S.C.I. Mystery Vol. 1, Ch. 55

IMPORTANT TRANSLATION NOTE: Zhao Yan’s name was always supposed to be translated as Zhao Zhen. I don’t remember why I chose to do it differently in the first place (there was a reason, I swear), but since then, I’ve just been keeping it as Zhao Yan because having both a Zhan Zhao and a Zhao Zhen as main characters…well you can see why that might be a tad confusing. I’ve switched it to Zhao Zhen in this chapter, so let me know in the comments which name you would prefer. If nobody has said anything by 4/13/2020, then I’ll just switch everything to Zhao Zhen permanently.

Also, regarding the Zhaos...They aren't all the same Zhao...

Zhan Zhao: 昭 (Bright)

Zhao Zhen, Zhao Jue, Zhao Hu: 赵 (Name of one of the warring states/common surname). This does not necessarily mean Zhao Hu is related to the other two.

Magic Murderer 10: Farewell

The lights in the operating room of the hospital were on, and Chen Yu has been in surgery for almost three hours.

Qi Le stood blankly by the door, with no expression on her face. Her eyes were fixed on the operating room door.

However, if you looked closely, you could still see her body shaking slightly.

The clothes on her body were a little wet because she had been hiding in the corner of the alley. Zhao Hu, who was standing behind her, looked at her, wondering whether she was shaking because of the cold or because of fear.

"Qi Le." He could not help but call out to her.

Qi Le was stunned for a moment before she turned her head to look at him. Her eyes were vacant.

Zhao Hu took off his coat and handed it to her, "Go and change."

After receiving his jacket, Qi Le slowly turned around and walked to the bathroom... After a while, she put it on and came out and resumed standing still in a daze.

Zhao Hu was very familiar with Qi Le. In the last case, he had always been responsible for protecting her safety, so he could feel her worry.

Touching his head, Zhao Hu thought, should he comfort her? What should he say~~~

"That..." He organized his thoughts, "Don't worry too much. Chen Yu will be fine."

Qi Le ignored him.

Zhao Hu sighed in his heart and blamed himself for having such a clumsy tongue~~ Even his words of comfort were so low-level.

"If Xiao Yu also dies, then I really won't have any loved ones." Qi Le suddenly said.

Zhao Hu froze for a moment, opened his mouth, and couldn't say a word.

Qi Le didn't seem to expect him to comfort her, but continued to talk to herself, "Me and Xiao Yu have known each other since she was very young. She is more straightforward and outgoing than me. She might seem immature... But in fact, she has always been taking care of me."

Zhao Hu looked at her quietly and waited for her to continue speaking.

"After my brother died, she moved to live with me... in fact, her home is local. She is just afraid that I will be lonely alone... Earlier, if she hadn’t grabbed the man and told us to hurry up and run, we would all be dead. I'm really useless. "

Zhao Hu suddenly laughed and reached out to pat her shoulder, "Okay, girl, cheer up. It’s not as bad as you said!"

Qi Le looked up at him with some doubt.

Zhao Hu scratched his head again, "Think about it. If you hadn't run at that time, then all three of you would be dead! You didn’t only run by yourself, but you also brought the injured Li Xu, and called our Captain~ In reality, you saved the lives of all three of you. How could you say you are useless? "

Qi Le opened her eyes in distress and looked at Zhao Hu, "But, I think I'm unlucky, and everyone close to me will be unlucky!"

"Rest assured!" Zhao Hu patted his chest and asked, "Haven’t you ever met the people from the S.C.I.?"

"En~~" Zhao Hu suddenly changed the subject, leaving Qi Le a little dazed.

"I tell you, we are all elites in the S.C.I. Our boss, Dr. Zhan, and Gongsun, I don't need to explain. Like Ma Han, he’s the most powerful sharpshooter of the Flying Tigers; Xu Qing, he’s a special mechanic for the military; Jiang Ping, give him a computer and he can invade the Pentagon; Zhang Long and Wang Chao are veteran detectives~~ And look at me again, don’t I look like an elite? "

Qi Le shook her head very honestly and said Zhao Hu looked like a tiger, right? How could he be even half a cop.

