S.C.I. (Volume II) - Case 6: Chapter 23

The Innocent Killer 23 - Competition and Tribute

"How did you get so thin?" Zhan Qi stuffed Zhan Zhao into the car, got into the driver's seat himself, and fastened his seatbelt. "What do you eat every day?"

Zhan Zhao fastened his seatbelt and muttered softly, "Lunch boxes."

Zhan Qi frowned slightly, started the car, and drove toward the suburbs.

"Dad..." Seeing that Zhan Qi was driving intently and not speaking, Zhan Zhao asked, "What are you going to tell me? Why so mysterious?"

Zhan Qi was silent for a moment, then said, "To show you something."

"What is it?" Zhan Zhao asked cheerfully, glancing at his dad's profile and silently praising him—so handsome!

Seeing Zhan Zhao's grinning face, the lingering anger in Zhan Qi's heart dissipated a little. "You can look at it slowly when we get home."

"Oh..." Zhan Zhao nodded, occasionally glancing sideways at Zhan Qi and feeling relieved to find that his expression wasn't as grim as before.

The car drove all the way into the suburbs. As the air gradually grew fresher, the oppressive atmosphere inside the vehicle slowly dissolved. Zhan Qi gestured toward the back seat and asked, "Have you eaten?"

Zhan Zhao turned around and saw a box sitting on the back seat. He narrowed his eyes... Octopus balls!

He reached out to grab it, opened the box, and started eating. As he chewed, he muttered inwardly, "Hmph, a dad of your own is still the best!"

Thus, Father Zhan successfully tamed his cat with a box of takoyaki, and the father and son drove toward the suburbs, chatting and laughing all the way.

Stopping the car, Zhan Qi carried Zhan Zhao up to the second-floor bedroom. After placing him on the bed, he handed him a folder and said, "It's right here."

Zhan Zhao reached out, took it, opened it up... and froze, looking up at Zhan Qi. "This... a paternity test..."

Zhan Qi nodded. "I'm your biological dad. Can you rest easy now?"

Zhan Zhao's face flushed slightly as he asked in a low voice, "How did you know?"

"You were so reluctant to come home, and seeing me was like seeing a ghost," Zhan Qi said, pulling up a chair and sitting down. "How could I not know?"

Holding the document, Zhan Zhao felt the heavy stone in his heart finally lift. "Then why did Zhao Jue..."

"You believe his nonsense?" Zhan Qi said with helpless resignation. "He was just messing with you."

Zhan Zhao couldn't quite wrap his head around it and asked, "Then... you obviously also..."

Zhan Qi looked somewhat embarrassed. "...I was messing with you too..."

==...Zhan Zhao was speechless. If that was the truth, then Zhan Qi was the most boring dad in the entire world, but if it was a lie, then he was the worst dad at telling lies in the entire world!

"There is some more stuff I want to show you," Zhan Qi said, pulling a plastic bag containing documents out of his desk drawer and handing it to Zhan Zhao. "Some of Zhao Jue's research materials left over from back then."

Zhan Zhao took it in surprise, opened it, and began reading intently.

Zhan Qi silently went downstairs, took the groceries he had bought earlier out of the trunk, and headed into the kitchen. He cooked a full table of dishes, all of them Zhan Zhao's favorites.

When he finished up, evening had already fallen. Zhan Qi went upstairs, pushed open the bedroom door, and found Zhan Zhao sitting quietly on the bed in a daze, holding the documents from earlier in his hands.

"Time to eat." Zhan Qi reached out to pick Zhan Zhao up, but Zhan Zhao looked up at him and asked, "Is this the reason why he was locked up for twenty years?"

Zhan Qi shook his head, reached out to pat Zhan Zhao's head, and said, "What happened back then cannot be explained in just a few words. I showed you this to let you know that some things are taboos—don't touch them!"

Zhan Zhao put away the documents and asked, "Are all of Zhao Jue's research materials right here?"

Zhan Qi shook his head. "This is the only part that was preserved; everything else was burned by himself."

"Which means..." Zhan Zhao looked at Zhan Qi. "None of the other materials belong to Zhao Jue?!"

