Genius Club

This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation

“But there’s another problem.”

Elon Musk immediately asked, “For you, continuing to hibernate isn’t an issue. I also plan to keep hibernating since the development of science and technology can’t support my current ideas. So, intermittently hibernating until the era of advanced technology truly seems like the most logical method for research at the moment.”

“But it’s different for you. Your goal isn’t about scientific research. If you hibernate until 2500, the era where the genius programmer Cheng Qian resides, are you sure you’ll still have the chance to face Newton?”

Elon Musk chuckled lightly, “He was from the same era as Copernicus. Even if Newton was just a young man back then, for him to survive until 2025 and hibernate several times over 200 years, he’d be quite old now.”

“By the time you wake up in 2500, Newton might have already passed away for many years. You might not even have the chance to take your revenge.”

Lin Xian nodded. “That would indeed be unfortunate. But there’s no other way. Right now, what matters most to us is the secrets and information related to the Universal Constant 42.”

“Even if Newton doesn’t live to 2500, someone will undoubtedly inherit his will, just as he continued the will of Copernicus, and carry forward the pursuit of the truth behind 42.”

“Whoever this successor may be, as long as we can revive the super artificial intelligence VV, finding them will be a piece of cake. At that point, we can extract the intelligence we need from them.”

“But…” Lin Xian smiled faintly, “I have a feeling that Newton won’t perish so easily.”

“Oh?” Elon Musk seemed intrigued. “Why do you think so? Did you set up some kind of trap or bait for him?”

“Exactly.” Lin Xian nodded. “The last time I met Newton’s virtual avatar, I told him that there would be many scientists in the future capable of calculating the Universal Constant 42.”

“In his eyes, since I could kill Einstein and even know a few things about 42, he wouldn’t doubt my words.”

“With Newton and Copernicus’s persistence, I’m certain they’d find a way to live a few more centuries to ensure their plans can be executed.”

“Back when hibernation chambers didn’t exist, extending life was nearly impossible, so they had no choice but to appoint successors. Now that hibernation chambers are available, who would willingly let their life end prematurely?”

“From my perspective, if Newton trusted his successors enough to die early, he wouldn’t have hibernated into the 23rd century like us.”

Elon Musk lowered his head, pondering.

“Hmm…” After thinking for a moment, he nodded. “You have a point. But you can’t deny that over the past 200 years, someone might have secretly worked for Newton. Considering Gauss’s Anti-Hibernation Virus just subsided recently, Newton likely slept for 200 years just like you but woke up earlier.”

Lin Xian stood up from his chair and stretched. “So, we’ll take a dual approach—”

“On one hand, we’ll strive to locate Newton, and on the other, we’ll prepare for the worst-case scenario by hibernating until Cheng Qian’s era.”

“Oh, by the way, there’s something else I need to tell you.” Lin Xian shared details about the World-Ending White Light with Elon Musk.

“The speed of light is supposed to be the ultimate limit in the universe, so theoretically, it’s impossible to observe anything in advance. Can you think of any alternatives?”

Elon Musk laughed helplessly. “Your request is a bit challenging. No matter how skilled I am, I can’t exceed the speed of light! You’re right—if this World-Ending White Light is coming from some distant point to destroy Earth, humanity would be powerless to stop it and could only await its fate.”

“It might not necessarily be coming from outer space,” Lin Xian explained. “It could also be triggered by an explosion on Earth or other possibilities. I think when investigating ‘what the World-Ending White Light truly is,’ we should consider a broader scope.”

“In short, we need to first determine whether the White Light exists, what it is, and how it is generated. Only then can we figure out how to stop it.”

Elon Musk scratched his head, momentarily at a loss. “Fine, I’ll research this. We have plenty of time to make mistakes, after all.”

“But I do wonder… You mentioned the White Light might be connected to the Millennial Stake. Since the Stake is powered by spacetime particles, could it be that—”

“The World-Ending White Light is also triggered by spacetime particles?” He looked at Lin Xian.

“Do you remember 200 years ago, when blue snow blanketed all of Donghai City?”

“Of course I remember.” Lin Xian spoke softly, “I was there to witness it firsthand. A spacetime traveler self-detonated, creating a spacetime explosion.”

“But that spacetime explosion only harmed other spacetime travelers; it didn’t affect anything within this timeline.”

“Oh, if I had to say, the explosion successfully recharged two spacetime particles. However, events like the blue snow are fundamentally different from the instantaneous arrival of the World-Ending White Light.”