Zhao Hu was amused by her words and said with a smile, "I’ll tell you. Team Bai chose me because I have been undercover for five years, and I haven't even lost a piece of skin~~ I’m good luck!!"

Seeing that Qi Le's eyes seemed to be somewhat hopeful, Zhao Hu quite confidently said, "I don't dare to guarantee anything else. Say luck, how much you want here, how much is there... Chen Yu is definitely fine!"

As soon as the words fell from his mouth, the lights in the operating room went out. After a moment, a doctor wearing a surgical gown came out.

"Doctor... she..." Even Qi Le’s voice shook.

"Hoo~~" The doctor breathed out. "She's really lucky. After a few passes by the gates of Hell, I finally got her back."

"So she... is she okay?" Qi Le eyes filled with pleasant surprise.

"She's all right." The doctor took off his gloves. "She’s currently under anesthesia. She’ll wake up tonight."

Watching the doctor leave, Zhao Hu smiled smugly, "See~~~~~?"

He was startled because Qi Le rushed up, hugged him, and burst into tears~~~

When Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang rushed to the hospital, they saw exactly that scene—Zhao Hu stiffened like a piece of wood, and Qi Le leaning into his chest, crying so loudly...

After Qi Le calmed down, Zhan Zhao and and Bai Yutang asked her for the whole story.

According to Qi Le, Li Xu’s emotions had been very off in recent days. Although she would sometimes get drunk and talk nonsense, she wouldn’t normally get drunk every day like she had been doing of late. After answering the phone in the morning, Li Xu rushed out in a panic. Qi Le and Chen Yu saw that she couldn't even stand properly, and they were caught up in the fear that she might have an accident and chased after her. Seeing the man in black holding a knife to cut Li Xu, the two quickly stepped forward to help. Li Xu was shoved a bit and passed out after hitting the wall. Chen Yu grabbed the man and let Qi Le run away quickly with Li Xu. Then, Qi Le ran out with Li Xu, hid, and texted Bai Yutang.

"Do you know why he tried to kill Li Xu?" Bai Yutang asked.

Qi Le shook her head, "We have known Sister Li for some time, but she rarely mentions past affairs. Even when she’s drunk, she only talks about some good man and killing in exchange for a life and other nonsense."

"Qi Le, do you know anything about the murder case of the Magic Murderer?" Zhan Zhao suddenly asked.

"Ah~~ I know about that. We saw the news the other day, and it said that he had killed a teacher, and later a child... right!" Qi Le suddenly cried, "Li Xu became abnormal when we saw that news that day. "

"What was wrong?" Zhan Zhao asked quickly.

"When we were watching the news that day, we were having breakfast. Sister Li seemed to have been shocked. She was so surprised that she even smashed her bowl. Then she shut herself in her room. She wouldn't open the door when we knocked on it. It sounded like she was on the phone with someone, shouting loudly. We didn’t pay attention to the specifics... Later, she started drinking arbitrarily and became how she is now."

After Qi Le finished speaking, she hurried to see Chen Yu. Bai Yutang instructed Zhao Hu to take care of Qi Le temporarily, and then, with Zhan Zhao, went to Li Xu's ward.

Outside the ward, Wang Chao was leaning his shoulders against the doorway. When he saw Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao, he quickly stood up straight.

"How is she?" Bai Yutang asked.

"It's okay. She was a little emotional just a moment ago. Later when she heard that Chen Yu was okay, her emotions stabilized."

Nodding, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang pushed open the door into the ward.

Li Xu sat alone on the hospital bed, looking out the window. She looked a little confused.

"Li Xu." Bai Yutang called to her.

Li Xu said nothing. It seemed that she had not heard.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao glanced at each other.

"Xu Jiali." Zhan Zhao suddenly called out softly.

...! ... Li Xu shuddered violently and turned back, "Jia... Jiali is here? Where is she?"

Seeing her response, Bai Yutang said lightly, "Xu Jiali is dead. How she died... you should know best."

