Chapter 486 – Has Lin Bai Also Disappeared Into Thin Air?
Xu Jinning initially thought it would be easy to find Lin Bai, but to her surprise, half a month had passed, and they hadn’t found a trace of him.
One day, Xu Jinning and Xie Ting’an were at the small courtyard, gathering with her older sister, brother-in-law, and their family.
They were chatting when suddenly, one of Grandpa Xie’s men arrived.
Upon seeing the visitor, Xu Fanghua and Song Yi immediately knew that he had some important matter to discuss with Xu Jinning and Xie Ting’an.
So, they took Song Siyi and moved a bit farther away, giving Xu Jinning and Xie Ting’an space.
Soon, the visitor began reporting on the search for Lin Bai.
They had searched for half a month, but there had been no sign of Lin Bai.
“That’s odd,” Xu Jinning frowned slightly, finding it strange.
Even though the technology of the time was somewhat primitive, without surveillance cameras or the internet, with the resources of the government, it seemed impossible that they couldn’t find any trace of one person after half a month.
And the search wasn’t nationwide; it was only in Beijing.
Even if Lin Bai had been hiding for half a month, there should have been some sign of him.
In fact, a few days ago, Xu Jinning had asked Xie Ting’an if he had heard any updates on the search for Lin Bai from Grandpa.
But Xie Ting’an’s answer had been no.
Xie Ting’an wasn’t particularly concerned about these matters, so he hadn’t asked. His attention was more focused on his pregnant wife.
Xu Jinning had also been quite busy lately, and in her busyness, she had forgotten to ask about the progress of the search for Lin Bai.
She had assumed that they might have already found Lin Bai, that communication with him had gone smoothly, and that everything was progressing well, which was why they hadn’t asked for her help.
To her surprise, after half a month, there hadn’t been any sign of Lin Bai.
“Could Lin Bai have just disappeared into thin air?” Xu Jinning was truly puzzled.
As soon as she uttered the words “disappeared into thin air,” she suddenly paused.
Yes, disappearing into thin air…
Maybe it wasn’t so far-fetched after all.
It wasn’t that Lin Bai himself had such abilities, but his system might.
After all, the previous incidents where things went missing seemed like they had vanished without a trace to others.
Lin Bai might not have that power, but his system did.
It had to be the system that caused such disappearances.
Like that notebook that went missing for a minute—when they checked the surveillance footage, everything seemed normal.
Lin Bai wouldn’t have the ability to remotely tamper with the official surveillance footage.
It had to be the system.
And now…
Could it be that Grandpa’s men couldn’t find any trace of Lin Bai because the system had erased it?
Could the system have created the illusion that Lin Bai disappeared, or even that he never existed?
“It seems this system is far more intelligent than we originally thought,” Xu Jinning remarked thoughtfully.
She still had some lingering doubts, though.
She turned to the man sent by her grandfather and asked, “In the past half month, has there been any unusual incidents of missing items in Beijing or with the authorities, similar to before?”
The man shook his head. “No.”
No? …
Was that even possible?
“Could Lin Bai really have disappeared? Maybe he left Beijing?” Xu Jinning murmured to herself. If Lin Bai had left Beijing, finding him would become incredibly difficult.
Searching for one person across the entire country would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
At that moment, Xie Ting’an suddenly spoke up, offering a reminder.
“Is it possible that this is also an illusion?”
Xu Jinning blinked, looking at Xie Ting’an in confusion. Xie Ting’an explained, “The fact that we haven’t found Lin Bai could be because the system is hiding him.”
“And what about the missing items? Could they also have been obscured by the system?”
Xu Jinning suddenly realized what he meant.
Everything might have been blurred to create the illusion that Lin Bai had already left Beijing.
But in reality, Lin Bai was most likely still in Beijing.
Especially now, he was almost certainly still in the city.
The only problem was they didn’t know where exactly.
Xu Jinning couldn’t come to a clear conclusion just yet, but…
“We must continue the search for Lin Bai, and we need to do it quickly. The system might already be aware that we’re looking for both Lin Bai and itself.”
“I’m afraid it might really take Lin Bai out of Beijing.”
If that happened, finding Lin Bai would become even more difficult.
…
“System, what did you just say?”
“What is the task?”
After lunch in the cafeteria, Lin Bai was the first to return to the dorm to read. He had just opened his book when the system suddenly announced a new task, startling him.
[Please check in at any hospital in Country A within three days. Task reward: Comprehensive Handbook for Cancer Cure.]
The task shocked Lin Bai so much that he immediately stood up.
When he asked again, the system repeated the task.
Lin Bai’s heart raced.
“System, are you serious? As long as I check in at any hospital in Country A, I’ll get the Comprehensive Handbook for Cancer Cure?”
[Yes.]
Lin Bai fell silent.
The Comprehensive Handbook for Cancer Cure…
Could it be that with this handbook, he’d be able to find a way to cure cancer?
Lin Bai’s thoughts immediately turned to his mother.
He wondered, if his mother had lived in a time when cancer had already been cured, would she still be alive in his previous life?
But Lin Bai also knew that his mother was gone. That was an unchangeable fact.
However…
Lin Bai understood that cancer would remain the biggest challenge in medicine for many years to come. Both now and in the future, across the nation and the world, many people would die from cancer.
He thought, if he could get his hands on this handbook…
Could he help Song Yi discover a cure for cancer?
Yes.
In that moment, Lin Bai’s mind was set: if he obtained the Comprehensive Handbook for Cancer Cure, he would give it to Song Yi.
At his current level, even if he had the handbook, he wouldn’t be able to comprehend it. Rather than letting it go to waste in his hands, it would be better to give it to someone more capable.
And that person had to be someone he trusted.
As he thought this over, the only person who came to mind was Song Yi.
In both his past and present lives, he knew what kind of person Song Yi was, and how brilliant he was in the field of medicine.
So, Lin Bai believed that if Song Yi had the handbook, he would be able to figure it out quickly.
And he trusted Song Yi’s character.
Lin Bai also knew that if a cure for cancer were discovered, it would be a monumental achievement, something that would go down in medical history, and even be remembered for centuries.
Was that appealing to Lin Bai?
Of course, it was.
Lin Bai was, after all, just an ordinary person.
As an ordinary person, he couldn’t help but be drawn to the idea of fame and recognition.
But he suppressed that desire within himself.