S.C.I. Mystery Files Case 1 Chapter 17



The Numbers Killer - Chapter 17 Old Case



Zhan Zhao looked through the files one by one, his expression growing darker with each file.

"What is it, Kitty?" Bai Yutang asked anxiously.
"Mouse, how did you find this out?" Zhan Zhao looked up at Bai Yutang.
"...?... what did I find?"

"All these people have something to do with OCD and suggestions." Zhan Zhao slapped him with the files, "Answer me! Don't feign ignorance!"

"I'm not feigning ignorance," Bai Yutang picked up the magazine he was reading and said, "Just think about it. This case is somehow related to you, plus that C University Psychology Department. So I just thought that it might have some relation to psychology."

"Also!" Bai Yutang added, "Wang Chao and team have been looking at these files for the past few days now, but they couldn't find any connection between the victims. All these people had in common were that they weren't doing well in life and weren't very successful in their careers either. Several of them even had a history of having mental illness."

"Oh~" Zhan Zhao said as he rubbed his chin, "So that's why you came here for inspiration."

"You look like you're very inspired," Bai Yutang commented as he reached out and lifted Zhan Zhao's chin, "Look at your proud face!"

"Let's go!" Zhan Zhao declared while slapping Bai Yutang's hand away and getting up to leave.

"Hey! Cat! Where to?" Bai Yutang hurriedly followed behind him.

"Did you know that our station was the first to establish the 'Criminal Psychology Research Office'? Zhan Zhao asked as he walked briskly.

"Un... Wasn't it set up 20 years ago under Commissioner Bao's suggestion?" Bai Yutang quickened his pace such that they were now walking side by side, "How's that related to the case?"

Zhan Zhao prompted pressed for the lift, "Do you know why this department was established?"

Bai Yutang dug at his ear and said impatiently, "Can you just get to the point already?"

"There was this huge case back then. Due to the major implications, most people know nothing about it. I too, only found out from the seniors when I joined the research office."

The two entered the lift and Zhan Zhao pressed the button for the 11th floor, "No one knows the details. All they know is that the killer used suggestion to control and murder people. In 5 years, over 100 people died. More than a dozen of the deaths came from the police alone."

The elevator doors opened on the 11th floor as Bai Yutang asked with an incredulous look on his face, "How come I've never heard of such a case if it's that major?"

Zhan Zhao chuckled while heading towards the archive room, "How old were you 20 years ago? Who could a kid like you ask?"

Bai Yutang rolled his eyes, "Then how did you know?"

Zhan Zhao glanced at him with a smirk and said, "I'm older than you!"

After that, he clicked his tongue gleefully at Bai Yutang whose face had turned pale from anger. Then remarked thoughtfully, "Somebody was so adorable and sweet when he was young, calling me Gege1 all the time. Who knew he'd grow up to be so annoying."

Bai Yutang's eyebrows shot up as he retorted, "Ha! You damn cat, how dare you mock me!? Why don't you talk about how cute you were as a kid?" 

Then, he looked like he was reminiscing, "I wonder who was the one who always got kissed by those aunties at the kindergarten till his face was covered in saliva??"

"Ah!" Zhan Zhao quickly changed the topic. "We're at the archive room!" He announced while hurriedly entering the room. 

Bai Yutang followed behind Zhan Zhao while muttering under his breath, "If it wasn't for me who protected you back then, did you think you can grow up safely? Ungrateful!"

Out of the blue, Zhan Zhao tried to slam the door shut. Thankfully for Bai Yutang's quick reflexes, he reached out his hand to block the door before it could slam onto his face. Then he patted his chest to calm his nerves, "You're so mean. Are you jealous of my beautiful nose?!"

"Shh!" Zhan Zhao turned around and gestured for him to keep quiet before searching through the files on the shelves.

"Isn't this very inefficient?" Seeing all the densely marked labels was making Bai Yutang's eyes turn, "Are there no records on the computer?"

Zhan Zhao was flipping through the files as he casually replied, "I've looked through it before, there are no such records on the computer... eh?"

