Fatal Virus | Chapter 77 | A Familiar Name | Novela.app

The group looked slightly stunned. A mysterious barrier often exists between Chinese and English; unless one has lived abroad for a long time, most people can only effortlessly translate simple names like Tom or Mike. For anything longer, the mental association usually isn't immediate. Thus, even though they had been looking at the name for days, the connection hadn't clicked. Now that Lu Linjiang had transliterated it into Chinese, Xu Sichen reacted instantly. "Yes, I’ve heard it before." She quickly pulled up the files on her computer, and Luo Jia’s case file was soon displayed. "The person who transferred money into Luo Jia’s account had this exact name." When the original data had been transferred to them, it had already been translated into Chinese; no one expected to find a breakthrough here. Lu Linjiang looked at the information Xu Sichen had pulled up and pondered for a moment. "If Martina’s medical records are genuine and what Catalina said is also true, where do you think the problem lies?" Tang Hua spoke first. "First of all, looking at the translated German records, they’re all routine check-ups that could be done anywhere. Therefore, Martina’s trips to Germany were likely a smokescreen. She did it just to leave a trail. We should investigate her connection to this MURA Pharmaceutical company." As Xu Sichen took notes, she added, "In that case, we might need to reconsider her motive for seeking out Jiang Langmin." "Summon Jiang Langmin. Xu Sichen, ask the international police for Martina’s detailed profile—I want to know exactly where she worked and see all her account transactions." Lu Linjiang’s expression was unusually grave. "According to the records, she started going to the German clinic regularly five years ago. Luo Jia bought the house three years ago, and the earliest known instance of data tampering was four years ago. There is a clear continuity in the timeline." "Also, we didn't follow up on all the archives of MURA Pharmaceutical. Since it’s involved now, Yang Bo, you and Xu Sichen get the later case files for that investigation." "Yes, sir!" *** Jiang Langmin hung up the phone after speaking with Yang Bo and said to Jiang Cheng, who was beside him, "I might need to take a detour to the police station first." They were currently in a taxi heading to the airport. Jiang Cheng, deep in thought, was caught off guard by Jiang Langmin’s words. After a beat, he asked, "Why?" "Martina’s case," Jiang Langmin said uncertainly. "They said there’s a lead and they need to bring me in for questioning." "Wasn't it an allergic reaction?" "I’m not entirely sure either." Jiang Langmin shrugged. "Anyway, it’s still early. I’ll go check it out first." After saying that, Jiang Langmin told the driver to head to the police station. Before getting out of the car, Jiang Langmin asked Jiang Cheng, "Do you want to go to the airport first?" Jiang Cheng thought for a moment. "There are still five hours. I might as well wait with you." Lu Linjiang spotted Jiang Cheng with his suitcase immediately. Despite being prepared, he couldn't help but feel a pang of surprise. "Going back so soon?" Jiang Cheng nodded. "If there hadn't been a lack of flights yesterday, I probably would have left then." "At least let me see you off." Jiang Cheng shook his head politely. "The timing isn't right. Don't worry about it." Jiang Langmin unceremoniously interrupted their pleasantries. "Captain Lu, may I ask why exactly you’ve called me here?" Lu Linjiang narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the suitcase by Jiang Langmin’s feet. "Please come this way, Mr. Jiang. We have quite a lot to discuss." Jiang Langmin handed his suitcase to Jiang Cheng. "I’ll be back in a moment." This act was nothing short of a provocation. Lu Linjiang only managed to calm himself while leading the man to the interrogation room. "Mr. Jiang, we’ve asked you here to discuss Martina." Jiang Langmin looked at him with confusion. "Captain Lu, you know almost everything about my interactions with her. Is something wrong?" Lu Linjiang replied, "It’s like this: we’ve searched through all the records, and none show that Martina had a history of allergies. However, during the investigation, we came across a name." Jiang Langmin’s eyes flickered for a split second, but he maintained his indifferent expression as he looked at Lu Linjiang. Seeing that Lu Linjiang didn't continue immediately, he asked, "And?" "I believe you still remember MURA, the pharmaceutical company that bribed Luo Jia." Jiang Langmin crossed his arms and nodded in agreement. "I remember." Lu Linjiang noted the gesture. "Then do you know the name of one of MURA’s actual controlling shareholders—the person who transferred the money to Luo Jia?" Jiang Langmin thought for a moment and shook his head. "No. After the incident with Guo Junyi, once Luo Jia’s side handed the materials over to the police, I didn't pay much attention to it." "At that time, we found that the owner of the account that sent money to Luo Jia was named Roman Salazar—one of the controlling shareholders of MURA I just mentioned." Lu Linjiang watched Jiang Langmin, but the man seemed to have no reaction to the name. "During our investigation into Martina’s medical history, this name miraculously appeared." Jiang Langmin seemed somewhat bored; he covered his mouth and yawned. "How miraculous?" A strange thought flashed through Lu Linjiang’s mind. He sidestepped Jiang Langmin’s question. "I won't go into the details, but in short, the name Roman Salazar clearly has no connection to Martina’s social circle, yet it appeared nonetheless. Those who have heard the name have only heard of him, never seen him. I’ve checked the timeline; this name appeared just slightly before Luo Jia began tampering with the data. Given the specific nature of this, I had to bring you in to ask: why did Martina seek you out?" Jiang Langmin pursed his lips and gave a helpless smile. "To be honest, even though you all kept teasing us at the dinner, she never expressed anything to me privately." "Oh? I recall you two had a private conversation." Lu Linjiang stared intently at Jiang Langmin’s every reaction. "Did she really say nothing then?" Jiang Langmin spread his hands. "You probably won't believe me if I say she didn't, but she really didn't. I just bought her a drink and we sat in the shop for a bit." Lu Linjiang looked at him skeptically. "Are you telling me you weren't even a little curious about why she wanted to see you?" Jiang Langmin seemed to have heard something amusing; he tried his best to suppress a smile. "Captain Lu, if Martina were in Sweden, I wouldn't have even bought her that drink. People come to the doors of Hughes to find me almost every month. If I had to buy every one of them a drink and have a heart-to-heart, I’m afraid I’d never get any work done." "Then why did you make an exception and buy Martina a drink?" Jiang Langmin thought about it half-heartedly. "Probably because..." A hint of mockery suddenly appeared in his eyes. "Captain Lu, haven't you ever felt this way?" Lu Linjiang looked at him, bewildered. Jiang Langmin rested his chin on one hand, seemingly looking at Lu Linjiang, yet also looking past him. "Showing off in front of the person you like that other people like you too—haven't you ever done that?" "I don't think now is the time to discuss personal matters." Lu Linjiang didn't answer the question, but Jiang Langmin laughed and countered, "Why, Captain Lu? Aren't we discussing my personal matters right now?" The suspicion in Lu Linjiang’s heart grew. He said impassively, "I understand this is your private business, but this involves a human life, so I must ask. Mr. Jiang, is there anything else regarding Martina you wish to say?" Jiang Langmin shook his head and spread his hands on the table. "My few contacts with Martina happened right in front of you. There’s nothing left to say." "In that case, why did you buy a drink and not take it?" Lu Linjiang threw the question out unexpectedly. Jiang Langmin clearly failed to react in time. "What?" "That night at dinner, why did you go out to buy milk tea, but didn't ask the clerk for the drink, returning with only the receipt?" Lu Linjiang demanded sharply. "Answer me." The expression vanished from Jiang Langmin’s face. After a long silence, he finally spoke slowly. "Because Martina told me to buy it." ***