S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 6 Chapter 96

The Culinary Murderer 48 – Problem-Solving Approach

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Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang stood in the corridor for quite a while, both feeling momentarily frozen.

Zhan Zhao nudged Bai Yutang, who was staring at the elevator doors – What are you thinking about?

Bai Yutang reached out and touched his chest – I'm suddenly a bit moved by Uncle Chopsticks.

Zhan Zhao looked up at the ceiling and pulled Bai Yutang into the office – Don't let those two lead you astray.

As soon as they entered, they heard Jiang Ping call out excitedly, "Boss, look quickly!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both looked up, and were instantly stunned...

......

In the food city, the twins opened the door to Bai Jintang's lounge and signalled that Fang Beibei had arrived.

Big Brother Bai was brewing tea by the table and nodded slightly.

Fang Beibei walked into the lounge, and the twins closed the door.

Inside, Bai Jintang brewed two cups of tea.

Fang Beibei walked over to the sofa and saw a stroller beside it. She leaned over for a look and saw Xiao Yumi fast asleep.

After the livestream ended, Xu Lie had been whisked away by his manager to film an advert, so the child had been left in Big Brother's care to be taken back to Chen Yu later.

Xiao Yumi had fallen asleep right after being changed, holding one leg of the Dunbu plush toy and sleeping soundly.

Fang Beibei looked at the baby for a while and seemed to be in a good mood.

"Sit down."

Bai Jintang walked over to the sofa and sat down, placing the two cups of tea on the coffee table. He picked up one for himself, and the other was for Fang Beibei.

Fang Beibei walked to the sofa opposite Bai Jintang and sat down.

Big Brother Bai didn't say anything, sitting elegantly and sipping his tea.

Fang Beibei didn't touch the tea. She looked around and asked Bai Jintang, "Boss Bai, what did you call me for?"

Bai Jintang picked up the remote control on the table and pressed a button towards the projector screen... the screen displayed footage taken from the wide-angle surveillance earlier, that is, Eleven's throwing knife knocking down the falling chandelier and the twins switching out the mochi.

Fang Beibei showed no particular reaction after watching it. Instead, she asked, "Did that mochi really test positive? Hah... that's strange, I didn't even know it was poisoned. How did you guys figure it out?"

Bai Jintang smiled faintly and played the next video as he said, "Aconitine."

"Hmm?" Fang Beibei tilted her head. "That sounds familiar, isn't it a traditional Chinese medicine?"

Bai Jintang didn't answer, he simply motioned for her to watch the video.

The footage was a compilation of different clips, all extracted from Fang Beibei's livestreams. In the background of each scene, the same variety of green plants could be seen, at her home, in her shop, they all had it.

"This is aconitine," Bai Jintang said. "A highly toxic extract can be derived from it."

"Really?!" Fang Beibei feigned surprise. "All those plants were bought by my assistant, I didn't know anything about them..."

Bai Jintang pressed the button for the next video. "This is footage from a flower market vendor's entrance camera. My company regularly orders flowers from that market, we have a few friends there... Recently, a woman went there and bought over twenty pots of aconitine plants. The vendor asked around the market, and a few other shops also remembered the same customer. Altogether, over seventy pots were sold."

Fang Beibei looked at the surveillance footage showing a woman buying flowers with a hat and face mask on, and said, "That still doesn't prove it was me..."

Bai Jintang reached out and picked up a folder from the coffee table. He opened it, pulled out a long list, and laid it on the table. "This is your credit card bill, and this is the transaction record from those flower shops at the market... Your personal credit card, buyer, seller, and the transaction times, all match perfectly."

A look of disbelief appeared on Fang Beibei's face. "Isn't this a violation of my privacy? And anyway, which bank would investigate someone's personal account details without their consent?"

Bai Jintang pulled out another credit card and tossed it onto the coffee table. "What a coincidence, the largest shareholder of this bank happens to be my Bai Group. Someone found your credit card and looked into the cardholder information to find the owner. Of course, they had to check the transaction history to see if the card had been stolen."

