yutang asked. "Did he use the altered information to falsely claim he had a twin brother? Then what? Faked his own death?"

"To be precise, he first pretended to be his brother and then died as himself to claim the insurance payout," Jiang Ping chuckled. "Did you catch the key point?"

Bai Yutang frowned. Was it him who died or his brother... This was getting confusing.

Meanwhile, Zhao Jue seemed to be hit with a funny point and was chuckling to himself.

"So he might not actually be Chen Youfu, right?" Bai Ye asked.

"Bingo!" Jiang Ping snapped his fingers.

Everyone immediately understood what Jiang Ping meant.

Zhan Zhao rubbed his chin. "So Chen Youfu once lived as Chen Youxing, then died, and the insurance payout went to Chen Youle. He then lived for a while as Chen Youle and died again, with the payout going to Chen Youfu. Now, if Chen Youfu is also dead, maybe there's another 'Chen You'?"

"Pfft..."

Zhao Jue seemed like he wanted to say something but burst out laughing as soon as he opened his mouth.

Zhan Zhao and Gongsun looked at him disdainfully – What's so funny?

Zhao Jue struggled to contain his laughter and said, "If there's another twin brother, he must be called Chen Youkuai."

Bai Chi blinked and asked, "Happy and Joyful?"

Zhao Jue nodded.

Zhan Zhao and Gongsun shook their heads – It turned out to be a pun.

"Is faking death really that easy?" Gongsun, being a legitimate forensic pathologist who had issued countless death certificates, had seen more insurance investigators than bereaved family members. When it comes to death-related compensation, insurance companies always send someone to investigate, and verifying the identity of the deceased by inspecting the body is the most basic task. Even family members collecting the death certificate need to show a pile of documents, including DNA matching information between the deceased and immediate family. It's not easy to fake this.

After chatting for a bit, the ghost-hunting team arrived. The group cheered as they got out of the car, looking more like they were going on a picnic than handling a case.

The mood was noticeably different for the four still driving. Luo Tian and Qin Ou both felt a bit envious.

Bai Yutang noticed this and thought about how to comfort them, after all, saving lives was the priority... Moreover, the customer service representative might hold crucial information for cracking the case.

Bai Ye, however, remained calm and threw cold water on the enthusiastic ghost-hunting team, "Whether it's a real or fake ghost, there's only one, but a bunch of ferocious people have gathered, so don't collapse the theatre later."

Luo Tian and Qin Ou thought about it and realised it wasn't impossible.

Bai Yutang became more anxious – Don't, Brother is innocent...

Bai Yutang wasn't just worried about his brother; Bai Jintang was also feeling sorry for himself.

As the concert time approached, today was a full rehearsal. Although Big Brother Bai disliked noise, he still had to join in as the boss.

Upon entering the theatre, he saw many people in the front row, a variety of staff and family members.

Bai Jintang sighed and shook his head – There were just too many family members, not just adults and children, but even lions...

He walked to the front row and saw that not only were there many family members but also friends. Many people were holding cold drinks and snacks. When Bai Jintang appeared, a group waved and greeted him, "Boss!"

Bai Jintang silently sat down beside Lisbon.

The rehearsal began, and after half an hour, Big Brother Bai started to feel sleepy. It wasn't because the performance was boring, quite the opposite, it was very interesting. That's why it took him half an hour to get sleepy, usually, he'd be drowsy in three minutes.

Lisbon was also getting sleepy. With Big Brother Bai's hand resting on Lisbon's furry head, just as he was about to drift off, suddenly... there was an unusual commotion around.

The atmosphere felt strangely familiar. Not only did the crowd react, but even Lisbon moved.

Big Brother Bai felt a nudge from Xiao Ding beside him, who excitedly said, "Boss! The female ghost is here!"

Bai Jintang instantly woke up and looked towards the stage... At that moment, Xu Lie was singing on stage. Suddenly, a creepy red figure appeared on the large screen behind him.

At first, the audience thought the woman in red behind Xu Lie was just a special effect... but it was too eerie.

The staff were the first to realise something was wrong... The lighting and background had been adjusted many times, and there was no such horrifying scene.

The crowd began to panic, and the staff instinctively looked up at the control room.

