Chapter 182: The Secret Code (1/2)

The executive kept us waiting in his office for a few minutes. He returned with a list of drugs, which I glanced over and didn’t find what I was looking for at all.

“You’re the director of the R & D department, aren’t you?” I asked. “Are you involved in the development of each new drug?”

Director Wang shook his head and explained, “Only in the paperworks.”

“Do you know of any drugs in development that could cause fake death-like symptoms?”

Director Wang frowned and fell silent for a while, then answered, “None that I know of, no. What do you mean fake death-like symptoms? Can you describe it more specifically?”

I told him of the symptoms I observed on the victims. Director Wang listened intently and shook his head in confusion. Then he added, “I’m not sure if it had anything to do with this, but I do remember the president personally supervising the development of a drug which began last year. That’s all I can tell you, though. Any information regarding this drug, including the personnel involved, is confidential.”

“Can you get us the data of this study?” I asked.

“I’m sorry,” Director Wang smiled weakly. “I don’t have the access to the data.”

“Who has the access then?”

“Only the president herself.”

This definitely smelled fishy. “Can you take us to the president’s office?”

Director Wang did so, and when I saw a computer on the desk I asked, “Is that where the research data is stored?”

“Yes,” Director Wang nodded.

“Can we bring the computer back with us?”

“No,” Director Wang shook his head frantically. “Absolutely not!”

“Do you want your president to die?” I countered.

“Even if that happens,” Director Wang argued, “I can’t let you take away such important trade secrets. If I do that, the president will surely fire me!”

“How would she do that if she’s dead?” I chuckled in amusement.

“Then the board of directors will fire me!” maintained Director Wang. “No, it doesn’t matter what you say. You can’t touch this computer without the permission of the board of directors or a proper search warrant from the court!”

He urged us out of the office as politely as he could and left us. Dali cursed under his breath when he was gone, saying, “How ridiculous! The president is in trouble and all he thinks about is his job?”

“You’d be surprised how cutthroat the society within a company can be,” Xiaotao explained. Then she asked me, “Do you think Lao Yao can hack into the computer?”

“Unlikely,” I sighed. “The computer isn’t even turned on, and we couldn’t get anywhere near it. In this case, even a genius hacker like Lao Yao would be stumped.”

“How about we try to convince the board of directors?” Dali suggested.

“No, that would take too much time,” I replied. “By the time they’re convinced, the president would be dead. At least we learned something from this. I’m pretty sure that this company did indeed develop the drug that caused the fake death-like symptoms. The most important thing right now is to focus on finding the murderer!”

We were about to walk out of the building when we heard Director Wang running up to us, shouting, “Stop right there, you thieves! Give it back to me now!”

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “Are you seriously accusing the police of theft?”

“Drop your act!” spat Director Wang. “That police badge you showed me was probably fake! You were probably sent by our competitors to take advantage of the chaos we’re in right now!”

“Careful, Director Wang,” Xiaotao warned. “Before you go any further, why don’t you call the police station and ask them if we’re fake police officers?”

His face fell and he hesitated.

“What went missing?” I asked.

“The hard drives of the president’s computer!” he answered. “I had a bad feeling after you left, so I went back into her office and checked the computer. Turns out only the shell of the CPU remained! Everything else is gone!”

Xiaotao and I exchanged looks. We rushed back to the office, and sure enough, the computer hard drives were gone. I scanned the room and noticed a surveillance camera in the hallway facing the president’s office.

“Can you get us the video from that camera?” I asked Director Wang.

“Sure,” he said, “but you see how the glass separating the president’s office is opaque, don’t you? I don’t think the camera captured anything at all to be honest…”