S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 2: Chapter 16

The Killer Training Camp 16: Schemes 

"Cat, how do you plan to handle this?" Bai Yutang started the car and asked Zhan Zhao, who was sitting beside him with a sly, cunning smile on his face.

"Hmm..." Zhan Zhao pondered for a short while, then suddenly replied with something completely unrelated, "Little Bai, do you feel there is any obvious distinction between these victims?"

"Is that your way of changing the subject?" Bai Yutang smiled playfully.

"I'm being serious!" Zhan Zhao glared at him. "Tell me your thoughts on these victims; I know you have it all figured out!"

"Nothing can be hidden from you, Cat!" Bai Yutang shook his head and dropped his smile. "Actually, ever since Yang Feng set the fire and caused the disturbance, I've felt that something wasn't right. Qi Lei and Yang Feng were both utilized to commit crimes. As for the earlier victims, such as the philanthropist who was sniped or the girls on the street, they all seemed randomly chosen. However, the last two times, their targets became very specific and were linked to one another. They weren't random; they were carefully selected."

Zhan Zhao nodded knowingly. "That makes sense. Anything else?"

"Yes," Bai Yutang continued. "Jia Zhengyan, Qi Le, and even that Zhang Hua... the fact that they became victims or targets seems different from the two types of crimes mentioned above... That's all for now."

Seeing Zhan Zhao sitting there with his head lowered in a mysterious way, Bai Yutang asked with a smile, "Well, expert, do you already have an insightful opinion? Isn't studying human motives your job? Now the opportunity has arrived."

"Go away!" Zhan Zhao glared at him again and said, "What I discovered is actually similar to yours, but I have summarized it a bit."

"I'm all ears!" A spark of interest flashed in Bai Yutang's eyes.

"If we categorize the victims, we can conclude three types of motives."

"Which three?"

Zhan Zhao tapped his right index finger gently against the car window and began to analyze slowly.

"First, as you said, the first batch of victims involving Qi Lei and Yang Feng—their selection was random, seemingly to satisfy some sort of 'justice' that Yang Feng and Qi Lei held for themselves. As for the mastermind inciting them to commit crimes, the purpose was less about hurting others and more about proving the existence of split personalities."

Bai Yutang nodded. "Continue."

"Second is the sniping of Wilson and Jon, the disturbance Yang Feng caused on Neon Street, and the attempted assassination of Professor Wilson by Laura," Zhan Zhao explained point by point. "That sniping case at the banquet directly brought the 'Killer Training Camp' into the police's view; Yang Feng's disturbance made the 'Killer Training Camp' a hot topic... Finally, Wilson receiving the letter and being stabbed pointed all suspicion toward the 'Killer Training Camp'."

Bai Yutang frowned as he listened, seeming to grasp the point. "That's right, Cat. No wonder you said we've been led by the nose the whole time. Up until now, it wasn't that we chose to make the 'Killer Training Camp' the focus of our investigation, but rather... someone wanted us to."

"Bingo!" Zhan Zhao agreed, though he suddenly looked troubled. "It's just that this third type—Jia Zhengyan being killed and Qi Le and Zhang Hua becoming targets—is something I truly cannot understand. I just can't figure it out."

After a period of silence, Bai Yutang suddenly said, "Cat, do you think we might be overthinking this?"

"What do you mean?" Zhan Zhao was puzzled.

"Look, if we put aside all that psychological analysis, the reasons for murder are usually quite simple," Bai Yutang listed them casually. "Revenge, crimes of passion... silencing a witness..."

As he reached this point, they both froze—silencing a witness?!

Zhan Zhao grabbed Bai Yutang's clothing and shook it. "Little Bai!! You're a genius!"

Bai Yutang leaned his face in with a smile. "Come on! Give me a kiss."

"Mm!" When the overexcited Zhan Zhao realized what he was doing, he had already planted a quick "muah" on Bai Yutang's cheek...

...Silence...

"You dead mouse! Go to hell!" The blushing cat started to resort to violence.

"Watch out, Cat! I'm driving!!" The mouse in question was laughing like someone who had fallen into a vat of oil.

"I don't care!!"

On the way back to the police station, the car proceeded in an "S" pattern~~~

After arriving at the station, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang immediately held a meeting with everyone and explained the upcoming plan.

