Hi~ Can you write something like this? i would totally appreciate it🥺🥺
Yutong is under Feng Jie's hypnosis, so he starts to ignore, dismiss and be blunt with ZZ, in one case the bad guys capture FJ and say something like "let's make a trade, this guy for the one next to you ( ZZ)" Yutong agrees and concentrates only on FJ until the bad guys start beating ZZ and BY manages to come out of hypnosis (because we all know that even if he's dying he wouldn't let anyone touch his kitty) and goes to save to his cat. (Later they find out or FJ tells them about the hypnosis and ZZ punches him in the face while Yutong is proud of him and sorry that he treated his kitty badly but Zhan Zhao forgives him)
Feng Jie bout to catch these hands on GOD
Zhan Yao knew that something was wrong the minute Bai Yutong walked into the S.C.I. office and made a beeline straight for his office instead of stopping by to talk to Zhan Yao like he did every morning. And it’s not that Zhan Yao was disappointed (well, he was, just a little) but it was just…weird; they weren’t that busy with cases nor had Zhan Yao upset Bai Yutong recently so…why was he ignoring him? He thought about getting up and going to see just what Bai Yutong’s problem was when Bai Chi came to the door of his office and knocked, making him look at the young man with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, Bai Chi?” he asked.
“We got a new case. Can you get Bai Sir?” Bai Chi replied. Zhan Yao blinked before he nodded and pushed himself to his feet, heading around his desk and out of his office before he walked over to Bai Yutong’s office and opened the door, stepping inside.
“Why didn’t you knock?” Bai Yutong snapped, making Zhan Yao look at him in surprise; when had he ever knocked before entering Bai Yutong’s office? He then shook his head as he looked at him.
“We’ve got a case. Come on” he instructed. Bai Yutong hummed before he pushed himself to his feet and walked over to the door, none-to-politely shouldering past Zhan Yao, who looked at him with wide eyes.
‘What the fuck was that?!’ he exclaimed, watching Bai Yutong step into the bullpen before he shook his head and followed after him.
~*~*~*~*~*~
During the meeting, it was very evident, to not only Zhan Yao, but to the other S.C.I. members, that something was very off about Bai Yutong. He hardly let Zhan Yao speak or let him give his opinions like he normally did and if Zhan Yao tried to speak or interject to offer some insight, Bai Yutong would cut him off with either a glare or a very sharp “Zhan Yao”. Which was just…bizarre. After the meeting, Bai Yutong headed back to his office while Zhan Yao remained in the bullpen with the other S.C.I. members, all of them looking at him in confusion.
“Dr. Zhan…what’s up with Bai Sir?” Jiang Ling inquired, Zhao Fu nodding in agreement.
“Yeah, what’s up his ass today?” he added. Zhan Yao shook his head.
“I don’t…I don’t know” he replied. Wang Shao frowned.
“You two didn’t have an argument or something, did you?” he asked. Zhan Yao shook his head again.
“No. Not that I know of” he answered. Bai Chi frowned.
“Bai Sir’s never rude to you like this…maybe he’s just having a bad day?” he offered. Ma Han scoffed.
“Even if Bai Sir was having a bad day, he’s not like this to Dr. Zhan” she reminded, the others nodding in agreement.
“Yeah, remember that case where they fought the entire time? This isn’t like that” Zhao Fu stated. Everyone fell silent before Jiang Ling huffed.
“I’m gonna say it: Bai Sir’s acting like an ass” she declared.
“Astute observation” Gongsun murmured from where he had stepped out of his lab to give Zhan Yao some files. Everyone looked at him in shock before Bai Chi frowned.
“Gongsun, do you know what’s wrong with Bai Sir?” he asked. Gongsun huffed.
“Why are you asking me? I’m just the medical examiner. You should ask our resident psychologist here what’s wrong with him” he replied, motioning to Zhan Yao, who just sat quietly in his chair, mulling things over. Wang Shao shook his head.
“But even Dr. Zhan doesn’t know what’s wrong with Bai Sir!” he exclaimed.
“I’m perfectly fine” a voice snapped, making everyone look over to see Bai Yutong standing at the entrance of his office, his arms crossed in front of him.
“Now, are you all actually going to work on the case or are you just going to sit around and twiddle your thumbs?” he demanded. All of the S.C.I. members fell silent before they turned back to their computers as Bai Yutong pointed to the files in Zhan Yao’s hand.
“I’ll take those. You don’t need to look them over” he stated. Zhan Yao and Gongsun looked at him with wide eyes.
“Hey, Bai Sir, Dr. Zhan specifically—” Gongsun started when Zhan Yao quietly stood up from his chair and walked over to Bai Yutong, handing him the files.
“Here” he murmured. Bai Yutong nodded and took the files from him before turning and heading back inside his office, shutting the door behind him. Everyone stared at the closed door before Zhan Yao sighed and turned to look at the others.
“I’m going to head to the university…if something comes up, let me know” he instructed. The S.C.I. members nodded and watched as Zhao Yao headed into his office to grab his briefcase before he turned and headed out of the S.C.I. office, leaving everyone in a pensive silence before they all looked over at Bai Yutong’s closed door, narrowing their eyes. Something was wrong with him…but they just didn’t know what.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The next day, when Zhan Yao came into work, as soon as he stepped through the sliding glass doors, his eyes widened before he quickly reached out and grabbed Wang Shao, who had just walked in behind him.
“What the hell is Feng Jie doing here?” he hissed. Wang Shao blinked before he looked over at Feng Jie and Bai Yutong, both of whom were standing too close for his liking, and shook his head.
“I don’t know…why don’t you ask him?” he asked, looking up at Zhan Yao, who just shook his head.
“Considering how Bai Yutong acted towards me yesterday, I don’t know if he’ll even answer me if I ask” he replied. Wang Shao hummed; he had a point there.
“Bai Sir!” he suddenly called out, making Bai Yutong and Feng Jie look over at him with raised eyebrows.
“What is Feng Jie doing here?” Zhan Yao demanded before Wang Shao could get the question out. Bai Yutong huffed.
“He’s helping with a case. Since he’s, you know, an actual cop and not an academic” he replied. Zhan Yao’s eyes widened, as did everyone else’s, before Ma Han looked at him incredulously.
“Bai Sir!” she exclaimed. Bai Yutong looked at her and frowned.
“What?” he replied, just as Gongsun grabbed him by the collar of his suit jacket, giving him a firm shake.
“Apologize” he growled. Bai Yutong looked at him in confusion as Zhan Yao waved his hand.
“It’s fine. It’s not like I haven’t heard that before” he murmured before he sighed.
“I think I’ll sit this meeting out; if Feng Jie’s here, then you won’t need me” he stated as he released Wang Shao’s arm and headed for his office, quietly shutting the door behind him. As soon as he was in his office, Gongsun released the back of Bai Yutong’s suit jacket, only to slap him upside the head, making Bai Yutong look at him with wide eyes.
“Gongsun, what the hell—” he started.
“Don’t talk to me. Don’t…don’t fucking talk to me” Gongsun growled before he turned on his heels and walked over to his office, slamming his door behind him as soon as he stepped inside. Bai Yutong and the others flinched at the sound before Bai Yutong huffed.
“What’s his problem?” he grumbled.
“More like what’s your problem” Bai Chi muttered under his breath, making Bai Yutong look over at him and raise an eyebrow.
“What was that, Bai Chi?” he demanded. Bai Chi’s eyes widened and he looked over at him, shaking his head.
“Nothing” he replied. Bai Yutong narrowed his eyes before he huffed and clapped his hands.
“Alright, now about this case” he started.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A little while later, as Zhan Yao was sitting at his desk, working on some reports for another case, there was a knock at his door, making him look up from his computer.
“Come in” he called out. The door then opened, and Ma Han poked her head in.
“Dr. Zhan” she replied. Zhan Yao raised an eyebrow.
“What is it?” he asked. Ma Han motioned with her head to the door.
“We’re heading out” she explained. Zhan Yao nodded.
“Okay. Be safe” he instructed. Ma Han frowned.
“Bai Sir wants you to come along” she declared, making Zhan Yao frown.
“What? He does? Why?” he demanded. Ma Han shook her head.
“Don’t know. But he said to make sure you come along” she explained. Zhan Yao frowned before he sighed.
“Alright, I’ll be right out” he replied. Ma Han nodded and stepped away from the door as Zhao Yao shook his head; first Bai Yutong acts like he doesn’t fucking exist and now he wants him to come along on the case…
‘What the hell is wrong with him?’ he wondered before he sighed heavily and stood to his feet, walking out of his office and over to Bai Yutong and Feng Jie. Bai Yutong glanced at him before he looked at Feng Jie and the others.
“Alright, let’s go” he declared. He then turned and headed out of the office, Feng Jie and Zhan Yao flanking him while the other S.C.I. members followed behind.
“Where exactly are we headed?” Zhan Yao asked, glancing over at Feng Jie and Bai Yutong.
“We’re heading to meet an informant of Feng Jie’s” Bai Yutong answered. Zhan Yao hummed and didn’t ask or say anything else as they continued out of the police department.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When they arrived at the warehouse where the informant said they would meet, Zhan Yao immediately frowned.
“This seems like a trap” he murmured. Bai Yutong huffed.
“What, is that your “psychologist intuition”?” he asked, glancing over at him. Zhan Yao shot him a glare.
“Does this not seem like a trap to you?” he demanded. Feng Jie shook his head.
“I’ve met informants in weird and sketchy warehouses before, Dr. Zhan. I’m sure this is the same thing” he assured. Zhan Yao frowned but followed him and Bai Yutong into the warehouse, the others following behind. As they looked around, they noticed that it was eerily empty and incredibly dark, making it almost impossible to see anything inside save for the single overhead light that was shining down on them as the windows had been all blacked out.
“Bai Sir, are you sure this is where we’re supposed to meet the informant?” Bai Chi asked, looking over at Bai Yutong. Bai Yutong said nothing as he continued to look around before he frowned.
“You know, maybe…maybe this is a trap” he murmured, just as the warehouse doors suddenly slammed shut, making everyone whirl around in shock before the world began to spin and everything suddenly went black.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When Bai Yutong woke up a little while later, he found himself on his knees with his hands bound by ropes in front of him.
‘What the hell?’ he thought to himself before he looked over to find the other members of S.C.I. also bound, but they were all tied together in one bundle, ropes wrapped around their torsos and wrists.
“Where’s Feng Jie?” he murmured, just as a low, dark chuckle echoed throughout the warehouse, making everyone turn to see a man dressed in all black step out of the shadows, holding Feng Jie and Zhan Yao at gun point.
“Dr. Zhan!” Bai Chi exclaimed, causing Zhan Yao to look at him with wide eyes and shake his head as the man dressed in all black looked at Bai Yutong.
“I have a proposition for you, Bai Sir” he stated, making Bai Yutong raise an eyebrow.
“What?” he snapped. The man chuckled and motioned to Feng Jie and Zhan Yao.
“Only one can go free so…pick one” he stated. Feng Jie and Zhan Yao both looked at Bai Yutong with wide eyes but Bai Yutong didn’t even spare Zhan Yao a second glance as he looked directly at Feng Jie.
“I pick him” he declared, making all of S.C.I. gasp.
“Bai Sir! How could you?!” Zhao Fu shouted as the man shoved Feng Jie towards Bai Yutong before he wacked Zhan Yao on the back of the head with the gun, sending him to the ground with a cry.
“DR. ZHAN!” the S.C.I. members screamed. Bai Yutong, however, didn’t even make a peep as he was too focused on Feng Jie, who had run over to him and began to undo the ropes around his wrist.
“Are you okay?” he asked, looking him in the eyes. Bai Yutong nodded.
“I’m fine” he assured. Feng Jie nodded as he undid the ropes before helping him to his feet, giving his wrist a tug.
“Come on, let’s go free the others” he suggested. Bai Yutong nodded and they both ran over to the other S.C.I. members, quickly helping them out of their ropes and to their feet. Once they were free, Feng Jie looked over at Bai Yutong and gave his wrist a tug.
“Come on, let’s go back” he insisted. Bai Yutong nodded again as they both began to head towards the entrance of the warehouse, making the S.C.I. members look at them in shock.
“BAI SIR!” they shouted, making Bai Yutong stop and look over at them.
“What?” he snapped.
“What about Dr. Zhan?!” Wang Shao exclaimed. Bai Yutong frowned before he turned to see Zhan Yao curled up on the floor of the warehouse, the man who had taken them hostage relentlessly kicking him in the stomach and face, which Zhan Yao was doing his best to cover with his arms. As he watched Zhan Yao get the absolute shit kicked out of him, something stirred within him and he frowned, shaking his head before he pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes.
“Bai Sir? Are you okay?” Ma Han asked, concern on her and the other S.C.I. members faces. Feng Jie, however, just grabbed Bai Yutong by his arm, giving it a tug.
“Come on, Yutong” he ordered, only to have Bai Yutong yank his arm away and lower his palms from his eyes as he looked at Zhan Yao with wide eyes.
“Cat” he breathed before he took off running towards the kidnapper and Zhan Yao.
“Bai Yutong!” Feng Jie shouted but Bai Yutong ignored him as he ran over to the kidnapper and grabbed him by the arm, making him look over at him in surprise as he socked him in the face, sending him to the ground.
“Wang Shao! Cuff him!” Bai Yutong barked. Wang Shao nodded.
“Yes sir!” he replied, quickly running over to them as Bai Yutong knelt down beside Zhan Yao and reached out, gently touching his shoulder.
“Cat” he murmured, causing Zhan Yao to pull his arms away from his face and look up at him with a slight frown.
“Yutong?” he whispered. Bai Yutong smiled slightly before he gently grasped his arm.
“Come on, kitten. Up you go” he murmured, carefully helping Zhan Yao to his feet, making sure to hold him tightly so that he didn’t buckle or collapse.
“Are you okay?” he asked. Zhan Yao winced and let out a soft twinge before he huffed.
“I will be in a moment” he replied. Bai Yutong raised an eyebrow in confusion as Zhan Yao carefully shrugged off his arm and made his way over to Feng Jie and the others, the S.C.I. members looking at him in confusion as well as he punched Feng Jie in the face, watching as he crumpled to the ground like a limp ragdoll.
“Cat!” Bai Yutong exclaimed, quickly running over to him before looking at him in confusion.
“What did you…why…” he started.
“He hypnotized you” Zhan Yao growled, shaking out his hand. Bai Yutong frowned.
“What?” he asked. Zhan Yao huffed and looked over at him.
“When did you last hang out with Feng Jie?” he demanded. Bai Yutong frowned again, thinking, before he looked at him.
“A few days or so ago…we went out for beers. Why?” he asked. Zhan Yao looked him in the eyes.
“Did he say anything to you? Make you look at anything?” he demanded. Bai Yutong hummed before his eyes widened.
“He had me watch this weird video…after that, he never said anything” he replied. Zhan Yao hummed as Bai Chi and the others looked at him.
“So, you’re saying that Bai Sir was hypnotized?” he asked. Zhan Yao glanced over at them and nodded.
