S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 6 Chapter 3

The Card Murderer 03 – Changed Passwords

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Seeing Gao Min sitting on the sofa, staring at the projection screen, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang thought she had been frightened by the sudden appearance of the corpse photos.

Bai Yutang reached for the remote control, intending to turn off the screen.

Just as he picked it up, he saw tears streaming down Gao Min's face.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a glance, her reaction was rather strange...

"You know him?" Zhan Zhao immediately walked over to the sofa.

As he reached Gao Min's side, he heard her sobbing as she said, "Yuancheng..."

"Yuancheng?" Zhan Zhao was taken aback. He had just heard that name multiple times, Auntie Liu's son-in-law...

"He's Zhang Yuancheng? Liu Jing's husband?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Jing Jing... Where's Jing Jing?" Gao Min had sobered up by now. "What happened? Why does Yuancheng look like that?"

Bai Yutang gestured to Zhan Zhao – One dead, one missing, so the missing person is Liu Jing?

Gao Min was still in a state of confusion, so Zhan Zhao told her to calm down. Truthfully, he was a little confused himself... Everything was converging quite coincidentally!

Liu Jing and Zhang Yuancheng were Gao Min's friends, and when Gao Min arrived at the SCI office drunk, the criminal investigation team sent over photos of Zhang Yuancheng's body and the news of Liu Jing's disappearance.

After asking for the location of Ai Hu's murder, Bai Yutang instructed them to secure the crime scene and continue searching for Liu Jing. They would head over immediately.

Hanging up the call, Bai Yutang sent a message to the other SCI members to gather and instructed the forensic and crime scene investigation teams to rush to the campground.

Once he had finished making the necessary contacts, Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao took Gao Min with them and rushed to the campground.

Not long after their car pulled out, two vehicles followed from behind, and Zhao Hu, Ma Han, Luo Tian, and Qin Ou arrived.

Up ahead, the forensics team and the crime scene investigation teams' vehicles appeared.

Their police lights flashed as they sped towards the highway.

At the same time, Jiang Ping and Bai Chi reached the SCI office and got in touch with Bai Yutang and the others on the road.

"Captain, is it the campground near Sparrow Tunnel?"

"Yes. Check the surveillance footage, look for any suspicious vehicles, particularly those carrying a lone woman or one being held hostage."

Jiang Ping started reviewing the surveillance footage while Bai Chi studied the photo of the corpse on the projection screen.

"What kind of setup is this?"

Zhao Zhen, who brought Bai Chi over, leaned against the table and stared at the eerie corpse photo. "A heart symbol, rabbit ears, a pocket watch... Alice in Wonderland?"

"A murder that imitates a fairy tale?" Bai Chi tilted his head as he examined the photo, voicing the same question that Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had been pondering for quite some time. "How is the body standing on its own? There's nothing supporting it?"

Zhao Zhen asked him to zoom in on the hands displayed on the screen.

Bai Chi enlarged the photo as much as he could.

"There seems to be something there..." Zhao Zhen pointed to the corpse's hand, where the pocket watch was hanging.

Bai Chi also noticed it, there seemed to be a thin wire, either copper or iron, wrapped around the sleeve?

"His clothes," Zhao Zhen continued analysing the 'flaws,' pointing to the area near the corpse's arms. "Inside... it doesn't quite feel like a body..."

In the car, everyone could hear Zhao Zhen and Bai Chi's conversation. Zhao Hu held a tablet, zoomed in on the corpse, and squinted at the screen. "What does this mean...?"

......

Meanwhile, Ai Hu and the others, who were waiting for SCI to arrive at the villa, were also staring at the corpse, all wondering the same thing – How was this thing standing?

"Captain, there seems to be a copper wire around the sleeve and wrist." A police officer pointed at the corpse's hand.

Ai Hu saw it too. He could understand the need to secure the hands, but how could such a thin copper wire support a corpse of this size? Besides, how long had it been dead...

Stepping to the side, Ai Hu suddenly fixed his gaze on the body – Something about it felt off.

