Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 230

Wang Chao didn’t dwell on the three-hour time limit issue. For him, since time was tight, they had to make the most of it, and the logic was simple.

The teenager opened his computer and found that the program was still running. He imported some node files into his tablet and said to Lin Chen, “A’Chen Gege, didn’t you ask me to check some adverse reactions to the drug? Here are some of them.”

Lin Chen took the tablet.

Since the State Food and Drug Administration didn’t notice these cases, it meant that these adverse reactions were still within a reasonable range. After all, any drug would list the possible types of adverse reactions in the instructions. Even some penicillin allergies may include hallucinations, mental abnormalities, and the like. Therefore, it was normal for adverse reactions such as cognitive impairment or emotional mania to occur when treating brain diseases.

Lin Chen looked at all 11 relevant adverse reaction cases as of February 2014, and only one case was severe.

The patient was a 73-year-old woman who was admitted due to a stroke and had organic dementia due to brain atrophy. In January 2012, she had a manic episode, injured medical staff, and accidentally fell from the stairwell.

The forensic autopsy results proved that the elderly woman had diffuse cerebral sulcal widening and cystic expansion in her brain, indicating that organic brain damage caused the mental abnormalities, thus ruling out the hospital’s responsibility.

Looking at the case, Lin Chen saw the prescription for “Cerebralcon” from Zhourui Pharmaceutical.

As always, Wang Chao was thoughtful and also attached the police investigation report to the back of the case.

In the photo, the hospital corridor was stained with blood.

According to the case information, the 73-year-old woman grabbed the nurse’s needle during an infusion, stabbed the nurse, and escaped into the corridor. She used a medical cart to hit two other elderly patients frantically, causing one of them to die on the spot and the other to be declared brain dead after an unsuccessful rescue three days later.

For an elderly person over 70 years old, this was a completely crazy act.

Three lives were lost in this case, and perhaps the victims’ families were still immersed in grief and self-blame and hadn’t yet realized that it wasn’t their fault.

……

Lin Chen put down his tablet and leaned his hand on the car window with an indifferent expression, not sure what he was thinking.

Xing Conglian was clear about why he came up with the idea of a deadline. People like him often treat themselves harsher than others, striving for perfection and accustomed to pushing themselves to the limit and finding a way out in desperate situations.

Xing Conglian stepped on the brake, and the Jeep stopped at the red light.

In a brief moment, Xing Conglian saw Lin Chen quickly glance down. It was a completely subconscious movement. He was looking at the phone in the storage box on the car door and then awkwardly moved his gaze back. He obviously wanted to make a phone call but didn’t do so.

Looking at Lin Chen’s always calm and composed face, Xing Conglian suddenly realized that Lin Chen was different from them. He and Wang Chao didn’t have to worry about their grandfathers mistakenly taking dangerous drugs made by Zhourui, while Lin Chen was probably now dealing with some elderly relatives. He handed his phone over and said, “If you want to make a call, go ahead. Three hours won’t make a difference.”

Lin Chen took the phone, and his fingertips were very cold.

“It’s my teacher.” Lin Chen guessed what Xing Conglian guessed and answered very candidly. “My teacher’s cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems have always been bad. He was hospitalized last year and has probably been taking Zhourui’s medicine all along. This kind of medicine is too widely used.”

He didn’t show any sadness, but Xing Conglian could feel his inner conflict.

Although Lin Chen had had countless teachers since he was a child, only one person—President Su of Yongchuan University—had been referred to as his teacher.

When Lin Chen took the phone, he obviously breathed a sigh of relief. He dialed the number without even looking it up. Looking at Lin Chen’s face as he waited for the phone to connect, Xing Conglian was glad he didn’t stubbornly stick to his principles.

Xing Conglian drove the car forward a bit and stopped on the side of the road near the municipal bureau. Lin Chen held the phone and looked at him for guidance. Xing Conglian waved his hand, indicating that he was waiting for someone.

The phone connected, and Xing Conglian could barely hear President Su’s cheerful voice from the receiver at arm’s length.

“Teacher, it’s me.” Lin Chen’s voice was rarely so relaxed, even with a hint of playfulness toward the elderly.

Xing Conglian remembered the file he had peeked at. When Lin Chen was young, all of his older relatives had already passed away. Now, thinking back, President Su probably acted as both a teacher and a friend to him, fulfilling his desire for elder care.

Xing Conglian’s hand rested on Lin Chen’s delicate neck, waiting for his next words.

“I have encountered a problem.” Lin Chen held the phone calmly and said so.

The old man probably asked something like, “What kind of problem have you encountered?” And then added, “It’s not a problem with your relationship with that captain, right?”

Xing Conglian only heard a general idea and stared at Lin Chen with his eyes wide open. Why are people surnamed Su so astute nowadays?

“That’s not it. We’re together.”

Lin Chen said this casually in a cool voice, causing Xing Conglian’s hand on his neck to tighten a bit. After all, this was him coming out of the closet, so he felt he should give Lin Chen some encouragement, but Xing Conglian was disappointed again.

Elder Su’s voice on the phone became two tones brighter, and Xing Conglian didn’t hear any nervous or worried tone coming out but instead heard a lot of fragmented gossip questions, making him feel at a loss for words.

The old man asked all sorts of questions, and Lin Chen only mentioned trivial matters. This made Xin Conglian mistakenly think that this phone call wasn’t about Lin Chen telling the old man about the medication issue but rather a special report to the elders at home about his love life, and that they were unusually open-minded.

Lin Chen talked on the phone for a while, and Xing Conglian felt as if cold sweat was about to drip down his back, fearing that the old man would suddenly want to talk to him, but it seemed that the old man hadn’t yet reached that level of gossip.

“We’re done talking about your relationship. Now tell me, what’s the matter with you?” the old man suddenly asked.

Xing Conglian looked at Lin Chen and saw him squinting in the distance. He paused, pulled his hand down from his neck, and then clasped Lin Chen’s fingers. “Something big has happened, but I can’t say it.”

“If you can’t say it, why did you call me? You’re going to drive me crazy!” the old man exclaimed.

“It really can’t be said for the time being, Teacher. Just watch the news, and when I can say it, I’ll call you first thing.”

Xing Conglian could feel Lin Chen’s hand trembling lightly, but he was still pretending to speak in a relaxed tone.

“Quick, tell me. What was the life principle I taught you guys when you graduated?”

Lin Chen smiled and answered, “Don’t show off, and surrender when you need to.”

Xing Conglian could no longer laugh.

“That’s right, there’s no savior in this world,” Elder Su comforted.

“But isn’t the meaning of the second half of The Internationale* that one must rely on oneself to be a good person?” Lin Chen countered.

*An international anthem; it has been adopted as the anthem of various anarchist, communist, socialist, democratic socialist, and social democratic movements.

“Hey, hey, how come you’re back-talking your teacher just because you’re in love? Your teacher is getting old,” Elder Su hummed discontentedly. “But you are indeed stronger than many people, so I’d rather entrust my life to you than anyone else.”

The old man’s voice was very relaxed, but Xing Conglian shuddered. Lin Chen hadn’t revealed anything from start to finish, but Elder Su’s words were saying, “I know everything. You can go ahead and do it with confidence.”

Lin Chen was also silent, holding the phone with a straight back, as if he were holding a heavy load.

“Okay.”

“When you have time next time, come home for dinner and bring that person along.”

On the phone, Elder Su said a few more words casually and was about to hang up.

“Teacher!” Lin Chen suddenly spoke up as if waking up from a dream, stopping the old man before he hung up.

“Hmm, is there anything else?”

“I’m sorry,” Lin Chen said, unsure if he said it before or after hanging up the phone.

This casual chat was really idle, like a beautiful conversation between a teacher and a student on a sunny afternoon. However, now it felt heavy.

Lin Chen handed back the phone as a police officer ran over from the distance. Xing Conglian lowered the car window, saluted the officer, and was handed a thick stack of files.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Xing Conglian asked as he closed the car window and started the engine.

“My feelings are no different from those of other family members of patients. They didn’t have the opportunity to give notice in advance, and neither should I.” Lin Chen paused and added, “Most importantly, if I did, my teacher would scold me to death.”

Xing Conglian started the engine and asked, “Then why did you make the call?”

“Because I wanted to hear my teacher say, ‘Go ahead and do it with confidence’.”

Xing Conglian stepped on the accelerator and prepared to send Mr. Xiao Zhan back to the factory. He placed the files he had just received on Lin Chen’s lap. The file bag had “Shen Lian” clearly written on it. Xing Conglian added, “Just do what you’re good at. I’ll take care of everything else.”

……

The Jeep headed toward the outskirts. Fields and factories passed by like flowing water outside the window.

Lin Chen fumbled through the thick stack of materials. He had called his teacher because he realized that he was really not good at this case. He lacked an adequate knowledge base about drugs, couldn’t understand molecular formulas, and was always led by the nose by Shen Lian or Zhourui Pharmaceutical. He didn’t know what kind of impact long-term medication would have on patients, didn’t know Shen Lian’s true intentions, and didn’t know what to do next. Precisely speaking, he just didn’t know.

Fortunately, although people had many areas where they didn’t excel, they also had their own fields to be proud of. Lin Chen opened the file and began to truly understand Shen Lian for the first time.

In her childhood file, the girl had two braids and was smiling with her mouth open, but her eyes were devoid of warmth.

Shen Lian grew up on the most ordinary old street in Hongjing. Lin Chen only remembered that the noodles with pickled vegetables and shredded pork in a shop on that street were particularly good. Apart from that, there was nothing beautiful about it. The low bungalows and slightly cold and narrow streets always seemed to be in the shade, even in the height of summer.

He first flipped through Shen Lian’s childhood academic records. She didn’t choose a prestigious school, and her elementary and junior high school performances were mediocre. According to her old report cards, except for two perfect scores in the first and second grades of elementary school, there was no sign that this girl would have extraordinary intelligence, enough to manipulate a multinational pharmaceutical company more than ten years later.

As Lin Chen flipped through page by page, he suddenly paused.

Xing Conglian turned the car onto a rarely traveled road with an abandoned chemical plant on both sides. Guanghua Chemicals was standing at the end of the road.

“What’s wrong?” Xing Conglian noticed his sudden pause.

“It’s strange. Shen Lian’s grades suddenly improved in the second year of junior high school. In the third grade of junior high, she managed to place first and was admitted to Hongjing No.1 High School.”

“She had an awakening?”

“Shen Lian scored 697 points in the high school entrance exam, ranking 9th in the city. Even Wang Chao’s intelligence level would find it difficult to get this score.”

Wang Chao interjected from the back seat, “A’Chen Gege, you can’t say that!”

“Why not? Xiao Wang from Lao Huang’s family, I remember you didn’t get first in the city in the high school entrance exam either.”

“That’s because I didn’t take the high school entrance exam!” Wang Chao angrily pulled on Mr. Xiao Zhan’s collar. “Are you the same age as Shen Lian? What did you get in the exam that year?”

“I think… I got first place?”

Wang Chao choked for a while and couldn’t speak. Finally, he said, “After we finish this, give me a test paper. I want to prove myself!”

While Wang Chao was making a fuss, no one responded to him in the car because Lin Chen was silent.

Xing Conglian looked over to his side and saw Lin Chen bowing his head slightly, with his fingers resting on the old file paper. A beam of sunlight fell beside his ear, but it didn’t bring any warmth.

“Did something happen to Shen Lian’s parents?” Xing Conglian asked, following the principle that all abnormal psychology may have childhood trauma.

Lin Chen flipped through the file for a while, pulled out the part about Shen Lian’s parents, and then turned to her junior high school years, answering, “Her parents are alive. Her father is a security guard at the Hongjing Department Store, and her mother is an ordinary salesperson at the store. It seems that they are busy with work and their family isn’t wealthy, but they’re not destitute either.”

“Do her parents have criminal records?”

“No, they seem to be honest and hardworking people.”

“Are there any extramarital affairs, child abuse, or childhood trauma?”

“No.”

“So, what caused Shen Lian to be so abnormal?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is this ‘I don’t know’ a good thing or a bad thing?”

“It’s probably not a good thing.” Lin Chen replied.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 229

“Xing Conglian, are you a pervert? Why are you installing such things at home!” Inspector Huang’s face was livid.

“Oh, this seems to be my home, Inspector Huang. Even if I install a camera, it has nothing to do with you, right? It’s just having some fun with my boyfriend,” Xing Conglian sneered.

Lin Chen wasn’t surprised about Xing Conglian installing a listening device in the bathroom. After all, having experienced the hotel room surveillance incident, installing a listening device only in the bathroom was already considered protecting the user’s personal privacy.

However, he still looked at Xing Conglian with a slightly suspicious look. Xing Conglian tilted his head and said in a very gentlemanly tone, “I didn’t install a camera. Don’t worry.”

“What do I have to worry about?” Lin Chen sighed.

“Yeah, whatever you should or shouldn’t have seen, you’ve already seen it,” Xing Conglian added sincerely.

Lin Chen shook his head helplessly, and Huang Ze was speechless.

In the living room, Wang Chao shouted loudly, “Boss, do you want me to play it for you or do you want to come out?”

“Play it. Turn it up louder,” Xing Conglian said coldly, standing in front of the sink.

The sound gradually grew louder through the hallway, echoing in this simple and unadorned bathroom.

The voice was very low.

