How could this happen?
Xia Sanghuan stared at the big screen in disbelief, her eyes so fierce that it seemed she wanted to pierce through it.
She had worked so hard for so long but found not a single new clue.
Not only her, but even Professor He, who was usually as stubborn as a mule, couldn't help but feel a bit dejected.
The two of them bid the principal a dispirited farewell and decided to go back to the research lab first.
"Professor, do you have any backups of those materials?"
Professor He shook his head. "No. I spent the whole day yesterday writing the analysis and didn't have time to print a backup.
"The copy you used today was what I wrote yesterday."
Hearing this, her heavy heart sank even deeper, as if falling into an ice cave.
In scientific research, every record during the research process might be fleeting. If one couldn't seize and record it in time, it might not be remembered for a long time.
Now it was as if all their efforts in the past few days had gone to waste, and even those fleeting ideas were gone.
"Are the remaining residues of the Black Bone Spiritual Treasure still there?"
"Yes, but only one - third is left."
Hearing what the professor said, she slapped her face.
All the current materials were lost. The only trump card left was the Black Bone Spiritual Treasure still locked in the safe.
And there wasn't much left.
Moreover, Leng Jingzhan's illness was urgent. If they couldn't develop a medicine to treat Tree Man Syndrome, it might be too late.
So now was not the time to sigh. One should pick oneself up where one fell. They should go back to the research lab first and see how much of the materials could be restored.
Thinking of this, Xia Sanghuan perked up.
But she still couldn't help but recall what her master had said.
"In this world, sometimes having strength alone isn't enough to solve all problems."
"When fate decides to play tricks on you, you and everything about you will be like a joke in front of it."
Remembering the lonely back of her master when he said this, she seemed to understand now.
Was this incident just a joke played on her by fate?
The principal's office and the research building were located at two extremes on the campus. Xia Sanghuan and Professor He were out of breath by the time they finally reached the door of the research lab.
But when she saw the furtive figure at the door of the research lab, she suddenly felt that the joke fate played on her was just too absurd.
Taking three steps in two, she walked directly up to the figure and grabbed his arm.
Professor He followed closely behind to prevent this person from running away.
And this figure was none other than the senior who had clashed with her in the lobby on the first floor this morning.
"What are you doing here?"
Xia Sanghuan was the first to speak, staring at him coldly.
Shivering under her gaze, the senior stammered in reply.
"Of course I'm here to return your keys. What else do you think I'm here for?"
"If it weren't for my tutor's request, I wouldn't even want to step into a place related to you."
Hearing the word "keys", her eyebrows furrowed even deeper.
"Keys? What keys? Can you speak clearly and stop stuttering!"
Facing her aggressive questioning and fierce gaze, the senior shook off her hand and took several steps back.
"And who is your tutor? Why would you have the keys?"
Professor He's questions bombarded him like tracking missiles, making him miserable.
He only had one mouth. How could he answer so many questions at once!
But facing these two people who were almost on the verge of going crazy, he could only answer truthfully.
"The keys are the keys to your research lab door. What else would I bring them for!"
"And my tutor just gave the keys to me. I'm just a messenger. I don't know anything else!"
After saying that, the senior took out a bunch of keys from his pocket. There was a small peach - wood carving with the character "He" on it.
They were Professor He's keys.
That peach - wood carving was a birthday gift carved by his daughter for him three years ago, so he couldn't be mistaken.
But why were his keys in that tutor's hands?
"Who is your tutor?"
Professor He asked with a straight face.
"It's, it's Wei Linjun."
Wei Linjun was one of the top professors in the school who was researching the use of DNA recombination to treat genetic diseases.
Even Xia Sanghuan, who had only been at the school for a short time, had heard his name from He Jianyu.
But why were the keys in his hands?
Filled with doubts, they asked a few more key questions.
Unfortunately, apart from those two sentences, this person couldn't provide any other useful information.
Seeing that he was trembling with fear and didn't seem to be lying, they had to let him go first.
"Professor, when did you lose your keys?"
As soon as they entered the research lab, she asked anxiously.
"Don't ask me when I lost them. I didn't even know I lost them."
Professor He looked equally confused.
Judging from his expression, it seemed that he couldn't remember anything.
"Well, your keys weren't lost when you came to the research lab this morning, right?"
"Of course not. Otherwise, how could I have opened the door?"
After this conversation, she roughly sorted out some things.
The keys were lost after Professor He arrived at the research lab but before he went to the cafeteria for lunch.
Moreover, once he got immersed in his research, he would forget about everything else.
Because of this problem, he had been forgetful many times before. Xia Sanghuan, who had been doing research with him these days, knew this bad habit of his very well.
After all, she had looked for things for him more than once.
Now if they asked him if he remembered where he had put the keys at first, he probably couldn't tell.
If they omitted a series of details, the inferred theft process was as follows.
The thief stole the keys without He Jianyu's knowledge and used the lunch break to steal the documents.
Thinking of this, she paused.
It seemed that she had missed something important.
Herself.
Unlike Professor He, even when she was fully immersed in research, she would be distracted by the slightest noise around her.
This was also a habit she had developed when studying with her master.
Because she had to always pay attention to the surrounding situation, not go home too late, and not be discovered.
So if the person who came to steal the keys this morning did it after she arrived at the research institute, she would definitely have noticed.
On this basis, the time when the keys were lost was further shortened.
Remembering that she had been late this morning because of the conflict, she gritted her teeth in anger.
Although it was still unclear whether the loss of the keys was related to this senior, she would definitely teach him a lesson if she had the chance.
At this time, Professor He suddenly remembered something.
"After I opened the door of the research lab this morning, I seem to have forgotten to take out the keys."
Hearing this, Xia Sanghuan quickly asked.
"Really? Professor, are you sure you didn't take them out?"