S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 6 Chapter 10

The Card Murderer 10 – Third Possibility

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Bai Yutang suggested another possibility, and everyone looked at him curiously – What other possibility?

Bai Yutang said, "Wait a moment."

He then got out of the vehicle and took out his phone, dialling a number.

The others, curious, followed him outside.

Standing to one side while on the phone, Bai Yutang said, "Uncle Ye, I'd like to borrow something from you..."

Meanwhile, the props team placed the last dummy into the final RV, and Ma Xin finished setting up the equipment.

Once everything was ready, Bai Ye arrived, driving over. After getting out of the car, he retrieved a long, stick-like object from the back seat and handed it to Bai Yutang.

Zhao Hu and the others recognised it immediately, it was Bai Ye's blade.

Zhao Hu and Ma Han exchanged a glance – This was no ordinary blade. The scene of Bai Ye slicing through the "female ghost" on the ghost ship was still vivid in their minds.

Since the RV couldn't hold too many people at once, the group gathered at the door. Zhao Hu and Ma Han simply climbed onto the roof, peering down through the window.

Bai Ye was puzzled as well. Bai Yutang had suddenly called to borrow a blade. Bai Ye had plenty of blades, so he asked which one he wanted. Bai Yutang said he wanted the longest and sharpest one, so Bai Ye brought it over.

Bai Yutang first placed a knife identical to the murder weapon in the dummy's hand, using its sleeve to secure the hilt against its glove. Then, he rested the knife on the dummy's shoulder and took the hammer from the table, positioning its head on the dummy's knee while standing the handle upright to support the raised elbow.

Like this, the dummy was set in a delicate state of balance.

Gongsun watched as Bai Yutang posed the dummy to appear as if it was preparing to slash its own throat. He let out a soft "Oh..." and, stroking his chin, stood by to observe.

Once everything was in place, Bai Yutang took two steps back and drew Bai Ye's blade.

The RV's lighting reflected off the blade, making it glisten coldly. The blade was incredibly thin, its incredible sharpness apparent at a glance, and its total length was about 1.5 metres.

Everyone focused on Bai Yutang's movements.

They watched as he stood a good distance from the dummy, extending the long blade so that its razor-sharp edge pressed against the dagger's blade.

"Oh..."

The onlookers all seemed to grasp what Bai Yutang was trying to do, collectively thinking – What a brilliant idea!

Bai Yutang aligned the blade carefully, then swiftly withdrew it...

As he moved, a flawless gash appeared across the dummy's throat. The knife positioned against its neck followed the cut precisely, and blood sprayed out.

As the dummy's elbow shifted, the supporting hammer toppled over as well.

At the exact moment the hammer fell, Bai Yutang flicked his wrist, hooking the hammer's handle at the joint between the head and the shaft with the back of his blade. With a smooth motion, he scooped up the hammer... sending it neatly onto the small table by the sofa, executing the move flawlessly.

Everyone instantly understood – No wonder the hammer had been placed on the small table.

The dummy's hand naturally dropped, and the blood-stained knife fell onto the sofa beside it.

Bai Yutang sheathed his blade.

The group turned to look at the crime scene before them – It was identical!

Ma Xin took out photos of the actual crime scene for comparison – It was a perfect match! The scene was flawlessly reconstructed.

They looked at Bai Yutang again. Because he had kept his distance, not a single drop of blood had splattered onto him.

Gongsun examined the crime scene photos again. That RV had been covered in blood, even the doorway, where splatter logically shouldn't have landed, was covered. Yet Bai Yutang, when using the long blade in his demonstration, had stood near the door.

The crime scene was a combination of two, one staged as a suicide, the other as a dismemberment. But in either case, there was no reason for blood to have been flung all the way to the entrance.

"The blood near the door may have been deliberately thrown there," Gongsun analysed. "Probably to mislead us, so we wouldn't consider the long blade as a possibility..."

"It's just a possibility," Bai Yutang found it impressive how the murderer had staged the scene, making the forensic work extremely challenging.

Gongsun, however, seemed unfazed. "If the murderer really is the driver who committed suicide out of guilt, there would have been no reason to stage the scene like this."

Bai Yutang nodded. That was precisely the most suspicious part.

With the experiment complete, the twins drove the used RVs back, and the props team also withdrew. Once the forensic team had finished processing the scene, they took the RV back to the police station, while Gongsun and the others returned to conduct the autopsy.

