S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 1: Chapter 19

The Digital Killer 19: Hostage 

At 2:30 AM, in the S.C.I. office on the 17th floor of the police bureau building:

Bai Jintang, who had been exhausted from a long day, lay on the sofa in Bai Yutang's office, snoring loudly in a deep sleep.

Zhan Zhao, who was equally exhausted from the long day, cradled the cat named Lu Ban in his arms and had also drifted off to dreamland on the sofa in his own office.

Bai Yutang, who was likewise equally exhausted from the long day, rubbed his neck—which had nearly been wrung snapped off—as he led the half-asleep S.C.I. team members in cleaning up the office.

Gongsun had closed the door to the forensics lab, and all sound from him ceased. The team had always been highly curious about where Gongsun slept when working overtime, but considering that the only surface in the lab with enough area to accommodate a human body was an autopsy table... no one, no matter how curious, possessed the courage to open that door and peek inside to find out.

At 8:30 AM, in the S.C.I. office on the 17th floor of the police bureau building:

The staggered, sprawling team members were jolted awake by a sudden, mouth-watering aroma. Rubbing their bleary, sleep-deprived eyes as they sat up, they saw a perfectly refreshed Gongsun standing by the desk. On the table were steaming hot coffee and pan-fried pork buns... Immediate alarms blared from their empty stomachs! Thus, the officers—who usually carried themselves with dignified decorum—instantly transformed into famished tigers. They lunged at the breakfast, snapping up and chewing away at the buns. The feasting crowd did not give a single thought to the fact that the buns Gongsun was feeding them might very well be stuffed with human meat...

"Where is your brother?" Zhan Zhao asked, sipping his coffee while stuffing pieces of a meat bun into Lu Ban's mouth.

"Biting the hand that feeds him!" Bai Yutang was still harboring a bitter grudge over the fact that Zhan Zhao had abandoned him to his fate the previous night. He glared with burning resentment. "Still asleep!"

"Hehe..." Zhan Zhao offered a guilty, placating smile, continuing to feed the cat pieces of the bun.

Seeing that Zhan Zhao was holding nothing but coffee, Bai Yutang knitted his brows. "You're only having coffee for breakfast? Aren't you afraid of getting a stomach ache?!"

"I..." Zhan Zhao turned his head and had just opened his mouth to say something when, catching him completely off guard, Bai Yutang shoved a bun right into his mouth.

Looking at Zhan Zhao with his mouth stuffed with a bun, and then looking at Lu Ban dangling a bun from his jaws, Gongsun clicked his tongue and nodded in approval: "The resemblance is uncanny!!"

Seeing Zhan Zhao looking thoroughly stymied yet not daring to make a fuss, Bai Yutang felt immensely gratified. Even his neck didn't seem to hurt quite as much... Though————Big Brother really had hit him brutally hard!!

With a loud crash, the office door was violently flung open. Lu Fang stumbled inside, panting heavily. "Something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

The crowd looked toward him in complete bewilderment. It was rare for Bai Yutang to see the consistently steady Lu Fang in such a frantic state. "What happened?"

Lu Fang handed over the document in his hand while simultaneously switching on the television.

The scene appearing on the news broadcast was absolute chaos. An on-scene female reporter was speaking at a breakneck pace, throwing out words like "hostage, kindergarten..." and so on.

Lu Fang steadied the rhythm of his breathing. "Half an hour ago, a patrol officer armed with a gun suddenly charged into a kindergarten. He shot the security guard dead and took more than a dozen children from the senior class hostage."

"What? It's a cop?" Zhao Hu's eyes widened in sheer shock.

"Wang Yong, twenty-eight years old. Since graduating from the police academy, he has been working as a patrol officer up until now..." Bai Yutang flipped through the document. "Is it confirmed to be him?"

Lu Fang nodded. "There's no mistake. That specific area is under his jurisdiction, and he couldn't be contacted after the incident occurred. According to eyewitness accounts, the physical characteristics match perfectly."

Zhan Zhao asked in confusion, "Have the negotiation experts been there yet?"

