Genius Club-Chapter 187 - 29 Traps_2

I could easily prove Tang Xin’s innocence. All I needed to do was inform Ji Lin that Tang Xin was with me at both time points, and she didn’t have any time to play on her phone. I could be certain that between 00:41 and 00:43, Tang Xin definitely wasn’t playing with her phone.

In this way, I could prove Tang Xin’s innocence and directly overturn all the chat records.

[This was something only I could prove, only I would pay such attention to the time point of 00:42, only I could be 100% certain that Tang Xin didn’t use her phone at that moment.]

[Only I.]

Whir.

Lin Xian calmly flipped through the documents in hand, still maintaining an even pace while examining each page.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

But inside, he was thinking rapidly.

Only I...

That was precisely the issue.

Why would only I care so much about the time point of 00:42?

At any other time of the day, I couldn’t remember what I was doing, but at 00:42 by the roadside, I could remember it every time, clearly.

Before Tang Xin died.

In the real world, no one would specifically pay attention to the time point of 00:42.

Without a second case, Xu Yun’s death at 00:42 would just be an exceedingly ordinary moment without any particular significance, not something anyone would intentionally pay attention to.

I paid attention to it at that time because, in my dreams, Big Face Cat’s father also died at this time point, giving it a special significance only after contrasting and comparing.

Therefore...

This was a [trap]!

If I stood up now, told Ji Lin my discovery, and insisted that Tang Xin wasn’t using her phone at 00:42.

That would be bizarre!

Ji Lin would likely say next:

"Why do you remember the events at 00:42 on these two days so vividly? Is this time point important to you?"

Looking at it now, that Tang Xin and Xu Yun both died at 00:42 could be explained.

But back then, before Tang Xin had died, with only Xu Yun having died at 00:42, what reason did I have to care about this time point?

This time point is too ordinary, too commonplace.

If Ji Lin really asked that question, it would be extremely hard to explain.

I couldn’t just say that both times I happened to look at my watch, and just so happened to be holding onto Tang Xin, and just so happened to have a long conversation, so that’s why I remembered it vividly?

Too fake.

Lin Xian couldn’t take that risk.

After Tang Xin’s death, there was a reason for me to be concerned about this time point; but before her death, there was no reason for me to care about it unless—

[I admit that I knew in the future that Big Face Cat’s father died at 00:42, too.]

Click.

Lin Xian finished flipping through the last page, placed the thick stack of documents back on the table, and let out a sigh:

"I have nothing to say."

"Feeling disappointed?" Ji Lin asked.

"A bit."

Lin Xian answered:

"It’s quite surprising, and I don’t know what to say, especially since my own chat records were included... I don’t know what I am in Tang Xin’s eyes."

Ji Lin narrowed his eyes, watching Lin Xian. He remained silent.

"Thank you for today."

Lin Xian stood up, walked toward the door:

"I’m really grateful you let me see this, though I’m feeling quite mixed. But knowing the truth is better than being in the dark."

He strode off.

Retreating as a way to advance, that was Lin Xian’s strategy.

He thought that, given the acquaintance he and Ji Lin shared, the latter wasn’t supposed to show him these police secrets.

So, what was his purpose?

Did he consider me a suspect, so he wanted to trick me into revealing something? To find my flaw?

Or was it... for some other reason?

But no matter what, he couldn’t joke about his own safety.

"I take my leave."

Lin Xian pulled open the door to his office and strode out.

He was quite surprised.

According to his guess, if Ji Lin had any motives, he should have called out to him. In fact, there were some inconsistencies in his previous explanation about his relationship with Xu Yun, but Ji Lin didn’t question them in detail.

Lin Xian really couldn’t figure this person out.

All along the way, he also wondered...

Huang Que had said that their game of "Catch Me If You Can" had begun; from her perspective, he was definitely the mouse.

But who exactly is the cat?

Zhou Duanyun, without a doubt, is part of the cat.

What about the other part?

Is it possible that it’s Ji Lin?

According to his previous speculations, these "cats" would sooner or later come for him; if their murders are related to the "winter sleep research"... then now what’s missing might just be proving that he had provided help to Xu Yun.

Xu Yun died because of the winter sleep research, Tang Xin died because of the winter sleep research; if it’s eventually proven that he is also related to the winter sleep research, could they also kill him because of it?

But then again...

There are so many people studying winter sleep worldwide, they can’t possibly kill them all, right? What exactly is the standard, the mechanism for the murderers’ selection?

At the entrance of Donghai City Police Station, Lin Xian stretched out his hand and hailed a taxi.

He didn’t know whether Ji Lin could be counted as that "cat."

But he believed...

If Ji Lin really was that "cat," he would definitely seek him out again.

If he’s not, then it’s highly likely that there would be no further intersections between the two.

Donghai City is so vast.

If you don’t intentionally want to see someone, it’s very hard to encounter them.

"I hope you aren’t the one."

The taxi started up, and Lin Xian turned back, looking through the car window at the gradually distancing Donghai City Police Station.

He was very fond of the books written by Ji Lin.

They say a book reflects its author, and the feeling given by Ji Lin’s books implies that the author shouldn’t be such a completely nefarious person who kills without batting an eye.

But then again...

Who can be sure of that?

...

On the outskirts of Donghai City, at Linhu Villa.

"I heard you’ve failed?" Zhou Duanyun sat on the sofa, playfully twirling his car keys as he looked mockingly at Ji Lin squatting among the piles of books:

"Is that rat so hard to catch?"

"He’s smarter and more cautious than I thought," Ji Lin said softly:

"But he seems to be weaker than I imagined... According to my previous speculation, since he has the ability to alter history, wouldn’t it be a piece of cake for him to kill someone silently?"

Ji Lin looked up at Zhou Duanyun:

"But you didn’t get hurt at all; I thought Lin Xian might have killed you."

"You son of a...!" Zhou Duanyun’s keys flew out of his hand as he glared furiously at Ji Lin:

"Don’t tell me you guessed the wrong person! I wouldn’t have partnered with you if it wasn’t to kill Lin Xian!"

"There are two possibilities," Ji Lin said, looking down:

"First, I might have guessed the wrong person, and the one who’s altering history isn’t Lin Xian."

"Second, Lin Xian is indeed the one altering history, but his abilities are very limited; he doesn’t have the supernatural powers we imagined, can’t do as he pleases to a certain extent, and is still bound by real-world rules and legal constraints."

"So what are we going to do?" Zhou Duanyun was impatient:

"He’s so cautious, and we don’t know what the original history was, so how can we prove that he’s altering history? This is an impossible task!"

"No worries," Ji Lin raised his head and stood up from the heap of books:

"Since we don’t know the original history..."

"[Then let’s create a segment of... fabricated history.]"