“Yes, Director Liu, I want to report a situation to you. The problem here in Hongjing is quite serious.”

“The local police suspect that the relevant drug of Zhourui Pharmaceutical and other manufacturers may have serious adverse reactions, and the relevant results have been concealed by the pharmaceutical company.”

“We may need to take emergency measures.”

“Yes, this is a very serious public health issue.”

Huang Ze’s face became more and more ugly with each sentence recorded, but in the end, although his face was as white as paper, he was extremely calm.

“I haven’t done anything wrong. This is my duty,” Inspector Huang said after the recording ended.

Lin Chen looked at the young inspector standing opposite him and at Huang Ze’s delicate face, which was not much different from the past.

He didn’t feel disappointed or angry because he was probably the person who could understand Huang Ze’s feelings the most now. He, like Huang Ze, felt very relaxed and calm.

Because this was Huang Ze. He always had his own stance and would always insist on it; always extremely stubborn.

Huang Ze didn’t disappoint him.

In fact, Lin Chen didn’t care much about right or wrong issues, because right or wrong really didn’t matter.

The inspectorate where Huang Ze worked was like a disciplinary committee for all police officers, and it wasn’t realistic for him to conceal the situation. Although Huang Ze didn’t reveal too many details over the phone, he had essentially reported the case of Zhourui Pharmaceutical to his superiors. According to Lin Chen’s inference, no leader would choose to hide the truth from the public after learning about this matter, so relevant departments would start taking action within a few hours at the earliest. In other words, they had very little time left to find out Shen Lian’s motive, arrest the person, or find a possible solution to the problem.

Lin Chen glanced at Xing Conglian and said, “It seems that we have no choice now.”

“We can only go with the flow,” Xing Conglian said as he took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

Their conversation was brief, and only they could understand each other.

Huang Ze seemed somewhat unwilling and asked back, “What would you have done if I didn’t make that call?”

“I hadn’t figured it out yet,” Lin Chen replied.

“You always seem to have a clear idea.”

“Although I have ideas, it doesn’t mean I always know what to do. In this regard, I am indeed not as good as you,” Lin Chen said calmly.

After speaking, he grabbed Xing Conglian’s hand and was about to leave, returning the privacy to Inspector Huang.

Lin Chen didn’t know where his casual attitude was wrong, but at the moment he turned around, Huang Ze became very angry and said, “I don’t need to repeat the danger of this case. You are just a law enforcement officer and have no authority to make any decisions!”

“I know. You’ve reminded me many times already,” Lin Chen paused, fearing that Huang Ze might not understand the meaning behind his words, and added, “If possible, I hope you can give us three hours. In these three hours, please don’t mention any information you know about drug side effects to anyone. You can tell your superiors that there is a serious problem or serious adverse reaction in Hongjing, but don’t point out the specific drug or specific adverse reaction type. After all, we haven’t completely investigated the matter yet. This should not violate your principles, right?” Lin Chen said sincerely.

Huang Ze stood still and didn’t give any answer, but Lin Chen could tell from his eyes that if the inspector didn’t curse at him in his face, then he was acquiescing.

Lin Chen nodded to Inspector Huang in acknowledgment and turned to leave.

In the living room, Xing Conglian patted Mr. Xiao Zhan’s shoulder. The young man, who was already somewhat fragile, didn’t know why there were differences within the investigating team. The argument just now probably scared him badly. He was now crouching in the corner, asking Xing Conglian in a weak voice, “Cap… Captain Xing… when can I… go?”

“Now. I’ll take you.”

“No need to trouble yourself. I can go on my own. I have a car!”

Xing Conglian didn’t say much, but he held onto the young man’s shoulder and said, “Wang Chao, pack up.”

At this point, Huang Ze emerged from the bathroom.

Because Inspector Huang’s private recording had just played, Wang Chao froze in place. He buried his face in the pile of wires and pretended to be an ostrich.

But Huang Ze didn’t seem to notice anyone in the room and left with a very cold and arrogant attitude.

……

Xing Conglian essentially escorted Mr. Xiao Zhan to his own black Jeep with an attitude as if he were escorting a prisoner, which made Mr. Xiao Zhan, who was forced to accept a substitute driver, very confused.

Wang Chao held the laptop and sat beside the young man. Xing Conglian drove at a very high speed, and the scenery outside flowed past like water.

After a sharp turn, Wang Chao pressed his face against the window and complained in dissatisfaction, “Boss, slow down. Your driving speed is almost as fast as mine!”

“The time is urgent. Put on your seat belt.” Lin Chen turned his head and comforted him.

“Why is it urgent again?” Wang Chao was confused. “Didn’t that dumbass Huang Ze go to tattle on us? What are we doing now? Aren’t we disobeying orders from our superiors?”

“Your A’Chen Gege bought us three hours. Within these three hours, we’d better find a solution to the problem that convinces everyone. Otherwise, the initiative will never be in our hands.”

“Is my IQ the problem here? Why can’t I understand what you’re saying?” Wang Chao asked.

Just then, Mr. Xiao Zhan spoke up, looking annoyed. “Just now… Didn’t you have the listening device on? You heard what they said. Cap… Captain Xing’s meaning is that the fierce inspector will help stabilize the upper management for three hours, so your leaders won’t take action for three hours.”

“Wait, did I just have an out-of-body experience? When did Huang Ze go help us stabilize the upper management?”

“Didn’t Mr. Lin ask for it?”

“But that’s because that dumbass Huang Ze snitched. A’Chen Gege had no choice but to say that!”

“Well… you have to ask Mr. Lin about that, but if Mr. Lin really doesn’t want Inspector Huang to know these confidential information, he could not have said them in front of Inspector Huang.”

After listening to the discussion between the two people in the back seat for a while, Lin Chen looked at Mr. Xiao Zhan through the rearview mirror. Although he appeared weak and indecisive on the outside, Mr. Xiao Zhan was actually a very intelligent person.

Lin Chen coughed and admitted, “If the other party feels guilty towards you in their heart, they are more likely to agree to your request.”

Xing Conglian couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Wang Chao, sitting in the back seat, was even more puzzled. “A’Chen Gege, did you plan to have that dumbass Huang Ze bring this matter up from the beginning? Why? Isn’t it difficult for us to do things this way?”

“You have to understand that no matter how unacceptable Huang Ze’s attitude may be, when we know that the Zhourui Pharmaceutical case does involve a major public medical safety issue beyond our imagination, we have no way of concealing it from our superiors. It doesn’t matter who takes responsibility. This is the process, the procedure, and the only way forward. Those systems and emergency plans are all designed to better solve problems when they arise.”

“Anyway, I don’t understand your second half of the sentence.” Wang Chao looked puzzled but suddenly seemed to have figured something out and said excitedly, “So you scared Huang Ze by saying that you would take responsibility, and he immediately went to the bathroom to snitch?”

Lin Chen shrugged. “That was his choice and has nothing to do with me.”

“But you know he will definitely snitch, right?”

“After all, it’s Huang Ze.” Lin Chen sighed. “And we really don’t have time to report these things to our superiors. Let Huang Ze do it. It’s the best option.”

“Damn it, wait a minute. Although you said that, why do I feel like you’re taking advantage of that dumbass Huang Ze?” Wang Chao slapped his thigh and said happily, “And although Lao Huang seems to be like a stone in the toilet*, he will feel guilty after snitching. At that time, no matter what you say, he will easily agree, right?” The young man became more and more excited as he spoke, and finally burst out laughing alone in the back seat. “Damn, you and the Boss are playing mind games together. I really feel sorry for that dumbass Huang Ze!”

*Refers to someone who is unresponsive, unemotional, or uncommunicative.

“I’m not asking for too much,” Lin Chen said. “I just want him to give us three hours.”

“But how do you know that Huang Ze will definitely give us three hours?”

“Did Huang Ze ask you for a specific list of drugs involved before he left?” Lin Chen asked cryptically.

“Oh! Right! Huang Ze didn’t ask!” Wang Chao suddenly realized. “Information is like water flow, and Huang Ze’s the water pipe. It’s not right if we don’t say too much, but it’s also not right if we say too much, so you just let Huang Ze say it while controlling the flow rate, right?” Wang Chao scratched his head. “Wait, A’Chen Gege, I don’t understand again. Why did you specify that Huang Ze should conceal the types of adverse reactions and specific drug names involved during this period, and how do you know that he won’t say these things during the first time he reports?”

“Because Huang Ze doesn’t have your photographic memory, and he’s a cautious person. If he wants to report these details to his superiors, he will definitely ask you for a detailed document.” Lin Chen patiently explained.

After hearing this, Xing Conglian finally said impatiently, “Comrade Xiao Wang, I think you’re quite attached to your Lao Huang. Shall I turn the car around and send you to his car?”

“Boss, food can be eaten casually, but words can’t be spoken casually!” Wang Chao excitedly jumped up. “Huang Ze is a big dumbass!”

“I think you still miss him quite a bit if you keep asking questions,” Xing Conglian said disdainfully.

Wang Chao choked and couldn’t speak for a while.

“Can I ask one more question?” The young man hesitated in the back seat for a while before speaking again.

“Go ahead.”

“Why three hours?”

“This deadline is for us.”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 228

Wang Chao was stunned. He looked at Lin Chen with a look of innocence and disappointment. “A’Chen Gege, why aren’t you scolding me?”

Only Wang Chao would ask such a question.

“Do you want me to say it’s because everyone makes mistakes, or because I don’t want to scold you?” Lin Chen pinched the teenager’s face.

“The latter, the latter!” Wang Chao’s face immediately lit up. He jumped up from the brick floor, turned on the power switch, and rushed back inside like he had been resurrected.

The first thing he did was turn on the laptop, and the second thing was to start peeling an orange.

“Who do you think could set a trap in the hospital’s prescription database to track the location of anyone searching for Cerebralcon use?” Lin Chen walked to the window and re-tied the curtains, letting the bright sunlight shine into the living room. There were two cushions on the ground and a fruit plate on the coffee table, floating and dancing. Everything looked peaceful and quiet, but everyone knew that the truth wasn’t like this.

“Other than Zhourui Pharmaceutical, there doesn’t seem to be anyone else, right?” Wang Chao stuffed his mouth full of oranges, and his face was still pale with anxiety. “You need both technical expertise and money, and someone has to keep an eye on it all the time… Of course, it could also be Shen Lian, but if she’s that capable, then that’s quite terrifying.”

Wang Chao put his hand on the keyboard as if he were about to start working, but Xing Conglian stopped him. “Wait, why are you in such a hurry?”

“Boss, shouldn’t we investigate who did this right now?”

Lin Chen stood at the window and looked at Xing Conglian. He quickly understood what he meant.

Although everything was extremely urgent right now, with the possibility of a large-scale adverse drug reaction event, a pharmaceutical company hiding the truth, and a woman with an inscrutable mind making it hard to predict her actions, they could only sit down in this room and think before they figured out how to handle these things.

“Let’s sort out our thoughts first. What is the most urgent thing to do now?” Xing Conglian closed the door and locked it.

“The most urgent thing… Isn’t it to immediately warn everyone to stop taking drugs that contain the original Tern ingredient and then go to the hospital for a check-up?” Wang Chao asked.

“What are they checking for? Do you have a treatment plan?” Xing Conglian was sharp. “Then why warn people? Don’t forget, when we issue a warning, Zhourui Pharmaceutical and Shen Lian will react, and Shen Lian may have access to many dangerous substances. What if she starts poisoning people?”

“Then let’s catch Shen Lian first and issue a warning to the public later?”

“Where do we catch her, and what if we can’t catch her?”

“According to what you’re saying, this is a dead end!” Wang Chao was very frustrated as he scratched his head. “And it’s all because of me that things have become such a mess.”

Huang Ze reacted quickly. “Xing Conglian, what do you mean? Are you really not going to report to the authorities to find a solution, issue a warning to the public, and launch a large-scale manhunt for the culprit, Shen Lian?”

“You, calm down,” Xing Conglian said impatiently, trying to pacify Huang Ze.

“Xing Conglian!” Huang Ze raised his voice.

Lin Chen said, “Huang Ze, have you considered the problem here? If we issue a warning to the public rashly without understanding the truth, it will cause a huge social panic. And what if this panic is exactly what the culprit wants to see?”

Huang Ze’s expression froze, as if he had understood some of the key points. He knocked on the coffee table and said coldly, “So when you accepted the media interview, you didn’t mention the issue with Shen Lian because you were afraid that the public would panic? Lin Chen, do you know that you will be responsible for concealing information from the public without notifying them if something goes wrong!”

“I will take responsibility no matter how big it is,” Lin Chen replied calmly.

“You are too conceited!” Huang Ze was very angry.

“Inspector Huang, did you come here to argue?” Xing Conglian’s tone didn’t reveal any emotions. “How about I let Wang Chao argue with you for a while?”

“Why me, Boss?” the teenager said unhappily.

In this tense atmosphere, Mr. Xiao Zhan shrank weakly in the corner and raised his hand. “I… Can I go first?”

“No!” Huang Ze and Xing Conglian said in unison.

“Then… Then can I express my opinion?” Mr. Xiao Zhan spoke again.

“Please do,” Xing Conglian said politely.

“I just think that from a scientific point of view, your suspicion about the original Tern is just speculation. Don’t forget that Cerebralcon also passed inspection by the Food and Drug Administration. So… do you have a laboratory we can rely on to prove… prove… I don’t know what you want to prove.”