Zhan Qi nodded with a helpless expression, leaned in closer to Zhan Zhao, and said, "You foolish child, in this entire world, the only person who can understand Zhao Jue's research materials... is you! You are his only kindred spirit, which is why he hounds you from morning till night, wanting to play with you."

Zhan Zhao lowered his head to look at the documents, muttering to himself, "So that's how it is... Things that nobody can understand don't need to be hidden at all; the things that must be hidden are the ones everyone can understand."

Afterward, Zhan Qi shoved the documents back into the drawer and took Zhan Zhao downstairs to eat. Zhan Zhao happily devoured the table full of food, feeling a sense of ease he had never experienced before.

That night, after enduring the painful experience of sitting with Zhan Qi downstairs until nine o'clock, Zhan Zhao was finally released back to his room. He hurriedly called Bai Yutang: "Bai, how is the case going?"

Bai Yutang sighed helplessly. "Cat, we haven't seen each other all day, and you're asking about the case instead of caring about me?"

Zhan Zhao said in a low voice, "Hurry up!"

"We found some very interesting things," Bai Yutang said. "Yan Li's ex-husband died ten years ago, and he and Zou Mo knew each other!"

"Zou Mo?" Zhan Zhao was startled. "How did he end up crossing paths with Zou Mo?"

"When Zou Mo was in school, he interned in Zhao Jue's research lab, and Yan Li's husband, Zeng Kai, was Zou Mo's roommate," Bai Yutang replied. "And speaking of which, her husband's death was quite suspicious."

"How did he die?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"He committed suicide," Bai Yutang said. "And it happened right when their careers were taking off and their family life was blissful—he just committed suicide for no apparent reason!"

"How did he commit suicide?" Zhan Zhao was curious.

"He jumped into the sea."

Zhan Zhao furrowed his brows slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "If only I had brought my laptop, I can't look up any data without it."

"I brought it for you," Bai Yutang said suddenly.

"...Ah?" Zhan Zhao was somewhat bewildered. At that moment, a tap sounded against the window.

Zhan Zhao turned his head and saw Bai Yutang holding onto the windowsill with one hand while holding a laptop bag and his phone with the other, smiling away outside the window.

Zhan Zhao hurriedly hopped over on one leg to open the window and asked, "How did you get here?"

Bai Yutang vaulted inside, tossed the laptop onto the desk, reached out to pull Zhan Zhao's hand, and said, "Cat, let's elope!"

Zhan Zhao looked at him, amused yet exasperated. "You're just talking big for the thrill of it."

With the computer in hand, Bai Yutang helped Zhan Zhao over to the edge of the bed and asked, "Where's your dad?"

"Watching TV downstairs," Zhan Zhao answered in a hushed voice. As he spoke, he took the computer and opened it.

"I figured you'd need a computer," Bai Yutang said cheerfully. "Did you think of something?"

Zhan Zhao looked at him with a smile. "With that smug look on your face, you must have thought of something too, right?"

Bai Yutang nodded. "Let's see if what you're thinking matches what I'm thinking!"

Zhan Zhao opened the computer, connected with Jiang Ping, and had him send over all the suspect screenshots.

Jiang Ping did as instructed. After receiving the images, Zhan Zhao pointed at the person who had placed the "Replacement of the Dao" note on his car and said, "Look familiar?"

Bai Yutang smiled faintly. "Cat, great minds think alike! That's exactly what I was thinking!"

Zhan Zhao raised an eyebrow. "How did you figure it out?"

Bai Yutang kicked off his shoes, sat cross-legged on Zhan Zhao's bed, and said, "Didn't we talk about Uncle An and his wife earlier? Ma Han and the others went to investigate, and people at the police station don't know much about Uncle An's family. He never brings them up at the bureau, and he always works day and night, rarely going home. But those two guys are pretty sharp; they tracked down Uncle An's old neighbors. The neighbors said... Uncle An's family moved in right when An Lingli was nine years old, and nobody has ever stepped inside their house. However... they said they always hear muffled crying, like an old woman wailing about a 'child'."

