S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 1: Chapter 8

The Digital Killer 08: The Doctor 

Gongsun conducted a brief autopsy, then stepped out of the cell and walked over to stand in front of Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang.

"How is it?" Bai Yutang asked.

"He died of poisoning." Gongsun removed his gloves.

"Poisoning??" Bai Yutang glanced at the prison guard beside him. "Where did he get the poison??"

The guard looked utterly terrified and panicked. "That's impossible! While he was outside, he was wearing a straightjacket the entire time, and no one ever got close to him..."

"Calm down, calm down..." Zhan Zhao had someone lead the highly agitated guard away, then turned to look at Bai Yutang. "What's next?"

Bai Yutang looked around and said, "This is a special ward, entirely sealed. However, I just took a look at the layout of the area. Even though the cells are partitioned off, the corridor is continuous. To get to Wu Hao's room, one absolutely has to pass by the first two cells. The problem is, though..."

Bai Yutang paused for a moment and said to Zhan Zhao, "The fellows here seem to be rather unique. We need you, our expert, to step up."

Wu Hao occupied Cell Number 3. There was only one staircase on this floor, so anyone heading to Wu Hao's cell had to pass by Cell Number 1 and Cell Number 2.

The inmate in Cell Number 1 was an extremely dangerous, high-risk convict named Liu Chen, thirty-nine years old, who suffered from severe schizophrenia, mania, and paranoia. If the inmate in Cell Number 1 could be considered a violent lunatic, then the one in Cell Number 2 was a quiet lunatic. His name was Qin Jiaqi, a medical student only nineteen years old. His crime was attacking his sleeping roommates...

Back in that special interrogation room, Bai Yutang looked over the introductions for the two inmates in his hands, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Tsk, tsk... I must say, Cat, it really isn't easy for you to maintain your sanity when you deal with these kinds of people all the time."

Zhan Zhao rolled his eyes at him. "Most people discriminate against patients with psychological disorders. But you should know that once cured, they are just like people recovering from a cold—they become healthy human beings again!"

As they were talking, the interrogation room door opened, and a heavily built, bald, middle-aged man walked in. The heavy shackles all over his body spoke volumes about his dangerous nature.

Moving his heavy chains slowly, he sat down opposite Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao. Raising his somewhat cloudy eyes, he looked at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, then burst into a raspy chuckle. "Heh, heh. You guys are much better than those stinky, filthy cops I've met in the past."

Bai Yutang actually felt that this man seemed a bit more rational than Wu Hao, so he said, "Are you Liu Chen?"

Liu Chen nodded. Before Bai Yutang could ask a question, he beat him to it, saying, "You want to ask about that guy from Cell Number 3 who died today, right?"

Hearing his words, both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang revealed a hint of surprise. Seeing this, Liu Chen laughed raspy again and continued, "I saw a doctor walk past."

"A doctor?" Bai Yutang instantly perked up. "What did he look like? Have you seen him before?"

"Nope!" Liu Chen shook his head vigorously. He leaned his body forward and lowered his voice with a touch of mystery, saying, "I could tell he wasn't a doctor at all. I know all the doctors here! I've lived here for eight years, and I'm going to keep living here. This is my territory."

"How can you be sure he wasn't a newcomer?" Zhan Zhao suddenly asked.

Liu Chen laughed again, pointing at his own nose as he said, "Different! The scent was different!"

"Scent?" Bai Yutang repeated, thoroughly intrigued.

"That's right!" Liu Chen nodded with satisfaction and said, "Everyone's scent is different!" As he spoke, he pointed at Bai Yutang and muttered, "Cop." Then he pointed at Zhan Zhao, "Expert."

Zhan Zhao nodded and asked, "Then what about that doctor? What did he smell like?"

Liu Chen smiled and sat back upright, pointing at himself as he said, "The same scent as me—the scent of blood."

After Liu Chen left, Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao very seriously and asked, "Are you sure he has a psychological disorder? I think he's more normal than I am."

Zhan Zhao didn't say a word. He just stared at Bai Yutang for a long time before throwing out a line, "So you finally realize you're not normal??"

Furious!!

Just as the two were about to start another round of bickering, the door opened, and Qin Jiaqi from Cell Number 2 walked in. His treatment was much better than Liu Chen's; he bore no chains, and he wasn't even wearing a straightjacket. He wore only a simple blue-and-white striped patient gown.

He appeared very timid, walking in with extreme caution before sitting down. Trembling with fear, he raised his head to look at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang before him. When his eyes met Bai Yutang's gaze, he seemed to catch a fright and quickly lowered his head. After a moment, he raised his head again to look at Zhan Zhao. This time he wasn't frightened; instead, he smiled at Zhan Zhao with a hint of shyness.

Zhan Zhao smiled back at him warmly, which allowed the tense youth to relax a little.

Just as Bai Yutang was about to start questioning him, he saw Zhan Zhao shoot him a meaningful look. Bai Yutang understood, closed his mouth, stood up, and walked out of Qin Jiaqi's line of sight.

"Qin Jiaqi?" Zhan Zhao began his one-on-one conversation with him.

Bai Yutang's departure seemed to make Qin Jiaqi relax completely. He nodded gently, cast a careful glance at Bai Yutang who was standing by the door with his back turned to them, and lowered his voice to ask Zhan Zhao, "Will he... get angry?"

Zhan Zhao smiled and said, "It's alright, Jiaqi. I want to ask you a few questions, and you just need to answer honestly, okay?"

"Mm." Qin Jiaqi nodded earnestly.

"This afternoon, did you see anyone unusual walk past your door?"

Qin Jiaqi nodded.

"What kind of person was it?"

Qin Jiaqi suddenly began to grow anxious and said, "Sa... Satan."

"Satan?" Standing by the door, Bai Yutang turned around in astonishment. Qin Jiaqi immediately shrank back in fear. Zhan Zhao glared fiercely at Bai Yutang, who immediately raised both hands in apology and turned right back around.

"Jiaqi, could you describe what Satan looked like, please?" Zhan Zhao softened his voice.

"Mm..." Jiaqi nodded and said, "He, he was wearing white clothes, and his hand... he had a needle in his hand... he just walked past, very quickly. Then he came back again, and he... he even made a gesture at me."

"What kind of gesture?"

Qin Jiaqi pressed his index finger to his lips and whispered softly, "Shh..."

Before Qin Jiaqi left the room, he pointed at Zhan Zhao and muttered, "Angel," then pointed at Bai Yutang by the door and murmured softly, "Exorcist." Only then did he walk away, mumbling to himself.

Zhan Zhao stood dazed for a long moment before Bai Yutang turned his head around, pointed at the doorway, and said to him, "Now he definitely isn't normal!!"