Dr. Ray paused for a moment, then handed the documents around to the folks gathered at the office desk.


    After a couple of minutes, he nced over at the professors and Wayne, asking, "What''s your take on this?"


    The group exchanged some puzzled looks, and it was Nick''s boss who spoke up first, "I just can''t see it being Mirabe. If he was the one who stole the documents, he could have vanished without a trace instead ofing back and walking right into a trap."


    Nick was the type to keep to himself at the research institute, always head-down in experiments, barely interacting with others from differentbs. So, the rest of them were a bit hesitant to voice their opinions.


    "Chief Shen''s analysis isn''t off the mark," Wayne chimed in slowly, "but since this involves national secrets, we can''t afford to dismiss any suspects."


    "Hey, Ben, didn''t you have a run-in with someone that night? What do you think?"


    Ben wasn''t supposed to be at this meeting, but given his involvement that night, Dr. Ray had specifically called him in. Holding the documents, Ben calmly looked up when a professor addressed him, saying, "When ites to physical features, Nick does fit the bill."


    He paused, then continued, "But I agree with Chief Shen. If Nick was the culprit, he wouldn''t havee back. Plus, I noticed a few days ago that he seemed to be injured, which would make pulling off the theft pretty tough."


    "Injured?" Dr. Ray''s eyes narrowed, clearly surprised.


    The night the documents went missing, the security chief had fired at the thief, thinking he''dnded a fatal shot. Yet, the person was never found. If the thief survived, the wound would have been on the chest.


    Ben nodded slightly, responding to Dr. Ray, "Yeah, during surgery that day, I noticed his hand was a bit shaky with the scalpel, suggesting the injury might be around the chest."


    For someone in medical research, figuring out where someone was injured wasn''t too difficult.


    Dr. Ray recalled seeing Nick that day. He didn''t look well, but since his colleagues from the virology department had taken him away, he hadn''t given it much thought.


    Brack noticed Dr. Ray''s thoughtful expression and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Got something on your mind, Dr. Ray?"


    Dr. Ray shook his head, staying silent for the moment.


    If someone got shot in the chest, near the heart, the thought of them flying long distances and performing nearly three-hour surgeries seemed far-fetched. But the chest injury was a suspicious coincidence.


    Moreover, the security chief hadter concluded that it was a coordinated theft, likely one person drawing fire while another nabbed the documents.


    Those documents were priceless. Losing them was one thing, but if they fell into foreign hands, it would be catastrophic.


    Better to err on the side of caution, like detaining those five suspect researchers at the security bureau, than to let any potential suspect slip by.


    Dr. Ray, deep in thought, asked Brack to hang on a moment. He then went over to an internal phone in the courtyard and made a call.


    Ben watched, his eyes slightly lowered, a nearly invisible twitch at the corner of his mouth.


    Not long after, the security chief showed up in the office. Dr. Ray pulled up Nick''s profile on theputer, disying his photo.


    "You fired at someone that night. Look closely and see if you can connect it to this person," Dr. Ray said, pointing at the photo.