The Numbers Killer - Chapter 21 Zhao Jue
When Bao Zheng stopped the car, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were blown away by the sight before them. They found it hard to believe that they were still in S city, it felt like they were in another country.
It took a nearly 3-hour drive for them to arrive at their destination—situated within a desolate valley was a cluster of white buildings. Surrounded by towering electric fences, the occasional appearance of patrol officers armed with loaded firearms, These were all signs that this was no ordinary compound.
"So? What you think of this place?" Bao Zheng prompted, amused by the reaction of the two clearly stupefied children.
"My thoughts..." Bai Yutang raised a brow, "It's like Guantánamo..."
"...What on earth is this place?" Zhan Zhao asked Bao Zheng.
Bao Zheng lit a cigarette and replied, "Special Pathological Phenomena Research Centre."
Bai Yutang laughed, "It sounds all fancy. So, is this a medical institution or a military facility? Or perhaps, a prison?"
Bao Zheng glanced at him before answering, "This place houses the brightest lunatics in the country."
"And the person you want us to meet is inside?" Zhan Zhao asked.
"He's called Zhao Jue," Bao Zheng replied lightly and put out his cigarette, "Let's go."
Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao curiously, "For you to not even know of this place! Aren't you the expert?"
Zhan Zhao continued moving forward quietly, replying in a hushed voice, "They've written to me before, asking for me to join."
"Oh?" Bai Yutang was surprised, "Then why didn't you join them?"
Zhan Zhao scoffed, "Psychology is the study of people."
"Don't they hold humans in here?"
...After a short pause, Zhan Zhao responded grimly, "They're materials..."
It's plain to see that Bao Zheng visited this place often. Whenever the trio came across the staff of the research centre, clad in white coats, they would greet Bao Zheng. The trio continued walking on. They passed through a hall to a seemingly neverending hallway. Metal doors open and shut as they walked through, almost as if it was a monster behind those doors and not a person—white walls, tiled floor, cool gloomy lighting and frigid atmosphere, as if something else was in the air.
At last, Bao Zheng stopped in front of a heavy metal door and unlocked it with his fingerprint. Pushing open the door, they are greeted with an enormous glass wall in the centre of the room. Behind the room, were black metal bars—a prison cell!
The furnishing within the bars was simple and neat. Surrounded by snow-white walls with sunlight shining in from the window on the ceiling. Coupled with the light reflecting off the glass, the entire room was mottled in patches of light and shadow. Some green plants were lined up against the wall, with some occasional white flowers in the mix, the African Calla Lily.
(lilies: I did enjoy snow white as a child XD)
And seated on a red chair, right in the middle of the cell, was a person with his back to the glass wall. Looking intently at the Calla Lilies on the floor while drawing something on paper in his hand. Scattered on the ground were pieces of paper with pencil sketches of the Calla Lilies... drawn so skillfully, it was like they were real.
That man's back was unusually thin. He was in a simple white outfit and had unevenly cut black hair, but what was most jarring to look at was the metal collar with a complex design around his neck.
"A Silencer1?" Bai Yutang frowned, this metal silencer was specially made for prisoners. Due to its complex structure, once on, it can only be removed with a metal cutter. With that on, no matter how loud you tried to scream or shout, you wouldn't be able to make a single sound.
"Why would you put that on him?" Zhan Zhao glared at Bao Zheng. The back view of the man in the cell looked so small and miserable2. To live like that for 20 years... it's just too cruel...
Bao Zheng fell silent for a while before saying, "He used his voice to kill all those people. Without it, he no longer poses a threat." As he said that, he opened the door on the glass wall and led the two into the observation room between the wall and the cell.
Evidently, the glass wall was soundproof. The sudden noise from the entrance broke the man's concentration as he turned around to look at the trio that entered.
He was a very fair-skinned man with soft features that had a hint of elegance to them. Perhaps it's because he hadn't seen the light of day in so long, that terribly pale complexion of his made him look really young. He didn't look like someone in his forties at all.
He scanned the three of them, one by one, with his eyes with a poker face. One couldn't tell what was inside his mind. His eyes, were even more so, like a pool of still water, completely undisturbed.
