The Numbers Killer - Chapter 16 Academic
However, the conclusion Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang reached was just a speculation. They need solid evidence to prove that it was Professor Xu and Doctor Zhang who committed the crime.
In addition, Professor Xu and Doctor Zhang were highly regarded in the academic world. Why would they need to go to such lengths to murder an ordinary student? And what does this all got to do with Zhan Zhao? That's what Bai Yutang was most concerned about.
The two decided not to take any action and watch how things unfold first. Bai Yutang got Zhang Long to do a deep background check on Professor Xu and Doctor Zhang.
The technical team installed a mini camera on floor 13 while Xu Qing and the others set up surveillance around the school. After that, all the police officers withdrew from the school.
The technical team installed a mini camera on floor 13 while Xu Qing and the others set up surveillance around the school. After that, all the police officers withdrew from the school.
By the time Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang got back to the office, the sun had already gone down.
Jiang Ping was busy working on his computer. He had scanned the remains of the burnt paper that Wang Chao and crew brought back from Wu Hao's house and was currently doing image recovery analysis.
Gongsun came out from the autopsy room with a piece of bread in his mouth and Li Feifan's autopsy report in his hand. He had found a grey spot on Li Feifan's neck. Those were signs of skin damage, likely caused by an electric shock.
This further proves Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang's deduction.
A shiver went down Zhao Hu's spine, "You weren't eating while conducting the autopsy, were you?"
Gongsun turned to look at him and snicker before leaning in and asking in a creepy voice, "Eating what?"
Jiang Ping was busy working on his computer. He had scanned the remains of the burnt paper that Wang Chao and crew brought back from Wu Hao's house and was currently doing image recovery analysis.
Gongsun came out from the autopsy room with a piece of bread in his mouth and Li Feifan's autopsy report in his hand. He had found a grey spot on Li Feifan's neck. Those were signs of skin damage, likely caused by an electric shock.
This further proves Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang's deduction.
A shiver went down Zhao Hu's spine, "You weren't eating while conducting the autopsy, were you?"
Gongsun turned to look at him and snicker before leaning in and asking in a creepy voice, "Eating what?"
Zhao Hu got a big fright and cried out, "My god!" while scampering away.
The group of people who weren't sleepy at all decided to stay at S.C.I. to work overtime.
Zhan Zhao turned on the computer once he got to his office and started typing away. After walking one round around the office, Bai Yutang decided to follow Zhan Zhao into his office.
Zhan Zhao turned on the computer once he got to his office and started typing away. After walking one round around the office, Bai Yutang decided to follow Zhan Zhao into his office.
"Didn't you see the sign hanging at the door?" Zhan Zhao said as he pointed to the "Do not disturb" sign.
"I did see it!" Bai Yutang walked over and sat down in front of Zhan Zhao, "Doesn't it say 'Welcome' on it?"
Anger! Zhan Zhao decided to ignore him and went back to typing.
"What are you writing? Another horror novel?" Bai Yutang asked as he leaned over.
"When have I ever written a novel?? This is an academic paper!" Zhan Zhao emphasised.
Bai Yutang chuckled and casually picked up the books on Zhan Zhao's table, "Look at all these book titles: 《The Nature of Psychopaths》...《Reason and Barbarism》...《Dismemberment, Dissection and Disposal of Bodies》1..."
Bai Yutang threw the books back onto Zhan Zhao's table like they're cockroaches and continues, "If these aren't horror stories, what are they?"
Zhan Zhao rolled his eyes at Bai Yutang in annoyance, "Get out! You're seriously bothering me!"
Bai Yutang leaned forward even more, "What have you been researching on recently? I see you writing a lot these couple days."
Zhan Zhao continued to type without looking up, "It's about OCD. I've submitted a few articles to the 《International Journal of Psychology》 and the response was pretty good. So my editor wants me to compile them into a book.
"OCD?" Bai Yutang lied down on the table, propping his head up with his hand, "How's it different from a mental illness?"
