"You think we haven't found it? But those blueprints weren't the originals. The real ones, where did you put them! Tell me!" I was quite agitated at the time.
Kelly immediately put on a thoughtful expression, as if she were being very serious. She nodded her head, her eyes darting around, and finally, as if remembering something, she told us, "I remember now. That thing, it seems like some tattooed guy at the factory used it to wipe his mouth like toilet paper and threw it in the trash. Who knows where that garbage is now. You guys can search slowly, maybe you'll find it!"
As Kelly spoke, a hint of mockery and coldness appeared on her smug face, as if she were deliberately trying to make things difficult for us.
"You just placed such important blueprints around like that? Do you think we'll believe your excuse? Kelly, don't take us police for fools. Be serious!"
Liu Yuning, who had come with me and had remained silent, almost slapped her. If I hadn't held her back, she probably would have made a serious mistake by now.
"Calm down, can't you see? This woman is doing it on purpose!"
As if my thoughts were seen through, Kelly shot me a sideways glance and then closed her mouth, appearing unwilling to speak further. No matter how we questioned her afterwards, she maintained a "I am mute" attitude. It wasn't just Liu Yuning; I also felt like I wanted to go over and slap her a few times, though if it were me, I would have just punched her a few times, leaving her face completely battered.
We left temporarily. After that, you might not know, but our Guangming City became even more chaotic. Perhaps the organization's plan only started after Kelly was arrested. As we walked out of the procuratorate, Xiahou called us and said, "I don't know which unlucky star spread the rumor that our provincial department has already developed an antidote. Many patients' families rushed over, completely surrounding us. They are all demanding that we hand over the antidote to save their families!"
"How can this be? Who did it? Spreading such news at this time, could it be..."
"It must be Kelly's people, right? We should keep a close eye on the procuratorate and prevent another prisoner escape incident like last time."
"Don't worry, I have He Xiaoyu and He Jinghui watching."
"That's good!"
We drove back to the provincial department first. It would have been better if we hadn't come back. Upon our return, we saw over a thousand family members there. They were holding megaphones, holding banners, and shouting loudly: "Hand over the antidote quickly! Our families are suffering! The police must hand over what we want quickly! This is our lifeline!"
"You've clearly developed an antidote, why have you been hiding it? You're not doing this on purpose, are you!"
"How could the people's police do something like this? I can't believe it, but it's the truth!"
Many people were shouting frantically. I even saw reporters. Damn it, someone must have deliberately wanted to stir up trouble. Seeing so many people, we didn't dare to enter through the main entrance at that time, for fear of being mobbed and becoming the focus of attention.
We circled around to the back and entered the provincial department. We were safe, but the noise from outside was incessant, making it impossible for the criminal investigation team to concentrate on their work. At this moment, Director Zhang called me and Liu Yuning to his side: "Look, the situation is getting more and more serious. Even if we catch the criminals, we've fallen into a huge crisis. Has Kelly told us anything about the antidote yet?"
"I believe she knows, but she just won't say. And the blueprints are probably still there, but we don't know where..." I detailed our visit to Kelly. Director Zhang seemed a bit annoyed as he gripped his cup, resting his left elbow on his desk, and said angrily, "Does this woman think we're here for her amusement? What kind of ridiculous excuses are these? I think you should go and attend her trial as observers for now. I'll handle things here at the provincial department!"
"You want us to extract information about the treatment for ichthyosis from Kelly?" Liu Yuning inquired.
"Precisely. If we rely solely on these experts investigating, I'm really worried that the patients will be gone before we get any results. Besides, their families will tear down the provincial department. Go quickly. Don't come back until you've found the prescription for the antidote!"
Director Zhang gave us a death order. It was the first time he had been so serious. It seemed we were at a point of survival. Liu Yuning and I stood up solemnly and saluted: "Your guidance is brilliant, Director!"
"Go, and make sure you complete the mission!"
"Understood!" Liu Yuning and I replied and carefully withdrew from his office. We noticed that as soon as we left, Director Zhang also came out. He brought a few captains, likely to face the reporters and the victim's families.
We arrived at the procuratorate. Kelly's trial began today.
Before the court session, Liu Yuning and I were already seated in the back rows, waiting.
"The trial for the ichthyosis research and poisoning case will now begin. Court is in session!"