“Mm” he replied. Zhao Fu huffed.
“That would explain why Bai Sir was acting like such an ass to you” he murmured, making Bai Yutong’s eyes widen.
“I what?” he demanded. Ma Han huffed.
“You were acting like a real ass to Dr. Zhan for the past couple of days, Bai Sir. You were really rude to him, never let him speak in any of the meetings…you even sneered at him that he wasn’t a “real cop” and just an academic” she explained. Bai Yutong’s eyes widened in shock and he looked over at Zhan Yao, about to say something when he noticed that Zhan Yao’s eyes were fluttering.
“Zhan Yao?” he called out, making the others look over at the man, just as he suddenly crumpled like a falling leaf, causing everyone to cry out in surprise.
“ZHAN YAO!” Bai Yutong exclaimed, quickly wrapping his arms around him before he hit the floor, pulling him close.
“Zhan Yao. Zhan Yao!” he exclaimed, gently patting Zhan Yao’s cheek but the psychologist was out cold, causing him to hiss before he looked up at the S.C.I. members.
“I’m going to take him to the hospital to check to make sure he doesn’t have any internal bleeding” he stated before he looked over at Feng Jie and growled.
“You take care of him” he ordered, motioning to Feng Jie’s unconscious body. The others looked over at Feng Jie’s unconscious body as well before they nodded.
“Yes sir!” they declared. Bai Yutong smirked before he carefully scooped Zhan Yao into his arms and carried him out of the warehouse, over to his car. He then carefully placed him into the passenger seat of the car before he walked over to the driver’s side and got in, quickly turning on the engine before he sped away, heading for the hospital.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When Zhao Yao woke up hours later, his entire body felt as if it had been constantly run over by semi-trucks and just…everything hurt. As he tried to sit up, he let out a gasp of pain and clutched at his ribs, his face contorting in pain, just as a gentle hand appeared on his shoulder.
“Shh, don’t move Kitten. Don’t move” a voice soothed, causing him to turn and look over with wide eyes to see Bai Yutong sitting beside him.
“B-Bai Yutong?” he whispered. Bai Yutong smiled softly.
“Hey Kitten” he greeted. Zhan Yao shook his head.
“What…where am I?” he croaked. Bai Yutong sighed as he reached out and began to pet his hair, his touch ridiculously gentle.
“The hospital” he replied. Zhan Yao hummed before he let out a soft sigh.
“I’m glad you’re back to normal” he murmured. Bai Yutong frowned.
“Was I really that bad?” he asked. Zhan Yao looked over at him and nodded, making Bai Yutong groan and remove his hand from his hair as he ran it through his own.
“God, Cat, I…I don’t…I don’t even know what to say. I don’t even remember doing or saying half the things I must have said to you” he murmured. Zhan Yao chuckled softly.
“I wouldn’t expect you to…you’ve seen all the people we deal with whenever they’re hypnotized…it’s like they’re a completely different person” he reminded. Bai Yutong huffed.
“That’s true” he agreed before he looked at him.
“I’m sorry, Zhan Yao. For…whatever I said and whatever I did. I’m sorry” he apologized. Zhan Yao sighed.
“It…did hurt. To have you dismiss me. To have you treat as if I was beneath you…like I didn’t even exist” he murmured. Bai Yutong shook his head.
“And I won’t do it again. I promise. I won’t…I won’t hurt you again” he promised. Zhan Yao looked over at him and huffed.
“I know you didn’t do it on purpose…you were hypnotized” he stated. Bai Yutong growled.
“Fucking Feng Jie…I’m gonna kill him” he growled. Zhan Yao chuckled and reached out, gently patting his hand.
“Easy tiger” he soothed, making Bai Yutong look at him with wide eyes.
“But he…he made me say those things to you! He made me mock you! Zhan Yao, you know I would never intentionally mock you. Ever. Yes, I tease you, but I wouldn’t…I wouldn’t hurt you” he whispered. Zhan Yao nodded.
“I know. Bai Yutong, I know” he soothed. Bai Yutong then let out a shuddering breath before he leaned forward and rested his forehead against his.
“I’m sorry, Cat. I’m so sorry” he whispered. Zhan Yao smiled weakly and reached out, gently pinching his ear.
“Stupid mouse. Stop apologizing” he chided. Bai Yutong winced at the pinch before he pulled away and looked at Zhan Yao, who was smiling at him softly, a fond look in his eyes.
“Forgive me” he whispered. Zhan Yao huffed and reached out, gently pinching his nose this time.
“Stupid mouse. I already have” he replied. Bai Yutong winced again before he smiled and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his forehead.
“Try and get some rest” he instructed. Zhan Yao nodded as he let out a sigh and relaxed back into his pillow, shutting his eyes. Bai Yutong smiled softly at him before he reached out and began running his fingers through his hair again, Zhan Yao letting out a hum of content.
“Yutong?” he murmured, causing Bai Yutong to look at him and raise an eyebrow.
“Yes Kitten?” he replied.
“Thank you. For…saving me and protecting me” Zhan Yao whispered. Bai Yutong blinked in surprise before he smiled and nodded slightly.
“Always” he replied. Zhan Yao flashed him a small smile before he took a deep breath and exhaled, allowing the morphine in his IV to pull him under as he drifted off to sleep. Bai Yutong watched him sleep before he took a deep breath and continued to run his fingers through Zhan Yao’s hair; tomorrow, he would deal with Feng Jie. But for now, he would stay by Zhan Yao’s side. For he never should have left it.
Wei WuXian put his hands behind his back and walked over, “Young man, there are two cringe worthy phrases in one’s life that must be said, no matter what.”
Jin Ling asked, “Which two?”
Wei WuXian replied, “‘Thank you’, and ‘I’m sorry’.”
Jin Ling taunted, “What can anybody do to me if I don’t say them?”
Wei WuXian, “Someday, you’ll say those words in tears.”
Zhan Zhao was a famous assassin and no one knew his identity but he always marked the body of the victims with a 'Z' so that's hoe they recognize him. So in a case (idk how they got there but etv) a gang has the SCI team cuffed in a old building and they separate Zhan Zhao from the rest (put him in front of the others) and the leader keeps bragging about how easy it was to got them and ZZ with his head low says something like "you messed with the wrong people" and the idiot respond "b*tch please look at them they're helpless" but ZZ looks up, smirks and says "I wasn't talking about them" then he gets free, punch the one behind him, snatches the gun from him and shoots the one who was near the switch turning off the lights and the only thing that is heard are grunts. When the light comes back, Zhan Zhao has his hands with blood and a knife in one of them and the only one left alive is the leader. ZZ walks slowly to him and shows him a pendant that has a Z that is the one he used to mark to his victims later he kills him(mark him as well)and goes to free the others.
In resume in that moment or after that they argue a little cause they recognized the Z, the next days the ambient is tense in the office and no ones talks to zz cause they thinks that is a bit hypocrite kill people and then chase others that do the same (Although ZZ stoped when he came back from USA where there he just did rescue missions for mafias etc AND he just killed bad people criminals,p3d0philes,r4ppist,etc)
A few months later things where still tense and in a case the bad guys kidnap Zhan Zhao and transmit everything like on live to the team, they cut him a little,mark him with this things for cows(?,etc etc. Bao Sir (who always knew what zz did) notices that he is holding back and won't fight so he ask "the fuck did you tell him? why is he not fighting he would have break free by now" and Yutong says that he told zhan zhao that if he ever killed again he would distance himself from him for ever. Bao Sir starts screaming at ZZ to stop holding back and just fight or wtv, when he is in the floor and the leader tries to abuse of him he snaps out of it and ends up knocking everyone unconscious but didn't kill anyone.
That's all, honestly i had this idea a looooong time ago but i don't know how to write so if you could it would be awesome☺️☺️☺️🥺🥺🥺 (obviously you can change it and decide the final)
Also if i wrote something wrong or anything dm me ;3
Thank you for sending in this ask! I love the idea of assassin!Zhan Yao and I hope I did this prompt justice! I hope it’s everything you wanted!
Killing was either incredibly easy or incredibly difficult for people. And for Zhan Yao, killing was as easy as breathing air. Why, you may ask? Well, you see, Zhan Yao was born into a family of assassins and learned from the time he was old enough to hold things in his tiny hands how to kill people, taking to it like a duck took to water. And once he was old enough, his parents decided that it was time for him to choose his “signature” or his way to mark the body in case it was ever discovered. Zhan Yao, of course, never had a flair for dramatics like either of his parents and just decided on a simple “Z” carved somewhere on the victim’s body. His parents weren’t too fond of his signature, but they couldn’t stop him because it was his, and his alone, just like his assassination technique: sniping. Out of all the members of his family, Zhan Yao was the best sharpshooter; like the rifle was an extension of his own arm. And, like all good assassins, they had their own clients that they worked for. Zhan Yao’s parents both worked for big name clients and triads but Zhan Yao…while he knew they paid well; they weren’t who he wanted to work for. He wanted to help people, as crazy as that sounded, so Zhan Yao spent some time searching for clients until he was watching the news one day and saw that a rather wealthy pedophile hadn’t gotten jail time for assaulting a young girl. After seeing the news, he was enraged and quickly went to find the victim’s family, introducing himself as someone who could “help” them get justice for their child. The parents, of course, were a little skeptical how he could help them, but he just assured them that he would “take care” of the person who hurt their child and they would never have to worry about them again. When they heard that, they were more than willing to accept his help, even offering to pay whatever his prices were. Zhan Yao just waved his hand, assuring them that he didn’t want money and that he was doing this as a favor to them. When the parents asked how they would know Zhan Yao kept his word, Zhan Yao just smiled.
“You’ll see” he declared before he turned and disappeared into the night. The next day on the news, when the parents saw that the pedophile who assaulted their child was found dead, shot in the temple with a “Z” carved just below their ear, they knew that Zhan Yao kept his word. Soon, Zhan Yao’s name began to spread from family to family of abused, molested, raped, or murdered children as someone who would “take care” of the person who hurt their child. His name was never spoken, for he had never given his name to the first family he helped, but everyone knew that if a child was hurt, in anyway, he would somehow appear and offer his services. Of course, his assassinations always took place at night, mainly because he didn’t want to attack during the daytime, especially when it could alert his neighbor and best friend, Bai Yutong. You see, Bai Yutong was from a family of cops who definitely had no idea that his childhood best friend was a fucking assassin. And Zhan Yao definitely wasn’t having that conversation with him, so he tried to keep his assassinations very…on the down low.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Of course, Zhan Yao didn’t want to do this line of work forever (I mean he could but after a while, it got boring) so he decided that he was going to study abroad and get his Ph.D. in criminal psychology. Why? Well why not? Understanding a criminal’s psyche was very important, especially when trying to understand why people like pedophiles, child rapists, abusers, and murders did what they did. The human brain had always fascinated him, both in how it worked and how it looked whenever a bullet went through it and splattered all over the pavement. Bai Yutong, of course, wasn’t particularly happy with his decision to go abroad but Zhan Yao just assured him that it was for the best.
“Can you even speak English?” Bai Yutong demanded the night before Zhan Yao’s flight as he laid on Zhan Yao’s bed, his head on Zhan Yao’s lap as Zhan Yao ran his
fingers through his hair. Zhan Yao scoffed.
“Mouse, I’ve been taking lessons for the past six years when I was in undergrad and in grad school…I think I’ll be okay” he assured. Bai Yutong sighed.
“You know I’m just worried about you, right? You’re kind of useless without me” he teased. Zhan Yao tsked and pinched his cheek, causing him to squawk in pain as he sighed. Bai Yutong wasn’t exactly wrong; Zhan Yao was excellent with a sniper rifle, but in all other aspects of his life…he was pretty shit. Bai Yutong was really the only reason he had a reasonable eating schedule and sleep schedule…and he was the reason Zhan Yao didn’t kill himself from food poisoning because…Zhan Yao could not cook to save his life.
“I’ll be fine, Mouse. Maybe I’ll finally learn how to cook when I’m over there” he mused. Bai Yutong laughed.
“That’ll be the day” he agreed. Both men then fell into a comfortable silence, neither of them saying anything, until Bai Yutong looked up at Zhan Yao.
“Cat” he started, making Zhan Yao look down at him.
“Hmm?” he hummed. Bai Yutong then smiled weakly.
“I’m going to miss you” he whispered. Zhan Yao’s eyes widened and he felt his bottom lip tremble before he leaned down and wrapped his arms around Bai Yutong, hugging him tightly.
“I’m going to miss you too” he croaked.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The next morning was bittersweet as Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong said goodbye, both men hugging each other tightly before Zhan Yao pulled away, looking into Bai Yutong’s eyes.
“Call me, okay?” he whispered. Bai Yutong smiled.
“All the time” he replied. Zhan Yao nodded and Bai Yutong smiled weakly before he pulled Zhan Yao in for another hug.
“You be careful, you hear me? I won’t be there to kick people’s asses” he murmured. Zhan Yao chuckled and patted his back.
“I’ll be fine, Mouse” he assured. And he wasn’t lying; he was going to be perfectly fine. He was a fucking assassin for god’s sake, he was pretty damn sure he could take care of himself. They then pulled away, Bai Yutong smiling fondly at Zhan Yao.
“’m proud of you, Cat” he declared. Zhan Yao looked at him tearily before he smiled.
“Thank you, Mouse” he whispered. Bai Yutong nodded before he fondly slapped Zhan Yao on the ass.
“Now go on, you gotta get through TSA or else you’re gonna miss your flight” he stated. Zhan Yao smiled and nodded before he turned and headed towards the TSA lines, glancing back over his shoulder every now and then to see Bai Yutong still standing where he left him, a fond yet proud smile on his face. He then waved, Bai Yutong returning his wave, before he turned and continued towards TSA, a small smile on his face.
~*~*~*~*~*~
After getting through TSA and sitting through a ridiculously long flight, Zhan Yao soon arrived in America, looking around with wide eyes. Since he was in a relatively new place, he followed the crowd from his plane to the baggage claim and waited with the rest of the plane for his luggage. Once he finally saw his luggage, he quickly grabbed it and turned to head outside to flag down a taxi to take him to his dorms when he noticed a man standing off to the side with his name, written in Chinese, on a sign. He frowned in confusion before he slowly made his way over to the man and stopped before him.
“You’re Zhan Yao, yes?” the man asked, in perfect fucking Chinese. Zhan Yao blinked in surprise before he nodded.
“Yes. And you are?” he replied. The man laughed.
“Who I am isn’t important. I was just told I was to pick you up from the airport and escort you back. And please don’t make this difficult for me…it wouldn’t end well for you” he stated. Zhan Yao hummed; he had a feeling that the man wasn’t lying about the “it not ending well for him” part. He then frowned.
“But, I’m supposed to be heading to my school to move in—” he started when the man waved his hand.
“Don’t worry about that. You can talk it over with the boss. Now come on” he instructed, motioning for Zhan Yao to follow him. Zhan Yao looked at him warily but followed him through the airport until they came upon a black car, which the man motioned to.
