S.C.I. Mystery Vol. 1, Ch. 47

T/L note: I'm back!  Apologies for the delay.

Magic Murderer 2: Return

Bai Chi walked around the city library a few times, looking through it one shelf at a time. He piled the books high on one of the tables.

"Do you want to borrow all of these?" The administrator was surprised. "The number of books you can borrow is regulated."

Bai Chi shook his head and showed him his police officer ID card, saying, "I’m not borrowing them; it's police expropriation! I'll pay you back."

The administrator looked suspiciously at the person in front of him. How could this man be related to the word "police"? He said helplessly, "Okay, but I need to register it. It may take a long time. We will send them to you at the police station after we do so. "

"Okay... okay, thank you." Bai Chi nodded and turned to leave, but he saw a few archaic archives by the door... and curiously walked up. It was an old-fashioned data cabinet. It was filled with small drawers one by one in alphabetical order. When they were opened, you could see a stack of cards in each drawer, which recorded the type, name, and location of the data. When Bai Chi walked up to one of the cabinets, he saw the word "Newspapers" on the label.

The catalogue of the city library had been classified and managed using computers. Bai Chi has searched all of them just now, but because there were too many newspapers, only the ones from the past two years had been sorted out. Other old ones would be here. Upon opening the drawer, Bai Chi was pleasantly surprised to find that there were as many as thirty years of newspapers, so he patiently flipped through the cards one at a time. He wanted to turn out all the cases from the past two decades~~~

"Hi!" A person suddenly popped up and tapped him. It startled Bai Chi, and he turned his head in fright and frowned.

It wasn’t a stranger who tapped Bai Chi, but it was Zhao Yan, who they had met on the plane that morning.

He turned back around, ignoring him... and continued looking.

Zhao Yan figured that he had never been so ignored in his entire life and smiled awkwardly. He came up and asked, "What are you looking for, coming to the library as soon as you got off the plane?"

Bai Chi looked up, gave him a cold glance, and said, "You... forget it!"

"Hey!" Zhao Yan took off his glasses. "Have I offended you before? Why do you hate me so much?"

"Swindler!" Bai Chi rolled his eyes again and lowered his head to look for information. He leaned to the side, pulling a bit away from Zhao Yan.

... Zhao Yan gave Bai Chi a stern glance and suddenly uttered, "Ah!"

Bai Chi looked up in surprise and saw Zhao Yan pointing into the distance. He instinctively turned his head to look—there was nothing at all~~~

"Bai~~ Chi~~" Zhao Yan smiled, "Good name~~"

Bai Chi turned back and noticed that Zhao Yan had taken his police ID card away...

"Gi... give it back to me!" He immediately reached out to grab it, but Zhao Yan escaped with the police badge, "S.C.I.~~ Oh?"

"Give it!" Bai Chi snatched it fiercely and put it back in his pocket. Then, he turned around and listened as Zhao Yan said, "Eh?? You were born in K City?? I was in K City when I was a kid."

Bai Chi was startled and looked back. This time, he saw that his wallet was also in Zhao's hands. He was looking at his ID card...

"You give it back to me! I’ll arrest you!" Bai Chi was furious. He snatched his wallet and yelled fiercely.

"Ok! Take it slow, I'll... leave. See you later." After that, Zhao Yan turned quickly and walked away. Who knows when he grabbed the bunch of keys with a little duckling charm that said—Bai Chi~~

At around five o'clock, Bai Chi returned to the door of his apartment with a thick bundle of old newspapers, and he took out his keys~~ Huh? Keys??

He put the newspaper on the ground, and thoroughly felt through all his pockets but still couldn’t find them... Why was today so unlucky?!!

Who would have thought that at that moment the door would open.

"You're back? Why are you so late?" Standing in the door was Zhao Yan, holding an apple in one hand and a book in the other.

"You... you..." Bai Chi was so shocked that he couldn’t speak, and he rushed through the door angrily. "Why are you in my house?"

