S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 6 Chapter 85

The Culinary Murderer 37 – Change

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Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were both in a state of stagnation at this time.

After so many years of working on cases, they had seen all sorts of bizarre and unexpected things, but this still caught them completely off guard. The moment they saw the scar on Yu Hui's shoulder, both broke out in goosebumps. The sudden jolt of realisation was so intense, it even snapped Bai Yutang out of his drowsiness.

They exchanged a look, then leapt to their feet and bolted downstairs.

Fei Mu had just opened up his PowerPoint and looked up – Where'd they go?

Downstairs, Jiang Ping had just received a parcel, it was the set of micro body-worn cameras Bai Yutang had asked him to prepare for Bai Ye and the others. They'd be wearing them for the upcoming operation to assist with observation and evidence collection.

Jiang Ping had just picked up a knife to open the box when the sound of hurried footsteps thundered from above. Everyone in the office looked up to see Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao bursting in.

The two of them made a beeline for Jiang Ping. "Yu Hui!"

Jiang Ping tilted his head. "What discount? Is there a sale?" (Angel: Discount is 优惠 or yōuhuì, while Yu Hui is yù huì.)

"Yu Hui!" Bai Yutang waved the photo in his hand. "Shi Yanshuo's fiancée!"

"Oh... your old classmate?"

Zhao Hu and Ma Han curiously leaned in to look at the photo. When they noticed the scar on Yu Hui's shoulder, their reactions weren't just similar to Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao's earlier response, they were absolutely identical.

"Fuck!" Hu Zi even pulled out a ruler to measure the scar in the photo and did a quick estimate. "The scar is about ten centimetres long!"

He then lifted his hand to his own shoulder to compare. "Oh... looks like... the angle and everything match up..."

"But..." Bai Chi was just as shocked. "Wasn't Yu Hui still a student when Zhu Yi was kidnapped?"

"Zhu Yi was in junior high school and quite petite," Zhan Zhao said. "But if we go by the timeline, Yu Hui would've been in high school then. How tall was she back in high school?" he asked Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang spread his hands. He wasn't sure about her height in high school, but back in middle school, she'd already been quite tall, she always stood in the back row, just like Wen Xiaorou.

"Girls usually finish developing earlier. By high school, their heights are mostly set..." Jiang Ping looked up her records and found some award photos from her student days. Since Yu Hui had participated in numerous swimming competitions, she had appeared in the media often and there were plenty of pictures to be found.

"She really was quite tall. But..." Jiang Ping tilted his head as he studied the photos. Although Yu Hui was tall, she looked like such a bright, wholesome kid, it's hard to associate someone like that with a serial killer. Besides, female serial killers are rare to begin with. And their methods usually follow certain patterns, poison, manipulation, using tools or getting others to do the job. It's rare to see violent, hands-on, serial killings. What is she, a high-IQ, antisocial, super-Saiyan psychopath?"

Everyone turned to look at Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao was feeling rather muddled at this point too. He sat in his swivel chair, deep in thought – After all, a single scar isn't enough to prove that the person who attacked Zhu Yi back then was Yu Hui. A female high school student attacking a female middle schooler, and being a serial killer on top of that? It all sounded absurd. Besides, Yu Hui only met Shi Yanshuo fairly recently, how could she have used his family's factory site years ago?

"Could it be another accident?" Bai Yutang asked. "Just a coincidence?"

"Another coincidence?" Zhan Zhao glanced at Bai Yutang.

Everyone shared the same feeling, there were far too many coincidences in this case...

At the doorway, Fei Mu stood with his arms crossed, watching the entire SCI team brooding in silence. He tapped his pen against the glass door – Meeting! Are we having this meeting?

Just then, the elevator behind him opened.

Fei Mu turned around. Bai Ye had arrived, bringing Issel and Eleven with him, followed by the ever-curious Zhao Jue and Mia.

Mia dashed in, carrying Xiao Neng. When she saw Fei Mu raise a hand, she gave him a high five!

Fei Mu seemed quite familiar with her, raising his hand for a high-five.

Issel stopped in his tracks, eyeing Fei Mu – Why does you, an unfamiliar adult male, seem so familiar with my underage daughter?

Fei Mu pointed at Jiang Ping – Gaming teammate.

Mia made a gesture to Issel – Teammate!

Issel looked Fei Mu up and down, seemed to observe him for a moment, then turned her head – Threat level cleared. No danger.

Fei Mu was rather curious – Both Bai Ye and Zhao Jue had shown up. Surely that means the two of them are also joining the investigation into Shi Yanshuo?

Bai Ye was looking for Bai Yutang, and Zhao Jue was looking for Zhan Zhao.

Bai Ye praised Bai Yutang, "Your make-up lessons paid off."

Bai Yutang froze. "Really?"

Bai Ye nodded seriously, looking completely unlike someone who was mocking. Uncle Ye wasn't the type to mock people either.

Bai Yutang looked at the two new chefs who had entered the room, who had both immediately fixed their eyes on the boxes of sweets on the table, with a puzzled expression.

