Genius Club-Chapter 171 - 15 Confrontation

Lin Xian’s mind wandered back over the many faces he had encountered…

But ever since Professor Xu Yun’s death, the various people he met had simply been too numerous.

Not just in the professional realm, where he had vast interactions with designers, industry personnel, and various business clients; but also in his personal life, where he had attended alumni gatherings and met many old classmates; and then there were those he’d met fleetingly...

Just from that aspect alone, he really couldn’t tell which encounters were deliberate and which were natural.

"I should still look at this from a different angle."

Lin Xian closed his eyes…

Currently, the situation in this game of hide-and-seek was very unfavorable to him. According to Huang Que, he was supposed to be in the light, while the enemy lurked in the shadows.

Open attacks are easy to dodge; hidden ones hard to defend against—where are there successful stories of guarding against a thief every single day?

"To survive in this game of Catch Me If You Can, I have to catch my opponent before they catch me."

It was a race against time.

Lin Xian opened his eyes...

"Whoever reveals themselves first, dies."

…

On the outskirts of Donghai City.

A villa, usually dim, was unusually brightly lit.

Ji Lin perused the printouts that filled the room, all of which were official documents released by East Sea University... all gathered from Professor Xu Yun’s laboratory.

Because of the sudden nature of Xu Yun’s death, these manuscripts were quite chaotic, a hodgepodge of various kinds. East Sea University didn’t bother to organize them, instead photographing and releasing them in accordance with Professor Xu Yun’s last wishes.

What Ji Lin had printed were those manuscripts that bore handwritten annotations.

Next to the desk sat the Rhine Cat Doll signed by Lin Xian.

The signature on it had already been traced and magnified.

Not only Chinese characters, but also English, numbers, and punctuation marks.

Handwriting comparison is a very important part of criminal investigation, as each person’s writing habits are unique.

The pressure of the strokes horizontal and vertical, the direction of turns in the numbers, the connections and lifts in the English writing, the sequence of the strokes... Professionals can easily determine whether the handwriting comes from the same person just by looking at a few characters.

In some ways, handwriting is like fingerprints—regarded as an individual’s anti-counterfeit label, impossible to perfectly forge.

Ji Lin sat with half-closed eyes, staring at the last manuscript on the table.

Focusing intently on every symbol and stroke...

Eventually.

He sighed and shook his head.

Tossed the paper in his hand onto the floor carelessly.

Then, clapping his hands behind his head, he lay back amidst the scattered papers behind him, gaze fixed unblinkingly on the lavish chandelier above.

Drip, drip.

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A hidden cellphone chimed with a message alert.

Ji Lin followed the sound and dug out his phone.

It was a message from Jealousy:

"He’s back in Donghai."

Ji Lin tapped a few times on the T9 keypad:

"Let’s begin."

…

In the days that followed, Lin Xian finally caught up with all the work that had piled up since the course started.

Tasks of his own, as well as those entrusted by Zhao Yingjun.

Since he had become Zhao Yingjun’s part-time secretary, if he was taking on the role for a day, then he was determined to do a day’s work well.

It had to be said that Zhao Yingjun placed immense trust in him.

Whether it concerned company secrets or business experience, she was incredibly forthcoming, sharing many things with Lin Xian who honestly benefited greatly.

There is a world of difference between industries.

For Lin Xian who had never dealt with high-level business operations before, Zhao Yingjun’s experience and guidance were akin to the Nine Yin Manual—in any other place, no one would impart such skills so openly.

A master teaching an apprentice still holds back some secrets, let alone in the cutthroat world of business, right?

So, for this Lin Xian was truly grateful to Zhao Yingjun.

Actually, this knowledge about business operations was extremely vital to Lin Xian’ current situation.

He had already considered it before.

Liu Feng’s research was likely to be very expensive, especially since he had promised to build him a laboratory. The costs couldn’t be covered merely by royalties and licensing fees.

