Fatal Virus | Chapter 80 | The Purge and the Fragment | Novela.app

Jiang Cheng returned to his university dormitory and immediately drew a floor plan of the office area. He marked the desks where the unfamiliar faces were sitting and noted the names of the original staff members who had occupied those spots. Including himself, a total of four people had clearly been let go. Initially, Jiang Cheng thought Rosen might be targeting him due to racial prejudice or a disagreement with Tao Minxing’s research philosophy. However, the other four who had left were not people of color, and their tenure at Hughes varied in length. On the surface, Jiang Cheng could find no common denominator among them. In the past, Jiang Cheng had been too focused on his own work to pay much attention to office politics or social dynamics. His impression of Rosen was merely that of a competent and highly capable researcher whom Tao Minxing seemingly held in high regard. He had once heard others describe the man as very low-profile, but that was the extent of his knowledge. This was their first real face-to-face encounter. Regardless of the man’s character, the intent Rosen had displayed during their conversation—the demand for Jiang Cheng to leave—had been blunt to the point of being undisguised. While Jiang Cheng admitted he didn't invest much energy into interpersonal relationships, he didn't believe he was so inherently unlikeable as to warrant such treatment. Furthermore, a research paper on the Gaimore vaccine should have been attractive enough even for an institute like Hughes. Yet, Rosen hadn't even bothered to open it. Jiang Cheng stared at his thesis. After a moment, he finally opened his laptop and found his new supervisor’s email address. *Professor, I would like to change my doctoral thesis topic.* *** Early that morning, Lu Linjiang received some grim news—the memory card from the translator had been too severely damaged to be recovered. Refusing to accept this, he hovered in the forensics department. "Is it really impossible to get anything back? Aren't there any recovery programs you can use?" Zhu Bin looked helpless. "It was violently smashed and then soaked in water. This memory card didn't know it was destined for such a cruel fate when it was manufactured, so it didn't have any special protective measures." Lu Linjiang clicked his tongue. Just as he was about to keep pestering them, his phone rang. Wang Ling, who was usually as elusive as a dragon glimpsed through clouds, was actually calling him of his own accord. "What is it?" "What is it?" Wang Ling scoffed. "Are you still selling that house?" Lu Linjiang immediately signaled to Zhu Bin and stepped outside, finding a quiet corner. "I'm selling it, I'm not joking. Do you have a buyer?" "Yeah, a colleague of mine. He happened to be looking at houses in your area. I'll set up a time later for you to show him around." "Fine," Lu Linjiang agreed without hesitation. "Any evening works." "Wait, let me tell you, he’s in a hurry to move in. Where are you going to go?" "I have a place, don't worry about that. Just bring him over." Lu Linjiang was about to hang up when he suddenly asked, "Let me ask you something. If a memory card has been bent and soaked in water, can the data inside still be recovered?" Wang Ling stroked his chin. "What, looking for outside help? I'm just a code monkey..." "I'll buy you dinner," Lu Linjiang interrupted his "modesty." Wang Ling wasn't buying it. "Just a code monkey. Hardware stuff, I don't—" "Two dinners. You pick the place, no budget limit." "I don't... It's not that it's impossible. I've been working overtime lately, you know..." Lu Linjiang gave a cold laugh. "Do you believe I'll text your dad the moment I hang up?" "Fine, fine, fine!" Wang Ling hurriedly agreed. "Can you stop using 'cheats'? That's low! Tell me, when do you need it?" "As soon as possible," Lu Linjiang said. "I'll bring the card over to you in a bit." Before Wang Ling could say no, Lu Linjiang had already hung up. Wang Ling stared at his phone with a headache. *You idiot, just wait and see how I ignore you later.* In reality, Lu Linjiang gave Wang Ling no chance for revenge. With his police ID in hand, he had the security guard lead him directly to Wang Ling’s desk. Wang Ling was a chatterbox who could talk to anyone; there wasn't a soul in the office building who didn't know him. The security guard stood before Wang Ling’s desk with a look of trepidation, leaning down to whisper, "Wang Ling, a police officer is looking for you." Perhaps because they had finally reached their destination, the guard found the courage to address Lu Linjiang. "Officer, is there some kind of misunderstanding?" The guard's words quickly drew attention. The sound of typing in the office gradually ceased as eyes converged on them. Wang Ling spat out the pen he was chewing on, his features twisting as he pointed at Lu Linjiang and asked the guard, "No, what did this lunatic say to you?" The guard hadn't expected Wang Ling to be so disrespectful to a police officer. He answered cautiously, "He said... he’s here to see you about a case." Wang Ling’s face took on a 'just as I thought' expression. "Did he also say there was no need to call me, and that he had to come in person to prevent any 'accidents'?" He saw the guard nod tremulously. "I