Chapter 606: The Man Who Should Have Been Dead

Although Paige Walsh’s tone was questioning, Melody Summers saw the urgency and fervor in her eyes and had no doubt that if Sophie Thorne dared to refuse, Paige would have her tied up and dragged to the lab.

Sophie Thorne knew she couldn’t get out of it, so she had to bite the bullet and agree.

"That’s wonderful!" Paige Walsh clapped her hands in excitement, her face flushed as she said, "Sophie, you’ve really done us a huge favor! I hereby declare you a member of my project team, starting right now!"

Paige then raised her wrist to check her watch and said with some regret, "Unfortunately, I have to go greet a friend in a bit, so I can’t chat any longer. We can discuss the specific details tomorrow at the lab!"

Sophie Thorne maintained a stiff smile, nodded, and replied, "Okay."

Only after Paige Walsh was a good distance away did Sophie Thorne’s tense body finally relax.

She turned to Melody Summers, a look of confusion on her face. "What on earth are you playing at? You’re the one who bred these Blue Scale Prawns..."

Before Sophie Thorne could finish, Melody Summers shook her head firmly and said earnestly, "No, *you* bred them now!"

Sophie Thorne: "..."

Seeing Sophie Thorne’s look, which seemed like a pie chart of thirty percent shock, thirty percent confusion, thirty percent speechlessness, and ten percent ’don’t you dare be ridiculous,’ Melody Summers dropped her playful expression and explained in a low voice, "You were upset before because of what Kylie Walsh and the others were saying, weren’t you..."

Recalling Kylie Walsh and Joy Jennings’s taunts toward Sophie Thorne just moments ago, Melody Summers felt a surge of anger—she truly couldn’t understand how these people could kick Sophie when she was down, all because of what Mr. Thorne had done, something Sophie knew nothing about!

Kylie Walsh and Joy Jennings dared to say such awful things right to Sophie Thorne’s face; who knew what venomous gossip the others were spreading behind her back. It was no wonder Sophie had been under so much stress lately...

At that thought, Melody Summers patted Sophie Thorne’s shoulder comfortingly. "It’s all better now. You’ve solved the breeding problem for the Blue Scale Prawns, which counts as a contribution to a scientific research project! From now on, when people talk about you, they won’t just be gossiping about your father..."

This country held those who contributed to scientific research in high regard. With this achievement to her name, people wouldn’t dare to gossip so carelessly anymore.

Hearing Melody Summers’s explanation, Sophie Thorne was filled with a mix of surprise and gratitude. But after thinking it over, she still refused. "...I appreciate your good intentions, I really do, but this is your accomplishment. I can’t take the credit for it! Don’t worry, I’ll explain the whole situation clearly to Professor Walsh..."

"No, no, no! Don’t you dare! I don’t care about the credit!" Melody Summers waved her hands dismissively, her expression serious. "Besides, I don’t want to attract any attention."

Melody Summers felt she’d been conspicuous enough already. The Crestview Hotel, The Serene Leaf Teahouse—she was everywhere. She didn’t want to draw more attention because of the Blue Scale Prawns, or she feared she wouldn’t be able to keep her pocket dimension a secret for much longer.

Just last night, she’d had a dream. In it, the cataclysm was over, order had been restored to the country, and restaurants were open for business again. She ordered takeout, but someone had installed a camera on the delivery bag and recorded her entering her dimension!

Melody Summers had woken up from the dream with a start, her heart still pounding with lingering fear.

Melody Summers leaned close to Sophie Thorne’s ear and persuaded her, "I don’t want to attract attention, and you need this to get out of your predicament. Isn’t it a perfect solution? Just stop agonizing over it."

Sophie Thorne: "..."

Sophie Thorne felt that something was wrong with the whole situation, but Melody Summers was insistent. For now, she could only take it one step at a time. At worst, she would find a suitable opportunity to explain everything to Paige Walsh.

Afterward, Melody Summers helped Sophie Thorne find a safe place to store the Blue Scale Prawns before they headed back to the banquet hall.

But just as the two of them reached the entrance to the hall, they were nearly knocked over by a group of people storming out—

Two security guards were dragging a wailing woman out. Her face was streaked with tears, her makeup was a mess, and black eyeliner ran down her cheeks in smudged lines. Still, Melody Summers recognized her as Kylie Walsh by the clothes she was wearing.

Melody Summers: "..."

Kylie Walsh was being dragged out by her arms, struggling nonstop as she yelled furiously, "Let go! Let go of me! Let me go right now!"

The two guards ignored her struggles, simply continuing to haul her away.

Watching the group’s retreating backs, Melody Summers was dumbfounded. ’What’s wrong with her? What kind of fit is she throwing now...?’

Melody Summers figured the Walshs must have some kind of crazy gene. Otherwise, they wouldn’t all be more unhinged than the last. The siblings Zara and Yuri Walsh were clearly unhinged, and now their aunt, Kylie Walsh, was acting completely deranged too. ’What a bizarre family!’

Ignoring the little interruption caused by Kylie Walsh, Melody Summers and Sophie Thorne found a quiet corner and sat down. Just then, the host on stage began to introduce the evening’s guest of honor—

"Let’s give a warm round of applause to welcome Professor Hayden Jennings from Aeridor and the research team he leads! Welcome them as they join our Anworth Medical Center..."

The moment she heard the name "Hayden Jennings," Melody Summers’s chopsticks trembled, and the crab claw she was holding fell right onto the table.

She looked up, staring in disbelief at the middle-aged man on the stage, her mind reeling in shock—

’Hayden Jennings?!’

’...How is he still alive?!’

In Melody Summers’s memory, Hayden Jennings should have been dead by this time in her past life. He was a medical researcher, and the obituary announcing his death had been a top trending news story for an entire day, so Melody remembered it clearly.

’Could it be that the butterfly effect from my rebirth has allowed Hayden Jennings to survive this time around?’

Seeing Melody Summers’s shocked expression, Sophie Thorne couldn’t help but ask, "What’s wrong? Why that look on your face? ...Don’t tell me you know Professor Jennings, too?"

Sophie Thorne’s voice snapped Melody Summers out of her shock. She slowly shook her head and replied, "No... I don’t know him..."

At this, Melody Summers paused. A second later, she turned to Sophie Thorne and asked in surprise, "What do you mean by ’too’? Do you know him?"

Sophie Thorne nodded. "He’s part of the Jennings Family. The Nimbus Hotel here in our city is their business. In terms of blood relations, he’s Carter Jennings’s grand-uncle."

Hearing Sophie Thorne’s words, Melody Summers felt like a bolt of lightning had shot through her mind, and several pieces of a puzzle seemed to click into place.

’Hayden Jennings is from the Jennings Family, and the Jennings and Walsh families are connected by marriage. Since the Walshs were the masterminds behind The Serene Leaf Teahouse incident, could the Jennings Family have been involved too? What role did they play in all of this?’

’The epidemic in this life is different from my last one, and now, Hayden Jennings also happens to be alive. Is there a connection between these things?’