S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 6 Chapter 51

The Culinary Murderer 03 – Lost Property

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As a cat lover, there was nothing worse than seeing the body of a dead cat.

The moment Bai Yutang saw the photo on the phone, he couldn't hold back. Who is this murderer? Even killing a cat? Shoot him!

Zhan Zhao tilted his head as he looked at the photo. How should he put it... this cat was adorable!

It was a chubby, short-legged golden shaded British Shorthair with a big, fluffy tail and four little white paws. Hanging from its neck was a delicate little whale pendant, something between a necklace and a bell.

But then... the crime scene had already been there nearly a week, and the cat still looked far too intact. A dead cat shouldn't look like this...

While the two of them were puzzling over it, Ding Rui's call came through again.

"Dr. Zhan, the forensic pathologist has arrived. It's not a real cat."

"Oh..." Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were both instantly relieved.

Bai Yutang took a closer look and realised he had been blinded by "rage," it was a lifelike stuffed toy cat, very convincing.

Zhan Zhao recalled the kind of felted wool dolls made from real cat fur by their owners, it was probably something like that...

"But the bloodstains are real," Ding Rui felt this bit was out of his jurisdiction. "Judging by the scene, it's likely a homicide involving dismemberment. We should get the criminal investigation team to take over."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang figured that, after cracking the mystery of the missing couple, this was just a standard murder case. The criminal investigation team could pull surveillance footage and look for the two people disguised as the couple, they were probably even carrying suitcases. Once confirmed, a wanted notice could be issued, it shouldn't be difficult.

After hanging up, they looked up to find that Bai Ye and Zhao Jue had already walked quite a distance ahead, so they hurried to catch up.

......

The seafood market really was newly built, with all sorts of modern touches and very clean. The aquariums for the fish looked like they were for display rather than sale. The floor was made of a special non-slip material that didn't accumulate water and wasn't slippery. Various large screens displayed the day's seafood varieties and prices, along with different auction events. Bidders placed their offers using electronic devices, so the whole market remained relatively quiet, not noisy at all.

Being a neat freak, Bai Yutang was quite pleased with the hygiene. The better the environment, the better his mood, and with the cat not being dead after all, he felt even more at ease.

Bai Ye's likes and dislikes were actually quite similar to Bai Yutang's, in a clean and tidy environment, their desire to shop increased significantly. Each of them held a phone, scanning QR codes, selecting the quantity they wanted to buy, and then simply collecting their purchases and paying at the exit, all very convenient.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue, on the other hand, were clearly not there to buy groceries. They were obviously there just to look around, peering into all the aquariums to look at the fish.

The two even suggested buying some nice-looking fish to set up an aquarium at home. An octopus would be great! Let's raise an octopus! It'd be like keeping an alien, if aliens ever invaded, at least the household would have a member who could communicate with them!

Bai Yutang shook his head helplessly. With a house full of feline predators, they actually want to install an aquarium? How do they expect to live in peace after that?

After looking at the fish, Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue went off in search of turtles, asking people all around where they could find some. Bai Ye and Bai Yutang both held their foreheads and stopped them – They're protected animals!

As they strolled around, Bai Ye and Bai Yutang kept shopping. There was no way everything would fit in the trunk, they'd probably have to pack it all up and send it by courier in the end.

After picking out some abalone, the two turned around, only to realise that Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue had vanished. They had no choice but to backtrack and look for them.

Just as Bai Yutang was about to call, Bai Ye pointed towards a crowd not far away.

Bai Yutang also spotted them. Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue were standing outside the crowd, craning their necks to watch. Judging by the screen overhead, there was an auction underway.

There was a whole string of names, Branchiostegus, Spanish mackerel, Fistularia, golden threadfin bream, bigeye snapper, Titan triggerfish, Lepidotrigla...

Quite a few of them Bai Yutang had never even seen before.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue kept pointing at several odd-looking fish, saying they wanted to buy them.

