S.C.I. (Volume I) - Case 3: Chapter 16

The Magic Killer 16 - A Sudden Turn of Events  

Bai Yutang tossed the photographs aside and immediately demanded of Jiang Ping, “How long ago did Ma Han leave?”

“It's been... about ten minutes...” Jiang Ping answered hastily upon seeing the grim expression on Bai Yutang's face.

“Cat, which way? Shen Qian or Chen Jiayi?” Bai Yutang turned to ask Zhan Zhao.

After lowering his head to think for a few seconds, Zhan Zhao stated, “Chen Jiayi!”

“My thoughts exactly!” Bai Yutang nodded and pulled out his phone.

The call connected almost immediately, carrying Ma Han's voice: “Boss!”

“Do you know where Chen Jiayi lives?” Bai Yutang asked directly.

“I do. K Street, D Apartment, 13th floor. She just told me,” Ma Han replied succinctly. “Boss, did you see the photographs?”

“I did!” While still on the line, Bai Yutang rushed out of the police station alongside Zhan Zhao, telling Ma Han on the other end, “Kong Cheng killed Zhang Zhenzhen and Shen Ling, and there's a strong chance he'll go after Chen Jiayi. That punk is armed!”

“I understand.” Ma Han slammed on the brakes. “Boss, I've arrived at Chen Jiayi's building.”

“We'll be right there!”

“Got it.” Hanging up, Ma Han stepped out of the vehicle in a flash, drew his firearm with one hand, and bolted into the elevator. Emerging on the 12th floor, he cautiously and swiftly dashed up to the 13th floor—where Chen Jiayi's apartment door was left slightly ajar.

Quieting his footsteps, he flashed swiftly to the doorway and strained to listen for any sound within... Dead silent~~~

Pushing the door open, he raised his gun and stepped into the living room. The lights inside were switched on, and items of clothing were scattered in disarray across the floor—it was the evening gown and shoes Chen Jiayi had worn that day~~~ Ma Han rapidly checked every single room—completely deserted~~~

The milk inside the cup on the coffee table was still steaming slightly... Ma Han pushed open the massive floor-to-ceiling glass door, stepped out onto the balcony, and looked down below. After waiting a short while, no one came out—meaning there was a high probability the target was still inside the building.

Walking back into the room, Ma Han thought about heading out to search further when he heard extremely faint footsteps approaching the entrance... and there seemed to be two people.

Raising his weapon, he darted quickly toward the doorframe. The partially ajar door was pushed softly open, and Ma Han lunged out with his gun raised, only to find the people on the other side doing the exact same thing. Both parties came face-to-face and froze in surprise.

“Boss!” Ma Han called out, lowering his firearm.

Standing in the doorway were none other than Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao, who had raced over by speeding all the way.

“Where is she?” Zhan Zhao asked urgently.

“Not here.”

Scanning the room with a rapid sweep, Zhan Zhao was just about to open his mouth when a woman's piercing scream echoed from outside the balcony~~~

Zhan Zhao pointed upward: “On the rooftop!”

Bai Yutang exchanged a brief glance with Ma Han. Understanding instantly, Ma Han sprinted toward the balcony while Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao charged swiftly up to the rooftop.

Up on the rooftop, Chen Jiayi was shivering in the biting wind, staring in sheer terror at the armed man standing before her. She wore only a thin, flimsy nightgown, and directly behind her lay the precipitous edge of the roof—a dead end.

“Kong Cheng!” Bai Yutang rushed onto the roof and saw Kong Cheng lunge toward Chen Jiayi, subduing her with one arm while leveling his gun directly at her temple. “Don't come any closer!”

“Calm down!” Seeing that the two of them were standing infinitely close to the rooftop's edge and that Kong Cheng appeared somewhat unhinged, Zhan Zhao intervened posthaste: “Don't back up any further!”

Halting his steps, Kong Cheng glared at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang with bloodshot eyes and an exceptionally ferocious expression. “All of you, get away! Don't come over!”

“How could you bear to harm the person you love most?!” Zhan Zhao pointed straight at Chen Jiayi. “You did so much for her.”

“That's right~~~ I did so much for her...” Kong Cheng muttered to himself before turning his gaze back to Chen Jiayi. “Yet you claimed you didn't even know me!”

“I don't know you at all!” Chen Jiayi stared in horror at Kong Cheng, who had her in a tight grip. “We only crossed paths once this afternoon in the parking lot! Sure, I called you a spineless coward, but there's no need to take it this seriously!!”

Down below on the balcony, Ma Han leaned the upper half of his body out and looked upward, noticing that Chen Jiayi and Kong Cheng were standing directly above the adjacent balcony.

He retreated a few paces, broke into a furious sprint for a few strides, and leaped across to the neighboring balcony. Landing cleanly with a roll, he pushed himself up into a steady stance, leaned out over the balcony railing, and assessed the situation unfolding above.

