A Possibility

Lin Shen had actually considered that possibility already and had been extremely careful. There were quite a few Gene Mutator guards in the Lin Family Courtyard, including Alloy Grade ones.

Yet Bai Shenfei had still entered Lin Shen's room without anyone noticing, and even after sitting behind him, remained undetected. This was no longer something Lin Shen could avoid simply by being cautious. The gap in strength was real and immense.

"Senior Sister Bai went to such great lengths to find me. Surely you didn't come to ask me for advice on eating, drinking, and having fun?" Since things had come to this, Lin Shen decided to be frank.

"I remember Senior Brother Lin saying that you were a full ten years younger than him, so calling me Senior Sister is appropriate." Bai Shenfei nodded slightly. "Actually, during the Recruitment Assembly, I had already guessed your identity. The reason I left afterward was something else. Do you know what it was?"

"I truly don't know. I'll have to trouble Senior Sister Bai to enlighten me." Lin Shen's eyes flickered slightly. He seemed to have thought of something, but in the end said nothing.

Bai Shenfei smiled. "It's not that you don't know. You thought of it but chose not to say it. It seems you are somewhat different from what Senior Brother Lin described—not merely someone who knows how to eat, drink, and play."

After a pause, Bai Shenfei continued, "The Gene Mutator who was with you today was called Lao Ye, right? When Senior Brother Lin was cultivating at Seahorn Base, Lao Ye was the one looking after his daily needs. I met him several times as well."

Lin Shen merely looked at Bai Shenfei without saying anything. She was right—he had already guessed that she wanted to talk about Lao Ye.

But from Lin Shen's position, there were things he could not say and did not wish to say.

"There's something wrong with Lao Ye." Bai Shenfei was startlingly direct.

"What is wrong with Lao Ye?" Lin Shen neither confirmed nor denied it, merely asking calmly.

"When I mentioned Gourd Mountain, there was something wrong with his eyes," Bai Shenfei said.

"They say a woman's intuition is the most accurate. Since Senior Sister Bai thinks there was something wrong with Lao Ye's eyes, then there must be something wrong with him," Lin Shen said.

"Senior Brother Lin said you were the most well-behaved and never swore. I didn't believe him at first, but now I do. You can curse someone without using a single curse word. You truly have no need to swear." Bai Shenfei did not get angry, merely speaking lightly. "I'll ask you three questions. You may answer or refuse to answer. Once I have asked them, if you still think Lao Ye has no problem, then consider it nothing more than my intuition."

"If I can answer, I naturally won't shirk it," Lin Shen said.

"First question: did he ever urge you to go to Gourd Mountain?" Bai Shenfei asked.

"No." Lin Shen shook his head.

"Second question: do you think he urged you to go to Gourd Mountain?" Bai Shenfei asked again.

The second question appeared to repeat the first, but Lin Shen hesitated. He did not answer as immediately as he had before.

Bai Shenfei seemed to have received the answer she wanted. Without waiting for Lin Shen's reply, she continued, "Was it his idea for you to impersonate Senior Brother Lin and attend the Recruitment Assembly?"

Lin Shen did not answer that question immediately either.

It was not that he wanted to conceal anything. Rather, Bai Shenfei's question had stirred up his earlier doubts, making him review everything that had happened over the past two days.

After asking her three questions, Bai Shenfei showed no intention of forcing Lin Shen to answer. She sat on the sofa and watched him with great interest.

Before the Recruitment Assembly, Lin Shen had prepared some means to deal with unexpected situations, but only as a precaution.

Under normal circumstances, Lao Ye should have helped him resolve most of the problems. Yet in reality, Lao Ye had done far less than Lin Shen had expected.

That could still be explained by Lao Ye's misgivings and unwillingness to deepen the Qi and Wang families' suspicions.

But afterward, Lao Ye had indeed seemed, intentionally or otherwise, to be guiding Lin Shen toward Gourd Mountain several times.

Lao Ye was an old hand of the Lin family. He had already been with the family when Second Brother was young, and had cared for Fourth Brother for so many years. Lin Shen did not want to suspect him, but given the Lin family's current circumstances, he could not help thinking further.

Still, Lin Shen could not understand it. If Lao Ye wanted him to go to Gourd Mountain, he had clearly had the chance from the very beginning. Why take such a long detour?

"He doesn't know where Gourd Mountain is." As though she had seen through Lin Shen's heart, Bai Shenfei suddenly said this.

Bai Shenfei's words immediately linked all the causes and effects together in Lin Shen's mind.

If Lao Ye did not know where Gourd Mountain was, then within the Lin family, the person most likely to know its location could only be Lin Shen.

Then it all made sense. If Lao Ye truly had some scheme, the reason he had taken such a roundabout path was to find out whether Lin Shen knew where Gourd Mountain was.

"Senior Sister Bai, everything you've said is still only speculation." Although Lin Shen had begun to suspect something, he would not condemn Lao Ye, who had risked life and death for the Lin family for so many years, based on a few words from an outsider like Bai Shenfei.

"I know where Gourd Mountain is." Bai Shenfei did not say much, but every word seemed to strike straight at the heart of the matter.

Lin Shen was startled. He looked at Bai Shenfei with some disbelief. "You know where Gourd Mountain is?"

If even Lao Ye did not know where Gourd Mountain was, then what gave Bai Shenfei the right to know?

"Of course I know." Bai Shenfei spoke calmly. "The reason I came to Blackbird Base was because Senior Brother Lin asked me to. If he failed to return after the Recruitment Assembly, I was to protect you and take you into Gourd Mountain."

"If Fourth Brother wanted me to go to Gourd Mountain, why didn't he bring me along when he and Third Brother went? Why wait until something happened, then have you take me to Gourd Mountain?" Lin Shen felt that something did not add up.

"He didn't take you to Gourd Mountain because he didn't know that you had already undergone gene mutation and had even reached Alloy Grade. Even I find that surprising. Senior Brother Lin clearly said that you had not yet undergone gene mutation." Bai Shenfei stared at Lin Shen curiously. "You brothers have been together for so many years. You had already undergone gene mutation to this extent, yet someone as perceptive as Senior Brother Lin knew nothing. How did you manage that?"

Lin Shen smiled bitterly inwardly. He had not undergone gene mutation at all, so Lin Xiangdong naturally could not have noticed.

"Senior Sister Bai, why did Fourth Brother want you to escort me to Gourd Mountain? If it was to find me a top-grade Gene Mutation Egg, do you think I still need to go now?" Lin Shen still did not entirely trust Bai Shenfei and tested her.

"Who told you that Senior Brother Lin went to Gourd Mountain to find you a top-grade Gene Mutation Egg?" The moment the words left Bai Shenfei's mouth, she had already thought of the answer. She continued, "If Lao Ye told you that, then it confirms even more that there is something wrong with him."

"Fourth Brother didn't go to Gourd Mountain to find me a top-grade Gene Mutation Egg?" Lin Shen was slightly taken aback.

"Of course not. Even if Senior Brother Lin didn't know you had yet to undergo gene mutation, an ordinary Steel Grade Gene Mutation Egg would have been enough for you. If it were for a Crystal Gene Level top-grade Gene Mutation Egg, that might make sense. But for a Steel Grade top-grade Gene Mutation Egg, there was absolutely no need to risk his life in a place like Gourd Mountain." Bai Shenfei spoke with absolute certainty.

"Then why go to Gourd Mountain? And why make me go there too?" Lin Shen could not suppress his curiosity.

"For a possibility. A possibility that could make you the Strongest Man Under the Stars." Bai Shenfei spoke slowly, one word at a time.