S.C.I. (Volume II) - Case 6: Chapter 16

The Innocent Killer 16 - Attack

"Why are they all impersonating An Lingli?" Zhan Zhao reached out to gently tap his own chin. "What grudge does the killer have with An Lingli, or is there a special familiarity?"

"And if her only purpose was to use a boyfriend to sneak into the police station... wouldn't dressing up as An Lingli carry an even greater risk?" A hint of intrigue appeared on Bai Yutang's face. "Once exposed carelessly, wouldn't she just be asking for trouble?"

"That police officer..." Zhan Zhao asked, "Could he also be a member of my fan club?"

"That's not clear," Bai Chi said. "However, I heard he's a very nice person and frequently goes to the senior community to take care of elderly people living alone."

"Oh~~~" Zhan Zhao nodded.

"What is it, Cat?" Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao. "You seem particularly interested in that police officer."

"Mhm." Zhan Zhao nodded. "Do you need a reason to kill someone? If the fake An Lingli was afraid of having her identity exposed, there would be no reason to kill the officer while leaving Zhang Yankai behind, right? Therefore, killing him should have some other reason... Besides, there's no telling if she even killed him. His police jacket was stripped off... A girl's frame should be much smaller... Wandering around the police station wearing an ill-fitting police jacket would be completely redundant!"

"Mhm." Bai Yutang said to Luo and Bai Chi, "You two go investigate the thread regarding Zhao Jing's parents, and also ask Yangyang about the relevant details."

"Understood." Luo scooped up Luoyang and left together with Bai Chi. Bai Yutang then called over Ma Han and Zhao Hu. "You two go investigate whether there are any special relationships among all the victims so far."

Ma Han and Zhao Hu froze, exchanging a glance before asking Bai Yutang, "Um... special relationships?"

"Ahem ahem..." Bai Yutang gave a light cough. "The people who died have somewhat of a connection to Fang Wo, and Fang Wo has a connection to Yan Li..."

At this point, Bai Yutang paused and looked at the two of them.

The two tilted their heads, perplexed. "And then?"

"And Chen Jiayi and Qi Le should know more about Yan Li and Fang Wo..." Zhan Zhao smiled as he finished the sentence for Bai Yutang. "So Captain Bai wants you two to go ask and bring back some internal gossip."

Ma Han and Zhao Hu wore expressions that screamed No, please don't?!, staring at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang looked up toward the ceiling, avoiding eye contact with the two of them, and instructed the others, "Everyone else, continue watching the surveillance footage. As long as the killer entered the police station, even if they were a mosquito, they would definitely leave a shadow in the security footage!" With that, he tugged Zhan Zhao along. "Let's go, Cat, we're heading out to investigate An Lingli and that police officer."

After Gongsun left SI for the day, he thought about it and still hailed a taxi, arriving at the International Grand Hotel.

Going straight up to the penthouse suite on the top floor, Gongsun took out his key card and opened the door to the suite where Bai Jingtang frequently stayed.

Gongsun went inside to look around and found no one... Could Bai Jingtang have already returned?

Gongsun wrinkled his nose, let out a "hmph", turned around and exited the room, walking over to the elevator lobby where he decided to go home and catch up on sleep.

Very soon, the elevator doors slowly slid open. Gongsun raised his head, and the first thing that greeted his eyes was a Doraemon mask.

Gongsun froze... and saw a person of short stature standing inside the elevator, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and wearing a Doraemon mask. Through the holes cut out for the eyes on the mask, Gongsun spotted a pair of cold, chilling eyes staring right at him. The instant their gazes met, Gongsun actually felt that look... was smiling.

That person's hand slowly emerged from behind their back, and he saw a dagger gleaming with a cold light grasped in their hand. Gongsun felt a chill run down his spine. After pulling out the knife, the person lunged fiercely straight toward Gongsun. Although somewhat startled, Gongsun wasn't overly panicked; he instinctively sidestepped to dodge the blade. But before he could even recover his wits, the person rushed forward again, raising the knife. Thinking quickly under pressure, Gongsun grabbed a nearby trash can to block. The person's blade hacked directly onto the trash can, their movement stalling for a fraction of a second. Seizing the opportunity, Gongsun kicked them in the knee, stood up, and tried to run, but the person was quick-eyed and nimble-handed, reaching out to grab Gongsun's arm and throwing him with brute force...

"Ugh..." Gongsun felt their strength was monstrous as his entire body was flung away, slamming heavily against the elevator doors.