Zhan Zhao was startled. "She really has been out of her mind for over a decade?"

Bai Yutang nodded. "Then I started wondering if this matter could have anything to do with Lu Liang. Thinking of Lu Liang led me straight to this person!"

Zhan Zhao smiled faintly. "Not bad, Bai, you're sharp!"

Bai Yutang reached out and pinched Zhan Zhao's nose. "Come on, Cat, didn't you figure it out too? How did you guess it?"

Zhan Zhao said, "I owe it to some things my dad showed me!" With that, he gestured toward the drawer. Bai Yutang walked over, took out the stack of documents inside, and stared at them for a good while. "Cat, what does this even say?"

Zhan Zhao smiled. "These are Zhao Jue's research notes from back then."

"Oh..." Bai Yutang looked utterly awed. "Turns out Zhao Jue was researching ciphers back in the day..."

Zhan Zhao shot him a glare. Seeing Bai Yutang put the documents back into the drawer, scamper onto the bed, and sit down, Zhan Zhao continued, "I am certain that back then, Zou Mo did indeed record some things."

Bai Yutang nodded. "Right, that's the file Wang Liyong found."

"However, the materials Wang Liyong got only surfaced midway through the case, but the case itself had started long before that!"

Bai Yutang nodded and asked, "You mean there are two sets of documents?"

"Smart!" Zhan Zhao nodded. "Do you remember when we were first investigating the Ripper case and found a website called 'Illusion'? The people who tried to kill Lu Liang all came from this website, and that Cult Master Illusory Night has consistently used bizarre techniques to induce those people to commit crimes!"

Bai Yutang nodded. "You're saying that Cult Master Illusory Night has the first set of documents?"

"Bingo!" Zhan Zhao gave Bai Yutang an appreciative pat on the shoulder, then continued, "Think about it: the relationship between Zou Mo and Zeng Kai made it possible for Zeng Kai to get his hands on a portion of those research materials! Then, on the Illusion website, under the instigation of Cult Master Illusory Night, a series of murders took place, which were subsequently framed on Fang Wozhi... and finally, they tried to murder Lu Liang!"

"Who would have the conditions to pull all that off... Yan Li?" Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao, then shook his head. "Yan Jiajia!"

Zhan Zhao smiled. "Actually, Yan Jiajia and Yan Li are equally suspicious, but... if you can effortlessly murder so many people using just a portion of the materials, then... you'd inevitably want the second set of documents!"

"Oh..." Bai Yutang understood. "So that's why Yan Jiajia had to hook up with those boyfriends—to steal the second set of materials!"

"But Cat," Bai Yutang seemed slightly puzzled, "The person who placed the 'Replacement of the Dao' note wasn't Yan Jiajia."

Zhan Zhao smiled. "Remember the screen name 'Replacement of the Dao' that frequently popped up on Lu Liang's forum?"

Bai Yutang nodded.

"Zhao Jing's parents frequently interacted with Lu Liang... Everything ties back to Lu Liang, which led me to think of that person!" As Zhan Zhao spoke, he pulled up that specific image. "Even though she's wearing a mask, she looks a lot like Lu Liang's student who came to the police station to deliver research materials to us last time!"

Bai Yutang smiled. "I thought of her too! And what a coincidence—thanks to her storming into the police station that day, we captured images of her appearance. When I ran a comparison... it's the exact same person!"

"Really?" Zhan Zhao looked excited.

"I had Jiang Ping check her background. Her name is Yang Chen, and she's Lu Liang's most trusted student," Bai Yutang said. "What's more, Lu Liang has her handle many of his patients!"

"Then there's no doubt about it," Zhan Zhao nodded. "Still... something is missing. If only we could get our hands on a bit more evidence."

"What do you mean by getting your hands on a bit more?" Bai Yutang asked, puzzled.

"I can string this entire case together, except... we're still missing this person!" Zhan Zhao said, pointing at the unidentified suspect who ran through the entire case from start to finish. "Who on earth are they? They seem to have been present all along, yet they also seem to have never appeared at all!"

