S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 1: Chapter 20

The Digital Killer 20: The Third Man 

Both of them froze at the exact same moment...

Zhan Zhao's eyes widened in sheer astonishment.

Growing up together and sharing an unbreakable bond since childhood, Zhan Zhao—who ordinarily detested close physical contact with others—had long since grown accustomed to Bai Yutang's touch. Yet this time, it was completely different. It was entirely devoid of the usual playful teasing or practical jokes; Bai Yutang seemed to be incredibly earnest. Zhan Zhao's heart fluttered in a bout of inexplicable panic and confusion, but the man before him was pressing in with overbearing intensity, leaving him with nowhere to hide.

Bai Yutang was also startled by his own actions.

In the split second it registered that Zhan Zhao had almost been abducted, his otherwise logical and razor-sharp mind had actually gone entirely blank. The moment he saw that the Cat was completely unharmed, a wave of profound fury rushed over him, causing his body to act far ahead of his conscious thought. By the time he regained his senses, he found himself utterly unable to stop.

In truth, Bai Yutang had realized a long time ago that he harbored a deep-seated craving to be close to Zhan Zhao. A narrower distance between them consistently brought him a profound sense of peace. There were moments he even questioned his own sanity; that intoxicating, dizzying thought felt as though something was slowly sprouting and taking root in his heart. Because their relationship was already exceptionally intimate, Bai Yutang had deliberately evaded this particular fluttering sensation, successfully brushing it aside every single time. And yet, the feeling only grew clearer and more intense by the day!

When certain things finally arrived, even the most thorough mental preparation would never be quite enough.

The sound of hurried, chaotic footsteps echoed from the distance, causing Zhan Zhao to push Bai Yutang away with a sudden burst of strength.

Backing away a few paces, Bai Yutang watched as Zhan Zhao leaned flat against the brick wall. The Cat was staring at him in absolute disbelief, his eyes wide and round, and his face had actually flushed a deep crimson... He looked incredibly endearing.

"Boss!" Zhao Hu and the others came charging into the narrow alleyway. The moment the team members had recovered their wits earlier, they realized that Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had completely vanished. Panicking, they searched high and low until they burst into the alleyway, only to see Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang standing on opposite sides, staring each other down... Could they be locked in another argument?

Sensing that the atmosphere between the two was exceptionally bizarre, the S.C.I. team members didn't dare to step too close.

Right then, Bai Yutang suddenly let out a soft laugh. Watching his expression, the blush on Zhan Zhao's face deepened by the second. He spun around and began to march away, but after taking barely two steps, he came to a sudden halt. Tilting his head as if caught in a sharp internal debate, he abruptly whirled around and stormed right back. Watching his movements, a faint glimmer of hope flickered within Bai Yutang's eyes.

Zhan Zhao marched right up to him, planted his feet firmly, took a deep breath... and suddenly threw a straight punch right at Bai Yutang's straight nose.

"Ow... you dead cat... hiss—" Bai Yutang clutched his nose and stumbled back several paces, his nose throbbing with agonizing pain.

Feeling somewhat vindicated, Zhan Zhao ground out fiercely, "White Rat, if you ever dare to mess with me like that again, I will slaughter you!!" With that fierce declaration, he turned on his heel and stormed off. He walked with such frantic haste that no one managed to catch the sheer panic and profound bewilderment swirling deep within his eyes.

Watching that slightly panicked silhouette disappear, Bai Yutang let out a bitter laugh and shook his head—Cat, I wasn't messing with you. I am in love with you.

Rubbing his bright red nose, Bai Yutang counted his blessings. Fortunately, this cat was a complete bookworm; otherwise, that punch would have broken his nasal bone for sure.

"Boss! Are... are you alright?" Zhao Hu gathered his courage and crept closer to ask.

