S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 6 Chapter 126

Special Files – Collector 11 – Camouflage

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Zhan Zhao became excited the moment he saw the new email titled "E-ticket".

Because of the commotion he made, Bai Yutang and the others were all attracted over.

"It's really been sent again?" Gongsun asked Zhan Zhao to open it and have a look.

Zhan Zhao hurriedly clicked it open.

Sure enough, the format of the ticket was identical to the previous one, there was a QR code and a picture.

However, unlike last time, this picture wasn't so "special"; it was very simple, just a red "X".

The others stared at the cross in confusion, wondering what it meant.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang instinctively looked at each other.

Bai Yutang picked up his phone and replayed the drone footage from earlier, the rooftop of the cabin 21 next door...

When the two were compared, they discovered the two crosses were exactly the same.

The two looked back and forth several times, confirming they were identical.

For a moment, the two of them were at a loss – What does it mean?

At that moment, the email once again self-destructed automatically.

But this time, having learned from the previous experience, Zhan Zhao had turned on screen recording before opening it, so the contents were completely captured.

Originally, Zhan Zhao had thought to study the ticket after his holiday ended, but now things had suddenly become delicate.

Bai Yutang also looked around them. Is it just a coincidence, sent at this exact moment? Or is the murderer watching us?

However, the timing wasn't great, before Bai Yutang could look further into it, Professor Wu Wen came over from next door with several students.

There were six students in total, three men and three women, looking rather lively and curious as they glanced about.

Wu Wen waved to Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao waved back at him as well.

The students were visibly excited. On one hand, Zhan Zhao was a legendary figure from their university, on the other, SCI was a legendary team in the city, and on top of that, they were meeting Bai Ye's celebrated cooking competition team.

A few of them were holding their faces in admiration, studying everyone's looks one by one, while Issel enthusiastically offered them drinks.

The students' eyes lit up as they accepted the lemon tea and took a sip, only to immediately pull a collective disgusted face.

But, just like with the earlier tasting, after the initial pain-mask expression came a new world of awakened taste buds. The youngsters held up their lemon tea and kept giving thumbs-ups, which made Zhan Zhao curious enough to reach out for a cup himself.

Zhan Zhao lifted the glass, examining the contents carefully, then looked over at Bai Yutang with a questioning glance – Yutang? Want a sip?

A fleeting expression of distaste crossed Bai Yutang's handsome face.

Zhan Zhao held the cup and wondered whether he should drink it.

Professor Wu Wen came over and, seeing Zhao Jue sitting under a nearby sunshade, nodded at him. "Professor, it's been a long time."

Zhao Jue glanced at him and nodded slightly as a greeting.

Bai Ye continued to grill the meat, and the few students, curious as ever, crowded around to watch. Issel handed them plates and helped them dish up some food.

Zhan Zhao, however, was now far more intrigued by the cabin next door. What did the cross on that electronic ticket mean...

"Are only these few students taking the exam?"

After thinking for a while, Zhan Zhao decided not to alert anyone unnecessarily and started chatting casually with Wu Wen instead.

"There are eight students in total. There were originally nine, but one withdrew due to health reasons. Another two have gone shopping at the supermarket with two teaching assistants." Wu Wen added that he'd actually reserved two rooms for Zhan Zhao, never expecting that they'd end up staying right next door.

Zhan Zhao replied that it really was a coincidence, the people who had booked that cabin had cancelled at the last minute.

Wu Wen smiled when he heard this.

Zhan Zhao immediately caught his subtle expression and looked at him in confusion.

Wu Wen didn't say anything, but one of the students whispered to Zhan Zhao, "That place was originally booked by a few aunties who'd organised an outdoor activity group. They were really friendly, they invited us to dinner the day they arrived... But then we told them this resort was haunted, that one of the cabins was a murder house, and the group of aunties was scared off."

"Haunted?" Bai Yutang asked, following the conversation, "I think I've heard there was a murder case here once..."

"Actually, the haunted house is the one we're staying in." One of the students, his mouth full of barbecued meat, pointed towards their cabin, number 21. "There's a marking in a hidden spot."

The direction of the conversation was unexpected.

Zhan Zhao pointed at the neighbouring cabin and asked, "Is that one the so-called haunted house..."

All the students nodded and asked if Zhan Zhao wanted to go and have a look.

This time, it wasn't just Zhan Zhao, everyone except Big Brother Bai showed interest, especially Gongsun.

Gongsun couldn't wait any longer. He grabbed a cup of lemon tea and ran next door, calling out, "Has the crime scene been preserved?"

The students ran after him, explaining that it wasn't a murder, it had been a suicide...

Wu Wen didn't go with them. Instead, he stayed by the grill with a tray of food, praising Bai Ye's cooking skills as he ate.

