S.C.I. MYSTERY CASES BOOK 1 English Translation

Chapter 23: The Numbers Killer - Crazy Love

Gongsun woke up in a haze and realises he is on his bed. The sunlight shines through the fine curtains, brightening up the entire room.
He checks the alarm clock by his bed — 9 am.
He starts to recall yesterday...
Shaking his head groggily, Gongsun climbs out of his bed to check the living room, but Bai Jintang is already gone.
On the coffee table is the 1986 Bordeaux, holding down a piece of paper:
"The wine is for you. I have other matters to attend to, so I have to go first. Yutang will be there in the morning, don't leave their side for the whole day!
And get Yutang to take a look at the fifth window of the 13th floor in the opposite building.
— Bai Jintang"
Though Gongsun is filled with rage just recalling what happened last night, but seeing that bottle of 1986 Bordeaux... nevermind.
He walks into the bathroom, turns on the tap, and checks himself in the mirror. Gongsun pauses.
Why is he in pyjamas??
He doesn't remember changing before going to sleep yesterday? This can't be good!
Gongsun unbuttons his pyjamas and spots red words written across his stomach with a marker pen.
"Bai Jintang was here. Bai Jintang has the sole right to develop this property, no other person should approach without permission. PS: Nice figure!!"
"That bastard!" Gongsun hurls his towel onto the ground furiously, "Pervert! Shameless! Bastard!"
Swearing, Gongsun scrubs his stomach... But the permanent marker ink can't be washed off!
'Ding dong~ Ding dong~'
The doorbell rings, Gongsun lets go of his towel and rebuttons his pyjamas, it must be Bai Yutang.
He walks out angrily, plotting revenge on Bai Jintang!
But he is baffled after opening the door.
The man standing outside looks tired, his messy hair and unshaved face make him look battered. He is still in the white lab coat, his expression gloom with deep dark circles.
"You... Why?" Gongsun seems surprised at the person's sudden visit.
That person stares at Gongsun and smiles, "I wanted to see you." His voice rough as if broken.
Gongsun stares back at the person in front of him stupidly. Feeling the hair on his back standing suddenly, Gongsun tries to shut the door immediately, but the person pushes back, hard.
Gongsun didn't see it coming at all; the impact causes him to fall backwards. Using his hand to support his weight as he falls, he feels a sharp pain on his wrist. He has twisted his wrist.
That man walks in from outside, he reaches in his pocket to retrieve a white cloth and closes in on Gongsun.
"Why?" Gongsun backs away, but that man presses on hostilely.
Gongsun struggles to stand up, but the man is faster, forcing the cloth onto his face.
Losing conscious, Gongsun falls into darkness at the sight of the man sneering sinisterly.
Why? Chen Jing...
Chen Jing lets go of the now passed out Gongsun. He touches Gongsun's face shakily and laughs harshly, "Ha...ha... I said you are mine... You are mine."
Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao were up till late last night because of the stuff with Zhao Jue, and they were awakened early in the morning by the phone ringtone. Bai Yutang picks up the phone and sees Gongsun's name is on the caller ID, he is confused...
"Hello?"
"Huh? I called Xiao Zhao's phone? Why is it you, Yutang, who picked it up? Is Xiao Zhao sleeping beside you right now? Ah! Congratulation Yutang! They say if there's a will there's a way! Indeed if you try hard enough, you are bound to succeed eventually!"
"...: Bai Yutang took ten seconds to digest this sentence, "Big brother?? Why are you using Gongsun's phone?"
"I'm at Gongsun's place. Since I was abandoned by a heartless brother yesterday and became homeless, I had to seek refuge elsewhere."
"..." Bai Yutang is speechless, he checks the alarm clock by the bedside — 8.30am
"You woke me up this early in the morning just to complain?" Bai Yutang climbs out of the bed, yawning.
"Come over to Gongsun's place now."
"Why?" Bai Yutang asks, baffled.
