S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 6 Chapter 12

The Card Murderer 12 – Group Photo

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Mia sent some photos to Zhan Zhao, all of which were personal belongings of the perpetrator. Among them was a black leather notebook that caught his attention.

Suddenly, as if something had occurred to him, Zhan Zhao asked Gao Min, "Did Liu Jing have a notebook?"

Gao Min nodded. As editors, they all carried notebooks with them, not just for keeping track of schedules but also for jotting down things at any time.

Zhan Zhao turned to Bai Yutang. "Did forensics find that notebook?"

Bai Yutang had briefly checked the items found by forensics earlier, but there didn't seem to be a notebook. He made a call to confirm.

Forensics sent Bai Yutang a list of the collected evidence, and sure enough, there was no black notebook on the list.

Zhan Zhao then messaged Mia.

Mia replied with details: the driver involved in the incident was named Fang Jie, a habitual thief who had been in and out of the station frequently. He was twenty-five years old when he committed suicide.

He had a habit of keeping a diary, continuing to write even while serving time in prison. Normally, there wouldn't be much to document behind bars, but it seemed he had always wanted to turn his "legendary experiences" into a book.

When he committed suicide, he even left a suicide note, which had been written in diary format, and torn from his notebook.

Kalin's Death Archive collected cases involving questionable deaths.

The anomaly in this case was that Fang Jie's last diary had gone missing.

Bai Yutang also called Zhao Hu and Ma Han, who had led the team to search Wang Qiu's home for evidence.

At that moment, Ma Han was going through the bookshelf at Wang Qiu's house. The man was clearly a fan of Mingdi's books, he had a dedicated section on his shelf just for Mingdi's books.

Meanwhile, Zhao Hu was checking the items on Wang Qiu's desk. The guy was quite passionate about writing, he wrote lots of manuscripts.

Just then, Bai Yutang called, asking Zhao Hu and Ma Han if they had found Wang Qiu's diary.

"Diary?" Zhao Hu muttered as he rummaged through the items, and Ma Han also began searching.

Where would someone usually keep a diary? Typically in a private spot, right... Under the pillow? In the nightstand? Or maybe a drawer with a lock?

Ma Han found a wooden box under Wang Qiu's bed. Opening it, he discovered a collection of diaries neatly arranged by date. It seemed the man had been keeping a journal since middle school.

Because they were so orderly, it was immediately clear that the most recent diary was missing.

"He's been writing diaries since middle school?"

Hearing Bai Yutang's conversation with Zhao Hu, Zhan Zhao leaned in and suggested they search for any old group photos from his school days or an album.

Ma Han and Zhao Hu continued searching. Before long, an officer found Wang Qiu's old school yearbook and a related photo album in a cupboard beneath the bookshelf, along with a photo frame.

"Why would a photo frame be hidden in a cupboard?" Zhao Hu took it out and saw that it was a group photo of three students in school uniforms. One of them was likely Wang Qiu.

Following Zhan Zhao's instructions, they sent him all the group photos.

Zhan Zhao handed his phone to Mingdi and Gao Min, asking them to check if Fang Jie was in any of the pictures.

Gao Min immediately took the phone, zooming in on the photos for a closer look.

Mingdi moved closer to Gao Min, but instead of focusing on the pictures, he was sneaking glances at Gao Min.

Watching this, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang shook their heads while eating their sandwiches – Either Mingdi was putting on an extremely dedicated performance to prove he wasn't the killer, or... the guy was simply a hopeless romantic!

"He's not here." Gao Min finished checking a large group photo and didn't find the person she was looking for. Slightly disappointed, she wondered if she had missed something, and looked up to ask Mingdi.

The moment Mingdi saw Gao Min looking up at him, his ears turned red.

Seeing that he hadn't noticed anything, Gao Min turned back and continued tapping on the screen, zooming in and out, shifting the images around... until she reached the next photo, the very same three-person picture that Wang Qiu had hidden in the cupboard.

"Hey!" Gao Min froze, staring at the photo, and called out to Mingdi beside her.

Mingdi was still looking at Gao Min when she grabbed his head and turned it towards the phone.

The moment Mingdi saw the picture, he froze too. Then, he let out a loud "Ah!" and snatched the phone for a closer look.

Across from them, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang observed the change in Mingdi's expression and nodded, as if they had just witnessed his soul re-enter his body.