Lu Fang shook his head. "They tried, but they couldn't get through to him at all!"

"What?" The entire room was stunned.

"That kid isn't quite right in the head!" The door was pushed open once more, and Bao Zheng walked inside. "Xiao Zhan, you go!"

"What do you mean by 'not quite right'?" Bai Yutang frowned. "Why do you have to send the Cat again? What are those negotiation experts getting paid for?"

Lu Fang explained anxiously, "The negotiation experts were all driven back out. Wang Yong keeps saying that he is about to die, that God is angry, and that he will only speak with an angel."

"God... Angel..." Excitement instantly sparked across the faces of the S.C.I. team members.

"Well?" Bao Zheng asked with a smile. "Are you taking this case or not?"

"Yes!" Zhan Zhao answered before Bai Yutang could speak. "Of course we are!"

Bao Zheng nodded. "Move out immediately! Every single one of you better keep your wits sharp! If a single child gets hurt, don't bother coming back!"

"Yes, sir!"

Lu Fang suddenly grabbed Zhan Zhao's arm. "Xiao Zhan... Lu Zhen is inside too."

"What?" Beside him, Bai Yutang was taken aback. Lu Fang had been blessed with a child late in life and cherished Lu Zhen as his only precious son; it was no wonder he was frantic to this extent.

"Don't worry!" Zhan Zhao patted Lu Fang on the shoulder. "Nothing will happen to him!"

The group rushed at top speed to the scene of the incident. Stepping out of the vehicle, Bai Yutang clipped on his badge and led the team across the police cordon line.

The officers maintaining order at the scene felt an immediate wave of relief upon seeing Bai Yutang and his team. The current Major Crimes Unit leader, Ai Hu, jogged over. "Captain!"

Bai Yutang slapped the back of his head. "Captain your foot. You are the captain now!"

"And yet your hand still strikes so smoothly..." Ai Hu muttered under his breath.

"What's the situation?" Walking to the mobile command vehicle, Bai Yutang spread out the tactical site map handed over by an officer.

"The senior class classroom is located on the east side of the second floor, the one right at the edge. Thermal imaging shows a total of thirteen children inside. Wang Yong is holding a gun and standing in a blind angle; the Special Duties Unit sniper teams can't get a visual on him." Ai Hu pointed to the position on the blueprint. "The other vantage points are all over a hundred meters away. It's a tough setup."

"Did anyone talk to him just now?" Zhan Zhao asked. "Is there an audio recording?"

"Yes!" Ai Hu switched on the recording equipment, and Wang Yong's voice emerged, piercingly sharp and frantic: "Send an angel! God is furious... All cops get the hell away! Otherwise, I'll start killing the kids! Tell the cops on the roof over there to pull back too!... Send an angel..." His words were accompanied by violent, ragged panting.

Zhan Zhao switched off the recording device. "Something is wrong."

"Where?" Bai Yutang reached over to grab a bulletproof vest, helping Zhan Zhao slip off his suit jacket.

"His emotions are clearly out of control, yet his demands are completely structured and coherent!" Zhan Zhao extended his arms, allowing Bai Yutang to fit the bulletproof vest onto him.

"Meaning?"

Once the body armor was secured, Zhan Zhao put his jacket back on. "He is either faking madness, or someone is directing his every move from the shadows!"

Right at this moment, the female news reporter standing on the outer perimeter suddenly spotted an opening. Bringing her live broadcast cameraman along, she slipped past the police cordon and rushed over to Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang. "Are you the officer who is going inside to negotiate..."

Standing nearby, Zhao Hu reached out, hoisted the cameraman directly by his collar, and threw him right back out. "Damn it, stop adding to the chaos!"

The female reporter flared up, her eyebrows arching in fury. "How can you be so flagrantly aggressive? The police are supposed to protect citizens, not..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Bai Yutang cast a freezing glare in her direction. "Get out!"

Ai Hu immediately ordered his men to clear out all unauthorized personnel. Just then, the communications line connected to Wang Yong suddenly rang out—it was the criminal calling...