Fang Beibei was momentarily stunned. She picked up the credit card and, after seeing that the number was indeed hers, fished out her wallet, only to discover that her credit card was missing...

Fang Beibei looked puzzled. "When did I lose it?"

"So the aconitine was purchased by you, right?" Bai Jintang asked.

Fang Beibei's eyes shifted. She suddenly remembered that, amid the earlier chaos, Xiao Ding had come close to her bag... and now she understood.

"Heh." Fang Beibei gave a small laugh and shrugged. "I bought them for decoration, that's not illegal. I don't study Chinese medicine, how would I know which plants are poisonous and which aren't?"

Bai Jintang didn't press further but instead pointed at the purchase list. "A year ago, you ordered over a thousand pufferfish from the seafood market."

Fang Beibei froze for a moment, then said helplessly, "Aiya, that wasn't for me, it was for a friend who wanted to open a Japanese restaurant."

"What friend?" Bai Jintang pulled out another sheet and handed it to her. "Not long after you bought the pufferfish, there was a deposit into your account from someone named Wang You. He did, in fact, open a Japanese restaurant in S City."

"Exactly!" Fang Beibei nodded. "I know people at the seafood market, so I can get a good deal. That's why he asked me to buy them for him."

Bai Jintang pressed the screen again and played the next video.

It had been filmed in a Japanese restaurant. A young man in a chef's uniform was saying, "Oh, yes, Fang Beibei did sell me a batch of pufferfish before, at a very good price, and they were already processed, with all the toxic parts removed. She said a friend of hers from the seafood market had a batch originally ordered by another shop, but just as it was about to be delivered, the shop cancelled the order. The fish had already been prepped, so there was no other way but to ask me to help. I thought it was a good deal, so I bought them."

Being caught lying on the spot was rather embarrassing.

Even someone as thick-skinned as Fang Beibei couldn't quite keep her composure. She gave a couple of coughs and said, "Oh, I probably remembered it wrong, it was a long time ago anyway, and I was just doing someone a favour."

Bai Jintang put down the folder and asked Fang Beibei, "You laced the matcha-flavoured mochi, which you knew Guan Xiaoyue liked, with a lethal dose of aconitine toxin, were you trying to kill her?"

Fang Beibei waved her hands. "Of course not! I like matcha flavour too. When I came here, the car brakes failed, then the light fixture fell down while I was cooking, and after all that trouble, the food turned out to be poisoned! I'm the real victim here! Besides, if I really wanted to kill someone, why on earth would I poison food I'd made myself? That would just be handing over the evidence myself, far too stupid!"

Bai Jintang nodded. "So this is the story you prepared in advance in case Guan Xiaoyue died of poisoning and the police came to question you? The logic is coherent, you could say that particular mochi was originally meant for yourself, and Guan Xiaoyue was simply unlucky enough to eat your portion and die in your place."

Fang Beibei said, "That is the truth, thank god no one died."

"But why did you also poison your own portion? Even though the dose was small, after ingesting it, it would still cause symptoms of poisoning."

Fang Beibei stomped her foot. "I told you it wasn't me!"

"I think there's only one explanation..." Compared to Fang Beibei's agitation, Bai Jintang remained calm and unhurried. "When preparing and extracting aconitine toxin, it's very easy to ingest a small amount yourself. If Guan Xiaoyue had died from poisoning and the police had launched an investigation, they would definitely run toxicology tests on everyone present. But if you were poisoned too, then there'd be no need for testing... Everyone would just assume you were also poisoned by the mochi."

"Hehe..." Fang Beibei suddenly laughed and clapped her hands. "Boss Bai, I know you've got a younger brother who's a policeman, but this sounds straight out of a detective novel..."

Bai Jintang smiled as well. "I don't just have a younger brother who's a police officer, I also have a lover who's a forensic pathologist... Aconitine plus tetrodotoxin, it reminds me of a case he once told me about."

Fang Beibei frowned. "A case?"

"He even wrote about the case in one of the books he published. My partner is a genius-level scholar, he's published quite a few specialist texts on forensic science." Bai Jintang pulled a library record from the folder. "The wind brushes past the sparse bamboo, but the bamboo leaves no sound, wild geese fly across a cold pond, but the pond reflects no trace... This may be true in matters of the heart, but for a forensic scientist, if you've passed through, you'll always leave a trace."

