S.C.I. Mystery Files Case 1 Chapter 25

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The Numbers Killer - Chapter 25 Suggestion

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Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang drove down to the location of Professor Xu's private clinic as provided by Chen Jing. After making rounds around the area, they headed to a street with relatively low-end bars. As Bai Yutang's car was too eye-catching, the two parked the car a distance away and walked over.

This was an area where hoodlums congregate, filled with bars, clubs, all the typical business one would associate with a red-light district. All the people loitering along these streets were young and dressed in a strange fashion. 

Zhan Zhao was looking for the unit number while checking against the address when Bai Yutang suddenly pulled him to his side by the shoulder. 

"What was that for?" Zhan Zhao shook Bai Yutang's hand off and asked while giving the latter a dirty look. 

Bai Yutang whispered, "Shh, don't look behind, there's someone following us."

...!...

"We were discovered so quickly?" Zhan Zhao asked with a surprised expression. 

Bai Yutang smiled in response, "It's probably not what you're thinking of."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zhan Zhao inquired, confused. 

"You'll understand in a moment," Bai Yutang said and pulled him into an empty alley.

Suddenly, the messy sound of footsteps could be heard coming from behind them. It seemed like there was more than one person.

Bai Yutang stopped in his tracks. Then, two men ran up before them while another two stood behind them. Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had been surrounded. 

Zhan Zhao observed the group and they all looked to be in their twenties. Their dress sense was very punk-inspired with tattoos on their body and bizarre hairstyles——COSPLAY??

"You two look pretty well off."

One of the hoodlums scanned Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao up and down and said, "Hand over some cash."

Zhan Zhao looked at Bai Yutang and desperately tried to contain his laughter. The Captain of Criminal Investigators was being extorted. This was probably a first for Bai Yutang ever since he was born. 

"It's fine if you don't have money," Another one of hoodlums said while reaching his hand out with a sleazy laugh, "We can also have some fun together..." His hand reached straight for Zhan Zhao's chin. 

Crack.

There was a sound of something snapping. Before anyone could react, Bai Yutang had grabbed that hand and twisted it in an unnatural angle——it's broken.

"AaaAAh!!" that hoodlum fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

The remaining three immediately panicked.

Bai Yutang asked Zhan Zhao, "Do you still remember the few tricks I thought you last time?"

Zhan Zhao nodded, eager to try out those moves. Hey, this was actual combat, such an opportunity rarely comes by.

Seeing Zhan Zhao's reaction, Bai Yutang couldn't help but shake his head as he beckoned at the three hooligans. The hooligans exchanged looks and the leader yelled, "Get them!!" And they all charged at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang took a step forward. He let one pass through and blocked the other two. The one that was let pass ran straight for Zhan Zhao. 

Zhan Zhao recited Bai Yutang's teachings in his mind, "Look for the right moment, quickly side-step to the right, follow the movement or your opponent's forearm with your right, grab their left shoulder with your left hand. Move into their left leg and turn your body around, then pull down to the right and throw the opponent forward."

And the hoodlum flew forward, crashing face first into the ground. 

Oh yeah~~ Zhan Zhao did a little victory fist pump. When he turned around to look at Bai Yutang, the latter had already taken care of the other two thugs and was staring right at him. 

Seeing Zhan Zhao's adorable expression that read: "That's so fun! I really wanna have another go!" Bai Yutang really wanted to pull him over and give him one long and hard kiss, but... forget it, lest he wants to be punched. 

He then reached out to pull up one of the thugs and asked, "You still wanna continue?"

"Cough... don't... n-no more..." that hoodlum begged for mercy.

"Look at this address," Bai Yutang lifted one of the hoodlums as Zhan Zhao closed in and inquired, "Is it around this area?"

The hoodlum squinted at the address before nodding and saying, "Y-Yes, it's the house just in front."

Bai Yutang released him and the group of hooligans fled like no tomorrow. The two had no intent on pursuing them and headed for the house as indicated.
It was a two-storey building. The roll-up door was half-opened and in tatters. And inside, all one could see was a pitch-black corridor. 

Bai Yutang took a look inside and took out a torchlight. He then turned back to Zhan Zhao and whispered, "Be careful!"

"Un," Zhan Zhao nodded his head and followed behind Bai Yutang. 

According to Chen Jing the clinic was on the second floor. The two entered into the corridor and cautiously made their way up the stairs, Unlike the pitch darkness of the first floor, the second floor was dimly lit by a faint light. 

Bai Yutang suddenly stopped and turn off the torchlight. He also blocked Zhan Zhao from advancing. Zhan Zhao looked at him a little puzzled when Bai Yutang took out his gun and pointed to his nose. Taking a whiff, the strong smell of blood entered Zhan Zhao's nose. He pulled out his gun as well and looked to Bai Yutang anxiously. The two of them separated and moved in on the room from either side.