“Get in” he instructed. Zhan Yao frowned but did as he was told, getting into the car as the man got in after him, after placing his luggage in the trunk. Once the man was in the car, the driver started the car and drove away from the airport and through the city until they arrived at a rather fancy villa, making Zhan Yao blink.
“Where are we?” he murmured. The man smiled.
“You’ll see in a minute” he replied as he got out of the car, motioning for Zhan Yao to get out as well. Zhan Yao nodded and slipped out of the car after him, following him into the villa and up the stairs to a room where an older gentleman was sitting at his desk, a small smile on his face when he saw Zhan Yao.
“Ah, you must be Zhan Yao” he greeted. Zhan Yao dipped his head to him before he frowned.
“I’m sorry, but what am I doing here?” he asked. The older gentleman smiled.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Zhan Yao. One of China’s best snipers” he stated. Zhan Yao blinked.
“You’ve…heard of me?” he asked. The older gentleman laughed.
“Of course. Which is why you’re here” he explained, motioning to the villa. Zhan Yao frowned.
“I
don’t understand…what am I here for?” he asked. The older gentleman smiled.
“We want you to work for us” he declared. Zhan Yao frowned.
“Why me, specifically?” he demanded. The older gentleman shrugged.
“You’re good at your job. Simple as that” he replied. Zhan Yao huffed.
“But I didn’t come here to be a sniper. I came here to get my Ph.D.” he argued. The older gentleman nodded.
“We know. Which is fine with us. You can still get your degree while working for us. We won’t contact you all the time, only when we need a hit. It’s like you won’t even know we’re here” he assured. Zhan Yao frowned, making the older gentleman smile.
“Are you here on scholarship or a full-ride?” he asked. Zhan Yao blinked.
“Um…scholarship” he answered. The older gentleman hummed.
“Tell you what, how about we sweeten the deal a little? What if I tell you I will pay your entire tuition for the entirety of your program if you work for us?” he stated. Zhan Yao’s mouth fell open in shock.
“You—” he started when the older gentleman nodded.
“I meant what I said when I said I wanted you to work for us. Money is no problem for us. I’m willing to pay whatever” he declared. Zhan Yao looked at him for a moment before he sighed.
“You’ll only call me whenever you want a hit?” he confirmed. The older gentleman grinned before he nodded.
“Only when we want a hit” he assured. Zhan Yao then took a deep breath before he sighed again.
“Fine. I’ll work for you” he agreed. The older gentleman smiled and clapped his hand before he raised an eyebrow.
“Are you staying on campus?” he asked. Zhan Yao nodded.
“Yes sir” he answered. The older gentleman shook his head.
“No. You’ll stay here” he declared. Zhan Yao’s eyes widened.
“What about my—” he started when the older gentleman waved his hand.
“I’ll take care of everything. It’s much more convenient for you to stay here at the villa. Besides, we have everything here and my men can drive you to school if you absolutely need to go” he assured. Zhan Yao looked at him before he sighed and nodded.
“Alright” he agreed. The older gentleman clapped his hands in delight before he motioned to Zhan Yao’s bags.
“Show him to his room” he instructed. The man who escorted Zhan Yao to the villa nodded and motioned for Zhan Yao to follow him up the stairs, Zhan Yao doing as he was told. They then headed upstairs and down the hall to a room at the end of the hall, the man pushing open the doors before stepping aside.
“Your room” he murmured. Zhan Yao’s eyes widened as he stepped inside and looked around before he turned to look at the man.
“This is my room?” he breathed. The man nodded.
“Mm” he replied. Zhan Yao blinked before he cleared his throat.
“Tell him thank you for me” he requested. The man nodded and shut the doors behind him while Zhan Yao looked around the large and spacious room, which was equip with a king size bed, a large desk with multiple computer monitors, a bookshelf of his very own, and over in the corner of the room, a rifle box. At the sight of the rifle, Zhan Yao raised an eyebrow before he placed his suitcase down and walked over to the rifle box, opening it to find the latest and newest sniper rifle on the market inside. His eyes widened in surprise as he gently ran his fingers over the weapon, staring at the rifle in awe; the thing must have cost this mafia a fortune.
‘They really weren’t kidding when they said they wanted me to work for them’ he mused as he closed the rifle box, his phone suddenly vibrating in his pocket. He frowned and quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket, looking to see who was calling him and once he realized who it was, he grinned and swiped the button to answer, placing his phone to his ear.
“Mouse” he greeted.
“Cat! You fucker, you were supposed to call me when you landed you asshole!” Bai Yutong shouted on the other line. Zhan
Yao chuckled.
“What, are you pacing around at home, wearing a path into your flooring?” he teased. Bai Yutong huffed.
“Maybe. But enough about me. How are you? Are you okay? How’s America? Do you like it?” he asked. Zhan Yao hummed as he looked around his room before he smiled to himself.
“I think I’m going to like it” he agreed.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Over the next six years, while he worked on getting his Ph.D., Zhan Yao worked and lived with the American mafia, acting as their hitman whenever they needed him, which surprisingly wasn’t as often as he thought. Considering the type of people he usually went after, he thought there would be more instances that he would be needed, but he was hardly disturbed. Whenever he asked why he wasn’t needed for certain jobs, the boss just smiled and waved his hand, assuring him that they wouldn’t use his talents for anything other than the “big guns”, otherwise known as the really wealthy. And while Zhan Yao appreciated that, sometimes spending all day locked in his room with his computer and just staring at screen after screen made him want to fucking shoot something so sometimes, he would beg the don to let him take on a “lesser” case, just to let off some steam. The don always laughed at him whenever he asked to take on those cases, but he never said no and allowed Zhan Yao to do whatever he wanted. And Zhan Yao was quite grateful for that because if he didn’t have those chances to “blow off steam”, he was sure he would have snapped a long time ago.
~*~*~*~*~*~
After six long years, Zhan Yao finally received his Ph.D. and while he liked America and the friends he had made, he felt like it was time for him to return to China. When he told the don, whose name he learned was Tony, his plan, Tony frowned.
“You sure you don’t wanna stay? You’ve done a lot of good here, Yao” he stated. Zhan Yao shook his head.
“I’ve enjoyed my time here, in America, and with you all…but I’m not going to lie, I am a bit homesick” he admitted. Tony smirked.
“For that boyfriend of yours, I suppose” he mused. Zhan Yao’s eyes widened.
“Boyfriend?” he repeated. Tony chuckled.
“Yutong, I think his name was? You talk to him almost every day. He must be the one you’re really missing” he stated. Zhan Yao blushed; Bai Yutong was a bit part of his homesickness, but he really did miss Hong Kong too. Tony then laughed and waved his hand.
“Say no more, say no more. I’ll make sure you’re on the next flight out” he assured. Zhan Yao dipped his head.
“Thank you” he thanked. Tony laughed.
“We should be the ones thanking you. You put a lot of families at ease, Yao” he stated. Zhan Yao smiled and shrugged.
“Just doing my job” he replied.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When Zhan Yao returned to Hong Kong, the first thing he did was take a taxi to his apartment and then pass out on his bed, not even bothering to let Bai Yutong or even his parents know that he was home. And when he woke up from his jet-lag fueled slumber the next day, he quickly changed out of his pajamas and into more professional looking clothes before he headed out of his apartment and took a taxi to the Hong Kong Police Department. When he arrived, he paid the driver before getting out and heading inside, making a beeline for the information desk.
“I’m here to see Bao Sir” he stated. The officer blinked before he quickly picked up the phone and dialed a number, placing the phone to his ear.
“Bao Sir. Someone’s here in the lobby to see you” he stated. He then hung up the phone before he looked at Zhan Yao.
“He should be right down” he assured. Zhan Yao dipped his head and stepped away from the information desk, just in case someone needed to report something, waiting for the chief of the Hong Kong Police Department, Bao Heizei, to arrive. He thankfully didn’t have to wait very long because soon a man of average height with light tan skin, brown eyes, and curly black hair walked through the automatic gates over to him, a
bright smile on his face.
“Dr. Zhan” he greeted. Zhan Yao smiled as he shook Bao Heizei’s outstretched hand.
“Bao Sir” he replied. Bao Heizei smiled.
“Thank you for coming. How was your flight?” he asked. Zhan Yao huffed.
“Long” he murmured. Bao Heizei chuckled.
“I bet. Come, come, follow me” he instructed, motioning for Zhan Yao to follow him through the automatic gates and over to the elevators. They then stepped into the elevators and rode it up to the eleventh floor, where Bao Heizei’s office was located, Bao Heizei quickly ushering him over to his office before he motioned to the chair in front of his desk.
“Sit sit sit” he urged. Zhan Yao nodded and sat down as Bao Heizei sat down across from him and smiled.
“I’m glad you replied” he stated. Zhan Yao smiled.
“Well, I’m glad you reached out…I had no idea there was a psychology department here at the police department” he replied. Bao Heizei chuckled.
“Well, we could use a brilliant mind like you here in our department” he explained. Zhan Yao hummed before he took a shuddering breath and looked at him.
“Bao Sir…you know what I really am beneath my Ph.D., don’t you?” he asked. Bao Heizei nodded.
“Of course I know. It’s why I asked you to join us” he replied. Zhan Yao shook his head.
“But why?” he demanded. Bao Heizei huffed.
“Because you’re more than just an assassin. I think you can do some real good police work, Zhan Yao” he declared before he looked at Zhan Yao.
“Does Bai Yutong know?” he asked. Zhan Yao’s eyes widened.
“No!” he exclaimed before he cleared his throat.
“No…I’ve never told him. I don’t think I could…or can” he murmured. Bao Heizei hummed.
“Well…let’s just keep this a little secret between us, hmm? No one has to know” he declared. Zhan Yao looked at him in shock before he nodded.
“Okay…thank you” he thanked. Bao Heizei smiled and nodded before he stood to his feet.
“Come, let’s meet your new team” he declared. Zhan Yao frowned.
“New team?” he asked as he stood to his feet and follow Bao Heizei out of the room. Bao Heizei nodded.
“Mm. I created a new department called S.C.I. and I told them I was going to introduce a new member today” he explained. Zhan Yao frowned.
“S.C.I….isn’t that the team that Bai Yutong heads?” he asked. Bao Heizei hummed.
“It is” he agreed as they headed over to the S.C.I. department.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, the S.C.I. department, Bai Yutong and his team members, Wang Shao, Zhao Fu, Ma Han, Bai Chi, and Jiang Ling, were waiting around, wondering where Bao Sir and the new team member was.
“Who do you think the new team member is?” Ma Han wondered aloud. Bai Yutong huffed.
“Whoever they are, they sure are taking their sweet ass time” he grumbled.
“Well excuse me, I’m a little jet-lagged” a voice called out, making everyone turn to see Bao Heizei and Zhan Yao walking into the department, a small smile on Zhan Yao’s face.
“Zhan Yao?!” Bai Yutong exclaimed the minute he saw him.
“That’s Deputy Team Leader Zhan Yao, to you” Bao Heizei declared before he looked over at Zhan Yao.
“I think you can handle it from here” he murmured. Zhan Yao nodded and Bao Heizei clapped him on the shoulder before he turned and headed out of the department. Once he was gone, Bai Yutong stormed over to Zhan Yao and threw his arms around him, hugging him tightly before he pulled away.
“You…you fucker! You didn’t even bother to call and tell me you came home!” he exclaimed. Zhan Yao smiled weakly.
“Sorry Mouse…I was just so exhausted it hadn’t even crossed my mind” he murmured.
“But I could have come to get you!” Bai Yutong exclaimed. Zhan Yao shook his head.
“I didn’t want to bother you” he replied. Bai Yutong huffed before he turned to face the rest of the S.C.I. team, who were looking at him in confusion.
“This is Dr. Zhan Yao, criminal
psychologist. He’s going to be joining our team” he declared.
“Woah, wait, you’re the Dr. Zhan Yao?! I’ve heard things about you, you’re amazing!” Wang Shao exclaimed. Zhan Yao blushed as Bai Yutong waved his hand.
“Alright, alright, alright, get back to work” he ordered before he looked at Zhan Yao.
“And you…follow me” he ordered. Zhan Yao nodded and followed Bai Yutong over to one of two offices, Bai Yutong opening the door before motioning inside.
“This is your office” he declared. Zhan Yao looked around appreciatively before he walked over to his desk and placed his briefcase down as Bai Yutong shut the door and crossed his arms.
“I really am hurt Cat, that you didn’t even bother to tell me that you were coming home” he murmured. Zhan Yao looked up at him and smiled softly.
“I’m sorry, Yutong. I just…wanted to surprise you” he explained. Bai Yutong huffed.
“Well, this is certainly one hell of a surprise” he murmured before he clapped his hands.
“Let me get you up to speed on what we’re working with” he stated, quickly exiting the room and grabbing some files before entering Zhan Yao’s office again, handing him the files.
“Since we don’t have any active cases at the moment, Bao Sir’s letting us take a crack at some of these cold cases…we think it’s the work of a serial killer, but we can’t be sure. What do you think?” he asked. Zhan Yao hummed before he opened the file, looking through the reports before his eyes widened at the evidence photos. They were all photos…of his work. Of all the hits he did in the past years before he went to America. Oh…oh this was bad.
“Well? Do you think this is a work of a serial killer?” Bai Yutong asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. Zhan Yao then shook his head, blinking, before he cleared his throat.
“I think so…but I can’t be sure” he murmured as he looked up at Bai Yutong.
“Let me talk to Bao Sir about this…maybe he knows something” he suggested. Bai Yutong nodded.
“Sounds like a good idea. I’ll go with you” he offered. Zhan Yao’s eyes widened before he shook his head.
“No…no. It’s alright. I’ll be fast” he assured. Bai Yutong frowned before he shrugged.
“Alright, up to you” he replied as Zhan Yao stood up from his desk and quickly slipped past him, heading out of his office and out of the department, making a beeline for Bao Heizei’s office.
“You let them take my case?!” he shouted the minute he burst through the doors, making Bao Heizei look up with wide eyes before he huffed.
“Close the door” he ordered. Zhan Yao then slammed the door behind him as he stormed over to Bao Heizei and shook the case files at him.
“You let Bai Yutong take the “Z” cases?! Are you insane?! How am I supposed to keep my past a secret if it’s literally staring me in the god damn face!” he hissed. Bao Heizei huffed.
“I tried to dissuade him, but he wouldn’t budge. You know how stubborn he is when he gets something in his mind that he wants to do” he reminded. Zhan Yao groaned.
“What am I supposed to do then? How can I play “profiler” on my own fucking profile?!” he exclaimed. Bao Heizei shrugged.
“Just lie” he argued.
“Bai Yutong can read me like a fucking lie detector! It wouldn’t work!” Zhan Yao exclaimed. Bao Heizei huffed.
“Zhan Yao, I don’t know what more you want me to do. Just…play along. Make up a fake profile…hopefully a new case will come soon so that you can stick these cases back in the box and never touch them again but for now…just play along” he instructed. Zhan Yao looked at him for a moment before he took a deep breath and nodded, straightening himself out before he turned and headed out of the office, heading back to the S.C.I. department. When he stepped back inside, Bai Yutong walked over to him and raised an eyebrow.
