Lu Linjiang rose to leave the interrogation room, but suddenly paused and turned back to Jiang Cheng. "Do you know if Tao Minxing had a habit of taking baths?"
Jiang Cheng’s gaze finally shifted away from the photograph. He was clearly caught off guard by the question; his expression went blank for a couple of seconds before he countered, "How would I know something so personal about him?" Seeing Lu Linjiang’s unwavering stare, he thought for a moment and added, "Based on what I know of him, nine times out of ten, he wouldn't. In our line of work, most people have some degree of germaphobia. Professor Tao’s case was quite severe."
Lu Linjiang nodded to acknowledge the answer, then turned and walked out with Yang Bo.
Xu Sichen immediately followed them from the observation room next door, her face etched with worry. She waited until Lu Linjiang had entered his office with the case file before asking cautiously, "Captain Lu, could it really be Jiang Cheng?"
Her understanding of Jiang Cheng came only from the occasional times she had crashed a meal at Lu Linjiang’s place, or when Lu Linjiang would impatiently hand her an exquisite bento box to finish for him. Lu Linjiang almost never brought up Jiang Cheng of his own accord. It could be said that Xu Sichen’s so-called "understanding" of Jiang Cheng was almost entirely constructed from her own imagination based on those fragmented impressions.
The Jiang Cheng she saw was gentle and polite, his eyes always following Lu Linjiang with a sort of admiring gaze. Would such a person commit murder? Her emotions said no, but she was no green recruit. The cases she had handled told her that murderers didn't come from a single mold; sometimes the boundary between a person and evil wasn't as clear as one might imagine.
Lu Linjiang continued flipping through the crime scene photos. Xu Sichen stood there as if rooted to the floor for a long while before he finally deigned to look up and spare her a glance.
"If Jiang Cheng were to go through such a convoluted scheme to kill someone, the first person he’d kill would definitely be me."
Xu Sichen was speechless for a moment, unsure whether to praise her boss for his unique perspective or his remarkable self-awareness.
As soon as he obtained the search warrant, Lu Linjiang headed to the hotel. He didn't go straight to Jiang Cheng’s room, but to Tao Minxing’s instead. The professor's room was now completely cordoned off. Lu Linjiang put on his gloves, scanned the interior, and told Yang Bo to bring Luojia over. He then turned and pushed open the bathroom door.
Closing the door behind him, he took out a pair of non-prescription glasses and put them on. He leaned over to turn the bathtub faucet to its maximum setting, then sat down on the toilet with practiced ease. Steam soon began to rise from the tub. Just before the mist could coat his lenses, the bathroom door was pushed open, and Yang Bo poked half his head in.
"Captain Lu, Luojia is—holy crap! I didn't know you were using the toilet!" The door slammed shut instantly, and Yang Bo’s voice shouted from outside, "I really didn't know!"
"Get lost!" Lu Linjiang was almost amused by the absurdity. He shouted through the door, "Get in here!"
Yang Bo hesitated for a few seconds before opening the door again, just a crack this time, cautiously peeking at Lu Linjiang. "You use the toilet without taking your pants off?"
Lu Linjiang felt that when he had some free time, he really needed to whip his team into shape, lest the water in this blockhead’s brain continued to accumulate. Seeing Lu Linjiang stand up abruptly, Yang Bo couldn't help but take a step back, only relaxing once he confirmed the captain’s pants were indeed fully intact.
"I was going to say, Captain, you couldn't have been in that much of a hurry." Yang Bo’s smirk vanished under Lu Linjiang’s icy glare. He cleared his throat. "Luojia is here."
The accumulated steam had already dissipated through the open door. Lu Linjiang shoved Yang Bo out of the bathroom. Luojia was standing by the bed. He was of mixed heritage; though he had dark eyes, his features were deeper than average, and his silver hair was particularly striking. Seeing Lu Linjiang emerge, he greeted him politely, "Hello, I am Luojia."
The corners of Lu Linjiang’s mouth curled slightly in a social smile, but his question went straight to the point. "Hello, I’m Lu Linjiang, the officer in charge of Professor Tao’s case. Mr. Luojia, were you aware that someone in the institute was tampering with data?"
The smile on Luojia’s face froze. He stared blankly for a good while before saying, "That’s impossible! Mr. Lu, where did you get this information?"
The expression on Luojia’s face seemed genuine, not faked. Lu Linjiang continued, "Did you know Professor Tao went to see Jiang Cheng late at night?"