Seeing that Zhan Zhao had stopped with his brows furrowed, Bai Yutang hurried over, "What's the matter? You found it?"

Zhan Zhao pointed to the shelf and exclaimed, "There are so many files missing from the years '82 to '87!"

"Those files are classified," A somewhat old voice interjected/

...!!...

Neither Zhan Zhao nor Bai Yutang were fainthearted, but this was in the dead of the night, in the gloomy archive room. In the tensed state they were in, the voice that came out of nowhere definitely scared the crap out of them.

A bright light from a flashlight shone at them and Bai Yutang had already identified him as the old archivist who managed the documents, old man Sun.

"Old man Sun, why are you still up at this hour?" Bai Yutang swiftly shielded his eyes as well as Zhan Zhao, who was standing behind him, from the light and asked, "The lights are on, why are you still using a flashlight? It's not like we're filming a horror movie."

Old man Sun chuckled as he turned off the flashlight, "So it's you two boys. And here I thought which idiot came to still files from the archive room in the middle of the night."

Zhan Zhao pointed to the empty space on the shelf and inquired, "Old man Sun, you said all those files are classified?"

Old man Sun beckoned for the two of them to follow him. And when they followed him to his duty room at the end if the corridor, there was an induction cooker with instant noodles boiling inside.

"Smells so good," Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exclaimed at the same time, only just remembering now, that they were so busy all night they hadn't eaten.

Old man Sun took out 2 more packets of noodles from the cupboard and put them into the pot, "Sit down."

The two sat down a little sheepishly.

"The missing files are all from one case. Part of it was sealed away as classified information," Old man Sun said as he took out 3 clean bowls and placed some chopped green  onions in them, "And the other part was destroyed."

"Destroyed?" Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang asked simultaneously, "How can it be destroyed?"

Old man Sun served the noodles and sighed softly, "It was destroyed by that person."
(lilies: my favourite person<3)

"What person?" They received the bowl from old man Sun. It smells so good!!

"Actually, if that person never destroyed the files, he might have never been caught," old man Sun sat down as well, speaking as he ate.

"It was the culprit who destroyed the documents?" Zhan Zhao asked in surprise.

Old man Sun nodded, saying, "He's not just the culprit, he's also a policeman."

Bai Yutang choked on his noodles and Zhan Zhao handed him a tissue, "You said he's a policeman?"

"Have you two heard of the most popular cops from back then, 'The two evils: Black and White2'?"

Bai Yutang laughed, "Old man Sun, are you talking about Commissioner Bao and my pops3?"

Old man Sun smiled in return, "Yes. It may sound cheesy now, but back then, it was really a magnificent sight to behold."

After gulping down his last mouthful of noodles, Bai Yutang cleaned his mouth and asked, "What does this culprit have got anything to do with those two old men?"

Old man Sun sighed deeply, "Other than the few seniors like me left, none of the youngsters today know. 'Black and White' was actually made up of 3 people!"

"3 people?" Zhan Zhao was shocked, "It couldn't be that the 3rd person was the culprit?"

Sun didn't answer immediately but instead stared at Zhan Zhao for awhile before saying, "He's the same as you."

...?...

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a puzzled look.

Old man Sun put away the tableware and continued, "He was basically a genius... at psychological analysis. Just that there wasn't such a position back then, hence, he was given the title of a policeman."

Bai Yutang was started to get a little anxious, "After saying so much, who on earth is he?"

"...I've already told you, this is confidential," Old man Sun said with a smile, "I have a duty to keep this a secret. That's all I can tell you. And it's not like I know the details. There are probably only 3 people who know everything."

"3?" Bai Yutang questioned, "Who else is there, apart from my dad and Commissioner Bao?"

"The person himself," Old man Sun stated as he stood up to clean the table. 

"He's still alive?" Zhan Zhao blurted out in shock.

Bai Yutang also had an incredulous look on his face, "He's killed over a hundred people yet he wasn't sentenced to death?"

