S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 1: Chapter 24

The Digital Killer 24: Interrogation 

The door to the cremation room swung open, and Bai Jintang walked out in front of everyone carrying Gongsun. Gongsun was draped in his suit jacket, and his loose strands of hair fell over his eyes, obscuring his expression.

"Is he alright?" Zhan Zhao asked anxiously.

"He's fine, just a bit of an overdose on the anesthetic," Bai Jintang said, gesturing behind him toward Chen Jing. "The man is over there."

Seeing Chen Jing looking entirely limp and lifeless, Bai Yutang immediately glared. "Did you two use vigilante justice on him?"

"Don't go spurting blood to defame people without evidence!" the twins said in perfect unison.

Bai Yutang stepped forward and felt around Chen Jing's body. Discovering that the joints were all dislocated, he said furiously, "You two still dare to be so arrogant now that you're back in the country?"

The twins shot Bai Yutang a glance out of the corners of their eyes. "Do you have proof? He fell down all on his own!" They spoke in unison once again.

"You damn twins..." Bai Yutang rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to throw punches.

Zhan Zhao quickly pulled him back. "Forget it, forget it. Let's send Gongsun to the hospital first."

"Little Zhan, it's been a long time!" The icy expressions on the twins' faces instantly vanished into smiles as they each reached out an arm to drape around Zhan Zhao's shoulders.

"Zhaolan, Zhaohui, you two came as well?"

"Mm! It's been so long since we last met. Little Zhan is getting cuter and cuter..."

Bai Yutang reached out, snatched Zhan Zhao back behind him, and glared at the twins. "You two perverts, stay away from him! Hurry up and scramble back to Italy for me!!"

The twins shook their heads smugly. "We aren't going back!"

"What?!" Not only Bai Yutang, but even Zhan Zhao froze in surprise.

"Oh, that's also why I came back this time," Bai Jintang suddenly interjected. "I intend to move my business operations back into the country."

………………

Zhan Zhao pulled Bai Yutang over to the side and whispered, "Selling firearms inside the country is illegal, isn't it? Don't tell me he wants to establish a mafia syndicate?"

Bai Yutang scratched his head. "About that..."

"Yutang..."

The two turned around, startled to realize that Bai Jintang had stood behind them at some unknown point.

"You were the one who told Little Zhao that I sell firearms? And what's this about a mafia syndicate?"

"Uh... well..." Bai Yutang began scanning for an escape route, but the twins blocked the paths to his left and right.

"And to think I usually dote on you so much..." Bai Jintang's gaze grew increasingly dangerous. "It turns out that in your heart, your big brother is a major villain..."

"Ah!" Zhan Zhao spoke up suddenly from the side. "It looks like Gongsun is in quite a lot of discomfort!"

...!... Bai Jintang hurriedly looked down at Gongsun in his arms. He saw that the effects of the anesthetic seemed to have finally worn off slightly, as his body gave a few gentle twitches.

"Hurry and take him to the hospital, an overdose on anesthetic can be a major or minor issue!" Zhan Zhao grabbed Bai Yutang, turned, and ran. "Let's hurry up and interrogate Chen Jing..."

After successfully escaping, Bai Yutang climbed into the car and threw an arm around Zhan Zhao. "Cat! You're simply wonderful. Come here, give me a kiss!"

"Ah~~" Utterly infuriated, Zhan Zhao swiped a claw across. "You dead rat! I am absolutely never rescuing you again!!"

Watching the successfully escaped Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, Bai Jintang fell into deep thought. The twins leaned in close beside him. "Big brother, how much longer are you going to keep holding him?"

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Chen Jing had indeed suffered quite a bit this time. Ding Zhaolan and Ding Zhaohui truly lived up to their past as mercenaries; they had beautifully dislocated his joints without leaving any hard internal injuries, though it caused severe pain.

Walking into the interrogation room, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang saw Chen Jing slumping against the back of the chair. He felt like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Chen Jing." Bai Yutang sat down across from him, tossing the files in his hands onto the desk. "You fabricated all of the cases?"

Chen Jing maintained his exact posture from before, entirely devoid of reaction.

Bai Yutang frowned. He couldn't stand this half-dead, unresponsive look the most. He turned his face to look at Zhan Zhao, signaling: You take over.

