S.C.I. Mystery Vol. 1, Ch. 32

Killer Training Camp 04: Band

"Who are you ?!" The punk woman dropped the plastic bag she was holding in her hand. A few cans of beer rolled out, producing the clang of metal hitting the ground and rolling to the side.

The girl had taken a few steps forward, and was staring vigilantly at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang.

The two men standing in front of the door were also looking at the girl. Although she appeared quite mature, they could see that she was young and should not be more than 20 years old. Her pale face with exaggerated, smoky makeup and purple lipstick made her age difficult to discern and forced people to take a second look. She was extraordinarily thin, and her tight black clothes made her figure look very small and her head slightly larger...

Bai Yutang frowned and stared at her for a while, "Are you taking drugs?"

The girl was shocked, as was Zhan Zhao. However, Zhan Zhao absolutely believed in Bai Yutang's judgment in this regard. Looking closer, he found that the girl was indeed a little different—perhaps a bit unhealthy.

"You... what nonsense are you spouting?" The girl panicked and reached for the beer on the ground, but her outstretched hand shook abnormally.

Zhan Zhao picked up a jar that had rolled to his feet and handed it to her.

The girl snatched it, stared at them fiercely, stood up quickly, and turned to leave.

"What's your relationship with Qi Lei?" Zhan Zhao asked suddenly.

The girl froze, turned slowly, and asked, "Do you know my brother?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other. They hadn’t expected it, but the girl had turned out to be Qi Lei's sister.

"What's your name?" Bai Yutang asked.

Perhaps it was because of the unique policeman’s aura that he exuded, but the girl seemed to be a little afraid of Bai Yutang. She hesitated a little, "Qi Le."

Immediately, she asked a little more urgently, "Why are you looking for my brother? He, he is not at home."

"What did he do?" Bai Yutang asked calmly.

"I don't know." Qi Le suddenly drooped a little. "I haven't seen him for several days. He hasn't even practiced in the band, and the record company's interview has been ruined."

"You don't know where he went?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Oh..." Qi Le looked up at Zhan Zhaohe and Bai Yutang. "You don’t look like those loan sharks. What's the matter with my brother?"

"Can your brother shoot?" Bai Yutang ignored Qi Le's question.

"Hah?" Qi Le shrugged, "Are you kidding me? My brother can only play bass! Shoot?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other again, hesitating.

"Is this your brother?" Bai Yutang took out a picture and showed it to Qi Le.

Qi Le glanced at it suspiciously and nodded. As if she felt that something was wrong, she opened her mouth a little, trembling: "Who are you? ... Wh-what happened to my brother?"

Bai Yutang showed her his identification card.

"Police? You are policemen? I see. Is my brother sick again?" Qi Le was anxious. "He sleepwalks. It’s not intentional. Don't embarrass him!"

"... Shall we go in and discuss it?" Zhan Zhao saw that Qi Le was a little emotional and pointed to the open door.

Qi Le took a deep breath, nodded, and walked into the room first.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao followed.

The apartment was less than forty pyeongs (1). It had a simple structure, a small and humble kitchen and bathroom, and a bedroom. The lighting in the room was very poor. Qi Le ran to open the curtains and windows, allowing the air to circulate. The room was messy; beer bottles littered the floor and there were many moldy fast food lunch boxes...

Qi Le cleaned up a bit, embarrassed, "It's messy ..."

Zhan Zhao looked around the house. Kitchen, bedroom, toilet... his brows gradually raised, "Do you live with your brother?"

"No." Qi Le shook her head. "My brother is sick and cannot live with anyone."

"Is that from sleepwalking?" Bai Yutang stared at a few messy scarlet punches on the wall, "Your brother hit the wall on his own?"

"Hoo~~~" Qi Le sat on the bed, took out a cigarette. She put it in her mouth, and raised the lighter up to it, "He can't stand it sometimes. He will be very irritable and become a bit demonic..." After a few tries, she couldn’t manage to light the lighter.

"Does your brother live with anybody else?" Zhan Zhao asked again.