Fang Beibei picked up the library record and, after reading it, couldn't help laughing. It was a library record from many years ago, listing books she had checked out, with one title circled, Food and Poison—Classic Case Studies in Forensic Science, author: Gongsun Ce.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with me enjoying a bit of reading, is there? After all, I work with food, and it's only professional to understand a bit about poisonous ingredients..."

Bai Jintang didn't argue with her and simply continued, "There's a particularly interesting case in that book. A man, also a chef, had three wives who all died in succession. Each time, it was sudden cardiac arrest, and each time he, received a substantial insurance payout. Before long, his fourth wife also died, another heart attack, this time at work. When the heart attack occurred, her husband happened to be on a flight overseas, with a perfect alibi. But four deaths in a row, of course it drew the attention of the police, and the insurance company also noticed something suspicious, so the police demanded an autopsy. Sure enough, traces of aconitine toxin were found in her body. But the problem is that aconitine is a highly toxic substance. If you eat it, you will die. Even if it's packed into a capsule, all it does is delay the onset by ten minutes or so, once the capsule dissolves, the poison takes effect immediately. Colleagues of the wife said she hadn't eaten anything while at work, and there were no sources of poison nearby, and her husband had an alibi, so how on earth had the poison been administered?"

Fang Beibei didn't have a smile on her face any more. She forced an expression, but her posture had lost its earlier ease.

"Tetrodotoxin," Bai Jintang said, mimicking Gongsun's tone. "They say two negatives make a positive. When tetrodotoxin and aconitine, two deadly poisons, are used together, they can interact and temporarily form a non-toxic state... But the moment one of the toxins is metabolised, the other takes effect immediately. That's the reason for the delayed onset of toxicity."

Fang Beibei's smile had begun to look strained. "Then... you found both toxins in the mochi?"

Bai Jintang shook his head. "There was no tetrodotoxin, only aconitine."

Before Fang Beibei could speak, Bai Jintang suddenly cut in and asked, "Do you know what that made me think of?"

Fang Beibei said nothing, just stared at him.

The corner of Big Brother Bai's mouth lifted slightly. "Weren't you cheated on before? By that couple who jumped off the building, Zhang Wei and his girlfriend, Guan Xiaohong... She jumped from a height and didn't die, but then suddenly suffered cardiac arrest and died in the hospital."

Fang Beibei was visibly uneasy now, lips pressed tightly together.

"My partner, the forensic pathologist, just finished the autopsies on both of them. Guan Xiaohong's body contained traces of aconitine. As for Zhang Wei, he had both aconitine and tetrodotoxin in his system." Bai Jintang pulled another sheet from the folder. "This is a record of Zhang Wei and his girlfriend's purchases. Both of them had a sweet tooth, but they were lactose intolerant, so they regularly took a type of anti-bloating medication."

Bai Jintang placed a photo of a capsule on the coffee table. "Your own purchase record shows you bought the same medication not long ago."

Fang Beibei looked up and said, "It's just a coincidence!"

Bai Jintang nodded. "A coincidence... They say when someone successfully commits murder using a particular method and doesn't get caught, they'll want to try it again, a second time, a third time..."

By now, Fang Beibei's emotions were starting to slip out of control. "What evidence do you have! I just happened to buy something..."

"I just don't quite understand why you wanted to kill Guan Xiaoyue. Was it your own idea, or did someone put you up to it?" Bai Jintang said, sipping his tea as if making idle conversation. "But then again, Fang Beibei, you don't strike me as the sort to kill for others. I doubt it was blackmail either. If you were to kill, it would be for yourself... So? Did Guan Xiaoyue remind you of something? Was it worth taking such a risk to poison him?"

Fang Beibei was likely feeling a little parched by now, or perhaps simply buying time to think, she picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Suddenly, Bai Jintang remarked, "Oh right, the twins found a capsule in your bag just now. I dropped it into your tea."