Bai Yutang was a little confused and asked Wu Wen, "So you deliberately booked the haunted cabin? Is that part of the exam as well?"

Wu Wen shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Not at all, it's just that our budget's tight, the haunted one was cheaper."

Bai Yutang was a little confused – Staying in a haunted house just to save money?

Issel and Eleven, who were standing aside, seemed to find the reasoning perfectly sound and nodded approvingly.

Bai Ye chimed in too, "Haunted houses are great... cheap and fun."

Bai Yutang had been about to argue, but after thinking about it, it didn't seem entirely unreasonable, so he went along to have a look at the "cheap and fun" haunted house next door as well.

Zhao Jue, on the other hand, remained seated where he was without moving.

Wu Wen turned and asked Zhao Jue, "Professor, did you go to T Hospital the day before yesterday?"

Zhao Jue looked up and fixed his gaze on Wu Wen for a while before asking bluntly, "Did you accidentally cause trouble, or did you provoke someone you shouldn't have?"

After Zhao Jue said that, Wu Wen fell silent for a moment, then set down his plate and walked around to the side of Zhao Jue's deckchair.

Bai Ye looked up, paying attention to Wu Wen's movements.

Wu Wen moved to the other side of Zhao Jue and even leaned forward to glance towards the doorway.

At the moment, all the SCI members and the students were over in the "haunted house" next door.

After confirming that there were no "acquaintances" nearby, Wu Wen suddenly dropped to his knees and clutched at the armrest of Zhao Jue's deckchair. "Professor, please save me! Something seems to have happened!"

Zhao Jue rolled his eyes to the sky.

Wu Wen's sudden behaviour left Bai Ye completely dumbfounded, even Issel and Eleven looked over in confusion.

On the deckchairs opposite, Big Brother Bai and Zhao Zhen, who had just put on their sunglasses and were about to rest, both pushed up their glasses slightly, scrutinising the kneeling Wu Wen.

Clearly, the composure and mysterious air Wu Wen had shown earlier were all an act, now, he was utterly panicked, gesturing wildly as he explained to Zhao Jue.

"I only wanted to work on a few research projects, but somehow things got more and more outrageous. Now I can't stop, I think someone powerful has set their sights on me!" Wu Wen took out his phone and showed it to Zhao Jue.

Zhao Jue took the phone and saw it was a rental agreement for cabin 21, which was identical to their own contract, though this one was an electronic version.

Wu Wen pointed at the phone screen and said, "At first, I received an email, some kind of electronic ticket. I found it was related to the project I was working on, so I scanned the QR code, and then this rental contract appeared..."

Zhao Jue gave him a speechless look. "When did it start?"

"From the very beginning of the project... about a year ago, maybe even earlier. It wasn't obvious at first, but later things got stranger and stranger..."

As they were talking, they saw Bai Chi running back with Lisbon, who had just finished its bath.

Seeing someone approaching, Wu Wen quickly stood up, brushed off his pants, and put on his calm, indifferent expression again, pretending nothing had happened.

Zhao Jue wanted to throw the phone at his face.

Xiao Bai Chi was carrying a towel and some shower gel, with a pristine Lisbon following behind.

Uncle Chopsticks sliced off a big piece of salmon and gave it to Lisbon, who slurped it down like jelly.

Then Bai Chi ran inside to fetch a hairdryer. Looking around, he realised there were far fewer people about. Where did everyone go?

Zhao Zhen pointed across the way. "They went to explore the haunted house."

Bai Chi immediately showed a disgusted expression, found a power strip, plugged in the hairdryer, and positioned himself upwind in the courtyard to blow Lisbon's fur dry.

Wu Wen quietly glanced at Zhao Jue again.

Zhao Jue flipped through his phone and saw that Wu Wen had also received a new email. When he opened it, it turned out to be the same electronic ticket that Zhan Zhao had received.

Since Wu Wen had already scanned one of those tickets before, he didn't mind scanning another.

Zhao Jue pressed on the QR code on the ticket to scan it...

The phone immediately redirected to a page showing a blurry indoor image.

It looked like it had been taken inside a duplex, the camera angle was from above...

In the picture, what appeared to be a living room was visible, with sofas on either side, a coffee table in the centre, and on the floor beside the table lay two people, hand in hand, seemingly a man and a woman.

Zhao Jue frowned and asked Wu Wen if he had seen it before.

Wu Wen took one look and nodded. "I looked into the murder case from cabin 21. That's the couple who committed suicide!"

Zhao Jue raised an eyebrow slightly. "So this is a photo from the crime scene?"

Wu Wen scratched his head. "It should be. I checked the official records, I've never seen this particular photo before, but the archived photos of the scene show the bodies in exactly that position, and the living room layout matches the one in the house next door."