"No!" Qi Le glanced at Zhan Zhao, "I said that because he sleepwalks, he can’t share his space with others!" She threw the non-functional lighter aside.

"Just tell me, what happened to my brother?"

…………

"He is suspected of a serial killing, and he is dead." Bai Yutang said slowly.

Qi Le looked up at the two with a stunned expression, and both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang couldn't bear it.

Bending her head down quickly, Qi Le took the cigarette out of her mouth and discarded it. She took out the cigarette box and pulled out another cigarette to hold in her mouth. Then, she went to find the lighter that she had just thrown away. Tears fell to the ground from her bent head. She finally picked up the lighter, but her face had already crumpled (2). Sitting on the ground, Qi Le desperately wiped at her tears, "I had expected that such a day would happen because of his illness!"

"Why didn't he go to the doctor if he was sick?" Bai Yutang asked.

"He already went to one! He has been taking the sleepwalking medicine prescribed by the doctor, but it hasn’t helped at all!" Qi Le gritted her teeth and held back her tears. “He became more frightening every day!! I didn’t know if he was a good guy, or if he was just pretending to be one during the day!”

"Your brother..." Zhan Zhao squatted down and stared at Qi Le. "Did he ever say that he felt like someone else was in his body?"

Qi Le looked up in surprise: "How did you know that?"

"What is his specific condition?" Zhan Zhao continued to ask, "Which doctor confirmed that he was sleepwalking?"

"He... when he fell asleep, he would wake up and then become a completely different person. Someone unlike my brother... The next morning, he would return to normal. My brother often told me that it felt like there was another person in his body." Qi Le wiped away her tears. "My brother went to a lot of doctors and they all said he was sleepwalking."

"Cat, what's wrong?" Bai Yutang asked with some worry, noticing that Zhan Zhao's complexion wasn’t very good.

"Which doctor did your brother go to see?" Zhan Zhao continued to ask.

"At first, it was just the doctor in the infirmary... Later, we went to see a psychiatrist..." Qi Le was puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Zhan Zhao sighed, "Have you ever seen a psychologist?"

Qi Le thought about it and shook her head, "Where would we find one?"

Zhan Zhao stood up and remained silent for a while, staring at the red bloodmarks on the wall, before slowly saying, "Your brother did not have a mental disorder, he had a mental illness (3). To be precise... he had a split personality."

"Split... personality?" Qi Le looked up at Zhan Zhao in puzzlement. "What... what do you mean?"

"It means that your brother had another person in his body." Zhan Zhao looked at Qi Le. "The one who came out at night was not your brother, but another person. Your brother's subconscious created him, but he developed into an existence beyond your brother's control. "

"I... I don't understand." Qi Le shook her head in confusion.

"Your brother is not a bad guy, he was just sharing his body with a bad guy." Bai Yutang simply concluded.

...

"Does it matter to you?" Zhan Zhao asked Qi Le, anxiously sitting still.

Qi Le looked up. "Why did my brother die?"

...Zhan Zhao opened his mouth and wondered how to answer after being asked that question.

"I shot him." Bai Yutang said calmly.

Qi Le looked at him with surprise.

"Uh... your brother was using a sniper rifle..." Zhan Zhao was anxious and wanted to explain.

Qi Le interrupted him, "Was it at night?"

"Yeah." Zhan Zhao nodded helplessly.

"In other words, you killed the bad guy who lives in my brother, right?" Qi Le asked.

Bai Yutang said nothing.

"My brother wanted to die for a long time." Qi Le bowed her head and stopped talking.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang left the cheap house and went towards the car.

Along the way, Bai Yutang said nothing, and Zhan Zhao followed him.

After getting in the car and adjusting the rear-view mirror, Bai Yutang started the engine, "Let’s go to the activity room to find someone in the band."

He didn’t hear an answer from Zhan Zhao.

He turned his head, and saw that Zhan Zhao was sitting quietly and looking at him intently.

Bai Yutang smiled bitterly, "What's wrong?"