"I... I don't know." Li Xu shook her head in a panic. "I don't know."

"Do you know Kong Liping?" Zhan Zhao asked her. "She is also dead."

"What..." Li Xu seemed to be a little shocked, "Liping... also dead... it’s karma... retribution!"

Zhan Zhao looked at Li Xu's morbid reaction and frowned slightly, "You, Zhang Zhenzhen, Kong Liping, An Qingyao and Shen Ling... Why did you kill Xu Jiali?"

"No... it's not that we killed her! We just..."

"Just forged the scene?" Bai Yutang interrupted her. "Why? Who did you want to cover for?"

"We... we thought it was fun... Jiali was usually arrogant..." Li Xu said, but even she felt a lack of confidence.

"Don't be kidding!" Zhan Zhao shook his head. "Let me guess... Was it for a man?"

"..." Li Xu widened her eyes in shock and looked at Zhan Zhao. "How did you know?"

"Who was it?" Bai Yutang asked, "Tell us the truth, otherwise you will get more people killed. You’ll also let down Qi Le and Chen Yu who even saved your life."

With a sigh, Li Xu's eyes began to soften, "He, his surname is Tong... called Tong Ming. He was our dance coach."

"Did he kill Xu Jiali?"

"……Yes."

"Did you see?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"No." Li Xu shook her head. "Shen Ling ... Shen Ling and Zhenzhen saw... In addition, Liping also saw it."

"Why did Tong Ming kill Xu Jiali, and why did you help him hide it?"

"Tong Ming... he, he likes younger girls..."

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao were slightly surprised when they heard that.

"Xu Jiali was only 13 years old. Isn’t that comparatively young? Is he a pedophile?" Bai Yutang said coldly, "Not someone compelled to kill?"

"He... it was just an accident. At that time, Qingyao and I liked him very much... I thought about it and helped him cover up the crime." Li Xu whispered. “After that, I felt guilty and went abroad for a while. When I returned, Tong Ming was already Qingyao’s boyfriend."

"Who was the caller on the phone that morning?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"It was Liping who called me. She said that she had important things to tell me."

……………………

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang walked out of the hospital at exactly six o'clock in the evening.

"How about it, Kitty? Should we go to that Entertainment City of Shen Qian’s?"

"Nn." Zhan Zhao nodded but said nothing.

He called Zhang Long and asked him to find out what An Qingyao and Tong Ming were doing and to take them back to the police station. Bai Yutang turned to look at Zhan Zhao, "What's wrong, Kitty? You’re restless. What are you thinking about?"

"Nn~~ Li Xu's words are worthy of scrutiny." Zhan Zhao thought deeply. "Consider it. There were only three real witnesses. Kong Liping and Zhang Zhenzhen are dead. Only Shen Ling is left. That is to say, if Shen Ling dies than there will be no more witnesses to say that Tong Ming killed Xu Jiali. "

"That's true." Bai Yutang nodded and started the car. "This case is super complicated, but at least there are a few clues... What Kong Liping wanted to tell Li Xu might have been the truth from that year."

"Do you think that the murderer was not Tong Ming?" Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang.

"Oh~~" Bai Yutang laughed, "Kitty, are you testing me? Isn't it you who thinks the murderer was someone else!"

"I think Li Xu and An Qingyao were likely deceived by Shen Ling." Zhan Zhao said.

"I think so too. Originally, murder is not a child's play. An Qingyao and Li Xu were blinded by love to cover up the crime for Tong Ming. This is reasonable. But the other three people had no reason at all..."

"And the strangest thing is..." Zhan Zhao continued his words, "Zhang Zhenzhen and Kong Liping died, but not Li Xu and An Qingyao~~~ And not Shen Ling."

"Go to meet her and we’ll understand the pair of sisters," Bai Yutang finished, stepping on the accelerator and speeding up. 

Shen Qian stood in front of the wall of screens in the monitoring room and frowned at the twins and Bai Chi at the gaming table in the screen.

"How much did he win?" Shen Qian asked his men.