Putting on gloves, Ai Hu reached out and lifted the clothing slightly... Suddenly, bits of straw fell out from inside...

The officers were all stunned.

Ai Hu withdrew his hand and took another look at the corpse. It turned out it was a scarecrow dressed in clothing, the only actual human parts were the head, hands, and the heart that was hanging from it...

Crouching down, Ai Hu examined the feet of the corpse... He noticed that the shoes had no soles, and underneath them weren't feet, but two brass bases.

Ai Hu stood up, looking bewildered, while the surrounding officers shook their heads – This was seriously twisted!

......

By now, SCI's convoy was speeding along the highway, getting closer and closer to the campground.

Zhan Zhao sat in the front passenger seat, glancing at Gao Min through the rear-view mirror while talking to her.

Earlier, Gao Min had been in a dazed state, as if she still couldn't believe any of this was real.

"Are you and Liu Jing close?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Gao Min nodded. She and Liu Jing had been classmates since middle and high school, then attended the same university, and later worked at the same publishing house. Before Liu Jing got married, the two of them had even shared an apartment. They were more like sisters than just friends.

"What about Zhang Yuancheng?" Zhan Zhao continued, observing Gao Min's reaction.

Zhang Yuancheng had been a university classmate. The three of them had always had a very good relationship and were friends who could truly confide in one another.

After observing for a while, Zhan Zhao noted that Gao Min was still in a state of complete confusion, even struggling to form coherent sentences.

Her emotions toward Liu Jing and Zhang Yuancheng showed no concealment or avoidance. Zhang Yuancheng's death had left her heartbroken, while Liu Jing's disappearance deeply worried her. At the same time, she was struggling with the chaos of it all, unable to accept the chaotic and painful emotions.

That, in fact, was exactly the "right" emotional response...

"Did you know that Liu Jing and Zhang Yuancheng went to the campground?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Gao Min suddenly seemed to recall something and pulled out her phone. "Jing Jing was on leave these past few days, but she never mentioned going camping. In her last message to me, she just said she didn't want to keep dragging things out and wanted to put an end to it."

"What were they like, personality-wise?" Zhan Zhao inquired.

"They were both pretty normal, a bit introverted and quiet. Outside of work, they mostly spent their time playing games, reading, or watching shows."

"The officers at the scene learned that the two of them paid a high price to rent the honeymoon villa at the campground, supposedly to finalise their divorce there." Zhan Zhao asked Gao Min what she thought of this.

Gao Min looked utterly incredulous. "How is that possible... They're both very rational people, and they still have a mortgage to pay, they're usually quite frugal. They've been arguing about getting a divorce for almost six months now, but recently, things actually started to show signs of improvement. That's why I wanted to introduce you to Auntie Liu, to see if you could provide them with some marriage counselling..."

"Why did they suddenly decide to divorce?" Zhan Zhao asked. "Did Liu Jing ever mention anything to you?"

Gao Min nodded. "Actually, there's a reason why Jing Jing never spoke about it openly. She suspected Zhang Yuancheng of cheating on her."

"Did she have any concrete evidence?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Zhang Yuancheng had a hobby, he loved watching stage performances, whether it was plays, operas, or musicals. Not only did he love watching, but he also enjoyed performing. Back in university, he had founded a drama club, that's actually where he and Jing Jing met. Jing Jing is really good at painting, so she worked on set designs for the club. They bonded over that shared interest. Last year, Yuancheng joined a theatre group and started performing in small venues outside of work. The group often organised social events like camping trips and parties, and Jing Jing and I would sometimes join them for fun. But earlier this year, Jing Jing suddenly told me that she suspected Yuancheng of having an affair with a woman from the theatre group. She was furious, and from then on, the two of them started arguing constantly."

Zhan Zhao thought for a moment, then asked Gao Min, "So in your opinion, did Zhang Yuancheng actually cheat, or was Liu Jing overthinking things?"

Gao Min shook her head. "Honestly, I feel like there was some kind of misunderstanding here."

