Genius Club-Chapter 214 - 47 Co-habitation Life_2

Click!

The thick double password door opened, and Lin Xian entered the tidy but empty office.

Although this was Zhao Yingjun’s office, all the layout and arrangements were organized by Lin Xian; therefore... in this office, Lin Xian was far more familiar with everything than Zhao Yingjun herself.

He walked straight to a filing cabinet in the corner and took out a file box from the second-to-last drawer, placing the fake invitation and the seal with lacquer inside it.

"Perfect."

Lin Xian smiled slightly.

Zhao Yingjun’s office was the best place to hide the fake invitation.

First, the fake invitation was meant for Zhao Yingjun, so it made perfect sense for it to be in her office.

Second, Lin Xian knew Zhao Yingjun’s habits all too well; she would never touch this filing cabinet in her lifetime, making it a very safe hiding place.

Last, only he and Zhao Yingjun knew the office’s password, with Huang Que being the only possible additional person, who was not an enemy. He could come and go as he pleased, making it the ideal spot for hiding something.

After everything was prepared, Lin Xian shouldered his backpack containing personal toiletries and a change of clothes, and took a taxi to the Donghai City Public Security Bureau.

...

"... "

Standing at the open door of the shared dormitory with Ji Lin, Lin Xian was somewhat speechless.

"Isn’t it, the two of us sleep in the same room?"

Lin Xian turned his head to look at Ji Lin, who was slightly hunched over and yawning:

"We are staying in this dormitory?"

"Is there a problem?"

Ji Lin pointed to the double-bed layout, which was no different from a standard hotel room, with two large beds positioned at the north and south of the room, complete with all kinds of facilities, en suite bathroom, and even two desks with computers. In terms of quality, it was actually very high-end.

It’s just that...

"I thought we would each have a single room." Lin Xian hummed softly:

"I’m not very used to sleeping in the same room with another man."

"Do you want me to switch for a woman to come in?"

"Your way of thinking is quite novel."

"If you really mind, I can have someone install a curtain between the two beds."

"That won’t be necessary."

Lin Xian waved his hand and tossed his backpack onto the bedside table by the window.

This was Ji Lin’s territory, and the police force of Donghai was now under his command, so complaining was useless; this was part of their planned surveillance operation... Since raising objections was futile, he might as well not bother.

Out of the corner of his eye...

He noticed Ji Lin closing the dormitory door and then lying straight on the other bed to rest with his eyes closed.

He understood.

The face-to-face confrontation in this game of Catch Me If You Can was truly about to begin.

"I’m going to wash up."

It was getting late, so Lin Xian took out his toiletries and went to the bathroom to wash up.

While brushing his teeth, he thought things over.

He was quite covert in every aspect, but there was one thing that could make Ji Lin sense something unusual—

[He always woke up precisely at 00:42].

This was a very unusual occurrence and something he couldn’t control; it might not seem significant to others. But the man across from him was the genius detective novelist Ji Lin... he would undoubtedly notice.

Ji Lin was so smart, it was hard to guarantee that he wouldn’t deduce some detail out of the fact that Lin Xian couldn’t be awakened after falling asleep and his peculiar habit of waking precisely at 00:42.

That could be dangerous.

So...

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"Stay up late," huh.

Lin Xian planned to resort to the ultimate technique he used as a child to avoid dreaming—just stay up past 00:42 before going to sleep.

...

Night.

Early morning.

Ji Lin lay on his back on the bed next to him, his head resting on his hands, eyes closed, not knowing what he was thinking or even if he was asleep.

And on this bed, Lin Xian, with his headphones on, scrolled through his phone, preparing to sleep after 00:42.

"Lin Xian, aren’t you going to sleep?"

In the darkness, Ji Lin on the other bed turned over to look at Lin Xian.

Through the diffused reflection of the phone’s screen, Lin Xian could see Ji Lin’s eyes shining bright, along with faint dark circles around his eyes... He knew that this guy was clearly a night owl, a champion of staying up late.

Alright then, keep acting.

This room isn’t large, yet it’s filled with leading actors.

They might as well hand out the Oscars here this year.

"I usually stay up late," Lin Xian removed his headphones and sat up on the bed, leaning against the pillow:

"Did I disturb your sleep?"

"Not at all," Ji Lin shook his head, also sitting up and leaning against the headboard, looking at Lin Xian:

"My mind is also pretty chaotic, constantly thinking about the case. There’s something I just can’t figure out, and I don’t have any leads on it."

"What is it?"

Lin Xian turned off his phone, turning his head to look at Ji Lin.

The room grew dimmer, with only a threadlike moonlight sneaking through the loosely drawn curtains... Transforming into flickering iridescence that, under the slight caress of the curtains, cast a glow upon Ji Lin’s figure.

"I can’t understand why the killers insisted on making the time of the murders 00:42."

Ji Lin, propping his chin with his hand, whispered:

"The death timestamps for Tang Xin and Xu Yun are both between 00:42 and 00:43. Let’s not mention the difficulty in controlling such a precise moment—what significance does this specific time hold?"

"The thoughts of a killer are often inscrutable," Lin Xian said offhandedly:

"Perhaps this time has unusual meaning for them, similar to how many killers deliberately leave special symbols or items at the murder scene—it’s just to prove that they committed the act, a sort of boasting or showing off."

"Just for boasting and showing off, there’s no need to lock in the time of the incident; there are other, more clever and covert methods," Ji Lin shook his head, expressing his views:

"Just like you said, leaving behind special symbols or items would be sufficient, there’s no need to fixate on 00:42. Not only does it draw attention easily, but it also directly informs the police about the next possible timing of the crime, which is a very risky move for the killers themselves."

Lin Xian looked at Ji Lin in the darkness: "So your view is..."

"I tend to believe that this peculiar manner of killing by the murderers is deliberately put on show for someone, like conducting a ritual or passing an exam," Ji Lin paused before continuing:

"My parents, too, died at 00:42."

"Really?" Lin Xian was somewhat surprised; he didn’t know if what Ji Lin said was true or false and hadn’t considered the deeper implications of the killers acting at 00:42. He didn’t understand why Ji Lin was confiding this to him:

"Was it also a car accident?"

Ji Lin shook his head:

"No, it wasn’t an accident. That’s why I have always been uncertain whether the killer who murdered my parents 20 years ago and the one who killed Xu Yun and Tang Xin now are of the same kind."

"It was a shooting at 00:42. The criminals killed them on their way home, and after that, I became an orphan and was sent to an orphanage, where I was adopted by a now very prominent figure."

Ji Lin changed his position, facing Lin Xian:

"Ji Xinshui."

He smiled, looking into Lin Xian’s eyes:

"Have you heard this name before?"