After the meeting, Bai Yutang made a call to the Ding twins to give them some instructions. Afterward, the two sat in the office, looking excited, waiting for the big fish to take the bait.

Around noon, Bai Yutang received a text message on his phone from Mahan, which read: "2:00 PM, Creative Building, 13th Floor."

"The fish has taken the bait!" Bai Yutang said, somewhat agitated, and forwarded the message to the twins.

The Creative Building was currently the location of the film and television company under the Bai Corporation. This afternoon, the semi-finals for the band auditions were being held.

At 2:30 PM, the competition began as scheduled.

Ding Zhaohui made an unprecedented appearance at the venue. As a major shareholder of the Bai Corporation and a trusted aide to Bai Jintang, he immediately attracted the high attention of the staff present.

Ding Zhaohui paced around leisurely; he didn't even forget to greet Qi Le and the others. This action immediately triggered speculation from many sides.

Qi Le was a bit awkward; after all, he was practically half her boss, and he had even seen the ugly state she was in when her drug withdrawal hit.

Originally, their qualifications for the semi-finals had been revoked due to drug use, but for some unknown reason, they had later received a notification to continue.

However, Ding Zhaohui's target was clearly someone else. He strolled over to the side of the agent, Zhang Hua, and began chatting with him.

"Hard work." He handed over a cigarette.

Zhang Hua was immediately flattered and took it with both hands, lit it... and smoked.

After chatting about this and that for a while, Zhaohui patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction and left.

On the other side, Mahan was carrying a black case as he walked up to a tall building opposite the Creative Building.

This case was one he had just discovered in his locker at the shooting club, and inside it was a Barrett M82A1 sniper rifle.

After obtaining the rifle, Mahan came straight here, and on the way, he had stopped in a restroom to send a text message to Bai Yutang.

Upon entering the building, Mahan did not choose the elevator, but instead walked up the stairs directly to the rooftop.

When he reached the fourth floor, a cleaner pushing a trash bin was standing at the stairwell. As the two brushed past each other, they exchanged the cases they were holding.

Mahan continued up to the roof, while the cleaner retreated into a sealed room inside the building and opened the case...

2:50 PM.

Mahan closed the rooftop door, took out the Barrett M82A1 from the case, assembled it, loaded the bullets, mounted it onto the railing, and began choosing the angle through the scope...

3:00 PM.

The competition venue was boiling over following the performance of the Boiling Point Band. Qi Le's exceptional voice had great live appeal, devoid of the pure appearance of an ordinary young girl, but filled with a sense of worldly weariness. The judges nodded with satisfaction; this singer had a boundless future.

Zhang Hua watched Qi Le's performance happily, thinking to himself that this time he had truly struck gold... but why did his head feel so dizzy?

Through the scope, Mahan aimed at Zhang Hua's heart and watched his movements silently. He noticed that the man seemed to sway slightly.

He immediately pulled the trigger.

The moment Qi Le finished her song and the music stopped, a clear sound of shattering glass echoed through the room.

Zhang Hua felt a slight, sharp pain in his chest. He reached out to touch it, lifted his hand, and saw it covered in fresh blood... A thought instantly flashed through his mind... You actually decided to silence me. Afterward, his head grew heavy, his consciousness blurred, and he collapsed to the ground.

The people present saw Zhang Hua on the floor and the blood on his chest, and chaos immediately erupted. They screamed and scattered to flee. Ding Zhaohui, who had come over upon hearing the commotion, rushed forward to check on Zhang Hua's condition.

"Call an ambulance quickly..." a few people who had recovered their senses sooner shouted.

"No need for an ambulance!" Ding Zhaohui checked Zhang Hua's carotid artery and shook his head. "Just call the police directly."

Mahan put away the rifle, quickly dismantled it, put it back in the case, and walked down the stairs rapidly. When he passed the fourth floor, he met the cleaner again and swapped the cases...

One minute later, Mahan had disappeared into the crowd with the case.

Three minutes later, police cars arrived at the scene and removed Zhang Hua's body.

Twenty minutes later, Mahan stuffed the case back into his locker at the shooting club, maintained a trance-like state, and ran home.

Half an hour later, someone walked up to Mahan's locker, took out the black case, and opened it. Seeing that the brand-new Barrett M82A1 inside now showed signs of use... he smiled with satisfaction.

