S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 6 Chapter 86

The Culinary Murderer 38 – Triangle

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Ma Han and Zhao Hu both took photos and sent them to Jiayi and Qi Le, asking whether they recognised anyone among them.

Qi Le said she knew two of them, though not very well, while Jiayi said she recognised several, and was actually quite familiar with two of them...

As always, Jiayi was sharp and pointed out that the people in the photos were all the same type.

Ma Han briefly explained to her why they wanted to talk to them.

Jiayi understood immediately. "... Indeed, they've all dated Shi Yanshuo. I was wondering why some of their personalities suddenly changed, a couple even left the industry and were planning to emigrate. Could it be that Shi Yanshuo's a pervert or something?"

Ma Han said that wasn't certain yet, it still needed investigation.

Jiayi sounded rather disdainful and said she'd received a wedding invitation too, but now she didn't feel like going.

Qi Le, who was with Jiayi at the time, added, "If Sister Jiayi's not going, then I'm not going either."

Chen Yu asked, "Aren't you supposed to sing a congratulatory song?"

Zhao Hu told them not to get too worked up and to think things through. First, they should speak with a couple of the ex-girlfriends. If it turned out he really was a pervert, then they could take further steps.

After hanging up the phone, Jiayi and Qi Le went off to help get in touch with people.

......

Bai Ye, Issel, and Eleven were busy putting on Jiang Ping's video recording equipment.

Jiang Ping had ample funding, so his equipment was getting more and more advanced. This time, they were working in a kitchen, which meant oil fumes and background noise could interfere with recording, so the performance of all devices needed to be at a higher level.

Jiang Ping focused on cutting-edge technology, and since the organiser was Big Brother, things were much easier to arrange, they could even install quite a bit of auxiliary equipment on-site.

The clothes worn by Bai Ye and the others had all been specially modified. After they put them on, Jiang Ping made a few adjustments.

Zhan Zhao, carrying two boxes of pastries, went with Zhao Jue to the adjacent break room to discuss the matter of hypnotic memory recovery with Zhu Yi.

Fei Mu no longer felt in a hurry to return to his meeting. He stood there watching the surveillance footage, thinking that, after all, investigating homicide cases was a bit more thrilling.

He casually flipped through a forensic report left on the table, which contained some analytical data and images from the time Gongsun had examined the skeleton found in the suitcase.

Fei Mu looked at it for a while, then waved at Mwah Mwah, who was on the sofa being petted by Mia.

Mwah Mwah immediately jumped off the sofa, ran over, and looked up at Fei Mu.

Fei Mu gave it a thumbs up.

Mwah Mwah ran upstairs and came back down carrying a file folder labelled "6" in its mouth.

Everyone in the office silently watched. To be honest, it seems quite useful!

Fei Mu opened the file folder and took out a stack of photographs.

Bai Yutang was right beside him and noticed that they were all photos of antique artworks, most of them sculptures of varying sizes.

Fei Mu flipped through the photos one by one, as if looking for a particular one.

Soon, he pulled one out and laid it on the table.

The photo showed a statue of a girl with very long hair, one hand extended straight out in front of her, palm up, holding a triangular object.

"Phoebe's Triangle?"

"Oh, you have a good eye for things." Fei Mu looked up and realised that the speaker was Bai Ye.

Bai Yutang glanced curiously at Uncle Ye – Did he also study antiques? Although this statue didn't quite look like a proper antique, it seemed a bit crude.

"This is a legendary statue, housed on a ship called the Phoebe." Bai Ye seemed to have some knowledge about sunken treasures.

"There are a lot of replicas of this thing," Fei Mu said as he picked up his phone to call Zhou Ming from the art and antiquities division, asking him to bring over a replica of the triangle.

Not long after, Zhou Ming, Gongsun's childhood friend, came hurrying in carrying a wooden box.

He placed the box on the table.

Zhou Ming took out a plaster statue. It had been sprayed with brass-coloured paint and treated with detailed ageing effects to give it an antique appearance, making it look almost exactly like the one in the photo.