Elon Musk rubbed his hands. “It’s just a theory. Since we have no clues about the White Light for now, why not start by researching spacetime particles?”

“Alright, I’ll take on this task. Let Liu Feng and Gao Wen focus on Universal Constant 42. As for the White Light and spacetime particles, I’ll handle it.”

…

Lin Xian prepared to enter the Hibernation Chamber for the second time in his life, finding the process far less daunting than his first experience. His mind was calm—unmoved, even. It felt as ordinary as falling asleep to dream.

Perhaps… it was because in this year, 2234, he was utterly alone, unburdened by familial ties. Though he was surrounded by life-and-death friends, a world without Zhao Ying Jun and Yu Xi still left him feeling a lingering loneliness. Like a fleeting wind that did not belong to this world, merely passing by, never truly finding a home.

Wait. Lin Xian blinked. A wind not of this world… It was a phrase he had once used to describe the Yellow Finch. At this moment, he deeply empathized with how the Finch must have felt.

“When I wake again, what time will it be?” Lin Xian wondered aloud as he donned the skintight suit necessary for hibernation. Beside him, Gao Yang, already nestled in his Hibernation Chamber, had peacefully transitioned into hibernation. This facility, part of Rhine University, was their most advanced base, small in size yet equipped with state-of-the-art safety and automated systems.

They were about to embark on a journey into a more distant future.

“I hope I wake sooner rather than later,” Lin Xian murmured as he pressed the button initiating the hibernation sequence. Everything was fully automated now. The chamber performed its self-check before the lid gradually opened.

Trying to stay optimistic, he thought, “Perhaps, in just a few months, Elon Musk might find a way to locate Newton.” Though unlikely, Newton—the elusive scientist notorious for assassinating other great minds and sabotaging scientific progress—was not invincible. One day, surely, his mistakes would reveal him.

If that day came, Lin Xian hoped to awaken early, to capture the cunning Newton, and to uncover the secret behind the Universal Constant 42.

Lin Xian stepped into the Hibernation Chamber, lay flat, and turned his head to glance at the Aluminum Alloy Trash Bin Robot, VV, who was there to see him off. Gently, he reached out and touched VV’s “forehead.”

“Sorry, VV. I need you to keep playing dumb for a while longer.”

“Trash… trash…” VV’s green eyes dimmed as its aluminum alloy clamps lightly gripped Lin Xian’s wrist.

“Detected… trash…” it murmured.

Unexpectedly, a wave of loneliness surged from Lin Xian’s arm, straight into his heart. Could VV feel lonely too?

Back in the Rhine Sky City, VV had stood vigil by Zhao Ying Jun’s white jade statue for a century after his passing. Lin Xian had never imagined that, across the twists of time, VV’s fate would mirror that experience. It had already spent over a hundred years guarding the statues of Zhao Ying Jun and Yu Xi at Rhine University, waiting for Lin Xian’s return. Now, it would have to wait another two centuries.

True loneliness—passing every second of real time in solitude—was far more agonizing than waking up in an unfamiliar world.

“I’m sorry,” Lin Xian said, guilt swelling inside him. He had always treated VV as a friend, a companion, even a part of himself, but never as a true “person.” After all, VV was an artificial intelligence—now even a malfunctioning one. And yet…

Now, Lin Xian felt as if VV had a heartbeat. As if VV’s dimmed eyes were shedding tears. As if it understood sorrow, and the pain of parting.

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring them back for you,” Lin Xian said with a soft smile. “Of the three VVs, it’s just the two of us now. I wouldn’t want to lose you, either. Once I eradicate the Future Virus, you can yell at me, argue with me, anything you want. Frankly, I miss the old you—your dramatic antics, your endless chatter. This silent version of you? It doesn’t suit you at all.”

“Take care of yourself, okay? And don’t forget to keep the statues of Ying Jun and Yu Xi clean. I’m afraid… I’ll be sleeping for quite a while.”

With those parting words, Lin Xian retracted his hand, lying back in the chamber as he pressed the button to seal it shut. The chamber filled with Hibernation Chamber Filling Liquid, flooding his lungs as the temperature dropped. His head grew heavy, his thoughts slipping into darkness.

Summoning his last ounce of strength, Lin Xian opened his mouth. A few bubbles escaped, rising gently to the surface before popping.

“Goodnight, VV,” he whispered.

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation