S.C.I. (Volume II) - Case 6: Chapter 4

The Innocent Killer 04 - Countless Threads

Bai Chi dashed back home before the heavy rain could fall. Opening the front door, he found Zhao Zhen and Lisbon sprawled across the sofa, starved to the point of being on their last breaths.

"Chichi~~" Zhao Zhen lunged forward to hug Bai Chi. "I'm so starving."

Lisbon also caught the scent and scampered over, rubbing against Bai Chi's legs like a cat.

Bai Chi sighed, placing Lisbon's portion on the floor first so it could eat. Seeing Lisbon eating happily, Bai Chi sighed again, stroking its fur. "If you're hungry next time, why don't you just eat Zhao Zhen instead..."

"How heartless of you." Zhao Zhen picked up a pair of chopsticks, poking at the pan-fried dumplings and fried rice in the lunchbox, and said listlessly, "Chichi, it's been ages since I had a good meal. Stop fobbing me off with bento boxes all the time; I want to eat the grand feast you cook."

"No way." Bai Chi poured a glass of water and sat down. "We've got a major case recently."

"Another case?" Zhao Zhen stuffed a dumpling into his mouth and chewed. "Why are there so many perverts in this city? What kind of case is it this time?"

"Hmm... To be honest, this case is actually pretty perverted." Bai Chi rested his chin on his hands at the table, watching Zhao Zhen eat, and thought to himself that this guy really had the temperament of a wealthy young master—even wolfing down pan-fried dumplings looked so elegant. Mulling it over, he asked, "Haven't you had any performances lately?"

"Yeah, I have..." Zhao Zhen picked up a pan-fried dumpling and stuffed it into Bai Chi's mouth. "There's one in a couple of days."

"Are you going abroad?" Bai Chi asked.

"Nope, right here in the city. Yuyu Amusement City is holding a magic week, and I'm doing the grand finale performance as well as serving as a judge for their magic competition."

"Yuyu Amusement City..." Bai Chi rubbed his chin and asked, "You rarely seem to attend events like this, let alone be a judge."

"That's for sure." Zhao Zhen chewed his mouthful of food and nodded. "I'm an international superstar, and my appearance fee is very high, so very few event organizers can afford me."

"Did Yuyu make a really good offer?" Bai Chi asked.

"Mm." Zhao Zhen nodded. "They scared my manager silly, so in order to make a living, I had no choice but to sell myself."

"Cough cough..." Bai Chi choked on his water, glaring at Zhao Zhen. "Stop talking nonsense."

"I'm not talking nonsense." Zhao Zhen smiled cheerfully. "The boss of that Yuyu place is a woman. Her saliva was practically dripping when she looked at me."

"Re... Really?" Bai Chi grew a bit nervous. "Then you're still going?!"

Seeing Bai Chi's guarded expression, Zhao Zhen couldn't help laughing and deliberately said, "It's not bad either. She's a very pretty woman, walks the sexy route, her figure is out of this world, and she's rich to boot."

Bai Chi fell silent for a moment, then reached out and snatched away the fried rice Zhao Zhen hadn't touched yet. "I'm not giving it to you anymore!" With that, he walked over, dumped all the fried rice into Lisbon's bowl, and turned to take a shower.

Zhao Zhen chomped on his chopsticks, watching Lisbon eat with gusto, and let out a long sigh... Ah, what a heartless kid. Not letting me eat was one thing, but now he won't even let me have rice. There probably isn't a second international superstar who's ended up as miserable as me~~

After finishing his shower and drying his hair, Bai Chi walked out and saw Zhao Zhen slumped over the table reading a magazine, his complexion somewhat pale. Meanwhile, Lisbon at his feet was eating until it hiccuped continuously, licking its paws to wash its face... Bai Chi's heart softened as he abruptly noticed that Zhao Zhen seemed to have lost a considerable amount of weight recently.

After thinking it over, he still went into the kitchen to cook him a bowl of noodles, adding an egg, green vegetable leaves, and two slices of ham. Bai Chi placed the steaming, fragrant bowl of noodles right in front of Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen's face instantly lit up with joy, and he hugged the noodle bowl, slurping away hungrily.

"How come you seem to have lost so much weight lately?" Bai Chi sat on the sofa to brush Lisbon's fur while asking Zhao Zhen.

"Oh, I'm losing weight," Zhao Zhen said between mouthfuls of noodles.