“So? Was Bao Sir helpful?” he asked. Zhan Yao looked over at him before he shook his head.
“Not really…I’m going to have to
study these a bit more before I can come up with a profile” he stated. Bai Yutong nodded.
“Take your time. They’re cold cases, there’s no need to solve them right away. We’ve got time” he assured before he laughed.
“And who knows. Maybe a case will come along, and we won’t even have to worry about those old cases” he declared. Zhan Yao smiled thinly before he walked past Bai Yutong and headed back to his office, his smile immediately falling the minute he walked away.
‘Let’s fucking hope so’ he thought to himself.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Thankfully Zhan Yao’s prayers were heard because almost the next day, they had gotten an anonymous tip saying that an informant had some information on a local gang that S.C.I. was trying to stop. So, after they had gotten the anonymous tip, the S.C.I. team headed out to the warehouse where the informant said they would meet and when they arrived, Zhan Yao immediately frowned.
“This seems like a trap” he murmured. Bai Yutong tsked.
“I’ve met informants in weird and sketchy warehouses before, this is nothing” he assured. Zhan Yao frowned but followed him into the warehouse, the others following behind. As they looked around, they noticed that it was eerily empty and incredibly dark, making it almost impossible to see anything inside save for the few overhead lights that were shining down on them as the windows had been all blacked out.
“Bai Sir, are you sure this is where we’re supposed to meet the informant?” Bai Chi asked, looking over at Bai Yutong. Bai Yutong said nothing as he continued to look around before he frowned.
“You know, maybe…maybe this is a trap” he murmured, just as the warehouse doors suddenly slammed shut, making everyone whirl around in shock before Bai Yutong looked over at Zhan Yao and glared.
“Don’t you say a word” he growled. Zhan Yao scoffed, just as his eyes fluttered and the world suddenly went black.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When Zhan Yao woke up a little while later, he found himself on his knees with his hands bound by zip-ties in front of him.
‘What the hell?’ he thought to himself before he looked over to find Bai Yutong and the others also bound, but they were all tied together in one bundle, ropes wrapped around their torsos and wrists.
“Bai Yutong!” he exclaimed, making Bai Yutong look up at him with wide eyes.
“Cat!” he cried, just as a low, dark chuckle echoed throughout the warehouse, making everyone turn to see a man dressed in all black step out of the shadows.
“Not so tough now, are we, Bai Sir?” the man sneered. Bai Yutong snarled.
“Zhang Jie, when I get out of here, I’ll kill you” he growled. The man, Zhang Jie, laughed.
“When you get out? That’s cute, Bai Sir…but none of you are getting out of here alive” he declared.
“That’s what you think” Zhan Yao murmured, making Zhang Jie look over at him and raise an eyebrow.
“What was that?” he asked before he walked over to Zhan Yao and grasped him by his face, forcing him to look up at him.
“Huh? Speak up. It’s rude to mumble” he growled. Zhan Yao smirked.
“I said, that’s what you think” he snarled before he spat in Zhang Jie’s face, causing the man to stumble backwards in surprise. Zhang Jie then huffed as he wiped the spit out of his eyes before he growled at Zhan Yao and pulled a gun out of his belt, pointing it at him.
“No!” Bai Yutong shouted, causing Zhang Jie to turn and point the gun at him, making Zhan Yao’s eyes widen before he pushed himself up onto his heels and launched himself at Zhang Jie, crashing into the man. As they crashed to the ground, the gun went skittering out of Zhang Jie’s hand, causing Zhan Yao to look over at it with wide eyes before he pushed himself off Zhang Jie and ran over to the gun, picking it up. He then pointed the gun at Zhang Jie before he glanced over at Bai Yutong and the others, Bai Yutong’s eyes wide in shock but there was also a hint of pleading in them…to not kill the man. Zhan Yao took a deep breath
before he suddenly pointed the gun at their own source of light in the warehouse and fired a shot, shattering the bulb and plunging the warehouse into darkness.
“Zhan Yao!” Bai Yutong shouted, searching the darkness for the man but he couldn’t see anything; even if there was a hand in front of his face, he wouldn’t have been able to see it. As he searched around the dark, trying to figure out where Zhan Yao and Zhang Jie were, he heard the sound of fighting before a gunshot suddenly rang out, making him and the other S.C.I. team members flinch.
“What the fuck was that?” Zhao Fu hissed.
“I don’t know” Ma Han whimpered.
“I hope Dr. Zhan’s fine” Wang Shao murmured.
“He’ll be fine” Bai Yutong snapped, just as the warehouse suddenly flooded with light, making everyone squint at the sudden light.
“The hell?” Wang Shao exclaimed, just as Zhan Yao suddenly appeared before Bai Yutong, smiling softly.
“Cat” Bai Yutong breathed, staring at Zhan Yao with wide eyes. Zhan Yao chuckled before he quickly untied the ropes from around Bai Yutong and the others, allowing them to stand to their feet.
“What happened to Zhang Jie? Where’d he go?” Bai Yutong demanded. Zhan Yao looked at him before he sighed heavily and motioned for him to follow him over to where Zhang Jie’s body lay on the ground, a single gunshot wound to his temple. Bai Yutong’s eyes widened and he knelt down, studying the body when he noticed a familiar symbol carved behind Zhang Jie’s ear. He frowned and stared at the symbol for a moment before he slowly looked up at Zhan Yao, who just hung his head, never saying a word. Bai Yutong then slowly stood to his feet, his eyes never leaving Zhan Yao before he let out a huff.
“You’re Z?” he whispered. Zhan Yao looked at him before he nodded slightly causing Bai Yutong to shake his head in disbelief.
“YOU’RE Z?!” he shouted, making the other members of S.C.I. look over at him in shock.
“Bai Sir, what the hell are you talking about?” Ma Han exclaimed. Bai Yutong then looked over at them and motioned them over as he pointed to Zhang Jie’s body.
“Look at the symbol. Right behind his ear” he ordered. The other S.C.I. members frowned before they walked over to Zhang Jie’s body and knelt down, looking at the symbol carved into his skin behind his ear, their eyes widening in horror before they all looked up at Zhan Yao.
“Dr. Zhan” Bai Chi whispered. Zhan Yao said nothing and just looked away, causing all of S.C.I. to stare at him before Bai Yutong turned and stormed out of the warehouse, Zhan Yao’s eyes widening as he turned to watch him leave before he rushed after him, leaving the other S.C.I. members alone in the warehouse, stunned and confused.
“Dr. Zhan…was the one who killed all those people? It can’t be…” Ma Han murmured. Zhao Fu shook his head as he pointed to Zhang Jie’s body.
“But the evidence doesn’t lie” he reminded.
“What the fuck…” Wang Shao whispered.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, Zhan Yao rushed after Bai Yutong, who was heading over to his car.
“Bai Yutong!” he shouted, making Bai Yutong stop and turn to look at him with piercing eyes before he huffed.
“Get in the car” he ordered. Zhan Yao stared at him before he quietly walked over to the passenger’s seat and got in, Bai Yutong getting behind the wheel before he turned on the car and drove away from the warehouse, heading back to the police department. The drive back was incredibly awkward as Bai Yutong clutched at the wheel so tightly that his knuckles were almost white while Zhan Yao stared out the window, not sure what to say. After a while, Zhan Yao looked over at Bai Yutong and sighed.
“Bai Yutong—” he started.
“Don’t” Bai Yutong growled, his eyes never leaving the road.
“I don’t want to hear it” he snarled. Zhan Yao looked at him before he sighed again and rested his head against the headrest, shutting his eyes, a single tear streaming out of the corner of his
eye.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When they returned to the police department, Bai Yutong and Zhan Yao headed inside and up to the eleventh floor, where Zhan Yao quickly headed to his office and shut the door behind him, leaving Bai Yutong alone in the bullpen, just as the other S.C.I. members walked in, immediately looking at him.
“Bai Sir, is Dr. Zhan really the one behind those cold cases?” Bai Chi asked. Bai Yutong just shot him a glare and he immediately cowed under his gaze as Bai Yutong huffed.
“Get back to work” he ordered. The other S.C.I. members nodded before they walked over to their desks and began working as Bai Yutong headed to his office, glancing over at Zhan Yao’s office before he headed inside his own. He sat in his office for all of five minutes before he let out a groan and quickly stood to his feet, heading out of his office and over to Zhan Yao’s, throwing open the door, startling Zhan Yao into looking up from his work.
“Bai Yutong?” he asked, frowning at him. Bai Yutong stared at him before he let out a huff.
“How long?” he demanded. Zhan Yao frowned.
“How long what?” he asked. Bai Yutong pointed at him.
“How long have you been killing? And don’t fucking lie to me” he snarled. Zhan Yao looked at him before he sighed.
“All my life” he answered. Bai Yutong stared at him in disgust before he huffed.
“You have some fucking nerve, Zhan Yao. You’re a fucking killer and yet you’re a cop. Is this job some kind of joke to you? Am I some kind of joke to you?” he demanded, making Zhan Yao look up at him.
“Bai Yutong—” he started.
“No, you know what? You’re a fucking hypocrite, Zhan Yao. You chase down people who fucking kill and hurt others and yet you’re JUST LIKE THEM. You’re a fucking KILLER!” Bai Yutong roared. Zhan Yao said nothing and just stared at him, tears glistening in his brown eyes, causing him to sigh heavily.
“You know what? I don’t want to see you anymore. Just…leave. Just go” he murmured. Zhan Yao looked at him for a moment before he quietly packed up his briefcase and stood to his feet, slipping past Bai Yutong as he headed towards the door when Bai Yutong looked at him.
“And Zhan Yao—” he started, making Zhan Yao stop and turn to look back at him.
“If I find out that you kill again…I’m walking out of your life. You will never see me again. Do you understand me?” he growled. Zhan Yao just stared at him before he nodded silently and stepped out of his office, walking past the other S.C.I. members before heading out of the department. Wang Shao, Jiang Ling, Bai Chi, Ma Han, and Zhao Fu watched him leave before they turned back to their work while Bai Yutong let out a heavy sigh as he sat on the edge of Zhan Yao’s desk, placing his head in his hand. He couldn’t believe it. His best friend…a fucking killer.
~*~*~*~*~*~
After leaving the S.C.I. department, Zhan Yao headed to Bao Heizei’s office, knocking on the door.
“Come in” a voice called from inside. Zhan Yao then opened the door and stepped inside, Bao Heizei looking up at him.
“Dr. Zhan? Is there something I can do for you?” he asked. Zhan Yao said nothing before he closed the door behind him and walked over to Bao Heizei’s desk, sitting down before him.
“He knows” he whispered. Bao Heizei frowned.
“What do you mean?” he asked. Zhan Yao looked up at him, tears in his eyes, before he sniffled.
“Bai Yutong knows. S.C.I. knows. About me. About what I’ve done” he whispered. Bao Heizei’s eyes widened before he frowned.
“How?” he demanded. Zhan Yao sighed.
“We got a report…an informant said that they had some information on a case and when we went to go see them…we were ambushed” he murmured before he looked at Bao Heizei.
“He was going to shoot Bai Yutong! I couldn’t let him kill him” he exclaimed. Bao Heizei hummed and nodded as Zhan Yao huffed.
“In that moment, I didn’t care what happened to me…I didn’t care if I was the one who got shot, if
I was the one who died…hell if I got thrown out of the police department…I just could not let Bai Yutong die. So I killed him” he growled. Bao Heizei nodded again before he sighed softly.
“Why don’t…you take some time off? Give Bai Yutong some time to take it all in, give you some time to just…rest” he murmured. Zhan Yao nodded.
“Yes sir” he murmured. Bao Heizei then watched as Zhan Yao stood up and headed over to the door, opening it before stepping out, quietly closing the door behind him. Bao Heizei watched him walk away before he let out a heavy sigh.
“Oh Zhan Yao” he murmured.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A few weeks after Zhan Yao left S.C.I. at Bao Heizei’s suggestion, Bai Yutong was briefing a new case to S.C.I. when the television suddenly switched from Jiang Ling’s computer screen to a black screen, making everyone look at it with a frown.
“What the hell?” Zhao Fu grumbled, just as a cackle echoed throughout the sound system.
“Bai Sir~” a voice suddenly cooed, making Bai Yutong frown as the television suddenly switched from black to a livestream of what looked like a person, their face covered with a bag, in a warehouse, shirtless, on their knees, their face and body covered with cuts and bruises as well as some pretty gruesome brand marks.
“I believe I have something of yours, Bai Sir~” the voice purred before a man dressed in all black walked over to the person on their knees and yanked the bag off their head, revealing Zhan Yao. At the sight of Zhan Yao, the S.C.I. members let out gasps of horror and shock while Bai Yutong just stared at his partner with wide eyes.
“You must be wondering how I kidnapped him…it’s a secret” the man declared before he pulled out a knife and slashed Zhan Yao’s arm, causing him to cry out in pain. Bai Yutong flinched at the sound of Zhan Yao’s cry, but he said nothing as the torturer just chuckled and tsked.
“Oh? No reaction? Looks like I’m going to have to try a bit harder then” he mused before he suddenly kicked Zhan Yao in the side with the steel-toed boots he was wearing, causing Zhan Yao to gasp in pain as he crashed to the ground, curling in on himself as his face contorted in pain. Seeing Zhan Yao in pain made Bai Yutong curl his hands into fists, and he growled low in his throat, but he still couldn’t get over Zhan Yao’s betrayal, so he just stayed quiet as the torturer grabbed Zhan Yao by the hair and yanked him up so that he was on his knees once more. As they watched the livestream, Bao Heizei walked into S.C.I. and frowned.
“What’s going on here?” he asked. Wang Shao said nothing and just pointed to the television screen, making Bao Heizei turn to see Zhan Yao, on his knees, shirtless, wincing and hissing in pain, brand marks and slash wounds covering his body.
“What the hell is he doing? Why isn’t he breaking free? Why isn’t he fighting?” he demanded.
“Because I told him that if he ever killed again, I would cut myself out of his life forever” Bai Yutong answered, his voice tight. Bao Heizei looked over at him with wide eyes before he stormed over to him and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, giving him a hard shake.
“SO YOU WOULD RATHER WATCH HIM DIE THEN LET HIM FREE HIMSELF?! HUH?! YOUR PARTNER?! THE PERSON YOU WOULD DIE FOR?!” he screamed. Bai Yutong looked at him with wide eyes before he shoved him away.
“He claims to be a cop and yet he’s killed people! He’s a fucking hypocrite!” he shouted.
“LIKE YOU HAVEN’T KILLED PEOPLE YOURSELF! WHAT MAKES YOU ANY DIFFERENT FROM HIM?!” Bao Heizei roared. Bai Yutong blinked before he opened his mouth to protest when Bao Heizei pointed a finger at him.
“You don’t get to judge him when you’ve done the exact same thing. You’ve killed people too, Bai Yutong” he hissed. Bai Yutong shook his head.
