S.C.I. MYSTERY CASES BOOK 1 English Translation

Chapter 3 The Numbers Killer 2: Mysterious Numbers

In the meeting room, once everyone had settled down, Bai Yutang got Gongsun to introduce the case details.

Gongsun went straight to the point, "Do you guys still remember the case about a series of hit-and-runs with a stolen taxi that happened last month?"

"Are you talking about the one with 5 dead and 3 injured?" Zhang Long recalled, "Wasn't the perpetrator already arrested?"

"Isn't it an old guy in his fifties that didn't seem to be in his right mind?" Wang Chao added.

"That's right," Gongsun nodded and continued, "That case was handed to the Traffic division who solved it immediately. So it didn't go through you guys, am I right?"

"Yep,", Bai Yutang nodded his head, "What's the matter? Is there something wrong with this case?"

"Take a look at these photos..." Gongsun said as he took out the photos and for all to see. He continued, "These are photos of the bodies of the 5 victims that were killed."

All the members present, picked up the photos to take a closer look. Upon closer inspection, they realised these were all photos of the back of the ear of the victims. And they all had a tiny but very clear blue number on them. The numbers on each of the bodies respectively were, 7, 12, 19, 30 and 42.

"They were numbered?" Bai Yutang frowned.

But that was not all, Gongsun took out even more photos and said, "I have a friend who works as a make-up artist in a funeral home. And he recently observed a strange phenomenon— many of those who died from car accidents were numbered just like that, behind their ears, with no repeats. He's quite a meticulous person, so he found it strange. He recorded them down and took pictures before bringing them to me a few days ago. And the latest record was three days ago."

"Three days ago?" Everyone was stunned.

"Wasn't that psycho driver sent into prison a month ago?" Zhao Hu exclaimed.

"He probably isn't the one who numbered them," Zhan Zhao muttered to himself.

"I agree!" Gongsun nodded, "The victims were sent straight to the Medical Examiner's office from the hospitals. There were two that didn't even go through a hospital. Plus, I've checked. They were marked with these numbers using a technique similar to tattoos and they were not done recently."

Bai Yutang lined up the photos and said, "If these numbers are connected, not counting those we haven't discovered, we have at least 20 victims on our hands."

Gongsun picked up one of the photos and said, "Look at this person!"

Everyone huddled around him. That was a photo of one of the ten over numbered victims at the funeral home. The number was 23.

Gongsun opened a folder and said, "This is Chen Siliang. He died a week ago, but this is his second car accident."

Jiang Ping looked at the folder incredulously and said, "He's one of the injured from the psycho driver's case?"

"That taxi driver didn't manage to kill him, yet he still died from another car accident? And he still got numbered..." Ma Han scratched his head in confusion, with disbelief painted all over his face.

Bai Yutang kept silent for awhile, then he asked Zhan Zhao who was equally silent, "What do you think?"

Zhan Zhao gently tapped his knee with his slender fingers, which was a habit of his when he's deep in thought, "It's either an announcement for the next murder or a record of the murders."

Bai Yutang nodded at his words. He thought to himself for a bit before saying, "Gongsun, get Lu Fang to contact the families of the victims. Dig up all the bodies and conduct another autopsy! Wang Chao, Ma Han, go investigate where the deadly car accidents took place and the last hospital they received treatment from. Who their doctors were, how did they die, the more details the better! Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, run a detailed check on all of the victims' social circles, enemies, occupations, etc. See if there are any similarities. Jiang Ping, get me a copy of all the information related to the cars involved in the accidents, maps of where the accidents took place, as well as a detailed report on every single victim! Xu Qing, head down to tattoo parlours to find any clues about the numbers. Do it discreetly. Then find Han Zhang to see if he knows anything about the situation. I'll go meet with that helpful person at the funeral parlour, followed by that crazy driver. Alright everyone, split up and let's get to work!"

"Yes!!" And they all disappeared within minutes, went their separate ways to work on their tasks. Bai Yutang gathered all the photos and stood up...

"Ahem," Zhan Zhao, who was still seated at the table, coughed while giving him the side-eye.

...After he was done packing up the files, Bai Yutang grabbed his jacket and respectfully gestured, "After you," to Zhan Zhao, saying, "Let's go... Expert!"
(lilies: ayee why so cute（≧∇≦）

Please with this, Zhan Zhao got to his feet and snatched the car keys from Bai Yutang. "I'll drive," he said and went out immediately.

"Hey!" Bai Yutang chased after him while putting on his jacket, "Cat! Don't you dare touch my car! You're a hazardous driver!!"