"Pfft..." Fang Beibei sprayed tea all over the table, staring at Bai Jintang in disbelief.

"You're lying!" Fang Beibei looked sceptically at Bai Jintang.

Big Brother Bai held his cup, smiling slightly. "Want to know if I'm lying? Check your bag and see."

Fang Beibei hesitated for a moment, then lowered her gaze and opened her bag. A moment later, a cold smile crept across her face as she looked up at him.

She pulled out a capsule from the bag.

Bai Jintang smiled too. "It's really you."

Fang Beibei opened the capsule, tipped its contents into the teacup in front of her, and then calmly swallowed the empty shell.

Bai Jintang watched her actions.

Fang Beibei smiled slightly. "Boss Bai, you are the one who is truly suspicious. The light in your live broadcast room fell down and almost hit me. The food made in your live broadcast room was poisonous and almost poisoned me and Guan Xiaoyue. Now there is only you and me here. You gave me my tea. I took a sip, and although I spat out most of it, I was also poisoned!"

Bai Jintang nodded slowly. "It's a pity..."

Fang Beibei looked at him somewhat defensively. "What is?"

"You haven't checked your phone since you came in, it must be on silent. You turned on the recorder, didn't you? You've been recording our entire conversation, so of course you didn't dare look at your phone, you were worried I'd notice."

Fang Beibei looked uncertainly at him, then glanced down into her bag and froze for a second. Her phone screen showed over a hundred missed calls and more than two hundred unread messages.

Fang Beibei suddenly realised that something might be wrong.

Bai Jintang raised a hand and pointed to his left.

The two of them were seated face to face. On the right was the projector screen. To the left was a sleek black mirrored wall, grand and imposing.

Bai Jintang picked up another remote control from the table and pressed a button, aiming it at the black glass wall on his left.

In an instant, the dark glass turned transparent. Beyond it was a room filled with the full livestream production crew... All the equipment was pointed directly at them, recording.

At that moment, the director and entire crew stood frozen, mouths agape, staring at Fang Beibei in shock.

"This is the latest model of smart one-way glass, supplied by Bai Group Building Materials, if you're interested in buying it, click the link in the comments." 

Bai Jintang said, for some reason slipping in an advertisement, then he took out his phone and showed it to Fang Beibei. At this time, the Bai Group's cooking competition livestream was still going.

Big Brother Bai shifted the coffee table slightly. Underneath it sat a full set of audio recording equipment.

With trembling hands, Fang Beibei pulled out her own phone and saw the missed calls from her manager, assistant, and others. She opened the livestream... The picture clearly showed her and Bai Jintang sitting on opposite sofas, as well as the "evidence" on the projection screen.

The comment section was going wild, updating at breakneck speed...

"Fuck! This woman is a murderer!"

"Terrifying!"

"She's trying to frame someone!"

"Caught red-handed!"

"Bai Jintang is so damn handsome!"

"This is the most insane livestream I've ever watched!"

"Someone arrest her already!"

"What a pervert, I even bought her mochi!"

......

Fang Beibei, likely hit too hard, stood up stiffly and bolted for the door.

The moment she opened it, she ran straight into the newly arrived criminal police team.

Ai Hu informed her that she was under suspicion for multiple counts of attempted murder and asked her to come with them to the bureau for investigation.

Bai Jintang reminded, "Shouldn't you take her to the hospital first? If she dies like this, wouldn't it count as suicide by poisoning..."

Ai Hu and the others quickly escorted Fang Beibei to the hospital, but based on the trace amount of residual toxin on the capsule, it likely wasn't enough to kill her...

Back in the office, Bai Jintang looked with clear disdain at the teacup on the table. He waved at the twins who had just entered – Quickly burn it. Disinfect, disinfect the whole building!

......

Over at the SCI office, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, who had watched the entire live broadcast in stunned silence, reached out and high-fived each other – Awesome!

Behind them, Zhao Jue nodded approvingly. "This is how adults solve problems!"

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Fang Beibei was really getting on my nerves, thank you for putting her in her place Big Brother Bai, that was so satisfying~

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: July 16, 2025 by Angel

Edited: October 17, 2025 by Angel