S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 1: Chapter 2

The Digital Killer 02: Case

The meeting went smoothly enough, focusing primarily on introducing the team members and outlining their respective responsibilities.

Afterward, Chief Bao handed a thick stack of files to Bai Yutang and said, "These are high-profile major cases from the past ten years that remain unsolved. Put those bastards behind bars before they kick the bucket." With that, he turned to leave. Just before stepping out the door, however, he looked back at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang with a deeply meaningful gaze and said, "The two of you... no fighting. Give me your absolute best cooperation!" He then took his leave, leaving a cold chill running down both Zhan Zhao's and Bai Yutang's necks.

Once Bao Zheng left, the solemn atmosphere in the room instantly relaxed. Since everyone was already well-acquainted from their respective previous departments, being thrown together now naturally called for some catching up.

Bai Yutang waved his hand and called out, "Everyone organize your things first. Meet in the conference room in half an hour!" Having said that, he caught Zhan Zhao’s eye, giving him a look that meant step into my office, and the two walked inside.

The layout of the S.C.I. was simple, consisting of a main hall, two individual offices, and a relatively modern conference room.

The main hall was lined with standard-issue desks, one for each member. Because most of them were field agents, they traveled light and had very few personal belongings.

Of the two individual offices, Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao claimed one each.

Bai Yutang’s office was fairly minimalist, decorated with a high degree of elegance that reflected his personal tastes.

The person with the most gear was undoubtedly Zhan Zhao. Due to the nature of his profession, his office housed several large bookshelves packed tight with books, and his document racks were filled with file folders of every color.

Lu Fang briefly showed his face before rushing off to attend to other matters, while Han Zhang, who was in charge of intelligence, was nowhere to be seen.

Gongsun Ce had a separate forensics laboratory and several assistants located right next door to the S.C.I., equipped with the highest-grade technology available.

In fact, the seventeenth floor had originally been designated entirely for forensics, which used to be a forbidden zone where everyone feared to tread. Upon arriving, the very first thing Zhao Hu did was light incense to worship the Bodhisattva in hopes of driving away the ominous yin energy. This prompted Gongsun to mischievously drag him aside, giving him a detailed explanation of why the forensics lab was situated on the seventeenth floor to begin with, followed by a recount of the top ten eerie incidents that had supposedly occurred there. Terribly spooked, Zhao Hu covered his ears and cried out, "Spare my life, Big Brother!"

Inside the Team Leader's office, Zhan Zhao elegantly crossed his legs as he sat in the chair before the executive desk, looking at Bai Yutang across from him with a half-smile.

"Dead cat, what are you staring at!" Years of experience battling Zhan Zhao told Bai Yutang that whenever the man showed this exact expression, he needed to be on high alert.

"Nothing," Zhan Zhao shrugged. "Just waiting for Team Leader Bai's instructions."

Bai Yutang looked utterly displeased. "Cut the act. Same old rules—you are absolutely not allowed to undermine my authority in front of the team members!"

"No problem! But when you go out into the field, I go too. And you must defer to me on all professional matters," Zhan Zhao bargained, laying down his terms.

"Sigh... Deal." Bai Yutang sighed and nodded, pushing the massive stack of case files over to Zhan Zhao. "This belongs to you then, Expert!"

"Based on what?" Zhan Zhao snapped in annoyance. He grabbed half of the stack and shoved it right back in front of Bai Yutang. "Half for each of us!"

Bai Yutang ground his teeth and glared. "You know perfectly well that reading these is my biggest pet peeve."

Zhan Zhao glared back. "This is the responsibility of the Team Leader. You should look through them first to find the ones with a lower difficulty level and crack a case or two. Otherwise, the S.C.I. will lose all credibility, Master Detective Bai!"

Bai Yutang looked astonished. "Hey, do you even know what a cold case is? You make it sound like they can just be solved on a whim. Wait, something's not right..." Bai Yutang scanned Zhan Zhao from head to toe, a knowing smile spreading across his face. "I say, Cat, you're acting strange. Oh, I get it. I'm the primary leader and you're the vice leader, and you're feeling bitter about it, aren't you, Doctor Zhan?"

Zhan Zhao began grinding his teeth as well. He slammed the half-dozen files fiercely back in front of Bai Yutang. "Hmph! A petty man drunk on power. Read them yourself then!"

"You... Fine!" Bai Yutang snapped crossly. "Let's just pick one at random. Whichever one I pull is the one we do. They're all cases anyway; what difference does it make which one we solve?" With that, he reached out and blindly pulled a single file out from the stack. "We'll go with this one..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a few crisp raps on the door. He looked up.

Gongsun Ce was leaning against the doorframe, holding a file folder of his own. "You can put those dusty old cases on hold for now. I have a live one right here."

Bai Yutang raised a hand and said, "Hold on... gather everyone and let's discuss it together in the conference room."

Gongsun Ce appeared slightly surprised. "You don't want to hear the brief first?"

Bai Yutang smiled warmly. "No need, no need. If it were something of no value, would you, Gongsun, even bother bringing it forward?"

Gongsun Ce nodded with satisfaction and walked toward the conference room. Behind him, Zhan Zhao muttered under his breath, "Flatterer, thieving rat!" As Bai Yutang walked out, he let out a massive sneeze.