Lu Linjiang let out a cold snort. "In that case, being able to buy a car and a house is quite impressive. Is there any information linking him to a pharmaceutical company called MURA?"
Xu Sichen’s eyes lit up. "The person transferring money into his account is named Roman Salazar. He’s one of the public-facing operators for that company."
"Beautiful!" Lu Linjiang praised. "Compile all the data. I’m heading to the hospital first."
The tangled mess of a situation finally had a clear lead. Lu Linjiang moved tirelessly between various departments. As information continued to pour in, the outline of Luo Jia’s life was gradually drawn with clarity.
Born in Denmark, Luo Jia had originally come from a wealthy family, but their restaurant had completely collapsed following a hygiene scandal, causing their fortunes to plummet. Fortunately, Luo Jia was ambitious; he completed his master's degree and subsequently became Tao Minxing’s assistant at the Hughes Institute. It should have been a very inspirational story, but unfortunately, it had gone completely off the rails in the latter half.
Four years ago, during a virus symposium held in the United States, Luo Jia had gone to gamble a few rounds while layover in Las Vegas. Perhaps it was a novice's luck, but two bets with ten-to-one odds earned him a small fortune. Having tasted sweetness, Luo Jia became unstoppable, sinking into an addiction he could not pull himself out of.
In gambling, one eventually loses. Luo Jia, who had just cleared his previous debts, found himself burdened with a massive new debt. It was then that MURA Pharmaceuticals approached him. In exchange for clearing his debts, they required Luo Jia to issue favorable reports for the antibiotics produced by their company.
Standing outside the Intensive Care Unit, Lu Linjiang finished organizing all the information. He asked Yang Bo and Tang Hua, somewhat perplexed, "As far as I know, for a drug to be approved for market, it has to undergo at least double-blind trials. Even if MURA passed the animal testing phase, they wouldn't pass clinical trials. What’s the point of all this?"
"Sponsorship." A gentle voice suddenly cut in. A man wearing a black overcoat walked over in a few strides and extended his hand toward Lu Linjiang. "Hello, Captain Lu. I am Jiang Langmin."
Lu Linjiang looked at the extended hand and took it. "Sponsorship?"
"Pharmaceutical development is an incredibly long process; it usually takes over ten years from R&D to market launch. If an adverse reaction is unfortunately discovered, all that investment could go down the drain. If a prestigious institution like the Hughes Institute issues relevant experimental data, it provides a very powerful boost of confidence for investors, at the very least."
After finishing his explanation, Jiang Langmin offered a very apologetic smile. "I just got off the plane. My apologies; I originally said I’d return in about three days, but I had to cooperate with the Interpol investigation, so I’m two days late."
"Interpol has already notified me. Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Jiang," Lu Linjiang said politely.
Jiang Langmin looked through the glass at Luo Jia, who was covered in tubes inside the ward, and let out a heavy sigh. "To be honest, I didn't expect Luo Jia to do something like this."
"The institute is in a total shambles right now. Every experiment Luo Jia touched is being re-checked and verified. Everyone is self-auditing for any omissions. This blow to the institute is just too massive." He gave a bitter laugh. "It’s nothing short of a total disgrace."
Even just standing there casually, Jiang Langmin looked like the quintessential elite. Even to people like Lu Linjiang and Yang Bo, who knew nothing about fashion, his black overcoat appeared well-tailored and made of high-quality material. More importantly, his entire temperament was gentle; even while saying the words "total disgrace," there was no hint of blame on his face.
Luo Jia’s attending physician happened to come by for rounds. Seeing the group outside the ward, he gave an apologetic smile. "He shows no signs of waking up yet."
Jiang Langmin’s expression soured upon hearing this. Lu Linjiang shifted his gaze away from his face and asked, "It was originally said he should wake up in about three days."
"Yes." The doctor looked helpless. "Optimistically speaking, he should have woken up in three days, but the situation doesn't look that ideal now."