Old man Sun shook his head, "He can't hurt anyone anymore."
Then he kept his mouth shut and refused to discuss the matter anymore. Later that night, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang tried all sorts of ways to get him to talk, but old man Sun did not speak of it again. Instead, he cooked two more servings of noodles for them.

Burping as they exited the duty room, Bai Yutang frowned, "Acting all secretive and mysterious. This is really annoying!"

"What should we do next? Ask your dad?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Bai Yutang had an expression that read 'please spare me' as he replied, "Oh God! It's been more than 20 years. If he wanted to say anything, he would have done so already!"

"Then Commissioner Bao?"

"You ask!"

Zhan Zhao looked troubled, "Can you prove that these 2 cases are related?"

Bai Yutang shrugged, "He'll definitely ask that!"

"Do you think your mom would know?"

"My pops definitely won't let her say it," Bai Yutang frowned again, "Or we could try getting him drunk... but he'll definitely slaughter us when he sobers up."

The two walked through the doors of S.C.I. with a face of woe. Then, Zhan Zhao suddenly asked, "Xiao Bai, how much older is your brother?"

Without a second thought, Bai Yutang blurted, "8 years... AaaaAAaaah!"

Seeing his reaction, Zhan Zhao quickly said, "Your brother was a teen by then, so he should remember, shouldn't he?"

"That's not it, Kitty! That's not what I'm 'ah-ing' about!" Bai Yutang said, looking like the world was ending.

"Then what are you 'ah-ing' about?"

"...My brother is coming back today and I said I would pick him up."

"Ah?!" Zhan Zhao jumped as well, "What time is his flight?"

"12." Bai Yutang scratched his head.

Zhan Zhao checked his watch and saw that it was exactly 12 o'clock, "Then hurry up over! It shouldn't be too bad if you're half and hour late."

Bai Yutang looked like he was about to cry, "...It's 12 noon..."

Zhan Zhao was stunned for a moment with his mouth agape and he patted Bai Yutang, "A new record! Based on your brother's personality..." He paused before concluding with pity, "You're dead meat!"

Bai Yutang paced on the same spot for awhile then he ran out, pulling Zhan Zhao with him.

"What are you doing?" Zhan Zhao asked, desperately holding onto the desk in an attempt to prevent Bai Yutang from dragging him away.

"Come with me!" And Bai Yutang pulled even harder.

"No! Why should I go with you!"
"I'll say that I was held up by stuff and you are my witness!"
"No! Why should I? I don't lie!"
"Just come with me, it's not like you're going to lose a piece of yourself!"
"No!"

......

The two of them maintained this tug of war as they slowly inched towards the door.
In the end, Zhan Zhao grabbed on the door frame with a death grip and shouted, "Let go! I'm not going! If you dare do anything to me in the police station, I'll sue you for kidnapping!!"

Bai Yutang's anger just shot up, "Damn Cat!" I treat you so well and feed you good food every day, yet you choose to abandon me in times of crisis! Fine!" he let go as he said that.

Just as Zhan Zhao was about to heave a sigh of relief, Bai Yutang took a step forward and threw the former over his shoulder and ran for the elevator.

"Yaaaaa! White Mouse! Damn Mouse!" 

......

What happened next was all sealed away with a 'ding!' as the elevator doors closed.

That was the scene Gongsun chanced upon when he came out of the Medical Examiner's Office. 

He sighed and shooked his head, but just as he turned to leave, another 'ding!' came from the elevator. Looking behind him, he saw the other lift open and out came a besuited man in leather shoes. Gongsun checked the man out and concluded that he wasn't a police officer. He was very tall, well-dressed, had well-defined facial features and very handsome... he also looked kind of familiar...

"Who are you looking for?"

Hearing his voice, that man glanced at Gongsun from the corner of his eyes and asked, "Who are you?"

