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“Directly investigating Ji Xin Shui and Ji Lin is difficult. Right now, I don’t have the capacity to confront them head-on. In contrast, investigating Zhou Duan Yun is much simpler,” Lin Xian thought as he propped his chin up.

After all, he and Zhou Duan Yun were classmates, and many people in Hangzhou knew Zhou Duan Yun well, making the investigation easier. If his reasoning was correct, then Zhou Duan Yun and Ji Lin were both pretending to be kind while waiting for him to slip up. Their seemingly good intentions were just a facade.

Since the enemy had already targeted him, there was no point in hiding any longer. Objectively, Lin Xian still had three advantages:

Ji Lin’s attempts to probe him indicated they hadn’t found any evidence of his involvement in Xu Yun’s hibernation research. Thus, he was temporarily safe.

He knew they only killed through car accidents at 00:42. This specific method was easy to avoid. Just stay indoors at night.

He had some powerful cards to play—whether it was his 600-year-old dreams or the massive favor owed by Chu Shan He. At the right moment, these could turn the tables. In Donghai, Chu Shan He’s word was law; even Ji Xin Shui wouldn’t dare challenge him.

“Once I deal with these people, I need to quickly develop my own influence.” Now, Lin Xian had a rough plan for the future. Develop himself, ensure Liu Feng could safely research the Universal Constant 42, find a way to get an invitation to the Genius Club, and use his dreams to gather more intelligence and control. But to implement these plans, he needed to win this urgent cat-and-mouse game.

He recalled what Yellow Finch had said in Zhao Ying Jun’s office. She said she couldn’t tell him how to get an invitation to the Genius Club. But she appeared at the perfect time and hinted at the cat-and-mouse game. Perhaps… this game was the key to the Genius Club invitation!

“I must find a way to win this game,” Lin Xian muttered as he took a large baking tray from the kitchen and burned all his reasoning papers. As the flames spread through the paper, Lin Xian smelled the distinctive stench of cremation—a smell etched into human genes as a warning, signaling danger.

In just two or three months, Lin Xian had smelled it twice. He and Gao Yang stood by when Tang Xin’s brother received his sister’s ashes from the funeral staff. It was Lin Xian’s first close encounter with cremation. He never imagined a human body would take two hours to burn to ashes at such high temperatures. Every minute of those two hours was unbearable. A living classmate reduced to half a jar of ashes.

What could make Zhou Duan Yun abandon his humanity to kill one classmate and attempt to kill another?

“Wait for me.” Amid the flickering flames, Tang Xin’s smiling face emerged. Lin Xian spoke slowly and clearly: “None of you will escape!”

…

The next day, he handled his company affairs remotely, then returned to Hangzhou, heading straight to his old high school to find his former homeroom teacher. Five years had passed, but his teacher was still energetic and enthusiastic, leading a graduating class.

“Ah, Lin Xian! You were the most memorable student of your year!” His teacher laughed, patting Lin Xian on the back. “You won the city’s parkour championship three years in a row, a legend among your juniors. But what amazed me most was you getting into Donghai University! Your grades were mediocre, yet you made it into a top university… Your improvement was remarkable, proof that hard work pays off!”

Lin Xian smiled. Indeed, studying during the day and pulling all-nighters in dreams couldn’t go unrewarded, right?

After some small talk, Lin Xian got to the point: “Sir, I remember you once shared good news in our class group. You said all of us had gotten into universities, not a single dropout, and you even made a spreadsheet of which school each person got into. Do you still remember?”

This was why Lin Xian sought his high school teacher. He wanted to know which university Zhou Duan Yun got into, so he could investigate why he dropped out and how he made so much money in such a short time.

According to Zhou Duan Yun, his life experiences in the past few years were enough to write a book. First, he won the lottery after graduating, then he got into a university despite poor grades, and later dropped out to become a successful businessman. No one could have predicted the poor, self-conscious boy from high school would come this far. His story was almost as incredible as Ji Xin Shui’s life.

Lin Xian wasn’t jealous of Zhou Duan Yun. But such a legendary life, if not fabricated, had to involve some sort of protagonist aura or awakening system.

“Of course, I remember! Your year made me proud!” The teacher chuckled, pulling out a file box from a drawer and sifting through it. “Each year seems worse than the last. Your class was my proudest achievement! Imagine, every student got into college, not a single failure!”

Soon, the teacher found the spreadsheet, even laminated it. Lin Xian scanned the list while the teacher reminisced: “I took photos of everyone’s acceptance letters for keepsakes! I was so happy for each of you when I asked for those photos and compiled the list.”

Lin Xian browsed through it: “Everyone did pretty well, went to good schools.”

“Except Gao Yang. He didn’t do well on the exam.” The teacher sighed. “You two were close, weren’t you? Gao Yang was a great class president, just didn’t perform well in the exams, or he could’ve gotten into a good university.”

Finally, Lin Xian found Zhou Duan Yun’s name, with “Hunan University” next to it.

“Hunan University?” Lin Xian was surprised. “Zhou Duan Yun got into such a good school?” Hunan University was a prestigious 985 and 211 school!

Lin Xian’s mediocre grades getting him into Donghai University was already considered a miracle. Zhou Duan Yun, consistently at the bottom of the class, getting into a 985 university without any special talents… This was beyond miraculous.

“Sir, how come you never mentioned such an amazing feat?” Lin Xian was puzzled. Knowing his teacher’s personality, he would have boasted about such a gifted student, maybe even inscribed Zhou Duan Yun’s name on the blackboard to show off his teaching prowess. Yet, he never did. Why?

The teacher pursed his lips, silent. He walked to the office window, opened it, and lit a cigarette. After a few puffs, he flicked the ash outside and seemed to make a decision, sighing: “Lin Xian… Since you asked, I can’t lie. This has been weighing on my mind for a long time.”

He turned, looking at Lin Xian: “Do you remember Zhou Duan Yun? Poorly dressed, from a poor family. His father died early, and his mother raised him alone. I’ve seen her bring him bedding. A skinny rural woman, also bullied in her village… They were really pitiful.”

Lin Xian nodded. He had heard about this. But he remembered no one in class bullied Zhou Duan Yun; everyone was quite friendly.

“Such kids need face and value their dignity.” The teacher took another puff and continued: “When I collected the acceptance letters, Zhou Duan Yun’s mother personally brought Hunan University’s letter to me.”

“She didn’t know how to use a phone, so she took a long bus ride to the school. She brought a big bag of eggs and a sack of peanuts.”

The teacher’s hand shook slightly as he spoke: “To this day, I don’t know how that tiny woman carried those heavy bags so far… But she was so happy, so proud. She kept talking about Hunan University, saying her son finally succeeded and wouldn’t be bullied anymore.”

Lin Xian listened quietly as the teacher’s face darkened. He stubbed out the cigarette: “I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t bring myself to tell the truth. Watching a mother, who raised her child alone through so much hardship, be so excited and proud… I just couldn’t.”

“You mean…” Lin Xian was at a loss for words. He had guessed the truth.

The teacher nodded, looking at Lin Xian: “As teachers, we knew your exam results before you did. Zhou Duan Yun’s score was only 300-something…”