🔑 New Month, New Passkey!
Ko-fi Supporters: The ad-free passkey for November has been updated! Please check your Ko-fi account or latest supporter post to click the new activation link and keep your ad-free access active.

S.C.I. (Volume II) - Case 6: Chapter 17

The Innocent Killer 17 - Amusement


The moment he saw the blood on Zhan Zhao's leg, Bai Yutang's eyes turned red. "Cat!"

"I'm fine..." Zhan Zhao said in a low voice. "The bullet is right here..." As he spoke, he gestured toward a bullet casing nearby. "It passed straight through, didn't hit any bone."

Bai Yutang's eyes grew even redder. He ripped off the sleeve of his own shirt to use as a tourniquet, tying it tightly above Zhan Zhao's wound. "Cat, hold on for just a moment!" With that, he whipped out his phone to call back to SI: "Jiang Ping, the Cat has been shot! Call an ambulance, we're at the nursing home!" Hanging up, Bai Yutang spotted a white van parked by the roadside at the foot of the mountain suddenly start up, breaking through the roadblock and driving upward.

Quickly sizing up the terrain, Bai Yutang scooped Zhan Zhao up, carried him to the corner of the rock face, and placed him down, shielding him with his own body. He watched as the window of the oncoming van suddenly rolled down and the barrel of a gun poked out... Bai Yutang recognized it at a glance as a sniper rifle; the bullets were the exact same style that had just hit Zhan Zhao...

Frowning, Bai Yutang's expression turned chillingly cold as he raised his gun and fired a single shot... The bullet flew straight and true through the half-open glass window, striking the shooter inside. Afterward, Bai Yutang stepped out into the middle of the road and fired three consecutive shots directly at the front-left tire of the oncoming van. A loud blowout echoed out, followed by a violent metallic screech. The van completely lost its balance, hurtling straight toward Bai Yutang and the rock wall. Bai Yutang stood his ground without moving an inch. After sliding for a short distance, the van suddenly swerved to the side, smashing head-first into the adjacent rock wall with a deafening boom as its windshield shattered into pieces.

Bai Yutang cast a cold glance at the finally stationary vehicle and walked over, wanting to pull the car door open, but the violent impact had jammed the door shut. Smashing the glass with the butt of his gun, Bai Yutang reached inside and yanked out the severely injured person in the driver's seat. Taking one look, he froze in surprise. "It's you?!"

Showing a brief flash of astonishment, Bai Yutang shoved the person back inside hard and glanced at the sniper in the backseat who had already been eliminated by his own shot. By this time, the wail of police sirens and ambulance alarms could already be faintly heard from the foot of the mountain.

Stowing his gun, Bai Yutang said coldly, "Real slow."

Walking back to the mountain corner, he found Zhan Zhao leaning against the rock face, his face pale.

"Cat." Bai Yutang stepped close, leaned down to plant a light kiss on the corner of his lips, and said, "I'll carry you down."

"Mhm." Zhan Zhao nodded, and seeing the nearly wrecked white van not far away, he asked, "Who was it?"

Bai Yutang let out a low grunt, allowing Zhan Zhao to drape over his back. He hoisted him up and strode quickly down the mountain.

"Bai..." Zhan Zhao rested his chin on Bai Yutang's shoulder. "Who was in the car?"

Bai Yutang fell silent for a moment before saying, "That son of Pang Ji's... He was just released on bail a couple of days ago. What's his name again, I forgot."

Zhan Zhao rubbed against his shoulder and smiled. "Why so much anger?"

"Your back paws are injured and you still talk so much." Bai Yutang frowned. "You've never taken a bullet before... Damn it."

"Profanity?" Zhan Zhao looked shocked. "Captain Bai, what happened to your mental cleanliness?"

"You better not be left with a scar, or I'm going to beat the one surnamed Pang up every single time I see him from now on!" Bai Yutang was still furious.

"You have a scar too..." Zhan Zhao reached out to gently touch the large area of burn scars on Bai Yutang's arm. "One each, we're even..."

Bai Yutang didn't reply. Seeing that they had already reached the bottom of the mountain and the ambulance had pulled up, Zhan Zhao said to him, "It seems someone really doesn't want us going to the nursing home."

"What's your plan?" Bai Yutang placed Zhan Zhao onto the ambulance stretcher.

"A gunfight happened on the road, which gives us an excuse to seal off the nursing home." Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang and said concisely, "I'll get treated here first; a moment later, you carry me back up. We're going to the nursing home first!"

Bai Yutang smiled slightly, didn't say a word, and quietly waited to the side while letting the paramedics inspect Zhan Zhao's injury.

The medical staff quickly bandaged Zhan Zhao. With the bleeding stopped, a more thorough examination would need to be done at the hospital.

Bai Yutang nodded and said to the medic, "There are two people in the white van on the mountain road—one is already dead, and the other is close to it."