Bai Yutang sent the earlier photo of the suicide note to Zhan Zhao, informing him that their work was nearly done and that he was heading to the hospital. He also asked Zhan Zhao if he was hungry.

Bai Ye, still unaware of what case Bai Yutang and the others were investigating, didn't seem particularly interested.

"Have you eaten yet?" Bai Ye asked Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang shook his head, still holding his phone.

Zhan Zhao replied that he would wait for him to come over and they could eat at the hospital cafeteria.

Bai Yutang smiled slightly and put his phone away, only to look up and see Bai Ye shaking his head.

"Uncle Ye, want to come along?" Bai Yutang asked.

Bai Ye teased him quite seriously, "We don't usually arrange to eat at a hospital cafeteria."

Bai Yutang scratched his head. "It's not like there's time for anything else..."

"Even if you're busy, you still need to eat properly." Bai Ye pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to him.

Bai Yutang took the envelope and opened it. Inside, he found coupons, a map, a bunch of strange cards, and a strategy guide.

Bai Yutang pulled out one of the cards for a look. It was covered in cartoon characters. "What's this?"

"Didn't a new theme park just open recently?" Bai Ye said. "Go play with Zhan Zhao when you have time."

Bai Yutang tucked the envelope away while muttering, "Do we look like kids to you?"

Bai Ye nodded. "You're still kids, aren't you."

With that, Bai Ye urged him to hurry up and get some food, and the two parted ways, each driving off in their own direction.

......

At the hospital cafeteria, Zhan Zhao sat waiting for Bai Yutang while reviewing the photo of the suicide note on his phone.

It was a handwritten suicide note, though whether it was truly written by the deceased would have to be confirmed by forensics.

For now, Zhan Zhao focused on the content.

The letter detailed the murderer's reasons for killing Zhang Yuancheng before ultimately choosing to take their own life – a creative dispute.

That's right, such an absurd reason!

Zhan Zhao had been investigating cases for years and had encountered all sorts of motives for killing people, big and small, but this was the first time he had encountered this kind of situation.

The driver, Wang Qiu, had been in the same theatre troupe as Zhang Yuancheng, and both had been involved in writing the script for a recent small-theatre production.

The two had a serious disagreement over how the play's ending should be written. However, since the play was an adaptation of a novel by Mingdi Yang, and Zhang Yuancheng had personal ties with Mingdi, the troupe sided with Zhang Yuancheng.

Wang Qiu wrote in the suicide note that Zhang Yuancheng is a superficial illiterate, who doesn't genuinely like Mingdi's novels and can't understand their content, he just enjoys seeking attention. Wang Qiu believes that Zhang Yuancheng is a cancer to the theatre troupe. With him around, the stage adaptation of the novel won't only fail but will also "taint" Mingdi's creation, so he must be killed.

After reading the note, Zhan Zhao stroked his chin and examined the photo.

The paper used for the suicide note looked as if it had been torn from a notebook.

The handwriting of the suicide note was extremely messy, with many strokes flying off the page... Judging by the writing, the person must have been in a hurry and emotionally agitated while writing. The most peculiar thing is that this suicide note is not written in a letter format but in a diary format.

In other words, there was no signature at the end of the suicide note, but there was a date at the beginning.

Zhan Zhao wondered... Could it be a page torn out from a diary?

The wording in the suicide note was highly exaggerated, with comments about Zhang Yuancheng as if he were a terrorist who kills innocents, filled with hatred between the lines.

This kind of emotional outpouring could have been part of a diary entry, but it could just as easily have been written as a suicide note.

Zhan Zhao couldn't be sure, so he sat there, deep in thought.

At that moment, two familiar figures appeared at the entrance.

Zhan Zhao looked up and saw Gao Min and Mingdi walking in together... To be precise, one following the other.

Gao Min was in front, striding in hastily, while Mingdi followed behind, striding with long legs.

Resting his chin on his hand, Zhan Zhao observed their dynamic with great interest.

At this point, Gao Min had clearly already labelled Mingdi, whom she never liked in the first place, as a murder suspect in her mind, being wary of him at every turn and constantly suspicious.

As for Mingdi, he treated Gao Min with great care, walking while observing her expression, but he couldn't tell that she was unhappy at all. On the contrary, Zhan Zhao thought that his mood was actually quite good.

Gao Min bought a bowl of wontons and, carrying her tray, searched for a seat. Spotting Zhan Zhao, she immediately headed over.

