You Stole Someone Else's Experimental Materials-That's Illegal, Brother!

Bai Jin nodded. "Yes, I put all the materials in my backpack. Before going to lunch at noon, I locked my backpack in a locker, but when I came back, the materials were gone."

"That doesn't mean you can falsely accuse me!" Seeing that Elder Ai, Professor Jiang, and the others had arrived, Zhu Chaohong's expression darkened. Before Bai Jin could finish, he began shouting indignantly as though someone had wronged him.

"Cao Longtao and I left for the cafeteria together. You were the only one who went back to the laboratory building midway. Do you need me to request the surveillance footage?" Bai Jin sneered. "All my materials were printed on special paper. You won't find the same kind of paper anywhere else in the entire school..."

Zhu Chaohong's hands began to tremble. He thought he had hidden it well, but the police had already noticed every one of his reactions.

Because of Medical University's prestigious reputation in Xu City, the police looked to Elder Ai. "Elder Ai, would it be convenient for us to review the surveillance footage and search the laboratory building?"

Elder Ai exchanged a glance with Professor Jiang and nodded. "Yes. I'll have someone retrieve the footage immediately."

Not only was Bai Jin Professor Jiang's prized student, but he was also an outstanding candidate they wanted to send to the Capital Medical Research Institute.

And considering the way Lu Chengze protected Bai Jin like a cub, if they tried to obstruct the investigation and smooth things over now, the commotion that followed would not be limited to a police search and a review of surveillance footage.

Lu Chengze was unreasonable when it came to protecting his own. He would definitely make life miserable for both Elder Ai and Professor Jiang.

This was not a particularly serious matter. They only needed to retrieve the surveillance footage and see whether anyone else had entered or left the laboratory building during the period when the materials went missing. Then they could gather people and thoroughly search this entire floor. They would most likely find the missing materials.

Zhu Chaohong's face had already gone deathly pale. Everyone present could see something was off about him, yet he still insisted on defending himself.

The police handled cases based on evidence. Since both parties insisted on reviewing the footage, and the school also agreed to retrieve it, there was nothing more to say. They would investigate.

Everything would be decided by the evidence.

The surveillance footage was copied over quickly, and everyone crowded around the computer to watch.

The recording showed that after Bai Jin and Cao Longtao left together, Zhu Chaohong was the only person who entered or exited the laboratory on the entire floor. Until Bai Jin and the others returned, Bai Jin discovered his materials were missing, and went to confront Zhu Chaohong, no one else had come to the laboratory building.

When Zhu Chaohong left the laboratory, his hands were empty. He carried nothing on his person or in his hands, which meant Bai Jin's missing experimental materials were still somewhere on this floor.

Once they confirmed the materials had not been taken out, they would be easy to find.

The police and everyone else began searching.

Bai Jin and Zhu Chaohong were the parties involved, so to avoid suspicion, neither participated. They sat off to the side and waited for the results.

"Found them!" someone shouted. Everyone immediately turned toward the voice.

Cao Longtao had pulled a thick stack of A4 printouts from the very bottom of a shredded-paper bin beside a cabinet.

Just as Bai Jin had said, the paper he used for his materials differed from ordinary paper. Its thickness and color were visibly different from the A4 paper they usually used for printing.

Who would throw such an obviously important stack of printed materials into a shredded-paper bin? It had to have been the person who stole the materials and hid them there while no one was paying attention.

Fortunately, the thief had not fed the entire stack into the shredder. He had merely hidden it at the bottom of the bin.

The shredded-paper bin was nearly full. With the materials hidden beneath all that shredded paper, no one would think to search through it without looking carefully.

The missing materials had been found. The way everyone looked at Zhu Chaohong now carried a hint of scrutiny. The outcome was already obvious.

Yet Zhu Chaohong still refused to admit it. His eyes bloodshot, he cried out hysterically, "Even if the materials have been found, you still have no proof that I took them!"

That was true.

Bai Jin folded his arms, his expression cold and aloof. "I already said that the paper I use to print my materials differs from everyone else's. This printing paper is for my personal use at home, and I made special marks on it."

The police asked, "Student Bai Jin, what special marks did you make on this paper?"

They had already examined it, but aside from its thickness and color, they had not found any other differences.

Rather than immediately answer their questions, Bai Jin turned and asked Cao Longtao to bring over a basin of water.

"The water's here." Cao Longtao placed a basin of water on the desk.

Bai Jin said, "As I said, I made special marks on my paper. If we lifted fingerprints from it, we could also identify whoever stole my materials, but that would take too much time. So I'll use the simplest screening method."

"I coated the paper with a colorless, odorless reagent I developed. It turns red when it comes into contact with water. Cao Longtao, you were the first person to find the materials, and you touched them. Please put your hand into the water."

"Sure." Cao Longtao openly placed his hand into the water.

Sure enough, as soon as Cao Longtao's hand entered the basin, a pale red layer quickly spread across the surface.

Then Bai Jin asked the police officers who had handled the materials to put their hands into the water as well. After their hands entered the water, a pale red layer also drifted off their fingers.

Bai Jin smiled at Zhu Chaohong. "Now it's your turn."

Zhu Chaohong abruptly sprang to his feet and tried to run outside like a madman, shouting, "It wasn't me! You have no evidence! You can't force me to do this!"

But no matter how fast he was, could he outrun the police?

Before he even reached the door, the police pinned him down.

Although Zhu Chaohong's guilty reaction had already proven his suspicion, for the sake of evidence, he ultimately carried out the test at the police's request.

Cao Longtao even went to fetch a fresh basin of clean water.

Then, the moment Zhu Chaohong placed his hand into the water, a pale red layer floated to the surface.

This time, Zhu Chaohong could no longer argue. He lowered his head dejectedly and let everyone's shocked and disgusted gazes fall upon him.

"Why? Why could Bai Jin, a student who came back from some overseas diploma mill, parachute into the experimental group that we worked so hard to get into? And why could Bai Jin catch Professor Jiang's eye and become an outstanding student selected for special training? How are the rest of us any worse?"

"Waaah... I just couldn't stand that smug, villainous look on his face. What did I do wrong?"

Cao Longtao was utterly stunned by Zhu Chaohong's warped values. "If you can't stand Bai Jin, then show greater ability than him and earn Professor Jiang's recognition! Stealing someone else's experimental materials is illegal, brother!"