"You will know when you come over. Gongsun might be in trouble."
"What?" Bai Yutang jumps, "What kind of trouble is Gongsun in?"
"Talk less, do more. I need to get going. Yep, that's all."
"Hello. Brother? Hello!!"
Bai Jintang has already hanged up.
"What's wrong?"
Bai Yutang's voice has woken Zhan Zhao up.
Because of the need to 'protect' Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang has moved into the cat's den yesterday. After the whole night of coaxing and pestering, he finally managed to get to sleep in the same bed as the cat.
Zhan Zhao sits up hazily, hugging his quilt, he feels so sleepy, "What's wrong? Why are you in such a panic?" There's movement under the quilt, Luban sticks his furry head out, nuzzles against and licks Zhan Zhao...He meows happily.
Bai Yutang knocks his chin with his phone, and says suddenly, "Cat! Get up!"
They drove to Gongsun's building.
"Your brother didn't say what is it about?" They walk into the lift, Zhan Zhao asks Bai Yutang.
"Nope, he just said that Gongsun is in trouble."
The lift stops on the 11th floor, stepping out of the lift, the two of them are alarmed — Gongsun's flat door is wide open.
Glancing at each other, they rush in.
The flat is orderly, only the entrance is messy, especially the footprints on the ground and a white cloth...
"Gongsun?!" Bai Yutang checks the rooms, but Gongsun is nowhere to be found.
"Yutang, read this!" Zhan Zhao picks up the note on the coffee table and passes it to Bai Yutang.
Giving the note a quick sweep, Bai Yutang looks up at the building opposite. One look and he swears, "Shit!" and turns around to dash out. Zhan Zhao follows him swiftly.
"5th window on the 13th floor, who lives there?" Bai Yutang charges into the building and questions the security.
"Ah...You, what do you want?"
Zhan Zhao fetches his ID quickly, "We are police officers."
"Erh... That, that one is unoccupied, no...no one lives there..." The security answers uncertainly.
"Keys!" Bai Yutang glowers at him intensely, the security passes over the key immediately.
They reached 13th floor in no time, Bai Yutang pulls out his gun while Zhan Zhao fits the key into the door and turns it. Bai Yutang kicks open the door.
The flat is already empty, but the sight inside the flat stunned them.
It is a completely unrenovated flat, in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window is a high zoom telescope and a couple of video cameras. The floor is a mess, covered in broken objects and torn photos. The entire wall is filled with a photo of Gongsun, all taken in secret: photos of him watching TV on the sofa, photos of him drying his hair after a shower, photos of him tying his tie, photos of him making a call...
Bai Yutang paces in circles and scratches his head in distress, why didn't he come over faster?!
Zhan Zhao scans the photos quickly and says suddenly, "I know who it is..."
"What?" Bai Yutang jumps up, "Who?"
"The guy from the mortuary!"
Bai Yutang starts running the moment he hears Zhan Zhao's words, pulling Zhan Zhao with him and making a call at the same, "Wang Chao, take the guys to the mortuary. Grab that funeral make-up artist, Chen Jing. He has kidnapped Gongsun! Quick!"
Leaping into his car, Bai Yutang fits his car with police light. He slams his gas pedal and speeds towards the mortuary.
"How did you know it's Chen Jing?" Bai Yutang finally has the time to ask Zhan Zhao while driving.
"Maybe, we were played, since the beginning."
"...What do you mean?" Bai Yutang overtakes the vehicles in front of him and grumbles, "If only we had a plane!"
"Those photos, the way they are shot, the composition, the lighting... All of it feels so familiar like I have seen it before!" Zhan Zhao grabs hold onto the roof handle tightly.
"..." Bai Yutang ponders silently for a while, "Those photos of dead bodies Chen Jing passed to Gongsun."
Zhan Zhao nods, "All those bodies were marked post mortem, in the hospital or the mortuary, the person who has access to all the bodies is..."
