Genius Club-Chapter 179 - 22 Declaration of War

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"Zhou Duanyun, he... went after that taxi."

Gao Yang sighed:

"Your attention was all on Tang Xin at the time; you probably didn’t notice what was happening around you. As soon as the taxi drove off, Zhou Duanyun got in a car and told the driver to turn around and chase after it."

"I contacted him just now, and he said he didn’t catch up. In the end, the taxi got away, but the dashboard camera still captured quite a bit. He’s planning to go directly to the police station and hand over the video from the dashcam to the police. With this footage, the police will have an easier time looking for that car."

Lin Xian didn’t speak...

He indeed harbored strong suspicions about Zhou Duanyun, almost certain that he was definitely involved in the plot to murder Tang Xin.

But they handled it very cleverly.

Zhou Duanyun had no direct motive or action to murder Tang Xin, and even if the police were to investigate, they would not be able to find any evidence.

Even if he presented all his deductions to the police, all these speculations were too subjective and without any objective evidence, they were nothing but empty words.

If anything required extra caution...

If the killer behind the deaths of Xu Yun and Tang Xin was indeed the group consisting of Xu Yun’s mentor and Zhou Duanyun...

Then they were most likely playing "Catch Me If You Can" with him.

He, Xu Yun, and Tang Xin were all their targets; it was only a matter of time.

"Wait for it, mice!"

...

The next day, in Chu Anqing’s hospital room.

Lin Xian pushed the door open.

Chu Anqing, sitting on the hospital bed, looked up and smiled faintly:

"Senior Lin Xian, you’re here. I was just thinking of getting in touch with you."

Lin Xian placed the gift on the bedside table:

"No problem, just rest up. You’re not seriously hurt, right?"

Chu Anqing scratched her head awkwardly:

"Not at all... I actually didn’t have any problems. It’s just that I’ve always been squeamish about blood... that’s why I fainted then. It was also my dad being too anxious and not letting me be discharged, insisting on a bunch of tests, but really, I’m fine."

Having said that, Chu Anqing’s expression immediately dimmed, looking at Lin Xian:

"Sister Tang Xin, she..."

Biting her lip, she paused.

Lin Xian shook his head:

"She couldn’t be saved, she died on the spot in the car accident."

Chu Anqing sighed:

"My father said that the Donghai City Police Department is also fully investigating the matter. It seems that because there is footage of the specific escape route of the vehicle... there are quite a number of leads to follow."

Lin Xian remembered what Gao Yang had said...

The video from the dashcam was most likely provided by Zhou Duanyun.

He thought that this vehicle, too, would vanish into thin air just like the one involved in Xu Yun’s death, but... according to what Chu Anqing said, the police actually had quite a few leads this time.

This surprised Lin Xian:

"What did your father say exactly? Can the police find the murderer?"

"My father said that because there’s been no breakthrough in Xu Yun’s case to this day, the pressure on the police in Donghai City is immense. They’ve thought of many ways..." Chu Anqing got off the bed, stood up, and continued:

"Especially with Sister Tang Xin’s case, it’s easy to link it with Professor Xu Yun’s previous case. The police in Donghai City are more eager than anyone to solve it. Therefore, they’ve enlisted the help of a very skilled ’outside expert.’"

"An outside expert?"

Lin Xian pondered for a while:

"Like a private investigator, or someone called in from another province?"

"I’m not sure." Chu Anqing shook her head:

"My dad didn’t tell me that much. He said it’s still a secret that shouldn’t be disclosed publicly, and the Donghai City Police Department doesn’t want the public to know about it."

"But my dad told me that this ’outside expert’ is extremely smart. He quickly understood the intricacies of the case and formulated a corresponding investigation and arrest plan. He estimates that the murderer will be apprehended soon!"

"That impressive?"

Lin Xian scratched his head, feeling like he was hearing about ’Detective Conan.’

But since the information was coming from Chu Shanhe’s mouth, it had to be true. His stature was significant both in public and in shadows in Donghai City, naturally giving him access to much that others wouldn’t know.

Moreover...

This case had almost implicated his precious daughter, so how could he rest easy without a thorough investigation?

"Speaking of which, Senior Lin Xian, my dad is very grateful to you!" Chu Anqing said with a smile:

"He says that after these few days are over, he wants to properly thank you, to repay you for saving my life."

"No need, that’s too kind. I was just doing what I could, it wasn’t really a life-saving favor... Actually, I came to see you today because I wanted to understand more about what happened when Tang Xin left the makeup room."

