Chapter 17

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.

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…