Genius Club

A blinding white light flashed right on time. Even in the deepest underground layer of Sin City, it didn’t miss a beat—everything was burned to ashes.

…

…

…

In the corner of his bedroom, Lin Xian opened his eyes.

He sat up, slipped on his slippers, and sat at the edge of his bed, lost in thought.

This dream wasn’t just about exploring a new world—it had also given him a deeper understanding of time travel and the time machine, thanks to his discussion with Gao Wen.

“But none of that really matters,” he muttered, shaking his head.

These insights—they wouldn’t change anything, even if Gao Wen hadn’t explained them to him. Once the time machine was built, he’d have plenty of time to learn the rest.

The real blow was…

No matter what, the time machine wouldn’t be completed before the year 2234, before the comet beyond time reached Earth.

This news was devastating, throwing all of Lin Xian’s plans into disarray.

Two hundred and ten years from now. Unless he used a hibernation chamber, there was no way he could live that long.

“But still, it’s not all bad news,” Lin Xian realized.

The truth was, the Genius Club members of 2024 were only just beginning to understand time travel and their plans for the future. Even the earliest members like Copernicus, Newton, Galileo, and da Vinci had only been laying the groundwork for a few decades—they hadn’t truly revealed their cards yet.

Without the hibernation chamber, Copernicus would be gone in about ten years. Newton, Galileo, and da Vinci? They’d last maybe three or four decades before aging took its toll.

In the grand flow of time, they’d become little more than dust, barely leaving a ripple.

That, perhaps, was why the first dream felt so stable.

Though it was a mystery how the Genius Club continued to operate in the future without the hibernation chamber, their influence on Earth wasn’t as enormous as in the later dreams.

The hibernation chamber changed everything.

In the later dreams, it was almost as if the Genius Club members were performing solos—one taking the stage after another, each altering time and shaping the future.

But that was 600 years later.

The members of the Genius Club 600 years from now were incredibly powerful—unbelievably so. But in 2024? They were just starting out. Especially when it came to understanding time travel—everyone was still in the early stages.

“Copernicus probably just realized that time travel was possible, which is why he asked Einstein about who could build a time machine,” Lin Xian analyzed.

“This means that the current Copernicus, aside from killing some scientists, hasn’t fully laid out his future plans.”

“The one I’ve been playing cat and mouse with is actually Copernicus from 600 years in the future. The Copernicus of today isn’t that strong yet—at least, not strong enough to control the Time Court and the Time Police.”

“The same goes for Galileo.”

Lin Xian stood up from the bed, pacing the room.

“Galileo is a bit ahead of Copernicus when it comes to researching the time machine. He seems to be stuck on the calibration module, which is why he asked Einstein about astronomy indirectly.”

“But from what I’ve seen in the dreams and the future, Galileo’s presence is almost nonexistent. If Turing hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have known that the disaster of 2400 was caused by him.”

Lin Xian pulled back the curtains and gazed out at the bright lights of Donghai City.

So far, he’d experienced eight different dreams, seen eight different futures.

In most of those futures, it was clear that certain geniuses had influenced the world, but it seemed like none of them—Galileo, Gauss, Newton—ever made it all the way to 2624. They all got eliminated somewhere along the line.

“Let’s summarize.”

Lin Xian sat down at his desk, switched on the lamp, and began organizing the information he had on each Genius Club member.

No. 1: Einstein

The head of the Genius Club—his true identity is unknown. He’s like an absolute neutral party and observer. He wears an Einstein mask, and though he seems older than Copernicus and Newton, he’s far more spirited and incredibly mysterious.

He tolerates all the members’ actions—moral or immoral, right or wrong, loyal or traitorous. He doesn’t care. His perspective is almost absurdly high-level—so much so that it feels unreal.

He has the power to see the future, almost omniscient and omnipotent. So far, Lin Xian hasn’t seen any flaws in him. Einstein’s authority and strength make him unique within the club.

Einstein’s true goal remains unclear. According to him, in the future he sees, humanity has no future—which is why he created the Genius Club. He gathered geniuses and shared his ability to see the future, hoping to bring about a brighter future for humanity.

That’s all Lin Xian knows about Einstein.

He has no hostility towards anyone, not even himself. Given his abilities, if he wanted someone dead, it would be all too easy.

No. 2: Copernicus

Copernicus is the second member of the Genius Club, joining right after Einstein. His true identity is also unknown.

Though Lin Xian had seen his face in the fourth dream, no one could be sure it was real. VV had compared it to all available photos on Earth but found no matches. So, the face of the mysterious old man in the dream must be fake.

Either it wasn’t his real face, or he had plastic surgery.

Considering Copernicus’ age and failing health in 2024, it’s likely that in the future, when technology advanced, he had medical treatments, surgery, or skin replacements.

