S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 5 Chapter 230

The Intelligent Killer 35 – Monitor

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The rehearsal for the performance at the Bai Group's theatre continued.

Although Xu Lie had been persuaded to stay by Chen Mi, he was still a little distracted.

Qi Le and Chen Yu suggested that their band should practice first and that Xu Lie should take a break in the dressing room.

Xu Lie's mind was still occupied with the woman in red that had appeared on the big screen earlier... She looked so similar!

As a rational person, Xu Lie never believed that the ghost was real, it was always someone pretending to be it.

As long as we're human, we'll change. It had been a long time since Xu Lie first saw that female ghost, no one could stay unchanged for years... Not just in appearance and physique, but also in feeling. The only explanation was that it was the same video from back then!

To an ordinary person, this might not seem significant, but to Xu Lie, it felt like a deliberate attempt to target him.

Because the only person who had actually seen that woman in red was him, why use a video from so many years ago? Was it just a coincidence? Or was it meant specifically for him, Xu Lie, to see?

Sitting on the sofa in the dressing room, Xu Lie rested his chin in his hand, deep in thought.

His agent was making a phone call at the door, while Xiao Lou went out to buy a drink for Xu Lie.

Alone in the dressing room, Xu Lie was lost in thought when his phone suddenly vibrated.

He picked up his phone and opened it, pausing for a moment before staring at the screen with a frown.

When Chen Mi pushed open the door, he saw Xu Lie looking like an elderly person bewildered by technology, and couldn't help but find it amusing.

Chen Mi knocked on the door with his hand.

Xu Lie snapped out of his thoughts, looked up, and stared blankly at Chen Mi.

"What's wrong?" Chen Mi felt that Xu Lie's expressions today were all quite dull...

He leaned in to look at the phone and was also momentarily stunned. He blinked and looked at Xu Lie.

Xu Lie scratched his head, put away his phone, and shook his head – Zhan Zhao is, such a strange person...

At that moment, Xiao Lou returned with a drink, swaying slightly, and handed it to Xu Lie.

Xu Lie took the drink and looked at Chen Mi.

Chen Mi walked to the doorway, blocking it and observing the surroundings.

There were many staff members walking back and forth backstage, and the agent was leaning against the wall by the door, seemingly discussing an advertisement for Xu Lie, and sounded quite pleased, indicating the price was probably good.

Just as the call ended, the indicator light at the front lit up.

The agent was about to call Xu Lie when suddenly Xu Lie rushed out of the room.

"Ai! A'Lie, where are you going?" the agent asked.

Xu Lie only left a word behind, "Bathroom!"

"Did he eat something bad?" The agent was puzzled.

Xiao Lou came out holding the drink bottle, also looking confused. "Brother Lie doesn't eat anything before going on stage... he only drank half a bottle of water?"

Chen Mi said, "I'll go check."

Then he followed Xu Lie.

......

On the other side, Luo Tian and Qin Ou were chasing after a seemingly "crazy" Chen Youfu, who had run out of the apartment building.

"Hey!" Luo Tian shouted from behind, "We're the police, why are you running!"

But whether Chen Youfu didn't hear them or was startled by something, he ran madly forward.

"Something's not right." Qin Ou almost caught him earlier, but Chen Youfu broke free with great force.

Qin Ou showed his broken nails to Luo Tian.

Luo Tian frowned – What was wrong with this guy?

The two split up to intercept him, one going through the garden and the other taking a direct route, planning to stop him at the entrance of the neighbourhood.

At the rear, Bai Yutang also rushed out and watched the scene ahead, puzzled. It looked like a pride of lions chasing a gazelle on the East African savannah – What was Chen Youfu running from?

Logically, Chen Youfu, a long-time desk-bound homebody, should have been weak. Yet, he was running like a low-budget Usain Bolt, incredibly fast.

Not to mention Qin Ou, but Luo Tian, with his exceptional stamina, second only to Bai Yutang in the entire police department, missed catching Chen Youfu twice at the corner by a mere fingertip.

Bai Yutang and Bai Ye watched closely from behind. Rather than saying Chen Youfu was fast, it was more accurate to say his route choices were more sensible than Luo Tian's and Qin Ou's... Did he have a God's-eye view? How did he find such a perfect route?

Bai Ye gestured towards his ear, signalling to Bai Yutang – Is he wearing earphones?

Bai Yutang also noticed a white object in Chen Youfu's ear... But the problem was, hadn't he almost been strangled earlier? He should have been struggling for his life, so how did the earphones stay in place?

Qin Ou also realised something was off. It seemed someone was guiding Chen Youfu's escape route.

Qin Ou decided to stop chasing and ran to the gate to block it, after all, to leave the neighbourhood, one had to go through this gate.

Sure enough, Chen Youfu headed towards the gate but suddenly made a sharp turn and ran back into the neighbourhood.

Luo Tian and Qin Ou, who were out of sync in their pursuit, looked at each other and simultaneously exclaimed – He's crazy!

They had no choice but to continue chasing.

Bai Yutang and Bai Ye also moved forward to help intercept him. With four people, they should be able to stop him, right?

But after taking a few steps, Bai Yutang slightly frowned, sensing some sound...

Bai Ye, however, said, "Not good," and quickly ran ahead.

At this moment, Luo Tian, already getting frustrated with Chen Youfu, suddenly increased his speed. With his unique stamina, his temper flared, and he was about to catch Chen Youfu when suddenly... a car came speeding out from the side.