Xing Conglian nodded. “Mr. Xiao Zhan is an expert in chemical engineering and relatively familiar with the case. We would like to ask you to lead the TERN detection work. We also extracted some related substances at the crime scene last night, and we hope you can complete the comparison as soon as possible.”

“No, no, I didn’t mean that. My skills are not good enough, and there are so many experts here…” As he spoke, Mr. Xiao Zhan suddenly became dumbfounded. “Wh… The crime scene from last night… You mean the barbeque stall where zombies were biting people?”

As Mr. Xiao Zhan spoke, he sat on the ground and leaned back, almost losing his balance, and fell to the ground.

Xing Conglian looked at the young man and smirked at Huang Ze, meaning: Do you see how a normal person would react?

Huang Ze’s face was ashen, and he got up in anger and walked towards the bathroom.

Xing Conglian ignored Huang Ze and pondered for a moment before saying to Wang Chao, “Regardless of who made the move in the hospital prescription database, all they wanted was a warning when someone found out about the drug problem. It’s most likely still Zhourui Pharmaceutical that did this. Follow the plan we just discussed and start downloading the cases. Since they want to know who found out, we’ll tell them clearly.”

“Do we need to trace the person who tampered with the hospital prescription database?” Wang Chao asked.

“For this small matter, you can handle it yourself. Don’t ask me for permission.”

“Oh.” Wang Chao interrupted, as if suddenly remembering something. “But Boss, what if Zhourui Pharmaceutical finds out that we have targeted them and starts erasing all the criminal evidence on a large scale?”

Xing Conglian replied seriously, “You have to understand that even if we didn’t discover the problem with their previous generation drug, Zhourui Pharmaceutical wouldn’t leave us any handle. Moreover, they can completely push the problem onto Shen Lian’s shoulders, play the sympathy card, and maneuver their way out of trouble. Therefore, in order to sanction Zhourui Pharmaceutical, we must prove that their management knew about the problems with Tern and didn’t report it to the Food and Drug Administration in a timely manner, didn’t stop production, and allowed toxic drugs to circulate, while attempting to cover up the problem with the old ingredients through a new drug.”

“But how do we prove this?” Wang Chao began to bite his thumb again.

Lin Chen didn’t say anything; he just glanced at the teenager’s laptop.

Wang Chao took a sharp breath. “You’re not trying to set a trap for Zhourui Pharmaceutical, are you?”

“How could we? Your A’Chen Gege and I are not those kinds of people,” Xing Conglian replied coldly.

Wang Chao reluctantly swallowed his saliva and asked, “But even if we can dig a pit for Zhourui Pharmaceutical, how do we dig out Shen Lian?”

From the beginning until now, Lin Chen had been thinking about this problem: How to find Shen Lian. This woman was like a thorn that was hard to pull out of his throat, as if she were almost invisible. Of course, they could, as Huang Ze suggested, issue a nationwide wanted order to search for Shen Lian using the crowd tactics. But the problem was that what happened at the barbecue stall was too horrifying, and they had no idea what Shen Lian would do before she was truly arrested.

The most difficult thing in life could only be a choice.

Lin Chen took an apple from the fruit plate and said lightly, “Shen Lian has her own demands. For someone like her who does big things, those demands are most likely grandiose. We need to figure out what her demands are.”

“But, since we have discovered the problem with the drug, should we really not issue a warning? Grandparents and parents will still continue to take the drugs. Isn’t this what Shen Lian wants? What should we do?”

“Of course we should issue a warning…” Lin Chen held the apple but didn’t take a bite. He looked around and suddenly had a bad feeling. “Where’s Huang Ze?”

Lin Chen asked.

……

In the restroom.

It was the same place where Lin Chen had hugged Xing Conglian earlier. Huang Ze, the police inspector, was saying goodbye on a phone call that was nearing its end.

“Director Liu, the situation is roughly like this. I will report the details to the bureau when I return later.”

The person on the other end of the phone had a solemn tone. Huang Ze replied with a few “yes” before he hung up. Just as he was about to hang up, the restroom door was pushed open.

Someone like Huang Ze, of course, wouldn’t squat on a toilet to make a secret phone call. He was standing in front of a sink, dressed neatly, with one hand still on the faucet, letting the water flow down.

Lin Chen stood face-to-face with Huang Ze. He looked at the calm inspector and immediately understood what Huang Ze had been doing just now.

“Are you crazy?” Lin Chen asked.

“The crazy one is you, Lin Chen! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. Neither you nor Xing Conglian can bear the responsibility for this kind of thing.”

Lin Chen found this amusing. “So, based on the consideration of the mental state of us frontline investigators, you decided not to consult with us and directly report to your superiors?”

“Watch your words. This is a normal situation report,” Huang Ze said.

Lin Chen couldn’t be bothered to discuss the nature of the incident with him any further. “How much did you reveal to your superiors? Tell me the details.”

“Lin Chen, watch your own identity. The case of Zhourui Pharmaceutical will soon be taken over by a higher-level department…”

Huang Ze was about to say more but was interrupted by Xing Conglian.

And it was indeed an interruption. Xing Conglian used a simple grappling technique to flip over Huang Ze’s wrist and, with a snap, took his phone away. Before Huang Ze could react, Xing Conglian shouted, “Wang Chao, get the surveillance footage from the restroom, and let’s listen to what Huang just said in our bathroom.”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 227

Countless dust particles floated in the light projected by the projector. In the darkness, it looks like a vast universe, mysterious and intangible.

No one in the room wanted to speak.

Lin Chen stared at the rotating drug molecule structure on the wall for a long time.

Finally, it was Xing Conglian who said, “Let’s get started. Our time may be running out.”

“What do you mean by time running out? I don’t understand at all.” Wang Chao scratched his head desperately. “Why did Shen Lian do this? Is she crazy? Those are all cardiovascular drugs, and over 90% of users are elderly people. Why would she go through all this trouble to make grandparents take this medicine? Why?”

Xing Conglian’s big hand pressed on the young man’s head. “Xiao Wang, with your intelligence, trying to guess a criminal’s thoughts is just asking for trouble. As your A’Chen Gege said, the urgent thing we need to do is find evidence, prove that the previous generation drug has problems, identify the user population, and find a solution.”

Lin Chen thought that perhaps only Xing Conglian could remain calm and say the words “find a solution” in this situation, because they all knew that if this was a type of neurotoxic drug, it was very likely that there was no so-called solution.

“So what exactly is this previous generation drug?” Wang Chao asked.

At this moment, all eyes in the room turned to the young man who had been trembling in the corner, including Huang Ze.

Xiao Zhan sat on the sofa, looking confused. “What… What have you been talking about? I’m just a chemist, and I don’t understand what you’re saying… but… can there be toxic substances in this? If so, how come the Food and Drug Administration hasn’t found anything?”

“I don’t know,” Lin Chen replied, “but you don’t have to worry about that. Please explain to them the previous generation drug and the composition of Nordren.”

Mr. Xiao Zhan stood up in a state of bewilderment, rubbed his clothes with his hands, took the whiteboard pen Lin Chen had just used, and swallowed a mouthful of saliva. “The previous generation drug is Cerebralcon, a cardiovascular drug mainly composed of a fixed dose combination of Tern and ADP antiplatelet agents. As for Nordren, I don’t know much about this drug. From the promotional meeting just now, it is mainly composed of three components.”

Xiao Zhan wrote on the whiteboard:

Nordren: “Tern variant”, “ADP”, “Ton”

Cerebralcon: “Tern”, “ADP”

Mr. Xiao Zhan continued, “Ton is a newly introduced component, which is said to be obtained from the cultivation of a certain soil bacterium in the Dana Rainforest. Since you think there is a problem with the previous generation drug, this new component, Ton, can be excluded, right?”

When he heard “Dana Rainforest,” Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian, and the other person also met his gaze.

“Ton… this should be the component discovered by Lao Duan, right?” Xing Conglian called out. “Wang Chao.”

“Ding, Wang Chao is online. What can I do for you, sir?” Wang Chao looked at Xing Conglian with a very intelligent and understanding gaze.

“Show Mr. Xiao Zhan the information taken from Duan Yang.”

“Got it!”

The young man quickly responded and handed the tablet to Mr. Xiao Zhan.

“What is this?” Mr. Xiao Zhan was almost in a daze. “What am I supposed to be looking at?”

“You only need to confirm if the ingredient causing serious side effects mentioned in these materials is Ton,” Lin Chen said.

“I… I need to look at it for a while.”

Mr. Xiao Zhan flipped through the material and asked, “Can you adjust the Ton component published by Zhourui for me to see?”

The slide on the white wall changed to another compound with a smaller structure.

Mr. Xiao Zhan looked up and down, and his brow furrowed tightly. “According to the information on this tablet, the animal experiments with Ton did indeed have problems.”

“From this, it seems that Shen Lian has been providing false information to Duan Yang, and Ton is the culprit that has diverted our attention from the beginning to the end.” Lin Chen looked at Mr. Xiao Zhan. “The new Ton drug has passed the test and wasn’t present in the previous generation, so let’s eliminate Ton from the problem first, okay?”

Mr. Xiao Zhan happily struck out the word Ton on the whiteboard. “If we can confirm that Ton is not the problem, then we are left with Tern and ADP, right?” Mr. Xiao Zhan frowned, lost in thought. “I’m not sure about Tern, but ADP is a composite antiplatelet agent developed by Huihe Pharmaceutical a long time ago…”

“Twenty-three years ago,” Comrade Xiao Wang, who had just finished searching for information, replied.

“So, among the three, only Tern has a problem, and it also changed its configuration?” Lin Chen asked.

“Tern was independently developed by the R&D department of Zhourui Pharmaceutical, mainly used for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases…” Wang Chao began to recite encyclopedic knowledge.

“Was Shen Lian part of the research team?” Lin Chen asked.

“Shen Lian had just graduated from college and had just returned from the Dana Rainforest at that time. Let me check the timeline…” Wang Chao quickly compared the timeline. “Got it. At that time, Shen Lian submitted a proposal to improve the production process of Tern compounds to save production costs!” Wang Chao snapped his fingers and said to Mr. Xiao Zhan, “My friend, the proposal has been sent to your tablet.”

Mr. Xiao Zhan asked in confusion, “How did you find this so quickly?”

“Ah, we copied the hard drive of Tan Kang’s computer before…”

Upon hearing this, Huang Ze coughed lightly, and Wang Chao gave Huang Ze a disdainful look. “What’s the matter? You’re the most useless one here. Haven’t you noticed?”

Huang Ze glared at Wang Chao.

“Okay,” Xing Conglian interrupted Wang Chao. “How much do we know about the Tern ingredient?”

“Tern, Tern, Tern…” Wang Chao kept muttering as he scooped half an orange from the fruit basket, biting into it while he searched. Suddenly, he froze, his actions halted a drop of juice that was dripping on his lips, causing it to land on the laptop. Wang Chao quickly swallowed the juice and looked very nervous as he said, “Boss, I know why Zhourui Pharmaceutical couldn’t solve the problem by stopping production. They had to update and replace the drug completely to eliminate the impact! This—this—this… Shen Lian is simply wicked. Tern was developed by Zhourui, but not only their cardiovascular and cerebrovascular drugs used Tern… ” Wang Chao became flustered and was at a loss for words.

“Explain clearly. Calm down.” Xing Conglian tapped the table.

“Boss, A’Chen Gege, look here. At the bidding meeting in September 2009, a bidding group consisting of five pharmaceutical companies, including Huihe, Yingmeng, and Kang Taidelin, won the right to use Tern and developed multiple new cardiovascular and cerebrovascular drugs based on this. Zhourui Pharmaceutical couldn’t stop production directly because too many partner companies were involved. If they found out that Tern was the problem and wanted to solve it, they would need a reasonable reason to update and replace the main components, so they had to push Nordren to market.”

“This is too exaggerated. Why are so many companies suddenly using it?”

“What’s the problem with that?” Mr. Xiao Zhan said. “For patented products, big companies sometimes pay for usage rights. It’s like many type-2 diabetes drugs are stilbene class… There may be several drugs on the market that use Tern as an ingredient.”

“But if all of these drugs have problems, why haven’t there been any reports of mass adverse reactions until now?” Huang Ze questioned.

Lin Chen quietly spoke up, “Yes, this is probably a matter of timing. Whether it’s using Duan Yang, shifting the focus from Professor Duan, or even using hard-to-find methods to release the murder weapon… Shen Lian is delaying time, and what she may be waiting for is just a large-scale outbreak.”

“But the timing shouldn’t be too far away.” Xing Conglian said.

“Yes.”

“Wang Chao, summarize all drugs that have used Tern and start searching for the names of all personnel who have taken these drugs in major hospitals, and compare their relevant medical records later…” Xing Conglian said, looking at him.

Lin Chen understood and said to Wang Chao, “Pay attention to personnel who have taken related drugs and whether the following keywords appear in their medical records: aggression, irritability, cognitive impairment, intellectual decline, mental abnormality, and logical confusion.”

“Okay, I’ll do it right away!” Wang Chao crossed his fingers and stretched his muscles before starting to search. “But major hospitals are not connected to the internet, so I’ll need a lot of time…”

“It doesn’t matter.” Lin Chen nodded at Wang Chao before getting up and heading to the restroom.

