Genius Club

Chapter 547: Memories of the Past

Boom… Boom… Boom…

The twin-propeller transport aircraft gradually took off from the ground, rose into the air, and sped southeast.

CC clenched her fists, staring at the aircraft as it became a mere black dot in the sky.

“Liar.”

She whispered again.

Her father patted her shoulder and shook his head:

“You shouldn’t call Mr. VV that. He’s the savior of all of us, and we ought to feel grateful.”

“As for the so-called promise between you two… it was nothing more than a child’s play with an amnesiac. It doesn’t count.”

Her father looked down at his aggrieved daughter and continued:

“This is exactly why Mr. VV said you aren’t ready to decide your own life. You’re too young, immature in your thinking, and selfish in your desires.”

“Mr. VV is clearly not someone from our world. He has far more important and grander missions to undertake… How could you selfishly wish to keep someone so extraordinary in our little village in Brooklyn?”

“I didn’t!”

Young CC argued back stubbornly:

“I never said he couldn’t leave! Sure, I’m reluctant to see him go, and I know I’d only be a burden to him if I tagged along. But why couldn’t he be honest about it?”

“I thought… I thought we’d become friends, maybe even family, after everything we went through together, all the battles. So why did he have to lie to me?”

Speaking of this, CC felt even more upset:

“He could’ve just told me any reason outright, and I’d have accepted it. But instead, he used some excuse meant to pacify a child. That’s what hurts me the most.”

“Look at the nonsense he spouted—about the past and the truth, predetermined endings, and a safe… It’s like something straight out of a fairy tale!”

“If there really is a safe, then why didn’t he tell me the combination? He hemmed and hawed without giving a clear answer, which just proves he made it up on the spot and didn’t even think it through!”

“No.”

Her father shook his head, gazing in the direction where Mr. VV’s plane disappeared:

“Mr. VV’s eyes didn’t look like those of someone lying. Even if what he said sounds far-fetched, I believe it to be true.”

“Besides, in this world, many things require you to see for yourself to discern truth from falsehood. Until you uncover the truth, don’t jump to conclusions.”

“Neeigh.”

At this moment, Bruce, their robust and strong horse, lowered his head and nudged CC’s shoulder with his nose, as if trying to comfort her.

CC turned to look at the sturdy Bruce and gently stroked his neck:

“I will.”

She let out a faint hum and declared:

“When I grow up, I will go to Donghai.”

“I’ll open that safe at Time Bank and see what’s inside…”

“What exactly is hidden there!”

…

Through the narrow window, Lin Xian gazed at the distant earth below.

The plane sped onward, and in no time, CC and her group were out of sight. All that remained in view was an expanse of primeval forest.

“You didn’t give her the safe’s combination.”

Across from him, the elderly Liu Feng asked in his hoarse, raspy voice, “Why?”

Lin Xian took one last look at Brooklyn’s landscape before turning back to Liu Feng. “I don’t know.”

Liu Feng’s expression turned incredulous. “Don’t know? Then you…”

“I just had a feeling,” Lin Xian interrupted, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes. “I initially intended to tell CC the combination, but I can’t explain why. At the very last moment, I stopped.” ř𝐚ŊꝊʙËŠ

“It wasn’t as if someone stopped me, nor did I suddenly recall anything. It was just a simple thought… that it might be better not to say it.”

“Because I realized—this part of the story on this worldline is CC’s very first memory fragment.”

He opened his eyes and rubbed his temples. “There’s something strange about CC—too many oddities for me to untangle. But the formation of memory fragments, I think, aligns with what we speculated earlier. They’re scattered pieces of memories from different worldlines, brought about by the destabilization of the Millennial Stake.”

“Now, I’m starting to doubt whether my dreams are entirely real… because the CC in my dreams and the CC who became the last Millennial Stake in reality are quite different, down to many details.”

“So, to be cautious, I’ve decided to preserve this first memory fragment’s stability. I don’t know if it holds any real significance, but so far, a lot of events—including CC’s initial driving force—revolve around opening the safe at Time Bank. I don’t want to change that.”

Liu Feng listened to Lin Xian’s explanation in silence.

After a long pause, he sighed softly and spoke slowly. “I’m sorry, Lin Xian. There’s some unfortunate news I need to share with you.”

Lin Xian’s heart sank.

He straightened in his seat. “You’re not about to tell me something about Time Bank, are you?”