"In total, it is almost three million (about $423,000)." The men replied.

"Oh~~" Shen Qian sneered. "Well done, Bai Jintang. You found someone to make a fool of me on my opening day~~ He hasn’t cheated?"

"No." The men shook their heads. "He won both turntables and blackjack..."

"Understood." Shen Qian nodded. "The cute little kid who looks like he’s underage is a legendary number genius, right."

"Boss, do you want to stop him?"

"No." Shen Qian waved his hand and smiled, "For this small amount of money, why bother? I'm very interested in the kid."

………………

In the casino, the twins counted their money until their hands were limp from exhaustion and were in quite a good mood! It was not because they won money, but because—they won Shen Qian’s money!!! They thought about it. He was named "Save Money (1)", and they won so much money from him in one go. Wouldn't that hurt him?? So enjoyable~~~~

Zhao Zhen on the side could not stand it anymore. He squeezed into the crowd and pulled Xiao Bai Chi out, "Okay, come over here now."

Bai Chi was confused, and he wasn’t sure how much he had won. He didn't have any specific concept of gambling. He just used his brain and counted cards~~~

It was only after being pulled back by Zhao Zhen that he reacted. He was the biggest "enemy" in his life. He threw his hands up at him and said fiercely, "What are you doing?! Why do you care~~"

Zhao Zhen was angry, "Little devil! I'm doing it for you!" Unconsciously, the tone of his voice became heavier.

Bai Chi felt attacked and stared at him, his face aggrieved.

Zhao Zhen softened immediately and said, "Little devil~~ How could I have been so blind to talent when I was a kid (2), and I incited such a grudge~~~"

Da Ding and Xiao Ding came over and saw that Zhao Zhen had a bad expression. They wrapped their arms around Xiao Bai Chi one by one and sneered coldly at Zhao Zhen, "You dare bully someone from the Bai family? You don't want to live?"

Zhao Zhen didn't know the twins and thought to himself, I only bullied him when I was a kid?!! He sighed, "That’s enough. Stop it. It's so conspicuous."

The twins glanced at each other. This Zhao Zhen didn't get cold feet from their aura~~ Moreover, the way he spoke was full of grandeur. Thinking about it, they had overplayed a bit that day. If something really happened to Bai Chi, it would be an offense to the S.C.I. Of course, this would not have previously been terrible~~ At most, they would have to fight with Bai Yutang~~, but now they had a "sister-in-law"~~ It they offended the S.C.I. it was likely that Bai Jintang would throw them into the Pacific Ocean to feed the sharks.

"Xiao ChiChi~~ Let’s call it here today~~" They said, pushing Bai Chi into Zhao Zhen's arms and waving their hands, "We’ll buy you a gift tomorrow~~~," then turned away.

Zhao Zhen instinctively grabbed Bai Chi who was pushed into his arms and was slightly surprised. "This little thing is so small."

Bai Chi acted as though he was being hugged by a hedgehog (3). He quickly pushed Zhao Zhen away, turned around, and left. From his direction—to the bathroom. He hated the place where that disgusting person had touched him. It should be disinfected~~

He left the noisy hall, crossed the aisle, and walked to the bathroom.

There was a sudden woosh of someone flashing past. Bai Chi was unprepared and bumped into his arms.

Rubbing his nose and looking up, he saw that the person who was standing in front of him... was actually Shen Qian.

"Are you all right?" Shen Qian smiled and reached out to help him rub his forehead. "I blame myself for going too fast."

"No... no." Bai Chi said, slightly nervous... He was finally talking to Shen Qian.

"You are great." Shen Qian said, "You can be promoted to VIP membership."

"VIP?" Bai Chi was puzzled.

"Mmm~~ Generally, the downstairs halls are all ordinary gamblers, and the more professional masters are all in the VIP room... Would you like me to show you?" Shen Qian said with a smile, "I happen to be going there, too. "

Bai Chi hesitated slightly and nodded, "Okay."