He turned on the tap and washed his face. As the restroom door opened, Xing Conglian walked in.

Lin Chen looked at the reflection of Xing Conglian’s face as the other’s deep eyes stared at the mirror. “Half a day ago, I thought using Teacher Duan’s death to expose Shen Lian was too heavy a price, but just now, I suddenly felt fortunate… Originally, Teacher Duan was just an outsider who was used as a pawn, but he accidentally saved the Gaomeng tribe, who were being used as test subjects. Although he sacrificed his life for it, his death has now cut through all the black curtains. Whether it’s Shen Lian’s purpose or the things that Zhourui Pharmaceutical has concealed, everything has been exposed in broad daylight.”

“This is fate. All those who try to manipulate fate will be manipulated by fate.” Xing Conglian leaned against the wall covered with white tiles with one hand and spoke in an extremely plain, solemn tone. “Lao Duan would be happy about this.”

Lin Chen nodded, unable to refute the last sentence. He hugged Xing Conglian with his wet arms and patted his back, as a way to encourage each other.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Suddenly, Wang Chao’s scream came from the living room. Xing Conglian’s face changed, and he turned and pushed the door out. Lin Chen followed behind and ran into the living room, only to see Wang Chao typing frantically on the keyboard at an unbelievable speed. Lin Chen had never seen the boy look so terrified.

At a certain moment, all of Wang Chao’s movements stopped, and he pushed the laptop away and rushed outside. He flipped the circuit breaker and cut off all the power.

Lin Chen went outside and saw the boy crouched on the ground, covering his face with his hands, looking very confused.

Lin Chen squatted down and patted his back. “What happened?”

Wang Chao bit his thumb, looking anxious and restless. “It’s unbelievable. There’s a trap program in the prescription databases of the top three hospitals in major cities across the country. When anyone starts searching for information on the use of Cerebralcon, the tracking program automatically activates.”

“So what?” Xing Conglian kicked Wang Chao’s butt upon hearing this.

“I thought it was just a matter of checking prescription information, so I set up two virtual machines to get past the tracking program. But when I was downloading the prescriptions just now, I may have been exposed. If the other side is skilled enough, they might be able to track our real IP address. It’s my fault.” Wang Chao was very upset, rubbing his hair.

Lin Chen patted the boy’s back again, not feeling too nervous. He suddenly remembered what Xing Conglian had said earlier. “It may not necessarily be a bad thing, because according to what you said, no matter who set up the trap, they have the opportunity to know that ‘we’ have discovered the secret. Is that right?”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 226

Mr. Xiao continued to chatter on, but Lin Chen was no longer paying attention to the rest of what he was saying.

He immediately called Xing Conglian and requested to meet up.

“Why do you suddenly want to come over? Is something wrong?” Xing Conglian asked.

“I just attended the new drug launch event by Zhourui Pharmaceutical, and suddenly realized that we may have been misled by Shen Lian all along. This matter is indeed related to Nordren, but Shen Lian’s goal has never been about Nordren. Nordren is more like a huge shadow covering the truth, obscuring the details we should have seen.”

“What details?”

“I don’t know yet.” Lin Chen paused and asked, “Where is the memory card taken from Duan Yang’s home? I have a reliable friend who can take a look.”

“It’s at the University of Pharmaceutical Science,” Xing Conglian replied.

“Does Wang Chao have a backup?”

“Of course. If there isn’t, I’ll drag him out and give him a beating.”

Xing Conglian quickly connected Wang Chao to the conversation, and the young man’s cheerful voice rang out.

“A’Chen Gege, your personal assistant, Wang Chao, is at your service.”

“I’m at the Hongjing Hotel, you’re at the Transportation Bureau, and your boss is at the police station. How can we meet conveniently?” Lin Chen asked, “You may also need to search for some things, so bring Duan Yang’s memory card with you…”

“Let’s go home! Let’s go home!” Wang Chao was very excited.

Thinking of Inspector Huang, who was still with Xing Conglian, and what happened a few days ago, Lin Chen couldn’t answer for a moment. “I’ll follow your boss’s opinion.”

“We must go home!” Xing Conglian said happily.

Lin Chen shook his head helplessly, hung up the phone, and dragged Mr. Xiao Zhan away.

Mr. Xiao Zhan was very reluctant and kept turning his head as he drove his car. “Mr. Lin… can’t we still talk to someone from Zhourui?”

Lin Chen saw that the young man was truly pitiful. When he approached the door, Xing Conglian happened to come down from the steps.

Lin Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief, pointed to the figure of the gentleman at the door, and said to Mr. Xiao, “There’s no need to talk to them.”

“Why not?”

“How much is a single order from Zhourui Pharmaceutical? You need to have a long-term vision,” Lin Chen said to Mr. Xiao Zhan while pointing to Xing Conglian.

People like Mr. Xiao Zhan had crawled and worked under Director Zhan’s hands for a long time, so they knew how to be subservient, but sometimes they could be overly subservient.

In short, after seeing Xing Conglian in the courtyard, Mr. Xiao Zhan kept calling him “Director Xing”, leaving Xing Conglian at a loss.

Lin Chen hadn’t been home for a long time, but everything was unchanged.

The flowers and plants were flourishing, and the koi in the small pond didn’t look thin at all. The house was cleaned, and there were prepared fruits in the refrigerator.

Huang Ze sat on the sofa in the living room, observing his breath and pretending not to notice anything. Wang Chao was happily teasing Inspector Huang while setting up the projector and introducing his new games to him.

Lin Chen subconsciously opened the door to his room, then exited and looked at the room’s location before opening the door again.

“Where are my things?” Lin Chen couldn’t help but ask as he grabbed onto Xing Conglian’s arm.

His room was empty, not just in terms of furniture but also his bedding, books, and even his clothes were missing.

Xing Conglian looked at him as if to say, “What are you talking about?” and pulled him to the master bedroom door, pushing it open. “Consultant Lin, this is your room.”

Lin Chen looked at the double bed that replaced Xing Conglian’s single bed, which had a very simple checkered sheet on it. His books had been put away in Xing Conglian’s bookcase, who had also added a desk to the room. Though the room was still overly simple despite these additions, the fresh smell of the new bed sheets lingered. Lin Chen didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Xing Conglian pushed him into the room, hooked the door with his foot, and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Why did you act so quickly?” Lin Chen walked to the desk and asked.

Xing Conglian hugged him, then reached out to put his hand on the hem of his shirt. “I’m a man who’s always prepared.”

Lin Chen sat on the desk and laughed. “But there is already a study room in the house. Why do we need another desk here?”

Xing Conglian leaned over to his ear and said, “Consultant Lin, imagine this: you’re wearing a white shirt, sitting at this desk working, with the lamp on, and it’s night outside the window…”

“What about you?” Lin Chen asked.

“I’m lying on the bed watching you, of course.”

“Lying down?” Lin Chen kissed Xing Conglian on the cheek.

Before Xing Conglian could answer, Mr. Xiao Zhan shouted outside the door, “Director Xing, we’re ready.”

Xing Conglian distanced himself a little and asked, “What’s with this ‘Director Xing’?”

“Oh, I told Mr. Xiao Zhan that you could offer his family’s factory a big order.”

“I thought he was interested in me.”

“He’s interested in your money.”

“Ah, you’re interested in my money too.” Xing Conglian said, “That way, I can use money to keep you tied to me forever.”

Lin Chen couldn’t help but turn around and hug him, saying, “But I prefer to earn money to spend on you.”

Just then, Huang Ze’s voice rang out, “Xing Conglian, have some professionalism!”

Xing Conglian moved a little distance away again and asked, “Am I not professional?”

“Your kissing skills are very professional.” Lin Chen jumped down from the desk. “But I haven’t verified other things yet.”

As Lin Chen said this, he opened the door and went out.

It seemed that Xing Conglian wasn’t happy to be interrupted by Huang Ze. He walked to the living room and impatiently said, “Huang Ze, go wash the fruit plate.”

Huang Ze looked puzzled. “Xing Conglian, what do you mean?”

“My Boss means that since we are the hosts and Mr. Xiao Zhan is our guest, and you are the only one with nothing to do, so naturally you should go.”

“It’s already enough to let you sit here.” Xing Conglian pointed to the refrigerator. “Hurry up, or I’ll drive you out.”

Huang Ze stood up in anger and walked to the kitchen.

“Why does he listen to you so much?”

“Probably because he has done something wrong here before,” Xing Conglian said disdainfully. “Let’s start.” He turned to Wang Chao.

Comrade Wang Chao rushed to pull the curtains, and the projector was turned on, projecting the relevant content onto a white wall. The wall displayed the composition formula for Zhourui Pharmaceutical’s new drug, Nordren.

“What… What do you want me to see, Mr. Lin?” Mr. Xiao Zhan was confused.

“Yes, A’Chen Gege, what did you find out at the press conference?”

Looking at the rotating drug structures on the white wall, Lin Chen slowly spoke. “I suspect that the problematic drug is not Zhourui Pharmaceutical’s new drug, Nordren, but its predecessor. Nordren was only created by Zhourui Pharmaceutical to cover up the problems of the previous drug.”

After he finished speaking, there was silence in the room, except for the sound of running water as Huang Ze washed the fruit.

Huang Ze brought the fruit bowl out and slammed it on the coffee table. Seeing that everyone’s faces were serious and silent, he couldn’t help but say in a bad tone, “What’s wrong with you guys?”

Wang Chao finally came back to his senses and asked, “A’Chen Gege, do you have any evidence?”

“From the very beginning, why did Shen Lian use Duan Yang to spread unfavorable evidence about Nordren’s launch?”

Wang Chao replied, “To frame Dr. Duan, Shen Lian used Duan Yang to create a motive for Dr. Duan to possibly kill Tan Kang—that is, the fake academic plagiarism incident.”

“What if it was killing two birds with one stone?” Lin Chen said, “Creating public opinion pressure to delay Nordren’s launch. After all, people are more accustomed to the predecessor drug than the new one that was just promoted.”

Wang Chao: “But—but why did Shen Lian do this? Is she actually a good person?”

“That’s why I brought you here. All the information we have about Nordren at present comes from the fake information fabricated by Shen Lian. The so-called adverse reactions of Nordren may very well come from the predecessor drug.”

Lin Chen took a pen and walked to the whiteboard in the room, wrote the word Nordren and put a checkmark beside it. He circled the word and drew an upward arrow with a question mark beside it.

Xing Conglian asked, “How did you know that Zhourui Pharmaceutical has long known about the problems with the predecessor drug?”

“Why did Zhourui begin to replace suppliers a long time ago? Why would a pharmaceutical company do this?”

“You mean?”

Lin Chen said, “There’s a problem with their drugs, but they can’t identify where the problem is. They can’t even be sure if it’s their own drugs that have problems, so they can only conduct layer upon layer of self-inspection.”

“Does this include Dana’s human experiments?”

“That way they can get results faster, right? What could make a big pharmaceutical company have to secretly conduct experiments and take risks?”

“It must be something that is not allowed in civilized society and difficult to talk about,” Xing Conglian replied.

Lin Chen nodded.

“So you’re saying that we’ve been completely deceived by Shen Lian and Zhourui Pharmaceutical all along?” Wang Chao scratched his head frantically.

“‘Nordren’ is like a huge sun, emitting dazzling light from beginning to end, obscuring all the details behind it,” Xing Conglian said calmly. “Shen Lian messed around with the previous generation drug, and Zhourui Pharmaceutical discovered the problem. Zhourui developed Nordren to make up for the loopholes in the previous generation drug. As the head of Nordren’s R&D, Tan Kang discovered what Shen Lian was up to and was killed by her. Shen Lian then pinned the blame for the murder on Lao Duan…” Xing Conglian paused. “This does reflect that there may be problems with Nordren, but how do we prove your point?”

“First, the false information that Shen Lian gave to Duan Yang was probably based on the previous generation drug. Later, please ask Mr. Xiao Zhan to search for information with a targeted approach, which should reveal some clues. Second, if Zhourui Pharmaceutical confirms that the problem lies with the previous generation drug, they will certainly take action to reduce their shipments. A large-scale shutdown would easily arouse suspicion, or there may be other reasons. Third, we know that if there are really adverse drug reactions, the side effects will certainly be reflected in the medical records of patients who use the previous generation drug. We just need to search for targeted patient case records to find any anomalies.”

“So…”

“So, it’s highly likely that a large number of elderly people have already taken this drug. What Shen Lian has been doing is probably delaying our discovery of the truth. She may be waiting for the day when a large-scale outbreak occurs…”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 225

Lin Chen and Mr. Xiao Zhan found a seat and sat down.

The large screen in the conference hall kept playing the Zhourui Pharmaceutical promotional video on repeat, and the booming voice echoed through the speakers.

The aerial camera scanned over the Zhourui Pharmaceutical building and focused on the company’s logo; a blue peace dove.

“We are Zhourui Pharmaceutical, dedicated to curing lives and improving the quality of life for all mankind…”

A righteous male voiceover began to speak. The doors to the Zhourui Pharmaceutical conference hall opened. Following the camera, the audience could see the energetic employees inside the pharmaceutical company. The camera continued to move upward, passing through the research and development laboratory, where employees wearing light blue dustproof suits worked on either side of the workstations. The scene looked organized, orderly, bright, and clean.