"What's this used for?" Bai Yutang found the statue neither large nor small, and not particularly attractive.

"It's actually a tool," Zhou Ming began explaining the purpose of the statue to the group.

These are usually installed on ships, smaller ones go in the cabin, larger ones on the bow.

This statue, which looks a bit like a mermaid, is named Phoebe, she was the daughter of a ship captain. From a young age, she lived at sea with her father, like a child of the ocean. Tragically, Phoebe caught an illness at sixteen and passed away at seventeen. Her father made a statue of her and placed it at the bow of a new ship, which he named the Phoebe.

In her hand, Phoebe always holds a triangle. That triangle is a naturally formed triangular stone she had found on a small island, it looked just like a pyramid. Phoebe was very fond of it and always carried it in her hand...

Phoebe's father had taken the Phoebe out to sea many times, and everything had always gone smoothly. But on one occasion, just before a voyage, the bronze triangle sculpture in Phoebe's hand suddenly fell off.

The captain took it as a warning from his daughter, a sign that he should not set sail, so he intended to cancel that voyage.

However, that particular voyage was scheduled to transport over a thousand crates of wine, and the freight fee was considerable. The first mate, an experienced veteran with many years of sailing experience, strongly insisted on taking charge of the voyage himself.

The captain initially wanted to stop them, but the profit was simply too tempting. On top of that, the cargo owner kept raising the price and the crew were all keen to go, so he had no choice but to agree.

In the end, the captain was the only one who didn't join that voyage. He even removed the statue of Phoebe from the bow of the ship. The "father and daughter" watched together as the Phoebe set sail...

But ultimately, the ship encountered a storm in the Atlantic and sank. No one on board survived.

From then on, Phoebe's Triangle became famous and slowly mythologised.

In the office, everyone gathered round to look at the statue. "Is it really that mystical?"

"Well, there's actually a certain scientific principle to it," Zhou Ming picked up the triangular stone, resembling a small pyramid, from the statue's hand. He cradled it in his palms, using the edges of both hands to cup it in place, then moved his hands up and down. As long as the triangle didn't become airborne, it wouldn't fall. But if you shook it vigorously and the triangle rose into the air, it would fall.

"It's said that Phoebe used to stand on deck like this, holding the stone to test the wind and waves on the sea, to determine whether it would be dangerous to continue sailing." Fei Mu took the triangle from Zhou Ming's hands. "There were originally two statues of the real Phoebe III, one large one installed at the bow of the ship, and a smaller one installed in the captain's cabin." The larger one, after many years, is said to no longer exist. The smaller one has been resold multiple times and its whereabouts are also unknown, but the dimensions of the smaller one are recorded, so there are many replicas."

Zhou Ming pointed to the one he'd brought. "It's this size."

Fei Mu took the triangle, it was about the same size as a standard Rubik's Cube, fitting perfectly in one hand.

He placed the triangle on top of the forensic analysis report, directly over the wound on the skull found inside the suitcase... The shapes matched perfectly.

Bai Yutang examined the shape of the simulated wound made by the replica weapon Gongsun had created, and it really did resemble a small pyramid-shaped triangle... The two were almost a perfect match.

"Does Shi Yanshuo own this statue?" Bai Yutang asked.

"It's rumoured that the genuine one is in his possession," Fei Mu winked at Bai Yutang. "Since you're infiltrating his wedding this time, if you see it, you could try stealing it."

As he spoke, Fei Mu placed the fake triangle into Bai Yutang's hand.

Bai Yutang froze, looking at Fei Mu – Are you asking me to switch them?

Everyone agreed it might just work. If that triangular stone was the murder weapon, there might still be traces left on it. They all suggested that Bai Yutang should be the one to make the swap, it was safer that way. If Gongsun found out, he might take matters into his own hands.

Bai Yutang thought it over and decided it was worth a try. The only issue was how to get the thing inside.