As they looked up, several people screamed... because behind the glass of the control room stood a woman in red, identical to the one on the screen.

The woman was dressed in red, her hair dishevelled, and her face pale, a stereotypical ghost from any angle!

There were quite a few costume and makeup artists present, and their first reaction was to applaud – Such realism, full of dramatic tension!

The twins were excited, constantly asking Bai Jintang, "Big Brother! Is that the ghost? Is it her?"

Big Brother Bai calmly stared at the woman in red for a while, then pulled out his phone to call Gongsun.

Not only was the performance team rehearsing in the theatre, but the security team was also practising. The security team was a bit confused – they had prepared for various emergencies, but they never expected a haunting during the concert!

Compared to the flustered security personnel, the members of the Bai Group, especially those performing on stage, were naturally in the know. They had arranged this concert precisely because of this woman in red, particularly Xu Lie, who had been waiting for her!

Without waiting for the security team to react, Xu Lie jumped off the stage and quickly ran towards the control room.

The twins were so anxious that they urged the security team to go in together.

Bai Jintang didn't think there was any need to worry. If Xu Lie couldn't handle a female ghost, then what was he good for?

As Xu Lie got closer to the control room, something felt off. The ghost hadn't moved, looked a bit strange, and seemed too tall, more like a man than a woman, and there should be someone in the control room... Where was the lighting technician?

Reaching the control room door, they opened it and saw a strange sight...

The lighting technician was draped in a piece of red fabric, wearing a long-haired ghost wig, and strapped to a chair by the console.

Xu Lie frowned and stood in the doorway as a few security guards rushed in. They removed the wig, revealing the lighting technician who had been knocked out, with blood on his forehead. Fortunately, his breathing and heartbeat were normal, and they quickly called for an ambulance.

Xu Lie turned around and saw Zhao Zhen strolling in from backstage with his hands in his pockets.

Zhao Zhen glanced around, looked back at the large ghost on the screen, and shrugged at Xu Lie – Seems to be just a projection.

Xu Lie checked the console and found an unidentified USB drive plugged in.

At that moment, the theatre door opened, and Zhan Zhao burst in, "Where's the ghost?!"

Gongsun followed behind Zhan Zhao and immediately noticed the unconscious lighting technician being carried out of the control room. At the same time, his phone rang.

Looking down, Gongsun saw it was a call from Bai Jintang. He answered, puzzled as he spotted Bai Jintang standing in the front row below.

Big Brother Bai said, "It seems like there's a mistake, the ghost is fake."

Gongsun was speechless – Couldn't he have confirmed before calling?

Big Brother Bai glanced at the time – You guys arrived so quickly... but when called for a meal, you're never this fast!

Zhao Hu and Ma Han exchanged glances – They miscalculated, they should have gone to rescue the customer service representative.

Zhao Jue walked into the control room, which was almost fully transparent glass, giving a clear view below. Issel, Eleven, and Mia also came to join the fun.

Zhao Jue beckoned Issel and Eleven over.

As Eleven stood up, he asked Issel, "Did you notice anyone behind you just now?"

Issel was clearly wondering about this as well – The door to the control room had been closed, and no matter how noisy it got, whether someone entered through the control room door or any other door nearby, it was impossible for them not to have noticed. Not to mention someone knocking out the lighting technician, changing clothes, and putting on a wig...

Even if the audience facing away from the control room didn't notice, what about Xu Lie and Zhao Zhen on stage? They had a clear view of the control room if they looked up.

Zhan Zhao watched as the paramedics carried the lighting technician out on a stretcher and suddenly felt concerned. He asked Zhao Hu and Ma Han, "Isn't this luring the tiger away from the mountain?"

Zhao Hu and Ma Han looked at each other and shook their heads – The ones that were transferred weren't really impressive tigers, most of them were cats...

Zhan Zhao glared at them.

Gongsun, knowing he was probably concerned for Bai Yutang, reassured him, "Who could handle both Uncle Ye and Bai Yutang at the same time? How many people would that take?"

But Gongsun's casual comment suddenly made Zhan Zhao's eyes light up, and he muttered to himself, "Number of people?!"

‿︵‿︵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 13, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 30, 2024 by Soojin