Falling from the twelfth floor should have killed Luo Jia instantly. But he was lucky; the dozen or so centimeters of thick snow on the lawn below had saved his life. However, that "life" was merely a lingering breath. He had suffered damage to multiple internal organs, fractures all over his body, and unfortunately, cranial damage—half of his skull had been removed.
Lu Linjiang had no response to that. It was already a feat that Luo Jia was still alive. If he could actually wake up, it would be like winning the grand prize with a "buy one, get one free" bonus.
Jiang Langmin was very disappointed and asked persistently, "Doctor, what is the probability of him waking up?"
The attending physician was puzzled by this sudden newcomer. Lu Linjiang introduced him at the right moment: "This is Jiang Langmin, Luo Jia’s colleague."
Seeing that Lu Linjiang had no objection, the doctor then said, "Theoretically, there is a chance. However, showing no signs of waking after three days is not a good omen. As time passes, the probability of him waking will gradually decrease. In fact, the fact that he’s still alive is already a miracle."
Jiang Langmin gave a bitter smile. "It is indeed an extravagant hope on my part. Thank you, Doctor. If you need any financial support, you can come to me."
"Mr. Jiang is quite enthusiastic?" Lu Linjiang asked with a hint of banter.
Jiang Langmin looked even more miserable than before. "No, I just hope he wakes up immediately. To be honest, I’m about to reach my limit. It’s not just the institute; many seniors and partner organizations are all asking exactly what happened."
"Especially regarding Professor Tao’s passing. Mrs. Tao fell ill immediately after receiving the news. She still cannot accept it. At a time like this, nothing would be better than Luo Jia explaining everything himself." Jiang Langmin looked at Luo Jia in the room. "Back in Denmark, too many people are waiting for him to wake up."
Lu Linjiang followed Jiang Langmin’s gaze. Indeed, if Luo Jia could wake up, it would be a good thing for everyone. He had thought there might be good news today, but it seemed the prospect of Luo Jia waking up was not optimistic. Having come for nothing, Lu Linjiang wasn't as disappointed as Jiang Langmin; the evidence on hand was already enough to convict Luo Jia even without a confession.
"Mr. Jiang, could I ask you to come back to the station with me to answer a few questions?"
Jiang Langmin nodded without objection. Throughout their interactions, Lu Linjiang had to admit that Jiang Cheng’s assessment of this man was very accurate. Whether in his actions or his speech, he was almost airtight.
As soon as they arrived at the station, he gave Lu Linjiang a file containing all the papers from the institute where issues had already been found, as well as the record of Luo Jia’s account logging into the management system to check passwords.
After reviewing the materials, Lu Linjiang had to admit they were so detailed he didn't need to ask for supplements. Lu Linjiang closed the laptop. "I must say, I’m very grateful for your cooperation. I have a few questions. Regarding the fact that the data was compromised—when did you find out?"
"On the plane coming here. The Professor wrote a note to me," Jiang Langmin recalled. Seeing Lu Linjiang about to ask, he immediately explained, "I tore it up and threw it away."
Lu Linjiang: "..."
"Under those circumstances, the Professor used a note to pass information to me. I could only assume that either Luo Jia or Jiang Cheng had a problem. To avoid accidentally leaking the information, I tore the note up and threw it into the airplane's lavatory after reading it."
"Why Luo Jia or Jiang Cheng?"
"To be honest, initially I was more inclined to think Jiang Cheng might have a problem. When the Professor announced Jiang Cheng as one of the attendees, it was very strange. Frankly, Jiang Cheng is good, but whether it *had* to be him was an uncertain question. When I found out about the data issues on the plane, I even wondered if that was the reason the Professor brought Jiang Cheng along—to give him a warning."