Zhan Zhao really wanted to throw his mouse at Bai Yutang's nose, "You only know how to distinguish the dead from the living!"
Bai Yutang watched Zhan Zhao's angry expression with a grin on his face. Then he started to scan the desk and the bookshelf.
"Are those the 《International Journal of Psychology》?" He asked, pointing to the several thick magazines on the bookshelf.
"Un," Zhan Zhao glanced over and nodded.
Bai Yutang stood up and picked up those magazines. He flipped through them and asked, "《OCD and Suggestions2》?"
Zhan Zhao looked up and took a quick look as replied, "That's the one."
After reading silently for some time, Bai Yutang asked, "Kitty, is this written in a human language3?"
Zhan Zhao furrowed his brows as he ignored him and continued writing.
"When you first look at it, it looks like human characters. But then the sentence structure doesn't sound like any human language??" With the magazine in hand, Bai Yutang went back to his seat, "The effect that suggestion has on normal people is very subtle, but for people suffering from OCD, it can be very extreme. And in actual fact, most people in the world have OCD at a subconscious level..."
Bai Yutang finished the sentence with a grin, "Is this even written by a human?"
Zhan Zhao wrinkled his nose disapprovingly and looked at Bai Yutang like he's illiterate while saying, "It is written in a human language! But it doesn't sound like it when it comes out from your mouth!!"
Bai Yutang shrugged it off and continued reading, "For a patient with OCD, as long as we find the root cause of their illness, we can easily change their subconscious mind through the use of suggestion..."
Then he shook his head, "What's this supposed to mean?"
"Exactly as it's written!" Zhan Zhao took a sip of his coffee and looked at the door, "Don't you have other things to do?"
Meanwhile, Bai Yutang seemed really interested in the researched paper as he inquired, "You mean to say that you can cause hallucinations in people with OCD through suggestion?"
"That's right!" Zhan Zhao nodded, "For those with a weaker willpower, you can even mess up their thoughts and their belief. In more extreme cases, one can cause the collapse of the mind!"
"Oh? Prove it! Make me have a breakdown!" Bai Yutang pointed to himself excitedly.
Zhan Zhao tilted his head and sized him up, before shaking his head, saying, "You don't meet the criteria!"
"What criteria!" Bai Yutang asked puzzledly.
Zhan Zhao finally shifted his attention away from his laptop to look at Bai Yutang and stated, "You'd need to have a weaker will, weaker mind, and poorer communication skills!"
Bai Yutang thought for a moment, "Which means we need to find someone who's a little timid, absent-minded and a little silly, right?"
Albeit the disgusted expression on Zhan Zhao's face as he thought about it, he nodded resignedly.
Bai Yutang smiled contentedly, "Well, that's easy!"
Then he faced and door and shouted, "Zhao Hu!"
......
Seeing Zhao Hu, who heeded Bai Yutang's call4, running over from afar, Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang in surprise, "What are you trying to do?"
Bai Yutang laughed, "You don't have to make him breakdown, just confuse him a little!"
Then he got up and pulled Zhao Hu to the seat in front of Zhan Zhao and sat him down.
The door was closed and the blinds were down.
(lilies: oh no poor child! AHAHA)
"I did see it!" Bai Yutang walked over and sat down in front of Zhan Zhao, "Doesn't it say 'Welcome' on it?"
Anger! Zhan Zhao decided to ignore him and went back to typing.
"What are you writing? Another horror novel?" Bai Yutang asked as he leaned over.
"When have I ever written a novel?? This is an academic paper!" Zhan Zhao emphasised.
Bai Yutang chuckled and casually picked up the books on Zhan Zhao's table, "Look at all these book titles: 《The Nature of Psychopaths》...《Reason and Barbarism》...《Dismemberment, Dissection and Disposal of Bodies》1..."
Bai Yutang threw the books back onto Zhan Zhao's table like they're cockroaches and continues, "If these aren't horror stories, what are they?"
Zhan Zhao rolled his eyes at Bai Yutang in annoyance, "Get out! You're seriously bothering me!"