Lin Xian knew quite a bit about Copernicus.

According to Newton, Copernicus started hunting scientists long ago, even back in the previous century. He had a strange sense of ritual—every scientist he killed had to die at precisely 00:42 local time, as a form of tribute, an ultimate respect for them.

Later, as he grew older and tired of killing, he found Ji Xin Shui and formed the Seven Deadly Sins to do his dirty work for him.

Copernicus had even once told Angelica that the scariest people weren’t physicists, astronomers, or chemists, but—mathematicians.

Because mathematics is the only field where the fundamentals of everything, even the truth of the universe, can be deduced using nothing but a pencil and paper.

Lin Xian had no doubts about that.

Big Cat’s father, Chen Heping, was the emperor of calculations.

In a shabby room, with just a pencil and paper, he calculated the Universal Constant 42.

In a filthy slum, with nothing but paper and pencil, he completed the theory of time travel and helped Gao Wen build the full-fledged time machine.

Lin Xian still didn’t understand why Copernicus was so obsessed with killing mathematicians.

But his gut told him…

It had to be, must be, without a doubt related to the Universal Constant 42!

Lin Xian could almost confirm that Ji Lin’s parents were most likely killed by Copernicus. He just wouldn’t admit it and even tried to frame Elon Musk.

But by now, no one believed Copernicus’ lies. Neither Lin Xian nor Angelica.

In the fourth dream, cunning Copernicus deliberately mimicked Kevin Walker’s catchphrase to divert Lin Xian’s attention to Kevin Walker.

Later, after Lin Xian exposed him, he claimed to be Elon Musk, still trying to deceive him.

Only a fool would trust that old man again.

Lin Xian hadn’t contacted Elon Musk or Angelica in the past few days, but he was sure they must have joined forces by now—united in their hatred against Copernicus.

The bond between them was unbreakable.

Copernicus had destroyed Angelica’s second life and killed Ji Lin’s parents. Then he tried to steal Elon Musk’s entangled time particles, planning to kill him and replace him with a doppelgänger.

It was a blood feud.

Angelica and Elon Musk would love nothing more than to strangle Copernicus right now. Lin Xian had no doubts about their partnership—their skills and goals matched perfectly.

That said…

Copernicus was the most troublesome enemy in the entire Genius Club.

He joined the club early, and for years, he could ask Einstein a question every month without worrying about others overhearing or his identity being exposed.

So Copernicus knew far more truths and secrets about time, history, and the future than anyone else.

His current focus was clearly on the time machine.

The bad news was, once he fully understood the principles of time travel, he’d try to steal the entangled time particles from Lin Xian.

The good news was, Copernicus was still lagging behind in building the time machine.

But Lin Xian couldn’t let his guard down.

He had already decided what question to ask Einstein at the next Genius Club meeting on August 1st, and how to phrase it cleverly.

No. 3: Newton

Newton’s virtual image is of a young man, but in reality, he’s an old man who constantly talks about his grandchildren. He’s the third member of the Genius Club.

Being the member who joined after Copernicus, Newton and Copernicus didn’t get along at all. In fact, they were often at each other’s throats.

But it probably wasn’t Newton’s fault. After all, no one in the club liked Copernicus. It was clearly a Copernicus problem.

Newton’s true identity was also unknown, and Lin Xian had no clue about his future plans or real motives.

At the recent club meeting, Newton hadn’t asked a question, leaving Lin Xian with no way to gather information about this “old rascal.”

For now, Newton seemed like a good guy, but in this club full of schemers, it was best not to trust anyone’s words at face value. Everyone had countless tricks up their sleeves and could act like an Oscar-winning performer.

For now, Newton hadn’t shown any overt hostility or made his plans clear, so Lin Xian didn’t see him as an enemy.

What puzzled him was…

Why was this high-ranking, powerful guy—the one who picked Isaac Newton as his persona—so quiet in every dream?

In the fourth dream, Copernicus clearly dominated the scene.

In the fifth dream, Elon Musk became the light of humanity, leading the Mars migration.

In the sixth dream, Turing survived with thirty thousand duplicates, waiting for the moment one would win and become the ruler of Earth.

In the eighth dream, Miss da Vinci’s Savior Company saved human civilization from disaster, though things went off course later.

But what about Newton, the big guy?

He chose Isaac Newton as his mask, which suggested he was ambitious, believing in strength and power.

So what was his future plan?

Why hadn’t he made it to the end in any of the futures?

No. 4: Galileo

Galileo’s virtual image was that of a middle-aged man. His true identity was unknown, but he seemed to be a hot-blooded warrior, with aggressive words and personality.

If what Turing said was true…

Galileo’s future plan was to deliberately trigger the great disaster of 2400, to reset human society and rebuild a more fierce, vigorous human culture.

