S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 4: Chapter 18
The Non-Human Killer 18 - A Clever Ruse to Catch Ghosts
Zhan Zhao and Shang Luo walked together to the doorway and came to a sudden halt, because the sobbing, the footsteps, and the sound of dislocating joints outside the door... had all vanished in an instant.
The two of them exchanged a glance, both wearing expressions of perplexity.
Shang Luo rushed out in a single bound, raising his head only to freeze in place.
Zhan Zhao, following closely right behind him, was equally dumbstruck—there, standing prominently in the corridor, was a mummified corpse. Its hollow eye sockets stared straight ahead at the two men, and its skin had dried and shrunken into a purplish-brown hue... It leaned haphazardly against the handrail, utterly motionless.
Watching the female mummy appear on his display monitor inside the car, Bai Chi gasped in fright, his hands gripping his clothes for dear life. "It's... it's really a mummy!"
Bai Yutang stared at the monitor with a puzzled look, rubbing his chin. "When the cat went upstairs just now, he didn't see that thing at all... How on earth did it suddenly show up?"
At that moment, Shang Luo said tremblingly, "Though I frequently hear noises, this is honestly the first time one has just walked out like this."
Zhan Zhao wanted to walk over and take a look, but Shang Luo stopped him. "Wait, could it be dangerous?" He stepped forward. "I'd better do it..."
Nodding, Zhan Zhao cooperatively stepped back a few paces to let Shang Luo handle it.
Walking up to the mummy, Shang Luo first gave it a light push with his hand. The corpse lost its balance and slid down the handrail to the floor, showing no signs of movement whatsoever—it was nothing more than a withered corpse.
"Phew~~" Letting out a long breath, Shang Luo hurried back to the collection room to grab a pair of gloves to put on, tossing a spare pair to Zhan Zhao as well. "Dr. Zhan, do me a favor."
Zhan Zhao gladly put on the gloves, and together with Shang Luo, they carried the mummy back into the collection room and placed it back inside its coffin.
"That should take care of it..." Closing the coffin lid and taking off his gloves, Shang Luo said apologetically to Zhan Zhao, "Good grief... to think something like this actually happened."
Zhan Zhao nodded in agreement. "This really is bizarre beyond belief. And for it to happen so coincidentally right when I'm visiting, it seems my horoscope and this mummy simply don't get along."
"Heh..." Shang Luo gave a dry chuckle, rubbed his nose, and said, "Maybe it's because no living person has stepped in here for too long, so the sudden influx of living human energy shocked the corpse..."
Hearing Shang Luo's words, Bai Chi suddenly turned to Bai Yutang and said, "Bro, didn't you say corpses shouldn't be allowed near a black cat... otherwise it will agitate the corpse's yin energy and cause it to rise from the dead?"
"That hits the nail right on the head!" Bai Yutang nodded earnestly in agreement. "Shang Luo certainly has no idea that the guest he invited over tonight is a cat demon—and a thoroughbred black cat at that, without a single stray colored hair on it."
Hearing Bai Yutang speak with such deadpan seriousness, Bai Chi shuddered instinctively once more.
"Situation resolved!" Bai Yutang picked up the intercom and told Ma Han and Zhao Hu, "You two go back to keeping watch and don't alert the enemy."
"Got it." Zhao Hu put away his gun and was just about to head back when Ma Han grabbed him by the arm and pulled him aside.
"Boss, we've got a situation!" Ma Han kept Zhao Hu concealed while reporting to Bai Yutang in a low voice.
Hearing the solemn gravity in Ma Han's voice, Bai Yutang knew something unusual must have been spotted, so he picked up the infrared binoculars at his side. "What kind of situation?"
Gesturing toward the courtyard wall for Zhao Hu to look, Ma Han replied to Bai Yutang, "There's someone on the wall."
Bai Yutang raised the binoculars and saw a figure squatting atop the courtyard wall. The person was dressed completely in black, making them difficult to spot against the night sky; only someone like Ma Han, a former sniper with an exceptionally keen eye for shifts in the surrounding environment, could have caught sight of them right away.
The figure squatted on the wall, looked around in all directions, and without lingering long, leaped downward, slipping inside the courtyard.
"Boss, what do we do?" Zhao Hu asked. "Could it be a burglar showing up by pure coincidence..."
"Stay put, both of you. I'm coming over." Lowering the intercom, Bai Yutang put on his communications earpiece and told Bai Chi, "Keep watch here by yourself, and relay the cat's status to me promptly."
"Mn! Got it." Bai Chi nodded, clutched the intercom tightly in his hand, and kept his eyes glued to the display monitor.
Bai Yutang pushed open the car door, crouched low, and sprinted swiftly over to where Ma Han and Zhao Hu were stationed.