Bai Yutang leaned forward even more, "What have you been researching on recently? I see you writing a lot these couple days."
Zhan Zhao continued to type without looking up, "It's about OCD. I've submitted a few articles to the 《International Journal of Psychology》 and the response was pretty good. So my editor wants me to compile them into a book.
"OCD?" Bai Yutang lied down on the table, propping his head up with his hand, "How's it different from a mental illness?"
Zhan Zhao really wanted to throw his mouse at Bai Yutang's nose, "You only know how to distinguish the dead from the living!"
Bai Yutang watched Zhan Zhao's angry expression with a grin on his face. Then he started to scan the desk and the bookshelf.
"Are those the 《International Journal of Psychology》?" He asked, pointing to the several thick magazines on the bookshelf.
"Un," Zhan Zhao glanced over and nodded.
Bai Yutang stood up and picked up those magazines. He flipped through them and asked, "《OCD and Suggestions2》?"
Zhan Zhao looked up and took a quick look as replied, "That's the one."
After reading silently for some time, Bai Yutang asked, "Kitty, is this written in a human language3?"
Zhan Zhao furrowed his brows as he ignored him and continued writing.
"When you first look at it, it looks like human characters. But then the sentence structure doesn't sound like any human language??" With the magazine in hand, Bai Yutang went back to his seat, "The effect that suggestion has on normal people is very subtle, but for people suffering from OCD, it can be very extreme. And in actual fact, most people in the world have OCD at a subconscious level..."
Bai Yutang finished the sentence with a grin, "Is this even written by a human?"
Zhan Zhao wrinkled his nose disapprovingly and looked at Bai Yutang like he's illiterate while saying, "It is written in a human language! But it doesn't sound like it when it comes out from your mouth!!"
Bai Yutang shrugged it off and continued reading, "For a patient with OCD, as long as we find the root cause of their illness, we can easily change their subconscious mind through the use of suggestion..."
Then he shook his head, "What's this supposed to mean?"
"Exactly as it's written!" Zhan Zhao took a sip of his coffee and looked at the door, "Don't you have other things to do?"
Meanwhile, Bai Yutang seemed really interested in the researched paper as he inquired, "You mean to say that you can cause hallucinations in people with OCD through suggestion?"
"That's right!" Zhan Zhao nodded, "For those with a weaker willpower, you can even mess up their thoughts and their belief. In more extreme cases, one can cause the collapse of the mind!"
"Oh? Prove it! Make me have a breakdown!" Bai Yutang pointed to himself excitedly.
Zhan Zhao tilted his head and sized him up, before shaking his head, saying, "You don't meet the criteria!"
"What criteria!" Bai Yutang asked puzzledly.
Zhan Zhao finally shifted his attention away from his laptop to look at Bai Yutang and stated, "You'd need to have a weaker will, weaker mind, and poorer communication skills!"
Bai Yutang thought for a moment, "Which means we need to find someone who's a little timid, absent-minded and a little silly, right?"
Albeit the disgusted expression on Zhan Zhao's face as he thought about it, he nodded resignedly.
Bai Yutang smiled contentedly, "Well, that's easy!"
Then he faced and door and shouted, "Zhao Hu!"
......
Seeing Zhao Hu, who heeded Bai Yutang's call4, running over from afar, Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang in surprise, "What are you trying to do?"
Bai Yutang laughed, "You don't have to make him breakdown, just confuse him a little!"
Then he got up and pulled Zhao Hu to the seat in front of Zhan Zhao and sat him down.
The door was closed and the blinds were down.
(lilies: oh no poor child! AHAHA)
Zhao Hu was a little confused by the situation as he looked at Zhan Zhao, then at Bai Yutang, "Leader, what's going on?"
Bai Yutang blinked his eyes at Zhan Zhao, meaning, "This one meets the criteria right?"
Zhan Zhao sighed and looked at Zhao Hu with sympathy while Bai Yutang lifted his chin in provocation, "If you can't do it, then this is all fake!"