"But later I realized I was dead wrong. If it were Jiang Cheng, the Professor wouldn't have gone to such lengths to tell me; he could have just said something in private. For the Professor to have such misgivings that he had to use unconventional methods, and even bring Jiang Cheng along to the meeting as a smokescreen... it had to be either me or Luo Jia." Jiang Langmin spoke as if he were analyzing someone else's business, showing no significant emotional fluctuations. "So when you contacted me, I knew what must have happened."
The man had finished the entire explanation following his own questions. Lu Linjiang nodded with satisfaction. "I can't say your suspicion is entirely cleared. The last thing Luo Jia said to me was, 'Do you think I'll even have a life to live?' I can't rule out whether someone was threatening him, or if he had an accomplice who attacked him to ensure they wouldn't be exposed."
Jiang Langmin looked at Lu Linjiang with approval. "Actually, this incident has shaken the entire institute. Although the news has been suppressed, a police investigation is inevitable. Every member of the institute, including myself, will be investigated. So, the issue returns to the point that if Luo Jia could wake up, we could all breathe a sigh of relief."
The institute was beyond Lu Linjiang’s reach for now. He gave a meaningful look toward the glass. Tang Hua, who was watching from outside, immediately understood and went to contact the relevant parties to verify if what Jiang Langmin said was true.
"Speaking of which, why did no one notice such a major issue? Doesn't your institute have an auditing system?"
Only then did Jiang Langmin look somewhat embarrassed. "Of course we do, but it’s not a conventional audit. When an experimental hypothesis is completed, someone helps review it for directional errors. As for the data... you’re at Hughes. Who would ever imagine someone would fake data at Hughes?"
"If the evidence weren't so conclusive, I would probably call it the height of absurdity." Perhaps because a sore spot had been poked, Jiang Langmin finally lost his poised demeanor. He pursed his lips and finally couldn't help but snap, "It’s simply insane!"
Lu Linjiang didn't care if they were insane or not. Regarding Jiang Langmin, even if he had doubts, there was no further evidence to support them; moreover, the man truly seemed to have no issues. Once the routine questioning was finished, news came from Tang Hua’s side—Hughes was indeed undergoing a police investigation. With no more doubts for the moment, Lu Linjiang intended to politely see Jiang Langmin out.
To his surprise, this man didn't act like other people cooperating with an investigation—leaving the moment they knew they were in the clear. Instead, with the face of a model citizen who had merely fulfilled his duty, he asked, "Excuse me, can I bail Jiang Cheng out now?"
Lu Linjiang was slightly stunned. "Hmm?"
"I know Jiang Cheng is being detained. I want to bail him out. This matter shouldn't have anything to do with him, right?"
In fact, based on all current evidence, aside from that storage tube with a single middle-finger print, the possibility of this being related to Jiang Cheng was slim. Furthermore, the papers found in Tao Minxing’s bag already proved that Luo Jia’s testimony was completely unreliable. From motive to evidence, there wasn't enough to confirm Jiang Cheng’s involvement. Actually, he didn't even need bail; Jiang Cheng was free to go.
Lu Linjiang had intended to pick Jiang Cheng up himself, but he hadn't expected Jiang Langmin to be even more proactive. For some reason, Lu Linjiang thought of the two of them chatting happily in the surveillance footage.
Seeing him remain silent, Jiang Langmin asked cautiously, "Officer Lu, is there a problem?"
"Oh, no." Lu Linjiang snapped back to reality. "I’ll take you there. Jiang Cheng doesn't need bail; he can leave once the paperwork is done."
Lu Linjiang led Jiang Langmin through the procedures. After handing the paperwork to the guard, they waited in the hallway. Neither was the type to engage in small talk, so they each occupied one side of the corridor. Lu Linjiang was mentally calculating whether to notify Wang Ling to come out and welcome Jiang Cheng back when Jiang Langmin, who had been standing still, suddenly walked toward the interior.
Jiang Cheng had come out.
Lu Linjiang watched with wide eyes as Jiang Langmin pulled open the iron gate with a hint of urgency and pulled Jiang Cheng into a firm embrace.
Lu Linjiang: "..."
***