swear, would it kill you not to be so petty?" He stood up and waved his hand. "Alright, alright, it's fine. Everyone, back to work!" After sending the trembling guard away, he pulled his laptop out from under the desk and shoved it toward Lu Linjiang. "I give up. You're a total idiot." Wang Ling led him to an empty small meeting room and pointed a finger at Lu Linjiang, his face contorted. "Was that necessary? How are people going to look at me now? How am I supposed to keep my footing in this company? What will the juniors think of me, huh?" Lu Linjiang rubbed his temples. "I really just wanted to save some trouble. How was I supposed to know his imagination would run so wild?" He pushed the fuming Wang Ling down into a chair. "I'll stay with you and explain it to everyone later. First, look at this for me." He took a memory card out of an evidence bag and placed it before Wang Ling. As a coder, Wang Ling had a natural affinity for electronic products and hated seeing them mistreated. Looking at the memory card with its obvious crease, he could hardly believe his eyes. "What happened to this thing?" "I don't know," Lu Linjiang said bluntly. "It was like this when we found it." Wang Ling started to pick up the card, but pulled his hand back halfway. "Should I wear gloves or something?" Seeing Lu Linjiang shake his head, he asked warily, "You're not setting me up, are you?" Lu Linjiang’s headache, which had just started to subside, returned. "It's a homicide case. Be professional!" Only then did Wang Ling pick up the memory card with extreme care. He turned it over several times before saying, "Bent like this... tsk, it won't be easy." He set the card down and looked at Lu Linjiang. "You'll have to give me a few days." Lu Linjiang nodded, having no objection. Wang Ling asked curiously, "What was this originally in? How did it get so mangled?" "A translator used by the deaf and mute." Wang Ling hadn't heard of such a thing, but he could guess its function from the name. "Sounds like something important. How did it get smashed like this? It couldn't have been intentional, could it?" Lu Linjiang didn't answer. In fact, they had all considered that possibility; they couldn't rule out foul play. But if someone could damage a memory card this badly, why not just take it away? Was it because they were afraid of being too conspicuous? Wang Ling checked the time. "I need to go grab some tools to fix this. You'll have to wait." He stood up as he spoke. "Since you're waiting anyway, go clear my name first." Lu Linjiang: "..." By the time he finally finished smoothing things over for Wang Ling, it was nearly closing time. Lu Linjiang decided to wait a bit longer for Wang Ling and his colleague to go see the house. He opened his email to check, but there was still no reply to the message he had sent Jiang Cheng. He calculated the time difference and comforted himself that Jiang Cheng must be busy. Considering Jiang Cheng had to prove his worth to Hughes, change supervisors, and handle his graduation thesis, it made sense that he wouldn't have time to respond. Just as Lu Linjiang finished his analysis and was considering how to draft a second email, a notification for a new message popped up. Lu Linjiang hurriedly opened it. It was indeed from Jiang Cheng. However, his joy didn't last long; the content of the email made him frown. Jiang Cheng didn't explain the details, only stating that he could no longer stay at Hughes, that his next step was to contact a new professor, and that he was preparing to change his thesis. Lu Linjiang knew exactly when Jiang Cheng had arrived in Sweden. Subtracting the necessary rest time, Jiang Cheng had been in the country for less than twenty-four hours, yet Hughes had already made such a drastic decision in that short window! Lu Linjiang read the email several times, but Jiang Cheng’s writing was so concise that he couldn't glean any further meaning from it. Wang Ling tapped on the table in front of Lu Linjiang a few times. "Hey! You're so absorbed in your phone. I'm calling you!" "What?" Wang Ling clicked his tongue. "What are you so focused on? Look at this!" He opened an audio software, one hand on the keyboard and the other pointing at Lu Linjiang. "Pay close attention. It's very short." Lu Linjiang watched as Wang Ling’s finger moved. A sharp *hiss* came from the computer. The sound was gone in an instant; before Lu Linjiang could even react, the screen showed that playback was finished. "Is that the recovered content?" Wang Ling shook his head. "Not all of it, but this is the only audible part extracted so far. This audio clip can be processed further; it should become clearer. As for the rest, give me two days. Let's get one thing straight: it's damaged so badly that I'm not Superman. You'll have to take whatever I can get." Lu Linjiang nodded. "I know. Every little bit helps." Seeing his good attitude, Wang Ling’s mood improved. "What were you thinking about just now? You don't look so good. Did someone upset you?" "Jiang Cheng sent me a message. He said he’s been expelled from Hughes." "What?" Wang Ling asked in disbelief. "Is Hughes crazy? That's just bullying!" Lu Linjiang shook his head as he spoke. "I find it very strange. The time it took to make the decision was too short. I can't help but feel... it was intentional." ***