Zhan Zhao glanced at Bai Yutang smug face that's just asking to be punched and ground his teeth. Then he glanced at Zhao Hu and whispered in his heart, "For the sake of science, I can only choose to sacrifice you!"
And thus poor Zhao Hu became a test subject.
"Zhao Hu, are you really Zhao Hu?" Zhan Zhao closed his laptop and questioned in all seriousness.
"Harh?" Zhao Hu blinked at Zhan Zhao in confusion, "Dr. Zhan, w-what are you saying?"
With a serious expression, Zhan Zhao asked again, "Are you really Zhao Hu?"
Zhao Hu shuddered involuntarily as he turned to Bai Yutang for help, "Leader, what's happening?"
Bai Yutang tried to contain his laughter as he too put on a solemn expression and replied, "Just answer the question!"
Zhao Hu nodded his head, a little scared, and responded with a trembling voice, "Y-Yes."
"What proof do you have?" Zhan Zhao continued to press him.
"...??... D-Does my ID count?" Zhao Hu replied as he reached for his wallet in his pocket.
But Zhan Zhao slammed the table and questioned, "What clear evidence do you have to prove that you are the same Zhao Hu as the one from yesterday?!"
...ˉ□ˉ...
Zhao Hu opened his mouth dumbly, "T-There's a difference between... y-yesterday... and...t-today??"
Zhan Zhao asked, "If I recall, your grandfather has passed on, yes?"
"...Ah... yes..."Zhan Zhao was having a hard time keeping up with Zhan Zhao's random train of thought.
Then Zhan Zhao added, "Are you sure you only have one grandfather?"
...ˉ□ˉ...
Zhao Hu was starting to get confused, "D-Didnt... we just establish that? He's d-dead... already."
Bam!
Zhan Zhao slammed the table hard once more, "Who can prove it?!"
Zhao Hu jumped from the shock and said, "Me... I can prove it. And my parents as well..."
Zhan Zhao sat back down onto his seat and sipped on his tea before continuing, "You mean the memories you guys have of him?"
"Yeah! That's right!" Zhao Hu nodded profusely.
"Then what if those memories are fake?"
"Fake?" Zhao Hu's eyes were starting to spiral5 (@_@) as he looked at Zhan Zhao innocently.
Zhan Zhao pressed on slowly, "Think about it. What if your grandfather never actually existed and both you and your parents were simply implanted memories of him. Can you really say that he existed?"
Zhao Hu's eyes widened as he looked at Zhan Zhao in utter horror.
Zhan Zhao added persistently, "It's like saying there are aliens. Who had proof?"
"I-I...don't...know," Zhao Hu stuttered, not knowing what to do.
"What if, you are an alien?" Zhan Zhao stared straight into Zhao Hu's eyes.
...ˉ□ˉ...
Zhao Hu looked like he had just been shot with an AK47.
At the side, Bai Yutang waved his hand to indicate that it's enough, Zhao Hu was already very confused as it is.
Zhan Zhao cut him off with determined eyes that meant, "This is only the tip of the iceberg. Today, I'll show you how capable I am!"
"Perhaps, your entire family is made up of aliens. Just that you were all implanted with human memories, causing you to mistake yourself for a human!" Zhan Zhao smiled thoughtfully, "Or maybe, the Zhao Hu from yesterday had already died! And the one sitting here right now was just someone with Zhao Hu's memories implanted in them! Do you dare claim that what I say is impossible??"
After a moment of silence, all that could be heard was Zhao Hu screaming, "Ah~~~~~~~~~~~" as he leapt of his seat and ran out of the office. Then he hugged the oncoming Wang Chao while crying, "Who am I?! Who am I?! I don't wanna be an alien!!"
...Every single person in the office froze collectively...
Bai Yutang, on the other hand, was laughing his ass off while leaning against a bookshelf. He was laughing so hard he might have gotten cramps from laughing.
While Zhan Zhao rolled his sleeves up gracefully. If a tiger doesn't show it's might, you'd think it's a sick cat6! Then he sat down, opened his laptop and went back to typing.
