Early the next morning, Lu Linjiang received feedback from Interpol. They had successfully contacted Martina’s emergency contact, who was expected to arrive in two days.
While relaying this news to Guo Junyi, Lu Linjiang continued to scrutinize the small receipt. Guo Junyi watched him and asked, "Find anything?"
"Tell me, why would Jiang Langmin buy a cup of milk tea but not drink it?"
Guo Junyi glanced at the receipt and suddenly realized the point. "Right, why is the receipt still in his hand?" He looked closer at the slip. "Standard sugar. Maybe he thought it was too sweet and didn't want it."
Lu Linjiang: "…Never mind. In Tang Hua’s notes from yesterday, was there anything that could have triggered an allergy?"
Guo Junyi shrugged. "Those were all dishes I ordered, plus some tableware and tea. To be honest, if you’re looking for allergens, there are plenty in there. Allergies are strange things; if you have an allergic constitution, a reaction can flare up at any time." Just as Lu Linjiang’s brow began to furrow, Guo Junyi pivoted. "However, given that Martina’s infection started from her hands—a conclusion I reached during the autopsy—the allergen could only be the tableware or…" He tapped the receipt in Lu Linjiang’s hand. "That."
"Whether she touched anything else is up to you to find out."
Lu Linjiang opened Tang Hua’s notes and studied them for a moment. "Since it started on her hands, could it be the large marrow bones?"
"For anyone else, there might be a one-in-a-million chance, but not for Martina. First, the allergic reaction in the esophagus and stomach was concurrent. Second, she was very likely a vegetarian. Her stomach contained only vegetables, and a pitifully small amount at that." Guo Junyi looked at Martina with pity and lowered his voice. "If I’d known it would end like this, I’d have told her to enjoy a good meal while life lasted."
"Interpol will send over the medical records they found. I’ll send you a copy once I have them."
However, when the records arrived, everyone was at a loss. Xu Sichen stared at the documents for only three seconds before declaring her surrender. "It seems all doctors are trained in the same school of calligraphy."
Yang Bo didn't even bother to glance at them. "Even if it were written neatly, you wouldn't understand Spanish."
Tang Hua studied the computer screen for a while. "Wait, this should be German."
He immediately became the center of attention. Xu Sichen looked at him in disbelief. "Senior, you’re that amazing?" The handwritten records on the screen looked like ghost-warding talismans; if you cut a section out and pasted it on yellow paper, no one would doubt it was an occult charm.
Tang Hua glanced at her and pointed proudly to the printed text at the very top of the record. "Right here. A giant 'Deutschland.' And, uh, 'X-X-X Hospital.'" Seeing Xu Sichen’s admiring gaze, he admitted quite honestly, "It was a college elective. That’s the only word I remember."
Xu Sichen withdrew her mock-admiration and stared blankly at the screen. "Even if it is German, the problem is… who can read it?"
The group looked at each other. They couldn't even necessarily decipher Chinese medical handwriting, let alone a foreign language. Xu Sichen propped her chin in her hands, nursing a headache. "Why can’t they be like us and use digital records? It would make things easier for everyone."
Tang Hua looked at the images. "I’m more concerned about why an Argentine woman would go to Germany for medical treatment. Are the doctors there more reliable?"
Xu Sichen shrugged, indicating she couldn't guess Martina’s inner thoughts. There were several pages of records, and after flipping through them, Xu Sichen felt utterly hopeless.
"Doesn't she have any medical records in Argentina?"
"Hold on." Xu Sichen extracted another compressed file. Sure enough, it contained Martina’s medical records from Argentina—another series of "heavenly scripts."
Lu Linjiang walked over and watched for a while. "Find a translator. See if she has any history of allergies."
Xu Sichen sent the records to the police department's translators without much hope. As expected, the two unfortunate translators who were drafted for the task lost a significant amount of hair over the next two days—they only managed to translate about a quarter of it.
By the time Martina’s emergency contact arrived, they still hadn't discovered if she had any history of allergies. Lu Linjiang received the visitor. He had specifically brought a translator along, only to find it unnecessary. The visitor was also deaf-mute, and the two could communicate directly through sign language.
The newcomer was named Catalina Hamilton, who identified herself as Martina’s classmate. Martina had already been sutured and placed in the mortuary. Lu Linjiang prepared her mentally as they walked, but Catalina still burst into tears upon seeing her.