The strong impact shook Gongsun with a wave of dizziness. Watching as the person raised the knife and lunged forward again, he felt the elevator doors behind him suddenly slide open slowly...

The assailant had already rushed right in front of Gongsun, but before the raised knife could fall, a hand suddenly shot out from inside the elevator, grabbed the assailant by the collar, hoisted them up, and hurled them backward with a counter-hand toss...

With a loud bang, the person let out a miserable scream and crashed heavily onto the floor, while Gongsun collapsed backward into the elevator... Raising his face, he saw Bai Jingtang standing inside the elevator with an ashen complexion, looking down at him. Their eyes met, and Gongsun saw Bai Jingtang's expression turn chillingly cold as he raised his head and strode briskly out of the elevator.

The masked person had just managed to stand up when he saw Bai Jingtang approaching. Bai Jingtang reached out, grabbed him by the throat, lifted him up, and slammed him against the wall, tearing off the mask to reveal a momentary flash of astonishment.

Gongsun had also managed to stand up by this point, and looking over, he saw beneath the mask was an aged face—Pang Ji.

"You're asking to die." Bai Jingtang's expression was grim, his eyes holding murderous intent. Seeing that the situation looked bad, Gongsun hurried forward to grab his hand. "Wait, just hand him over to the police."

"That lets him off too easily." Bai Jingtang frowned.

Gongsun massaged his head, which was still somewhat dizzy. "Something's wrong with him. How could an old man have this much strength? Just looking at him earlier, he could barely even stand steady."

The movement of Bai Jingtang's hand paused slightly, but he still kept Pang Ji pinned down. The old man's face was turning a liverish purple before their eyes.

Gongsun pulled out his phone. "Put him down first, I'll call someone." With that, he dialed his phone, calling back to SI. Bai Jingtang tossed Pang Ji onto the floor. The old man's eyes were bloodshot and there was blood at the corners of his mouth, yet he still tried to stand up. Furthermore, it was only now obvious that his standing up wasn't to escape, but to continue attacking Gongsun.

"Damn it." Bai Jingtang kicked Pang Ji over. "What is this madman trying to pull?"

"He must have suffered some kind of stimulation..." Gongsun lowered his head to check Pang Ji's condition. "His pupils are dilated; he's either out of his mind or sick."

"Is there a difference?" Bai Jingtang frowned.

Gongsun shook his head. Perhaps because he had pulled an all-nighter autopsying corpses yesterday and had just taken a heavy collision, a shake of his head left him feeling dizzy and his vision turning black as he collapsed. Right before losing consciousness, he heard footsteps echoing in the stairwell—"Big Brother!"

The bodyguards who had been responsible for Gongsun's safety rushed up. "We saw him come up to the top floor... so we didn't dare follow close..."

Bai Jingtang simply pointed coldly at Pang Ji. "Keep your eyes on him until the police arrive." Finished speaking, he reached out to scoop up Gongsun, entered the room, and roared, "What are you standing around for? Call a doctor!"

"Yes!" His subordinates broke out in a cold sweat, two of them pinning Pang Ji down while the other two raced downstairs to find a doctor.

Very soon, both the doctor and the twins arrived. Since both Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao were out on assignment, Zhang Long and Dynasty came running over to pick up the suspect.

"Nothing serious, just some anemia combined with physical exhaustion," the doctor said, putting down his stethoscope. "He'll be fine after some rest."

Bai Jingtang nodded.

After the doctor left, the twins gently closed the bedroom door and waved at Zhang Long and Dynasty, who were peering into the room while handcuffing Pang Ji. "Don't go in there under any circumstances, or you'll be butchered."

"Is Gongsun alright?" Zhang Long asked. "Do we need to notify the Captain?"

"Tell him everything is fine now," Big Ding said. "Just leave it to Big Brother, saves Bai and Zhao from worrying."

"Got it." Dynasty nodded and reached for his phone.

Zhang Long yanked Pang Ji and nodded at the twins. "Then we'll head out first. Give us a call if anything happens." With that, the two escorted the still raving Pang Ji away.

The twins exchanged glances, shrugged, and looked toward the corner where Gongsun's personal bodyguards were standing with drooping heads, looking dejected and pale-faced.

"Don't worry," Ding Dou teased them. "Come on, smile!"

The one specifically responsible for Gongsun's safety was an Italian named Kevin, who had followed Bai Jingtang for many years. Right now, his face was completely devoid of color as he said, "It's all my fault. I saw Gongsun go up to find Big Brother, followed him to the lobby, and waited in the car... I..."