"That's him." Mingdi pointed at the boy in the middle and looked at Gao Min.

Gao Min nodded as well, confirming that it matched Fang Jie's appearance.

"I've seen this person before as well." Mingdi pointed at Wang Qiu and asked Zhan Zhao, "Is he the one who killed Yuancheng?"

"Was it him?" Gao Min was equally shocked. "Why would he do that?"

"Everything is still under investigation," Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang didn't go into too much detail. Instead, they pointed at the third person in the photo and asked the two, "What about this one? Have either of you seen him before?"

"Uh..." Gao Min seemed about to speak but suddenly hesitated.

While Zhan Zhao stared at her intently, Bai Yutang noticed that just a moment ago, Mingdi had subtly nudged Gao Min's leg.

Mingdi handed the phone back to Zhan Zhao.

"You don't recognise him?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Mingdi tilted his head. "I can't recall meeting him."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both looked at him – He hadn't said no, just that he couldn't remember...

Mingdi turned to Gao Min. "Shall we get something for Uncle and Auntie to eat?"

"Oh, right." Gao Min quickly got up, saying she would buy some food for Auntie Liu and Uncle Liu. She hurried to the counter and then rushed off to Liu Jing's hospital room.

Mingdi remained seated at the table. Once Gao Min had left, he said he was leaving too and stood up.

Neither Zhan Zhao nor Bai Yutang stopped him.

Bai Yutang took out a business card and handed it to him. "If you remember anything, give us a call."

"Alright." Mingdi took the business card and left in a hurry.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged glances – Just like that, both of them had suddenly run off...

Bai Yutang called Qin Ou and Luo Tian, instructing them to stake out the area near Lao Chen's home and see if Mingdi went to find him.

After hanging up, Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao, "What do you think?"

Zhan Zhao said, "They both recognise the third person, but they've chosen to hide it..."

"Normally, Gao Min wouldn't listen to Mingdi. This reaction should be for someone they both want to protect..." Bai Yutang reasoned that there were only two likely options, Lao Chen or Liu Jing.

Liu Jing was still in the hospital, and this case was connected to the one from ten years ago involving the murder of Lao Chen's wife and child – That made Lao Chen the most probable answer.

"Lao Chen seems to still be investigating the truth behind his family's murder." Bai Yutang looked at the photo. "Fang Jie and Wang Qiu's deaths were eerily similar, and Zhang Yu also had Mingdi investigate Fang Jie's school years."

"That guy might have discovered something." Zhan Zhao and the others knew Zhang Yu's methods well. This so-called 'true charlatan' didn't rely on fortune-telling but rather deduction and access to obscure first-hand information.

"Shall we talk to him?" Bai Yutang asked.

Zhan Zhao nodded, it seemed like a good idea.

Just as they were leaving the restaurant, Luo Tian's call came in.

"Captain, Mingdi really did go to see Chen Xu," Luo Tian reported. "The two of them just came downstairs together."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang instructed Luo Tian and Qin Ou to follow them discreetly, see what they were up to, and if possible, listen to their conversation.

Luo Tian and Qin Ou got into their car and tailed Mingdi's vehicle as it left the neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang arranged to meet Zhang Yu and asked him to bring Chen Feng along.

Chen Feng stubbornly refused to go to the police station, so in the end, they all agreed to meet at Zhao Jue's house instead. Coincidentally, Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao also needed to go to Mia's to collect some documents.

Speaking of Zhao Jue's house.

As soon as Bai Yutang got into the car, he handed Zhan Zhao the envelope from Bai Ye.

Zhan Zhao opened it, glanced inside, and let out a snort. "Does he take us for children?!"

After saying that, he put the envelope away and said that they were free this Sunday, so they should go and have some fun!"

Bai Yutang thought that sounded like a good idea.

When they arrived at Zhao Jue's villa, as usual, a pack of dogs swarmed them at the entrance.

Under Bai Ye's "management," the dogs were exceptionally well-behaved. Every time Zhan Zhao got out of the car, he liked to interact with them and see what new "skills" they had learned.

"Sit!" Zhan Zhao pointed at the ground.

The dogs collectively lay down.

Zhan Zhao blinked and pointed at the ground again, "Lie down!"

The dogs collectively sat up.

He continued issuing commands. "Stand up!"

The dogs collectively lay down, bellies up.

Zhan Zhao clapped his hands – Impressive, impressive!

