CH 217

It wasn’t raining outside the ward. Tonight, the view outside the window was pitch black and unusually dry. Even inside the room, there was no sound of clattering keyboards or rapidly clicking mice. They were all waiting for Duan Yang’s email.

Lin Chen sat on the hospital bed, resting his other hand on the table next to the bed, with a pen placed nearby. He had just asked Wang Chao for a sheet of paper, but now he sat cross-legged on the bed, staring at the blank page.

Since Duan Yang’s deeply bowed back disappeared from view, the atmosphere in the ward had become heavy. Xing Conglian couldn’t even express his own emotions and could only lean on the sofa, looking at Lin Chen’s indifferent profile under the light in the ward. Lin Chen was a typical person whose features made people feel comfortable. None of his features were particularly outstanding, but when combined, they were quite handsome, with an inexplicable chill and calmness. Xing Conglian knew he shouldn’t be thinking about these things while looking at Lin Chen’s face. They were currently handling a very dangerous case, whose exact danger was impossible to pinpoint. That was the scariest part.

“Let’s reorganize this case,” Xing Conglian said.

Lin Chen still looked down at the blank A4 paper on the table, not even lifting his head.

“The murderer’s modus operandi is simple. They first fabricated the motive of academic plagiarism, then killed Tan Kang, and finally falsified Lao Duan’s DNA and fingerprints, pushing everything onto Lao Duan. The train of thought is clear, but the question is: why?”

Wang Chao looked very anxious as he looked at his computer, not even listening to what Xing Conglian was saying.

Lin Chen seemed to have finally come to his senses and said, “Yes, why.”

“Hmm?”

“There’s a critical question. Did the murderer use Duan Yang from the beginning to complete the framing process?” Lin Chen said.

Xing Conglian thought about it and answered, “Suppose the murderer didn’t know Duan Yang and only occasionally saw the academic plagiarism incident on the internet. They thought that someone like Duan Wanshan was a good scapegoat and happened to have Duan Wanshan’s fingerprints and DNA on hand, so they set up this trap. Although this possibility exists, the chance is just too small. Duan Wanshan has been abroad for so many years. Who would still keep his DNA and fingerprints?”

“Right, the cost and benefit don’t match up, and high-IQ criminals aren’t stupid enough to act so recklessly.” Lin Chen’s voice was very calm. “In fact, the first possibility didn’t exist from the beginning—the killer couldn’t have been looking for a scapegoat after killing Tan Kang and then planted the blame on Duan Wanshan.”

“So, he chose Duan Yang from the beginning,” Xing Conglian said.

Xing Conglian looked at Lin Chen, listening to him continue in a calm tone. “I can understand why he chose Duan Yang. Duan Yang used to be very simple and pure, easily hot-headed, and deeply loved Duan Wanshan. When he learned that his teacher’s research results, which had serious side effects, had been plagiarized and turned into a new drug on the market, he would definitely try his best to solve the problem for his teacher. Therefore, he was the most likely person to leave all kinds of traces that the police could follow on the internet. Duan Yang was the perfect choice because he wasn’t like others who might stand by and do nothing, right?”

“That’s it, but…” Xing Conglian couldn’t help but frown. “I feel like there are still problems with this.”

“But why did he have to use Duan Yang?” Lin Chen continued sharply.

Xing Conglian replied, “For criminals, isn’t it easier to expose themselves the more steps they take to achieve their goal? Although he later kidnapped Duan Yang through the hands of others to make up for the loophole, to be honest, wasn’t it easier for the police to discover the problem when Duan Yang disappeared?”

Lin Chen nodded. “The next question is whether Duan Yang’s kidnapping was a coincidence, or a necessary arrangement made by someone. I used to think it was a coincidence, like Zaratul’s men finding Duan Yang, who had posted online and had a lot of information, and then bringing him back to Dana to continue research. But this was only a possibility inferred under certain conditions at the time. Now it seems too coincidental.”

“Indeed. There are so many experts out there. Why bother to catch a small doctor like Duan Yang?”