Bai Yutang glanced at them, didn't recognise any, but when he saw the name, he finally understood why those two wanted them, the fish was called the dog-leg fish...

Bai Yutang stared at the fish for ages but still couldn't see what it had to do with a dog's leg. He tugged on Bai Ye, who was choosing snapper, and asked, "How do you cook this kind of fish?"

Bai Ye glanced at it, "Anything we don't recognise, just steam it."

As Bai Yutang was considering whether to buy a few, Zhan Zhao picked up a large fan shrimp and held it up to him. "Yutang, look! A facehugger!"

Bai Yutang silently looked at the creature, then turned to ask Bai Ye – What about this one?

Bai Ye waved a hand – Cut it open with the shell and stew it into soup.

When Bai Yutang spotted some fresh oysters and milt, he said he'd buy them to feed the cats.

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue both looked at him – Here comes the young master attitude! Buying oysters to feed cats!

Zhan Zhao and Zhao Jue went off to look at the pufferfish, while Bai Yutang and Bai Ye went to buy sea urchins...

Just as they reached the pufferfish aquarium, Zhan Zhao suddenly felt something underfoot. He looked down, it was a set of keys.

Zhan Zhao bent down and picked them up.

There were two keys on the keyring: one long-shaped one that looked like it belonged to an electronic door lock, and a car key. There was also a small dolphin charm hanging from it.

Zhan Zhao looked around, holding the keys up. "Has anyone lost their keys?"

He asked a few times, and although several passersby glanced over, they all shook their heads.

At that moment, an uncle from the market pointed to a door ahead and said, "There's a lost and found over there, just drop it off there."

Zhan Zhao looked in the direction he'd pointed. It wasn't far, so he decided to take the keys over.

Zhao Jue followed behind him and said in a sinister tone, "They say, at the docks and at fish markets, there's always a lost and found, and inside, there's everything."

Zhan Zhao glanced at Zhao Jue, sensing a hidden meaning. "Everything?"

"Mmhmm." Zhao Jue nodded and pointed to the keys in Zhan Zhao's hand. "Might be a buyer's keys, might be a seller's, or maybe, they belong to the fish..."

Zhan Zhao gave him a sideways look. What sort of fish? Driving a car? Did it come from Atlantis or from R'lyeh?

"Ah! Jellyfish!" Zhao Jue was about to make another joke, but he was suddenly drawn in by a nearby aquarium and abandoned Zhan Zhao to go admire the jellyfish.

Shaking his head, Zhan Zhao walked out through that door alone. Sure enough, there was a glass room ahead with big, clear characters reading 'Lost and Found'.

Zhan Zhao walked over and found that there was no one inside, though the door was left open.

Inside the room were several large plastic crates filled with various small items, keys, phones, watches, knives...

Zhan Zhao pushed the door open and placed the set of keys into a plastic container meant for keys, putting them somewhere as visible as possible.

Thanks to what Zhao Jue said just now, Zhan Zhao's curiosity had been piqued, so he decided to have a look around the lost and found.

And indeed, there really was all sorts of stuff, not just small objects, but also larger items like picture frames, vases, and toys.

As Zhan Zhao glanced over the boxes of lost items, something suddenly caught his eye.

It was a container meant for storing jewellery, mostly hair ornaments and beaded bracelets.

Zhan Zhao noticed something that looked vaguely familiar and reached out to pick it up.

It was a necklace, with a small whale pendant.

Zhan Zhao took out his phone and opened the photo of the fake cat corpse he'd just received. The whale pendant hanging from the cat's neck was not just similar to the one on this necklace, it was absolutely identical.

Comparing the two, Zhan Zhao wasn't quite sure, Is this some kind of very common jewellery design?

As he was looking at it, the sound of a door opening came from behind.

Zhan Zhao turned around.

An elderly lady with greying hair and a kindly face had entered, holding a broom. When she saw Zhan Zhao inside, she smiled and asked, "Young man, have you lost something or found something?"

"Oh..." Zhan Zhao pointed at the box where he'd put the keys. "Found a set of keys."