"Huzi, you're coming in with me." Bai Yutang patted Zhao Hu on the shoulder, then turned to Ma Han. "You stay here. If he tries to run out, grab him!"
"Understood." Ma Han nodded, melting back into the shadows.
Taking Zhao Hu with him, Bai Yutang rapidly dashed to the outer edge of the courtyard wall.
Taking a few steps back for a running start, Bai Yutang made a silent, agile leap, caught the top of the wall, and poked his head out to survey the courtyard.
He spotted a dark figure cutting across the courtyard, crouching down by the corner of the villa and glancing back alertly.
Bai Yutang immediately ducked his head, hooked one hand over the wall, and suspended his body in mid-air.
A moment later, he peeked out again and saw that the dark figure had moved to a floor-to-ceiling glass window. The person pulled out a pair of lockpick-like iron strips and pried at the lock for a moment until a faint click sounded.
Bai Yutang ducked his head down swiftly once more.
At the same time, the intruder cast one last glance back, scanning the surroundings.
Following that, the person swiftly opened the glass door, slipped inside, and pulled it shut behind them with a soft click.
Bai Yutang listened quietly for any movement, while Zhao Hu beneath the wall and Ma Han in the distance both held their breath... At that moment, Bai Yutang gave Zhao Hu a subtle hand gesture, then leaped gracefully over the wall and landed inside.
Zhao Hu took a few running steps, scaled the wall, and landed silently in the courtyard.
The yard was completely empty. Upon landing, the two men didn't rush into action; instead, they ducked behind a cluster of bushes to carefully observe the situation.
Bai Yutang flashed a hand signal to Zhao Hu, meaning: He'll follow that person in from this side, while Zhao Hu enters from the other. Listen to the earpiece and act on command.
Zhao Hu caught his meaning instantly, nodded, and flashed a hand signal telling Bai Yutang to be careful. Exchanging a final nod, the two burst out from the bushes and split up, flanking the villa from opposite directions.
When Bai Yutang ran up to the floor-to-ceiling window and checked it, sure enough, the window hadn't been pulled fully shut—it seemed the intruder planned to use it as an exit later. Before opening it to slip inside, he noticed a few faint scratches on the window lock left by the lockpicks just moments ago, which gave him a clearer picture of the situation. Originally, he had suspected some clueless petty thief had coincidentally chosen tonight to commit a crime... But seeing this, it was clearly no ordinary burglar, or they wouldn't have been so clumsy.
Right then, Bai Chi's soft voice came through the earpiece: "They're still in the collection room."
Bai Yutang silently praised Bai Chi's cleverness. The kid was updating him on Zhan Zhao and Shang Luo's location so he could avoid crossing paths with them, and the timing was spot-on... This child might actually have a natural talent for police work!
Without rushing to open the window and go in, Bai Yutang pressed his ear to the gap in the glass to listen to the sounds inside. He heard the faint rustle of doors opening and closing, prompting him to push the window open and slip inside in a flash.
Once inside, he hurried over to the partially ajar door, listened to the activity outside while observing his surroundings—he was currently standing in a small, lounge-like side room. The lights inside were off, but a faint beam of light filtered through the gap in the door... There must be a light source outside!
Bai Yutang calmly analyzed the situation~~~
After entering the villa, Shang Luo had turned on a total of three lights. Bai Yutang recalled what he had seen through the camera feed on Zhan Zhao's tie clip...
The first light Shang Luo turned on was in the living room... The white light had been very bright, completely different from this ambiance.
The second was the spotlight in the hallway and stairwell, which cast a yellow light... The soft, warm glow seeping through the gap under the door matched this lighting.
The third light belonged to the collection room upstairs, which could be ruled out since it was on the upper floor.
The lighting here was relatively dim... meaning it was either quite far from the light source or partially obstructed. Judging by the interior layout he'd seen earlier, Bai Yutang was certain that right outside this door lay the far end of the hallway and stairwell.
As such, the ideal hiding spot for the person who had broken in would be... the nook between the hallway and the stairs.
With his assessment complete, Bai Yutang prepared to check the situation outside. He bypassed the cracked door gap because that angle offered a complete blind spot regarding the stairs and hallway; he would have to open the door wider to see, which risked exposing him to both the hidden intruder and Shang Luo.
Instead, he chose the narrow seam where the door met the frame on the opposite side—a razor-thin slit... Peering through the gap, Bai Yutang spotted a figure pressed flat against the wall right in the nook between the hallway and the stairs, just as he predicted.
The person was using a large decorative vase to shield themselves from view. Bai Yutang frowned slightly as he noticed the glint of a sharp dagger clutched tightly in the intruder's hand.