This made Lin Chen think of the dirty mining area deep in the rainforest, which was a stark contrast.

The male voice in the promotional video continued to speak with a reciting tone. “Zhourui Pharmaceutical has the most advanced global R&D team and world-class R&D capabilities. We are forging ahead, with an annual investment of over 10 billion yuan in R&D on new drugs every year. As of June this year, we have launched a total of 52 drugs on the market…”

The screen displayed many charts showing Zhourui Pharmaceutical’s R&D investment and related achievements.

In short, the press conference was also an enterprise promotional event, and these things were necessary. Lin Chen glanced briefly and felt that Zhourui Pharmaceutical had made some contributions in recent years.

After dozens of deafening enterprise promotional videos, it finally stopped.

Lin Chen noticed that some elderly people with white hair were obviously accompanied by Zhourui Pharmaceutical staff to the front row, as well as some young and middle-aged people, who should be key members of hospitals or research institutes.

Suddenly, Mr. Xiao Zhan pinched Lin Chen’s arm. He looked over and saw the second-generation chemical factory owner Xiao Zhan excitedly saying, “Oh my god, Mr. Lin, did you see it? Did you see it? Oh my god, Academician Zhang is here too!”

Lin Chen didn’t understand and looked towards the front row, but he couldn’t see anything from those backs. However, he seemed to have seen the doctor who invited them to the promotional event among the experts in the front row just now.

As excited as Mr. Xiao Zhan was, the scene naturally became restless.

Without asking, Mr. Xiao Zhan explained to him, “That’s Academician Zhang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Pharmaceutical Research Institute! A top expert among experts!”

“Do you know him?”

“No… I don’t know…” Mr. Xiao Zhan suddenly felt embarrassed, and his excitement subsided. “I… I wanted to do my Ph.D. under Academician Zhang, but I didn’t pass the entrance exam.”

The fact that a top expert from a pharmaceutical research institute was invited to endorse a pharmaceutical company overturned Lin Chen’s understanding.

“Is this appropriate?” Lin Chen asked, “Would academicians be willing to go on commercial tours?”

Mr. Xiao Zhan pushed him and said seriously, “This is not a commercial tour, Mr. Lin. Keep your voice down.”

People around them cast their gaze on them, so Lin Chen shut up. Obviously, in such a place, saying too much would only lead to trouble.

“I don’t understand.”

“You may not understand these issues in the pharmaceutical industry.” Mr. Xiao Zhan lowered his voice. “Look, when a new drug is promoted and marketed to cure patients, who should use it and who should give it?”

“Of course, it is the doctors who give the medicine to the patients.”

“Mr. Lin, you are absolutely right… but there are so many types of drugs on the market. Even for something as simple as antipyretics, there are numerous options. So how do doctors gain information about new drugs to make informed decisions and choose the right medication for a specific patient?”

“Well, doctors have their own ways to stay informed…”

“Of course, but doctors are busy, and there are too many types of drugs. So, one of the main ways for doctors to learn about drugs is through the promotion of drug manufacturers. When a new drug is launched, the first thing drug companies do is conduct large-scale promotional activities to explain the therapeutic mechanism, efficacy, and clinical trial results of the drug… The experts’ presence is, of course, the result of the pharmaceutical company’s invitation, but it is also the best opportunity for doctors to learn about new drugs. In fact, the thinking in the medical system is very stubborn, and sometimes it takes a lot of effort to promote a new treatment approach and drug before it can completely replace the previous drug and be accepted by people. If the replacement is successful, it can truly achieve a mutually beneficial process and ultimately benefit patients,” Mr. Xiao Zhan said.

Lin Chen sighed lightly. “You’re not wrong. After all, fundamentally, without the commercial benefits of using drugs on patients, there would be no funding for the next round of research and development…”

“Mr. Lin, it’s impressive that you can think like that. At least you’re not like those who believe that doctors and drug companies collude to make money off patients. In fact, if pharmaceutical companies can’t make money from a certain disease, they are unlikely to invest heavily in developing new products. For example, there are few people who develop vaccines for rare viruses and drugs for brain damage rehabilitation like Nordren, which is produced by Zhourui Pharmaceutical alone and has been updated many times… ” Mr. Xiao Zhan continued to talk endlessly.

“Mr. Xiao Zhan,” Lin interrupted him.

“Yes?”

“I must say, when you talk about your expertise, you suddenly become less nervous.”

“I… I’m not… not nervous…”

Mr. Xiao Zhan blushed, and at the same time, the lights in the venue dimmed and someone walked slowly onto the stage. It was a middle-aged man with a big belly, who wore gold-rimmed glasses and was balding. He was the chairman of Zhourui Pharmaceutical.

“We would like to welcome all experts and friends from all walks of life to our promotional conference of our new drug Nordren. There have been many things happening recently regarding the launch of Nordren, and Zhourui Pharmaceutical has also been questioned conservatively. Nordren has had a lot of setbacks, and even we ourselves thought that this drug might never make any contributions to curing diseases. But it is a groundbreaking new drug, and we firmly believe in its therapeutic effects. It should serve all patients. Therefore, we have made a lot of effort recently so that it can finally be launched. Here, I also want to thank friends from all walks of life for their help.”

There was thunderous applause from the audience. It seemed the chairman didn’t shy away from the recent issues surrounding Nordren but rather brushed over them lightly.

Lin Chen calmly watched everything on the stage.

The chairman waved his hand. “Alright, I won’t talk much nonsense. Please watch the promotional video for Nordren.”

The big screen suddenly brightened, and the configuration of a new type of drug appeared, and the model on the screen rotated 360 degrees.

Several people were flipping through the promotional materials placed on each seat, with Mr. Xiao Zhan paying particular attention, while Lin Chen began to observe the reactions of the people on stage and in the audience.

“Nordren is a new type of brain science drug that abandons the previous common treatment approach of unclogging and patching up leaks, and instead focuses on repairing neurons. Its active ingredient is Ton, which was discovered by our company’s scientists decades ago in the Dana Rainforest. Researchers designed and synthesized various derivatives to enhance the drug’s lipid solubility and allow it to pass through the blood-brain barrier. Once it enters the brain, the derivative drug of Nordren quickly undergoes metabolic changes and becomes a new active ingredient. The clinical trial evidence is included in the materials in your hands, and according to the relevant results…”

“Have you found anything?” Lin Chen turned his head and asked.

Mr. Xiao Zhan was confused. “Found what?”

It dawned on Lin Chen that Mr. Xiao Zhan wasn’t Xing Conglian, who was investigating the case with him, but rather a chemical engineering expert who simply wanted to restore the reputation of his father’s company.

“Is Nordren really as amazing as they say?”

“Huh? Amazing?” Mr. Xiao Zhan put down the materials. “It’s pretty impressive, with a new approach, but… I wouldn’t necessarily call it amazing.”

“Didn’t they say it was a completely new approach?”

“Well, Nordren is actually a fixed-dose combination of the company’s previous-generation cardiovascular drug Tern and the antiplatelet agent ADP, with Tern changing its structure and introducing the Ton component mentioned earlier. The new drug resulting from the restructuring is a very innovative approach that I’ve never seen before.”

Mr. Xiao Zhan’s tone was very casual and relaxed, but Lin Chen felt a chill run down his spine.

He rubbed his forehead, feeling that Mr. Xiao Zhan’s words contained extremely important and crucial information that had been hidden in plain sight due to their lack of expertise in the field of medicine.

He clenched his fist and finally made up his mind.

“Come with me.” He patted Mr. Xiao Zhan on the shoulder.

“What? The conference isn’t over yet,” Mr. Xiao Zhan asked, confused.

“Come with me,” Lin Chen emphasized.

Outside the conference hall, the hotel corridor was filled with the unique scent of hotel incense, and as usual, they were subjected to routine checks by the guards.

Lin Chen took Mr. Xiao Zhan for a casual walk in the corridor before finally speaking up. “I have a question, and I was wondering if you could help me analyze it.”

“Why are you so polite?”

“On stage just now, the chairman of Zhourui mentioned the problems their company encountered before Nordren was launched. What do you think about that?”

“I… I don’t know…”

“What I mean is, do you think there’s a problem with Nordren?”

“Do you think there’s a problem with Nordren?”

Mr. Xiao Zhan’s expression revealed that he had remembered Lin Chen’s rebuttal with the attending physician at the MRI room door yesterday.

“If it can pass the testing by the Food and Drug Administration, then there shouldn’t be any problems, and after so many clinical trials, unless Zhourui Pharmaceutical intentionally falsified the data, the efficacy should indeed exist.”

“What about the side effects? Will Nordren have strong side effects?”

“Side effects are hard to predict. For example, Herceptin, a breast cancer treatment drug, was found to cause symptoms and signs of decreased heart function in patients during later stages of treatment. We always say that medicine has three parts poison, so it’s unlikely that a certain drug has no side effects…”

Lin Chen listened quietly to Xiao Zhan’s explanation without interrupting the young man.

“Side effects are acceptable within a controllable range, meaning that within a certain range of data, they can be accepted. Moreover, Zhourui Pharmaceutical isn’t stupid. If they knew that Nordren had strong side effects, why would they promote it? Just the patient compensation claims alone would ruin them.”

Lin Chen fell into deep thought.

Xiao Zhan’s point was something they had discussed repeatedly. Now, considering all the information they had gathered over the past few days, they could see some things more clearly.

First, Nordren itself shouldn’t have any major problems. Otherwise, Zhourui Pharmaceutical wouldn’t have heavily promoted the drug.

Second, Zhourui Pharmaceutical had encountered some inexplicable internal problems, to the extent that they had replaced all of their suppliers.

Third, as the head of Nordren’s research and development, Tan Kang should have discovered something and wanted to expose it. However, he was killed by Shen Lian before he could do so.

Fourth, Shen Lian had been using lies to prevent Nordren from entering the market.

The problem was, what conclusion could be drawn from this information?

Lin Chen looked at the young man beside him and asked, “If someone is going to great lengths to prevent Nordren from entering the market, what do you think that person’s motive is?”

“Are you talking about… Zhourui Pharmaceutical’s competitors?” Xiao Zhan nervously asked.

“Competitors?”

“Because Nordren’s approach is indeed very innovative. If it can be successfully promoted on a large scale, it will squeeze out the old drugs of other manufacturers without any room for survival. Besides competitors, I… I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t want Nordren to enter the market.”

“But what if it’s an internal member of Zhourui Pharmaceutical who doesn’t want a certain drug to succeed?”

“That could also be due to competition within the internal team, such as if the company promotes your drug, then the predecessor drug under development will be slowly phased out of the market, or my new generation drug project that I’m developing might be canceled…”

“Predecessor drug?”

Lin Chen suddenly had an extremely terrifying feeling. “Did you just say that there is a relationship between Nordren and Zhourui Pharmaceutical’s predecessor cardiovascular and cerebrovascular drugs?”

“Nordren is a new type of drug produced by reconfiguring the predecessor drug Tern and adding a new ingredient, Ton,” Mr. Xiao Zhan said with confusion. “What’s wrong?”

“Nordren is an improvement over the predecessor drug?”

“It’s more complicated than just an improvement… It’s not a simple inheritance relationship…”

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Speaking of which, I know this varies by country, but in the United States, pharmaceutical companies can commercially advertise directly to consumers despite the fact that their drugs will need a doctor’s prescription. This has been criticized, as the ordinary layman doesn’t have the education and knowledge of drugs and health to make an educated decision on what drugs they should take for what illness they have.

On another note, speaking of medical and drug breakthroughs, with the rise of COVID, biotech companies Moderna and BioNTech made a breakthrough in their COVID vaccine through mRNA technology, which is different from the usual vaccines we normally take.

With this breakthrough, developers are now looking to use this technology to develop vaccines for such things as cancer and HIV. It’s quite exciting.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 224

Lin Chen didn’t know when he fell asleep or if he had slept at all, but he was awakened by a phone call.

In a daze, he picked up his phone and glanced at it. Outside, the weather was gloomy, casting a hazy blue hue.

Lin Chen didn’t answer the phone right away because he didn’t recognize the number. He checked the time and realized that Xing Conglian, Wang Chao, and Huang Ze still hadn’t returned.

He suddenly became alert and hesitated for a moment before pressing the answer button and sitting up in his hospital bed.

“Hello, Mr. Lin… This is Zhan… Zhan… The person you left your number with yesterday.”

Lin Chen quickly pictured the young man’s anxious face and rubbed his eyes, exhaling deeply. “Hello, Mr. Zhan, what can I do for you?”

“I’ve run into a problem, but I don’t know who to talk to. I… I…”

“Is it a problem with your factory’s emulsifier?”

There were noises and voices in the background of the phone call, including footsteps and car honks.

“What happened?”

“I… I checked our factory’s emulsifier last night, and I couldn’t find any impurities. I want to talk to Zhourui’s people about this problem to find out what’s going on and how we can solve it.”

Lin Chen didn’t know why Mr. Zhan called him specifically for this issue, but he patiently replied, “It’s only 7 in the morning. Even if you contact the person in charge now, it’s unlikely that the problem can be solved so quickly. You might have to wait a bit longer.”

“No, no, Mr. Lin, I’ve been calling Zhourui’s Pharmaceutical contacts all night. I even went through my dad’s contact list, but no one told me what’s going on. Some people blocked me after I called them twice. There must be something wrong, right?”

