“What do you think?”

Xing Conglian stood up and walked to the corner, whispering back.

There was some uncommon hesitancy in Lin Chen’s tone. “I don’t know what to think. There are too many tangled background clues in this case. The upcoming new drug launch by Zhourui Pharmaceutical, the drug factory in the rainforest, the Rainforest ethnic group used as illegal drug test subjects, Dr. Tan Kang, who was suddenly killed, and even the supplier kicked out by Zhourui Pharmaceutical. Putting all these things together makes one dizzy. And it’s hard to say whether these things are related to each other, independent, or combined in pairs—there are too many possibilities.”

“Indeed.” Xing Conglian paused and asked back, “But what does it have to do with you not getting a medical checkup?”

Lin Chen choked and said, “Can you give me a hint before suddenly changing the topic in the future?”

Xing Conglian said seriously to Lin Chen, “Okay, as long as we establish a rule that if you don’t do what you’re supposed to do, should you accept punishment?”

“A fine?” Lin Chen tentatively asked.

“No, Consultant Lin, I’m actually quite rich. I don’t need that,” Xing Conglian said.

Lin Chen immediately understood. “Captain Xing, I’m still a patient.”

“No rules, no standards.”

“What do you want?”

“You can choose to be billed by the number of times or by time.” Xing Conglian thought for a moment and said sincerely, “I suggest you choose by time.”

“Xing Conglian.”

In a rare instance, Lin Chen had called out his full name.

“Yes?”

“I never realized that you were so ambitious.”

Xing Conglian finally couldn’t help but laugh.

After a while, Lin Chen’s voice came out. “I’ll listen to your advice and charge by time, but can I owe you first?”

“Three hours added for each mistake,” Xing Conglian said.

“Xing Conglian!”

Lin Chen raised his voice for the first time, and Xing Conglian could almost imagine what he looked like with his ears turning red on the phone in the hospital.

“Two hours then.” His family ran a business, so he knew what it meant to quit while you’re ahead.

“Aren’t you expecting too much now?” Lin Chen was a little angry. “What if we are not harmonious?”

“Harmony or not depends mainly on technique,” Xing Conglian said.

“Let’s talk about the case.” Lin Chen finally had to admit defeat.

“Then I’ll take it that you’ve agreed?” Xing Conglian asked with a smile.

“Tomorrow, Zhourui Pharmaceutical has a new drug presentation, and I think we need to go and listen.” Lin Chen said.

“So all the preamble just now was for this condition?” Xing Conglian pointed out.

“We know very little about Nordren. Since everything seems to revolve around this upcoming new drug, we really need to fully understand this drug and see what Zhourui is planning.”

“Reasonable.” Xing Conglian dragged his tone. “But without a medical report, Mr. Lin, how can I take you there?”

“I’m going to get a medical checkup now,” Lin Chen said, and was about to hang up the phone.

At this moment, the fingerprint test report was handed over.

Xing Conglian held the phone and said to the other side, “Hold on, don’t hang up yet.”

“What’s wrong?” Lin Chen asked.

“The fingerprint results are out.” Xing Conglian glanced over.

“Who touched the mouse?” Lin Chen asked.

“Guess?”

“Zhang Min?” Lin Chen asked tentatively.

“You really are a smart consultant.” Xing Conglian laughed.

“What about the fingerprints on Dr. Tan Kang’s notebook?”

“Guess again.”

“The fact that you’re asking means that the fingerprints on it don’t belong to Zhang Min.”

“Smart.”

“Then whose are they?”

“I don’t know.”

Lin Chen was almost choked, but after a moment of silence, he asked, “So what you’re saying is that there is a mysterious third person’s fingerprint on the notebook that does not belong to Zhang Min or Tan Kang?”

“Yes, although theoretically, the fingerprint on the notebook could belong to many people, such as anyone who happened to touch the notebook. But unfortunately, there are only two people’s fingerprints on the whole notebook—Dr. Tan Kang himself and that mysterious third person.” Xing Conglian added, “We compared the notebook with the schedule book, and the unidentified fingerprint does not belong to Dr. Tan Kang’s secretary.”

“I see, so if it wasn’t Dr. Tan Kang intentionally tampering with his notebook, then it is confirmed that only that mysterious third person touched it, right?”

Xing Conglian sighed. “You’re so smart, I really want to lock you up in a room and not let anyone else see you.”

“Captain Xing, that’s a bit twisted. I’m already at the medical center now,” Lin Chen said seriously.

“Oh, I forgot about that. Why did you suddenly bring it up?” Xing Conglian laughed.

“Because I think you’re a bit scary.”

The nurse’s voice came through the phone, directing Lin Chen to the exam room.

As the surrounding noisy voices gradually diminished, Lin Chen asked, “Why do they need to check my vision?”

“It’s a full-body check,” Xing Conglian said, folding the fingerprint report in his hand and putting it aside. Lin Chen should have entered the vision exam room, but neither of them had any intention of hanging up the phone.