"The make-up artist!" Bai Yutang frowns, "He connected cases that are unrelated together, and made up a serial case."
"Yep!" Zhan Zhao agrees, "Because it happened to involve the Wu Hao case, so it led to the magnification of the cases."
"He killed Wu Hao." Bai Yutang speeds again, "Chen Jing's appearance matches with the description from the prisoners!"
Zhan Zhao shakes his head, "His behaviours display extreme paranoia, something must have triggered him to act this way."
"Must be my brother."
"Yep... He is mysophobia, he would never be able to stand the fact someone else has touched something he is so fond of... Your brother slept over at Gongsun's place last night, so it became too unbearable for him."
"Is Gongsun in danger?" Bai Yutang asks Zhan Zhao.
Zhan Zhao is quiet for a minute, "Based on his behaviour, he might kill Gongsun..."
"What? I thought he loves him?"
"Didn't you see those photos? He is someone who is very possessive or rather very controlling. He doesn't like it when people fight back. What kind of person will always be obedient and never fight back?"
Bai Yutang answers in despair after hearing Zhan Zhao's explanation, "...A dead one..."
In the darkroom, Gongsun is lying on the icy floor in his thin pyjamas. The chill rising from the ground causes the effect of anaesthetic to wear off quickly.
Gongsun opens his eyes slowly and the ceiling covered in a thick layer of filth is what comes into his sight first. Beside him, an electric light that flashes dimly.
"You're awake?" A hoarse voice sounds beside his ear.
Gongsun turns his head around to see Chen Jing kneeing beside him, staring into his eyes.
Due to the effect of anaesthetic, Gongsun feels as if his arms and legs weigh a ton and couldn't be moved at all.
"Why...?" Gongsun speaks, as if to himself.
"Haha..." Chen Jing cackles self-mockingly, "Of course you wouldn't understand, because you have never looked at me twice..."
Gongsun is quiet for a bit before saying, "Did you falsified the cases as well?"
"Yes." Chen Jing says downheartedly, "At first, I just wanted you to notice me, but I didn't expect you guys to actually establish a case based on it."
"Hm...Absurd, you murdered someone for this?"
"Absurd? You think this is absurd?!" Chen Jing got agitated, "Do you know how much I love you?!"
He stands up and starts to pace irritably, "I...Since the first time I met you...I...You dare to use the word absurd?"
Stopping his movement, Chen Jing looks down at Gongsun in a predatory expression, "Is it because of that man?"
Gongsun frowns, "Did you thought that the whole world is as twisted as you are?"
"..." After hearing Gongsun's words, Chen Jing narrows his eyes, but he pauses suddenly because he noticed the two red lines of words on Gongun's stomach:
"Bai Jintang was here. Bai Jintang has the sole right to develop this property, no other person should approach without permission. PS: Nice figure!!"
Chen Jing's eyes turn red and he breathes quickens. His body shakes uncontrollably as if the rage he feels is too much for his body to take.
At that moment, he hears a cold chuckle, a voice comments without warmth, "Can't you read? Why are you touching something that is not yours?"
Chen Jing feels a sharp pain in his shoulder before he had the chance to turn around. With a loud snap, his shoulder blade is crushed by the person behind him.
"AHHH." Harsh screams ring out.
Tossing Chen Jing away, he says to the persons in the darkness, "Remove him."
"Yes!" Two almost identical voices respond from the darkness, cold and unfeeling. Though Chen Jing is aggressive, he is kept under control quickly and escorted out.
Helping Gongsun up from the cold floor, Bai Jintang smiles, "I have helped you to catch the killer, how will you repay me now?"
When Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao reach the mortuary, they see the rest of the team from S.C.I. rushing out from the police cars.
They charge into the mortuary, but couldn't find Chen Jing and Gongsun anywhere.
Just as they were panicking, the door to incineration room opens. Bai Jintang strolls out carrying Gongsun, followed by two men who look identical and dressed identically, dragging the perp — Chen Jing along.