“It could be related to business reasons. It’s hard to say. Also, did you call them in the middle of the night?”

“I… I really don’t know what to do…”

Mr. Xiao Zhan hesitated, and Lin Chen didn’t know how to advise him either. He felt that Mr. Xiao Zhan calling him about this matter was already awkward enough.

Sighing, Lin Chen asked, “So, why did you call me specifically for this matter?”

“It’s like this, Mr. Lin… Today, there’s a promotion event for Zhourui’s Pharmaceutical’s new drug, Nordron. Can you… Can you help me by accompanying me to the event?”

Lin Chen was even more surprised by this request. Although he had called Xing Conglian yesterday to express his interest in attending the event, after everything that happened with Shen Lian and last night, he had almost forgotten about it. So now, Mr. Xiao Zhan’s sudden request caught him off guard. “Why me?”

“I saw what you said at the hospital gate… It was online… I just thought you…”

“You think I’m good at talking and can help you argue?” Lin Chen felt that this reason was too reasonable.

“No, no, I really can’t find anyone. I’m sorry…” Mr. Xiao Zhan’s voice was almost crying. “Although Zhourui is not our biggest customer, I’m really afraid that Zhourui Pharmaceutical will sue us. With Chairman Zhan already like this, I really need to know where the problem is before they will replace us suppliers.”

Xiao Zhan’s tone was servile, but it didn’t make people feel any disgust. Lin Chen sighed deeply, but suddenly thought of something. He felt that at that moment, there seemed to be something that could connect everything together.

Lin Chen raised his voice slightly and said, “Wait, what did you say?”

“Huh?”

“Zhourui Pharmaceutical replaced their suppliers? What happened?”

“I don’t know what happened. Before, I called several uncles and aunts to help us talk to Zhourui Pharmaceutical…”

“And then?”

“One of the uncles specializes in raw materials, and he said they had been replaced by Zhourui a long time ago. We were the last supplier to be replaced.”

Lin Chen’s heart was beating very fast. Although he didn’t know where the problem was as it was understandable to switch suppliers, but if they started replacing suppliers a long time ago, then there must be some unspeakable problems…

“Do you know how to drive?” Lin Chen suddenly asked.

“Huh?”

“Come to the Municipal Hospital and pick me up.”

Lin Chen hung up the phone.

He got up and walked around the ward for two laps, picked up his phone, and dialed Xing Conglian’s number.

“What’s wrong, baby? Are you awake?” Xing Conglian’s tone was overly sweet, and he had never called him those words before*. But Lin Chen suddenly realized that Xing Conglian was probably with Huang Ze now, so he was acting mushy.

*Clarity: He’s calling Lin Chen baby/babe/darling/sweetie/ect. [baobei] (宝贝) which is generally used between couples or children.

“What about Wang Chao?”

“Wang Chao has been helping to adjust vehicle data at the Transportation Department. The files you wanted will be delivered later.”

“What about you?”

“That big idiot Huang Ze and I are conducting surveillance at the bureau.” It seemed Xing Conglian had no scruples towards Inspector Huang’s feelings as he said “idiot” so straightforwardly.

“The information in the Duan Yang beanbag?”

“We found it last night,” Xing Conglian answered decisively.

Lin Chen hesitated for a moment and finally asked, “Wang Chao is still at the Transportation Department, and you’re still conducting surveillance, so Shen Lian…”

“We haven’t caught her yet.”

“How is it possible to have no clues?” Lin Chen asked.

“It seems she planned for this day a long time ago, so she has already prepared her escape route,” Xing Conglian said.

“If she really planned so far ahead, then although the route may be hidden, there should be traces that can be followed. She should have a destination and can’t just escape aimlessly. People like Shen Lian should know that the longer they stay exposed to the sun, the more likely they are to be discovered.”

“Yes, but now the capture of Shen Lian is being carried out in secret. According to your statement, we still have a chance to make her let her guard down and think that we are not targeting her, and then see if there is a chance to trick her into exposing her tail,” Xing Conglian said.

“Understood.” Lin Chen hesitated for a moment, and finally said, “I want to go to the new drug promotion conference of Zhourui Pharmaceutical later.”

The other end of the phone fell silent, with only noisy background sounds. It was apparent that Xing Conglian was presiding over the entire surveillance operation. He considered for a moment and said, “I can’t leave right now, but I’ll arrange for a police officer to accompany you.”

Lin Chen appreciated Captain Xing’s straightforwardness and smiled. He lowered his head and said to the person on the other end of the phone, “No need. He’s the son of a raw material supplier of Zhourui that I met yesterday. He just called me and revealed a situation. Zhourui Pharmaceutical has been gradually replacing suppliers for a long time, so there may be some problems involved, which is why I want to go to the promotion conference and see what’s so special about Nordren that Zhourui has put so much effort into promoting.”

“Okay, be careful.”

“Don’t worry.”

……

Although Mr. Xiao Zhan was soft-spoken, he was highly effective.

After a quick wash downstairs, Lin Chen saw Mr. Xiao Zhan waiting for him in a dusty gray Jetta parked outside the hospital.

“Mr. Lin, my… My car isn’t good. Please don’t hold it against me.”

Lin Chen looked at the dust on the car, which looked exactly like the dust on Xing Conglian’s Jeep, and said, “It’s okay, I’m used to it.”

Zhourui Pharmaceutical’s new drug promotion conference was held at the Hongjing Intercontinental Hotel.

The conference was supposed to start at exactly nine, but half an hour before that, the lobby of the hotel was already bustling.

There were industry elites dressed neatly, as well as elderly residents from nearby neighborhoods who looked quite ordinary.

Some of the elderly people were limping with crutches, but with hopeful eyes, they looked at the guide signs of Zhourui Pharmaceutical’s new promotion conference in the lobby. This reminded Lin Chen of the scene when he first met with Duan Yang, who took him to the hospital to see some things.

Mr. Xiao Jan touched him and asked puzzledly, “Mr. Lin, what’s wrong? Let’s go this way.”

Lin Chen looked at Mr. Xiao Jan’s face and felt a sense of unspeakable nostalgia. “Nothing, just thinking about something.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just that suddenly I realized that drugs are a good thing.”

“Of course, drugs are good.” Mr. Xiao Jan became excited when it came to his profession. “If it weren’t for generation after generation of drug research and development, it would be impossible for Chairman Zhan to survive his problems ten years ago. But now, there shouldn’t be any major problem with maintaining his life.”

“Yes.”

They walked and talked, quickly arriving at the promotion hall. To be honest, this was the first time Lin Chen had attended a pharmaceutical enterprise promotion event. The atmosphere was similar to that of a common academic conference, with scholars, doctors smelling of disinfectant, and even some college or graduate students.

However, when they arrived at the entrance, Lin Chen realized one of the most important issues.

Two security personnel were checking invitation letters at the entrance of the promotion event. Lin Chen looked at Mr. Xiao Zhan and then at the entrance.

Mr. Xiao Zhan said in confusion, “Why are we not going in, Mr. Lin?”

Lin Chen asked, “How do we get in?”

“Huh?”

Lin Chen said helplessly, “Did you bring your invitation letter?”

Mr. Xiao Zhan suddenly realized. “Consultant Lin, even if I’m stupid, I won’t forget this!”

“I’m sorry, but please keep your voice down.” Lin Chen shook his head and led him to a corner.

Mr. Xiao Zhan quickly took out the crumpled invitation letter, and Lin Chen noticed a woman standing in the corner of the promotion event, who looked quite domineering.

The woman was wearing professional attire, casually scanning the room, but her eyes were sharp like a hawk’s, indicating that she had extraordinary strength. She was the former head of security and current public relations manager at Zhourui Pharmaceutical, and the troublesome woman that Xing Conglian had encountered before. Even around the entire promotion event, there were seemingly casual security personnel who guarded the entrances and exits, as if they were guarding against something.

Even earlier, when Lin Chen and Mr. Xiao Zhan entered the event, they encountered bag checks and metal detectors.

For a normal pharmaceutical promotion event, this level of security was somewhat intriguing.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 223

The press conference held at the entrance of the emergency building was hasty and brief. Of course, there was no live broadcast on the scene, but in the era of information technology, even people in the outskirts could quickly learn about relevant news through their phones and major platforms.

Under the same night sky.

The night wind swept over the large fields. Huihe Nursing Home wasn’t too remote; it was located on the outskirts of Hongjing. It was nearly 10 in the evening, and most of the elderly in the nursing home had fallen asleep, leaving only the guard room and the lights in a few rooms still on.

The stray dogs in the field were barking madly, but the nursing home remained quiet.

Most of the elderly in the rooms were already sound asleep, except for a few who suffered from severe insomnia.

There was a strange sense of tranquility in the air, but of course, there was also the peculiar musty smell of decay that was unique to nursing homes, although it wasn’t too strong.

A small cart rolled over the white tiled floor of the nursing home corridor, making a slight creaking sound.

A masked nurse had just come out of a room, closing the door gently and walking slowly. The pocket of her white coat bulged, and the screen of her phone faintly lit up through the thin fabric, as if she had received some message.

There was no electronic sound in the corridor, not even the vibration of a phone. However, the nurse seemed to have a strange sense of perception. She took out her phone and swiped her slender thumb lightly across the screen.

One picture after another appeared on her Weibo.

There was a barbecue stand covered in blood, people covered in blood, and a policeman covered in a white sheet…

Of course, the policeman was an undercover officer, and there was only one casualty in the entire riot, so the identity of the deceased was obvious.

The nurse slightly curled her lips, and her fingers continued to move at a steady pace. Her gaze was still focused and serious, and the screen finally stopped at a picture of the entrance to the municipal hospital emergency building.

The lights of the media reporters were like clouds under the steps, and a young man with rolled-up sleeves stood on the steps. He showed his porcelain-white neck and jade-like face, and his expression was calm, which made people want to smash it.

The nurse squinted and smiled, putting down her phone and taking the ward round board from the hook on the side of the cart. She looked at the names on it, showing a happy expression like that of a young girl.

She pushed the cart and headed toward the next room.

……

Lin Chen was sitting in the doctor’s office, waiting for Xing Conglian to return, which took about ten minutes.

His gaze fell on Xing Conglian’s hands, which didn’t have any obvious bloodstains, indicating that he hadn’t beaten Huang Ze too badly.

Perhaps his gaze was too obvious. Xing Conglian raised his eyebrows and said, “Don’t worry, I didn’t kill him.”

As soon as Xing Conglian finished speaking, Huang Ze walked into the office with a pale face.

“Why are you here?” Lin Chen asked flatly.

Huang Ze looked disdainful, with a cold and aloof manner, standing straight as if he were aloof.

Xing Conglian kicked a chair over and said impatiently, “Stop pretending.”

Huang Ze frowned as if the chair were covered in billions of germs, making it impossible for him to sit down.

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian inquiringly, not understanding why he had come in with Huang Ze, given that he had already dealt with him.

“I can’t drive him away,” Xing Conglian said impatiently.

Huang Ze still chose to stand, ignoring Xing Conglian.

Sitting with crossed arms, Lin Chen felt that this scene was quite strange. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“I want to join the task force,” Huang Ze said bluntly.

Lin Chen put his arms down and looked up at the Inspector, who had just walked in. “Why? You must be uncomfortable here, Huang Ze. This isn’t a fun game of cops and robbers.”

“Lin Chen, did you always think that I became a police officer because I thought it would be fun?”

There was a hint of sadness in Huang Ze’s gaze.

“To be honest, I’m not interested in why you became a police officer, but I’ve said years ago that you’re not suitable for this job.”

“A few years ago, you also told me that we weren’t suitable to be in a relationship.”

Xing Conglian interjected, interrupting their conversation, “Huang Ze, stop flirting with my boyfriend.”

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian and saw that he had walked over to him, leaned against the wall, lit a cigarette, and stopped talking.

“I persisted just to find out one thing.” Huang Ze stared at him and said, “I want to know how Weiwei died.”

Lin Chen realized that, probably because he was seeing Huang Ze more frequently lately, or perhaps because he had really gone through the gate of hell and back, he was no longer as uncomfortable as before. He could even answer this question calmly. “I killed her.”

Hearing this, Huang Ze was obviously provoked again. He opened his right hand and went for Lin Chen’s neck.

Xing Conglian acted quickly and kicked him in the knee.

Huang Ze fell heavily to the ground, his knee hitting the marble floor.

This was roughly what Wang Chao saw when he entered the room.

The teenager was dumbfounded. “What the hell are you doing, Inspector Huang? Even if you propose now, my A’Chen Gege won’t accept it!”

The atmosphere in the office didn’t lighten up because of the usual jokes from the teenager.

Huang Ze struggled to get up from the ground, laughing. “Lin Chen, you might have misunderstood. I used a declarative sentence, not a question. I have to join, and if not me, someone more severe than me will be sent by the higher-ups.”

“Enough with the threats. You’re acting crazy,” Xing Conglian said as he blew out a smoke ring. “Because we disappeared for a while before, the higher-ups need to find someone to investigate. That, and Zhourui Pharmaceutical has been exerting pressure. It’s a small problem, but it can be solved.”

In other words, if Lin Chen thought Huang Ze was a problem, they could just throw him out.

Lin Chen was speechless.

He looked at Huang Ze seriously and asked, “You really have to follow us?”

“Believe me, if it’s not me, there will definitely be a more severe inspector to replace me,” Huang Ze said.