Ma Han saw from afar that Bai Chi seemed to be going with Shen Qian. He was anxious. The twins had played a bit too much just earlier. Although Bai Chi had a high IQ, he was careless. He was about to walk up but felt his arm get pulled back. Looking behind him, he saw Zhao Zhen. The magician shook his head at him and pointed at himself, meaning—he would go.

Ma Han nodded, and Zhao Zhen hurriedly followed.

In the distance, Chen Jiayi had been quietly observing Ma Han~~~ Now, she was grinding her teeth in anger~~~ Why did all the good men of late like to stare at other men?? Was this old lady not attractive???

Thinking again, no. This young lady was extremely interested. Even if she had to bend, she would straighten (4) this man out!!!!!

Ma Han’s nose itched, and he sneezed. He felt a shiver run down his back~~~

Shen Qian hugged Bai Chi's shoulder intimately and led him to walk deep down the corridor. Bai Chi felt a little awkward, but it was difficult to pin down why. It faintly seemed as though Shen Qian was not well-intentioned~~~ Someone called out, "Small thing! The restroom is not over there."

By the time the words fell, Zhao Zhen had approached the two of them. He reached out and pulled Bai Chi over, then looked at Shen Qian with some surprise, "Boss Shen? What a coincidence?"

"... Great Magician Zhao~~" Shen Qian returned to normal after a slight shock, and he greeted him with a smile, "I look forward to your performance later."

"Okay." Zhao Zhen smiled and stretched his hand over Bai Chi's shoulder. "This is my assistant for this performance."

"Oh~~ Is he~~" Shen Qian nodded with a smile. He was about to speak more but was interrupted by Zhao Zhen. "We still have things to do. See you later when we perform." After that, he walked back with his arms around Bai Chi.

Shen Qian stared at the backs of the two men meaningfully for a while, then sneered and left.

Zhao Zhen took Bai Chi out of the corridor and went to the bathroom door. When he turned back, he saw that Shen Qian had already gone. He was relieved and looked down at Bai Chi. "Are you all right?"

Bai Chi was a good kid with a clear standpoint on people’s standing and a clear sense of love and hate, so he reached out and pinched Zhao Zhen's sleeve with two fingers, throwing it away like a dead cockroach. He patted the dust from his shoulders, then turned and pushed open the bathroom door behind him. He walked in and hummed "disinfection!!!" and closed the door.

Zhao Zhen stomped and cursed Bai Chi’s mother outside—dammed boy! Be careful!!! Not cute at all!!!!! 

Walking to the washbasin in the bathroom, Bai Chi turned on the faucet and scooped up a handful of cold water to wash his face... and took a breath.

To be honest, it was fortunate that Zhao Zhen had come just earlier. Otherwise, he really would't know what to do. As he was thinking about it, he suddenly felt like there was someone near him. Startled, he suddenly raised his face. He saw a person standing beside him in the huge mirror...

After seeing the man's appearance, Bai Chi froze... He had a pale face, long black hair, slanted phoenix eyes, a faint air of authority...

"It's you?" He turned to look at him in surprise, "Why are you here? Thanks to you last time..."

Bai Chi's words were not finished yet. The man tilted his head to reveal the innocent smile and bowed his head gently to Bai Chi's forehead.

There was an instantaneous short circuit in his brain, and Bai Chi looked up at him blankly.

Lifting his head, he stuck out his tongue to lick his lips. Laughing again, he whispered into Bai Chi's ear and said softly, "The sharp edge shouldn't be too exposed~~ There might be trouble. Smart people should learn to pretend to be stupid." He gently combed Bai Chi's hair and softly asked, "Do you understand?"

"En..." Bai Chi nodded.

"Good~~" He bowed his head again, kissed Bai Chi's soft hair, and turned away.

By the time Bai Chi jolted from his dumbfounded state, he found that the man had disappeared. He accused himself of uselessness, quickly rushed out, and ran into Zhao Zhen, who was planning to open the door and come in.

"..." Zhao Zhen rubbed his chest, "What are you doing? Was a ghost chasing you?!"

Bai Chi heard the word "ghost" and suddenly thought about how the man would come and go without a trace like that every time. It felt like he was a ghost...