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

Pausing, Lin Xian continued:

"Can you tell me about what happened from the end of the performance backstage to the point Tang Xin left you?"

"Of course, I can."

Chu Anqing nodded and said:

"After we came off the stage, we just chatted together the whole time, did our makeup and changed clothes... Then someone called Sister Tang Xin, and she hurriedly packed her things and left."

"Do you know who called and what was said?"

Chu Anqing shook her head:

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"I don’t know about that. After she ran out, I realized she had forgotten her phone. So I quickly packed up my stuff and chased after her... Then you know what happened. It was right in front of the theater’s entrance. I was about to catch up and give her the phone when you pulled me back."

"Was the phone taken by the police?"

"I suppose so... I woke up in the hospital and have no idea what happened during the time I was unconscious."

I see...

Lin Xian had planned to check the call history or WeChat messages on the phone.

It’s not that he didn’t trust the Donghai City Police Department...

It’s just that Lin Xian had his own plans.

But based on the current speculation, it wasn’t hard to guess that the person who called Tang Xin at that time was Zhou Duanyun, definitely urging her to go to the theater entrance to pick something up.

"Okay, I’ve got it."

Lin Xian stood up, ready to leave:

"You should rest well. I won’t disturb you any longer."

"Senior Lin Xian..."

Chu Anqing walked over, grabbed his sleeve, and looked up into his eyes:

"I really appreciate you saving me, otherwise I..."

She fell silent, unable to find the words to continue as she thought of Tang Xin’s tragic fate.

She knew Tang Xin was Lin Xian’s high school classmate.

At this time, Senior Lin Xian must be feeling heartbroken, right?

She had survived, but Tang Xin was dead...

If she hadn’t been there at that time, would Lin Xian have been able to save Tang Xin?

At this thought, she once again felt distressed.

"It’s okay."

Lin Xian clearly saw Chu Anqing’s guilt and comforted her:

"Don’t worry, everything will come to light eventually."

...

Two days later, Tang Xin’s parents came from Hang City to handle her affairs. They collected Tang Xin’s ashes from the Donghai City crematorium.

Tang Xin’s parents were not very old, in their prime, and their family appeared quite well-off. But at this moment, they were devastated, initially grieving vehemently and then becoming numb from excessive sorrow, unable to communicate normally.

The arrangements were all handled by Tang Xin’s younger brother.

He was three years younger than Tang Xin and still a college student, but with his sister gone, he had become strong.

Lin Xian, Gao Yang, and three members of the Tang family met, exchanged some words, but it was as if nothing was said.

What could words do when a person was dead?

Several more days passed...

Tang Xin’s ashes were buried, the noise of the funeral dissipated into the fields, and the unburned joss paper on her grave flew into the sky and earth with the spring breeze.

In just a few days.

This girl, young and fond of laughter, became a handful of earth on this world, embarking on a journey to slowly be forgotten by time.

Perhaps, in decades to come, many classmates will have forgotten this girl named Tang Xin.

Just as she once came in a hurry and left in a hurry.

On the lonely fields...

Lin Xian stepped on the newly sprouted crops, walking step by step towards the grave mound that was barely a half-meter above the ground.

It was one of the few noticeable mounds in the entire field.

Under various policies to protect the farmland, more and more graves would flatten over time, fade away, be turned into farmland, planted with rice, and return to the earth.

Lin Xian stood there, his feet muddy in the bloody red afterglow of the setting sun.

For a long time.

He bowed his head:

"Tang Xin..."

He spoke softly:

"Your research could have changed the world, changed the future, made this world a better place."

"But what’s despicable is... there’s a group of people in this world who seem unwilling to see the world become a better place. They dislike science; they dislike change. They see all uncertainty as an enemy."

"I don’t know what their goals are..."

Lin Xian looked up, watching the sun gradually sink into the earth:

"But... no matter how many reasons they have, I don’t believe they are right."

He bent down, placed a bouquet in his arms on the grave, and stood up:

"Wait for me a while..."

"Wait until I uproot them altogether, then I’ll come to see you again."

He turned around.

The sun had completely disappeared below the horizon, only leaving behind a blood-red sky as evidence of its previous ascent.

The spring breeze passed through.

It lifted the hem of Lin Xian’s clothes,

It lifted the tender sprouts he had flattened,

It lifted the newly green willow branches beside the field,

It lifted the bundle of lilies in front of the mound of earth...

They swayed as if nodding in agreement.

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