Chapter 19 1/2

Liu Ming always felt that Cen Lang’s words sounded like he was saying to him: “This, this is almost there, can, can be…”

Jiang Li: “Stop.”

Liu Ming closed his mouth, afraid that Cen Lang would hear him again. If he got caught again tonight, he would probably have three hours of nightmares. Jiang Li turned and went inside, seeing Cen Lang’s coat draped over the back of his chair.

Forgot to take it?

Jiang Li picked up the coat and quickly went downstairs to chase after him.

The father and son had already severed ties over dinner, and Jiang Li didn’t want any more entanglements. Losing a friend was regrettable, but if he was discovered, he would likely lose his son.

After checking the situation inside the dungeon tomorrow, he planned to stay at Tianchen Laboratory for a long time and not go out unless necessary.

“Cen… Captain! Wait, your clothes.”

Cen Lang walked fast, and Jiang Li caught up with him when he approached the first floor.

Just in time, a student carrying a large box entered from outside the dormitory building, rushing towards the stairs with his head down, almost colliding with Jiang Li. Cen Lang reacted quickly, grabbing Jiang Li’s wrist and pulling him to his side, while the other hand protected him, preventing him from falling. Bang, bang, bang… It was the rapid heartbeat of Jiang Li.

In the blink of an eye, he remembered the strength and friction when his wrist was held against the wall. Everyone’s calluses were different.

There wouldn’t be any Alphas in the dungeon; he was here.

The coat fell to the ground, and with a pounding heart, Jiang Li urgently pulled his hand away as if it were burned.

But in reality, Cen Lang had just washed the dishes, and his fingertips were quite cold. Jiang Li was frozen for a moment, and his wrist turned red. Jiang Li covered his wrist, feeling impolite, and quickly apologized, “Sorry, the coat fell.” He bent down to pick it up, but Cen Lang reached out a hand and grabbed the coat in a swift motion, draping it over his arm.

Cen Lang knew that Jiang Li probably didn’t like being touched. Unexpectedly, pulling his hand would make him blush.

He stared at Jiang Li’s fair wrist and furrowed his brows, wondering if Jiang Li would pull and tug when threatening Jiang Li. Now that he was “free,” he had to deal with him.

Cen Lang smiled and said, “Thank you, and sorry for making you run.”

Jiang Li looked at Cen Lang’s slightly red fingers, hesitated for a moment, and said, “Actually…”

Cen Lang: “Hmm?”

Jiang Li: “You can wash dishes with hot water.”

Cen Lang deeply learned the key points of washing dishes: “Note it for next time.”

“Thanks.” Cen Lang couldn’t help but think that there was no crack prevention cream on Jiang Li’s desk. Medical students used propylene glycol instead of hand cream, and the effect was… very good, judging by Jiang Li’s skin.

“Goodbye,” Jiang Li put his hands in his pockets and said.

“Okay.”

Cen Lang and the others went up two floors before opening the dormitory door. The cold wind immediately rushed in, whistling towards the stairwell. Cen Lang unscrewed the cap of the glycerin hand cream, which was a disposable white plastic bottle with no labels.

With a gentle squeeze, glycerin, heated enough to turn into water, oozed out.

Jiang Li looked at him, cold all over but still warm. Covering glycerin like this and applying it would be warm and comfortable, and the strong wind wouldn’t feel cold.

Jiang Li returned to the fifth floor with a serious face, confirming Cen Lang’s identity. For some reason, the other party actually suspected him.

Where did he reveal himself?

It was so dark at that time; he couldn’t recognize Cen Lang even if he was conscious all the way. With Cen Lang’s half-fragmented memory, why did he suspect him? He had to go to the dungeon again, this time to clear the suspicion.

Cen Lang would definitely be watching him open the door in secret.

Jiang Li carefully recalled the moment he opened the door as a caregiver. The employer was affected by the explosion, in pain, and unable to stand. To mimic the employer’s appearance, he had to genuinely experience the storm syndrome caused by Alpha. The pain had to be real, or it would be exposed.

Jiang Li took out a fine needle and tried each acupuncture point one by one to find those that would cause pain but not hinder movement.

Near the dungeon the next day, there was a sea of people. At the entrance, a few residents who hadn’t updated their brainwashing packs brought white flowers with them, which were mercilessly confiscated. People lined up in long queues to pay homage to the future burial place of heroes; each person was allowed five minutes at the entrance, maintaining orderly discipline. Jiang Li blended into the queue, expressionless, avoiding any unnecessary expressions.

For three days, a large metal structure appeared above the dungeon. Jiang Li heard two people discussing whether it was a newly built funeral home.

Jiang Li:

In terms of queuing, he couldn’t compare to the elderly, who woke up at four in the morning. He was at the end of the line, occasionally hearing wails coming from the dungeon entrance.

There were always people trying to push open the door to try it out and then screaming in misery. The sound drifted far in the wind, and those who heard it sighed, both fearful and rebellious, refusing to believe it.

Jiang Li pursed his lips; he couldn’t imitate that scream. Should it be okay?

Inside the metal structure on the ground.

In the hall, computers displayed surveillance footage from various angles.

The largest and clearest image was in front of two dual-screen monitors, where a young man was drinking coffee.

Yu Zhaoye, the Federation’s most outstanding criminal psychologist, specialized in micro-expressions. He was brought here by Cen Lang to spend the morning catching spies. He never thought that one day he would be investigating a sea of people.

He mainly focused on the surveillance at two entrances, circled a person’s head with the mouse, and instructed the action department, “I’ve seen this person at the 097 explosion scene. Pay attention to him.” “The one in yellow looks suspicious; search his bag carefully.”

Cen Lang, dressed as a bodyguard, sat on another chair and said, “Hard work.”

Yu Zhaoye numbly said, “Your popularity is really bad. I caught six people this morning trying to bomb or gas the underground room.”

Cen Lang smiled. “I think it’s okay. Focus on finding out who brought sedatives.”

Yu Zhaoye: “Am I your X-ray vision?”

“Mr. Cen!” A bodyguard ran over to report, “Found a person hiding FVD sedatives! The other party denies being instructed by anyone, claiming to act on their own and unintentionally causing trouble.”

Cen Lang’s smile remained unchanged. “Wait a moment.”

Twenty minutes later,.

Cen Lang casually returned to his seat and said to Yu Zhaoye, “Did some real work?”

Yu Zhaoye: “Was I doing fake work all morning?”

Cen Lang: “Do you think I invited you over just to find spies? Help me find a caregiver.”

Yu Zhaoye: “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Cen Lang: “Afraid you’ve been on vacation for too long and your skills are rusty. Practice first.”

Yu Zhaoye: “…” He’ll remember this grudge.

Cen Lang clicked a few times on the screen, and the surveillance video switched to the crowd lining up. Jiang Li was among them.

Cen Lang didn’t mention whom he suspected, only briefly describing his experience in the dungeon and the results of his several probes. Yu Zhaoye summarized, “You’re reluctant to take real action, so you want me to use my eyes?” Cen Lang raised an eyebrow. “As a soldier, how can I attack a student?”

Yu Zhaoye looked at Jiang Li on the screen and said, “You’re talking about him, right?”

“I can’t see any criminal tendencies. According to what you said, he’s likely just a part-time caregiver. Why insist on finding him?”

Cen Lang: “There’s more to it. Something else is going on.”

Yu Zhaoye smiled without saying a word.