Chapter 196: Genius and Madman

Drug purification?

When Yu Dazhang heard those four words, his expression turned complex.

Now I know how Liu Zhengyang died… All the things he couldn't understand before suddenly became clear.

How could you make Liu Zhengyang ingest an overdose of verapamil without changing the dosage?

Yu Dazhang had pondered this question many times.

But the answer came from Liu Miao's mouth.

Yes, it's drug purification.

A tablet consists mainly of two parts: the active pharmaceutical ingredient and excipients.

Usually, the active ingredient is only a few milligrams; the rest are excipients, most of which are starch.

The ratio between the two can reach about one to one hundred.

After purification, readjust this ratio to increase the proportion of verapamil's active ingredient.

For example, raise the ratio from one to one hundred to one to twenty.

That's equivalent to increasing the drug's efficacy fivefold.

If Liu Qi is the killer, she must have used this method.

Yu Dazhang reconsidered and felt something was off.

Liu Qi studied natural sciences at Cambridge, a discipline that includes medicine.

Someone of her caliber as a top student should be able to perform drug purification herself.

Then why did she still hire a lab to conduct the experiment?

This involves specialized knowledge… Yu Dazhang knows nothing about medicine and cannot judge this.

But one thing can be inferred.

One of the steps must have been something Liu Qi couldn't complete herself.

"Was there no record of the experiment data on the computer?" Yu Dazhang pressed.

In today's internet age, data is usually recorded both online and offline.

A national key laboratory like this would definitely have a dedicated online system for recording data, with password protection to prevent leaks.

"I asked, and the lab staff checked—there's no online record."

Liu Miao analyzed the situation:

"There are only two possibilities for this outcome."

"First, the lab technician responsible for purification didn't record the process online."

"Second, someone deleted the records from the computer."

"I asked the technician too—he said it was too long ago and he couldn't remember."

Couldn't remember? Yu Dazhang found this excuse flimsy.

Anyone working in a national key laboratory must have an IQ beyond doubt, let alone a good memory.

Just like in criminal investigations, detectives retain extremely vivid memories of cases they handled personally.

Even the oldest cases can be recalled instantly when mentioned.

Similarly, a lab technician wouldn't forget an experiment he conducted himself.

"Stay there and keep investigating," Yu Dazhang ordered.

"Focus on that technician."

They were both veteran detectives; no need for detailed instructions—one sentence was enough to convey meaning.

What did "focus on" mean?

His living conditions, debts, unexplained income…

Detectives knew how to check these things effortlessly, without pressure.

After ending the call, Yu Dazhang took out his notebook and added another question mark after Liu Qi's name.

Both online and offline records were gone; the original samples had been stolen.

Did Liu Qi arrange it?

To erase the experimental traces?

That's too deliberate.

Just destroy it secretly—it'd be less suspicious than staging a theft.

How could someone as intelligent as Liu Qi make such a basic mistake?

Was this also a trap she set on purpose?

No.

She already set a trap with the drug substitution.

In her plan, no police officer should ever reach the lab. In other words, if someone did reach this point, any minor trick wouldn't help anymore.

But the main purpose of this internal theft was to erase the experimental traces.

Is someone else behind this case?

At this moment, Yu Dazhang felt a flicker of confusion.

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

He stared at the names Liu Qi and Liu Siyuan in his notebook, his gaze shifting back and forth.

As Yu Dazhang pondered, his phone rang again.

He glanced at the caller ID: Ye Lin!

"I've sent you the investigation results."

Ye Lin's voice came through the phone, her speech rapid, with no hesitation or dragging of feet:

"Not a single error—every word—every line—every bit of content—read it all in one go!"

"This woman definitely has a problem. She voluntarily gave up her degree from Cambridge and suddenly came back to the country. The first thing she did after returning was to find someone to launder her background."

Ceng Ceng Lisi is also from Cambridge University?!

Hearing this news, Yu Dazhang immediately thought of Liu Qi.

These two were actually schoolmates!

"Can you confirm that she had her background laundered?" Yu Dazhang wanted to verify once more.

"Of course." Ye Lin answered with great confidence:

"The other party's method of laundering wasn't all that clever—an insider could tell at a glance."

Being able to confirm this point was enough.

Yu Dazhang didn't expect the Ministry of State Security to help investigate the specific laundering process either.

"Thanks. This time I'll owe you a favor."

Ye Lin paid no heed to his pleasantries, let out a "heh," and hung up the phone.

Going to the computer, Yu Dazhang opened the communication software and opened the materials Ye Lin had sent over on the computer.

Ceng Ceng Lisi, entered Cambridge University in 2009, majoring in Psychology.

During her time at school, she performed outstandingly. One year later, she was given a verbal warning by the school on grounds of academic misconduct for hypnotizing a classmate.

In 2011, she received a written warning from the school once again for hypnotizing classmates and a teacher.

In 2013, at the beginning of the year, she performed collective hypnosis on multiple classmates and teachers, causing one of the students to suffer a psychological breakdown and engage in self-harm.

Afterward, multiple teachers and students came forward to plead on her behalf, which prevented her from being expelled.

But in early June of that same year, Ceng Ceng Lisi voluntarily gave up her degree, resolutely choosing to return to the country, with her destination set as Songhai City.

This woman is a madwoman... After reading through the investigation results, Yu Dazhang's eye twitched uncontrollably.

He counted on his fingers.

From the time Ceng Ceng Lisi enrolled, she had been caught by the school three times for hypnotizing classmates and teachers.

The last incident even resulted in a case of self-harm.

And that was only what was on the surface—what about what hadn't been discovered?

The fact that she was capable of hypnotizing classmates and teachers meant her level of hypnosis far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Cambridge University's Psychology program was world-class.

Anyone who could study there, pick any one of them at random, and they'd be top-tier.

In other words, Ceng Ceng Lisi was a genius among geniuses in the field of psychology.

And geniuses have another name...

Madmen!

When a person becomes overly fixated on one thing, symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder will arise.

When the obsession reaches a certain degree, it turns into arrogance and conceit—believing that no one in this world can compare to oneself.

At that point, it's hard to imagine what kind of crazy move she might make.

Yu Dazhang looked at the materials on the computer screen and unconsciously revealed a faint smile.

"Your schoolmate here is quite something."

Other people go to Cambridge University to learn knowledge, but she learned on the spot and put it to immediate use—directly using her classmates and teachers for practice.

PS: The day before yesterday I got home and had a small get-together with friends before the New Year. My tolerance for alcohol isn't great and I drank too much. Yesterday I still hadn't sobered up, but I gritted my teeth and typed out two chapters. I didn't dare write anything involving logic, so, well, it's a bit watered down...

Li Bai, drunk, composed a hundred poems; I, drunk, wet a great patch.

In the end, it just means my skill isn't good enough.

Please forgive me.

(End of this chapter)