“But that’s different!” he exclaimed.
“Is it?” Bao Heizei demanded. Bai Yutong’s mouth fell open in shock before he shook his head again.
“I—” he started.
“You’ve
killed people to stop them from hurting others later on, correct? Those criminals whom you knew were going to keep hurting people unless they were stopped?” Bao Heizei demanded. Bai Yutong stared at him before he nodded slightly. Bao Heizei then pointed to the TV screen.
“He’s done the exact same thing” he declared. Bai Yutong frowned.
“What do you mean?” he asked. Bao Heizei huffed.
“Even before he went to America, Zhan Yao was hired by people, mainly by the victim’s families, to assassinate pedophiles, abusers, child molesters, and child rapists. He’s never killed an innocent person in his life” he growled. Bai Yutong looked at him in shock before he shook his head.
“Why didn’t they just go to the police?” he demanded. Bao Heizei scoffed.
“If the abuser, molester, or pedophile is a rich or affluent person, you think the police is going to do anything? You know how rich people are, they like to get their hands on the investigation and pay a lot of money to just have the whole thing covered up or “solved”. And Zhan Yao refused to let that happen, let another victim suffer and let another monster go free so he killed them. It was deserved and the only thing he could do to stop them” he snarled as he looked Bai Yutong in the eyes.
“Do you know why he never told you any of this?” he asked. Bai Yutong shook his head.
“Because he knew you’d react like how you are now. He knows how much justice means to you, so he hid that part of himself away. But deep down? He’s still the Zhan Yao you grew up with. You know that day that you got ambused? And he killed Zhang Jie?” Bao Heizei asked. Bai Yutong and the rest of S.C.I. nodded as Bao Heizei huffed.
“That day, you know what he told me?” he asked. Bai Yutong shook his head again.
“He said that he didn’t care what happened to him. He didn’t care if he died, if he got kicked out of the police force, none of that matter except for your safety” Bao Heizei declared, pointing a finger at Bai Yutong.
“He cared more about you and your safety then his own god damn well being. That’s why he killed Zhang Jie. And all those cold cases you were looking at. The so called “Z” cases? Did you never once realize that all the victims in those cases…were rapists? Were pedophiles? Were child molesters? Were abusers?” he hissed. Bai Yutong blinked, just as a pained screamed echoed through the sound system, making everyone turn to see Zhan Yao doubled over in pain, a brand-new brand on the middle of his back as his kidnapper cackled, having far too much fun with his torture. Bai Yutong stared at the screen and his hands slowly closed into fists as rage began to course through his body before he turned and looked at Jiang Ling.
“Jiang Ling, track the IP address of the video and once you figure out where it’s being transmitted from, send me the address” he ordered as he headed for the sliding doors.
“Wait, Bai Sir, where are you going?” Bai Chi called out.
“To save Zhan Yao!” Bai Yutong called back as he stepped through the sliding doors and headed for the elevators.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Bai Yutong then ran to his Lamborghini, his phone pinging with a text from Jiang Ling with the location of IP address. He quickly pulled out his phone and looked at it, pressing the address to send it to google maps. Once the address was typed into the GPS, Bai Yutong got into his Lamborghini, turned on the engine, and gunned it out of the parking lot, eyes constantly shifting between the road and the GPS as he broke nearly every traffic law in the book but who was going to stop him? Everyone in Hong Kong knew him and his car, so he knew that he was perfectly fine to keep speeding down the roads and through the lights (he was very careful of cars though) until he reached the address. He then quickly parked the car and got out, first checking to make sure that his gun was fully loaded, before he ran into the warehouse, Zhan Yao’s torturer turning at the sound. Before he could even move, Bai
Yutong was already pulling the trigger, firing bullet after bullet into the man until he fell to the ground, dead. Bai Yutong then ran over to Zhan Yao, first kicking the camera off the tripod and watching as it crashed to the ground, plastic pieces going everywhere, before he knelt beside Zhan Yao and carefully pulled him into his arms, Zhan Yao immediately slumping against him.
“Zhan Yao. Cat. Kitten. Can you hear me?” he asked, his voice full of panic. Zhan Yao let out a soft groan before he weakly looked up at him.
“Y-Yutong?” he croaked. Bai Yutong shook his head as he carefully wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tightly.
“I’m sorry Kitten. I’m so sorry” he whispered before he removed his arms from around Zhan Yao and quickly took off his jacket, carefully wrapping it around Zhan Yao’s torso.
“You’re gonna be okay. You’re gonna be okay, I’m gonna get you to a hospital. You’re going to be okay” he promised as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, dialing 110 before placing his phone to his ear.
“This is Sergeant Bai Yutong of S.C.I. I need medical personnel right now; an officer’s been injured. I repeat, an officer’s been injured” he reported before he put the phone down, keeping the line open so that the dispatch officers could figure out his location while he carefully wrapped his arms around Zhan Yao again and hugged him tightly, rocking him back and forth as he whispered apologies over and over until the paramedics arrived. Once they got there, they rushed over to them and had to practically pry Zhan Yao out of Bai Yutong’s arms because he just would not let go. After finally getting Bai Yutong to let go of Zhan Yao, they rushed him to the ambulance while Bai Yutong grabbed his phone, hanging up the call before he stood up and rushed out to his Lamborghini, waiting for the ambulance to leave before he quickly turned on the engine and followed after them.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When Zhao Yao woke up hours later, his entire body felt as if it had been constantly run over by semi-trucks and just…everything hurt. As he tried to sit up, he let out a gasp of pain and clutched at his ribs, his face contorting in pain, just as a gentle hand appeared on his shoulder.
“Shh, don’t move Kitten. Don’t move” a voice soothed, causing him to turn and look over with wide eyes to see Bai Yutong sitting beside him.
“B-Bai Yutong?” he whispered. Bai Yutong smiled softly.
“Hey Kitten” he greeted. Zhan Yao shook his head.
“What…where am I?” he croaked. Bai Yutong sighed as he reached out and began to pet his hair, his touch almost ridiculously gentle.
“The hospital” he replied. Zhan Yao stared at him for a moment before he frowned.
“What are you doing?” he demanded. Bai Yutong raised an eyebrow.
“What do you mean?” he replied. Zhan Yao huffed.
“You’re suddenly so nice to me even though a few weeks ago you looked at me as if I was the fucking devil incarnate, and you told me you never wanted to speak or see me again” he sneered. Bai Yutong looked at him for a moment before he sighed heavily and continued to gently pet his hair.
“I’m sorry” he apologized. Zhan Yao blinked.
“What?” he whispered. Bai Yutong nodded.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong and an asshole and if I hadn’t said anything, you wouldn’t have taken time off and wouldn’t be in the hospital right now” he explained as he looked at him.
“Bao Sir explained everything to me…I’m really sorry Zhan Yao” he apologized. Zhan Yao looked at him in shock before he shook his head.
“So you don’t…you don’t hate me?” he whispered. Bai Yutong’s eyes widened.
“Hate you? Zhan Yao, I could never hate you! I just…I didn’t understand why you did what you did. And I get why you never told me…I was kind of a dick” he murmured. Zhan Yao huffed.
“No, it’s just that you…always held a stronger sense of right and wrong. I tend to…toe the line. Which is why I did what I did. And why I couldn’t tell you.
Because I knew if I told you…you would hate me” he whispered. Bai Yutong shook his head as he leaned forward and rested his head against Zhan Yao’s.
“I could never hate you, Kitten. I just wish you had told me” he replied. Zhan Yao chuffed.
“Because that’s an easy conversation to bring up” he murmured. Bai Yutong chuckled.
“True” he agreed before he pulled away and looked into Zhan Yao’s eyes.
“I’m not mad, Cat, and I don’t hate you” he promised. Zhan Yao looked back at him and tears began to fill his eyes before he squeezed them shut, tears streaming out of the corners. Bai Yutong then leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
“Shh…shh…it’s alright. It’s alright, Kitten. Shhh…shhh” he soothed as Zhan Yao continued to cry, Bai Yutong’s lips never leaving his forehead. Once he had finally calmed down, Zhan Yao sniffled and looked at Bai Yutong.
“What are we going to do now?” he asked weakly. Bai Yutong shook his head.
“Don’t think about that now. Just focus on getting better. We’ll figure out what to do when you get out of here” he assured. Zhan Yao nodded as he let out a sigh and relaxed back into his pillow, shutting his eyes. Bai Yutong smiled softly at him before he reached out and began running his fingers through his hair again, Zhan Yao letting out a hum of content.
“Yutong?” he murmured, causing Bai Yutong to look at him and raise an eyebrow.
“Yes Kitten?” he replied.
“Thank you” Zhan Yao whispered. Bai Yutong blinked in surprise before he smiled and nodded slightly.
“You’re welcome” he replied.
~*~*~*~*~*~
A few weeks after Zhan Yao was released, S.C.I. was pretty much back to normal. There was no uncomfortable or awkward tension, Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong bickered as usual, Wang Shao and Zhao Fu got into trouble, Bai Chi, Ma Han, and Jiang Ling worked, and Gongsun rolled his eyes at all of them before locking himself in his lab to work and keep out the noise. The only real difference to the department was that in Zhan Yao’s office, sitting next to his filing cabinets, was a black duffle bag that didn’t used to be there before. And the duffle bag was hardly ever used unless Bai Yutong came into his office with a case in his hand and a look in his eyes. Whenever that happened, Zhan Yao would just glance up at him before he quietly reached behind him and grabbed the duffle bag, standing to his feet. They then would head out of the department, the other S.C.I. members watching them quietly before they went back to work, none of them commenting on what they saw because what was there to say? One of their bosses was an assassin and the other one was totally fine with it. So, like…did their opinion or comments really matter? No. Not really.
When Bai Yutong and the rest of the S.C.I. team found out that they were going to do a joint investigation with another police department, they weren’t very happy.
“Why do we have to work with them?” Bai Yutong grumbled after Bao Heizei briefed them about the joint investigation. Zhan Yao huffed.
“Why else? Bao Sir said so” he replied. Bai Yutong tsked.
“You know how I feel about doing joint investigations” he grumbled.
“It’s not like I wanted this either” a voice called out, making Bai Yutong, Zhan Yao, and the rest of the S.C.I. team turn to see a tall man with light skin, brown eyes, and short black hair dressed in a white dress shirt overlaid with a black suit vest, black leather jacket, black pants, and black combat boots and a tall man with light skin, brown eyes, and dark brown hair dressed in a white mandarin collared dress shirt, white suit jacket, white pants, and brown shoes overlaid with a white trench coat step into the department, Bao Heizei following behind them.
“Bai Sir, Dr. Zhan, this is Dr. Chen Yuzhi and Chief Jiang Yuelou from the Jing City Police Department. You two will be working together on this case” he stated. Bai Yutong and Zhan Yao nodded as Bao Heizei pointed at Bai Yutong.
“Play nice” he ordered before he turned and walked out. Bai Yutong huffed before he looked at Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi.
“Jing City…that’s not in Hong Kong, is it?” he asked. Chen Yuzhi shook his head.
“No, we’re from the mainland” he answered. Bai Yutong nodded.
“I see…what the hell are you doing over in our neck of the woods then?” he demanded, causing Zhan Yao to shoot him a look.
“Bai Yutong” he murmured. Jiang Yuelou tsked.
“Like I said, it’s not like I wanted this either, it’s just that my boss said that there was a case over here and that I needed to look into it” he snapped, making Chen Yuzhi look over at him.
“Jiang Yuelou” he hissed. Zhan Yao huffed before he looked at Chen Yuzhi.
“I don’t think Gongsun has started the autopsy yet…would you like to see the body?” he asked. Chen Yuzhi nodded.
“If you don’t mind” he replied. Zhan Yao then motioned for him to follow him as they headed towards Gongsun’s lab, Bai Yutong and Jiang Yuelou still glaring daggers at one another.
“Bai Yutong, stop being five and get over here” Zhan Yao called out, making the S.C.I. team snicker softly under their breaths. Bai Yutong turned and shot them all glares, immediately silencing them, before he turned and headed over to where Zhan Yao and Chen Yuzhi were standing outside of Gongsun’s lab, Jiang Yuelou following after him. As they walked away, the S.C.I. looked at one another.
“It’s like looking in a fucking mirror” Zhao Fu murmured.
“More like a fucking carbon copy” Wang Shao corrected.
“The same color scheme and everything, just reversed” Ma Han agreed.
“Bai Sir and Chief Jiang even have the same fiery personalities” Bai Chi mused.
“Hey!” a voice suddenly shouted, making everyone flinch and look over to see Bai Yutong sticking his head out of Gongsun’s lab.
“We can hear everything you’re saying. Now is not the time to be discussing Dr. Zhan, myself, or the other two” he snapped. Everyone dipped their heads in apology.
“Sorry Bai Sir” they apologized as they turned back to their work while Bai Yutong stuck his head back into Gongsun’s lab.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Inside Gongsun’s lab, Zhan Yao motioned to Chen Yuzhi and Jiang Yuelou.
“Gongsun. This is Dr. Chen Yuzhi and Chief Jiang Yuelou from Jing City. They’re going to be working with us on this case” Zhan Yao explained. S.C.I.’s forensic pathologist, Gongsun Zhe, hummed before he dipped his head.
“Gongsun Zhe” he greeted. Chen Yuzhi dipped his head in return.
“Chen Yuzhi” he replied before he motioned to the body.
“Have you started the autopsy yet?” he asked. Gongsun shook his head.
“Not yet” he answered. Chen Yuzhi hummed before he motioned to the body again.
“May I?” he asked. Gongsun nodded again before he pulled back the tarp covering the body, revealing a teenager, no older than sixteen. Bai Yutong and Jiang Yuelou both let out growls of anger while Zhan Yao had to shut his eyes, he didn’t do very well with cases that had to deal with kids. Chen Yuzhi took a deep breath before he stepped forward and began looking over the teen, noting the blue lips and fingernails as well as the bluish-purple tinge of the skin as well as the white froth that was at the corner of the teen’s mouth.
“Opium overdose” he murmured before he sighed heavily.
“Jiang Yuelou” he called out, Jiang Yuelou immediately walking over to him.
“Hmm” he replied. Chen Yuzhi motioned to the teen.
“They died of an opium overdose. Or some sort of opioid overdose” he murmured as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of gloves, slipping them on before he reached out and opened the teen’s closed eyes, revealing pinpoint pupils.
“One of the signs of an opioid overdose” he explained.
“What are you two whispering about?” Bai Yutong demanded, making Chen Yuzhi and Jiang Yuelou turn to look at him before Chen Yuzhi sighed.
“This child died of an opioid overdose. Come see” he instructed, motioning Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong over. Both men walked over and stood around the body as Chen Yuzhi motioned to the teen’s eyes.
“Pinpoint pupils. A tell-tale sign of opioid overdose” he explained. He then pointed to the body’s blue lips before holding up the body’s hand, revealing blue tinged fingertips.