"Let the angel in! Hurry up and let the angel inside! Come alone!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang both froze for a fraction of a second, exchanging a swift glance.

"Calm down, I am coming in right now!" Zhan Zhao took over the phone.

"Hurry up!" Wang Yong barked fiercely before cutting the line.

Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang with a smile. "We actually have that reporter to thank."

"Is there a television set inside that classroom?" Bai Yutang turned around to ask Ai Hu.

"No."

"It seems someone is directing him from a position where they can watch the live news broadcast." Bai Yutang let out a cold laugh. "We'll be sure to send a commemorative banner to that TV station later."

"Boss, there's a clear line of sight from here." Ma Han took a sniper rifle from the Special Duties Unit team and pointed toward a specific location on the map.

Bai Yutang looked down at the diagram. "One hundred and twenty meters?"

Ma Han grinned. "The effective range of this rifle is one hundred and fifty meters! As long as you can draw him just one single step out of that blind corner, if you want his right eye, I absolutely won't touch his left!"

Bai Yutang clapped him on the shoulder. "Go!"

Ma Han slung the rifle over his shoulder and slipped away with extreme caution, while Zhao Hu and the others drove away all remaining journalists, broadcast vans, and gathering onlookers.

After verifying that there were no issues with Zhan Zhao's equipment, Bai Yutang pulled him behind the command vehicle where no one else was around. "Cat, old rules. I'll breach from the rear."

"Mm." Zhan Zhao nodded.

"Be careful!" Bai Yutang reached up to cup Zhan Zhao's face, murmuring the injunction with absolute gravity.

"Mm." Zhan Zhao nodded once more, then walked with perfect composure toward the school building.

Xu Qing and his men executed a frontal flanking maneuver toward the front of the structure. Sure enough, Wang Yong's frantic shouts echoed from inside the building: "Get the hell away! No police are allowed to approach!"

Utilizing the distraction, Bai Yutang slipped out of the crowd, made his way to the backyard of the kindergarten, scaled the wall, and rapidly concealed himself against the back of the building.

A newly assigned tactical officer couldn't help but gasp in awe. "My god, that perimeter wall is at least four meters high. How did he clear it so effortlessly?"

The original members of the Major Crimes Unit all wore expressions of immense pride. Ai Hu remarked, "That's nothing. With our Captain Bai's skills, what's a mere ten-story building to scale barehanded?"

"No wonder his nickname is the White Rat..." the newcomer remarked in realization. "Ow!—"

He promptly received a swift smack!

Zhan Zhao had already entered the school building. He walked with measured paces up to the second floor and knocked on the firmly sealed classroom door.

"Who... is it!" Wang Yong's voice emerged from within.

The classroom door was pushed open, and Zhan Zhao stood at the entrance. "May I come in?"

The officer named Wang Yong appeared to be in a wretched state, drenched in sweat with a face covered in ragged stubble. With one arm, he tightly held a young girl who was clearly in a state of extreme shock, while his other hand wielded a revolver. A dozen or so young children were crouching in front of him with their hands over their heads. The little ones were terrified, sobbing and whimpering—except for the boy right at the front. Although his face was somewhat pale, he wasn't crying at all and appeared remarkably calm. From his facial features, Zhan Zhao was absolutely certain that this was Lu Fang's son, Lu Zhen.

When Wang Yong saw Zhan Zhao appear at the door, he was visibly tense at first. However, upon clearing his vision to take in Zhan Zhao's appearance, he actually let out a hollow chuckle: "The angel..."

"May I come in?" Zhan Zhao asked a second time, raising his bare hands. "I am not carrying any weapons."

"Come... in."

Zhan Zhao slowly stepped into the classroom.

"Close... close the door!" Wang Yong seemed exceptionally high-strung, his speech catching slightly.

Zhan Zhao reached behind his back and closed the door. "Is there something you want to say to me?"