The place was a visual blind spot, and by the time they saw the car, it was already close... and it was moving fast.

Just as Luo Tian grabbed Chen Youfu, the car was almost upon them. Luo Tian quickly pushed Chen Youfu away.

Chen Youfu flew into a flower bed, while Luo Tian had no time to run.

At the critical moment, Bai Ye arrived in time and pulled Luo Tian away...

Luo Tian almost felt the car's body brush past his fingertips.

Bai Yutang and Qin Ou broke out in cold sweat behind them.

For a moment, Bai Yutang's mind went blank... He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Bai Ye appear.

Qin Ou squatted by the flower bed, panting heavily, partly from the long chase and partly from the scare... Good heavens, if something had happened, Ma Xin would have chewed him out, and Luo Yang would have cried his eyes out...

The more he thought about it, the angrier Qin Ou became. He stood up and strode towards the prone Chen Youfu in the flower bed.

Bai Yutang first checked on Luo Tian to make sure he was okay, then sighed in relief. Bai Ye tilted his head, scanning the surroundings.

"How did that car appear so silently, almost as if it were lying in ambush?" Luo Tian also found it strange.

"Do you think..." Bai Yutang suddenly had an odd feeling. He looked around and noticed something strange.

Bai Ye was doing the same.

The two exchanged glances – It was so quiet!

This was a residential area, even though most people were at work during the day, not everyone would be away... Why, after all this commotion, hadn't a single person appeared? Not even a passer-by to check out the noise, or anyone peeking out of a window to watch? Not one!

In the flower bed, Qin Ou grabbed the collar of Chen Youfu's neck, thinking that this time he had no place to run, and pulled him up.

However, at the very moment he dragged Chen Youfu up, he suddenly saw a flash of blue light.

Relying on some instinct, Qin Ou jerked backwards...

Bai Yutang and Bai Ye also heard the buzzing sound and looked towards the flower bed.

They saw Qin Ou lean back, dodging a stream of electricity, and fall on his butt...

Beside him, a black stun gun fell.

Qin Ou picked up the small women's self-defence stun gun, a bit shaken – Good heavens, he almost got treated like a hooligan, how many volts was this thing?

Meanwhile, Chen Youfu bolted from the garden, continuing his escape.

Bai Yutang laughed. In all his years as a police officer, he had never encountered such a situation. He should have brought a couple of police dogs.

Crossing the flower bed, Bai Yutang personally chased after Chen Youfu.

When Luo Tian pushed Chen Youfu into the flower bed earlier, Chen Youfu might have sprained his ankle. Now, he was limping away with an injured leg.

Bai Yutang walked behind him, not rushing to catch him, but observing the surroundings... Soon, Bai Yutang noticed a pattern, the rooms and balconies near the road, in short, any place with windows, had no curtains drawn.

He instantly understood where the surveillance equipment was installed... It was in the windows, so it wasn't visible from outside.

"So, does that mean it's safe once you leave this neighbourhood?" Bai Yutang asked Chen Youfu ahead.

Chen Youfu shook his head as he walked, not daring to look back, muttering, "Nowhere is safe! Once you're targeted, you're doomed!"

Just as Bai Yutang was about to speak again, he suddenly felt something rattling above his head and heard Bai Ye shout from behind, "Watch out!"

Before Bai Ye's words fell, Bai Yutang had already lunged forward, tackling Chen Youfu against the wall. As they both pressed against the wall, there was a loud bang... A piece of I-beam steel fell, landing right at their feet.

Bai Yutang was stunned, looking at the meter-long piece of I-beam steel and the dents it made in the ground...

Luo Tian and Qin Ou also looked upwards.

Bai Yutang had consciously walked with Chen Youfu towards the wall, knowing that avoiding indoor surveillance cameras was best achieved by picking an angle where it couldn't capture you.

But now it seemed that the issue of angles had long been considered by the observer. The only way to avoid sudden falling objects from above was to walk in the middle of the road.

"See..." Chen Youfu looked at the steel bar on the ground with despair, reaching out...

Bai Yutang felt Chen Youfu slip something into his hand. Looking down, he saw it was a USB drive.

After handing over the USB drive, Chen Youfu suddenly shouted, "Ah!" and bolted.

"Hey!" Bai Yutang called out, but Chen Youfu was already running headlong towards the parking lot.

......

Xu Lie rushed into the toilet, clutching his stomach as he entered a stall.

Once inside, his distressed expression vanished. He reached into his ear and made a face – Ruining my image as a wise and honourable man!

He closed the toilet lid, sat down, crossed his legs, rested his chin on his hand, and pulled out his phone.

He opened the message Zhan Zhao had just sent him – Don't drink the beverage, discreetly pour it out, pretend to have stomach trouble, and wait in the washroom.

Xu Lie shook his head in disdain – Did he really have to pretend to have diarrhoea? It was so undignified!

As he was thinking, he heard footsteps approaching from the door.

Xu Lie frowned... Those footsteps definitely didn't sound like Chen Mi's. And what kind of shoes made that squeaking sound?

Puzzled, the footsteps drew closer...

Looking down, Xu Lie saw a pair of red rain boots appear in the gap at the bottom of the door.

‿︵‿︵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 15, 2024 by Angel

Edited: December 30, 2024 by Soojin