“Other symptoms of an overdose is blue tinged lips and blue fingertips. Their skin is also a blueish-purple and there’s a slight foam around their mouth, meaning that in their last moments, they were probably choking on their own saliva or fluids” he explained. Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong frowned.
“How do you know all this?” Zhan Yao asked. Chen Yuzhi smiled slightly.
“I’m a doctor. I’ve seen many an opioid overdose in Jing City. Lots of gangs there” he explained. Jiang Yuelou then frowned and crossed.
“But there hasn’t been any recent drug activity that we know of in Jing City, especially since the drug crack down. Are the gangs here bad?” he asked, looking at Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong. Bai Yutong hummed.
“They are…but we haven’t heard of any of them doing anything like drug trafficking lately” he replied. Jiang Yuelou hummed as well before he pulled out his phone and dialed a number, putting it on speaker.
“Hello?” a voice answered.
“Zhan-xiong” Jiang Yuelou greeted.
“Jiang-xiong. What do I owe this pleasure?” the voice on the other line, Zhan Junbai, asked. Jiang Yuelou huffed.
“You’ve got eyes and ears all over Jing City. Have you heard anything about any recent opium dens or opioids going on the market?” he asked. Zhan Junbai hummed.
“You know I control the black-market Jiang-xiong, if there was anything, I’d be the first to know. So no, I haven’t heard anything recently about any opium or opioid dens” he answered.
“What about in Hong Kong?” Chen Yuzhi asked.
“Hong Kong? Lu Ka Si was the last person to run the drug trade in Hong Kong but he’s dead, remember?” Zhan Junbai replied.
“Could some of his followers slipped away and picked things back up?” Jiang Yuelou inquired. Zhan Junbai hummed.
“It’s possible. Since opium has many drugs derived from it, I would start looking into triads that are known to traffic drugs, mainly opioids or any derivative of opium, and go from there” he stated before he paused.
“Why are you calling me anyways? Especially about this matter?” he asked.
“We have a sixteen-year-old who died of an opioid overdose” Bai Yutong stated.
“Who’s that?” Zhan Junbai asked.
“Sergeant Bai Yutong and Dr. Zhan Yao of S.C.I.” Bai Yutong answered.
“Pleasure. Executive Zhan Junbai, Minister of Finance” Zhan Junbai greeted before he cleared his throat.
“I may still have a contact in Hong Kong who can assist you in what you’re looking for. I’ll give him a call” he stated. Jiang Yuelou smiled.
“You’re a lifesaver, Zhan-xiong” he thanked. Zhan Junbai chuckled.
“I know” he replied before he hung up. Once he had hung up, Jiang Yuelou pocketed his phone as Bai Yutong looked at him.
“Your Minister of Finance…controls the black market?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. Chen Yuzhi chuckled.
“It’s a very long story but we’re grateful he’s on our side of the law” he explained. Bai Yutong hummed as Zhan Yao crossed his arms.
“Do you think Zhao Jue is involved with this?” he mused. Bai Yutong, Jiang Yuelou, and Chen Yuzhi all looked at him, Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi looking at him in confusion while Bai Yutong frowned.
“Who’s Zhao Jue?” Jiang Yuelou asked. Bai Yutong snarled.
“A fucking psychopath” he murmured. Zhan Yao smacked his arm, shooting him a look before he looked over at Chen Yuzhi and Jiang Yuelou.
“A very intelligent man who has the power to manipulate people using hypnosis” he explained. Chen Yuzhi frowned.
“Why do you think he’s involved?” he asked. Bai Yutong tsked.
“Because any case we had normally involved him somehow” he grumbled before he looked over at Zhan Yao.
“But you know that Zhao Jue doesn’t hurt children…this would be out of character for him” he reminded. Zhan Yao huffed.
“Nothing out of character for this monster” he murmured. Bai Yutong hummed before he shrugged.
“I suppose we can pay him a visit” he mused as he looked over at Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi.
“Care to join us?” he asked. Chen Yuzhi and Jiang Yuelou nodded as Bai Yutong smirked.
“Great. Follow us” he declared as he turned and headed out of the lab, Zhan Yao at his heels. Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi then followed after them, Chen Yuzhi stopping to bow to Gongsun before he quickly exited the lab. Gongsun dipped his head to him before he watched them leave, making sure they were out of his lab before he looked down at the body.
“Time to get to work” he murmured.
~*~*~*~*~*~
After the four men left the S.C.I. department, they all piled into Bai Yutong’s Lamborghini before heading off to Zhao Jue’s studio.
“Do you think this Zhao Jue will be angry if we show up unannounced?” Chen Yuzhi asked. Bai Yutong scoffed.
“That psycho loves to see Zhan Yao so I’m sure this is just going to thrill him” he growled. Jiang Yuelou frowned.
“Why does he love Zhan Yao so much?” he asked. Zhan Yao sighed.
“He thinks I’m his prodigy…I’m really not, I just so happen to use hypnosis like he does. I don’t, however, do the sick and twisted things he’s done to people” he growled. Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi nodded slowly, not quite sure what they were going to expect when they met this Zhao Jue. However, they soon arrived at Zhao Jue’s studio and the four of them got out, heading up the stairs to the studio, Zhan Yao opening the door before stepping inside. Bai Yutong followed after him, Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi following after him, the four men heading inside. As they looked around, Jiang Yuelou let out a low whistle.
“Now this is impressive” he murmured. Zhan Yao huffed.
“Be careful, Zhao Jue’s hypnosis is very strong and rather persuasive” he stated. Jiang Yuelou hummed, just as a laugh echoed throughout the studio, making everyone look up to see a short older man with light wrinkled skin, brown eyes, and salt and pepper hair and goatee dressed in white robes walking down the winding staircase, looking almost fondly at Zhan Yao.
“Oh Xiao Yao…it’s been a while. What brings you to my humble studio?” he asked. Zhan Yao made a face of disgust as the man looked over and noticed Chen Yuzhi and Jiang Yuelou.
“And you brought friends” he mused.
“Don’t touch them” Zhan Yao growled, sending the man a warning look. The man huffed before he crossed his arms.
“What can I do for you today?” he asked.
“Have you heard anything from the criminal underworld or anything about drugs, particularly opioids, going around different triads?” Bai Yutong inquired. The man looked over at him and frowned.
“Now why would I involve myself in a nasty business like that?” he asked.
“Because it’s you, Zhao Jue” Zhan Yao growled. The man, Zhao Jue, hummed.
“I haven’t heard anything, no. But if it’s drugs, why don’t you start with the triads? I’m sure they’re involved somehow” he mused. Bai Yutong huffed.
“I’m sure they are, but we had to come check with you first because you’re always involved some way or another” he growled. Zhao Jue chuckled and hummed.
“Yes, well, normally I am, but this time, I’m not” he assured. Zhan Yao huffed.
“You better not be, or we’ll lock your ass back up in that prison faster than you can blink” he snarled. Zhao Jue chuckled again.
“I’d like to see you try, Xiao Yao” he cooed, reaching out to pat Zhan Yao’s face when Zhan Yao smacked his hand away.
“Let’s go” he growled as he turned away. Bai Yutong nodded and quickly followed after him, Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi following after him, both men sending a wary look towards Zhao Jue before they continued after Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong. As they walked away, Zhao Jue hummed.
“An almost carbon copy…how fun” he purred.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“You see why we call him a fucking psycho?” Bai Yutong growled as they all piled into his Lamborghini, Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi getting in first since the car only had two doors.
“Yes” Chen Yuzhi answered. Jiang Yuelou then huffed.
“Is he always like that?” he inquired. Zhan Yao shuddered as he got in and shut the door.
“He’s normally not touchy, but yes” he answered as Bai Yutong turned on the car and drove away from Zhao Jue’s studio.
“So, where to first?” Zhan Yao asked, looking over at Bai Yutong. Bai Yutong hummed.
“Shouldn’t we try to meet up with that contact your friend said might be here?” he asked, glancing back at Jiang Yuelou. Jiang Yuelou hummed.
“Probably” he agreed, just as his phone buzzed, causing him to pull it out of his pocket and look at it.
“Junbai just texted and said his contact will meet us at at a café called Between Coffee” he stated. Bai Yutong hummed.
“Alright, let’s head there then” he declared before he stepped on the gas, speeding towards the café.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When they arrived at the café, Jiang Yuelou smirked when he saw a familiar face.
“Sun Heying” he greeted. The man, Sun Heying, smiled and shook his hand.
“Chief Jiang” he replied before he looked over at Bai Yutong and Zhan Yao.
“They are—” he started.
“Sergeant Bai Yutong and Dr. Zhan Yao of S.C.I. We’re doing a joint investigation with them” Jiang Yuelou explained. Sun Heying hummed.
“I see. Well, Executive Zhan said you’re possibly looking to see if the triads are involved with this?” he asked. Bai Yutong nodded.
“We think they are, we just need to know who to start with” he explained. Sun Heying hummed and crossed his arms.
“Well, if I had to guess, your best options would be to start with the 14K and the Sun Yee On. They’re the biggest triads in Hong Kong and are always trying to get a leg up on their competition so my best guess would be to start with them and see how it goes” he stated.
“Who do we start with first?” Zhan Yao asked. Sun Heying was quiet, thinking.
“I’d start with the Sun Yee On. They’re the bigger of the two groups and might be more willing to talk” he replied. Bai Yutong nodded.
“Alright, thanks” he thanked. Sun Heying nodded as Jiang Yuelou clapped him on the arm.
“Thanks again” he thanked. Sun Heying nodded again.
“Anytime” he replied. Jiang Yuelou smirked before the four men turned and headed back to Bai Yutong’s car, all of them getting in before they sped off to the Sun Yee On’s headquarters.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When they arrived, Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi frowned.
“Are they going to even let us in? I know the gangs back home aren’t particularly fond of cops” Chen Yuzhi murmured. Bai Yutong hummed.
“Most triads will cooperate with law enforcement, but only if they have to. As long as we’re only asking questions then we won’t have any problems” he explained. Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi nodded as the four of them headed into the mansion that served as the Sun Yee On’s headquarters.
“Bai Sir! What do we owe this pleasure?” a voice boomed, making Bai Yutong, Zhan Yao, Jiang Yuelou, and Chen Yuzhi look up to see the Sun Yee On’s leader, Heung Chin, walking towards them.
“Heung Chin. Since you’re known in the underworld as a bit of a drug trafficker, you wouldn’t happen to be involved in any, say, illegal opioid distributions now, would you?” Bai Yutong asked. Heung Chin looked at him before he laughed.
“Bai Sir, I can assure you, while we do traffic drugs, we haven’t trafficked any opioids recently” he assured. Zhan Yao narrowed his eyes.
“And how do we know that for sure?” he asked. Heung Chin laughed again.
“Well, you don’t! You’re just going to have to take my word for it” he replied. Jiang Yuelou then stepped forward and crossed his arms.
“Do you know San Ye?” he asked. Heung Chin’s eyes widened.
“San Ye! How is that bastard doing? He’s been rather quiet lately; I hope he’s doing okay. His trade route is going to get snatched up if he doesn’t get back on the wagon” he stated. Chen Yuzhi frowned.
“Who’s going to snatch it up?” he asked. Heung Chin shrugged.
“Well, anybody, really. But mainly the 14K. They’ve been hovering around the docks as of late, trying to get the best quality goods” he explained as he looked at the four men.
“You know the 14K, besides being drug traffickers, are human traffickers, right?” he stated. Jiang Yuelou, Chen Yuzhi, Bai Yutong, and Zhan Yao froze before Bai Yutong quickly whipped out his phone and dialed a number before placing it to his ear.
“Gongsun. You’ve done the autopsy already, right?” he demanded when the lines connected.
“Yes, why?” Gongsun asked.
“Did you find anything in the postmortem?” Bai Yutong asked. Gongsun hummed.
“There were some small, ruptured baggies of heroin found in the decedents stomach, which probably caused the drug overdose” he stated. Bai Yutong pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath before he sighed.
“Anything else?” he asked.
“I’m still waiting for the toxicology results, but I should have them back soon. But Dr. Chen was right, this was an opioid overdose. The victim might have been a drug mule” Gongsun stated. Bai Yutong was quiet before he let out a breath.
“Alright, thanks” he murmured, hanging up the call before he looked over at the others.
“What did Gongsun say?” Chen Yuzhi asked.
“He found small, ruptured baggies of heroin in the stomach, meaning that our victim was probably a drug mule” Bai Yutong explained. Zhan Yao’s eyes widened while Jiang Yuelou let out a growl and Chen Yuzhi just hung his head.
“The one thing about us, Bai Sir, is that we don’t use drug mules in our drug trafficking, but the 14K do” Heung Chin stated.
“And yet you’re known for murder. What makes you think we’re going to believe what you say?” Zhan Yao growled. Heung Chin chuckled and made to step towards him, but Bai Yutong stepped in front of him, glaring.
“Don’t even think about it” he snarled. Heung Chin raised his hands in surrender as he looked at him.
“Like I said, you should check out the 14K. I’m sure they’ll have what you want to know” he stated. Bai Yutong nodded.
“We’ll do that” he growled before he grabbed Zhan Yao’s wrist and dragged him away, Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi following after them as Heung Chin watched them leave with a small smile on his face.
~*~*~*~*~*~
“What a fucking creep” Jiang Yuelou growled as they all got back into Bai Yutong’s car.
“Normally they’re not like that…at least he’s usually not” Zhan Yao murmured. Chen Yuzhi frowned.
“How do you know?” he asked. Bai Yutong sighed.
“We had a case a while back where someone was killing off the triad leaders…it was weird. They were very compliant with us, so we assumed that they would be this time” he explained. Jiang Yuelou huffed.
“He seemed to be…until you started talking about the drug mules. Then he got weird” he growled. Zhan Yao sighed.
“Most triad leaders are like that, unfortunately” he murmured. Chen Yuzhi huffed.
“Good thing the ones back home aren’t” he mused. Jiang Yuelou barked out a laugh.
“They’re not like that because they know that Zhan Junbai will have their asses on a platter” he reminded. Bai Yutong then looked in the rearview mirror at them.
“By the way, who is this San Ye that you were talking about?” he asked. Chen Yuzhi and Jiang Yuelou looked at him before Jiang Yuelou smiled.
“Oh, San Ye is Zhan Junbai. That’s his underworld name, I suppose” he explained. Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong blinked in confusion before Zhan Yao turned to look back at them.
“Again, your minister of finance…is a drug lord?” he asked. Chen Yuzhi shook his head.
“Not just a drug lord, the biggest drug lord in Jing City. Any triad wants to gain access or sell any drugs or make any trades, they have to go through him” he explained. Bai Yutong shook his head.
“What the fuck…” he whispered. Jiang Yuelou sighed.
“It’s a long story but he’s gotten out of the drug game. Mainly for the sake of his husband” he explained. Zhan Yao frowned.
“His husband?” he repeated. Chen Yuzhi nodded.