"Say... say..." Wang Yong instinctively flicked his gaze toward his lower right. Zhan Zhao caught sight of a wireless earpiece tucked into his right ear. He offered a faint, imperceptible smile; sure enough, someone was directing him covertly.

"God says he forgives you!" Before Wang Yong could fully comprehend the instructions coming through his earpiece, Zhan Zhao struck first, speaking over the voice.

"What..." Wang Yong lifted his head in utter disbelief, but his attention was immediately pulled back by the voice in his ear.

"The god who is giving you commands is an impostor."

"Ah?!" Wang Yong was stunned. Seizing the opening, Zhan Zhao pressed on seamlessly: "If you take off that earpiece, you will be able to hear the voice of the true God!"

"Really?" Wang Yong raised a trembling hand to touch the earpiece, appearing torn by hesitation.

"Can't you hear it?" Zhan Zhao tilted his head slightly, appearing as though he were listening intently to something in the air. "Listen! He is saying: I grant you absolution."

"Is... is that so..." Hesitating, Wang Yong pulled down the earpiece, straining his ears to listen...

 

From the corner of his eye, Zhan Zhao caught a flash of a white silhouette at the western window, knowing that Bai Yutang had already reached the window sill.

"I... I don't hear anything..." Wang Yong's entire focus had landed squarely on Zhan Zhao.

Zhan Zhao smiled gently. "Listen closely..." As he spoke, he began pacing toward the eastern side of the room. Wang Yong's gaze tracked Zhan Zhao's movements, and his body gradually turned, shifting into a stance where his back was completely exposed to the western window.

"Do you hear it now?" Zhan Zhao continued to guide his focus.

"It feels like..." Wang Yong's face was a mask of total bewilderment.

"It is because you are on the verge of committing another sin, which is causing his voice to become muffled and faint."

"I... I haven't. I don't even know what I've done, I didn't do anything bad," Wang Yong field a desperate defense.

"But the little girl in your arms is about to die very soon." Zhan Zhao pointed directly at the sobbing child.

"What... how can that be?" Flustered and at a complete loss, Wang Yong lowered his head to look at the girl.

Zhan Zhao noted that Bai Yutang had already quietly pulled himself onto the window frame. "Why are you holding her so tightly? She is losing the ability to breathe."

"Is... is that true?" Suspicious, Wang Yong carefully inspected the little girl in his embrace, seeing that her face was indeed flushed a dark, suffocating red.

"It's true! She has chronic asthma!" the little Lu Zhen, who was crouching nearby, suddenly piped up.

Seeing a flash of genuine remorse surface on Wang Yong's face, Zhan Zhao couldn't help but praise the boy silently: What a brilliant kid!

Little Lu Zhen stole a glance at Zhan Zhao. Seeing Zhan Zhao give him an encouraging nod, he gathered his courage and spoke to the wavering Wang Yong: "Put her down. I'll take her place as your hostage."

With that, he stood up and walked forward.

By this time, Bai Yutang was already crouched steadily upon the window sill.

Wang Yong set down the little girl in his arms and was just about to reach out to grab Lu Zhen when Zhan Zhao suddenly called out: "God has spoken!"

...Wang Yong froze instantly, his body instinctively locking in place to listen. In that exact fraction of a second, Lu Zhen grabbed the little girl and rolled swiftly out of the way. Bai Yutang launched himself through the air from behind, tackling Wang Yong. With a concentrated burst of force, he instantly dislocated the hand holding the weapon. The gun was stripped clean away, and Wang Yong let out a horrific shriek of agony. The young children scattered in a screaming panic toward the far side of the room, while Lu Zhen shouted at the top of his lungs: "Don't be scared! It's over!"

Zhan Zhao dashed forward to rifle through Wang Yong's pockets, and sure enough, he unearthed a mobile phone with an audio jack plugged into it. As he pulled the phone free, a heavy black object was dragged out along with it. The black device let out a sharp, mechanical click. Zhan Zhao instinctively reached out and caught it, only to see a digital countdown flicker to life across the casing: "10, 9..."

His face turned instantly pale.