"You were already that skinny to begin with, what are you trying to lose weight for?" Bai Chi asked, puzzled.

"The new magic trick requires it," Zhao Zhen replied casually. "That's why Bai has been diving deep."

"Diving?" Bai Chi walked over, reached out to roll up Zhao Zhen's sleeve, and stared closely at him for a moment. "You really have lost a lot of weight. What kind of magic trick requires you to starve yourself down like this?"

"Heh..." Zhao Zhen chuckled mysteriously. "A magic trick that only I in the entire world can perform."

Curious, Bai Chi asked, "What is it?"

Zhao Zhen said, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "It's a secret. I haven't told a single soul... Unless it's my lover, I won't tell. Do you want to be my lover?"

"Tsk..." Bai Chi cleared away the dishes and utensils, muttering under his breath, "Forget it then, what's with the airs." With that, he carried the bowl and chopsticks to the kitchen to wash them, leaving Zhao Zhen sitting alone and disconsolately in the living room. After a long while, Zhao Zhen let out a long sigh, muttered a low curse mixed with fondness and absolute helplessness—"Idiot"—and left the table to pounce on the increasingly chubby Lisbon, tormenting it. "Why are you getting fatter by the day?! You look nothing like a lion, still washing your face after eating. I'm going to rename you Garfield!"

Man and lion played happily in the living room, failing to notice that Bai Chi's face in the kitchen was redder than a ripe tomato.

Early the next morning, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang arrived at the SI office to find A Luo sitting on the sofa while Yangyang was studying an English book nearby.

"Why are you here?" Bai Yutang asked. "Aren't you supposed to have the morning off?"

"Yeah." A Luo pulled an SD card from his pocket, handed it to Bai Yutang, and said, "I'm leaving in a moment, but this was filmed last night, and I figured I should still let you take a look."

Zhan Zhao took it and handed it to Jiang Ping to play. It was indeed the footage from the previous night showing Zhao Jing using building blocks to spell out I LOVE YOU before climbing into bed to sleep.

"What about after that?" Zhan Zhao asked A Luo. "Did she get up again?"

A Luo shook his head. "No, she slept soundly the entire rest of the night."

"Bizarre." Bai Yutang turned his gaze to Zhan Zhao. "Why would she do something like that?"

Zhan Zhao frowned in silence for a long time before saying, "I can't say for sure..."

"Could it be... those corpses?" Bai Yutang hesitated.

"You suspect the corpses were also arranged by a child?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"This..." Zhan Zhao was starting to feel uncertain when someone at the door chimed in, "That would be truly terrifying."

The group turned their heads to see Gongsun standing at the doorway holding a stack of files, his complexion somewhat pale. Everyone understood instantly—he had definitely spent another entire night performing autopsies.

"What is it?" Bai Yutang asked Gongsun. "Did the autopsy yield results?"

"Huu..." Gongsun walked in and said, "You guys better brace yourselves before I tell you."

"Mm." The group exchanged glances, waiting for Gongsun to continue.

"Let's show you some photos first." Gongsun handed over the documents, opening them for the group to inspect.

The photos displayed close-up details of the body parts, which bore several bruises.

"Bruises?" Bai Yutang frowned. "Were the victims beaten before death?"

"Doesn't look like it..." Zhan Zhao widened his eyes and said, "These are fingerprint marks... and furthermore..." At this point, he looked up at Gongsun and saw Gongsun nod back at him.

Zhan Zhao took a deep breath, turned to look at A Luo, and then cast a glance at Luo Yang, who was pricking up his ears to listen curiously to their conversation.

A Luo picked up Luo Yang and said, "Let's go, it's time for school. I'll drop you off."

"It's still early." Luo Yang checked his watch, hugged A Luo, and said, "We haven't finished listening yet."

"Be a good boy, Dad's taking you to school." A Luo carried Luo Yang outside and casually pulled the door shut behind them.

"What on earth is going on here?" Jiang Ping asked, thoroughly puzzled as he stretched his neck to look at Zhan Zhao and Gongsun.

"These fingerprint marks..." Gongsun began, stretching out his left arm to grab one of Jiang Ping's arms while shaping his right hand like a blade and chopping down onto Jiang Ping's shoulder, "are produced like this."

" inflicted while cutting them up?" Bai Yutang was startled.

"As far as I know... dead people don't develop bruises, do they?" Jiang Ping's face turned pale as he asked with nervous trepidation.

