SLL Whispering circuit 006: Homicide 3 – the unfinished canvas (part b) 竊私語的電路，第六章：命案三：未完成的畫布 [第二部分]

Story

Whispering Circuit 6: Homicide 3 – The artist’s unfinished canvas [part 2]

Chen chewed on the last of the tapioca balls in the
oolong milk tea. He also continued to chew on the details of the artist’s murder
case.

At the victim’s apartment, he asked the partner
about the conspiracy and moved the artist’s body slightly to get a better look
at the unfinished canvas.

The partner shook her head. “She mentioned
something about a “whispering circuit”, but I didn’t pay much attention to it.”

Chen froze. “whispering circuit” again, like the
message on the first victim’s smart watch.

Chen stepped closer to the canvas. He noticed
something in the artwork.

“What’s this?” he gestured towards canvas
next the victim’s left hand. “It looks like code … do you know what it is?”

“No, I don’t. I have not been around lately, but I
can ask the ECHO maid. Synesthesia often brainstormed with the maid. She was also
in yesterday to clean up.”

For the first time, Chen turned toward her. “ECHO
…?” Chen thought of the note in the first victim’s hand.

“Yes, give me the ECHO maid’s contact information,”
Chen said.

On a nearby table, Chen noticed a small, blinking
device—a USB drive. He picked it up, turning it over in his hands. “And
this?”

“I don’t know. It looks like the drive she
used for private files. Kind of strange that it is on the table.”

Chen asked a CSI outside to bag this USB evidence.

Sipping on his bubble tea and now chewing on the straw,
Chen thought about the artist’s unfinished work. And how were “whispering
circuit” and “echo” connected to the cases–at least the CEO and artist?

And how was Madame Kong involved?

The ECHO is somehow the key.

The police finally tracked down the ECHO maid. It
was still at the police station, waiting for Chen to continue the
interrogation.  

Chen felt time was running out. He had to uncover
truth about the whispering circuit. And soon, before someone else is killed.

Time to go back and find out what was on the USB
drive and to see if diagnostics check confirmed that the ECHO was telling
truth.

[356 words]

竊竊私語的電路，第六章：命案三 藝術家未完成的畫布 [第二部分]

警探 嚼著珍珠奶茶裡剩下的最後一顆珍珠，腦中也繼續咀嚼著藝術家謀殺案的細節。

在受害者的公寓裡，他詢問搭檔關於陰謀的事，並稍微移動了藝術家的遺體，以便更好地查看未完成的畫布。

搭檔搖了搖頭。 「她提到了什麼「竊竊私語的電路」，但我沒怎麼在意。」

警探僵住了，「竊竊私語的電路」又出現了，就像第一位受害者智慧手錶上的訊息一樣。

警探走近畫布，注意到作品上的一些細節。

「這是什麼？」 他指著受害者左手旁邊的畫布，「看起來像是代碼……你知道是什麼嗎？」

「我不知道。我最近不在她身邊，不過我可以問問 ECHO 女傭。共感經常和女傭一起腦力激盪。她昨天也來打掃過。」

陳探員第一次向她轉過身。 「ECHO ……」 他想起第一位受害者手上的筆記。

「是的，把 ECHO 女傭的聯絡方式給我，」 警探說。

在附近的桌子上，警探注意到一個小型閃爍的裝置 – 一個 USB。 他把它拿起來，翻來覆去地看。 「這個呢？」

「我不知道。看起來是她用來保存私人文件的 USB。奇怪的是它在桌子上。」

警探要求外面的鑑識科  將此 USB作為證據收起來。

一邊吸著珍珠奶茶，一邊嚼著吸管，警探思考藝術家未完成

的作品。 以及「竊竊私語的電路」和「ECHO」如何與這些案件聯繫起來 – 至少是石總裁和藝術家？

而孔夫人扮演什麼角色？

ECHO 似乎是關鍵。

警方終於追查到了 ECHO 女傭。 它還待在警察局，等待陳探員繼續審問。

警探覺得時間不多了。 他必須揭開「呢喃電路」的真相。 而且要快，以免其他人被殺。

是時候回去找出 USB裡有什麼，以及診斷檢查是否確認了 ECHO 女傭說的是實話。

Qièqiè sīyǔ de diànlù, dì liù zhāng: Mìng’àn sān yìshùjiā wèi wánchéng de huàbù [dì èr bùfèn]

Jǐngtàn jiáozhe zhēnzhū nǎichá lǐ shèng xià de zuìhòu yī kē zhēnzhū, nǎo zhōng yě jìxù jǔjuézhe yìshùjiā móushā àn de xìjié.

Zài shòuhài zhě de gōngyù lǐ, tā xúnwèn dādàng guānyú yīnmóu de shì, bìng shāowēi yídòngle yìshùjiā de yítǐ, yǐbiàn gèng hǎo de chákàn wèi wánchéng de huàbù.

Dādàng yáole yáotóu. “Tā tídàole shénme ‘qièqiè sīyǔ de diànlù’, dàn wǒ méi zěnme zàiyì.”

Jǐngtàn jiāng zhùle, ‘Qièqiè sīyǔ de diànlù’ yòu chūxiànle, jiù xiàng dì yī wèi shòuhài zhě zhìhuì shǒubiǎo shàng de xùnxí yīyàng.

Jǐngtàn zǒu jìn huàbù, zhùyì dào zuòpǐn shàng de yīxiē xìjié.