Zhao Yan shrugged and threw the bunch of keys to him. He said, "Oh~~ I just picked up a bunch of keys and wanted to return them to the owner. I didn't expect them to be yours."

"How did you... how did you know that I live here?" Bai Chi put the key ring into his pocket, staring at Zhao Yan sternly.

"Hehe~~" Zhao Yan smiled brightly. "The keys told me. I am magical."

"A swindler! Get out!" Bai Chi stretched out his fingers.

Zhao Yan sat down on the sofa and continued to eat the apple. He looked at the book in his hand.

"You... what are you looking at?" Bai Chi was surprised and felt as though Zhao Yan's book was familiar.

"Oh~~ your diary." Zhao Yan turned and admired it, "It's wonderful."

"... Yaa~~~~~" Bai Chi rushed to grab it, "How could you do this! How could you read someone else's diary!!!"

Zhao Yan quickly avoided him, "I want to figure out why you hate me so much."

"No reason!!! Give it back!" Bai Chi lunged after it.

"Speaking of which, your childhood was really miserable. How could you be bullied?" Zhao Yan said, hiding, "I have never seen anyone who has more of an inferiority complex than you..."

When Bai Chi heard that, he suddenly looked blank and stopped chasing Zhao Yan. He stood in a daze.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Zhao Yan grabbed the diary and walked back a few steps to look at Bai Chi.

Looking down, Bai Chi acted as though Zhao Yan didn’t exist. He turned around and went back out to carry the bundle of newspapers in. Then, he sat down at the coffee table and took out a notebook. He began to read the newspapers intently, taking notes.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Yan walked over to squat beside him, "Are you angry?"

Bai Chi ignored him and continued to read the newspaper.

"Look, I’ll give it back to you." Zhao Yan put the diary in front of Bai Chi and reached out and shook his hand in front of Bai Chi's eyes, "Are you still angry?"

Bai Chi took the diary back, put it behind him, and continued to read the newspaper.

"You, you went to L Elementary School in K City when you were a kid?" Zhao Yan asked and leaned forward, "I was a few years older than you, but... it seems like you were there when I was studying... What year are you, eh? "

Bai Chi lowered his pen and bowed his head without talking.

Zhao Yan got closer again and said, "But I really don't have any impression of you. Where did I offend you... can you tell me?"

DIDIDIDIDIDIDI～～～～～

The phone rang, and Bai Chi hurriedly picked it up. Bai Yutang had called. "Hey, Brother~~ ah, okay."

After he hung up the phone, Zhao Yan felt like Bai Chi's mood was getting better. He tidied up the newspapers and sorted them as though he was going out.

Bai Chi's mood had naturally gone from overcast to sunny because Bai Yutang had told him that the S.C.I. was going to have a celebration that night and welcome him into the group. In light of his outstanding performance in the last case, he had successfully passed the trial period. He was official.

When Bai Chi was ready, he went to the door and looked at Zhao Yan. He motioned with his eyes, "Get out!!"

Zhao Yan stood up helplessly and walked to the door. "Where are you going? I have a car and I can see you off."

Bai Chi reached out his hand, "Give me three yuan."

"Ha??" Zhao Yan was surprised. "Since when do I owe you three yuan?"

"Money for the apple!" Bai Chi stared at him. "It's expensive!"

"Why are you so stingy?" Zhao Yan frowned. "You even care about me eating your apple?"

"Why should I let you... did you ask?" Bai Chi said righteously, "I only invite my friends to eat!"

"You!" Zhao Yan breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay! You are difficult to deal with." After that, he pulled out ten yuan and put it in Bai Chi's hands. "Keep the change!" Then he turned and left.

After taking a few steps, he heard Bai Chi call out to him, "Wait a minute!"

Zhao Yan turned back with a smile and said in his heart, who can resist my charm?? But he felt two unknown objects hurtling towards his face, whistling with the wind...

He quickly reached out and caught one but was hit hard in the head by the other with a “ping.”

"Ahhh~~~" He covered his head, then saw an apple in his hand and an apple on the ground... and looked up.