The people from the competition venue arrived at the police station in a daze to undergo police investigation. Qi Le, however, was called alone into the S.C.I. office.

Seeing Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang again, Qi Le was a bit bewildered; she didn't understand what had just happened.

"Don't worry, we just need you to cooperate with the investigation." As he spoke, Zhan Zhao took out the photo of the high school girl found at Jia Zhengyan's house and showed it to Qi Le. "Try to recall, have you ever seen this person before?"

Qi Le took the photo and looked at it; her face showed suspicion, and she said unsurely, "Hmm... she looks very similar, but I also feel like it's a bit different."

"Do you know this person?" Bai Yutang asked.

"I don't know her." Qi Le shook her head. "...I've seen her once. That time on the street, I saw her with Zhang Hua... it seemed like they were arguing, but she looked much more stylish and appeared older."

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao exchanged glances. Zhan Zhao took out another photo—a picture of Fang Jing from a magazine—and showed it to Qi Le. "Is it her?"

"That's her!" Qi Le confirmed.

Zhan Zhao put away the photos. "In a moment, leave with the others. Don't tell anyone you were here, okay?"

"Okay." Qi Le nodded and followed Zhao Hu downstairs.

"Wang Chao! Zhang Long!" Bai Yutang called the two over. "The two of you are to keep a 24-hour watch on Fang Jing. Observe everything she does and everyone she interacts with. Don't let her find out!"

"Yes!" The two quickly departed.

"Jiang Ping, investigate all information regarding Fang Jing, especially from her high school period."

"Got it."

"Cat." After arranging the team members' tasks, Bai Yutang turned to ask Zhan Zhao, "What's the next step?"

Zhan Zhao thought for a moment and said, "We have to wait on Mahan's side. The other party should have more instructions coming soon, and then we can piece together their intent."

Bai Yutang nodded.

Xu Qing ran in. "Boss, Zhang Hua is awake."

"How is it?" Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao. "Cat, should we keep acting?"

Zhan Zhao smiled. "That goes without saying."

In a special hospital room, Zhang Hua was hooked up to strange-looking tubes, secured to the bed, surrounded by various medical devices, giving the impression that he was in an isolated intensive care unit.

Zhang Hua woke up, feeling a bit of pain in his chest, his head not entirely clear.

"How are you feeling?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Zhang Hua looked at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang beside him with some effort. "What happened to me~~~" He struggled to try and sit up.

Bai Yutang quickly pressed him down and said, "It was a miracle you survived, don't move now!"

"Ah? I..." He seemed a bit confused.

"You were sniped. The bullet missed your heart by less than a centimeter," Bai Yutang said with great seriousness. "The doctor said you have to stay in bed for at least three months."

"I..."

"You know who wanted to kill you, right?" Before Zhang Hua could recover his senses, Zhan Zhao followed up with a pressing question. "You'd better say it. If the other party knows you're not dead, they might send someone to kill you again."

The expression on Zhang Hua's face shifted; he seemed to have made a decision. "Fine! That stinking bitch wanted to kill me; if she's heartless, then I'm going to be ruthless... It's Fang Jing! It was that stinking woman Fang Jing who wanted to kill me to silence me!"

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao exchanged a look. Bai Yutang opened a digital recorder and asked, "Why would Fang Jing want to kill you?"

"Because... because I know about her past! Also, all those murder cases were done by her." Zhang Hua was somewhat agitated.

"Be specific," Bai Yutang demanded.

"Don't look at Fang Jing all high and mighty now, being a celebrity agent with a bunch of little stars under her. She used to be, she used to be a hooker!"

"Can you keep your language clean?" Bai Yutang frowned.

"Oh, okay, okay." Zhang Hua hurriedly offered a flattering smile, though his face showed nothing but disdain. "Jia Zhengyan and I knew each other in high school; we met while hanging out at bars. Neither of our families had money, and we wanted to get some cash to spend. Later, we went to an underground casino. At first, we won a little, but then the addiction grew. But, there's no winner in long-term gambling. That time, we lost everything and ended up owing the casino boss a mountain of debt. The boss wanted us to pay up, or else he'd slaughter us." Zhang Hua sighed. "Where could we get the money? Well, I knew Jia Zhengyan had a girlfriend who was quite pretty, so I suggested using her to pay the debt."