The door wasn't completely closed but slightly ajar. 

Bai Yutang gently pushed the door open with his foot. The interior of the room was covered in a dull hue of red. The overwhelming stench of blood attacked their senses causing Zhan Zhao to furrow his brows. It's impossible for anyone to be alive after losing so much blood. 

The two of them slid into the room, one after another and were both appalled by the sight that greeted them. 

The entire floor was covered in blood as Professor Xu laid stiff on the ground, his neck, lacerated and bloody. Judging from the colour and coagulation of the blood, he should be dead for at least 24 hours. 

Zhan Zhao couldn't bear to see Professor Xu like that, he was an old senior who Zhan Zhao had worked with after all. So Zhan Zhao turned his head away, unable to look at the body any longer. 

Bai Yutang did a quick check of the room before taking his phone out to give the rest of the team a call. Soon, this dingy building was surrounded by police cars, with police lines put to keep the curious onlookers away. Zhan Zhao sat in a police car, staring blankly into space. Bai Yutang walked up to him and handed him a can of hot coffee while asking, "Are you alright?"

Zhan Zhao received the coffee, cupping it with both hands, taking in the warmth of the coffee to disperse the chill surrounding his body. He responded, "What do you think?"

Bai Yutang sat beside him and let out a sigh, "It seems like things are slowly spiralling out of control."

"I had thought that once we found Professor Xu, we would be able to bring this case to a close. But to think he was killed," Zhan Zhao took a sip of the coffee and commented, "This taste so bad."

"That Dr. Zhang is a suspect," Bai Yutang stated while taking the coffee from Zhan Zhao's hand, "It tastes bad?" He tasted it a little and threw the can of coffee away with a frown as he remarked, "Just like this can of coffee, even though it was bought to be drunk, it ended up being a better handwarmer than a drink."

Zhan Zhao chuckled under his breath at this comment.

"What are you laughing at? Damn Cat!" Bai Yutang exclaimed while scratching his head.

"The way you comfort people is so bad!" Zhan Zhao said as he looked to the sky, "Logic and you don't go together at all."

"Yet you still laughed!" Bai Yutang nudged Zhan Zhao with his shoulder, all proud of himself, "I'm good at everything."

......

"Leader, we're done with the on-site investigation."

Bai Yutang acknowledged it and asked, "Found any clues?"

Wang Chao shook his head in response, "We didn't find anything. No murder weapon either."

"What about Zhang Long?" Zhan Zhao joined in and asked.

"I just got off the phone with him, he didn't find Dr. Zhang and is still on the search for him," Wang Chao continued, "Xu Qing and the rest are keeping an eye around the school. It's like that guy evaporated into thin air."

"Stay alert and continue looking."

Just as he was about to get the team to pack up and leave, Bai Yutang's phone suddenly rang. Bai Yutang froze a little when he saw the caller ID, "Commissioner Bao?"

He then answered the phone, "Hello, Commissioner?"

......

The call only lasted about 10 seconds but the contents were still enough to stun Bai Yutang. Zhan Zhao got a bad feeling, seeing the shock on Bai Yutang's face. It was rare for the latter to be this speechless. Zhan Zhao prompted, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Putting the phone down, Bai Yutang looked Zhan Zhao in the eye and said, "Zhao Jue escaped."

"...What?!..." Zhan Zhao almost jumped up in shock, "H-How is that possible?"

"Commissioner Bao asked us to head down first. Let's go, Kitty," Bai Yutang pulled Zhan Zhao and ran towards the car while turning back to tell Wang Chao, "Get some people and follow me."


A journey that would normally take one at least 3 hours, only took Bai Yutang 1 hour. Just from the way he drove the car——like he was piloting a plane——one could tell how worried he was. 

Once they arrived at the research centre, everyone rushed directly to Zhao Jue's ward. 

Bao Zheng was smoking by the door to the room. Based on the number of cigarette butts littered all over the floor, they could see that he's been here for quite some time. 

"How did this happen?" Bai Yutang asked Bao Zheng as he looked into the empty cell.

"It's all been captured by the surveillance cameras," Bao Zheng answered as he led the two to the surveillance room. Bao Zheng then turned on the monitor: the image was clear to see. To think that it was Dr Zhane who brought Zhao Jue out.

"Zhan Boyi, 42 years old, a renown psychologist and researcher in this research centre. He has access to the wards," Bao Zheng said while putting out his cigarette, "He knows the workings of this place well. So he pinpointed the timing when their guards changed shifts to grab Zhao Jue."

Bao Zheng glanced at Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao who had their brows furrowed and continued, "You guys don't have to be so worked up, we send out an arrest warrant for him. I called you guys over for Xiao Zhan to have a look at Zhao Jue's room."

"His room?" it didn't click in Zhan Zhao's head.

Bao Zheng chuckled, "Didn't you notice that something was wrong the last time you were here?"

