Lu Linjiang asked, "Luo Jia mentioned that two influenza virus strains are missing from the lab?"
"Yes, Luo Jia contacted me early this morning to ask about the inventory. I checked and discovered that two Influenza B virus strains were missing from the Level 2 laboratory."
"Is there an application process for taking strains from the lab?"
"Of course. Anyone who needs to use a strain must fill out an application form; both the dosage and the purpose must be recorded. These two strains were requested by a researcher named Matthew for an experiment, but he hasn't filed the paperwork yet due to a personal matter."
"So, anyone could have taken them?"
Jiang Langmin paused on the other end of the line, letting out a clear sigh. "Not exactly. The storage lockers at individual workstations are password-protected. The passwords are set by the individuals themselves; no one else should know them."
Lu Linjiang caught the implication. "And besides 'anyone else'?"
"...Professor Tao and a few others, like myself, can access them through administrator privileges. Of course, such operations are logged and searchable."
This was an unexpected windfall. "With your privileges, Mr. Jiang, can you see who performed that operation?"
Silence fell over the line again. Just as Lu Linjiang began to think the connection had dropped due to an unstable app, Jiang Langmin spoke again. "I checked. The account used to log in and open Matthew’s locker... was mine."
Tang Hua’s pen faltered. He instinctively looked at Lu Linjiang. Lu Linjiang showed no particular reaction to the news, staring at the phone screen with a profound expression. "So, was it you who opened it?"
"Of course not!" Jiang Langmin’s previously steady pace vanished, replaced by an anxious tone. "No, it wasn't me!"
"How can you prove that?"
Jiang Langmin was stumped again. Lu Linjiang’s expressionless face suddenly sharpened, his gaze turning piercing.
"The surveillance is broken?"
"There was an issue with the surveillance."
The two spoke almost in unison. A chilling aura settled around Lu Linjiang; surveillance cameras were always unreliable at the most critical moments.
"It’s like this: the system shows someone logged into my account to view the password the day before we left. That happened to be a maintenance day. The maintenance is done in stages to ensure that even if some areas lack surveillance, most remain under control."
"But Matthew’s station just happened to be an exception, didn't it?"
Jiang Langmin faltered awkwardly, completely losing his initial composure. He explained in a near-mutter, "It’s because the Level 2 lab has three surveillance cameras. Due to the layout, the central camera can't capture the corners, so two auxiliary cameras are needed."
Jiang Langmin’s voice grew lower and lower until it faded into silence. Lu Linjiang suppressed his irritation. "I want all the surveillance footage from that day, as well as every log from the management system."
Jiang Langmin was a sensible man, or perhaps he was desperate to clear his name. He agreed to Lu Linjiang’s request without hesitation. "Fine. Give me an email address, and I’ll package everything and send it over."
Lu Linjiang was satisfied with the cooperation. He was about to continue his questioning when Jiang Langmin suddenly said, "Wait a moment, Officer..." A notification tone sounded through the receiver, followed by Jiang Langmin’s lowered voice. "Luo Jia is requesting a video call."
Lu Linjiang immediately commanded, "Answer it! Put the phone where he can't see it."
"Understood."
A rustling sound came from the phone. Whether out of nervousness or something else, Jiang Langmin bumped into something, producing a sharp *clink*. Once everything settled, Luo Jia’s voice drifted over, sounding neither too close nor too far. "How is it going?"
"I’m checking the surveillance. Nothing found so far."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Luo Jia was silent for a moment. "Understood. I’ll follow up here. I’ll leave the institute’s matters to you."
Once Luo Jia ended the video call, Jiang Langmin picked up his phone again. "Officer Lu."
"Mm." Lu Linjiang signaled he was listening. "Did Professor Tao ever mention the laboratory data to you?"
Jiang Langmin asked hesitantly, "In what regard?"
"It’s said that some experimental data was tampered with."
Jiang Langmin was visibly shocked. "How did you know?"
"So, you knew as well?" Lu Linjiang didn't answer directly, instead keenly seizing upon the key point.
Jiang Langmin said helplessly, "The Professor told me, of course. That’s one of the reasons I returned early."
"In that case, Luo Jia should also know there was a problem with the data?"
Jiang Langmin hesitated again. "That... I can’t say for sure. After all, there was no third party present when the Professor told me."
"Professor Tao’s phone records show that about three hours before he passed away, you spoke with him. Luo Jia was in the room at the time. What did you talk about?"
"It was just a routine report. I was transferring in Singapore at the time, and I called him because I was worried about his health."
"At eleven at night?"
Jiang Langmin didn't see anything wrong with that. "The Professor usually didn't sleep much anyway. Besides, according to Danish time, it wasn't time for rest at all!"
Lu Linjiang recalled Jiang Cheng saying that Tao Minxing hadn't adjusted to the time difference, so he didn't press the issue further. "The Professor’s phone shows your call lasted about twenty minutes. Would it be convenient to tell me what you discussed?"
"The general content was about which reports from the seminar after I left were worth noting. At the time, Luo Jia mentioned the Professor’s temperature was a bit high, and we both urged him to get some rest. But the Professor... once he finds a topic interesting, it’s hard for him to stop."
"How was his mental state then?"
"He sounded alright."
"Luo Jia said he found storage tubes in Professor Tao’s luggage. In your opinion, can you explain why only Professor Tao was infected?"
Jiang Langmin thought for a moment. "The Professor had been wearing a mask ever since he started feeling unwell, which provided some isolation. Another factor should be time; viruses exposed to the air lose their activity after a while." At this point, Jiang Langmin’s voice began to waver again. "Actually, before I discovered the suspicious login on my account, I didn't quite believe it. Is all of this... true?"
"I’ll notify you when there are results. Additionally, I hope you can return to cooperate with the investigation."
Jiang Langmin didn't hesitate. "Alright. But it might take a few days. The institute is going through a troubled time right now; I need to arrange things."
"How long?"
Jiang Langmin considered for a moment. "A week, perhaps."
"Is three days possible?" Although Lu Linjiang was asking, his tone left no room for negotiation. "Given that the password was obtained through your account, it would be best for you, as one of the suspects, to cooperate with our investigation, Mr. Jiang. It would save us from having to process international paperwork."
Jiang Langmin sighed. "Fine. I’ll finish handling things within three days and come over."
"That would be for the best." Lu Linjiang hung up. Tang Hua had only partially understood the English dialogue between the two, only catching the gist.
He handed the notebook to Lu Linjiang. "There are only three people, and it looks like every one of them has problems."
Lu Linjiang glanced at him, scanning the notes in his hand. "Oh? How so?"
"Jiang Cheng goes without saying—his fingerprints are a smoking gun. Then there's Jiang Langmin; the account used for the login was his."
"What about Luo Jia?" asked Xu Sichen, who had been listening quietly from her seat since she entered.
"That’s even more interesting." Tang Hua grinned at her. "Jiang Langmin just had a video call with him, and from the sound of it, he was like a mouse seeing a cat. Do you think that data tampering business might have something to do with Luo Jia?"