"The layout hasn't changed?" Zhao Jue found that hard to believe. They'd even scrambled the cabin numbers, but hadn't bothered to redecorate? They really just rent the haunted house out 'untouched'?

He handed the phone to Issel.

Issel took a look and said, "It looks like a screenshot from a surveillance video."

"There are surveillance cameras inside?" Zhao Jue's tone and expression both turned very displeased.

Bai Ye put down the barbecue he was holding, went to the car, and fetched a device to scan the room. Uncle Chopsticks followed to help.

"Hmm..." Issel stared at the phone screen, rubbing his chin. "These two committed suicide?"

Wu Wen nodded. "Committed suicide by burning charcoal."

"Then why are they lying on their stomachs?" Issel asked, puzzled. "Doesn't charcoal suicide take a process? Don't people usually lie down? And they're even holding hands and lying face down together. Was that pose deliberate?"

Zhao Jue looked at Wu Wen.

Wu Wen spread his hands, indicating he had no idea, the police had closed the case as a suicide.

While they were still analysing the photo, Bai Ye and Eleven came back out.

Bai Ye waved a hand to indicate there was nothing.

Zhao Jue's expression looked a bit better.

It made sense, if there had been surveillance inside, Issel would have noticed it earlier when he went in to place his things.

Just then, Zhan Zhao and the others who had gone to visit the haunted house next door came back out as well.

Wu Wen took the phone back from Issel and shook his head slightly towards the group, as if to ask them to keep it a secret.

After Zhan Zhao and the others came back, they continued eating. Bai Ye asked Bai Yutang, who had come over to help grill the meat, "Anything special?"

Bai Yutang shook his head. "The layout's basically the same as ours, but the light over there isn't as good, and it's a bit colder..."

A few of the students were bold and commented from the side, "It's a haunted house, isn't it? Of course it's cold, there's too much yin energy!"

Everyone turned to look at those students – Utterly fearless, aren't you?

Gongsun nodded approvingly, That's the right attitude! Psychology is still a branch of medicine, after all. How can medical students be afraid of ghosts?

Zhan Zhao took a skewer of grilled meat and mushrooms from Issel, eating while glancing around the place. Subtly... he felt that something about the atmosphere seemed a little off.

Those students, however, weren't just unafraid of ghosts, they weren't even afraid of lions. A group of them ran over to crowd around Lisbon, admiring its fur and asking what shampoo it used.

Zhao Jue gestured to Wu Wen, motioning towards Zhan Zhao.

Wu Wen understood that Zhao Jue wanted him to consult Zhan Zhao for help, but he hesitated, he still had his pride, after all. Zhan Zhao was his junior, and with so many students watching...

Zhao Jue pointed towards the cabin, meaning they should go inside and talk privately, away from the students.

Bai Ye was a bit surprised. Zhao Jue usually disliked that professor, yet he was being unexpectedly patient with him.

Their exchange had already caught the attention of Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang nearby, both of whom were highly "sensitive" types.

Zhan Zhao, ever the quick thinker, picked up two skewers of meat and said he was going inside to work on his manuscript.

Issel and Eleven went next door to deliver some lemon tea, asking the students if they wanted to meet the celebrities. Upon hearing that Xu Lie and Qi Le were there, the students got excited at once and followed them eagerly.

Zhao Jue stood up, leading Wu Wen inside to find Zhan Zhao.

Bai Yutang and Gongsun were curious as well, so they followed them in to listen.

Out in the courtyard, only Bai Chi, blow-drying Lisbon's fur, Bai Ye, preparing more ingredients, and Bai Jintang and Zhao Zhen, both wearing sunglasses and lounging on deckchairs, ready for a nap, were left.

Bai Ye glanced at the two reclining men and crooked his finger at them.

Bai Jintang and Zhao Zhen both pretended to keep their eyes closed.

Bai Ye directed them, "We're out of firewood, you two go chop some!"

Bai Jintang was stunned, and Zhao Zhen, taking off his sunglasses in disbelief, asked, "Chop wood?"

Bai Ye pointed at the two barbecue stoves. "They're wood-burning, we need a lot!"

Bai Jintang, who at least had some common sense after once nearly blowing up a deep fryer, asked, "Aren't they charcoal-burning?"

Bai Ye pointed at two boxes of high-grade charcoal nearby. "I brought too little, these two boxes are for the competition."

Bai Jintang and Zhao Zhen exchanged a look, then scanned the courtyard, but there was not a single tree in sight. "Where are we supposed to chop it?"

Bai Ye pointed at the axe by the table, then at the woods not far away. "Over 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: October 31, 2025 by Angel

Edited: November 26, 2025 by Angel