Once Bai Yutang was done laughing, he exited the office. Soon after, he returned with a mountain of documents and placed them all in front of Zhan Zhao.
Zhan Zhao looked up and saw that these were all the victims related to this "Numbers Case".
Bai Yutang blinked his eyes at Zhan Zhao, meaning, "This one meets the criteria right?"
Zhan Zhao sighed and looked at Zhao Hu with sympathy while Bai Yutang lifted his chin in provocation, "If you can't do it, then this is all fake!"
Zhan Zhao glanced at Bai Yutang smug face that's just asking to be punched and ground his teeth. Then he glanced at Zhao Hu and whispered in his heart, "For the sake of science, I can only choose to sacrifice you!"
And thus poor Zhao Hu became a test subject.
"Zhao Hu, are you really Zhao Hu?" Zhan Zhao closed his laptop and questioned in all seriousness.
"Harh?" Zhao Hu blinked at Zhan Zhao in confusion, "Dr. Zhan, w-what are you saying?"
With a serious expression, Zhan Zhao asked again, "Are you really Zhao Hu?"
Zhao Hu shuddered involuntarily as he turned to Bai Yutang for help, "Leader, what's happening?"
Bai Yutang tried to contain his laughter as he too put on a solemn expression and replied, "Just answer the question!"
Zhao Hu nodded his head, a little scared, and responded with a trembling voice, "Y-Yes."
"What proof do you have?" Zhan Zhao continued to press him.
"...??... D-Does my ID count?" Zhao Hu replied as he reached for his wallet in his pocket.
But Zhan Zhao slammed the table and questioned, "What clear evidence do you have to prove that you are the same Zhao Hu as the one from yesterday?!"
...ˉ□ˉ...
Zhao Hu opened his mouth dumbly, "T-There's a difference between... y-yesterday... and...t-today??"
Zhan Zhao asked, "If I recall, your grandfather has passed on, yes?"
"...Ah... yes..."Zhan Zhao was having a hard time keeping up with Zhan Zhao's random train of thought.
Then Zhan Zhao added, "Are you sure you only have one grandfather?"
...ˉ□ˉ...
Zhao Hu was starting to get confused, "D-Didnt... we just establish that? He's d-dead... already."
Bam!
Zhan Zhao slammed the table hard once more, "Who can prove it?!"
Zhao Hu jumped from the shock and said, "Me... I can prove it. And my parents as well..."
Zhan Zhao sat back down onto his seat and sipped on his tea before continuing, "You mean the memories you guys have of him?"
"Yeah! That's right!" Zhao Hu nodded profusely.
"Then what if those memories are fake?"
"Fake?" Zhao Hu's eyes were starting to spiral5 (@_@) as he looked at Zhan Zhao innocently.
Zhan Zhao pressed on slowly, "Think about it. What if your grandfather never actually existed and both you and your parents were simply implanted memories of him. Can you really say that he existed?"
Zhao Hu's eyes widened as he looked at Zhan Zhao in utter horror.
Zhan Zhao added persistently, "It's like saying there are aliens. Who had proof?"
"I-I...don't...know," Zhao Hu stuttered, not knowing what to do.
"What if, you are an alien?" Zhan Zhao stared straight into Zhao Hu's eyes.
...ˉ□ˉ...
Zhao Hu looked like he had just been shot with an AK47.
At the side, Bai Yutang waved his hand to indicate that it's enough, Zhao Hu was already very confused as it is.
Zhan Zhao cut him off with determined eyes that meant, "This is only the tip of the iceberg. Today, I'll show you how capable I am!"
"Perhaps, your entire family is made up of aliens. Just that you were all implanted with human memories, causing you to mistake yourself for a human!" Zhan Zhao smiled thoughtfully, "Or maybe, the Zhao Hu from yesterday had already died! And the one sitting here right now was just someone with Zhao Hu's memories implanted in them! Do you dare claim that what I say is impossible??"