"..." Zhan Zhao turned to glare at Bai Yutang. 

Bai Yutang immediately waved his hands and tried to clear his name, "I didn't say anything." While Bao Zheng shook his head, "I may be old, but I'm not blind. Seeing how secretively the two of you were behaving, it's easy to figure out what you're up to."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang exchanged a look before looking down sheepishly. 

"Also, you two had best be careful," Bao Zhang called at the two of them who were about to leave, "Your brother too."

Bai Yutang immediately asked anxiously, "You think that Zhao Jue will try to harm my brother and Kitty?" which Bao Zheng acknowledged. 

"In my brother's case, I can understand, after all, he was the one who found out Zhao Jue's secret. But the Cat has got nothing to eo with him at all," Bai Yutang seemed to be getting a bit worked up, "Why would he try to hurt the Cat?"

Zhan Zhao tugged at Bai Yutang, "Calm down, Yutang."

But Bai Yutang shook him off and continued, "Just what on earth happened back then? Why don't you say anything? Why can't you speak of it?"

Bao Zheng watched Bai Yutang get agitated and Zhan Zhao who was tugging at him with a worried expression, and suddenly broke into a laugh.

He lets out a deep sigh, "I've often witnessed scenes like that 20 years ago."

"...?..." Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang shared a quick glance before looking at Bao Zheng, slightly puzzled.

Bao Zheng simply pulled a chair over and sat down, "Back then, Yunwen and I were like that as well, always so short-tempered. And Zhao Jue would always hold us back and help us come up with solutions. It's like what happened back then is some major secret, but that we really... don't want to bring it up again." He lit yet another secret and continued, "Do you know why Zhao Jue killed so many people?"
(lilies: major lies I read like 4 books alr and still nothing on it. I wanna know wtf happened in the parent's generation zzzz)

Seeing the two shake their head, Bao Zheng explained with a bitter smile, "In those days, the way police work was carried out was very conventional. As such, Zhao Jue's use of psychological analysis often came under fire. Many a time, he would propose the establishment of a specialised department dedicated to psychological analysis, to recruit researchers in psychology to work on criminal profiling... But it was all treated as mere fantasy."

"So he killed people in order to prove the usefulness of psychology?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Bao Zheng took a puff and replied, "Un. He would kill people through the use of suggestions and then save people with psychological analysis... He wanted to toy with and make a fool out of the people who once mocked him."

Bai Yutang had finally calmed down, "So he wants to harm Zhan Zhao because of jealousy?"

Bao Zheng, "Do you know the last thing he said before he was equipped with the Silencer?" he took a deep puff before carrying on, "He said he was jealous. Jealous of me, jealous of Yuwen, jealous of everyone. He said that geniuses must be able to find a stage for themselves. Otherwise, life would be even more painful than those idiots. Everything he did was simply to create a stage for himself."

After listening to Bao Zheng's story, Zhan Zhao was a little stunned, "If there had been a psychology research centre, a specialised department like this..."

"Then he would have been like you," Bao Zheng finished Zhan Zhao's sentence. 

...Then, Bao Zheng fell silent, as if lost in his memories. Both Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao could see the immense regret and sorrow in his eyes. Bai Yutang was very familiar with this sight. He's seen it for over 20 years. His pops would often make that expression, a cigarette in hand as he stared blankly into space. As a kid, he thought it looked really masculine, but now that he thinks about it, he was very fortunate. 

"Don't smoke so much, it's bad for your health," Bai Yutang told Bao Zheng before pulling Zhan Zhao to leave.


The two of them had arrived in Zhao Jue's room once more. Zhan Zhao entered the room and began scrutinizing over every corner of the room. He sat on the red chair and flipped through the sketches Zhao Jue left behind, page by page. Meanwhile, Bai Yutang stood at the door, gazing at Zhan Zhao's figure inside the room. And just like that, time slowly trickled away and the sky beyond the window gradually turns white. 


After a long time, Zhan Zhao got up and went out of the cell. 

"Kitty?" Seeing the lack of colour on Zhan Zhao's face, looking like he was unwell, Bai Yutang immediately went up to him. But just as he took a step forward, Zhan Zhao's body slumped over.

"Cat!"

Bai Yutang hurriedly reached out and caught Zhan Zhao's falling body, "Cat, what's wrong?"

"No..." Zhan Zhao gripped onto Bai Yutang weakly and uttered, "L-Lock the room and don't look at the drawings."

What's wrong?" Bai Yutang asked, confused. 

"G-Gather all the staff. They need to receive therapy," Zhan Zhao steadied his breathing and the colour started returning to his face, "Zhao Jue implanted suggestions into his sketches... People who view these drawings for long periods of time are likely to commit suicide or commit murder..."

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Well this chapter took extra long for whatever reason even though it isn't actually very long lmaooo My efficiency is dropping nooooo ahahahha

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
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peace lilies~