Lin Chen said, “In other words, the greater possibility is that the other party specially used Lu Jia, a fake expert responsible for researching drugs under Zaratul. He’s now dead, so we have no way to investigate the process. However, this person may have mentioned Duan Yang to Lu Jia and praised him greatly, which led Lu Jia to send someone to kidnap Duan Yang from China. The purpose of doing so is simple… To kill two birds with one stone…”

“He’s really ruthless to Duan Yang.” Xing Conglian understood why Lin Chen had been silent all the time. This matter was too cruel to both Duan Yang and Duan Wanshan, especially considering that they loved each other deeply. He continued, “It seems that the murderer’s target may have included three people from the beginning: Duan Yang, Duan Wanshan, and Tan Kang, who may only be an accessory. He used Duan Yang to create a chain of evidence to frame Duan Wanshan, then killed Duan Yang, and finally killed Tan Kang to blame Duan Wanshan. This process can be basically confirmed. So we have to go back to the original question: Why did he do this?” If it weren’t for being in a hospital ward, Xing Conglian would have wanted to light a cigarette. “Honestly, I don’t think falsely accusing Duan Wanshan of murder because of academic plagiarism can hurt him in any substantial way. He’s been meticulously trying to throw dirt on Duan Wanshan, but this dirt can’t even cross the Pacific Ocean.”

“So, this matter is even more devastating, and the murderer only wanted the process.” Lin Chen hadn’t changed his posture from the beginning until now. “The murderer’s feelings towards these three people are different. He killed Tan Kang cleanly and decisively, like throwing away useless garbage. Xiao Ming felt that the murderer was very happy. What made the murderer happy was the process of releasing the balloons—that is, the process of throwing out the murder weapon that framed Duan Wanshan. I don’t even think his ultimate goal was to turn Duan Wanshan into the real murderer of Tan Kang or to send him to jail, because, as you just said, this matter can’t cause any substantial harm to Duan Wanshan. This is also where I don’t understand…as for Duan Yang…”

Lin Chen’s gaze was obviously dim and flickering.

Xing Conglian asked, “What’s wrong with Duan Yang?”

“Duan Yang is like a subtle chess piece. The killer used him to lay clues to Duan Wanshan and then didn’t hesitate to let him die, which is strange,” Lin Chen said. “It depends on whether the killer, like us, understands the secret love between the two. If the answer is yes, then he used Duan Yang, who deeply loved Duan Wanshan, to lay out Duan Wanshan’s motive for murder, and separated them forever before Duan Wanshan learned the truth… Even the motive for sending Duan Yang to Dana is very subtle, isn’t it? They obviously love each other and are on the same land, but they can’t meet. And you can imagine how sad Duan Wanshan would be if he knew all this if he hadn’t died. So I think the killer probably really hates and loves Duan Wanshan, who loves Duan Yang…”

“So, that person is likely to know the relationship between Duan Yang and Duan Wanshan?” Xing Conglian asked.

“I think so. So now the suspect’s range is very small. He must know Duan Yang, be able to get Duan Wanshan’s DNA samples and fingerprints, know the relationship between the two, have been to Dana, and understand the inside story of Zhourui Pharmaceutical and Tan Kang’s plagiarism…”

Before Lin Chen’s words fell, Wang Chao’s computer made a light sound of receiving a message.

“Has the list been sorted out?” Xing Conglian asked sharply.

“Yes, according to Duan Yang’s email, the senior sister who has been giving him information is named Cheng Jing, and the person who provided information for him within Zhourui Pharmaceutical is named Li Fengping. In addition, he has temporarily sorted out 14 suspicious names,” Wang Chao said quickly, and then began to retrieve everyone’s information.

“Is there a problem with Cheng Jing?”

“After returning to China, Cheng Jing worked at the Third People’s Hospital of Yongchuan City, and there seems to be no contact with Zhourui Pharmaceutical. The information has been sent to the tablet. Please take it out from my backpack, Boss,” Wang Chao said quickly.

Xing Conglian took out the tablet and sat on the bed with Lin Chen to watch.

Lin Chen’s fingers quickly scanned Cheng Jing’s personal information. In the photo, Cheng Jing was wearing a white robe and looked gentle and quiet. She was a pediatrician with a happy family and a clean resume.