Lu Linjiang waited until her emotions stabilized before explaining, "Martina’s cause of death was an allergic reaction, but we haven't identified the allergen yet. Therefore, I’m afraid you won't be able to claim her remains just yet."
Catalina finally managed to stop her tears. She looked at Lu Linjiang with confusion and signed: *Martina had no history of allergies. She was a vegetarian simply because she wanted to be one; she didn't want to harm animals.*
Vegetarianism had become very popular in Europe and America over the last few years, so this wasn't surprising. Lu Linjiang asked, "Then do you know anything about Martina going to Germany for medical treatment?"
Catalina nodded while sobbing. *I have some recollection. She said there was a doctor there with excellent skills, so she would go to him for regular check-ups.*
"What kind of check-ups?" Lu Linjiang asked.
Catalina thought for a moment, then shook her head in defeat. *She never said. She only mentioned she would go to a clinic in Germany called Bo'ai for examinations.*
Lu Linjiang gestured, and Xu Sichen brought the medical records over. "Our translators have begun working on these records, but progress is very slow. Can you understand what’s written here?"
Catalina nodded. *I am a pharmacist.*
Lu Linjiang hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise. However, once Catalina quickly translated the records, they turned out to be nothing more than routine checks for colds, fevers, and gynecological issues. The most serious entry was an arm injury that required a tetanus shot. The records spanned nearly eight years; in terms of frequency, Martina’s constitution was actually better than most people's.
Having found nothing useful, Lu Linjiang handed the German records to Catalina without much hope. Unfortunately, she didn't know German and simply shook her head apologetically after looking at them.
Lu Linjiang moved to take the records back, but Catalina suddenly gripped them. Lu Linjiang let go, feeling suspicious. Catalina held the records in her hands, studying the physician's signature intently for a long time. Then, with an anxious expression, she "said": *This isn't Martina’s medical record. Did you get them mixed up?*
Lu Linjiang didn't know how she had reached that conclusion just by studying a signature, so he explained, "These were provided by Interpol. In principle, there shouldn't be a mistake."
Catalina disagreed. She tilted her head, thinking for a while before signing: *I once asked Martina why she went to a German clinic. She said it was because there was a doctor there who was very kind, introduced by a friend, which is why she went regularly. But on this record, though I can't read the rest, I can recognize the name. It isn't the name Martina told me.*
Catalina finished her signs in one breath and paused, seemingly trying to recall the name Martina had mentioned. Lu Linjiang didn't interrupt, waiting quietly. After a moment, Catalina asked him for a piece of paper and wrote down a name: "Roman Salazar."
Holding the paper, she faced Lu Linjiang and very solemnly placed it in his hand. She then signed: *Martina often told me how good this person’s medical skills were, how brilliant he was. But whenever I asked to go see him too, she never agreed. For a time, I even suspected Martina liked this man, which was why she went there every year for a check-up. But now that she has died in such an accident, if there really is some history of allergies, only this person can tell you. This medical record definitely does not belong to Martina.*
Lu Linjiang looked at the name on the paper and said to Catalina, "I will verify the origin of this record with Interpol again. As for this person, I will investigate him as well. Rest assured, we will give you an answer."
While asking Interpol to verify the records, Lu Linjiang also gave them the name to see if such a doctor existed. Registered physicians were very easy to find. There were only fifty-seven registered doctors named Roman Salazar in all of Germany, but none of them had a deaf-mute patient from Argentina named Martina.
Lu Linjiang held the feedback data, his brow locked in a rare, tight knot.
"Could this Catalina have remembered it wrong?" Yang Bo asked skeptically.
Xu Sichen shook her head in disagreement. "She said it so solemnly; she wouldn't get the name wrong."
Lu Linjiang looked at the name and suddenly said, "Don't you all find this name particularly familiar?"
Yang Bo crossed his arms and watched for a moment. "I’m not sensitive to Western names. I can't even remember movie stars' names if they're too long."
Lu Linjiang suddenly read the name aloud. "Roman Salazar... Roman Salazar... Luoman... Salazha..." He looked at the three people in the office. "Doesn't this pronunciation sound a bit familiar?"
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Fatal Virus | Chapter 76 | A Familiar Name | Novela.app | Novela.app