After remaining silent for a few more moments, Zhan Zhao seriously asked, "Xiao (4) Bai, how many people have you killed?"

Bai Yutang froze and turned his head, looking forward, "Qi Lei is the 49th."

Zhan Zhao continued seriously, "Do you remember all of them?"

Bai Yutang said nothing, looked blankly forward, and nodded.

"Then how many people have you saved?" Zhan Zhao continued to ask.

... Bai Yutang turned to look at Zhan Zhao. Their eyes met, and Zhan Zhao reached out to fix Bai Yutang's hair, "You don't remember, do you?"

Bai Yutang grabbed Zhan Zhao's hand and whispered: "Cat..."

Zhan Zhao didn’t break eye contact, and he slowly said, "Yutang, you are really kind."

Opening Zhao's hand, Bai Yutang lowered his head and smiled, "Aren't you afraid of my violent side (5)?"

Zhan Zhao still looked at him calmly, "If you want to save someone, you have to kill, and I will have to kill."

"Cat, are you comforting me?" The blankness in Bai Yutang's eyes had disappeared and he had changed back to the original Bai Yutang.

Zhan Zhao was relieved and smiled at him.

Bai Yutang gently rubbed his fingers on Zhan Zhao’s jaw, then lowered his head and kissed him tenderly...

This time, Zhan Zhao didn't scold him or hit him. He just sat obediently with his eyes closed, and allowed Bai Yutang to explore the kiss gently, deeply and endlessly...

Although he had not reached out for help properly, and it was always him protecting Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang understood that this was the Cat trying to protect himself in his clumsy and flattering way (6).

Who doesn't try to protect themselves? In fact, there is a devil in everyone's hearts. One day, it may grow so strong that you can't fight it, but the key is that there is always an angel around you who is willing to save you… How could one not fall in love with such tenderness?

The long kiss was over. Although Bai Yutang was still inclined to continue, he let go of Zhan Zhao. It was rare that the Cat was so docile. In fact, it was a miracle he had gotten away without being beaten this time, and such things shouldn’t be rushed.

Zhan Zhao turned his head to look out of the window. He didn't need to look at Bai Yutang to know that the tail of a certain Mouse must be standing proud…his face was hot.

Bai Yutang started the car (7) and looked at the side of Zhan Zhao's face in the rearview mirror. The cat's ears were red.

Inside the closed car, there was a faint uncertainty in the air. The two were silent for the entire ride, but in their hearts, their emotions were erratic and were tossing about as though caught in a storm.

When they arrived at the door of the red, three-story small building that Mr. Jia had mentioned, they heard the music coming from the second floor. It seemed as though someone was playing the drums and guitar. They couldn’t quite hear it clearly, but it sounded a bit chaotic, and it was most certainly loud.

The two walked upstairs, following the sound. Without any difficulty, they found the last activity room on the west side of the second floor. The door was hidden, and the words "Boiling Point" were on it.

Bai Yutang opened the door, and several people in the room raised their heads at the same time and looked in astonishment at Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao who were walking in.

The room was full of various instruments.

There were three people in the room. There was a woman sitting in front of the drums who was dressed similarly to Qi Le, but was taller. Next to her was a tall, thin boy with long hair holding a guitar. The other was the middle-aged man who had just been with Qi Le in the Japanese restaurant.

"...Young Master (8) Bai?"

Without waiting for Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao to speak, the middle-aged man called out and greeted Bai Yutang enthusiastically.

Bai Yutang froze. He was already an adult, and for the first time in his life someone was calling him "Young Master".

Zhan Zhao behind him was also curious.

"I forgot to introduce myself." The middle-aged man took out his business card. "My name is Zhang Hua, and I am an agent with Bai Shi, a record company. I met Young Master Bai the banquet last night."

"Oh." Bai Yutang realized that it was one of his elder brother's employees. "I have no relationship with the Bai Group, so you don't have to call me Young Master Bai. I'm here to investigate."

Bai Yutang responded tepidly.