Bai Yutang shot a glare at him, arched a single eyebrow, and let out a cold, biting laugh: "Alright? How could I be alright? What on earth do you mean by alright? Why don't you let me punch you once and see if you're alright or not! Not alright? What could possibly be wrong with me? That cat's fist is as soft as a steamed bun; what could possibly happen to me from one of his punches? Who says I'm not alright? Besides, why do you care if I'm alright or not? What if I am not alright and what if I am? Even if something is wrong with you, nothing is wrong with me, and since nothing is wrong with me, there might very well be something wrong with you instead... Whew..." Bai Yutang took a massive gulp of air, executed a sleek, effortless snap of his fingers toward his completely petrified subordinates, and ordered—"Wrap it up!!" With that, he strode forward.

Left standing in a daze, Zhao Hu turned back to look at his fellow teammates. "So... is he alright or not?"

"..." The crowd simply stared with their mouths hanging wide open, slowly shaking their heads as they watched Bai Yutang's receding figure vanish into the distance.

Wang Chao lamented, "When did the Captain study psychology under Dr. Zhan?"

"..." The crowd continued to stand with their mouths agape, slowly shaking their heads as they stared toward the even more distant horizon where Bai Yutang had completely disappeared. They collectively marveled, "He truly is utterly unfathomable..."

Bai Yutang walked back to the scene of the incident, only to find Zhan Zhao sitting in the passenger seat of his silver-gray Spyker C8, completely lost in thought. This absolute dazed cat.

"Xiao Bai!"

Turning around, he found Lu Fang holding little Lu Zhen, standing right behind him.

"I truly cannot thank you all enough!" Lu Fang expressed his gratitude with deep emotion.

"I should be the one thanking him instead!" Bai Yutang patted Lu Zhen's small head. "This kid is definitely going to be extraordinary when he grows up!"

Lu Zhen fished out two cartons of children's milk from his small backpack and held them out to Bai Yutang. "These are for you and that pretty uncle to drink."

Taking the milk with a warm smile, Bai Yutang reached out to give Lu Zhen's chubby cheek a playful pinch before bidding farewell to Lu Fang and turning back toward his vehicle.

Sliding into the driver's seat, Bai Yutang offered a carton of milk to the dazed Zhan Zhao.

"Children's milk??" Zhan Zhao stared at Bai Yutang in sheer astonishment.

"Little Lu Zhen bought it for you."

"Oh... that kid is truly remarkable!"

"He is! He'll definitely be a formidable figure in the future!"

"..."

"Cat."

"What?"

Bai Yutang fired up the engine. "From this exact moment onward, do not stray a single step from my side until we bring down those psychopaths!"

Sipping his milk, Zhan Zhao offered a soft smile. "Those? As in plural? Not just one?"

"Thieving cat!" Bai Yutang slammed his foot on the accelerator. "Did you hear me? From this moment onward, don't you dare leave my side for a single step!"

...

"Mm." He continued to sip the milk, finding it remarkably tasty. "Give me that carton too!" He reached out to snatch it away.

"Hey! Cat, no stealing! One carton per person."

"Stingy!"

"Gluttonous cat!"

...

By the time they returned to the S.C.I. office, it was already noon. The moment Bai Yutang stepped into the room, he saw Bai Jintang sitting blankly on the sofa, his eyes staring straight ahead in a state of absolute, sluggish confusion.

Bai Yutang carefully retraced his steps, backing out of the office in absolute silence, while Bai Jintang stood up and began walking out with a completely expressionless face.

The moment Zhan Zhao caught sight of him, he bolted into his own office in absolute terror, shouting to the rest of the team who were still frozen in place: "Run! Whatever you do, do not go near him!!"

Having witnessed the older Bai brother's destructive power the previous night, the team scattered in all directions. Bai Jintang simply continued walking with a blank expression, marching straight toward the main entrance.

"Boss? What... what is the situation?" Zhao Hu hid behind Bai Yutang, asking in a weak, trembling voice.

"Waking... waking up on the wrong side of the bed! Especially when he doesn't get enough sleep, he is capable of absolutely anything!"

Just as Bai Jintang reached the doorway, Gongsun happened to push the door open, holding a file in his hand as he walked in. "You're all back? How did the operation go?"

...

No one offered a response. Gongsun lifted his gaze to find Bai Jintang standing directly in front of him, looking somewhat bewildered. "What is wrong with you..."

