S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 1: Chapter 17

The Digital Killer 17: The Old Case

Zhan Zhao read through the documents one by one, his expression growing grimmer with every passing page.

"Cat, what's the verdict?" Bai Yutang asked anxiously.

"Rat, how did you figure it out?" Zhan Zhao looked up at Bai Yutang.

"...? ...Figure what out?"

"That these people are connected to obsessive-compulsive disorder and psychological suggestion." Zhan Zhao smacked him with the documents. "Out with it! Stop playing dumb!"

"I'm not playing dumb." Bai Yutang casually flipped through the journal. "Think about it. This case somehow managed to drag you into it, and then there's that Psychology Department at University C. So I just wondered if it had something to do with psychology."

"Furthermore!" Bai Yutang added, "Wang Chao and the others have poured over these documents for days without finding any specific connection between the victims. The only thing they have in common is that they were all rather frustrated with life, weren't very successful in their careers, and a few even had histories of mental illness."

"Oh..." Zhan Zhao stroked his chin. "So you came to me to fish for inspiration, is that it?"

"Looks to me like you've already found your inspiration." Bai Yutang reached out and tilted his chin up. "Look at that smug look on your face."

"Get lost!" Zhan Zhao slapped his hand away, stood up, and strode out of the room.

"Hey! Cat! Where are you going?" Bai Yutang hurried to catch up.

"Did you know that our bureau was the very first to establish a 'Criminal Psychology Research Center'?" Zhan Zhao asked as he walked briskly toward the exit.

"Mm... I think Director Bao proposed its establishment twenty years ago?" Bai Yutang quickened his pace by two steps to walk side by side with him. "What does that have to do with the case?"

Zhan Zhao pressed the elevator button. "Do you know why that department was created?"

Bai Yutang scratched his ear. "Can you just give it to me straight?"

"Back then, a massive case broke out. Because its implications were incredibly widespread, ordinary people were kept completely in the dark. I only heard a senior mention it when I first joined the research center." The two stepped into the elevator, and Zhan Zhao pressed the button for the 11th floor. "No one knows the fine details. All they know is that the killer used psychological suggestion to control people into committing murder. Over a hundred people died over five years, including more than a dozen police officers."

The elevator doors opened on the 11th floor, a look of complete disbelief on Bai Yutang's face. "How could I have never heard of such a massive case?"

Zhan Zhao smiled, stepping out and heading toward the archives room. "How old were you twenty years ago? Where would a little brat like you go to sniff out that kind of news?"

Bai Yutang rolled his eyes. "Then how do you know about it?"

Zhan Zhao gave him a smirk and glanced over. "Because I'm older than you!" With that, he shook his head with a series of "tsk-tsks" at the grim-faced Bai Yutang beside him, appearing thoughtful. "Someone used to be so adorable when he was little, calling me 'Big Brother' so sweetly with every breath. Who knew he'd grow up to be so insufferable!"

The remark made Bai Yutang's eyebrows shoot straight up. "Ha! You dead cat, you dare mock your granddaddy? Who knows who was actually the adorable one back then?" He then adopted a reminiscent posture. "Who knows who it was that got their face covered in drool every single day from being kissed by those kindergarten teachers??"

"Ah!" Zhan Zhao hastily shifted the topic. "The archives room is here!" With that, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Following closely behind, Bai Yutang muttered under his breath, "If I hadn't protected you, could you have grown up safely to this age? Ungrateful wretch!"

Without warning, Zhan Zhao slammed the door shut behind him. Fortunately, Bai Yutang was quick-witted and agile; his hand shot out to block the door before it could smack his face. Patting his chest to soothe his lingering shock, he barked, "You're too vicious! Are you jealous of your granddaddy's handsome nose?!"

"Shh!" Zhan Zhao turned around and made a shushing gesture, then walked over to the archive shelves to begin his search.

"This is too slow," Bai Yutang muttered, his head spinning at the sight of the densely packed labels. "Isn't it logged in the computer?"

Zhan Zhao replied absentmindedly while flipping through files, "I checked before; there are absolutely no records of this in the computer at all... Huh?"

Seeing him freeze with a frown in the middle of his search, Bai Yutang quickly leaned in. "What is it? Did you find it?"

Zhan Zhao pointed at the shelf. "A lot of files from the years 1982 to 1987 are missing!"

"Those are classified files," a somewhat raspy, aging voice chimed in.

...!!...

Neither Zhan Zhao nor Bai Yutang was a coward, but in the dead of night inside a spooky archives room, their nerves were already tightly strung. The sudden voice startled them both into a literal jump.

The beam of a powerful flashlight shone directly over. Bai Yutang could clearly see that it was the old archivist, Old Man Sun.