“Zhè shì shénme?” Tā zhǐzhe shòuhài zhě zuǒshǒu pángbiān de huàbù, “Kàn qǐlái xiàng shì dàimǎ…… nǐ zhīdào shì shénme ma?”

“Wǒ bù zhīdào. Wǒ zuìjìn bù zài tā shēnbiān, bùguò wǒ kěyǐ wènwen ECHO nǚpú. Gònggǎn chángcháng hé nǚpú yìqǐ nǎolì jīdǎng. Tā zuótiān yě lái dǎsǎo guò.”

Chén tànyuán dì yī cì xiàng tā zhuǎn guò shēn. “ECHO……” Tā xiǎngqǐ dì yī wèi shòuhài zhě shǒu shàng de bǐjì.

“Shì de, bǎ ECHO nǚpú de liánluò fāngshì gěi wǒ,” Jǐngtàn shuō.

Zài fùjìn de zhuōzi shàng, jǐngtàn zhùyì dào yīgè xiǎoxíng shǎnshuò de zhuāngzhì – yīgè USB. Tā bǎ tā ná qǐlái, fānláifùqù de kàn. “Zhège ne?”

“Wǒ bù zhīdào. Kàn qǐlái shì tā yòng lái bǎocún sīrén wénjiàn de USB. Qíguài de shì tā zài zhuōzi shàng.”

Jǐngtàn yāoqiú wàimiàn de jiànzhen kē jiāng cǐ USB zuòwéi zhèngjù shōu qǐlái.

Yībiān xīzhe zhēnzhū nǎichá, yībiān jǔzhe xīguǎn, jǐngtàn sīkǎo yìshùjiā wèi wánchéng de zuòpǐn. Yǐjí ‘Qièqiè sīyǔ de diànlù’ hé ‘ECHO’ rúhé yǔ zhèxiē ànjiàn liánxì qǐlái – zhìshǎo shì shí zǒngcái hé yìshùjiā?

Ér kǒng fūrén bànyǎn shénme juésè?

ECHO sìhū shì guānjiàn.

Jǐngfāng zhōngyú zhuīchá dàole ECHO nǚ yōng. Tā hái dài zài jǐngchá jú, děngdài chén tàn yuán jìxù shěnwèn.

Jǐng tàn juédé shíjiān bù duōle. Tā bìxū jiē kāi `qièqiè sīyǔ de diànlù’de zhēnxiàng. Érqiě yào kuài, yǐmiǎn qítā rén bèi shā.

Shì shíhòu huíqù zhǎo chū USB lǐ yǒu shé me, yǐjí zhěnduàn jiǎnchá shìfǒu quèrènle ECHO nǚ yōng shuō de shì shíhuà. 

Chinese Comprehension Questions

1. 警探在受害者公寓內詢問了什麼問題？

   A. 為何藝術家被殺 (Wèihé yìshùjiā bèi shā – Why the artist was killed)

   B. 竊竊私語的電路是什麼 (Qiè qiè sīyǔ de diànlù shì shénme – What is the whispering circuit)

   C. 藝術家的畫布上有什麼 (Yìshùjiā de huàbù shàng yǒu shénme – What is on the artist’s canvas)

   D. 如何聯絡 ECHO 女傭 (Rúhé liánxì ECHO nǚyōng – How to contact the ECHO maid)

2. 警探發現了什麼重要線索指向「竊竊私語的電路」？

   A. ECHO 女傭的陳述 (ECHO nǚyōng de chénshù – The statement of the ECHO maid)

   B. 第一位受害者智慧手錶上的訊息 (Dì yī wèi shòuhài zhě zhìhuì shǒubiǎo shàng de xùnxī – The message on the first victim’s smartwatch)

   C. 受害者左手旁邊的畫布上的代碼 (Shòuhài zhě zuǒshǒu pángbiān de huàbù shàng de dàimǎ – The code on the canvas next to the victim’s left hand)

   D. USB 上的文件 (USB shàng de wénjiàn – The files on the USB)

3. 警探如何描述畫布上發現的代碼？

   A. 看起來像是代碼 (Kàn qǐlái xiàng shì dàimǎ – It looks like a code)

   B. 看起來像是隨機畫的 (Kàn qǐlái xiàng shì suíjī huà de – It looks like random drawing)

   C. 看起來很複雜 (Kàn qǐlái hěn fùzá – It looks complex)

   D. 看起來很簡單 (Kàn qǐlái hěn jiǎndān – It looks simple)

4. 警探對ECHO女傭的行動是什麼？

   A. 給予獎勵 (Jǐyǔ jiǎnglì – Give a reward)

   B. 提出質疑 (Tíchū zhìyí – Raise questions)

   C. 要求進行審問 (Yāoqiú jìnxíng shěnwèn – Request an interrogation)

   D. 要求立即釋放 (Yāoqiú lìjí shìfàng – Request immediate release)

5. 警探對未來的行動計劃是什麼？

   A. 繼續調查藝術家的畫布 (Jìxù diàochá yìshùjiā de huàbù – Continue investigating the artist’s canvas)

   B. 放棄這個案件 (Fàngqì zhège ànjiàn – Give up the case)

   C. 追踪下一個線索 (Zhuīzōng xià yīgè xiànsuǒ – Track the next clue)

   D. 訪問其他證人 (Fǎngwèn qítā zhèngrén – Interview other witnesses)

Answers:

1D, 2B, 3A, 4C, 5A