Before the words could fully leave his mouth, Bai Jintang extended both arms, wrapped them tightly around Gongsun, and buried his face in Gongsun's shoulder, nuzzling around erratically. Finally, he lifted his head and planted a fierce, solid kiss right on Gongsun's cheek.

Immediately following that, Bai Jintang rubbed his bleary eyes and murmured a soft, "Good morning."

The entire S.C.I. team collectively gasped in absolute horror. They watched as Gongsun's ordinarily pale complexion turned an icy shade of green. He dropped the files instantly, reaching straight into his pocket to retrieve something.

Ma Han asked Bai Yutang in a trembling whisper, "Boss... will Gongsun... will he use a scalpel to hack your older brother to pieces?"

Sure enough, Gongsun extracted a gleaming, silver surgical scalpel from his pocket...

"Pull them apart, quickly!!" Recognizing that disaster was imminent, Bai Yutang barked the command. The team members lunged forward in unison, with Ma Han and Zhang Long grabbing Gongsun by his arms and dragging him backward out of the room.

"Gongsun, calm down..."

"I am going to slaughter him!" Gongsun thrashed wildly, brandishing the scalpel. "Let go of me! I am going to flay him alive! Three thousand cuts! Not a single slice less!!"

...The S.C.I. office... dissolved once more into utter chaos.

Zhan Zhao stood far away from the madness, stroking Lu Ban in his arms as he murmured in a hushed whisper, "Whatever you do, do not go over there! It's way too dangerous!"

Half an hour later, in the cafeteria on the second floor of the police bureau building.

Bai Jintang touched the slash on his collar. The surgical scalpel Gongsun had hurled earlier had sliced cleanly through his fabric, missing his carotid artery by less than a single centimeter. "The work you two do is quite hazardous..." Bai Jintang remarked, a lingering trace of fear written across his face.

"Who told you to go provoking Gongsun in the first place?" Bai Yutang poured him a cup of tea to calm his nerves.

Bai Jintang took a sip of the tea. "Why on earth is that Gongsun so incredibly fierce?"

...

Zhan Zhao shot a subtle look toward Bai Yutang, and Bai Yutang gave a firm nod in return. "Big Brother, there are a few things I want to ask you."

Bai Jintang looked at him, then shifted his gaze to Zhan Zhao. "What is it?"

"Uh... did Dad have any exceptionally close brothers?"

"Brothers?" Bai Jintang was thoroughly mystified by the question. "I've been moved out of the house for how many years now? How would I know anything about his brothers?"

"From twenty years ago," Zhan Zhao supplied.

"..." Bai Jintang looked at the two of them with a flash of distinct surprise. "Mm... yes, he did."

"Big Brother?" Seeing the subtle shift in Bai Jintang's expression, Bai Yutang sensed that something was amiss. "Is there a problem?"

Taking another sip of his tea, Bai Jintang replied in a flat, detached tone, "I can't recall the exact details clearly. You had better go ask Director Bao instead."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a swift glance, deeply startled by Bai Jintang's reaction.

"Can't recall clearly? Then do you happen to know who else was part of the Black and White Twin Fiends, aside from Director Bao and the old man?" Bai Yutang pressed further.

"Whew..." Bai Jintang let out a bitter laugh. "I only know that there was a person whose surname was Zhao, and that man fired a bullet straight into my head." He pointed directly at his own temple. "By the time I woke up again, a full year had already passed. Ever since then, the events before I turned thirteen have only remained as a few broken, fragmented memories."

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao were struck with profound horror. They remembered that when they were children, Bai Jintang had indeed vanished for an entire year.

"B-Big Brother..." Bai Yutang was at a complete loss for words. "You... please don't dwell on it..."

Bai Jintang smiled gently. "It doesn't matter; I don't remember it anyway. Oh, right, I brought a bottle of seventy-six Alsace wine for Director Bao. You two can use that to bribe him a little; it should help you dig up quite a lot..."

To their absolute surprise, when Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao hesitantly approached Bao Zheng with the bottle of wine, Bao Zheng cut them off before they could even open their mouths, speaking directly: "Save your breath. I already know exactly what you want to ask. Follow me, I am taking you to see someone!”