With the judge's order, the jury and all key figures were seated. The defendant, Kelly Pierce, was wearing simple clothing and sat there shamelessly, behind a railing, with two bailiffs behind her.
A moment later, the prosecutor stood up and said, "Your Honor, the defendant Kelly Pierce began developing the ichthyosis virus in September 2012 and recently, around September 10, 2022, she spread it everywhere, causing countless citizens to suffer. In addition to charges of kidnapping and unlawful detention, I hope the court will impose the most severe sentence on the defendant Kelly Pierce!"
Upon hearing the prosecutor, Kelly did not appear flustered at all. Instead, she seemed a bit disdainful, as if she had grasped something. At this moment, an old man suddenly stood up: "I am the defense attorney, Lei Feixiang!" He bowed to the entire court, then said with a very confident tone, "Your Honor, my client, it is said, was frozen when she was found. I would like to know how she was treated like that. Doesn't everyone find this strange? What reason do you have to say she is the mastermind of the experiment? There were so many researchers found at the factory at the time. Also, my client was imprisoned. Isn't this a question worth pondering? I would like to know, who did this? And for what purpose?"
"Your Honor, I object! The defense attorney is raising questions irrelevant to this case!" the prosecutor suddenly raised his hand in objection.
Before the judge could speak, Lei Feixiang took out a document and held it up. "Your Honor! How is this irrelevant to the case? Among the many people present, I have a witness. This person worked at the factory before and told me that the one who froze my client at the time was a male. I have now invited this witness to testify in court!"
The judge replied, "Objection overruled. Please have the defense attorney bring in the witness."
"Thank you, Your Honor." Lei Feixiang waited triumphantly. His gaze swept towards a certain direction.
At this moment, a tattooed man was brought to the scene by several bailiffs and sat in the witness seat.
After a while, the tattooed man picked up the interrogation microphone and said, "I was in the laboratory at the time and saw Officer He Sheng with Miss Kelly. It was he who, while Miss Kelly wasn't paying attention, put something unknown into her cup, and then injected her with an unknown drug. As a result, Miss Kelly fainted. He personally put Miss Kelly into a freezer. Therefore, the person who imprisoned her is this person named He Sheng!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire courtroom erupted. Countless eyes turned towards me.
Liu Yuning, sitting beside me, was also shocked and said, "How could this be?"
It was all my fault for being too impulsive at the time, but if I hadn't restrained Kelly, how could I have tricked Crofts?
If I had used ropes or something, it wouldn't have lasted. Kelly might have broken free in a few hours.
At this moment, the judge quickly sent someone to verify. While waiting, several bailiffs were watching me nearby, even scanning me with a detector.
After an unknown amount of time, someone returned and whispered a few words into the judge's ear. Then the judge said to me, "He Sheng, there is new evidence proving your involvement in this experiment case. We hope you will cooperate!"
As soon as the words fell, several bailiffs walked over and took out handcuffs: "I'm sorry, Officer He! Please cooperate!"
At that moment, I couldn't explain myself. After all, the imprisonment was true, but I only did it to solve the case.
"No, I was undercover at the time! This was all part of the mission!" I suddenly thought of something and explained.
"Undercover? I've actually investigated. There was no order from Director Zhang at the time. Why do you claim to be undercover? Isn't this just a fabricated story to clear your name?" Lei Feixiang said, glaring at me coldly.
I almost lunged at him, but the bailiffs restrained me: "Old man, what nonsense are you talking about!"
"If you were undercover at the time, please provide proof. If not, don't blame me for being impolite!" Lei Feixiang spread his hands helplessly, shrugging his shoulders with an expression that said, "You can't do anything to me," and stared at me fiercely.
I knew deeply that getting agitated now would only lead to more trouble. Liu Yuning looked at me and shook her head, signaling me not to act impulsively. I was temporarily taken to the detention room by the bailiffs.
After an unknown amount of time, I heard the sound of the door being pushed open. It was Liu Yuning who had arrived.
"He Sheng, we checked. That Lei Feixiang is a scoundrel lawyer. He's very famous in the industry, but he often represents wealthy clients, twisting the facts and allowing countless wealthy criminals to escape legal punishment! Such a scoundrel, he's almost retired, yet he's still at it!"