Bai Chi glared at him sternly, "We should never owe one another!" He threw a coin over, and it landed in the middle of Zhao Yan's forehead... "Yaa~~~"

When Zhan Yan got out of the apartment, he got into his car and took a fierce bite out of the apple in his hand. He touched the two bumps on his head and ground his teeth, "Dammed kid! I'm so furious!"



Zhan Zhao looked at the box Bai Yutang had picked with respect and really felt the urge to write a eulogy for him—it was the only children's box from the S City Hotel~~~ it was meant for children’s birthdays and was completely covered in Micky Mouse and Donald Duck.

"What are you thinking in your head?" Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang.

"I didn't pick it. It was the Ding family's twins!" Bai Yutang quickly clarified, "But then again, it is quite appropriate..."

At 7:00 p.m., everyone had arrived, but the number of attendees was much larger than expected. In addition to the S.C.I., there was also the serious cases division, Qi Le and her band, as well as the Ding family's twins and Bai Jintang. The room was crowded, and the group of young people went wild until the middle of the night.

Gongsun escaped first. His temples were sore, and his ears were buzzing.

"Tired? Should I take you home first?" Bai Jintang, who followed Gongsun, asked from close to his ear as he reached out to help him massage his temples.

"Hmm..." Gongsun nodded, dizzy as if he had drunk too much.

The two walked into the elevator. Bai Jintang put his coat on Gongsun's shoulders and said, "I'll get the car. Wait for me at the door."

After stepping out of the hotel's door, the cool night breeze made Gongsun sober.

"Can I help you?" A voice came from behind him. Gongsun turned around in surprise and saw a very smart and capable-looking man standing beside him. He seemed concerned while he asked. Gongsun looked at him and felt as though he had an air similar to Bai Jintang, an elite air...

He shook his head. Gongsun didn't like the eyes of this person very much. Although they were very attentive and friendly, he couldn’t hide the calculation behind his gaze. In fact, Gongsun didn't like to deal with businesspeople very much. Bai Jintang could be regarded as a special case. Even apart from being Bai Yutang’s elder brother, he still had a special status. His eyes never looked hypocritical and sometimes they even looked like those of a puppy. Direct and somewhat innocent—a big puppy.

"You don't seem very comfortable." The man asked again, "Are you all right?"

Thinking about it, Gongsun realized that Bai Jintang was a bit cute. With a slight blush on his face he turned coldly to the man, "No need."

"My name is Shen Qian," the man politely reached out.

Gongsun didn't reach out in return and just stared forward, "I'm not interested."

"But I'm interested in you." Shen Qian said with a smile.

By that time, Bai Jintang had driven over and seen the person standing with Gongsun from a distance. He raised his eyebrows slightly.

Gongsun also saw the familiar Mercedes-Benz and no longer cared about the person next to him. He quickly walked over and sat in the car. Shen Qian waved to him, "Goodbye, Gongsun..." Before he finished his sentence, Bai Jintang drove away.

"... Does your head still hurt?" After a while, Bai Jintang could not help but break the silence.

Gongsun looked at him with amusement, "I thought you would ask who I was with just now."

Bai Jintang was silent for a while and said, "His name is Shen Qian, the boss of the Shen Group. He’s my competitor."

"Oh~~" Gongsun nodded, "No wonder."

"No wonder?" Bai Jintang asked casually, but his eyes were focused.

"No wonder." Gongsun deliberately refused to say what he ment. He could feel Bai Jintang's uneasiness and found it interesting. Recently, the originally domineering man was even more obedient than a dog. He was always careful, as though he was trying to learn how to get along with him.

"He said he was interested in me." Gongsun looked at Bai Jintang with a smile. "What will you do next? Find someone to kill him?"

Bai Jintang sighed in his heart, "This enchantress..."

The car drove into the underground parking lot of Gongsun's apartment. Bai Jintang stopped and turned to look at Gongsun, "Are you still angry with me?"