"Cat... Jiang Ping found out last time that the 'Replacement of the Dao' account... seemed to belong to someone in your fan club, right?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Mm." Zhan Zhao nodded. "What are you getting at?"

"Well... if our guesses are correct, then Cult Master Illusory Night is Yan Jiajia, and Replacement of the Dao is Yang Chen. Both girls belong to your fan club, but... although I don't know much about psychology, their writing styles and rhetoric seem rather different!"

Zhan Zhao nodded. "Cult Master Illusory Night is extremely extreme. In her theory, psychology is omnipotent, and people are divided into different tiers with survival of the fittest... It has somewhat fascist tendencies."

"What about Replacement of the Dao?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Replacement of the Dao leans toward perfectionism," Zhan Zhao said. "She believes that psychological analysis is underutilized in criminal psychology, and furthermore, people don't pay enough attention to psychology!"

Bai Yutang nodded and said, "Do you remember the ultimate goal of the dismemberment and mutilation cases?"

Zhan Zhao frowned. "The dismemberment case—psychology is omnipotent! The Fang Wozhi case demanding a lie detector test—psychology interfering with criminal investigation! The mutilation case—psychology needs to be promoted more widely! Right now, society's interest in criminal psychology is simply unprecedented!"

"Cat..." Bai Yutang said softly, "The motives in this case are chaotic, but at least one clue is clear... Your fans have split into two factions competing... and paying tribute to you!"

"Competition... tribute..." Zhan Zhao muttered to himself, shaking his head. "How did things devolve into this?"

Bai Yutang put on his shoes and said, "Cat, I still have to go interrogate Pang Ji. You should get some sleep early."

With that, he got up and started to leave.

"You're not going anywhere!" Zhan Zhao grabbed him by the collar. "I'm coming too!"

Bai Yutang laughed. "Do you really want me to elope with you?"

Zhan Zhao said anxiously, "I have very important things to ask Pang Ji and his son, and I also need to look into Uncle An's background... I have a hypothesis that I want to verify!"

"What hypothesis?" Bai Yutang was curious.

"Take me with you!" Zhan Zhao insisted.

Bai Yutang's eyes widened. "If your dad finds out, I'm a dead man!"

"I don't care about that anymore!" Zhan Zhao started packing his things and stood up.

"You want me to carry you out over the wall?" Bai Yutang made a bitter face. "Cat, you're overestimating me!"

Just as he spoke, footsteps sounded on the stairs.

"My dad is coming!" Zhan Zhao was startled.

Panicking, Bai Yutang looked around to jump out the window. "I'm outta here!"

Zhan Zhao grabbed his clothes. "You're not allowed to leave!"

"Damn cat! You're gonna get me killed!"

"Damn rat! You lack loyalty!"

At the same time, Zhan Qi had already reached the bedroom door and tapped it lightly. "Zhao, who are you talking to?"

"Ah?" Zhan Zhao pointed a finger toward the wardrobe, and Bai Yutang hurriedly dove inside to hide.

Zhan Qi pushed the door open, stepped in, looked around, and asked Zhan Zhao, "Who were you talking to?"

Zhan Zhao shook his head. "Nobody."

Zhan Qi fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Where did the computer come from?"

"Uh..." Zhan Zhao said in a low voice, "Found it under the pillow."

Inside the wardrobe, Bai Yutang couldn't help laughing, thinking to himself that this cat was truly hopeless at lying!

Zhan Qi sighed softly and said, "Alright, I'm going to bed. Get some rest early..." With that, he closed the door and left. A moment later, as if remembering something, he pushed the door back open and said, "Tell Yutang that if he hasn't eaten, he should grab a bite before he leaves—there are plenty of leftovers on the table... Oh, and a three-legged cat shouldn't be climbing out windows; use the stairs instead. I'm going to sleep." With that, he closed the door.

Zhan Zhao's face turned beet red. He turned his gaze toward the wardrobe door as it slowly opened to reveal Bai Yutang squatting inside, looking deep in thought. After a long pause, Bai Yutang asked, "Cat, what dishes are left over?"