Luojia seemed still immersed in the shock of the alleged data tampering, responding a beat late, "I knew... Professor Tao told me he would be looking for Jiang Cheng that evening."
Lu Linjiang’s gaze suddenly became sharp. "Mr. Luojia, I’ve read your statement. It says you’ve been Professor Tao’s assistant for over ten years." He watched Luojia nod. "Why didn't Professor Tao discuss it with you after discovering the data had been tampered with?"
"I don't know. Perhaps... perhaps he felt I was incompetent? Over the last two years, because of the professor's health, many experiments were conducted through me. If there was an issue with the data, theoretically, I should have discovered it before him. Did the professor tell Jiang Cheng who it was?" Luojia’s expression was deeply awkward, tinged with a lack of confidence.
Lu Linjiang didn't answer his question. "Professor Tao had a portable reader he kept with him. Do you know where it is?"
Luojia still looked a bit dazed. He looked around before pulling a small leather pouch from a packed suitcase. "It’s here."
Lu Linjiang took it, pulled out the reader, and turned it on. A password prompt popped up. He held the screen up toward Luojia. "Do you know the password?"
Luojia shook his head helplessly. "That is the professor’s private property. No one besides him knows the password."
Upon hearing this, Lu Linjiang took the reader back and signaled for it to be placed in an evidence bag. "Take it back and have the technical team crack it."
"Wait!" Luojia interjected anxiously. "That contains almost all of Sius’s core technology. Do you really have to take it?"
Lu Linjiang watched as Yang Bo stowed the item away. "Mr. Luojia, I have reason to believe this contains information regarding the person who tampered with the data. If your suspicion is correct—that someone killed Professor Tao using the influenza virus—then it is very likely they are the same person who tampered with the data."
"Rest assured, the data within the reader will absolutely not be leaked."
Lu Linjiang ignored the worry on Luojia’s face and pointed to the two suitcases on the floor. "Was that storage vial found in one of these?"
"The one on the left, tucked inside a pile of clothes." Luojia pointed to the left suitcase. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Right, were there any findings on the vial I turned in?"
"A few," Lu Linjiang said vaguely. "Besides you and Jiang Cheng, who else had access to these two suitcases?"
"Besides Professor Tao, there are three others, including myself. Strictly speaking, we all had the opportunity to access them."
"I know, but I’ve only seen you and Jiang Cheng. Where is the other one?"
"Jiang Langmin. He’s a doctoral student under Professor Tao and also works at the Sius Institute." Luojia seemed to remember something. "By the way, where is Jiang Cheng? Hasn't he finished his statement yet?"
"Where is Jiang Langmin now?" Lu Linjiang ignored his question and asked directly.
"His experiment reached a critical phase. He left early after finishing his report."
Lu Linjiang glanced at Yang Bo, who immediately pulled out his notebook to record the information. "When did he leave?"
"A flight on the morning of the 19th."
"Please provide my colleague with this Mr. Jiang Langmin’s contact information." Once Yang Bo had finished writing, Lu Linjiang continued, "Back to the key issue. Mr. Luojia, are you certain it was the influenza virus inside?"
Seeing Luojia nod, he asked curiously, "Then I don't quite understand. Since you all had access to each other and Professor Tao’s luggage, why weren't any of you infected?"
Luojia thought for a moment, crossing his arms as he explained, "Besides the route of transmission, physical constitution is also a very important factor. Compared to Professor Tao, the rest of us have much stronger immune systems. Furthermore, if the influenza virus doesn't have a suitable carrier, its activity decreases the longer it is exposed to the air."
Lu Linjiang nodded after listening, saying with a touch of mock-reverence, "As expected, one must ask a professional about professional matters. Otherwise, a layman like me would be completely lost. Thank you, Mr. Luojia. If there are any further questions, I will find you again."
He very politely escorted the man back to his room and personally closed the door for him. Then, he turned and whispered to Yang Bo, "Keep an eye on him."
***
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
珞珈 | Luojia | Professor Tao's assistant, described as mixed-race with silver hair.
姜朗旻 | Jiang Langmin | A doctoral student under Professor Tao.
修斯 | Sius | The name of the research institute/company.
二百五 | Blockhead | Slang for someone who is stupid or a bit of an idiot (literally "250").
平光眼镜 | Non-prescription glasses | Glasses with plain lenses, often worn for style or specific tasks.
