Chapter 1079: Ji Linbai’s Memory

Editor: Henyee Translations

Upon learning that Gu Yang’s disappearance might be connected to Ji Minghui, Ji Linbai was in disbelief. Desperate for answers, he went to see Gu Jin.

When Gu Jin confirmed that Gu Yang had been taken out of the country, her frustration was palpable, and her cold expression toward Ji Linbai only made it worse.

Her phoenix eyes flashed with anger as she suppressed her rage. “Get lost.”

Ji Linbai hesitated, wanting to say more, but Su Ye stepped in, pulling him aside. “Boss is furious right now. It’s best you don’t push it. As for your father, you need to figure out what’s going on.”

A bitter expression crossed Ji Linbai’s face. He understood the delicate situation. Neither Gu Jin nor the Xiao family would allow him to accompany them, just in case. On top of that, Family Head Ji had issued an order forbidding any family members from leaving the country in the near future.

“I can’t get in touch with my father either.”

Although it was hard to believe, Ji Linbai realized his father was likely involved. What baffled him most was how his father, who had always been deeply engrossed in academic research, could be linked to Utopia.

Despite the guilt gnawing at him, Ji Linbai knew he couldn’t leave the country or locate his father. Unwilling to sit idly by, he decided to return to the Ji family estate, hoping to uncover some clues. Ji Minghui rarely came home, and when he did, he spent most of his time in the study.

The Xiao family had already conducted a thorough search of the capital’s mental hospitals, but they found nothing useful. Ji Linbai knew he had to start with the Ji family.

Ji Minghui’s study was locked, and even Mrs. Ji was forbidden from entering. Determined, Ji Linbai had someone remove the door. The study looked much as he remembered, with bookshelves filled with titles on mental illness and psychology.

Ji Linbai began clearing out everything in the study, desperate to find any trace of his father’s dealings with Utopia. He hadn’t slept all night, and his mood was deteriorating, evident in his bloodshot eyes.

He couldn’t fathom how he would face Gu Jin and Chuchu if his father truly had kidnapped Gu Yang.

As dawn broke, Mrs. Ji found him. “Little Bai, you didn’t sleep at all last night?”

Ji Linbai, rummaging through the clutter like a walking corpse, replied, “Mom, what kind of person is my father?”

In that moment, he realized just how little he knew about his father. In his mind, Ji Minghui was a man consumed by academics, oblivious to the world of Mutants and UOs. Now, he was entangled in something as sinister as a plot with Utopia.

Mrs. Ji felt a sense of confusion as well. Although she was Ji Minghui’s wife, their relationship had always been one of mutual respect, bordering on estrangement. They had lived separately for years, their lives as distant as those of strangers.

She couldn’t determine what kind of person Ji Minghui truly was.

While Ji Linbai was clearing out the miscellaneous items on the storage shelf, a transparent glass bottle suddenly fell from the pile and shattered on the ground.

As the glass broke, a rich fragrance filled the air, warm and comforting like sunlight on the skin.

This familiar scent…

It was strikingly similar to the morning sun concoction that Gu Yang had made for Ruan Chu.

Ji Linbai froze, recalling that he had encountered this scent before, though he couldn’t pinpoint when or where.

With the bottle’s shattering, a flood of fragmented memories rushed into his mind.

He had indeed smelled this fragrance in the study, on his father. Yet, it had slipped from his memory over time.

But he had not only forgotten the fragrance; he had also repressed the vivid memory of blood and the gruesome sight of it pooling on the ground.

There lay a person in a pool of blood, their white coat soaked crimson. The figure faced him, a weak voice escaping their lips.

“Run.”

As he processed the voice, the face gradually morphed into that of Ji Minghui.