The old lady nodded. "Mm, just leave them there, that's fine."

After a moment's thought, Zhan Zhao held up the necklace and asked, "Auntie, do you remember who found this?"

The old lady looked at the necklace and asked Zhan Zhao, "Which box did you find it in?"

Zhan Zhao pointed to the one used for accessories.

Although all the plastic boxes were the same design, they were in different colours, some were white, others were transparent.

"The transparent box?"

"Yes," Zhan Zhao nodded.

"Then it must've been found on the beach," the old lady gestured out of the window. "Every day, people from the market go out there to sweep, anything they find gets brought here."

Zhan Zhao leaned out the window.

Sure enough, not far ahead was a stretch of beach, not the sort of white sandy beach made for tourism, but a plain, rocky one. The tide seemed to be out at the moment; the stones were all exposed, sun-bleached to a greyish yellow.

"Across from there," the old lady continued, pointing again for Zhan Zhao, "there's a white sandy beach that gets a lot of tourists, and the docks are over there too, with lots of yachts. There's also a big bridge in the city on that side, and beyond that, a lot of hotels and amusement parks. Anything that falls into the sea tends to get washed up onto this shallow beach. So people who lose things at the hotel beach resorts often come here to look for them."

Zhan Zhao thought for a moment, then took out his credentials and showed them to the old lady, asking, "Would it be alright if I took this necklace with me?"

"Oh..." The old lady nodded, then looked at Zhan Zhao again.

From her expression, Zhan Zhao could tell she was holding something back, so he asked, "Do you know something?"

"Ah?" The old lady hesitated for a moment before saying quietly, "Now and then, flocks of seabirds gather along this beach. Usually it's because some dead fish or small dead animals have washed ashore, and the birds come to feed."

Zhan Zhao nodded and looked at her, waiting for her to go on.

"Last week, let me think... yes, I believe it was either Saturday or Sunday," the old lady pointed in the direction of the beach. "Just as I was about to leave work, I saw another flock of birds feeding. I glanced over, and I could've sworn I saw a white human hand."

Zhan Zhao asked, "Didn't you report it to the police at the time?"

The old lady shook her head awkwardly and said, "Aiya, you saw that bridge out front too, didn't you? Every year, a few people jump off it. Sometimes entire corpses wash up on shore. The people managing the market usually report it if they find anything. As for us, we generally don't get involved."

Zhan Zhao gave a slight nod. He asked the old lady a few more questions, then left the lost and found office.

In the market, Bai Yutang was looking for Zhan Zhao.

Meanwhile, Bai Ye was being dragged off by Zhao Jue to buy jellyfish. Uncle Ye was baffled, This market is a bit sick, actually making so many jellyfish towers. Wouldn't it be better to just sell jellyfish directly?

The man selling jellyfish was particularly enthusiastic, saying he could even come round to measure and custom-make one. Having a jellyfish tower at home would be high-end, classy, and sophisticated!

Bai Ye had no choice but to order one.

Just as Zhan Zhao walked out, he saw them and expressed his envy. He looked at Bai Yutang – Let's get one too!

Bai Yutang shook his head repeatedly – We've not only got a cat at home, but a lion as well! If Lisbon gets too excited and knocks over the jellyfish tank, wouldn't we have a flood on our hands?

Zhan Zhao clicked his tongue. "Then put it against the wall!"

For a few seconds, Bai Yutang actually seemed a little tempted. But reason quickly reasserted itself, and he shook his head firmly – Don't be ridiculous! We're not getting one of those. If you want to look at them, go to Brother's office or Zhao Jue's place, it's all the same.

"What's that you've got in your hand?" Bai Yutang tried his best to steer Zhan Zhao's attention away from the jellyfish tower.

"Oh, right." Zhan Zhao handed Bai Yutang the necklace. "Have Ai Hu and the others check the surveillance on the bridge, the killer might've dumped the body from up there."

‿︵‿︵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: May 11, 2025 by Angel

Edited: July 24, 2025 by Soojin