“You see, you’ve already guessed it yourself.” Liu Feng gave a helpless smile. “Yes, just as you thought, Time Bank is gone.”

“In the 2504 Super Catastrophe, earthquakes and tsunamis devastated most of Donghai City, reducing it to rubble and leaving countless geological fissures…”

“The Time Bank and those aluminum alloy safes have all disappeared.”

…

Lin Xian took a deep breath.

It was heavy news.

The idea of a well-established bank vanishing from the surface of the earth was hard to comprehend. What kind of state must Donghai, this once-thriving international metropolis, be in now?

“Alright,” he muttered, pressing his lips together. “There’s nothing to be done about it. Nearly every time there’s a super catastrophe, the Time Bank disappears. Humanity is still far too fragile in the face of Earth’s natural forces.”

“But the things I just said to CC… sigh…” Lin Xian suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness.

On the last day of the apocalypse in 2624, during countless dreamscapes, he and CC had fought side by side. Their initial connection had been through the safe at Time Bank.

He’d thought that now, with the Time Bank in his possession and the combination set by himself, he could finally lead CC to open the safe.

But it seemed fate had other plans.

Once again, the super catastrophe had done its work, whisking the safe away to who knows where.

“Sigh,” he sighed again, covering his eyes with his palm.

“Wait, no.”

A thought suddenly struck him. He sat up straight.

“In the circular mountain, the secret research lab left behind by Elon Musk—there’s still a spacetime particle there!”

“I know,” Liu Feng replied calmly. “We located that lab right from the start. After all, the local tribes couldn’t access the circular mountain, but we had planes and entered it directly.”

“There’s indeed a spacetime particle inside the receiver connected to 22 detection rockets. But… it’s encased in a single-piece aluminum alloy structure. You know better than anyone—it’s the hardest material in the world. With our current capabilities, there’s no way to pry it open.”

“Besides, the spacetime particle detection rockets are still operational. I recommend leaving them alone. Although one rocket has already detected traces of white light, who knows what might appear next or in other directions?”

Lin Xian nodded.

He agreed.

Liu Feng was being prudent.

This was Elon Musk’s final legacy. Since it was still functioning, tampering with it would be unwise.

After all…

In the post-catastrophe era, it might be humanity’s only means of exploring the universe.

“Alright,” Lin Xian conceded. “Then, Liu Feng, tell me… what’s happened over the years?”

…

Back then, what happened in Antarctica was almost exactly as Lin Xian had guessed.

The spacetime particle collision triggered an impact that plunged the entire globe into a sudden catastrophe—earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, tsunamis, tectonic shifts… Everything became unstable, nearly leading to the extinction of human civilization.

“So many people died,” Liu Feng said, his tone heavy.

“Donghai was no exception. Countless people perished there too. Our school, our teachers, our students… too many, far too many were lost.”

As the rotational principal, even a century later, recalling the devastation turned Liu Feng’s face deathly pale.

“Elon Musk and Gao Yang… they died instantly in Antarctica. And on our side, it was the same. I was the only one left… just me…”

Liu Feng closed his eyes.

“It was Gao Wen who saved me. He sacrificed himself to lift me out of harm’s way. Gao Wen said… I was younger and could accomplish more, that I still had time.”

Lin Xian listened silently, saying nothing.

This was the ending he had long anticipated, but it was also the question he had been too afraid to ask outright. What he dreaded most was hearing this inevitable answer.

After a brief silence, Liu Feng raised his head.

“The only piece of good news is that Rhine University had many secret facilities built to be exceptionally sturdy. Some high-tech equipment survived and remains usable.”

“Like this plane—it’s one of the few relics left. I figured you’d gone to Brooklyn in the U.S., but I didn’t know your exact location. So, after a brief recovery period, I rushed to Brooklyn with a team to find you.”

“I searched for a long time but couldn’t find you. I didn’t know if you were alive or dead, but regardless, I was determined to keep searching. I thought you might have gone into hibernation. Since I couldn’t locate the hibernation site, I decided to visit Brooklyn regularly, year after year, to look for you.”

“I spent over a century intermittently hibernating, maintaining Rhine University, and traveling to Brooklyn to search for you. That’s how all these years have passed.”

“You’ve worked so hard.”

Lin Xian looked at the man before him, both a stranger and an old friend.

Liu Feng now appeared to be in his eighties, aged to the point of frailty, thin and wrinkled.

At his age, he should have been enjoying the comfort of family, yet he had spent a century tirelessly fighting for humanity’s future and searching for Lin Xian.