"Throw it!" Bai Yutang roared. Zhan Zhao whipped his arm back and hurled the bomb straight out the window, only to catch a terrifying sight in that exact motion: that female reporter and her camera crew had somehow managed to sneak right outside the backyard wall.

"Shit!" Bai Yutang drew his weapon and fired a shot directly at the descending bomb. The bullet clipped the bottom edge of the device, and the force of the impact caused the falling bomb to ricochet upward... With a second shot, the bomb bounced higher still.

Catching a sudden glint of a sniper scope reflection from a distance, Bai Yutang pointed directly at the bomb floating in mid-air. Over a hundred meters away, Ma Han instantly locked onto the target.

Terrified by the sudden gunshots, the members of the camera crew scattered in frantic flight as Bai Yutang's voice thundered from the upper floor: "Everyone hit the deck!"

In the next instant, he and Zhan Zhao simultaneously ripped down the heavy, floor-length blackout curtains, turning on their heels to sprint toward the corner where Lu Zhen had gathered the children.

A deafening, sky-rending explosion tore through the air...

Almost at the exact millisecond of detonation, the bomb was struck by Ma Han's bullet, knocking it a significant distance away. The glass windows of the classroom shattered completely, sending sharp shards blasting inward—but the projectiles were entirely deflected by the thick curtains shielded over the group.

Once the massive roar subsided, Zhao Hu and the other officers below had already breached the room. Seeing that everyone was unharmed, they gathered the terrified children into their arms, offering continuous streams of soothing comfort.

Bai Yutang walked to the window. Seeing that those reckless crew members and the female reporter below were covered in gray soot but otherwise uninjured, he breathed a massive sigh of relief and flashed a firm thumbs-up toward Ma Han's distant position.

Ma Han slumped flat onto the ground clutching his rifle, wiping the sweat from his brow as he spoke to Xu Qing, whose legs had turned entirely to jelly beside him: "Holy mother of god, that was way too thrilling!"

Little Lu Zhen tugged at the corner of Bai Yutang's jacket. "Are you Uncle Bai?"

Bai Yutang scooped him up in a single movement and planted a fierce kiss on his cheek. "Splendid boy! You've got real guts." Turning his gaze around, however, he realized Zhan Zhao was gone.

Zhan Zhao pushed his way through the gathering crowd, running to the outer perimeter to scan the surroundings. He was absolutely certain that the individual who made the phone call was in the immediate vicinity...

In the distance, a figure swiftly ducking into a narrow alleyway caught his eye—it was him!

He gave chase at top speed, bolting into the alleyway. Yet, it was completely empty...

Just as he was about to turn back, a sudden, chilling sensation told him someone was right behind him. A heavy hand slammed down onto his shoulder.

A distant roar echoed from the mouth of the alley: "Cat!"

The person behind him delivered a violent shove, sending Zhan Zhao staggering hard against the brick wall. Turning his head, he caught sight of a male figure clad in a black hooded sweatshirt sprinting away. The man burst out of the alley, leaped into a black vehicle, and tore away with tires screeching. By the time Bai Yutang sprinted to the mouth of the alley, the vehicle had already vanished from sight—a black Honda!

Turning back to Zhan Zhao's side, Bai Yutang noticed a damp handkerchief discarded on the ground. Even standing upright, he could distinctly catch the sharp scent of ether wafting from the fabric.

"That car... ah!" Zhan Zhao had just opened his mouth to speak when he was pinned violently against the wall by Bai Yutang, causing him to let out a sharp cry of pain.

"What... what are you doing?" Looking at the uncontainably furious, murderous expression writing itself across Bai Yutang's face, Zhan Zhao felt a wave of distinct guilt rise within him.

"What am I doing?!" Bai Yutang ground his teeth. "What do you think?"

Zhan Zhao knew full well that he had been entirely too reckless this time around, so he murmured in a quiet, chastened tone, "I'm... I'm sorry."

"Don't you dare think a simple apology clears you!" The moment the words left his mouth, Bai Yutang caught him completely by surprise, leaning down to press his lips fiercely against his.