S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 1: Chapter 22
The Digital Killer 22: Skulking
Gongsun's residence was located in a luxury apartment building in the center of S City.
Originally, Gongsun had proposed letting Bai Jintang stay temporarily in the garage. Unexpectedly, that giant rat managed to force his way into the private residence anyway, and attempts to evict him... had proven futile.
Watching Bai Jintang sit swaggeringly on his own sofa, Gongsun ground his teeth and began plotting how to deal with him.
"Do you have glasses?" Bai Jintang pulled a beautifully packaged bottle of wine from his suitcase—an 1986 Bordeaux red.
Gongsun turned around and obediently went to find glasses.
Indeed, Bai Jintang had accurately located Gongsun's absolute weakest point: fine wine!
The moment he first laid eyes on Gongsun, Bai Jintang had an inkling that this was someone who loved wine.
Sure enough, upon entering Gongsun's home, one could see an exquisite wine rack and bar. An abundance of fine wine served as the best decoration, accenting the minimally themed interior furnishings—much like the impression given by the home's owner: noble and elegant.
Bai Jintang stood up and walked over to the massive French windows, taking in the entire night view of S City. This area was a concentrated zone for the city's high-rise residences. The towering buildings lining the surroundings blinked with lights, resembling stars scattered across the night curtain, tranquil and peaceful...
As he watched, Bai Jintang suddenly fixed his gaze on a certain floor of a high-rise directly ahead, his brow furrowing—he felt a strange sensation.
It was a high-rise building that appeared somewhat old and outmoded. A window somewhere on the thirteenth floor caught Bai Jintang's attention. Within the pitch-black window frame, there was a patch of bright white reflection, like a massive eyeball staring maliciously in this direction. Was that... the glare off a high-powered telescope?
Bai Jintang rubbed his chin and thought to himself, No way...
Turning around, he saw Gongsun crouching in front of a cabinet comparing several glasses. He seemed stubbornly intent on finding the most suitable one out of the entire wall of exquisite glass stemware.
His suit jacket had been taken off at some unknown point. Gongsun wore only a white shirt with the collar unbuttoned and the cuffs rolled up to his elbows, looking exceptionally refined...
Sensing Bai Jintang's gaze, Gongsun turned his head with a touch of confusion. It was just a simple, casual glance—slightly slanted phoenix eyes, long eyelashes, a light and elegant aura, and a perfect silhouette. If Zhan Zhao's beauty was the type that refreshed a person's soul, then Gongsun's was the type that left one with much to ponder. Zhan Zhao was pure; Gongsun was cold and ethereal. Bai Jintang suddenly felt that the two of them were somewhat alike, particularly that completely defenseless state, which made people worry.
"What are you looking at?!" Gongsun asked, frowning.
Bai Jintang pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Gongsun, has anyone been harassing you lately?"
"Huh?" An expression of complete incomprehension washed over Gongsun's face. "What do you mean?"
"For instance, sending you flowers, making phone calls, writing letters, or things like that..."
Smash...
Before Bai Jintang could even finish his sentence, the glass in Gongsun's hand dropped to the floor, shattering into pieces.
Snapping out of it abruptly, Gongsun hurriedly bent down in a fluster to pick up the glass shards.
Bai Jintang swept his gaze knowingly across the room and discovered that the telephone line had long since been unplugged and tossed onto the floor.
Walking over a few steps, he picked it up and plugged it back in. "Why isn't the telephone line even plugged in properly..."
"Don't!" Gongsun rushed forward, intending to rip it back out, but Bai Jintang caught him in his arms, drawing close to ask intimately, "Has someone been calling to harass you?"
"You... how did you know?" Gongsun's face turned pale as he stared at Bai Jintang in panic.
"Male or female?"
"I don't know..."
"You don't know?"
Gongsun pushed Bai Jintang away. "It's... a voice processed through a voice changer."
"What do they say?"
"..." Gongsun bit his lower lip. "They say... 'You are... mine.'"
"What else?"
"They would... send flowers... white ones, calla lilies."
"How long has this been going on?"
"About a year."
Bai Jintang felt helpless. "Why didn't you tell Yutang and the others? You have plenty of police officers right around you, don't you?"
Gongsun frowned. "It only used to happen occasionally before, so I didn't pay much attention to it. It's just that these past few days... it has become completely excessive."
"Yutang and the rest have been very busy lately because of the case, so you wanted to wait a while before bringing it up, right?" Bai Jintang pulled him over to the window. "I might be able to help you handle this guy."
Gongsun looked at him in confusion. "How would you know?"
Bai Jintang smiled. "My head suffered an injury before, and I underwent a year of sterile, isolated treatment."
"What?" Gongsun was surprised.
Pointing to his own head, Bai Jintang said, "Ever since I recovered, this place has become very perceptive—especially when it comes to sensing malicious intent."
With that, he pulled Gongsun in front of him, lowering his head as though leaning in for a hug.
Amused, Gongsun asked, "Are you trying to say you have supernatural powers?"
Bai Jintang shrugged indifferently. "My senses are just sharp, that's all. Want to make a bet?"
"What bet?"
Bai Jintang hooked one corner of his mouth up and said softly, "Shh... it's coming soon!"
Gongsun felt bewildered.
Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring... The urgent ringing of the telephone suddenly pierced the air, causing Gongsun to visibly freeze.
Bai Jintang curled his lips into a smile. "Ignore it for now." Having said that, he drew the curtains shut.
The phone rang continuously until Bai Jintang finally picked it up.
Suddenly, a screeching sound like metal scraping rang out from the phone, accompanied by a hysterical, roaring scream: "You are mine... you're mine... you're mine..." The shrill cries sounded incredibly bizarre and sorrowful under the effects of the voice changer. A flash of ruthlessness crossed Bai Jintang's face as he smiled and said, "Who said he's yours? He's mine."
"Shut up! I'm going to kill you! Kill you! ~~~" The screaming carried a heart-wrenching, tearing quality.
"Hang up the phone, hang it up." Gongsun truly did not want to listen to this subhuman shrieking any longer.
Letting out a cold laugh into the receiver, Bai Jintang hung up the phone, ripped the telephone line out with one hand, and turned off the lights.
...
That night, having received quite a scare, Gongsun drank some wine and went to sleep early.
Bai Jintang picked up Gongsun's jacket and felt around inside, locating Gongsun's mobile phone. Taking a glass, he casually grabbed a bottle of wine from the cabinet, opened it, and poured himself a drink.
Carrying the wine glass, he walked over to the sofa, sat down, and sipped slowly. He unlocked Gongsun's phone, flipped to the contacts list, and began dialing the numbers one by one...
Inside a dark, dreary room, a person was frantically smashing everything that could be smashed and tearing apart everything that could be torn apart. Using a voice that was already nearly hoarse, he yelled like a man possessed, over and over again: "You are mine... I'm going to kill you... You are mine... I'm going to kill you..."
Buzz buzz ~~~~ The phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated. He pulled it out with trembling hands, only to see that the caller ID displayed: "Gongsun..."
He fiercely rejected the call.
Instantly, it began ringing again.
Slamming the phone onto the ground like a madman, he grabbed a hard vessel nearby and began violently smashing it down. "I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you! ..."
After the ringing tones, a rapid busy signal sounded on the other end. When Bai Jintang dialed again, it changed to: "The subscriber you have dialed is temporarily unavailable..."
Bai Jintang moved the phone away from his ear and took another glance at that contact name. Letting out a cold laugh, he turned off the phone, leaned back against the sofa, and tilted his head back—draining the wine in his glass in a single gulp.