Zhou Ming said he could make a foldable version, it would only take him a night to finish it.

And with that, he happily dashed off to get to work.

......

In the break room next door.

Zhan Zhao had brought Zhao Jue along to see Zhu Yi. She had just made coffee and was drinking it with Wen Xiaorou.

Zhao Jue was immediately drawn in by the smell of coffee, he asked for a cup and began evaluating it. After finishing it, he tried to poach her on the spot, inviting her to work at the café downstairs.

Zhan Zhao told him not to get carried away, she wouldn't be free to do anything until the case was solved.

Zhao Jue thought, Talented people are hard to come by these days! Who did this to her? Arrest them quickly!

Zhan Zhao placed the two boxes of pastries on the table, and as expected, Zhu Yi immediately frowned and held up her coffee to block the smell.

Zhan Zhao briefly explained to her that they suspected a portion of her memory might still be missing, and that this portion was key to the investigation. There were two things, paired with hypnosis, that might help her recover it: the sound of dripping water and the scent of this particular dessert. But the process would likely be painful, as she would have to relive the danger she faced at that time.

Zhu Yi hesitated slightly upon hearing this.

Zhan Zhao told her not to rush her decision, she could take some time to think it over.

Zhao Jue sat to the side, glanced at Zhan Zhao, and touched his chin thoughtfully, but didn't offer an opinion.

Zhu Yi remained still, holding her cup and seemingly lost in thought.

Zhan Zhao looked over at Wen Xiaorou, who was sitting beside her.

Wen Xiaorou just chatted with Zhu Yi and found they got on quite well. Having learnt about her background, she felt that although the girl looked well-behaved on the surface, her personality was actually quite fierce. She would definitely want to catch the murderer.

After a moment of dazed silence, Zhu Yi suddenly said, "Maybe there is something I haven't remembered yet..."

Zhan Zhao asked her, "Do you have any leads?"

Zhu Yi pointed at the pastries on the table. "This sweetness is somewhat similar to what I smelled at the time, but it's not exactly the same. The sweet scent in my memory was rather distinctive, and I think I may have smelled it more than once."

Zhu Yi put down her cup, lay flat on the two-seater sofa across from her and signalled – Hypnotise me! Let's see what I've forgotten.

Zhan Zhao seemed to hesitate again, but Zhao Jue suddenly said, "In your case, you might not need hypnosis at all."

Zhu Yi looked at Zhao Jue curiously – No need?

Zhan Zhao also looked at him with some confusion.

Zhao Jue asked them to clear away the coffee equipment on the table and open the window to air out the room.

Once the smell of coffee had mostly dissipated from the room, Zhao Jue opened the two boxes of pastries on the table and then gestured to Zhan Zhao. "Let her have a nap."

"A nap?"

Zhao Jue smiled slightly. "Just pretend there's nothing going on and have a nap. Look at your dark circles, you really need more sleep."

Opposite them, Wen Xiaorou chimed in – I'll nap with you, I'm sleep-deprived too.

Zhao Jue signalled for Zhan Zhao to wait outside, letting the two girls drift off to sleep in a room filled with the sweet scent.

After leaving the break room and stepping into the corridor, Zhao Jue suddenly asked Zhan Zhao, "How long has it been since you last hypnotised someone?"

Zhan Zhao rubbed his chin and tilted his head back. "Hmm..."

Zhao Jue suddenly laughed. "What's wrong, starting to dislike psychology?"

Zhan Zhao shot Zhao Jue a sideways glance. "Of course not!"

"Then why are you so reluctant to use hypnosis to recover her memory?" Zhao Jue asked.

Zhan Zhao frowned slightly and said, "I just feel like something's not quite right."

"What doesn't feel right?" Zhao Jue asked.

"Hmm..." Zhan Zhao rubbed his chin again. "I can't quite put my finger on it, I just feel we shouldn't rush into hypnotising her."

‿︵‿︵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: October 1, 2025 by Soojin