Behind her, Mingdi had also bought wontons and followed suit.

Gao Min sat down opposite Zhan Zhao, while Mingdi took the seat beside her.

Gao Min asked Zhan Zhao, "Dr. Zhan, not eating?"

Zhan Zhao replied that he was waiting for Bai Yutang before eating, all the while observing the two of them.

Gao Min kept signalling to him with her eyes, urging him to drag Mingdi back to the police station for questioning.

Mingdi curiously glanced at Gao Min, then at Zhan Zhao, seeming to pick up on something. He now looked slightly more wary, watching Zhan Zhao's expression more closely than before.

Finding the situation amusing, Zhan Zhao asked Gao Min, "How's Liu Jing doing?"

"She hasn't woken up yet, but she should be fine. Auntie Liu is accompanying her, and Uncle Liu just arrived as well."

As she spoke, Gao Min shot a glance at Mingdi. "Uncle Liu said that if he finds out who the culprit is, he won't wait for the police, he'll tear them apart himself!"

Seeing how Gao Min gritted her teeth while saying "tear them apart," Mingdi silently lowered his head and ate his wontons in silence.

Gao Min wasn't done yet. "Uncle Liu used to be on the provincial judo team!"

"Cough, cough..." Mingdi choked on his soup and started pounding his chest.

"Right," Zhan Zhao helped change the subject and asked Mingdi, "Has Zhang Yuancheng's group been rehearsing your stage play recently?"

Mingdi thought for a moment, then nodded. "Probably."

"You don't know?" Zhan Zhao asked, curious.

"Yuancheng's theatre troupe is non-profit, more of a hobby, and they only perform in small venues. It seems they have communicated with the magazine about this," Mingdi said. "I generally don't concern myself with secondary adaptations."

"Why not?" Zhan Zhao asked. "Do you not care about film and television adaptations either?"

Mingdi nodded and answered bluntly, "Because I don't understand them at all, and I have no interest in them."

"Aren't you afraid they'll change it for the worse?" Zhan Zhao asked curiously.

Across the table, Gao Min glanced at Zhan Zhao – As if you care yourself!

"I only handle the process from zero to one," Mingdi said indifferently. "Whether the secondary adaptation is from one to a hundred or negative, that's a teamwork issue. It's beyond my control, and I have no desire to manage it."

Zhan Zhao pulled up the suicide note on his phone and handed it over for Mingdi to read.

Mingdi frowned as he finished reading it, then gave a small smile and continued eating his wontons without saying much.

"What do you think?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Mingdi Zhan Zhao in return. "Dr. Zhan, in all your years solving cases, have you ever seen a keyboard warrior kill someone?"

Zhan Zhao blinked.

Mingdi pointed at the phone. "This writing style, if posted online, would just be another keyboard warrior. The dogs that bite don't bark."

Gao Min glanced at Mingdi again with a hint of melancholy – Right! Murderers always seemed like good people on the surface.

Seeing Gao Min looking at him, Mingdi asked, "Not enjoying the wontons? Want something else? The sandwiches look okay..."

Gao Min immediately became wary – Want to poison me?!

Mingdi stood up. "What flavour do you want? Ham or egg?"

Just then, Zhan Zhao raised his hand and waved toward the entrance.

Both Mingdi and Gao Min turned to look, only to see Bai Yutang walking in from outside the cafeteria.

Gao Min let out a snort and stared at Mingdi – If you really killed someone, you'd better turn yourself in quickly. Otherwise, sooner or later, Captain Bai is going to throw you in a cell, and you might even get a good beating!

Mingdi just smiled and asked her, "Ham or egg?"

Gao Min replied, "Repent and be saved!"

Mingdi patted her head. "Then I'll get one of each, ham and egg."

With that, Mingdi went off to buy food. Gao Min, covering her head, asked Zhan Zhao if he could do a DNA test to see if the hair on her head was the same as the one on Yuancheng's corpse.

Resting his chin on his hand, Zhan Zhao sighed helplessly. "Miss, such a big peach blossom, you really can't see it?"

Gao Min narrowed her eyes – What?!

Just then, Bai Yutang arrived and sat down beside Zhan Zhao. He patted Zhan Zhao's head just like how Mingdi patted Gao Min's head just now, "I can see it too, what a big peach blossom."

‿︵‿︵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 13, 2025 by Angel

Edited: May 11, 2025 by Soojin