S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 6 Chapter 107

The Culinary Murderer 59 – Special Venue

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Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao drove out of the villa, heading towards the estate where Shi Yanshuo was holding his wedding.

On the way, Zhan Zhao was flipping through some old documents. Some of the papers were already crumbling, torn to shreds. They were stuffed in a folder and looked as though they had never been sorted.

Zhan Zhao had dug these files out of Zhao Jue's study yesterday, where they'd been tucked away in a corner, collecting dust.

"So there aren't actually any organisation members among this group, are there?" Bai Yutang felt a headache the moment he thought of that organisation. He double-checked with Zhan Zhao, "This whole business about first generations and all that..."

"The first generation isn't a specific product." Zhan Zhao shook his head as he turned the pages. "It's like plant breeding. Out of ten thousand seedlings, you select one special strain and then improve and propagate it. But that very first primitive seedling, can it really be called an improved product?"

Bai Yutang nodded. "So you mean they were born twisted?"

Zhan Zhao frowned at him. "It would be more accurate to say it was a coincidence that led to a special starting condition!"

Bai Yutang kept nodding. "Translated into plain Chinese, that's ‘born twisted', isn't it?"

"It's not twisted, it's a starting condition!" Zhan Zhao declared, finding the phrase oddly rhythmic.

Bai Yutang didn't tease him further and asked, "So? Are there people with this starting condition here?"

"It's not about people, it's about methods!" Zhan Zhao said. "The first generation represents a possibility. If that method is used, it might succeed. Rather than a science, it's more like statistics... but then again, any scientific theory is verified through large numbers of experiments, which is itself a form of statistics."

Zhan Zhao started talking to himself, but as a level-ten cat language expert, Bai Yutang naturally understood what he meant.

"Those special triangles used in the attacks and caused reverse amnesia work on the same principle as the first generation. Someone compiled statistics on unusual cases of head trauma, then summarised tools and methods from them. The pirates were just making use of those, right?" Bai Yutang asked.

Zhan Zhao nodded.

"But that method should only have been used by the pirates. Why would Shi Yanshuo use it as well?" Bai Yutang asked. "Their only connection was the treasures from the shipwreck... so among the Siren's Wing statues Shi Yanshuo got his hands on, perhaps what he found wasn't treasure at all, but information of this kind?"

Zhan Zhao raised his eyebrows, he had been thinking the same thing.

"So when Shi Yanshuo kidnapped those girls to carry out the attacks, was he just a pervert, or was he conducting experiments?" Bai Yutang asked.

Zhan Zhao thought it was a good question. "Half and half, I'd say."

"Half?"

Zhan Zhao held up one finger. "The pirates used that method of attacking people when they swapped identities, so that if they failed, they wouldn't be exposed. So really, that triangle for attacking people is just a kind of damage-control trick for if things go wrong, right?"

Bai Yutang had a sudden flash of insight and understood immediately. "So Shi Yanshuo was a pervert first, and then used this method afterwards to cover it up..."

Zhan Zhao thought about it and found it rather funny. "So why did the organisation want to manufacture perverts, when there were already plenty of people born that way..."

The corners of Bai Yutang's mouth curled up without him realising, and Zhan Zhao instantly denied it. "No! The innate pervert I'm talking about isn't the same as what you mean. Yours is a starting condition!"

Bai Yutang didn't reply, he just smiled as he continued driving.

At that moment, Zhan Zhao's tablet chimed.

Jiang Ping had sent over floor plans. The estate was relatively remote, and its grounds were vast, making it difficult to secure. Jiang Ping planned to deploy additional drones.

Zhan Zhao opened the floor plan and marvelled at the rapid advances in technology. Satellite imagery combined with drone footage laid out the entire estate in crystal-clear detail, and AI had even generated a 3D version, viewable from all angles.

Zhan Zhao couldn't help but sigh. "One day, we might really try letting AI handle cases. Who knows, maybe we could retire early."