“It’s not her. What about Li Fengping?”

The teenager frowned, suddenly picked up the Coke can next to him and poured it into his mouth, but he didn’t expect that there was no carbonation left. The teenager clenched the can body violently and made a cracking sound.

“There’s no one named Li Fengping.”

“How is that possible? Otherwise, where did Duan Yang get the internal information of Zhourui Pharmaceutical? Duan Yang isn’t a fool. How could he believe someone with an unknown identity?”

Lin Chen suddenly spoke. “This Li Fengping should have sent an email to Duan Yang. Check Duan Yang’s mailbox.”

As Lin Chen spoke, he dialed Duan Yang’s phone.

“Consultant Lin, have you found the person?”

“There is no one named Li Fengping in Zhourui Pharmaceutical. How do you know him?”

On the screen, Duan Yang hesitated for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing, as if he had reached a sudden understanding of everything. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he spoke. “Am I just a fool being played in the palm of someone’s hand?”

“No, to me, you’re just a young doctor with a sincere heart and kind intentions.”

“Kindness that is used by others is foolishness, isn’t it?”

Lin Chen shook his head and said seriously, “You are attributing criminals’ malice to people’s pure kindness. I think this is an incorrect attribution, although many people make this mistake.”

Duan Yang took a deep breath, and his eyes turned red. “You’re always so convincing, Consultant Lin.”

“I’m good at it,” Lin Chen said softly.

Duan Yang said seriously, “It was my former classmate named Shen Lian. She should be working in the medical department of Zhourui Pharmaceutical now, and she also knew about Teacher’s plagiarism incident. She said she felt there was a problem when she was responsible for conducting clinical trials for the new drug, so she introduced me to a friend who could get first-hand information from within Zhourui Pharmaceutical. Actually, that friend may have been her all along, pretending to be someone else.”

Lin Chen glanced at Wang Chao, who quickly typed in a search query and reported several keywords. “Shen Lian, from Hongjing, former associate researcher of the R&D department, former deputy director, and director of the medical department at Zhourui Pharmaceutical… Went abroad in January of the same year and returned to China in September of the same year. Since five years ago, Shen Lian has had multiple records of leaving the country for short-term or long-term stays ranging from three to five months, ostensibly for business trips, but it is very likely that she was secretly sent to Dana by Zhourui Pharmaceutical…”

After Wang Chao finished his report, he looked up at them.

Xing Conglian looked at Duan Yang on the screen who had been listening all along, and finally heard him ask, “Why?”

“We will find out,” Xing Conglian said, nodding at Duan Yang and ending the call.

From the moment Shen Lian’s name appeared, Lin Chen had been silent, listening like an old monk in meditation, as if he had fallen into an inexplicable emotion.

Xing Conglian was keenly aware of the problem and said, “Wang Chao, find Shen Lian’s address and notify the bureau to put out a warrant. Go out now and give me a minute.”

Wang Chao packed up quickly and brushed past him. The sound of the teenager making a phone call came from the hallway.

Xing Conglian walked over and turned off the lights in the ward, then walked back to Lin Chen’s bedside and kissed him hard.

For about the first thirty seconds of the kiss, Lin Chen was in a state of silence, but then he began to respond to him.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Chen asked softly, looking up.

Xing Conglian pulled away from Lin Chen’s lips. The bitter taste of Lin Chen’s mouth lingered on his lips and teeth as he touched his face and looked into his eyes in the darkness. He asked seriously, “What are you thinking about? Your emotions suddenly seemed off.”

“I just suddenly felt that this feeling wasn’t good,” Lin Chen said slowly and seriously. “If Teacher Duan hadn’t died, we might have taken a very long time to notice the problem here and finally locate Shen Lian.”

“Maybe,” Xing Conglian said.

“But now?” Lin Chen asked. “I was thinking about profiling the killer earlier, but I don’t need to do that because I know I can’t make any difference here. The killer will easily be revealed. But we achieved this result through a series of unfortunate events, including the death of Teacher Duan. The cost is too high, really too high.”