After a moment of silence, all that could be heard was Zhao Hu screaming, "Ah~~~~~~~~~~~" as he leapt of his seat and ran out of the office. Then he hugged the oncoming Wang Chao while crying, "Who am I?! Who am I?! I don't wanna be an alien!!"
...Every single person in the office froze collectively...
Bai Yutang, on the other hand, was laughing his ass off while leaning against a bookshelf. He was laughing so hard he might have gotten cramps from laughing.
While Zhan Zhao rolled his sleeves up gracefully. If a tiger doesn't show it's might, you'd think it's a sick cat6! Then he sat down, opened his laptop and went back to typing.
Once Bai Yutang was done laughing, he exited the office. Soon after, he returned with a mountain of documents and placed them all in front of Zhan Zhao.
Zhan Zhao looked up and saw that these were all the victims related to this "Numbers Case".
Bai Yutang said with an amused expression, "Kitty, see if these people meet the criteria for the OCD and suggestion."
Zhan Zhao blink at his words before immediately understanding what Bai Yutang meant, "Oh~ Mouse, that's brilliant!"
Zhan Zhao blink at his words before immediately understanding what Bai Yutang meant, "Oh~ Mouse, that's brilliant!"
1. These are the names: 《人类变态的本质》《理性与兽性》《分尸，碎尸与抛尸》↩
2. Written as '强迫症和心理暗示' You can google suggestion in psychology if you wanna find out more!! It's quite interesting↩
3. In the raws, he's asking if it's in Chinese. But since I'm translating to English, there might be some confusion so I translated it as human language which is more generic.↩
4. You can imagine a happy doggo running towards you when you call it's name XD↩
5. His eyes were described as 'mosquito coils' in the raws XD↩
6. Chinese saying. Written as '老虎不发威，你当我是病猫呀' Basically means people not taking you seriously until you show them what you can do.↩
Omg the chapter is just a ball of fun AHAHAHH It's so silly
Please feedback to me in the comments below if you find any typos or terrible grammar, etc that you think I should change. Or maybe you think my interpretation is completely off lol Help me help you have a better reading experience ahahah what a tongue twister XD
Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
peace lilies~
2. Written as '强迫症和心理暗示' You can google suggestion in psychology if you wanna find out more!! It's quite interesting↩
3. In the raws, he's asking if it's in Chinese. But since I'm translating to English, there might be some confusion so I translated it as human language which is more generic.↩
4. You can imagine a happy doggo running towards you when you call it's name XD↩
5. His eyes were described as 'mosquito coils' in the raws XD↩
6. Chinese saying. Written as '老虎不发威，你当我是病猫呀' Basically means people not taking you seriously until you show them what you can do.↩
Omg the chapter is just a ball of fun AHAHAHH It's so silly
Please feedback to me in the comments below if you find any typos or terrible grammar, etc that you think I should change. Or maybe you think my interpretation is completely off lol Help me help you have a better reading experience ahahah what a tongue twister XD
Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
peace lilies~
I'm so happy you're translating this! Finally a good translation of the novel, all the others just felt like someone copy&pasted from google translate… I mean I've read three books of SCI through google translate but it's just not the same to having a proper translation. So thank you!
ReplyDeletethank you for your comment ahahaha i was starting to lose steam from the lack of comments for this series (＞人＜;)
Deletethank you so so so much for this!! you are amazing, and your translation is really good! i especially love the side notes! <3
ReplyDeleteThis chapter was so funny!! Love their dynamic. But also, so informative and fascinating. Thank you for your hard work!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for translating this it's just really pleasnt and fun to read :)
ReplyDeleteAh... yes..."Zhan Zhao was having a hard time keeping up with Zhan Zhao's random train of thought.
ReplyDeleteLittle typo, there should be Zhao Hu instead of Zhan Zhao(first time)
😊
Oh no, Zhao Hu! *trying not to laugh*
ReplyDeleteAnd BYT's persistence at trying to get his Kitty's attention is both annoying and cute lol
Thank you for your hard work <3