"Hello!" Zhao Zhen reached out and waved a hand in front of Bai Chi. "Are you all right? What's wrong? Was it really a ghost?"

After his soul returned from its fright, he looked into the distance. Was there still a shadow of that man anywhere~~ Zhao Zhen was still waving his hand in front of his eyes like an idiot.

He thought that if Zhao Zhen hadn’t been blocking the way, he might have been able to chase that person... Xiao Bai Chi cursed... This star of calamity!!!

Anger bloomed from his heart, and the evil spread toward his gallbladder~~ Bai Chi lifted his foot and stepped hard on the back of Zhao Zhen's~~

"Wah~~"

Seeing Bai Chi yelling in anger and swinging his arms, Zhao Zhen quickly left. It was so painful that he grimaced and angrily scratched the wall~~ Who did he provoke, his grandfather?!!

Bai Yutang's car arrived at the Entertainment City. Zhan Zhao got out of the car first, looked up, then looked down at the gate... Suddenly, he immediately broke into a run.

"Kitty?" Bai Yutang was parking the car in the parking space. Seeing Zhan Zhao running away, he hurriedly parked the car and took off his seat belt.

Zhan Zhao rushed straight through the door and looked around... He had just seen a figure... Although it was only for a moment, he was sure that he did not mistake it... That person's presence was too strong, so he must be right.

"Dr. Zhan?" A man came by and greeted him with some surprise.

Zhan Zhao turned his face and found that it was Shen Qian.

"Hello~~" He didn’t have time to talk to him, so Zhan Zhao greeted him and then looked around for the man.

"What's the matter?" Shen Qian took a few steps forward and observed Zhan Zhao up close. In terms of beauty, this one was the best, and he was flawless when viewed from up close...

"Your face doesn’t look very good. What can I do for you?" As he spoke, Shen Qian reached out and tried to touch Zhan Zhao's cheek. Before his fingers touched the fair skin that was slightly translucent, he saw a white shadow to the side—There was a dull pain in his wrist. Bai Yutang had an icy expression and snapped his hand away.

Shen Qian frowned. Bai Yutang was from a martial family (5). He didn't even hit the back of his hand or his arm. He just hit his wrist... and there was severe pain! He clenched his teeth and didn't make a noise. He didn't know if his wrist was broken.

When he turned his head to look at Bai Yutang, he saw the frost on his face... He thought—he is worthy of being his younger brother, and his things are absolutely not allowed to be touched by others. I think this small one is scarier than the big one~~
Shrugging, Shen Qian nodded politely. Then, he turned and left tactfully.

"Kitty, what's wrong with you? What did you see?" Bai Yutang stared at Zhan Zhao with some worry.

"Yutang, I saw a person just now..." Zhan Zhao said as he grabbed Bai Yutang's open trench coat with a flustered expression.

Bai Yutang was amused, "Really? How ferocious was he? That only you saw him?!"

"I'm not kidding you!" Zhan Zhao was a little angry.

"Well, who did you see?" Bai Yutang asked with a smile.

"........." Zhan Zhao raised his head, stared at his eyes, and said slowly, "Zhao Jue~~~"

……………………

Outside the hall, a person walked slowly past the glass door. He gazed affectionately at the two of them in the hall. He reached out, kissed two fingers gently, and pressed them against the mirror-like glass door before turning around to leave~~~~~~

The ethereal voice said softly, "Goodbye, my angels..."





Translation Notes:

(1) Shen Qian’s name means Shen (liquid, common surname) Qian (hidden or concealed). However, “Save money” is “Sheng qian,” which is nearly the same pronunciation.

(2) Idiom: to have eyes but fail to recognize Mt Tai. Meaning to fail to recognize something important or someone's great talent. To be blind to the fact.

(3) As a hedgehog owner, I will testify that hedgehogs can be quite soft and cuddly when they want to be.

(4) Slang for turning someone gay straight. Sorry, Chen Jiayi. I think Ma Han is one of the few already-straight characters in this story.

(5) Literally a training or drilling family, but that sounds weird.

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