S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 3: Chapter 12

The Magic Killer 12 - The Fortune Teller  

Ma Han arrived at the security monitoring room of the corporation, and after showing his badge, he chased the security guard away and began reviewing the surveillance footage by himself.

According to what Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao had said: the lobby, footage from within the last ten minutes—Zhao Jue.

To the entire S.C.I., this name was undoubtedly a heavy bombshell. Ma Han truly hoped Bai Yutang had just been making a joke.

With meticulous care, Ma Han pulled up the ten-minute segment of footage, paused it, and examined it frame by frame. A figure clearly appeared in his field of vision... His hair was longer, and the restraints were lifted~~ But this was definitely Zhao Jue. He even deliberately glanced straight toward the security camera~~ with a mocking smile on his face, as if ridiculing someone—he wasn't afraid of being discovered at all.

Ma Han had solid psychological fortitude, but he still felt his heartbeat quicken. What did this mean? He pulled the security guard's chair over and sat down to steady his emotions slightly. Just then, a faint sound of footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the door... Very soft, very light, like someone walking barefoot~~

Quickly flashing to the side of the door, Ma Han concentrated, listening to the movement outside. Soon, the footsteps stopped right behind the door, and after a moment, the door was pushed open just a fraction...

Ma Han took a step back, grabbed the doorknob, yanked it open with force, grabbed the person stumbling inward, and flung them toward the center of the room's floor. A scream rang out—it was a woman.

Looking closely, he saw that the person sprawled on the floor was a woman dressed in a luxurious evening gown, with long hair. She sat on the floor, rubbing her ankle, and looked up to glare angrily at Ma Han.

“Why is it you?” Ma Han asked, staring at Chen Jiayi on the ground with utter perplexity.

“Why is it me? You knew it was me and you still used that much force!” Chen Jiayi stood up, steadying herself against a nearby stool. The heel of her high-heeled shoe had snapped off, so she sat down on the stool to rub her foot.

“What are you doing here?” Ma Han asked with a frown.

“I wanted to see what you were doing in the monitoring room...” Chen Jiayi said cautiously. “Are you a spy?”

Ma Han shook his head, walked over to the computer to begin exporting the video, and casually asked her, “Are you alright?”

“My foot hurts a bit.” Chen Jiayi eyed the busy Ma Han. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” Ma Han burned the video onto a disc, preparing to take it back to S.C.I. Afterward, he opened other video files and browsed through them quickly, hoping to see if there were any other glimpses of Zhao Jue.

“Huh? Isn't that Teacher Zhao?” Chen Jiayi suddenly pointed at Zhao Jue on the screen and said.

“What?” Ma Han turned back to her in surprise. “You know him?”

“Mn.” Jiayi nodded. “He is my fortune teller.”

“Fortune teller?!” Ma Han adjusted his emotions, trying to remain as calm as possible. “You just called him Teacher Zhao. What is his full name?”

“It seems to be... Zhao Jue.” Chen Jiayi thought for a moment. “A friend introduced him to me. He's amazing, oh.”

Ma Han sat down on another chair nearby and muttered to himself, “Good grief...”

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao followed Shen Qian into an activity room where Shen Ling and a few friends were chatting.

“Lingling, these two officers want to chat with you for a bit.” Shen Qian pushed open the door and walked in.

Shen Ling was slightly startled and nodded. Her friends tactfully stood up and left. Kong Cheng stood up and walked over to Shen Qian. “Boss, do I need to stay?”

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao cast curious glances at Kong Cheng.

Shen Qian introduced him: “He is my lawyer.” With that, he nodded toward Kong Cheng.

Kong Cheng smiled at Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao. “May I ask if this is a formal police inquiry?”

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao exchanged glances. Dealing with a lawyer—Tactics Plan C.

Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang with a troubled expression. “Whitey, we don't have the relevant authorization.”

“Mn~~” Bai Yutang rubbed his chin. “Indeed, if it's informal, she has the right to refuse to answer questions.”

Zhan Zhao nodded. “How about this, you go back and apply for an arrest warrant.”

“An arrest warrant?” Bai Yutang asked doubtfully. “Arrest her and bring her back for interrogation?”

“Mn~~ Based on the relevant evidence, Miss Shen is suspected of involvement in the murder case from ten years ago, right? And Boss Shen would be suspected of harboring a suspect...” Zhan Zhao looked at the lawyer. “Does Attorney Kong think we should just chat here, or go through official channels?”

Bai Yutang nodded repeatedly. “Yeah, yeah. Today is the grand opening of the corporation, and the boss hasn't even given a speech yet, only to have both brother and sister invited down to the police station. Tomorrow, Shen Corporation's stock might plummet quite severely.”

Kong Cheng smiled somewhat awkwardly. “Would you two officers consider this to be intimidation?”

Bai Yutang smiled with equal, utter harmlessness. “I didn't show my police badge~~ Isn't this just a private meeting? Moreover, the kind where every question gets an answer.”