“Jiali~~~ Jiali, thank goodness I spotted you just now. You were deliberately pretending not to know me, weren't you?!” Kong Cheng rambled in a frantic, unhinged state. “Don't worry, I've already taken care of everyone who wronged you~~~”

“What kind of gibberish are you spouting?!” Chen Jiayi demanded, both infuriated and anxious. “What Jiali?! I'm Jiayi, Chen Jiayi! You've got the wrong person!!”

“Xu Jiali!” Zhan Zhao called out in a hurry, shooting Chen Jiayi a fierce glare as he thought to himself that this woman truly had no fear of death~~~

Chen Jiayi glanced at Zhan Zhao and realized he wanted her to play along and pretend to be Xu Jiali. Frowning deeply, she looked back at Kong Cheng: “Fine, fine, I'm Xu Jiali.”

“Jiali, is it really Jiali?” Kong Cheng broke into a silly, vacant chuckle. “You've grown up so much! I've been wearing the pocket watch you gave me this whole time, look.”

Chen Jiayi watched in astonishment as Kong Cheng shifted in an instant from a ferocious expression to one of utter ecstasy and bliss, suddenly feeling a surge of pity for this man... The real "Jiali" he was chasing would surely feel a pang of heartache if she saw him in this state.

“Can we go down now?” Chen Jiayi softened her tone. “I have a lot of things I want to talk to you about.”

“Okay! Okay!” Kong Cheng nodded repeatedly. “Let's go down! Down we go~~~ It's cold up here.” As he spoke, he stepped forward, turned around, and reached out a hand as if to pull Chen Jiayi along. Seeing that hand extending toward her, Chen Jiayi suddenly recalled that these very hands had taken human lives... Instinctively, she took a step backward to dodge out of the way...

“Watch out!” Zhan Zhao shouted at the top of his lungs, but it was already too late.

Bai Yutang lunged forward in a flying tackle, but failed to catch Chen Jiayi's falling form.

“Jiali~~~” Kong Cheng cried out from beside her, reaching out a hand, but that too was a fraction of a second too late.

Chen Jiayi watched as the people above her rapidly receded into the distance. The sound of rushing air grew sharp in her ears, and her body felt the fierce pull of gravity, as though an invisible hand was dragging her downward. Her mind... went completely blank.

Right at that moment, the downward velocity jerked violently to a halt, followed immediately by a crisp, sharp crack accompanied by the harsh tearing sound of fabric.

Stunned for a fleeting second, she looked upward and saw that Ma Han had a tight grip on the balcony railing with one hand, hanging by his upper body over the edge, while his other hand grasped firmly onto the shoulder strap of Chen Jiayi's nightgown... The thin fabric was already beginning to rip apart.

“Grab onto me!” Ma Han gritted his teeth. That crisp snap from a moment ago was the sound of his shoulder dislocating, and now a piercing, agonizing pain shot through his entire arm. “Hurry!”

“Oh!” Chen Jiayi snapped back to reality and grabbed hold of Ma Han's arm with both hands. Ma Han winced in pain, sweat beading across his forehead. “Hold on tight!”

“Mn!” Jiayi nodded vigorously, gripping him for dear life.

Using the railing for leverage, Ma Han exerted a ferocious burst of strength, hauled his entire body backward, and tumbled into the balcony space, dragging Chen Jiayi right along with him.

Seeing that Chen Jiayi was safe and sound, Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao—still up on the roof—finally remembered how to breathe and let out a long, collective sigh of relief.

Turning around, Bai Yutang grabbed hold of Kong Cheng, who still wore a dazed expression, confiscated his firearm, handed it over to Zhan Zhao, and produced a pair of handcuffs to secure the culprit.

It took Ma Han a good long while of heavy panting to recover his breath. The sharp pain in his shoulder had faded into a cold numbness. Glancing down at Chen Jiayi, who was still sprawled across him, he asked, “Are you alright?”

Chen Jiayi slowly raised her head and burst into loud sobs— “Waaah!” After crying for a moment, she used the front lapel of Ma Han's shirt to wipe away her tears~~~ and even blew her nose in it.

The paleness of Ma Han's face, already drained of color from the pain, instantly bleached a few shades whiter.

Sniffling her tears away, Chen Jiayi looked down at herself... her nightgown had been torn open in the scramble, exposing her undergarments. She lifted her head and shot Ma Han a fierce glare: “You saw everything! You're going to have to take responsibility.”

Ma Han had been entirely focused on saving her life and hadn't paid any attention to such details. Taken aback by her words, he gave her an up-and-down assessment.

“How is it?” Chen Jiayi looked immensely pleased with herself. “Great figure, right?!”

With a shake of his head and a heavy sigh, Ma Han felt his head hurting even worse than his shoulder—secretly resolving to stay as far away from this woman as humanly possible!!

……………………

Once again loading Kong Cheng into a transport vehicle, they headed for the police station.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao drove Ma Han to the hospital, with Chen Jiayi accompanying them in the vehicle.