He didn't react in any way when he saw Bao Zheng and simply swept past him. But when he saw Bai Yutang come in next, he tilted his head slightly like he was pondering. And when Zhan Zhao entered last, he looked like he had discovered something new and interesting. As his eyes trailed after Zhan Zhao's figure.
"Zhao Jue, I've brought the kids to see you," Bao Zheng introduced, "They're Yuwen and Qitian's, kids."
Zhao Jue put down his pen and paper and walked over. As he neared the door to the cell, his eyes never left Zhan Zhao.
Zhan Zhao stared back at him. Zhan Zhao got a strange feeling when looking at Zhao Jue. Based on his observations of the latter's behaviour, or more specifically, his expression. It wasn't so much like he was mentally ill but more like he had gone mad. The kind like he had lost his sense of self...
By this time, Zhao Jue had arrived at the door and had reached out a trembling hand, as if he was trying to touch Zhan Zhao's face.
Slap.
Just before Zhao Jue's hand came into contact with Zhan Zhao's face, Bai Yutang swatted it away.
A small yet sharp pencil-sharpening blade fell to the ground with a 'ding' and blood seeped out of Zhan Jue's outstretched finger.
"Who said he's not a threat?" Bai Yutang gave him an icy stare as he pulled Zhan Zhao back.
Seeing the blood oozing out of his finger, Zhao Jue looked up at Bai Yutang with a disapproving expression. He then turned around and went back to the chair in the middle of the room, carefully licking his wound.
"Why did he shoot my older brother?" Bai Yutang asked Bao Zheng who was beside him.
"..." Bao Zheng kept quiet for a moment before speaking, "To get rid of the witness."
"What do you mean?" Bai Yutang asked, puzzled.
"The first person to discover that he's the perpetrator was your brother!!"
"...!..."
Bao Zheng added, "Just that... your brother doesn't have any memory of it anymore."
Zhao Jue picked up the pen and paper again and went back to his sketch.
"Let's go," Bao Zheng called out to the two of them as he turned to leave.
Bai Yutang who was keeping an eye on Zhao Jue's every movement suddenly felt sick in the stomach and quickly followed behind Bao Zheng. Zhan Zhao was last to leave, as he continued watching Zhao Jue's actions, those drawings and that pencil sharpener... Just as he was about to leave, Zhao Jue suddenly looked at him with a faint smile. Then he brought a finger to his lips and gestured, "Shh..."
When the trio exited the observation room, Zhan Zhao stopped Bao Zheng and said, "I want to see his medical records."
Bao Zheng answered, "Sure, but your investigations had better not be centred around Zhao Jue."
......
Both Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao fell silent. In Zhao Jue current condition, there's no way he could be out and about, giving people psychological suggestions or numbering the victims. If that's the case, then was this Numbers Case just a coincidence or was it done by a copycat killer? Just when they thought they'd found some clues, everything became muddled and unclear again.
......
Inside a research lab, Zhan Zhao was meticulously going through Zhao Jue's medical report. Bai Yutang was deep in thought while Bao Zheng was out smoking in the corridor. After a long while, Zhan Zhao suddenly muttered, "Eh?"
"What did you find?" Bai Yutang immediately leaned in.
Zhan Zhao pointed to the list of names for him to see, "This is the list of experts that determined that Zhao Jue was suffering from mental disorders and had no control over his actions3."
The first name right at the top of the list was 'Xu Yanqin'.
"Xu Yanqin?" Bai Yutang got shocked, "That Professor Xu?"
Zhan Zhao nodded, "Without this diagnosis, Zhao Jue would've definitely gotten the death penalty!"
"Kitty!" Bai Yutang's eyes flashed with excitement, "The cases are connected!"
Zhan Zhao was very familiar with that expression on Bai Yutang's face. Every time the latter found a promising lead, he'd make that face. After making a quick check on Bao Zheng, who's outside the door, Zhan Zhao pulled Bai Yutang closer and whispered, "That Zhao Jue is not mentally ill! He's faking it."
"How do you know that?" Bai Yutang inquired in a hushed tone as his eyes widened.