Seeing his arrogance, Gongsun raised his head and smiled at him.
Even from behind the glass door of the S.C.I. Office, Gongsun's smile sent chills down Zhao Hu's spine. As he nudged Jiang Ping, gesturing for him to look up. Looking up, Jiang Ping was also greeted with the strange sight beyond the door. He stuck out his tongue and whispered, "Gongsun was probably just done with the autopsy. That's some bad luck, this guy bumped into Gongsun when he's the most irritable... Why does he look so familiar?"

Gongsun offered a handshake, "Hi, I'm Gongsun Ce, from the Medical Examiner's Office."

Gongsun's smile stunned the man for a moment, but his good manners caused him to instinctively return the handshake. Just as he was about to speak, something felt wrong on his hand, it was wet and slipper. Looking down...

He saw that Gongsun was wearing a pair of flesh-toned latex gloves. And when he looked at his hand, it was covered in red and white, thick and sticky substances.

As he was puzzled by the situation, Gongsun enthusiastically explained, "The red one is liver residue, the white is brain fluid and the black one is burnt fat..."

The onlookers camping behind the door to watch the situation, like Zhao Hu and friends all felt like puking. That man, on the other hand, appeared rather calm. Other than his face that had turned pale from anger, he didn't have much reaction. Though if you looked closely, you might see his Adam's apple shaking slightly.

"How do I address you?" Gongsun's smiled even brighter, murmuring internally that this was no easy character.

"Bai Jintang," that man spat those 3 words out through clenched teeth.

"Ssss..." just as everyone took a deep breath, the dark expression on Bai Jintang's face became a meaningful smirk. Then he stretched out his arms and hugged Gongsun who was in a daze, "Yutang often mentions you."

"Ssss..." everyone took in another breath. On Gongsun's back was a terribly obvious sticky, red and white handprint...

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1. Older brother
2. Written as  '黑白双煞'
3. Bai Yutang's surname is '白' and the name Bao Zheng is with direct reference to Justice Pao who is famous for being tanned. Hence the black and white reference.

Idk if it's a little late to say now, but most of the names (the main characters at least, I didn't bother checking the others) come from "The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants". Like Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang for eg, even their nicknames are taken from the story 'The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants'. I guess it's kinda like a (whole lotta gay) modern-day interpretation? Ah no, a fanfic with which uses the characters as reference lmao XD
I only just realised recently lollol This is where I say, "I was today years old when I—"
Eh, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm just not that into wuxia, though I will say works by the author, Jin Yong, are pretty damn f— good.

Also, this chapter is so long zzzzz

Please feedback to me in the comments below if you find any typos or terrible grammar, etc that you think I should change. Or maybe you think my interpretation is completely off lol Help me help you have a better reading experience ahahah what a tongue twister XD
Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)

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peace lilies~

lilies

I'm a mega weeb who just wants to share some online novels I've read and maybe translate some of them to english along the way. I do not guarantee the accuracy of my translations.

8 Comments

  1. Aaah, so much good stuff in this chapter alone haha
    They're finally gonna meet Zhao Jue!
    And Gongsun and Jintang's first meeting ahahaha, I love them

    Thank you for the chapter! (I'm gonna have to check out the story the names are from haha)

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  2. You have a pretty good translations style. I'm digging it! ❤

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  3. Thank you for the chapter!

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  4. Oh why, oh why did you turn into a girl, Big Brother Bai :'D I am disappointed now... I wud have loved an all-male cast just because we can.

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  5. In the series bai has an elder sister ?? 🤔🤔🤔

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  6. Ooooo I smell side couple in the making here! Thank you for translating! :)

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  7. Love your translation. Thank you for your hardwork and making this book available in english.

    On that note, for this sentence:

    "And here I thought which idiot came to 'still' files from the archive room in the middle of the night."

    Suppose be 'steal' right.

    Ps: a silent reader.

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  8. Ok... In retrospective I see that I should not be surprised but I still expected a Sister not a brother! And I'm kinda didappointed because I absolutely loved her in the drama and I'm not sure how similar she can be as a brother here for it to have the same vibw. But at the same time I already like the brother - that handprint on the face... 🤣🤣🤣

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