Yang Bo clearly hadn’t recovered from the display of "excellent police-civilian cooperation" he had just witnessed. "Huh?" Upon receiving a chilling glare from his superior, he immediately corrected himself. "Yes, sir!"
Lu Linjiang led the way to Jiang Cheng’s room, where the forensics team had already arrived. Lu Linjiang and Yang Bo stood against the wall for a while, watching them examine the few items in the room. Once the team had left, Lu Linjiang turned to Yang Bo. "There was only one fingerprint on that preservation tube, yet Mr. Luo Jia touches everything without wearing gloves. Interesting!"
Yang Bo carefully observed his leader’s expression but couldn't detect any information related to the word "interesting." Playing it safe, he asked, "Should I tail him, or...?"
"No, close protection. The MO is quite novel; we should be careful. It never hurts to be cautious." Lu Linjiang scanned the room. Having watched the forensics team’s entire process, he felt there was nothing left to see and turned to leave. "Remember to stock up on some Banlangen to boost your immunity."
A sudden cold sweat broke out over Yang Bo’s body. He immediately caught up to Lu Linjiang, sticking close to his side. "Captain Lu, it’s not that dangerous, is it?"
Lu Linjiang increased the distance between them, giving him a look that said *don't ask stupid questions*. "Let’s hope not." He walked back to Tao Minxing’s room in a few strides, opened the closed bathroom door, and slipped inside. Yang Bo, following close behind, nearly had his nose flattened by the closing door.
Lu Linjiang turned a deaf ear to Yang Bo’s protests. He stood in the steam-filled bathroom, the soles of his shoes nearly submerged in water. Water had overflowed from the bathtub; fortunately, the floor drain was functioning properly. Although there was standing water, it was draining quickly and hadn't spilled out into the bedroom.
The temperature was high, and staying inside for too long inevitably felt stifling. Lu Linjiang turned off the faucet and walked out, shrouded in a mist of steam.
Guarding the door, Yang Bo waved his hand to disperse the fog. "Are you taking a quick sauna break, sir?"
In Lu Linjiang’s view, Yang Bo was good in every way except for the excess fluid in his brain, which required constant whipping to help drain it out.
"What are you still standing here for?"
Lu Linjiang’s stare made Yang Bo jump. He instinctively snapped to attention. "Yes, sir! I’m going right now!"
Lu Linjiang restrained himself from planting a footprint on the man's retreating backside. He applied the evidence seals, took the e-reader, and headed straight back to the station to find Guo Junyi.
Guo Junyi was sitting at his desk, a document spread over his keyboard, arms crossed as he stared down in deep thought. Lu Linjiang looked at the people bustling around them, intentionally heavying his steps, and slammed the device down onto the document in front of him.
However, Guo Junyi remained as still as a meditating monk, head bowed and motionless. Lu Linjiang had no choice but to wait for a moment when no one was looking and quickly flicked him on the forehead. Guo Junyi jumped up like a reanimated corpse. "I’m studying the autopsy report!" Once he saw Lu Linjiang standing there, his expression relaxed. He sat back down calmly and wiped his face. "What is it?"
Lu Linjiang acted as if nothing had happened and tapped the e-reader on the desk. "Scraped this off Luo Jia. Take a look."
Guo Junyi picked it up, glanced at it, and handed it back. "This has a password, right? For decryption, take a right out the door."
Lu Linjiang pushed it back down, pinning the tablet to the desk with one finger. "Before you decrypt it, check for fingerprints. Don't miss a single corner."
Guo Junyi’s brain was still a bit foggy. He gave Lu Linjiang a delayed look, scratched his hair, and slowly nodded. "Alright."
"As fast as possible!" After giving Guo Junyi his instructions, Lu Linjiang went to see Jiang Cheng without a moment's rest.
Jiang Cheng was leaning against the table, looking somewhat dejected. Seeing Lu Linjiang return after being gone for most of the day, he merely lifted his eyelids and slowly straightened his posture.
"Who is Jiang Langmin?"
"A senior of mine, a few years ahead." It took Jiang Cheng almost no time to understand why Lu Linjiang was suddenly asking about Jiang Langmin. Without waiting for further questions, he continued, "Ever since the Professor’s health no longer allowed him to enter BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories, the specific operations have been managed by Luo Jia and Jiang Langmin."