Each was restraining the other's hand, clearly trying to stop the other from throwing the boxes of desserts into the garbage.

Jiang Ping called everyone over to fit their equipment.

Zhao Jue, meanwhile, was eyeing the desserts and asked Zhan Zhao, "Shall we test them?"

"Test what?" Zhan Zhao's head was still filled with the image of the scar on Yu Hui's neck.

Zhao Jue narrowed his eyes at him – Are you sleep-deprived too?

"Oh..." Zhan Zhao explained that Zhu Yi was resting in the adjacent break room. He glanced at the two boxes of pastries and hesitated. "We should ask if she's willing first."

Fei Mu peeked over at Bai Yutang, then at Zhan Zhao, feeling completely out of the loop – Aren't we supposed to be working on this case together? What are you all busy with? Share it with me! It's better to share joy than to enjoy it alone!

Zhao Jue noticed Fei Mu and gave Zhan Zhao a confused look – What? Did a new husky arrive?

Zhan Zhao looked up at the ceiling and told Fei Mu to hold off a little longer, they'd start the meeting once the undercover arrangements were done.

"Undercover?" Fei Mu asked. "Undercover for what?"

Zhan Zhao figured it was time to bring Fei Mu up to speed, so he asked Bai Chi to brief him on everything they'd uncovered in the case so far.

Fei Mu had known that Zhan Zhao and the others were investigating a murder case and that Shi Yanshuo was a suspect, but he hadn't expected things to be this complicated.

"Shi Yanshuo's mother, Wang Zhen, is also quite tall," Fei Mu suddenly said.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both turned to look at him. "How tall?"

"Over a metre seven. Now that she's older, she doesn't look that tall, but she was very tall when she was young," Fei Mu said. "And her family's business is all in fisheries, she's a strong swimmer. With how much Shi Yanshuo loves water sports, it's likely there's some hereditary influence."

As he spoke, Fei Mu whistled.

Everyone who had been listening intently looked up at him, wondering why he had suddenly whistled.

At the same moment, a sound of jingling bells came from the stairwell. Mwah Mwah came bounding down and ran to the doorway, barking at Fei Mu, "Woof."

Fei Mu held up three fingers.

Mwah Mwah turned and darted back upstairs, returning moments later with a document envelope in its mouth, labelled with a sticker marked "3".

Fei Mu reached out to take the envelope and gave the dog a pat on the head.

Everyone felt he was just showing off, he could have fetched it himself...

Mia, sitting on the sofa, clicked her tongue at Mwah Mwah. The dog dashed over and leapt up beside her. Zhao Jue and Bai Ye both gave it a gentle push.

Fei Mu opened the envelope and pulled out a stack of documents.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang noticed that the papers were full of tiny holes, all evenly spaced in rings – it was clear they were Mwah Mwah's teeth marks.

Fei Mu said, "The year the case you're looking into occurred, Shi Yanshuo suddenly went abroad for a while."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang leaned in to look at the file, once again marvelling at Fei Mu's data obsession. He'd charted out a full timeline of Shi Yanshuo's life, from birth to the present, like a historian studying an ancient figure. It was a proper chronological record, what he did each year and at what time, all documented as far as could be verified.

In the same month that Zhu Yi had been attacked, Shi Yanshuo had not been in the country, he had gone abroad.

Not only that, he'd even got into a bit of trouble overseas. Nothing serious, just a speeding offence, but it had been recorded.

In other words, Shi Yanshuo had a rock-solid alibi. However...

"Why he went abroad at that specific time remains unexplained, it looks like he was just travelling for fun," Fei Mu said. "Travelling, taking photos, even getting into little scrapes along the way. In any case, it would be hard not to trace him during that period. Most of his flight records are private, and his family does own a private jet, but that time he flew commercial and on a public itinerary, it was easy to track."

Fei Mu pointed at a red question mark he'd drawn on the timeline, indicating that this particular trip was questionable.

"But now it seems it's really not as simple as just going out and having fun," Fei Mu said, "Don't be fooled by Shi Yanshuo's big-shot image, in reality, he's a textbook mama's boy. His mother has a kind of twisted control over him. I was making good progress with this investigation, but lately it's become harder and harder to make sense of, especially where that woman is concerned."

Fei Mu pointed at a photo of Yu Hui. "This girl, born into an ordinary family, has an ordinary life, looks ordinary, everything about her is just ordinary. Shi Yanshuo wants to marry her, and his mother didn't object?!"

Everyone thought about it for a moment and realised he had a point. Just like in all those TV dramas, wealthy matriarchs never let their sons marry some Cinderella. Of course, it has to be a match in social status and a political marriage!

"Maybe she's just more open-minded?" Bai Chi suggested.

Fei Mu waved it off. "Forget it, haven't all the gossip magazines painted Shi Yanshuo as a playboy who changes girlfriends every day?"

Everyone nodded.