A hundred years of loneliness and helplessness—but thankfully, Liu Feng never gave up.

“Lin Xian…”

Having endured over a hundred years alone, Liu Feng’s emotional defenses began to crumble the moment he saw Lin Xian again.

His cane trembled in his grasp, the tapping sound echoing softly. “What should we do now? Do we… still have hope?”

Lin Xian stood up and patted Liu Feng on the shoulder. “Trust me.”

No matter how dire or hopeless the situation, over the centuries of twisted timelines, Lin Xian had conceived countless plans. The one thing he had never considered was giving up.

“Let’s return to Rhine University first.”

Straightening up, Lin Xian looked out the window at the sea of clouds breaking through the stratosphere.

“Now it’s just the two of us, but don’t forget… when I first went to Xi’an to recruit you, it was just the two of us back then too.”

“So, Liu Feng, there’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s just starting over again. Pull yourself together!”

Outside the window, the radiant sun hung high above the clouds, warm and unchanging, just like it had been centuries ago.

“As long as we’re still alive, it’s never too late. There’s always hope!”

…

Hours later, the plane landed on the Rhine University campus.

The campus was orderly and clean, but it no longer resembled its former self.

All the buildings were low, with very few exceeding three stories, and their design and construction were rough, resembling the craftsmanship of rural clay houses.

It was evident that Rhine University had also suffered severe damage during the 2504 super catastrophe. Fortunately, it had managed to endure.

Looking up, two white jade statues still stood proudly at the main gate, facing the wind and gazing into the distance, radiant and pure.

“One has to admit, this is nothing short of a miracle,” Liu Feng said, leaning on his cane as he walked behind Lin Xian.

“The entire university collapsed, with countless cracks reaching down to magma, yet these two white jade statues somehow stood firm, completely intact.”

Lin Xian looked at the statues of Zhao Ying Jun and Yu Xi under the setting sun.

“Maybe it’s them who are protecting Rhine University,” he said softly.

“Let’s get closer for a look.”

Liu Feng walked slowly, his cane tapping with each deliberate step. Lin Xian matched his pace, walking alongside him, one step at a time.

After some time, they stood once more beneath the white jade statues of Zhao Ying Jun and Yu Xi.

It had been nearly 300 years since Lin Xian had first laid eyes on these statues.

The passage of time had turned Liu Feng into a withered old man and Lin Xian into a middle-aged man. Yet, the figures of Zhao Ying Jun and Yu Xi remained frozen in their prime, forever captured at the peak of their vitality and elegance.@@novelbin@@

Lin Xian raised his head, studying Zhao Ying Jun’s solemn expression on the statue.

This was Zhao Ying Jun at the age of forty or fifty.

Roughly… the same age as Lin Xian was now.

It was a strange coincidence of time, a cruel joke of fate, that allowed middle-aged Lin Xian and middle-aged Zhao Ying Jun to “meet” in this way.

“She once told me that she didn’t want me to see her in her old age,” Lin Xian said, pointing at the statue and speaking to Liu Feng.

“And now, we’ve both grown old.”

“In fact, we’ll keep aging, while they remain forever young.”

“Indeed…” Liu Feng sighed.

“In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed.”

“Who would have thought that the journey from Xi’an to Donghai to find you would turn out to be so long?”

“Do you regret it?” Lin Xian asked with a smile.

“Of course not.” Liu Feng let out a long breath.

“I just worry… There are only eight years left until the white light descends in 2624, and right now, we’re in the worst possible situation.”

“No,” Lin Xian said, shaking his head, his gaze resolute.

“This may be the worst of times, but it’s also… the best of times.”

Liu Feng tilted his head, puzzled.

“What do you mean?”

Lin Xian drew his gaze away from the white jade statues and looked directly into Liu Feng’s eyes.

“Because only in this era can we have the chance to meet the greatest genius the world has ever known.”

For a moment, Liu Feng froze in realization.

“You mean…”

“Exactly,” Lin Xian nodded.

“Liu Feng, it might seem like everything we’ve done has been futile, but in truth, every step we’ve taken has had meaning.”

“Newton’s death spared future mathematicians from being hunted; the premature triggering of the super catastrophe reduced its power, allowing humanity to survive in 2616 instead of facing extinction.”

“Perhaps this time, we’ll finally meet that elusive figure, the man who exists only in legend—”

“Chen He Ping.”