Zhan Zhao nodded. He observed Chen Jing for a long moment before speaking slowly, "You used far too much anesthetic on Gongsun."

Chen Jing appeared to tremble slightly.

"He might have to be hospitalized for a period of time," Zhan Zhao continued. "His left wrist is also sprained."

Chen Jing raised his head, asking in a hoarse voice, "Does... does he hate me very much?"

Zhan Zhao nodded. "You wanted to burn to death together with him inside the cremation room, didn't you?"

Chen Jing nodded. "I... I just wanted to be together with him..."

"Did you give him so much anesthetic because you were afraid he would feel pain when the fire burned him?"

"Mm..." Chen Jing nodded.

"But Gongsun didn't know any of this," Zhan Zhao said. "He has no idea how much you did for him."

Chen Jing shook his head. "He never cared anyway..."

"That's not true!" Seeing the sliver of hope that flashed through Chen Jing's eyes, Zhan Zhao added, "It isn't that he didn't care, but rather that you never told him."

"I..." Chen Jing hesitated.

Zhan Zhao said, "You must understand, there is nothing wrong with you liking him. What was wrong were the actions you took. Speak about everything that happened, and I will pass it along to Gongsun for you."

Chen Jing looked blankly at Zhan Zhao before him. "If I speak out, will he forgive me?"

Bai Yutang had been listening from the side all along and suddenly felt that Chen Jing was actually quite pitiable. "Do you still want to see him again?"

"What?" Chen Jing raised his head in shock. "Can I still see him again?"

"Heh..." Bai Yutang shook his head. "Speak the truth. If he forgives you, he might come to visit you."

"I'll speak, I'll speak..." Chen Jing nodded in a hurry. "Whatever you ask me, I'll say it all."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a look. Bai Yutang pulled out his paper and pen and began taking notes.

"How long have you known Gongsun?"

"Eight... eight years."

"Were you Gongsun's classmate?" Zhan Zhao flipped through Chen Jing's file. "Though you were two cohorts senior to him, weren't you?"

"Mm..." Chen Jing nodded. "The first time I saw him was at a school gathering."

"Have you liked him for a very long time?" Bai Yutang asked.

"From the very first glance I laid eyes on him."

"Then how long have you been stalking him?"

"One... one year."

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Zhan Zhao nodded. "Sending flowers and making phone calls began then as well?"

"Mm."

"Why did it only start this past year?"

"To... to face up to my own feelings."

Bai Yutang frowned as he looked at Zhan Zhao. "Face up to his own feelings."

Zhan Zhao pondered for a moment. "Was this your own decision, or was it a suggestion given to you by someone else?"

"It was... a suggestion given to me by a doctor."

"A doctor?" Bai Yutang grew interested. "What kind of doctor?"

Chen Jing let out a sigh. "In the past, as long as I could look at him from afar, I would be very content. It's just that gradually, I missed him more and more. This feeling... every time he spoke to others or smiled at others... I, I would have a sudden urge to kill. I would think, it would be wonderful if he belonged exclusively to me alone. Sometimes, even I felt that I wasn't normal..."

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao beside him, who was listening intently, and smiled wryly in his heart. He could understand Chen Jing's mindset all too well.

"You felt you weren't normal, so you went to see a doctor?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"Mm. I felt that if I kept going on like this, it might develop to an irrecoverable state. So, I went to find a psychologist." Chen Jing continued, "The doctor suggested that I face up to my own feelings."

"He suggested you go stalk him and send flowers?" Bai Yutang was surprised. "Where is this psychologist located? What is their name?"

Chen Jing shook his head. "Because I am technically a public servant in a government department, my profession—as you also know—is inherently very sensitive. Moreover, I didn't want to cause trouble for Gongsun. So, the one I looked for was a private psychological clinic recommended by a friend."

Zhan Zhao nodded. "In other words, you looked for a clinic that didn't have a business license?"

Chen Jing nodded. "That, that wasn't a clinic at all, just a small room. But the doctor was very effective. Every time after I spoke with him, I would feel much better."

"What was the doctor's name?" Bai Yutang asked.