"Therefore..." Gongsun nodded, "it was vivisection! Dismembered while still alive!"

The group fell silent for a moment. Jiang Ping stood up, muttered "Excuse me..." and ran off with his hand clamped over his mouth.

Bai Yutang frowned. "But there were no signs of a struggle at the scene... And if a conflict broke out, how could no one hear screams?"

"Also," seeing that Zhan Zhao seemed to have questions, Gongsun preempted him, "there were no drug reactions in their systems."

"...A living person, offering no resistance, hacked to pieces?" Zhan Zhao muttered to himself.

"Huu..." Dropping the files back into Bai Yutang's hands, Gongsun said, "If this killer is caught, make sure to let me tour them!" With that, he turned around and walked away.

Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao exchanged glances, left with nothing to say.

Zhan Zhao walked over to the desk, sat down, and lowered his head in silence. Bai Yutang carefully reviewed the files and asked, "Cat, any clues?"

Zhan Zhao shook his head. Seeing that Jiang Ping had returned, he asked, "Jiang Ping, are there any similar cases?"

"None." Jiang Ping shook his head, pulled up the records, and said, "Over the past half year, there have only been a few dismemberment cases, and the culprits have all been caught."

Zhan Zhao rubbed his chin. "How can that be..."

Just then, the front door was pushed open. Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked up to see Lu Fang walking in with a man.

"Zhan, someone's looking for you." Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged glances and turned their attention to the man behind Lu Fang. He looked to be under thirty years old, with a neat short haircut, rimless glasses, ordinary facial features, and a height that was neither tall nor short—in short, the kind of person who would vanish into any crowd unnoticed.

"Who is this?" Bai Yutang asked Lu Fang.

"He's Piao Shaoheng," Lu Fang introduced. "Fang Wo's defense attorney."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were taken aback. They watched as Piao Shaoheng walked over, extended a hand to shake Zhan Zhao's, and said, "Dr. Zhan, I've heard a great deal about you."

"You're looking for me for something?" Zhan Zhao asked.

"That's right." Piao Shaoheng nodded. "I'll get straight to the point. Fang Wo's trial opens in three days. During this period, we want to apply to administer a lie detector test on Fang Wo, but it requires certification from an authority. After turning it over in our minds, we concluded that you are the most authoritative figure."

Zhan Zhao was slightly startled. "Lie detectors have a margin of randomness and cannot serve as evidence."

Piao Shaoheng nodded. "I know, but this lie detector test could have a huge impact on the final trial verdict."

"I don't know Fang Wo," Zhan Zhao stated, "and solving cases relies on evidence, not psychological deductions."

Piao Shaoheng thought for a moment before saying, "We understand, but this concerns whether an innocent person will be wronged... Dr. Zhan could actually go take a look at Fang Wo. I believe that once you converse with him, you'll realize he's simply not the type to do something this insane."

"We have more important matters to handle right now," Bai Yutang suddenly interjected. "You'll have to give us some time to arrange things. Surely you don't expect to take the Cat away right this second, do you?"

"Uh..." Piao Shaoheng gave an awkward chuckle and nodded. "Right, I was being too hasty. But I still hope Dr. Zhan will consider it. This isn't just about saving an innocent person; it also concerns the real killer still remaining at large."

Zhan Zhao nodded. Piao Shaoheng left his business card and turned to leave with Lu Fang.

Seeing the two depart, Bai Yutang reached out, pulled Zhan Zhao up, led him into the office, closed the door, and asked, "Cat, what's wrong?"

"Nothing..." Zhan Zhao shook his head.

"I rarely see you show such strong aversion to something." Bai Yutang sat down beside Zhan Zhao. "I have a feeling you're deeply averse to Fang Wo's case!"

Zhan Zhao sighed, leaned back against the sofa, and said earnestly to Bai Yutang, "Don't you feel that this case involving Fang Wo is moving in an incorrect direction?"

Showing keen interest, Bai Yutang prompted, "Tell me your thoughts."

"Ever since I've been collaborating with you, my professional knowledge has only been used to help you find evidence," Zhan Zhao said, clutching a throw pillow tightly. "Never has psychology been used as the standard to judge whether someone is guilty or innocent."

Bai Yutang nodded. "That's right."