Shen Qian patted Kong Cheng on the shoulder. “You can go outside. We can chat privately.”

Having dismissed the lawyer, everyone took their seats in the room.

Shen Ling kept her head down, looking quite nervous.

“If you have questions to ask, go ahead,” Shen Qian said with a smile as he lit a cigarette, crossed his legs, and leaned back against the sofa.

Bai Yutang looked at Shen Ling and asked, “Miss Shen, could you recall the case of Xu Jiali from ten years ago for us?”

“...” Shen Ling was silent for a moment. “It was a long time ago. I don't remember it very clearly.”

“We have already questioned Kong Liping and Li Xu in advance, so we have a certain understanding of what happened back then,” Zhan Zhao said earnestly. “I don't think an experience like that from your past is the kind of thing you can just casually forget.”

Taking a deep breath, Shen Ling said, “Jiali was killed by Tong Ming. I saw it.”

“What were the specific circumstances?” Bai Yutang pressed further.

“At that time, after Zhenzhen, Liping, and I finished dance practice and headed to the locker room, Tong Ming burst charging out. He was covered in blood and ran off stumbling. We went inside and saw Jiali lying there.” Shen Ling took a sip of water and continued, “We were planning to call the police at the time, but just then Li Xu and Qingyao came in, and the two of them decided to help Tong Ming cover up the crime... After that, we fabricated the crime scene.”

“Why did the three of you want to help?” Bai Yutang asked.

“We had to protect Tong Ming. He was our instructor, and we were about to put on a musical theater performance. This was an opportunity for every single one of us.”

Zhan Zhao exchanged a knowing look with Bai Yutang, then turned to ask Shen Qian, “Why did you help Kong Liping look after her child last night?”

“She said she had something very important to attend to and asked me to help look after the child for a bit,” Shen Qian replied smoothly.

“She asked you to watch a child, and you just went?” Bai Yutang expressed doubt. “You don't seem like the type who's that easy to talk to.”

Shen Qian smiled helplessly. “I am the boss of Shen Corporation, and she is just a housewife, but she could tell the media that my sister once fabricated the final case of the notorious serial murder spree... So I simply had to comply with whatever request she made.”

“Is that also why you were so invested in this case right from the start?” Bai Yutang asked.

“That's right.” Shen Qian nodded. “Recently, that serial killer started committing crimes again, and the victim happened to be Zhang Zhenzhen so coincidently. I had no choice but to raise my guard.”

Nodding, Bai Yutang glanced at Zhan Zhao, his look implying—How was that?

Zhan Zhao gave him a cue—That's about it. We've reached the limit.

With that, the two stood up to take their leave.

Once outside and stepping into the elevator, Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang, “How much of what he said do you think was true?”

Bai Yutang thought for a moment. “Half true, half false, I suppose.”

Walking downstairs, from afar they saw Ma Han standing beside his car waiting for them, accompanied by a beauty~~ who looked somewhat familiar.

The moment Zhan Zhao caught sight of Ma Han, he abruptly remembered the matter regarding Zhao Jue, rushed straight over, grabbed Ma Han, and demanded, “How is it? Is there anything?”

Ma Han nodded and produced a disc. “Crystal clear.”

Although Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao possessed a certain level of mental preparation, they still momentarily lost the power of speech—Zhao Jue really wasn't dead.

Regaining his wits first, Bai Yutang cast a puzzled glance at Chen Jiayi standing beside Ma Han.

Ma Han stated, “There's something even more bizarre. She knows Zhao Jue.”

“What?” Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were astonished.

“What's so strange about that? He's my fortune teller,” Chen Jiayi said. “Lots of people go to him for consultations.”

“Fortune teller?” Zhan Zhao was so startled he nearly cried out. “You mean someone who tells fortunes?”

“Yeah.” Chen Jiayi nodded. “He redeems sins and guides people on the path of life.”

“Do you know where he lives?” Zhan Zhao asked.

“I know his studio, whether he lives there or not...”

“Take us there!” Without another word, Bai Yutang opened the car door and shoved Chen Jiayi inside. Everyone got in the car and sped off toward the location Chen Jiayi specified.

The car drove into the city center of S City. Because the location Chen Jiayi mentioned was a pedestrian street, everyone got out of the car and walked the rest of the way in.

This street served as the shopping hub of S City, concentrating a vast number of trendy brand stores, large malls, and high-end restaurants.

Guided by Chen Jiayi, the four of them arrived before the door of an art gallery with antique-style decor.

Upon stepping into the gallery, a young man dressed impeccably with braided hair and a thoroughly artistic style hurried out to greet them.

“Jiayi?” The young man spoke with less-than-fluent Chinese. “I remember you didn't have an appointment today.”

Getting closer, they realized the speaker was not of Asian descent; he looked somewhat like an Italian.

“Andy, is Teacher Zhao in?” Chen Jiayi asked. “I have some friends who want to see him.”

“Oh... Whoa!” Andy swept his gaze over the group, and just as he was about to speak, his eyes landed on Zhan Zhao's face, causing him to suddenly cry out, “Are you the model from that painting?!”