Gongsun raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"Gongsun." Bai Jintang turned to stare at Gongsun. "You have been tormenting me for a month."

"How could I?" Gongsun laughed harmlessly.

Bai Jintang sighed, "Get out of the car. I'll take you up."

"Why are you just sending me up?" Gongsun wondered. "Don’t you live there?"

"..." Bai Jintang widened his eyes unbelievably at Gongsun. "You... you mean I can move back?"

Gongsun got out of the car. "That house is yours. What does it have to do with me whether you live there or not?"

"I’ll stay! I'll stay tonight!" Bai Jintang closed the door and caught up with Gongsun. "Let me borrow a bed comforter first. Mine is at the company."

(T/L note: isn’t that just across the street, Jintang….)

"I don't have extra quilts."

"Then should I sleep with you?"

"In your dreams!"

"Gongsun..."

"Hands off!"

"Okay..."



Zhan Zhao was also taken home by Bai Yutang. Although Bai Yutang had blocked most of the wine from reaching him, Zhan Zhao, who had poor alcohol tolerance but loved wine regardless, was still extremely drunk. He had become completely intoxicated after just a few glasses. He had been lying on the sofa, falling asleep with flushed cheeks. Bai Yutang had no choice but to take him first.

He put Zhan Zhao on the bed and unbuttoned his coat...

"En~~" Zhan Zhao reached out and hugged Bai Yutang's waist. He rubbed against him and mumbled incoherently, "Luban~~"

…………

Luban was the Burmese rag doll cat that Bai Jintang had brought for the two of them when he came back. However, because they were both very busy and that breed of cat did not like being lonely, Zhan Zhao had no choice but to very reluctantly gave it to Mrs. Zhan and Mrs. Bai to raise.

Bai Yutang removed Zhan Zhao's hand from around his waist and helped him take off his jacket. Zhan Zhao turned over, grabbed Bai Yutang's arm, and nuzzled, "Luban..."

Taking a deep breath, Bai Yutang drew his hand back with great force, warning himself to calm down. He reached out to help untie Zhan Zhao’s tie, but Zhan Zhao unexpectedly clung to his neck again, "Luban..."

Bang~~~ Bai Yutang felt his reason leave him...

Lowering his head, he caught Zhan Zhao’s slightly open lips and kissed him... After the lingering kiss, Zhan Zhao semi-consciously nuzzled him again and gently called out, "Yutang..."

Bang~~~ Bai Yutang's reason flew back again.

He sighed, looking at Zhan Zhao lying unguarded in his arms right before his eyes. Bai Yutang shook his head with a bitter smile. The Kitty trusted him, and he must not let him down. Although he wanted it, now was not a good time. It would not be fair to the Kitty.

He took another deep breath and calmed himself down. He took off his own jacket and settled into a more comfortable sleeping posture, taking Zhan Zhao into his arms and pulling up the covers... Kitty, sleep well~~

Two hours later, Bai Yutang turned on the light and thought seriously—Zhan Zhao's tone for calling "Yutang" just earlier seemed to be the same as the tone he used for calling "Luban” beforehand~~

He turned off the lights—keep sleeping.

In the early morning of the next day, Bai Yutang was woken up by an urgent telephone ringing.

"Hello?" He looked at his watch—five o'clock?

Zhan Zhao also woke up and looked up.

As he watched Bai Yutang listening to the phone, Zhan Zhao saw his face grow harder and then he closed the phone without saying a word, frowning.

"What's wrong?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Bai Yutang looked at him. "The child in the kindergarten yesterday who was the first to find the body, Sun Qian... her family reported that she disappeared yesterday."

"What?" Zhan Zhao sat up in surprise, "How?"

"Her dad said he told her yesterday that he would pick her up 15 minutes late and she should wait at the door, but he couldn't find Sun Qian when he arrived. He thought she had gone to a friend's house or her grandma's house, but he couldn’t find her anywhere." Bai Yutang was a little uneasy. "Kitty, would you... "

"I want to go to the scene!" Zhan Zhao quickly got up and dressed.