"Those drawings!" Zhan Zhao explained in a similarly hushed voice, "Although his act is very good, but those drawings on the floor, they're all drawn at different times. The ones at the bottom were painted first while the ones at the top are the most recent. The closer the sketches were to the top, the messier they got."
After some thought, Bai Yutang asked, "You mean to say that he's planning something and recently, he's been getting increasingly impatient?"
"Or increasingly excited," Zhan Zhao said as he lowered his head, a little worried.
"What's the matter? Kitty, what do you have in mind?" Bai Yutang asked, "You don't want to let Commissioner Bao know about this?"
Zhan Zhao hesitated before saying, "I think Zhao Jue is a very dangerous man and I fear this is all part of his plan. If Commissioner Bao were to be caught in this..."
Bai Yutang gently pat him on the shoulder, "That's what I had in mind as well, we should do it on our own! What do you want to do next?"
Biting on his lips, Zhan Zhao seemed to have made up his mind, "I w-want to get your brother to meet Zhao Jue."
"..." Bai Yutang froze, "You mean..."
"He makes to little actions and expressions, I need more details to determine his intentions."
Bai Yutang nodded, "And my brother is the best person to provoke him!"
Zhan Zhao added, "Your brother doesn't seem too averse to that memory... I want to hypnotise him."
Bai Yutang was just about to say, "yes," when he abruptly slapped himself on the thigh and yelled, "Shit!"
The two had been so close to each other they were basically ear to ear. Bai Yutang's sudden shout not only startled Zhan Zhao, even Bao Zheng who was outside got such a shock he almost ate his cigarette.
"What are you yelling about!?" Bao Zheng barged in furiously.
Bai Yutang looked like he was about to cry as he asked Zhan Zhao, "Kitty, what time is it?"
Zhan Zhao checked his watch and replied, "8.30."
Bai Yutang banged his head against the wall, "I'm dead! I forgot about my brother's who's still left at the S.C.I..."
Zhan Zhao and Bao Zheng fell silent at the same time, then the two of them patted Bai Yutang on the shoulders, "Be prepared for a second round of beating..."
On the 17th floor of the police station, right outside the S.C.I. office.
Bai Jintang was sitting on his luggage, absolutely livid as he watched the members rush to get off work. It couldn't even be considered leaving work, they were virtually fleeing.
"Damn kid! Wait till I skin you alive!!" Bai Jintang muttered to himself as he started at the closed elevator doors.
The door to the Medical Examiner's Office opened and out came Gongsun in casual clothes, twirling his car keys around his finger as he walked towards the elevators. He glanced at Bai Jintang from the corner of his eye like he was looking at a dead rat...
"Hey!" Bai Jintang suddenly called out to him, "Let me stay over at your place tonight."
"What??" Gongsun exclaimed with shock plastered all over his face.
Bai Jintang simply pointed his luggage and continued as if that were supposed to be the natural progression of things, "I'm homeless."
Bao Zheng fell silent for a while before saying, "He used his voice to kill all those people. Without it, he no longer poses a threat." As he said that, he opened the door on the glass wall and led the two into the observation room between the wall and the cell.
Evidently, the glass wall was soundproof. The sudden noise from the entrance broke the man's concentration as he turned around to look at the trio that entered.
He was a very fair-skinned man with soft features that had a hint of elegance to them. Perhaps it's because he hadn't seen the light of day in so long, that terribly pale complexion of his made him look really young. He didn't look like someone in his forties at all.
He scanned the three of them, one by one, with his eyes with a poker face. One couldn't tell what was inside his mind. His eyes, were even more so, like a pool of still water, completely undisturbed.
He didn't react in any way when he saw Bao Zheng and simply swept past him. But when he saw Bai Yutang come in next, he tilted his head slightly like he was pondering. And when Zhan Zhao entered last, he looked like he had discovered something new and interesting. As his eyes trailed after Zhan Zhao's figure.
"Zhao Jue, I've brought the kids to see you," Bao Zheng introduced, "They're Yuwen and Qitian's, kids."
Zhao Jue put down his pen and paper and walked over. As he neared the door to the cell, his eyes never left Zhan Zhao.