“Are you really certain you have nothing to do with Xu Jiali?” Ma Han asked the woman seated beside him.

“None at all!” Chen Jiayi insisted. “I've never even heard of her! And that guy earlier too—he just barged in shouting about Jiali this, Jiali that. Do we really look that similar?”

Looking thoroughly perplexed, Ma Han glanced toward Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang in the front seats. Checking the rearview mirror, Bai Yutang asked Chen Jiayi, “You don't have any sisters?”

“I'm an only child!” Chen Jiayi pouted. “If you don't believe me, go check the records.”

“Yutang, she really has nothing to do with her. She just bears a passing resemblance to Xu Jiali,” Zhan Zhao interjected abruptly. “Besides, she's probably well past twenty-three.”

Ma Han stared at Chen Jiayi in shock. “You're older than twenty-three?!”

Chen Jiayi flushed crimson. “What's your deal?! I'm twenty-five, alright? I just have a youthful complexion! Is that a crime?!”

Zhan Zhao chuckled lightly, glancing at Bai Yutang. “Indeed, women are like that—you truly can't tell their age from looks alone.”

Bai Yutang froze for a fraction of a second, then his mouth dropped open as though a sudden realization had struck him: “Cat, are you trying to say...”

“That's right!” A meaningful, knowing smile played across Zhan Zhao's lips. “Precisely that... Thanks to him, it all makes sense now.”

The chaos at the entertainment center had come to a close, and Zhao Zhen had gone to the hospital for some simple bandaging. Bai Chi waited outside the hospital room, feeling a petty, nagging sense of awkwardness inside~~~ He was clearly a police officer himself, and it was supposed to be his job to protect the safety of others, yet he kept getting protected instead!! And to top it all off, it was by that infuriated-inducing man!!

Pacing back and forth at the entrance in a state of supreme frustration, he told himself that the moment the doctor declared that guy was fine, he would march right out of there.

As he completed his 132nd lap, the door finally swung open, and a stern-looking nurse emerged carrying a tray laden with blood-stained gauze and medicine bottles.

Since childhood, Bai Chi had always been terrified of fierce-looking nurses like her~~~ but he still had to steel himself and ask, “Um, how is he?”

The nurse looked him up and down. “Who are you? A family member of the patient?”

“N... No,” Bai Chi shook his head.

“Then don't ask.” The nurse shot him a sidelong glance and sashayed down the hall.

Little Bai Chi glared fiercely at her retreating back, thinking to himself: You don't have to be family to ask. It's not like it's some fatal disease~~~ Just a few scrapes~~~ If he had actually kicked the bucket, honestly, it would've been a public service—eliminating a pest for the people!

After pacing another two rounds outside the door, he decided he ought to go in and check on him anyway—ask if he was okay, and then leave immediately~~~ That was what a good police officer was supposed to do!

Clenching his fists, he pushed the door open and stepped inside with his head lowered.

Zhao Zhen was leaning against the sofa, reading a newspaper and peeling an orange. Seeing the little fellow who had circled the doorway N times finally enter, he lowered the paper with a smile.

Blushing fiercely and babbling incoherently with his head still ducked down, Bai Chi blurted out, “Are you okay? It was my failure to secure the area properly that got you injured, and I'll reflect on that, but it was your fault too! Who asked you to pull me aside like that? Even though you saved me and I didn't get hurt, you got hurt instead~~~ That doesn't mean I forgive you, I still really dislike you! Those are two completely different things!”

Pausing to catch his breath after his tirade, Bai Chi added, “Well, that's that, I... I'm leaving!” With that, he spun around ready to bolt out the door.

Zhao Zhen hurriedly took a step forward and grabbed him by the arm. “Hang on~~~”

“What... do you want?!” Bai Chi whirled around, intending to shake him off, but noticing that the hand gripping his arm was still wrapped in gauze, he restrained himself and glared at the man instead.

Zhao Zhen smiled softly, reached out to hook his fingers under Bai Chi's chin, and pressed a light kiss to his forehead. “Thank you for wanting to save me~~~”

Bai Chi froze in place, struck by how familiar that feather-light kiss and tone of voice felt...

Realizing with a sudden jolt that it was Zhao Zhen who had just kissed him, little Bai Chi's face instantly transformed into a ripe red apple as steam practically began venting from his head. He shoved Zhao Zhen away hard, his eyes brimming with red as he turned and fled down the hall, wiping at his eyes as he ran.

“This guy is the absolute worst! How can he just go around doing things like that?!” Bai Chi muttered indignantly as he sprinted through the long hospital corridor, unleashing a steady stream of curses—such a jerk!

Rounding the corner of the corridor.

Stepping into the stairwell.

Suddenly~~~ a hand seized him from behind.

A jolt of shock coursed through him~~~ Before Bai Chi even had the chance to cry out, a hand clamped tightly around the back of his neck, a cold glint flashed before his eyes, and a razor-sharp blade came slashing straight down toward his throat~~~