Zhan Zhao paused slightly. "Is it Fang Jing?"

"...Yeah." Zhang Hua nodded.

"Continue."

"Jia Zhengyan wouldn't agree at first, but later he got scared, so he eventually agreed. Then he used her... to pay the debt," Zhang Hua muttered vaguely.

"Was Fang Jing a willing participant?" Bai Yutang asked coldly.

"Uh... anyway, she was pretty casual to begin with. If she wasn't, why would she be with a hoodlum like Jia Zhengyan at such a young age..."

"I asked you if she was willing!" Bai Yutang interrupted him.

"...We... we gave her some drugs, and she just became obedient..." Zhang Hua said.

Bai Yutang frowned. "And then?"

"Later, we never expected that she would get addicted to that drug..."

"What drug was it?"

"Just those colored painkillers that street hoodlums give out... I heard they weren't addictive, but maybe we gave her too many... then she developed an addiction. She refused to forgive Jia Zhengyan, so she broke up with him."

"And then?" Bai Yutang frowned. "Can you hurry it up?!"

"Okay, okay~~~" Zhang Hua hurriedly continued. "Later, Jia Zhengyan had a falling out with me, and we stopped hanging out. I heard Fang Jing went to university. Jia Zhengyan became like a different person and became much more upright. He used connections to get a job as a teaching assistant at M University... As for me, I didn't do very well... Then, I heard Fang Jing didn't finish school and went abroad."

"Then how did you get involved with her this time?"

"It was such a coincidence; I saw her on TV the other day, and it seemed like she was doing very well. I went to find Jia Zhengyan, hoping to find out if they were still together. To my surprise, that kid was drunk that day and said he had given Fang Jing the information on those two students. He also said that Fang Jing was likely walking down a path of no return... That's when I found out that to make it up to Fang Jing, that kid had been acting like a dog at her beck and call... Then... then..."

"Then you used this matter to threaten Fang Jing for benefits?" Zhan Zhao spoke up. "Besides getting her to help you get this job, what else did you demand?"

"I... no, I didn't want anything else..." Zhang Hua hurriedly denied. "I didn't dare to be too arrogant... after all, she has money and power."

"Did you kill Jia Zhengyan?" Bai Yutang asked.

"No... I didn't."

"But your fingerprints were on the bottle." Zhan Zhao saw Zhang Hua's eyes flickering and told a deliberate lie.

"Impossible, that bottle of pills..." Zhang Hua realized what he said as soon as the words left his lips and hurriedly closed his mouth, but it was too late.

"Keep talking." Bai Yutang sneered. "Who told you it was a pill bottle? Why didn't you guess it was a soda bottle?"

"I..."

"Why did you kill Jia Zhengyan?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"It... it was Fang Jing who told me to do it. Jia Zhengyan wanted to win Fang Jing's heart back, so he started taking those kinds of pills himself, but I knew he was just taking vitamins and the like... Later, Fang Jing gave me a bottle of pills and told me to swap them with Jia Zhengyan's..."

Bai Yutang turned off the recorder, unplugged the tubes from Zhang Hua, and said to the doorway, "Come in."

Subsequently, two men appearing to be police officers walked in. "Team Leader Bai, great acting."

"Hand it over to you two." Bai Yutang patted the men on the shoulder.

"You... I..." Zhang Hua was stunned. "What is going on?"

"What is going on?" A police officer hauled him up, and only then did Zhang Hua notice that there was only a shallow red mark on his chest and no gunshot wound.

"The one that hit you was a training round filled with blood plasma," Zhan Zhao said.

"I... you lied to me?" Zhang Hua looked up, unable to believe his eyes as he looked at Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao.

"Lied to you?" Bai Yutang sneered repeatedly. "Wait for your prison sentence, you piece of trash."

After that, Zhang Hua was taken away.

Walking out of the specially arranged hospital room, Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao both felt a sigh of relief... Fang Jing's actions were detestable, but also tragic... After all, she was the deepest victim of all.

Returning to the S.C.I., Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang walked into the office in silence. The case had reached a point where there were leads; everything pointed to Fang Jing... However, was Fang Jing truly the mastermind, or was she also just a chess piece?

Dididididididi~~~~~

Bai Yutang's phone rang—it was Mahan.