“Are you a masochist?” Lin Chen could only ask.

……

The voices in the corridor outside the office gradually faded away as the reporters left without getting any good news. Now, only the sound of medical staff coming and going could be heard.

Wang Chao sat down in the office, looking uncomfortable, with Huang Ze beside him. He tried his best to move closer to Xing Conglian.

Xing Conglian gave the boy a slap on the head. “If you’re unhappy, I’m even more unhappy.”

Helplessly, Wang Chao had to move to the other side.

Lin Chen put his hand on the teenager’s shoulder and said, “Let’s just pretend he doesn’t exist.”

Huang Ze snorted but didn’t say much.

Wang Chao cleared his throat and reported, “I checked, and our communication channel was indeed hacked.”

“Does Shen Lian really have that ability?” Xing Conglian asked.

Huang Ze interrupted, “Who is Shen Lian?”

“You’re not an undercover agent, are you?” Wang Chao suddenly covered his laptop as if he were guarding against Huang Ze.

“I don’t need to be,” Huang Ze said coldly.

Wang Chao hesitated. “Okay, let’s just say that’s a nickname.” He turned to answer Xing Conglian’s question. “Boss, as long as it’s a walkie-talkie system that uses radio transmission, it can be hacked, but the police have made it more difficult. It’s very likely that she learned about our communication frequency in advance. I don’t know how it was leaked, but to be honest, the confidentiality isn’t that good. Director Wu might need to apply for an equipment upgrade.”

“Get to the point.”

“Shen Lian is a genius, extremely capable. She can even forge DNA samples, and her computer skills aren’t bad. Do you remember the camera outside Tan Kang’s office? It didn’t record anyone coming or going. I suspect she had something to do with it.” Wang Chao grinned proudly. “But of course, if I were to do something illegal, she couldn’t compare to me.”

Huang Ze coughed, pretending not to have heard the second half of Wang Chao’s sentence.

“Can you also forge DNA samples?” Lin Chen suddenly asked.

Wang Chao froze and stammered, “I…I just…just said that casually.”

“Stop pretending,” said Xing Conglian coldly.

“I just asked, no other meaning.” Lin Chen pursed his lips, picked up the paper cup on the desk, took a sip of water, and said to Wang Chao, “I just suddenly realized that Shen Lian’s mentality and abilities can’t be analyzed based on normal people’s standards.”

“A psychopath?” Xing Conglian asked.

“In biology, the term you used refers to morphological changes during individual development, while in psychology, it refers to a deviation of a person’s psychology from the normal value of the majority of people,” Lin Chen said.

Huang Ze interrupted him. “In your eyes, all criminals are psychopaths.”

Lin Chen thought for a moment and replied, “Actually, it’s not that simple, but explaining it to you doesn’t make much sense.” Lin Chen said to Wang Chao, “I want a detailed biography of Shen Lian, preferably in paper form, from the archives management center.”

“Do you suspect that Shen Lian has altered online information?” Wang Chao asked in surprise. “That’s quite impressive.”

“I just want to be safe,” Lin Chen said, “because I have something I don’t understand.”

“Shen Lian’s motive?” Xing Conglian asked.

Lin Chen nodded. “Putting aside why she caused such chaos before escaping today, we have thought about this question many times. Why did Shen Lian kill Tan Kang and frame it on Professor Duan?”

“Did she hate Lao Duan and want to ruin his reputation?” Xing Conglian added. “Zhourui’s new drug, Nordren, has some problems. If there are problems after it’s on the market and Tan Kang copied from Lao Duan, Lao Duan might end up taking the blame.” Xing Conglian furrowed his brow as he spoke. “This doesn’t make sense. It’s too convoluted and pointless. Of course, framing Lao Duan didn’t make sense either. Lao Duan isn’t the type of person who cares about this kind of thing.”

“We may have been too focused on Shen Lian’s motive. For someone like Shen Lian, what is meaningful in her eyes may not be meaningful to us…” Lin Chen trailed off, unable to continue.

This was the most difficult moment.

After the chaos and media questioning, they sat down to discuss the case and found that everything was an incomprehensible mess. Shen Lian was on the run and had incredible skills in electronics and biomedicine. She might even have an extremely dangerous poison, but they had no idea what Shen Lian was really up to.

It seemed like they had the upper hand, but in reality, they could only defend passively and wait for Shen Lian to launch an attack from the shadows.

Xing Conglian broke the silence. He stood up, and said, “Okay, I’m going to the pet store to find the thing in the beanbag and look for someone to check the information. You rest in the hospital and be obedient.”

Lin Chen shook his head helplessly at the words.

“You were hospitalized?” Huang Ze asked.

Xing Conglian looked at Huang Ze in disgust and pointed his thumb towards the door. “You come with me, and don’t make any trouble.”

……

Later that night.

The Huihe Nursing Home was still quiet, and even the barking of the yellow dog on the embankment was hidden.

The chest of the old man on the bed rose and fell. His figure could only be vaguely seen in the hazy night, but the whole room was filled with the old man’s deafening snoring.

The door was gently pushed open.

Small black wheels rolled over the ground and stopped at the head of the old man’s bed.

The nurse walked around the side of the car and walked to the window. She looked at the huge figure on the bed, squatted down, and stared affectionately at the sleeping face of the old man.

Like a kitten attached to its owner, she gently took the old man’s hand out of the quilt, held it in both hands, lowered her head, and rubbed her face against it.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 222

The emergency building of the hospital was surrounded by a swarm of media reporters.

It may be exaggerated to say so, but in the age of new media, many people could do live broadcasts with just their phones, and it was difficult to discern who had a greater influence between these people and traditional reporters. Reporters and photographers holding microphones with logos squeezed in the front, while some people holding recording pens were at the back, and the outermost circle was a crowd of onlookers who were not quite clear about what was happening.

Secretary Xiao Chen was surrounded like a flat boat in a stormy sea. Before Lin Chen approached, he heard someone holding a recording pen asking, “Have the director and the city leaders arrived? When will the press conference be held?”

Secretary Xiao Chen said, “The director is currently consoling the injured and overseeing the investigation of the case. Please be patient.”

The reporter asked again, “How are the injured doing? What is the casualty situation?”

Secretary Xiao Chen hesitated and showed a bewildered expression on his face. The reporter quickly captured this moment with a flash.

Lin Chen quickly took a couple of steps, rolled up his sleeves a little higher, patted Secretary Chen’s shoulder, stepped in front of him, and answered on his behalf, “In the violent incident that occurred at the barbecue stall in the Drum Tower Community, three people were injured, including two seriously injured victims, and one police officer, who was killed in the line of duty.”

As soon as he spoke, the flashing lights swarmed around him. Lin Chen squinted, scanning the faces of all the people on the steps, most of whom had excited or serious expressions as reporters, while a small minority showed curiosity, but no one showed a triumphant or extremely indifferent expression…

So obviously, the perpetrator didn’t mix in with the crowd of interviewees.

……

It was probably at the moment when Lin Chen walked out of the emergency building and stood in front of the media that Huang Ze happened to drive into the hospital parking lot.

The black night was the best background, and the hospital’s snow-white corridors were more like reflectors, allowing him to clearly see Lin Chen’s face, which was even more gaunt than when he left that day. However, in the sea of flashing lights, Lin Chen didn’t appear pale and weak but had a kind of unconventional, proud beauty.

Huang Ze knew very well that his current gaze, in ordinary terms, was pathetic, but honestly, he couldn’t let go of these feelings, and this tearing and struggling feeling was driving him crazy. Huang Ze looked at the flickering lights in the distance with a cold expression, but his hands tightly gripped the steering wheel.

……

Lin Chen didn’t see Inspector Huang and his car close by, because the reporters in front of him were like a pack of wolves, fierce and aggressive.

“Is the police hiding the real cause of the injuries from the public?”

“No,” Lin Chen answered promptly, but without any further explanation.

The journalist who asked the question was taken aback for a moment, obviously not expecting him to refuse to elaborate.

“But eyewitnesses claim that the barbecue stall owner and customers turned into zombies and were crazily biting each other!” The journalist continued to ask loudly, directly hitting the most explosive question.

“It is true that there were fights and biting among the diners. You already know the situation at the scene very well, so why do you think the police are hiding something?”

“What I mean is zombies. Are there any zombies in Hongjing?” the journalist excitedly asked.

“I don’t know where you got such an idea.” Lin Chen remained calm and unsurprised. “But I think the families of the injured wouldn’t want to hear such speculation. Apart from the police officer who died, all injured individuals showed normal vital signs, according to the life detection equipment. Therefore, it does not fit the definition of zombies in science fiction stories.”

Lin Chen emphasized the science fiction aspect.

At this moment, another journalist standing on the other side spoke up. “Excuse me, Officer. May I interrupt you for a moment? I heard your answer just now, and I think you have been avoiding the question. You haven’t answered the question that the media and the public are most concerned about.” This journalist had a gentler tone than the previous one but was also more difficult to handle.

“Please go ahead,” Lin Chen nodded to the other journalist and spoke gently.

……

Huang Ze couldn’t hear what Lin Chen said exactly, but he just looked at Lin Chen’s calm demeanor and that serene face that didn’t change even when faced with a crisis. In fact, he couldn’t quite figure out his emotions towards Lin Chen, whether it was love or hate. To be precise, he even thought that he hated Lin Chen so much that he always remembered this person. When a person appeared too frequently, it was easy for one to have misconceptions. Huang Ze forced himself to look away from Lin Chen’s face and started to search for the irritating figure of Xing Conglian in the crowd, but he also had no success.

At this moment, the passenger door suddenly opened, and Huang Ze looked abruptly to the side, seeing a figure with a strong smell of smoke entering the car.

Huang Ze realized who the person was, clenched his fists, and veins popped on his forehead.

“Inspector Huang.”

The person who got into the car without permission leaned back against the seat and gave him a cold, green-eyed glance, but smiled.

Huang Ze said, “It’s not good for Captain Xing to come in without an invitation, right?”

“It’s better than Inspector Huang going crazy in front of reporters later. Of course, the main reason is that he doesn’t want to see you either.”

Of course, Xing Conglian was referring to Lin Chen, and especially when he emphasized “he”, it was more intimate than other words. From this detail alone, Huang Ze realized that Lin Chen and Xing Conglian got together.

Huang Ze immediately realized he had lost his composure. His expression became slightly cold, and he didn’t hesitate to say to Xing Conglian, “Get out of the car.”

“Let’s talk, Inspector Huang,” Xing Conglian said, taking out a cigarette to light up.

“Don’t make me say it again.”

“If I get out of the car, what will happen to your business? Your shareholders are not easy to please lately, are they?” Xing Conglian pressed the lighter, and the flame flickered.

Thinking of the sudden increase in white hair on his father and elder brother, Huang Ze suddenly looked up and glared at Xing Conglian. “Xing Conglian, don’t you think your methods are too low? For example, messing with my family’s business?”

Xing Conglian smiled. “I think it’s fine. The business world is like a battlefield.”

Xing Conglian spoke with the face of a spoiled child that was saying, “It’s not my fault your family has less money”, making Huang Ze want to punch that smug face.

“So what exactly do you want to do?”

Xing Conglian didn’t say anything. He just took out a transparent earphone from his ear, placed it on the car dashboard, and looked at it, saying, “Listen.”

Although hesitant, Huang Ze still put the earphone in his ear.

……

At the entrance of the emergency building, on the steps, Lin Chen pressed his earphones and heard intermittent voices from the other end. However, these people in front of him made it impossible for him to focus on what Xing Conglian and Huang Ze were saying.

Earlier, a journalist asked in a sharp tone, “Why did the diners go crazy and fight each other, even causing a police officer to sacrifice his life?”

Lin Chen nodded and used the most common response of media language to reply. “It’s been only one hour since the incident, so the police are still investigating the specific reason.”

“Does that mean the police don’t know anything?” The journalist showed a cunning expression like a hunter who had caught its prey, and continued, “But as far as I know, many police officers from the Hongjing Police Station were nearby before the incident, and even a police officer fired a warning shot at the time of the incident. Therefore, the police were able to quickly control the situation and prevent it from worsening, is that correct?”

Lin Chen nodded. “That’s correct.”

“So why did the police suddenly appear near the Drum Tower Community? Can I assume that the police had received some information beforehand but didn’t inform the local residents?”

Lin Chen didn’t get too excited about this heartless question, and he still answered calmly. “The police were conducting a routine arrest operation and encountered this unexpected situation in the Drum Tower Community.” Lin Chen took a step forward and said honestly, “If we had known in advance that this kind of heinous incident would happen in the Drum Tower Community, we would have deployed more sufficient police force rather than watching our colleague die in the line of duty.”

“From what you’re saying, it seems that the police are fundamentally incapable of ensuring the safety of the people. So where is the taxpayers’ money going?” The journalist pushed his black-framed glasses forward, like an excellent hunter who could capture the prey’s weakness. If he was not careful, he would fall into the trap that he had already laid out.

Lin Chen paused for a moment, then asked seriously, “Where do you work?”

The journalist with black-framed glasses was stunned, and then opened his mouth in disbelief, sarcastically saying, “Are you preparing to come after me for accountability later?”

Lin Chen replied lightly, “No, I just want to know your basic salary and bonus every month.”

“I don’t need to answer that question.”