“Yu Tangchun, a famous opera singer. Yu Tangchun went with him one day to view an incoming shipment and a rival drug boss thought that it would be funny to take Yu Tangchun hostage in exchange for the shipment. Let’s just say, it didn’t end well for the man. But, the thought and fear of losing Yu Tangchun was too much, so he decided to give up being the kingpin, so to say” he explained, Jiang Yuelou nodding in agreement.
“He still oversees shipments if they come in, but he has no ties to any of the gangs or any of the groups that run them. If they get out of hand, however, he will step in and take care of them if necessary. He’s very useful when we need to make an arrest or bring down a drug den” he added. Bai Yutong huffed.
“Jing City seems wild…” he murmured. Jiang Yuelou shrugged.
“Maybe, but it’s home” he replied, just as they arrived at the 14K’s headquarters.
“Do all triad leaders seem to make their mansion’s their headquarters?” Jiang Yuelou murmured as they got out of the car. Chen Yuzhi huffed.
“Yuelou, Zhan Junbai’s mansion is his headquarters so yes, it’s safe to say that all triads run their operations out of their boss’s mansion” he stated. Bai Yutong chuckled.
“You wouldn’t be too far off” he mused, just as a pained cry rang out. The four men looked at each other before they rushed into the mansion, soon coming upon a man repeatedly hitting and beating a woman. Chen Yuzhi’s eyes widened and he looked over at Jiang Yuelou, noticing the look in his eyes and the way his fist slowly began to close into fists.
“Oh no” he whispered before he reached out and grabbed his arm.
“Jiang Yuelou. Jiang Yuelou, don’t” he begged, causing Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong to look over in confusion.
“Dr. Chen, what—” Bai Yutong started when Jiang Yuelou wrenched his arm out of Chen Yuzhi’s grasp and stormed over to the man, who was holding the woman, who was down on her knees, by her hair, his fist raised above his head like he was ready to strike.
“Hey!” he shouted, making the man look over at him, just as he punched him in the face, causing him to stumble and fall as well as let go of the woman’s hair. The woman quickly scrambled away as the man pushed himself to his feet, glaring at Jiang Yuelou.
“Why you—” he started, raising his fist to punch Jiang Yuelou in the face when Chen Yuzhi ran forward and stepped in front of Jiang Yuelou, taking the punch for him. The punch was so strong that it sent the young doctor to the floor with a pained groan, causing Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong to gasp as Jiang Yuelou glared at the man.
“You—” he started before he launched himself at the man, both men wrestling around on the floor, throwing punches at one another. Bai Yutong and Zhan Yao, meanwhile, just stood there, not exactly sure what to do, since they weren’t used to such a visceral reaction like the one Jiang Yuelou had. While Jiang Yuelou and the man were wrestling around on the ground, Chen Yuzhi let out a soft groan before he slowly pushed himself to his feet, clutching at his head before he looked at Jiang Yuelou and the man fighting and wrestling one another. His eyes widened and he quickly reached into his pocket, pulling out a small leather roll case, which he then opened to reveal small acupuncture needles. He then took one out before rolling up the case, shoving it back into his pocket before he ran over to the man, who now had Jiang Yuelou pinned underneath him, and stabbed the acupuncture needle in his neck, watching as the man slowly became limp. He then carefully grabbed him and placed him on the ground, allowing Jiang Yuelou to push himself to feet and let out a huff.
“Thanks, Yuzhi” he thanked. Chen Yuzhi nodded before he looked over at the woman, who was trembling and looking at them with wide eyes. He then sighed and walked over to her, smiling gently.
“It’s okay, I’m a doctor. Do you mind if I look at your injuries?” he asked, his voice calm and soothing. The woman sniffled and shook her head, making Chen Yuzhi smile wider before he reached out and carefully helped her to her feet before looking over at Jiang Yuelou, Bai Yutong, and Zhan Yao.
“I’m going to look after her. You deal with him” he instructed, motioning to the man unconscious on the floor. The three men nodded as Chen Yuzhi led the young woman away and once he was gone, Bai Yutong looked over at Jiang Yuelou.
“Mind telling us what that was all about?” he asked. Jiang Yuelou looked back at him before he huffed mirthlessly.
“Ah…I don’t like domestic abuse. My father was an opium addict and abused both me and my mother and even sold my mother to people as a prostitute so that he could get money for opium. So…whenever I see men abusing women…I uh…I snap” he explained. Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong looked at him with wide eyes before they both dipped their head.
“We’re sorry, we didn’t know” Zhan Yao murmured. Jiang Yuelou waved his hand.
“It’s fine, it’s not something I normally like to talk about” he replied before he looked down at the man.
“Let’s get this sonovabitch handcuffed to a chair somewhere so we can get him to talk” he declared. Bai Yutong and Zhan Yao nodded before the three of them walked over to the man and carefully picked him up, since they all knew enough about acupuncture needles that you didn’t want to mess with them too much or they would move out of the nerve or muscle and instead paralyze the person, which definitely wasn’t what they wanted.
~*~*~*~*~*~
While they were moving the man to a chair to handcuff him, Chen Yuzhi guided the woman to a nearby room, sitting her down in a chair before he knelt before her.
“Are you alright?” he asked. The woman sniffled and whimpered, causing Chen Yuzhi to reach into his pocket and pull out a handkerchief, handing it to her.
“Here, dry your eyes” he murmured. The woman took the handkerchief with shaking hands and gently dried her eyes as Chen Yuzhi looked at her.
“What’s your name?” he asked. The woman looked back at him before she sniffled.
“Xiao Mei” she answered. Chen Yuzhi nodded, smiling softly.
“Xiao Mei. I’m Dr. Chen Yuzhi” he greeted. Xiao Mei sniffled again as she looked at him.
“What are you doing here?” she whimpered. Chen Yuzhi sighed.
“Well, we came here to ask the leader of the 14K some questions. Would that man who was beating you happen to be the leader?” he asked gently. Xiao Mei nodded.
“He’s my husband” she sobbed. Chen Yuzhi took a deep breath, slowly curling his hands into fists, before he looked at her.
“Has he hit you before?” he inquired. Xiao Mei nodded again.
“Many times. It just keeps getting worse” she sobbed. Chen Yuzhi took another deep breath before he looked at her and smiled.
“Xiao Mei, don’t worry. We’ll put him away for good. You won’t have to be afraid of him anymore” he assured. Xiao Mei frowned.
“Are you sure? He’s a very powerful man” she argued. Chen Yuzhi laughed and shook his head.
“Not more powerful than those three men out there” he assured before he stood to his feet.
“I’m going to go join them. You just stay here and rest, okay? I’ll come back to check on you before we leave” he assured. Xiao Mei looked at him with big eyes.
“You promise?” she asked. Chen Yuzhi smiled.
“I promise” he assured. Xiao Mei looked at him before she nodded, Chen Yuzhi smiling again before he turned and headed out of the room, closing the door behind him before he headed off to find Bai Yutong, Zhan Yao, and Jiang Yuelou.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Back in the living room, the man Chen Yuzhi had knocked unconscious slowly began to wake up, blinking his eyes blearily as he slowly raised his head to find Bai Yutong, Zhan Yao, Jiang Yuelou, and Chen Yuzhi (who had just joined them) all glaring at him.
“You best start talking, buddy, or I might just let my friend here go to town on you” Bai Yutong snarled, motioning to Jiang Yuelou, who just cracked his knuckles. The man tsked before he looked at Bai Yutong.
“What do you want?” he demanded.
“What do you know about the recent opioid distribution going around here in Hong Kong? Word is you’re the one’s doing the distributing” Zhan Yao stated. The man scoffed.
“Like hell I am” he replied. Jiang Yuelou growled.
“So, you know nothing about drug mules then?” he snarled. The man gave him a look.
“Of course not” he snapped. Chen Yuzhi hummed.
“And yet the 14K is known for its human and drug trafficking…I’m surprised you know nothing about this” he mused. The man huffed.
“Of course I know nothing about this because I’m not in charge of the drug trade that goes on here in Hong Kong. San Ye’s in charge” he declared. Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi frowned.
“But that’s impossible” Jiang Yuelou exclaimed. The man gave him a look.
“I’m telling the truth, San Ye is in charge of the drug trade and trafficking here. If anyone knows anything about any opioids or drug mules, it would be him” he stated. Bai Yutong, Zhan Yao, Jiang Yuelou, and Chen Yuzhi all frowned before Bai Yutong reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, pulling up the phone of the dead teen before showing it to the man.
“So you don’t know who this is?” he asked. The man looked at the photo before he shook his head.
“No idea. Again, you wanna know anything about drugs, ask San Ye” he declared. The four men were quiet before Chen Yuzhi pointed at him.
“We can still arrest you for domestic abuse” he snarled before he looked over at Bai Yutong and Zhan Yao.
“We can, can’t we?” he asked. Bai Yutong shrugged.
“Sure. I just need to call in for backup, but we can lock his ass up no fucking problem” he sneered. The man snarled and lunged at the four men, but they just stepped back away from him before Chen Yuzhi walked around him and stuck the needle he had taken out of the man’s neck back into his neck, watching as the man’s head slumped forward. Once the man was asleep, he looked up at Bai Yutong, Zhan Yao, and Jiang Yuelou.
“That should buy us some time for backup to get here” he declared. Bai Yutong nodded and pulled out his phone, stepping away to make the call for backup as Zhan Yao looked over at Chen Yuzhi and Jiang Yuelou.
“Are you two alright? You both took quite the beating” he mused. Chen Yuzhi waved his hand.
“I’m fine” he assured before he looked over at Jiang Yuelou.
“Are you alright, Yuelou?” he asked. Jiang Yuelou nodded.
“Just fine. Might take some aspirin later, just so that I can sleep” he answered. Zhan Yao hummed before he crossed his arms and looked at Jiang Yuelou.
“Didn’t you say that this Zhan Junbai was out of the drug game?” he asked. Jiang Yuelou nodded.
“I did” he replied. Zhan Yao frowned.
“Then why would he say that he’s in it when we all clearly know he’s not?” he inquired, motioning to the unconscious man. Chen Yuzhi and Jiang Yuelou were quiet before Chen Yuzhi hummed.
“Maybe there’s someone parading around as San Ye” he mused. Jiang Yuelou hummed.
“Maybe…but why? What would they gain?” he wondered.
“Well, you said this San Ye was rather powerful in Jing City, right?” Zhan Yao asked. Chen Yuzhi and Jiang Yuelou nodded making Zhan Yao hum.
“Then that’s probably what it is. This person wants power and everything that comes with it. If he knows the status the name “San Ye” holds, it might be why he’s using it” he mused, just as Bai Yutong walked back over to them.
“Backup should be here soon” he declared. Zhan Yao nodded.
“Good, good” he agreed, just as Jiang Yuelou frowned.
“Where do you think we can find this San Ye?” he mused.
“You can find him at the docks” a voice called out, making Chen Yuzhi, Jiang Yuelou, Zhan Yao, and Bai Yutong look over to see Xiao Mei walking towards them, her hair and makeup fixed so that it didn’t look like she was abused.
“Xiao Mei” Chen Yuzhi greeted. Xiao Mei smiled weakly at him before she looked at the others.
“I overheard my husband talking with some of his men and he said that there was supposed to be a large incoming shipment of drugs tonight. If you’re looking for San Ye, he’ll probably be there” she explained. Bai Yutong nodded before he looked at her.
“Police will be arriving soon to take him away. Do you need to go to a hospital? Just to get looked at?” he asked. Xiao Mei frowned before she looked over at Chen Yuzhi, who nodded in encouragement. She then looked at Bai Yutong before she smiled weakly.
“Maybe” she answered. Bai Yutong nodded.
“Okay, we’ll make sure one of the officers takes you” he assured, just as a group of uniformed officers entered the mansion.
“Bai Sir!” the officers exclaimed as they ran over to him. Bai Yutong looked over at them before he motioned to the unconscious man.
“Two of you take him to the squad car” he ordered before motioning to Xiao Mei.
“Two of you take her to the hospital to get checked out” he ordered. The officers nodded, two of the officers walking over to the unconscious man, uncuffing him from the chair.
“Oh, wait a moment” Chen Yuzhi called out as he walked over to the man and plucked his acupuncture needle from his neck.
“I’ll take that, thank you” he declared. The officers nodded before they began to drag the man away while two other officers walked over to Xiao Mei and motioned for her to follow them to their squad car. Once they were gone, Bai Yutong looked at Zhan Yao, Jiang Yuelou, and Chen Yuzhi.
“Let’s head back to S.C.I. and we can figure out what to do from there” he declared. Jiang Yuelou, Chen Yuzhi, and Zhan Yao nodded and soon the four men were heading back to Bai Yutong’s car to head back to S.C.I.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When they returned to S.C.I., Bai Yutong looked over at Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi.
“You two should go see Gongsun for some ice and some aspirin. Join us when you’ve gotten checked out” he ordered. Jiang Yuelou huffed and opened his mouth to protest, but Chen Yuzhi just smiled before he grabbed Jiang Yuelou by the arm and dragged him off towards Gongsun’s lab. While they were heading towards the lab, Bai Chi looked over at Bai Yutong and Zhan Yao.
“Dr. Zhan, Bai Sir…how’s the investigation going?” he asked. Ma Han nodded.
“Yeah, it’s like you’ve completely forgotten about us” she pouted. Bai Yutong tsked.
“We haven’t forgotten about you, what are you talking about?” he scolded as Wang Shao looked at them.
“So, did we figure out who killed our teen?” he asked. Zhan Yao nodded.
“A heroin overdose. Gongsun thinks they were a drug mule since he found baggies of heroin in their stomach” he explained. The S.C.I. team all made noises of horror, just as Gongsun’s lab open and Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi stepped out.
“According to the leader of the 14K, he said that there’s a man named San Ye running the drug operation here in Hong Kong” Bai Yutong continued as Jiang Yuelou pulled out his phone.
“Speaking of San Ye, I’m going to give Zhan Junbai a call and see if he can give us some insight onto who this person might be” he declared. Bai Yutong nodded.
“Good idea” he agreed. Jiang Yuelou then dialed Zhan Junbai’s number before putting the call on speaker so that everyone could hear.
“Hello?” Zhan Junbai answered.
“Zhan-xiong” Jiang Yuelou greeted. Zhan Junbai chuckled.
“Two calls in one day…how very unlike you, Jiang-xiong” he teased. Jiang Yuelou rolled his eyes.
“Not now, Zhan-xiong. We were told a little while ago by the leader of the 14K that “San Ye” is in charge of the drug trade here in Hong Kong. You know nothing about that, right?” he asked. Zhan Junbai scoffed.
“If I did, I’d be down there supervising it myself. You know I don’t like going through middlemen” he replied.
“Then who is this “San Ye” that’s parading around and in charge of the drug trade?” Zhao Fu asked. Zhan Junbai hummed.
“If I had to guess, it’s probably someone who was either under Lu Ka Si or used to work for Jinma Hall” he mused. Chen Yuzhi frowned.
“But that’s not possible, Jinma Hall doesn’t exist anymore. We got rid of it” he argued. Zhan Junbai laughed.
