Genius Club-Chapter 215 - 48: Spy in the Disc

...

Ji Xinshui.

Read lat𝙚st chapters at fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓ Only.

That name was more than familiar to Lin Xian.

It was he who had invited Tang Xin to East Sea to conduct research; he had also pushed Zhou Duanyun to a dead end a year ago but ultimately didn’t kill him, sparing his life instead.

He had once been the Dean of the East Sea University Research Institute, Xu Yun’s mentor, the matchmaker who introduced potential partners to Xu Yun, and the one who ultimately expelled Xu Yun from his mentorship due to the hibernation research.

His identities were numerous.

He was too deeply involved in the death cases of Xu Yun and Tang Xin.

So Lin Xian had always regarded Ji Xinshui as a "Black Hand" behind the scenes, just like Zhou Duanyun.

And since Ji Lin shared the same surname and was related to Ji Xinshui, Lin Xian also considered him an accomplice.

And now...

Ji Lin had outright admitted it, directly explaining this relationship to him...

What exactly was his purpose?

Was it a probe?

A trap?

Or simply a ploy to fish for his words, to see how far he had investigated?

However, considering these questions now was meaningless.

Since Ji Lin’s question was imminent, Lin Xian needed to respond quickly.

This name.

Should he admit to having heard it or not?

Should he continue to feign ignorance, or should he openly acknowledge it?

After a quick internal debate, Lin Xian nodded:

"I know this person."

"Oh? How do you know about him? From the news?" Ji Lin’s interest was clearly piqued.

"Tang Xin told me."

Lin Xian stated calmly:

"During our high school reunion over the New Year, Tang Xin mentioned that she would start working at a research institute in East Sea after the holidays, and that she was invited by a prestigious figure, who was Xu Yun’s advisor, Ji Xinshui. That name came up often later when I met Tang Xin. She said her colleagues took good care of her and even found her a job in a symphony orchestra. We talked a lot about these things."

...

After much thought, Lin Xian decided that playing dumb in front of Ji Lin was not a wise move.

Because Ji Lin was too clever.

He couldn’t take risks in front of him.

If Xu Yun’s death and Tang Xin’s death, including the cautious plan that had summoned him to join the investigation team, were all traps designed by Ji Lin,

it was hard to ensure whether his accidental knowledge of Ji Xinshui’s name wasn’t also part of Ji Lin’s scheme, within his trap.

To deny it now would be highly risky, with no real gain.

It would be better to openly admit it since there was no risk: Tang Xin indeed had told him these things, just without mentioning names, mainly because he hadn’t asked at the time.

"So, you were adopted by Ji Xinshui?"

Lin Xian took the initiative and asked:

"What’s your relationship with Xu Yun... I’m a bit confused. The sister you mentioned, is she Ji Xinshui’s biological child or adopted?"

"She’s his niece, but we grew up together."

"But didn’t you say you grew up in Ji Xinshui’s orphanage? How would his niece end up growing up in an orphanage?"

"Our family is rather complicated," Ji Lin lifted his head, looked at the ceiling, and said slowly:

"Ji Xinshui never married, dedicating his life to his career, so he adopted many children, all living in the orphanage. However, later on, he brought the more intelligent children to live with him... to say raised, in truth, it was more like leaving them in the care of servants and relatives. I was raised by my sister."

"Alright."

Lin Xian nodded silently.

This extended family was indeed very complicated.

To straighten out the relationships: Ji Lin’s parents were killed by the 00:42 shooting incident, then Ji Lin was adopted by Ji Xinshui, raised by Ji Xinshui’s niece, followed by the niece marrying Xu Yun and giving birth to Xu Yiyi. Subsequently, Xu Yiyi suffered an accident, rendering her comatose, Xu Yun and Ji Xinshui had a falling out, which led to subsequent deaths, and Ji Lin ended up in East Sea.

But Lin Xian wasn’t particularly interested in this family tree...

What he cared about more was that Ji Lin’s parents also died at 00:42, but not from a car accident.

This was indeed intriguing.

Based on Lin Xian’s speculation, the killers were set on using car accidents as their method of killing at 00:42, so could it be they would switch to another method under special circumstances?

If that were the case... he might be in danger!

He had thought that avoiding roads at 00:42 was ample precaution, but if they would really resort to other methods when forced, he wouldn’t be safe anywhere.

However, drawing conclusions now was premature.

Lin Xian couldn’t determine the veracity of Ji Lin’s statements.

"Ji Lin, were your parents scientists too? What did they research?"

"They were both mathematicians," Ji Lin replied:

"But... I looked into their records. They were quite young 20 years ago, actually without any significant achievements. I was too young then to understand what they were working on."

"That’s why I’m somewhat puzzled. My parents’ accomplishments were far less than those of Xu Yun and Tang Xin, and their deaths weren’t by car accidents. Considering it on a global scale... ’On average, 106 people die for various reasons every minute on Earth.’

Ji Lin raised his hand, glanced at his glowing smartwatch:

"It is now 00:43."

"In the minute that just passed, around 106 people died around the world, many of them accidentally, but surely we can’t say every accidental death at 00:42 is the work of these killers, right?"

"Worth mentioning, since I arrived in East Sea and joined the investigation team, there was once a gas explosion in East Sea at 00:42, killing three people; another time, there was a car accident at 00:42 where four were seriously injured, yet two died after several days in the ICU."