“I understand.” Lin Chen looked the other person up and down and said, “From your age and the TV station logo on your microphone, I can guess you work for Hongjing TV station and is around 35 years old. When you questioned me, you had a strong demeanor, indicating that you are the type of person who is proactive in their work. So, according to the standard salary of a Hongjing journalist plus your personal ability bonus, I estimate your annual salary to be around 220,000 yuan, and your annual tax payment to be about 38,000 yuan.”

“This is my personal privacy!” The journalist raised his voice and appeared very nervous, which confirmed that Lin Chen’s guess was accurate.

“It’s nothing. I just want to tell you that the police officer who sacrificed their life tonight is An Guo. According to national standards, his pension is 20 times the per capita disposable income of urban residents in the previous year plus 40 months of his own salary. The per capita disposable income of the entire country was 31,195 yuan last year, which means that the compensation is around 620,000 yuan. An Guo’s basic salary for his position was 4,200 yuan per month, and 40 months of his salary is less than 180,000 yuan. This means that because he died in the line of duty, his family can receive compensation of about 800,000 yuan. This is the final value of a criminal police officer’s life, which is probably equivalent to your four years of salary.” Lin Chen paused. “To put it another way, his life is worth your total tax payment for 21 years of employment.”

“What do you mean?!”

“I’m just telling you the truth about where your tax money is going.” Lin Chen looked at the high-rise buildings in the distance and the deep night sky above them and said calmly, “But in reality, I think these things can’t be measured by money.”

No journalist spoke again, and the night fell silent once more.

“Do you have any other questions?” Lin Chen finally asked.

……

Huang Ze took out his earbuds, wrapped them in his palm, and looked at Xing Conglian, raising his eyebrows.

“Is it over?” Xing Conglian asked.

Huang Ze handed over the earbud and asked directly, “I’ve listened to it all. Can you tell me clearly what you want to express?”

Xing Conglian shrugged and didn’t immediately plug in the earbud. Instead, he said in a relaxed tone, “I didn’t want to express anything. I just wanted to show off how good my boyfriend is to you.”

Huang Ze stared at Xin Conglian, thinking he must be hallucinating. How could there be such a shameless person in the world?

Xing Conglian didn’t care at all. He opened the car door, ready to step out. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly seemed to remember something, turned around, patted Huang Ze’s shoulder, and said, “He’s really good, so I can understand how frustrated you are, really.”

Huang Ze really wanted to shake off Xing Conglian’s hand, but that would have confirmed what Xing Conglian said. The hand on his shoulder quickly pulled away. Just as the car door was about to be slammed shut, Huang Ze spoke, “Xing Conglian, I thought the same as you four years ago, really.”

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 221

They changed their clothes quickly.

The shirt that Secretary Chen brought wasn’t quite the right size, so Lin Chen rolled up the cuffs. However, he had difficulty moving his hand due to the wound in his palm. Without hesitation, Xing Conglian held his hand and took over.

When Xing Conglian’s rough and calloused fingertips brushed over his wrist, Lin Chen’s fingers trembled slightly.

Xing Conglian chuckled and said softly, “Why so nervous? You took off my clothes so easily earlier, didn’t you?”

In the darkness, Lin Chen could only vaguely see Xing Conglian’s hands, which were steady when holding a gun, carefully rolling up his sleeves. Lin Chen said in a low voice, “Maybe because I prefer to take the initiative.”

Xing Conglian pretended not to hear and took his other hand. After he finished rolling up the sleeve, he suddenly leaned in and kissed the corner of his lips. “From now on, I’ll take the initiative.”

Lin Chen smiled helplessly, feeling more composed. They didn’t have much time alone, so he quickly changed the subject.

“What about Wang Chao?”

Xing Conglian replied, “There was strange interference in the communication system at that time, and Wang Chao stayed at the scene to investigate what happened.”

Lin Chen found it hard to understand. “Interference? The killer is so smart that they can even hack into the police communication system? And was the arrest operation leaked in advance? Otherwise, how could Shen Lian react so quickly and create such chaos in such a short time?”

Xing Conglian shook his head. “I don’t know. We have to wait for Wang Chao’s investigation’s results. However, I think our channel was being monitored, so when we reacted, Shen Lian’s reaction would have been faster than ours.”

Lin Chen’s heart skipped a beat. The swift response process couldn’t be simply explained by being prepared. He continued to ask, “So, do you think Shen Lian really caused the trouble at the barbecue stand?”

“It’s hard to say, but we all know what those Gaomeng people who received drug trials are like. Today’s sudden madness among the barbecue customers is similar to that of those Gaomeng people. And both are involved. Besides Shen Lian, it’s either Duan Yang or us. I can’t think of any other suspicious person for now.”

Lin Chen nodded and quickly asked, “The next question is, how did the poisoned drugs get into the crazed customers?”

“It happened suddenly, and I didn’t think it through at first. But I suddenly realized that when the incident occurred, all the people who went crazy were very close to the barbecue stand… If it wasn’t food, then…”

Lin Chen suddenly realized, “Was it smoke?”

Xing Conglian neither confirmed nor denied it. “We still need to examine the scene to determine, but most of the smoke was blown into the sky. So when you explain it to the media later, you may need to remind nearby residents that if they feel any physical or emotional abnormalities, they should seek medical attention as soon as possible.”

“Let me think about it,” Lin Chen interrupted. “If we hastily notify the public of this news, it could easily cause panic. Human imagination is endless, and we’re not even sure if the problem really lies in the smoke from the barbecue stand. Should we wait for the relevant test results to come out before making a decision?”

Xing Conglian said solemnly, “We may not have time to wait for the test results. Since it may be a new type of drug that we have never seen before, the chemical substance will be difficult for us to detect. It will take a lot of time to determine the exact composition of this drug. If it were that simple, Lu Jia wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble to kidnap Duan Yang to Dana.”

“I understand, but let me think about it.” At this point, Lin Chen suddenly thought of something and said, “You’re right, we may have something else that could be useful.”

“What is it?”

“Since Shen Lian once sent research data on the new drug to Duan Yang, there must be a backup at Duan Yang’s place. Regardless of whether it’s true or false, the original data at that time may help us figure out what Shen Lian is up to.”

Xing Conglian asked, “So where is the original data? After Duan Yang was kidnapped, didn’t Shen Lian go to clear the scene?”

“In fact, I asked Duan Yang to hide his stuff in the beanbag on the second floor of the pet store where he used to work. Hopefully, the owner didn’t just throw it away.”

“I hope not.” Xing Conglian leaned in again and kissed Lin Chen on the forehead, then sighed. “Why are you so clever?”

Lin Chen was stunned. Xing Conglian’s sweet gestures were irresistible, and he could only steady his mind and say, “We still need to find an expert who can understand and analyze these things. Can we ask Mrs. Jiang Chao?”

“I will find someone who is relatively trustworthy. Don’t worry,” Xing Conglian said. “But this won’t help you solve the problem you are about to solve now. The responsibility is on me.”

Xing Conglian was referring to the issue of the swarm of media. Lin Chen frowned. Since Duan Yang’s appearance, all the problems kept piling up and turned into a very complex mess. The death of Professor Duan was more like a sharp sword, directly cutting through the tangle and leading them to the culprit. Unfortunately, they missed the best opportunity to catch Shen Lian during this process. Lin Chen could understand why Xing Conglian was so rarely frustrated and even self-blaming. He patted Xing Conglian’s shoulder and said seriously, “I’m not saying this just because I love you, but I think your judgment from beginning to end was correct. Shen Lian is extremely dangerous, and we must arrest her as soon as possible without hesitation. If there were problems during the arrest, that’s unpredictable…”

Xing Conglian lifted his head slightly and looked at him. ” Consultant Lin, what you’re actually saying is you’re blinded by love and think that I’m always right. That would make me even happier, really.”

Lin Chen felt that his worry just now about Xing Conglian being under too much pressure was a bit unfounded. But he couldn’t help but hug Xing Conglian again for what he had just said. “So, I’ve decided not to solve the problem you mentioned for the time being,” Lin Chen said.

“What do you mean?” Xing Conglian asked bluntly.

Lin Chen said, “I have decided not to disclose any information about Shen Lian to the media, pretending that we have not identified the suspect.”

“Why?” asked Xing Conglian straightforwardly.

“Because we don’t know what Shen Lian is up to,” Lin Chen said calmly, though he felt increasingly uneasy. “She used Duan Yang to set up a chain of false evidence against Professor Duan Wanshan, assassinate Tan Kang, and falsify Professor Duan’s DNA and fingerprints. While these actions might have been motivated by personal grievances, listening in on the police radio, poisoning people in a crowded market, and endangering public health have turned this into a highly complex social event. Assuming that Shen Lian was powerful enough to set up all these schemes in advance, it means that she was fully aware that the police would eventually find out and was prepared to escape while throwing us off her trail. Her modus operandi reflects her inner state; if she was behind the barbecue stall incident, it means she has a deep-seated hatred for society and is ruthless. Therefore, she is extremely dangerous.”

“If Shen Lian is so dangerous, shouldn’t we make the public aware of how dangerous she is and warn everyone to be on guard?” Xing Conglian asked.

“I believe that the public’s right to know is a delicate matter,” Lin Chen said seriously. “Everyone claims that they have the right to know the truth, but that doesn’t mean we have to report every step we take to the public. The key is that even we, the police, don’t know what’s going on. How can we explain it to the public? In uncertain situations, we must weigh the pros and cons. Let’s analyze the benefits of telling the public the name of the suspect, Shen Lian. First, we have a target to alleviate the pressure, and everyone will focus on Shen Lian rather than the police. Second, we can use the usual tactic of swarming people, drowning Shen Lian in the sea of the masses, and exposing her whereabouts. Does that make sense?”

“It can be said so,” Xing Conglian said.

Lin Chen nodded and asked, “We don’t need to release pressure, but what about the latter? Shen Lian not only managed to assassinate Tan Kang under the surveillance of the amusement park but also evaded police surveillance. It shows that her counter-detection ability is not only advanced but also sophisticated. I’m afraid that even using the usual tactic of swarming people, we can’t find Shen Lian in a short time. Moreover, if we make her feel tremendous pressure, she may suddenly use the toxic drugs in her possession to create a greater public safety event. What should we do?” Lin Chen paused, stood up, opened the curtain covering the hospital bed, and turned to Xing Conglian. “I remember that you used code names during the arrest operation, right? Therefore, we probably never explicitly mentioned the name ‘Shen Lian’ from beginning to end, did we?”

Xing Conglian was silent for a moment and then said, “As far as I remember, that’s right. We never mentioned ‘Shen Lian’ specifically from start to finish, but Lao Zhang whispered ‘Shen Lian’ to me in the police car. He turned off the microphone and spoke softly, so it’s unlikely that it was transmitted from my microphone.”

Lin Chen said, “Since that’s the case, I think we should hold off for now. First, we need to try and deceive Shen Lian, making her doubt that the police aren’t targeting her as the suspect. If we can’t do that, I need to see what Shen Lian is planning to do next.”

“You’re gambling!” Xing Conglian’s voice rose slightly.

“Psychologists are all game masters.” Lin Chen pulled Xing Conglian up from the bed. “If the enemy doesn’t move, I won’t move. Even if she does move, I can choose not to. Trust me. Otherwise, how could I have won you over?”

Lin Chen attempted to evade the issue with his last sentence, but Xing Conglian suddenly realized the problem. “Wait a minute, don’t think I don’t know that by choosing not to disclose information about Shen Lian, you’re taking responsibility for any problems that arise.”

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian in confusion. “What responsibility do I have? Don’t you have my back?”

Xing Conglian was at a loss for words.

Lin Chen continued, “So, during the time we can barely deceive Shen Lian, we need to first analyze the specific composition of this new drug or poison, and secondly, quickly track down Shen Lian’s whereabouts.”

“I understand, Consultant Lin,” Xing Conglian said helplessly.

“Then that’s settled…” While speaking, Lin Chen was about to leave the hospital bed to open the door, but Xing Conglian grabbed his wrist.

Lin Chen’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat. He thought it was some kind of farewell kiss or something, but Xing Conglian remained silent for a moment before asking in a calm tone, “One last question. Do you think this case has anything to do with the White Sand case? I mean the fruit vendor who went crazy and started attacking people.”

Lin Chen’s heart skipped a beat again. “I don’t understand what you mean. There is no evidence to prove any connection between these two cases. In the White Sand case, the fruit vendor’s body had a clear presence of stimulant ingredients… If you’re not sure, we can also compare the test results from back then.”

“I’m not unsure,” Xing Conglian said. “What I mean is, they’re both incidents of going crazy, and they both happened in Hongjing. If a journalist asks about Feng Peilin, how will you answer?”

“Occam’s razor*,” Lin Chen replied.

*Problem-solving principle that recommends searching for explanations constructed with the smallest possible elements. It advocates that when presented with competing hypotheses about the same prediction, one should prefer the one that requires the fewest assumptions, and that this is not meant to be a way of choosing between hypotheses that make different predictions. || In this context, he’s basically saying, even if the White Sand case is related, he’s treating them as if they are not, as he’s choosing the path with the least number of variables. It will make the current case less complicated and easier to solve (in a sense).

“If there are no necessary entities, do not increase them?” Xing Conglian paused. “Philosophy can be more convincing than your psychology.”

“Indeed,” Lin Chen agreed.

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