One day, he would have to leave MX Company and find a way to make a large sum of money to ensure Liu Feng had sufficient capital to fully research the cosmic constant 42.

Lin Xian was eager to know what the cosmic constant was, what 42 was.

Unfortunately... even Liu Feng didn’t understand these things yet.

The father of Big Face Cat also based his research on Liu Feng’s and it took him more than a decade to come up with 42. Lin Xian had no expectation that Liu Feng could quickly discover something significant.

But, the quicker, the better.

The sooner he understood the truth and secrets of 42, the sooner he would master the most powerful weapon against the Genius Club, and be able to protect himself while unraveling all these mysteries.

However…

Making a fortune to sponsor Liu Feng had to wait until after the murderer of Xu Yun was found, the hidden enemies and dangers were eliminated.

The horrific death of Professor Xu Yun was still vivid in memory.

The current him dared not act rashly. Not only could he not suddenly become rich, but he also couldn’t copy anything new from his dreams to make money--such actions would be undoubtedly the most dangerous at this time.

Therefore, Lin Xian set a strict three-stage plan for himself—

1. Until the danger is removed, the murderer who killed Xu Yun is found, and the game of cat-and-mouse is over, he would stay honestly in MX Company, not using anything from future dreams to alter reality—blend in with the surroundings, wait for the enemy to reveal themselves.

2. As soon as a clue to who killed Xu Yun is found, as soon as that "cat" is discovered, he would immediately take action to eliminate them, bring them to justice, and remove his own crisis.

3. Only after he confirmed that all crises were resolved and that he had some self-protection capabilities, would he start to use the resources from his dreams to make a fortune. Then, he would build Liu Feng the best and most advanced laboratory to work out the cosmic constant 42 at full throttle.

Only then, would things be truly secure.

At this moment.

In the office of Zhao Yingjun on the 22nd floor of MX Company, Lin Xian stood behind Zhao Yingjun. As she detailed the contents of the documents, he attentively took notes in his black notebook.

He was studying earnestly.

He saw it as laying the foundation for his future entrepreneurship. Otherwise, even if he could copy things from his dreams, he might end up as someone else’s scapegoat in the treacherous sea of business.

"Lin Xian, you are progressing really quickly."

Zhao Yingjun turned around, looked up at Lin Xian who was taking notes behind him, and smiled:

"In just a few days, I can already entrust you with many tasks with confidence."

"It’s mainly because you guide me well." Lin Xian closed his notebook and looked at Zhao Yingjun:

"Are you satisfied with how the office has been organized?"

"Very satisfied."

Zhao Yingjun admired the tidy desk and the neatly arranged files beside it:

"My office has never been this clean. The working environment is really important; sitting here puts me in a good mood every day."

Lin Xian looked towards the sofa next to the cabinet by the wall...

That evening, the woman who called herself Huang Que, was sitting right there.

To this day, Lin Xian was puzzled about how she entered the office.

Unfortunately, Zhao Yingjun highly valued his own privacy and did not install a single surveillance camera on the entire 22nd floor, so how Huang Que got in remained a mystery.

Zhao Yingjun had firmly said that only the two of them knew the password to the coded door... but, obviously, Huang Que must have known it as well.

This was quite puzzling.

Was Huang Que also a code expert... or did she learn the password from somewhere else?

It would be unthinkable for Zhao Yingjun, who was so cautious, to leak the password.

Yet, this woman Huang Que was really strange.

The Space-time Law that he had formulated and never disclosed to anyone, she also knew. From this perspective... it wasn’t so strange that she knew Zhao Yingjun’s password.

Could she have some sort of superpower?

Mind-reading?

Clairvoyance?

Although Lin Xian had already braced for the possibility that the members of the Genius Club were no ordinary people... the idea of superpowers still seemed a bit far-fetched.

They’re not some Avengers Alliance, full of bells and whistles.

...

The next day.

Gao Yang called, saying that he had found an evening when both Zhou Duanyun and Tang Xin were available:

"It’s time for the East Sea crew to get together! We talked about welcoming the pair with a reunion, and since you’re back, let’s not delay it."