What surprised him even more was that this blade-wielding figure lurking in the shadows... was wearing a mask—the Hawk King?!
A thought flashed through Bai Yutang's mind. That Hawk King mask looked eerily realistic; if anyone only caught a glimpse of the face, they would genuinely think a statue of the Hawk King was standing right there.
The surveillance footage he'd seen at Fu Yishan's house the other day flashed into his mind... especially that final panning shot.
A name popped into his head instantly—Could it be him?!
To choose to strike at a time like this... his target probably wasn't Zhan Zhao, but rather someone aiming to kill Shang Luo. If the intruder suddenly saw Zhan Zhao and Shang Luo together, it would definitely catch him off guard.
At that moment, Bai Chi's voice whispered through the earpiece: "They're about to come out of the collection room."
Bai Yutang also caught the sound of voices drifting down from upstairs, and he distinctly saw the figure in the stairwell nook flinch... looking somewhat panicked. The intruder clearly hadn't anticipated the presence of a second person.
They cannot come downstairs right now!—That thought took absolute priority in Bai Yutang's mind. If the two of them came down now, not only would it ruin the operation's plan, but Zhan Zhao could also get caught up in the danger.
As long as the two of them stayed upstairs, the intruder would likely abandon the plan and retreat the way he came, allowing them to catch him red-handed!
But how to notify that cat...
A flash of inspiration struck. Bai Yutang pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and quickly fired off a text message to Zhan Zhao.
Just as Zhan Zhao and Shang Luo reached the top of the stairs and were about to step down, Zhan Zhao's phone buzzed in his pocket.
Pulling it out, he saw a text message from Bai Yutang containing only two digits—96.
It took him barely a second to process it. Zhan Zhao suddenly let out an "Ah!" and spun around, running back toward the collection room.
"What is it?" Shang Luo watched in puzzlement as Zhan Zhao rushed back toward the collection room after checking a text message, trailing closely behind him with a suspicious look.
The hidden intruder also seemed to let out a sigh of relief, though Bai Yutang could tell the man remained hesitant... Zhan Zhao's reaction and that text message had likely already aroused suspicion in both him and Shang Luo...
Just as Bai Yutang began to worry, Zhan Zhao's voice drifted over as he walked: "How dare he curse me for running into a ghost by coming back late?! I'm going to take a selfie with the mummy and send it to him just to scare the wits out of him!!"
Sly cat~~ Bai Yutang praised inwardly. This cat's practically becoming a spirit.
Accompanied by Shang Luo's relieved chuckle echoing from upstairs, the man in black visibly relaxed his posture as well. Seeing the intruder turn around, Bai Yutang quietly backed away, pulled the window shut, retreated into the shadows of the corner, and spoke softly into his earpiece: "Return by the original route!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a faint rustling sound echoed from inside.
The French window slid open. Once the intruder stepped out, he bolted like lightning toward the courtyard wall, scrambled up to the top, and leaped over—followed immediately by a muffled grunt from outside the wall.
Knowing Ma Han had succeeded, Bai Yutang sprinted forward, vaulted over the wall, and saw that Ma Han had already pinned the man against the wall and was slapping handcuffs on him. Zhao Hu scrambled out right behind them.
Without a word, the three of them swiftly escorted their captive back to the car parked beside the flower beds.
Reaching out, Bai Yutang yanked the mask off the man's face, glanced at him, and smiled faintly. "I figured it was you! Qiu Yu, Secretary Qiu!" (-_-||| Does anyone still remember him? Fu Yishan's secretary...)
"Behave!" Zhao Hu opened the car door and shoved the glum-faced Qiu Yu inside. Ma Han climbed into the front, and the surveillance resumed.
Bai Yutang jogged back to the car, slid into the seat beside Bai Chi, and felt his phone vibrate.
It was a text message from Zhan Zhao. Opening it up, Bai Yutang chuckled. He first reached over to roll up all the car windows, then patted Bai Chi on the arm. "Let me show you something fun."
Bai Chi blinked curiously and leaned in close. On the screen was a photo of Zhan Zhao smiling triumphantly, standing right next to a mummy with hollow eye sockets staring blankly out at the camera.
Bai Chi stared in a daze for a long second before letting out a blood-curdling shriek: "Yaaaah~~~"
Rubbing his ears, which had nearly been deafened, Bai Yutang congratulated himself—Good thing I rolled up the windows.
Once Bai Chi calmed down, he suddenly asked Bai Yutang, "Bro? What did that '96' mean? I saw it on the monitor earlier."
Bai Yutang smiled faintly. "What do you get when you flip a 9 upside down?"
"Oh~~~" Bai Chi's eyes lit up in sudden realization. "Flipper a 9 upside down makes a 6, which means—turn around and go back."