Jiang Cheng rubbed his temples, his voice low but maintaining a steady, unhurried rhythm. "They are the Professor’s right and left hands. Under normal circumstances, one of them must remain at the institute."
Lu Linjiang watched Xu Sichen record every word. "So, you had no questions about him leaving early?"
Jiang Cheng glanced at Lu Linjiang, seemingly finding the question a bit foolish. "The itinerary was decided before we left. Jiang Langmin’s report was specifically moved up to Monday so he would have ample time for the exchange."
"Why didn't Luo Jia go back first?"
Jiang Cheng shrugged. "I never thought about that."
"What if you thought about it now?"
Jiang Cheng was forced to consider it. "Probably... Jiang Langmin had experiments to run... Ever since I knew I was coming to the seminar, I haven't paid much attention to things outside my own work."
Lu Linjiang sat motionless, focusing intently on the notes Xu Sichen was taking, seemingly pondering Jiang Cheng’s words.
Jiang Cheng watched Lu Linjiang. The man's left hand was resting on the table, curled into a loose fist—a small habit Lu Linjiang subconsciously did whenever he encountered a difficult problem. In the past, Jiang Cheng’s gaze had involuntarily followed Lu Linjiang tens of thousands of times, until he left in dejection, forcing himself to forget this man bit by bit. He had once thought he had succeeded.
However, that was not the case. Those traces only needed a small catalyst to come rushing back. Time was a strange thing; those small, inadvertent details from the past could not be easily erased, even when intentionally polished by the years.
Jiang Cheng lowered his head and averted his gaze, no longer letting his eyes rest on Lu Linjiang. The half-day Lu Linjiang had been gone was enough for Jiang Cheng to connect the information he knew. Without needing much deduction, he knew he was in massive trouble.
And this trouble was clearly puzzling Lu Linjiang as well.
"Do you think I'm the murderer?"
Whether in the silence of an interrogation room or given the current situation, it was a very abrupt question. Xu Sichen was so startled that lines appeared on his forehead.
Jiang Cheng hadn't expected himself to lose control so suddenly, but the words were out and could not be taken back. He could only summon the courage to look at Lu Linjiang. Lu Linjiang looked Jiang Cheng straight in the eye and said, word for word, "That is not a question a suspect should be concerned with."
Xu Sichen couldn't control himself; his facial expression became practically distorted. Lu Linjiang was the very embodiment of integrity and righteousness, so much so that it made one feel as though any filth in their pores had nowhere to hide. Jiang Cheng felt he had acted on impulse at a completely inappropriate time, only to be naturally rebuffed.
Jiang Cheng smiled with a sense of relief, secretly feeling fortunate that he had crawled out of this pit three years ago.
*Don't fall back in,* he silently warned himself.
Lu Linjiang didn't stay in the interrogation room for long. He returned to his office like a whirlwind and turned on his computer. Tang Hua had just hung up the phone. Seeing Lu Linjiang enter, he said, "Captain Lu, news just came from Forensics. They say Tao Minxing’s last communication before he died was at 10:40 PM."
"10:40?" Lu Linjiang stopped in his tracks. "With whom, and for how long?"
Tang Hua looked at his notebook. "The call lasted twenty minutes. The recipient was Jiang Langmin."
Lu Linjiang’s eyebrows twitched slightly. "Jiang Langmin... That means Luo Jia was also there at the time." Lu Linjiang’s lips slowly curled upward into a smile, which gave Tang Hua an unprovoked shiver.
"Mr. Luo Jia is truly interesting," he praised cryptically. Before Tang Hua could figure out what he meant, Lu Linjiang pulled out his phone and dialed a string of numbers.
Lu Linjiang waited for a moment before the call was answered. The person on the other end asked politely, "This is Jiang Langmin. Who is calling, please?"
"Hello, my name is Lu Linjiang. I’m the detective in charge of Professor Tao’s case." As he spoke, he turned on the speakerphone and tapped his finger on Tang Hua’s notebook.
Tang Hua understood immediately, sat down, and picked up his pen.
Jiang Langmin didn't sound surprised at all. "I thought as much. Is there anything I can help you with?"
***