"I... I don't know what his name was. He told me to just call him 'Doctor'. He said I didn't need to worry, claiming he was a very famous psychology professor in the country. Because he worked in a government department, he couldn't operate a business privately, so he had to keep his name hidden."

"What did he look like?"

"Mm... quite advanced in age, wore a pair of glasses, and looked highly educated."

Bai Yutang pulled two photographs from his folder—they were of Professor Xu and Doctor Zhang. "Is this person among them?"

Chen Jing leaned in to look closely, pointing at the photo of Professor Xu. "It should be him."

"Should be?"

"The lighting inside the room was very dark, so I didn't see clearly. He felt roughly the same... However, I have seen this person before." As Chen Jing spoke, he pointed at the photograph of Doctor Zhang.

"Where did you see him?" Zhan Zhao was somewhat startled.

"That day when I was leaving the clinic, I saw him right outside the doorway."

Bai Yutang asked, "Why did you fabricate the serial numerical murder cases?"

Chen Jing hesitated slightly. "I followed the doctor's advice and began stalking Gongsun and sending him flowers. In the beginning, I felt very happy and joyful, but gradually..."

"You became dissatisfied again?" Bai Yutang said.

"Mm." Chen Jing nodded. "The doctor said that there was actually nothing wrong with my feelings, and that perhaps there was a way to make Gongsun accept me."

"The method was fabricating cases?"

"Because Gongsun is usually cold and detached toward everyone, and only seems quite serious when it comes to work, I thought about starting from his work." Chen Jing continued, "Sure enough, when Gongsun heard about the cases, he really became highly interested and asked to meet with me... That, that was the first time he spoke so much to me."

"Why did you kill Wu Hao?"

Chen Jing looked a bit panicked. "I didn't expect that Gongsun would actually hand the case over to you guys, and that you would formally establish a case to investigate it. I... I was afraid the matter would be exposed... Moreover, as long as Wu Hao was killed, then the case would become a genuine serial case."

"Who told you the numbers?"

"It was... the doctor."

Bai Yutang found it amusing. "Didn't you think it was strange? Why would he know the numbers?"

Chen Jing wavered for a moment before saying, "He said... those were all failed experimental subjects."

………………

"How did you enter the prison?"

"The doctor took me there. He said he was an official forensic psychologist and could directly enter the prison's medical room."

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao. "No wonder not a single guard noticed him."

Zhan Zhao nodded. "Professor Xu is indeed an official psychological profiler... and his seniority is exceptionally high."

"That's true," Bai Yutang said. "He was already able to prove that Zhao Jue was abnormal twenty years ago."

Zhan Zhao fell into contemplation. "Do you think he might be conducting some kind of experiment?"

"Highly probable. He just mentioned something about experimental subjects." Bai Yutang stood up, pushing the paper and pen toward Chen Jing. "Write down the address of the clinic."

Zhan Zhao stood up as well. "Are you planning to go make an arrest?"

Bai Yutang shook his head. "No, the evidence isn't enough. That old fellow is an expert, and his way of handling things is watertight."

"Exactly!" Zhan Zhao expressed his agreement. "He only needs to prove that Chen Jing is psychologically abnormal, and he can push all criminal liability away completely."

Bai Yutang picked up the sheet with the address, turned around, and left the interrogation room.

"Where are you going?" Zhan Zhao quickly followed.

"Uh... Cat, I suddenly thought of some matters I need to take care of..."

"You want to go scout that clinic by yourself, don't you?" Zhan Zhao grabbed him. "I'm going too."

Bai Yutang felt helpless. "It's too dangerous. What if something happens? Wait here obediently."

Zhan Zhao shot him a glare. "We agreed that whenever you go out on field duty, you have to bring me along!"

"There's danger!"

"You were the one who told me yourself that I couldn't leave your side by a single step, yet now you want to cast me aside and act on your own."

"I'm doing this for your own good, why are you being so unreasonable?"

"Fine!" Zhan Zhao nodded. "I'm going to go tell Chief Bao!"

"Tell him what?" Bai Yutang hurriedly pulled back Zhan Zhao, who was turning to leave.

"I'm going to tell him that you are acting without authorization!"

"Hey, don't... fine, fine, I give in to you, alright!"

"Hehe." Zhan Zhao smiled with immense satisfaction, following a downcast Bai Yutang out of the police station.