"I just worry it'll only churn out AI face-swapping and make our jobs harder," Bai Yutang said disdainfully. "Why doesn't anyone do something useful? Like an AI translator that could tell me what Luban is meowing about every day."

Zhan Zhao thought for a moment. "Strictly speaking, Luban doesn't exactly ‘meow', he goes ‘oo-wah, wah-la, ang'..."

Bai Yutang was amused by him – You mimic it so well, you really are the same species.

Returning to the map, the terrain was unfavourable, there was only one suitable surveillance position. Zhao Hu and Ma Han, together with Issel and Eleven, were already in place.

Ma Han was using binoculars to observe the garden where the ceremony was taking place. Zhao Hu, holding a tablet, was checking the feeds from several drones when Zhan Zhao's video call request popped up on the screen.

Once the connection was established, Zhan Zhao asked Zhao Hu and Ma Han how their preparations were going.

Zhao Hu nodded and said with some meaning, "More or less ready."

"More or less?"

Bai Yutang, who was driving, was puzzled. "What's missing?"

"Nothing's missing, it's just the support staff's mental state I'm worried about." Hu Zi said helplessly, raising his tablet so Zhan Zhao could take a look behind him.

Through the tablet, Zhan Zhao saw Issel and Eleven crouched at the back with a sheet of paper spread out on the ground. The two of them were gesturing animatedly as they studied it, their expressions deadly serious. It had been a long time since he'd seen those two uncles so dedicated to their work.

Zhan Zhao nodded in satisfaction. "Oh... studying the topographical map?"

Zhao Hu found Zhan Zhao's reaction amusing and held the tablet higher so Zhan Zhao could see what was on the paper.

Zhan Zhao stared for quite a while. The more he looked, the less it resembled a topographical map, it looked like a fish...

"What on earth is that?" Zhan Zhao couldn't help asking.

Zhao Hu pursed his lips. "The two uncles are studying how to gut a fish... Gongsun gave them a cross-sectional anatomical diagram of a fish..."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both rolled their eyes – Still learning how to gut fish? Is that really necessary for something as simple as gutting a fish...

But Uncle Chopsticks and Uncle Radar weren't having it. They shot back, "As if you two have ever gutted a fish! Have you? Do you even know where to start? You can't even tell if a fish is male or female!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang fell silent for a moment, then tilted their heads in unison – How exactly do you tell a male fish from a female?

The two of them pondered this question the whole way, and the more they thought about it, the more obsessed they became.

Fortunately, their car soon entered the Shi family's estate.

European-style landscaping began to appear on both sides, so much of it that it became dazzling.

Up ahead on the path stood a few men in black suits and sunglasses, motioning for the car to stop.

Zhan Zhao tapped Bai Yutang and whispered, "Wang Yong!"

Bai Yutang had noticed as well. The man waving them down ahead was that very suspicious police officer from the Zhu Yi case.

Wang Yong was still serving as Shi Yanshuo's bodyguard.

The car slowed to a halt, and Bai Yutang lowered the window.

Wang Yong pointed to a small road in another direction. "Captain Bai, drive that way. There are a lot of reporters up ahead."

Bai Yutang nodded and drove in the direction he pointed.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Zhan Zhao kept looking back.

Seeing how tense he was, Bai Yutang asked, "What do you think? Can you tell if he's a traitor or loyal?"

Zhan Zhao glanced at him. "He was wearing sunglasses, and I couldn't see clearly at all."

Up ahead, a small parking lot came into view. It seemed that guests attending the wedding had parked their cars there.

But the parking lot looked rather sparsely filled.

Zhan Zhao noticed the annotations on the surveillance map and saw that quite a number of guest seats in the ceremony area had been removed at the last minute.

"After the Fang Beibei case, there have been plenty of rumours. Most of the people Shi Yanshuo associated with were very well-informed. Add in the kidnapping case, and some gossip has already spread online, saying Shi Yanshuo might be involved in kidnapping and illegal detention."