Lin Xian also agreed, as it was indeed something they had promised long ago.

That evening.

Gao Yang chose a nice Hunan cuisine restaurant, not a fancy place; it offered home-style stir-fries and also had small private rooms, suitable for their kind of casual get-together and chat.

Tang Xin was still dressed prettily, while Zhou Duanyun was still suited and booted.

Compared with those two... Lin Xian and Gao Yang felt like henchmen holding an umbrella for the crooked Dragon King. Gao Yang even muttered to Lin Xian when he got the chance:

"What’s with those two... Getting so formal just for a casual dinner? Are they going to have afternoon tea with the Queen?"

"Perhaps the suit is Zhou Duanyun’s true self," Lin Xian whispered in reply.

The four of them chatted happily in the private room.

Deliberate or unintentional, Gao Yang started off sitting with Zhou Duanyun, which meant that Tang Xin ended up sitting next to Lin Xian.

Amidst the clinking of glasses, Zhou Duanyun was in high spirits, drank quite a bit, and shared his experiences over the years.

He got into a decent university, but dropped out to start a business. He did more and grew bigger, becoming the epitome of a young man’s success story.

"So what are you primarily doing now?" Gao Yang asked curiously.

"I’m involved in a bit of every industry," Zhou Duanyun said with a smile.

"You didn’t come for the graduation photo when we finished high school... Many people said you won the lottery. Is that true?" After a few drinks, Gao Yang’s curiosity got the better of him.

Zhou Duanyun picked up his glass, drank it in one gulp, and wiped his mouth:

"We’re all classmates here, so I won’t hide it. Indeed, I was lucky at that time, won the lottery, and that’s how I started my fortune and got to where I am now."

"Envious!" Gao Yang raised his glass to Zhou Duanyun:

"Let us also share in your luck!"

"Yeah, share some of that luck with us!" Tang Xin also raised her glass with a cheerful smile, and everyone drank up.

"What are you doing now, Tang Xin?" Zhou Duanyun looked at her.

"I’m working at Donghai Fuxing Pharmaceutical Research Institute," Tang Xin answered truthfully.

"Oh~~~~"

Zhou Duanyun had an epiphany and laughed heartily:

"I know your boss!"

"Really?" Tang Xin said cheerfully:

"That’s a big shot... He was even Professor Xu Yun’s tutor before! You actually know him! Are you close?"

"Not bad, we’ve done business a few times, but I don’t like him as a person," Zhou Duanyun spoke candidly:

"He’s too full of himself."

"I’m not sure about that," Tang Xin shrugged:

"I think he’s quite nice."

"If he’s such a nice person... why did he abandon Xu Yun back then?" Lin Xian interjected.

Lin Xian knew how Xu Yun had struggled over the years, so he didn’t have a good impression of this mentor.

"It seems you hold quite a grudge against this gentleman, Lin Xian," Tang Xin turned to look at him:

"Are you and Professor Xu Yun close in private? You also complained about him at the reunion because of Professor Xu Yun’s matter."

"It’s alright, Xu Yun is also a teacher at East Sea University, though he never taught me... But our company has business dealings with him, so I’ve met him privately a few times," Lin Xian said, looking into his glass reflecting the incandescent light:

"Professor Xu Yun also has a comatose daughter in the hospital, and sometimes when I think about it, I really feel his life is hard."

Bang!

Gao Yang slammed his fist on the table:

"This makes me so angry! The year has passed and the two culprits who hit and killed Xu Yun haven’t been caught yet!"

Gao Yang was clearly intoxicated, swearing angrily:

"Those bastards! I have no respect for people who murder scientists! If they’re so capable, why don’t they go kill the real bad guys instead of a hardworking scientist? If caught, death penalty wouldn’t be enough for them! They should be flayed alive!"

After ranting, he snorted coldly and looked around at the three others:

"What do you guys think? Right?"