Zhan Zhao stared back at him. Zhan Zhao got a strange feeling when looking at Zhao Jue. Based on his observations of the latter's behaviour, or more specifically, his expression. It wasn't so much like he was mentally ill but more like he had gone mad. The kind like he had lost his sense of self...
By this time, Zhao Jue had arrived at the door and had reached out a trembling hand, as if he was trying to touch Zhan Zhao's face.
Slap.
Just before Zhao Jue's hand came into contact with Zhan Zhao's face, Bai Yutang swatted it away.
A small yet sharp pencil-sharpening blade fell to the ground with a 'ding' and blood seeped out of Zhan Jue's outstretched finger.
"Who said he's not a threat?" Bai Yutang gave him an icy stare as he pulled Zhan Zhao back.
Seeing the blood oozing out of his finger, Zhao Jue looked up at Bai Yutang with a disapproving expression. He then turned around and went back to the chair in the middle of the room, carefully licking his wound.
"Why did he shoot my older brother?" Bai Yutang asked Bao Zheng who was beside him.
"..." Bao Zheng kept quiet for a moment before speaking, "To get rid of the witness."
"What do you mean?" Bai Yutang asked, puzzled.
"The first person to discover that he's the perpetrator was your brother!!"
"...!..."
Bao Zheng added, "Just that... your brother doesn't have any memory of it anymore."
Zhao Jue picked up the pen and paper again and went back to his sketch.
"Let's go," Bao Zheng called out to the two of them as he turned to leave.
Bai Yutang who was keeping an eye on Zhao Jue's every movement suddenly felt sick in the stomach and quickly followed behind Bao Zheng. Zhan Zhao was last to leave, as he continued watching Zhao Jue's actions, those drawings and that pencil sharpener... Just as he was about to leave, Zhao Jue suddenly looked at him with a faint smile. Then he brought a finger to his lips and gestured, "Shh..."
When the trio exited the observation room, Zhan Zhao stopped Bao Zheng and said, "I want to see his medical records."
Bao Zheng answered, "Sure, but your investigations had better not be centred around Zhao Jue."
......
Both Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao fell silent. In Zhao Jue current condition, there's no way he could be out and about, giving people psychological suggestions or numbering the victims. If that's the case, then was this Numbers Case just a coincidence or was it done by a copycat killer? Just when they thought they'd found some clues, everything became muddled and unclear again.
......
Inside a research lab, Zhan Zhao was meticulously going through Zhao Jue's medical report. Bai Yutang was deep in thought while Bao Zheng was out smoking in the corridor. After a long while, Zhan Zhao suddenly muttered, "Eh?"
"What did you find?" Bai Yutang immediately leaned in.
Zhan Zhao pointed to the list of names for him to see, "This is the list of experts that determined that Zhao Jue was suffering from mental disorders and had no control over his actions3."
The first name right at the top of the list was 'Xu Yanqin'.
"Xu Yanqin?" Bai Yutang got shocked, "That Professor Xu?"
Zhan Zhao nodded, "Without this diagnosis, Zhao Jue would've definitely gotten the death penalty!"
"Kitty!" Bai Yutang's eyes flashed with excitement, "The cases are connected!"
Zhan Zhao was very familiar with that expression on Bai Yutang's face. Every time the latter found a promising lead, he'd make that face. After making a quick check on Bao Zheng, who's outside the door, Zhan Zhao pulled Bai Yutang closer and whispered, "That Zhao Jue is not mentally ill! He's faking it."
"How do you know that?" Bai Yutang inquired in a hushed tone as his eyes widened.
"Those drawings!" Zhan Zhao explained in a similarly hushed voice, "Although his act is very good, but those drawings on the floor, they're all drawn at different times. The ones at the bottom were painted first while the ones at the top are the most recent. The closer the sketches were to the top, the messier they got."
After some thought, Bai Yutang asked, "You mean to say that he's planning something and recently, he's been getting increasingly impatient?"
"Or increasingly excited," Zhan Zhao said as he lowered his head, a little worried.
"What's the matter? Kitty, what do you have in mind?" Bai Yutang asked, "You don't want to let Commissioner Bao know about this?"
Zhan Zhao hesitated before saying, "I think Zhao Jue is a very dangerous man and I fear this is all part of his plan. If Commissioner Bao were to be caught in this..."