The paramedics looked at each other in dismay and hurriedly rushed up the mountain. Bai Yutang instructed the arriving police officers to cordon off the scene and not let a single person leave, then told the newly arrived Luo and Bai Chi to investigate the elderly residents connected to that police officer.

As everyone dispersed, Zhan Zhao beckoned to Bai Yutang. "Let's go up!"

Bai Yutang turned back, looked at Zhan Zhao with a slight smile, and said, "You mean, we go up to the nursing home to investigate the case first, and then go to the hospital, right?"

"Mhm." Zhan Zhao nodded.

Bai Yutang stepped close, reached out to pinch Zhan Zhao's chin, and said with a chilling tone, "Cat, have I been spoiling you too much lately?"

Zhan Zhao was slightly stunned, failing to react for a moment, before hearing Bai Yutang continue in a measured tone, "Can't you tell how angry I am right now?"

Zhan Zhao felt a bit nervous; this rat hadn't been this angry in a long time... He muttered softly, "Well... there might be clues."

Bai Yutang stepped back, raised his foot, and kicked the partition wall separating the back of the ambulance from the cab with a loud thud, roaring, "Are you going to drive or what?!"

The driver jumped in fright and stammered, "The... the door, close the door first."

Bai Yutang shut the door with a loud bang, sat down beside Zhan Zhao, looked at the bed, and glared at Zhan Zhao—Lie down!

Zhan Zhao pursed his lips—What are you glaring for?!

Bai Yutang raised an eyebrow—Are you going to lie down or not?

Zhan Zhao acted stubborn and looked away—Not lying down!

"Hmph..." Zhan Zhao obediently lay down.

After undergoing a comprehensive examination at the hospital, the doctor informed them: Zhan Zhao's bullet wound had neither damaged any bones nor severed any tendons or meridians; it had simply punched a hole through his leg. Once the flesh healed, it would be fine. During this period, he should walk as little as possible, rest quietly, and do some appropriate physical therapy.

"Rest quietly meaning eating without moving around?" Bai Yutang asked the doctor.

"Uh... yes." The doctor nodded.

"Cat, turns out your entire life has just been resting quietly!" Bai Yutang laughed out loud.

Zhan Zhao picked up a medical tray and hurled it straight at Bai Yutang.

Popular posts from this blog

The Early Spring - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - The Rainy City That year, the rain in Beijing was heavier than usual, even heavier than in the south where Shang Zhitao had just left. The rain fell in a continuous drizzle, and faint clouds and mist lingered above the sky, making it hard to tell whether the scene was picturesque or desolate. Shang Zhitao was wrestling with her two large suitcases—one packed entirely with books, and the other filled with clothes and shoes, with nothing else inside. Traveling all the way from Nanjing to Beijing, the twenty-two-year-old had accomplished the monumental feat of her first independent migration. Fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead and cheeks, turning her face a flushed pink. Shang Zhitao felt as though she was about to melt. She calculated in her mind that she definitely had to go buy a fan tomorrow. The narrow partition room felt even more cramped because of these two suitcases. She heard the girl in the next room talking on the phone: "Should I go over to your ...
Read more

Against the Current - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Origins It is said that there was once a young boy in Jinling named Chen Wanquan. When he was five or six years old, he lost both of his parents, and his elder brother and sister-in-law sold him to the wealthy Lin family as a bondservant to work in an antique shop. As the days and months passed, he honed a sharp eye for authenticating antiques, calligraphy, and paintings. Because he had no property or family standing to his name, no respectable household was willing to discuss marriage with him, yet he had developed high standards and looked down upon ordinary maidservants. At the age of thirty, his employer promoted him to the position of third manager of the shop. A year later, out of benevolence, the Lin estate granted him a third-class maid named Mistress Xue, ordering the two of them to be wed. This Mistress Xue had originally worked exclusively on embroidery and sewing in the second branch of the household. Because she was quite attractive and possessed a competitive ...
Read more

The Early Spring - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - The Beginning of the Story Shang Zhitao boarded the bus early in the morning. As the city was just waking up, the bus wound its way through the thin mist. With earbuds in her ears, she looked out at the streets. How industrious the people living here truly were; even at this early hour, the sidewalks were already packed with hurried commuters. She was a commuter too, rushing along. She wore a white shirt dress today, cinched at the waist with a slim light-brown belt. Her hair was tied up high, and though she wore no makeup, she radiated a peerless, youthful charm. Sitting there, she looked quiet and well-behaved, just like the obedient child from next door that people always talked about—outstanding, yet not too flashy. Shang Zhitao had always been this kind of person since she was little. Her academic grades were only slightly above average, and her looks were similarly middle-of-the-pack. Because of this mediocrity, even with all her diligence and eagerness to lea...
Read more