"Apparently, her mom disagrees, and Shi Yanshuo has always had a pretty fixed taste, preferring those who are particularly slender and look obedient."

Fei Mu, ever the gossip expert, pulled out a stack of photos, pictures of Shi Yanshuo's ex-girlfriends from different periods.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang flipped through them one by one, both frowning. These girls all bore a striking resemblance to Zhu Yi and the two other missing girls.

"Fuck..." Zhao Hu muttered, feeling unsettled by the array of similar-looking girls. "This guy's definitely not right in the head."

Zhan Zhao nodded and arranged the photos according to the timeline Fei Mu had marked on them.

"The length of each relationship keeps getting shorter..." Bai Yutang noticed the dates marked on the photos, from six months at the start, down to a few months, then just weeks, and eventually a mere three days... until he met Yu Hui.

"Yu Hui doesn't fit his usual type at all," Hu Zi asked Zhan Zhao. "Can this kind of thing change?"

"That's complicated. You can't guarantee it won't change... but his behaviour's far too consistent." Zhan Zhao thought for a moment and asked, "Do any of you know a real playboy?"

Everyone tilted their heads. "A playboy?"

"Someone who's constantly switching partners, could be male or female, but they need to be experienced," Zhan Zhao clarified.

Everyone looked at each other, and it seemed like no one had it. We're all decent people here.

Zhao Hu took out his phone, "Of course, we should ask the girls these sorts of things. What do you guys know!"

Everyone looked at Zhao Hu – You guys?

Hu Zi called Qi Le and asked her if she knew any playboys. 

On the other end, Qi Le rattled off a string of names, along with all sorts of gossip.

Zhao Hu handed the phone to Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao asked if she could give him the number of the top playboy, he wanted to consult them.

Everyone turned to Zhan Zhao – Consult?

Qi Le gave him a number, saying it belonged to the guitarist of some band. He was a well-known playboy who would hit on everyone, even the cleaning lady!

Zhan Zhao nodded in approval – Now that's talent.

He dialled the number, and the call actually went through.

Zhan Zhao introduced himself as being from the police, and the man on the other end asked, "Who accused me of sexual harassment? It's a false allegation!"

Zhan Zhao said he just wanted to ask him some professional questions.

The other side was stunned, and everyone listening on this end was also taken aback.

Fei Mu crossed his arms, thinking he must have misjudged Zhan Zhao before. He had always thought Zhan Zhao was a little introverted, but it turned out he was quite the social butterfly!

The playboy adapted quickly too, and told him to ask whatever he wanted.

Zhan Zhao asked, "On average, how often do you change girlfriends? Is there a pattern?"

The playboy thought for a moment and said there was roughly a pattern, about a month or so, but it also depended on the girl's situation. Sometimes a girl would kick him out before he even had a chance to bring it up.

"What about breaking up after just three days?"

"Yeah, occasionally, sometimes you run into crazies," the playboy said, sounding a little wary. "Casual relationships aren't just risky for the girls, the guys are at risk too..."

"Do you have any particular preferences? Like, must have short hair, or single eyelids..." Zhan Zhao continued, eager to learn.

The playboy laughed after hearing that. "Of course not, I like all women, if I had fixed preferences, that would mean liking only one type and disliking the others. Besides, if I had a type, why would I change so often? There'd be no novelty left... Changing frequently is just for the sake of novelty, right?"

The call was on speaker and everyone could hear clearly. They thought it made sense – Right, if they all look pretty much the same, why keep changing so often?

As silence fell, the playboy suddenly asked, "Did all the relationships end smoothly? None of the girls were unwilling to break up?"

Zhan Zhao glanced at Fei Mu.

Fei Mu thought for a moment, as if he had never experienced such emotional disputes and every breakup seemed to go smoothly.

The playboy was silent for a while, then asked, "Rich and powerful?"

"Exactly."

"Then that guy's a pervert," the playboy said confidently. "He probably has some twisted habits that hurt those girls. The girls were scared of him, once they broke up, they ran as fast as they could, as if they were lucky to get away alive. The reason he changes so often is because..."

"More targets means less damage each time..." Zhan Zhao instantly understood – If he stuck to just one girl for a long time, the damage could be fatal, or the girl might reach her limit and eventually expose him out of desperation. But changing partners frequently lets him keep the damage limited... Most of Shi Yanshuo's earlier girlfriends were somewhat well-known, so he was cautious. Later, as he changed more and more often, it meant the harm was escalating...

Zhan Zhao thanked the playboy for the professional insight, it was very helpful.

The playboy said there was no need to thank him and hung up.

Zhan Zhao looked at the photos on the table. "Shi Yanshuo doesn't like this type at all, he hates this type..."

Bai Yutang signalled to Zhao Hu and Ma Han to take pictures of the photos on the table and send them to Jiayi and Qi Le, to see if they recognised anyone and could find a few to talk to.

‿︵‿︵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: June 25, 2025 by Angel

Edited: September 29, 2025 by Suffering Soojin on the edge of Crash Out