Chapter 55 Oh no, someone is poisoning the food!

When Cen Lian returned home, his father, Cen Jianjun, stared at the medals on his police dress uniform for a long time, and then stared at his certificate for an equally long time.

In the end, the elder Cen said nothing. He simply patted Cen Lian on the shoulder, then asked a neighbor to help take a family portrait of the three of them beneath the plaque of the Second-Class Merit and the "Glorious Family" honor displayed by their front door.

In the photograph, the corners of Cen Jianjun’s eyes were somewhat red.

Lian Ya, on the other hand, had a much stronger reaction. She pulled open Cen Lian’s clothes and inspected him thoroughly from top to bottom, only relaxing after confirming that her son hadn't acquired any extra scars.

"You won such a huge merit, yet you didn't even mention it to us," Lian Ya said, holding Cen Lian’s hand. "Solving cases is important, but you need to take care of your health, too. A Second-Class Merit isn't something that's easy to get. Don't go getting yourself covered in huge scars just for the sake of achievements, like your father did."

Cen Jianjun sat to the side in silence, saying nothing.

After much persuasion, Cen Lian finally managed to appease his mother, successfully escaping back to his own room to sleep.

In the middle of the night, hearing some movement, he turned over and saw his father sitting silently by his bedside, lost in thought.

Cen Lian didn't make a sound. He simply watched as Cen Jianjun sat there for a few minutes before quietly getting up and leaving.

It was truly difficult to guess what parents were thinking.

He smiled helplessly, closed his eyes, and went back to sleep.

***

The office of the Support Detachment was arranged on the first floor, right next to Forensic Doctor Lin's office. It seemed that in order to highlight the words "Criminal Technology" within their "Criminal Technology Support" detachment, they had simply been assigned to the same floor as the criminal science and forensics departments.

Yuan Chenxi walked downstairs carrying a cloth bag with a triumphant expression.

On her desk, which was normally cluttered with various documents and files, the only things that truly belonged to her were contained within this tiny little bag.

"I pretty much finished handing over my work last night," Yuan Chenxi said, sitting down at her much emptier workspace. "I don't want to look at those case files anymore, not even for a second!"

Forensic Doctor Lin, who had helped her carry a few pots of succulents down from the second floor, smiled helplessly. "New case files will be delivered very soon."

Yuan Chenxi covered her ears and pretended not to hear.

Cen Lian’s desk was still shared with Tang Hua. Their detachment had too few people, so they simply hadn't been assigned a dedicated captain's office.

Forensic Doctor Lin still worked out of her original office, but a designated spot had been reserved for her here as well.

There were only two forensic doctors in the district bureau in total, and much of the routine work still required Forensic Doctor Lin's attention.

Wang Yuanteng walked around the office holding his mug and said with great satisfaction, "Our newly established detachment finally looks like it's taking shape."

Qi Yan silently raised his phone to show him. "Get ready to head out. We have three different units to visit today."

Wang Yuanteng casually grabbed two new wolfberries from the box on his desk and dropped them into his thermos.

"Time to go to work~" He straightened his collar and walked out with Qi Yan.

Cen Lian and Tang Hua headed directly to Lingxi University, located in the urban area of Kang'an.

The old campus of this university was situated in the old district of Kang'an, surrounded by many tall French plane trees. The person Cen Lian and Tang Hua were looking for this time was Professor Yan Xichong from the university's Department of Geology.

According to Tian Xianzhong, the stony-iron meteorite in their possession was originally brought to a seminar by Professor Yan Xichong.

The universities in the city were relatively polite to them. After waiting just a few minutes, the two officers met Professor Yan, who had just finished teaching his undergraduate students their final class of the semester.

Today was already the last day of December, and Lingxi University's final exams were set to begin next week.

Professor Yan was close to sixty years old, though patches of gray were already visible beneath his wind-tossed black hair. He had a lean build and wore tea-tinted framed glasses. It was evident that he had a habit of exercising, as he had climbed four flights of office stairs without the slightest trace of breathlessness.

"I've seen photos of the meteorite you contacted us about earlier," Professor Yan said, clearly taking the matter very seriously. "This morning, before going to teach, I specifically had my graduate student check the storage room. That meteorite has been swapped."

Cen Lian was extremely surprised.

He had initially thought the meteorite had simply been stolen outright, never expecting that it had also been swapped out.

"After that seminar two years ago, the meteorite was placed in the exhibition room. At the time, I had a new project underway concerning a witnessed meteorite discovered in the Yunling Mountains. Because its research value was relatively high, my students and I have spent the past two years focusing our research on that witnessed meteorite and its impact crater. No one has checked the meteorite you mentioned in a long time. The only thing I can confirm is that when my graduate students went to inspect it about three months ago at the start of the semester, when the department organized freshmen from the geology department to tour our meteorite exhibition room, I took a look at it then and can confirm it hadn't been swapped yet."

Three months ago—this timeframe somewhat exceeded Cen Lian's expectations.

"Could you please confirm if this is the meteorite?" Cen Lian handed the meteorite, enclosed in an evidence bag, to Professor Yan. "The case surrounding this meteorite is extremely complex, and we cannot fully disclose the backstory to you at the moment."

"I understand," Professor Yan said as he took the meteorite. After examining it carefully, he retrieved a file folder from his office drawer. "This is indeed the meteorite. I have all the records regarding it right here. As for the meteorite that was swapped and left in the exhibition room, I had my graduate student go retrieve it when class ended, and it will be delivered here very soon."

The graduate student mentioned by Professor Yan hurried over with the meteorite shortly after. Cen Lian took a quick glance and confirmed that, like Professor Yan, the student had no criminal record.

It was likely that they knew very little about this case either.

"I'll go get the surveillance footage from the school's exhibition room right now," Tang Hua said sensibly, heading straight out the door.

Cen Lian looked at the meteorite brought by Professor Yan's student.

This was a completely unremarkable stony meteorite. Its research and collection value were extremely low, making it difficult to distinguish from an ordinary rock.

"We need to take this meteorite back for sampling," Cen Lian said, placing it into an evidence bag. "Once the case is concluded, this stony-iron meteorite will be returned through official procedures. I hope Professor Yan can understand."

Professor Yan nodded, stood up, and said, "We will conduct a thorough inventory of the meteorites in the exhibition room during this period. If there are any other instances of loss or swapping, we will contact you immediately."

The graduate student escorted Cen Lian out.

Along the way, Cen Lian asked, "Are there many people who have access to that exhibition room?"

"Quite a few, actually. Aside from the teachers, the security guards, the cleaning staff, and some of our specialized graduate students and doctoral candidates who need access, anyone can go in when necessary. There are other fossils and various rock samples in the exhibition room as well. Although you're supposed to sign in upon entering and there's someone stationed at the door, it's just too easy for someone really determined to slip through the cracks." The graduate student pointed out the location of the exhibition room to him. "Our campus access control is practically nonexistent. As long as you look vaguely like a student, you can walk right in without even needing to swipe a card, so there are simply too many people in the school who can get in."

Cen Lian nodded. Just as he was about to bid farewell to the kind graduate student, he saw a text bubble floating in the distance.

[Name: Yang Yuxuan]
[Gender: Female]
[Age: 21 years old]
[Criminal Record: Poisoned Qi Xiaojia in Kang'an City 15 minutes ago (currently attempted)]
[Imprisonment Record: None]

His heart immediately began to race wildly.