Half an hour later, the two arrived at the kindergarten. The school had ordered a suspension of class. All the teachers were dispatched to look for the girl. Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang came to the gate of the kindergarten and saw Xiao Lu Zhen standing there, his head bowed as though he were looking at something.

"Lu Zhen?" Zhan Zhao patted him, "Why are you here?"

Lu Zhen turned towards them, his face a little white, and said, "I said goodbye to Qianqian here yesterday. I went home. She was waiting for her father to pick her up..."

Bai Yutang observed the surrounding environment. In front of the school entrance was the road and opposite it was a convenience store. He walked over to the convenience store to ask for information.

Lu Zhen pulled Zhan Zhao's hand: "I want to... find her with you."

Zhan Zhao nodded as he squatted down and asked, "Do you like Qian Qian very much?"

"En." Lu Zhen nodded. "I only waited with her yesterday because she kept crying... I was a bit annoyed..." His voice gradually lowered, full of self-blame.

Rubbing his head, Zhan Zhao comforted him, "It's not your fault."

Bai Yutang ran back and said, "The shop owner across the street said he didn't pay much attention."

Zhan Zhao stood at the place pointed out by Lu Zhen and slowly turned 360 degrees in place. He looked around, "This is a busy city. If you forcibly take away a little girl, it would be impossible to not get noticed."

"Did she leave by herself?" Bai Yutang wondered, "Where would she go?"

Zhan Zhao's eyes suddenly fell on a point not far away and asked Lu Zhen, "Did Qian Qian like Teacher Zhang very much?"

"En." Lu Zhen nodded.

"If you wanted to give something to the dead teacher Zhang, what would you choose?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"... Flowers?" Bai Yutang said without hesitation, "And put them at the entrance of the classroom."

Zhan Zhao asked again, "She is just a child, she has no money to buy flowers... What will she do?"

"Go pick some?" Bai Yutang started searching around, "Such as in flower beds... parks..." His eyes fell on a flower bed not far from the side of the road, where Zhan Zhao was staring. There were a lot of little white chrysanthemums...

The two looked at each other and quickly walked towards the flower bed. There was a corner behind the flower bed... There was a fence, and behind it was a demolished house—a construction site.

With a bad hunch, the two went around the fence and walked into the abandoned site.

As they continued to go forward, there were several high-rise cement pipes. They stepped up onto the pipes and looked down. The two of them were stunned~~~

They saw a strange circular, red pattern in the open space under the cement pipe. It was the familiar magic array with a small corpse lying in the center of it with a bloody hole gaping in its neck. Bai Yutang called the S.C.I., and then he jumped down. He walked to the side of the body and his hand clenched into a fist. Xiao Lu Zhen, who came down with him, said, "If I had waited with her yesterday..."

Bai Yutang squatted down and held Lu Zhen, who was desperately holding back tears. He hugged him and patted his back to comfort him, "It's not your fault."

Looking back, he saw Zhan Zhao standing still on the concrete pipe, staring blankly. The expression on his face was horrified...

"Kitty?" Bai Yutang walked back to him. In the distance, they heard sirens and a large number of policemen ran over, followed by the schoolteachers, the distressed parents, and the media that heard rumors in the wind...

Zhan Zhao stood silently, as if everything else had nothing to do with him, without saying a word.

"Kitty!" Bai Yutang shook him gently, "What happened to you?"

Zhan Zhao turned to look at him and said, "He is back!"

"What?" Bai Yutang was puzzled.

"That Magic Murderer." Zhan Zhao took a deep breath. "This is not the same as yesterday's case. This is what the original did... He’s come back, as if awakened by yesterday's case."

"Are you sure?" Bai Yutang asked.

"En." Zhan Zhao nodded. "Look, feel it!"

Bai Yutang turned and looked intently at the corpse and magic array at his feet... It indeed had a completely different feeling from the scene the day before. Excitement, enjoyment, intoxication... He shuddered.



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