"Don't stress, don't stress," Big Ding smiled. "As long as he's fine." Though the two of them spoke lightly on the surface, their hearts were drumming inside—it had been a long time since they last saw Bai Jingtang wear that terrifying expression... Patting his chest—yuck, that was so scary~~

On the way to the nursing home.

Zhan Zhao hung up the phone, let out a sigh, and looked at Bai Yutang.

"Is Gongsun alright?" Bai Yutang asked while driving. "Did that old man Pang Ji really go crazy? If he had accidentally succeeded, wouldn't I have been the one who indirectly killed Gongsun?!"

Zhan Zhao patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, didn't Zhang Long just say Gongsun is fine, Big Brother arrived in time... Still, what I care about is why Pang Ji wanted to kill Gongsun."

"That's understandable too," Bai Yutang said. "The reason Pang Ji's daughter got driven out and then met her demise has an inescapable connection to Gongsun anyway... And with his son placed under criminal detention, the old man probably lost his mind."

"Mhm... Actually, the person Pang Ji hates the most should be Big Brother." Zhan Zhao stroked his chin. "Moving against Big Brother isn't easy, so he could only target Gongsun. It's just, why is it such a coincidence that he appeared in the hotel at that exact moment?"

"It really is a bit mind-boggling." Bai Yutang frowned. "Once Gongsun wakes up, let's head over to the hotel."

"Mhm." Zhan Zhao gave a bitter smile. "Right now, Big Brother's air pressure in that room is probably so low not even a mosquito would dare fly in." As he spoke, he shook his head. "Truly perilous, truly a coincidence..."

"Cat." Bai Yutang glanced sideways at Zhan Zhao. "Seeing that meaningful look on your face, what have you thought of?"

Zhan Zhao smiled slightly and said, "Sometimes, the more you try to cover things up, the more obvious they become; the more coincidental things are, the less it's a coincidence."

Bai Yutang raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Then let's see if this is a coincidence." With that, he pointed toward the top of the mountain. "That's the 'Home for the Elderly' right up there."

"Can cars not drive up?" Zhan Zhao peered out the car window. Ahead was a roadblock, beyond which the mountain path leading to the summit wound its way upward. "That's so far."

"Is that a nursing home or what?" Bai Yutang parked the car in a roadside parking bay, opened the door, and got out. " Elderly folks naturally have limited mobility; if vehicles appeared while they were out for a walk, it would be dangerous." With that, he hauled along Zhan Zhao, who looked entirely unwilling to walk. "Let's go. This cat of yours just eats without moving, watch out for getting a belly."

Zhan Zhao wore an unbothered expression. "No way!"

"Still, come to think of it, it's strange." Bai Yutang chatted with Zhan Zhao as they walked upward. "You cat, you eat all the time and never exercise yet you don't get fat... Are you even a cat?"

Zhan Zhao was dismissive. "You white rat, you're uncultured, aren't you? Mental labor can burn a quarter of your total calorie intake, and coupled with my innate high metabolic rate, the Chinese diet structure being primarily carbohydrate-based, plus police work lacking regularity, it's impossible to get fat."

Bai Yutang listened in a daze and reached out to pinch Zhan Zhao's arm. "Yeah, there isn't much meat, and it's all tender besides, feeling soft..."

Zhan Zhao immediately threw a punch. "Dead rat!" But the moment his fist struck Bai Yutang's arm, he regretted it—this rat's muscles were so hard! So, feeling unsatisfied, he went to pinch him again. The two of them argued and bickered as they walked, and just as they reached the middle of the mountain slope, a crisp bang echoed from afar.

Bai Yutang caught only the sound of a bullet tearing through the air and his body instinctively reacted. "Cat!" He tackled Zhan Zhao right beside him, rolling together into the nearby bushes.

Reaching out to draw his weapon, Bai Yutang frowned. "The gunshot came from very far away, the position is down at the foot of the mountain!" Finishing his sentence, he didn't hear Zhan Zhao reply, only feeling the hand gripping his arm tighten with crushing force. Bai Yutang's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly turned his head to see Zhan Zhao's face turned completely pale, his forehead covered in sweat. "Cat!"

Bai Yutang's heart instantly leaped into his throat as he pulled Zhan Zhao over to inspect his injuries. "What's wrong with you?"

Zhan Zhao collapsed into his arms with just a gentle tug from Bai Yutang, saying in a low voice, "My foot hurts so much."

Bai Yutang looked down and saw a bloody hole in Zhan Zhao's leg, with fresh blood bubbling out... Bai Yutang stared at the blood on Zhan Zhao's leg, his expression instantly changing color.