"But Fang Wo's case—once a precedent like this is set, it might evolve in the future so that whoever a psychologist suspects can simply be hauled in for a lie detector test," Zhan Zhao sighed. "When that happens, guilt won't be determined by evidence, but by deduction. Where is the justice in that?"

Bai Yutang fell silent after hearing Zhan Zhao's words. After a long moment, he said, "What you're saying makes a lot of sense."

"Regardless of whether Fang Wo is the murderer, what we should be doing is conducting a thorough investigation to find evidence, rather than judging his moral character and then administering a lie detector test," Zhan Zhao continued. "Otherwise, it's far too dangerous."

Bai Yutang stood up, paced back and forth in the office a few times, and said, "Cat, why don't we go pay Fang Wo a visit?"

Zhan Zhao looked up at him. "You mean, look for clues from him?"

Bai Yutang nodded. "I'm thinking, there are plenty of serial killers out there, and cases lacking evidence aren't unheard of, yet only Fang Wo's case is drifting off in such a bizarre direction... Could there be the possibility of deliberate human manipulation?"

Zhan Zhao nodded repeatedly. "I think so too! It's just that the case on our hands..."

"We don't have many leads right now anyway," Bai Yutang said. "There's no point in sitting around idly waiting, so we might as well go take a look. After seeing him, we can figure out our next steps. In any case, as far as criminal psychology and forensics are concerned, you're still the authority. Before the trial, people are bound to come seeking your opinion. As long as you refuse the lie detector test and make your stance clear... there's nothing they can do about it, right?!"

Zhan Zhao thought about it, found the logic sound, and nodded. "Alright! Let's go right now!"

Bai Yutang picked up his car keys. "Let's move!"

Gongsun walked out of the police station feeling somewhat dizzy, a nagging discomfort twisting in his stomach—he had skipped meals and stayed up too late last night, causing his stomach to act up this morning. Thinking about it, he found it rather amusing. Usually, if he worked overtime through the night, Bai Jingtang would undoubtedly show up to deliver a late-night snack. But these past couple of days, Bai Jingtang had gone abroad, and there was no telling when he would return...

Just as these thoughts crossed his mind, his phone rang. Pulling it out to check, it was indeed Bai Jingtang.

"Hello?" Gongsun answered the call.

"..." The other end fell silent for a moment before asking, "Are you feeling unwell? Did you pull an all-nighter last night?"

Gongsun was speechless, then nodded. "Yeah."

Bai Jingtang frowned. "Why did Yutang let you pull another all-nighter?!"

"What does it have to do with him?" Gongsun smiled. "They stay up all night, and I only have to stay busy for one evening; I'm idle the rest of the time."

"Did you eat breakfast?" Bai Jingtang asked again.

"Going right now." Listening to the call, Gongsun walked toward a café situated right across the police station.

"Drink a cup of hot milk, then eat something soft," Bai Jingtang said in a low voice. "You're not allowed to drink coffee. Go home and sleep as soon as you finish eating."

"Got it." Gongsun pushed open the café door. "When are you coming back?"

"...Miss me?" Bai Jingtang chuckled.

"..." Gongsun was left speechless. He sat down at a table and told the waiter, "A cup of hot milk and an order of cheese."

"I'll be back very soon," Bai Jingtang smiled. "Take good care of yourself."

"Mn." Gongsun hung up the phone just as the milk was served. The moment he reached to pick it up, a figure flashed before him, and a woman sat down directly across from him.

Gongsun raised his gaze to find a woman in her thirties, dressed fashionably and sexily, exceptionally pretty with a refined temperament, draped in designer clothes and jewelry, wearing a faint expression of arrogance.

Gongsun searched his memory but couldn't recall knowing anyone like her. Glancing around, he noticed plenty of empty tables, making him puzzled as to why she chose to sit directly opposite him.

The woman removed her sunglasses, looked Gongsun up and down, and asked coldly, "You must be Gongsun Ce?"

Gongsun's stomach was hurting severely. He took another sip of milk, nodded slightly, and looked at the woman. "And you are?"

The woman waved a hand dismissively at the waiter who had approached their table, signaling him to leave, and stared intently at Gongsun for a long moment before stating, "I am Jingtang's most important woman."

"Cough cough..." Gongsun choked on a mouthful of milk, coughing violently for a long while before looking up at the arrogant-looking woman in front of him and finally managing to squeeze out a sentence: "Madam, how old might you be? You look terribly young."

The woman's face turned ashen instantly.