Xing Conglian felt that falling in love really changed a person.

He watched the police officers bring in a large number of knives and begin a new round of comparisons. Looking at those flashing silver knives, Xing Conglian said, “I suddenly have an idea.”

“To the left.” Lin Chen was probably really checking his vision obediently, and only then asked, “What idea?”

“That fingerprint—could it belong to the murderer?” Xing Conglian said.

“You’re being too imaginative.” Lin Chen said “thank you” to someone on the other end of the line and walked out of the exam room. “But anything is possible. Maybe it was Zhang Min who did it. If you can find the murder weapon, you can nail her.”

“It’s very troublesome. Not to mention the murder weapon, we haven’t even determined what type of knife it is.” Xing Conglian sighed. “The forensic department has already brought in all the props that can be bought on the market that match the size, and it may take a few more days to find something.”

“The range of the murder weapon is too wide, so for now the most useful clue is still the surveillance. We can only start with that,” Lin Chen said. “Let’s first determine the killer’s whereabouts in the amusement park. Although I also think that a professional killer is likely to take the murder weapon away and not leave any obvious physical evidence that can be found.”

“You’re right,” said Xing Conglian gently. “Put your phone away.”

“Huh?” Lin Chen asked.

Xing Conglian covered his phone’s microphone and shouted loudly, “Wang Chao!”

There was no response from the forensic department, so Xing Conglian increased the volume again and shouted, “Anyone, bring Wang Chao to me!”

After shouting, he put the phone back to his ear and asked softly, “How is your eyesight?”

“Both eyes are 20/20, don’t worry.”

“What’s the next checkup subject?”

Lin Chen hesitated and said, “Urology.”

Xing Conglian widened his eyes and looked at the phone incredulously. “Is that a thing?”

“That’s the item you requested for me when I went in.”

“Wait, wait!” Xing Conglian quickly said.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Chen was indifferent. “It seems there’s also a digital rectal exam. I saw it on the list.”

Xing Conglian heard the sound of flipping through papers.

“What the hell is that?”

Lin Chen laughed. “Don’t you know? It’s when they use their hands…”

“No! You can’t go!” Xing Conglian suddenly woke up and felt a creepy sensation.

“But if we’re missing a few items, can the medical examination still be considered passed?” Lin Chen asked back.

Xing Conglian felt like he was caught in a difficult situation. “I’ll be responsible for those items.”

Lin Chen’s low laughter came through the phone. “Come on.”

……

Wang Chao gasped for breath as he ran up from the ground floor to the forensic department. What he saw was his boss holding the phone and laughing.

He wanted to turn around and leave, but his boss noticed him in advance and beckoned him over with a finger.

Wang Chao walked over to the corner and slapped his boss’s shoulder hard. He said with a serious tone, “Boss, I’m on your side. Can you please tone it down a bit?” He glanced around at the colleagues passing by. “Although your corner is quite secluded, haven’t you noticed that everyone is looking at you?”

Xing Conglian hung up the phone. “What are they looking at?”

“Your teenage boy’s crush looks suspicious, you know?”

“It’s okay. I’m in love. It’s normal.” Xing Conglian patted his head amiably and suddenly felt very apologetic. “Sorry, I forgot again. You’ve never been in a relationship, so you don’t understand.”

Wang Chao turned around to leave.

“Come back here.” His boss shouted behind him.

Driven to desperation by poverty, Comrade Xiao Wang stamped his feet and obediently returned to his original position.

“How’s the surveillance going?”

“I have some leads.”

“What do you mean by ‘some’?”

“I’ve confirmed 70% of the killer’s activity route and found a very strange detail.”

Xing Conglian nodded. “Let’s go. I’ll go with you to take a look.”

Comrade Xiao Wang widened his eyes. “So, why did you specifically call me to run over earlier?”

“To pick you up. Don’t you even understand this?” Xing Conglian patted his head lovingly.

Wang Chao turned his head and left. Xing Conglian jumped off the table and hooked his neck. “What did you find in the surveillance?”

Wang Chao didn’t even listen to what was said, still immersed in sadness. “Boss, why are you in love, but you’re not nice to me at all?”

“How am I not nice to you?”

“You keep saying that I haven’t been in love.”

“Well, you really haven’t.”

“It’s all because of you that I haven’t been in a relationship.”

“Blaming me?”

“You always make me do this and that, so I don’t have a personal life.”

“That’s great. You can choose to run away from home and find your own personal life.”

“No, I have no money.”

“So what? If you’re poor, you shouldn’t be in love. Can’t you just make money?”

“Asshole!”

“Oh, you know how to curse now.”

Wang Chao’s heart hardened, and he asked, “Can you introduce me to a girlfriend?”

“Wang Chao, it’s the 21st century. Parents don’t arrange marriages anymore.”

“Boss!”

“Yes, yes.”

“I’m really tempted to destroy the hard drive of the surveillance right now!”