Bai Yutang gently pat him on the shoulder, "That's what I had in mind as well, we should do it on our own! What do you want to do next?"
Biting on his lips, Zhan Zhao seemed to have made up his mind, "I w-want to get your brother to meet Zhao Jue."
"..." Bai Yutang froze, "You mean..."
"He makes to little actions and expressions, I need more details to determine his intentions."
Bai Yutang nodded, "And my brother is the best person to provoke him!"
Zhan Zhao added, "Your brother doesn't seem too averse to that memory... I want to hypnotise him."
Bai Yutang was just about to say, "yes," when he abruptly slapped himself on the thigh and yelled, "Shit!"
The two had been so close to each other they were basically ear to ear. Bai Yutang's sudden shout not only startled Zhan Zhao, even Bao Zheng who was outside got such a shock he almost ate his cigarette.
"What are you yelling about!?" Bao Zheng barged in furiously.
Bai Yutang looked like he was about to cry as he asked Zhan Zhao, "Kitty, what time is it?"
Zhan Zhao checked his watch and replied, "8.30."
Bai Yutang banged his head against the wall, "I'm dead! I forgot about my brother's who's still left at the S.C.I..."
Zhan Zhao and Bao Zheng fell silent at the same time, then the two of them patted Bai Yutang on the shoulders, "Be prepared for a second round of beating..."
On the 17th floor of the police station, right outside the S.C.I. office.
Bai Jintang was sitting on his luggage, absolutely livid as he watched the members rush to get off work. It couldn't even be considered leaving work, they were virtually fleeing.
"Damn kid! Wait till I skin you alive!!" Bai Jintang muttered to himself as he started at the closed elevator doors.
The door to the Medical Examiner's Office opened and out came Gongsun in casual clothes, twirling his car keys around his finger as he walked towards the elevators. He glanced at Bai Jintang from the corner of his eye like he was looking at a dead rat...
"Hey!" Bai Jintang suddenly called out to him, "Let me stay over at your place tonight."
"What??" Gongsun exclaimed with shock plastered all over his face.
Bai Jintang simply pointed his luggage and continued as if that were supposed to be the natural progression of things, "I'm homeless."
"And why should I let you stay over?" Gongsun scoffed, looking at Bai Jintang with his arms crossed while standing in front of the lift.
"Humanitarianism!" Bai Jintang declared as a matter-of-factly.
"You can go to a hotel," Gongsun replied and pressed for the lift.
"That costs money!" Bai Jintang stated naturally.
"On what grounds do you think I'll take you in?" Gongsun blocked him from entering the elevator.
Bai Jintang pointed to his mouth, then to Gongsun's cheek, "We have a close relationship!"
Seeing the murderous intent brewing in Gongsun's eyes, Bai Jintang hurriedly added, "I have a bottle of Bordeaux '86 in my suitcase."
......
After a moment of considerations, Gongsun moved aside.
Bai Jintang cheerily hopped into the lift, oblivious to the fact that Gongsun had one hand in his pocket.
Holding the polished scalpel, Gongsun thought to himself, "Once we get to a place with no one, I'll chop him up and destroy all traces of his murder!!"
1. Written as '吸音器' Idk what this is, like some kind of sound absorber, but in a collar form. If anyone has a better name for it please suggest TT_TT↩
2. Written as '清冷单薄' I am quite iffy about this part.↩
3. Written as '非受控性精神障碍' I couldn't find anything when I googled it so I don't think it's some professional jargon and I'm not sure if it's dissociative identity disorder. I assume it's just kinda like he pled insanity? ↩
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!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
peace lilies~
2. Written as '清冷单薄' I am quite iffy about this part.↩
3. Written as '非受控性精神障碍' I couldn't find anything when I googled it so I don't think it's some professional jargon and I'm not sure if it's dissociative identity disorder. I assume it's just kinda like he pled insanity? ↩
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!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
peace lilies~
Chills!! This chapter gave me chills :-0 that is one creepy killer!! Thank you for the chapter <3
ReplyDeleteZJ is creepy. And BJT too in a different way?
ReplyDeleteThank you again for your translation! <3