It seemed clear that Galileo wasn’t a fan of rules and restrictions. He despised modern society’s so-called virtues, morals, and laws, believing they suppressed humanity’s primal nature.

But…

What problem would a worldwide disaster solve?

And from what Lin Xian had seen, it seemed Galileo was just being used by the other geniuses.

In the fifth dream’s future, Elon Musk took advantage of the disaster to move humans to Mars, fulfilling his migration plan.

In the sixth dream’s future, Turing’s duplicates used the disaster to become deities worshipped by the remaining human tribes.

In the eighth dream’s future, Miss da Vinci also used the disaster to create an ideal society where everyone was perfect and exemplary.

Poor, poor Galileo.

What was his goal after starting the disaster?

Lin Xian couldn’t figure it out.

Surely he didn’t trigger the disaster only to die in it himself?

That’d be too ridiculous.

No. 5: da Vinci

Having just emerged from the eighth dream, Lin Xian knew a fair bit about Miss da Vinci.

She was the only female member of the Genius Club, and though her true identity was unknown, she didn’t seem like a bad person.

The Savior Company she founded, along with the millions of bionic robots she had prepared, truly became the saviors of humanity, doing a lot of good.

As for what happened later—no one could have predicted that.

From what Gao Wen said, Miss da Vinci didn’t live to see the end. At some point, she passed away, leaving the Savior Company in the hands of the bionic robots.

Her original intention was for these robots to serve as role models for humans, leading people towards a bright and harmonious future.

But perhaps she underestimated or overestimated human nature.

The future didn’t go as she had hoped.

It was…

Hard to say whether it was right or wrong—it was all very debatable.

Gao Wen and the others never considered using the time machine to kill Miss da Vinci, and Lin Xian felt the same. Compared to Copernicus or Galileo, Miss da Vinci genuinely seemed to care about humanity’s “bright” future.

As for Copernicus and Galileo’s idea of “bright,” it was likely just a product of their twisted minds.

If there was an opportunity during a future club meeting, Lin Xian thought he might hint at some things to Miss da Vinci. Whether it would help or whether she’d even listen was another story, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

Most geniuses were stubborn, after all, and not likely to heed anyone’s advice.

[No. 6 Gauss]

The slender man wearing the ‘Math Prince’ mask didn’t exude even a hint of princely confidence or grace. He stammered, speaking in a soft, timid voice, and the entire Genius Club interrupted him relentlessly.

His vision for the future? A world of absolute equality.

But…

Humanity, society, life, the future…

None of these things are as straightforward as a mathematical equation or formula. Is there truly such a thing as a completely fair world?

Lin Xian believed there wasn’t.

Even up until the meeting yesterday, it seemed this genius hadn’t figured out what equality really meant or how to achieve it. When asked by Einstein, Gauss responded with a confusing question about brain and body enhancement, which left everyone puzzled.

Yet… Lin Xian had seen enough deception to understand one thing—there wasn’t a single mediocre person in the Genius Club. If he couldn’t understand Gauss’s question now, it was only because he hadn’t seen through Gauss yet, nor grasped his plan.

“No question is meaningless,” Lin Xian thought, “Even the choice not to ask a question carries its own meaning.”

The Genius Club gatherings looked harmonious on the surface, but beneath it all… it was a giant, elaborate game of deception—truths and lies intertwined, and everyone was playing a role.

If you ever think the whole group is just clueless, naive lab rats, that only means…

You’re the real lab rat.

[No. 7 Tesla]

This one was an old friend, no secrets here. His real identity was clear: Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. His purpose was equally transparent—to use Mars colonization as a stepping stone, leading humanity off Earth and into the vast expanse of the universe.

But he had failed, and his future plans were doomed as well.

Right now, Elon Musk was playing an elaborate game of disguises—switching places, pretending to be someone else. He had the real “Fake Elon Musk” act as the fake “Real Elon Musk” and get “killed,” while the real Elon Musk disguised himself as the fake “Fake Elon Musk.”

But after all the twists and turns… Elon Musk was still Elon Musk. Only in Copernicus’s eyes, everything had already turned upside down.

Lin Xian didn’t know when he would finally find Copernicus, when he would get his revenge, and finally close this net.

But he was sure, when that moment came…

Elon Musk and Angelica would definitely be there.

[No. 8 Turing]

Turing was the most unique member of the Genius Club, mainly because he was two people. He was the only one whose seat had been inherited by another.

The first to join the club was Kevin Walker, Turing’s human counterpart. His skills were undeniably the best on Earth—a hacking genius. He built everything—the Genius Club’s network system, the question-answer platform, the new member welcome module, even the virtual meeting environment. He did it all.