"Old Sun, you're not asleep at this hour?" He quickly raised a hand to shield his eyes and Zhan Zhao's behind him. "The lights are fully on, why are you shining that flashlight around? We're not filming a horror movie here."

Old Man Sun let out a chuckle and switched off his flashlight. "So it's you two rascals. Sneaking into the records room in the middle of the night—I thought some blind thief had broken in to steal something."

Zhan Zhao pointed to the empty space on the archive shelf. "Old Sun, did you say the files here are classified?"

Old Man Sun waved them over, gesturing for them to follow him.

They followed Old Man Sun to his duty room at the very end of the corridor, where an induction cooker was bubbling away, cooking instant noodles.

"Smells amazing." Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang blurted out in unison, only just realizing they had been busy all night and hadn't eaten a single bite.

Old Man Sun pulled two more packets of noodles from a cabinet and tossed them into the pot. "Sit down."

The two sat down, feeling a bit sheepish.

"Those missing files all belong to a single case. A portion of them was sealed away as top-secret," Old Man Sun said, pulling out three clean bowls and tossing some chopped green onions inside. "And another portion was destroyed."

"Destroyed?" Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao asked simultaneously. "How could they be destroyed?"

Old Man Sun scooped out the noodles and let out a long, hollow sigh. "They were destroyed by that person."

"Which person?" Taking the bowl of noodles handed over by Old Man Sun—gosh, it smelled incredible!!

"Come to think of it, if that person hadn't destroyed those files, he might never have been caught," Old Man Sun said as he sat down and began eating his noodles.

"The one who destroyed the files was the killer?" Zhan Zhao asked in surprise.

He nodded. "Not just the killer, but a police officer as well."

"Cough, cough..." Bai Yutang nearly choked on a mouthful of noodles. Zhan Zhao handed him a tissue as he gasped, "You're saying he was a cop?"

"Back then, the most sensational cops in the bureau went by the nickname 'The Black and White Twin Fiends.' Have you two ever heard of them?"

Bai Yutang grinned. "Old Sun, you're talking about Director Bao and my old man, right?"

Old Man Sun laughed as well. "Correct. It sounds rather tacky now, but back then, they were truly a force to be reckoned with!"

Devouring his last bite of noodles in a flash, Bai Yutang wiped his mouth and asked, "Old Sun, what does that killer have to do with those two old men?"

"Sigh..." Old Man Sun let out a sigh. "Aside from a few of us old timers, the young folk nowadays have no idea. The Black and White Twin Fiends of back then actually consisted of three people!"

"Three people?" Zhan Zhao was astonished. "Don't tell me that third person was the killer?"

Old Sun didn't answer directly. Instead, he stared at Zhan Zhao for a moment. "He was just like you."
...?...

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a look, their faces filled with confusion.

Old Man Sun cleared away the bowls and chopsticks from the table. "Psychological profiling... he was nothing short of a genius. It's just that the title didn't exist back then. He was a cop himself."

Bai Yutang grew a bit anxious. "Old Sun, you've been beating around the bush for so long, who exactly was that person?"

"...I told you just now, these are classified files," Old Sun said with a smile. "I have a strict duty to maintain confidentiality. That's all I can tell you. Besides, I genuinely don't know the exact details. Only three people should know the full truth."

"Three?" Bai Yutang was puzzled. "Aside from my dad and Director Bao, who else?"

"The man himself." Old Sun stood up to wipe down the table.

"He's still alive?" Zhan Zhao was profoundly shocked.

Bai Yutang was equally incredulous. "He killed over a hundred people and didn't get the death penalty?"

Old Sun shook his head. "He can no longer harm anyone." With that, he clamped his mouth shut and refused to speak another word.

That night, no matter how much Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang wheedled and cajoled, Old Sun wouldn't budge. Instead, he simply cooked them two more bowls of noodles.

Letting out a satisfied burp as they emerged from the duty room, Bai Yutang frowned. "So secretive, it's really frustrating!"

"What do we do next?" Zhan Zhao asked. "Go back and ask your dad?"

Bai Yutang wore a face that begged for mercy. "Good grief! It's been over twenty years. If he wanted to say something, he would have said it long ago!"

"Then ask Director Bao?"

"You go!"

Zhan Zhao hesitated. "Can you prove that the two cases are connected?"

Bai Yutang shrugged. "He'll definitely ask that!"

"Would your mom know?"

"The old man definitely wouldn't let her speak," Bai Yutang wrinkled his nose. "Maybe we could try getting him drunk... though I'd definitely get slaughtered once he wakes up."

The two walked toward the entrance of S.C.I. with long faces. Zhan Zhao suddenly asked, "White Junior, how many years older than you is your brother?"

Without a second thought, Bai Yutang blurted out, "Eight years... Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

Seeing that he had finally realized, Zhan Zhao quickly said, "Your brother was already over ten years old back then, so he should remember things, right?"