"Mahan, how's it going?" Bai Yutang pressed the speakerphone.

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Finally, Mahan spoke: "Boss, he sent me another email. It's 'Prey 2'."

"Who is it this time?" Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao asked anxiously.

"It's..." Mahan stared at the familiar photo on the computer screen. "It's Gongsun..."

.........What?!...............

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao exchanged glances, their faces full of astonishment.

The next morning, Gongsun, who had been on "confinement" for three days, finally left his home and headed toward the police station.

This time, Ding Zhaohui had added something to his breakfast. As Gongsun walked down the street, he felt dizzy.

Bai Jintang, who was following cautiously in his car behind, watched with concern. How did he look even weaker today than he did yesterday? What kind of constitution does this person have? Just a little bit of that, and he needs three days of recovery. How will he get through the days ahead? Should he have to live a life of celibacy??

While he was muttering to himself, Bai Jintang suddenly felt as if something was wrong—the sound of a bullet cutting through the air...

Gongsun swayed slightly and slowly collapsed to the ground.

Bai Jintang got out of his car and walked to Gongsun's side, only to see him lying there with a clear blood-filled hole in his chest...

He couldn't hear any sound. Everything around him seemed to have disappeared. Bai Jintang stood there, stunned, feeling as if... this world was slowly crumbling away~~~.

"Gong... Gongsun..." Bai Jintang knelt beside him with a confused look on his face, picking him up. "Gongsun..."

In the distance, Da Ding poked Xiao Ding. "Oh no, we forgot to tell our big brother."

"There's no need, is there?" Xiao Ding said with an indifferent face. "Big brother will know Gongsun is fine as soon as he feels his pulse."

"Does he look like he's fine to you?" Da Ding pulled Xiao Ding over and pointed toward Bai Jintang in the distance... Bai Jintang's complexion looked more like a dead man's than Gongsun's.

Xiao Ding panicked. "Why is big brother like this? Check his pulse!! If not that, listen to his heartbeat or check his breathing!!"

"Who could think of that at a time like this?!" Da Ding sighed. "Is big brother going to commit suicide for love and follow Gongsun to the grave?!"

"It wouldn't go that far, right??" Xiao Ding was horrified.

"How would it not?" Da Ding said with disdain. "Otherwise, how do you think Romeo died??"

Just then, someone in the crowd shouted, "Call an ambulance quickly..."

Bai Jintang suddenly snapped back to reality. He sensed something subtly wrong and finally realized that Gongsun's body was still warm and his pulse was beating. A closer look... he had just fainted...

The ambulance arrived faster than ever before. Bai Jintang, who didn't say a word, carried Gongsun onto the vehicle... Sure enough, sitting inside the ambulance were not doctors... but Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang with awkward expressions on their faces.

With an ashen face, they reached the hospital and placed Gongsun on the bed. Bai Jintang turned around and asked the two coldly, "Whose idea was this?"

Shock~~~

Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang, signaling: "What do we do?"

Bai Yutang was dejected. "What else can we do? Run for it!"

Unfortunately, before the two could even turn around, Bai Jintang grabbed them by the scruff of the neck. "You two little bastards, you've got guts. I'm going to skin you alive today!"

"Ya~~~~~~~~"

Outside the room, the twins heard the wails coming from within and turned to flee in terror.

Inside the room, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang scurried around, shielding their heads~~~ the eldest of the Bai family was losing his mind~~~

At the critical moment, a faint moan from Gongsun saved the little cat and the little mouse who were huddled in the corner waiting for death.

The murderous aura on Bai Jintang's face vanished instantly. He rushed to the bedside and saw Gongsun opening his eyes, looking at everyone with a bewildered expression.

"What's wrong..." He threw back the blanket and sat up, only to see the joy on Bai Jintang's face... or more precisely, the rapturous joy of having lost something and found it again—it was impossible to conceal.

Remembering what had just happened and seeing Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao hiding in the corner, Gongsun seemed to understand something. Bai Jintang's expression made him blush slightly...

Bai Yutang pulled Zhan Zhao and snuck out. The moment they closed the door, they saw Bai Jintang pulling Gongsun into his arms, holding him very tightly.

Gongsun heard Bai Jintang whispering in his ear, "It's good that you're okay, it's good that you're okay. I'll listen to you from now on, as long as you're okay…”