Technically, Kevin knew every member’s information, which made everyone uncomfortable. But Einstein had set strict boundaries around Kevin’s access to personal information, which reassured the others.

It gave Lin Xian some confidence too—even if Digital Turing ever colluded with Copernicus, he certainly wouldn’t dare share the members’ secrets.

Einstein had a firm grasp on Turing, a ruler that kept him in line.

However, Kevin Walker was gone now. Turing was dead too. The Genius Club had, for the first time, lost a member. With their absence, control of the network system and the virtual meeting environment had reverted back to Einstein.

[No. 9 Rhine]

Indeed, the last genius, the one whose mask and codename clashed with everyone else’s style, was none other than Lin Xian himself.

To be honest, not receiving the invitation in the official manner left him clueless about the true meaning behind the masks, which is why he ended up making such a fool of himself.

But he couldn’t very well admit he’d cheated to get his invitation—that would instantly expose how different he was.

So, he acted nonchalant, swallowing his embarrassment, trying to look like he wore the ‘cat mask’ out of sheer personal preference.

Maybe even Einstein thought the ‘Rhine Cat’ codename was out of place, lowering the group’s dignity. So he had spared Lin Xian the embarrassment by dropping the ‘Cat’ and renaming him ‘Rhine.’

As the newest member of the club, Lin Xian still found himself at a loss—unsure of his future plans or how to proceed. During his first meeting, he’d made a mess of things and even learned about his own potential death from Einstein’s lips.

Next time, when the club met on August 1st, he figured everyone would be there, curious to see if he had managed to survive.

After all, once the meeting was over, he had only 15 minutes to change his fate. Most members probably thought he was as good as dead.

No matter. The next gathering was his chance to build a mysterious image—to baffle these geniuses. Ideally, he’d create a false identity convincing enough to deceive them all, masking his true intentions with a mystery.

Click.

The pen cap snapped shut.

Lin Xian had finished summarizing everything he knew about the Genius Club members.

Now, all that remained was to wait for the next meeting and ask his questions, to see what Einstein’s answers would reveal!

“Once a month meetings… such a long wait,” Lin Xian sighed, glancing at the calendar, the red circle around July 7th standing out.

The future had already changed. On July 7th, he’d kept his head… but Lin Yu Xi had left.

To be honest, the sadness of separation always came with a delay. When Lin Yu Xi left, Lin Xian and Zhao Ying Jun hadn’t fully processed it—confusion and disbelief overshadowed their grief.

On the first day without her, Lin Xian moved with hatred in his heart, while Zhao Ying Jun busied herself to avoid the flood of emotions.

But now… now it was the second day since Lin Yu Xi left.

Lin Xian sat alone in the empty bedroom, missing his daughter. He could still picture her napping in the guest room next door, cuddled up with the Pomeranian, VV…

But she wasn’t here anymore.

She was really, truly… gone forever.

An overwhelming sadness filled the silent room, washing over Lin Xian like a tidal wave, taking his breath away. Only after experiencing loss firsthand did he understand what it truly meant.

Emotion is strange that way—slow to hit, but when it does, it hits hard.

Lin Xian took several deep breaths, picking up his phone, staring at Zhao Ying Jun’s avatar in his contacts.

How was she today?

Had she been swept up by her emotions like he was? Was she managing to sleep?

Morning came, and the sun rose.

Just as Lin Xian was about to reach out to Zhao Ying Jun, his phone rang. It was Brother Wang.

“Lin Xian…”

Brother Wang’s voice was full of worry.

“President Zhao Ying Jun… she still didn’t go home last night. Her office light stayed on until dawn, and she slept in the office lounge again. Now she’s started working for another day.”

He sighed. “It’s been two days, and she hasn’t been home…”

Lin Xian exhaled sharply, quietly replying, “I understand.”

He ended the call.

Got out of bed, washed up, dressed, and opened the door.

Until now, there had always been something standing between him and Zhao Ying Jun—some invisible barrier they couldn’t break through.

Not only that, but he’d always kept a distance, worried for her safety, never telling her the full truth.

But now… it was time.

That night, when Lin Yu Xi became blue snowflakes, he had made Zhao Ying Jun a solemn promise—he would take responsibility for Yu Xi.

And… he would take responsibility for Zhao Ying Jun too.

With a firm click, Lin Xian closed the door behind him. The sunlight streamed in through the hallway windows, dazzling his eyes.

For a moment, he could see Yellow Finch’s sapphire earrings, the Little Mermaid’s bubbles rising into the sky, Lin Yu Xi’s ponytail bouncing as she ran, and the white jade statue of Rhine Sky City gazing into the distance.

He held out his right hand, shielding his eyes from the morning sun. Between his four fingers, he saw four different smiling faces.

“This time…” Lin Xian murmured softly, “We won’t be separated again. Our family will stay together.”