"No, Cat! I wasn't shouting 'ah' because of that!" Bai Yutang had a bitter expression, looking as though the end of the world had arrived.

"Then why did you shout 'ah'?"

"...My brother returns today. I promised him I'd pick him up."

"Huh?!" Zhan Zhao also jumped. "What time is your brother's flight?"

"Twelve o'clock." Bai Yutang scratched his head.

Zhan Zhao checked his watch; it was exactly twelve o'clock. "Hurry up and go! Being just half an hour late shouldn't be too big of a deal, right?"

Bai Yutang looked utterly miserable. "...It was twelve o'clock noon..."

Zhan Zhao gaped in silence for a moment, then lifted a hand to pat his shoulder. "A new record! Knowing your brother's personality..." He paused, offering a summary laced with pity, "You're dead meat!"

Bai Yutang spun in place a few times, grabbed Zhan Zhao, and bolted toward the exit.

"What are you doing?" Zhan Zhao gripped the edge of a nearby office desk, struggling desperately to keep from being dragged away by Bai Yutang.

"You're coming with me!" He pulled even harder.

"No way! Why do I have to go with you?!"

"We'll say we were held up by a case. You'll be my witness!"

"I won't! On what grounds?! I don't tell lies!"

"Anyway, coming with me won't cost you a arm or a leg!"

"I'm not going!"

...

The two maintained a tug-of-war posture, inching toward the doorway bit by bit.

Finally, Zhan Zhao locked his fingers securely around the doorframe. "Let go! I'm not going! You dare throw your weight around in the police station! I'll sue you for kidnapping!!"

Bai Yutang was thoroughly exasperated. "Dead Cat! Your granddaddy usually feeds you such good food and drinks, yet you choose to watch me die without lifting a finger. Fine!" With that, he released his grip.

Zhan Zhao had barely breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Bai Yutang take a step forward, hoisting him over his shoulder in a single fluid motion before sprinting toward the elevator.

"Yagh!!! White Rat! Dead Rat! ..." The rest of his words were sealed away inside the elevator as it closed with a sharp ding.

Gongsun had just stepped out of the forensic lab and happened to witness this exact scene.

"Sigh..." He shook his head helplessly. Just as he turned around to leave, the elevator let out another sharp ding.

He looked back to see the doors of the adjacent elevator glide open, and a man dressed in a sharp, impeccable suit stepped out with measured strides.

Gongsun sized him up, concluding that this person was likely not a cop. He was very tall, dressed in high-end attire, with sharply defined and exceptionally handsome features... he looked rather familiar...

"Who are you looking for?"

Hearing the voice, the man cast a sidelong glance at Gongsun. "Who are you?"

Seeing his arrogant attitude, Gongsun tilted his head up and offered him a radiant smile.

Inside the transparent glass doors of the S.C.I. office, Zhao Hu caught sight of Gongsun's smile. Feeling a sudden chill run down the back of his neck, he nudged Jiang Ping beside him, gesturing for him to look up.

Jiang Ping lifted his head. Witnessing the bizarre scene outside the door, he stuck out his tongue and whispered, "Gongsun probably just finished an autopsy. This brother has walked right into the line of fire, right when Gongsun's temper is at its absolute peak... Why does he look a bit familiar, though??"

Gongsun extended his hand. "Hello, I am Gongsun Ce from the forensics lab."

The man was initially taken aback by Gongsun's smile, but his excellent breeding prompted him to instinctively extend his hand in return. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed a strange sensation against his palm—it felt wet and slippery. He lowered his gaze to look...

He saw that the hand Gongsun had used to clasp his own was clad in a flesh-colored plastic glove. Looking closer at his own hand, it was smeared with a red and white, sticky, viscous substance.

As he stood there in confusion, he heard Gongsun offer a warm, helpful explanation: "The red stuff is liver residue, the white stuff is brain matter, and the black stuff is charred fat..."

Squatting behind the door to watch the spectacle, Zhao Hu and the others already felt like finding a place to throw up. The man, however, remained incredibly calm. Aside from his face turning completely grim, he didn't show much of a reaction. Only upon closer inspection could one see his Adam's apple bob slightly a few times...

"How should I address you?" Gongsun's smile grew even brighter, thinking to himself that this man was no minor character.

The man ground his teeth to squeeze out three words: "Bai Jintang."

"Oh..." Amidst a collective gasp from the onlookers, the grimness on Bai Jintang's face melted away, replaced by a smile of ambiguous meaning. He opened his arms and pulled the still-dazed Gongsun into a firm embrace. "Yutang speaks of you often."

"Oh..." The crowd gasped once more. On Gongsun's back, a red-and-white, sticky handprint was glaringly visible…