“What model?” Bai Yutang asked, puzzled.

“Ah! You are too!” Andy pointed excitedly at Bai Yutang.

The group was left completely baffled by him.

“Come and look.” Andy led the four of them up to the second floor. The old-style wooden staircase emitted creaking sounds. The upper floor resembled an art studio, piled high with a large volume of oil paintings. Two paintings in the center stood out particularly, placed upon easels—they were shockingly portraits of Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, lifelike to the extreme, practically identical to the real people. No wonder Andy had been so shocked.

“Andy, do you have guests?” A figure walked down slowly from the third floor... A white sweater, long black hair...

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang lifted their faces to look at him, feeling that the sight was somehow unreal~~

“Zhao Jue!” Bai Yutang frowned, reached for the handcuffs at his waist, and stepped forward.

“Yikes~~” Zhao Jue retreated in a panic, ducking behind Zhan Zhao, putting on a thoroughly frightened appearance as he grabbed Zhan Zhao's shoulders with both hands. Seeing the unfriendly expression on Bai Yutang's face, he blinked mischievously and rubbed against Zhan Zhao's shoulder.

Bai Yutang said coldly, “You are suspected of multiple murders. I'm taking you back to the police station.”

Zhao Jue blinked innocently, leaned close to Zhan Zhao's ear, and murmured, “He's so fierce.”

Zhan Zhao had already recovered from his state of shock. He slowly turned around, looked at Zhao Jue, and smiled. “You aren't afraid of us finding you, which means you've already made complete preparations, haven't you?”

Zhao Jue nodded with a hint of complacency, walked over to Andy, and asked, “Andy, how long have you been working here for me?”

“Huh?... Three years.” Andy looked somewhat dazed.

“Three years?” Ma Han stared incredulously at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang. Zhao Jue had escaped only a few months ago; how could it possibly have been three years?

“Jiayi, how long have I been giving you consultations?” Zhao Jue continued asking.

Chen Jiayi thought for a moment. “About a year, I suppose.” After saying that, she looked at Bai Yutang and the others. “Turns out when you asked me to bring you here, you wanted to arrest him? You must have gotten it totally wrong. Teacher Zhao is a good person!”

Zhan Zhao remained silent, locking his gaze onto Zhao Jue's eyes. “Hypnotic memory implantation?”

Zhao Jue smiled innocently, nodded, then shook his head, and held out both hands for Zhan Zhao to see.

To their astonishment, the group discovered that his palms were completely smooth—no fingerprints, no palm prints, nothing at all.

“The game has started again, hasn't it?” Zhan Zhao asked Zhao Jue.

Zhao Jue stretched out a hand, gently touching the tip of Zhan Zhao's chin. Seeing Bai Yutang's expression turn ice-cold, he quickly withdrew his hand and smiled. “Because there are great playmates, and lots of toys.”

Zhan Zhao quietly listened to him finish, slowly scanned the surroundings, paid no more attention to Zhao Jue, and instead turned his gaze to Chen Jiayi, gently snapping his fingers near her ear.

Chen Jiayi was slightly startled, her expression suddenly turning somewhat blank. Zhan Zhao gently patted her shoulder, leaned close to her ear, and whispered words for nearly three minutes. Afterward, he patted Chen Jiayi's shoulder lightly once more.

Having finished all this, Zhan Zhao asked, “Miss Chen, when was the first time you came here?”

“Uh...” Chen Jiayi rubbed her temples, looking around. “Mn... It was, three days ago~~ My head hurts a bit...”

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhan Zhao reached out and snapped his fingers by her ear again.

Chen Jiayi's gaze returned to normal. She looked around with a sense of bewilderment—why was everyone staring at her like that?

“Heh~~” Zhan Zhao shook his head. “You painted these two pictures to serve as triggers, purely for today. Anyone who has seen us will automatically enter the hypnotic state you assigned, and their memories will become confused.”

Zhao Jue clapped his hands happily and laughed. Finally, pulling back his smile, he said with a troubled expression, “So, does this mean you can arrest me now?”

Zhan Zhao shook his head. “No, we can't. We don't have the evidence.”

Bai Yutang put away his handcuffs and tugged on Zhan Zhao. “Cat, let's go.”

Zhan Zhao turned and walked downstairs. Zhao Jue followed a few steps behind with a reluctant air, just like a child whose playmate was leaving.

Bai Yutang was the last to turn around, preparing to head downstairs, when Zhao Jue suddenly spoke: “Life is like a game~~ isn't it?”

Turning his head back, Bai Yutang stared at Zhao Jue for a long time before nodding. “That's right, but a game is not life.”

Zhao Jue tilted his head in mild incomprehension.

“Those who treat a game as life are destined to play themselves into ruin as well... isn't that right?!” Having said that, Bai Yutang turned around and left without looking back.

Zhao Jue watched them depart, growing even more quiet. He walked over to the two paintings and gently stroked the faces of the people within them... His gaze carried a faint trace of sorrow.