"A misunderstanding?" Zhan Zhao was surprised by this answer. It wasn't a simple yes or no, instead, she was saying it was a misunderstanding.

"I've asked Jing Jing many times who this woman was," Gao Min explained. "I've been trying to find out who this person is. At least give me a name so I can investigate, right? But the strange thing is, from start to finish, I've only heard Jing Jing say 'that woman,' and then there were no other clues."

"That woman?" Zhan Zhao found this odd as well. "So you don't know who the alleged affair partner is?"

"Exactly!" Gao Min was both frustrated and anxious. "When I asked Yuancheng if he was cheating, he was completely baffled and asked me who he was supposedly cheating with... I told him, 'that woman,' and he said I was just as crazy as Liu Jing."

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, who was driving, frowned – This argument didn't sound like a normal fight between a couple... Nothing about it made sense.

Zhan Zhao was even beginning to wonder why Gao Min hadn't come to him for counselling sooner, there really did seem to be some kind of 'misunderstanding' here.

Gao Min sighed sorrowfully and said, "I always thought they were just being dramatic, that they'd argue for a while and then make up. What couple doesn't fight? They call it the seven-year itch, don't they? A little bickering keeps things interesting. They had it too easy before. I was so busy with my own life that I never really put any effort into paying attention to their situation... But actually, I feel like both of them have been acting strange recently. Jing Jing has become more and more gloomy, and Yuancheng hasn't been as cheerful as he used to be..."

As she spoke, the car had already exited the highway and was now winding along the mountain road.

Zhan Zhao noticed Gao Min holding her phone and noticed that her facial recognition unlock function worked without any issues...

"Is your phone password 33066?" Zhan Zhao suddenly asked.

"Uh..." Gao Min nodded. "Yeah..."

Zhan Zhao didn't say anything more. 33066 had been the first password he had tried earlier. He hadn't guessed wrong, but...

At that moment, the entrance to a tunnel appeared ahead.

The tunnel was originally named Sparrow Tunnel, with the characters "麻雀" written above it. However, due to wind erosion, the "麻" character had eroded beyond recognition, leaving only "雀" visible.

Zhan Zhao suddenly had an idea. He turned around and borrowed Gao Min's phone. Locking the screen, he then unlocked it again and entered the password "17215", and the phone unlocked smoothly.

Bai Yutang, who was watching from the side, frowned slightly.

Zhan Zhao scrolled through the chat history and found nothing unusual, they were just work-related messages. As an editor, Gao Min's daily workload was filled with an overwhelming amount of text.

Returning the phone to Gao Min, Zhan Zhao asked, "What event were you attending earlier?"

"A banquet... Oh, the publishing house's celebration banquet."

"How did you end up at the SCI office?" Zhan Zhao continued questioning.

Gao Min was momentarily stunned. She reached up to touch her head as if trying to piece things together. "I... I remember that after the banquet, we went for a meal, we had barbecue, and I drank some alcohol. Then I left, someone called a car for me, I got in, and after that..."

Gao Min knocked her forehead while trying to recall. "Huh? What happened after that? How did I end up at the SCI office?"

By now, the car had reached the campground's parking lot.

Everyone got out of the car.

The forensics team and crime scene investigation team had already arrived. Gongsun, Ma Xin, and Xiao Xiatian carried their equipment and headed towards the villa alongside the forensics experts.

Zhao Hu and Ma Han went to the back mountain with the search-and-rescue team, while Luo Tian and Qin Ou led another group to search for clues along the nearby roads.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao walked towards the villa together.

Bai Yutang asked, "What's the deal with 17215?"

"17, 21, 5, which correspond to Q, U, and E in the alphabet," Zhan Zhao replied. "Que, the pinyin for '雀'."

"Bird..." Bai Yutang frowned and glanced back at Gao Min, who was still walking along, trying to search for the parts of her memory she had lost.

Bai Yutang then asked Zhan Zhao, "Who changed her password?"

Zhan Zhao nodded slightly, it was a good question – Who was it?

‿︵‿︵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: March 6, 2025 by Angel

Edited: April 18, 2025 by Soojin