"Where did that information get out from?" Bai Yutang was suddenly curious. "Normally, when Fei Mu has his eye on a case, information is kept especially tight. This feels like someone is systematically leaking things."

"This wedding most likely won't happen today." Zhan Zhao read the text Gongsun had just sent.

Although he and Bai Yutang had discussed it earlier and were mentally prepared, knowing that the police might be one of the targets of retaliation, it seemed Gongsun and the others were worried enough to send a text message to remind them.

"Hmm..." After reading Gongsun's message, Zhan Zhao received another one his older brother. Seeing it, he froze, touched his chin, and looked a little troubled.

"What is it?" Bai Yutang had undone his seatbelt, ready to get out of the car. When he saw Zhan Zhao hadn't moved, he asked.

"Big Brother said that if a couple who aren't married yet attend a bloody wedding, it's extremely unlucky!" Zhan Zhao muttered.

Bai Yutang drew back the hand he'd placed on the car door and asked, "How unlucky?"

"Just... very unlucky." Zhan Zhao pointed to the message Big Brother had sent. "He said that to counteract it, you have to kiss before going in..."

Before Zhan Zhao had even finished reading, Bai Yutang had already leaned over, pinching his chin to make him look up from his phone.

Zhan Zhao tilted his face up and saw Bai Yutang's smiling eyes as he leaned in...

After the two finished kissing, they first looked around. They weren't too high-profile... To be safe and ensure "good fortune", they kissed again, properly this time!

......

From the distant surveillance point, Ma Han spotted Bai Yutang's car entering the small parking lot through his binoculars. He frowned in confusion. "Why's Captain taking so long to get out?"

Holding the tablet, Zhao Hu rolled his eyes. He'd accidentally been force-fed a mouthful of dog food and hurriedly closed the chat window.

He was just about to complain to Ma Han when Uncle Chopsticks and Uncle Radar started arguing in the back. He couldn't make out what they were arguing about, he only caught snippets like "blah blah fish head, blah blah fish tail..."

Zhao Hu and Ma Han turned round together. "Do you have to argue?!"

Issel and Eleven looked to them for mediation. "When descaling a fish, do you start near the head or near the tail?"

Ma Han and Zhao Hu stared at them for a while, then turned back around to continue their surveillance.

The two uncles exchanged glances, then leaned forward to ask, "You two... have you ever gutted a fish?"

In perfect unison, Ma Han and Zhao Hu raised a hand. "Shh! We're monitoring!"

Eleven lifted his head, tilted it, and murmured, "Hmm..."

"What's wrong?" Ma Han asked quickly.

"These trees... there's something wrong with how they are planted." Uncle Chopsticks took the binoculars from Ma Han and scanned the surroundings. "Some thick, some thin, staggered front and back, it looks intentional."

Ma Han seemed to have noticed this as well and nodded.

Hu Zi didn't get it and nudged Ma Han. "What does that mean?"

Ma Han explained, "Normally, the trees in this kind of garden are of similar thickness, especially if they are of the same species. Look at the regular green belts on the roadside."

Zhao Hu nodded and looked up again. This time, he noticed the anomaly. "You're right. At first glance, it looks like a very regular European-style garden, but for trees of the same kind, why are they different in thickness and planted in a crisscross pattern? The longer you look, the dizzier you feel..."

"It's to mislead the line of sight," Eleven said. "But it seems... hmm..."

Zhao Hu gave him a look. "Uncle, why are you so hesitant today?"

"It feels..." Eleven trailed off, struggling for words.

"This isn't meant to mislead outsiders," Issel interjected from the side. "To be precise, it isn't about misleading the line of sight of snipers outside."

"Then what's it meant to mislead?" Ma Han and Zhao Hu asked together.

"It's to mislead the people inside." Issel stared at the manor intently. "I've seen this before."

"Where?" All three of them were curious.

Issel gave a cold laugh. "In prison."

‿︵‿︵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: September 7, 2025 by Angel

Edited: November 2 , 2025 by Soojin