“Still innocent as ever, Dr. Chen. It’s true that Jinma Hall is no more but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t still members out there that might have slipped under your radar. So this person might be someone picking up the gauntlet to try and rule the Hong Kong drug trade” he explained.
“Do you have any idea who they might be?” Zhan Yao inquired. Zhan Junbai hummed.
“Unfortunately not” he replied.
“Do you know why they’re doing this?” Jiang Ling asked.
“For the money and power. If they are using the name “San Ye” then they are probably searching for some sort of fame as well” Zhan Junbai answered.
“Wonderful” Bai Yutong grumbled.
“Anything else?” Zhan Junbai inquired.
“No, thank you Zhan-xiong. You’ve been very helpful” Jiang Yuelou thanked. Zhan Junbai chuckled.
“Anytime” he replied before he hung up. After he hung up, Bai Yutong sighed.
“What’s our plan of action?” he asked. Jiang Yuelou looked over at him.
“We go down to the docks, obviously” he replied. Bai Yutong shot him a glare.
“I know that” he snapped. Jiang Yuelou glared this time.
“Then why would you even ask?” he demanded. Bai Yutong snarled.
“You—” he started.
“Enough!” Zhan Yao and Chen Yuzhi barked, causing Jiang Yuelou and Bai Yutong to turn and look at their respective partners. Zhan Yao then glared at both men.
“Fighting and arguing is going to get us nowhere. If we’re going to do this drug take down, we need to work together so you both need to get your heads out of your asses” he snapped. Bai Yutong’s mouth opened in shock and Jiang Yuelou just blinked, stunned, as Chen Yuzhi huffed.
“Bai Sir, I know we’re in your territory, but we also have knowledge of taking down and stopping drug trades. Like Zhan Yao said, we need to work together if we’re going to stop this San Ye” he explained. Bai Yutong looked at him before he sighed and looked over at Jiang Yuelou.
“Fine. Since you have more experience, what do you suggest we do?” he asked. Jiang Yuelou hummed before he smiled.
“How do you feel about disguises?” he asked. Bai Yutong and Zhan Yao looked at him in confusion.
“Disguises?” they repeated. Jiang Yuelou nodded.
“If the 14K’s leader’s wife said that San Ye is going to be at the docks, most of the people there are probably going to be triad members who are helping him out. To blend in, we need to dress like triad members” he explained. Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong looked at one another before they looked back at him.
“Alright, we’ll give it a try, I guess” Bai Yutong agreed before he looked over at the S.C.I. team.
“Be prepared to be backup if this goes south” he ordered. The S.C.I. team nodded as Bai Yutong sighed.
“Let’s go get changed then” he declared.
~*~*~*~*~*~
After getting changed into ridiculous looking suits, Bai Yutong, Zhan Yao, Jiang Yuelou, and Chen Yuzhi arrived at the docks, noting a large group of triad members already there.
“What is it with triad members and tacky suits?” Bai Yutong grumbled as they got out of the Lamborghini, which they parked some feet away so that they wouldn’t be spotted, since Bai Yutong’s car was rather known throughout Hong Kong.
“It must just be a thing” Zhan Yao murmured as they headed over to the group.
“Try not to say anything and just stay in the back until we get a good visual of who San Ye is supposed to be” Jiang Yuelou murmured. Zhan Yao, Bai Yutong, and Chen Yuzhi nodded in agreement as they all quietly stood in the back of the group, waiting for “San Ye” to arrive. They didn’t have to wait very long for soon a man flanked by two other men arrived and walked over to the group, causing Bai Yutong’s eyes to widen.
“Wait a minute, isn’t that—” he started.
“Sun Heying” Jiang Yuelou growled. Zhan Yao frowned.
“What should we do?” he whispered. Chen Yuzhi hummed.
“We should wait until we see him opening up one of the boxes…most drug lords want to test to make sure that the drugs they’re getting is what they paid for…once we see the drugs, then we can move in” he replied, making Jiang Yuelou and Bai Yutong look over at him appreciatively.
“Are you sure you’re a doctor and not some undercover cop?” Bai Yutong asked. Chen Yuzhi laughed.
“Ah, no, I really am a doctor…I just hang around the police station a bit too much” he murmured as Jiang Yuelou gave him a fond smile. They then turned their attention back to Sun Heying and the other triad members, watching and waiting for Sun Heying to open one of the containers that came off the boat. As they watched, Sun Heying opened one of the shipping containers and stepped inside, staying inside for a few moments before stepping back out and nodding to one of the triad members.
“Now?” Bai Yutong asked. Jiang Yuelou nodded.
“Now” he replied before he stepped forward.
“Sun Heying!” he called out, making Sun Heying turn towards them as the group of triad members parted to reveal them. The minute he saw them, his eyes widened and he took off running.
“Stop!” Bai Yutong shouted, he and Jiang Yuelou immediately heading after him.
“Get them!” a triad member shouted, pointing to Jiang Yuelou and Bai Yutong but before they could go after them, Chen Yuzhi and Zhan Yao stepped in front of them.
“Not on our watch” Zhan Yao growled before he punched a triad member in the face, Chen Yuzhi kicking another one in the balls. When those two men went down, a few of the triad members pulled out their guns and pointed it at Zhan Yao and Chen Yuzhi, causing their eyes to widen before they looked at one another.
“Run?” Chen Yuzhi asked. Zhan Yao nodded.
“Run” he agreed. Both men nodded to each other before they turned and ran off, the triad members running after them.
“Split up!” Zhan Yao shouted, Chen Yuzhi nodding in agreement before they split up, also splitting up the group of triad members.
~*~*~*~*~*~
While Zhan Yao and Chen Yuzhi were leading the triad members away, Bai Yutong and Jiang Yuelou were still running after Sun Heying, both men hot on his heels.
“Don’t think you’re getting away, Heying!” Jiang Yuelou shouted as he and Bai Yutong continued to chase him. As they were running, Sun Heying pulled a gun out of his holster and turned, firing it at Bai Yutong and Jiang Yuelou, both men ducking out of the way to avoid getting hit before they continued on, Jiang Yuelou and Bai Yutong pulling out their guns as well, both men firing back at Sun Heying. Sun Heying, however, was fast and dodged the bullets but Bai Yutong and Jiang Yuelou kept firing, hoping that one of them would get lucky at hit him in either the leg or the back so they could take him down. Thankfully, Bai Yutong was able to clip Sun Heying in the back of the calf, sending him to the ground with a pained cry. Jiang Yuelou then ran forward and tackled him, pressing a knee to his back to keep him pinned as he grabbed Sun Heying’s hands and handcuffed them behind him.
“I told you you weren’t getting away” he snarled. Sun Heying struggled in his grasp, but Jiang Yuelou just pushed off of him before yanking him to his feet, giving him a shake.
“You really shouldn’t have tried to run” he growled as he tugged Sun Heying towards Bai Yutong, giving him a smirk when he got close.
“Nice shot” he praised. Bai Yutong shrugged.
“Didn’t get second in the academy for nothing” he replied. Jiang Yuelou tsked before he motioned with his head towards the docks.
“Shall we?” he asked. Bai Yutong nodded.
“Let’s” he agreed. Both men then headed back to the docks and when they arrived, the S.C.I. team were waiting for them, along with Chen Yuzhi and Zhan Yao.
“Bai Sir!” the S.C.I. team exclaimed. Bai Yutong nodded to them before he motioned to Sun Heying.
“Take him back to S.C.I.” he ordered. Wang Shao and Zhao Fu nodded, taking Sun Heying from Jiang Yuelou’s custody before dragging him over to a squad car so that they could take him back to S.C.I. for interrogations. While they were taking Sun Heying away, Jiang Yuelou walked over to Chen Yuzhi and cupped his face in his hand.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” he asked. Chen Yuzhi smiled and shook his head.
“I’m okay” he assured as Bai Yutong gave Zhan Yao a once over.
“Cat?” he asked. Zhan Yao rolled his eyes.
“I’m fine, Mouse. You’d know if I was hurt” he replied. Bai Yutong huffed.
“The last time you said you were fine; you were actually clipped by a bullet and none of us even fucking realized it until you collapsed!” he exclaimed. Zhan Yao huffed.
“I’m fine, Yutong” he assured. Bai Yutong hummed before he reached out and grasped Zhan Yao’s arm.
“If you’re not, you tell me” he murmured. Zhan Yao nodded.
“I will” he promised. Bai Yutong nodded before he looked over at Chen Yuzhi and Jiang Yuelou, both of whom were looking back at him.
“Let’s go interrogate this sonovabitch” he growled.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When they returned to S.C.I., Bai Yutong, Zhan Yao, Chen Yuzhi, and Jiang Yuelou all headed down to the interrogation room, where Sun Heying was handcuffed to the interrogation room chair.
“And to think you were a friend” Jiang Yuelou sneered as he looked at Sun Heying, who just chuckled.
“You were always a naïve one, Chief Jiang” he replied.
“Why were you smuggling drugs into Hong Kong? Especially using drug mules?” Bai Yutong demanded. Sun Heying shrugged.
“Why not? Everyone has to make a living somehow, don’t they?” he replied. Zhan Yao snarled.
“You’re a monster” he murmured. Sun Heying laughed.
“Am I? I’m no different than these triads or Zhan Junbai. What makes me a monster yet not them or him?” he asked. Chen Yuzhi huffed.
“At least Zhan Junbai acknowledge that he was a monster and stopped” he snapped. Sun Heying glared at him.
“You actually believe that crap? That Zhan Junbai no longer is San Ye? Please, that’s ridiculous. He still is San Ye and will always be San Ye. I just thought that if I pose as him for a while…he’ll come back and take over” he explained. Bai Yutong, Zhan Yao, Chen Yuzhi, and Jiang Yuelou all looked at him in disgust.
“So you used innocent people as drug mules to grab Zhan Junbai’s attention?” Jiang Yuelou snarled. Sun Heying nodded.
“It’s the only way” he agreed. Zhan Yao snarled as he glared at Sun Heying.
“Was it only you who was behind the drug trafficking? Or are there others?” he demanded. Sun Heying smirked.
“It was just me” he declared. Zhan Yao narrowed his eyes.
“I don’t believe you” he growled before he turned to look at Bai Yutong, Jiang Yuelou, and Chen Yuzhi.
“Get out” he ordered. Chen Yuzhi and Jiang Yuelou frowned as Bai Yutong narrowed his eyes.
“Cat. You’re not—” he started.
“I have to. I have to know if it’s just him or if there are others involved because if there are others…I want them dead” Zhan Yao snarled. Bai Yutong looked at him before he sighed.
“Alright” he agreed before he looked at Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi.
“Come on” he ordered, motioning for them to follow him out of the room, leaving Zhan Yao alone with Sun Heying. Once they were outside, Chen Yuzhi looked at Bai Yutong.
“What is he doing?” he asked.
“Hypnosis” Bai Yutong answered. Jiang Yuelou frowned.
“Is that even a legal police procedure?” he inquired. Bai Yutong shook his head.
“No, not really. It’s not recognized as one but we use it from time to time to get answers. Besides Zhan Yao, the only other person to use hypnosis is Zhao Jue, which is why I don’t like Zhan Yao using it. I’m afraid he’s going to become more like Zhao Jue every time” he explained. Chen Yuzhi and Jiang Yuelou nodded before Chen Yuzhi smiled.
“I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Bai Sir. We’ve met Zhao Jue…and I don’t think Zhan Yao will turn into him. I really don’t. Besides, he has you, doesn’t he? You’ll stop him if he goes too far” he assured. Bai Yutong smiled slightly, just as the interrogation room door opened and Zhan Yao stepped out, making the others look at him.
“Well? Are there any others?” Jiang Yuelou asked. Zhan Yao shook his head.
“No…no, it’s just him, thankfully” he replied. Bai Yutong, Jiang Yuelou, and Chen Yuzhi all let out sighs of relief before Bai Yutong crossed his arms.
“Well, what do we want to do with him?” he asked, looking over at Jiang Yuelou.
“He is your man” he reminded.
“But he was caught on your terf” Jiang Yuelou countered. Zhan Yao sighed.
“Let’s just split the paperwork. We both caught him, we’ll both get credit for it. Once we write the reports, have Executive Zhan do whatever he likes with him, since he was informant. That work?” he asked, looking at Bai Yutong and Jiang Yuelou. Bai Yutong and Jiang Yuelou looked at him before Bai Yutong smirked.
“Good idea, Cat” he praised. Zhan Yao smirked.
“I do have a PhD, Mouse” he reminded. Bai Yutong rolled his eyes and waved his hand.
“Details” he replied, making Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi smile. Zhan Yao then looked over at them.
“Shall we head upstairs?” he asked. The three men nodded and soon the four of them were heading upstairs to the S.C.I. department.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When they reached upstairs, Bai Yutong quickly briefed the S.C.I. team about the plan before he turned and looked over at Jiang Yuelou.
“Well…I guess this is goodbye then” he stated. Jiang Yuelou smirked.
“I guess so” he agreed. Bai Yutong then held out his hand.
“Thanks for your help” he thanked. Jiang Yuelou smiled and reached out, shaking his hand.
“You’re welcome” he replied as Chen Yuzhi shook Zhan Yao’s hands.
“If you ever want to know more about psychology, don’t hesitate to call, Dr. Chen. I’ll be more than happy to talk to someone who actually enjoys listening to my psychology lectures” Zhan Yao declared, giving Bai Yutong a look. Bai Yutong rolled his eyes as Chen Yuzhi laughed and nodded.
“If I have any questions, I’ll call. Thank you, Dr. Zhan” he replied. Zhan Yao smiled and nodded as Chen Yuzhi looked over at Jiang Yuelou.
“Should we go? Keying’s going to be mad that we’re late for dinner” he stated. Jiang Yuelou made a face.
“We should probably go” he agreed before he looked at Bai Yutong and Zhan Yao.
“Don’t hesitate to drop by if you’re ever in Jing City” he offered before he and Chen Yuzhi bowed, Zhan Yao and Bai Yutong bowing in return before Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi turned and headed out of the department, Zhan Yao, Bai Yutong, and the rest of S.C.I. watching them leave.
“Do you think we’ll ever work with them again, Bai Sir?” Ma Han asked. Bai Yutong hummed.
“Maybe…maybe one day” he answered before he huffed.
“Though hopefully not anytime soon” he murmured. Zhan Yao chuckled.
“You can just say that you liked working with them, Yutong, there’s no harm in that” he teased. Bai Yutong gave him a side glare before he reached out and pinched his arm, making him cry out.
“Hush you” he murmured. Zhan Yao tsked as he rubbed his arm, a small smile on his face. Meanwhile, as Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi were taking a taxi to the train station, Chen Yuzhi looked over at Jiang Yuelou.
“Do you think we’ll ever see them again?” he asked. Jiang Yuelou huffed.
“If we do, it’ll be too soon” he murmured. Chen Yuzhi just chuffed and rolled his eyes as he smiled softly to himself. He knew Jiang Yuelou enjoyed working with Bai Yutong and Zhan Yao just as much as he did, even though they had a bit of a rocky start. But that’s how most friendships formed though, right?