Bai Yutang parked the car, got out, and whistled at the pack. Instantly, the dogs perked up their ears.

With a wave of his hand, Bai Yutang pointed forward. The dogs lined up neatly and pranced ahead with both enthusiasm and elegance, following him inside.

Zhan Zhao followed along, asking Bai Yutang as they walked, "Why don't they listen to me?"

Bai Yutang smirked but said nothing, thinking to himself – Cats and dogs are natural enemies, after all, how could they possibly listen to you?

Inside the villa, Zhang Yu and Chen Feng had already arrived. Eleven was busy cooking, while Mia sat at the table, munching on a fish cake while teaching her father, Issel, how to play a game.

"Meow~" The moment Zhan Zhao stepped inside, a black cat came over and brushed up against his leg.

"Sesame Paste!" Zhan Zhao bent down, picked up the little black cat, and stroked its fur, feeling that it was fatter than when he last saw it.

Over on the sofa, Bai Ye was focused on a blueprint, working on a paper model. Bai Yutang took a quick glance... Bai Ye had been working on this for days now. He was planning to set up a greenhouse in the garden for growing flowers and, at the same time, move all the things Zhao Jue had drawn into it so that they wouldn't be scattered all over the room.

On the table sat two large boxes of snacks, one filled with doughnuts, the other with fish cakes.

Bai Yutang silently glanced at the wall clock – Eating such high-calorie food late at night? And with milk tea... what a sin!

Zhao Jue was holding a fish cake in one hand and a book in the other, chuckling as he read, occasionally slurping on his milk tea.

Zhan Zhao caught a glimpse of the book and smiled knowingly, Zhao Jue was reading Mingdi's latest novel.

Holding Sesame Paste, Zhan Zhao walked over to the table and sat down. Mia handed him a file folder and gestured – This is the information on Fang Jie's death.

Zhan Zhao took the file and then showed Mia the photo of the trio again, pointing at the third individual.

Mia tilted her head, scanning her mental database for any relevant information. She shook her head – This person was either still alive or had died of natural causes with no suspicious circumstances. In any case, there was no record of them in the archives.

Bai Yutang asked Jiang Ping to look up the information of the other young man in the photo.

Pointing at the book Zhao Jue was reading, Zhan Zhao turned to Zhang Yu and Chen Feng. "Mingdi asked you guys to look into a case before, right?"

Chen Feng nodded and said that the handsome guy almost took him to the police station and had a pretty bad temper.

"Why did you have him check Fang Jie's middle school situation?" Zhan Zhao asked Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu smiled and pointed at Fang Jie's photo. "Because I was invited to perform a ritual when he was buried."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were both surprised. "Who invited you?"

Zhang Yu pointed at the other two people in the group photo. "These two. They claimed to be his old schoolmates, good friends."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged glances.

"You've probably performed a lot of rituals, you remember this one so well, was it special?" Zhan Zhao inquired.

Zhang Yu nodded at Zhan Zhao, you really do understand me. "Normally, the people who request such rituals are family members, it's extremely rare for childhood friends or classmates to ask me. Back then, I was still new to the field, and by some twist of fate, I had gained a rather peculiar reputation."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were intrigued. "A peculiar reputation? Weren't you a professional in performing these rituals?"

Zhang Yu was also at a loss whether to laugh or cry. "Somehow, people got the idea that I could communicate with spirits..."

......

On the outskirts of S City, Luo Tian and Qin Ou, who had been following Mingdi, were getting more and more puzzled. At first, they had expected the two of them to stop at a teahouse or a bar for a chat, or even go to a hotel for a room... anything would be more reasonable than the current situation.

Qin Ou watched as Mingdi's car drove through a gate, with the large characters of "Cemetery" making his hair stand on end.

......

Meanwhile, at Wang Qiu's house, Ma Han was still gathering evidence. As he examined the books on the bookshelf, Ma Han removed a row of them and noticed something unusual. Although the bookshelf was positioned against the wall, there was no back panel, and it looked as though something was concealed behind it.

Ma Han grabbed the frame and gave it a shake, realising that the bookshelf was actually movable, so he and Zhao Hu each took hold of one side and pulled it apart.

The two of them stared at what had been hidden behind the bookshelf, utterly stunned – What the hell is this?!

‿︵‿︵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 20, 2025 by Angel

Edited: May 11, 2025 by Soojin