It was embarrassing to see the music agent Zhang Hua’s face flush red with humiliation. Bai Yutang was like that. He didn't like to use any subtlety at all. He always said what came to mind, simply and straightforwardly. It was very difficult to resist.

Without waiting for Zhang Hua to answer, Bai Yutang looked up at the two band members behind him and asked, "Are you guys the Boiling Point band?"

They glanced at each other and nodded.

"Police." Bai Yutang took out his credentials. "I want you to tell me about Qi Lei."

"Qi Lei?" The girl who played the drums jumped up. "Where did that brat go? It’s been so many days without any news." The guy playing the guitar next to her was obviously much calmer, and he patted the excited girl in reassurance. He turned to Bai Yutang and said, "My name is Cai Jie, the guitarist. She is Chen Yu, the drummer. Qi Lei is the bassist, and his sister Qi Le is the lead singer. What happened to Qi Lei?"

Zhang Hua also interjected: "Yeah, We’ve been waiting to sign the contract, but the band is missing two people."

"Signing a contract?" Bai Yutang looked at Zhang Hua a little puzzled.

"Oh! Because their popularity and looks are very good, the record company wants to sign a contract with them and produce an album, but we need the others to sign it.”

"It seems that you and Qi Le had a dispute at a Japanese restaurant earlier." Zhan Zhao asked Zhang Hua, "Why was that?"

"Uh, this..." Zhang Hua hesitated.

"Hah, he must have been trying to get Qi Le to sign a contract alone," said the drummer named Chen Yu. "The record company values Qi Le's good voice, not us second-rate musicians."

"Xiao Yu!" Cai Jie stopped him and turned to ask, "What happened to Qi Lei that even the police came?"

"My brother is dead."

The door was opened again and Qi Le walked in.

"What?!" The three people in the room who were unaware of the news were simultaneously shocked.

Qi Le ignored them and went straight to Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao, saying, "I was so overwhelmed earlier that I forgot to say something very important." She handed them a laptop computer, "My brother has recently been receiving emails. He said that they could free him."

"Emails?"



After Ma Han checked the crime scene, he gained quite a lot. He rushed back to the S.C.I. to report to Bai Yutang, walked out of the elevator, and saw a young policeman dressed as a patrolman hovering at the door of the S.C.I.

"Who are you looking for?" Ma Han looked up and down the little police officer, certain he had never met him.

"Uh... I..." The policeman looked nervous when he saw Ma Han.

"What's the matter with you?" Ma Han asked again, seeing that he was at a loss.

"I... I want to find..."

"You’re looking for someone? Who?"

"Find... Bai... Bai."

"Bai?" Ma Han frowned. "Are you looking for our captain?"

"No... no, no..." The little policeman turned and ran away.

"Hey! Hey..." Ma Han was baffled.

"What's wrong?" Gongsun walked out of the forensic room behind him, holding a thick stack of documents in his hand.

"Oh~~ there was a weird little policeman just now."

Gongsun looked in the direction of Ma Han's finger, but couldn’t see anyone. "I see. How did your investigations go today?"

"Oh! We learned a lot!" Ma Han immediately perked up.

"Such a coincidence?" Gongsun laughed. "I also figured out a lot here."



Translation Notes:

(1) 1423.33ft2

(2) A spent or complete flower--Which I interpreted as a wilting flower.

(3) The former refers to normal mental problems, and the latter to officially-diagnosed psychological disorders.

(4) “Little”, usually used to refer to those younger and close to you. Remember, Bai Yutang is an hour younger!

(5) “Beastly Hair”...which as far as I can tell is the name of a thriller with a serial killer in it...so I’m just going to interpret it as his violent side.

(6) This paragraph was rather confusing regarding who was asking for help, who was protecting who, and whether Zhan Zhao was trying to protect himself or Bai Yutang...This is the translation I decided on based on their personalities and to make the next paragraph make more sense...But I could be totally wrong ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

(7) Must’ve been a really distracting kiss. You started the car earlier, Bai Yutang. And it’s a sports car, so it's not like it’s silent or anything.

(8) Gong zi--the son of someone influential.

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